#hospitalize your local fascist

[icarus-suraki]

This is the kind of energy I'm wanting on Tuesday night when the election results are announced:

Dutch resistance members celebrate at the moment they heard of Adolf Hitler's death over the radio, May 1945. [Colorized 2018]

[llyfrenfys]

"Fascism and Welsh Nationalism", or "Stop Fawning over the FWA you cont"

This is inspired by things I've been noticing around Aberystwyth lately while out and about.

Some mfer is putting up Free Welsh Army (FWA) stickers and I have to keep on pulling them down. Why? You ask.

Fascism.

Because of the not so subtle links between the FWA and fascist movements (of which those links are quite frankly underdiscussed) this post is necessary.

So, starting with the stickers:

This is just one of three identical stickers I've pulled down this last week in Aberystwyth. They appear more to be car stickers than anything else and must have cost a pretty penny to print and/or purchase. They appear to have been bought directly from a website using FWA imagery and slogans - yet does not claim to be the FWA (that I can see, at least). I'm not going to link to it because they don't need any more web traffic. But we will get onto why this is significant in a bit.

Anyway, returning to the stickers - I pulled down the first one off of an electric box on North Road, opposite Vaynor St in late November. I pulled down the second (pictured) also in late November on Penglais Road off the bus stop near the hospital. And in early December I pulled down the third one off of a wall near the Spar at the end of Vaynor Street. Right off the bat we can assume the guy who wasted a lot of money on these stickers lives local to where the stickers I've found so far were. So they're lazy, for one - not venturing much further than their own front door by the looks of it.

Iconography:

I've written about the iconography of the FWA before here but it bears repeating that if fascists approve of your iconography, then that's a sign your movement is already overrun with fascists.

This is the sticker design which I've been noticing about town. Top to bottom we have "Cymru Rydd/Free Wales" which on its own is fine. No qualms with that. But between the Welsh and English text is a symbol. This one:

Now, this was the symbol of the Free Wales Army. Note that I say *was* because the FWA doesn't exist any more. Yet various actors have tried to resurrect its very unsuccessful corpse over the years. These stickers seem to belong to a new organisation which is the latest to try and capitalise on the ghost of the FWA. Now, if you're like me, you'll have already noticed this design is, for lack of a better word, a bit dogwhistley. The angled, blocky, swastika-like stylisation of what is supposedly an eagle, the black and white void of any other features and the very fact it *is* an eagle depicted all seem a bit *too* similar to the iconography of the Third Reich, don't you think?

Their design choice is no accident. It is a design which appeals to fascists while also has enough Welsh cultural reference for apologists to hide behind with a plausibly deniable reason for why their eagle Looks Like That. The white eagle is a reference to the 13th C. poem Mab Darogan, in which Myrddin prophesises that "a king shall come with heroism from among the Welsh people" and that "generous men shall be reborn of the lineage of the eagles of Snowdonia". The eagle could have literally been drawn in any way. But it rather specifically was drawn like this. That choice is not accidental.

Now this new organisation which is trying to reanimate the corpse of the FWA (we'll call them EW) has incorporated the FWA symbol into their sticker. An endorsement of the failed so-called 'paramilitary' organisation on their part, to be sure. EW also have included a different style of white eagle on their sticker as well - which is blatantly stolen from Wikipedia (the copyright is expired, but 0/10 artistic effort on their part even so). Also not to nitpick but the eagle on the sticker is grey not white so that's also a fail.

Artistic criticisms aside, the sticker is loaded with dogwhistley iconography all round. The Celtic knot border isn't necessarily problematic, however, fascists and/or neo-nazis love to slap Celtic knots onto things because they associate Celticity with whiteness. The colour scheme may also be a coincidence, but it does remind me of the fascist symbol which is the 'Flag of Kekistan" which uses the same colour scheme.

Why does this matter and who were the FWA?:

The FWA were a Welsh nationalist (supposedly 'paramilitary') outfit which formed in Lampeter in 1963 and disbanded in 1969 (just 6 years of activity). They took a lot of their cues from the IRA and were effectively fanboys of them. The group was never really considered a threat and mostly consisted of middle-aged men playing paramilitary dress-up. They did claim to be funded by the IRA and that they had dogs trained to carry explosives. Their claims remain unproven.

HOWEVER - and here's where things get sticky. A lot of the issues the FWA were publicly concerned with were and are actually valid issues (e.g. the drowning of Capel Celyn, the Aberfan Disaster etc.). The problem is that fascists or fanboys of fascists love to get their foot in the door by addressing genuine issues. But what happens is that invariably a minoritised group is blamed for the existence of said issue and naturally that leads to discrimination and violence.

The police started to get a bit antsy with the investiture of then-prince Charles as prince of Wales and the possibility of the FWA doing some terrorism. So some of the FWA's leaders were arrested just prior to this. The group officially ended in 1969.

