#hate speech narratives

[crossbackpoke-check]

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!!

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

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

[queermania]

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?)

[silli-illi]

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.

[yvotyrants]

i have been thinking critically about severance and yeah if i was watching this from s1 and waiting the hiatus for this s2 i would have been dissapointed. a whining bitch even.

[absentlyabbie]

saw a reply on that post about a subway worker refusing to service to some dudes wearing hate speech shirts and claiming they were being religiously discriminated against that said "as a christian, i don't claim them."

okay but do claim them, actually.

inconvenient and embarrassing and even frustrating as it is, your religion, your faith, has become all but synonymous with hatred and vicious oppression. that didn't happen by accident. it wasn't unearned. it's not new and it's not a perversion of the good true pure christianity when it's the core and foundation, in fact.

are there good, kind, compassionate christians who refuse themselves to harbor this kind of hatred? denominations that are more progressive, welcoming, loving, and inclusive? absolutely, and that's great and all.

but they have not been the ones defining the story of christianity ever, at any point in its history. you don't get to retcon the narrative. you can't "no true scotsman" your way out of association wth the vast majority, the most vocal and politically driven majority of your shared faith.

your religion historically, traditionally, and most commonly shelters and cultivates bigots and oppressors, hateful, vicious people who want to strip others of their rights and their lives and legislate them into being officially lesser-than.

claim them. own that. it's necessary if you ever want christianity to be seen as better than the worst of your lot, because the worst are the loudest, the most powerful and wealthy, the ones who've been steering the fleet for centuries.

if you want christianity to actually be the faith you strive yourself to live and exemplify, you have to reckon first with what it is, what is has long been.

those christians would claim you're not real christians, but you both are. you can't change or take control of the story if you try to pretend you're on page one. you have to straighten your back and acknowledge it.

if you want to clean house or even rebuild, you have to admit the rot is there, first, and that it's still your house anyway.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - June 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand

“Thailand’s Senate voted 130-4 today to pass a same-sex marriage bill that the lower house had approved by an overwhelming majority in March. This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships. […] The Thai Marriage Equality Act […] will come into force 120 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. It will stand as an example of LGBT rights progress across the Asia-Pacific region and the world.”

2. One of world’s rarest cats no longer endangered

“[The Iberian lynx’s] population grew from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022. While young and mature lynx combined now have an estimated population of more than 2,000, the IUCN reports. The increase is largely thanks to conservation efforts that have focused on increasing the abundance of its main food source - the also endangered wild rabbit, known as European rabbit. Programmes to free hundreds of captive lynxes and restoring scrublands and forests have also played an important role in ensuring the lynx is no longer endangered.”

3. Planning parenthood for incarcerated men

“[M]any incarcerated young men missed [sex-ed] classroom lessons due to truancy or incarceration. Their lack of knowledge about sexual health puts them at a lifelong disadvantage. De La Cruz [a health educator] will guide [incarcerated youths] in lessons about anatomy and pregnancy, birth control and sexually transmitted infections. He also explores healthy relationships and the pitfalls of toxic masculinity. […] Workshops cover healthy relationships, gender and sexuality, and sex trafficking.”

4. Peru puts endemic fog oasis under protection

“Lomas are unique ecosystems relying on marine fog that host rare and endemic plants and animal species. […] The Peruvian government has formally granted conservation status to the 6,449-hectare (16,000-acre) desert oasis site[….] The site, the first of its kind to become protected after more than 15 years of scientific and advocacy efforts, will help scientists understand climatic and marine cycles in the area[, … and] will be protected for future research and exploration for at least three decades.”

5. Religious groups are protecting Pride events — upending the LGBTQ+ vs. faith narrative

“In some cases, de-escalation teams stand as a physical barrier between protesters and event attendees. In other instances, they try to talk with protesters. The goal is generally to keep everyone safe. Leigh was learning that sometimes this didn’t mean acting as security, but doing actual outreach. That might mean making time and space to listen to hate speech. It might mean offering food or water. […] After undergoing Zoom trainings this spring, the members of some 120 faith organizations will fan out across more than 50 Pride events in 16 states to de-escalate the actions of extremist anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups.”

6. 25 years of research shows how to restore damaged rainforest

“For the first time, results from 25 years of work to rehabilitate fire-damaged and heavily logged rainforest are now being presented. The study fills a knowledge gap about the long-term effects of restoration and may become an important guide for future efforts to restore damaged ecosystems.”

7. Audubon and Grassroots Carbon Announce First-of-its-Kind Partnership to Reward Landowners for Improving Habitats for Birds while Building Healthy Soils

“Participating landowners can profit from additional soil carbon storage created through their regenerative land management practices. These practices restore grasslands, improve bird habits, build soil health and drive nature-based soil organic carbon drawdown through the healthy soils of farms and ranches. […] Additionally, regenerative land management practices improve habitats for birds. […] This partnership exemplifies how sustainable practices can drive positive environmental change while providing tangible economic benefits for landowners.”

8. Circular food systems found to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, require much less agricultural land

“Redesigning the European food system will reduce agricultural land by 44% while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 70%. This reduction is possible with the current consumption of animal protein. “Moreover, animals are recyclers in the system. They can recycle nutrients from human-inedible parts of the organic waste and by-products in the food system and convert them to valuable animal products," Simon says.”

9. Could Treating Injured Raptors Help Lift a Population? Researchers found the work of rehabbers can have long-lasting benefits

“[“Wildlife professionals”] tend to have a dismissive attitude toward addressing individual animal welfare,” [… but f]or most raptor species, they found, birds released after rehabilitation were about as likely to survive as wild birds. Those released birds can have even broader impacts on the population. Back in the wild, the birds mate and breed, raising hatchlings that grow up to mate and breed, too. When the researchers modeled the effects, they found most species would see at least some population-level benefits from returning raptors to the wild.”

10. Indigenous people in the Amazon are helping to build bridges & save primates

“Working together, the Reconecta Project and the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous people build bridges that connect the forest canopy over the BR-174 road[….] In the first 10 months of monitoring, eight different species were documented — not only monkeys such as the golden-handed tamarin and the common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus), but also kinkajous (Potos flavus), mouse opossums (Marmosops sp.), and opossums (Didelphis sp.).”

Bonus: A rare maneless zebra was born in the UK

June 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[historicity-was-already-taken]

I hate what the Israeli government is doing but I'm scared of contributing to the rise in anti-semitism in the US. I'm not Jewish and not super keyed in to anti-semitism. Obviously, anyone talking shit about the Jewish people is someone I should fight, but there are things I should watch out for even when they say "Israel," right? What kind of rhetoric should I be on the lookout for?

What makes this hard, is that there is no collective Jewish take on this. There are some Jews who would tell you that any criticism of Israel is inherently anti-Semitic. There are other Jews who would tell you that Jewish support for the modern state is antithetical to the values at the core of our ethics and faith.

Both of those types of Jewish thinkers follow this blog, as do Jews holding views everywhere in between.

So what I'm going to tell you isn't The Jewish Stance on this, but the stance I've developed as a Modern Jewish historian who also happens to be a Jewish person with leftist politics.

Here is a list of narratives and rhetorical patterns to watch out for:

-individuals or spaces which view jews as inherently unworthy of trust, and require them to consistently prove that they are a "Good Jew"

-rhetoric which continuously singles out Israeli human and civil rights abuses, while failing to hold other states committing equal or much larger scale abuses to the same standards

-speech which implies that the Jews can fit neatly into the role of "white colonizer"

-visual languages which super-impose Nazi imagery over Jewish symbols

-Blood Libel rhetoric, which accuses Israel of using the blood or murdered Palestinian babies for its bread, or harvesting Palestinian organs for the black market. This type of rhetoric has been circulating the western world for literal centuries, and it always ends with Jews being expelled and/or burnt at the stake.

And this is kind of where the classic "I can't define it but I know it when I see it" porn definition comes in. Sometimes someone screaming about "The Zionists" is someone deeply disturbed by, say, the frankly fascistic behavior of Israelis in West Bank Settlements. Sometimes, that person is furious that Jews are asking them to critically examine the role of any or some of the above elements in their speech regarding Israel and Israelis.

Some Jews will weaponize a lot of our traumatic past to silence other Jews, and say that by writing this I am no better than the Jewish Police who rounded up their people for the Treblinka transports. Other Jews will say that by writing any of this, I'm silencing necessary speech regarding the war crimes in Gaza and that I'm complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinian civilians as a result.

But this is my basic, 101 level response, and it's not going to change.

I really, truly, appreciate your how deeply you care about grasping these issues. If you have any follow-up questions I'd be happy to answer them under similar understandings of username exclusion.

[the-library-alcove]

Annotated Debate Between Hen Mazzig and Kei Pritsker

Source

Full text and commentary under the cut, original annotations done on Google Docs here, being shared here on tumblr due to some people being unable to see the comments.

