#it forces people to acknowledge how much support a movement has

[frogg0gglogg]

A protest that inconveniences no-one can be ignored by everyone.

[alpaca-clouds]

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (or: why the climate movement is failing)

Okay, talking about politics this week, let me talk about this amazing book that you all should read, because it is not that long and it really makes a lot of good points. I found this book through the Philosophy Tube video a couple of years ago.

So, what is this book about?

To put it lightly: It is about how the climate movement is failing over their refusal to use any sort of violence or sabotage. And it is about the ethics of violence.

Which is not only important to the climate movement, but all sorts of progressive movements. Which again brings me back to what I talked about so many times before: Being against a revolution is being against change. And the left in general has a problem with idealizing parcifism to an unhealthy degree.

Let me explain: The left has in general very much drunken the cool-aid to accept that there is no violence happening right now, so using violence against the perceived non-violence is wrong. But that entire idea is bullshit.

Letting people starve, while there is enough food around for everyone, is a form of violence.

Letting people die of preventable deseases, because they cannot afford health care, is a form of violence.

Letting people die in extreme weather, just so that a few people can profit from fossil fuels... Well, that is a form of violence, too.

But left people - especially white, leftists - have very much accepted that non-action can never be violence. So, not giving someone the food they need, cannot be violence in their point of view. So, using violence to act against the system that lets this happen again and again... that is "out of proportion" in their point of view. Because they do not suffer themselves, they do not perceive the violence.

The book talks about how specifically the climate movement refuses to use any form of violence, even just in the form of sabotage, in which no human would ever come to harm. Which is why the title is "how to blow up a pipeline". Because blowing up a pipeline would harm those, who profit from climate change, from the fossil fuels. The book is also about how the climate movement then goes ahead to appropriate civil rights leaders, without really understanding the context they were in. Because they will name Martin Luther King, Ghandi or Nelson Mandela as examples of people who succeeded with non-violence, without acknowledging that all three of those leaders were leaders of a non-violent group that closely associated with a violent movement that aimed for the same changes. And through that contrast - of a violent group and a peaceful group with widespread support - the people in power were forced to make a move to work towards them to some degree.

Now, technically the book involved nothing new to me. Because I thought about this topic - about the ethics and visuals of violence - for a long while now. It also is fitting with the entire French Revolution thing I spoke about on Sunday. Because we see it in the judgement of the French Revolution as well. On how there a) was a peaceful group first, and b) the violence that happened, happened in response to other violence.

And as the book points out: The fossil fuel industry does not care. As a German I know this too well. And I think it is no accident that a lot of the examples of this in the book come from Germany. Our climate movement here is very tame. It is mostly just kids (like people between their teens and early twenties) doing protests in forms of blocking streets and the likes. Yet, the fossil lobby and those in power will call that "terrorism" and will call that one time when folks tore down a fence at the coal mine as "extreme violent behavior". They are doing massive and at times violent police action against those KIDS, who organize the street blockades. Having thrown literal teenagers into prison for at times weeks, before judges intervened clearly saying that "the kids have done nothing illegal".

They do not care that the movement is non-violent. And the movement will not get anywhere, without some group standing in and doing some damage to the most important thing those people can think of: Their base line.

[matan4il]

Thank you for your daily posts. And for keeping up the updates. I'm exhausted by the war and the hatred and the gaslighting and I appreciate you so much.

מקווה להיפגש על אמת יום אחד, בזמנים טובים יותר. יישר כוח. שולחת המון אהבה.

(I hope it's okay, because of my health, I've been falling behind on replying to asks, so I wanna respond to a bunch of lovely ones here...)

Awwww, hi lovely! :D It's so wonderful to get this message from you! Thank you SO MUCH! I appreciate you as well, and I am sending you the biggest of hugs!

I think we're all emotionally drained by what has been going on, not just Hamas' brutal massacre, or the war it forced us into and the pain and loss it is causing us continuously, or the terrorist attacks that keep on killing us and hurt even more after the massacre, or having to deal with the impossible choices Hamas has forced on us, but also the wave of hatred towards us that started on Oct 7, while our people were still being massacred.

It's even worse when we remember that this wave was enabled by antisemitic propaganda, which has been spread for so much longer, way before they could have used the current war as justification. But it really shows how Jews are treated worse doesn't it? All land back movements should be supported, but Jews returning to their native land is evil and racist, all violence and killing is bad, but killing Jews for living in their native land is "resistance," rape is bad and victims should always be listened to, but Jewish victims of rape are to be doubted and ignored if they're living in the Jewish ancestral land, colonialism is horrible and practically any act is justified in resisting it, but Arab colonialism can be easily ignored and even denied, at the same time as Jewish people being native to Israel will be erased, so that the anti-colonial narrative can be comfortably misapplied to Israel and justify the crimes perpetrated against Jews in and outside our homeland, genocide is the worst of crimes, making it incredibly serious, but when it can be used against Jews, suddenly every keyboard warrior is an expert on it and does not hesitate to falsely apply it to Israel in a manner that minimizes and disrespects actual genocides and their victims (including Jewish ones), intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime, but it's fine if Hamas declares its intent to kill every Jew in the world, most of whom are civilians, because *throws out another false slogan, but hey, it rhymes*...

אני גם מקוה להיפגש יום אחד, כך שאם את מתישהו בירושלים אנא אל תהססי ליצור איתי קשר, ואני שולחת מלא אהבה בחזרה!

Hey, I want to thank you for everything you've been doing. I'm not Jewish, but I have been trying to be as supportive as I currently can be, and I feel it helps me do that to actually know what's happening. I hope you haven't been being sent a bunch of horrible things because of the war, even though I know you probably have. Thank you again.

Thank YOU so much for this kindness, both your message and your support for Jewish people! I know it's probably the worst time to be an ally to Jews, which is why I appreciate each and every single one of you even more than I usually already do. I'll do my best to keep updating, and I also now have, in addition to my general Israel tag, a resources tag which I tried to fill with some of the more important subjects I've covered, and for which I provided links to reliable sources. I hope this is also something that's useful to you! As for hate, I've gotten a lot of it. But if those people think they're doing anything other than exposing themselves as cruel, and not caring about humaneness at all, and if they think I'm more scared of their nasty messages than I care about the well being of my own people, they obviously have no idea about who I am as a human being (which I guess is not surprising, if they don't really acknowledge me as one).

Thank you again, I'm sending you love and nothing but the best wishes, always!

next time Im at Yad Vashem Im gonna ask every staff member if they are you it would be an honor to meet you in person

That's so very kind, Nonnie! But I'm honestly nothing special. Yad Vashem itself is an incredibly powerful place to visit, anyone who would guide you through it will give you a prfound experience, I have no doubt of it. But if you ever are there, and you tell the guards you're looking for me (the head of security is actually one of my best friends, so I know he always keeps an eye on me and my whereabouts), it would be nice to say hi! :D

thank you for all your daily updates

No, Nonnie, thank YOU! I seriously appreciate the kindness of your message and encouragement!

From @blu-eyed-demon -

Thank you so much, my lovely Jace! This is so kind and sweet, and you have been an amazing, continued source of comfort. You have so much kindness at a time when that's so scarcely found, I just with you that will always be met and wrapped with just as much kindness in return, everywhere you turn! *sends so much love*

From @yelenasbuddie -

Hey.. I'm just passing by to give you 💐💐💐 so you can have a much more wonderful day. Even if we don't talk much, I'd like to say that you are loved and mattered. I believe in you and you got this 🩷🩷🩷

and also -

Hope you are loved 🩷🩷🩷🧡💜🥰

Sweet Yelena! Thank you so much for all of your messages, I can't tell you how much I treasure them. I'm sure you feel like you're caught up in the middle of a storm, and I know it's not easy remaining strong in the middle of that, but you have, and I hope you give yourself a lot of credit for that, I def do. I'm also hopeful that you always see the measure of your own kindness reflected back to you! Sending lots of hugs and kisses and all the cutesy emojis in the world, to make you feel loved! (sorry, as a Jew I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, but I hope you had a lovely one...)

