#i politely stated my opinion and got blocked

[weedpicnic]

I’m gonna derail just a little bit to tell a relevant story but do hear me out; I am 22 years old meaning I only graduated highschool like 3 years ago. I am also Canadian and attended highschool here. I DID go to primary school in America, and at least back then everybody stood for the pledge every single day. Obviously kids of that age aren’t as likely to have any sort of fully formed political opinions as older teenagers so I can’t speak for what it’s like in American highschools.

However the equivalent here in Canada, is that the national anthem plays over the loudspeakers every morning in every school, and we are all expected to stand. When I was in grade 9 I started disregarding this rule. Was this out of pure apathy rather than a particular political motivation? At first, sure, maybe. But only AT FIRST. Did it have consequences? Yes, to me, but eventually to others too. I was caught walking around during the anthem by our vice principal who already had several reasons to dislike me, and he demanded I stand still. He told me I would be pulled from class if I kept walking so I sat down on the ground in front of him while the rest of the song played. At this point it started to feel very political to me at the time, because I have a very strong general dislike for authority, I had been told I had oppositional defiance disorder. I was 14 years old and only just at the very beginning of forming my understanding radicalism/liberation. I would go to protests, why not have my own small form of protest. I didn’t yet know what I know now about canadian imperialism. I would sneer at him and tell him I wouldn’t participate for religious reasons (I am not religious lol.) I basically just knew that the same guy who would confiscate peoples weed and police the bathroom use of trans students was trying to tell me what to do as to police my bodily autonomy and movement, and I did not like that.

So, I started doing it every morning in every one of my classes, even having some of my own peers starting arguments with me about it; and then got sent to the office by an English teacher. This man was gay, liberal, and he basically told me “I know you’re trying to make a point or something, that’s cool, but, not in my classroom. If you’re gonna do that next class you can go do it in front of the office.” This was the same man who was teaching us standardized curriculum about Canadas history of indigenous genocide. This would’ve been in like, 2018.

In 2019 protests began spreading out west in British Columbia about indigenous land rights and the plan to destroy millions of huge, 100+ year old old growth trees in order to build the coastal gas link pipeline. Protesters were chaining themselves to trees until they got bulldozed and being mass arrested. The concept of protest by mass occupation became more prevalent in the media. Activist groups led by indigenous leaders and land defenders were stopping cross country freight and passenger trains by blocking the railroad. In 2020, the unmarked burial sites of thousands of murdered children, victims of the abuse within residential schools, were uncovered. Survivors started speaking up about the violence and trauma that the church and the state had inflicted on them and their family. Priests were getting sent to trial for abuse they had inflicted years and years ago.

Over the years since my freshman year I watched something… interesting happen. More students, sometimes just one or two people, small insular friend groups, but, sometimes the majority of a classroom, would also refuse to stand for the anthem. Some of them said it was because it was 9AM and they were just too tired for that shit (the anthem is a lot longer than the pledge of allegiance lol.) But this meant I no longer got shit for it because they can’t suspend almost a whole classroom of us, right?

I did a “victory lap”/fifth year there to finish up some more courses and by my last days there, no one and I mean literally fucking no one stood for the anthem anymore. It was only a few short years ago that I had been threatened with suspension over doing this, and yet at that point I could not imagine any faculty member having the gal to tell me that I simply had to stand up for the imperialist anthem knowing what we all know now. My apathy had evolved into ideology/ further understanding of what my own actions could mean. What started out of vague distain, a tendency towards disobedience, and a bit of laziness had become a small form of protest that later became the norm among the student community. It was no longer in the hands of the authority figures. And if seeing me continue to do that every day despite sometimes getting in trouble in the earlier years gave even a single one of my peers pause to stop and think about why we have to do this, why SHOULD we have to do this, why should we stand for “our home and native land” that we colonized and stole through violence and genocide, are we really “the land of the free and the home of the brave” if we hid so much of our history for so long, then, that’s not nothing, and it was worth every bit of trouble.

But here’s the even scarier part: my sister is two years younger than me and she attended the same highschool. At some point in her final year in 2023 when I was long gone I asked her what the deal was with that now, and she told me most of the students were standing for the anthem again, and that most of the people her age always had been and usually did. It was pretty much just my grade and older that had been rejecting this en masse.

There are so many studies out there indicating that the younger generation, current teens and young adults, are becoming more conservative at a faster rate. The propaganda machine doesn’t ever just stop because one group at one time and place resisted it. I grew up as someone who is has always been very outspoken and proudly transgender. So I certainly had PLENTY of adults telling me as a teenager, “your generation is going to save the world” and all that bullshit and trust me I fucking hated it. It’s absolutely infuriating and I totally sympathize with powerburials frustration. But I think regardless of whether OP is actually in fact an “embarrassingly aged millennial” (whatever that means lol) giving teenagers ideas, information, resources, big or small, of how to fight back against oppressive power is truly very very fucking important right now. Many of them want to and don’t even know why they want to and that’s okay because they will learn, but they won’t learn and many of them won’t have any place to start without the authority/adults in their life (even if that adult is simply a blog on Tumblr) pushing them in that direction. I didn’t have adults in my real life to materially do these things with me as a teen, I had other trans teens, and I had anger issues, and I had this fuckin website teaching me about communism, decolonization, mutual aid, and direct action.

My school was at the edge of a highway next to a bridge that was essential to connecting the two sides of the city. I would sneak out of class and go for cigarettes by myself and stare into the valley and feel so so angry at the government, at the world, at the medical system, and I would think about all the people who killed themself by jumping off that bridge and wonder what powers made their lives so hard for them, I would wonder if they were like me, and I would feel so, so alone. I would let the sound of the cars on the highway drown my thoughts out. A couple years after graduating I participated in a protest demanding policy reform for climate change and environmental protection that shut down this highway right in front of my high school for the entire day. I was relieved to even see a few of my former peers there, although not that many.

Today I am currently organizing a student strike at my college to demand their disclosure and divestment of funding of the genocide in Palestine. At our first walkout, the dismissal I received from so many of my peers primarily my age and younger was fucking brutal and extremely disheartening, but, we reached a lot of people. We gave people resources to learn about the issue at hand and we strengthened our movement. We will be going on strike in the next year. I have been tirelessly organizing with the help of so many volunteers from my community a fundraiser event tomorrow, which I anticipate will raise a good amount of money for Palestinians, a local food bank, and an organization that helps youth access gender affirming care. If you told that angry kid all those years ago that he would be doing these things today he very well might’ve laughed in your face, he probably would’ve thought it to be a ‘nebulous fantasy’ too.

What I would tell my 14 year old self (who I could even argue only started rejecting the anthem for attention) and what I would tell highschool aged kids everywhere who want to fight fascism and imperialism, is to start organizing locally sooner, trust that you WILL find your people and you will find strength in numbers. start online if you have to, but use these tools to connect with likeminded people in real life. Material direct action is much more important than the symbolism of rejecting participation in something you disagree with. It’s deluded to think that mutual aid and activist organizations in your community don’t exist whatsoever. But as this story hopefully sort of illustrates, symbolism is also important. Start small if you have to but don’t you dare stop there. A tree can’t grow without a seed, so plant that seed and water it. Even if you really do sometimes have to sit there sweating and embarrassed and alone. Because it is ALSO deluded to think the world doesn’t need teenagers to be doing stuff like this lest they become fascist adults as many of my own peers and so much of the younger generation unfortunately now have.

dear usamerican high schoolers looking for a way to resist fascism: sit through the pledge of allegiance.

no getting up. no looking at the flag.

everyone will be looking at you. you'll be sweating like a fucking hippopotamus. your teacher will sternly tell you to get up. you'll feel stupid and that maybe its not worth it because you're just a kid in a classroom. but I'm here to remind you that there are no real life consequences to detention. there are however real life consequences to resisting a thoughtless performance of nationalism.

[ryssbelle]

Me when someone thinks they’ve won by blocking me but now I don’t have to see their rancid takes in the tags anymore

[inkskinned]

don't worry, they're joking! they're always joking when it would be something, like bigoted. because i'm not a bigot, obviously, i just vote for bigots - well, they're not bigots either, you can't really call someone a bigot just because they have religious views. this is the land of the free, and it's a christian nation, after all. you can pretend otherwise but let's just be real here; all our values are really based on the bible. anyway, i know you liberals get your panties in a twist - can i say that, or are you gonna cancel me, haha, #metoo - about every little joke he said and every little dramatic political view. oh, fascist this and fascist that. you are online too much, you love the word fascist because it's big and you're just paranoid about things.

well, no, i don't, like, read the policies. i have a life. and so what if they wrote - stop it, it's not a manifesto, okay? he eventually backed off from that - oh the vice president? who cares about that guy, that isn't real power. you're being dramatic, they're just spitballing. everyone makes big claims when they're out there campaigning. he just means he personally wouldn't get gay married. you want him to divorce his wife and get gay married? anyway, even if they cancelled gay marriage - it wouldn't happen, okay? nobody i know really cares about that - it'd be states-rights like those abortions you love so much. and you live in a blue state. you live in like the gay capital of the world. i don't know why it'd be so bad for you, you're borrowing trouble there.

and besides, you're missing the point of his campaign! you people want to be victims so bad you completely ignore what we're really voting for. there are tons of good things that happened because of his name and his policies - the economy, for one. oh stop, just because i can't tell you what a tariff is off the top of my head doesn't mean i don't have eyes. and stuff was better under him! well, yeah, anything good is his work, obviously. what? no, all the bad stuff was biden. and probably also obama. what do you even care about this, anyway? it's not going to effect you. it's four years.

oh my god, not the climate change argument again, i'm not getting into that. i don't care about it. if my house is beachfront that's great news for me. and we don't really know what's causing it. no, i saw you forwarded me those articles and i just laughed. what, do you think i have time to sit on my ass and read shit? huh? well, no, i like reading the babylon bee. they actually had a great article about all you climate freaks. and in the meantime, what do you want me to do? i'm not paying 4 dollars for gas. liberals love to talk about solutions but never pay for the solutions. what do you mean blocked because of congress. you gotta stop with the conspiracy shit.

no, my side doesn't have real conspiracy theories. the vaccine thing is a real thing. besides, you yourself don't like big pharma. just because i have an opinion, suddenly now you think big pharma is great? and this is serious, okay? your mom's friend's coworker has a kid that died from a heart event. i don't want you getting any more vaccines. i regret that you got them as a kid, i'd redo them. what do you mean you'd vaccinate your own kids? are you finally thinking of having some? you know i want grandkids - oh stop, i've never pressured you, i'm just saying that if you're going to get gay married, you might as well give me some normal grandkids to love.

stop, you know what i meant. what? no, he's not going to take away your right to adopt. besides, you could always use a sperm donor, haha, i know your high school ex would love to - jesus! okay! no need to snap. i'm just saying that you don't need to be married to have a kid. the only real benefit to marriage is taxes, haha. it won't change anything. oh my god, no, there won't be a rise in hate crimes. well, it's not his fault what people do in his name! he eventually spoke out against that, anyway.

what do you mean he supported them? i didn't hear him say that. oh. well, yeah, he said it, but like, he's clearly joking.

[muzansfangs]

Can you do a Bloody Mary with Choso from jjk with a breeding kink ice cube 🥹

if you could tag me that would be amazing, my @ is hauntedchoso but I’m asking on my main blog on anon since that one is a side blog 😅

I still don’t like you.