The nationalism advocated for by the FWA was of the 'blood-and-soil' type. Not just your common or garden nationalism (which still has issues but given context is perfectly able to exist in a non-fashy way). And that's why the idolisation of the FWA in years since is sus. It appeals to romanticised nationalist notions of brave men in uniforms helping free Wales - when in reality they did little terrorism and little to actually further the Welsh nationalist cause. In fact, the leadership of the FWA fell apart after they started to disagree on whether their actions were damaging the cause rather than helping it.

Julian Cayo-Evans founded the FWA and ran it with Dennis Coslett and Gethin ap Gruffydd. Gruffydd went on to found other youth nationalist organisations after he left the FWA due to disagreements with its direction - e.g. he founded the Patriotic Front in 1964 which was later outlawed by Plaid Cymru in 1966. It goes without saying names like 'Patriotic Front' are deliberate nods to other, similarly named fascist organisations like National Front.

Legacy and The Present:

FWA's only legacy is the sycophantic fanclub which ressurects the corpse of the FWA every few years to parade it around and relive the 'glory days' of paramilitary cosplay. But aside from functionally being useless, their iconography and politics are still very much under the fash umbrella and that must be resisted at every opportunity (hence why I'm tearing down their stickers - I don't want fascists to feel welcome here). Part of why people may turn a blind eye to the FWA/sympathise is that they may not be aware of the history of the FWA or see the dogwhistles laden in their work and symbols. Some may even just assume without any other context that they're just another Welsh-language preservation group and may even support them without realising the deeper nature of the organisation beyond just preserving the Welsh language.

Which brings me back to EW. I'm going to put the rest of this under a cut, I do encourage reading the rest though and reblogging to get the word out that

It is always morally okay to tear down fascist propaganda

If you see some in your town, don't hesitate to let fash know they aren't welcome here.

EW:

So, onto the latest in a long line of paramilitary wannabes who idolise a long-dead organisation from the 60s.

The EW website seems... sketch. Lots of banners and sections asking to 'donate now' and 'take action' (with money). So right off the bat this looks like a cash-grab.

Secondly, from their own 'About' section they claim that the Welsh Independence movement has "become inundated with authoritarian Marxist entryists who regard Welsh independence as merely a vehicle for furthering their own political agendas". Which is pretty bold stuff coming from an organisation trying to do The Exact Same. There's also a LOT of emphasis on youth involvement and youth nationalism.

There's also a lot of ahistorical claims in the About section too. E.g. on the prophecy of Myrddin "From this legend derives the very name of Cymru’s greatest mountains, with ‘Eryri’ meaning the ‘Seat of the Eagles’ in Cymraeg." - this is contested as there is no one agreed upon etymology of Eryri. To claim that this is The Etymology suggests that they picked this one just because it conveniently fits the version of the mythology they're presenting. They also claim that "Owain ap Gruffydd, would adopt three such eagles as his royal coat of arms" - this is blatantly incorrect as Owain ap Gruffydd lived before the Age of Heraldry and the three eagles are actually later attributed arms.

In EW's FAQ there's a section on supporting their organisation - with one paragraph saying that you can buy stickers instead "If you aren’t eligible or willing to commit to becoming an activist". Lol at 'if you aren't willing to fully commit to our FWA fanboy club you can put up some stickers instead'. Also the button to buy stickers suggests you pay via paypal "We’ll accept quick payments using PayPal and will have them shipped to you First Class" - which *totally* sounds legit (what do you bet they ask people to pay via 'friends and family instead of through business means?).

And... that's it. There's very little else on their website. It *looks* like they're trying to be a movement, but appear to lack substance (and money, judging from how many different Donate Now buttons are plastered all over the site). A hollow organisation blatantly bending history and mythology to fit their narrative, proudly using symbols designed to appeal to fascists while asking people to trust them with the future of Wales?

Dim diolch.

For further reading on why we should guard against fascism in Welsh language revival and independence, see my other post here.

Reblogs welcome for an antifascist independent Wales.

[gepgep2]

"So: what is the Israeli long-term strategy, really?

Insofar as there’s an answer, it seems to be that they simply don’t have one; the Israeli government no more has a long-term strategy for dealing with their future in the region than Exxon Mobil has a long-term strategy for dealing with climate change. They seem to just figure that, if US power does collapse or give up on them, something will turn up. No doubt too they have people in thinktanks brainstorming that, too, coming with reports and scenarios, but all this is basically an afterthought. The driving force behind the colonization of ’67 Palestine is not any sort of grand strategy; it’s a kind of terrible confluence of short-term political and economic advantage.