Commentators include myself, @strangestructures, and several others.

~~~~

Hen Mazzig: My name is Hen Mazzig. I���m an Israeli author, activist, advocate and founder of the Tel Aviv Institute. I was born and raised in Israel. My family came from Iraq and North Africa and I live in London today with my partner. He is not Jewish. My focus is on Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism and hate online in all its forms.

Kei Pritsker: I’m Kei Pritsker. I’m co-director of The Encampments. I’m a journalist with Breakthrough News.

(Here is Kei's Canary Mission profile; https://canarymission.org/individual/Kei_Pritsker)

HM: I was just interested in your background, Kei.

KP: I mean I’m a journalist, I’m a student activist. I was involved in the Palestinian student groups. This is an issue I’ve been involved in heavily for a big period of my life.

(Kei refuses to give any personal background, sticking solely to professional, in contrast to how Hen gives both his personal and professional background in relation to this conflict.

Yeah, I tried to look him up online and there's nothing about him. I could confirm that he's been involved in anti-Israel activism since at least 2017 (source: canary mission), so at least he's right that it's been a big period, not just since oct. 7.)

HM: Got it, OK sorry.

I want to start with a current event; we’ve had a couple in the past few weeks that speak to both your areas of expertise. First with the Mahmoud Khalil arrest and deportation proceedings, and then the Mohsen Mahdawi case more recently. I wonder if each of you can describe how you feel about both cases. Kei, this in your wheelhouse, maybe you can start.

KP: Ya, I mean it was really horrifying to wake up to that news of Mahmoud being arrested. Our team found out like everyone else just on social media or news notifications. Having known him this was particularly devastating. But the way I see this is as something that really reflects the success of the encampments movement and the Palestine movement. The reason this is happening — the reason Mahmoud was arrested — his only crime is speaking out against the genocide and speaking in support of the Palestinian people.

(False; while Trump was doing it in a hamfisted way, there's no question that Mahmoud was in violation of the terms of his green card by supporting terrorist organizations and supporting attacking citizens. Also, Genocide Canard counter is at 1.)

And he is now being abducted.

(This language is conflation between a man held in detention but still able to communicate, and the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas)

The reason for it is Israel knows they’ve lost the narrative, they’ve lost the battle of ideas, they’ve lost the argument, and the encampment movement really proved they’ve lost the next generation.

("Israel controls the US government" Canard--presenting the crackdown as being done at the instigation and direction of the Israeli government, as if Trump wouldn't do it on his own for his own reasons)

Because of this they’ve resorted to the last tool in their toolbox, which is essentially repression, censorship. This is why there’s such a concerted effort from the Trump administration to ban pro-Palestine speech, to ban freedom of expression. I can’t even think of a country you get deported for criticizing in the United States besides Israel.

(Also that they are trying to in some way center the Palestine situation in the USA context. When they say that is only in the USA that there is this "repression" against speaking for Palestine)

So while it was initially very shocking it really seems now this is a concerted effort to criminalize speaking out for Palestine.

(Continued "Israel Controls the US Government" Canard, plus "We're just criticizing the Israeli government!" downplaying of their actions.)

Because the mood and the consciousness in the U.S. has changed so much. There was a poll that came out recently that showed that for the first time in decades American perceptions of Israel are majority negative.

(If it's the poll that's been circulating on tumblr, I looked at the numbers and posted a more detailed analysis (https://www.tumblr.com/strangestructures/782103564186189824/that-is-definitely-concerning-however-the?source=share), and the truth is still that across all age groups, there are more people with a favorable opinion of Israel than a negative one. And a lot of people, especially in the younger cohort (18-24), simply don't care.)

This is because of the work of the pro-Palestine movement and people seeing what Israel is about in the last two years and learning about the history of Zionism. People are starting to wake up to what it really is and I think they’ve lost the narrative and now they’re resorting to abductions, and it’s shameful and disgusting and I think it will blow back in their face.

Hen, what do you make both of what Kei is saying and the actions the administration has taken in recent weeks?

HM: Yeah, no it’s absolutely ridiculous to hear this response from Kei to be honest. I think that using words like abducted — we know what being abducted is; my family members and friends have been abducted on October 7 by Hamas, a terrorist group, that had been celebrated by the same people presented in this film.

(I want to add to this and note how Khalil is getting to write Op-Eds for newspapers, while hostages held by Hamas get used for propaganda videos)

And to speak to us about how the Trump administration is being controlled by Israel — somehow Israel is infiltrating America while with the encampments on college campuses, specifically campuses that have been bankrolled by Qatar, funders of Hamas gave billions of dollars to those American universities and in the last few years we’ve seen the radicalization of these students.

(Kei ignores and don't mention this point. I don't know if is because he knows or because he knows that even mentioning it is going to make him look bad)

While I’m personally not a supporter of Trump or these tactics of taking people and deporting them, I think we should be very mindful of the words that we’re using. And I think [pro-Palestine activists] know what they’re doing. The reason that they’re framing it this way is to equate the students that have spent 18 months making the lives of Jewish students a living hell, that’s why they intentionally exclude from the movie any voice of Jewish students. 

[And portraying the Jewish students at the encampments] equates to “we’re not racists, we have some Black folks we can push forward.” Kanye West was quoted as saying that slavery was a choice. Is he a voice for the Black community? Of course not. No one would argue that. But here we are with encampments taking a fringe minority of American Jews that do not represent the American Jewish community which by and large is Zionist. Over 90 percent of American Jews describe a positive feeling toward Israel according to Pew Research. 

So this whole, really, charade — it’s a way to mask a lot of hatred and turn it against us, as if we’re to blame for their arrests or attacks on Jewish students who are fearing for their lives. In the encampments you hear calls like “al-Qassam’s next target.” Mahmoud Khalil has links to Hamas. The Instagram page of one of these anti-Israel groups at Columbia activating their page just moments before the attacks on Oct 7. The leader of Iran is sending them praises, Ali Khamenei saying, “I’m so proud of what you’re doing.”

(This, exactly; he's not being deported for "protesting Israel", he's being deported for supporting terrorists.

Also add that when is convenient they ignore that they received Iran's support. They probably try to clean themselves as an effort of making propaganda against them.)

I mean I would be ashamed. I would not be saying this is a success. I don’t even know how they can hold both arguments in their heads, to say “we are being silenced ” while we’re seeing this everywhere in the media, from The New York Times to CNN to BBC, everyone is covering it as if it’s the only conflict that ever happened in the world, as if it’s the only war, while in Sudan or in Darfur — I don’t want to get into whataboutism so I won’t even name the countries that are having far worse human rights violations that are getting zero attention. 

So I think the question here is why are we talking about those students that have used hate speech against Jews specifically for over 18 months as being the targets but not speaking of actual victims of deportation? Why are we talking about privileged students at Columbia that can afford hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend those universities and they’re becoming the victim? It’s very bizarre to me.

Kei, what do you make of Hen’s assertion that in your movie pro-Israel Jewish voices were not platformed, and that conversely some of the backgrounds of pro-Palestinian activists were played down?

KP: Hen, did you watch our film? 

HM: Absolutely.

KP: Yeah I mean so there’s a whole scene dedicated to the pro-Israel presence at these encampments and how these pro-Israel students would go up to the encampments and tell people “you should be raped, I hope you’re raped,” “you should be killed, if you went to Gaza you’d be killed—

(So no actual reporting on pro-Israel Jews, no discussion, just one scene of them shouting at the encampments. Though I do admit this went too far.)

HM [sarcastically]: Raped? Why would they use this example?

KP: —for being gay.” There was also this lynch mob, the pro-Israel lynch mob that descended on UCLA and actually dragged students out of the encampments and beat them bloody and also fired fireworks into the encampments, which very well can kill people. You know, we did show both sides.

("Show both sides" = "cherry pick one example")

We showed what pro-Israel students said to the pro-Palestine side and we also showed the non-Zionist pro-Palestine Jewish students as well because quite frankly the media coverage you’re talking about — Hen you said the media coverage of the encampments was wall-to-wall coverage. You’re right but the coverage was 100 percent slanted in favor of Israel.

(Bullshit; media biases have been consistently in favor of Hamas on the Left.  Also, "Jews control the media" canard.)

All the coverage was talking about alleged antisemitism, people being attacked and “oh my god it’s these dens of violence.”

(Supposedly the fact that there is a reporting in antisemitism that there is in the encampments it make is automatically pro-Israel because is against the movement. This is a false equivalence.)

Not only was there no truth to that, not only was there no video of that shown which, by the way, in the October 8 film there’s no video or evidence shown of any Jewish students being attacked.

(Funny, I've seen plenty of videos of people from these encampments attacking Jews, threatening them, or otherwise engaging in violence--typically while having their faces covered.

There's also the whole "not letting jews get to class" by putting the encampments in the way thing. Not sure to what extent blocking someone's path counts as violence, but...)

The evidence they put forward of antisemitism was people saying “Free Palestine” or “From the River to the Sea.” Yes the media coverage was wall to wall — obsessing over antisemitism that didn’t exist.

(Jews don't get to define antisemitism canard, plus the whole denial of a hostile environment.)

The purpose of putting our film out was to balance the unfair coverage of the media — which by the way was coming from people who never stepped foot in an encampment. I was there, I lived in the Columbia encampment for 12 days. Hen, the reason I live in the United States is because on my father’s side my grandparents were kicked out of Ukraine because of antisemitic pogroms.

(See, this would have been something to mention back at the start, Kei.  But your choice of words are interesting, because it makes it very clear that you weren't raised as a Jew, and the closest Jewish connection you can claim is two generations back.)

If I saw real antisemitism there I would have left, I would have covered it, I would have said something about it. I didn’t see it at all. 

(This isn't Real antisemitism Canard)

What we wanted to cover was the anti-Zionist Jewish students, which is a growing phenomenon, thousands, tens of thousands, millions of young Jews in the United States

(eyeroll There aren't "millions of young Jews" in the entire world, just as a matter of demographics.  Unless you're somehow claiming that every Jew under 30 is an "antizionist", then mathematically can't be, and that's before we even get into the fact that the number of antizionist Jews is somewhere in the ballpark of at most one million Jews.  at most, being under ten percent of fifteen million people. So this is the "Silent Moral Majority" logical fallacy.

They also seem to not realize that when centering in the anti-Zionist jews they are not showing a jewish perspective because the other parts of the group, the ones that don't have an opinion or are zionist, are not considered for the film and also banned from the encampments.)

are realizing their Judaism doesn’t have to be tied to Jewish ultranationalism,

(Redefining zionism canard)

or a Jewish ethnostate

(ethnostate canard)

that kills people, that bombs hospitals, that bombs schools

(falling for Hamas' policy of why they use human shields the way they do)

and says that Palestinians have no right to live in their country of origin.

(Generalizing the opinions of the Israeli far-right as being the common one from the in all Israelis)

Jews are reacting to that en masse. So that’s my goal. To balance out the narrative which was completely skewed by the mainstream media.

("Jews control the media" canard)

We put something out and let the students speak for themselves.

Hen, Kei is making the point that there was a lot of vilification happening of these students, whether from the media or elected officials. What would your response to that be? And particularly in terms of Jewish protesters, we see in the film scenes of Jewish students who are actively practicing their Judaism in the encampments,

