#real actual jewish people do not want a genocide in their name
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n0thingiscool ¡ 10 months ago
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Shame on Israel for exploiting the Holocaust to justify genocide
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If my grandparents were alive today, this October would have marked the 80th anniversary of their meeting. In 1943, my grandparents, Isidor and Marianne, met in Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in what was Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. I was quite close to my grandfather, Isi, who outlived my grandmother. Among some of his things, he entrusted me with a yellow cloth “Jewish” star he was made to wear in the camp, with the word “Jude” on it.
At a United Nations (UN) meeting, on October 31, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN Ambassador, put on a Jewish star reminiscent of my grandfather’s. Addressing the UN Security Council, he said the reason he wore the star was to denounce their silence regarding the October 7 attack on Israel. Erdan compared this silence to the silence that allowed for the Holocaust to happen. In response to Erdan, Dani Dayan, the director of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial museum, quickly called out this misuse of the star, arguing that Erdan was “disgrac[ing] the victims of the Holocaust as well as the state of Israel.”
Dayan was absolutely right to call attention to how offensive it was for Erdan to don the yellow star. Dayan’s reasons, however, are entirely wrong. To make his point, Dayan argued that the yellow star symbolizes the weakness of the Jewish people during the Holocaust, continuing a disturbing and false historical narrative.
Zionists have long sought to paint Holocaust victims as weak to make the case for the founding and then maintenance of the state of Israel. These moves began even before the Holocaust when some Zionists aligned themselves with the eugenic racial science of the day, arguing that Jews must purify their own race creating their own strong breed. Arthur Ruppin, a leading social scientist and head of the World Zionist Organization’s Palestine office in the early 20th century, promoted the settlement of Palestine as the answer to the dangerous results of “racial-mixing” for European Jews. He was not alone, as many Jewish intellectuals argued that forming the Zionist state would allow Jews to “regenerate their own bodies” which were degenerated by the conditions of both assimilation and oppression in Western and Eastern Europe, respectively.
Once Israel was founded, Holocaust victims were regularly treated as weak and as examples of the opposite of what the Zionist state represented, leading to poor treatment for those survivors who became Israeli citizens. As Dayan, himself reiterated, the Holocaust represents a cautionary tale about the weakness of Jews in the diaspora to be juxtaposed with the strength of Jews in the State of Israel.
Despite their disagreement, Israeli leaders like Erdan and Dayan regularly make use of the Holocaust to defend state violence against Palestinians. Unlike Erdan and Dayan, learning about the genocide against my ancestors has allowed me to understand that what is happening today in Palestine is genocide. To know a genocide is happening is painful in and of itself. To know a genocide is being carried out supposedly in one’s name (as a Jewish person) is extra painful. But, to know a genocide is being justified through an appropriation of my family’s suffering, is infuriating. I am furious. How dare the state of Israel insult my family’s history.
The horrors that my family endured are unimaginable to most. My grandmother and grandfather, teenagers when they met at the camp, were the only surviving members of their families. My grandfather was part of a resistance in the camp, hiding people who were on lists to be transported to Auschwitz. My grandfather literally saved my grandmother’s life. This is not a story of weakness. However, it is a story from which I have learned many lessons about the conditions that allow for genocide.
I remember being 8 or 9 years old, sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast while my mother cooked. The radio was on as it was every morning listening to 1010 WINS news, “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world.” In the headlines, a resistance group claimed responsibility for a bombing somewhere outside of the U.S. I asked my mom, ‘What is a resistance group?” She explained the idea of resistance by talking about the Holocaust and her father’s struggle to fight back. While not every person claiming to resist is automatically righteous, I realized when I was older that how one views resistance in any given situation is based on their vantage point. That may seem obvious, but in Western media, politics, and educational contexts, we regularly see an association made between resistance groups and terrorism which creates a taken-for-granted right and wrong side.
In the days after September 11, 2001, as a U.S. citizen living in the United States, I was reminded when I challenged the drive to invade Afghanistan, that I was either with “us” or “against us.” To me, the forced nationalism reminded me of the studies I had taken up during college about the Holocaust. The creation of the “Us vs. Them” mentality to protect Germany was a key part of bringing on board large segments of non-Jewish Germans to the fight against Jewish people.
Resistance takes place against those in a place of power. Also, oppression, by definition, is about being on the losing side of a power dynamic. Then, how is it that, Israel, a country with one of the most powerful militaries in the world, supported by the most powerful military and economic power in the world, the United States, has tried to paint itself as champion of an oppressed people who must fight against Palestinian resistance movements?
Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), published an opinion piece in Time magazine after the October 7 attack, arguing that there is no way to understand Hamas’ attack except as “hate” and “toxic intolerance in its purest form.” Instead of exceptionalizing Jewish experience so that the Holocaust becomes one example in thousands of years of Jewish hatred, what would it look like to pay attention to the real lessons we can learn from the horrors of the Holocaust? The lesson we need is not that Jewish people have always been and always will be hated. The lesson of the Holocaust is that those with economic and political power used nationalism and the idea of so-called inferior types of people being a threat to the nation-state to justify genocide. Many Jewish and non-Jewish people resisted as much as they could. The problem was not a weak resistance, the problem was the strength of nationalist, eugenic narratives.
The good news is that millions of Jewish people and others are undertaking critical study of the situation and pushing against the messages being brought to us by the most powerful Israeli and U.S. leaders. We are standing in solidarity with Palestinians who are fighting for their right to existence and self-determination. We see changes in public opinion polls, and the number of Jewish-led and supported actions against the current genocide is greater than ever before. Many are speaking out and saying loudly, Never Again means Never Again for Anyone."