First, the settlements. They were originally the project of a relatively isolated, if well funded, collection of religious zealots. Now everything seems to be organized around them. The government pours in endless resources. Why? The answer seems to be that since at least the ‘90s, rightwing politicians in Israel have figured out that the settlements are a kind of political magic. The more money gets funneled into them, the more the Jewish electorate turns to the Right. The reason is simple. Israel is expensive. Housing inside the 1948 boundaries is exorbitantly expensive. If you are a young person without means, you increasingly has two options: to live with one’s parents until well into your 30s, or find a place in an illegal settlement, where apartments cost perhaps a third of what they would in Haifa or Tel Aviv—and that’s not to mention the superior roads, schools, utilities, and social services. At this point the vast majority of settlers live on the West Bank for economic, not ideological, reasons. (This is especially true around Jerusalem.) But consider who these people are. In the past, young people in difficult circumstances, students, well-educated young parents, have been the traditional constituency of the Left. Put these same people in a settlement, and they will, inexorably, even without realizing it, begin to think like fascists. Settlements are, in their own way, giant engines for the production of right-wing consciousness. It is very difficult for someone placed in hostile territory, given training in automatic weapons and warned to be constantly on one’s guard against a local population seething over the fact that your next-door neighbors have been killing their sheep and destroying their olive trees, not to gradually see ethno-nationalism as common sense. As a result, with every election, the old Left electorate further dissipates, and a host of religious, fascist, or semi-fascist parties win a larger and larger stake of the vote. For politicians, who can barely think past the next election, the lure is inescapable.

...I only came to fully understand the agony of the Palestinian situation when I came to understand that the entire point of life, in traditional Palestinian society, is put oneself in a position where you can be generous to strangers. Hospitality is everything.

...Wherever we went, Palestinians would tell us about all the different sorts of people they had historically welcomed to the Holy Land: Armenians, Greeks, Persians, Russians, Africans, Jews… They saw the Zionists as originally their house- guests. Yet they were the worst house-guests one could possibly imagine. Every act of hospitality, of welcome, is turned into license for appropriation, and the world’s most skillful propagandists leapt into action to try to convince the world that their hosts were depraved inhuman monsters who had no right to their own homes. In such a situation, what can you possibly do? Stop being generous? But then one is absolutely, existentially defeated. This is what people really meant when they talked about a life of calculated degradation. People were being systematically deprived of the physical, the economical, and the political means to be magnanimous. And to be deprived of the means to make that kind of magnificent gesture is a kind of living death."

https://davidgraeber.org/articles/hostile-intelligence-reflections-from-a-visit-to-the-west-bank/

[elinaline]

What the fuck kind of country sends peaceful environmentalist protesters in the hospital with war wounds and steals their personal items while they're being hospitalized to get a list of the people present at the protest, if not a fascist one ??? What the fuck

25 march 2023 people go to saint saline to protest a private water reservoir that would endanger the biodiversity in the region and only profit 6% of the local farmers, they're being faced by one of the most violent police repression to date, sending hundreds in hospital, including at least one between life and death, and now I read that the police is taking their phones to search for proof of the protest while they're being hospitalized ??? It's disgusting it's ducking disgusting. Please keep your eyes on France, as the protests get traction and diversity, the brutal repression will get worse and more pernicious.

[icarus-suraki]

Hospitalize your local fascist--or let them do it to themselves. Either way.

January 2, 2023 - Two fascists set themselves on fire trying to burn down a Servicio de Inmigracion building in Bakersfield, California.

The business helps immigrants work with the immigration process and pay their income taxes. The fire didn’t spread and was quickly put out by the fire department. [video]

[greenvincentine]

Faye Tully, my new massage therapist and also my "regular" therapist, makes house calls. And she practices alternative healing.

Yesterday afternoon she popped by for tea and stayed until just after midnight; tells me these non-professional social visits are "part of the process." I'm all for it, now that my lower lumbar is worrying me again.

Faye made herself at home with a book of ghost stories and some vintage pulp magazines I keep on hand for October evenings on my back porch. After a long silence (roughly an hour) I mentioned that, re: alternative healing, at the hospital where I work there's an emphasis on evidence-based medicine. Empirical science and whatnot.

"Do the experts at your medical center understand that appointments with specialists always being four to six months out is essentially 'no' medicine, evidence or not?" she fired back.

Yep, Faye is one tough cookie. And she's not whistling Dixie when she uses the term "alternative."

Has a little bag of carved jade runes in her briefcase. Tarot. Planchette. Keeps miniature black candles in an old Altoids tin. Her notes are written in hieroglyphics with a quill.

Among other keepsakes in that briefcase was a crumpled photo of a man "somewhere in Yugoslavia, 1945" whom she swears is her grandfather and fought the fascists; he's got a beat-up Enfield slung over his shoulder and wears a partisan scarf, so maybe so. That photo and her Eastern Bloc accent make Faye's claim to be born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, seem slightly off bubble.

But I do love that she carries in a tiny wicker basket her treasured pet hedgehog, Mr. Brush. He's a well behaved and endlessly curious little gnome, so I let him have the run of my porch during the visit.

Faye lit one of those candles, which, after three hours, was still not a quarter-inch shorter than when match met wick. I told Faye that her perpetual candle was one of the most amazing devices I'd ever seen.

"Infinity is a constant illusion," she sighed. "But we can always dream about forever."

"I see what you did with that sentence construction," I replied." "Constant with infinity. Always with forever. Is your incantation redundant, tautological, or just magical?"

"Look at you catching the subtle clues, inspector," she said. "But I'm not the local witch, even in October."

"Well you kind of are," I said, then scooped up Mr. Brush and rubbed his belly. "You have the cutest little familiar in town."

The greenhouse clock stuck midnight. Mr. Brush made a happy clucking sound. Faye pinched out the candle.

"You should give that a rest, Dave. Especially in October."

She calls me Dave. Did I mention that she's gorgeous?

[sparklyeevee]

This is a small thing, but even if you're an American talking to other Americans, I gotta ask that you stop making assumptions about what people had the opportunity to learn in school. Like, even if I concede the point and agree that every public school system and accredited private school in the US has a curriculum that covers a basic grounding in civics (branches of government, how a bill becomes a law), critical reading skills, basic statistics, literally anything about the civil war (although tbh I almost always see this about English or Social Studies, not Math, Science, or History (as distinct from social studies), even if I concede that point, there are still about a dozen different ways to miss things through no fault of your own.

Some examples I have personally experienced include:

Pulled out of class multiple times a week during a subject you're strong in, for mandatory and unhelpful counseling even though you haven't done anything wrong, because Columbine was only a few years ago and you've been pegged as a potential school shooter since you were six. The assumption that you can and will catch up on your own through independent study is not unfounded, but you don't necessarily study exactly the same material as the rest of the class.

Partially homeschooled for a year. Don't know what the class was learning on Thursday or Friday.

Fully homeschooled for one or more years.

Skipped grades.

Educational requirements get moved around so a topic you were slated to study in the next grade is now part of the curriculum for the one you just finished, and not the one you're going into.

Your American Government and Economics teacher deviates from the normative curriculum - you learn a lot about local government and social justice, but never covered what the Supreme Court really is.

Your American Government and Economics teacher disregards the normative curriculum entirely. You spend a productive semester learning how to assess conspiracy theories.

You fill out credits at the local community college, and don't learn the same things as your peers taking the subject in your actual school.

Some examples I either did not personally experience or experienced with such complicating circumstances that my experience may be wildly atypical.

Moved to another school district with a differently organized curriculum.

Moved from public to private school or vice versa.

Moved across the city between elementary and middle school, or middle and high school. Your new middle/high school coordinates their curriculum with the three closest elementary/middle schools, not yours.

Missed a semester or more due to illness or family crisis, not held back because your math and reading are on track.

Fully homeschooled

Attended an unaccredited private school

Completed some part of your schooling in jail, a hospital, or another institutional setting.

History teacher has to spend the whole semester trying to counteract fascist and confederate propaganda your classmates learned at home.

So yeah, please just like, stop with "We did cover this in school, you just weren't paying attention."

[mlmxreader]

Before You Leave Me | William “Wild Bill” Guarnere x m!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ Can I request Wild Bill with prompt 30 “Even if it’s a lie, just tell me you love me” and 31 “A quick kiss before I go?”

Where reader is a civilian and he's so upset when Bill needs to go back as soon as possible for a new mission. So they're having a huge fight about it, thank you and I love you 🩷 ❞

: ̗̀➛ You both know that he has to go, but you just can't bring yourself to be content with letting him.

: ̗̀➛ smoking, swearing, angst

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

It wasn’t often that you and Bill could be alone together, even more rare that you were even in the same place; with you being a civilian and taking up a position as the local veterinarian for local farms, you were more than busy, and Bill was often hardly ever at home anymore thanks to the war.

He only really came back for training and, occasionally, when he was on leave for an injury that needed time to heal and couldn’t be kept at a field hospital for whatever reason.

You were exempt from the war efforts due to your position, although you would have liked to have fought; you would have preferred to go off and fight, knowing what the Nazis were doing and the sickening and disgusting deeds they had done.

Every fascist deserved to die, but the local farms also needed you; cattle still needed birthing, horses still needed their hooves cleaned and shoed, and sheep and goats still needed clipping and birthing.

You hated yourself for it, if you were honest, but even more, you hated Bill’s commanding officers for tearing him away from you time and time again.

It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair that you were branded a coward and a traitor for not fighting but he was so cruelly torn from you before you could even kiss him for good luck.

Luckily, though, you had a few friends in the RAF, especially in the likes of Squadron Leader Adil Perveen - the two of you had been neighbours for years, and whenever Bill was on soil, Perveen always got his wife, Manpreet, to send word to you as soon as he was told.

She would let you stay at their house for the day, make sure that you were fed despite the rationing, and would keep you comfortable; in return, whenever Perveen was away, you would entertain her at yours and do much the same.

You always slept near the phone, though, as she was only a few weeks away from giving birth, and although you had plenty of practice when it came to animals, you weren’t exactly the best choice when it came to humans. 

With the storms sweeping the land, blowing off roofs and causing masses of destruction, it was impossible for anyone to go anywhere - RAF or otherwise - and when Manpreet sent word to you that Bill was still at the air base, you went over as soon as you could despite the dangers.

You were warned not to drive, but you could manage; you had been called out in worse circumstances, after all. A storm was nothing.