(I'm sure they exist, but I also can't help but think about the JVP "seder plate" and "sukkah". In general, the way Judaism is practiced in the camp feels very performative, and in many cases it's quite noticeable that these are people for whom practicing Judaism is unusual, either because they are disconnected from their community or because they are not actually Jews.)

and who are making a case for being Jewish without the state of Israel. How should we be looking at them in your view?

HM: Ya. I mean there are anti-Zionist Jews that exist in the world. For some reason they receive the majority of the representation in this film. That is my issue. The majority of American Jews are Zionists and you can add another seven million Jews in Israel. So you can say it’s a “growing phenomenon” but there are a lot of “growing phenomena” that are still very small and not representative. It’s like saying Caitlyn Jenner speaks for all trans women. No one would make this argument but here we are able to tokenize a minority, a fringe community, and weaponize it against us. It’s not because they care about Jews and wants Jews to be represented. It’s that they hate us so much that they’re doing this and gaslighting us. I’m sorry I’m getting passionate but it’s really I feel like they’re living in a different universe. I’ve seen the videos on these campuses — not the encampments because for some reason I’m not allowed there — but I’ve seen the violence in the videos of these young Jewish students that send them to me and they’re afraid for their safety. They kidnapped a janitor that was not even Jewish in Columbia.

(This is ignored by Kei and doesn't try to refute it.)

For anyone to say there was not antisemitism in the encampments is completely ludicrous. They weren’t saying support Palestine, they were calling for support for Hamas. 

Even the October 8 film that Kei was mentioning there were clips of protesters saying they were Hamas, a terrorist organization that brutalized and killed over 1,000 Israelis on October 7 — kidnapped, killed babies, raped people. That’s why a lot of Jewish students were so upset and were calling out the rape of young girls that came back from Hamas captivity and testified about rape. We have recorded testimony of rape from a former hostage, Amit Soussana, and instead of engaging with that she was gaslighted and told she was lying. I’m sure that’s where those comments came from about rape. They are terrible comments. But I also think we need to recognize the pain Jewish students are going through. So if it’s true that someone said that someone should be raped, and I don’t know if it really happened, but if it happened I think it’s horrible and I also think it’s horrible to tell Jewish women they weren’t raped, and to deny it and say that Jews aren’t in danger when their dorms are being vandalized and the chants of “Zionists Get Out” when we know the majority of Jews are Zionists. How do you expect them to feel? Most Jews believe in Israel’s right to exist — that’s what Zionism is. So this chant is coded hate against Jews. 

Kei, you’re privileged enough not to feel intimidated, good for you. The majority of Jewish students that I know and have spoken to, the majority of Jews in America, have a completely different experience than you. So it’s great you’re able to be a part of a tiny, tiny piece of the Jewish community and you take this and put your energy into presenting something but it’s just not the truth and it’s not reality and it’s completely whitewashing the violence and the hate that has been documented over and over again. You can see it anywhere, anyone can Google it, I don’t even need to cite it because there’s so much of it.

KP: if you’re saying there was violence that took place, tell me what happened.

(Hen gave specific citations and examples, so this qualifies as a goalpost move.  "No violence occurred."  "Yes it did, here are some specific examples."  "Give me more examples.")

HM: Oh you think if you put a sign that says “al-Qassam’s next target” is that an issue for you or is that something legitimate? Is that a call for violence or not?

KP: Sorry, well you said someone was attacked. Who got attacked?

HM: I’ll find you some — I mean everyone can Google all of those cases but yeah there were Jewish students that were attacked. In Los Angeles I remember the bloody face of the student that was attacked.

KP: Yeah those were students in the Palestine encampment. It’s in our film; did you watch our film? Those students in the Palestine encampment that were ripped out and beaten by a Zionist mob and they fired fireworks into the UCLA encampments.

(Double standard of the violence only committed against the encampment are the ones that should be critize.)

That was pro-Israel violence. Those were pro-Israel people that beat up pro-Palestinian students. Who were the Jewish students who were attacked again?

HM: Do you think that calling to kill Jewish students is ok? That’s not attack, that’s not violence for you?

KP: I don’t agree with it. But it’s speech. It’s not violence.

(This is coming from the same ideology that views misgendering someone as an act of violence, but apparently saying someone is a terrorist group's next target is just "free speech".  Please note the parallel with the same sort of behavior on the Right.)

HM: Oh it’s speech? To call someone to be killed is speech Kei? Are you serious?

KP: I don’t agree with it. But you said someone was attacked.

HM: I’m sending links, don’t worry, I’m sending links. Here you go. [Links appear in chat.] This is one link to an incident with two Jewish students at DePaul. Don’t worry I’ll get you all the links and all the sources.

If I can distill what you both are saying a little. There seemed to be incidents that everyone here would agree are troubling. Telling a Jewish student they’re al-Qassam’s next target or to go back to Poland is not the kind of speech I think we can all agree should be used. Kei I guess the question as I hear it from Hen is whether you feel this was the norm, the culture, or this was anomalous or outside the encampment.

KP: So that’s exactly what I’m saying. Hen is kind of proving my point with the articles he’s sending. These articles are not from the encampments. I’m not speaking for every single person that has ever said “Free Palestine” in their life. I’m just saying the attacks he’s alleged weren’t attacks that took place at the encampments. [Looks at chat]. I mean you’re just spamming—

(Goalpost move; "Show me violence" shows violence  "these cases aren't valid because I have moved the goalposts, and you're spamming anyway, because these aren't valid evidence since I've moved the goalpost."

The goal post moved is the one of Violence on the Campus to violence in the encampments. Kei or he didn't remembered Hen point or he didn't heard it)

HM: Sorry, I’m sending too many examples of attacks on Jews.

KP: No, I mean you said a Jewish student was attacked.

HM: I said Jewish students were attacked. There were attacks of Jewish students in their dorms, there was an example of Jews in California attacked outside a synagogue. You say it wasn’t part of the encampment, it’s hard to identify when they have masks on. But this type of spirit is the one that is leading to violence against Jews. if you want to tell me that Jews were not attacked then we have a different issue and I mean you live in a different reality.

KP: So again what I’m saying is there were not attacks on Jewish students in encampments and none of these [links] are examples of that.

("I wonder why there are no attacks on a minority in a space that isn't allowed inside of it")

HM: Because they weren’t allowed in.

KP: And moreover there’s ample evidence of pro-Israel students attacking the encampments. I’m not speaking for every single protest that there was no bad conduct. I think we can all agree that anyone being attacked — that violence is not acceptable, that we shouldn’t be attacking people for their opinions. What I’m saying is that someone saying “from the river to the sea” — it’s in our film, a whistleblower who worked for Columbia and logged these cases of alleged antisemitism and a lot of it was people saying that or wearing a keffiyeh to class.

("Tu quque" fallacy, goalpost move, and several other fallacies--"there isn't any violence on his side, but even if there is, the Zionists do it too!  And besides, there hasn't been any violence inside of the encampments, and any examples of violence outside are downplayed and presented as "alleged antisemitism" or people chanting slogans or wearing a keffiyah, so the real violence is coming from the Zionists!")

These are not antisemitic things, these are people calling for an end to a 75-year occupation and humans rights abuses that have been condemned worldwide.

("Israel itself is illegitimate" canard)

It’s legitimate speech against — ironically — an actual violent occupation that’s happening in Palestine. 

Like that’s the thing that gets me — everyone keeps talking about “Jewish students feel unsafe because they see flags waving.”

(I mean, given the behavior they regularly see from people carrying these flags, yeah, it makes sense. I also feel concerned when I see a Palestinian flag waving these days, and I'm not even Jewish!

Also says a lot, because there have been repeated instances of people aligned with Kai saying that the Israeli flag makes Palestinians feel "unsafe".  So rules for thee but not for me, etc.

Oh yeah, didn't think about that. The reaction to the Israeli flag is a good example, for me, of the "Israel is ontologically evil" thing.)

Meanwhile the students are protesting an actual situation where entire cities are being wiped off the face of the earth.

(Exaggeration, and also falling for Hamas' human shields policy again)

Hen you have yet to say anything about that fact — you talk about the students on these campuses as privileged or whatever or people feeling unsafe walking to their dorms, but what about the fact that Israel has destroyed every single university in Gaza?

(Stripping context of this, along with the other accusations, to demonize Israel, instead of acknowledging that the reason for the destruction is because Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as shields.  But stated like this, it's this narrative that Israel just blows up hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure just because they can out of simple cruelty, instead of "they have to because terrorists are using them as shields")

That’s what our film is about.

(I mean, as far as I understand the film is not about Gaza directly, but about anti-Israel activism at American universities, which is exactly what the discussion has been about. So yeah, definitely moving the goalposts.)

What do you have to say about that? What do you have to say about the safety of the Palestinian students?

HM: Ya I’ll speak about this in a second. I just want to point out that i did not say there were peaceful signs that triggered Jewish students. It was a student holding a sign that said “al-Qassam’s next target” with an arrow pointing to the Jewish student. Of course there was no violence in the encampments — the encampments were closed to Jewish students—

KP: —No that’s not true, there were Jewish students in the Columbia encampment in our film—

("We have tokens that we trot out to defend ourselves against accusations of bigotry!")

HM: —if i can finish my sentence. They were closed for Jewish students that would not sign off and say that they hate half of the world’s Jewish population in Israel.

(Kei ignores and doesn't engage in this part even to deny it. Also he ignores that a member of a minority is expressing how he is perceiving those attacks. That is a double standard.)

If they’re not going to say it they’re not going to get in. That’s why the attacks didn’t happen in the encampments — because there was no one to challenge [organizers]. They closed them down and made sure it would be a sterile area for Jews — not all Jews, the 90 percent of Jews that are Zionists in America. And for those students in the encampments — I mean I heard those testimonies of them not having humanitarian aid or getting enough food and I found it a bit bizarre. For someone who is advocating for peace for both Israelis and Palestinians and has been for years now, as someone who spent five years as a humanitarian officer working on building hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank and Hebron and Ramallah and building schools for Palestinians, it’s been part of my work so I’m deeply committed to promoting peace through building bridges this way. The situation in Gaza is horrific, it’s absolutely horrific. It’s been horrific since October 7 when the world was silent about what happened and it’s been horrific since then. 

You can quote Anthony Blinken saying that the protests around the world are part of what emboldened Hamas. Hamas continues to hold hostages, continues to oppress Palestinians in Gaza, and while according to what Kei is describing is one of the worst situations ever and yet they still refuse to release the hostages, they still refuse to end it. You know if they released the hostages there would not be justification to continue this war; this war would be over. We haven’t heard anyone in the encampments actually say this. “Why don’t you call for the release of the hostages,” someone asked them. They said “well, you know it goes without saying.” But everything else you need to say and  this fact you conveniently ignore?

If the hostages would be released the war would be over. Women have been raped in Gaza by Hamas and they haven’t said a word about it. Well they have said a word about it — they said you shouldn’t believe those Israeli women and said that those babies deserve to be killed because they live in Israel. While ignoring far worse human rights violations and getting praised from the Supreme Leader of Iran, one of the most brutal countries in the world for gay people. But they haven’t protested for those gay people, for gay Iranians, they haven’t said a word about them. They have an issue with Israel because according to what Kei is saying it’s an ethnostate. Show me another country in the Middle East that isn’t an ethnostate. But what type of ethnicity are we talking about? It is the Jewish one or the Arab one? My family is from Iraq and Tunisia, we have the same ethnicity. 

