#more like mutually traumatized support buddies

[lucaonthropy]

I imagine if The Wolf and Yuichi ever talk to each other it would be awkward silence for five minutes before they started to traumadump on each other out of the blue (The Wolf probably started it) and the other's response was "Oh ... that sounds rough" from Yuichi and "Damn man" from The Wolf, both Zuko-style.

[bpdstevenuniverse]

I know it's not really black and white, but I don't like the "two sides" approach to abusive parental-child relationships.

Y'know, pretty much the argument "you need to understand their side too!" And buddy, I am more than aware of my parents' crappy childhoods. I'm also aware that it very much affected how my parents raised me and my brother. That having a kid was tough for them, that they only know how to show love like that, that they don't know what they're doing, etc. etc. etc.

But WHY do I, their mentally ill, traumatized child, need to understand THEIR side? Why am I expected to validate their trauma and not mine? Why am I not allowed to be ANGRY at my parents? I'm the VICTIM in question, the one who got the worst of the situation, and yet what seems to matter more here is how my poor mommy and daddy suffered so much, they couldn't raise their kids properly :(

This isn't a fucking "two sides" situation. Abuse is not balanced. Abuse is not a mutually toxic dynamic. Abuse hurts, in many different ways, someone (or people) vulnerable and unable to fight back. This is especially the case for a parent - a GROWN FUCKING ADULT - abusing their child. "Two sides" here is useless.

And yet the abusive parents are the ones who get the most compassion and support out there. As for their kids, forever scarred with trauma and mental illness? Nah. Who cares?

[snakechu]

A primer on your Splatoon characters and how they relate to each other, if you please!

Pulls out my Google Doc

Short Version! (Yes, this is actually the short version)

Kai (Agent/Captain 3 who is brash, but becomes an aspiring leader), Cole (Agent 4 who is reserved, but breaks their shell. Does campaign 1 along with 3), and Jordan (Agent 8 who is very much traumatized, but strives to move forward) develop a polyromantic relationship during 2 and are still going strong in 3.

Kai has an older brother named Pike who is very much protective, but the good kind to prevent Kai from getting into trouble, which she can, will, and has despite his efforts. A very caring older brother who supports his sister and her friends/partners all the way. Also a weapon enthusiast and becomes Sheldon's full time assistant in 3. Also captain of his own team called Inkthority.

Kai has a full team by the name of Palette Swap in which Cole, Corey, and Star are apart of. Corey and Star are cousins with a very sibling dynamic. The two even become an indie Idol Duo by 3 called Foreshore. Corey shares a friendly rivalry with Pike before he even met Kai.

Maxwell (Neo Agent 3) escaped Octarian society when he was 9, two years after he and his father heard the Inkantation. He also escaped with his best friend, Julian, and his mom with the two having just heard the Inkantation. Max and Jules are practically brothers.

The two young Octolings met two Inklings when they turned 14, those Inklings being Nicki (cute and feminine but unhinged) and Atlas (no ounce for respecting authority), born and raised in Splatsville. The four of them formed the team Hue Havoc with Julian being the captain.

Max has a little Smallfry buddy he named Salt and raised him from an egg. Salt is the embodiment of 'no thoughts, head empty'. Loves being carried by Max while going completely limp. Likes going limp, regardless of being carried and just lays in places.

As Neo 3, Max greatly respects all the Agents before him. He shares a sibling dynamic with Captain 3, is intimidated by Agent 4 while 4 finds him endearing, and he shares mutual understanding and respect for Agent 8 and bond over their shared heritage.

For those who want the longer version (and I mean LONG you better buckle up).

I'll start off by talking about these guys!

First up is Kai Piers, who is my Agent/Captain 3. She is brash and bold who isn't afraid to speak her mind or jump into situations, which has led her to quite a bit of trouble in her youth (No hesitation when joining the New Squidbeak Splatoon at age 14). She may be reckless, but her hearts are in the right place. In 1 and 2, she is the captain of her own team dubbed Palette Swap. By Splatoon 2 (16), she has matured, but is still brash and reckless, but has learned to come up with plans before taking action... most of the time. I have yet to see Splatoon 3's story mode (21) so I'm not 100% certain on things, but I'd imagine she's fully in the mindset of Captain and is a much critical thinker than when she was younger, but that fire from her youth has not left her. She is also fond of Neo and is very much an older sister figure to them. By this point, she is fully in a polyromantic relationship with Agent's 4 and 8.

Cole Aegean, aka, Agent 4 is up next. Cole (15) met Kai the day she began her Turfing career by saving his butt from a couple of bullies (with the help of her brother), and they've been glued to the hip ever since (formed Palette Swap). He is much more reserved than Kai when it comes to taking any sort of initiative, down to the point where he can have an panic attack. Cole was actually dragged along by Kai into the New Squidbeak Splatoon (Yes, I have a two player campaign in Splatoon 1, fight me). Although he accepted the mission, he was very much a hot mess and was actively calling out Kai for how reckless she was being and how she was treating it like a game (She almost got them killed multiple times). But contrasting Kai's recklessness, Cole was much too cautious and overthought a lot, letting many opportunities get away from him. In the end, the two learned to combine their strengths to save the Great Zapfish. By 2 (17) Cole is still reserved, but has learned to be much more daring, even beginning to become charismatic. The moment he heard the Great Zapfish had been kidnapped once again, he didn't waste a second accepting his new solo mission (and received extra help, teehee). By 3 (22) you wouldn't even believe he used to be an anxiety ridden mess (It's not gone, but he's dealing with it much better now). An outsider would think him now reckless, but every move he makes is calculated and swift. No opportunity escapes him now or his Duelies. In a Polyromantic relationship with Captain 3 and Agent 8.

Now for my Agent 8, Jordan! In Splatoon 1 (14) they were present when the Calamari Inkantation was performed by the New Squidbeak Splatoon, opening their mind to the possibility that Inklings and Octarians can live in peace, despite what DJ Octavio has propagated to them during their time as a soldier. They have been unable to escape to Inkling society by 2 (16), but a chance encounter with Agent 3 would change all of that. They managed to recognize Agent 3 at the time and refused to fight her because of it, but that wasn't an option for 3, so a chase ensued with Jordan running for their life. This chase separated Jordan from 3, caused them to lose their memories, and end up in the Deepsea Metro (that I DO have an explanation for, but I'm currently writing about it RN, so no spoilers >:3). Their escape from the Deepsea came with a lot of built up trauma from going through all 80 tests for basically nothing (Mem cakes didn't provide complete memories *nudge nudge wink wink they weren't supposed to hehe*) along with the escape itself (fighting 3 was Not Fun TM). But once they reach Inkopolis, they began to live with Agent 3 and her older brother whom they've developed strong bonds with along with the rest of Pallet Swap. About a year and a half/two years later (haven't fully decided yet), all 3 Agents move into an apartment together some time after they begin their polyromantic relationship (still need to figure out how they all confess). By 3 (21) they have fully accepted and embraced their new life, thankful for every day they are able to live on the surface and thankful for the loves of their life. They never want to take anything for granted (God, I hope we get 4 and 8 content in the upcoming DLC so I can have further thoughts about my 4 and 8 during 3).

Pike Piers is Kai's older brother by two years and profreshional battler and captain of Inkthority! Pike had been living in Inkopolis alone for some time until his younger sister came to live with him just before her 14th birthday. Their relationship is a strong one, full of teasing, support, fights, and respect. Only strengthens as the two grow older. Pike is very much aware of Kai being Agent 3 and eventually the Captain of the Splatoon. His first reactions to this are panic and anger. Kai snuck off with Cole without telling him she was doing any of this during the first game, which reasonably freaked him out, as Kai had only just gotten used to Turf Wars. But after seeing what the two had done to save Inkopolis, he reluctantly allowed Kai to continue Agent work as long as she kept him updated as much as she could for the sake of his own sanity. By 2 (18) he actually assists Agent 4 during the second campaign as an assistant to Sheldon (he absolutely fanboyed getting the chance to work with him, he's a huge fan). Also in 2, he becomes the person to talk to for all of the young Agents when they need an ear, and shares a strong kinship with all of them, which only got stronger when they all began dating. By 3 (23) he is Sheldon's full time assistant and is also a weapon's and teamwork coach on the side.

Corey Humbold (16) is another teammate of Kai that she met early on along with his cousin, Star Botale. Corey is a very charismatic and confident individual who is also able to show a much more gentle and sensitive side to those he deems close. Also a good listener when he needs to be and the secondary older sibling friend among this group of six (Pike being the primary one even though Corey is older). Corey and Pike themselves have a shared friendly rivalry, with Corey once being apart of a rival team that has since disbanded (Corey also has a boyfriend that is a part of Pike's team, so there's that). Joining Kai's team has only increased the bond and rivalry between the two. In 2 (18) he also assisted Agent 4 as a source of recon and information, as he has been doing his own side research on Octarian society ever since Kai and Cole became Agents (he knows because he helped Pike to look for his sister when she joined the Splatoon). During the final confrontation in that campaign, Corey and Star become backup singers and dancers for the Squid Sisters as they performed the Calamari Inkantaion a second time (I got this idea from the art book showing a concept with DJ Octavio and Callie having backup dancers, so why not flip it). This was the beginning of Corey and Star's indie music careers in 3 (23).

