#historical speeches

[alwaysbewoke]

[tmarshconnors]

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part! You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels ... upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

Mario Savio (December 8, 1942 – November 6, 1996) was an American activist and a key member of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.

[yrsonpurpose]

FIRST SON ALEXANDER CLAREMONT-DIAZ'S ADDRESS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, OCTOBER 2, 2020

[historicity-was-already-taken]

"The end of liberalization in Poland, like its beginning, was accompanied by anti-Semitism. During March of 1968, an organ­ized “anti-Zionist” (a euphemism for anti-Jewish) campaign was launched against those self-defined Poles whom Polish society as a whole tended to regard as nothing but Jews. It turned into one of the most extensive witch hunts in the history of that country. The harassment began with an attack on and purge of a few people in top positions in the party, in the government, in the army, and in public life, but soon it broadened to include individuals of Jewish origin in all walks of life. They were pressured to provide proof of loyalty to the state and party, proof which, when given, failed to exonerate them. Anti-Semitic insults were hurled at individuals of Jewish descent. The students protesting peacefully against the end of liberalization and the tightening of controls in Poland were alleged to be misled into insurrection and counter-revolution by clever, traitorous Zionist plotters. They were mercilessly sup­pressed. When interrogated by the police, arrested students of Jew­ish or mixed parentage were repeatedly asked to state their nation­ality, and their response 'Polish' was rejected as not true. Others who were 'real Poles' were asked, 'why did you tie yourself to these filthy Jews?' or, 'why did you allow yourself to be used by these kikes?' Their 'Zionist' leaders were arrested and put on trial. The parents of these stu­dents—sometimes prominent Communists—were removed from their jobs, as were other individuals of Jewish origin. All of these were urged to leave Poland, but permission to do so was given to them only if they renounced Polish citizenship and applied for exit to Israel."

Celia Heller, On the Edge of Destruction: Jews of Poland Between the Two World Wars, pg 299.

[theorahsart]

Incorruptible pt 40

Don't mind Robespierre, hes just being AWESOME and upsetting a bunch of colonialists.

[francy-sketches]

cute date idea: show her your collection of dead targs 💖

[racefortheironthrone]

The broken man speech is pretty good writing but does it have any historical basis? Seems like a bad idea to build your army out of smallfolk.

So medieval armies were rarely made entirely out of peasant levies (that's the inaccuracy), even during the storied days of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd at its height. But it was not uncommon for young men to serve as archers in the army - indeed, the entire thrust of English military policy from the 13th through 14th century was to establish as broad and deep a strategic reserve as possible of trained longbowmen for this very reason.

However, I think it's missing the forest for the trees to focus on the levy model when it comes to the Broken Man speech. Rather, I think it's about the corrosive impact of war on veterans and deserters who fall to banditry due to trauma and a lack of alternatives. It absolutely was a fixture of the Hundred Years' War that unemployed veterans of all nations turned their skills learned in the chevauchées onto civilian populations, causing widespread devastation.

[mikelogan]

MIKELOGAN’s 5K FOLLOWER CELEBRATION || GET TO KNOW ME MEME FAVORITE HISTORICAL MOVIES [1/5]

The King's Speech (2010) dir. Tom Hooper

[skeletonpandas]

This made me cry.

Press is important. News is important. Freedom of speech is completely necessary.

If this doesn't show you that...I dunno what could show you that.

[itsstede]

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate day.

This is how my favourite pirates talk:

And also like this:

And of course like this:

Gonna talk like them 🏴‍☠️

[alwaysbewoke]

[tmarshconnors]

Destruction Of Words.

In an era where sound bites and social media blurbs often substitute for meaningful dialogue, it is easy to romanticise the past. We look back to a time when men and women communicated with a grace and eloquence that seems all but lost today. Figures like Sir Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Martin Luther King Jr. crafted speeches that not only conveyed their messages with clarity but also resonated deeply with their audiences, leaving a lasting impact on history.

Take, for instance, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. In a mere 272 words, Lincoln managed to encapsulate the essence of democracy and the enduring spirit of the nation. His words, chosen with precision and care, continue to echo through the corridors of time, reminding us of the power of succinct and impactful speech.

Consider also the speeches of Sir Winston Churchill during World War II.

His rousing addresses, such as "We shall fight on the beaches," were masterpieces of rhetorical skill, instilling courage and hope in a nation under siege. Churchill’s mastery of the English language and his ability to galvanise an entire country stand in stark contrast to the often vapid and disjointed rhetoric we hear from many public figures today.