One last thing — this movie would have much more credibility if they didn’t have someone like Macklemore producing it. Someone who engaged in antisemitism and wore a Jewish nose and had Jewface on at a concert and he took up the Palestinian cause and is producing movies. Just very interesting why you’d be OK with someone that engaged in antisemitism to be the face of this movie. Would you be OK with someone that engaged in racism to be the face of a movie about the Black community?

KP: What’s this Macklemore issue?

(Out of all the things Hen said, Kei only concentrates on the one that affects him personally.)

HM: Why, it’s not a part of your film?

KP: I don’t know, what’s your issue with Macklemore?

HM: I’m asking if it’s a part of your film.

KP: If what’s a part of my film?

If Macklemore produced the film. He was an ep, yes?

KP: Ya he’s the executive producer.

HM: Yeah, so he has been criticized by the Jewish community for wearing a caricature of a Jewish nose onstage and Jewish beard and engaging in antisemitism to the point that he had to issue a public apology [in 2014] for what he did on stage in front of thousands of people.

KP: So I mean I actually didn’t know about this and just looked it up briefly and it looks like he apologized for it. It sounds like he made a mistake and I believe in people’s capacity to grow and apologize. As long as I’ve known him I’ve not gotten the sense he has an antisemitic bone in his body.

(And who are you that gets to decide that, Kei, as someone who is apparently outside of the Jewish community?)

He’s always talking to Jews and he’s been very outspoken about the issue of Palestine, that’s why we brought him on. Because he was someone who was outspoken after the genocide

(Genocide canard counter 2)

began, at great risk to his own career.

(I feel like the people defending Israel are at greater risk of being ostracized in creative communities, which destroys careers. But there were a few cases of people going too far and losing their jobs, so now anyone who "supports Palestine" is a potential martyr. And that's what they want to be, martyrs, because it puts them front and center and shows what good people they are.

Is this a form of getting the consequences out of proportion and center more in the "persecution" of the Pro-Palestine side than in the real numbers?)

So that’s why we chose him, and you know I can’t speak to anyone’s past but it sounds like— 

HM: I’m sorry, I’m sorry to interrupt it’s just really important that we point it out, Macklemore wore a long nose onstage with a Hasidic outfit and marked the Jewish community. This is directly leading to violence against Jews and we know that. Kei be honest, would you accept someone that used blackface?

KP: No, no of course not. But it looks like he apologized.

(You don't even know the details, but "it looks like he apologized" is enough. Great, I can do anything I want as long as I give a token apology!)

HM: Would you accept someone if they apologized, would you take them as a producer, if someone used blackface?

KP: I mean again, some people have the capacity to change. And if he knows he did something wrong then that’s OK. I wasn’t aware of it.

(Gotta love the double standard.  "Blackface is verboten but Jewface is okay if they've changed.")

If I can, I think the subtext of Hen’s question here if I’m understanding correctly is whether having Macklemore on the film coupled with the lack of hostage emphasis, whether that adds up to an antisemitic strain and not just an anti-Zionist strain, is that what you mean Hen?

KP: I just think this idea if he made a mistake and he apologized and Hen you’re making him out to be this raging antisemite.

(Again, who are you to say that he isn't? You're not Jewish, Kei.)

[On the hostages], there are Palestinian hostages. Israel imprisons tens of thousands of Palestinians every year — administratively detains them without charges. Children as young as 12 for throwing rocks at armed vehicles. I think if we’re talking about hostages we should talk about releasing hostages on all sides.

(So... acts of violence are okay, so long as the targets can shoot back, eh?

This is a double standard that or the Israeli are capable of defend themselves so they are valid targets?)

I mean I don’t understand the implication, you’re saying the students are antisemitic for not talking about Israel hostages but it would never be asked of the pro-Israel side to talk about the 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

(It's interesting how just a few lines ago, "Israel is imprisoning tens of thousands of Palestinians every year for no reason", then gives a reason, and then says that there's only ten thousand.  What happened to the previous years' batches? I'm bringing this up not just to point out Kei's routine goalpost moving, but also to point out that he also routinely exaggerates and inflates numbers, percentages, and groups as part of appeals to emotion, while, in contrast, Hen gives specific details, which are then ignored)

We’re not asking Hen to justify these things. I don’t know why the students are being made to speak about 200 Israeli hostages.

("See, they don't count, because they're not as human as Palestinians, and we don't have consistent principles that say that any hostages are bad.  And I think that people kidnapped from their beds and babies are morally equivalent to people who are assaulting others with intent to injure or kill."

Also, I'm pretty sure that if I had the choice, I'd rather spend a year as a prisoner in Israel than a month as a hostage in Palestine. A prisoner and a hostage are not the same thing!)

Hen what would you say to that?

HM: Just to clarify, the 10,000 Palestinian prisoners — hostages, as he calls them — they have committed crimes and are held in Israeli prisons, right? And they get family visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross. I’ve actually facilitated many of those visits. And the ICRC goes and makes sure they’re being treated well. In fact in the latest hostage release eight Palestinian prisoners refused to go back to Gaza because they’ve enjoyed their treatment in these prisons more than they— 

KP: That’s absurd.

("I haven't heard about it so it can't be true.")

HM: — that’s not a lot. But it’s a reminder they’re not hostages and to frame them this way is just meant to do one thing and that’s to — 

KP: Sorry, I think they probably didn’t want to go back because Israel destroyed Gaza.

(Calls it absurd and then tries to reinterpret it in his favor.)

HM: Interesting, so they’d rather stay a hostage? No Israel hostage wanted to stay in the tunnels. That’s the difference.

KP: Yes, because Israel is the one responsible for killing many of the hostages.

(Ah yes, the "Israel kills it owns people" canard.)

If Netanyahu and Israel cared so much about the hostages they wouldn’t be carpet-bombing the place where the hostages are being held.

("Carpet bombing" canard.  If Israel was actually carpet bombing the Strip, the death toll would be orders of magnitude higher.)

HM: Kei, have you been to Gaza?

KP: What?

HM: Have you been to Gaza? Have you been to a war in your life? 

KP: No but I don’t need to go to Gaza— 

("The information I've vaguely absorbed is enough for me to know everything.")

HM: So don’t say people are being killed [by Israelis]. You know each time a hostage has been killed it’s a tragedy that crushes all of us. And also civilians. Any civilians dying in this war. It’s horrific to all of us. But for you to use that, to weaponize it against me to say “your army kills hostages.”

KP: How am I weaponizing?

HM: Those hostages should not have been kidnapped by Hamas. Those hostages should not have been taken from their beds by Hamas and held in tunnels and babies should not have been kidnapped from their beds with their mothers and the women should not have been taken from her bed and raped in the Gaza tunnels. The fact that you don’t speak about it is the issue when you focus on Gaza.

KP: So here’s the reality, and it’s something the protesters have been trying to point out, that this didn’t start on October 7.

(Trying to downplay the atrocity of the 7/10 with the crimes of Israel from before as that justifies it.)

HM: When did it start? When my family was forced out of Iraq in 1941? When?

KP: I mean you can go back 100 years to the First Zionist Congress. You could go back even further.

HM: So when?

KP: So the one thing I want to point out is the premise of your film is this whole war, this genocide,

(Genocide canard counter 3)

started on October 7, on October 8.

(which is interesting, because Israel didn't respond militarily inside the Strip for weeks afterward.  The only response on those days were from people like Kai, celebrating and throwing parties. Remember that one professor who said, on October 15th, that the attack was exhilarating and that anyone who disagreed wasn't human?)

But the genocide in Gaza started in 2007 when Israel imposed a full naval, ground and air blockade on Gaza.

(So, eighteen years of genocide, in which time the population tripled?  Can I trade?  I'll exchange 4 years of genocide with a 90% death rate for 18 years where the population balloons!)

HM: They have a border with Egypt.

KP: Let me finish.

HM: They have a border with Egypt. How did Israel enforce a blockade? Because Israel is supposed to be better? Oh, so you hold Israel accountable but not Egypt.

KP: No I criticize Egypt.

HM: Oh have you protested? I haven’t seen a single sign about Egypt, not even one. Not even in your film.

KP: Because the film wasn’t about the protests. 

(Double standard with "we criticize Egypt also" but our main concern is Israel.)

HM: Oh it was about Israel.

KP: We’re absolutely critical of the Egyptian government. But hold on let me finish. In 2007 Israel imposed a full blockade of the Gaza Strip, controlling everything that goes in and out.

(Yes, because Hamas started using the Strip as a base to attack Israel with, using anything they could get their hands on.)

This policy has been described as being akin to an open-air concentration camp, and not for no reason.

(Holocaust Inversion.

I always wonder since when this is a open concentration camp and how are they supposed to be being exterminated, by dying of hunger or by the hand of Hamas?)

There was an Israeli minister of the Knesset who once joked that Israel is putting the Gazans on a diet, and what he was referring to was that Israel controls the flow of food into Gaza so much so that they can actually calculate the caloric intake of the people there.

(I find it telling that this speech is worthy of condemnation (and it is) but telling someone that they're the next murder target of a terrorist organization is "free speech".

Double standard also because this is used without even considering the time when it was said, but when someone points out the "Curse upon the Jews" of Hamas this considered outdated.)

The genocide in Gaza started long before October 7.

(Genocide canard counter 5)

There was a UN report written in 2018 saying that Gaza would be uninhabitable by 2020. Before October 7, 95 percent of the water in Gaza was unfit for human consumption; the average Palestinian in Gaza got four hours of electricity.

(Gee, I wonder why?  Is it because Hamas trashed all of the infrastructure in order to repurpose it into rockets?  Oh wait, it is!

Also, I still don't understand why Israel is supposed to be responsible for water and electricity in Gaza, a region they completely left, despite the amount of humanitarian aid Gaza gets.

Because these people think that Gaza is an "open-air concentration camp" and is thus under Israel's complete panopticon and control.)

If you put people in an open-air concentration camp why should we be surprised they try to break out?

(That wasn't trying to break out, that was a killing spree.

Says a lot about their mindset, doesn't it?

They want to clean this saying that a good chunk of the hostages were killed by Israel and that the members of Hamas that really killed someone are a minority, downplaying it.)

Just to quickly clarify, Hen was not involved in the film October 8; there may be some confusion because Debra Messing who’s on his show was an executive producer. But to amplify Kei’s point, Hen, the idea from pro-Palestinian activists that this didn’t start on October 7 but long before — some say 1967 [when Israel captured territory and borders were redrawn] or 1948 — and October 7 was not a beginning but a culmination, how do you respond to that?

KP: This is Israel’s policy and of course collective punishment is a crime against humanity. Regardless of what you think about Hamas or what their role is, to starve two million people because they had an election [in 2007] and elected a government you don’t like is a crime against humanity.

(Good thing that, according to multiple sources, including the UN, there was never famine conditions inside the Strip!)

HM: That we “don’t like.” Do you think Hamas was elected democratically? Come on.

KP: They were. There were international observers that went there and oversaw the election, whether you like it or not is not really the question.

(It was only an election in all the time that Hamas has been in power. And then they said it has been Israel fault that Hamas has been in power this long.)

HM: That’s why there’s a war. Because we don’t like an election.

KP: My point if you leave people in a condition like that, why are we acting so shocked when they decide to break out?

(No, because they keep sending rockets to Israel.

Even before this, the rockets were just the status quo, like the weather.  The war was because Hamas invaded and went on a mass murder campaign.)