Been following you since the Robron days. Proud to still be following you now 🦾

Nonnie, this is so lovely! I can't believe you're still here since then! I'm the one who's proud to have such a wonderful follower. IDK if we've ever talked, but I hope I always made you feel appreciated if we did, and welcome and enriched even if we didn't. Thank you for sticking it out with me through the best and worst of times, it means so much! Sending you love!

From @dominikadecember -

sending you lots and lots and lots of love

Thank you so much, my lovely Dom! I hope you know you've been a real help throughout all of this, and that I manage to show you how much I appreciate you. I'm sending you tons of love back!

here to put some jewish love and kindness in ur inbox 💗✡️🇮🇱

Thank you so much, Nonnie! This is so gorgeous, I love it, and I appreciate you for the beautiful human you are. I'm assuming you're Jewish as well, so I hope it's okay if I send Jewish love, pride in the way we're standing up to all this hatred, and kindness right back to you, and I hope you're doing well throughout all this!

hey just wanted to say i really appreciate you and your blog.

Thank you wholeheartedly, Nonnie! I really appreciate this kindness, and I hope you know that you put a smile on my face, and that you really help and make a difference! Sending hugs and hope you're well!

To the Nonnie who doesn't know or follow me, but still had a look at my blog instead of just blindly accpeting the notion that I'm a bad person, and then added -

You're not a terrible person. My sympathy and support. It's awful how tumblr is suddenly full of antisemitic sheep.

Thank you so very much! I seriously don't know how to express to you how much it means to me, to know that there are people out there, who don't automatically participate in judging and silencing others, when it has become the more popular thing to do. IDK if you'll see this, since you're not following me, but I hope you do, because to me, you're the person who refuses to do the antisemitic salute just because everyone else is, and knowing that people can still have that strength, integrity and kindness really matters to me, and to other Jews who watch with horror the ease with which we're being vilified and de-humanized. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for that, I seriously can't wish you enough good things...

Thank you to everyone who says, does, supports Jewish people, no matter how much you think it might be a small gesture. It all matters, you make the world a better place, and you give Jews hope! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[mithliya]

Some believed that the Oct. 7 attack only targeted military sites. Others were convinced that all Israeli civilian casualties were the result of mistaken IDF counter-fire or the activation of the “Hannibal Directive,” a portion of the IDF Code of Conduct — which has reportedly been revoked since 2016 — which purportedly allows for Israelis to be targeted in order to prevent their captivity. Oct. 7 denialism was further fueled by some reports that turned out to be false or inaccurate, such as the 40 beheaded babies or first responders finding dead children hung on clotheslines in a row.

Nevertheless, overwhelming video and anecdotal evidence unequivocally and definitively prove the unspeakable scale of the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians, many of whom were in fact leftists and even peace activists.

I never thought that the Palestinian people and their entirely legitimate grievances would be associated with such brutal acts as those that actually took place on Oct. 7. While Hamas militants are a small part of the Palestinian population, their crimes are a shameful stain in the history of Palestinian resistance to Israeli injustices. Someone who is truly of the left cannot in good conscience explain it away.

Along with the stubborn unwillingness by some on the left to acknowledge how horrendous Oct. 7 was, there exists an equally staunch refusal to denounce Hamas as a seriously violent terror group that not only committed a vile atrocity against Israelis, but has exercised authoritarian violence against Gazans for over 17 years.

Herein lies the problem: Hamas has hijacked the resistance narrative and even the Arabic word for resistance (muqawama). Since taking over the Gaza Strip, the group has consistently hidden behind the resistance narrative, thus shielding itself from criticism and absolving itself of its dismal political and economic failures.

Despite nearly two decades of the Israeli blockade that harmed the lives and prospects of ordinary Gazans, Hamas created an environment in which its members, patrons and affiliates were insulated from the blockade’s dire effects. Hamas established a web of businesses and imposed taxes on virtually every financial transaction and exchange, worsening the economic conditions for millions who were living under crushing poverty.

…

In 2017, 2019 and in the summer of 2023, tens of thousands of Gazans protested against their living conditions, the lack of human rights, and the political deadlock between Hamas and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. In each of these instances, Hamas responded with overwhelming brutality and force. They jailed, beat and tortured protestors and unleashed its thugs and cyber warriors to bully and harass everyday Gazans.

…

Hamas’s rise to power and entrenched control of Gaza was supported and desired by Netanyahu and his regime of anti-Palestinian extremists. The Islamist group was bolstered in an effort to keep the Palestinians divided and to weaken the PA, preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. With a weak PA and a militant Hamas, Israel could proclaim the lack of a viable partner to negotiate peace with. Netanyahu is now desperate to prolong the worst war that Palestinians have faced in generations to save his political prospects, putting Hamas and Israel’s dictatorial strongman in an unspoken alliance against the people of Gaza.

Hamas’s intransigence and continued refusal to sacrifice some of its demands to achieve a rapid ceasefire agreement illustrates the group’s callous disregard for the lives of its people. Imagine how much more powerful the pro-Palestine movement would be if its actions and strategies were built upon an anti-Hamas framework that acknowledges Palestinians’ rights to resistance but denounces indiscriminate violence against civilians, the theocratic authoritarianism of Islamist groups like Hamas and the human rights abuses that Gazans themselves experienced under Hamas’ rule. Imagine if the pro-Palestine left understood the vast extent to which Hamas was a useful idiot in the nefarious designs of Netanyahu’s regime.

As Gazans turn against the Islamist group in droves due to the horrendous consequences of its deadly actions, it’s time for the pro-Palestine left to follow suit and abandon Hamas.

not the full article but these are sections i found important.

[mmakaylllaa]

Week 3 Blog 9/12

How do algorithms correlate to anti-black racism?

As discussed in Nicole Brown’s “Race and Technology” Youtube video, predictive policing technology has been used in the past decade to create strategic ���hit-lists” to predict who would be most likely to commit or be involved with violent crimes in the area. These innocent civilians and children with no criminal past were on high surveillance in real life, as well as their data. Anything put into their algorithms would count as incriminating evidence. Sociologist Simone Brown’s book “Dark Matters” is briefly summarized through the video. It is noteworthy to acknowledge the racial and Black surveillance themes. As technologies continue to use bias and objectification against Black communities society must create and advocate for safe and inclusive spaces within the virtual world.

How has social media proven to encourage social justice and hate at the same time?

What immediately comes to my head is the BLM movement during 2020. After the unjust arrest and murder of George Floyd, uprisings in Black communities led to protests being broadcasted. With every scroll through social media and flip through news channels we were seemingly seeing the same content with different headlines and reactions. If we circle back, the death of George Floyd itself was unfortunately a trending topic with everyone’s biased opinions rather than a call of action for an act of abuse of power. Things such as his past criminal record were brought up through the media to justify what had happened to him, others used plain excuses such as his race. The Black Lives Matter movement had already gained traction years prior due to another murder of a young Black man. Black communities weren’t feeling heard or supported and the BLM movement was once again brought to headlines to advocate for Black voices and consequences to the police force. Now as this progressed and protests made way, lootings, attacks on protests, and curfews were put into place in many areas across the country. Depending on your algorithm you probably saw an array of discourse about the matter, so much so that it had taken away from the point of what was being advocated for in the first place. WIth the freedom of speech we have the right to voice our opinions on these heavy topics surrounding social justice, but society should practice proper and respectful netiquette so we use our voices with purpose.

How much does the healthcare system really depend on technology and how are people of color affected by this?