Starring: Choso Kamo x f!reader; mention to Yuji Itadori, Ryomen Sukuna, Hiromi Higuruma;

Format: one-shot;

Warnings: nsfw, choking, hate sex, vaginal sex, degradation kink, overstimulation, breeding kink, creamipie, enemies to undefined relationship, face slapping, canonic fight but in a domestic scenario, post Shibuya with some narrative alterations;

Plot: Choso Kamo, Yuji’s older brother, never got along with you. He claimed you were nothing but a nuisance. On the other hand, you never really trusted him. You never believed in his sudden redemption arc and it was clear to see in the way you never desisted from insinuating he was plotting something devious. When Yuji needed a place to sleep while moving to his new flat, you did not expect for his ‘brother’ to step into your house too. When you found yourself alone with Choso, things degenerated.

Drink chosen: BLOODY MARY (hate sex, choking, vaginal sex, degradation kink, overstimulation);

MASTERLIST FOR THE EVENT | RULES FOR THE EVENT

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

You were more than glad to put Yuji up for a week. He was caught up in the middle of moving from his old flat to a larger one and he needed a place to sleep and leave his belongings in, while he settled down in his new home. It was not located far away from your apartment, hence his ultimate choice to knock on your door and ask for hospitality. You had heard one of the main reasons behind his decison to opt for a more comfortable and spacious house was the unexpected presence of his brother Choso in his life, however you did not calculate the possibility to find said man standing on your front door with a luggage at his feet and an annoyed expression plastered on his perpetually impassive face.

Swallowing your pride and biting your tongue not to cause a commotion, you had let him in and agreed to let your enemy reside in your living room until him and his younger brother could finally move to their new flat. For the first three days, things worked out, somehow. It was well-known you detested Choso with a passion. You never really trusted him, since you had been the one who had fought him alongside Yuji back then. You vividly remembered the hatred in his eyes, how hellbent to kill your friend he was, only to show up later on and claiming he wanted to help out and protect his ‘brother’.

He was too shady in your opinion and you had suggested more than once to kill him off. Honestly, you had even declared that Ryomen Sukuna was a better company than him. Daily altercations and brutal fights got so frequent and gory that the ever so noble Hiromi Higuruma had set up the rule of not letting you two casually meet, or work together for a couple of months. It helped, strangely.

Nevertheless, watching Choso occupy your treasured spot on the couch, flicking channels dispassionately, you felt bile go up your throat. Your favorite show was about to air and you had no intention to waste your chance to watch it live.

“Move” you started flatly, arms crossed against your torso.

Choso arched a dark eyebrow, tilting his head to the side to look back at the screen. He was downright ignoring you, fingers tapping onto the armrest steadily, whilst he pretended you did not exist. The audacity he had to disrespect you in your own house blinded you.

You blocked his view on the screen, eyes clouded over in sheer indignation “Are you suddenly deaf? Move your ass and give me the remote” you tried again and, albeit your tone was still modulated to take a polite edge, he could tell you were gradually losing your self-control. Typical of you.

He averted his eyes from the small glimpse of the tv your frame granted a view of “Did you say something?”.

“Choso” you coldly stated, taking a single step towards him. You knew he was testing your patience. It had always appeared to you that guy loved watching you get riled up. Considering Yuji had left for a mission, you had no qualms about vomiting your unbridled odium for the rascal taking over your tv.

As a response, he leaned forward, droopy eyes eyeing you bumptiously “Is the german shepherd upset? What is it, Yuji hasn’t patted your head on his way out?”.

Your eye twitched “Did you just imply I’m a dog?”.

“Did I? Actually, you’re not very obedient. But maybe we could test it out. Tell me, is it true dogs bring back the objects humans throw away?” Choso asked you, cocking his head to the side, hand curled around the plastic remote while he seemed so deep in thought, as if he was mulling something over.

You blinked at his provocation, his words leaving little space for you to actually forgive his ignorance and let it slide. If he had a roof over his head, it was because you had kindly allowed him to stay. You still hated his guts and, honestly, all you were waiting for was for him to screw up, make a false step, betray Yuji or another sorcerer so that you could finally murder him without remorse. However, for the sake of your mental health and to respect your friends’s will, you were making progresses in burying the hatchet. Too bad he did not appreciate it.

You turned your back at him, contemplating the possibility to lock yourself in your bedroom until Yuji was back. Actually, though, you did not even make it to the corridor that the remote smashed against the wall at your left. Batteries skimming over the floor, you watched the device completely shattered into smithereens before your eyes. It took you a moment to put the pieces together and realize he had indeed tossed the remote at you, probably hoping to strike you. This was, without the shadow of a doubt, an invitation to throw hands. And who were you to refuse?

“Come on, doggy, bring it back now” Choso taunted you, arms opening in a welcoming gesture as he stood up from the couch.

The moment you locked eyes with him, Choso knew you were not going to be the bigger person and merely report his shenanigans to Yuji. This was your chance to put him in his place and that is exactly what you did, when you teleported yourself back in front of him and stomped your foot over his crotch.

Choso grunted, eyes narrowing as he clutched his hands over his groin in a futile attempt to alleviate the pain. After a few seconds, he had his hand wrapped around your neck and his forehead was pressed against yours to lock you down in a deadly grip stealing the air out of your lungs. The assault caused you to stumble and topple over the coffee table behind you, flapping your arms around to shove him off of you now that you were squashed onto the floor by his weight.

You truly tried your best to push him off of you, but his compact build was crashing you and, consequentially, your movements were restricted. His face was close, his minty breath wafting over you visage sent frissons down your spine and you felt repulsed by your own instict. Choso was handsome, to be completely honest. You hated his guts and prayed night and day for him to combust inexplicably before your eyes. Yet, this bastard was absolutely your type. The punk guy you would throw your panties at during a concert, the perfect match for a messy hook up in the back of a bar.

How ironic was it that you were having such thought right when he had you pinned underneath him?

Huffing in distress, you wrapped your legs around his waist, hellbent to flip you over but yiu failed and surprisingly Choso only pressed himself closer to you. Your clothed pelvis made contact with his crotch, a slight gasp leaving his lips as he applied more pressure on your windpipe. He was getting hard.

“You sick pervert…” you taunted him, despite your current position and blatant disadvantage.

His jaw tensed, hand leaving your throat, only deliver a slap on your right cheek more meant to mock you than actually hurt you. Factually, it aroused you. Even if you were not going to admit it to yourself, he rubbed it on your face “Me, huh? Tell me why your leggins are soaking my pants then, you slut”.

Mortification took you over for a few seconds, before you reached your hand up to grab a fist full of his hair, your lively eyes clouded over in a mix of rage and desire to take your immensurable anger on him. Probably, you were both acting like feral animals. Nor you, neither him relied on rationaly and intellect. This was a matter of power and, for once, you reeled at the thought of baring your fangs and howling like a beast.

“Maybe I had only fingered myself in my bedroom, it’s clearly not for you. — you cooed, a malicious smirk curving your glossy lips as you pulled at his chestnut brown strands to emphasize your words — Don’t tell me you were getting hard thinking it was for you? How pathetic, Choso… Humping me like a dog, feeding yourself a sweet little lie to boost your ego, damn… Look at you” you sneered, watching his face contort in discomfort for your cruel grip on his hair and utter intollerance for the demeaning words you were throwing at his face. If you itched to humiliate him, then he was going to pay you back with an equal treatment.

“What a slut… — Choso rasped out, glowering down at you with homicidal rage flickering in his dark eyes — You fingered yourself like a dog in heat, huh? No one to breed that pussy, all alone, except for the unsolicited company of the man you wish to see in a coffin. Let’s do something about that attitude of yours, huh? Honestly, I was waiting for us to be alone again” he hissed, before pressing his lips against yours in a searing kiss.

Your eyes initially grew round in bewilderment, especially when he began to scramble his hands down your body to search for the waistband of your leggins. Yet, you could not turn down such a chance to make hin whimper, to show him you could withstand anything, while he could not. You kissed him back confidently, your teeth nipping at his bottom lip heedless of his groan of pain.

This was until he yanked your pants down your legs, your slippers knocked away in the process of stripping you naked. With your legs finally free again, you attempted once again to flip you over, but Choso grasped your ankles and pinned you down roughly.

“No, don’t even think about it” he warned you coldly, raising on his knees to get rid of his own clothes.

You pushed yourself up on your elbows, eyes trailing down his chiseled pectorals and abs, mentally cursing him for how handsome he was. You could not confess you wished you could ran your tongue on every dip and hard muscle of his body though. You still liked to tell yourself he thought you were just agreeing because you were horny, not because you liked him.

“Instead of mentally fucking yourself on my cock, take off this poor excuse of an underwear you’re wearing” he caught you red-handed. Your cheeks heated up in shame and you scoffed indignantly at him, complying to his request without further ado for the sake of your throbbing need. And his one, apparently, pulsating before your clouded over eyes. Straight as a ramroad, leaking precum on the tip. A drop timidly peeked on the edge, running down the underside of his member.

You acted before mulling over your option and you lounged towards him in a split second. Choso arched an eyebrow, fingers threading through your hair inelegantly as he lolled his head back to suppress a groan bubbling up deep within his chest. Your tongue eagerly lapped at the veiny underside of his cock, tracing the curve up until you collected that salty drop to swallow down before his eyes. You circled the tip, half-lidded gaze peering up at him, expecting him to push you forwards to make you suck him off properly. But instead he shoved you back down on the floor, rolling onto your stomach and spreading your arses to grant himself a good view of your glistening intimacy.

On your hands and knees, you glanced at him from above your shoulder “What the fuck are you doing?”.

Choso did not even spare you a look, instead giving your pussy a slap to send jolts of electricity cursing through your body. You cried out in need, earning a pleased hum from the bastard behind you “You are not worthy to suck my cock. — he replied, lining his shaft to your opening to collect some juices and facilitate his entrace — But I’ll surely pump so full of my cum you’ll soon have to tell Hiromi who made you pregnant” he commented bitterly, before pushing past your folds with a satisfied grunt.

The strained moan you emitted, mortified you. His girth was absurdly perfect for you. Each thrust, each time he rolled his hips against yours you trembled. His words had made color drain from your face, but you soon found yourself arching your back to give him an even better access.

Choso watched in glee your ass jiggle with each thrust he gave you. One of his hand reached down and slided to the upfront of your neck, fingers deftly latching around it as he pulled you up against his broad chest. Your back pressed against his abs, clammy bodies, breathy moans, you felt like two animals. He kissed your neck ferociously, heavy balls slapping against your ass as he attempted to reach his end into you.

Choso needed to stain you. The idea of you, so petty and standoffish, walking around with his seed leaking in your panties when you talked to your friend made him increadibly eager to ruin you. On the other hand, you were too lost into the pressure coiling in your lower abdomen to think straight. His breath-play, his relentless pace and the dull track of pain you felt when he occasionally hit your cervix made you see the stars and the whole galaxy expanding infinitely in the limitless ocean of space. You wished he fucked you less good than this, because there was honestly no way in Hell you were going to forget the pleasure you were experiencing for years to come.

Almost reading your mind, Choso huffed “What is it, bitch? Are you scared from that from this day on you won’t be able to look me in the eyes without remembering how loud I have made you scream today?” he flaunted, as you shot him a glacial glare through your lashes and tears.

You tightened around him, his other hand travelling over your stomach and holding you close to his body “Don’t flatter yourself over a hook up! I still don’t like you” you fired back, matching his tempo to spare the time and doubling the sensation of your walls and his dick continuously brushing together in the overwhelmingly impressive bliss.

