#hate speech narratives
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counteringhatespeechday · 7 months ago
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The Power of Youth for Countering and Addressing Hate Speech.
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Empowering youth to combat hate speech is crucial in today's world, where they are not only the targets but also influential voices in their communities. With 1.2 billion young people globally, their role in recognizing, raising awareness, and countering hateful narratives cannot be overstated. As peers, they have significant sway over each other and can drive meaningful change by speaking out against hate speech.
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spacedlexi · 1 year ago
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speaking of fucked up overly hated female twdg characters i find it Super Interesting how people will say carver was the best villain in the whole series, but when lilly is literally just a successful carver (iron fist leader of a community turning children into soldiers) suddenly shes a bad/lame villain for some reason 🤔
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the-hot-zone · 2 months ago
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the imagery and audio of the opening scene of s1e1 of arcane is just insanely well done for the set-up of the show’s themes and central conflicts. this is just a quick analysis (that spiraled) of what i notice as i’m re-watching, but—
a) the POV of “jinx” with the scribbles overlaying the aftermath of destruction and devastation lay the groundwork for not only what represents her POV to us, the audience, but also to where it originates. this is one of the first things we see in e1: the scribbled faces appear on the enforcers and on the dead bodies even as powder herself has her eyes covered. the echoes of violence reach her even as she tries not to look. retrospectively, we are meant to notice how "jinx" was already forming years before she started “jinxing” jobs with vi and the gang—the violence of her circumstances and the impact they have on her as a child played a key role in what the show calls her "instability," in what we understand as her development. her scribbled vision is first associated with violence done to her and those around her before it is associated with her later choices, which arguably can be rooted in her circumstances (more on this later). this is central to what arcane as a show wants to establish wrt their commentary on violence as a cycle and consequences that cannot be undone regardless of one's actions.
b) the most striking imagery to me: blood running down the faces of the statues on the bridge between piltover and the undercity, being made to look as though they are crying. the bridge is a key piece of imagery introduced in this opening sequence that arcane returns to throughout later eps. the expression of these statues is still, solemn, and silent. they are guardians of the bridge between piltover and the rest of the city. the tears of blood, however, have moved the unmovable. this can be interpreted in a couple ways, but here's mine. the blood as tears represents the ongoing mourning for those lost to violence. vander's resistance failed in multiple ways in that it did not end piltover's rule over the undercity, nor did it save those who fought in the resistance. moreover, this bridge is revisited in e2, and we see the bloodstains never left. they cannot be washed away; the memorial to those who were lost—vi’s parents—remain, and we see vander ask vi if she’s willing to lose powder to a war, just like she lost her parents. later on in the ep when vi approaches deckard, a drop of blood runs down her face like a tear. she, too, steps into the role (or tries to), as a stone-faced guardian, but violence moves her. particularly, it moves her out of powder's life, contributing to jinx's development.
c) when vi is about to cry, it looks like she’s holding herself back before she breaks down, and only then does powder also cry. there are a couple subtle moments throughout this first scene that express the extent to which powder revolves around vi, and this is one of them. powder takes her cues from vi: just minutes ago in the scene, powder only looks at the bodies because vi stopped. so we have this interpersonal level of reliance between these two, but the show doesn't want us to forget where the cues for vi come from. powder looked because vi stopped. vi stopped because the devastation around her made her stop.
d) throughout this scene, music is the dominant auditory experience. however, there is one sound that breaks through the music: the weight of vander’s gauntlets dropping to the ground. the break in the music is meant to express the weight of this decision. it's the only sound of an action that reaches the viewer as he throws the gauntlets down in favor of picking up the responsibility of vi and powder. with this action, he attempts to abandon his cause in hopes to protect vi and powder,
e) but vi looks back. we see her glare back across the bridge towards piltover, her eyes narrowed, and we understand that a key part of her character will be resistance. and to cross that bridge, she must put on vander’s gauntlets. we see her try to embrace this legacy throughout the first ep and beyond—“this is the exact job vander would’ve pulled when he was our age” is what vi says to her friends when on that first job to steal from jayce's workshop. and throughout the first few eps we see vander’s legacy called into question, with a focus on his legacy of resistance against piltover. that's the legacy those around him prefer, including vi herself. but it’s also a legacy he’s rejected in favor of another: his work to protect the lanes through non-violent means. silco’s later criticism of “you’re willing to die for a cause but not fight for it” towards vander perfectly encapsulates vander’s decision to put the gauntlets down, and why he still fails to prevent violence, particularly against vi and powder.