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dawnscales ¡ 3 months ago
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At work today a guy asked where our travel guides are. I was carrying a bunch of things & on my way downstairs so I could only point with my elbow but basically "that door & then straight to the end of the room, my colleague is there if you need help"
that worked out fine but when i was back upstairs at the library & sat down to continue placing orders he asked again, or rather "I can't find the region I am looking for" & honestly our traveling guide section can be a lot. Also if you don't know that we put some places together, it gets even harder. He was looking for some maps about Bosnia so I showed him.
That's when he saw my star of David necklace & complimented it. I said thanks & got ready to return to my spot. All of a sudden, as I am already halfway across the floor, he yells "Oh & I need something else. I need books about the Nakba. You know what this is, right? The ongoing genocide committed by the Jewish people"
I told him I know what he means & if he could wait a moment. I told my co-worker to please take over as adviser for me, told him what the man is looking for & that we definitely have books about the topic.
It honestly was the right timing because my shift would end in 10 minutes & two girls needed help with books about a topic I just had training for so I knew I could help them real fast.
The man ignored my co-worker & proceeded to follow me, shouting. I informed him that I am currently helping other people & my co-worker can help, he is actually in charge of our history & politics section. I got a "I don't want him. I want your help. You know what is going on, don't you?"
It took me somewhat snapping & more rudely informing him that I am currently busy helping other people & getting a bit louder myself. It also took my co-worker putting his body between the guy & me for him to go quiet & then mutter "so you're fucking busy" & leaving.
This isn't okay. This is antisemitism. I do not wear a name tag that shows I have a name more commonly found in Israel. I do not speak with an accent - yes I grew up the first years of my life in Israel & I have dual citizenship. But he does not know that. All he saw was a visibly Jewish person.
My co-worker had me go to our office & informed me I could leave once he went through our library & made sure the guy wasn't outside. Like sincerely this is fucked up. I want to wear my Star of David, I want to be visibly Jewish. I don't want to put myself or my co-workers in danger.
I didn't realize how much this fucked me up until I arrived home, sat down & suddenly just cried.
EDIT 31.10.24: I want to say even if I was visibly Israeli, even if I wore the Israeli flag THIS WOULD NOT BE OKAY . I need people to know that I actually love my home country - I hate the government but I love the place - I have family there, October 7th was a horrific massacre & my family lost friends that day .
While we still lived in Israel my father often took me along to discussions between Israelis and Palestinians, I was raised to hope and believe in a two state solution in which both Palestinians and Israelis can live in safety and dignity. I still hope in that.
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tungledotedu ¡ 2 months ago
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[image ID: a tumblr post by afurioushawk, dated 14 hours ago. it reads: 'Saying "Never visit Hawaii at all, even if you're otherwise respectful of the Native culture!" sounds as insane to a normie as "Never visit New Mexico, never give the Navajo Nation your tourist money!" Yeah, why only Hawaii? Are the Native Hawaiians more ~exotic~ than mainland or Alaskan Natives in these idiots' eyes, is that it?' the hashtag 'segregation but make it left wing' is underneath the post. end ID.]
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'segregation is when indigenous people try to exercise sovereignty over their own homes and want tourists to stop visiting sites of cultural and ecological importance. i'm showing them respect by throwing a temper tantrum at the prospect of not being allowed to do whatever i want on someone else's land!!!'
i wonder if this person has normal opinions about other indigenous issues like palestine...
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[image ID: a tumblr post by mascula-sappho, reblogged by afurioushawk from short-wooloo. it reads: 'a free multiethnic Palestine requires you to stop murdering Jews and taking them hostage.'
mascula-sappho's addition reads:
'In case the Hamasniks reblog this post and continue to spout Nazi rhetoric and blood libel: I said this in the context of how stupid it is to believe that there WILL be a multiethnic Palestine, unless a drastic change of heart happens. Because "free Palestine" effectively means "free us from living beside Jews" and Jews happen to be an ethnicity from that region. Currently most governments in the Middle East are hellbent on religious authoritarianism and also murdering Jews. You should see the interviews with proud Palestinian parents talking about how because their son died murdering Jews (which Hamas has publicly said is their goal) and how he will go to the the highest heaven. The third line in the motto of the Houthis is "death to Jews". Now would also be a convenient time to remind you that Jews are not the only ethnic group being oppressed and colonized in the Middle East: please look to Druze, Kurds, how Persian culture was arabicized and Islamified even more, and others that I don't know about yet. Also, if Arabs are oppressed brown indigenous people, why does half of Africa speak Arabic??? That's not normal for African countries, there are like 294829+ languages per country and HALF OF THEM SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE?? this is what actual colonization looks like. Please I'm begging you, pick up a history book and come back.'
afurioushawk's hashtags read: '#they just want another arab ethnostate#a recognized palestinian state must allow for the safe passage of ethnic minorities#but nobody chanting free palestine cares about anyone from mena who isn't arab#arab supremacy/white supremacy name a more iconic duo'. end ID.]
'arabs are the real colonisers and palestinians just want to murder every jewish person! this is a real fear and not one white people fabricated to justify imposing apartheid and committing a genocide against them!'
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girlactionfigure ¡ 1 year ago
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As South Africa spews its Orwellian blood libel against Israel at the #ICJ, you should seek answers to several ?'s.
Here’s one: what did South Africa do when the butcher of Darfur, Omar al-Bashir, landed in their country with an outstanding arrest warrant for genocide?
Nothing. 
That’s right. Nothing.
Two South African courts recognized the country's obligation to arrest & surrender al-Bashir to stand trial for his monstrous campaign of genocide against three ethnic groups: the Fur, Masalit, & Zaghawa people.
But al-Bashir - who was responsible for directing the murder of more than 300,000 innocents, along with countless thousands of rapes, mutilations, torture, & deportation - was permitted to land safely on #SouthAfrican soil, remain in that country during three days in June 2015, and then leave without any complication or barrier whatsoever. 
