#in much more articulated ways too. but it doesn't mean that my clunky post doesn't care

[sequoiareachesforthesky]

Today I wanted to talk about family structures and how diverse they can be and then it derailed into talks about education. Like the woke public schools that conservatives are so afraid of, that kind of things. Enjoy!

Warning : rambling. A lot of it.

Thank Satan I grew up surrounded by somewhat diverse family structures that didn't all fit the "straight married couple with 2.5 children" archetype, because being taught that this is the one and only way to live a happy life sounds scary to me.

My aunt divorced in her late 30s and is currently living her best life with her new boyfriend. And nobody makes a fuss about it, like good for her and her ex-husband if they needed to end their relationship. Divorce is healthy.

I have three uncles, none of them ever got married. I don't know much about my mom's brothers but my other uncle has been single for as long as I can remember and is absolutely thriving. He spends time with his friends, and puts time into his passions (mainly old cars). And never has anyone in my family said anything about him being single. Or even suggested that it should be something to be talked about. Because guess what, it's not a fucking problem and people aren't defined by their relationship status.

My mom went to a lesbian wedding when I was around 8 (I remember being very disappointed that I couldn't come with her because I've never been to a wedding before and it sounded like a lot fun). She made sure to show me and my siblings pictures and videos of the event. To make sure we understand that there's no problem with a family composed of two moms and a daughter (she was from one of the brides' previous marriage, again with divorce being treated a totally normal part of life, because it is).

I also grew up in a place where multicultural and mixed families were basically the norm I feel? At least that's how I was seeing it. The fact that my classmates had parents from overseas, or ethnically marked features wasn't a big deal (that's also why I'm now still very bad at recognising said "ethnic features" or foreign accents, or even knowing where names are from, because I didn't see any of those things as a difference honestly. Like how do people go "ah yes, this person is definitely from Eastern Europe". Like what??? How???). Anyway, that may be why for a while, I really struggled to understand why racism existed as a child. Like I knew it existed, I was told it was bad but I didn't understand why it was a thing in the first place (but isn't the case for most children? We're just here to enjoying the slides in the playground, we have no idea about the colonial heritage of our societies)

(sidenote: I may be mixed myself (wasian) but the history and current societal impact of racism is definitely not a topic I would say I'm very knowledgeable about. And of course looking back on it I did hold racist beliefs as a kid and there were instances when I witnessed structural racism. It just took me a while to realise it and to try to become a better person. My point here is about family structures and how I personally was exposed to a lot of mixed families, including my own, and that in that sense, race and culture have never been something I could have worried about when thinking about the idea of "founding a family". Like whatever happens happens you know)

And that's not even going into all of the friends I had who were raised by only one parent, the ones who would spend one week at their mom's then one week at their dad's, the ones who got nieces/nephews because they had much older siblings (sometimes step siblings), the ones who were adopted, and so on and so forth. So yeah, to me, it's normal for families to come in all shapes and forms. That's why nowadays, when I get introduced to new views of family and relationships, it doesn't really take me long to get it.

Sometimes I think back on my childhood and realise that I got actually pretty lucky to be in contact with many kinds of family structures, with none presented as more correct or desirable. Because now that I'm older and that I've met people who are very cautious about sticking to traditions (*cough* catholic bourgeois *cough*) and who even get anxious at the idea that they won't be able to get their straight wedding with three children that they shall raise in a pavillion in the suburbs, I really think that damn, it must suck to be them.

Anyway, judging others for having a view of "family" differing from your own is cringe, and I really think we should queer the world a bit more because why were my 12 year-old classmates so surprised when I told them that polyamory is fine to me (and even a logical way to look at love and relationships in my brain), that I didn't wanna have children later, and that I didn't if I would get a husband or a wife later, or if I would get married at all. I remember the shock in their eyes and being very confused as to why, because I was like "uuuuh, I thought homophobia didn't exist anymore? And that people should live the way they want?" (Also I've recently been diagnosed with ASD after being in denial about it my whole life so that may explain some things, since you know, the intersection between autistic and queer identities isn't even an intersection anymore).