And last, but not least in this group is Star Botale (15). She met Kai and Cole the same time as her cousin, Corey, and joined Palette Swap. Star is also charismatic like her cousin, but many people mistake her for seeming aloof. She is actually much more observant than people give her credit for (they realize their mistake much too late the moment she gets them with her charger skills) and is very good a reading people. She is able to say the right thing to get people to open up and then uses that for blackmailing purposes (all of which are for super petty reasons. But don't test her). She has always hopped around friends and girlfriends alike, with the only person she's ever stuck around and built a genuine bond with is Corey. But that all changed when she joined Palette Swap and found out about the New Squidbeak Splatoon. That was a ride she didn't want to hop off of. In 2 (17) also helped Agent 4 with her keen eye of environments, helping him with puzzles and weaknesses. Performed the Inkantation alongside her cousin with the Squid Sisters. By 3 (22) Corey and Star have formed Foreshore and are an indie Idol Duo.

OKAY! That was just the Splatoon 1 and 2 kiddos. I do have OCs for 3 despite me not having it. I've only shown one of four I have (Neo 3), who you can see here, here, and here... Okay, here we go, holy cow.

Neo Agent 3 is Maxwell 'Max' 'Maxie' Delta! A 14 year old Octoling who escaped with his father to Splatsville during the events of Splatoon 2 (9), but they both heard the Inkantation when Max was 7. Max was raised to become an high ranking engineer like his father and his mother was an Elite Octoling Soldier who was reported MIA 3 months after the first Great Zapfish raid and 3 months after Max and Mr. Delta heard the Inkantaion. This event led to Mr. Delta wanting to wait to see if his wife would somehow return so his whole family could escape and it led to Max building a grudge against the society he was born in because of how long it took for it to tell him his mom is missing (AKA, this is all set up for what I hope becomes a really interesting and fun character arc for the Story Mode, DON'T SAY ANYTHING I'LL REWORK IT IF I HAVE TO THIS IS BASICALLY ALL BETA). He will never know what happens to his mother, but hopes against hope that she's somehow still out there and will find her way back to him. Max during his first year or so on the surface ends up finding an abandoned Salmonid egg. His instinct to protect came over and raised the egg until it hatched into a Smallfry, which he named him Salt. Salt is 'no thoughts, head empty' at all times and goes limp whenever Max carries him in his arms. He does this a lot. Salt also just goes limp anyway, looking like a dopey plush. He also 'bleps' a lot, which Max finds adorable.

Up next is Max's best friend, Julian 'Jules' Lewis, headstrong and loyal to a fault! Jules was practically raised alongside Max and are basically brothers. Jules in Octarian society was being raised to become a soldier, and was quite the prodigy as well, the only thing holding him back at the time was age and the inability to shift properly. His mother was a weapon producer, as she was unable to become an Elite Soldier due to an accident that left her left eye blind and left ear deaf. Jules's father was never present in his life, as he was the product of a one night stand. Jules didn't end up hearing the Inkantaion until he was 9 years old, during Splatoon 2. He only heard of the song through Max, but hearing the song himself was a completely different experience. He wanted to go with Max. It took much convincing to get his mother to go along with them, but she eventually agreed for her son. When the two boys turned 14, the two moved into an apartment together in Splatsville to being their Turfing careers. Jules ends up becoming the captain and strategist of Hue Havoc, with him and Max becoming the founders.

The first new friend the Octolings meet is an Inkling their age named Nicki 'Nick' Eris! At first glance, Nick appears to be a very cute and friendly face, but that is only a façade. She's an Inkling who causes chaos on purpose and is terrifying on the battlefield with her blaster game. It was chance for the young Octolings and Nick to meet, but the two immediately wanted to become friends with her after a couple of Turf War matches with her. She'd never been friends with Octolings before, but she agreed on the premise that it might be fun for awhile. Turns out, the boy's reactions and interactions with her have been 100% genuine and all because of her skill. Her appearance never factored into any decision they made. She has never met anyone who didn't want to try an take advantage of her outward femininity (what started her toying with people in the first place), so to meet these two who are so genuine, she thought they were naïve at first. The friendship she has with those two is something she cherishes, but she'd be caught dead rather than admit that out loud.

Finally, we have Atlas 'Atti' Tide, a 14 year old Inkling with not a single ounce of respect for those above her. All her life, she has constantly been told what she needed to do and what she needed to be. Her reaction to that was "That can all go to hell!" She forges her own path with her bare hands. That first step began with buying a ticket to the heart of Splatsville to make a name for herself, and herself alone. She met the trio at the Tableturf Dojo and destroyed all three of them at it. Frustrated, Jules challenged Atti to a private one on one Splat Zones match. Atti, having to play clever, managed to pull a victory, but fully acknowledged that Jules is terrifying to fight ("It's like fighting a trained soldier!" "...Hahaha... Yeah.....") and Jules did the same. Her energetic gall was a perfect fit for the team, and Hue Havoc came into the spotlight.

THAT TOOK SO FREAKING LONG OKAY BRAIN. Seriously, if you decided to read all of that, give yourself a cookie because OMG EVEN I WASN'T EXPECTING TO WRITE THAT MUCH THAT TOOK ACTUAL HOURS!

...But yeah, these are my Splatoon OCs :D

[backbreak]

1010 Headcanons

(I’m working on a few art pieces and I feel like I need to explain them here. It’s also just a way for me to keep track of em’)

Pre-NSR Headcanons

Before the battle with B2J, I believe that 1010 didn’t really have individual personality's. 

They were only robot’s following their programming at that point.

Of course, Rin was a little different. I’m not saying he had a personality, but his soul purpose was to be the voice of the group. He talked for them.

The other’s just followed lead.

Post-NSR Headcanons 

When 1010 was destroyed and the factory heavily damaged, Neon J had to start from scratch.

He didn’t alter the designs. However, he decided to develop their AI to become more complex. 

Of course, their personality’s were based around their core themes. (Zimule-bad boy, Haym-soft boy, Purl-hew-cool boy, Eloni-funny boy, Rin- leader.) 

After the AI’s were completed, 1010 started developing on top of that; Forming their own thoughts and opinions on the world around them. (I’ll get to how that affects them soon.)

Now one of my main headcanons around 1010, is that their fight was actually very traumatizing. I mean, imagine seeing your siblings exploding around you, or having your skin torn off and the entire world screaming at you in response. That’s pretty messed up.

Anyway, Each of the members had different reactions to what happened, and it greatly affected their views.

Now we enter what I like to call the “NJ, your kids need therapy” section.

Rin

Now in the beginning, Rin was confused. 

He initially thought things were just gonna go back to normal, but he was quickly shoot down. The other’s were doing things on their own, now. They weren’t going to him anymore, and quite frankly, he felt left in the dust. Rin felt like he lost his purpose.

After that realization, he made different attempts to regain his role. These attempts varied in severity, from calm coursing, to aggressive behavior. His anger and grief rising for each failure. It only deepened the cracks in their relationship, and his brothers have started avoiding him.

On the topic of grief, Rin is currently on step 3. And he decided that the ones to blame for this change is non other then B2J. He excuses his anger as being mad at them for hijackings their concert and humiliating his brothers, but he just want’s things to go back to normal.

He did manage to reconcile with them, though. It was rough, but they managed to become friend.’

That brought him back to square one, confusion. He’s trying to figure himself out and Zuke is helping him out along the way.

Purl-Hew

Purl-hew was neutral to the change.

He’s salty towards B2J for what they did, but he prefers to just avoid them. 

He became very quiet compared to the others, and he prefers to spend his time alone.

Despite being built to sing, Purl-hew struggles with expressing himself through words. Instead, he became inspired by Eve and started painting.

From the events of the fight, what effected Purl-hew most was when their exoskeleton was exposed to their fans. He felt humiliated and it hit his self-esteem hard. You can see it through his art.

Zimule

Zimule was slightly overwhelmed. But after a few days, he got used to it.

He had a few traits that fit bad boy role; snarky, bold and confident. However he’s also wary and doesn’t act spontaneously. 

The thing that got Zimule buzzing from the battle, was how quick Neon J was to use them as disposable weaponry. It made him question how much they actually meant to him. Would he just destroy them if they stepped out of line? Were they just expendable robots to him? It made Zimule hesitant whenever he was near Neon J.

He also began asking why he made music and whether or not he was actually passionate about it.

That’s when Mayday came in.

After witnessing her play her guitar, he was immediately hooked. He tried to play it off cool, but his eyes were filled with child-like wonder every time she played. (They basically bonded over their mutual love for guitar.)

Soon after, Haym looped himself into their little ring and they just clicked ever since. (If you ask em’, they’ll say Mayday is their little sister.)

Haym

Out of all of them, Haym was the most ecstatic about the change. The new sensation that filled him with excitement.

He may be known as the “innocent boy” of the group, but he’s the most mischievous of the bunch. He enjoys playing pranks on his brothers. And -although it usually comes back to bite him in the butt - he makes a lot of sarcastic remarks.

Has the mouth of a sailor.b(i.e he curses)

The battle with B2J didn’t really faze him to much.

However, being destroyed and rebuilt made him question something; Is he even alive? Was what he was feeling real, or was it just programing? Was his existence as a robot even real? Existential crisis ensues.

In his search for comfort he came across Zimule and Mayday hanging out, and they immediately hooked him in. Now Haym and May are holding a vs war on who can pull the best prank.

Eloni

Eloni - like Purl-Hew - was neutral to the change, if not a bit scared.

He' been to busy being everyone else emotional support buddy to work on himself.

lill’boy feels underappreciated by the people around him.

That’s why we must love and appreciated this boy.

Eloni often uses his hands when he’s talking. Exaggerating his poses to better get his points across, or for comedic effect.

(And I don’t actually have any good headcanons on him, so I’ll just cut it off here. I’ll update this some day.)