Two years later, in July 2017, #SouthAfrica was admonished by the #ICC for failing to comply with its obligation to prevent & punish #genocide by permitting al-Bashir to visit & then freely leave despite al-Bashir being a man whose name should be known among the worst human rights violators & mass murderers in history.
That same South Africa, less than a decade later, has the audacity to bring a complaint of “genocide” against the world’s only #Jewish State.
Plainly, South Africa’s complaint is not worth the paper on which it is written.
People are suffering in #Gaza as a result of #Hamas - the only genocidal actor in this war.
And yet …
- South Africa’s compliant completely ignores that it is Hamas that clearly states its intent to commit genocide against Israel & #Jews the world over in its charter & in statements repeated over decades;
- South Africa’s complaint completely ignores that it is Hamas that has repeatedly taken actions in various murder campaigns, suicide bombings, & other terrorist actions over the last 30+ years in an effort to carry out its explicit genocidal intentions against Jews & Israel;
- South Africa’s complaint completely ignores that there was a ceasefire on 10/7 before Hamas committed a #genocidal #massacre when 3,000+ #HamasTerrorists raided Israel with the express purpose of murdering, raping, mutilating, torturing, & kidnapping as many Jews as possible; and 
- South Africa’s complaint completely ignores the statement of Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad from shortly after 10/7 when he he stated Hamas’ intent to “remove [Israel]” by committing similar massacres “again and again.”
In short, South Africa ignores the one and only genocidal actor in this war - Hamas.
South Africa ignores or is willfully blind to the fact that Hamas’ “dispute” with Israel has nothing to do with land or borders.
Hamas explicitly seeks the total destruction of the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
So the real “dispute” is actually quite simple: Hamas wants Israelis & Jews to be dead, and the Israelis & Jews want to live.
But South Africa ignores reality when it comes to Hamas, and instead vilifies Jews and the one and only Jewish State.
In its complaint, South Africa distorts & misrepresents facts while flat-out lying about others.
Through its complaint, South Africa is attempting to give international legitimacy to #antisemitic Hamas #propaganda that attempts to justify Hamas’ genocidal brutality as “#resistance,” while labeling Israel’s actions in #SelfDefense as “genocide.”
Get yourself educated on the facts.
Do not be another mindless puppet of the propaganda machine that ignores true human rights violators across the world while seeking to demonize & delegitimize only one people, the Jews, and only one state, Israel.
Captain Allen
@CptAllenHistory
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peoplesrazor ¡ 1 month ago
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Just one video without these jokes please, Lily.
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Can you not make jokes that aren't about incest or Holocaust denial? Like, is it literally impossible for you? Just like, one video maybe?
I'll point out again, that comparing fictional characters to actual humans who committed unfathomably evil atrocities is Holocaust distortion. Nazis are not just some bad guys you don't vibe with. They took part in a genocide that involved killing, torturing, and dehumanizing anyone deemed not Aryan enough.
Those groups include Roma, Jewish, Sinti, Black, Slavic, Disabled, LGBT, and Communist people. Also, people in Trade Unions, political opponents. Anyone they felt were inferior who happened to live in areas they wanted to expand to and even Freemasons and Jehovah Witnesses.
Oh, and anyone they didn't like for some reason, that they had no other name for got labeled Asocial, were forced to wear black triangles, and were also often sent to the camps. Individual Roma and Sinti were also given this label aside from being targeted as a racial group.
Nazis were monsters, but they were real. Real people who drenched Europe in pools of blood and whose targeting of these groups effect their populations and cultures to this day. Real people whose clearly stated end goal was to wipe entire races of people off the face of the Earth.
Those images from your "doodle?" They're pixels. Fictional. Not real. They didn't actually do anything to anybody. They do not effect anyone's lives. They have harmed no one.
Because they do not exist.
Comparing them to real Nazis can only ever soften what people think of when they hear the word Nazi and will never make these random characters seem worse.
Again, not just some random bloggers opinion. If anyone wants more information here is the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Between Lily, Lily's followers, and the random anons attacking folks in the crit community, I've had to bring this up a lot. I'll keep doing it, too, as long as I have to. Not only am I natural pedant, but I think it's important to call people out for doing this.
Other links:
Learn about the holocaust
The Roma and Sinti Genocide
Some of the groups targeted by Nazis
Persecution of the Disabled
Persecution of Black People
Persecution of LGBT People
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unnervinglyferal ¡ 9 months ago
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List of European countries and why I hate them, in alphabetical order:
Albania - I've never heard fucking anything about the people here, do you people even do anything save for having beef with everyone else in the Balkans. Fuck you.
Andorra - I don't think this place is even a real country. It's like the size of my dick. Fuck you.
Austria - You know what you did. Fuck you.
Belarus - Sucking Russia's dick just for the novelty of getting to be featured in their ongoing cringe compilation. An utter embarrassment. Fuck you.
Belgium - If there's two things I hate, it's colonialist brutality and the fucking smurfs. Fuck you.
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Despite all the rest of their shitshow, at least the rest of the Balkans can at least agree whether they're one country or two countries. Make up your minds. Fuck you.
Bulgaria - The best thing you've got going on is the yoghurt and even that isn't as good as the greek ones. Fuck you.
Croatia - Out of all the countries in Europe whose existence I had literally forgot about, this is the oldest and the largest. How do you trace your history back to the fucking antiquity and only barely seem to exist at all? Fuck you.
Cyprus - I actually had to google to check that Cyprus isn't just a part of Greece, but apparently you gained independence from the UK in 1960? How the fuck are you in Europe and get colonized by Europe. Fuck you.
Czech Republic - Your main export is utterly unpronounceable last names. There's a reason why you can't shouldn't be allowed to put five consonants in a row. Fuck you.
Denmark - Annoyingly smug golden retriever-ass mushy-faced fucks. If I pressed my open palm into a dane's face, it would ooze through my fingers because these mushy fucks don't have bones.