But when you found him, Bill was sitting alone as he smoked a cigarette beside one of the American vehicles, leaning against it to try and escape the harsh gusts of wind.

You sat beside him, sighing heavily as you put your head on his shoulder and took his hand in yours. Humming softly when his thumb gently ran across your knuckles. He smiled, leaning into you as he tossed his cigarette aside.

“How are you?”

“I’m alright,” you replied quietly, “you alright?”

He nodded, bringing your hand to his lips and kissing it gently. “Perveen hasn’t shut up all day. He’s been chasing us all away.”

You laughed, shaking your head fondly. “I’m not surprised.”

“We’re going out tomorrow,” he told you reluctantly. “They said the storm’ll clear then… so we’ll be off.”

You shook your head as you looked at him, swallowing thickly. “I don’t want you to go… we… Billy, I haven’t seen you in months… it’s not fair.”

“I know,” Bill replied, frowning, “but I gotta. No one else is gonna teach those Nazi fucks a lesson.”

You moved to sit on his lap, putting your hands on his chest as he grabbed your thighs. “I’m not letting you go. Please, don’t.”

“I have to,” he huffed. “It’s not like I can leave the fucking army, now.”

“Just stay for an extra day,” you pleaded. “Please. Just one more day.”

“I can’t,” he insisted, shaking his head. “You know I can’t.”

“Billy…” you whined, licking your lips. “Just… can’t you talk to Winters and ask for an extra day? Say the weather’s gonna be so shit you can’t go anywhere, just… stay.”

Bill hummed, reluctant to argue as he sighed. “I have to. You know this, you’ve known this since the day I asked you out, for fuck’s sake. You’ve always known this’ll be how it is.”

“Fine,” you could feel something hot and wet on your cheeks as you sniffled, your vision blurry. “But, just… even if it’s a lie, just tell me you love me before you leave me again. Please.”

“It wouldn’t be a fuckin’ lie,” Bill laughed, grinning sadly as he reached up and wiped the tears from your face. “I love you, it’s not a fuckin’ lie. I promise.”

“Then why leave?” You asked. “If you really love me, why are you leaving?”

“Because I have to!” He snapped harshly, rolling his eyes. “You’re lucky! You don’t have to go! You get to stay here! I don’t!”

“But you could!” You protested. “You could tell Winters you need to stay!”

“But I can’t!” He growled out. “You know this! Now… just fuckin’ stop naggin’ about it! Fuck!”

“Don’t fucking get shitty with me!” Your voice trembled as you got off of his lap, shaking your head. “You’re such an arsehole! You could fucking stay for one day, but you won’t!”

When you started to head towards your car again, Bill chased after you, calling your name as he followed closely; he caught your wrist in his hand, pulling you against his chest as he gently kissed your neck, sniffling himself. 

“I’m gonna miss you so much,” he admitted. “I don’t wanna fight before I leave… c’mon, a quick kiss before I go?”

You pushed him away, wiping the tears from his face as you nodded slowly. “Promise you’ll write?”

He nodded back. “Yeah. Always.”

[imhoser]

I live an hour from Moore County, NC.

If you haven’t heard, the lay down is that last night there was a local militia in the county that attacked 3 electrical substations. Wiping out power for around 40,000 residents. The county was put under a state of emergency with a curfew of 9pm to 5am. The cause? It’s pretty obvious. A person named Emily Rainey, who allegedly participated in Jan. 6, claimed on Facebook the she knew why the attacks were committed. She stated, “I told them [The sherif department of Moore County] that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage. I used the opportunity to tell them about the immoral drag show and the blasphemies screamed by its supporters.” She posted a picture of the theater where the drag show was going to be held, with the caption “God will not be mocked.” The drag show was not canceled, the show started at 7 and the lights went out at 8:30. The show continued as people used their phone flashlights.

This is another rung of the ladder of transgender genocide. Less than two weeks after the Colorado shooting, we have more acts of violence against trans people. This time, a whole county of people were shoved into the consequences of transphobia. The sick in hospitals, parents storing milk for their babies, a person using a power drill, a child who needs a nightlight, all of them suffered the consequences of fascism. This is a good example in my eyes that when genocide befalls us, more and more people will be shoved into the pit. No cis people are safe, all of you are at risk. All of you are slowly sinking in quicksand while trans people suffocate under this violence. The more you do nothing, the more the guns pointed at us will shift to you. And because this danger has been ignored for so long, with liberalism clutching your throats to believe that “peace” will fix everything, the guns will be pointed at you anyways. Peaceful protesting is a weak demonstration to the fascists who are armed. The system in place by these fascists cannot be overturned with chants and signs. That’s simply reality.

As an anon said to me: “Never let queerphobia snuff out your light.”

All we want to do is live and love.

[icarus-suraki]

[jotunvali02]

I can't believe they did that!

People from the Israel governement published a French and English petition on change org to demand for the Hamas to be tried for "Crime Against Humanity"!

