#erasing colonialism is perpetuating colonialism

[enbycrip]

Okay, I’ve now seen the unaltered version of this cartoon being shared uncritically by too many fucking leftist pages.

The original first image read “You can have these 200 acres for free if you grow some turnips on it or whatever”. I’ve had to alter it (badly) to made it clearer what it actually refers to.

It refers to the US Homesteading Acts, where white settlers were offered legal deeds to 200 acres of land if they kept it under an agreed and attested level of cultivation for 5-10 years (different acts had different provisions).

The *specific* reason this was offered was literally as part of the US’ policy of indigenous American genocide. They were designed *specifically* to get land belonging to and utilised by indigenous Americans into the white, European-designed legal system the US utilised (and still utilises) with a trail of ownership to *white* people so that that could be weaponised to force indigenous American tribes off their land.

It’s not “people had it better in the past”; it’s specifically “a certain group of people were actively privileged over another group and recruited to benefit from the genocide of the second group so they would take part in that genocide”.

Genocides, by and large, don’t simply happen because of baseless ideological hatred. They’re driven by material and economic interests, and the ideology is put in place to cover and legitimise this - whether to the people taking part in it or to the wider world.

In most of the world today, and *certainly* in settler colonial and former colonial powers like the US, Canada, and the UK, any calls for social and economic justice that erase genocide and colonialism, and the material benefit our states today have attained due to them, are *still* taking part in genocide and colonialism, and so are we, as individuals, if we allow this discourse to go by unchallenged.

[6ebe]

I just feel like an interesting aspect of black sails that I haven’t seen people talk about is how flint was raised in cornwall - a region that until around 1700 was seen as a distinct entity and its people were seen as distinctly separate to (and lesser) to Englishmen. Like the flashback scenes in the show are from 1705. It’s just another aspect through which the show highlights that colonial violence comes for everybody and that even those victimised by it often also commit it

[halalchampagnesocialist]

How to spot Liberal Zionist Propaganda 101

This post is by no means exhaustive at all. There are many Liberal Zionist talking points but these are just some of the most common ones. While on the surface they seem a little naive and hopeful at best, they are very much harmful. If you claim to be an ally to Palestinians, this post is primarily for you!

For starters, liberal Zionists will often try to both-sides the issue of Palestine, talk about how it's complicated, they'll claim that the conflict hurts both Israelis and Palestinians, how the only way forward is one where Jews and Arabs "just need to get along," amongst other things. They also often like to centre themselves, even when acknowledging Palestinians as the victims of Israel or this "conflict." From time to time, they also like to engage in tokenising certain Palestinians whose views tend to more or less align with theirs. Here are some common arguments you may hear from them:

1. Any form of justifying Israel's existence or claiming that the only solution is two states

It does not really need to be said why justifying Israel's existence is harmful but justifying its continued existence also means legitimising Israel's land theft, its expulsions of Palestinians, and its ongoing harm to Palestinians and other populations. Reducing any sorts of “solutions” into a binary is unhelpful. Needless to say, a 2ss would not even address any legitimate concerns Palestinian have, such as the right of return, and would only legitimise Israel’s colonialism. Talking about a two-state solution also implies that the root of the conflict lies in Palestinians not having their own state rather than being an occupied people. It is very much also possible to construct a paradigm where Jews and Palestinians both live together on the same land as equal citizens that doesn't involve two separate states, much less an ethnostate.

2. Security for Israel could only come through peace

This is a similar talking point to the one above. Not only does it centre Israeli safety and security above Palestinian liberation but it mistakenly assumes that once Israel makes peace with Palestinians, it'll achieve security. The reality, however, is that Israel's imagined security has quite often come at the expense of peace. In fact, "peace" has just acted as nothing more than a smoke-screen for Israel to carry out its expansionist policies, particularly in the West Bank. When liberal Zionists talk about peace juxtaposed with Israeli security, they're talking about attaining a negative peace rather than a positive one.

3. Israelis are not their government.

This point does nothing to actually help Palestinians. It is also an incredibly tone-deaf thing to say when Israel has targeted many Palestinian civilians by having alleged proximity to Hamas, such as being family members of militants or leaders (inc. children!), civil servants in a Hamas-led government, or even any male above the age of 15 they consider to be a potential combatant! It also deliberately erases Israeli civilians' support of and culpability in Israel's actions towards Palestinians.

4. Netanyahu and/or the Israeli right are the source of conflict.

While it is true that things have gotten inadvertently worse under Israel's various right-wing governments, they are not the source of conflict, but rather a product of extremist nationalism and Jewish supremacy perpetuated by the system. Both the 1967 occupations and settlements were undertaken under centre-left governments in Israel, and Israeli policy under non-right wing governments has been just as harmful towards Palestinians and has paved the way for where we are today. Blaming Netanyahu just also obscures the violent nature of Israel's military occupation over Palestinians which long precede him coming into power.

5. Netanyahu and Hamas are two sides of the same coin

I don't think I've seen any allies give validity to this claim but it's an extremely reductionist claim and is sort of similar to the one above. Groups like Hamas are merely a response to the Israeli occupation while Netanyahu is a byproduct of it. While some Israelis may see Hamas or their actions as an "obstacle to peace," Israel's actions and policies long pre-date Hamas and how Israel is currently responding to Hamas is no different to how Israel has engaged with Palestinian militant groups in the past, regardless of political affiliations or political goals. It is also important to note that Hamas has agreed to the establishment of a state along 1967 borders while Netanyahu aims to prolong the occupation and empower the settler movement (some of whom are part of his coalition government) as much as possible.

6. Israel is not a settler-colonial state.

While it is indisputable that Jews have historical connections to Palestine, that doesn’t automatically make you Indigenous or negate Israeli settler-colonialism. Colonialism in particular describes a relationship of exploitation. There are many cases of this, but we most clearly see this in the West Bank where Israel exploits natural resources on occupied Palestinian territory for its own political and economic gains. In terms of settler-colonialism, it is widely known that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to make way for Jewish refugees and migrants to the new state of Israel, and is still actively facilitating Jewish migration to Israel today while denying Palestinians their right of return.