Were they supposed to just sit there and accept that and say “this is my new lot in life, I’m just going to live this way, I’m never going to question it, I’m never going to do anything about it? We’re just supposed to sit there and take it?”

(Double standard, Palestine can do anything they want in retaliation but the rockets that the Israeli receive they should do nothing.)

HM: No, so we’re supposed to sit there and take it when 1,200 people are being killed— 

KP: You’re collectively punishing—

HM: That’s what you’re saying though. You’re saying that we should take it.

KP: You’re collectively punishing everyone in Gaza.

HM: You’re saying we should take it, that we should allow them, because we don’t understand what it’s like to have borders, and if you have borders you should be allowed to go and take hostages.

KP: You are collectively punishing the people of Gaza for a crime they didn’t commit. Literally for having an election.

(Ignoring Hen point and doubling down in his version that what happened in 7/10 should not have formed a reaction like that and downplaying that is because they don't like Hamas)

HM: No. No, the war is not punishment. There’s a war because of October 7. Because of the massacre of 1,200 people in one day.

KP: No there’s a war because Israel is enforcing a genocidal blockade policy in Gaza.

(Genocide canard count 6)

HM: You are supporting 1,200 people being killed and a baby being choked to death— 

KP: You’re supporting 200,000 people being killed—

(Even Hamas isn't claiming that number; why do you want another 150,000 people dead, Kei?)

Guys, I understand the passion on both sides. If we can—

HM: I have passion because I’m connected to it. It’s my family that is on the line. It’s my friends that have been killed. That’s why I’m passionate. I’m not sure—

KP: It doesn’t matter if it’s your family.

(At this point, I think that Kai has made it abundantly clear where he stands--and where his ideology stands--regarding the worth of Jewish lives to them.  I.e. Nothing.

Also being indirectly showing support to Hamas even if is contradictory.)

HM: It doesn’t matter if it’s my family?! Are you insane? No, I’m sorry Steve, I can’t— 

OK, Hen, guys, let’s bring it back — I think we all feel understandably heated, we all have stakes in this, and, again, passion. I appreciate that. Let’s bring it back to some U.S. policy. [Long pause.] So we talked a lot about the Khalil and other incidents but there’s obviously a lot going on on campuses now. We’re seeing the Trump administration take action against Harvard and Columbia in the name of antisemitism, and I want to ask both of you just in terms of this policy now, how should we feel about it? Whether it will do any good? Because I think that’s what we can all hope for is to live more peacefully, I think we can all agree with that. Hen why don’t you start and talk a little bit about what you think of this approach.

HM: I need a minute. So let him go first [goes camera-off].

KP: So again, this policy is reflective of the larger crisis here for the Trump administration, for the military-industrial complex, for Zionism, for Israel, which is that they have lost the argument especially among the younger generation.

(Is that the "Jews control the government" canard again?  Oh yes, yes it is!

Also, having looked over this whole thing again... this is almost word-for-word what he said at the beginning.  This isn't a considered statement, it's a catechism--basically a rote answer delivered without thought.)

The pro-Israel side is trying to put forward this increasingly paranoid conspiracy theory that the reason this is happening is because everyone in the world is an antisemite, that the United Nations is antisemitic, that the ICJ is antisemitic, that The New York Times is antisemitic, that Human Rights Watch is antisemitic, that Amnesty International is antisemitic, that Harvard University is antisemitic, that Columbia is antisemitic, that students are antisemitic.

(Well, of course you're not going to believe it, Kei, but we can give evidence of antisemitism at all of those organizations--often from their own internal documentation.)

But I actually think the reality is that it’s not that everyone is irrationally hateful all of a sudden against Jews.

(Again, who are you to decide what counts as antisemitism, Kei?

"...all of a sudden" as if antisemitism isn't millennia old

Don't you know that antisemitism was invented by the Nazis in 1933 and was ended by the Allies in 1945!  /s)

I think it’s that people are sick and tired of watching babies incinerated in their cribs,

(and I wonder how you saw video of that?  Who took the video, who uploaded it, and who edited it?  Which conflict did it come from? Oh, also, Blood Libel canard)

of watching people’s livelihoods destroyed, of watching entire families, entire bloodlines, wiped out.

(Unless they're Israelis, apparently)

I think people don’t like genocide.

(Genocide Canard counter 7)

And I think people are sick and tired of watching their government send money and weapons and 2,000-pound missiles to be dropped on apartment complexes and journalists.

(again with the "Israel is cruel and bombing just for shits and giggles and wanton cruelty" canard.

They really should learn why it is dangerous being a war reporter in general. Do they really think that a certification is like a force field or similar?

Don't forget that a lot of Hamas militants actively seek out being "independent journalists" in order to use that as a shield.)

Hen talks about journalists. This has actually been the deadliest conflict for journalists ever.

(Because they're all terrorists moonlighting as journalists; that's been shown repeatedly.)

Israel doesn’t want that truth out.

Kei, can I ask you just on that previous score. You mentioned a lot of organizations. I don’t want to get into specific ones but people on the right say that there is something endemic to left-wing organizations that can be antisemitic. Do you think that’s true? Clearly there are people on the right and far-right who have problems with antisemitism, I just wrote about some of them. But is is true on the left, with the pro-Palestine movement? I’ll mention this example because Hen just tweeted about it, that the suspect who tried to burn Josh Shapiro’s house down cited the Free Palestine movement. The argument is there’s a normalization that’s happening that says it’s OK to be antisemitic and can lead people like the suspect which, if he did what was alleged, to do something terrible. Is this a problem in your view in the Free Palestine movement?

KP: So with the Josh Shapiro incident, if you look at the video [the suspect] is clearly mentally ill.

("There is no systemic antisemitism on the Left.  Everyone who is antisemitic is having a mental health crisis.  There is no war in Bah Sing Se."

Also, you can look at a short video of someone and diagnose them with "mental illness". And mental illness leads directly to hate and violence against minorities, even if there's no hate against said minorities in society at large, because mentally ill people develop their hate out of thin air and are not influenced by society at large. And of course, there's the whole "mentally ill people are scary and violent" thing, which is not directly related to Israel / antisemitism, but I still found it worth pointing out. Mentally ill people are much more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.)

He has never posted about Palestine before. The idea that he’s some Palestinian activist is ridiculous. I think he probably has mental issues. I don’t think he has anything to do with the Palestinian movement.

("No True Palestinian activist would do this!")

So you’re not concerned about normalization of antisemitic rhetoric.

KP: Well again, what Hen is doing is making a false equivalency between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

("Jews don't get to define antisemitism, only outsiders do.")

There’s growing anti-Israel sentiment in the United States which is true but to say that this has led to attacks on Jews I think is wrong. And a lot of the incidents, if you look at the ADL’s report on antisemitism, a lot of the antisemitic incidents being reported are just people speaking out in support of Palestine or wearing a keffiyeh or saying Free Palestine. That’s not antisemitism.

("Jews call everything antisemitism, and I don't understand micro-aggressions or hostile environments when they're targeting Jews."

They also put the ADL as being blindly Pro-Israel and with Trump government.)

Hen, what would you say to that, to the idea that tying antisemitism to an anti-Zionist movement is a false equivalency.

HM: Yeah. First I’ll quote the person that wanted to burn Josh Shapiro’s family alive. He said “I have said for years, years before October 7, that I favor a two-state solution, Israelis and Palestinians living peacefully side by side, being able to determine their own future and their own destiny,” that’s what he said to reporters just yesterday. To me it sounds like a legitimate call for peace and co-existence. But that made him go and try to burn down a Jewish family and Jewish governor. So there’s a lot of semantics here that are being thrown around. Since October 7 antisemitic incidents in America have reached an all-time high — yes, even statements about Palestine like the one I cited led this person to go and try to burn an entire Jewish family alive. I think there is a problem of antisemitism on both the left and the right and I think the fact that Kei didn’t even know that Macklemore has used Jewface — they would never touch someone who engaged in racism or homophobia but when it comes to antisemitism it’s such an afterthought that you didn’t even know about it, it wasn’t even an issue.

Maybe I’ll speak briefly about what I’m doing with And They’re Jewish. Because what’s striking to me is the contrast between The Encampments and my project, the whole notion that it’s something they’re not even related to — Kei said it doesn’t matter if you’re related to it — but I am related, I am a person invested in it, and the difference between his film and my series is that the film shows Jewish identity through the lens of political rage, through chants, through erasure, through deciding for Jews what is and isn’t antisemitism. It’s very political, and Jews are just a background noise at best or the villains at worst. But And They’re Jewish centers joy, creativity, diversity, humanity. And it reminds people that Jews are not just headlines or symbols in someone else’s protests; we’re real, complicated, vibrant people. And I think the world needs more of that right now. Because this sort of dehumanization that we’re seeing from the encampments and other causes is directly leading to violence against us, and there are reports after reports, study after study, that show how dehumanization of Jews is leading to violence against us, that led to the worst genocide in modern history of six million Jews.

And that’s our fear today — that this dehumanization, this afterthought about Jewish identity and the way we’re being portrayed by this [pro-Palestine] movement, even if it’s just in the guise of “we’re just speaking about Zionism; we’re just speaking about seven million Jews in Israel that we think should be killed, not all Jews,” it doesn’t matter, it harms real Jews, it’s how a 70-year-old Jewish guy was beaten to death in California at a protest, it’s how we ended up with Josh Shapiro’s house being burned, it’s how we end up with so much violence in this country against us, it’s how we end up being gaslighted about the horrific brutality of October 7.

Thanks Hen, I’m glad you talked about the show, and Kei, I’m glad we spoke about the movie. I hope you each continue to watch each other’s work and we all watch work even from people we don’t agree with. We have time for one last question, so I’ll ask each of you this: What’s something you would like to see change on your own side? Something thought about or done differently. Hen let’s start with you.

HM: I’d like to see more voices from the pro-Israel camp speaking up for Palestinian civilians. I think it’s important that we speak about suffering on both sides and that we humanize both Israelis and Palestinians and we make sure we’re focusing on people as human beings and not just as pawns in some dystopian story.

(Kei ignores this)

That we’re seeing real human beings. I hope Israelis and Palestinians will be seen on both sides.

Thank you for that Hen. Kei, same question. Anything you’d like to see done or handled differently on your end of things?

KP: Yeah, I think there are a lot of people in the U.S. that are being legitimately propagandized or lied to about who the Palestinians are and are being told the same narrative that they were told after 9/11, “a lot of Muslims are violent, that they’re hateful people and the Palestinians are our enemy that Lebanese people are our enemy.”

(American-centric glasses for the conflict, and not bothering to examine any deeper.)

But the reality is our enemy is the military industrial complex, it’s the generals, it’s these politicians who sell us on these wars. I would like the Palestine movement to really engage with more debate with these people who are coming forward and supporting Israel because I think a lot of them are being misled about who Arabs and Muslims and Palestinians are.

(Honestly, Kei, if you're an example of the level of good faith debate coming from your movement...)

Thank you for that Kei. A good note to end on from both of you. I think more understanding about who we all are is a good thing. Before we go I just want to give you guys credit. Usually with this conflict people are chanting behind barricades or talking to their followers and not engaging with another side. I know things got heated and there may be some raw feelings. That’s understandable. I hope everyone takes a minute to takes care of themselves. And then feels good about what they did. Not everyone is willing to sit here and have these conversations — hard as they are, important as they are. So thanks to both of you. I hope we can continue talking, and listening.

[wilwheaton]