When you thought of Choso, you did not think he was a virgin. He had good looks, he was shady enough for some pretty and shallow girl to fall at his feet and give him the regular dose of endorphins a man needed not to spend the night with blue balls. Despite that, you were firmly convinced he was not much experienced, especially in terms of seeking and finding all the sweet spots that could bring tears of ecstasy in a woman’s eyes.

Choso bristled, mouth close to your ear, as he pounded into you with a renewed vigour “Is that so? Then you better not wallow in the false hope that I have outdone myself for you. — he rasped out, shoving you face down again, you cheek making a harsh impact with the floorboard — This is how I fuck. It’s standard, nothing special” he spluttered, his thrusts gradually but surely getting sloppier. Regrettably, though, they were still hard enough to knock the air out of your lungs.

You gawked, screwing your eyes shut and banging your fist onto the floor in defeat. You were about to reach your climax and your snarky attitude had apparently left your body. Blank mind, your body twitched, until you milked him up and basked in the only good thing Choso Kamo had ever done for you.

He cussed when your spongy walls sucked him in, his seed painting your inner walls white as he made sure to push back in the excessive amount leaking out of you. The damage was done. But no one was a victor, judging by the disheveled hair and bruises on your bodies. Spent, you two recovered from your irresponsible stunt in silence, laying spent and drained in the floor of your living room. The tv casted lights in the dimly illuminated room, setting off your naked curves and his sharp features.

Not only you were a mess, but you also had to clean up the floor from the sweat and fluids staining in, representing the last evidence of the deplorable mishap recently happened. Yuji could not know about this. No one was entitled to have a word about what you two had done. Nor you, neither Choso offered the agreement of not talking about this anymore and to anyone, but sharing a knowing look with him, you realized he was back to make good use of his brain.

Standing up on your wobbly legs, you collected your clothes and gestured to a mop on the balcony “Clean yourself up and wipe away that mess, asshole” you croaked out, heading towards your bedroom in a frenzy.

“Do it yourself, whore”.

You smiled. This was the Choso Kamo you knew.

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hello there! I have finally finished this fic, help!Since it is also one of the requests I have received when I hosted my event, my joy for having crossed it out of the list is doubled. Let me know what you think about this. As per usual, likes, comments and re-blogs are greatly appreciated!

Love,

Luce

TAGS: @axesfordays @jenntlegarden @cyder-puff @wet-cedar @pin-k-ink @bakugosgirl01 @hauntedchoso @makingtimemine @dangertits97

[phoenixyfriend]

How to Call Your Reps About Gaza

I make a lot of posts telling you to call your reps! Anyway, here's the overall shape of how to argue to them.

Disclaimer: I am not in politics. I do not have experience as a staffer. I am just someone who cares a lot about where things are going, and wants to help. Also, this is specific to the US, because that's where I'm based. Hopefully, people with expertise can add more suggestions on.

Find your elected officials.

My Ko-fi: this took me two days to write up, so uh. If you've got a few dollars, send them my way so I can keep doing this sort of thing, and maybe move out of my parents' house sooner.

General tips:

Be polite, or at least civil. Do not swear or shout at whoever answers the phone. This will quite possibly get your number blocked. Fifty civil calls over the course of several months will do more than one where you shout. You can be frosty, you can say you are disappointed, you can say you find the actions of your reps to be reprehensible or morally bankrupt, sure. But keep calm and aim criticism at the rep, not the staffer.

Keep it short. The staffers who answer call centers are busy. They usually start trying to hurry me off after about two minutes. I've yet to manage a call longer than four or five minutes. Pick one or two topics for the day, and focus on those. Cycle through them every time you call. Stick to just one from day to day if it's a large, ongoing issue like Gaza.

Plan for voicemail. I get voicemail more often than not. My House rep usually has a staffer free, but the Senators are almost always voicemail. This will give you a minute and a half max. Be ready to get your point squeezed into that.

Only call your representatives. The important, powerful word here is "constituent." You will be ignored or even counted against if you are from a different district or state. The first thing you start with is your name and address. A staffer will ask for the information they need. On voicemail, leave your full name, your city and state, and zip code before you go into your message. Do not lie, either. They look these things up in the system when you call. I'm not sure how--I think maybe they have access to a database of registered voters--but every time I call, they ask for my last name and address and at some point say, 'oh, yep, I've got you right here,' which indicates a database of some sort.

Research at least a little bit about their opinions. If they already agree with you, then it's much easier to leave a quick "I support you and want you to know that" to combat anyone who's arguing from the other side. If they don't, then you're best off finding out what specific issue they have so you can know the best kind of comment to leave.

Look up specific bills or arguments. I get daily emails from GovTrack about bills that are on this week's docket or have been voted on in the past day. IDK about anyone else, but being able to say that I disagree specifically with HR 815 or something makes me feel powerful, and possibly like I will be taken more seriously. Sometimes you can start with articles like this one, which include links to specific bills on the official congress website.

Email after if you can. Reportedly less effective, and takes longer, but you are more likely to get a written (canned) response, and it reinforces whatever you called about.

Basic structure of a call, at least as I've been doing it:

"Hi, my name is ____ ____, and I am a constituent from [city, state], [zip]. I am calling to express my opinion on [topic]. I am concerned about [short argument with a clear impact on the topic]. I ask that you support [measure or fellow congress member]/vote [yay/nay on specific legislature]. Thank you for your time, and I hope you keep my opinion in mind."

For this post, the topic can be stated as the war in Gaza, military funding for Israel, or unrest in the Middle East, depending on which you think your elected official will respond to best. That said, the structure should work for whatever your call is about.

Arguments to use against your elected official... or your on-the-fence cousin:

I'll be honest, some of these are not going to do much against your representative. They know the arguments, and have been going over them with each other for months. You just need to have one locked and loaded that they consider relevant instead of a nonstarter, in order to back up your opinion as 'founded' instead of 'nonsense, can be swayed with a good marketing campaign.'

I'll include explanations if I don't think something is self-evident (or needs more evidence to tell your cousin), but in most of them I'll provide some suggested verbiage that you can tweak as needed, and for a few of them, that's really enough.

THESE ARE FOR THE TOPIC OF CONCERN, ONLY. You still need to end each one with "I ask that the [official] votes to [action]" at the end. Give them something actionable (example from Feb. 13th). My go-tos right now:

Both chambers: Reinstate funding for UNRWA

Both chambers: Place mandatory restrictions on any aid to Israel, with contractual threats to cut funding if Netanyahu and his government continue to disregard civilian life

Senate: Put support behind Bernie Sanders and his motion to restrict funding to Israel until a humanitarian review of the IDF’s actions in Gaza has been completed (S.R. 504) (Tabled by the Senate on 1/16, but it is being brought back in as conditions continue to escalate)

House: Put support behind Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s petition for the US government to recognize the IDF’s actions in Gaza as ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and put a stop to it.

House: Put support behind H.R. 786, introduced by Rep. Cori Bush, calling for an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.

What Not to Say

"There is no threat to Israel." I've talked about this elsewhere, but the short version is that this will be basically laughed out as you not knowing what you're talking about.

Anything generically antisemitic. (I mean, it might work on some of the white supremacists, but do you really want to encourage that thinking? No, so don't do it.)

Facts that you "heard somewhere" but cannot find a reliable source for. If it's being reported by the New York Times, NPR, or the BBC, it's probably trustworthy by government standards. If it's not a super common statistic, cite the journal you got it from by name. Remember, you aren't arguing to tumblr mutuals. You are arguing to your elected official or your 'I don't really pay attention' cousin. When it comes to this, big name news sources are better.

Unrealistic demands for complete isolationism, permanently abandoning Israel to its own devices, supporting Hamas, etc. Again, you will not be taken seriously. Pick an argument they might actually listen to, and use it to press them towards a possible solution. You want them to believe that if they adjust their position, they will be doing the will of most of their constituents, and thus more likely to get reelected.

The Ethics Argument

Third-party reporting has stated that that nearly 29,000 Gazans are dead since Oct. 7th, as of 2/18/24. The vast majority of those are civilians, and over half are children. Palestinians in Gaza are facing an acute hunger crisis threatening to become a full-blown famine.

The International Court of Justice has found that there is credible reason to believe that the state of Israel is committing a genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza.

This does not mean that every single Israeli is complicit. It does mean that the government, particularly Netanyahu and his associates, has been reprimanded by a large, diverse coalition of countries, and has consistently refused to listen to that court since.

This argument will possibly work on your cousin. Less likely to work on your elected official. They already know the numbers. I just wanted to get it out of the way first.

The Re-Election Argument: Michigan vs New York

Meanwhile, this is possibly the most effective. Again, this is not an argument of ethics. This is an argument of "how can I make my elected official do what I want." We do not use only the purest moral argument. We use what works.

What to say to your elected official: Michigan, as a swing state, was won by democrats on the power of the Arab-American vote in the 2020 election. We (either party) are at risk of losing Michigan due to the current Congressional approach to the Gaza conflict, as that demographic is now polling as likely to abstain from voting entirely. The risk of losing several congressional districts due to the Jewish vote is a real one, but the risk of losing the the executive branch is greater, especially after what we saw with Suozzi. Supporting Palestine might lose us parts of New York, but supporting Israel will lose us Michigan.

Explanation: Something that has been taking up a lot of time and space in the election coverage is the situation in Michigan, and more recently, there has been attention paid to the special election of New York's third district, AKA the "who gets to replace disgraced George Santos" competition.

Michigan is traditionally a swing state. While 2.1% doesn't sound like a lot, that is some 211k-278k people (depending on your source), and while not all of them can vote... Michigan was won by about 154k. Arab-Americans are not the only relevant demographic, but they sure are an important one, and they are vocally opposed to the situation. Approval has dropped from 59% to 17%. From that same article:

As Axios notes, Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 154,000 votes, but there are at least 278,000 Arab Americans in Michigan. Biden took Arizona, a state with an Arab American population of 60,000, by only 10,500 votes. In Georgia, Biden prevailed with a margin of 11,800 voters, in a state that has an Arab American population of 57,000.

Democrats cannot afford to lose these states. Pressure your congresspeople about that, especially if you live in one of those states. I assume most Arab-Americans in said states are already calling every day; the rest of you can join in.

Meanwhile, most Jews (considered the most pro-Israel demographic by strategists) in America are concentrated in a very small number of electoral districts. Of the twenty most-Jewish, ten are in New York, which is why I put it up in the section header.

One of those districts was won by a Republican in 2022: George Santos, New York's third congressional district. Following his scandals and ousting, the seat was up for a special election, and the two candidates were Tom Suozzi, a democrat who held the seat previously (he decided to run for governor, and lost), and Mazi Pilip, a Nassau county legislator who was of Ethiopian Jewish background and had been in the IDF. She ran on a campaign that leaned strongly pro-Israel and anti-immigration, and when Suozzi won, she interrupted his victory speech to accuse him of supporting a genocide against Israel due to his rather centrist, rather milquetoast stance on the conflict during his election campaign.

Now, Suozzi's win probably had more to do with Pilip being anti-choice than her pro-Israel arguments, but he still won.

Democrats can better risk possibly losing a few seats in NY than definitely losing three swing states.

"But I don't want Dems to win their districts after what they've been--" Nope. Listen to me. Surveys indicate that Republicans are on average more pro-Israel, because Trump and Netanyahu are buddy-buddy, and we do not have a viable third option.

Also, again, this is about convincing Dems to be better. "If you do not vote to put restrictions on funding to Israel, I will not vote for you in November" is a lot more powerful than "I will not vote for you either way, because of what you've been doing, but you should do what I say anyway."