Estonia - The bitter, prettier and smarter sister to Finland who is passive-aggressively better at everything but still doesn't get the same attention. Finns show up to your shores to raid the booze stores, vomit on everything, and leave, and you just let them. Fuck you.
Finland - An entire nation of spoiled ivory tower whiners who just will not understand how good they have it. The entire country would die out by mass suicide if things ever got half as bad as they are in the rest of the world. Fuck you.
France - The only reason why the french aren't known as an equal mass of colonialist brutes as the brits are is the language barrier. They're just as stupid but you'll never know what they're thinking because they consider learning another language to be beneath them. Fuck you.
Georgia - The americans stole your name and put it on a state and you just fucking let them. Now we have to hear about their utter lack of understanding of geography every single time some shit happens at your borders. Fuck you.
Germany - I'm jewish. And looking at your involvement in Israel, I'm starting to think you people don't really even care that much whose side you're on, if there's a genocide happening anywhere, you just like to be included. Fuck you.
Greece - You have like 4000 years of recorded history verifying that you've spent that entire time thinking you're smarter and prettier than anyone else in the whole world. You specifically invented the word hubris to describe yourselves. Fuck you.
Hungary - I'm pretty sure that you guys are the reason why people think all of Europe is a backwards shithole. Fuck you.
Iceland - The only reason you people can dedicate all of your time in inbreeding ponies and people is because your climate is so miserable that nobody wants to move there. Fuck you.
Ireland - Your climate is just as wet and miserable as Iceland, but you still got colonized by the english. Fuck you.
Italy - I've never met an italian who was capable of doing anything in a punctual and organized way. Imagining a whole country being run by italians seems impossible. Like having 15 cats successfully operating a tank. Fuck you.
Kosovo - What the fuck even is the Balkans. You guys don't even have your own language. Fuck you.
Latvia - Like Estonia without any of the good parts. Fuck you.
Liechtenstein - This isn't even a real country, this is just the quarantine containment where Switzerland ships the people who are too annoying for Switzerland. Fuck you.
Lithuania - The most boring of the Baltics. Fuck you.
Luxembourg - There is no way this place is fucking real. The fuck do you mean your citizens are called luxembourgers. The fuck do you mean your official language is luxembourgish. What the fuck is any of this. Fuck you.
Malta - Same thing as Liechtenstein, but for all surrounding countries around the Mediterranean sea. Fuck you.
Moldova - How and why is there a tiny-ass country the size of my dick on the border of the Balkans. How does this exist. Fuck you.
Monaco - This isn't a real country, it's a french ploy for tax evasion. Fuck you.
Montenegro - Oh won't you look at that, another teeny tiny Balkan country. Montenegrin is the stupidest name I've ever heard for a language, that sounds like a comedy bit. Fuck you.
Netherlands - Fuck your weed and fuck your bicycles. Fuck you.
North Macedonia - This also feels like a country they just made up just to make the list of European countries longer. Fuck you.
Norway - Fuck your oil and fuck you.
Poland - Your main export is far right politics and porn-addicted communist furry femboys. Fuck you.
Portugal - Spain but a little bit to the left. The only way to tell the spanish and the portugese apart is by whether they get mad when you call them spanish. Fuck you.
Romania - Get your fucking shit together. Fuck you.
Russia - Fuck you.
San Marino - Italy has two stupid little city-states as pets. This one is the one I hate less because it only contains tax evaders.
Serbia - The only thing I know about Serbia is A Serbian Film. Fuck that film and fuck you for making me remember it.
Slovakia - The wettest, saddest slavs of all the slavs of Europe. Fuck you.
Slovenia - Slovene is the second-stupidest name I've ever heard for a language. Fuck you.
Spain - I have no idea how the fuck a people who are as disorganized as italians managed to also be as competent as france and britain at colonialism. Fuck you.
Sweden - As smug and mushy as danes and as inbred as icelanders. Fuck you.
Switzerland - You know what you did. And continue doing. Fuck you.
Ukraine - You wouldn't be in this fucking situation if you hadn't trusted Soviet Union's pinky promise to never invade. A russian's promise is not worth the oxygen it wastes. You guys are cool but nonetheless, fuck you.
United Kingdom - Fuck you smug bastards for everything.
Vatican City - Italy has two stupid little city-states as pets. This one is the one I hate more because it contains the pope. Fuck you.
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ahavatolam ¡ 4 months ago
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As I sit here, trying to write this post, I struggle to find the words. So often in the last year I have not been able to adequately voice my thoughts and feelings. How much hedging do I need to do? How much qualifying, covering every possible bad faith interpretation until I can get to my point and the page is just filled with anxious ramblings? No, I don't think I'll be doing any of that. I'll just try to put words to a myriad of swirling images, patterns, sensations, emotions.
I don't think I have to tell you that this last year has been a rough one for a lot of people. The Jewish people, in particular, faced one of, possibly the most deadly attack since the Shoah on October 7th. Israel's government decided the best course of action, a "reasonable" and "proportional" response would be the carpet bombing, ethnic cleansing, and genocide of the Palestinian people of Gaza. I'm sure you witnessed the horrific images of maimed and broken and dead children of Gaza on our social media feeds just as I have. My heart weeps for them.
This reality is worse than anything I could have imagined when my Rabbi told us of the October 7th attack during our Shabbat morning minyan. I told myself that this would be another assault like in 2021 and 2014 (and countless others) where Israel would bomb Gaza for self defense, the Internet would get mad about it for a few weeks and then, as so often happens, get bored and move onto something else. Then it was November, then February, then June, and now it's October and nothing has changed. That's not exactly true. Gaza is decimated; tens of thousands of Palestinians (probably more but it seems like those tallying the dead gave up at 40,000), most of the hostages are still captive, and now Israel has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon, all in the name of Jewish safety.