In today’s fast-paced world, communication has become increasingly truncated and superficial. The rise of social media platforms like Twitter, with its character limits, encourages brevity over substance. This shift has given rise to a generation of public figures who often struggle to articulate their thoughts coherently, let alone with the eloquence of their predecessors.

Sound bites have replaced well-considered arguments, and sensationalism often trumps sincerity. The art of debate, once a cornerstone of democratic societies, has been overshadowed by the spectacle of shouting matches and personal attacks. This decline in the quality of public discourse reflects a broader cultural shift towards instant gratification and short attention spans.

We have singlehandedly destroyed the beauty of words. It often reminds me of a quote from the film “1984” which goes like this “It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” However it’s NOT a beautiful thing. The erosion of language can and has lead to a decline in the richness of human expression and communication.

Words are powerful tools for conveying ideas, emotions, and knowledge. When we reduce their complexity, overuse certain terms, or allow language to become a tool for manipulation rather than enlightenment, we risk losing the depth and diversity that make communication meaningful and impactful.

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

"Monza has abandoned us." Abandoned you maybe, not me though.

[theorahsart]

Incorruptible pt 39

We are still to an extent, having these arguments in modern day. And I thoroughly agree with Robespierre on this point. I'd rather my country lose any wealth it currently has, when that wealth is at the expense of other people's lives.

In the spirit of anti-racism- I wanna point out that although Robespierre played a small part in speaking up for the rights of black people, it should be acknowledged that the Haiti revolution and abolition movement was vm started by free black people asking for rights, and the slave rebellions organised later. You could read 'The Black Jacobins' for more information about this~

((edit: I used a lot of the same language Banarve originally used on this topic, but on refection I think his wording is too vague (I suspect on purpose...to avoid the ugliness of what he's arguing for lol) and it doesnt give much context to ppl not familiar to Frev, and what he/the colonies are arguing for. So I changed the dialogue. Sorry for anyone who reblogged the original, although thank you anyways :3))

[tuulikki]

I read a fun article about how some European languages don’t use the usual Indo-European form for the word “wolf” of having either a w- or a v- word.

Instead, a lot of languages apparently are doing the same avoidance speech thing that we’re all familiar with from the word “bear” in many Germanic, Baltic, Uralic, and Slavic languages, which had a taboo on saying the real Indo-European word for “bear.” The real word is usually along the lines of ursus or artos or arktos as you find in Romance and Celtic languages.

But, in almost an exact reverse of the arktos-avoidance lineup, a lot of Romance and Celtic languages avoid the PIE *wĺ̥kʷos. Instead, Romance languages change some of the sounds, the way we change “damn” to “darn” to avoid actually saying the former. They use lupus (Latin) or lúkos (Ancient Greek). And the Celtic languages use a lot of poetical euphemisms.

So I guess in places where there weren’t a lot of bears but there were still plenty of wolves, people avoided saying the name of that top predator.

Meanwhile, all the languages from Bear Country were totally fine chatting about wolves, because who’s gonna be scared of the Big Bad Wolf when there are honest-to-God 300 kilo/600 lb genuine murder machines like bears in the fuckin woods

[sataninsparkles]

I don't understand why people seem to dislike "Girl Dinner" and "Girl Math" so much.

Like, it's not about girls being unable to take care of themselves or make smart financial decisions. Girl Math is literally just about how under the capitalism small purchases that add up to a large number don't feel as expensive as one large purchase. It's the same phenomenon as being willing to pay $10 for a product but not $8 + $2 shipping. Or spending cash feeling different from spending on a credit card.

Or like why a bunch of people just started talking about how being a bimbo is just quirky sexism.

Yes, women can achieve great things, and they can be smart. We all support women's rights. But we gotta support women's wrongs as well.

After being told that you have to be smart and strong and do everything a man can do or you're a bad feminist and you're setting the movement back fifty years, the ability to just be dumb and carefree feels like taking off a bra.

Yes, women can be smart. But they can be dumb too. We can be weak and dumb and that doesn't make us "bad feminists" or "quirky sexists". It makes us human. And shaming women for their freedom to enjoy their life however they want is counterproductive. Men get to be as dumb as they want without shame, so why is it that when women are the ones who are dumb, you get offended and try to shame them into acting the way you want them to?

We can't have equality until you guys stop shaming women for every little thing they do. We can't have equality if we don't support women's wrongs.