overall: the opening sequence is vital for establishing the link between vi's and powder's relationship and the violence enacted against the underground by piltover. the show's theme expresses that the former would not exist without the latter. the tragedy of jinx isn't just an interpersonal tragedy. it's a circumstantial one. it's an environmental one. it's a societal one. remember: mylo first drops the name jinx when he says powder jinxes every job. but there wouldn’t be any jobs to do--the coins coming into the lanes wouldn't be "only from crime"--without the violence piltover has enacted against the undercity.
there’s a lot of pain in asking ourselves the “if only’s” of these first few episodes. but if the alternative for powder killing claggor and mylo was for her to come on the mission to save vander anyways, to fight anyways, then there was never a choice. when powder says, “I’m not a fighter,” and vi responds, “you don’t have to be,” vi fails to understand the consequences violence has already had on her sister. in powder's mind, you don't have to fight translates as you don't belong here. the only way powder knows how to help is to fight--it's what vi (and everyone around her) taught her, even inadvertently. the show tells us that there was never a real choice in any part of this sequence. the real legacy was the violence topside enacted and continues to enact against the underground. what prevents vi from coming back to powder is ultimately marcus, regardless of his motivations.
what the opening sequence, and those first three eps, tell us about the show’s defining conflict is this. in a system built on inequity, its defining characteristic will always be violence, and whether those subjected to that violence try to fight it, live within it, or take advantage of it, the consequences cannot be undone. there is no going back.
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crossbackpoke-check · 3 months ago
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find a blorbo (nhl tag game)
RULES: Go through the roster of each NHL team and find at least one player that you can root for.
tagged by @bondedpairs!! when i say too many teams to count and here for the narrative um. i may not have lied. this is not an extensive list of my blorbos but in order to make it not ten thousand years long i made up the rule that i had to do it straight from memory :)
anaheim ducks: as evidenced by recent events i DO like mason mctavish and trevor zegras but i have to honor laura and mention troy terry and beloved goalie gibbie*
boston bruins: oh for sure brad marchand… can i say patrice? one of the charlies got traded but i think mcavoy is still there because gryz is gone, brandon carlo is there still i think
buffalo sabres: cozens & thompson, owen power, rasmus dahlin, ukko pekka luukkonen
calgary flames: is chris tanev still here? is markstrom still here?? noah hanifin?? as a last resort i’ll say blasty
carolina hurricanes: aho & jarvy & teuvo teravainen & brent burns is still playing maybe? i know sepe got traded
chicago hockey: the bedsy narrative is compelling but ANDREAS ATHANASIOU MY BELOVED reunited with tyler bertuzzi… that’s the real story. also i like foligno
colorado avalanche: gabe landeskog, whatever ross colton & miles wood have going on, natemac + jo, mikko
columbus blue jackets: have long been on the merzlikins train, have been swayed to the darkside of umich boys (brindley, kent johnson, fantilli, blankenburg who is now on nsh)
dallas stars: seggy! mush! roope + miro and otter and robo and wyjo (rip ty dellandrea) and harls! etc.
detroit red wings: MOST players. dilly larks, moritz seider, jv, raymond, rasmussen, kitty, lyon, etc except for k*ne
edmonton oilers: mcdrai, ofc. nugent-hopkins, nursey, rip vinny & skinny
florida panthers: tkachuk, reinhardt, sasha barkov, verhaeghe (is there still?)