7. (X) doesn't help Palestinians.

It is not up to anyone to determine whether certain tactics or strategies are helpful or not. This point only seeks to discredit pro-Palestine organising. Only Palestinians get to decide what is actually helpful for the cause or not.

8. Any sort of Hamas-blaming.

On the surface it may seem like there’s nothing wrong with this, but this point is often harmful and usually lends itself to right-wing talking points because its objective is to deflect blame away from Israel. Certain arguments blaming Hamas also aim to minimise Palestinian suffering perpetuated by Israel. It also paints Israeli violence as retaliatory to Palestinian violence which only obfuscates Israel’s (and by extension, the US’) role in its state military apparatus and the differing power dynamics between Israelis and Palestinians. In other contexts, this point seeks to also legitimise certain opposition, such as the Palestinian Authority. Hamas-blaming also tends to sometimes lead to racist diatribes about Palestinians and their culture.

9. Al-Jazeera is not a credible news source.

Al Jazeera is a news source like any other. It has varying editorial policies and therefore will have equally good reporting on certain issues while having terrible reporting on others. The difference is that Al-Jazeera's news on Palestine is credible because it comes directly from their Palestinian reporters on the ground and first-hand eyewitness accounts. Western news sources are no more or less credible than al-Jazeera. Compare this to CNN, NYT, and any other Western news sources where Palestinian voices are often entirely missing from the narrative.

10. Overemphasis of antisemitism on the left

Antisemitism is a real issue and has the potential to fester in left circles if not directly addressed head on. Combatting antisemitism is extremely important, however, it is not an issue exclusive to the left. There is also a double standard in that no one expects Zionists to call out Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Certain accusations of "antisemitism" also seek to distract from what's going on in Palestine by making it about Jewish comfort and feelings. Combatting antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism etc is always important as the basis of good politics.

Last but not least, be wary of native collaborators or any sort of normalisers! They are Palestinians or Arabs who try very hard to appeal to Western liberal consensus and can end up perpetuating a lot of harm to the cause and/or other activists. You will know them when you see them.

[transmutationisms]

genq what are the actual reasons that plagiarism is bad apart from profit and prestige?

so there are two main angles i usually think of here, which ultimately converge into some related issues in public discourse and knowledge production.

firstly, plagiarism should not just be understood as a violation one individual perpetuates against another; it has a larger role in processes of epistemological violence and suppression of certain people's arguments, ideas, and labour. consider the following three examples of plagiarism that is not at all counter to current structures of knowledge production, but rather undergirds them:

in colonial expeditions and encounters from roughly the 14th century onward, a repeated and common practice among european explorer-naturalists was to rely on indigenous people's knowledge of botany, geography, natural history, and so forth, but to then go on to publish this knowledge in their own native tongues (meaning most of the indigenous people they had learned from could not access, read, or respond to such publications), with little, vague, or no attribution to their correspondents, guides, hosts, &c. (many many examples; allison bigelow's 'mining language' discusses this in 16th and 17th century american mining, with a linguistic analysis foregrounded)

throughout the renaissance and early modern period, in contexts where european women were generally not welcome to seek university education, it was nonetheless common practice for men of science to rely on their wives, sisters, and other family members not just to keep house, but also to contribute to their scientific work as research assistants, translators, fund-raisers, &c. attribution practices varied but it is very commonly the case that when (if ever) historians revisit the biographies of famous men of science, they discover women around these men who were actively contributing to their intellectual work, to an extent previously unknown or downplayed (off the top of my head, marie-anne lavoisier; emma darwin; caroline herschel; rosalie lamarck; mileva marić-einstein...)

it is standard practice today for university professors to run labs where their research assistants are grad students and postdocs; to rely on grad students, undergrads, and postdocs to contribute to book projects and papers; and so forth. again, attribution varies, but generally speaking the credit for academic work goes to the faculty member at the head of the project, maybe with a few research assistants credited secondarily, and the rest of the lab / department / project uncredited or vaguely thanked in the acknowledgments.

in all of these cases, you can see how plagiarism is perpetuated by pre-existing inequities and structures of exploitation, and in turn helps perpetuate those structures by continuing to discursively erase the existence of people made socially marginal in the process of knowledge production. so, what's at stake here is more than just the specific individuals whose work has been presented as someone else's discovery (though of course this is unjust already!); it's also the structural factors that make academic and intellectual discourse an élite, exclusive activity that most people are barred from participating in. a critique of plagiarism therefore needs to move beyond the idea that a number of wronged individuals ought to be credited for their ideas (though again, they should be) and instead turn to the structures that create positions of epistemological authority under the aegis of capitalist entities: universities, legacy as well as new media outlets, and so forth. the issue here is the positions of prestige themselves, regardless of who holds them; they are, definitionally, not instruments of justice or open discourse.

secondly, there's the effect plagiarism has on public discourse and the dissemination of knowledge. this is an issue because plagiarism by definition obscures the circulation and origin of ideas, as well as a full understanding of the labour process that produces knowledge. you can see in the above examples how the attribution of other people's ideas as your own works to turn you into a mythologised sort of lone genius figure, whose role is now to spread your brilliance unidirectionally to the masses. as a result, the vast majority of people are now doubly shut out of any public discourse or debate, except as passive recipients of articles, posts, &c. you can't trace claims easily, you don't see the vast number of people who actually contribute to any given idea, and this all works to protect the class and professional interests of the select few who do manage to attain élite intellectual status, by reinforcing and widening the created gap between expert and layperson (a distinction that, again, tracks heavily along lines of race, gender, and so forth).

so you can see how these two issues really are part of one and the same structural problem, which is knowledge production as a tool of power, and one that both follows from and reinforces existing class hierarchies. in truth, knowledge is usually a collaborative affair (who among us has ever had a truly original idea...) and attributions should be a way of both acknowledging our debts to other people, and creating transparency in our efforts to stake claims and develop ideas. but, as long as there are benefits, both economic and social, to be gained from presenting yourself as an originator of knowledge, people will continue to be incentivised to do this. plagiarism is not an exception or an aberration; it's at best a very predictable outcome of the operating logics of this 'knowledge economy', and at worst—as in the examples above—a normal part of how expert knowledge is produced, and its value protected, in a system that is by design inequitable and exclusive.