There is so much that I could say about this, about how angry I am that my theoretical safety is being wielded as an excuse; that the word/accusation of antisemitism seems to have lost all meaning (while actual antisemitism has reached its highest point in almost a century); that Jews are so divided it's hard to talk to one another; that goyim have taken a longstanding intracommunity debate and turned it into a cudgel to silence debate and disagreement (a beloved Jewish pastime); that the Israeli prime minister is so laser focused on wiping out all threats (real or imaginary) in the region that he has further contributed to the suffering of his people he so loudly claims to care about; I could go on. This overwhelm and cacophony of competing priorities created a sense of being paralyzed, one that prevented me from being able to work through my thoughts and feelings.
I'm not here to speak for all Jews, just myself. And the largest emotion I feel is not anger, or fear, or elation, or sympathy, or smugness. It's disappointment.
I am disappointed in those who do not see the humanity in the Palestinians.
I am disappointed in those who do not see the humanity in the Israelis.
I am disappointed in those who have used this conflict to their own gain (by selling weapons, spreading hate, or winning Internet points).
I am disappointed in our leaders for being hard of heart and not listening to (or ignoring) the cries of their people (for ceasefire, for bringing the hostages home, for the end of the genocide, for the wanton destruction of life).
I am disappointed by the bad faith assumptions (that all Jews are Zionists or wholeheartedly and uncritically support Israel and their government; that all those who support the Palestinian people are antisemetic and want every Jew eradicated; that students couldn't possibly know what they're doing; that Jews are bloodthirsty monsters).
I am disappointed that it's been a year with no end in sight.
I mourn for all the lives lost, Palestinian, Israeli, Lebanese. I mourn for the friends I have lost because of this conflict.
I pray for the release of the Israeli hostages and the Palestinian political prisoners. I pray that we (the world) wake up and listen to our better natures and stop this wanton violence. I pray that all those who are responsible for the destruction and loss of life are held responsible and face justice. I pray for peace and equity for all who call the Levant home. And I pray that we stop fighting and can stand together as humans and advocate for belonging, GemeinschaftsgefĂźhl (social interest), equality, wholeness, because everything can always be different.
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gryficowa ¡ 6 months ago
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Boycott!
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Liberals from "Trump is worse" or "Do you think Trump will help Palestine?" let them go fuck themselves, because you can see how that Zionist Harris brainwashed them
But they actually supported how this female dog silenced the strikers for Palestine… So you can see what great values ​​they have (Pro-genocide)
And yes, I will compare Russia and Ukraine to Israel and Palestine, fuck with the texts about Hamas and how the white Jewish colonizers deserve this land, it is Palestine, not Israel, Palestine was home to Islamists, Christians and Jews (Palestinian Jews, whose they murder and persecute, yes, white European Jews treat the real Jews of these lands like shit, interesting, right?), Zionism is like a fire nation and that's why it's a piece of shit
Besides, the Israelis have already shown how they treat Christians in their lands. It's funny that Christians from privileged countries who cry about "Evil Islamists persecuting Christians" haven't said a word about how Israelis treat Christians, right?
And yes, Jesus would want Palestine and he would fuck Israel, if you think otherwise, you don't know shit about Jesus
Yes, I will piss off Zionists and liberals, but is it necessary to respect people who accept genocide when they themselves do not respect people? Well, let them go fuck themselves
Now that I have your attention:
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The limit of 10 links on tumblr is frustrating, because if you give more than 10, an error message will appear, so I apologize for the lack of a link to the collection from Gaza, but you just understand, the limit of 10 links makes it impossible :/
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weaselbeaselpants ¡ 7 months ago
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Is it true that parts of Lily Orchard's 'iconic' "SU is Garbage and here's why"-video were directly stealing from another person's take down of the show?
The story I remember reading somewhere was: a black woman creator was criticizing the show's racism/portrayal of race from her perspective -> LO copied or quoted beat-for-beat bits from said video -> said creator voiced in LO's comments that LO had stolen from her and also -> said creator was uncomfortable with how Lily was handling the Stevonnie topic and found her to be the one making it creepy??? -> Lily blocks, mutes the comments of and makes a hate campaign against said creator for the crime of calling Lily out on her bs -> said creator goes quiet because she kept getting heat from Lily's base.
Is any of this true?
I think, understandably, said creator did not want to be associated with Lily or was tired of getting flaq from Lily's fans, and that may be the reason said creator doesn't want to talk or have their name given out. Understandable. But- I need receipts. I can't cont making this claim confidently if I just don't know the story. I promise if anyone gives me said creator's name (may have changed by now) I won't bother them, name them here or anywhere. I respect privacy and also I totally get wanting to be away from all this.
If Lily ever did a plagerism or not is what I'm trying to get to the bottom of, but I know Lily's [bad] takes against SU are rooted in real criticisms made by not-shit critics that Lily took and made horrible in her uniquely Lily way.
As I've mentioned before I like the Diamonds as villains and characters and even I found the finale arc uncomfortable. I think Steven Universe mishandled the topic of genocide and pacifism, besides just having bad pacing. Other critics have meaner or nicer things to say than I do but the point is it's totally normal and not a mark against you to hate the Diamonds and find the show offensive. Where Lily doubled down and went way WAY too far is when she basically insinuated it couldn't just be bad writing but that Sugar was actually a 'fascist sympathizer' herself; WHICH ofc led to Jewish people being upset with Lily, Lily not apologizing to said people and saying they were just butthurt, which led to mine and other's vibe that Lily was being antisemitic and still is, because she really REALLY can't swallow her pride. Fans obv didn't like this language, but also a lot of critics and 'antis' didn't like it either prolly because being dismissive of marginalized people's takes is kind of bad. There's a difference, even in 2018-2019 tymes, between saying 'ick I hate this [x]-liberal creator for being a false ally, ect ect' and saying 'I'M not saying Rebecca Sugar is fascist, but I WILL SAY-'. THAT was what was shitty and still is shitty about how she handled that situation. Lily was taking a criticism that can/does have validity and being needlessly mean and accusatory with it.
