#like we're not seeing these people actively cheer on genocide

[umberandmochaagate]

You know what fuck it bro

I'm tired of seeing "but Joe Biden is our only chance and if you don't vote for him—" I'm tired. I'm so tired. I'm tired of bearing witness to the crimes America has done over and over to so many places and people. I'm tired of the ways they try to crush us under their boots. I'm tired of the illusions of choice. I'm tired of trying to make it in this world as a black femme. I'm so tired. And I'm not near as tired as my family and my friends' families trying to survive in Haiti. I'm not nearly as tired as those suffering in Congo to provide the very devices that we're all using. I'm not nearly as tired as the journalists in Gaza who get on the internet when they can to report the genocide around them. I'm tired for them, and if the weight of it all is breaking my heart from the pressure, I can't imagine it for them. What can even an atom of compassion mean? And every day those people in power get up on their podiums all spick and span and look into the eyes of the millions watching them and go

"Keep killing them"

"We want these people tortured and suffering"

And I'm supposed to act like none of this is happening?? Because this guy wearing one color says he's not bad like the guy wearing red and vice versa??? People are fighting, have been fighting, and continue to fight for their liberation and human rights. Yet these handfuls of people, those who's greed and lack of humanity, go "But we don't want them to."

For years. For decades. Centuries even.

All they have to do is stop. Stop. And they don't. They won't. And I'm supposed to suck it up because one seems better than the other, rather than the truth that none every ACTUALLY have ALL of our best interests to heart. None. But I'm supposed to settle. Because that's all I'm supposed to do as an American. Settle. I'm so tired.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

with regards to the iran/israel situation and literally any other humanitarian situation that's going on right now, I just want to re-iterate some of my stances on current events:

I do not believe in wishing death on anyone. no matter anyone's identity or beliefs, I think that everyone should be entitled to basic human rights. I will NEVER advocate for statements calling for the mass death of civilians of any country, and detest seeing such statements made as jokes. I don't want to see "death to (country)," "burn (country) to the ground," "(country) needs to be nuked," etc. if you make those statements, think about what you're saying. we should not believe ourselves to be entitled to who gets to live or die. that is genocidal rhetoric.

WAR IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT. by that I mean I'm tired of people who have never experienced war treating it like fictional media. it's not strictly good vs. evil, it's not a sports game where you pick your favorite team. people die in war. and of course that seems obvious, but ever since the russian invasion of ukraine, I've seen people online, usually westerners with no connection to either country, treating a global conflict with devastating civilian consequences like fandom. express your support for ukraine by raising awareness for humanitarian causes, supporting ukrainian businesses, or learning about ukrainian culture and history, not making volodymyr zelensky thirst traps, goddammit. (and yes, I remember the volodymyr zelensky thirst traps. those were indeed a thing.) war is not meme fodder and entertainment, especially for those who are fortunate enough to be removed from it.

I do not believe in generalizing entire populations based on the actions of their governments. yes, of course there are civilians that support a government's actions, and there are civilians who oppose them. there are israelis who oppose the actions of the israeli government, russians who oppose the actions of the russian government, americans who oppose the actions of the us government, etc. the minute you generalize all civilians under a certain government as holding the same beliefs, you risk promoting rhetoric that is also used to justify ignorance and bigotry in best-case scenarios, and genocide in worst-case scenarios. people are not monoliths, and treating them as such can lead down a dangerous pipeline of attempting to justify the extermination of entire populations.

just because a government is committing atrocities doesn't mean the governments opposed to it are absolved of atrocities. powerful governments are not generally interested in human rights; they're interested in gaining as much influence and power as possible. ukrainians and palestinians are both suffering, but the international governments that claim to support either group of people are only doing so to support their own self-interests, such as global prominence or economic gain. we should not be cheering for the iranian government just because they oppose the israeli government; the mahsa/jina amini protests happened for a reason.

whenever there's a war, civilians always suffer the most. for those of us removed from war, we're removed from the full extent of this suffering. nowadays, with the rise of social media, we are able to witness atrocities in real time, but seeing videos of mutilated bodies and hearing the testimonies of survivors still doesn't equate to witnessing such atrocities firsthand. I don't believe that we should actively seek out graphic or distressing footage in order to alleviate any feelings of guilt, but we should treat these situations with extreme sensitivity, because we're not the ones experiencing them.

this goes with point #1, which is sort of where all of these points ultimately stem from, but I don't believe the killing of civilians is ever justified. even if one believes the ends justify the means, the lives of those people don't stop mattering.

please, going forward, let's be sensitive, compassionate, and kind. we need to be open to learning about different perspectives, as well as history, culture, and current events. there's already been so much suffering in the world in these last few years alone, and for those of us who are privileged enough to be removed from this sort of suffering, it's our responsibility to do our best not to make it worse than it already is.

[raven02101]

Im so tired

Americans are actively committing genocide against the LGBTQ+ all over and I haven't heard any good news on the case in weeks, months, its *literally* only getting worse.

Which in of itself is horrible, the fact that we're seeing fascism rise again, but the thing that affects me, an ocean away "safe" in Norway, is that I cant talk to anyone about it. The LGBTQ+ people I know are throwing up hearing about it, in tears, and at home there's nobody who cares.

They say its probably "Biased". And sure Im biased, of course I am, because if I was there I'd be the one loosing my rights. If I was there I'd be the one crying myself to sleep. But fucking listen to them, see the clips from these people. They're a caricature.

They're Flying Swastikas FOR FUCKS SAKE!

Maybe they are misguided, maybe they are well meaning, but they're being cheered on by people doing the Sieg Heil- and nobody around are willing to discuss it. Because it makes them sad, because they think Im misinformed, saying things like "Maybe you should care more about local politics" but for fucks sake *my people*- CHILDREN are being targeted. Kids are going to commit suicide, or being turned to pulp by machine guns in their own classrooms, kids are being striped to confirm their genitals, kids are being taken from their families-

And Im expected to be silent...

And I get it, I sound like a madwoman, just last night I let myself slip and made a comment about fascists in the American government and my dad said "watch out for those chatrooms, soon you're going to be a woman hater as well"

He thinks Im on 4chan, they think I get my news from Radical liberalists or something- ITS VICTIMS OF OPPRESSION I GET MY NEWS FROM- and he dares to accuse me, a closeted trans woman, of being a sexist?

And for my queer friends, I get it as well, some of you live there, its your reality, I get you dont want to talk about it, dont want to think about it, I get that, I really do.

I just need to voice that I also live in terror of what is happening... and it feels like Im not heard. Maybe this burst, this cry, will be enough for a while. A venting of emotion into the void of the internet.

But I need this off my chest and out of my head, I need things to get better, because my god it is horrible.

Mind you, dammit, that this is only the US Im hearing about. Atrocities are committed against us all over the world. Much to my own dismay, I cant care about all of it- its not reaching me, and if it was, I'd be even more broken for it.

So thanks to the void... I needed this.

TL;DR I am sad about what is happening to the LGBTQ+ in America, and I felt the need to be heard.

Here's a cat from the web, in case you are sad as well: