#global trap

[mansorus]

SMURK x CENT 🦅🐺

[ciaran]

narratives of american exceptionalism creep into every part of life

and there is just something extraordinary about seeing a bunch of people be so blissfully unaware of what it means, on a very fundamental level, to live in the heart of empire. it actually does not matter which way you vote, your government will commit and fund war crimes in other countries regardless. your voting blue makes not the least bit of difference to someone in another country who dies in the wreckage of american imperial projects. and your government works in the interests of american citizens. in the interest of the universal purchasing power of the dollar. in the way that the flow of global capital maneuvers to bring groceries to your supermarket shelves. and it doesn't matter what you feel about this, and it doesn't even matter how oppressed you are in the heart of empire, because you live in its centerfold and everyone always knows about your problems. i know exactly how complicated american life is, i know your movies and your cities and your music and even your laws, sometimes better than i can know my own, not because i wanted to see it but because i have to. because the narrative of America plays out everywhere, all the time. because there is a domination of civil and cultural life that america imposes on all the rest of the world, but somehow americans always think we know as little about them as they know about us. but i do know you. i have to know you. i am left with no choice. this is uncomfortable for me. i want you to feel uncomfortable about it too. a little discomfort is good for both of us.

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[bitchfitch]

help people are mistaking the opening chapter of my psych horror story about a man getting trapped in a demented game of house with a personification of the US Military's rot for a cute gay romcom about veterans relaxing after achieving glory

[sillykiu]

hey enstarries how are we doing

[selamat-linting]

i cant say "hey i know that this characters' narration is unreliable and self-serving but i still dont like that the only guy who is explicitly mentioned as hating billionaires and would do political activism analogues to the real world here is described as a vengeful man who'd murder the whole world and oppress the generations of said billionaire the moment he had power over them." or they will rake me to the coals saying i got caught in his manipulative trap.

and i cant say that its weird that the one character whose status as poc and indigenous is more than just set dressing, has an origin story that are reminiscent of actual news stories of indigenous faith leaders accused as cult leaders, is the antagonist who called himself a god, except since the empire is covered in greco-roman set dressing and christianity, its fine and not weird? the author is literally a white woman lol. but then again someone's gonna say that nooo, his character doesnt have unfortunate implications, he's just lying and there exists in this book, actual indigenous faith leaders who is not cult leaders or secretly just using their status as indigenous when theyre actually deeply christian. but theyre simply not in the story i guess.

like i hate him too, but damn if some parts of this story reminds me of that trick marvel writers do when they make villains with understandable motivations but then have them kill an entire orphanage for it.

i actually dont even hate the series, im actually a huge fan, i just think its not as progressive as most people think it is. for two whole books, imperialism and colonialism is abstracted in magical terms, with the sadness of the people benefiting from said colonialism in the forefront. and even in the third book where you can actually see people suffering from constant displacements, its just flashes of poverty and people suffering instead of like, actual instance of imperialism and unequal development

also the genderfucky stuff here is wayyy overrated i mean, queer book but no canon transfem character? i guess the closest thing is a cis butch woman who got bodyswapped to her male partner's body. or that nerd who had to live in his best friend's body for a year because his carcass got blown up to smithereens. but like, thats reaching. i guess if youre really really reaching, there's that rapey dictator who used to really love playing with barbie when he was younger. but like, im veering on the territory of drawing unfortunate connections that weren't actually there.

honestly, my prediction is that the final book is going to walk back on some of its core themes and the people acting like this sf series is the second coming of the conquest of bread is going to look very stupid. but then again they're probably gonna pretend its still the best thing on earth and gaslights everybody who think otherwise.

[troythings]

a week or so ago there was a really good article on the “girlbossification” of war and warfare itself, but specifically centering on the IDF’s thirst traps (ie, showing off the female body along with some nice nationalist propaganda to go with it, because sex sells with angry horny men looking for purpose) and “enlightened feminist” social media branding

this is nowhere near the first piece on it, it’s been pointed out by literally everyone

“hello, young and impressionable woman looking for purpose! want to defy traditional gender roles and empower yourself by committing genocide and war crimes? tee heeeeeee!”

yeah, unfortunately we have some of those at home too. we know where that messaging leads:

pictured at the abu ghraib prison are lynndie england and sabrina hartman. the (living and dead) bodies have been censored out. look up these pictures at your own risk, they are NSFL.

the “girlbossification” of global warfare also made me remember the coverage of this disaster from a few years back. which, funnily enough, stars an IDF soldier in what is basically the worst superhero casting of all time.

jesus christ lmao.

