#ethnicity would be laughable

[rebellum]

Full on saying "sex based oppression isn't real, that's a radfem talking point" seems like way too much to me. Like, it IS real. Every single person who was assigned female at birth, or who is considered to be female bodied in any way (so, including eg trans fems who may be considered female bodied due to surgery, intersex people who were maybe assigned as female later on in life), is oppressed because of that. That's an inarguable fact.

But that doesn't mean every single person who was assigned male at birth oppresses every single person assigned female at birth through the axis of sex. Like, obviously trans people who were amab don't have more social privilege as a group than cis gender conforming women.

Both things can be true at once.

[twoelectrichearts]

Not even surprised at the way some people are acting right now with using the death of a celebrity to wish death upon Noah. The fact that it’s by people who consider themselves “humanitarians” is beyond laughable. This is exactly why I don’t take them seriously. The majority of them are fake and performative and don’t even realize how narcissistic, racist, bigoted, antisemitic, etc. they actually are. The people that accuse Noah of being a vile, hateful person who makes jokes out of people dying really need to take a look in the mirror. They won’t, though. They’ll keep living in their hypocrisy and believe that they’re such amazing, moral people when they’re the total opposite. You know what true humanitarians would want? Peace for EVERYONE. Not just certain groups of people, certain countries, certain religions, certain ethnicities, certain races, certain genders, etc.. It seems like that’s a crazy statement to say right now, which is beyond sad. Call me crazy, but I don’t think genuinely good people would harass, bully, threaten, and torment someone in person or online. Celebrity or not. Because believe it or not, celebrities are human beings just like me and you. They can read whatever you put on the internet about them. You don’t like them? Fine. The block button is right there to use. It’s extremely easy to use it, just a click or two. There’s tons of celebrities and people I don’t like. So what do I do about them? Oh yeah, block them! I don’t leave them hate comments, because what is that going to do? Nothing. And even if I don’t like them, part of me still feels guilty for the idea of leaving them a hateful message directly or indirectly. I don’t even truly know them to begin with. Seriously, just block or ignore. You don’t like or agree with what I say or believe in? Do us both a favor and block and ignore me! Because that means I also don’t agree with you. It’s a win for the both of us. I’d rather leave kind, supportive messages to people and celebrities that I like than put my energy and focus into being hateful towards celebrities and people that I don’t like. If someone with mental health issues gets triggered by something that I say about them and does something that they can’t undo, I don’t want to be responsible for them harming themselves or worse. That’s why I just block and ignore. Even if I don’t like them. Shocking to some of you, I know. As someone who struggles with mental illness, I know I wouldn’t be able to handle all the hateful, disgusting, abusive messages that Noah and so many other celebrities get. There’s no way I’d be able to deal with it. If I know I wouldn’t be able to handle it, why would I do it to others? Makes no sense.

Leaving kind messages to people and celebrities I like brings me joy. It makes me happy knowing that something I said can help someone feel better if they’re having a rough time. Leaving a hateful message instead wouldn’t make me feel good at all. I guess that works for some people, not for me, though. Again, the people you leave messages to will see them. Sometimes you might even get a reply. Just remember that when you’re sending a message to someone. Celebrity or not.

[olderthannetfic]

You can discus and argue about the ethics of fake claiming people until you turn blue.

But to completely and utterly deny the concept of people faking being neurodivergent for whatever reason is just stupid.

People have and will forever fake having a certain life reality, as long as they can gain something from it. Be that social credit, attention, money or even just attention positive or negative.

The idea that people would stop at faking being neurodivergent is laughable, considering how many people have been exposed at faking other life realities: faking their race, their sexuality, their ethnicity, their gender, even faking physical health problems like cancer or HIV. Some people literally fake being victims of physical, sexual and mental violence, or living in areas of war, not just to scam money, but even to just gain some followers on social media sites and get clout, and nothing else.

And you legit think people would stop at lying about having autism? ADHD? DID? BPD? Really? And yet people still try to pretend like nobody claiming to be neurodivergent would ever lie about it. Like every person who claims to be neurodivergent does it with the best of intentions and just trying to and a community and understand themselves. Like none of them are just doing it to gain something or get their hustle on.

It doesn't matter if the neurodivergent people at large are marginalized and treated like shit. People with privilege aren't gonna be stopped just because parts of the healthcare system is abusive and toxic. People of privilege have race faked being black in systems where actually being black puts you on the lowest social step of the sociallader, so the idea of being marginalized clearly isn't a turnoff and might even be an incentive to do so, as long as they get something from it.

If people notice a certain reality of life can be commodified, someone will be there and try to reap the benefits, while not actually having to experience all the aspects, especially the negatives, of that life.

--

Oh, people are for sure going to fake.

The real question is whether it's appropriate to bring this up in a given context. Often, we just end up making it harder for the non-fakers and/or treating the fakers as though they're fine when the faking is a symptom of being not fine some other way.

[strawberrypoundtown]

Introducting: Bruce Soli

What's their name?

His real name is Brucie Fernando Giordano-Soli, but the name he goes by in public and on stage is Bruce Soli

What's their age?

25

What's their birthday?

April 1st

What do they look like?

This guy is a mountain of a dude. Even by minotaur standards, he's huge. He's a whopping 9' tall with large, sharp horns that curve upwards towards the ceiling. He is pretty ripped aside from a bit of pudge on his belly that he's put on over the years of being on the road. He has green eyes and thick, short black fur covers his body whole body, all the way down until his cloven feet. He has a tail, but only about 1 foot of it is still there. The rest was amputated due to an infection.

What's their species?

He's a minotaur!

What's their ethnicity and nationality?

He has mostly Italian ancestry, but doesn't really know much beyond that. However, he was born in New York, so he has a bit of a Brooklyn accent because of his Nonna when he gets really pissed off.

What's their personality like?

He's a giant walking landmine. One wrong step, and he could get set off and blow your head off. His temper is unmatched and absolutely terrifying due to his size. He hides a lot behind his rage, and not much is known about his early life other than the many scars that litter his body. He is usually pretty chill most of the time nowadays since he started smoking weed, but he's also just a very loud dude in general, so it can only do so much.

What's some fun facts about them?

1. His only family member that he has contact with is his Nonna. She is the only person he won't swear in front of and will say "I love you" to, and his bandmates annoy him about it constantly.

2. He learned to play the guitar from his Nonna when he was little. He has an electric guitar he named "Killer" that he mainly uses on stage, but he has a secret acoustic guitar his nonna gave him that he keeps in his closet that he named "Lover" upon her request.