As society progresses, so do the systems within such as healthcare. Hospitals are actually quite dependent on technology as it is now considered an essential. Some technological advancements used in the healthcare system include data and analytics, diagnostic tools, telemedicine, and electronic health records. All sounds great so how would these pose as issues to people of color? With Electronic Health Records, hospitals are able to transfer patient data for improved treatment and coordination but when it comes to patients in areas with limited digital resources they are left with outdated medical treatment. “Racial bias in a medical algorithm favors white patients over sicker black patients” headlines The Washington Post as seen on Nicole Brown’s “Race and Technology” Youtube video. So yes, the use of data, algorithms, and technology has been proven to create a progressive era for healthcare and its patients, but we as a society must be aware of how this affects minority communities due to embedded bias and properly advocate for change.

Is AI ruining the future of students?

As students are distanced from pencils and paper and moved onto digital spaces, there is a lack of creativity and critical thinking within the entire generation of students. Students are able to use Grammarly and ChatGPT to write papers. Students are able to use Photomath and Mathway to complete math problems. Students are limited to a keyboard and screen for discussions and are missing raw interactions and conversations. This is a danger to the future workforce as many students are cheating their way through schooling and depending on hands on experience without book knowledge and human networking. Many are afraid of AI becoming the future of everything and that can only happen if we continue this co-dependent relationship with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uiAjigKy8

Automating Inequality Intro (Eubanks)

Rethinking Cyberfeminism (Daniels

[spot-the-antisemitism]

Hi! I have a question and it's in good faith unlike well antisemites who pick fights with you.

How should we deal with anti Zionism?

I think it's dumb to say anti Zionism is INHERENTLY antisemitic because there are Jews who fall in this category or call themselves anti Zionist for reasons like: I oppose how Israel oppresses Palestinians and I am critical of Zionism as I am critical of other things. Just as Zionism means different things to different people, the same applies here. Just as we should never demonize Zionism because of the existence of right wing Zionism, I don't believe we should do this to anti Zionism either.

However I am very conflicted because the history of anti Zionism has always been deeply antisemitic. The anti Zionism we are seeing right now that's trending is Soviet anti Zionism which is 100% antisemitic and I would say inherently antisemitic. I would also say my concerns lie within the anti Zionism movement rather than individual anti Zionism (if that makes sense..) but that would be a lie because unfortunately anti Zionist Jews embrace and support antisemitism in all flavors and shades. I have seen anti Zionist Jews say something like "hey don't be antisemitic" and get dog piled and called Zionist (in this case obv a slur) for mentioning antisemitism because the current anti Zionism "movement" requires that everyone never mention antisemitism for reasons like 1) it doesn't exist or 2) antisemitism was weaponized by Israel therefore it will never matter again. These anti Zionist Jews are either blacklisted from this movement or forced to apologize and beg for forgiveness and ass kiss until they are forgiven.

I have seen anti Zionist Jews (many, both offline and online) constantly downplay antisemitism and compare antisemitism to Palestinian oppression to tell their fellow Jews "hey antisemitism isn't as bad as what Palestinians are experiencing" which is 1) fucked up and cruel and also 2) something they'd never do to other groups specifically groups they see as "most oppressed" (which makes sense because now they're telling Jews a few hostages vs so many more Palestinians means nothing). Anti Zionist Jews act a lot like JVP where 1) antisemitism isn't as bad as racism and homophobia and other forms of oppression 2) it only exists in the West 3) it's a white people thing so not important and much more.

In short anti Zionist Jews are willingly used as tokens to further spread antisemitism, they disrespect and mock antisemitism and treat it very disgustingly, a vast majority refuse to acknowledge antisemitism within anti Zionism and when the few does that small minority still downplays it, they disrespect the Holocaust, they disrespect Judaism and believe that all Jews have blood on our hands (blood libel!) so we must rewrite our entire religion and culture to place Palestinians at the core as repentance and we must never speak Hebrew the colonizer language only Arabic and English! and so much more.

I guess all of this is a result of everyone especially anti Zionist Jews believing that solidarity with Palestinians requires Jew hatred and Jews must punish themselves for being Jewish to show they are with the Palestinians. Perfect outlet for someone who already hates themselves to project.

Anyways all of this to say, anti Zionism and many anti Zionist Jews are deeply antisemitic despite my belief that it can be something good and it is unfair to write it off as antisemitic completely. I have met normal anti Zionist Jews. The issue is what the movement requires these Jews to think and believe and do. You must love Hamas. You must celebrate Israeli pain and deaths. You must dehumanize Israelis and hate them more than anything in the world. You must turn your head to your people being generalized and killed and oppressed because well bad people who happen to be Jewish are oppressing Palestine which means none of that matters anymore. In fact you must celebrate it. Unless it's not about Palestine don't care. This is the reality now though many deny it.

So what do we do? How do we deal with this? I hate feeling uncomfortable around anti Zionist Jews despite being critical of Israel and Zionism myself. However every time I give the benefit of the doubt they always disappoint because of the guilt and self hatred they harbor. Is it wrong to feel like anti Zionism attracts and preys on the self hating Jews who should know better but don't? As I said before anti Zionism requires them to hate Jews and hate themselves and they fall for it because most are leftist trying to be against oppression (that need to do good is then weaponized to lure them in). Zionist Jews in my experience are the Jews who are confident in who they are and proud. Idk. I'm just confused and lost but I don't want give up on anti Zionist Jews. I want to figure out how to get them to not hate Jews and fall for antisemitism disguised as "criticism". It shouldn't be THIS hard to support Palestinians without being antisemitic. Even these anti Zionist Jews fall for lies like the classic barib yariel because the anti Zionism movement literally believes that you should never fact check or double check a "genocide" so anti Zionist Jews don't even know what's really going on because lies about Israel are much more convenient to paint it as inherently evil rather than the truth.

Please help.

Dear anon,

your overcomplicating this

Is the antizionist a gentile?

shun them they're culturally appopriatiing a Jewish only term to hate Jews end of discussion

Are you gentile that's pro-palestinean rights and liberation? then you're pro-palestine you're not anti-Israel or antizionist.

Is the antizionist a Jew?

then it's complex

Are they tokenizing and self hating and saying they're the only good Jew?

Talk to them and if they throw you to the leopards pity and shun them

Are they uplifting other Jews and calling out antisemitism?

Reblog them, this is your new friend.

Non Zionism exists and it's not the both side ism that pro-pals make it out to be.

"Just as we should never demonize Zionism because of the existence of right wing Zionism, I don't believe we should do this to anti Zionism either."

^ This right here

"I hate feeling uncomfortable around anti Zionist Jews despite being critical of Israel and Zionism myself."

You have every right to hate tokens and leopard voters

Yes they're fellow Jews but they are trying to get you killed to save their skin

Leave them behind, they abandoned you first,

Cecil

[screamingfromuz]

weird how you reblog posts saying Israel was founded on genocide while also reblogging posts saying the IDF has some measure of honor. like did you see the video of how they shot an Israeli citizen thinking he was Palestinian? Yuval Doron Castleman wa shis name, and the video is not hard to find. the had his hands up in the air, and he was shot multiple times. this happened in the past 24 hours. was there a specific point where the state of Israel became good?

you talk about Jewish people feeling unsafe around anti-Israel talk, but do you ever wonder if people of color feel unsafe around you, and your excusing of ceuel and dehumanizing police forces?

you are very funny to me, you kind of people little anon. So full of yourself yet cannot comprehend complex concepts of grey morality.

I don't fully agree with everything I reblog, I reblog things I believe are important to talk about.

The founding of Israel has several faces that should be acknowledged. It was both a victory to an indigenous land back movement and offered a desperately needed sanctuary for hundred of thousands that would flee, and horrible disaster to another indigenous group. This does not contradict. For peace to exists we must acknowledge the co existence of those narratives. Horrible things were done in 1947-1949, by everyone involved (Britian, Israel, Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt, Syrian, Lebanon), and ignoring or diminishing it is foolish. On the other side, blowing it up is just as stupid and destructive.

using the correct term is important, as using the wrong terms might leads fools such as yourself to misunderstand the problem, and worsen the actual problem by "trying to help".

the IDF takes extreme measures to be careful with civilian life while simultaneously being careless with it. Again, both things are true as the same time.