los angeles kings: adrian kempe… kevin fiala… danault… quinton byfield & alex turcotte
minnesota wild: kirill, marat, fleury, brodes, fabes, boldy, moose, middsy, spurge… god’s perfect idiots
montreal canadiens: going out on a limb here to say martin st. louis but also xhekaj (both), slafkovský, suzuki, my austrian reinbacher, yes fine cole caufield
nashville predators: MOST BEAUTIFUL D PAIR IN THE WORLD GRADY SKJEI AND ROMAN JOSI!! juuse, evangelista, isn’t stamkos there and also someone else who absolutely should not be
new jersey devils: nico… tuna (tatar), dawson mercer, siegenthaler, dougie hamilton, yes the hugheses whatever
new york islanders: barzy, zeeker & marty, anders lee, noah dobson lol
new york rangers: mika & chris, lafrenière & k’andre, shesterkin
philadelphia flyers: frosty & beezer and tk and sanny and the new baby michkov and coots and scooty loots and foerster etc etc. you know the Guys
pittsburgh penguins: the two headed monster but also compelled by rutger mcgroarty, and kevin hayes was there!!!
ottawa senators: timmy stü & brady! josh norris! the evolution of shane pinto! ullmark now and brännström and claude giroux and chabot
san jose sharks: ekky, thrun, mario, borde, logan couture, shakir, that other vaguely blond rookie
seattle kraken: brandon tanev, andre burakovsky! grubauer & d’accord also
st. louis blues: jordan kyrou, nathan walker (is still there?), rob thomas? is parayako still there?
tampa bay lightning: hedman, point, they dumped so many guys after the cup run… is kucherov still there or is he in nashville?? anthony cirelli (notable for being made out with by pat maroon)
toronto maple leafs: mitch, jt, willy, alex nylander, kniesy, dewar, et
utah hockey: crouse, keller, tuba
vancouver canucks: quinn, brock, petey, jt, garly, höggy, i want to say dakota johnson, elias lindholm?
vegas golden knights: brandon montour is here now… alex pietrangelo, so sorry to one i can’t remember who loves the lions it will come back to me
washington capitals: full of love and stupidity. oshie, nicke/ovi, pierre-luc dubois, dowd, vrána, milano
winnipeg jets: adam lowry!! josh morissey and kc and morgan barron, also vladdy my beloved
tagging @stillfertile + @colap1nto + @songsandswords + @moregraceful if they haven’t done it yet, i know they follow at least a couple teams. if anybody else wants to play i love adopting blorbos!!
#it is literally my DREAM to get challenged by someone about how many hockey guys i can name because i am a freak like that#and i make up arguments in my head for fun. please Try Meeeee#me when i wear all of my different crewnecks out & make up an imaginary argument where i have to list five guys from every team… ok why not#in doing this i hope i expose so many of you to narratives and also don’t show my ass because we’re at the point in the season where i go#‘he got traded WHERE???’ & i forget where everyone got moved around 🫡 everyone who watches a game has to deal with me regularly going WAIT#tag games#liv in the replies#this is secretly just a love letter to everyone i follow who got me invested in these narratives. i WILL adopt ur interests &speech pattern#and like. it very much does NOT even come close to reflecting the narratives i have and will be invested in#hated my own rule as soon as i made it but it prevented me from creating an even MORE elaborate set of rules which was like. would you#actually root for this guy playing hockey vs are these all narrative characters so you need to them be able to back it up with a fic#which. given that it’s BLORBO i was like none of them are about to named on the basis of their hockey and also i am a giant hater#if you’re playing the red wings i want you to lose if the red wings are out i cannot guarantee who i will root for. it is up to The Spirit#this took me too long… worth it#like I don’t know as if i’ll ever make a proper pinned post but this is high in contention simply for the fact that i just Talk about Guys#you guys missed the part where i tried to do it in alphabetical order but completely forgot all teams that started with a p and colorado#among other teams and then i had to google ‘32 nhl teams’ because i could not for the life of me figure out who i was missing. rip ottawa#which is so funny because i love so many guys on their team. like. this list is such evidence of my BLANKING on the spot under pressure.#*everyone who saw this say stolarz no you didn’t. listen i knew ONE of them had gotten traded 😭 and literally during the pre-season det/tor#game today i heard ‘stolarz’ and went OH FUCK NO OH NO and wheezed my way here to fix it.