The Re-Election Argument: Risk of Escalation

So, that thing I said about Trump and Netanyahu?

Yeah, so, while Biden is giving Israel military aid while cautioning them to slow down and be careful, Trump is... complicated, but suffice to say he's much closer to Netanyahu on a personal level than Biden is. Biden's relation with Netanyahu is reportedly pretty frosty, while Trump's is based on relations through the Kushners.

Just from wikipedia:

Netanyahu made his closeness to Donald Trump, a personal friend since the 1980s, central to his political appeal in Israel from 2016.[21] During Trump's presidency, the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states.

Trump's been more all-over-the-place recently, badmouthing Netanyahu for being what Trump perceives as a loser, which complicates understanding what his approach is. It's kind of incoherent right now.

Given Trump's general history of being pro-Israel, though, and the attempts by House Republicans to push through a bill of unconditional funding for Israel. It failed, but notable is that the more recent bill passed in part because it was paired with aid for Ukraine and Taiwan (something Dems are much more invested in having happen).

What to say to your elected official: If Trump is reelected due to his current appearance of being more critical of Netanyahu, there is evidence from his presidency to indicate that he will support Israel much less critically if elected. While he claims to want to settle the Middle East, it seems incredibly likely that he will worsen the situation for Palestinians, and ramp up retaliatory strikes to groups like the Houthis in a manner that will impact non-military parties, igniting tensions that are already tenuous.

The Disrespect/Wild Card Argument

This particular argument is best used against the Very Patriotic Politicians who are more concerned with the US's image and Being The Alpha Nation than with other things. Basically, this might work on Republicans.

This isn't really something I believe in, as a matter of foreign policy, buuuut it might work on your rep, so. Consider it!

What to say to your elected official: With Israel's recent actions in ignoring Biden, blocking US-sent aid like those flour trucks that got stopped at the Rafah border because they'd be distributed by UNWA, and generally Disrespecting The USA and Being Unpredictable is not only making the US look bad for being unable to wrangle a smaller country, but also making it so we are less able to wrangle other countries in the future, because Israel cannot be predicted and might set someone off.

The Europe and Reputation Argument

What to say to your elected official: The United States is losing credibility as a world power known for its military and ability to manage international disputes on behalf of the UN, because it is seemingly unable to influence Israel, and losing credibility as an upstanding moral state that is not doing foreign coups and banana republics anymore, as it appears to be tacitly supporting Israel's ICJ-labelled genocide, which is a really bad look with the other Western Powers.

I'm not entirely sure who this might work on, but there's gotta be at least a few politicians who are really concerned about America's image, more than about actually doing the right thing. Figure out if your politician is one of them.

If necessary, you can bring up how Trump is threatening to pull US support for NATO if Russia attacks someone.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Iran-backed Militias

What to say to your elected official: I'm concerned that the continued support of Israel, and thus the funding of their actions in Gaza, will increase the instability of Iran-backed militias, as we have already seen with the Houthis and Hezbollah. Entire Muslim-majority nations are showing increased displeasure not only with Israel, but with the US by extension. We cannot afford another war in the Middle East when we haven't yet pulled all our troops from the last one, not with the recent and recurring economic recessions. Any situation would also very likely be complicated or inflamed by the growing tensions among Eritrea, Djibouti, and Ethiopia regarding Red Sea access as well.

Use this on the ones that claim to be pro-military or pro-veteran. See what they said about HR 815 before the foreign military funding amendment was added.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Egypt

What to say to your elected official: Egypt's government has been unstable since the Arab Spring, and even now the military government is incredibly unpopular. With that existing instability, the addition of economic strain from the reduced usage of the Suez canal, the international disputes occurring because they're the main throughway for aid into Gaza, and the threat of a sudden influx of nearly one and a half million Palestinian refugees should Israel continue to push south... Egypt is looking at a possible near-collapse as we've seen in nearby nations suffering similar instabilities.

Explanation: It took several years for Egypt to really start recovering from the revolts in 2013, and it has applied for four IMF loans in recent years. The current government is unpopular to such a degree that they are looking to build an entire new capital from scratch in the middle of the desert so that they're less open to the risk of civilian uprisings; one of the primary causes for civilian dissatisfaction is economic issues.

Due to Houthi attacks at the Bab al-Mandab Strait, traffic through the Suez canal is down massively, and since the canal "represents almost 5% of the GNP and 10% of GDP and is one of Egypt’s most important sources of hard currency." (src) Various sources are reporting that trade through the canal is down 40-50%, which is putting more strain on the already unstable economic and political situation.

Finally, Egypt's population is about 110 million, but the governorate that shares a border with Israel and Gaza, North Sinai, has a population of barely 500,000. A push of one and a half million starving, injured people will, very suddenly, nearly quadruple the population of the governorate, and require extreme aid response from Egypt's government to keep alive and prevent a larger crisis in North Sinai and neighboring governorates.

The Middle East Stability Argument: Normalized Relations

What to say to your elected official: I am concerned that Israel's continued attack on Gaza is jeopardizing any chance of normalized relations with the Arab states in the future. American has put a lot of work into trying to get these various countries to normalize with Israel, and our funding of the current attacks on Gaza are sabotaging all that effort.

This one can be combined with the Iran-Backed Militias argument: Israel, in pursuit of revenge against Hamas, is setting itself up to be in more danger long-term, rather than less.

The International Trade Argument

What to say to your elected official: I am concerned about how the war in Gaza is impacting international trade and shipping costs. With the Suez Canal down to half its usual capacity and the Panama Canal raising costs and dropping capacity in response to the water restrictions, along with rising fuel costs in Europe and Asia, global trade is incredibly strained. We are being relegated to the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, and the Malacca strait for much of intercontinental trade, and the macroeconomic projections are looking very bad for America.

The Domestic Economics Argument

What to say to your elected official: Many of the plans for Israeli military funding cause damage to other parts of the budget. For instance, a recent plan put forward by the Republicans of the House suggested IRS cuts in order to move that money, a plan which would impact the US budget negatively in the long term; we need those 14 billion being spent domestically, not supporting an overreaction/possible genocide in Gaza.

Explanation: In general, pick something receiving budget cuts that your congressperson will care about. I care about IRS funding, and saw it mentioned as a target in an article, so that's what I've got in my suggested verbiage up there.

The fewer people that are working for the IRS, the more they focus on auditing poor people (simple, easy taxes) and the less they can effectively audit rich people (complicated, time-consuming taxes), which means rich people are more likely to get away with evading millions or even billions in taxation. So yeah, you want more funding in the IRS if you are poor. They are already auditing you. You want them to audit the big guys.

The Russia and China Argument

What to say to your elected official: I am worried that the current focus on funding Israel without restriction is causing us to lose sight of the international threat posed by Russia and China. Russia is actively invading Ukraine, which continues to put massive strain on the European economy with regards to oil prices, especially with the Suez situation, and China has been testing missiles near Taiwan, and thus testing US responsiveness to those threats, for months now. We cannot afford to support an internationally unpopular war if we want to remain ready for Russia and China.

This is less likely to work on Republicans, since Trump is friendly with Russia, but hey, give it a shot if they're one of the ones who aren't fully in his camp.

EDIT 2/22/24: I'm a bit unsure of this tactic, but I'm putting it out there with hopes that someone with more political experience can offer feedback:

"Congress, and the US government in general, has promised to sanction Russia for the alleged assassination of one man within a week of the suspicious death, after five months of refusing to enact even slight consequences on Israel for the deaths of nearly thirty thousand, half of which are children. This is ethically questionable at best, but for the interests of elected officials, it is a very bad look. The mismatch shows a massive bias by the American government in regards to Israel's ongoing mass murder, with over two million facing famine as a result of Israel's aid blocking, and America's reputation on the world stage, as well as individual politicians' reputations domestically with constituents, is plummeting."

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Finally, my ko-fi again. I spent a long time on this and I'd like to move out of my parents' house sooner rather than later. If you appreciate my time and effort, please feel free to donate a couple bucks.

[avelera]

I've been talking with a few people irl about the TikTok ban and I was wondering if I could get your take on it? (iirc you work in election security). Mainly I'd like to know why TikTok/China is *uniquely* bad wrt dating mining/potential election interference when we've seen other companies/governments do the same thing (thinking of the Russian psyops here on Tumblr in 2016). It feels like the scope is so narrow that it doesn't come close to targeting the root problem (user privacy and data mining as a whole), leading me to think it's only point is "ooh China Scary". Thoughts? (No worries if you'd rather not get into it, I just thought of you as someone who might have more insight/informed opinions on the matter).

So I'm not really familiar with all the details of the case and certainly not all the details of the bill. But I will give my perspective:

TikTok as a particular threat to users' data and privacy has been known for some time in the cybersecurity world. US government employees and contractors have been straight-up forbidden to have it on their phones for some time now. I, for example, have never had it on my phone because of these security concerns. (Worth noting, I'm not a government employee or contractor, it was just a known-to-be dangerous app in the cybersecurity world so I avoided it.)

This is because the parent company, as I understand, has known connections to the Chinese government that have been exploited in the past. For example, to target journalists.

Worth noting, another app that would potentially be on the chopping block is WeChat, which also has close ties to (or is outright owned by?) the Chinese government. This is just speculation on my part but it's based on the fact that all the concerns around TikTok are there for WeChat too and it has also been banned on government devices in some states, so I imagine it would be next if the bill passes.

I think this is important to note because I've seen some hot takes here on Tumblr have said that the entire case against TikTok is made up and there is no security threat. That is simply not true. The concerns have been there for a while.

However, the question of what to do about it is a thorny one.

The determination seems to be that so long as TikTok is still owned by its parent company with its direct ties to the Chinese government, there really is no way to guarantee that it's safe to use. From that angle, demanding that the company sever ties and set up some form of local ownership makes sense.

I am not a lawyer, but, that being said, forcing them to sell their local operations to a locally-based buyer is a pretty invasive and unusual step for legislators to take against a private company, even in a clear case of spying. I'm sure TikTok's widespread popularity is a big part of the threat it poses, which lends to the argument used to justify such an extreme step. (Because it is on so many phones, it really could be a danger to national security.)

That said, at one point young activists on TikTok embarrassed Trump (lots of good context in this article) while he was campaigning in 2020, and there was some talk then about shutting it down which seemed pretty clearly linked to how it was used as a platform to organize against him. I'm sure there's at least some right wing antipathy towards the app that has a political basis going back to this event. Trump signed an executive order banning it, the ban going into effect got bogged down in the courts, and then Biden rescinded that executive order when he got into office, pending an investigation into the threat it posed.

Those investigations seem to have further confirmed that the Chinese government is getting access to US user data through the app, and further confirmed it as a security threat.

Now, to muddy the waters further, there's several dodgy investment funds including one owned by former Secretary of the Treasury to Trump Steven Mnuchin that are circling with an interest to buy TikTok if it does sell. That's very concerning.

Funds like Mnuchin's interest in purchasing TikTok (even though they do invest in other technologies too, so it is in their portfolio) definitely makes the motivations behind the sale look pretty damning as momentum builds, that it could be some sort of money grab here in the US.

China has also pointed out that forcing the sale of a company because of spying concerns like this opens a whole can of worms. If China thinks that, say, Microsoft is spying on their citizens, could they force the US company to sell its operations in China to a Chinese investor? Could they force Google? Could they even further polarize the internet in general between "free" and "not free" (as in, behind the great Chinese or Russian firewall, as examples) if this precedent is set, so that no Western companies can operate in authoritarian states without selling their local operations there to a government-controlled organization, and thus be unable protect their users there? Or, if you don't have so rosy a view of Western companies, could it effectively deal a blow to international trade in general by saying you have to have to sell any overseas arms of a company to someone who is from there? Again, I'm not a lawyer, but this is a hell of a can of worms to open.