[bluejayblueskies]

Jon and Georgie remained close friends and cuddle buddie after their break up in uni and slowly but surely start "adopting" the others through shared supernatural trauma AU?

send me an au and i'll give you 5+ headcanons about it!

i'm going to get a bit creative with this and maybe go off the rails a bit, so bear with me lol

1. so the best way i see this working is if, when jon and georgie were dating in uni, jon told georgie about mr. spider and georgie told jon about alex and the dead woman. their breakup was mutual and less of a breakup and more of a 'we're going to transition into just being friends now,' and everything continued basically as normal except without the romance and dates and such. everyone still assumed they were dating and neither of them really thought to correct anybody. they both find jobs in london and figure hey--let's live together! so georgie does her podcast at home and jon works at the institute (even though georgie says it's definitely haunted and elias is probably committing tax fraud) and everything is relatively normal until:

2. tim. tim is the first one they figure out also has supernatural trauma. tim takes one look at jon and goes 'yes, i like this one' and decides that they're friends. it takes a little longer for jon to catch on, but then they're friends! and somehow (maybe via a case, maybe via other means) jon finds out about danny. he mentions it offhand to georgie (nothing specific, just that he knows someone else who had a spooky experience) and she's like 'i want to meet them, maybe them talking to us can help them like talking to you helped me' and so they talk to tim and a friend group is born!

3. martin comes in after prentiss. jon and martin still aren't on great terms in s1, but after prentiss georgie is like 'jon why doesn't martin just come stay with us?' and so he does and they all start to get to know each other better. none of them are probably still good and/or willing to talk openly about their past traumatic experiences (especially jon), but georgie might say something along the lines of 'we know what it's like to be scared of something like this, and we're here for you.' jon warms up to martin quicker than in canon, a lot of season one events probably go differently, and because it's my au and i say so, sasha lives because of the butterfly effect. with her own experience with michael and prentiss under her belt, she fits right into the friend group.

4. melanie is right after martin. i'll be honest i can't remember when she and georgie met (if that date is canon or not) but let's say they knew each other pre-season one and maybe georgie talked about her to jon. melanie comes in to give her statement, jon knows its true, and after she's done talking jon clicks the tape recorder off, tries to ignore the thing he can feel watching him, and says, 'i can't help you here, but i know how to help, at least a bit.' and then melanie's part of the group, and a lot of things change, and she and jon begin on better footing and have a strong friendship.

5. personally i think this alone would change things enough that basira and daisy either never enter the story or do so only briefly and not in an important capacity? a lot would change and considerations of that plot is beyond the scope of this post lol

6. and then there's no apocalypse because jon has a support system of people who love him and nobody dies 💕

[getvalentined]

Okay, so, I'm not actually doing as well as I've been presenting, so I'd like to thank everyone for their support during a month that straight up wants me dead for some reason. 2022 sure started with a fucking BANG.

In the last three weeks, the following events have taken place:

I broke up with my fiancé. (I know, I broke up with him so why am I the one that's upset? He's obviously fine with it. But I didn't break up with him for me and I can't explain that in a way that makes sense without sharing things about him that he probably doesn't want people to know, and I don't have a right to do that.) Currently coming to terms with some things regarding him and me and our relationship that are not...great. In a strange liminal space with how to move forward from this, but we have too many mutual friends for me to get the advice I really need.

I came down with the plague. My weight got so low so fast that I almost had to be hospitalized in case my heart gave out. I'm on the mend, but still extremely fatigued, easily winded, and suffering from random coughing fits and bouts of exhaustion paired with nigh-unrelenting insomnia. And my case was "mild."

Someone I do not like but have always been civil with crashed their way into a thread on my personal twitter account to basically tell me that I'm a waste of meat who shouldn't exist— because I had the audacity to be upset that dishonest people keep getting ahead in the art world no matter how many people come forward to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they're being dishonest. I shouldn't care, but I'm still really upset about it. (What the fuck did I ever do to you, buddy?)

I am in a really rough mental space but I don't feel like I can talk about a lot of the details without causing even more problems, and it's really getting to me. A couple of the things that I know would help me in the long-term are also likely to make things much worse for a lot of people I care about in the short-term, and I can't bring myself to take that risk.

I'm just really tired and I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place in a lot of ways. It's taking a huge toll on my creative process and dramatically slowing down my only way of making any money in this disease-riddled world we're all stuck in, which in turn makes me feel even more hopeless and depressed, which then causes a cascade effect with the other issues that I'm dealing with because I can't talk to anyone about it in detail, and I just spiral around and around and around on myself for hours.

I'm so tired. I just don't know what to do.

EDIT TO ADD: ALSO MEATLOAF FUCKING DIED AND I'M SUPER UPSET BECAUSE ONE VERSE OF ONE OF HIS SONGS IS LITERALLY WHAT KEPT ME ALIVE THROUGH A TRAUMATIC AND ABUSIVE CHILDHOOD SO I AM SUPER MEGA EXTRA NOT OKAY RIGHT NOW THANKS

[daisugababy]

i'm not the same anon who sent you all those asks just want to make that clear before i say what i have to say. i read your responses to these asks and i'm sorry but i have to call you out on what i perceive as hypocrisy. i don't know that you remember that or if it was someone else with a similar url to yours but either way you co-signed the idea that nico was "flirting" with josh, the patient he lost and at the time nico and levi were going strong and committed to one another

Bro, I literally don't know what you're talking about?? In what part of fandom have you been chillin? i asked @schmico-ing @glassesandkim and @pb-nj and none of them have encountered this kind of discourse/idea either. I have never heard about Nico flirting with Josh??? A patient??? While his boyfriend is right next to them, complaining about Nico possibly leaving for that new job?? When would Nico have flirted with Josh? I'm genuinely so confused my dude. Where did you read that? On tumblr dot com? No hate towards you, I am genuinely asking.

i don't know that you remember that or if it was someone else with a similar url to yours but either way you co-signed the idea that nico was "flirting" with josh

i'm pretty sure i didn't co-sign shit. i even checked an di did not entertain once the thought of a josh/nico flirting situation. fandom clown @glassesandkim said they had chemistry, but i'm pretty sure she didn't say that they were actually flirting with each other right in front of Levi, Bailey and Josh's grandpa. That would be really fucking weird.

i remember this clearly happening in the schmico fandom because everyone was trying to justify nico's actions by saying he was grieving

Yes, he was grieving. Because he fucking killed a 21 year old kid due to making a mistake during surgery. There's a difference between losing sb you (barely) know aside from work and making a mistake that kills someone. Nico. killed. someone. He's the reason this 21 old is dead. That shit is traumatizing. Everybody handles trauma differently.

so yeah i'm sorry but it comes across a bit hypocritical to get up in arms about levi entertaining the idea of another guy whenever he and nico are officially broken up and only hooking up

It was pretty clear that they were not broken up anymore, since Nico asked 'so did we break up or...?' While, infuriatingly, we didn't see them get back together onscreen, it is implied that they were back to being a couple. (This is also one of the main issues with Schmico. A lot of things are just implied to have happened through side comments. It makes it more difficult to follow their barely there storyline.)

and to finish off my thoughts on all this levi and nico were not only broken up but levi had been broken up with specifically because nico didn't want to open up, didn't even wanna talk at all

Nico told Levi he couldn't talk about this issue, but Levi kept on pressuring him. This is not the first time that Levi did so, so Nico will open up. Levi clearly did not respect Nico's boundaries and didn't give him the time to process, because he made Nico's trauma about himself. Repeatedly.

this wasn't a mutual split. so i can understand having a bit of emotional whiplash from going to being dumped to fuck buddies to in love and let's move in together.

I get what you mean, but again, Grey's relies heavily on implications when it comes to Schmico. And from them sleeping together (actual sleeping) and comforting each other (the on-call room scene + hand holding in public), it was kinda implied that they were just back together. But tbh I was also still confused until Nico said his 'did we break up or...' line.

i just don't understand why it's ok for nico to run from levi/push him away, last out at him whenever he is hurting/confused/going through it but levi has one second of hesitation, of wondering what it might be like to have an uncomplicated thing with a guy and we're ready to crucify him

Again, Levi kept pestering Nico about opening up. He acted like Nico not being ready to talk about his problems/trauma was a direct attack on him. This wasn't about Nico not trusting him, but Nico just not being to talk about it in general. If you can't respect your partner not wanting to talk about things that don't even involve you personally, then maybe you're not mature enough to be in a relationship. There's always a time and a place to talk about deeply traumatizing things, but I assure you, work is not that place.

My main issue here is just that Nico has always been so, so supportive of Levi. He gave him pep talks, hyped him up, stood by his side whenever Levi needed him, because he knew how to support him. Levi tried to comfort Nico the way he would've wanted to be comforted. But Levi never knew how to do that for Nico and he never asked.

I'm not crucifying Levi, I'm just annoyed, because relationship wise, from what we've seen, Levi is pretty selfish. He barely made any effort to learn how to be there for Nico, it has always been the other way around, always Nico adjusting to Levi's needs.

And yet, Nico always ends up as the bad guy... Hmmm... Very strange.