This post was originally about family but since it intersects a lot with queerness, I just wanted to share a thought. Sometimes, I wonder if I could basically be considered as "assigned enby at birth" with how I was taught that gender doesn't matter and encouraged to be whomever I want to be without following gender norms. (This last paragraph is to be taken more as a joke than anything, but like honestly, that's why I never personally found the need to identify with the term "trans" or "non-binary". Because I just don't care personally, thanks to my upbringing. And that's why I'll always advocate for children to be exposed to queer content because me, my siblings, and probably most children from my community were and it makes for such healthier adults istg. Like yeah, I didn't care about my gender identity or whatever but the second I was put in an all girls school, I understood that it very much mattered to other people and that made me so furious, I totally get why so many people are attached to their queer identity. Because when you're in a fucking horrid environment, of course you're gonna have a strong emotional reaction to this stuff.)

All of this to say : I was raised by a woke family, went to a woke school that taught us that climate change is going to kill us all, that we should welcome all refugees, that beauty is found in difference and diversity, that disabled people should be accommodated (there was a class in my school for specially made for children with mental or learning disabilities because yes, they do have a right to education too actually), that children in general have rights and are not just objects, that solidarity is important (we made cakes for the local food bank when we were in kindergarten it was very cool. and many many fund-raising campaigns for people in need. we would mainly provide food and sanitary products, and the goal was to make a wall in the school hall with all of the collected products. it was great). We would sing songs about international solidarity and fighting against racism and water access inequalities at the school choir (looking back on it this feels a bit surreal to be frank). I was raised in the exact environment conservatives are freaking about. Heck the street where I lived was named after a communist song 😭. And you know what's the funniest thing about all that? It wasn't even that "woke". The way we were taught about societal stuff was a nice effort, but a bit clunky at times. There were still a lot, and I mean a lot of ableism against the students from the "special needs" class I talked about previously. I still got called a racist slur by a classmate when I was five. I still had so much stuff to unlearn as I got into teenage then adulthood.

What many would consider "woke" in the way I was brought up is, to me, the bare minimum. And that's why it hit me in the face like a baseball bat when I went from this great, though imperfect public school to a private middle school where boys and girls were separated in different classes. Where the students weren't mobilised to collect food for people in need in their local community but rather to pray for them and maybe give a little money to support missionary trips to Africa and things of the sorts. Where the school choir was mostly for learning Christian songs about thanking God for his eternal generosity. I was atheist btw, and attending religion class and masses were mandatory which felt a bit like infringing upon my freedom of religion but whatever I guess!! "Your parents chose to put you here so you don't have a say in the matter." a teacher once said.

So now, let me ask you a question and answer it immediately? Which of those two education systems is better? THE PUBLIC ONE OBVIOUSLY. I LOVED SCHOOL. I LOVED PEOPLE. I LOVE LIVING IN AN OPEN-MINDED COMMUNITY. AND THIS FUCKING PRIVATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, WHICH ISN'T EVEN THE WORST OF ITS KIND BTW, ALMOST MADE ME FORGET ABOUT THIS LOVE. IT BROKE ME MENTALLY. IT COULD'VE TURNED ME INTO A PERSON I WOULD'VE HATED. AND FOR THAT I CAN NEVER FORGIVE IT. There might have been good individuals in this school, friends I made, teachers who were genuinely great people. But this school system wasn't made to help us grow into good people. You've heard it all before, how it just turns us into good employees how will preserve the system as it is, maintain the status quo.

When people tell me that education is better in private than in public school, it makes me laugh. I was always top of my class in this so called top-notch private school. Even though I was the public school kid. And even then, I would have been fucking humbled by students who spent their entire school years in the public system. Because those private school don't make you smarter, they won't help you get better grades. Even if they did, what good does it do? It's not about the grades. It's about being a person that finds their own path, their own way to live in society. Not necessarily this society, they can build their own. But how are we supposed to rely on each others and find community when we've been taught to always see the other as competition?