But again, this is muddy because China absolutely is spying on TikTok users. The security reason for all of this is real. What to do about it is the really muddled part that has a ton of consequences, and from that angle I agree with people who are against this bill. Tons of bad faith consequences could come out of it. But the concerns kicking off the bill are real.

[cyberclouddream]

Story of Scorpio, Mars, Lilith, Chiron, and Pluto in 3H

One my biggest challenges in life is communication, according to my astrology placements. According to sidereal astrology, I have:

3H Scorpio, Mars, BM Lilith, Pluto, Chiron, and Juno

12H Leo, Sun, and Mercury

8H Aries, Jupiter Rx, and Saturn Rx

1H Virgo and Moon

Ahh, where do I start? ☺️

[ note: i observed this before i began learning astrology a few years ago as well ]

My placements show that i:

- approach conversation in a probing, investigative way with raw intensity, aiming to be transformative

- tend to be fiercely competitive in discussions and debates, questing for authenticity and to challenge societal norms

- communicate in a way that reveals deep-seated wounds and vulnerabilities, yet is also carefully considerate of how my words affect others (trying to balance analytical mind with emotional depth)

- am not afraid to dive into taboo or deep subjects

- have a flair for dramatic storytelling (AHAHAAhaaa…)

- am influenced by a need to understand and communicate the deeper and often hidden aspects of life

Most of the time I prefer solitude, so I can get myself together internally. I definitely don’t mind socializing but I get drained easily, especially depending on the vulnerability level I feel comfortable with.

I was diagnosed with speech impediment when I was a child and had to take speech classes in elementary school, as a lovely note. I still deal with, whether it’s speaking too fast or mixing up words in speech or writing [ which I just did, but I catch myself. I wrote “steal” instead of “still” ].

But when it comes to confrontation, I go hard or go home. I do not care for superficial BS, rose-colored glasses, or being politically correct. Man, I seek truth, not comfort, even when I get mofo scared.

Well, not gonna lie, many times I don’t say exactly how I feel because of the tendencies for tone to be focused on more than words. I have Venus and Rahu in Cancer in the 11th house so I often feel a sucker to social conformity, but I’ve been learnin.

I truly think that no matter how considerate I try to be with my words [ as in verbally stating I comprehend reasons why someone could come to a conclusion about my behavior along with asking further questions to understand ] I just come off too mofo intimidating and it’s frustrating as FOCK.

This post was triggered by a conversation I just had, which turned into an aggressive tone on the other person’s end because I shared my opinion and I told that I respect their choice to disagree but I stand firmly on my perspective…which I told them they didn’t have to agree with either. And they blocked me.

And I also had an disagreement with an previous friend and I want to reconnect or at least seek closure, but it didn’t turn out well because they felt like I was deflecting even tho I just had repeatedly stated my disagreement, along with admitting my slights. I asked them to explain why and how they felt like I was deflecting, and that they wouldn’t take accountability in the situation…and they got very upset, so we officially ended things.

I am well aware that I’m not always right. I just persist unless I have to emotionally or intellectually relent, cuz I’m actually wrong or I don’t have the balls or understanding to confront the truth.

Kinda Unrelated to Main Topic:

Most advice tells me to be more considerate but sweetie, most of my life I’ve dogged myself for not meeting the expectations of others, even though many times I still don’t care enough to put the effort into doing so. When I say dogged, I mean depressed and anxious asf most of my life, lamenting in my bed as I complain internally [ victimizing prick 😂 ] while the ego I mask [ all fire placements, especially Sun & Leo, in the water and private houses ] are boiling in my digestive system [ Virgo Rising and Aquarius 6H, which rules the mind and nervous system and MY ANXIOUS FOCKIN ASS ].

I see advice to challenge this intensity into physical activity, creative outlets, journaling, and learning occult practices [ like astrology 😁 ], which is good.

The thing is, this stuff affects my professional and social life. Not badly, cuz I am very considerate and mindful, but when I get too frustrated because I feel misunderstood or treated unfairly, it doesn’t go well power struggle wise. According to career related placements, I’m suited for behind-the-scenes tasks [ Gemini 10H with ruler in 12H ] along with channeling emotions and transformational energy into creative outlets [ I’m an artist and I love to write and read ].

My 10H ruler is in detriment in the 4H and 7H, which means I can struggle with balancing career and domestic dynamics, or communicating effectively within my family. Also indicates lack of support or understanding from family regarding career. And 7H can indicate issues with professional partnerships or collaborations. I’m gradually learning how to integrate all the different factors, because I know aspects and delineations play a big role in emphasis of energies, which I’m just now getting into. Since Mercury is exalted in my 1H, my career success and public reputation are boosted when I have a healthy relationship with my self-identity.

[heebiegeebee]

LONG PERSONAL POST AHEAD

What I am about to discuss is likely highly triggering, upsetting, and from what I have seen and read over the years, both in person and online, not the common or universal life-experience.

I am aware that my experiences are quite unique and hyper-specific, but that should not preclude me from being able to openly talk about them, especially on what is the equivalent of a personal blog/journal post.

I am going to preface this with the note that I do not intend to source much of anything beyond what I already have handy (if that, as I am kinda just free-writing as I go, so if I mention something thats relevant and on-hand, I'll add it, but outside of that, either you're already hyper-aware yourself of what I'm talking about, or you can very easily go and verify it yourself if it's something that has "made the news"/can be sourced in actual history books/papers/articles/interviews/etc and not just regurgitated on wikipedia by propagandists) because I have learned that no amount of TURNING YOUR POCKETS OUT will change the mind of someone who has no interest in changing their mind or hearing yours out without desperately waiting for their moment to pounce.

Do it yourself. Or don't. I don't care anymore and I don't care to be silenced for the remainder of my life just to make you, o reader, comfortable.

Anything not mentioned as something sourcable is my own life experience and opinion, and can absolutely change given enough reason and experience to*. Anyone who considers themselves to be a reasonable and educatable human being should be capable of admitting the same. (*the opinions can change, not my personal lived experiences; lenses can change, sure, but the facts and acts cannot, unless you're re-writing history) Names are altered, changed, or in some way obfuscated enough for plausible deniability for use of other names.

I don't know how to "after the cut" something, so this is the final warning. I am not afraid to block a motherfucker, and at this point I welcome another ZiOnIsT bLoCkLiSt if it keeps me from seeing y'all's wildly uninformed and outright antisemitic bullshit takes. Good luck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is gonna be scattered. Maybe I'll rearrange paragraphs or sentences, but my brain is a jumble of pain, and so too will this be.

Husband and I got into yet another political argument last night, and it finally sealed the deal for me. I'm getting the fuck out of here by hook or by crook.

I have been involved in leftist politics since I was in junior high. My very first protest was when I was 12; I protested the Bush administration for its bullshit "war" in the middle east after 9/11. I marched in Los Angeles in the rain banging a bucket drum screaming NO BLOOD FOR OIL and the fight hasn't stopped since. One of my very first political drawings was a daisy (purposefully evoking the daisies peaceniks would slide into the gun barrels of state/gov enforcers in the 60's) where the petals and leaves were bombs. A bit on the nose, sure, but I was a kid! My heart was and very much still is in the right place, so I've been told. Nowadays I'm just angrier about it, and am no longer beholden to the "non-rights" of childhood (CHILDREN HAVE RIGHTS!!! ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS LYING TO CONTROL AND SCARE CHILDREN INTO COMPLIANCE AND THEY ALWAYS WILL BECAUSE IT UNDERMINES THEIR PERCIEVED AUTHORITY OVER SMALL VULNERABLE HUMAN BEINGS)

I never stopped either, it just took different forms as I gained or lost abilities to travel, donate, educate, etc... I won't put everything I've ever done here because 1) that list would be very long, and 2) it would absolutely dox me. TBH, if someone is dead set enough to do it, they could probably dox me off this post, but as I said, I just do. not. care. anymore. There is nothing left for you to take from me now. Pick these bones clean until they sun bleach.

It is for these reasons I feel zero need to defend my leftist beliefs when someone who has known me for almost 15 years now, and credits me with their political stances refining and/or changing in some manner to be far more left/progressive than they were, (including but not limited to them becoming more involved in direct action and education themselves) suddenly throws all that out the window because they don't like having to be on their backfoot when caught unprepared for an argument THEY STARTED and opts to call me a "zionist nationalist" as a gotcha. When I threw on heavy sarcasm and loudly proclaimed "why yes! I, who vehemently opposes borders and check points and governments and thinks people should be able to freely travel and live wherever they choose, and champions land back for history's various displaced or ethnically cleansed minorities, is totally a zionist nationalist! You've found me out!" husband promptly changed course (of course!)

Why not just call me a kike at that point if you're gonna disregard everything you know about me so quickly (and so often??? which you end up backpedaling on when the fight is over???) Because no amount of me saying "I want the Palestinians to be free from both their own/external terrorist orgs masquerading as govs AND the israeli gov so they can't be used as cannon fodder or a get out of jail free card anymore" will change the mind of someone who already has your role carved out for you. (he also took umbrage with me saying the names of specific actors in the israeli gov, but that i wasn't naming individual hamas members and affiliates by name??? meanwhile husband just says "state of israel"; no "the" beforehand, and he does NOT do this with other world govs or countries...???)

I pointed out once again how he's called me a terrorist (for simply saying minorities have the right to defend themselves! NOT ATTACK OFFENSIVELY, but DEFEND themselves! {I was referring specifically to the Black Panthers open-carrying in CA at police stops at the time!}) and now he's using "Zionist" as an attack, which shouldn't matter to him anyway as he considers himself a non-zionist (which is fine! as a jew he has that right!)

But he's upset because I called him a Hamasnik! I explained that I called him that after he defended Aaron Bushnell's antisemitic screeds (the legit ones, not the faked profile) and ignored that even Bushnell's own friends quoted him as saying he was "someone who bounced from one extreme to the other" after getting out of his xtian cult, joining the military, and becoming engrossed in I/P propaganda, to which husband replied by saying "well it's a real shame no one will hear his message now 😔" what, pray tell, is the REAL MESSAGE aaron fucking bushnell has to offer that you CANNOT find anyone better to point to???? Why am I the bad person for doing the due diligence and researching instead of parroting? HUSBAND'S THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT-FUNDED EDUCATOR, SO WHAT'S HIS FUCKING EXCUSE?! "oh its a real shame hitler was so misunderstood" ass comment... so yeah, HAMASNIK. What fucking else would it be??? YOU ARE DOING THE WORK FOR HAMAS BY PARROTING THE SAME PROPAGANDA! this shouldn't be that hard to grasp!

Husband is so wrapped up in being right or "catching me" that he has completely thrown his own fucking brain out and cannot think through things logically. But sure, I'm the overly emotional one! The fact remains that throughout our relationship, husband has taken every instance to undermine me, undermine the things i know about and have experienced firsthand (don't get me started on his ignoring and downplaying blatant antisemitism and transphobia/biphobia just because he wanted friends!) No wonder he is the way he is, and now that he's converted, this too will be my fault.