Me saying that I do not consider the actions in Gaza genocide, does not mean I agree with all of them. as explained in this post (and it various reblogs), the use of the word "Genocide" is done as a way to shut down conversations and vilify Israel. The things that are happening are horrific and I hate it, I mourn every death. But as I refuse to call this a genocide, any criticism I will have will be either dismissed or twisted and used against me. For that reason, I limit my criticism to Israeli circle and the real world.

I saw the video, of course I did. And what do you want me to say? that it is horrific? That I knew that something like this was gonna happen at some point? The soldiers fucked up, they will be trialed for that. This are problems that stem from militarized society that I fight against.

Israel is a state. It is not bad or good in your simplistic moral scale, like any other country on the planet. But Israel is my home, and I would not abandon if even if it is fucked up in here. There have been 9 months of protests before the war, people are still protesting and sighing petitions and working to build a better future here, for all of us. just like the people in Poland and in Hungary, we want a better country. The point is that you don't care, you don't want Israel to exist. You are calling or erasing Israel from the map without understanding the devastating consequences of such action. You don't care about our effort and our criticism unless you can twist if to the support of the eradication of Israel.

what you fail to understand, is how much your "anti-Israel" talk is toxic, destructive and full of antisemitism. Of course we feel unsafe! you are not criticizing Israel, you are calling for it's destruction and to the horrible consequences to the Jewish people that will follow.

I have talked about this, many Jewish and Israeli talked about it, but the amount of hate a vitriol your kind spew, the silencing methods you employ does not leave a place to our criticism. Nuanced opinions of the systems of violence, the militarization of the Israeli society, about the ties between culture and crime, of neglect, those are swept aside as they do not satisfy your "Israel bad" criteria.

Understanding the actions taken and explaining them is not endorsing or supporting said actions. it's called having an understanding.

I understand that this ask is a result of your underdeveloped moral compass, and truly hope you would be able to develop a healthy one little anon.

You don't know me, you see fractions of me through a screen, pieces of opinions I share on this wretched hell hole in hope of a good constructive criticism, in hope that by speaking out people will feel less alone.

for summery anon, life is more complex then your little fanfiction version of it. I hope you grow out of this mindset.

[eye-in-hand]

Fighting against, and standing up to antisemitism is very important to me. Not just because racism in all of its forms is vile and should be called out, but because antisemitism is something that's affected me very personally.

I talked a little bit about this in my why I'm converting post, but to keep it simple. I was raped by a neo-nazi who kept me isolated, forced me to be financially dependent on him, targeted me when I was 17 years old, kept me in his basement, physically abused me, among other things - because he thought I was Jewish. I am not ethnically Jewish. I'm English and Rusyn. However my entire life I've been perceived as Jewish. It got me bullied, abused, and raped.

So of fucking course when some idiot shows their ass in the one fandom space I had, about how they're sooo antiracist, sooo not bigoted, they just don't want jews, I mean zionists, in their space, of fucking course it's going to make me angry. Of fucking course I'm going to talk about it. Of fucking course I'm fucking disgusted.

It's not my fault these people fell down the rabbit hole of Russian and Iranian propaganda. It's not my fault these people think they get to tell Jews what Zionism means, or automatically assume that not advocating for the genocide of Jews, or being pro- the country where 50% of the Jews (and about 100% of the Jews from the MENA region) live must mean I support killing Palestinians. Or it means that I support genocide. It isn't my fault. Yet I, and other Jews, pay the punishment for it.

No. I don't support genocide. Of any group of people. I don't support violence towards other people based on where they happened to live or what race they happen to be. I don't support imperialism when it's done by anyone. And I FULLY SUPPORT the right of indigenous peoples to have self determination on their native land.

And if you have a problem with that, you have a lot of history to learn, a lot of bigotry to unpack, and a lot of shutting up to fucking do.

I support a two state solution because it's the ONLY way I can see peace happening in an area of the world that has been filled with blood shed for thousands of years. But at the end of the day, I'm a western convert, and my opinion on the Middle East is not as important as people who live there. And there are Israelis and Palestinians who are doing much more for peace than reblogging scam donation posts, supporting Hamas, or harassing Jews online and kidding themselves into thinking they're on the side standing against bigotry. And I support those people. Jew, Arab, or otherwise.

I do not support ignorant fuckwads who think they understand a conflict that doesn't affect them. I do not support ignorant fuckwads who think they get to tell a minority group they are not a part of what that minority group's words mean. I do not support historical revisionism, conspiracy theories, or advocating for the genocide of ANYONE.

And if you have an issue with a Jew telling you that what you're saying is antisemitic, when MULTIPLE JEWS ALL OVER THE INTERNET, have said that the movement you're supporting advocates for the death of all Jews, YOU ARE A RACIST BIGOT. You are the racist bitch you say you hate. You are not immune to bigotry. You are not immune to propaganda. You are not helping anyone with your self righteous virtue signaling slacktivism. You are pathetically ignorant. And I'd feel fucking bad for you if you weren't digging your heels in refusing to acknowledge that you have fucked up.

I don't feel bad for Nazis. I don't feel bad for people who throw Jewish lives away. I don't feel bad for people who throw Palestinian lives away. I have no sympathy for bigots.

By the way, that post wasn't even fucking about you. It says more about you thinking my calling someone out for being racist was about you than it does about me. But this post is about you, and it's the only one you're fucking getting from me. Go fuck yourself.

I know what Nazis sound like. And you sound just fucking like him.

This isn't some stupid fandom drama or some stupid fight between people that hung out in a stupid discord. This is shit that affects real people's lives, and you're perpetuating violence. Disgusting.

[prettyvintageafternoon]

Daily reminder that the anti-abortion position will never be a feminist, left-wing or progressive position, and the pathological need of pro-lifers to tokenize minorities and certain experiences that we have needs to be studied.

First off, I find it very funny that an organization known for having its white members engage in physical violence, trespassing and digging in the trash for fetal remains is now trying to lecture black women about intersectionality with regard to pregnancy and childbirth.

Reproductive justice is both a term and an ideology that black women specifically came up with in order to acknowledge how race and economic class play a role in reproductive access and decisions. The fact that an organization run and represented by white people pretending to be progressive is trying to check the women who came up with an actual progressive framework of beliefs to better represent their own interests is hilarious to me.

Second, PAAU is not a progressive organization. Its founder, Terrisa Bukovinac, is on the board of the Leadership Institute, a politically conservative training organization, and has gone to events hosted by the Heritage Foundation - a right-wing conservative think tank helping to drive anti-abortion legislation around the country by supporting conservative Republican politicians in various ways.

You even have members of this organization like @secularprolifeconspectus on Tumblr who will do interviews with people like Sebastian Gorka, who has had ties to the Order of Vitéz - a Hungarian order of merit which allied itself with Nazis during WWII.

(BTW, the IRONY of spending time talking about how Planned Parenthood is rooted in eugenics while talking about how conservatives are so much nicer than leftists to someone who has ties to a Nazi-sympathizing organization. Ma'am... 😬)

Then again, @secularprolifeconspectus also likes to spread lies like Abortion Pill Reversal™️, which isn't real, and repeats quotes from Abby Johnson, the famous anti-abortion activist who had two abortions and said that the police would be smart to racially profile her black sons in the wake of the Black Lives Matter Protests of 2020 following George Floyd's murder. 🙃

@secularprolifeconspectus has me blocked, but I'll just say this.

The irony of pretending to care about the interests of black people while rubbing shoulders with far-right political figures and reposting words from racist white women but also being confused as to why leftists don't like you is very telling.

Third, the information posted is wrong. It's very convenient that PAAU is "worried" about maternal morality in the DMV area when the U.S. states with the highest maternal mortality rates are Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina (CDC, 2023) - states with higher concentrations of black people that are also dominated by white, conservative political leadership which puts anti-abortion legislation in place. The DMV area is actually lower in comparison to these places, yet PAAU conveniently ignores that im order to paint a false narrative.