Like YOUR government is currently bombing whole cities, schools, hospitals and ambulances, slaughtering and hungering and ghettoizing (like fucking NAZIS) millions of people, including thousands of children, but it's the local "terrorist" group (acknowledged as such only by Western countries) that should be charged with CAH?

Can you imagine the fucking nerve??

And it's for the Hamas' so-called murder of 10 imaginary children.

Like 10 imaginary children is a CAH but a thousand actual ones is not? Oh but that's right! Palestinian children aren't actual children and Palestinian lives don't matter! Of course I had forgotten that!

And that's right! The WHOLE Palestinian population is responsible for the Hamas' exactions! Even the children! And so they should be ALL massacred and eradicated.

You know how that's called? RACISM. And you know how that's called when it's put to practice? A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!

And about 23k people signed it! Claiming the Hamas "massacres" and "kills children and elderly people"! Right. Are you sure you ain't talking about your own army, your own governement, you lying, fascist bastards?? You know, with their bombings, and their apartheid, and their supremacism, and their land-stealing, and their fucking bombings of the land they can't steal??

Your country acts like fucking NAZIS but it's your neighbors way less murderous and criminal than you that should be charged with CAH?? Even when your country is explicit in their wish to genocide a whole people??

FUCK. YOU.

(btw, I've reported that petition, hope it will remove that trash from the website)

[rapha3liii]

Just to tag on to this with a ramble:

I live in one of the towns that was targeted yesterday, and it was bad. I work for a fast food place in town, and the majority of my coworkers happen to be people of colour. I know someone with 2 kids who had to haul his family out of town to a relatives place because of the threats against children. Another coworker was locked in his house with his wife, mother, and sister because they could see fights outside and were terrified. I could go on and on.

Tons of local businesses got vandalised. A Indian owned vegan restaurant, the international store, a black owned cafe, a Turkish restaurant, a local Chinese place. There was glass everywhere. Smashed windows. You name it.

Before the riots were even scheduled to start, reports of attacks in Indian and black communities had already happened. When my coworker told me about the attacks on our local Gurdwara and Mosque, I felt a sadness I couldn't even explain with words. It was deep and shameful to think that we could come to this point as a society. Somehow, even worse, my coworkers wife actually worked at our local hospital- which was also being attacked because the majority of the staff are from immigrant backgrounds. Read that again... people working in the NHS who are notoriously overworked and underpaid being attacked in a HOSPITAL because of their skin colour.

All this is to say real people were affected by this. I've seen videos of people in my town, near my favourite cafes, or near a bus stop I often use, being beaten to a pulp by fascists in black hoodies and masks wrapped in England flags.

The idea that people are utilising this as some stupid political win is fucking beyond disgusting. It is not fair to subject anyone to that fear. The worst part is that I noticed there were fewer police vans about then there usually are when we have a football match on.

Please have people of colour in your hearts and extend your support. It was absolutely terrifying to think that all these people I loved could be attacked by racist thugs and that's just an accepted part of a "political war." Have your friends of colour in your minds during this time.

i feel like people are skimming over the uk riots in a way that makes me want to tear my hair out. muslims in the uk are in active danger. immigrants in the uk are in active danger. refugees in the uk are in active danger. people of colour in the uk are in active danger. asian communities in the uk are in active danger. black communities in the uk are in active danger.

there are massive far right riots throughout the country right now and people like fucking elon musk and nigel farage are inciting it and still have a platform to speak. people have used three young girls deaths, people's genuine grief in southport, to try and gain traction for their own racist bullshit and it's working.

a lot of refugee charities have been forced to close leaving many people without support, homes, funding, food, etc. if you aren't able to donate please consider sending a message via the conversation over borders campaign! it will send a hopeful, welcoming letter to a refugee in the uk. there is also a guide to staying safe here.

please do your own research and donate to refugee charities, anti-islamophobia charities, mosques who are trying to rebuild after being destroyed, counter protesters, here are some i've heard positive things about but the list is extensive; southport strong together (support for the southport victims and their families), emergency unity fund, southport mosque rebuilding, riot repair fund, middlesbrough vulnerable residents, nasir mosque rebuilding, hull help for refugees, bristol welcomes migrants,

[professorlizzard]

Week #38

260. Lab Hesper Hexaspace Division: A branch of the Twelve Laboratories of Alcides. They are actually a splinter cell, mercenary scientists for hire. However, beware: no matter how much you pay them, their findings will reflect the absolute truth.

261. Hearth Of Not Home: A little reastaurant. It prides itself in the amobean Surprise Hospitality, you will never guess what your order will contain! Any food you can't eat will be given to local charities.

262. High Steaks Co: A video game company's cheerful HQ. Their game, starring Chomper The Denture is notoriously, extremely difficult. You are intended to tinker with the files so it stops being a bite bigger than what you can chew.

263. The Larpomachia: An arena for mock battles. Of course, the thespians holding these mock battles won't just pretend to fight in costumes! No, they dress up in allegorical costumes, such as chefs, who are cooking up an evil dish that will help them embezzle public funds.