AND YES. I am going to say that I fully believe that once someone becomes a jew, THEY ARE A JEW, full-stop! BUT! that does NOT preclude or absolve someone hurting their own ingroup, nor does it mean there are not internal conflicts that arise from these very same stances. We cannot ignore that the individual responsible for writing the Protocols was LITERALLY A CONVERT! Do I think all converts are guilty? FUCK NO. Do I think we should forego conversions and become more insular? NO! but what I DO want to know is what the hell are rabbi's doing to ensure the prospective jews-by-choice have unpacked their internalized (usually some flavour of cultural xtian, though not exclusively) antisemitism? Cuz lemme tell ya, we had another at my synagogue who, once they were official, took that opportunity to tell US we have NO IDEA what it's like to BE A MINORITY, and HAVE YOUR ANCESTORS MURDERED, ENSLAVED, RAPED, DISPLACED, LAND AND WEALTH STOLEN etc because her ancestors were conversos AND WE'RE JUST WHITE PEOPLE.

Like, sorry, did you join a marginalized people to one up them in oppression olympics? Are you assuming everyone's genetic makeup and ancestral background here? WHY ARE YOU ASSUMING EVERYONE HERE IS AND ALWAYS WAS WEALTHY?? Why when I pull you aside to commiserate after I had your back this whole time are you throwing me under the bus, too? Is it the racism? I think it's the racism... (I'm sure I'll elaborate on our congregation's ex-cop, air bnb landlord, born-again-jew-whose-more-jewey-than-the-rest-of-us in the future, but that's for a different time. Fuck her all the same though)

My rabbi is highly respected, both in the US, and abroad, and has physically traveled to report back on the shitty conditions our government has forced migrants and refugees into. He is also someone who I respect for how he spent his youth, as it was very lefty-crustpunk and anti-capitalist. He caries many of those ideals still with him today, but he obviously has to represent an entire congregation, and isn't keen to be tossed out by the very few who swing their money-dicks around because WE. ARE. STRUGGLING. but he's not silent on our morals and virtues by any means... If this guy has already spat out not one, but TWO jews-by-choice who hold antisemitic beliefs, then what the fuck does our future look like? I pointed out to my husband that he joined a PEOPLE. Those people come from somewhere. Those people have longed to return to that somewhere. Those people are fighting to be recognized and respected as a sovereign NATION (meaning PEOPLE), and are being undermined by those who claim to champion those same causes for other marginalized minority groups. Those people are OUR PEOPLE. Why are you undermining US??? Have you literally learned NOTHING in all of your studies? Will you suddenly agree with the new trend of taking the Happy Merchant and other antisemitic caricatures/tropes and saying it's actually really islamophobia and not antisemitism? Is that not supercessionist enough for you at this point? I mean I shouldn't be surprised considering husband smarmily stated so matter-of-factly AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS WAR "well they say the Palestinians are the Jews of the middle east" LIKE WHAT?!?!?!? TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ACTUAL JEWS OF THE MIDDLE EAST, YOU FUCKWIT. I mean, talk about adding insult to injury, for fucks sake...

Husband comes at me about the BUND, as if I think or ever alluded to them "deserving death" (?!?!?!) when all I pointed out was THEY TOO specifically undermined their own existence to fight for something (that in a more tolerant and accepting world I would be %1000 on board with -- HERENESS!) that ended up backfiring on them only because they TRUSTED that by minimizing or handing parts of themselves over to appease the masses who continued to view them as other would somehow SAVE THEM. Any victim or survivor of abuse can tell you that it simply doesn't work that way (HINT HINT). It's a noble and a lofty goal; one I truly highly respect... but to ignore facts and think "this time'll be different!" before said society has grappled with its own hatred and internalized biases is beyond a sign of madness, and it does no one any good to pretend otherwise. Do you also believe the south has no more sundown towns? Or that New York doesn't have any of its own? Or that racism doesn't exist in America since Obama was elected those two times? Will a female president finally mean there is no more misogyny? What if women and trans people just subjugated themselves during the Trump presidency? Surely that would save them, because they're not causing a ruckus or bucking the system if they just go along with it, right? Is the trans woman politician currently sitting in... is it the house? Suddenly going to really shake things up in favour of trans people by allowing the House to ban her from the women's restroom? What's the limit in application of the same mentality? Is there one? Why or why not? Explain your answers, and I guarantee you you'll be sounding like Graham Linehan trying to smugly define what a chair is.

Husband did not expect me to pull out the fact that the Palestinian Identity was specifically manufactured to cause chaos and instability in the region, and that their own govs, as well as surrounding islamic govs have gone on the record and admitted the same, usually coupled with the pronouncement and promise to fight and kill and die until either there are no more jews, or no more palestinians (not muslims/the muslim nations, not zionists, not israelis... specifically jews and palestinians... shows you how little they care for palestinian blood if they specifically are so expendable, but no other variety of muslim/islamic nation is! funny that...) He thought this was some sort of gotcha, because even though he acquiesced the fact that an Identity was CREATED specifically to counter another identity, that did not mean they weren't entitled to live in peace and self-govern. WRONG AGAIN! I actually DO think that even though it is made up, sure, give them their own state! He tried to bring up bi-nationalism, but like, even the palestinians have said they don't want that? Do you even listen to the people you pretend to be speaking on behalf of?

It was even funnier (read: MADDENING) to hear him say that Pan-Arabism ISN'T a good thing, and that so many countries having the xtian cross on their flag, or crescents on their flags (denoting the religion of the colonizers, naturally) is BAD, and so too is the Caliphate flags! But hopefully those regimes fall too! But lets ignore the Palestinian flag design, pay no attention to the colonizer behind the curtain! ahhhhh inconvenient truuuuuths whyyyy

I have reached my limit. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, linguistically... it's all been for naught. It didn't matter that I put my body on the line to defend black lives multiple times, both in official and unofficial capacities. Or got hospitalized in defense of gay marriage in CA. Or have gotten myself permanently on a "random screening" list any time I am forced to travel by air (i have harmed myself specifically to avoid air travel because of this and the sexual harassment I receive from agents as a gender non-conforming person) Or made it to the point where feds show up at my door. It didn't matter that I marched, protested, donated, transported, educated, LISTENED AND LEARNED, etc etc etc. It was and has always been a grift to silence and pull the ladder up after your group "makes it".

Honestly, and I say this as someone who their 3 closest friends for a decade+ are all marginalized/PoC: there is a serious issue amongst the left where we seem to think that racism is falling at the feet of only white people, regardless of what side of the political spectrum they are on.

I also say this as someone who:

grew up feeling safer in non-white spaces than otherwise (nowhere is safe now),

friends growing up, even as I moved counties/states, were almost all overwhelmingly disenfranchised minorities and immigrants/refugees

whose family literally provided solidarity, in word and deed during the Civil Rights movement (both in the south and in CA),

grew up hearing the exact same shit that gets said to poor PoC (i'll never forget my mom's face when a white woman behind her called her a welfare queen in front of us [I was a child, btw... and my mom is legally disabled and my father was in prison at this time])

had family go into sexwork because of what I listed above (and dad wasn't even arrested at this point, we were just that poor, even in JEW HAVEN "EVERYONE'S RICH!" LOS ANGELES)

literally got beaten up/threatened/harassed by both whites and PoC for being JEWISH, both in my childhood (being choked by my teacher for "taking the lords name in vain" in kindergarten! {i actually hadnt, and this isn't even the first instance of antisemitism i experienced!}) AND as an adult in LEFTIST ORGS

The list goes on and on, truthfully. And it fucking HURTS.

What are we going to do?

The ex-cop-landlord-born-again convert said I really helped her humanize sex-workers and johns, then turned around and dismissed any and all life experiences I had because ... "white"?

Multiple LEFTIST orgs, both local and multi-state, both new and well-established from the 70's, doxing me to other orgs because I refused to agree "Jews are white" and have had "no problems in the US for the last 100 years" and "have no culture/language/history of their own", and because I used self-defeating humour in a private group text exchange and "all sarcasm is violence hidden behind language" or whatever (that's also a story for another time)

...

SICA said I can see the future. Multiple times. She wants to be a politician in AZ and has started amassing a following and gets invited to speak in group education "tiktok" seminars! She's also a failed artist and relies on AI to educate her. Her own husband admitted to me she has become antisemitic. I am no longer accepted as "part of the family".

GEL... well, there's too many examples there from housing them on and off for ~5 years. They have zero prospects and won't from me anymore since I've given up on bleeding myself dry for them, but they are charming and absolutely influence people to their side because they appear unassuming and harmless due to their own disabilities and soft-spoken nature. They had to be told not to incorrectly identify a Desert Eagle as a *insert sneer* Jewish gun rather than Israeli. I am no longer accepted as "their chosen family".

ANE said I am the only real punk he's ever met. Multiple times. He's getting a doctorate in History; specifically HOLOCAUST studies, so he too can go and be a professor! He used me to help him through his half-white xtian-adjacent guilt trip as he was visiting death camps in Poland. You're welcome for my universalized jewish pain, as well as my absolution for your guilt because a restaurant nearby served pork! I am no longer worth consideration as a friend, and he used his medication alignment as an excuse to weasel out of the convo. That was 4 months ago.

Husband said I am g-d's conscience personified. Recently. He thought he could "save the DSA" after defending their NYC march where the guy held a swastika up and sieg heiled, and last night said that he could "save me". He no longer believes he can save the DSA, but seems to have turned me into his secret "save their soul" cause... yeah dude, you really unpacked your baggage before jumping into an ethnoreligion you joined for the love of arguments and finally gaining an identity you can acceptably wrap yourself in now since the "queer relationship" label was waaay too much for you to comfortably handle/defend... oop, too bad leftists decided that jews dont count once again!

My own father, who I finally reconnected with after 25 fucking years, is dating (and is engaged to, somewhat) a woman who defended "Zeitgeist: The Movie" as a "truth bomb that everyone needs to see" and "fucking fantastic", and wonders why I have no desire to have either of them in my life anymore. His statement of "I can't control what other people do" : just like you couldn't control your sister trying to forcibly convert your two children via bombardments in the mail of jesus/xtian shit? Or "so everyone who disagrees with you is an enemy?" : motherfucker racism and CONSPIRACY THEORIES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES isn't merely a "disagreement"??? and what's more, he has no idea I volunteer WEEKLY with people who don't believe I should exist, because my goal is to FEED HUNGRY FAMILIES AND CHILDREN SPECIFICALLY, their baggage be DAMNED. The church my synagogue partners with every year for the "free community holiday meal" is FILLED with racists and supercessionists who admit to infiltrating jewish spaces INTENTIONALLY, and describes their children enthusiastically enjoying ribs "like an old black woman" AS THEY ARE SERVING THOSE SAME COMMUNITIES, but no one will listen, so I just do my volunteering because at the end of the day, that's one less hungry person. You wanna talk to me about "enemies", when you used your adjacent-judaism/your actual ethnic background of Sicilian+Algonquin as your ID while you were in prison? WHY ARE YOU UNAWARE OF THE PROBLEMS YOU YOURSELF EXPERIENCED BUT DENY HAPPENING TO YOUR CHILDREN? Just because one attacks with a knife and the other with words that HISTORICALLY become LAW, you think I don't know how to work and live amongst ENEMIES?! You have just as much of a "can't tell me shit" as your GF has.