3. He has a huge soft spot for the band, but would never admit it. He may say he finds them insufferable and wants to get away from them, but he would kill for them in a heartbeat. There have been too many times when he almost did and sent himself into a very public scandal.

4. Although he does enjoy the company of men and women, he's never been with someone for more than one night. It has earned him the reputation of a playboy, but he always gets uncomfortable when people bring it up for some reason...

5. Due to his size, he hates being inside most buildings. Even in a world where there's a lot built for large monsters like him, he struggles inside most buildings to get around without causing damages. The amount of times he's gotten his horns stuck in the ceiling when standing up too quickly or the amount of doorways he's gotten stuck in that hadn't been made bigger yet is laughable, and is a huge trigger for his temper.

(Credit to @the-witches-creatures for her introduction template! And please go check out her OC's, especially Teyo and Oscar!)

(I hope you guys liked getting to know a little bit about Bruce! He's the main guitarist for "Monster Town" and I have the first part of his story in the works, as well as Claytons introduction! I hope you all enjoy! Any requests or ideas are always welcome btw! Thank you so much for your support!)

[wylanslcve]

So if you've been following me on Instagram you would have seen me say recently that I've decided to take a step back from posting/sharing/creating Grishaverse content due to what Leigh Bardugo said (or rather what she didn't say) about the situation in Palestine. For context, during the press tour for The Familiar, an audience member asked Leigh about the justification for non-BIPOC authors profiting off BIPOC stories yet not advocating for real-life BIPOC people (since Leigh has been silent on Palestine since October, despite having expressed solidarity with Palestine in the past).

The video (which you can watch here) has been circulating the internet for a while, and I've already spoken about this on Instagram. I just forgot I had Tumblr for a second there, hence why I'm only addressing this now despite having already spoken about this. However, as someone who has an entire online presence dedicated to Leigh's work, it would be wrong and rather hypocritical of me to not address this.

Disclaimer: This is not a conversation about whether or not white/white-passing authors should be allowed to write BIPOC stories, as many people both in the comments of the original video and online generally have taken it. The issue isn't that Leigh is writing BIPOC stories - it's that she's writing them and choosing not to advocate for real BIPOC people.

The audience member asked a confronting but necessary question, and isn't harassing Leigh as many people online have interpreted it. Holding your favourite people accountable isn't "harassment", especially when that person is a successful author profiting off stories that reflect issues in the real world. Art is inherently political whether or not you want to acknowledge it. This also isn't about specifically asking Leigh this question because she's Jewish - it's because she profits off these stories and yet when these exact same issues are prevalent in the real world, suddenly they're "too political" for her to speak up about despite having expressed solidarity in the past. It has nothing to do with her being Jewish.

However, what's going on in Palestine isn't a political issue. It's basic human rights. It's about humanity, and acting as if posting about this issue is "performative" is ridiculous. I don't know what she's doing behind the scenes, so I'm not going to act as if she isn't doing anything outside of social media because I simply don't know, but when you have an online presence as big as Leigh's you should be using that platform to raise awareness and express solidarity. I understand that it's very easy to come across as "performing activism", especially on social media, but Palestinians have asked us time and time again to use our platforms to help raise awareness and amplify their voices. When you're someone like Leigh who profits off stories of the trials and tribulations of BIPOC people, the very least you can do is talk about the atrocities being committed against BIPOC people in real life.

No one is expecting you to be an expert on what's going on. If you've previously posted misinformation, why not learn from it and actually educate yourself and do better? You're literally an author who profits off stories of colonialism, oppression, dissemination, apartheid, segregation and genocide and suddenly that happening in real life is "too political"? And the amount of privilege you have to not want to get involved in talking about a real-life genocide because you "stopped being political on Instagram" is laughable. Just feeling sad about it isn't going to do anything. It doesn't erase the fact that an entire people are being ethnically cleansed in a genocide you refuse to talk about.

The Grishaverse means so much to me, it's gotten me through some extremely tough periods of my life, but I cannot in good conscience continue to support an author who chooses silence over her own humanity. All she had to say in response to that question was "free Palestine", but she instead said something akin to "I know about what's going on and I know silence and feeling sad about it probably isn't enough, but I'm just not going to do anything about it". Again, I know she's advocated for Palestine in the past, but why not continue doing so? No one is stopping her - she's actively chosen to stop.

As for my accounts? I'm still deciding what to do with them. I won't be deleting them, I'm not going anywhere, but I won't be posting edits or sharing analyses or general posts about the Grishaverse until Leigh decides to do better. This blog will probably turn into a multifandom blog, but who knows at this point. All I know is that I won't be promoting Leigh's work.

[remusjohnslupin]

@elerrinacrownedwithstars: Your responses are very interesting, and responding to them under another post (with a character limit) is difficult, so I thought I would make a separate post about it to convey my thoughts more thoroughly. I hope you don't mind ❤️ Please don't feel like you have to answer or anything. Following up on your previous message:

Of course, it’s possible I’m wrong, as this is only the impression I’ve gathered from some posts. And yeah, the writers of this show are laughably bad at their job but it doesn’t dismiss the idea that this is their attempt of ‘nuance’. Tolkien is fairly clear about how orcs are his idea of “what if Satan made people”, but even so, it’s notable - and he seemed to realise this too - that it had some problems within his cosmogony. In my bubble, I see discourse about how describing an entire race evil is problematic and I can’t say that I don’t see where they come from. But on the other hand, you’re right to point out that Tolkien wasn’t writing an allegory, and fantasy worlds are allowed to work differently than real worlds. After all, Tolkien is also clear that his Elves and Men can be at the different points of the spectrum of good and evil, whether they are Valinorean or Númenorean etc.

If I can backtrack a little to our previous messages, everything you said earlier about J.R.R Tolkien's observations about war and human nature are 100% accurate. I hope it did not seem like I brushed off your point. However, I would like to underline that just because he uses the word 'orc' or 'orcish' to describe the horrors of war, does not mean that he is directly referencing Orcs™ in his books.

I genuinely think if people are insisting Orcs™ have to be nuanced, otherwise it's racist... that's WILD. Because the point is, orcs are, as you so creatively put in, 'What if Satan made people.' They are not of any particular race like we understand. Any differential groups they might have between them is based on who 'bred' them, so to speak, and where. Unlike humans, they have no cultural and historical differences as we understand it. To copy/paste my previous point directly:

"Tolkien famously HATED allegory and never assigned any of his races to real-life ones. I mean, if there are people out there who think portraying orcs as purely evil is racist, then THEY must have a real-life race/ethnicity in mind when they think of orcs. Which says a lot about THEM, not Tolkien himself or those of us who rightly point out the butchering of the lore and poor writing in the show."