Source: Which states have the highest maternal mortality rates?, USA FACTS

Fourth, I also find it very funny that "progressive" pro-lifers have the audacity to accuse organizations run by minorities of hijacking progressive principles when that's all pro-lifers do by...

Using terms like "Abortion Industrial Complex" after anti-war advocates have been discussing the Military Industrial Complex for years

Acknowledging how finances and money plays a role in people choosing to get abortions but only every criticizing pro-choicers for supporting abortion access (*and conveniently never holding the very conservative anti-abortion movement accountable for the policy-making role they play in making people not want to have children in the first place)

Saying that abortion access is a part of Big Pharma, when forcing women to have children they don't want literally creates another patient pool for Big Pharma to subsist off of

Arguing that affordable healthcare, housing and clean water and nutrition - things that pro-choice activists have spent years advocated for (*and that conservative pro-lifers have spent years voting against), somehow cannot co-exist with abortion access

So yeah, removing abortion access from people who want it will never be progressive, and the fact that pro-lifers still try to tokenize minorities (and chastise us when we don't support their worldview) shows how little they actually care about those of us people of color.

[mothgodofchaos]

Can we get a part 3 to the Anti x DA reader series where they meet Dark

Cracks

Abso-fucking-lutely.

Antisepticeye x DA!GN!Reader, TW: gun, knife, panic attacks, murderous intent, screaming, unrealistic injury (shattering), confrontation Words: 1623

It’s been quite a while since Anti initially brought you into the technological realm, slowly helping you regain your strength to exist outside of possessing an object. He found an abandoned office building, allowing you to have space to work on your movement in peace. A computer was never too far away, allowing him to link you back into the internet and give you back your energy. He held your hands as you learned to walk in a body again, even if it’s not yours. You tried to ask him how he knew the possession ritual would work, but he avoided the subject each time it was broached.

Soon enough, you were sparring with him, learning how to wield a knife properly as you went down to the shooting range to practice your gun skills again. You knew you had to train yourself, certainly if you wanted to carry out what you had been planning.

You were going to get your body back. 

Anti was cautious to assist you with your murderous plans, trying to be a supportive boyfriend. Obviously, he hates Dark’s guts for his own reasons. But that made him want to do nothing more than just stabbing the man. Just to be a pain. But he knows that this battle is not his, not his anger. All he could do in the meantime is just get you whatever you need, and hold you as another panic attack wracks through your body. The memories are getting less frequent, your emotions becoming more numb to your past. Your heart still beats out of your chest when looking at a broken mirror, but you’ve been able to work through a fair amount of the trauma. 

Soon, it’s the day you will go out. Go out and hunt your prize.

Using your skills acquired from Anti, you search the internet, looking for any sign of Dark. You know how to look, peering into the deep recesses of the internet, where only people who have something to hide go. Pictures, blog posts, supernatural tracking websites. Anything that may lead you to where he could be. Anti has to pull you away from the search engines every once in a while to get you to eat and sleep, holding you while he takes care of you.

“Mo ghra, I don’t want t’is t’ consume ye. I know yer angry, but I wanna make sure t’is is gonna fix t’ings, not make ‘em worse.”

“I- I have to hope it will. I spent so long being broken and angry. This has to fix everything. He ruined my life! I spent over a century in a broken mirror because of him! He deserves to feel pain.” “Alright. T’ough… if ye stab ‘im t’ kill ‘em, wouldn’t t’at mean t’at when ye get yer body back, ye’ll have a stab wound?”

By his own admittance, he’s not the brightest bulb in the box, but he does have a point. You glance over at your stash of weapons over the lip of your plate, now forced to think about how you want to go about this. So much of the past few months has just been a fever dream, on a one track mindset on the goal you hope to achieve. 

“Fuck…” “I just don’t want ye gettin’ hurt. More t’an ye already have. I care too much…”

Anti’s arms wrap around you a bit tighter, kissing the top of your head. It’s hard not to acknowledge that you’ve been worrying him, he just hasn’t been bringing it up because he doesn’t want to upset you. He’s learned that once you set your mind to something, it’s very difficult to talk you out of it. It was this determination that helped you become a district attorney in the first place. Maybe if you had been less stubborn, you never would have met Damien. He never would have hurt you. Betrayed you. But you also wouldn’t be here today with Anti. 

“I know. And I’m sorry I’ve been worrying you. I just-” “-want t’is t’ be over wit’. I know.” He finishes your apology, one you’ve repeated plenty when you notice his anxieties growing again. This is such a big task that you’re planning, you both know that the anxieties overall will only alleviate once it’s done. A ping goes off at the search engine, alerting the both of you. You scramble up, looking at what popped up. A location. His location. 

“We found him…”

Anti approaches slowly behind you, resting a hand on your shoulder as you both stand in shock.

“Are ye ready fer t’is?”

“I have to be.”

He turns you to look at him, kissing you as a comfort for both of you. You grab your weapons, hiding them on your body as you shake yourself out. Anti just waits for you, holding out his hand before you take it, and glitch to the location. 

You zap out of a wall outlet, taking a moment to grasp your surroundings and regain your footing. Anti squeezes your hand, here for nothing but support but it’s clear he’s getting more nervous by the minute. Then the ringing hits both of your ears, causing Anti to let go of your hand, covering his ears as they’re far more sensitive. You rub his shoulder, looking around for Dark. About twenty yards away, you spot him sitting at a fountain, unaware of your presence. You stalk out of the alley, vision narrowing as you have him finally in your sights.

“Damien!”

Dark looks up, alarmed. You seethe, the ground around you beginning to crack. It takes a moment for him to recognize you, something you didn’t account for when you possessed a new body. But as soon as it clicks, his eyes go from alarm to regret. 

“Darling, I didn’t kno-” “You abandoned me! I was stuck in that godforsaken mirror for a century, Damien! Your “darling” died on that day.”

“-w you were alive. I thought she killed you…”

Dark stands up from his spot sitting on the edge of the fountain, moving away from the growing cracks in the concrete. If you were facing Anti, you’d see his growing fear and concern at the massive cracks originating from your feet. You pause, pulled out of your anger as you look at Dark in disbelief, shaking yourself out of it, refusing to believe that he’s telling the truth.

“Liar! You could’ve stopped her! You knew better than to leave me behind! I thought you loved me!”

Your voice cracks, something you had been afraid of. Your eyes sting, fighting back tears as you try to keep your composure from breaking.

“I do love you. I never stopped. Darling, I’m so sorry. I went back, and you weren’t there. The mirror, it was gone. I’ve been looking for you, all this time.”

Your chest burns, clutching your chest as it aches. It’s painful, sharp and jagged. Then it feels like something snaps, shatters, and you can’t breathe. Anti is at your side in an instant, growling up at Dark as he attempts to step closer. You’re helped onto the ground, Anti holding you so you don’t fully collapse on him. There’s a brief look of anger on Dark’s face, before he realizes why Anti is here. He goes through his own range of emotions, watching you gasp for air on the ground. Within twenty minutes, not only has he found out you’re alive, but you hate his guts, and you’re potentially dating one of his rivals. All he can do is stand there, watching in horror, praying to whatever deities that exist that you will be okay. 

You can’t pull your hand from your chest, and you hear a crunch. Air fills your lungs again, but something feels wrong. You move your shirt out of the way, seeing a shattered hole over your heart. Anti panics, trying to get you to lay down on the ground as he investigates. He’s heavily out of his element, trying to stop or fix whatever has happened. He moves your shirt more, and the crack spreads. 

“Anti, Anti stop. Leave it alone, we have to get them out of here. Out of the public eye.”

“Yer t’e one t’at broke ‘em in t’e first place! Ye weren’t t’ere t’ hold ‘em as t’ey cried, shakin’ in fear because o’ what ye did!”

Dark steps back again, looking at the two of you. He looks horrified, the pain he’s caused you perhaps finally settling in, clicking into place. It takes a second, before he just nods his head at the two of you.