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angorwhosebabyisthis · 7 months ago
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i found this lore entry recently and have not stopped thinking about it since. it is HYSTERICALLY funny to me that fandaniel's villain origin story was just being a fuckin boomer
One of few great minds in a land that had seen the slow, yet steady numbing of its people's intelligence, Amon long lamented the sorry state of Allag , concentrating his early scientific efforts on developing medicines to increase mental capacity . He soon realized that it was not knowledge that the Allagans lacked. If anything, they had too much. What his people lacked was a leader. With a renewed sense of focus, Amon shifted his studies to the field of vivimancy, and soon was conducting experiments on his own flesh in order to attain his final goal - the resurrection of Xande the First.
— Encylopaedia Eorzea Volume I, p. 25
#final fantasy xiv#ffxiv#ffxiv amon#ffxiv fandaniel#i just. i Just.#the fact that he tried to fix it by doing research to literally just give people extra brain cells#before deciding the problem was ipad babies is KILLING me#i don't know why it's so hilarious but oh my fucking god#like obviously his real problem with it was a) that whole post about how there's Fun and there's Satisfaction from Achievement#which you need a balance of; because if you don't get enough fun you get stressed#but if you don't get the feel-good chemicals that come from working at and accomplishing things#it will fuck you up Badly; and make you horribly depressed; and you will probably try and substitute more and more Fun in a vicious cycle#b) not only did he live in the depressing nightmare sinkhole of resulting society-wide mental illness#but his attempts to preserve his sanity with meaningful work kept being appropriated into Fun by other people instead#and c) his exposure to the endpoint of 'utopia'; where everyone is happy and all their needs are (supposedly) met#was watching people get Bored and proceed to entertain themselves with horrific sadism and cruelty#he doesn't come right out and explicitly make that connection out loud; but going by his speech in the aitiascope it's pretty obvious#there's a Lot going on there; especially once you start getting into how he leans *into* the cruelty he hated so much#i could go on and probably i'll write up posts about it. it's fucked up and tragic and on a serious narrative level it tracks#but it's also SO SO FUNNY#ffxivtag#FF tag#shitposting#ableism cw#endwalker spoilers
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tenwhiteandalusians · 13 days ago
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is episode 8 the domitian arc ? more on this and EVEN MORE narratives i’ve been ignoring that the show said “actually,,,” about in 5
#hermes staying domitian’s hand… hermes’ face a flash of discomfort when he was torturing tenax… hmm. character growth.#WHAT WAS THAT HERMES. WHAT WAS THAT LOOK. NO GIRL GET BACK HERE I CANNOT ALSO DO THIS NARRATIVE OF YOU NO LONGER ABLE TO PULL HIM BACK FROM#THE BRINK OF HIS CRUELTY WATCHING HIM CHANGE AND SEEKING OUT SOMEONE ELSE IN HIS NEED AND FEAR AND ANGST. NO BABY GIRLLLL#I DON’T WANT TO WRITE A HERMES POINT OF VIEWWWW OF THE SIX YEARS HE SPENT WATCHING DOMITIAN BLOOMMMM INTO HIS POWER AND CORRUPTTTT because.#correct me if i’m wrong but in that very first scene that was a young hermes in the white right he watched domitian give his speech and saw#his father to truly see him the whole time as hermes has seen his brilliance.#NO I ALSO SAW THAT GUARD’S HEAD FOLLOW HERMES oh i hate it here. you know what i also hate? i need domitian to be successful for tenax#but also i do kinda like titus… NOOOOOO NO KILLING TITUS DOMITIAN I JUST SAID I LIKED HIM!!!! DOMITIAN!!!#oh. ohhhh no. OH NOOOO okay listen we can redeem this. we can have the whole turning point of the narrative be domitian’s mercy of hermes#the ultimate staying of his hand. proving he’s not entirely gone that hermes & his love still means something. do i think this will happen#no absolutely not. before he can kill his brother domitian has to kill the only other living person he loves perhaps more than titus if he#could ever realize it. (a brief interlude to yell LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO HI IRIS) domitian… please spare him… OH WAIT HELLO THE BLOOD!!