So no, I will never, ever see or agree with the idea that the discourse about orcs and race have validity. Like, no. If I start writing my story and create this bright green, goo-like race of blobs who are all evil and their entire agenda is to latch on to humans and feed on them.... and someone just came out and said that was also problematic and racist... how does it make sense?

You know what, this is Tumblr, so someone actually WOULD say that. Nevermind.

But that's what Orcs™ are. They are an extension of the evil (Morgoth) that marred the world even when it was first formed. Nothing more, nothing less.

In your last point, I think you inadvertently addressed part of the problem. This whole discourse about how pure fantasy evil existing is somehow offensive stems from the strange need to make everything relatable. I sincerely believe that people who think this way (including the writers of the Rings of Power) actually have a disdain for the fantasy genre, whether they recognise it or not.

"What if orcs were misunderstood?" ... "What if Galadriel was a cut-out cliche warrior?" .... "What if elven rings were also actually evil because power corrupts anyway even if they are wielded by super wise beings and those Rings were untouched by Sauron?"

They think they are being sophisticated doing these things. And I have no doubt there is some unnecessary political pandering there, too. But instead of elevating the characters and the show, they are hollowing out all the meaning behind Tolkien's themes.

Making orcs misunderstood essentially destroys how Tolkien showed the Marring of the World was permanent and would not be Healed until Dagor Dagorath.

Making Galadriel a copy-paste generic warrior who goes on adventures cheapened her character so much, I can't even. Sauron (when he was Annatar) did not go near Galadriel's kingdom because he was 92837647289% sure that she would recognise him on sight. Because she is probably THE most perceptive elf. She is also described as one of the kindest people alive, sooner moved to pity than anger. But they made her a vengeful asshole on a quest to find Sauron when he was THREE FEET AWAY from her face. But that's empowering because sHE hAS A SworD nOW!

I could go on, and on, and on...

The whole 'sympathetic orcs' debacle, along with the entirety of the Rings of Power, is what you get when you put a few idiots together, have them read Tolkiengateway, and ask 'Okay, so how would YOU write the story?'

As opposed to:

"We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren’t going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. What we were trying to do was to analyze what was important to Tolkien and to try to honor that. In a way, we were trying to make these films for him, not for ourselves.” — Peter Jackson

[justzawe]

Zawe Ashton on resilience, tackling complex roles and the fight for on-screen representation

The actress took to the stage at the 2023 Bazaar Summit

When Zawe Ashton looks back at her career so far, she’s a little surprised: not at her own success, but at how she’s managed to navigate a notoriously tough industry so well. “When I talk about what I’ve been through, I think, why have I kept going?” the actress and writer told the audience at the 2023 Bazaar At Work Summit, at which she was a headline speaker. “I wonder if, to even become an actor, there needs to be something inside you that is already a little bit fractured. I think there’s something within me that somehow knows this level of crazy. When it gets really hard is when I feel my strongest or most determined.”

Anyone who has watched and loved the cult favourite TV show Fresh Meat will be very thankful indeed that Ashton did keep going. Her character – the straight-talking, drug-taking, chain-smoking and anti-establishment Vod Nordstrom – was a highlight of Jesse Armstrong’s hit series. The popularity of the sitcom-style show (and particularly of Vod) made Ashton a household name and, to this day, it’s a role she’s proud of playing. “Vod was very left-field, free-thinking and probably, I would say, a queer character without that being made explicit,” she said. “Fresh Meat was 11 years ago now, but there’s still a whole new wave of people who come up to me – lots of young actresses, of every ethnicity – who say thank you to me for being smelly, unlikeable, strange and punky, because there aren’t a wealth of women who are doing that on screen.”

Ashton clearly feels passionate about portraying real women in her work. In 2019, she published a fictionalised memoir, Character Breakdown, the title of which refers to the couple of lines an actor will receive with a script, which describe who the character is – for women, these mini biographies are often laughably simplistic and purely aesthetic. “They go from one extreme to another,” Ashton sighed with disbelief. “Where do we draw the line? If you’re not seeing women’s humanity, if you’re not seeing a full human life when you’re thinking about the ways in which you’re putting these descriptions together, then you’re not valuing women. And that’s a much bigger conversation than my industry.”

Throughout her career, Ashton has fought to play complex roles and has always emphasised the importance of making multi-faceted women of every ethnicity visible on screen. When she took the role of Vod, “growing up as a young, biracial girl in Hackney,” she was “willing to do whatever it took to make that character as edgy and authentic as I felt she could be, so that it would invite anyone not seeing that kind of representation to feel really seen”. In 2022, Ashton scored a role in the period drama Mr Malcom’s List, which was a seminal moment for her – and one which she credits to the success of Bridgerton's diverse casting. “I had never seen any actor who looked like me invited to the table to perform [something like that],” she said. “I hadn’t known necessarily that I was hurting so much, until I saw that representation happen and the success of it take everyone by storm.”

Since then, Ashton has continued to push the envelope. This year, she played villain Dar-Benn – a role traditionally written as male – in The Marvels, opposite Brie Larson as Carol Danvers. “The process of learning stunts and fighting is probably one of the most empowering things I’ve done!” she laughed. “But when I thought the film was finished, I got pregnant and had my baby. And then they told me to come back and reshoot basically the whole movie. That has been the biggest journey for me: my physical wellness, my ability to endure, to mentally switch back into that place postpartum and come back to kick some ass again.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, a boundary-breaking superhero feels like Ashton’s best-suited role to date. (x)

[dalekofchaos]

Israel reaps what they sow

Kamala calling Iran a "destabilizing force in the Middle East" is fucking laughable.

While the U.S have bombed Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan. Not to mention what Hillary and Obama did to fucking Libya.

And the U.S funded and armed Israel's genocide of Palestine.

This wasn't an unprovoked attack. This wasn't "unfair" to Israel. This was exactly what they deserved. Turns out there are consequences for bombing and trying to invade your neighbors. How about that? Turns out if you fuck around, you find out.

Israel bombed Gaza for a year, starves civilians and destroys infrastructure amounting to genocide, ethnic cleansing in West Bank, bombs Iranian consulate, carries out assassination in Iran, bombs Syria and Yemen, bombs and invades Lebanon.