[edcn911]

chicago’s very own  eden harvey  has been spotted on madison avenue driving a 1969 chevrolet camero , welcome ! your resemblance to taylor hill is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your  twenty fifth birthday bash  . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re  maligned , but being liberated  might help you . i think being an  aquarius  explains that .  3 things that would paint  a  better picture of you would be a deep red lip stain , scattered polaroids depicting hazy memories , conversations with strangers at 3 am . ( i’ve been to prison . none of my family knows that , though . ) &( cis female + she / her  ) +  ( emily , 25 , she / her , pst )

❤️ hi friends and loved ones , this is eden , east’s problematic older sister . she’s a fucking train wreck so i already apologize for the shit she is bound to cause . please hit the like if ur into plotting with me ! ur all cute af , xoxo .

biography .

name : eden harvey

age : twenty five

gender : cis female

zodiac : aquarius

sexuality : bisexual

profession : artist / sculptor 

hair color : brown

eye color : blue

piercings : both lobes

tattoos : none

born in london , eden is the first child of her parents , the budding family welcoming in easy two years after eden’s birth . there’s not much to note in the early years of her childhood other than the family relocated to chicago when she was six . she was never an easy child to deal with . she was constantly getting in trouble at school and at home . she just didn’t want to listen to anyone and had a very strong disdain toward authority . the first american school she was sent to she was quickly expelled from for her behavior and this caused an immense rift to form in the family . eden’s reckless antics was enough to suck the life from her parents . literally . when it came to her younger brother , east , they were burnt out . they kept him in one place and were abusive . it was easier to exert control over east than it was for them to manage eden . she protected her brother fiercely from the mistreatment of her parents , but this toxic family dynamic only encouraged eden to act out further . she became accustomed to sneaking out at night , sleeping around , and doing drugs . eden contemplated running away from home multiple times during her youth ; the only thing that kept her in one place was her brother , east . her lowest point was when east tried to take his life when he was 15 . it was probably one of the most traumatic events of her life and while she served as her brother’s emotional support and rock , it rattled her to the point where eden began to drink consistently . this started a habit that she still partakes in to this day .when she turned eighteen and was more assured of her brother’s wellbeing , it was time to flee the nest . she spent a few months in new york on her own , working on her art . eden always had been compelled toward the arts . painting , sculpting , and other physical art forms really drew her in as a means to get out of the negativity in a way that’s healthy and not self destructive which is basically her brand anyways . she met someone who owned several art galleries around the pacific northwest , so by age twenty , she had relocated to seattle and was getting her work put in galleries and other art exhibits . she never really stayed in one place for long , though . eden is a notorious nomad and she often moves around a lot . she doesn’t really ever ‘ get comfortable ’ anywhere . despite traveling around america , eden always made it her first priority to look after her younger brother . she kept in contact with her circle back from chicago as well just to keep an eye on him and make sure that he is safe , happy , and healthy . she blames herself a lot for the way his childhood turned out . her relationship with their parents was deplorable and eden was 100% the instigator in it all . she feels like if she was a better person , her parents would’ve taken a different approach in raising east . more recently , she has moved back to the east coast to be closer to her little brother . this action was inspired by actually spending three and a half months in prison in oregon . eden was arrested for driving without a license and driving while intoxicated . she also tried to resist arrest , but managed to get that charge dropped in court . eden managed to keep this entire thing from her family . she didn’t want to see the disappointment in her brother’s eyes , so she excused her absence as ‘ soul searching ’ and filled his head with false tales of self improvement . currently , she is trying desperately to adjust back to normal life after her brief prison stint and put the pieces of her life back together . bet .

personality .

eden is a very bullheaded individual --- meaning , she’s going to do whatever the fuck she wants , when she wants , how she wants it and there is nothing that anyone can say to sway her . it’s very much her way or the high way when it comes to eden ; she’s really unwilling to budge on mostly everything . while i wouldn’t go as far as to say that she has a temper , i would say that eden has a pretty bad attitude . she’s a pessimist at heart and it definitely speaks through her art . she never depicts anything too happy and one could argue that eden ha sonly experienced fleeting moments of happiness in her life . shifting to a different note , eden is passionate . she is akin to a wildfire . she’s intense and she stares people right in the eye when she speaks to them . as much as she loathes people , she’s also so deeply fascinated with them . she’s the type of girl who is sitting at the bar before last call , in deep conversation with someone she doesn’t even know the name of . there are some brighter points to eden’s persona that i would love to cover --- i promise she isn’t all doom and gloom ! aside from her fierce sense of loyalty , eden is very intuitive and empathetic . one wouldn’t really associate those traits with someone who is so rough on the exterior , but eden feels very deeply and she tends to take on the emotions of others around her . i would describe her as a chameleon in the sense of she can easily change her colors to fit in with those around her . if the mood is light and jovial , she can be that way . if the atmosphere is tense , then she is going to be apprehensive and trigger - happy . that’s just how she is . i would best describe eden as the type of girl who is akin to a breeze in the air . she just goes whichever way she pleases and where she lands is where she lands . deep down , she is an incredibly sad girl who struggles deeply with her past and who she is as a person . she lacks self - love . she knows she’s a lot to manage and doesn’t really see past that or why she would ever be worth anyone’s time of day beyond that . with that said , eden is very good at faking it . if she wants to portray herself a certain way , she will . for example , she wants east to believe that she is put together and has all of her ducks in a row -- so she goes above and beyond to make him believe that because she can’t handle him ever looking down on her . it’s a weird concept she has with mostly everyone who has made an impact on her life . she’s good at acting like she doesn’t give a fuck when in fact she really , really does . 

 plots .

while i would LOVE to write out a bunch of extensive plot ideas like i had for pavarti’s intro , i am lazy . like real fucking lazy , so i decided to list some plots that i would absolutely ❤️ to have for eden , separated into both platonic and romantic categories ! 

romantic : someone eden broke the heart of badly , hateship , friends with benefits , exes on bad terms , one night stand , mutual infatuation / one sided infatuation 

platonic :  roommates , childhood friends , good influence ( on eden ) , bad influence ( eden on your muse / your muse on eden ) , muse , art friends , party buddies , confidants , enemies , friends turned to enemies , fake friendship , sibling like friendships , platonic soulmate 

[symphysins]

Have any other good fics for us???

sorry this took a while to reply back to. i’ve been compiling this for a while.

since you didn’t specify what kind of fics, i’m gonna give like a smorgasbord of different ut fics i love w/ a blurb of stupid commentary from me :’D

(be warned, snas is my fav so a bunch feature him/are centered around him.)

(also be warned that not everything i like may be ur cup of tea, so make sure to read the tags/warnings.)

longpost under cut. ready? here we gooo~ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 

Universal Displacement by knowmeknot: A forgotten doctor once theorized that when the same event occurs at the exact same time in two separate universes, they converge for a single moment and something… spectacular happens. A destabilization maybe. Or a merge. Or better yet, a displacement of two similar but different entities.

one of my favorite kedgeup things is when ut!sans or uf!paps lands in the other’s universe, and this fic expands on this idea rlly well.

A Lack of Brotherly Love by Askellie: After a brutal series of genocide runs, Sans wakes up in an alternate universe where the monsters were saved, everyone is on the surface and the future looks bright…except the fundamental difference in this universe is that its resident Sans never loved or supported his brother. As a result, Papyrus is a lonely outcast, unable to fit in and scarred from years of emotional neglect.And Sans isn’t going to let that stand.

i desperately want sans to punch the fuck out of dr.serif. and then go give poor paps all the hugs he deserves.

To Love Yourself by undertailsoulsex: UF!Sans fights with his brother and doesn’t know what to do with himself. He ends up traveling to the Undertale Universe where he meets the kindhearted Sans and Papyrus.UF!Sans has to come to terms with his depression and his newfound feelings for the other skeletons.

this fic emotionally destroyed me… but in a good way i swear! it’ll lead you on a rollercoaster of feels, but it’s worth it.

It’s A Long Story by RiseiTekiSensei: a soriel series detailing toriel and sans’ relationship in the underground and aboveground. i really like how both of them have their own issues, and how they support eachother through those issues. i also love how head over heels sans is for toriel.

A Fortune Cookie For You by Darkhymns: “In bed” jokes are the lowest form of comedy. So, of course, Sans and Toriel love them.

the jokes man. the jokes are the best.

Never a Lovely So Real by Kaesa: The city of Ebott, 193X. The market’s down, the crime rate’s up, and Sans is just trying to make a buck and keep an eye on his brother by working for the Dreemurr crime family. But after the Dreemurrs rescue a human child from their rival gang, the Flower Boys, Sans soon finds himself in way over his head. (Well. Not that that’s hard.)  

i love all the research put in to make this mob au fic really authentic. reading the little anecdotes at the end is rlly fun. 

Our Skeleton by yastaghr: The people who love him come to realise Sans may be hiding something from them. 

this. this is the fic that really got me into sansgoriel. royal goats showering tiny skele in love is the best.

for queen and country by tealmoon: Being the Judge of the Underground isn’t just a job, it’s about being chosen to carry out the infallible will of the Royal Family, to keep chaos and crime at bay, to protect all of Monsterkind.            

And for Papyrus, it’s about being helpless, and afraid, and alone.

us!paps suffering: the fic. somebody give this skele a friend. pls, he desperately needs one.   

Fired Up and Bone Weary by perniciousLizard: slowburn domestic sansby series. sans is written so in-character and grillby is really fleshed-out as a character. there’s tension and drama here and there, but it still feels mellow overall. reading this fic feels like sitting next to a warm hearth. 

These are our Days by Rehlia: Two days ago, you said goodbye to your best friend. Yesterday, you lost your job with no prior notice. And then today, you had a fight with your mom. So that’s your day today. Lonely, fighting with your mom, jobless. Perfect Day for a drink or two, right? What’s that on TV about monsters?You didn’t expect the monsters to accept that application for a social media job you sent them while you were drunk. Now you’ve suddenly moved to Ebott and spend your days hanging out with monsters, documenting your weird new life, and marvelling at how different monsters and humans can be - and how similar.  

god, i love all the worldbuilding in this fic. the little things about monster culture are so great. this fic really makes me invested in monsterkind’s integration on the surface. and the build-up to the sans/reader relationship rlly makes it all the more satisfying.