[feralkwe]

idk how else to explain it to people but it should be pretty fucking obvious why it is absolutely ludicrous to allow the united states fucking government to set the criteria as to who is and is not recognized as native/indigenous/ndn when they spent literal centuries trying to undermine and erase the fact that we exist at all.

it's no coincidence that some of the criteria involved in becoming federally recognized as a tribe requires documentation that the government actively worked to suppress. that they require the tracing of continuous existence back to colonial contact should tell you why it's a bullshit metric. that the fact that you have to have heaps of money to get federal recognition is something that you should take a long, hard look at before calling members of over 400 non-recognized tribes 'pretendians'.

the use of blood quantum as a measurement alone makes their authority null and void.

indigeneity is not about blood quantum or government permission. it is about family, culture, and community. i for one would appreciate it if non-natives fucked all the way off on this topic, and if fellow ndns would stop the infighting over it long enough to realize that all we're doing is perpetuating colonizer violence and genocide by allowing non-natives to set the definition of who we are and what we get to call ourselves.

fuck you. stop doing the colonizer's job for them.

[sankofaspirit]

Anti-Blackness Among Non-Black People of Colour: A Garveyite Perspective on Global Patterns of Oppression

From a Garveyite lens, the history and present-day behavior of non-Black people of color (POC) reveal a global pattern of anti-Blackness, glorification of whiteness, and opportunistic use of Black people and their struggles when it suits their interests. This phenomenon spans North America, Europe, South America, and the African diaspora, rooted in the legacy of colonialism and white supremacy. Marcus Garvey’s teachings on Black self-reliance, Pan-Africanism, and racial pride provide critical insights into the ways in which these dynamics have evolved and persist.

Historical Roots of Anti-Blackness in POC Communities

Colonial Hierarchies and Racial Divides

Colonialism established global racial hierarchies that placed Black people at the bottom. Non-Black POC, while oppressed, were often granted privileges over Black people in exchange for complicity in white supremacy.

1. South Asians in Africa

During British colonial rule, South Asians were brought to East and Southern Africa as indentured labourers and intermediaries in the colonial administration. Positioned above Black Africans, they internalized and perpetuated colonial anti-Black stereotypes, benefiting economically and socially.

2. Arab Slave Trade

Predating European colonialism, the Arab slave trade dehumanized millions of Africans, embedding anti-Blackness in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) cultures. This legacy persisted under European colonial rule, as MENA communities often aligned with whiteness to maintain their status.

3. Latin America’s Caste System

Spanish and Portuguese colonial powers created rigid racial hierarchies, placing lighter-skinned mestizos above Black and Indigenous peoples. Afro-descendants were relegated to the bottom, excluded from political, economic, and social advancement.

4. East Asia’s Encounter with Whiteness

In East Asia, European imperialism introduced the glorification of whiteness and the stigmatization of darker skin. This colorism remains a key factor in anti-Black attitudes within East Asian communities worldwide.

Modern Anti-Blackness Among POC in North America

Economic Exploitation and Social Distancing

Non-Black POC in North America have historically sought proximity to whiteness by distancing themselves from Blackness.

1. Model Minority Myth (Asian Americans)

The model minority stereotype positions Asian Americans as hardworking and law-abiding, contrasting them with anti-Black stereotypes of laziness and criminality. This myth not only erases systemic racism against Asian Americans but also reinforces anti-Blackness by pitting communities of colour against each other.

2. Latino Communities

While Latinos have faced their own struggles against racism, anti-Blackness is deeply ingrained in many Latin American cultures, often carried into the U.S. Afro-Latinos are frequently erased, and lighter-skinned Latinos receive greater societal acceptance. Additionally, many Latino communities participate in cultural appropriation of Black music, fashion, and slang while ignoring systemic anti-Black racism.

3. Arab and South Asian Communities

In North America, Arab and South Asian immigrants often establish businesses in predominantly Black neighborhoods but fail to invest in or support the community. These businesses profit from Black consumers while perpetuating anti-Black stereotypes and refusing to hire Black employees.

Anti-Blackness in Europe

Historical Context

Europe’s colonial history directly shaped its current racial hierarchies. Non-Black POC in Europe have long been complicit in anti-Blackness to gain acceptance in predominantly white societies.

1. South Asians in Britain

Post-WWII, South Asian immigrants in Britain often distanced themselves from Black communities to assimilate. Anti-Black prejudices from colonial India were reinforced in Britain, as South Asians sought to align themselves with white society.

2. Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Communities

In France, Italy, and other European countries, MENA immigrants have perpetuated anti-Blackness while facing their own struggles against Islamophobia and xenophobia. This dynamic highlights the complexity of racial hierarchies, as MENA communities simultaneously resist and uphold white supremacy.

3. Eastern Europeans and Anti-Black Stereotypes

In many parts of Europe, Eastern European immigrant communities, despite facing discrimination themselves, have adopted and perpetuated anti-Black stereotypes, particularly in public discourse and employment practices.

Economic Exploitation in the UK

One glaring example is the domination of the Afro-cosmetics industry in Britain by South Asian and Middle Eastern shop owners. These businesses profit from Black women, the primary consumers of Afro hair products, while exhibiting dismissive or disrespectful attitudes toward their clientele. Black entrepreneurs attempting to enter the market face systemic barriers, as non-Black POC control the supply chains.

Anti-Blackness in South America and the Caribbean

Erasure of Afro-Descendants

In countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, Afro-descendants constitute significant portions of the population yet remain politically and economically marginalized.