“I want to fix things now, please let me help. I won’t let them stay broken again. Not because of me.”

Anti growls again, only stopping when you reach up to gently hold his face. Tears threaten to roll down his cheeks as he looks down at you. Not a single blow was exchanged yet his worst fear happened. He looks at you as you nod, rubbing your thumb against his cheek.

“It’s okay, baby. Let him help. I won’t make you go.” “I’m not leavin’ yer side. Don’t ye t’ink I would, even fer a second.” “Then if that’s what they want, follow me.” Anti stands up, holding you bridal style in his arms. Dark walks quickly, even with his cane. The three of you turn a corner, back into the darker alley you emerged from. “Where t’e fuck are we going!?” Shadows pool at Dark and Anti’s feet, creating a circle around you. “Where I should have brought them in the first place. Home.”

The three of you disappear into the shadows beneath, leaving nothing but the cracks in the concrete behind.

[toranekooo]

hai :3 ambrose directed me to you so. please tell me about lip/hiyo i love drama and discourse so much (non forcing btw)

みなさん、おはこんばんちわ !! my name is ess but u can call me vyn, maiko or secchan~ and i will be your announcer for today <3 ! today we will be discussing why i dislike lip/hiyo ! this is gonna contain a lot of buffers so i dont get caught up in the tags or the search results so um. im sorry if its a pain to read. please be warned these are MOSTLY personal opinions and i don't intend on infringing on ppl who do ship it. i do not care. simply DONT tag my shit as it and we're good ^_^ except ppl dont listen and i find it fucking annoying so. here's a full blown explanation i guess

first ! lip.hiyo is a ship between hi.yori su.zumi and the members of lipx.lip ai.zo and yu.jiro . hiyo/ri is their manager and she's a girl from the countryside who moved to tokyo to study and work on becoming a track and field athelete . lipx/lip are themselves. their relationship in canon is. friends at best. something else at worst. being the little shits they are, lip/lip are nothing short of assholes to hiyo.ri for the majority of their earlier canon interactions. she states multiple times in her stories that they make her feel stupid. while i do think they respect and care for each other as coworkers, i still dislike how they treat her as a person, especially how they put down her feelings. before and after her.oiku where hiyo.ri undergoes a transformation courtesy of lx.l dressing her up so she can confess to another member of the idol series, asu.ka kai.do (discontinued due to the collaborative project ending) — they continue to tell her that had it not been for the pretty dress or the makeup, she wouldn't be worthy of being called a heroine. she wouldn't be a "girl" in their eyes. which is where a lot of the ships stem from.

but wait! you're probably asking yourself, or well, me: "secchan-sensei! lipx.lip bully each other a whole damn lot too! they bicker and they insult each other! wouldn't this put shipping them in the same category as lp/hy?" excellent question! while i understand why people can perceive it similarly, there is one big difference. the idols and hiyori exist in an unbalanced power dynamic. no i do not mean that in a literal sense, but in a social, emotional sense. you said it yourself, lip/lip bully each other! theyre mean and rude and crass and jerks to EACH OTHER. there is a back and forth movement. they bite and bite back, so to speak. while with hiy.ori as you're aware, she swallows her pain and bottles up that sadness and holds back those tears, she never responds or insults them back because she's not that kind of person. above all things, hiyori remains kind to ai and yu but the fact that they hurt her in ways they don't even acknowledge are not mutually exclusive.

if you're familiar with hone.yworks lore, as well as lx.l themselves, you probably know at least an adequate bit of their trauma. to put it simply, a.izo struggles with interacting with women, to the point where he finds them difficult to be with. this is often translated to him hating women, so as an idol with a predominantly female fanbase, this is a big problem. this trauma stems from his mother, who for the greater part of his childhood, was an abusive drunk. not only that, his older brother, whom he looked to for support and comfort when their home life was at their worst, is a playboy who toyed around with women and relationships with hopes of avoiding the loneliness at home. while ken grew out of his issues and ultimately became a better person, his actions growing up had a significant negative effect on ai.zo . he isnt jUst a miSoGyniSt dear fuck

yujiro, on the other hand, is the stepson of national treasure, tamagoro someya, a master of kabuki. his mother, tae, married into the family and he has a younger stepbrother, koichiro. tamagoro very explicitly tells him that he will not inherit the kabuki legacy, stating that he "lacks beauty" and is half-hearted. this is despite the fact that yujiro pushed himself beyond his own strength, to the point of starvation and isolation, all for the sake of pleasing his father — who never intended to acknowledge him in the first place. yujiro remained inadequate, lacking, some part of him, despite his best efforts, would never fit into the beauty of the roles his father had crafted for the stage.

“Father is father, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I think he didn’t have a choice in telling me to give up…” “…Were you never allowed to stand on the kabuki stage?” “There’s no way he would have let me. It was only my brother who could have…” (That’s really messed up…) If he had no intention of letting him perform on stage, why did he let him practice? It was cruel to put so many expectations on a child, only to rip his hope away from him. (LOVE&KISS novel, Chapter 7) [1]

how is this relevant to hiyori?

then, we talk about the infamous hero.taru anime. now, honeyw.orks anime have this curse where they're either bound to flop incredibly or butcher the characters enough it appeals to a general audience and completely destroys their characters. the hero.taru anime was made to promote lip.x.lip and profit off their popularity in the idol genre showcase hiyo.ri's heroine story. the story spans multiple mvs, from h.eroine iku.sei keikak.u -> her.oine wa hei.kin ika -> her.oine tarum.ono . there's a general difference with as.uka being cut out and replaced with nagisa after he's finally released from the honeyw.orks basement. aaand i'm getting sidetracked. as someone who watched every single anime hnw has put out, i can confidently say...

her.otaru fucking sucks.

despite being an anime centered on hiy.ori's development as a heroine, it overuses fanservice and became a cookie cutter shoujo mixed with a little idol for the views. fuck, the main conflict was literally between lip.xlip's manager and their biggest fan who had a crush on aiz.o . DO YOU SEE MY ISSUE. ok that aside. the anime completely butchers hiyo's character by making her overly dependent on lx.l. not to mention the bathroom scene. ick. the anime also completely butchers lxl by erasing their issues and making them into "just backup male leads if nag.isa doesnt sell well" and he didnt bc he was there for one fucking episode . back to my point, the anime has a particular scene pertaining to their trauma, which i have elaborately expanded above, and dumbs it down to: [2]

bad, right? not the worst butchering of it yet. you see, SOMEHOW, the herota.ru anime made the already fucked hani.wa timeline WORSE by turning yum.e fanf.are into a song about hiyori. i'm going to start tearing and biting bc this frustrated me SO MUCH . yume.fan is a song of aizo and yujiro about their struggles as stated above, and yet it was percieved as a song made to make hiyo.ri fall in love with them.

god ok this is. incredibly long at this point but i have only pierced the surface. lets just get it down to brass tacks. i hate lip.hiyo.

a lot of people came out of hero.taru shipping lip.hiyo after seeing their relationship and interactions in the anime. people tend to ship them with hiyor.i because "sHe's nOt LiKe oThER giRls" . of all the things i hate abt lip.hiyo and the hero.taru anime in general, i hate how it ruins hiyo.ri's character. i hate how they refuse to acknowledge that she enjoys feeling beautiful, she likes being a feminine, she wants to be a heroine — her issues don't lie in her not being beautiful enough to fit in the heroine mold, but the fact that she can be heroine, regardless of how she perceives herself!

well, introspective reasons aside, i hate the ship on a personal basis bc i've recently found out most ppl who ship it are pushing to make people believe it's canon ? like who the fuck does that. ONE, hiyori does have a canon love interest, nag.isa shiran.ami. TWO, they have never even remotely shown any romantic interest to her ??? well fuck i mean if you count calling her derogatory names, telling her she'll never be a girl if she doesn't dress up, or saying she'll never get a romeo if she rejects nagisa counts as flirting then sure i believe you. THREE, you can literally ship it even if it isn't canon. there is nothing stopping you??? it's giving hypocrisy bc a long loooong time ago they were mad at ai.yuu shippers for continuously mentioning their parallels and the possibility of them becoming canon and they called them [BEEEEEP] . you get the point.