Tend to your memories by Rainbow_Sprinkles: Post-Pacifist after many, many resets. Explores political, social, and personal facets of monster integration into human society. Begins in 211X and spans over many years. Political and social climates have undergone major shifts from those of the present day. Character development and platonic-familial relationships receive the most attention. Major motifs include health, medicine, and science. 

realistically, i think a lot of the ut cast have been traumatized in some way, and this fic explores that very thoroughly. i think my favorite part about this series is the frisk, flowey, and chara development.

Kingship, And What Comes Next by CatKing_Catkin: This is the story of the Underground after Sans hung up the phone, after Papyrus took the throne. There’s no one left to guide him, no one left to look up to. Papyrus doesn’t want to let anyone down, especially not Sans when his brother is working so hard to support him. Sans doesn’t want to let Papyrus down, when his brother really is all he has left.They make mistakes, they miss one another, but together, they try to figure things out.This is a story about growing up, moving on, and what’s important in life.

this fic managed to take one of the saddest (imo) endings and turn it into something hopeful. 

lest ye be judged by nilchance: in an alternate universe, asgore became something like a parental figure to sans and papyrus. the whole series is wonderful, and i love the relationship sans and asgore have. 

Tsum Papyri by BarkingPup: In this world there is only Papyrus and… more Papyrus

the super sweet tsumtsum au made by zarla turned incredibly horrifying.

Overextension by MaxieSatan: Strength and weakness are not mutually exclusive, and neither one always looks the same.

i like reading fics about undyne & sans, bc you really never see them interact in game. it’s interesting to think about how they’d act around eachother.

Late Night Snack by EvilZebra:    

Tuesday 3:55 amRUDE SKELETON: did he ask you to help too                     

RUDE SKELETON: he did i can hear more pots dying             

RUDE SKELETON: pls spare my ketchup it does not deserve this 

papyrus cooks at 3 in the morning. sans and undyne suffer.

social links by simplycarryon: Friendship’s pretty neat, or so your video games and anime dictate. But you are not an anime protagonist, and you’re not sure you know what friendship is any more.

i love sans and alphys being science buddy friends.

Angels in the Underground by joliemariella: 200 years ago, angels were banished from the surface world after the commander of the heavenly host, Asgore, declared war on mankind. Now, young Frisk has fallen into the Underground and must conquer the angels’ seven trials if she, and the angels themselves, are to have any hope of escape. Along the way she meets Sans, a wounded seraphim who agrees to guide her through the trials at Toriel’s request. Friends are made, history unfolds, and Sans comes to hope again.

monsters with wiiiingsss. also seraphim dad sans is best dad.

Butterscotch and Bones by kaliawai512: Toriel promised herself she would never leave the Ruins. She had to stay there, to make sure that if a human fell, she could care for them - even if she couldn’t stop them from going to their deaths in time. But now and then, leaving is inevitable. The Ruins have only so many resources, after all. This time, before she heads Home from her latest expedition, she decides to stop and check in on the asocial Royal Scientist who was once her good friend.                                                   

She doesn’t find him.                                        

She finds two other someones instead.

FLUFF. SO MUCH FLUFF. some sad, bUT THAT ONLY MAKES THE FLUFF SWEETER. this fic is like a balm on the soul from the hurt of the handplates au.

Under the Veil by poplasia: Sans has gotten himself stuck in the void between worlds in a successful attempt to stop the resets of his timeline. He’s not sure how long he’s been chillin’ alone there, but eventually a chance at escape stumbles his way in from the Veil of Death. His name?—Sirius Black.

crossovers are great. crossovers with two of my favorite fandoms are even better. i’m really excited to see what these two pranksters will do next.

Missing Child Case by StoryCloud: Against all odds, the police find the four-year old that went missing around the summit of Mount Ebbot. A story from a child’s perspective has many interpretations.

it’s really rare to see fics that deal with neutral route endings, so this is a nice treat. also the fact that frisk is only four puts things into a diff. perspective.

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times by ABadTime: Set immediately after the pacifist run, the dark history of the skeleton brothers begins to surface when everything that held them together unravels, leading to the revelation of dark and transformative truths.The Best of Times, the Worst of Times sees the rise of heroes of unusual stripes in the face of unusual traumas, and explores the value of relationships in unusual times. The True Labs hold a great many terrible secrets only some of which have been able to reach their conclusion.

leaves you hanging on at the edge of your seat at some points, and has a satisfyingly happy ending. not to mention super cool gb!sans.

a lesson in grief. by ohmygodwhy:                           

you’ve got pressure dripping off your shoulders.               

or: sans tries to deal with some things.

let’s end this off with some of that sweet, sweet sans suffering. one of the first few ut fics i read. the ending was like a punch in the gut.

[warp6]

Positivity posts for anon ��� 3/10 - Tuvok

(First of all, apologies to anon for the very, very long pause after the first two posts! I completely lost track of this series, oops, but here we go again! <3)

So, you are in luck, anon, because I love Tuvok. 

First of all, can we just take a minute to appreciate Tim Russ’s acting/Tuvok’s Vulcan-ness? Because holy shit. Oh my god. OH MY GOD. Is there even anything to say about this? There isn’t. It speaks for itself. It’s awesome.

Second of all, his relationships with the other characters. His friendship with Janeway? Beautiful. His mentoring relationship with Kes? Beautiful. His deep, quiet, mutually respectful friendship with Seven? Beautiful. (I almost want to say partnership--as in lawyers and buddy cops, not romance--because it feels like they form their own little mutually supportive team.) His care and concern for B’Elanna? Beautiful. His reluctant mutual respect thing with Tom (not to mention their hilarious turn as holo-writing buddies)? Beautiful.

Thirdly...This is a little dark for a positivity post, but “Repression” is one of my favorite episodes; I almost see it as Voyager’s apology for “Retrospect,” deliberately so or not. (Probably not, but still--that title.) Instead of the awful messages of Retrospect, which I’m not even gonna type out because I don’t like to think about them, we have a story centered around someone experiencing a horrific violation in their past--and unlike a lot of Trek/genre storylines where it’s obvious that something would BE traumatic for a character (cough cough The Killing Game, The Q and the Gray, Vis a Vis) but we gloss over that trauma because the a-plot is more important, we explicitly see flashback Tuvok’s fear and pain--that they later uncover the forgotten memory of, and their trauma is seen as 100% real and worthy of sympathy. And maybe it’s not intended as a mental health focused episode, but it sure works as one...the scene where Janeway tries to help Tuvok meditate, mentioning how he has previously helped her learn to meditate (maybe to deal with her own mental health issues?) gets me every time. Tuvok survives something nightmarish and traumatic through the power of his love for his friend and the crew, and the strength of the bond he has formed with them, and if that isn’t badass and vulnerable and heroic, I don’t know what is.

And building off of that, I admit this is more my personal Tuvok headcanon than actual positivity about canon, so I’ll keep this quick, but I think it’s possibly implied (and I wish they’d made explicit) that “Repression” retroactively explains the multiple Tuvok-loses-control episodes that fans like to make dumb jokes about. Having his mind violated and altered would make him more susceptible to similar things affecting him in the future. #PTSDsurvivorTuvok2k17

Anyway.

Last but not least, while this is not something I can speak to personally, I have seen multiple autistic fans say that they could see themselves in Tuvok. And (even if it’d ultimately be ideal to have explicitly neurodivergent characters in Star Trek along with alien allegories) it’s pretty dang cool and important that Tuvok and other characters provide a way for neurodivergent fans to see themselves on TV. Representation always matters.

So, thank you, Tim Russ and Commander Tuvok. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t take a page out of Tom and Harry’s book and add... Live long and prosper. ♥

[jbicbcr-blog]

ooc post below

i have just flown back home, i feel so much better,so much better now that summer school is done. on the note plot ideas for justin (all inspired by music) like if you find one you wanna try it out. 

waves by dean lewis: justin and your muse have been in a weird exes relationship for months now.some days they’re in love,making out and make plans of how they’ll get married to each other and are a thousand percent on the way to getting back together. “the feeling i thought was set in stone. it slips through my fingers“  but it’s only a fleeting moment because something snaps them both back to reality,and they’re back at each others throats. maybe they just can’t let go of a love that only was and never meant to be again. 

me and my friends are lonely by matt maeson: justin cannot open up to people and therefore has avoided relationships, due to the traumatic experience of his previous relationships (plantonic & romantic) and chooses to be a lonely person, in spite of the caring nature of your muse.” i always figured i'd be the one to die alone.” justin has no idea how to deal with it,so instead of opening up he rambles on about deep,intense topics and even challenges them on most things in an attempt to push the person out of he’s life,but they stay.

i’m not the one by art of sleeping: they are a pr stunt to promote eachother,being seen at every major event,dates and occasional scandalous moment. all in the name of more fame. “i'll hold you like our love was true.” they do wild shit together and get high that’s what makes them seem so in love,but one of them fall in. how does the other react to this news? they get another relationship on the down low. will the media find out? who gets hurt more? 

magnets by  disclosure feat. lorde: justin is a bit of an alcoholic and him and your muse began running into each other at parties frequently,” I love this secret language that we're speakin'“ soon after justin and your muse begin a mutual beneficial relationship  as fuck buddies. 

streetcar by daniel caesar: platonic or romantic justin and your muse have quite the supportive relationship before but they’re growing apart due to work/life. “seems like street lights, glowing, happen to be just like moments, passing.”  a wild event happens in one of their lives and the other simply doesn’t show up and that puts the nail in the coffin. they finally realized they were doomed from the start. 