1. Colourism and Whitening Policies

Many South American countries implemented “whitening” policies in the 19th and 20th centuries, encouraging European immigration to dilute Black and Indigenous populations. This legacy persists in cultural and media representations that glorify whiteness and exclude Afro-descendants.

2. Appropriation of Black Culture

Samba, capoeira, and other Afro-Brazilian traditions are celebrated globally, yet Afro-Brazilians themselves are often excluded from economic and social opportunities.

3. The Caribbean

In the Caribbean, divisions between Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean communities have been exacerbated by colonial histories. Indo-Caribbean communities have at times sought to align themselves with whiteness to gain privileges over Afro-Caribbean populations.

The Diaspora: Global Exploitation and Appropriation

1. Co-Opting Black Struggles

In multiracial coalitions, non-Black POC often tokenize Black leaders to gain visibility while sidelining Black-specific issues. Non-Black POC frequently appropriate Black-led movements, such as Black Lives Matter, to amplify their own struggles while failing to address anti-Blackness within their communities.

2. Cultural Appropriation

Black music, dance, and fashion are consumed and commodified by non-Black POC without acknowledgment of their origins or the systemic racism faced by Black creators.

3. Political Opportunism

During elections or social movements, non-Black POC often appeal to Black communities for support but fail to reciprocate when Black issues are on the line.

Garveyite Solutions to Anti-Blackness

From a Garveyite perspective, the solution to these dynamics lies in Black self-reliance, economic independence, and Pan-African unity.

1. Economic Empowerment

Support Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs to counteract the exploitation by non-Black POC. Establish Black-controlled supply chains, particularly in industries like beauty and retail.

2. Reject False Solidarity

Critically evaluate multiracial coalitions and alliances, ensuring that Black interests are not co-opted or sidelined. Demand accountability from non-Black POC for perpetuating anti-Blackness.

3. Pan-African Unity

Strengthen connections between Black communities globally to resist systemic oppression. Reclaim African identity and culture, rejecting the glorification of whiteness and internalized anti-Blackness.

4. Education and Advocacy

Raise awareness about the history and persistence of anti-Blackness in non-Black POC communities. Promote Garveyite principles of Black pride, self-reliance, and liberation.

Conclusion

Anti-Blackness among non-Black POC, rooted in colonial histories and perpetuated through modern economic, cultural, and social practices, remains a global issue. From North America to Europe, South America, and across the diaspora, non-Black POC have sought to align themselves with whiteness while exploiting Black people when convenient. Marcus Garvey’s vision offers a powerful framework for resisting these dynamics, emphasizing the need for Black self-reliance, unity, and liberation.

“Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will!” – Marcus Garvey

[quetzalpapalotl]

For my like 10 followers that aren't into Transformers, here is a list of things that are totally canon for the IDW Transformers comics (2005-2018):

Two guys had a meetcute in the morgue of an euthanasia clinic because one guy wanted to kill himself and the other was looking for his dissappeared husband among the corpses. They get married. They seemingly don't talk about what they're going to do once they find the second guy's husband that they're still looking for. The suicidal guy has had other 3 husbands but he erased his memory of that because he's bad at dealing with grief.

The suicidal guy's ex (not one of his dead husbands) is the Autobot second-in-command and had a pet mad scientists that made him war crime machines. They ended up invented the concept of having a child, but then the Autobot SIC had the scientist thrown into the torment nexus because he felt bad about doing war crimes and wahted to stop. He didn't actually stop doing war crimes.

Optimus Prime annexes Earth.

A guy invents time travel to save his unrequited crush's life

God is a real person but he's not actually a deity and is currently a therapist whose license was revoked for getting unprofessionally close to his patients. Everyone who knew his license was revoked died so he just kept on practicing.

Optimus Prime pretends to be havig divinely-inspired visions to get out of situations.

Tumblr exists in-universe.

There's a guy named Centurion who was made to think he's Bumblebee because when his ship crashed a scientist brainwashed them into thinking they were classic Transformers characters to see what happens. Thousands of years later he gets involved in human wars and remembers he's not Bumblebee. He develops a self hatred so great he lets a G.I. Joe villian use him for his schemes. Centurion then has his consciousness fused with a human named Mike Power and lives perpetually with the biggest identity crisis of history.

Another guy also had his memories messed with and has lived multiple human lives (he may be Gilgamesh) when he's actually a Transformer secret agent. He's overcoming his own identity crisis through the power of sheer vanity. He also owns the in-universe equivalent of Facebook and Apple.

On at least 3 occasions Transformers used another Transformer's corpse as a vehicle. And on 1 occasion they used a corpse as a replacement limb (the guys alternate mode was a leg)

The Transformers on planet Cybertron at some point forgot that gender is a thing. There are lost colonies from before this so gender is still a thing in those.

One of those cybertronian colonies sends a delegate after millennia of absence and her bodyguard hates the place so much she causes a terrorist attack just as an excuse to go home, people die. The delegate was like "that was bad but we can move past this" and forgives her.

The Decepticons rewired their own soldiers into bombs and dropped them on people.

The Decepticons also rewired Autobots into anti-personnel live mines that would explode when they good too stressed and needed to be handled by people that could defuse them while keeping them calm.

Transformers are allergic to magic.

A guy has a fanzine dedicated to the Autobot Black-ops where he writes fanfiction. It's so popular multiple people are on a mailing list to have it downloaded directly to their brains when a new issue comes out.

A Decepticon's plan to deal with population decline is to make a bunch of organic babies, have them grow up and make more babies and then transplant their souls to Transformers bodies. He got as far as growing one (1) baby. Tbh, you could erase this whole plot and the story wouldn't suffer much.

Starscream who is a backstabbing liar who cares only for himself becomes president. He routinely neglects and endangers the population for his own ends. He was the best leader Cybertron ever had at the time.

[librarycards]

@fatehbaz made another banger post about the 'anthropocene' and its shortfalls (they are numerous) and wanted to post a few things i read for a paper last year on the plantationocene!