negativity aside, at this point i've probably put you through a horror. sorry about that. all in all, i prefer ai.yuu and nagi.hiyo over lp/hy. i dislike het.lip in general because why would you want to inflict this upon any girl. come on. they can do better. im kidding but you get it. ai and yu trust each other more than anyone, they are canonically each other's most important person, and they are equals in persevering to achieve their dreams. THAT is what yume.fan meant [3] . and i like n.ghy bc nagi.sa has had feelings for hiyori for years, even before she dolled herself up, even before she was a manager, he fell in love with hiyori, and no one else — because in his eyes, she's always been a heroine!! "zutto heroine da" - nagi.sa in heroine wa heikin ika [4]

in case for SOME reason this isn't enough, please feel free to peruse the following posts that expand on some particular parts of this: differences between the mvs and anime | the Trauma scene | yume fan.fare's meaning | personal thoughts 1 | personal thoughts 2

CITATIONS:

[1] LOVE&KISS Chapter 7 — translation

[2] He.roine Taru.mono! Kiraware H.eroine to Naisho Os.higoto Anime Episode 4

[3] Yu.me Fan.fare by LIP.×LIP

[4] Her.oine wa Hei.kin Ika by Su.zumi Hiyo.ri (CV: Ino.ri Mi.nase)

[egittae]

[ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 ] : sender drapes a coat / cape / etc. around receiver's shoulders.

He lays dark fabric across the broad shoulders of his co-worker, tentative movements resulting a shakier gesture than Goldoa’s eldest heir would have preferred, but what mattered was the gesture. Not the one who made it. “Careful,” He whispers, voice a distant thing these days. But he offers what small smile he can. “Over exertion seldom bodes well. For the evening, you should retire — seminar plans aren’t half as essential as your well-being.”

“I understand wanting to help, but during my time with beorc, I’ve learned they need rest. You should retire — if only for the evening.”

[warmth]

He had long lost track of time. With no sky to look up to and no clock bell to echo through halls, the moment he sat down to begin planning for the next week’s seminars he didn’t get up anymore- his mind far too focused on the task at hand and with pretty much nothing around him to drag it away from the realm of ideas and paperwork. If he felt tired, his body had refused to acknowledge it.

But it was the brush of a warm, soft cloth slowly covering his shoulders and a whisper-like voice that has become much too familiar by now that finally made the man blink himself out of the mind zone he was in. With a sharp intake of air through his nose as if to mask a spook, Lambert rubbed his eyes with a groan. “Who…Rajaion…? Sorry, I failed to spot you sooner. Do not worry about me, this body can handle itself well-” He moved to force his back out of its curved position, hearing way more cracking sounds than he would’ve liked. “…ough. That did not help my case, did it…”

“How long did I even sit here for…hard to tell with no windows, huh.” With slow blinks, it was only now that Lambert figured how tired he felt. From the silence he could hear outside…yikes, more time had passed than he initially thought.

A smile bloomed into a chuckle as he slowly tried to rearrange his hair, now a wild mane poking at impossible angles thanks to hours of him constantly supporting his head on his palm. “I never expected you of all people to come here and wrap me in a blanket. You are a kind one, truly.” Rajaion always seemed distant to Lambert- not in a bad way, but he could never tell what was going on behind his gaze. Maybe he was lost in a myriad of fog like him…or maybe he was really just chilling and minding his business. Either way, he had Lambert's respect.

“It cannot be that late…come on my friend, we can get a drink and then you shall explain to me what a ‘beorc’ is, deal?”

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

Your blog is a wonderfully thought out and respectful place! I have been looking for awhile, but I have not been able to find much about the origins of the current gender identity movement, or the possible reasons for the radical shift in the feminist movement. Do you think there is some force pushing these things to where they are? Or is it just the echo chamber of social media run wild? Would love to know your thoughts!

Well, the present concept of gender itself, as being separate from sex, mostly goes back to very shortsighted feminist ideas back in the 1970s like "Gender Is A Social Construct", which I presume was so eagerly adopted and unexamined only because it appeared to remove any societal expectations or career barriers from women.

But of course once feminists pushed those concepts through into actual law, they inevitably ended up leading to where we are now, with biological males being able to enter any female spaces/sports and take on the identities and traditional privileges of women, and become an even more protected class than women themselves: It's basically the biggest own-goal in modern political history, and has seismically split all of feminism into two brand new groups: the most man-hating ones, who have had to come out and acknowledge biology and the superior strength and athletic ability, etc. of men - the complete opposite of feminist rhetoric from back in the 70s-90s, when the slogans were things like "women can do anything men can do, but even better, and in heels" - and the other, more mainstream group: all the younger, empty-headed and more easily-manipulated drones, who have simply been indoctinated by the third-wave onwards to nod along with anything they are told, no matter how impossible and idiotic, and believe they are some sort of rebellious underground resistance for doing so.

"Do you think there is some force pushing these things to where they are?"

I think there are people acting under multiple belief systems at loose in the world, and anything that arises that they feel will individually benefit themselves or their causes, they will promote. Sometimes completely opposing "sides" will both support some new development, for different reasons, and so that makes the new development much more visible and culturally entrenched.

In this case, Marxism, Capitalism, Globalism, Liberalism, Feminism and a bunch of other mind viruses have all found something they feel is of use to their causes in the gender ideology nonsense. And so none of them see any reason to stand in its way.

My point is I don't believe there is any one individual, nation or organization "behind" all world events, though there are certainly some more influential than others, and millions upon millions who want to be.

[farcillesbian]

wanted to share my experience with local activists today because it was really like. heartening

for context, I live in a pretty small town (like 6000 people, and many of those are just here for university). it's somewhat rural, and over 200 km/a 2 hour drive from an actual decent sized city.

a local anglican priest organized a Pilgrimage4Gaza event today and again next weekend, as a way to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to meditate on just a fraction of what Palestinians have been experiencing. it's an international movement (with more information here), and I believe part of the intent is to be part of the way Christians around the world can use the Lent season to engage in activism and raise awareness for the Palestinian cause. not all the people in the walk I was at were Christian, myself included, though it was kicked off with the reading of some prayers centered around Palestine and we spent a minute listening to the lord's prayer in arabic as well. that was about the extent of the Christian specific experience during the walk though!

the goal is to walk the distance from Gaza to Rafah, 36 km (22.4 miles) in total, to put into perspective how far that is to go on foot while fleeing for your life, but also to map that distance onto our own cities and realize how small of an area 2 million displaced people have been forced into. the pilgrimage organized in my town has been split into 2 days, today and next Saturday, 18 km (11.1 miles) each day so as to allow the greatest number of people to participate in at least some of it.

today we spent 4 hours covering those 18 km. we walked over 23,000 steps, representing approximately one step for every Palestinian life that has been brutally taken by Israel since October 7th 2023. there were 22 of us at the start and almost all of us completed the first 9 km loop. many participants were older people with some mobility limitations, but they still came out. one participant I talked to was telling me about how she's doing as much as she can despite dealing with either long COVID or ME/CFS. there were people who were driving alongside us so that anyone who needed to stop walking would be able to step into a car, and they also kept extra water on hand. these measures were taken to keep the activism as accessible as possible. we also reflected on the knowledge that people who walked this distance in Gaza did not have these resources, not even clean water access along the way.

some people finished their walk after the first loop, but about 10 of us kept going to complete the second loop. we also were able to stop by the rally being held in front of town hall, where another 20 or so people were chanting and holding signs and flags - a great alternative for those who were unable to participate in the walking today. there were some children (around 9-10 years old it seemed) leading chants with the megaphone.

throughout the walk, people honked to show support, they nodded and waved and gave a thumbs up. some people on the streets stopped to acknowledge what we were doing. cars full of young university students rolled their windows down and chanted in support of Palestine!

even in small places like my town, there are people working hard to make sure that others are still noticing, thinking about, and talking about Palestine. even if for just the moment they passed us on the street, they could not forget about Palestine. we will not let them forget about all the martyred people.