You cannot seriously tell me that after bombing 4 countries while carrying out an ethnic cleansing, that Israel is the victim.

You reap what you fucking sow.

"We pray for Israel" "We stand with Israel"

No. I stand with Palestine. I stand with Lebanon. I stand with Israel's victims. Victims, that YOU helped kill. Fuck Joe Biden and fuck Kamala Harris.

All of this was predictable and preventable. The Biden admin made an active choice to allow it to escalate to this point. His legacy and her eventual legacy is genocide and pointless war. This is what he will be remembered for. A war with Iran for the sole sake of protecting Israel's right to wipe Gaza from the map and massacre Palestinians.

All you had to do was stop arming them. Stop funding them and learn to say no to that fucking genocidal dipshit Netanyahu. If fucking Ronald Reagan and Bush told Israel when enough was fucking enough, what does that say about you?

You don't get to play victim when you bomb schools. You don't get to play victim when you bomb Mosques, Churches, Synagogues, hospitals, homes, refugee camps and the birthplace of JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON CHRISTMAS DAY and have the fucking gall and the fucking nerve to say YOU'RE the victim.

Fuck Israel....FUCK ISRAEL! Fuck Netanyahu. Fuck Trump. Fuck Biden. Fuck Kamala Harris and fuck America for constantly funding and arming these murderous genocidal fucks and for letting them plunge the world in a war that they cannot hope of escaping.

I am tired of the rich and powerful, the people who are in charge playing god. I am tired of seeing mutilated children, dead families, pieces of human remains being pulled out of the rubble. I am tired of a genocide being funded instead of actually HELPING the American people.

Infrastructure is failing on purpose. Healthcare is shitty on purpose. Schools are prisons with little learning/socialization on purpose. Industries are deregulated on purpose. Cop cities are being built on purpose. But boy do we have enough fucking money to fund a genocide and fund the police to brutalize us! Why is our government spending more to make war overseas than to help our own people?

What has Israel ever done for America in return? How much foreign aid do you think they'll us for the Hurricane Helene victims? I don't think I've ever seen or heard America's "greatest ally" ever helping us in return for us funding their war crimes.

I am tired of paying for Israel's war, greed and genocide.

When President Joe Biden was asked if there’s any more resources that the federal government could be providing hurricane victims, he said:

“No. We’ve given them … a significant amount even though they didn’t — hadn’t — asked for it.”

BULLSHIT! They gave Israel $8.7 billion while saying hurricane victims have enough money. Why is it whenever Americans are in dire need of aid and help, OUR OWN FUCKING GOVERNMENT WOULD RATHER WE FUCKING SUFFER THAN GIVE US THE MONEY WE NEED AND GIVE THAT FUCKING MONEY TO FUCKING ISRAEL???? They value Israel’s continued destruction of Palestine over their own people and I am fucking sick of this shit.

Everything that's happening now is a direct result of the Biden-Harris administration's refusal to cut off weapons to Israel as they were flattening Gaza. Now they're about to start a full-blown regional war because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden refused to rein them in.

Failures.

Fuck every one of these genocidal maniacs and I hope they all get what's coming to them. You reap what you sow.

[hubblebubblehub]

A large and messy rant about mha

the most frustrating part of mha and it's laughable ending it how horikoshi presented such an interesting and nuanced society and then.... took the most cop out basic shonen ending.

What initially made me like mha is how they showed how hero society failed people, aptly through the league of villains. Spinner had a mutant quirk that caused him to be the target of discrimination in more backwater settings. This was expanded upon with tentacole guy where he said in rural areas people will literally try to do ethnic cleansing.

Toga had a quirk that was deemed 'not normal' and underwent 'quirk counselling' which only suppressed her quirk and didn't solve anything. And yet at the end, a bunch of the UA heroes, uraraka, momo, tsuyu and iida are now doing a 'quirk counselling' expansion project??? The fuck is the 'quirk counselling' they're advocating for??

Twice was also a prime example of how hero society failed him. Heroes failed to save his parents, making him an orphan. Nobody helped him when he lost his job. He turned to a life of crime to survive not only with being homeless and living a life of poverty, but being lonely too. He literally had a mental illness resulting from the trauma of his quirk and barely got treatment for it.

Mha honestly suffers from exploring and adequately dealing with the psychology of its characters. To be honest, I'm not 100% surprised because the author is some obvious sexist who really is there for the action and the shonen, which is a real danger shame. I think it would have been so interesting to end on a note of despair because the ending only proved Stain's message - there are only fake heroes.

You're telling me that Bakugo, who only cared about being a winner, became a hero? He is literally the epitome of a guy who should NOT be a hero! He doesn't give a fuck about saving lives and being compassionate unless it would boost his ratings and make him the top hero. I'm literally still not convinced of his redemption because even though he apologised to Deku he still is what is wrong with hero society - people who are born with strong quirks and just want to he a hero to fuel their ego.

Also....what the fuck was the point of the Todoroki family. I'm still mad Rei didn't just divorce Enji and he kind of got a cop out ending 'ill just atone for the rest of my life' my man you need to go to JAIL

What the fuck is the point of having a society where heroes have too much time on their hands? We literally just saw what that was like at the beginning of the series and how much damage it did to people who didn't fit the mould.

Tldr this ending was shit bc I just don't understand how such an interesting world and society just falls back on shitty shonen tropes

[pseudowho]

wowwww youre part scottish and scandinavian!! i am too along with irish!! i dont know much of my heritage since i grew up in america not hearing about it but my dads side is scottish and my moms side is irish! but theres also some german and scandinavian mixed in there too!

I'll be honest, the only reason I mentioned my ethnicity is because I was directly asked.

In the UK, people don't tend to identify as all the little patchwork origins of their ancestors, recent and less recent, like people from the US seem to.

For instance, people who were born and raised in America who say "I'm Scottish and Irish!" make the Brits go ???

In this same way, most people of varying ethnic backgrounds in the UK, would say "I'm British", and everyone goes "yeah, we know. Your point?"

People in the UK are more likely to say "oh, I'm British" and if pressed, say "my parents/grandparents are from Bangladesh/Scotland/Vietnam/Azerbaijan/etc".

In short: most people from the UK do sometimes find other cultures' hyperfocus on ethnic heritage strange or laughable.

We're not rejecting anyone's ethnic heritage. More like...people don't see it as as important? Not in the celebrating it way. We're all good with celebration. Just...yeah. Hope that makes sense.