#ALSO a brief interlude to say i knew it was coming but ELIA’S SPEECH ABOUT LOVING INCITATUS??? I WAS ON THIS INCITATUS SHIT WITH THE LITTLE#NOD THEY HAD WHERE SCORPUS CALLED HIM TO BEAT XENON OH MY GOD I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!!! elia’s going to crush him. incitatus won’t listen.#scorpus is going to die twice once when they call elia’s name instead of his and then the second time when the scorpion bites him again#(he kills himself and tenax finds him. sorry to give everyone absolutely maximum damage here but uh. that’s how i can see it going down)#or alternatively worse: after killing titus who at times he loves and hates in equal measure (if y’all don’t think I have some UNHINGED#brothers quotes. we’ll keep mum here about why but suffice to say it is. relevant to other fandoms. and thus i have a Collection) the last#thing domitian has to do is kill hermes. and this one is both out of betrayal but also love because I think somewhere in here titus’ queen#berenice plays a role because domitian’s hatred of the jews probably comes to play a role and I think titus would show up and protect her#like Domitian engineers some kind of a situation where in theory titus could escape alive or beat him but he can’t do that & save berenice#and so of course he saved berenice. or she dies in his arms and he goes mad with grief and any way you put it berenice is the trap & titus#happily crawls into the lion’s mouth to save her for love of her etc and domitian sees him die for it. he gives titus every chance to come#back to him to work with him to be what he wants him to be and he always chooses himself he chooses love and domitian can’t understand even#when it makes him weak. and then he sees hermes dirty and emaciated and still terribly terribly beautiful and feels such a pang of longing#and love that he decides he has to die because he (domitian) cannot be weak. he cannot have any of it. also giving domitian worse paranoia#than he already has because if you kill your brother the one person who should always love you—support you—who can build me a new brother—#you’ve gotta generate some MAJOR issues. namely trust issues. and if he kills hermes they’ll be even worse. so like ideally To Me domitian#wouldn’t kill him but i do very much see the symbolism of cutting off his last earthly tie & desire to ascend to the divine imperial throne#those about to die
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lord-squiggletits · 2 months ago
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It's not that what you like in fiction = what you approve of IRL or that consuming media = a meaningful form of activism, but I do think that to an extent, the way people analyze and talk about media can be revealing about what their personal beliefs are. And tbh the way some people in fandom talk about certain social issues I pray that they're never in a position of social influence or power over other ppl bc yeesh
#squiggposting#not about any person or post or take/opinion in specific#just something i've observed like#sometimes you look at someone's media analysis and you go 'okay so you live in a 1st world anglophone country'#but also sometimes it goes beyond that into 'okay so you would be a fascist if you had the opportunity to'#or at the very least 'you are disturbingly susceptible to propaganda'#sometimes 'okay so you don't know anything about history at all and are talking about things you don't comprehend'#but yeah it's like the difference between going 'if you like X you're a fascist'#versus 'the way you talk about X in the story and make real life comparisons is kinda fash ngl'#ultimately we are all just little freaks living our own lives that only have so large of a sphere of influence. but i do wonder sometimes#oh also the bonus flavor of 'i see you've learned the trappings of leftist/progressive politics but are only repeating what you've heard'#'and you mean well and think you're educated but you're actually like one well crafted hate speech away from some really bad shit'#'because you haven't actually unlearned any of your harmful beliefs you just learned socially acceptable rhetoric for it'#yknow it's just one of those typical Torment Nexus moments where ppl read about the dangers of the Torment Nexus#and go 'if I was in charge of the Torment Nexus i would wield it responsibly and only kill the right people'#or they go 'i don't understand why the person who used the Torment Nexus was framed as evil by the narrative'
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queermania · 2 years ago
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Why does everybody hate Berens? What did he do?