“woman fighting in war….is good?”

this stupid sentimental garbage is literally followed by not-diana massacring through overwhelmed, non-powered human soldiers who can’t hold a melting candle to her. oversimplified, caricature depictions of people in a war, which in reality, was fought between equally shitty colonialist imperial powers and was more grey vs grey than anything else.

me personally? i sat through that nonsense and forgot about it within a day. except when people try to lecture me “it’s just a superhero film!! forget the politics!!” funny you say that for a medium based on nationalist pro-war propaganda since the very beginning.

and weirdly enough. that’s what wonder woman (2017) is. not only is it zionist (starring an unrepentant IDF soldier as the premier superheroine) americentric propaganda (condensing the nuances of world war i into some cheap “fantasy world war ii lite” copium), it feeds into the lie that, if you are a woman, whatever bad or morally dubious thing you do is not your fault and might even be called ‘empowering.’

because hey, “girls can do anything boys can! including heinous war crimes! more 👏female 👏 war 👏 criminals!! slayyyyy!”

hahaha…no. we already have various assorted scum around the world devaluing the lives of other humans. how is it any better if they are female?

tell me again how empowering your “strong independent woman” label is, when you end up on trial at the hague or come home with dehabilitating trauma and all of your limbs blown off.

[please-picturemeintheweeds]

..

[chronal-anomaly]

Today I'm ruminating on Lena's oh so important relationship with the Blackwatch boys. Cole and Genji being the closest to her in age, aside from Angela maybe, Lena being the last of the child soldiers that Overwatch recruited for the strike teams. Them watching the cycle repeat one more time with the plucky pilot that's been flying since she was 12, and a soldier since 16, recruited on for one hopeless mission. How she looked up to them so much to guide her in the right direction, how she latched onto them as confidantes and family moreso than other members of the team. Overwatch thrust her into the spotlight, with her name and picture slapped across every picture until Tracer became the persona that everyone looked to, but with Cole and Genji she could just be Lena. She missed being Lena.

[mysteriousboo]

i miss the untamed! i miss reading phm! i miss house md! i miss reading sha po lang and global university entrance examination!! i miss watching cherry magic and history 3 trapped!! i miss being so consumed by something that i forget how depressing my life is!! i miss stuff that just made me forget!!

[writerofweird]

Mr. Venus-Fly-Trap's Worries

Mr. Venus-Fly-Trap,Knows the world is doomed,So even his dates with Bill,Have a little gloom, Mr. Venus-Fly-Trap,Owes his very being,To attempts to combat climate change,And fires animals will be fleeing, Mr. Venus-Fly-Trap,Makes sure to donate,To those with similar worries,And yells, ‘For heaven’s sake! I’m Mr. Venus-Fly-Trap,And I am a plant,Try to save us and the natural world,Try to save…

[dykesynthezoid]

Every time someone says “some historians and anthropologists believe (x) culture may have once been a matriarchy” and by matriarchy they mean women were just Kind Of Important. If men aren’t oppressed I don’t wanna hear it

[inflagrante-delicatessen]

&&

[snake4everr]

Best song ever

[futurefatum]

WARNING! ITS TIME TO MAKE BIG MOVES, IT MAY BE OUR LAST CHANCE (Tone: 175)

Global conflicts loom on the horizon. Use this calm before the storm to prepare for what's coming. #Prepping #SurvivalPlanning

Posted on November 13th, 2024 by @CanadianPrepper ABOUT THIS VIDEO: The video discusses the current state of global preparedness, emphasizing that recent geopolitical shifts have given society a limited window to prepare for long-term crises. The speaker argues that while a brief period of stability has been achieved, significant global conflicts remain on the horizon, including potential war…