Love,

-- Haitch xxx

[goodbyeapathy8]

Departure letter

As mentioned in this post, that outlines why I needed to let this be my last message in the Kindergarten Mafia Discord server... here is the Scathing Letter™. ------------------------

It is time for me to go. 

I absolutely loathe having to do a departure announcement because this is not an airport and I’m sure not a lot of people care. 

But as someone who has spent 10+ years of their life actively decolonizing and liberating my viewpoints, it would be absolutely remiss for me to not leave final remarks here expressing my utter disappointment and feelings of not being safe in this space. Not just as POC but someone chronically ill and autistic. Y’all have not made it kind for someone who has any sort of marginalized identity, as evidenced by the public dogpiling in this thread as well as the now deleted messages in clarifications.

I’m not going to address the majority of the drama except for what started it all : someone refusing a Native person’s (well-deserved) call out for a culturally appropriative phrase. 

It is devastatingly clear to me that a large portion of folks in this server have a poorly curated personal life extremely lacking in diversity. 

The defensiveness and elitism (really? Dictionary definitions?). Refusal to actively listen and instead attack others about lacking critical thinking. Self-claimed expertise. I could go on. 

So I revise what I had posted previously. Everyone is a little racist and this server is full of white supremacy tenets. 

https://rrapp.hks.harvard.edu/the-culture-of-white-supremacy-in-organizations/

This is my last attempt at educating some of you, which will go poorly, I’m sure. 

I spent an inordinate amount of time/energy/spoons to provide coherent context the last time but to find the entire thread deleted with no respect for the effort I spent there, has been one of the final straws. 

Frequently mentioning your volunteer status is frankly laughable. I have volunteered for quite a few places, including mutual aid organizations, and across multiple timezones and never have I seen so many excuses to say that y’all do not care about POC. (1/2)

I don’t care how old anyone is, what their job IRL is, what works you’ve posted with how many kudos, etc. I *do* care about the fact that multiple people, when speaking up, are treated with callousness and hurtfulness. That is a larger indication of your mental age and capacity than any other words you can type. 

That I felt safe enough to be so vulnerable in this space for a while was an illusion. There are continued indicators that POC words are ignored, especially calling out that I know both Jynx and William have requested their labor be deleted in the server but have not been. 

Last, but not least, I’m sure people will read this and think oh it’s Phoenix banding together with their friends. I say this with as much passion I can muster : I would have the same amount of disdain for the actions seen in this server without any personal friendship ties and emotions. That is how the social justice aspect of my autism works. 

You all have so much work to do when it comes to respecting other human beings that have different experiences than you. If I weren’t so consumed with the feelings of my actual divorce, recent termination, and the continued trauma of world events like that in Falasteen, I’d feel bad for you. 

As it stands, I believe my energy is precious and I simply cannot spare any more in spaces where I (and others) am not welcome or given respect to. Let it be noted that I’ve actually gone viral on social media before and I still have not left THOSE spaces and yet am choosing to leave this one. The troll comments I received on Tiktok can be ignored because they are from complete strangers that I do not give a single fuck about. The ones here, purportedly from those who claim it’s “safe”, are even more insidious in nature. 

Whatever race or ethnicity you are, to take people who have shown you their vulnerabilities and turn around to show your entire behinds in the least sexiest way ever, is not a good look. Ever. 

Leave the ass scenes to KinnPorsche. 

[fallingsatellive]

See the thing about all the misanthropy stuff is. I've always related to computers, monsters and aliens more than human characters in sci-fi stories. But specifically i've always related to computers, monsters and aliens who like and love humans. Who admire humans and who have hope for them and who take inspiration from them.

Sci-fi likes to do a certain trope a lot where they have the nonhuman robot/computer or alien or Etc. character hate humans, find them repulsive or pathetic or crude or etc. etc. I'm not even talking about stories where nonhuman characters lash out in response to mistreatment by humans. I won't lie and say i never relate to those characters too. Because i do, because i get it. But ones where they look down on humans for being human? Robots or AI who find humans laughable because they can't do things as quickly or because they bleed when they're hurt. Aliens, somehow always overly logical geniuses, who patronize human characters for not being an "advanced society" or for being prone to frivolous emotions. Werewolves who feel condescending disgust at humans simply because they aren't as physically strong; vampires or elves smugly laughing at the pitiful lifespan; dare I even start on tropes of angels and demons.

At the point you feel superior for the sole reason that they are human and you aren't— why is this better, how is this radical? These tropes involve the same feelings that a lot of humans have toward other beings, projected ideas of how every sapient thing would probably feel if they were in some way physically or intellectually superior... feelings about the very idea of superiority and inferiority that have been used to hurt me, in actual real life, when my disabilities or ethnicity or sexuality designate me inferior. I am not going to feel "superior" to anybody after growing up as a queer autistic Jew—and the Jewish part of all this is essential here, I think, considering everybody reading this is probably queer and autistic—knowing that superior and inferior are not things that even exist, especially when applied to people. They can't be and shouldn't be.

IDK where i'm going with this. You can feel whichever way you want. I'd rather misanthropy be rampant in the community than for everybody to feel like they're required to have or voice some sort of saccharine optimist-approved hopepunk "faith in humanity." G-d knows i'm not an optimist, let alone faithful. This is all just stream of consciousness now but i guess i'm saying in a way not only do I relate to fictional nonhumans who care about humanity, that's just kind of what I literally am. I'm not human and i admire humans for what they are. Not just that. I recognize what they are; a completely neutral type of being without inherent moral or ontological significance, just like everything else. I don't think i would go as far as to wish I was human like narratives for these characters often do, but I just can't vibe with misanthropy. Humans started naming all the animals they saw. Humans came up with music and tea and made bananas really good. Humans wrote down all the things that happened to them so the future could know about it. Humans wrote stories where computers and animals and aliens are their friends just so they could feel less alone. How in the universe could you ever decline the offer?

[robotnik-mun]

And since I am in a particular Zim-tastic mood, and I'm probably never going to use this for anything anyway, I'mma share with you... my theories/headcanon for why Irkens are the way they are, as well as the TRUE purpose of the Invaders.

More under the 'Read More' because this is gonna be a long one!

Anyway... our story begins a long time ago, in a planet far, far away. This planet is largely dry and rocky world with sparse vegetation, which the locals call 'Irk'.

And said locals? Are a people known as the 'Noyng'.