I wanted to talk about family structures and how diverse they can be, but I realize now that what I really I wanted to talk about is family as in finding each others, living together, embracing diversity and loving. In your own way, because there are so many different ways of loving, and so many people and things to love. But it's always love. It's caring. And this care for the people and the things about me, I got it from my education.

It's always about education.

[lesser-mook]

Angel Cop (sloppy, well-polished mess that deserved more time to get it done)

I'll keep it simple (SPOILERS btw, Idgaf). Watch it because it's well animated, R-Rated Retro OVA. Articulate gore, tits, the works. All the shit that makes Ecchi genre look like a loser's genre. 

But I do not recommend it because it's good, at all, writing-wise. Mainly cause of pacing. 

This one's a mixed bag, the story itself is fine, the execution is literally blasted at you at SMG speed.

The plot has terrorism, communist global rule, conspiracy, a lot of themes that are a little too relevant to today's direction of the world,  destablization of country through misdirection, very eerie/scary parallels almost as if this anime in it's own way was it's own propaganda. Wouldn't be the first time. 

So that got my interest immediately.

But by itself, the OVA should've been a 13 episode series. Not 25 but less than 15.

OR? 6 episides but 50 min-an hour a piece. Like The Walking Dead.

Just like (Giant Robo The animation), this is also jam packed with good ideas crammed into a very very VERY tight window. So much lore that deserves more breathing room and respect.

But At least with GR, it had a lot of time to say what it wanted to say.

Angel as a protagonist is the weakest part of the show. She has this moral compromise where she's willing to shoot kids if it means getting to the criminal, uncaring about the people around her until she suddenly cares, and she's never made to confront or develop from her flaws organically. She literally stays the same, and the only thing she shifts on is she "cares" about one character whom she had little to no connection with. Knew him for less than half-a day.

As for said character, HE'S more interesting than she is. Injured cop turned Cyborg, basically Robocop just better in everyway, he's the reason for the finale's outcome. MVP Raiden.

The other characters (Kuwata, Taki, Hacker, Peace *better lady character*) could've been so much more- enjoyable cast while it lasted. But they weren't there long enough for me to connect with them before shit went down, at least a backstory on them, nothing. 

Pacing was too damn fast. Thus good ideas get rushed.

Animation is fucking great, this is almost Akira/Roujin Z level shit.

The antagonist, has background but only in heresay, we see nothing of their backstory. And Lucifer is actually one of the most tenacious, badass, evil ass baddies I've seen in an OVA. She makes All For One look like a bitch sometimes ngl. 

Best way I can describe this is as Akira x Ghost In The Shell x Robocop: Jam packed full of potential. Should've been in a better fleshed out series.

It was too rushed, mainly the plot's pacing thus the characters by proxy, good & bad guys, because it was worth more and given a small window to present the material in the best way possible.

Yeah we got stellar animation because of the small window, but was that worth a sloppy execution? No. It wasn't. 

What this OVA read like: was a TL;DR of a more fleshed out show.

We don't even get to see what happens to Angel post-event, the show gets a vague af narration after an explosion, and then it just fucking ends. What? What about the rest of the sponsors??? Certainly the organization didn't end with just those 2 idiots? That's not how cabals work lmfao.

Just like that. So sloppy, like it was RACING for the end credits. What the fuck was the rush?

I have no issue with bitter-sweet endings, I'm one of those people that love The Mist' ending but this was just clunky from beginning to end.

And again, the namesake of the show, Angel, was the weakest character. She's actually a piece of shit sometimes, and she doesn't develop. 

Would've gotten a 5 or 6, just on animation, but the frames can do but so much when the subatance is hollow as shit. When I don't care because I WANT TO CARE but there's nothing to care about because the show doesn't care enough to explore anything-- fuck the animation at that point.

You want a better version of this? Just watch (Stand Alone Complex Season 2) or Psycho Pass S1+Movie