@lillian-v-orchard @mikailaandlilyorchard @opinated-user come pm or dm me about this. Same with anyone else in the know who knows more than I do. I want to know I'm not mandela effecting myself or that I got the info from a biased source. Thanks.
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screamingfromuz ¡ 1 year ago
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weird how you reblog posts saying Israel was founded on genocide while also reblogging posts saying the IDF has some measure of honor. like did you see the video of how they shot an Israeli citizen thinking he was Palestinian? Yuval Doron Castleman wa shis name, and the video is not hard to find. the had his hands up in the air, and he was shot multiple times. this happened in the past 24 hours. was there a specific point where the state of Israel became good?
you talk about Jewish people feeling unsafe around anti-Israel talk, but do you ever wonder if people of color feel unsafe around you, and your excusing of ceuel and dehumanizing police forces?
you are very funny to me, you kind of people little anon. So full of yourself yet cannot comprehend complex concepts of grey morality.
I don't fully agree with everything I reblog, I reblog things I believe are important to talk about.
The founding of Israel has several faces that should be acknowledged. It was both a victory to an indigenous land back movement and offered a desperately needed sanctuary for hundred of thousands that would flee, and horrible disaster to another indigenous group. This does not contradict. For peace to exists we must acknowledge the co existence of those narratives. Horrible things were done in 1947-1949, by everyone involved (Britian, Israel, Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt, Syrian, Lebanon), and ignoring or diminishing it is foolish. On the other side, blowing it up is just as stupid and destructive.
using the correct term is important, as using the wrong terms might leads fools such as yourself to misunderstand the problem, and worsen the actual problem by "trying to help".
the IDF takes extreme measures to be careful with civilian life while simultaneously being careless with it. Again, both things are true as the same time.
Me saying that I do not consider the actions in Gaza genocide, does not mean I agree with all of them. as explained in this post (and it various reblogs), the use of the word "Genocide" is done as a way to shut down conversations and vilify Israel. The things that are happening are horrific and I hate it, I mourn every death. But as I refuse to call this a genocide, any criticism I will have will be either dismissed or twisted and used against me. For that reason, I limit my criticism to Israeli circle and the real world.
I saw the video, of course I did. And what do you want me to say? that it is horrific? That I knew that something like this was gonna happen at some point? The soldiers fucked up, they will be trialed for that. This are problems that stem from militarized society that I fight against.
Israel is a state. It is not bad or good in your simplistic moral scale, like any other country on the planet. But Israel is my home, and I would not abandon if even if it is fucked up in here. There have been 9 months of protests before the war, people are still protesting and sighing petitions and working to build a better future here, for all of us. just like the people in Poland and in Hungary, we want a better country. The point is that you don't care, you don't want Israel to exist. You are calling or erasing Israel from the map without understanding the devastating consequences of such action. You don't care about our effort and our criticism unless you can twist if to the support of the eradication of Israel.
what you fail to understand, is how much your "anti-Israel" talk is toxic, destructive and full of antisemitism. Of course we feel unsafe! you are not criticizing Israel, you are calling for it's destruction and to the horrible consequences to the Jewish people that will follow.
I have talked about this, many Jewish and Israeli talked about it, but the amount of hate a vitriol your kind spew, the silencing methods you employ does not leave a place to our criticism. Nuanced opinions of the systems of violence, the militarization of the Israeli society, about the ties between culture and crime, of neglect, those are swept aside as they do not satisfy your "Israel bad" criteria.
Understanding the actions taken and explaining them is not endorsing or supporting said actions. it's called having an understanding.
I understand that this ask is a result of your underdeveloped moral compass, and truly hope you would be able to develop a healthy one little anon.
You don't know me, you see fractions of me through a screen, pieces of opinions I share on this wretched hell hole in hope of a good constructive criticism, in hope that by speaking out people will feel less alone.
for summery anon, life is more complex then your little fanfiction version of it. I hope you grow out of this mindset.
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pinktwingirl ¡ 9 months ago
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If you’re someone who genuinely believes that the government is cracking down on student protests for Palestine to “protect Jewish students”, I REALLY need you to understand something: The United States government has never given a flying FUCK about the safety or security of the Jewish community. We literally refused to take in Jewish refugees during World War II even though there is PLENTY of evidence that the government knew damn well what was happening to them. The only reason we have ever supported the creation of the state of Israel was so we could have a military stronghold in the Middle East while simultaneously absolving ourselves of any responsibility we might have had to take in refugees from the Holocaust. This has never been about “protecting Jewish people”; this is about the U.S. doing what the U.S. does best - namely, exploiting other countries for their land and resources under the guise of “spreading democracy”. Why do you think that the police will hound anti-war protesters in an instant but neo-Nazis who are carrying actual fucking swastikas can stand outside of Disney World and get away scot-free? Because they don’t give a fuck about “stopping antisemitism”; they just want to silence people speaking out against the west’s never ending war machine. The injustice student protesters are facing right now is doing nothing for Jewish students because this has never been about Jewish people. This is about western imperialism and apartheid. Are there some people out there who are using the Free Palestine movement as an excuse to be antisemitic? Sure. But those people are not welcome in this movement. To suggest that they represent all of the protestors is a flagrant lie. People who try to paint this conflict as “Muslims vs. Jews” or insist that saying “from the river to the sea” is “calling for genocide of Jews” are just trying to distract you and divert attention away from the real focus of the conversation, which is the suffering of the Palestinian people. It is not unreasonable for students to not want their tuition money to go towards genocide, and it is certainly not unreasonable to want Palestinians to be treated like human beings. I am begging you, please open your eyes to the reality of what is happening. The less people that believe this garbage propaganda, the less power it will have.