I think writing on the plantationocene from Black Atlantic scholars' perspectives is also useful here! e.g.:

-

The burial ground tells us that the legacy of slavery and the labor of the unfree both shape and are part of the environment we presently inhabit. It also points to the plot of land where the enslaved are buried and provides an opening for what I am calling here “plantation futures”: a conceptualization of time-space that tracks the plantation toward the prison and the impoverished and destroyed city sectors and, consequently, brings into sharp focus the ways the plantation is an ongoing locus of antiblack violence and death that can no longer analytically sustain this violence.

[...]

While plantations differed over time and space, the processes through which they were differentially operated and maintained draw attention to the ways racial surveillance, antiblack violence, sexual cruelty, and economic accumulation identify the spatial work of race and racism. In many senses the plantation maps specific black geographies as identifiably violent and impoverished, consequently normalizing the uneven production of space. This normalization can unfold in the present, with blackness and geography and the past and the present enmeshing to uncover contemporary sites of uninhabitablity. Yet to return to the plantation, in the present, can potentially invite unsettling and contradictory analyses wherein: the sociospatial workings of antiblack violence wholly define black history; this past is rendered over and done with, and the plantation is cast as a ��backward” institution that we have left behind; the plantation moves through time, a cloaked anachronism, that calls forth the prison, the city, and so forth. These contradictions keep in place, to borrow from Kara Keeling, “common memory images” that are habitually called forth to construct blackness as silent, suffering, and perpetually violated, just as it attempts to erase the ways antiblack violence is enacted in the present. Put differently, this kind of analytical framework is unsettling because it simultaneously archives the violated black body as the origin of New World black lives just as it places this history in an almost airtight time-space continuum that traces a linear progress away from racist violence.

Katherine McKittrick (2013) Plantation Futures. in Small Axe. Emphasis added.

-

McKittrick emphasizes the “placelessness and constraint” that formed the foundation of the plantation's “uneven colonial‐ racial economy” and argues that those same dynamics are central to the increasing rate of Black incarceration and “inner‐city annihilation” (McKittrick, 2011, p. 948). [...] The dispossession of Indigenous peoples, the enslavement of Black peoples, and the propagation of nonhuman life on encomiendas, plantations, and reservations are interrelated, yet distinct, processes in service of the colonial–racial, capitalist project (Bledsoe, 2017; Woods, 1998; Woods, 2017; Wynter, 1984).

However, McKittrick's work also insists on the significant role of historical plantation geographies in imagining possibilities for life in the present (2013). If the Plantationocene is meant to signal a global history of the present then, “the geographies of slavery, postslavery, and Black dispossession provide opportunities to notice that the right to be human carries in it a history of racial encounters and innovative Black diaspora practices that, in fact, spatialize acts of survival” (McKittrick, 2013, p. 2). She offers a schematic of the plantation as a racially and economically ordered space, which violently structured differentiated life. At the same time, she insists that such violence “cannot wholly define future human agency” (McKittrick, 2013, p. 11); refusals, ruptures, resistance, and openings inhere in Black life on the historical plantation and beyond.

Janae Davis, et al (2019) Anthropocene, Capitalocene, … Plantationocene?: A Manifesto for Ecological Justice in an Age of Global Crises. in Geography Compass. Emphasis added.

-

I found these while researching for an article I wrote about one of my all-time favorite books, Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai:

This familiar dystopian landscape—one stripped by mono-crops and worked by a laborforce denied personhood—recalls the “plantationocene.” According to Haraway et al., the term is meant to “[make] one pay attention to the historical relocations of the substances of living and dying around the Earth as a necessary prerequisite to their extraction” (557). Anna Tsing notes the plantation’s features of interchangeability and scalability as bound to the destruction of indigenous life and the pursuit of capital (9) [...] These are projects of compliance and/as conformity, wherein the rules-bound human bodymind might be curated to the same extent as corporate-sanctioned produce.

Canada’s long legacy of eugenic efforts at curation of life/populations (Dyck and Lux; Hutcheon and Lashewicz), indicates that the “Plantationocene” alone is insufficient in addressing the imbrication of climate violence and white supremacy [7] Katherine McKittrick critiques contemporary theorization on the plantation that divorces it from racial capitalism, instead presenting “plantation futures” which constitute “a conceptualization of time-space that tracks the plantation toward the prison and the impoverished and destroyed city sectors and, consequently, brings into sharp focus the ways the plantation is an ongoing locus of antiblack violence and death that can no longer analytically sustain this violence” (2–3). The plantation is not simply a contemporary location, but a set of historical and ongoing processes in which places deemed “lifeless”—that is, associated with Blackness, foreignness, contamination, and subhumanity—were to be subjugated by white racial terror. Here, so-called “waste products” (McKittrick 7) of global capitalism are first invented, then disappeared into “Unregulated Zones” of their own—the prison, the hospital, the racial ghetto, and other spaces marked by expulsion from society and by persistent associations with odor and filth (see Chen; Kettler; Reinarz). These sites of exile, in turn, generated a sense of safety for those within: [M]onocrops are safe because Unregulated foods are not. The plantation is organized in perpetual self-contradiction: marking certain bodyminds as always and already toxic, smelly, intolerable, and inhuman, while also deeming them necessary to the reproduction of humanized life.

[sarah] Cavar (2023) Embodying Otherwise: Nonhuman Criptopias in Salt Fish Girl in the Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies. Emphasis added.

[aeonianlunartine]

No joke when I first saw this design in a video with Natlan lore, I legitimately thought the video creator was using some random game to represent Natlan.

To say I’m surprised would be a lie considering how I saw this coming even before Sumeru came out; the moment I read in the wiki that Natlan was inspired from precolonial Latin American and some tribes in Africa, I stopped playing Genshin for around a year.