During a speech on Sunday night, Donald Trump repeatedly spoke as if Barack Obama were the current president. It wasn’t the first time. In recent speeches, Trump has also claimed to have beaten both Obama and George W. Bush in 2016. That’s when he wasn’t promising to use irrigation ditches to bring water to bathrooms or keep California’s forests damp. It’s not that Trump hasn’t always been an egotistical, vindictive jackass with few concerns for whether his hateful, antisemitic, misogynistic, and racist rants had even a passing encounter with the truth. But this is different. In the 2024 campaign, and in the messages he posts to social media, Trump has been in a confused and addled state, one where he has frequently makes statements that are both incoherent and irreconcilable with reality. Still, did you hear that President Joe Biden made a “gaffe”? Sure you did. Because the media not only devotes heavy coverage to Biden’s every hesitation or stumble, it goes out of its way to create them even when they don’t exist. All to promote a narrative that Biden is old and losing his grip, while Trump is somehow vigorous. That narrative isn’t just a clear disservice; it’s a signal measure of how willing major media outlets are to coddle Trump, savage Biden, and keep the nation in the dark.

Donald Trump is unraveling, and the media is covering it up

[redvexillum]

PSA: RACISM, BIGOTRY, ENTITLEMENT IN HAZBIN HOTEL FANDOM

CONTENT WARNING: Inflammatory hate speech, White hate, political baiting, gaslighting, racism, death threats

The messages I’ve received and am addressing below contain upsetting and harmful language that has no place in any community. If these topics are distressing to you, please prioritize your well-being and feel free to stop reading here. Thank you for taking care of yourself.

I never imagined I would find myself addressing this, but here we are. This post is regarding my recent story, Stay With Me, which has stirred up unexpected controversy due to my decision to imply the reader’s race as white. I want to clarify that this choice was made purely for plot purposes.

The story is set in 1920s Louisiana, a time and place where racial and class dynamics were deeply significant. This backdrop was essential to the narrative’s themes of tension and forbidden love, as it explores the societal barriers that would have made a relationship between Alastor and the reader virtually impossible. The decision to depict the reader as an upper-class white individual was not arbitrary—it was intentional, aimed at heightening the drama and emotional weight of their story.

I deeply value the Hazbin Hotel fandom and the x-reader community. Writing for this space has brought me immense joy, and I’ve formed wonderful connections with both readers and fellow writers. That’s why receiving such hateful and inflammatory messages has been incredibly disheartening. The accusations of racism, the vitriol, and the twisting of my creative choices into something they were never meant to be—this has shaken me more than I can express.

To the anonymous senders of these messages: I want to make it clear that my work comes from a place of love and passion. My intention has always been to tell compelling stories that explore complex emotions, societal norms, and the human condition—stories that resonate with readers on a deeper level. To reduce my work to a political agenda or an act of prejudice is deeply hurtful and entirely unfounded.

I want to echo sentiments shared by Kit (please check out her explanation here), another writer in the fandom, who also explored the racial and class dynamics between characters. Like them, I am fascinated by the tension and drama that arise from star-crossed love stories, particularly when societal laws and prejudices forbid such relationships. Writing the reader as white in this context wasn’t about excluding or favoring anyone—it was about creating an authentic narrative rooted in the realities of the era.

For those questioning why I made this choice, I ask: if you can suspend disbelief to fall in love with a cannibalistic, asexual deer demon, why is the reader’s race—chosen for specific plot reasons—the line you cannot cross? My goal as a writer is to craft stories that make sense within their own context. The entitlement to demand otherwise, or to impose personal prejudices onto my work, is unfair and unwarranted.

I hate that I’ve had to turn off anonymous asks. Some of the most heartfelt and hilarious messages I’ve received have come from anonymous users, and losing that connection with my readers pains me. But unfortunately, the actions of a loud, hateful minority have left me with no choice. I will not entertain further discourse on this matter after this post.

To those who have supported me, who have read my stories and shared kind words: thank you. Your encouragement is what keeps me going. Writing for this fandom has been a labor of love, and I pour my heart and soul into every piece I create—for free, might I add. It’s devastating to feel that love overshadowed by hostility.

I won’t let this stop me from creating, but I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t made me question my place here. To anyone who feels entitled to tear down what others create out of hatred or spite: I hope you take a moment to reflect on the harm your words can cause.

To my true supporters: I appreciate you more than words can express. Your kindness reminds me why I love writing in the first place. Thank you for standing by me.

[creatingblackcharacters]

What is the best Black show/movie in your opinion?

I don't think I can make that call objectively. I can give you some of my favorites that I think are made very well overall!

1. Into the Spiderverse: This movie changed the game. What's Up Danger uplifts me as a Black person every time I see and hear it. "He's not falling, he's rising". The speech Jefferson gives Miles. Perfection. It's the movie I think all Black kids ought to see in their lives. It fulfills me. We needed that, our hearts needed that.

2. Malcolm X: this movie radicalized me 😅 It was the first time Malcolm X wasn't presented to me as "MLKs evil opposite that hated white people" as we were taught, but as the activist and deeply intelligent man he was and the passion he genuinely had for us as a community. Denzel might Denzel in every other movie, but this was one time where literally NO ONE ELSE could have played that role. Excellent film. I'm glad my parents sat me down to see it.

3. Friday: Friday is a hood classic. We are all still quoting this movie to this day and white folk didn't even know they were doing it 😅 A crucial moment in the culture.

4. Juice: While I don't care for the grooming that happens as a side plot, the meat of Juice is phenomenal. I feel like a lot of movies can't capture true unnerving and dread the way Juice did, especially in a time where it's not like there were good special effects for horror and jump scares the way every movie does lately. And the way it weaves in very valid Black fear into it, but the narrative itself is universal... Very good.

Honorable Mention: While I've practically had all the plot and messages spoiled for me, I still haven't steeled my heart enough to fully watch Moonlight, but I have heard nothing but praise for it. And for the content that it covers, I absolutely agree. Even being willing to address the topics it did warrants awards.

[jessaerys]

the critiques of the severance finale wrt essentially (i)markhelly vs (o)markgemma keep hitting weird and ringing misplaced. to me. and i'm trying to articulate why and it's like. i think that the mark (pun not intended) of a valid racial critique is being missed by positing "gets chosen by mark" as the measuring stick that decides if the finale was Good or Bad.

my good faith take is that severance is ultimately working towards that final nirvana of synthesis, with dylanists having been framed as the more emotionally fulfilling, more fair, more peaceful path towards freedom vs the necessary but violent rebellion of mark and helly, both hellyists (and i don't think severance wants us to think they are in the wrong - helena and (o)mark are far more abusive to their innies than (o)dylan ever was. they have dug their heels in and refuse to relinquish their control over their subjugated selves, as opposed to (o)dylan. which is a far more common and expected reaction from those in power.) BUT. but. mark is not yet reintegrated. a complete mark reintegration is going to be an extremely momentous event upon which everything will revolve, when it happens. we are not at a point within the narrative where we can consider mark a single character (yet).

(i)mark has always been the main character. the arc of the show has always been about the innies fighting to first discover and then secure their personhood. severance is a rebellion storyline, an oppression allegory. like christ alive, we got the *stands on a table* we are many, they are few! speech.

(i)mark doesn't know that he (he! the mark synthesis! the mark final form!) loves gemma. i don't care about (i)mark and helly as a ship, i don't care to think about them in Scenarios or AUs or what have you. BUT i care about mark and helly as the vehicle through which severance explores and signifies choice and humanity. i find that deeply moving - that last moment of (innie!) mark chosing himself as an entity separate from (o)mark, chosing even a handful of minutes more of life and love and independence from the powers that be - it's a triumph. the show was always going to lead us here. lumon may or may not try to kill (o)mark, but there's (in the innies minds, at that moment) not a universe where (i)mark and helly get to live. they are in a doomed timeline. they have nothing, not even their flesh belong to them. they are so suffocatingly denied or personhood that to steal even one more moment together they must kidnap their own bodies.

THAT SAID.

that said. i have talked about how annoyed i am that gemma's motivation was "ohh woman can't have baby". i think that writing choice was lazy. believable, sure, and it makes sense within the narrative, but i hate it. it's reductive, it's objectifying. i wish they had given gemma more life beyond "marks dead wife", i wish we had gotten to know her as a person as complex and moody as mark scout.

i am also tired of allegories for oppression being filled with white faces.

the racial problem in the helly/mark/gemma dynamic exists within what i can only think to call the infrastructure of showmaking. with diversity being applied as a coat of paint to the outer edges of a cast, rather than roles being written for non-white people, or letting main characters be non-white. there's no reason why gemma couldn't be white and helly asian, or mark, or all of them, except racism in casting.

ON THE OTHER HAND.

i try not to judge shows before the story is completed. to let a non-white character end a story unhappy or in tragedy might often be an afterthought of racism in storytelling but it doesn't have to be. we have been shown that severance can handle a complex racial narrative with milchick. i am hoping that the same will happen with gemma, either because of critiques currently being made or because they have always planned to address her racial identity in relation to both mark, helly, and lumon, but we haven't gotten there yet.

or they might not.

they might have filled their talking-about-race quota, and the intersection of racism and misogyny might be a tragic, infuriating blind spot in the severance writers room. idk man, maybe we just need to give the writers the benefit of the doubt. only time will tell. and if they fuck it up we will still have our hammers next season

[ambitiouspotions]

THE LAST STRAW | MICHAEL BERZATTO | ONESHOT

summary — mikey has pushed you to your breaking point

word count — 4.6k

warnings — angst, addiction, suggestive speech, domestic dispute/heated argument, police involvement, mikey’s death

author’s note — *cough* anyways

mikey was late; that was the first annoyance you had encountered tonight. you sat at a table near the bar as you and your friends took turns taking shots as more people filtered in to come and send you their birthday praises. you had on one of those ridiculous sashes and tiaras to accompany your fringe skirt and sequined top. that outfit was the last thing you thought you would find yourself in, but your friends insisted that you looked like a shining gem. they insisted that you had been working too hard and needed to let loose for a night, and they were right you had been working too hard and entirely too much.

the moment richie and tiffany entered you looked at them with pleading eyes hoping they knew where your elusive boyfriend was. your only desire now was that when, or if, mikey did show up he wouldn't be riding the high of a lifetime off of unlabeled painkillers. you hated when he gave you that smug look that only accompanied him when he had taken his sweet release.

richie went to the bar, ordered them drinks, and chatted with the bartender, like mikey he always knew everyone. probably why they always made good friends, both of them chatty, boisterous, and friendly.

you had been frequently checking your phone in hopes that you had missed some call or text explaining where he was. the sad fact was that this wasn't uncommon; it was almost second nature, but you thought after begging him to be on time he would've followed through.

“hey, sweets,” tiffany said comfortingly as she took a seat next to you, nursing a cup of iced water. she was in the early stages of her pregnancy, but still wanted to be there for your birthday. tiffany had been the reason you had met mikey in the first place. she had invited you to richie’s birthday bar crawl so many years ago, and mikey was of course there. you couldn't keep your eyes off of him, and for once in his life, he realized that having a steady girlfriend might not be a bad thing. mikey was a loud roar, but you seemed to bring him down to a low growl. mikey and you had been virtually inseparable since the moment you connected, and richie was proud that his wife was able to find someone for his best friend.