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anyoldfandom ¡ 1 year ago
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Why are you anti-Israel as a Jew? genuine question, I'm just curious as a non-Jewish person bc all my irl Jewish friends are pro-Israel
Okay so normally I don't really,,check my inbox so sorry for the late response anon, but thank you for the genuine curiosity! I'm glad you're coming to the table with an open mind.
I am going to put a disclaimer here, however: Jewish people are not the only people impacted by Israel's actions. We're not even the most impacted. I am going to give my perspective because it was asked for, but my biggest suggestion is to listen to Palestinian voices the most before you draw any conclusions, as they are the real victims in the center of Israel's actions.
As for my opinion, however - quite frankly, my dislike of the Israeli state comes from a few places. Yes, it is true that Jewish people lived in Israel in the past, and yes, it is a holy land - but I genuinely do not believe that the Israeli government has Jewish interests in heart. The common narrative that I've heard in a lot of spaces is that Israel is a safe place should the world turn against us again, but quite frankly...it's unrealistic. Not every Jew in the world can move to Israel. Only the wealthy Jews (and I can tell you, many Jews are not wealthy at all) would be able to flee, and the rest of us would be stuck where we are.
And that would be if Israel was not already filled with Palestinians. A phrase I and other Jews have used is "Not in our name".
The Israeli state is breaking international laws - yes, Hamas has also been condemned for breaking international laws, but the Israeli government is also a state. It is a government. A government that has a history of committing genocide - so much that South Africa is trying to sue them for war crimes.
And, to be frank, and I will admit my language is about to be very harsh - please know my anger is directed at the Israeli government, anon, and not you - but I do not want a fucking genocide in my name. I do not want other peoples to suffer because my people have in the past - Israel is not the answer, fighting real, actual antisemitism is. Making the entire world safe is the answer. I also hate that the government is claiming any criticism of Israel is antisemitic - I've spoken out against antisemitism in the past, consistently. I've written in concerns that people will use criticism of Israel in a way where they simply attack Jewish people, which is absolutely antisemitism, but holding a state responsible for their actions is not bigotry.
And, one more point - I do not think the allies of Israel are the allies of Jews. I can only speak as a US citizen, and not for any other country - but I do not, and have never, believed that my country is an ally of the Jewish people. I am constantly hearing antisemitic conspiracy theories being spread by politicians, and I heard the president claim that Israel would be the only safe place for Jews - supporting another genocidal country over the citizens he's supposed to be protecting, by suggesting the only place we will be safe is far away from America.
So, I don't support Israel. I don't support the murder of innocent Palestinians, the killing of journalists and children. I don't support the removal of people from their homes - and I'm frankly disgusted at those who would imply that I must run from my own home to be safe, because they refuse to be the change to keep my people safe.
I hope I explained my position well, anon. I really appreciate it when people, especially people not in the groups centered in a conversation, try to speak to both sides to at least understand all of the issue - though, don't just listen to me. As I said at the beginning, listen to Palestinian voices, as well - listen to the people living through these horrors. While Jews are centered in the conversation, it's important to remember that there are other victims here, who deserve to be listened to a whole hell of a lot more than me.
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fiadh-doodles ¡ 2 years ago
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Obligatory, you can be trans in the game, there is a trans character that’s prominently featured. The goblins aren’t connected to any race other than the points you’ve made up.
The whole suppressing a goblin rebellion plot everyone was calling racist and problematic actually turned out to be an operation where the goblins were framed by the actual antagonists and the goblins were innocent all along. This is revealed later in the game.
I’m sorry your upset. Be better. You embarrass the real members of the trans community by getting upset at a non issue, now speak out against atomic heart funding a terrorist nation attacking a peaceful one, thanks.
Made up? This is a text book case of blood libel. This is a game made by neo nazis that uses the IP of a known antisemite. The goblins are very clearly antisemtic caricatures. The inclusion of a shofar silenced by a non-kosher cheese that references the Fettmilch pogroms of 1612 is included in the game. It is so blatantly antisemtic. Y'all just care more about a dogshit game than jewish lives.
The trans woman character is voiced by an unlisted va that gives her a masculine voice. Her name is SirOna Ryan, aka he she ryan. A friend who hadn't seen her since pre-transition & in years immediately clocked her & recognized her. It's blatantly transphobic. The dev team is also so notoriously homophobic that this is the only queer character in the game. A transphobic caricature of a trans woman.
Supressing a slave revolt is pro slavery. It doesn't matter if the slaves turned out to "be good all along"(also a deeply weird a fucked up narrative in it's own right), it's racist regardless. Y'all care more about this dogshit game than y'all do about racism.
I am a real trans person. I am now officially living in the worst state in the US to exist as a trans person because it is now A FELONY TO BE TRANS IN PUBLIC in my state. If I am openly trans in this state I can be arrested, charged, sent to prison, and if I don't die in prison, will have 0 rights if I make it out of prison. Which I doubt because my government wants us dead. This legislature was lobbied for using money & rhetoric from JKR's campaign for trans genocide.
A town in my state has also just been revealed that its CITY COUNCIL has compiled a HIT LIST agaisnt queer people & their families in that town. These are real world issues that I live with. My life as a trans person is in danger. I'll never be able to start T here, or get a hysterectomy. My friend can't get top surgery now. My little sibling can't get any trans affirming healthcare now either. I can't afford to leave, and even if I could, I would never be able to leave my people behind.
This is what giving the TERF Supreme more money and power does. She is personally funding trans genocide with y'all's money because y'all don't care about trans lives.