apart from the j1/w*ncest crowd, i don't think people really do at all. he's kind of beloved in fandom. there is a (very small) group of us hellers, however, who have noticed that he is largely responsible for some of our least favorite things in dabb era specifically (but really just in general with how he writes). most of the angry!dean stuff comes from his episodes (he seems to be under the impression that dean is just angry and there's nothing else to it which is in stark contrast with the general dean thesis of 'i'm not mad. i'm worried.'). he also wouldn't know subtlety and nuance if it hit him over the head. and then there's all the racism, most specifically in regards to kaia, but it's in other places too. the racism is obviously the biggest issue, but it kind of gets glossed over for reasons i can only guess at but i'm sure include 'omg he's the destiel warrior! we wouldn't have destiel without him!' (which is simply not true. does robbie 'goodbye stranger' thompson mean nothing to you?)
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silli-illi · 6 months ago
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personally as a mutiny duo fan i very much enjoy zam msg'ing wemmbu "i hate you" at the start of the season then later saying "i love you". they are like brothers fr i saw this hc somewhere and they have done nothing but feed into my thoughts even more.
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troonwolf · 2 years ago
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one thing that does annoy me about the Gw2 story is how after the plot reveal of the dragons being necessary to the planet happens, everyone starts acting like this was an obvious fact that everyone just knew, and that the commander is an idiot for killing two dragons. nevermind the fact he wasn’t even the person leading the attack in the first case, and only took over the lead in the second case because their command structure fell apart.
also kind of irritating because I like Trahearne but it’s another example of how while he’s alive, he gets all the praise for everything you do, and then when he’s dead you get all the blame for everything he did. people even start calling you things like “leader of the pact” and “commander of the pact” even though you were never the leader, aren’t in the pact anymore, and actually rejected taking over command a few episodes ago.
and it would be one thing if the game was self-aware about it, but it seems to genuinely want you to think that the dragon plot reveal was an obvious fact that you just ignored. like everyone in Elona seems to be aware of how all this works and you’re mocked on several occasions for killing the dragons, but for years before this point no one had a fucking clue and Taimi was the one to figure it out. so if it wasn’t for you and your guild, people still wouldn’t be aware of this
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septembersghost · 2 years ago
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My problem is that I can't listen to her songs rn and not remember matty like i love cardigan and every time i hear that song i'm like she said this song is for him no and don't get me wrong i want her to be happy but this guy is everything i am against he is racist homophob and many other thing his comments about her are so weird and gross and his comments about harry like wtf i thought her and harry were friends he said and did so many weird and wrong things i just can't support him i will always love her but i just can't listen to her music rn
honestly the only thing i can tell you to do is to take a break from her and hope this blows over. i just made the mistake of falling down a rabbit hole on twitter detailing stuff he’s said/done and some of it was even worse than i realized, so…idk what to even do with that information and battling how best to handle the situation we’ve got right now. i think anyone who’s upset has reason to feel that way. (and there’s a big difference between finding his words/actions deplorable and being concerned for her vs. some of the stuff shaming addiction and calling her slurs, the latter is not useful criticism).
remember that loving anyone doesn’t mean always agreeing with their choices or condoning worrisome or harmful things, and also remember that your mental health and emotional wellbeing come first here. if this is causing you distress or tainting her music, it’s not worth you being hurt, you’re allowed to step away. but i know that feels awful and i’m sorry :(
as far as cardigan goes…she’s acting up, but we ARE going to reject that and disassociate. she said we can change the meaning and reclaim her songs? yeah cardigan is NOT getting that man’s fingerprints on it ever, if i have to lock it in the vault myself (the vault being the haunted house in my own head). cardigan is safe, she cannot be touched! narrator betty never asked for this, girl get behind me! we’ll hide the cardigan back under the bed if we have to.
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counteringhatespeechday · 2 years ago
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What are the ways to spot and counter hateful narratives within curricula?