[titles-for-tangents]

I’m bringing this up because this seems to be the only article I’ve read so far that really addresses how much of human history we’d be losing. To quote:

“Musk himself acknowledges that Twitter is a public forum, and it’s this fact that makes the potential loss of the platform so significant. Twitter has become integral to civilization today. It’s a place where people document war crimes, discuss key issues, and break and report on news.

“It’s where the US raid that would result in Osama bin Laden’s death was first announced. It’s where people get updates on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It’s where news of the downing of flight MH17, a Malaysia Airlines plane that was likely shot down by pro-Russia forces in Ukraine in 2014, first surfaced. It is a living, breathing historical document. And there’s real concern it could disappear soon.

“‘If Twitter was to “go in the morning”, let’s say, all of this—all of the first-hand evidence of atrocities or potential war crimes, and all of this potential evidence—would simply disappear,’ says Ciaran O’Connor, senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a global think tank. Information gathered using OSINT (open-source intelligence) has been used to support prosecutions for war crimes, and acts as a record of events long after the human memory fades.”

The article notes how even the Library of Congress tried documenting stuff on Twitter for eight freaking years and simply had to stop in 2018 just due to the sheer deluge of information. Think about just how much has happened post-2017 in particular, post- the #Me Too movement. The #Black Lives Matter movement. How many crimes actively caused by the police that people captured on camera and help fuel #Defund the Police. How former President Trump would howl random insanities, instructions, and declarations in a complete breach of protocol both security and otherwise and Twitter was instrumental in deplatforming him, and not only did we get to have five minutes of peace for once, suddenly it opened up the conversation about how large social media sites can and should deplatform hate speech. Twitter is where we all noticed someone cracked into the CDC’s account in one of the first of many moments where the public’s trust in them began to wither and crumble during a pandemic. According to William Kilbride, executive director of the Digital Preservation Coalition, “There’s no indication that those formal records of government agencies have ever been archived, or indeed how they’d go about doing that.”

If you use Twitter for any reason, please find a way to back up your data now. The article goes on to say, “Many users have taken it upon themselves to independently back up their data, while the Internet Archive can be used to permanently store snapshots of Twitter’s webpages in a more reliable place than Twitter’s own servers. But both methods are not without their own issues: multimedia often isn’t stored alongside such methods of archiving tweets—something that would impact the vast numbers of accounts posting images and videos from Iran’s revolution, or documenting Russia’s invasion of Twitter—while accessing the information easily requires knowing the exact URL of any given tweet to access it. ‘You may have trouble finding that if it’s not already been preserved in some way somewhere else on the internet,’” says Eliot Higgins, whom the author notes as the “founder of open-source investigators Bellingcat, who helped bring the perpetrators of the downing of MH17 to justice.”

Storage already was a very real problem, and the recollection of that data is going to be far, far hairier if possible at all. I’m not on Twitter so I’m sure someone much more versed in legal and I.T. issues would be able to clarify if users will be able to get their data back. Don’t get me wrong: watching Elon Musk go bankrupt and his empire burn all around him has been and will continue to be cathartic as hell, especially over the class action lawsuits coming against him. But that will be just the first half of the parade before people try to get back their records of lost art, lost journalism, lost quotes, lost photography and films, lost records of how people have been faring during the pandemic across all walks of life. There’s a very real chance we’re not going to get those back. Yes, much of Twitter is full of brainrot. It’s also full of celebrities, artists, and organizations where their accounts can be as professional as they want it to be. Think about how many tweets you see copy-pasted to Tumblr and copy-pasted Tumblr posts get retweeted back to Twitter. Think about how Eli Lily just had to confront their horrible insulin prices this past week alone and how once again, the conversation turns to accountability and how life can simply be better than this dystopian, sick age we’re living in. This is arguably bigger than even the loss of Vine; I would say it’s a wee bit closer to the burning of the Library at Alexandria.

While there absolutely is worth in having community corkboards, the next social medial empire that will fall like Facebook is going to care even less about you and wipe out even more important moments in human history. Social media sites like Twitter are (again I need to use this word) instrumental as fuck for helping to instigate very real social change, even if they’re created for dumb and/or fun reasons and get quickly grandfathered into serious issues simply because they’ve been popular for so long they’ve just stuck around long enough to see them. Sites like Twitter have allowed people to get out the message out to vote and directly interact with politicians for better and worse. Sure, something will take its place, and Mastodon is already there to try to do just that. We should have healthy competition and no one should run a monopoly to encourage their status as billionaire (we shouldn’t have billionaires in the first place for that matter, but that’s a discussion for another day). The point is the fate of this closing era is going to be at the whims of a very particular twit this weekend, and the window of time to save what we can from the already burning pyre is rapidly closing.

I really, really don’t want to see Twitter to go up in flames. The best outcome for this would be to see all of its employees get much better-paying, unionized jobs and Elon Musk continues to peel and reveal himself for the insufferable jackass that he is.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Christians condemn insurrectionists in the US and Brazil – call for participants and organizers to be held accountable.

Excerpt from the pastors at the Word and the Way...

https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/christian-nationalism-invades-brazil

[...] Much like Trump and Bolsonaro received advice from shared political figures (like Steve Bannon), they’ve also been helped by their shared religious supporters. Like Lou Engle. The Pentecostal preacher peddled claims of “voter fraud” after the 2020 presidential election, casting the results showing Trump lost as proof of demonic forces at work. But Engle doesn’t just evangelize in the United States. He’s held large “The Send” prayer rallies across the country, but also in Brazil.

With more than 140,000 people attending the 12-hour “The Send” event in Brazil in 2020, then-President Bolsonaro came on stage to talk about his faith in Jesus. That led journalist Jon Ward to wonder about the impact of such religious movements on this week’s political scene in Brazil.

“Is there any self-reflection going on among Christian leaders who have supported Trump and Bolsonaro?” Ward wrote in his Substack newsletter Border-Stalkers yesterday. “Twice now, political leaders who were elected in no small part because of evangelicals have refused to acknowledge their losses, and their supporters have waged violent assaults on their country’s own government, law enforcement, and journalists. Is there any self-assessment inside evangelicalism among the many Christian leaders whose support enabled both these men to get elected and to nearly topple their respective democracies?”

The Catholic Church in Brazil quickly condemned Sunday’s violence. A statement from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil argued, “These attacks must be immediately stopped, and their organizers and participants must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Citizens and democracy need to be protected.”

It’s a good first step. Christian leaders must condemn the violence. But then Christians must also consider how pastors and churches helped inspire the attack on the government. And Christians in the U.S. need to evaluate our role in the violence of Jan. 6 and Jan. 8. We must stop going therefore to make disciples of all nations as we baptize them into the gospel of insurrection.

______________________________

Lou Engle (born October 9, 1952) is an American Charismatic Christian leader, best known for his leadership of TheCall, which holds prayer rallies. ... Engle strongly supports criminalization of abortion, and encouraged his audiences to ... vote for anti-abortion political candidates. Engle maintains that issues such as abortion and homosexuality should remain at the center of the evangelical movement.

Engle was described by Joe Conason as a "radical theocrat". The Southern Poverty Law Center says he can occasionally "venture into bloodlust."

______________________________

On multiple occasions, Jair Bolsonaro has publicly endorsed physical violence as a legitimate and necessary form of political action. In 1999, when he was 44 years old and a representative in the Brazilian Congress, Bolsonaro said during a TV interview that the only way of "changing" Brazil was by "killing thirty thousand people, beginning with Fernando Henrique Cardoso" (then President of Brazil).