(UNAVAILABLE)lost on you by  lewis capaldi: THIS IS A GAY THING!!! justin is struggling with his sexuality in the 2017 pop culture. he is worried that if he comes out at bisexual, he’ll lose his fans. then he meets your muse at a party or event and they hit it off. they being to hang out more and spend secret nights together. “ you know that i adore you, though i couldn't give enough. “ yet justin remains hesitant to publicly announce they’re even friends. 

me you by russ: justin and your muse have a competitive,competitive relationship. talk a bit of shit about each other. with paparazzi,and other celebs. it’s a knew fact that hate each “ despite your efforts, i'm here and i always will be.” this could be a  real or fake feud

 escape by kehlani: this is my song, anyway. justin is close with your character,they’ve been friend since way back. before he stop letting people in,he slowly began falling for your character. ”‘cause baby, i've been falling for you,but falling back up out your way.”  every time  justin even thinks about kissing,or holding their hand in a time of need. he remembers the chaos of his life/emotions,and how he’d never want to pull someone into that. ghosting on them afterwards.

prblms by 6lack: justin is tired of everyone dwelling on his past,ex girlfriends in particular. they are suppose to on friendly terms,but media turns them sour and they fall into it. fighting with eachother,and meeting up to try to fix things. “tell her you love her when next week you just want your space.“ it’s funny that they keep turning even though their hearts belong to others.

more to be added

[clubofinfo]

Expert: Cognitive dissonance in Psychology The psychological tension that occurs when one holds mutually exclusive beliefs or attitudes and that often motivates people to modify their thoughts or behaviors in order to reduce the tension. Anxiety that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or incompatible attitudes, beliefs, or the like, as when one likes a person but disapproves of one of his or her habits. Motivated Ignorance in Politics Motivated ignorance can be simply defined as when people don’t want to know the facts. While ignorance is defined as a lack of knowledge, education or understanding; motivated ignorance is when others choose not to educate themselves out of fear. Example of Motivated Ignorance with Trump’s  Base If you’re looking for an explanation for why Trump’s support is so solid among his base — and why it will remain so stubbornly high — read this piece by the Associated Press, where the reporters asked Trump supporters how they’re handling the wave of scandal. “I tuned it out,” Michele Velardi, a 44-year-old in Staten Island, told the AP of the recent news. “I didn’t want to be depressed. I don’t want to feel that he’s not doing what he said, so I just choose to not listen.” This line is extremely revealing. It shows a psychological tendency we’re all susceptible to. That tendency is called “motivated ignorance,” and it’s an extremely powerful force in American politics. It’s also one of the keys to understanding why political discourse can be so irrational. The reality of this motivated ignorance in this country is it is deep running, the very foundation of how American “democracy” runs — how we as a collective have allowed for the casino, predatory, shock doctrine capitalism to pervade every waking second and sleeping nanosecond. It’s the cognitive dissonance at looking at the old apple pie, in this case, where our collective taxes (those of the 85 percent, not those from the One Percent and their Little Eichmann hit men and hit women 14 percent who steal, hide, launder, offshore, dodge and deny their fair share of the bill to keep America running) go to support the Oligarchs, the Kochs-Bloombergs-BlackRock Capitals-Zuckerbergs- et al. Seriously, look at the simplistic things listed above – 59 percent of the budget is for military, which in my mind is just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to the actual toll we pay for militarism and Empire. Put in International Affairs at 2 percent, Transportation at 3 percent, Energy/Environment at 2 percent, hell, Science at 3, Education at 5 percent, and Health at 5, and then Veterans’ Benefits — 7%. Truly, how many of those sectors support adventurism, playing the world’s cop, or our thuggery and invasive rogue statesmanship (sic)? How much of the budget is in line for supporting the grifters that are American corporations, profiteers preened by lobbyists, what Matt Taibbi calls – Griftopia and Vampire Squids from his 2010 book, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America? How much of what we do-think-consume-buy-sell-hope for-believe in-educate-govern is tied to this rancid desire to control markets, control destinies, control geo-political zones, control futures? Can we divorce anything in this society – Hollywood, food, medicine, urban planning, banking, science, technology, etc. – from the very foundation of uber alles zieg heil capitalism, above anything else? Never. Ironies and contradictions and counter-intuitive thinking abound in this wasteland of capital and profits and vast piles of wealth controlled by a smaller and smaller slice of the population. Daily, now that I am back off the dole and working as a social worker for homeless veterans, the Make America Great aging and down and out veterans are floundering minute by minute to find stability. That’s health, housing, any safety net or blanket. Veterans and the VA and the pressures of a tri-county arena in the Portland, OR, market, where apartments of any affordable nature are few and far in between. Disgusting rents, disgusting digs. I work at a temporary shelter for vets, of all ages, all genders, families, and their companion dogs. Housed temporarily, and my job is connecting them to services, scrounging for resources, helping them navigate towers of bureaucratic paperwork. Here’s what one fellow I met at the VA hospital told me: Yeah, they never prepare you for coming back into civilian life. Truth be told, brother, the entire experience being in the Army, or military, is trauma inducting. Shit, doesn’t matter if you end up in one of the war zones. Think, man, I am a black man, and you think the military is one cakewalk? It’s white supremacist, no two ways about it. They don’t prepare you for the shock, first, of the shit they put you through in the Army. Daily, it’s hazing, humiliation. Daily, it’s one ordeal, man, after another. I don’t think someone who hasn’t been in understands that. We come out traumatized. We all come out with service connected trauma. Hands down, that’s one hundred percent disability. Forget about the hearing loss, the smashed discs in the back, the exposure to chemicals, the constant stress they put you through. I wasn’t prepared for this life, man, coming out of Iraq. I am hands down messed up, not prepared for anything, and dealing with what I went through in the Army, come on, it’s one hundred percent disabled. Hobbled by the mind games, the razing, the constant bullshit of the systems. You think as a black man, really, that it wasn’t like at times being in the Klan, or around these racists? You either hate brown people in the Middle East, or you are one of them. ISIS, Taliban, Al Qaeda. Every day it was a constant racist shit-show with Obama in as their and my commander in chief. Imagine that shit. Now, these young guys and gals have that freak show of a Trump and his Aryan Brotherhood , and how’s that transformation going to look like for brothers and sisters leaving after three, five, seven years? What shit have they prepared us for coming back into civilian life with all those emotional and psychological batterings? This is one fellow I ran into a VA clinic, not even one of my clients. He somehow pegged me as Marxist, anti-authority, and he let go the floodgates. You can’t make these things up anymore as a traveler, as a writer who is incognito as a social worker. Look at the pie above for aid to the Veterans, and see what the shit show pays out for the walking wounded, the chronically ill, the near insane, and the mentally deranged. Think about how much communities spend on housing, safety nets for the poor – the working poor, the children of this warped nation? Nothing, little, but the toll, and intended consequences, oh, what a toll. Daily reminders of the stench of the racism of this country come to me as I navigate systems of penury, systems of poverty, the entire mess of the indebtedness, years of back child support, unimaginable fees to be paid to University of Phoenix, the Trump Universities of the system of deceit and destruction. These conversations are pretty deep daily, as the men and women of the military are housed in temporary quarters, looking for ways to find housing. These are people with three or four or a few more years in the military, and they have no pensions, and in reality, after the service, many of them have kicked about, aimless, broken, working class hard, somehow broken from the line of logic that “serving your country means your country will serve you.” Homeless, people, and that’s rotten teeth, rotten criminal records, rotten credit, rotten evictions, rotten bills, and a system that barely puts a few dollars worth of food stamps a month in their hands. The walking wounded, and the wandering poor. Each day another one hits the road, finds abandonment his or her only option, and it’s another day they have without social safety nets. There are dozens of cases each day, how these young and not-so-young end up in an emergency shelter for veterans. Many are hammered  by huge changes in their relationships; i.e., divorce. That SEE — significant emotional event — spirals mostly men, but many women, into hitting the road and losing a home. As if the entire ranch is predicated on that 2000 or 3000 square foot home. Garage full of stuff. Children, pets, and, well, one thing leads to another, and, bam, the person — veteran — is couch surfing, living in their cars, and, bam, something gets them into a criminal justice situation or medical intervention. For years, the spiraling, homeless, but with a job, and, then, another SEE — death of a buddy, war buddy, or, their PTSD and other ailments start shivering the soul. Booze and drugs, pain pills and meth. Whatever it is, these former soldiers — many of whom went into the military with baggage — come out with some mean and deep scars. One fellow was working security at a fancy hotel. Had a dog as a service animal. Kicked out of apartment that did not recognize the doctor’s orders for a dog. Then, this former Marine is living in the hotel, and his dog is in a shelter. He rents a car, gets the dog, and sleeps in the vehicle and ends up working, still, with the dog in the car and people walking her for a few bucks. Cold snap, snow in downtown Portland, and the fellow is at the wheel, with the engine on, parked, so the heater will work. He had a few drinks, a few bottles empty in the car, but he never drove the vehicle plastered. Now, he faces $5000 or more in court costs, rehab costs, license suspensions, towing bill, rent-a-car clean up of $500 since the soldier never had a chance to clean it up. He ends up in the shelter where I work. Bam, I find him a free dog crate, and the dog is freed from the pound, and the soldier is in a shared room with a dog companion and another homeless roommate who actually loves the dog. Story after story, scenario after scenario. Veterans who served five years, or Vietnam Vets who had two tours in Vietnam, saw killing, and sucked in the beast of Agent Orange, Phosphorus and all the diseases and molds of Indochina. One fellow spent three stints in prison. What, 28 years total. Veteran who ended up in his native Portland during the days of the West Coast CIA Cocaine Infusion Gary Webb and others wrote about. The crack cocaine was rampant in Portland, LA, San Diego, other locales. Coke and PTSD from military and war, and the combination turns into crime for money to support a dime a day or eight-ball. Aged 62, and 16 years in prison for the last crime and here he is my client, working to find something, housing, a job, and he wants to keep pursuing some music career — electronic stuff, with all the software, licks, keyboards. Hell, he knew the drummer from the Yellow Jackets who did work for lots of people, including Michael Jackson. Now how easy is that for a veteran, now in a shelter, sharing a room with another fellow, to get out of the institutionalized way of thinking? Prison mind. Hell, this African-American is the exact person the Yellow Bellied Trump and dictator of Philippines and Singapore Sadists and Chinese think drug users are good for — the firing squad. Really, make no bones about it, Vietnam Navy veteran, using the cocaine of the Contras and Reagan Years, Colonel Ollie North and Colonel McFarland, all those blasted neocons and Israel-firsters essentially pushing drugs into Compton and Portland, and he is now the perfect model for electrocution. Because a drug user is always a drug money holder who is always a drug dealer willing to move more stuff than personal use can suffice in order to pay for rent and buy food. Imagine the stories about Trump in New York City? Imagine how much white powder was stuffed up noses in his hotels, hell, maybe in his own suites and bathrooms, golden toilet lids for lines of coke to be inhaled with crystal pipettes. Studio 51, Trump’s parties at the Playboy Mansion, Trump the Playboy with Jeffrey Epstein, with known drug users, dealers, all those boozers, and, well, anyone owning a casino is in the business of dealing the most lethal drugs of them all — booze and smokes. Pall Malls and Jack Daniels. Story after story I absorb. Wounded warrior after traumatized veteran. An army of none, an air force for bombing, a navy for nihilism, a marine corps for murder. So, Trump-Clinton-Obama-Bush-Reagan-Every-Member of Congress and the Senate voting for more war, more murder, well, who are the dealers really, dealers of death to not only the enemy in name (people of color) but dealers of death to their own people? Politicians, Economic Hitmen, Bankers, and Judges? Hmm. And my work at this shelter is so-so under the radar of those Trump-Clinton-Obama-Bush-Reagan-Every-Member of Congress and the Senate-and-Corporate Leaders who vote-vote for more prisons, missile launchers, satellites of death, drones of destruction, mountain heaps of bullets and rifles, stealth bombers and endless logistical crap that feeds, clothes, houses, warms, cools, placates the soldiers. Not a tear dropped for homeless veterans, because under the calculus of Trump and Accompanying Neoliberals, these “scum-bags” as they call them are in their own self-imposed dire straights one hundred percent because of all THEIR wrong choices. Some choice: A thousand a month in benefits from social security with a few service connected claims, and a 185 square foot room with two burner stove-top. Smaller than a prison cell, and these old men and old women end up living their last few years cramped in, single occupancy rooms, and somehow, we call that a success story. If only the masters of the world, the Fortune 1000, and the Cadet Bone Spurs Trump, and his entourage of freaks and freakish family and extended clan could really get something under their manicured nails. Imagine, this draft dodger, Trump, who vilified John McCain, joking at his POW status. Imagine, this president (sic) forgetting the name of the soldier recently killed as he attempted to talk to the widow. Imagine, this unreality TV show blob, planning 50 million dollar arms parade. Imagine, all his cabinet, spending $19,000 here for a new office table, $50 thousand there for first-class flights, trips to Europe, with family in tow. Imagine, this fellow, Teflon, imagine, weak knees and golfer’s belly, commanding the men and women in uniform, pushing more war toys onto the commanders, all the graft of the multiple military lords of war, in the civilian world. To the editor: Cadet Bone Spurs claims he would have run into Stoneman Douglas High School unarmed if he had been on the scene of the recent shooting there. Apparently, he is braver now than he was during the Vietnam era when he secured five deferments. I would like to call on him to immediately fly to the scene of the next school shooting and put his new-found bravery into action. Come on, Bone Spurs, show us what you’re made of! Mark Ward Then imagine the 40,000 veterans who are deemed homeless by some measures (I believe more than that number are without housing). Imagine the broken VA system, all the vets that don’t get mental health support, all the callous and corrupt officials and medical experts who just push patient after patient back into the cold of night, the drizzle of Portland in the dead of winter. Oh, there are homeless social workers, man, living in Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, and You Name It Rah-Rah America. Working daily to help homeless veterans in some non-profit (poverty-wage poverty pimping entity) in Seattle, and the fellows have to kip inside their cars, or find shelters to wash up for a new day’s work. And we are now in March Madness, post-Oscars, ready for the new 2018 Line Up of Trucks and Cars, and we give a shit about some black actors in the wrinkle of time or black panther, when the entire mess of America is a hall of mirrors, broken, shards, reflections of the horror show that is capital – money hoarders, the launderers, the developers, that Chamber of Death called the Chamber of Commerce. The reverberating stupidity of anyone supporting anything that resembles a politician is a daily reminder of how many millions upon millions of Americans who are my enemy, the grease (suet) that oils the death trains of capitalism. Daily, the discussions I have are telling, sometimes revealing. More and more people are broken children, and their hard ways, after hitting 70 or 75, are softened by their very own time in a shelter, and on the streets. Listening to the stories of pain, of all those broken people, the families that are the enemy, and the pounding chronic physical and psychological illnesses that now define America, the underclass, or even the 80 Percenters, those of us precarious, struggling to make ends meet. Grown men who saw and breathed the Agent Orange fogs, who still call people Gooks, who ended up broken and flailed by war, and then facing the truth, the inability to make it in the American Fun House of Nightmares, which were not the Dreams of Children growing up playing baseball and running track. I had one fellow recently who said he had grown hardened, calloused, after decades driving trucks, hard labor. He said that life breeds entire armies of hardened and severe thinkers. But my guy has seen the light, heard the stories of people in this shelter with lives unimaginable, as youth, pounded by parents, the rapes, the drugs, the abject poverty, and then signing up for the military, that economic draft we call it. Living in the thrushes or old warehouses. Some after awarded purple hearts and bronze stars for valor, living in old container boxes, in tents near highway ramps. Who would have thought that 9th grade baseball game, seventh inning, hot dogs, popcorn, the Dr. Pepper and cheerleaders and verdant fields and all those supports with advertising logos in left field, who would have thought that was miasma, a dream, some lost memory? Then they genuflect to the antithesis of duty to country (Trump), the exact opposite of sacrificing for country, the entire Trump regime. America, the façade, the revolving paper poster and tinsel all glued on, all bullshit, memories falsified by Hollywood and Madison Avenue. Who would have thought a Marxist atheist like myself would be salving the mental and spiritual wounds of the walking wounded, the warriors, some, and the others who just did their time in the grinder called US military? The trauma is inflicted and is infectious, and we go home, social workers, never satisfied with the work we did, and our phones are turned on 24-7, and we want the ones that can survive to do that and more, and some vets, yeah, they have some money coming in, but they are broken, ending up in a shelter, and we hold their hearts, solve their issues, and we go home, poor, not wanting anything in return, but for another veteran to be housed. Six years after the Great Recession began, the number of homeless families with children remains stubbornly high. And the number of low-income households with unmet needs for housing assistance—especially families with children—has soared. Funding cuts under sequestration threaten to halt progress against homelessness and worsen the shortage of affordable housing. This unprecedented reduction in federal rental assistance primarily affects low-income seniors, people with disabilities, and working families with children who are currently on waiting lists for assistance. The voucher cuts also mean that many fewer families that are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness will have access to vouchers. On top of this are the reductions in federal food aid to the poor, once called food stamps and now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Four out of five of these recipients have gross incomes below the poverty line, about $23,500 for a family of four. As many as 4 million more would be dropped from the program under cuts proposed by House Republicans. Homeless children, or those threatened with homelessness, are among the most heart rending victims of this assault by Republicans on housing and nutrition for the poor. They go hand in hand. Homeless children suffer much more from obesity and other diet-related ailments than other children. — Barbara Sard, the vice president for housing policy at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://clubof.info/