“hey tiffy, you feeling any better?” you questioned, taking into account the dark circles under her eyes. the quirky blonde seemed to have lost some of her spunk due to her pregnant state.

“no, but tonight isn't about me. it’s about you,” she pulled you in close, placing her cheek against yours as she embraced you, making a faint smooching noise. “i know mikey isn't here yet, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be smiling; it’s not about him tonight.”

she was reinforcing that narrative well. it was your birthday. a night where you could finally relax without worrying about deadlines at work, wanting to strangle the patrons of the beef, or having any real responsibility.

“can i still be pissed he's not here and pissed that your baby makes you feel like shit?” you jest, rubbing her stomach lovingly.

“you can be pissed after you have a good time tonight,” tiffany kissed your cheek.

mikey came in, greeting your friends at the closest table near the door. he was looking for you; spotting that glitter tiara you were sporting was easy enough. he was fiddling with his hair as he inched closer through the crowded bar. he was in his normal clothing attire, a shirt from the restaurant and jeans. he didn't shave, his stubble present and rough.

tiffany waved him down, though upon seeing him your expression dropped. that look. it was there. that smirk when he finally laid eyes on you made your skin crawl.

“hey! my birthday girl!” mikey exclaimed, taking you into his arms. he pressed large kisses against your temple, smoothing over your hair. not only was he late, but he was high. now you wanted to get through the night; you didn't want to enjoy it; you wanted it to end. “sorry i was late; the meat guy got behind on his deliveries.”

you knew it was a lie. it was saturday night, and the meat shipment came every monday morning. he knew you'd be too embarrassed to out him in public.

you put on that fake smile that had been plaguing all of your photos together over the last two years. “it’s fine,” you assured him, leaning into his side, keeping that sweet act up in front of everyone who came to celebrate your birthday.

so like every night you wanted to compromise, more like coerce yourself into agreeing that your peace and sanity would only come from ignoring mikey's drug-induced state. even that logic was thrown out of the window when mikey's famous storytelling surfaced.

your group of friends gathered around, pulling up extra chairs from the other tables as mikey talked. he was always good at talking and making a memorable impression. you were sitting in his lap with his chin on your shoulder, being entirely too loud disregarding the fact that he was so close to your ear.

one of your coworkers, rachel, from the office, had been recounting the time of the annual halloween party. rachel had teased that you were the ‘fox’ of the office and that party had people on their toes seeing that you could get fixed up. she meant it in good fun, but mikey took it a step further.

“oh, hell, speaking of foxes, this thing, miss birthday girl, drives me crazy,” he insisted, with only one of his arms around your waist as he waved his free hand to talk. he lifted his head, situating you further into his lap. he didn't mind rachel's story, if anything it was another opportunity to brag. you, on the other hand, were trying to shimmy out of his lap to reach for the oversized fishbowl margarita hat richie and tiffany had purchased you as your birthday gift. the way mikey started talking only proved that you needed to be tipsy to contain your annoyance.

“she's a total smokeshow,” mikey finally understood the hint, letting you stand as he playfully slapped your ass as you stood. he was commenting like you weren't standing in front of him. you were now wedged between tiffany and rachel as you took a long sip of your drink. tiffany was rubbing your lower back as mikey continued to speak. mikey's eyes wandered around to everyone at the table, barely looking at you.

“this one time for valentine's day i got her those little panties with my name on the back of them. holy fuck,” mikey began again, as richie started laughing. you swallowed hard. suddenly your stomach was churning, you couldn't even continue to drink. you knew this story; you lived it. that stupid red thong with thick silver rhinestone letters across the band. with richie laughing that means he already told him one of the most embarrassing moments of your sex life. now, mikey was about to reveal it to your friends and coworkers in a public bar.

“mikey,” you interjected before he could continue on his tangent. it wasn't rude, but your tone of voice was more serious than it had been. he never shut his mouth when he was high. mikey's filter was long gone the moment he took those painkillers before arriving.

“what? no, it was funny,” mikey brushed you off. “y/n, had them on while i was hittin’ it, ya know, maybe it was more of a lil’ gift to myself, watching that ass bounce should be considered a fuckin’ crime, ya get me?” he took a beer bottle from richie's hand, leaning back in his chair casually.

“no, mikey, come on,” you gave a nervous laugh, setting your jumbo fruity drink behind you.

was he really going to keep continuing? he was going to push aside two warnings without a care.

he ignored you this time, looking at one of your male coworkers, aaron, on the other side of the table who was enjoying the other stories mikey had spouted so far. “okay, so i was convinced i could actually have a piece of cake for valentine's, right? like, man, you feel me right, that ass on valentine's day? yes, please,” he rambled, causing aaron to agree with a belly laugh and nod.

“okay, okay, you definitely understand. so i spit in my hand while i'm railin’ her and i'm trying’ to push my–”

“hey,” tiffany blurted out. “michael, i think you need to pick a different story. there are other people in this bar other than just us.” she didn't want to outwardly say that he was the cause of some of the awkward looks from your other co-workers, much less how embarrassed you were.

“tiff it isn't even that bad,” mikey claimed, taking a swig of his beer, and shaking his hand to remove the condensation after. “yeah, so i barely even put two fingers in her ass and she started screamin’. ‘bear, what the hell?! you gotta give me some warning!’” he was making an awful impression of your voice only adding to more of your embarrassment. he was telling this to people you worked with, and even at events like this when you weren't always professional to each other it was out of line.

you were now looking down at your heels; wondering how much longer you had until you would break. tiffany was tugging at the waistband of your skirt trying to remind you that she was there as she glared at richie for still laughing. more of a deathly, sharp stare that spoke ‘why would you keep laughing with the asshole who is making my friend upset?’

“i was tryin’ to take my fingers back out when she was tryin’ to pull away and she puked, fuckin’ everywhere.”

“yep, i threw up, are you done now?” your tone was snappy causing mikey's head to whip back to your sparkly figure.

“no, i wasn't done,” he was testing you, acting like he was the innocent party in this situation.

you were going to say something else, but due to the sudden tension between you and mikey more people only began to become more uncomfortable. suddenly a group of your coworkers that had carpooled together were affectionately patting your arm and bidding you goodbye. just like that the group was dwindling and you could do nothing other than watch them go. at least now they wouldn't be subjected to potential arguments, other stories, or mikey's erratic behavior.

tiffany was looking at you like she had seen a ghost.

“um, since we are going to brunch tomorrow, i think i better turn in too. i don't want to be too hungover to enjoy our rich girl shit,” your banter with tiffany was less playful than it usually sounded. you didn't want to keep standing in the bar with less and less of your friends who were simply too embarrassed to leave. you needed to get home.

“yeah, just text me, uh, happy birthday,” tiffany pulled you in tightly. her heart was aching for you.

the moment you and mikey were confined in your apartment you locked yourself in the bathroom. the sequined outfit was rubbing your armpits and hips raw from the rough material.

“ya gettin’ all sexy for me in there?” mikey questioned, lightly knocking on the door as he leaned against the wall. “hey, really though, you mad at me, dolcezza?”

you opened the door as you were twirling the end of your hair to create a loose updo fastened with a claw clip. “you can't be serious,” you scoffed, tying the string of your pajama shorts.

“i can lay some excellent pipe for your birthday, don't worry,” he said, holding your waist and pulling you into his chest, one of his hands resting on the curve of your ass.

what a wonderful and considerate gift, michael.

“you embarrassed me in front of the people i work with,” you knew that wasn't the only reason you were upset; you had a list, but you didn't want to lay into him on your birthday. you wanted to sleep. you didn't even have a buzz from the liquor you consumed to try and lessen your upset. you thought it would be easier to ignore him for the rest of the night.

“don't start, it was funny and you got offended because you're sensitive,” mikey’s nose was buried in your hair as he spoke. your entire body was tense, a sour taste being left in your mouth as he spoke. “and don't get me wrong you're sensitive and i love that about you, but come on, everyone was having a good time except for you.”

“they didn't know what else to do, you were making everyone uncomfortable,” you couldn't believe he dared to try and defend his actions right now. you had pulled away from him, now sitting yourself on the edge of the unmade bed. you were trying your best not to get worked up, but mikey was not de-escalating the situation.

“oh, so i'm the bad guy now? dolcezza, be serious, you're just worked up because i was late and it put you in a bad mood.” mikey was pushing your emotions aside again, still trying to keep up his playful mood. he stood in front of you, his thumbs stuck into his denim pockets.

“you promised me you would be on time,” you were plucking at a loose thread on the grey sheets, kicking your foot nervously. your voice was low, knowing no matter what you said mikey would have an excuse, snarky remark, or some sort of half-assed apology.

“dolcezza,” mikey shrugged, looking to the ceiling. “ya gotta understand i’m busy. the restaurant keeps me held up and—”

“mikey, you were high when you walked in and then you lied to me…you’re still lying to me.”

“no, come on, i was trying to figure out how to get the gas line fixed, and then, fuck, i got stressed okay? i just needed something to take the edge off.”

you didn't know how truthful he was being, but what you did know is that no matter what it ended with him popping a couple of pills.

“i think i’m done,” you confessed, looking through him to the wall behind him.

“what’s that s’pose to mean?” he was scratching the back of his neck, so smug, yet you could tell he was panicking. his breath halted and his eyes were having trouble focusing now.

“i mean i can’t keep pretending like everything is fine when it’s not.”

“maybe you should start talkin’ to me and you wouldn't feel that way.”

you now held your gaze onto mikey, finally being able to pluck the loose thread from the sheets. you were twirling it tightly around your index fingertip, only releasing it when it felt tingly.

“maybe you should start listening,” your eyebrows furrowed. you had done enough talking, you had done enough begging, you had done enough apologizing for the pain he caused. you had kept the peace for long enough.

“oh, y/n, get real,” mikey huffed, taking a step closer. “it’s not my fault.”

“not your fault? mikey, you are delusional if you think none of our problems are your fault.” you stood up, still fiddling with the loose string.

“now i’m delusional?” he asked with a scoff.

“and an asshole,” you added, now feeling the months of pent-up aggression start to take the reins.

“i'm an asshole? only because i'm tired.” mikey retorted, coming into your space. his tall frame was towering over you. “i'm tired of trying to balance everything on my own shoulders while everyone just takes from me! you included!” he was getting heated faster than you could've imagined. he was aching for another pill to cut back from his spitefulness, but that would only add to your argument.

comical. really fucking comical.

“i work a full-time job and still end up working extra shifts for free at that shithole of a restaurant, and then i pull my pants down so you can fuck me. you fuck me twice mikey. the first time to orgasm and the second time to keep fucking me over!” you held two fingers up, waving them wildly in your frantic speech.

“that is fuckin’ low,” he spat, a strand of his bangs falling on his forehead, forcing him to push it back. “even for you, that’s fuckin’ low.” mikey grumbled, rolling his eyes in his fit of annoyance.

“you didn't have an excuse for that one. it must have been true,” you countered, pushing past him to find your phone that you left in the bathroom.

“i'm not done talking,” he argued, blocking the door you were heading towards.

“of course, you aren't,” you whined, holding your temples. “you never shut the hell up when someone asks you to.” you were still trying to get under his arm to enter the bathroom, but he only moved more of his body in the way of the door frame.

“oh, keep bitchin’ at me, sure,” mikey was tense, having to keep his hands shoved in his pockets when he wasn't talking because of how shaky they were. “does it make you feel better when you constantly bitch at me?”

“mikey, let me get my damn phone so i can leave,” you lightly shoved his side, only to be met with him pushing your shoulder in defense. his arms were now crossed over his chest. his hands gripping his biceps tightly.