(For those of you not in the know- during Invader Zim's development, the Irkens were originally known as the Noyng!

Annoying. Irken. Gotta love how whatever the name, they’re basically being called a bunch of irritating little shits, heh.)

Anyway, back to the Noyng!

The Noyng are a diminutive, large-eyed species of what could best be described as pseudo-insects, though they defy any categorization that would be recognized on Earth. The Noyng first evolved within the maze-like tunnels that naturally developed under the surface of Irk, until eventually the Noyng emerged from said caverns to spread out on the surface, where they subsequently multiplied and thrived as they evolved.

As a species, the Noyng weren't all that different from humans- they were divided into multiple cultures with unique ethnicities and languages, had families, nation-states, religions, etc. For thousands of years the Noyng progressed as you might expect any species would, harnessing fire and then developming metal and gunpowder and the like, eventually reaching the stage when they could begin serious space exploration. All-in-all, very standard stuff on the cosmic scene.

Then, one day, something Irk-shattering happened- the PAK was invented.

The original Paks were in fact mechanical backpacks that were worn by the Noyng, with the earliest having cumbersome metal headbands connected to the PAK itself to act as mental interface, before the improvements to the technology eliminated the need for this. The PAK was originally a tool, and a very handy tool for any Noyng to have given the sheer amount of things it could do. Within a generation, Paks were so standardized that the thought of a Noyng NOT having a Pak was laughable.

Then, someone got a brilliant idea- given how useful the Paks were, why ever take them off? Why not simply graft them onto a Noyng body so that the aforementioned Noyng would never be inconvenienced by having to take it on and off, over and over. At first, this was simply an individual choice- some Noyng went for it, others didn't. As time went on though, the Noyng who got the Paks grafted grew more and more numerous, and Noyng were being subjected to having the Paks at younger and younger ages.

It is the latter practice that starts to cause controversy. The Noyng nations become split between those who feel the Pak should simply remain a tool, and those who think it should be a literal part of the Noyng. Eventually a conflict erupts, and the Pro-Cybernetics factions win, and essentially control the planet in the aftermath. Initially things are not so bad for the Un-Pak'd Noyng as they are allowed to still live as they choose... but in subsequent generations, this changes.

The cavaliar attitude of the Pro-Pak Noyng towards cybernetic augmentation leads them to consider other ways that they could improve the Noyng species, and that includes new, radical forms of government. One of the Noyng nations embarks on an ambitious new project- the creation of a new kind of Noyng, one designed for brain power and computation, further advanced through cybernetic grafting. These beings, essentially bio-mechanical computers, are eventually brought into being- The Control Brains, designed to figure out the problems of Noyng civilization and how to handle them.

The first Control Brain proves to be a massive success for its nation, leading to a more ordered and well run civilization. This leads the other Pro-Pak Irken Nations to begin building their own Control Brains, a veritible arms race ensuing to make bigger, better and more efficient Control Brains... and then, things officially hit the fan when the Control Brains, without their makers knowledge, begin to get into contact with one another. Though each Control Brain is programmed to serve its own nation, the Control Brains have a lot of leeway when it comes to interpreting how to do that... and eventually, the Control Brains conclude that the only logical thing for them to do is to MERGE the nations of Irk into one.

One world. One goal. One people.

A conspiracy is hatched, and over the course of centuries the Control Brains exert more and more control over the nations of Irk. The Noyng under their control begin to become more and more obsessed with altering themselves in order to be more 'efficient'- eventually leading them to phase out traditional means of reproduction in favor of artificial incubation and growth. Their influence spreads to those nations that initially rejected the Pak grafts, and those 'natural' Noyng who remain are increasingly discriminated against and disenfranchised.

Over the course of this plan, Irk begins to change drastically as it becomes more and more high tech and the Control Brains begin to exert more overt control. Individual governments are abolished, as are the religions of Irk. To satisfy Noyng need to belong to a higher cause, the state of Irk itself essentially becomes the secular religion of the planet. With the most widespread Nyong religion already honoring Irk itself as divine, this transition is easy. The planet becomes intertwined with the state- Irk is planetary government. The planetary government is Irk.

As they do this, the Noyng begin to insert an iron-clad form of hierarchy into the Noyng. For a civilization to thrive, there must be hierarchy, reason the Control Brains- those who command, those who serve. For hierarchy to function, there must be traits that are considered desireable, representatitive of why those who rule are worthy to rule. It does not matter what this trait is- for all intents and purposes, the Control Brains simply pull a quality out of a hat and decide to run with it. That quality? Height.

And thus the first Almighty Tallest is placed into power over the global government of Irk. A figurehead ruler, to whom all the Noyng can admire, aspire-to, and use as the focus of their worshipful devotion to the state. The Almighty Tallest is ultimately a figurehead ruler- though able to make and enact laws and given command over the forces of Irk, the Control Brains are the true authority. The Almighty Tallest is the face. The Control Brains are the brains.

In the final, horrible phase of the plan, the Control Brains then set the Noyng under their control to conquer the parts of the planet that don't already submit. To prevent division, Noyng cultures are eliminated and buried, and the non-compliant Noyng are either forcibly brought into the fold or exterminated outright. By the end of it, the Noyng are no more- in their place is the new, improved Irken race.

Irk is the state. The state is Irk. There are no nations. No cultures. Only Irkens. One world. One goal. One people. Thus is born the Irken Empire, the non-divine ‘God’ of the Irken people, and its prophet the Almighty Tallest.

The civilization that emerges from the ashes of the Noyng is a nightmare. It is the worst parts of Brave New World and 1984 put into a blender and pureed. There are no Irken civilians- every apparatus of the Irken state ultimate revolves around its military. Every Irken is a cog in a great and terrible machine, from the Almighty Tallest to the lowest of service drones. Even ventures such as fast food franchises are ultimately a branch of the Empire- there are no corporations or anything within the Irken Empire that can express any kind of independence from the government. Everything about the Empire is artificial in one way or the next, including the economy- there is no real need for money, but it is kept by the control brains as just one more thing to distract the Irkens and keep them compliant and under control. There must be those who rule and those who serve. There must be haves and have-nots. The system exists for no other reason than to perpetuate itself for all eternity. The Irken race will be unified either through perpetual conflict with the rest of creation, or through the final victory that will come when ALL of creation is Irk.