Often, the moment authors start meshing together countries and regions together, it starts to become… murky and harder to execute with proper acknowledgment to the sources of inspiration. Especially since the thing is… these are two continents oceans apart which did not have significant/apparent enough interaction between each other prior to colonialism.

As a mestizo (mixed) Latino, I cannot speak entirely for the various indigenous populations/groups represented within this one region, but the lack of care for skin tone and respect for the cultures it is based off—it’s sad. It’s depressing for me.

This company and many others are using less represented cultures as exotic and fun cosplay.

A fantasy costume party for their pale-skinned, idealized white characters—parading around names which erases real life deities from people’s immediate knowledge and now are replaced with some gacha-ass looking dude with barely a drop of melanin. Now when I search up Ororon, all I get is that dude, which is not fucking good since the name is of a Yoruba deity.

I want people to actually commit to not playing Genshin and other Hoyo games if they really care to boycott. I’ve been discovering the extent of how the other games are just as disgusting as Genshin; it’s not enough to just boycott one game, if you want to get your message across to a company, do it to all their products.

I’ve seen people say to do it, yet go on and still play.

Do it.

Fucking do it if you actually are enraged by the blatant racism in this game and in this fandom.

Those who are bystanders are just as culpable as the ones who perpetuate it.

I will now be changing all my socials if they involve Hoyoverse content; I will no longer interact with Hoyoverse content, whether that be fan-made or official, unless it is discussing this matter or redesigning characters whether that be from Natlan or Sumeru.

I know likely many others won’t do the same; it’s an interest, it’s many people’s favorite game, a comfort. And many people are comfortable—fine—with racism in their interests, as long as it can be sugarcoated and excused, y’know… “it’s not bad because there’s some white people there too in real life!” Yes! But it’s majority brown.

Especially before colonization happened.

[probablyasocialecologist]

The ideology of erasure was written into the founding myth of the State of Israel – the myth that Israel was built on “a land without a people for a people without a land”. A popular slogan among Zionists, it helped both perpetuate the assumption that the “Holy Land” was virgin territory and characterise Palestinians as not “a people” with a distinct identity, and therefore lacking any legitimate claim to the land.

The father of political Zionism, Theodor Herzl, outlined his utopian vision for a modern Jewish State in his novel Altneuland (The Old-New-Land), where he wrote, “If I wish to substitute a new building for an old one, I must demolish before I construct”. Here too, the insinuation was that Palestinians and any sign of their existence on and connection to the land would inevitably be erased by the settler state.

When Israeli geographers drew up their own map of Palestine, they also based their work on the understanding that the Palestinians are “not a people”. They were convinced of their incontrovertible right to the “ancestral land” and remapped Palestine in a way that entirely erased all evidence of Indigenous Palestinian presence.

Following Hamas’s attack on October 7, we have heard Israeli politicians call Palestinians “human animals”. They have also demanded that Palestinians “go away” from Gaza and be settled elsewhere. Evidently, the settler-colonial ideology of erasure is alive and well today.

But settler colonialism is not just an ideological force. This ideology of erasure often motivates efforts to materially upend all pillars of Indigenous life and existence.

[...]

In the end, it is important to think about settler colonialism as a tool for better understanding what is happening in Gaza and across Palestine today. In part, it tells that what we are witnessing is structural, in that it is the deeply entrenched structures and institutions of a settler-colonial state that justify and rationalise the assorted forms of erasure we are currently witnessing in Gaza. But equally it helps connect Palestine to a global history of settler colonialism – a history that might explain why Indigenous communities from around the world have stood in solidarity with Palestinians, while settler states like the United States, Canada and Australia seem to perpetually waver in their support for Palestinian rights.

[irithnova]

Notes on Empire of Care by Catherine Ceniza Choy

The scapegoating of Filipino nurse immigrants: Filipina Narciso and Lenora Perez are examples of two nurses who were scapegoated.

Filipino nurses with temporary work visas, H-1 visas, were exploited

Mass murder cases involving Filipino nurses included the 1996 Richard Speck massacre. Some of his victims were Filipino nurses and the only survivor was one of these Filipino nurses

The only survivor - Luisa Silverio

The victims

The 1975 Veterans administration hospital murders that happened in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and involved the previously mentioned nurses Narciso and Perez, bering initially convicted and then later acquitted. They were accused of poisoning and conspiracy

These cases reflect how US imperialism shaped the treatment that was levelled at Filipino nurses

During the late 1970s, Filipino nurse organisations emerged in order to combat the exploitation and discrimination that Filipino nurses faced

There is still a huge gap in the study of Filipino Americans. Quoted from Sucheng Chan's essay on Asian American historiography

"Despite the steady progress in Asian American historical scholarship, significant gaps remain. The most glaring is the absence of book-length studies on Filipino Americans"

American imperialism still shapes the way in which Filipinos - especially Filipino women are perceived

Jesse Ventura, an American politician in his autobiography "I ain't got no time to bleed" reminisces on his days as a Navy Seal stationed in the Philippines.

He talks about being young with a large libido, and how the abundance of Filipino women for him and his comrades to take home relieved that.

He spoke of going through less hurdles when he came to getting a Filipina to sleep with him compared to American women back home. In other words - Filipinas were easy.

This is a reflection of how US imperialism has shaped how the Philippines is viewed.

Filipino women are used in order to portray the Philippines as a feminised, hypersexual, always-willing paradise for the pleasure of Western men.

This depiction of so called "love" between Filipinos and Americans erases the long history of US violence, US domination, the colonial relationship between the US and the Philippines and the history of sexual violence perpetuated against Filipino women. Not to mention the destruction of the environment and spread of disease

US military presence in the Philippines also helped in influencing migration patterns.

By 1970, there were more Filipino men in the US navy than the Philippine navy. This was due to the active recruitment of Filipino men into the US military

Yet another example of how the US imperialist narrative erases truths about history and the lived experiences of Filipinos:

Filipino American organisations had to convince Minnesota legislature to correct a plaque commemorating the Spanish-American war.