One-sided narratives that fuel hate speech and justify exclusion can be found across different subjects and educational programmes. Discussing these narratives with school students and acknowledging their problematic nature is integral to the solution.
This includes facilitating uncomfortable conversations about social inequality and power dynamics, decoding and debunking stereotypes and prejudice, and addressing the trauma and stigmatization caused by violent pasts. Teaching and learning about these issues and revising and reviewing curricula and educational materials can sensitize learners to contemporary forms of discrimination and increase their understanding of the processes that lead societies to violence.
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immaculatasknight · 8 months ago
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Snowflake bill
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howdoesone · 1 year ago
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How does one explore the impact of ethnic and religious divisions on the occurrence of war crimes?
Ethnic and religious divisions have long been recognized as significant factors that can influence the occurrence of war crimes. These divisions often exacerbate tensions, fuel conflicts, and create conditions that facilitate the commission of atrocities during times of war. Understanding the impact of ethnic and religious divisions on war crimes is crucial for comprehending the root causes of…
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kesarijournal · 2 years ago
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Meta's Misinformation Misadventure: A Tale of Irony and Wit
In a world where the line between reality and the virtual realm is increasingly blurred, Meta, the digital titan formerly known as Facebook, has taken upon itself the Herculean task of tackling voice misinformation. Yes, you read that right. The same platform that has been a hotbed for misinformation and conspiracy theories now wants to be the knight in shining armor, the beacon of truth in a sea…
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qqueenofhades · 6 months ago
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Obviously the main contrasting narrative of the Harris campaign is (rightfully, the ads almost write themselves!) prosecutor vs convict. But I keep thinking about how, in one of her first campaign speeches, she had Biden on the phone and he said something like "I'm here, I love you Kid" and she said "I love you too" and just... That compared to the Jan 6th Mike Pence situation. Like this election is about democracy over fascism but it's also about love and kindness and sincerity on the level of person-to-person relationships.
Well... yeah. As Minnesota governor Tim Walz put it when he was doing the TV rounds for Kamala the other day, the Republicans are just weird people. They are mean, petty, reactionary, focused on revenge and retribution and making people suffer, their rhetoric is about shame and violence and punishment, they are all about Who Your Enemy Is, and their drift into ever more extreme fascist positions is a reflection of that. And strongman/fascist authoritarianism is often popular during moments of chaos and upheaval in the rest of the world, because the unknown feels so scary and people keep falling for the lie that a helpful dictator strongman will turn up and make it all better. It never happens, but it is a powerful lie and it can work for several years at a time, as we have (unfortunately) seen. (And Tim Walz is definitely climbing the list of Old White Guys I Like; supposedly he is on Harris' initial VP shortlist, and while I certainly have favorites of my own, she could very much do worse.)
However, and this is why fascist movements always plant the seeds of their own destruction, this constant garbage spew of hate and vitriol never ever works forever, and usually not even all that long. Because once you spend your time destroying everyone else on your mean stupid crusade of mindless bigotry, you lose friends, you alienate the ordinary people who are more interested in having something to be FOR rather than just constantly against, and eventually you eat your own. And while it will shore up your ever-dwindling cult base, it will not be able to expand beyond the people who are already fully indoctrinated, and it will lose more people than it attracts. As I have said before, one of the key tenets of fascist movements is presenting themselves as powerful, inevitable, and almighty: just surrender to them now before We Crush You (tm) later! But they are not! They are goofy, stupid, mean, and just plain (thanks Gov. Walz) WEIRD! Nobody wants to be those guys!
So yes. With the whole fact of a party where one guy tried to get his first VP killed and now has picked another reactionary loser who is the least popular VP pick in 50 years, and the other is joyfully supporting his VP, a woman of color (after serving loyally to the first Black president, Biden has set the way for the -- knock on wood -- second, and that is also amazing), it's really easy to see the difference, and very clearly, people do. Kamala offers something to rally FOR, and that is always, always more powerful than mindless hate. Sucks to be the GOP. (As usual.)
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