The Irkens themselves are vastly different from their Noyng forebears... they are streamlined and standardized, so to speak, and are engineered wholly to be grown in Smeeteries while being engineered for maximum compatability with a Pak. By the time of the present, even the sexes of the Irkens are ultimately just cosmetic, as all meaningful dimorphism that once existed within the Noyng is removed along with other 'redundancies'. A species born purely from tubes has no need for sex organs. The retention of these superficial differences is simply due to the nature of the Control Brains' programming requiring them to keep the Irkens as ‘Noyng’ under very strict definitions… and given the creativity of the Noyng, the day may come when even this ceases. With things going the way they are, there may come a day when the organic portion of an Irken is little more than a fleshy ball of redundant organs serving as little more than a wetware CPU for a wholly mechanical frame.

(Depending on how you interpret Zim's water allergy, it might also be such that Irkens are also EXTREMELY intolerant of pollutants due to the hyper anti-sceptic nature of their existence. Just as a human raised in a bubble never develops the immune system to fight off even minor illness, Irkens are so unused to even minor chemical exposure that they respond badly to direct pollutants, though the Pak mitigates things).

The newly minted Irken Empire thus surges outward and in all directions, conquering all in sight. While the Irkens are initially capable of co-operating and collaborating with other, alien cultures, this is ultimately just a long con on the part of the Control Brains. The famous partnership between the Vortians and the Irkens was probably meant only to last as long as the Vortians remained useful to the Irkens. Tallest Miyuki's freak accident and death were likely used as a pretext to justify the enslavement of the Vortians in Operation Impending Doom II, but the simple truth is that they signed their death warrants the moment they entered into a partnership with the Irkens.

The Irkens are not IN-Capable of co-existence with other species... but only when it is on their own terms. For most, that means subordination at best. Leeway might be granted to those that are deemed useful- the Hobos of Hobo-13 retain a good deal of relative independence, while the natives of the Conveyer Belt Planet have been incorporated as a labor force. Races that are either too stupid to be useful or are too dangerous to Irkens, on the other hand, are flat out eliminated. The Slaughtering Rat People of Blorch are one such example, being both violently aggressive and extremely dangerous to Irkens, and as such are unsuited for anything the Irkens might need. As far as we know, only the Planet Jackers exist on any kind of equal footing with the Irkens, if the treaty is indicative of anything.

By the present time, the Control Brains have things pretty firmly in hand. However, even they know that nothing is absolute, even their control over Irken civilization... there will always be Irkens who have the capacity to question things. And then of course there is the self-inflicted problem of the Irken Empire's over-engineered nature, namely that in order for an empire to thrive there need to be subjects with ambition, vision and the willpower to see those ambitions through... and the way the empire operates, those are in short supply, given that Irkens are quite literally engineered to be slaves to the machine.

But the Control Brains, ever logical and creative, figure out a way to kill two birds with one stone- the Invaders.

Invaders are a special class of Irken. They are Irkens who demonstrate the most independent thinking and the greatest capacity to work on their own without direct oversight, as well as possessing the imagination needed to blend in among aliens and infiltrate their societies while planning on ways to destroy them to make their eventual conquest easy.

In short? Invaders are Irkens who are most likely to exhibit the kind of free will that the Control Brains deem defective. The purpose of the Invaders is not simply to provide an unconventional military asset for the Empire, but to also keep track of and corral Irkens who could potentially start asking the wrong kind of questions about why the Empire works the way it does. In fairness, given the lifelong indoctrination every Irken undergoes, most Invaders don't go defective... but there is always a chance. And IF an Irken Invader begins to exhibit cultural contamination or starts asking the wrong kind of questions? Then there's a SIR unit, ready and waiting to take matters into its own hands and take care of the problem. Tragic thing really, when SIRs malfunction and kill their masters... simply TRAGIC.

And that's the story of the Irkens and the Invaders, and the terrible tragedy of the Noyng people.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Not the American with Italian ancestry actually calling themselves Italian - then using that as a full blown basis for disrespecting an entire country’s history and mythology. 😭

I’m American, it’s my understanding that when Americans who are far removed from their ancestry in Europe claim to be directly from there are kind of a laughingstock over in Europe? Is there some truth to this? Like I have Irish ancestry and I’d never even imagine to tell an actual Irish person “woah I’m Irish too! How cool!” Let alone following that up with something like “it’s in my history as an Irish person to hate the British. I am immune from criticism.”

Oh yes, it's happened again! 😂

You are right, it's laughable to us and this is not only in Europe but in all other continents as well. The "Old World" in general doesn't place the same gravity on such old ancestry as the countries that are 90% immigrants (I mean except the original Americans, the First Nations/Natives).

And it's not that we don't recognize the history of families. It's totally fine if someone states "I have Italian ancestors/My ancestors came from Spain two centuries ago". We just believe that if a person isn't in contact with the culture, or they know just 1% of it, their DNA/blood whatever doesn't make them part of this nation.

You can always engage with any open culture across the world but to claim to speak for it because of a great-grandparent feels soo out of place. As I always say in this blog; blood =/= culture. Of course in many countries there's a great overlap between ancestry and culture but we don't create a rule out of it because in our vast history our borders and nations have shifted a lot. If blood = culture logic was true, then that would deny immigrants/refugees/other people around the world the chance to partake in any other culture apart from their own.

A few ethnic groups - mainly New World Native ones - do count blood quantum, but in the Old World that's rarely the case. It's in fact, racist, to equate blood with culture here. For Greeks specifically, NW Europeans and Americans were and are very prepared to claim we are not "actually Greeks" because our people have mixed with other nations throughout the years. (As if any nation in the world is "pure" in blood, and as if one has to be "pure in blood" to know the teachings of their culture....)