The plaque stated that it was honouring the fact that the war was fought to free the Philippines from the tyrannical Spanish

This is unequivocally untrue and rings back to the concepts of American exceptionalism - The US being far more "benevolent" to it's colonies than their European counterparts.

The war was fought in order to defeat the Spanish - not to liberate the Philippines.

The Philippines then fought against the US for independence thereafter

America's so called "forgetfulness" when it comes to Filipino-American history continues to hurt Filipinos.

In particular, Filipino American war Veterans who struggle to fight for their access to veterans benefits.

[fleshengine]

Honestly since I heard someone say that the “everything in Australia can kill you” meme perpetuates the idea that it is a hostile and unlivable place, erasing the aeons of history the aboriginal people lived and thrived in, I’ve been unable to find those jokes funny. Like if it was so dangerous, there wouldn’t be an accurate oral history going back twelve thousand years. It’s colonialism. It’s The Frontier (tm). It’s untamed land unsullied by the hands of man. It’s fucking racist and I wish I could beam my knowledge into people’s brains so they stop making the same shitty joke.

[littlefeather-wolf]

Chief Shoppenagon (c. 1814–1911) was a prominent Chippewa (Ojibwa) leader known for his influence in Michigan’s history, especially in the Grayling area. His Ojibwa name, Zhaabnegan, translates to "Long Feather." Shoppenagon was recognized as a skilled hunter, trapper, and guide, and his knowledge of the land made him highly respected by Native Americans and settlers alike.

Key Points About Chief Shoppenagon:

1. Early Life and Leadership:

Shoppenagon was born around 1814 and was a member of the Ojibwa, the largest group of Anishinaabe people in the Great Lakes region.

He was known for his deep understanding of nature and his spiritual connection to the land, which he used to guide and sustain his community.

2. Role as a Guide and Fur Trader:

During the 19th century, Shoppenagon worked as a guide for fur traders, hunters, and early settlers navigating northern Michigan’s wilderness.

His reputation for honesty and skill made him a valuable ally to those exploring or settling the region.

3. Connection to Grayling, Michigan:

Shoppenagon and his family lived near the Au Sable River in what is now Grayling, Michigan.

He is remembered for his contributions to the community, helping early settlers survive and thrive by sharing his knowledge of local resources.

4. Cultural Legacy:

Shoppenagon became a symbol of Native American resilience and adaptability during a time of great change and challenges for Indigenous peoples.

His peaceful interactions with settlers earned him widespread respect and admiration.

5. Memorialization:

Chief Shoppenagon lived to be nearly 100 years old, passing away in 1911.

Today, he is commemorated in Grayling, where a statue and historical markers honor his legacy. His name is also associated with local landmarks, reflecting his enduring impact on the area.

Shoppenagon represents a bridge between Native American traditions and the frontier history of Michigan, embodying wisdom, guidance, and the spirit of cooperation ...

A'ho ... Native Americans were often coerced into participating in staged photographs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as seen in these images. Photographers frequently manipulated their subjects to fit preconceived notions of "savagery" or "civilization," showcasing them in traditional regalia for one shot and then in Western attire for another, as if to demonstrate their transformation under colonial influence. These staged scenes often used the same backdrops, erasing the individuality and agency of the subjects while perpetuating stereotypes to satisfy the colonial gaze. This practice was part of a broader effort to depict Native peoples as relics of a dying culture, reinforcing white superiority while ignoring the resilience and complexity of Indigenous identities ...

[tungledotedu]

this is anshelsgendercrisis, spacelazarwolf's alt account.

(source)

apparently this blog is for posts that are too obviously anti-palestinian for their followers to keep believing their claim that they aren't a zionist.

they're not even a cryptozionist, they're pretty open about denying simple facts like israel being the product of western colonialism.

(source)

(source)

the author of this article, adam kirsch, also wrote 'Is It Time to Retire the Term ‘Genocide’?' definitely someone you can trust to have reasonable, unbiased views on palestine.

(source)

apartheid is just a bUzZwOrD to these racists. they don't want palestine to be liberated because that's 'perpetuating cycles of violence'. never mind that israel has never faced consequences for its innumerable atrocities and war crimes since its establishment, let alone the fact that it was founded on stolen palestinian land under the auspices of western colonial powers.

(image descriptions under the cut)

[ID: a post by anshelsgendercrisis, dated 20 november 2024. it includes a waterlogged screenshot of a post that reads: ' Spacelazarwolf has me blocked???? Literally what for?? Being pro Palestine?'

their response: 'why do these ppl always think they are the main characters of my life.' end ID.]

[ID: a reblog from the-catboy-minyan, dated 7 november 2024. the reblog is a post by gefiltefishdefender that reads: 'boycotting Pro-Palestinian and pro-peace Israeli authors just proves that no matter what they do you just see Israelis as inherently evil

'this comes from a continuous attempt to frame I/P as a western colonialism story which just silences Jews and erases Jewish history'. end ID.]

[ID: a reblog from corvidcrybaby, dated 28 august 2024. the reblog is a link posted by adisquietfollows, titled 'The False Narrative of Settler Colonialism'. it is published by the atlantic and subtitled 'The rise of an academic theory and its obsession with Israel'.

the first paragraph of the article reads: '[L]ong before October 7, the Palestinian struggle against Israel had become widely understood by academic and progressive activists as the vanguard of a global battle against settler colonialism, a struggle also waged in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries created by European settlement. In these circles, Palestine was transformed into a standard reference point for every kind of social wrong, even those that seem to have no connection to the Middle East. […]

Although Israel fails in obvious ways to fit the model of settler colonialism, it has become the standard reference point because it offers theorists and activists something that the United States does not: a plausible target.' end ID.]