“you're gonna walk away from me?” he asked in disbelief, though his position in front of the bathroom was unyielding.

“if you would let me get my phone, i would be halfway down the road,” you took a step back, knowing your mother would have enough sense to let you inside if you continuously banged on her door. you decide just to get some extra clothes and leave.

you began to rifle through the dresser drawers. his mouth was slightly agape, finally taking you seriously. he thought this was going to end like it did every other time. you would both have a temper tantrum, one of you would sleep on the couch, and in the morning you would apologize first and he would follow suit with some half-assed promise to do better.

“come on, dolcezza, let’s figure this out,” he said coolly, taking the clothes from your hand and pushing back into the open drawer. you watched the clothing leave your hand. he wasn't going to be in control this time. “we don't need to keep sayin’ things that hurt each other.” suddenly he was the one who wanted to find a solution.

you took to the silent card, seeing the vein on his forehead slightly bulge as you regathered your clothes. that was his least favorite thing you did. you were testing him; it was your turn.

you pulled your purse off the bedpost with your clothes tucked under your arm, walking past him to grab your phone out of the bathroom. mikey was watching your every move. though before you could exit the bathroom he pulled the door shut. you took a step back due to the sudden slam.

“talk to me and i’ll let you out,” mikey insisted, hearing you now begin to pound on the door. he was holding the knob tightly.

you began to kick the bottom of the door, it rattling against the frame and mikey’s strong grasp. “you gotta speak fuckin’ words, christ, i hate when you do that petty shit.”

petty shit? petty shit was holding someone hostage in the bathroom.

you let out frustrated grunts as you occasionally tried to jiggle the doorknob and throw your shoulder against the door. there was no hope mikey would be blocking that door until you gave into his demands, so you decided to play the long game. you sat against the door.

you had the bathroom if you needed it, now you had your phone, and the various finger foods from the bar were sitting nicely in your stomach. you wouldn't need to move for a while.

“one word, that’s it,” mikey’s tone was only progressively becoming more angry. you were pushing every button you knew.

mikey on the other side of the door was spiraling. muttering curses under his breath as he was now aggressively pleading with you to talk to him.

“fuckin’ christ, you make me so pissed when you do this,” mikey spouted, lightly hitting his head against the door. “you're the one that pisses me off the most, you know that?” he questioned spitefully, though even the hurtful phrase only gave you more of an incentive to stay quiet.

“jesus fuckin’ christ, can you just fuckin’ speak?” mikey goaded, now pounding on the door making you scoot to the side wall rather than have your back against the rattling door.

“y/n, why the fuck are you like this? actin’ like fuckin’ carmy,” mikey grunted, now kicking the bottom of the door. you heard a sharp crack, looking to the side seeing the tip of his shoe through the cheap wooden door.

you couldn't deny that he was right. you were acting like his younger brother, “the baby of the family,” but you also didn't care. you were safely contained in the bathroom while mikey escalated his outburst because you were done trying to work things out. you had spent too long agreeing to live within the deception and chaos mikey created.

“fuckin’ pissin’ me off!” he sneered, slamming his palm into the center of the door. “holy shit, really?” mikey asked in disbelief, a faint knocking and mumbling were heard from the front of the apartment. he knew what was happening, but you were oblivious until he started talking again.

“you fuckin’ narc, calling the cops,” he kicked the bottom of the door again. it wasn't you and you knew that, but you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing. you could only assume your neighbors had gotten sick of the bickering.

you didn't leave the bathroom until one of the officers had announced his presence. you peeked out of the bathroom expecting to also see mikey in the bedroom, but he wasn't there.

“mr. berzatto is outside talking to my partner,” the officer assured you, then continued. “your neighbor mentioned she heard some loud arguing and slamming,” the officer recited the words off of his notepad.

you stopped him with a sigh, already pulling a duffle bag out of the closet. “yeah, i’m just going to leave, he can stay,” you pushed the clothes that were previously in your arms into the bag.

“miss,” the officer paused.

“y/l/n,” you added.

“y/l/n,” the officer adjusted his tone of speaking, “you don’t have to press charges but by law mr. berzatto will be detained tonight and released in the morning.”

you shifted your gaze to the officer. you bit the innard of your cheek, shuffling through some of your other belongings.

“if this is a common occurrence there are outlets to help you.”

you shook your head, only wanting to move past the tangent the officer was going to begin. yes, mikey was stubborn, loud, and difficult, but so were you. unfortunately, those matching traits didn't always click together correctly. you both knew how to set the other off, and tonight was a night that also triggered the neighbors into annoying your neighbors enough with the squabbling.

“officer, as much as i appreciate what you're saying; it isn't like that. we had an argument and we both got too loud,” you explained as you continued to pack anything that would be able to be squashed into your old gym bag.

“speaking strictly as human to human, no one deserves to have a screaming match against their significant other…especially one that ends with an officer standing in your apartment,” he said lingering by the door frame, clearly eyeing the hole in the bathroom door.

“like i said it was completely out of hand, and i'm done anyway, so none of the other neighbors will call you again,” you assured the officer, struggling to zip the top of the bag when you were done stuffing it full.

“how many times have you packed that bag and come back?”

you didn’t answer him. you had threatened to leave mikey more times than you could count, yet you always doubled back. he was so easy to be stuck on because when he wasn't being an asshole or high out of his mind he was cooking for you, letting you talk his ear off, and singing to you mindlessly. there were countless other things you loved about mikey, and they were all things you thought about when you stayed a night at your mother's house as you sulked in your childhood bedroom, but when the officer asked how many times you returned it opened your eyes. you didn't want to return any longer.

the night of your birthday debacle wasn't the last time you saw mikey. after the officer left you spent the entire night packing what your compact car could hold and leaving the invaluables behind to mikey.

the night of your birthday debacle wasn't the last time you saw mikey. you saw him a week later at the beef. he had come out of his office, looking lost the moment richie said you needed to talk to him. you gave him the spare key to the apartment, the check for your half of the rent in an envelope, and a final goodbye.

“why?” mikey had embraced you for the final time. you eyes wandered around his disorganized office, sighing as you saw a picture of the both of you pinned next to a prayer card. “why’d you go?”

“if you're still asking why then it's probably best that i'm gone.” you only patted his back. his embrace was long and slightly uncomfortable.

it hadn't taken you long to get back on your feet. you had so much potential no longer being overshadowed by your demons of a drug-addicted boyfriend in the closet trying to claw their way out into the world. you were more focused and determined to succeed. you weren't exhausted from overworking yourself at a failing restaurant or compromising over a broken relationship.

you found yourself meeting with tiffany less only because richie refused to stop pestering her about you. you, nor tiffany, thought your friendship would be very productive if her husband was sniffing around for information to give mikey.

it also helped you not dwell on the past. tiffany was constantly apologizing after the breakup for introducing you to mikey, but meeting mikey wasn't what you regretted. you regretted being unable to help him. sometimes you felt like you gave up on him, leaving him to cope with his addiction, his crippling finances, and his multitude of other issues, but that wasn't the case. mikey had begun his steady decline long before he met you, and never wanted to help himself.

almost four years later you were staring at your phone in disbelief over the article you had read.

local restaurant owner found dead on state street bridge.

you hadn't thought of him in years, and if you did it was something irrelevant that you could easily brush aside, but reading that he was dead only made every emotion resurface. the closure you gave him was close to nothing because you didn't ever think he deserved it after the embarrassment he caused you. he was gone and would never receive that peace of mind.

[kesarijournal]

The Australian Government's Dis/Misinformation Laws: A Masterclass in Irony

Well, well, well, it seems the Australian government has decided to take a break from wrestling crocodiles and playing the didgeridoo to draft what they’re calling “misinformation laws”. And boy, are they a doozy. In a move that would make George Orwell blush, these laws are being touted as a way to protect the public from the scourge of fake news. But, as we’ll see, they’re about as effective at…

[vivsinkpot]

The Words We Don’t Say: Dialogue Should Reveal, Not Just Inform.

Every line of dialogue is a tiny window into who your characters are, not just what they need to say. In real life, people rarely say exactly what they mean. They dodge, hint, exaggerate, fall silent, or say one thing when they feel another. Your characters should, too.

Good dialogue isn’t about giving information cleanly — it’s about revealing layers.

For example:

A character could say “I’m fine,” while tightening her grip on the table so hard her knuckles go white.

He could say “You’re impossible,” but his voice is soft, almost laughing — meaning you’re impossible and I love you for it.

She could say “I hate you,” in the rain, soaked through, desperate — meaning don’t leave.

The surface words and the real emotions don’t always match. That’s where the tension lives.

That’s what makes dialogue linger.

Three quick tricks to deepen your dialogue:

1. Layer emotion under the words.

Surface: What are they saying?

Subtext: What do they really mean?

Conflict: What’s holding them back from just saying it?

E.g. Two best friends sitting in a car after one of them has announced she’s moving across the country.

She fiddled with the edge of her sleeve, staring straight ahead.

“You’ll forget about me after a week,” she said, light, almost laughing.

Surface: She says he’ll forget about her.

You’ll forget about me after a week. (The outward words are casual, a joke.)

Subtext: She’s terrified of being left behind, feeling abandoned.

I’m scared you don’t care enough. I don’t want to be alone. Please tell me you’ll miss me.

Conflict: She doesn’t want to beg him to stay — she’s too proud, too afraid he doesn’t feel the same.

She wants to stay close, to ask for reassurance — but fear of rejection makes her hide her true feelings under humor.

2. Use silence and body language.

• A pause can scream louder than a speech.

• A glance away can whisper I’m afraid better than a thousand words.

E.g. After her apology, it’s his silence — heavy, raw, unspoken — that says everything words can’t.

After an argument, she finally admits, in a shaking voice, “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He says nothing.

Instead, he leans back against the wall, scrubbing a hand across his mouth, looking everywhere but at her.

The silence stretches between them — heavy, aching, almost unbearable.

When he finally does speak, his voice is hoarse: “I know.”

Breakdown:

Pause: His silence after her admission isn’t empty — it’s full. It screams his hurt, his struggle to forgive, his overwhelming emotions.

Body Language: Scrubbing his hand across his mouth, looking away — it all whispers I’m overwhelmed. I’m hurt. I don’t know how to say what I’m feeling.

Result: The tension between them becomes almost physical without a single extra word.

3. Let characters miscommunicate.

• Real conversations are messy.

• People interrupt, misunderstand, react to what they think they heard.

• That tension is pure narrative gold.

E.g. A confession turns into heartbreak when he misunderstands her words and walks away before she can explain.

She pulls him aside at the crowded party, her voice low and urgent.

“I need to tell you something — about us,” she says.

He stiffens immediately, crossing his arms. “Don’t bother. I get it. You regret everything.”

She blinks, hurt flashing across her face.

“No, that’s not what I meant—”

But he’s already turning away, anger burning in his chest.

She watches him go, the words she was really about to say — I love you — still caught in her throat.

Breakdown:

Miscommunication: He interrupts and jumps to conclusions, assuming the worst.

Realism: Conversations are messy; people hear what they’re most afraid of hearing.

Narrative Gold: Now, there’s heartbreak, regret, and a perfect setup for future emotional payoff when they finally untangle the truth.

Some brilliant examples to study:

‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney — where miscommunication becomes the air between them.

‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen — where formality and wit mask tenderness and fear.

‘Six of Crows’ by Leigh Bardugo — where silence says what pride refuses to.

Dialogue is not just a tool for moving the plot.

It’s a doorway into the heart of your story.

Open it carefully.