Adopted family isn't much better either. I have had to swallow the fact that I am INCREDIBLY uncomfortable with someone who uses their position in school systems to send "troubled, unreachable youth" to the beginnings of a carceral life because she gets "police crackers" out of it (for those unaware like I was, apparently cops give out cards that can be "cracked" as a one-time-use thing to get out of a ticket or whatever). She has no idea that I too nearly ended up that way TWICE. Once was for "smoking pot on school grounds" (it wasn't pot, and I admit my gifted-child-fallen-from-grace protected me thanks to one Dean who I had regularly chatted with {I was a weird kid who was just enough out of step with people my own age}, while the 2nd Dean specifically tried to have me expelled BECAUSE of my perceived whiteness, as THIS was the chance to EVEN THE PLAYING FIELD!) and the second time was ABSOLUTELY because of my perceived whiteness when a cop decided not to put me on probation for skipping school. What never entered the convo, at any point, for any of these authority figures was that I was actively being ABUSED AND NEGLECTED, with undiagnosed CPTSD (and possibly some flavour of autism), and had ZERO avenues for expressing myself that didn't somehow get me into trouble, physically assaulted, or thrown into a mental hospital. DOES SHE EVER CONSIDER THATS WHAT SHE'S BARGAINING A SPEEDING TICKET FOR? SOME UNDERSERVED KID'S LIFE???

I can't take it.

What the fuck am I supposed to think when all of you throw me out of your life or downplay your anti-social crimes when I call you on your bullshit then?

I've nothing left to work with here. My leftism means nothing in this country because it will always be tainted with "other". I would rather die surrounded by like-minded strangers in a different country that has a high likelihood of being destroyed if many many people, both in power and not, get their wish. What does that say about the state of where we are as a society? What does that say about the state of where I am?

Does it even matter?

[ladyofthebears]

Boundaries for my page:

PLEASE READ BEFORE FOLLOWING AND INTERACTING

ASOIAF:

I fully believe that the first men are meant to be representative of indigenous people. If you dont agree with my thoughts, thats fine but do not insult what i believe or come onto my page to say any form of racist comment about it. I will block you immediately.

I fancast my fic and cast in the same way that the Brandy Cinderella casting director operated meaning, if a characters race is important to that characters story and experience, they will specifically be that race, otherwise, I cast whomever i believe fits the image in my head, no matter what race or ethnic background they may have. If you say hateful things about this or who I cast due to their culture or background, you will be blocked.

I also think this fandom is horribly anti- black and I will call you on it and block you if i believe you are stating said hateful views. (I mean anti black as in anti black people and using characters like Laena, Baela, and Rhaena as torture porn or pawns because of their blackness and being women.)

I am team Black but I am anti abuser in everyway, meaning not only am I anti Aegon ii, Aemond, Daeron, Otto, and Viserys, I am also staunchly anti Daemon. I am willing to have civilised discourse about the dance, but will block you if you try to justify any abuse performed by any characters or celebrate said abuse. This includes people who rejoice at the “Bastard blood” line or think the Velayron boys death was justified. This includes people who fantasise about torturing or assualting any characters but specifically the children in HOTD. This ESPECIALLY includes people who rejoice at Blood and Cheese. You will be blocked and I will not be sorry for it.

I know a lot of asoif lore but have not read the books due to my own CPTSS diagnosis and due to the triggering material in said books. If i make a mistake lore wise, please kindly let me know and I will fix it post haste.

I am not here to fight with people on my take of the book or shows. I will tell you my opinion, and if you wish to discuss yours and why you think that way, and can do so kindly, i will gladly talk to you. But at the end of the day, when i post my opinion, I am merely doing so to have an outlet on which to voice my thoughts in a way I am not able to in real life due to my not having many irl friends who have seen hotd or got.

Not Fandom related:

I am pro Palestine and find the unneeded killing of any innocent life deplorable. I am not here to argue about my political views. If you post any kind of hateful, islamphobic, or palestinian phobic comments under my posts, I will block you.

Overall:

If you post or reply with any Homophobic, Racist, Misogynistic, or any generally hateful thing under my posts, I will block you.

This is not up for discussion. My views are my own and if you find them to be harsh and unreasonable, feel free to block me and never interact with me again. I am here on Tumblr to interact with people from the fandom and to get my fanfic out there. I am not here to validate that people deserve to live even if they are different because that should go without saying. If you cannot respect my outlined boundaries, if you cannot be respectful to other people under my posts, if you cannot allow others to have different opinions then you on such trivial things as a made up world- please do not interact with me.

I know i have very few followers and most people rarely see my posts, but i do not care. These are things that are important to me and I feel if I am unable to speak them, I would be a hypocrite of the highest order. I hope to create a safe space on my page where peaceful and kind discussions can be had.

Much love

O’Leigh Fredericke

[straightlightyagami]

i might deserve your fate or worse

⚠️this blog’s url is normally isomorbism, using this url temporarily

hi, welcome to my blog! ^_^ you may want to read this post before following. edited when needed. (last updated: 11/12/2024)

links: neocities / bluesky / mastodon / pillowfort (rarely active on these i just made accounts on everything to see)

invite to discord server on request for mutuals or people i’ve interacted with (you can dm)

free palestine! 🇵🇸

ask to tag (dm or ask) if you want to filter anything!

i got the checkmarks from a mutual when they were first added

interests / stuff I post

I like pure math and I'm studying it at university (bachelor). kind of my "main" special interest and has been since I was a kid.

I write stuff occasionally like poems and "fanfiction."

I sometimes make semi-coherent poasts about my miscellaneous opinions on social and political issues, philosophy, etc.

not a fandom blog but I post about things I read or watch sometimes. I like death note (number one fan of light yagami).

currently reading: crime and punishment (again)

currently playing: disco elysium

currently watching: breaking bad

general / rules

asks are welcome but I am very slow (as in it takes months sometimes) at answering them. I am not ignoring you I am just so bad at this.

for privacy I don't want to share some things like where I'm from and I would appreciate if you don’t ask this type of question.

you can ask nicely if you need something tagged. I try to keep this blog generally pg-13.

english is not my first language but I'm at c2 level. I generally use american rather than british terms where there is a distinction.

please tell me if you think something I said was mean, bigoted, or problematic so I can improve in the future!

sometimes I will talk or reblog something about the discourse du jour but this is not a discourse blog.

no dni; I may block you if: you harass me or my followers, if I think it's likely that you will, or for other reasons (although I rarely do and mostly accidentally). you can ask to be unblocked.

please make a post or some indication you are not a bot.

do not take any of my posts as a call to violence towards any individual or group of individuals. do not use my posts as a platform for this.

do not put discriminatory rhetoric on basis of race, skin color, ethnicity, nationality, assigned sex at birth, gender, sexual orientation, or disability on my posts. I want this blog to be safe for people of marginalized identities.

miscellaneous positions / opinions

you are not required to agree to interact or follow

I'm a state socialist (I try to stay open to learning about different ideas) and a (mostly classical) utilitarian.

pro free speech. generally i think more freedom for more people is good.

anti-imperialist as in I oppose imperialism by western countries and by other countries like russia too. putin apologia is not welcome here.

I try to have a nuanced view of historical socialist states (i am from an ex-socialist country btw).

I support the queer community, inclusionist as in I think it's fine if people have any good faith and harmless identities, even contradictory ones. this doesn't include "radqueer" identities. I don't participate in this sort of discourse.

I strongly disagree with the concept of collective guilt or collective punishment.

I do not want to hear about shipping discourse.

reblog ≠ endorsement of everything the OP ever said. also note I will sometimes interact or follow people I don't agree with on everything or even most things. I will sometimes reblog posts that are interesting but I do not necessarily endorse.

some posts (this section is a work in progress)

why i am anti anti civ

on autism: (x) (x)

on democracy under socialism

socialism vs communism vs regulated capitalism

sideblogs

(bold = my favorite and most active sideblogs, others have posts more rarely)

@this-is-trivial - aesthetics sideblog

@paxsovietica - soviet history and art blog

@autistic-light-yagami - “roleplay sideblog”

@hashtag-applecore - 🍎

@colibri-coruscans - birds (the other mod is @/rlydsntmttr)

@goncharovpilled - goncharov posts archive

@modularfacade - architecture photography blog

@did-henry-kissinger-die-yet - what it says on the tin (the answer is yes)

@jan-iso - toki pona blog

@wouldkirakillthem - poll gimmick blog

[nkn0va]

This your man? This the guy you want?

Alright, apparently I got two asks about this in the span of 10 minutes so clearly we need to talk about this.

Before I get into that though, the other Blazblue writer's old blog has since been deleted. I signed out to look for their writing and it is all gone. That old blog is in fact deleted.

First off, I never ever once said I wanted Trump in office again, please do not put words in my mouth. Those DMs have since been deleted now so I cannot provide screenshots (I never thought I'd need to, fml). I do remember though that admittedly my choice of wording was pretty much as poor as it could've been and made a rather poorly timed joke. Also there was a lot of things on my mind that I unfortunately was not able to articulate before I was blocked. However I was simply stating an objective fact that the economy was largely better under Trump's presidency than Biden.

This is a huge multi-faceted argument in and of itself that I don't have the time or patience to talk about, including the fact that covid really fucked things up, but that's really not an excuse for the state of the economy 4 or even 2 years later. Inflation hit an all-time high under Biden's presidency and prices are higher than they've ever been. The cost of living is only climbing higher and higher with no current signs of dropping anytime soon. The statistics do not lie, inflation was dramatically lower under Trump's presidency than it currently is under Biden's. Popular opinion when looking at both responses to inflation and the inflation itself point to the economy doing better under Trump's term.

If you really want you can read on the topic in more detail here

Now does that I mean I support him?

Not quite.

Look, I don't think I need to tell anyone old enough to vote that Trump isn't exactly a saint. I recognize that and support the notion that as a person he is not fit for presidency in many ways despite the good he did for the economy. People are not black and white, it is not a bad thing to admit the good qualities of a person even when they're still bad outside of their deeds. Mother Teresa is a prime example. Despite all the great things she's done she's been proven to have severely neglected and at times even abused and humiliated the people in her care all in the name of indoctrinating people into the Catholic church.

This is in no way to compare her and Trump, I merely bring her up to emphasize my point that bad people can still have good qualities and vice versa. Thinking that a person is pure good or pure evil is immature, childish, and is exactly what a lot of people in power want. To create drastic divides in the American people in order to further advance their own agendas, whether we agree with them or not.

Now who might I be voting for is the question?

Frankly, I still have no idea. I don't want to skip out on voting, both on principal and especially the fact that this will be my first election, but unfortunately ERB Lincoln's worst fears have come true. The president shall once more be who the public decides is the shiniest of two turds.

I am not a Trump supporter nor a Biden supporter, just someone that wants the best for this country. Alas, as long as these two fucking idiots are our candidates, we'll have to hang in there for another four years.

This topic shall no longer be talked about on this blog publicly. If you wanna discuss anything political stop hiding behind the anonymous feature and discuss this with me in DMs like a intelligent, civilized person. Any future asks regarding this topic will be promptly deleted.

[crownmemes]

House Sentences, Vol. 2

(Sentences from House (2004-2012). Adjust phrasing where needed)

"I'm too handsome to do paperwork."

"Why are you doing this? It's not going to keep you out of jail."

"Humility is an important quality, especially if you’re wrong a lot."

"How many of those pills are you taking?"

"I can’t believe you authorised this!"

"You really don't need to know everything about everybody."

"You know, in some cultures, it’s considered almost rude for one friend to spy on another."

"Oh, I’m sorry, I thought we were having a state-the-obvious contest."

"Did you need to be so cruel?"

"You know, there are other ways to manage pain."

"The brain has a gating mechanism for pain. It registers the most severe injury and blocks out the others."

"You always trust me. Big mistake."

"You’re going through withdrawal."