[ID: a reblog from azcrowleyfell, dated 21 july 2024. the reblog is for a post by jewish-sideblog that reads:

'Me: Oh this is awesome! The ICJ finally took a stand on the West Bank settlements and recommended reparations, which means we might finally get to see some real progress towards peace and reconciliation in the Israeli Palestinian conflict The internet, for some fucking reason: hahahahaha get fucked zios! Israel is now officially an aPaRThEiD sTaTe!!! Genocide next! We’re coming for you! Globalize the intifada! Me: interesting. I’m now less enthusiastic about the whole peaceful reconciliation thing. This should have been good news but it seems like we’re still intent on shouting buzzwords and perpetuating cycles of violence'. end ID.]

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Don't you think there's better ways of showing support for Palestinians/Israeli Christians than by perpetuating the "Jesus was Palestinian" myth that people constantly try and use to deny Jewish indigeneity. Allegory or not, it's not a great look for someone who purports to be against that kind of erasure and supercessionism. Also, having 1 line about how his death was the Empire's fault so don't blame the Jews is meaningless when in this allegory, the Empire (Israeli government) *is* Jewish

(anyone curious about what anon's referring to, I believe it's my poem here)

Hey there anon, thank you for your feedback. In this situation where various marginalized peoples are being pitted against each other (and/or conflated with political groups), I've been struggling to make sure my words don't add to the misinformation and harm. So whenever someone takes the time to remind me of that danger, I'll take the time to re-examine my words — even if I end up standing by them, as I mostly do in this case.

I can't promise to say and do all the perfect things, because there isn't time to waste getting my words just right before saying something — people are dying right now (and yes, anon, that includes those Israelis who are still hostages of Hamas, who are also endangered by Israel's continued attacks.)

I have been spending much of my free time these past few months learning more about Israel and Palestine, and I still don't feel I'm even close to knowing enough! But I've listened to those who are actually in the midst of the violence who say that all of us across the world must join their cry now, not letting our ignorance be an excuse. That means there have been a few things I've said that I then had to re-consider after learning more.

...

Just a few days ago, I was actually trying to look into the origins of the statement that "Jesus was a Palestinian Jew." (Btw if anyone knows the origins of this statement, please hit me up!)

Arguments against it note that the term "Palestinian" didn't exist in Jesus' day. Looking into the accuracy of that statement is still on my to-do list; I did skim over this article calling it a myth but yeah, still digging. Regardless, sure, I don't think Jesus called himself a Palestinian in his lifetime.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the statement is useless, however. I do very much believe that if Jesus were born today, in the same place, he'd be born to a Jewish Palestinian family, not an Israeli one.

That does not erase his Jewishness; it confirms God's "preferential option for the poor," God's choice to side with and become one with the most oppressed and discarded. It also does not assert that Jewish persons don't "belong" in the region — only that the modern nation/colony Israel isn't necessary for them to live and thrive there.

All that said, if anyone has more info on the statement that "Jesus was a Palestinian" — its origins, how it's been used over the years — I would absolutely like to examine it further. For now, I stand by the phrase, with an openness to re-considering that with further education.

...

I feel more confident in talking about Empire — how I used it in my poem, versus how you've interpreted it. I'm genuinely grateful to you for bringing your reading of it to my attention, because it's shown me that my words weren't clear enough there!

In these verses from my poem:

"...And now, as then, some may blame Jesus’s death on his own Jewish people — but resist this lie! Now as then the crime is Empire’s and those of us who would cast stones should ponder first what our nations gain from genocide. ..."

You interpret Empire as being Israel.

My intention was that Empire with a capital E is a much larger network of all imperial forces on earth. Israel is entangled in that, and directly backed and funded by those forces. My own country, the United States, is one of the nations at the helm of Empire.

So when I talk of Empire being to blame, I'm not saying just Israel — honestly, I'm personally more concerned with the US's complicity, because I feel as a US citizen I can help demand they stop.

So I'm going to rework that bit to better express what I mean by Empire, so it doesn't sound like I'm focusing only on Israel. Empire is so much bigger than any one state, colony, or government.

...

Okay, I'm out of steam. I'm going to link a few pieces that have been helping me frame all that's going on right now to resist pitting marginalized groups against each other:

This art piece naming "contradicting truths"

This article by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg also naming seemingly contradictory truths

Since I didn't really get deep into this part of your ask, I also appreciate this article discussing the question of indigeneity. It discards the "need" to figure out "who was there first" in favor of exploring intersecting histories.

Oh also, because you claim that the Israeli government "is Jewish," I think discussions on how Israel isn't actually a safe haven for all Jews, only those that fit into their goals, are vital.

[warningsine]

When I saw the white lotus win so many Emmys... It was fun and I know that the awards aren't serious, but can we be serious?

When I see people say that "The White Lotus" is such a smart show and doesn't hold your hand...I have to agree with you, anon.

To quote Logan Roy, "I love you, but you're not serious people."

I still don't get what was so great about the script, which was so preachy (a lecture for the white American crowd) and unsubtle.

"Oh, TWL is such a good criticism of privileged families."

I beg to differ.

For all of its talk about imperialism and racism, the first season focused a lot on intraracial classism instead.

The series is trying so hard to be the new "Succession," but it isn't. Not even close.

Unlike "Succession" that is a modern "King Lear" show, on "The White Lotus," your empathy lies with the less privileged characters, sure.

Except none of the local and indigenous characters are given plotlines of their own and when they do enter the plot, they're either victimized or erased.

"But that's what the show criticizes!"

Yeah, no. Talking about colonial issues while providing no escape from them isn't the #slay people think it is. It replicates and perpetuates tired tropes.

What's even harder to swallow is that the first season was filmed in Hawai`i during the pandemic, when everyone was asking visitors not to go there. But, hey, the director/creator wanted to "get out of LA."

It would have been so easy to tell the same story about privilege from the Kānaka Maoli characters' POV and incorporate their culture. It would have been so easy to focus more on Belinda and not turn Paula into Olivia's token friend.

As for season 2? Well, it kept my attention with the lesbian storyline and the lovely cast, but the quality was questionable.

Anyway, more prestige shows should use "Lovecraft Country" (unfortunately canceled too soon) as an example is all I'm saying.