264. Power To The Sea Serpents: An electric company. They use revolutionary Sea Scale:tm: power generators, using the power of the tides. Its remarkably cut and dry, so they make puns like "How quickly the tide turns" to make it cooler than it already is.

265. The Chlock Tower: An old chimerical art nouveau clocktower. Once upon a time, the oppressive chimerical empire made sure the clocks run on time. The anti-fascist chimerical youth makes sure, this specific clock doesn't.

266. Happy Hunting Grounds: A children's archery range. All the targets are shaped like extremely happy and cute animals, and all the arrows are nerf arrows. The Hydleons think this is a perfect training area for children, which is why they are baffled at the dour and grey robots of Core Prime enjoying this place a lot.

[icarus-suraki]

I typed the word "sheeple" today. Gag. I need a palate cleanser.

[theworldsavers]

go into town and see what's there? ya gotta support local businesses!

After driving through town a little, you sit down at Righ ‘n’ Tony’s for some pizza. You hear they have skiball here. It’s a small restaurant with only a few tables available, spaced fairly far apart. It’s completely empty save for the one waitress at the cashier and whoever is in the kitchen in the back. The three of you take your seats at a table, and she heads over to get you some water. She looks a bit wary to serve three of the weirdest looking guys in town.

All three of you quietly point out your orders on the menu to the slightly bewildered waitress, a pizza each. She offers Doctor Freeman a thin hospital grade face mask, which he accepts with a slightly confused but grateful nod and puts on. Did this place have asbestos or something? The building certainly looked old enough. She heads back behind the counter to put the ticket into the kitchen.

While you wait for your meal, perhaps it’s a good idea to discuss current goals. Guy seemed a bit hangry to do much other than idly listen, but Master Chief seemed eager to make plans. He turns his head to address Gordon quietly, the voice feature in his helmet clicking softly to indicate he was talking.

“We should start with local information before making any big moves. What do we know about this current location?”

Gordon pulls out the phone and flips through a few apps, squinting at the screen. He opens text to speech.

“Looks like a farm town in North America, not a big population, a few hours drive from any body of water or major metropolitan area.”

“So we really are here to stay hidden, huh.”

Guy lifts his arms and signs.

“The suit. Who is he?”

So they could see him after all. Gordon bristles a bit as he tries to conceptualize how to describe the situation they’re in.

“I wish I knew more. I don’t know who he is or where he came from or what his goals are, but I keep getting wrapped up in them. He said he put us here to stay alive and hidden while he fixes what I’m guessing is some cross dimensional hiccups that put you here in the first place. It looks like you two ended up in the same situation. You’re probably from different universes, Am I correct?”

“Does he need to be killed?”

Guy signs frankly, ignoring Gordons question. The question causes Gordon to falter, brow furrowing as he carefully considers his answer.

“Not sure he can be, unless you can kill something that can control spacetime. I’ll say ‘not yet’ for now.”

“Looks like we’re all a little lost. We should pool together what we know. What about the creatures in the back of the truck?”

“Zombies.”

“You know where they come from?”

“Hell.”

“Are you trying to be a wise guy?”

“Nope.”

Master Chief gives Guy a good long stare. Guy continues.

“What about the fascists?”

“Those are Combine. They might as well be zombies. They’re from my universe, seeing as this one isn’t totaled by an alien invasion.”

“...Okay. What were you two doing before you found yourselves in the truck?”

“Killing demons.”

“I was preparing for an expedition.”

“I was sleeping. If we have enemies following us through spacetime portals, we’re going to have a problem that we’ll need more guns to fix.”

“This your universe, then?”

Master Chief looks around.

“What year is it?”

Gordon looks at his phone.

“2021, apparently.”

“Definitely not mine.”

“Me neither.”

[matchbet-allofthetime]

I'm a poor white punk with a poor white punk for a mother, and let me say this:

You're right. Entirely so. In every aspect.

There's no community, no actual helping others, no nothing. There's a lot of danger in this community.

It's so rarely the actually good, genuine, safe people, just like any other scene, but so many in this one target people or pretend or hurt others.

It isn't safe.

I grew up in punk-ass ATL, stodgy NoLa where you go two miles this way and get shot and two blocks the other way and there's a parade of people on a normal weekday. I grew up in the deep South Bible belt where every gas station has two-inch reinforced glass, flickering lights, broken roads that haven't been redone in 20+ years, and security bars on every door and window.

I grew up in this shit. And it's great for the music and SOMETIMES the open-mindedness, but not often enough. Never often enough.

I'm a punk born and bred and raised, and I hate the punk "community" because it's a fucking illusion, and not a very good one.

I'm poor white trash punk that learned to sew out of necessity to have nice clothes without holes and I grew up scared of everyone except my mama because I knew how bad people in the community were and mama kept me away from them.

But she also raised me in a lot of important ways:

-you cannot be "not racist"- you bust be explicitly ANTI-racist and must actively defend others.

-you mustn't be anti-Semitic, never trust cops, never trust that people will help you, always be independent when you can to keep yourself safe, never go alone, HELP ALL MARGINALIZED GROUPS YOU CAN.