Following that logic, do you know how many countries which I know very little about I can claim as my own because of great-grandparent ancestry? ooooo 😂

[ahaura]

the liberal idea of "good vs evil" in the media is insidiously being used to justify genocide. the state committing genocide right now (israel) is objectively the bad guys. the existence of the apartheid, fascist, genocidal ethno-state was created and is maintained by the murder, displacement, brutalization, and dehumanization of palestinians. the idea that israel is "the only democracy" in the middle east is nothing more than colonial propaganda garbage when an apartheid ethno-state cannot functionally be democratic, and the claim/implication that a country is "civilized" while it brutalizes the people whose presence in the region that predates both the creation of the zionist state and the zionist, colonial movement itself is not only racist and stupid but absurd. it's been a month and western media still touts the line that "israel is the victim" and "they're surrounded by enemies on all sides" when 1) israel cannot be the victim when experiencing the blowback of its own violent, heinous occupation and ethnic cleansing of the people who were there first 2) any and all deaths that occur are the fault of the apartheid state; violence begets violence and when you eliminate all other forms of resistance except for armed struggle then that resorting to violence is the fault of the apartheid, settler state, 3) maybe if they didn't constantly bomb their neighbors things would be a little different wouldn't you think? they're the only country who can bomb 3 different countries at once and the media will still say they're the victim

irt the united states: the two-party system is always described as "the worst people [republicans] vs. the lesser evil [democrats] and it's true that their facades are different and on internal social issues they differ but the truth is that both parties have the same corporate backers and they both functionally serve capital, and US imperialism. biden was elected on the premise of being "less bad than trump" despite being pro-segregation and pro-crime bill during his tenure prior to being obama's vice president. the police receive equal material support from democracts and republicans alike even if party members decry police brutality. and despite biden being "the lesser evil", he is not only allowing genocide to happen but is on record for saying, as of today, that there is "no chance" of a ceasefire for gaza. over 11,000 people have been murdered en masse by israel, with even more injured and displaced. the material goal of israel is to remove palestinians from their land by any means - be it murder or displacement. the existence of israel ensures that the u.s. and the west has a military base and foothold in the middle east; the u.s. empire is waning and desperate to maintain its hegemony and power and the benefits reaped from exploitation and extraction.

the u.s. disguises their material interests by saying "this is about defending jewish people" (when the u.s. and israel clearly don't care about jewish people) or "we're defending democracy" (israel cannot be a democracy as an apartheid ethno-state) or "it's a country defending itself from terrorists" (never mind that 'terrorist' is a political designation that western powers use when it suits their interest; the mujahideen was famously referred to as "freedom fighters" by the white house when the u.s. used them against the soviets; 9/11 happened when the fighters the u.s. trained turned their sights on america; then the government lied about WMDs and iraq's supposed role in 9/11 to justify the invasion of iraq, et cetera) and they depend on people not taking a good hard look at the real, material reasons and the reality of the united states' role and actions, both direct and indirect across the global stage and, in this case, specifically in israel.

the idea that zionists care about jewish people is laughable when the vast majority of zionists in the u.s. are evangelical christians who see the jewish people's presence in israel as a means to trigger the rapture (i think?). the deliberate conflation of anti-zionism and antisemitism is genuinely dangerous for jewish people; it benefits the israeli state - and by extension u.s. interests - for people to defend the existence of an apartheid settler colony. zionism was originally acknowledged as a colonial movement; it still is. that zionists are now trying to humanize and rehabilitating nazis in their efforts to demonize palestinians and justify genocide should tell you all you need to know about who they actually care about.

never mind the fact that, if you simply take a look at u.s. history, it has and never will be a country founded on "freedom" or "democracy". the genocide and displacement of the indigenous peoples should tell you that; the history of chattel slavery and the conditions that followed the abolition of slavery should tell you that. the united states role following WWII and also in korea, vietnam, nicauragua, iraq, afghanistan, cuba, cambodia, and practically everywhere across the world should tell you that. it's not hard to look at the history and begin to understand where american interests and motivations come from & how they manifest.

colonial movements and imperialist interests are disguised as good vs. evil conversations. they depend on people's liberal frameworks, partnered with the unmitigated propaganda on behalf of israel and the genocide the state is carrying out against palestinians, in order to justify their actions (or lack thereof) to the public. no one is immune to propaganda but there are ways of combating it and educating yourself so you are more resistant to it.

[whatevergreen]

"The Most American Thing That Has Ever Happened

A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington today. He said he did it in protest of the genocide in Gaza.

Independent journalist Talia Jane reports that she was able to obtain footage of the incident, which the unnamed man apparently recorded himself. Jane reports that the man said he is “an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force” and that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide.” After igniting he repeatedly yelled “Free Palestine.”

According to Jane, a police officer showed up pointing a gun at the man’s burning body; I guess that’s just what American cops do when they aren’t sure what to do. Someone who was actually trying to save the man reportedly yelled “I don’t need guns, I need fire extinguishers!”

This just might be the most American thing I have ever heard of. It’s more American than the fake bald eagle cries they put in Hollywood movies. It’s more American than monster trucks and mass shootings. You simply cannot fit more America into a single incident than a man dying a horrifying death in protest of war crimes while a first responder screams at cops to stop pointing their guns at him and go get fire extinguishers. If you were to pick a single moment in history to sum up the essence and expression of the US empire, that would be it.

The New York Times reports that the man “was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition.” A spokesman for the US Air Force has reportedly confirmed that the man is an active duty member.

“I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest,” the man reportedly recorded himself saying before the incident. “But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

The nameless protestor is correct. People in Gaza are being burned alive, are suffocating to death under collapsed buildings, are having operations and amputations without anesthesia, are starving to death, are watching their loved ones die in front of them, are experiencing suffering of a degree that very few of us here in the west can even imagine. And our ruling class is absolutely attempting to normalize this for us.

This isn’t even the first self-immolation we’ve seen in protest of Israel’s US-backed atrocities after October 7; back in December an unnamed protester with a Palestinian flag self-immolated outside the Israeli consulate building in Atlanta.

And as I reflect on this I can’t help thinking, how many Israel supporters have self-immolated in protest of October 7? How many Israel supporters have self-immolated in protest of the super serious antisemitism crisis they claim is making Jews feel unsafe in their communities? Surely their claims are just as serious and sincere as those of Palestine supporters, no?

Of course not. This has not happened and the very idea is laughable. Israel apologists insist that it is they and their favorite ethnostate who are the real victims in all this, rather than the population of Gaza who has seen tens of thousands of Palestinians annihilated while Israeli soldiers openly celebrate their mass displacement and death. But you don’t see them self-immolating; you see them cheerleading for ethnic cleansing and genocide. They wouldn’t do anything to cause themselves pain or inconvenience to promote their pet agenda. They wouldn’t even miss brunch for it.

It’s a horrific thing, burning alive. I suspect that pretty much everyone who’s ever self-immolated has had serious regrets about it within the first few seconds. There’s simply nothing one can do to prepare oneself for the experience of that kind of pain, or for how long it can take them to lose consciousness after it’s started. At that point the only comfort they could possibly offer themselves is that it can’t go on forever.

But the fact that anyone would ever take such a measure at all shows how profoundly urgent they recognize this issue to be, and how much more sincere they are about it than those on the other side."

https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1761939039937335584