"I said I was an addict. I didn't say I had a problem."

"I've been alienating people since I was three."

"You’re miserable, and you’re afraid to face yourself!"

"Is there any way in which that is not a lie?"

"Didn't your mother teach you that two wrongs don't make a right?"

"You've got a big 'keep out' sign stapled on your forehead."

"Even if real human contact is something you don’t have, or even want or need, you should at least be able to see it in other people."

"What? You're saying I've only got one friend?"

"I loved him until I figured out that it hurts a lot less to just not care."

"He’s your dad. It doesn’t matter what he does, you’re going to love him."

"Aren't doctors supposed to wear lab coats?"

"Suddenly ethical lapses are a major concern for you?"

"That's an incredibly inappropriate question!"

"This would be a very good time to offer me a bribe."

"You value our friendship more than your ethical responsibilities."

"My opinions shouldn’t be rejected just because people don’t like me!"

"You are uniquely talented in many areas, but office politics is not one of them."

"Save your pathetic insincerity for your boyfriend."

"You think you’re incapable of making a mistake?"

"I need to know that whatever I ask you to do, no matter how distasteful you find it, you’ll do it."

"You’re doing this because you can’t deal with your feelings for me."

"I will protect you, as long as I need you."

"My understanding was that you believed in rationality above all else."

"The faster we can get you better, the faster you can get out of here."

"Why is everybody so ashamed of sex all of a sudden?"

"It must be miserable always assuming the worst in people."

"Are you alright? You look a little pale..."

"You always find some tiny, little flaw to push people away."

"Wear the sky blue shirt. It almost makes you look nice."

"Some relationships aren't meant to happen."

"You're worried I'm going to break his heart?"

[screamingfromuz]

So someone asked to have an honest conversation with me about the I/P conflict. I agreed and they gave me their opinion, I gave them mine while pointing what I saw as problems with their points.

there was a lot (5 pages of text between the two of us), but here is the main highlight:

They support a full surrender of Israel and it's dissolvement, basically Destroy Israel, rename the whole place Palestine, put a "socialist coalition of Palestinian political leaders and those Israelis who have been fighting for Palestine to be free" (good luck with that), and give the Palestinians everything they want (a lot of reasonable things in that list, even if very one sides next to a lot of very unreasonable things).

and after all of that is done, "Israelis [should] work every day of the rest of their lives to repair the harm done by the occupation" so "eventually, like it used to be, Jews and Palestinians will once again be neighbors, allies, and friends in the region".

I have pointed out that Jews were considered second class citizens, so returning to pre-1917 state is not an option, and that many Palestinian authorities called for the explosion or murder of Jews in the case of establishing a Palestinian state on the entire territory. not to mention all the implications of dissolving Israel, from education, to calendars, to laws, to refugees, to museums, to art.

I did not touch on the coalition Idea, as my answer was getting long, but boy is it something we are trying to get to the Knesset.

They thanked me for writing a response, said that I haven't read all their sources (I admit I only skimmed through and not read thoroughly), then they claimed my desire for humanitarian solutions is false and called my activism "self-aggrandizing charity project" that is based on lies.

then they blocked me. Shame, I would have liked to continue this conversation.

I will say that I got them to admit the do not want a ceasefire, but that they support the surrender and destruction of Israel, so progress!

I do look forward to the day both Israelis and Palestinians get to build a better future here from the mess we did.

[rayandvalsson]

Hi. I just came to ask for a run-down of the reasons you voted for Trump and your political views?

I'm a left wing supporter, but, because I blocked a lot of MAGA, I dont see much right wing content. I just want to make sure I'm not just living in an echo chamber and see your views in a way that isn't in internet flame wars or arguments.

Dear reader thank you for the respectful question. Unfortunately I have reblogged some of the campaign material from the so called right wing. This could leave a reasonable person on to assume I have voted for trump, however I have never claimed such a thing on here. It’s not safe to make assumptions like this and anti-thetical to our culture to talk about who we voted for. But since I have expressed my opinion I will answer the later to your question and share some of my life experience with you, someone who I could assume is seeing some red flags within their own “echo chamber”, just as I once did around age of 25.

here is a breakdown of some facts:

-my family is “right wing”

-I started to read the Bible to “disprove” notions scientifically.

-commandment 6 of the Decalogue, respect your mother and father, so things will go well for you. This is well ingrained in our culture.

-everyone in this country should want what’s best for the people/state of this country, to seek otherwise including breaking the real laws of the land, or supporting foreign nations is considered treason.

-I believe that in this world evil dominates, there is no laws, the devil rules the hearts of men , his nickname the deceiver. Good is called bad, bad is called good, few have any understanding of reality, instead are sucked into simulations and kept low.

-right is left and left is right, or red, white and blue, from left to right, the first as in the Bible connotation of importance white representing peace OFCOURSE.

-this is not an invitation to debate me

-nazis color was blue, or krouts, their enemy the communists was red, the red army(Habsburg) etc

-meaning I believe the red or right wing trump party to be communist, largely in support of the left wing bracket, this can only be achieved through mass deceit and confusion(babel).

-my family would share their opinions, from this, to growing up and talking at the table(dinner). Jesus invention btw.

-I was liberal Obama lover, I got kicked out was homeless, bought a condo after saving money kept working and found alone with a dysfunctional girlfriend in abusive cycles, I got involved online. My goal political achievement.

-Hilary was caught killing, along with the dnc, many of my echo chamber people sided against me OFCOURSE, even threatening me in silly ways.

-this left a choice of evils, my family and someone trying to hurt me or people now seemingly worse than bush conspiracy. I wanted to be brave.

-they are helping all the groups who bash him not the working class or me

-the economy and politics went hand in hand, one being good from work to property value, the other inflation, and joblessness. I got busy, supporting Biden president in the left, even debating fellow collegiate In economics.

-I work to help people and started a farm and investment to shield my saving. Age 28

-age 27 my friends begin to get killed off etc, war breaks out.

-I had already been harassed by liberal neighbors for many years, I just caught a thief cooking crack, remember there is no justice, cops have been proven dirty, even our sheriff is wanted for murder, courts corrupt, schools, etc.

-attacks on trump occur

-up to the present time, many on the “right” getting big headed as they sow their own downfall.

-liberals getting upset about their reflection

-free speech and many rights restored by Elon etc.

-we work together they make memes, civilization restarts.

-now we make food and work honestly, knowledge of the laws go on.

-I don’t want to go on an write an autobiography, in a nut shell, people vote for what they think is best and who will help them financially, emotionally, etc.

-I take care of my family and neighbors and do what I can to be an honest and blameless guy.

-all this has led me to take the MIDDLE path, I am independent as a voter, “swinger”. Trump has sided with the middle voters, many people upset with the media etc how they handled things.

-many of the ultra rich tend to be liberal, working class middle class about 1 million net worth now tend to be conservative. Poor people women homosexuals(Persia) are vulnerable and tend to learn leftist or liberal.

-I think it is clear law and order and work and play are important to protect our people culture and the nation that has been bled for.

-enjoy and goodluck! (Charles luck iii, a third generation mining company, luck mining, or luck of the ☘️ Irish!). I hope I taught you something and bless your question maybe something good instead of bad will truly come from this .

[starlight-edith]

So, I just got blocked by a Star Trek blog of all things for respectfully letting them know that reblogging images/posts like this is often perceived as antisemitic:

They blocked me. For warning them.

Replace Israel with any other country. To play on this person’s viewpoint, let’s say it says “Go ahead. Death to Palestine!” Everyone would be up in arms about it.

They would say “how could you wish death on a minority, even if you dislike their government? The people have ultimately done nothing wrong!”

But because it’s Israel, because we’re Jews, all we get is “you’re apartheid! You’re murderers! You’re fascists!”

I did some investigating, and this person in all likelihood is a tankie.

Tankie: Someone who supports Marxist-Lennonist regimes such as the USSR and China and believe that those kinds of communism are the best kind and should be replicated. AKA fascists but make it left leaning.

I’ve quite literally never met a tankie that wasn’t also an antisemite, so this tracks.

I’m not against Palestine and I certainly don’t support the government of Israel, but it’s all we have. For many years Palestine was considered a part of Jordan. The people of Palestine were the people of Jordan, and Vice versa. Israelis don’t have a “backup.” My uncle would be dead without Israel. He had to flee genocide number I’ve lost count in the 80s. So many would be dead without Israel. During the Holocaust America turned away Jewish refugees!! They didn’t care about our genocide until the Japanese targeted them.

My personal opinion is that we should have a two state solution, OR Jordan should repatriate the Palestinians and figure out a solution from there — but because I believe Israel is important to me not LITERALLY DYING I’m a bad person who gets blocked for kindly asking people not to *checks notes* wish death on me.

I asked them not to wish death on me and somehow I am the bad guy in this situation.

If your communist utopia believes in irradicating entire groups of people simply because you don’t like them, that’s FASCISM!

Politics isn’t a spectrum, it’s a circle. Go too far left and you end up being a far right extremist dressed up pretty.

We do not deserve to die — no one does. Not Israelis, not Palestinians, nor Americans, nor the English, nor ANYONE AT ALL.

Am yisrael chai!

[horuslupercal]

Discovered your block, saw I'm literally everything you hated (Don't care about primarchxprimarch shipping, in the weird spot of being considered transphobic by tumblr standards for thinking gender isnt real but being called "tranny apologist" by 4chan stereotypes for telling them to just leave people alone, vaugely pro Isreal purely due to hamas but knowing it's very complicated issue and I'm not NEARLY knowledgable enough to form a solid opinion other than "leave civilians alone, hamas can burn in hell") but the posts of you playing games with your cat just look so cosy and "this could be me" and I just had this weird philosophical feeling of "This seems like the sort of personality I would be friends with if I met them irl but online they explicitly dislike me for xyz opnions"

Do you ever get the feeling/see cases of people putting all sorts of conditions up online for who they interact with but when you see the same person in real life they comparatively just... don't give a shit. Like you see "stereotypical tumblr user" hang out with people who makes occasional edgy jokes but don't mean them. I think on the internet, espcially on websites with a generlly cohesive culture (tumblr/4chan/etc) it's easy to isolate yourself by making "morally good people" the ones who have the same answer to everything that you do rather than differing solution to the same problem, unlike real life where you undoubtedly have friends/family you WILDLY disagree with on something but you still consider them a good person.

Sorry for the ramble, I'm adhd and bad at expressing myself with brevity. I just got weirdly philosophical over this. And I just hope people who agree on the fundamentals of "do what you want as long as it dosen't hurt anyone" but not the specifics on politics could bond more over the more... human? things. Like at the end of the day, were all someone who want to cuddle up and play games with our cat.

yeah man see I have this thing called principles. regardless of personality matches and shared hobbies, I will also call this stuff out it irl and it will impact my opinion of you. I have done this to family, I have done this to acquaintances, and I will continue doing it. and the reason people get so strict about it on the internet especially is that there is literally zero incentive to tolerate stupid shit. I'm here to relax and there are a million people I can do that with who aren't going to make me spend my time and energy debating with them

I will admit the shipping ban is an issue of annoyance more than anything else, because Warhammer fans don't seem to have ever encountered the concept of "do what you want in your own time, don't make me see it in mine". I have repeatedly had people knowingly overstep my boundaries about it when I state it more nicely so, if a policy of aggression means they stop trying to show it to me, I'm for it. but issues like supporting an ethnostate currently committing genocide? I am very, very serious. no amount of "well maybe they'll get Hamas" excuses the actively ongoing genocide. actions are everything.