[96thdayofrage]

Women’s Rights and Social Justice: Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 Mother’s Day Proclamation, A Day of Peace

(An Anti-War Manifesto Lamenting the Dead, Dying and Soul-Sickened Soldiers Returning from the Killing Fields)

Forty-seven years ago, the disastrous human and economic consequences of the American Civil War were becoming increasingly apparent, especially to certain thoughtful wise women who had seen their testosterone-laden loved ones eagerly march off to that “inglorious” war 5 years earlier. Those men and women, as is still the case today, had no idea of the psychological and spiritual devastation that comes from killing fellow humans until it was too late. But the well-hidden truth hit them when they saw their loved ones come home, changed forever. Some came home dead, some were just physically wounded but all were spiritually deadened.

That “patriotic” war basically ended in mutual exhaustion in 1865. The Northern foot-soldiers (who were numerically stronger) did not feel gleeful over the hollow victory” – just relief. Many Civil War-era women, including Howe, had actually willingly participated in the flag-waving fervor that war–mongers and war-profiteers can easily manufacture. Pro-war propaganda has always been directed at poor and working class men who must be duped into doing the soul-damning dirty work of killing and being killed.

Julia Ward Howe, author of the Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1870, was a life-long abolitionist and therefore, early on, she was a supporter of the Union Army’s anti-slavery rationale for going to war to prevent the pro-slavery politicians and industrialists in the Confederate South from seceding from the union over the slavery issue.