-use your white privilege to uplift others and keep people safe.

-you must be ANTI-fascist, ANTI-nazi, and anti ALL bigotries. You must support lgbtqia+ and you must support all BIPOC + AAPI because they ARE targeted. Always.

-growing up, every year, when we have enough money, during certain nights (such as New Year's Eve or New Year's Day or Christmas or Halloween), we get pizzas for the hospital workers and EMTs locally because they work nonstop and often don't eat.

-we give our clothes and blankets and jackets and other things away in good condition when we no longer use them to people around who need them for FREE because they are poor or need them or whatever else.

-we give our food or money when we can, even if we're often too poor ourselves to do so.

-etcetc

There's so much and it's so complex and this "community" is riddled with, as you stated, abusers. People who will drag others down with them. People who actively hurt others. People who target others for one reason or another. People who don't care. People who are creeps in all the wrong ways. People who will coerce you to use again or do what they want you to. People who are neo-nazis. People who are anti-Semitic, anti-BIPOC, anti-AAPI, anti-non-white, anti-lgbt, and so fucking much more.

I am a punk who has actively worked to help whoever I could, even when I couldn't necessarily afford to monetarily or emotionally or mentally or whatever (which, take care of yourselves, please. You cannot help others if you yourself are not also taken care of)

I am a punk who has been calling local, state, and federal levels or emailing to get laws changed. To beg them to give one group or another these rights or to not overturn vital protective laws.

I am a punk who grew up with rare nights with drunk men banging on the door and my mama holding me close, telling me to stay with her and cover my ears because some "punk" drunk followed her home.

I am a white, non-christian, enby trans faggot punk who local cops actively avoid because they know my mom doesn't fuckin' play and they know I'm her kid.

And I HAVE to, I cannot stress this enough- as a white punk, I NEED to uplift others and protect within the community. We ALL need to, more and more. Because if we don't, more recovering folks will get dragged down and addicted again or overdose, more folks will be hurt and abused in a variety of horrible ways. We CANNOT allow terrible people into our spaces. We can't.

And just because they don't show you who they are, doesn't mean they haven't done it. Not to say trust blindly what you're told, but try to find out all sides when you can and come to your own healthy conclusions, taking everything at face-value.

It is a dangerous group of people. Of all of us, so many are accepting. But it is dominated by white folk and fascists and Nazis and worse people still. And they aren't real punks- they're horrible people trying to be different because they're pissed at some issue that often gets fixed or they grow out of with time OR they are using the community as a way to a) cope with their own issues in unhealthy ways or b) targeting people they KNOW are vulnerable.

KEEP EACH OTHER FUCKING SAFE. SUPPORT PEOPLE. UPLIFT VOICES. PROTECT ONE ANOTHER. NEVER OFFER UNLESS YOU KNOW THEY'RE FINE WITH ABC-XYZ THEY'RE BEING GIVEN. IF YOU SEE SOMEONE TERRIBLE DOING TERRIBLE THINGS OR HEAR ABOUT IT FROM MULTIPLE PEOPLE, AVOID THE TERRIBLE PERSON OR KICK THEM OUT IF YOU'RE ABLE. DO NOT LET THEM IN YOUR GROUP. NEVER GO ALONE.

Please- actually be safe and careful.

i guess it's scary to me when white leftists say that the punk scene is the scene where you wanna go if you're trans or a person of color or a drug addict or someone else who's been kicked down in life. cuz like, if you've lived in this scene, is it really where you wanna send people?

i got involved in my local punk scene and the problem is that people aren't actually focused on looking out for each other. punk is heavily white. punk is heavily abled. punk is heavily cis. i know everyone says "real" punk is this and that, but the problem is: i live in a punk house venue. i live in a house where punks throw punk rock shows weekly and invite other punks into our home to throw music and art shows. the DIY scene is a mess. it's full of abusers. it's full of enablers. it's full of queerphobes and tranny chasers. it's full of people who collect vulnerable traumatized people. it's full of people who will hand beers to recovering alcoholics and pass lines to recovering addicts.

this scene is full of people who scribble "this machine kills fascists" on every object they own and turn around and cower and say "I'm scared, can you come pick me up, there's some scary guys outside." because some black dudes listening to some rap posted up outside of the punk show. this scene is full of virtue signaling assholes who put antisemitic symbols on their "battle vests". this scene is full of half-assed "communists" who just want to brag about the big scary words they learned like "praxis" and "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie".

this scene is full of fake socialists who won't lift a finger to help each other, but will drag each other into hell instead.

the problem with punk as we know it is that it's whitewashed to hell and back, and the spaces created by these individuals are not centered around safety, but violence. yeah, you kill fascists, but do you provide meals for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, and harm reduction for the addicted? do you pass out extra blankets and clothes? do you help people get to the hospital? do you pat someone on the back when they turn down that beer? do you remember to not offer a baggie to the person who just got out of recovery?

no? then you aren't a safe person to be around, and you ain't punk. you are the reason this scene is unsafe.