Howe was a compassionate and well-educated middle child of an upper class family. She was also a poet who, in the early days of the Civil War, had written “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” using many biblically-based lyrics. Howe had intended her song to be sung as an abolitionist song; however, because of some of the militant-sounding lyrics and the eminently marchable tune, it was rapidly adopted by Union Army propagandists as its most inspiring war song, a reality that Howe likely regretted when the mass slaughter of the world’s first “total war” became clear to her.

Howe wrote the “Battle Hymn” in one sitting (in the early hours of November 18, 1861), but she soon became a pacifist and an antiwar activist. At the time she wrote the song, the Civil War was just starting and had not yet degenerated into the wholesale slaughter that was made possible by the technological advances in weaponry (mainly artillery and rifled muskets that were more accurate) that would make cavalry charges, the bayonet and the sword obsolete.

Back then the Press Didn’t Censor out ALL the Horrors of War

Howe’s evolution from cheerleader for war to anti-war activism came about after she witnessed the mutual mass slaughter of the War Between the States (1861 – 1865). By the time she proposed a national day of mourning for the victims of all wars, she had also become aware of the carnage that was occurring overseas in the Franco-Prussian War, which had started in July of 1870.

That war, won by Germany, was brief, but close to 100,000 soldiers were killed in action and another 100,000 were severely wounded. As is tragically normal for warrior nations of all historical eras, nobody thought to count up the psychological and spiritual casualties or either soldiers or civilians. But Howe understood. Her awareness of the realities of war was possible because war correspondents were allowed to write about the barbaric nature of modern war, which horrified sensitive humans like Howe.

It hadn’t taken too long for peace-loving, justice-oriented and compassionate observers to recognize that war was indeed, the equivalent of hell on earth. Howe understood what Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman had meant when he uttered his famous statement about the satanic nature of war. Sherman’s statement indicted his era’s “Chicken Hawks*”:

“I confess without shame that I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have never heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is Hell.”

*Chicken Hawks are flag-waving war-mongering political or economic leaders who have never experienced the gruesome realities of combat war and yet have no problems promoting militarism and sending somebody else’s sons and daughters off “into harm’s way”. Recent examples include Republicans like Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, John Ashcroft, Condolezza Rice, Mitch McConnell, Newt Gingrich, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Eliot Abrams, Rudy Guiliani, Rick Santorum, Phil Gramm, and many Democrats as well, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The list of Chicken Hawk elites also includes many right-wing journalists and reporters who particularly love to beat the war drum, but who also avoided serving in the military themselves, including Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Bill Kristol, Rush Limbaugh, etc, etc.

Women throughout history have witnessed their sons and husbands returning home broken in body, mind and spirit. Those psychologically traumatized veterans, no matter on what side of the battle line they fought, and whether they claimed some sort of hollow victory or not, were all equally defeated when the war ended. And most of them never regarded themselves as heroes until somebody else insisted on the designation. Their bodies and brains had been forever changed and they knew it. And in their hearts they knew that war was not glorious.

Soldiers’ Heart: the Civil War-era’s PTSD

The unexpected development for many of the mothers of the returning Civil War soldiers was the fact that, while many of the veterans came home showing no physical scars, most of them were still disabled mentally, and many of them actually got progressively worse after coming home. In cases of combat-induced trauma the healing effect of time doesn’t work like it can work in less serious types of trauma.

Military veterans with combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) all too commonly have trouble functioning in society after the war. Many become severely depressed and/or anxious and suffer disabling daytime flashbacks of the original trauma (called nightmares when they occur in their sleep, but which are commonly misdiagnosed by psychiatrists as hallucinations – thus accounting for the falsely high incidence of “schizophrenia” among Vietnam vets). May military vets have serious insomnia (and thus sleep deprivation), serious concentration problems and are frequently develop drug addictions (to both illicit drugs and prescription drugs). Many combat-induced PTSD victims become suicidal, homicidal and/or turn to a life of crime (all these behaviors are seriously potentiated by the use of brain-altering addictive drugs or during the process of withdrawing from them).

It is a fact that some of the most infamous post-Civil War outlaws, train robbers, bank robbers and serial killers of the late 1800s got their start as Civil War soldiers (the members of the James and Younger gangs are good examples).

America has never known what to do with the large numbers of traumatized veterans that come home after any of their wars, and in the Civil War, the first “veterans homes” were constructed specifically for the care of invalided ex-soldiers who were “made crazy” by the war. Without the nation’s help, these victims would have otherwise been homeless, despairing, jobless, helpless and likely to starve to death.

Many of these unfortunate veterans were diagnosed as having “Soldiers’ Heart”, also known in the Civil War era as “Nostalgia”, a commonly incurable malady, that, after World War I came to be known as “shell shock”. After World War II the disorder was known as “combat fatigue”, and after the Vietnam War it was known as “post-traumatic stress disorder”.

Howe’s Call to Action for Mothers

Julia Ward Howe was a humanist who cared about suffering people. She was also a feminist, a social justice activist and a suffragette, and it was because of her anti-war commitment that she wrote the famous “Mother’s Day Proclamation” five years after the end of the Civil War, which resulted in a total of 600,000 dead American soldiers, with no accurate count of the probably much larger number of those soldiers who were wounded, missing in action or committed suicide after the war was over.

The Mother’s Day Proclamation was partly a lament for the useless deaths and partly a call to stop future wars. The call to action was not directed at men, most of whom would have refused to admit, because of their masculine pride, that their dead buddies had died in vain. Rather, the call was directed at women, who were more thoughtful, humane and compassionate than the more violence-prone male members of the species.

The Intent of Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation has Been Conveniently Forgotten

Sadly, Howe’s original call for mothers to protest against war on a regular basis has been struck from the consciousness of our capitalist, corporate-controlled media, militarized and war-profiteering society. Howe’s call has been watered-down to a sentimental shadow of its original intent. And the war-weary world and its innocent children are increasingly suffering because of it.

Mother’s Day in America was officially established in 1914 (May 9) as an annual holiday, but no mention was made by President Wilson that Howe wanted the day dedicated as a day of peace. Wilson instead said it was to commemorate America’s mothers.

And so Mother’s Day eventually became commercialized into just another profit-making holiday for corporations, with no regard for its original intent (pro-peace/anti-war). So now, just like most American holidays (especially including the originally religious ones like Easter and Christmas), Mother’s Day has been commercially exploited. What was originally a call to mobilize outraged mothers to keep their duped sons and husbands from going off half-cocked to kill and die for some corporate war profiteer or other, has become just another opportunity for commercial enterprises to enhance their bottom lines. Mention of its original purpose is a rarity.

One wonders what “irrelevant agencies” Howe was talking about in line two of her Proclamation below. Surely she meant the predecessors of America’s modern-day militarists, politicians, bankers, media moguls, sociopathic corporatists and various bureaucratic agencies that have been royally messing things up all over the world.

Think of all the nations that America’s military has bombed, invaded, and occupied with many of them then being economically colonized by our predatory financial corporations. Think of all the countries around the world that our CIA has destabilized and helped to overthrow. Think of all the foreign national elections that our American Deep State has covertly influenced so that they will conform to our “national interests” (meaning, of course, mainly American “business interests”).

Here is a list of all the nations that America has bombed, just since World War II: China 1945-46, Korea 1950-53, China 1950-53, Guatemala 1954, Indonesia 1958, Cuba 1959-60, Guatemala 1960, Belgian Congo 1964, Guatemala 1964, Dominican Republic 1965-66, Peru 1965, Laos 1964-73, Vietnam 1961-73, Cambodia 1969-70, Guatemala 1967-69, Lebanon 1982-84, Grenada 1983-84, Libya 1986, El Salvador 1981-92, Nicaragua 1981-90, Iran 1987-88, Libya 1989, Panama 1989-90, Iraq 1991, Kuwait 1991, Somalia 1992-94, Bosnia 1995, Iran 1998, Sudan 1998, Afghanistan 1998, Yugoslavia – Serbia 1999, Afghanistan 2001 – ?, Iraq 2003 – ?, Somalia 2001, 2011, Pakistan 2009 – ?, Yemen 2009, 2011, 2016 – ?, Libya 2011, Syria 2015 – ?. The list of CIA covert operations is much longer.

When Will We (Males) Ever Learn?

Note in Howe’s manifesto below how strongly she felt about wives and mothers never again having to be put in the position of applauding their soldier-husbands or soldier-sons when they came home from war “reeking of carnage”. Howe clearly felt that mothers should never again let war-making, war-profiteering institutions make killers out of their sons who they had raised to be ethical, humane citizens with a love for humankind. The prevention of such “reeking of carnage” is so much simpler than the never-ending attempts to somehow reverse the often untreatable consequences of the horrors of combat war. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and all that.

Let the people of good will begin again to promote the peacemaking vision of Julia Ward Howe and her female cohorts a century and a half ago. Given America’s current chaotic time of perpetual war, there is no time to lose. A good place to begin would be this Mother’s Day, May 13, 2017, perhaps followed up by a boycott of the upcoming, highly militarized, war-promoting Duluth Air Show (featuring the US Navy Blue Angels, and various war planes including an F-35, an F-16 and Canadian Air Force fighter jet ) partially designed to interest impressionable young boys into someday joining the military but with no information about the above-mentioned consequences of participating in war.

Dr. Kohls is a retired physician from the Duluth, MN, USA who writes about issues of war, peace and mental health.

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Julia Ward Howe’s 1870 Mother’s Day Proclamation

“Arise then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or tears!

“Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies.

“Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.

“Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience.

“We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.

“From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, ‘Disarm, disarm’

“The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor does violence indicate possession.

“As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

“Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar but of God.

“In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions and the great and general interests of peace.”

The original source of this article is Global Research Copyright © Dr. Gary G. Kohls, Global Research, 2017