I'm an embarassment? You can't even say that too me off anon & with your full chest. I, and every trans person in my state are fearful for our lives more than ever. How long until we start getting rounded up? My state is notorious for how torturous our conversion camps are, I don't want to find out what they'll do to us when they've got us all locked up in prisons, but that is now a very real reality I face.
But y'all don't care about trans lives or jewish lives or BIPOC or any of that. You want to play a bad game & not face any backlash for it. You want to never be confronted with the objective reality of your choices. Y'all could choose to simply never talk about online, but that has never seemed to occur to y'all. No, y'all wear your bigotry like a point of pride to purposely agitate marginalized folks. Y'all can't even do the BARE MINIMUM to be decent human beings. I don't give a single fuck about y'all's opinion about trans people being "embarassments" for being upset at y'all for funding our genocide.
Anothing thing, I'm slavic. 2nd gen Polish. I'm very tapped into the war with Ukraine and how awful Russia is as a colonial superpower. I have living family that remembers how bad living under Russian rule is and family living in Poland right now. But I wasn't talking about a terrorist attack being funded by a game and IP that is frankly hardly anyone is talking about & isn't anywhere close to having the cultural chokehold HP still has. Made by a game studio with less than 40k followers on twitter. I was talking about a deeply racist, antisemtic, transphobic IP being used to make a deeply racist, antisemtic, transphobic game that funds trans genocide.
BUT HERE IS MY OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON ATOMIC HEART: Don't buy it & don't support the devs that help fund terrorist attacks & have anti-Ukrainian sentiments everywhere in their game.
ALSO DON'T GIVE MONEY TO THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL & INFLUENTIAL TERF TO FUND TRANS GENOCIDE TO PLAY A BROKEN GAME MADE BY NEO NAZIS THAT IS PRO-SLAVERY;BLOOD LIBEL;ANTISEMITISM:THE GAME!!
LITERALLY get fucked. Y'all are sick & twisted & I hope y'all have a horrible life. Genuinely.
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matan4il ¡ 1 year ago
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Good morning Alice!! This might sound a bit of a ramble and long-winded, so I apologize. It's mostly that I wanted to express to some of the anons on here who asked questions how important it is as non Jewish friends we stand in front of the Jewish people to fight this antisemitism. I don't in any way mean that as condescending, but just truthfully. I also can only express my POV as an American non Jew.
But maybe I'm shaped because my ex mentor, now boss but dearest of friends, starts our morning call every day crying. She used to be able to go to Israel for her family multiple times a year. Her father passed away last year, her mother is ill, and her brothers are all there. She can't get in any more. More than that, her children are here facing a different kind of threat on college campuses. It's a nightmare. I don't speak to anyone who hasn't been directly affected or doesn't feel under threat every day. And that honestly should show you how small the Jewish population really is. That's why it's important to be loud about your support to take the burden away.
Honestly, be prepared to lose some people or say unpopular truths. If you have SM, you have to share the stories because people in the media aren't covering shit. I was blasting the story about Paul hours after it happened, and I still only see milk toast headlines from outlets that will mention it.
Also, you're probably going to be called heinous names. Trust me, you just learn to roll your eyes being called a Nazi because you criticize the squad who actually calls for the genocide of the Jewish people. The upside down world is real these days!!!
Also, there really is an answer for every argument the pro Hamas side has. If you feel like you want to be prepared, just ask Alice!! But trust me, there is always an answer!!
Just remember, we actually know what happens to the Jewish people when we don't stand for them. And the lesson wasn't that long ago. Don't let weaponization of words like racist, collective punishment, moral equivalency intimate you.
The truth is all this could end tomorrow if Hamas let the hostages go and surrendered. But they hide under children as human shields, pull out the video of the leaders saying this if someone doesn't believe you. They steal the humanitarian aid. Their leaders don't even live there. They live like literal Kings in another country.
As always, stay safe, Alice!! Have you been able to get your treatments? Have you been able to go back to the museum at all? From my understanding, almost everything is shut down because all the reservists are getting called? I hope one day we can go back to "normal" but I fear there will only be a new normal now. ❤️♥️❤️♥️❤️
My love! *hugs* You're brilliant, you know that?
I'm just gonna leave your ask up here as is, because I have nothing to add to it. <333
As for the personal stuff, thank you for asking! I am getting my treatments, I'm going to the hospital on Sunday. I'm currently suffering from a bad reaction, and I hope they have something that can be done about it. As for the museum, we do have a lot of workers who have been called in! There are basically no groups to guide, but there's still a lot of work to be done (research, for example), so a lot of people who normally guide tours are helping with some of the other stuff. Yeah, for now, it's def a weird "new normal" of trying to function with a missing limb and phantom pains...
Thank you so much for your words! I'm sending you endless love and hugs, as well as to your ex mentor and dear friend! May we all know better days soon. xoxoxox
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samuraisharkie ¡ 2 years ago
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Hey, maybe don't encourage people to bully someone and s*-bait them over that terrible game. Be angry, distance yourself, educate people, but don't bully or harass them. It won't solve anything. Of course some people are beyond the point of accepting and being receptive to this stuff, but that doesn't mean you have the perceived right to doxx and harass them. As a Jewish woman, I'm angry about it too. I rant about it, and I understand the urge to yell at others over it, but hurting others only causes more hurt. Encourage others to educate, not to hate.
Alright yeah, you’re right. I’ll admit I was flying off the handle the other day and went too far. I have a pretty severe temper when it comes to people I care about being hurt by unapologetic cowards. That was wrong to encourage harassment. Although I WILL say I said absolutely nothing about doxxing, and I don’t know where you came up with that assumption (discord handles and rp tumblrs aren’t exactly personal information. I know the girls online name and where she likes to hang out online and that’s it). I’ll delete the posts and try to keep my temper in check next time (although hopefully there won’t BE a next time.) My only problem with your message is that from what I’ve seen, there’s really no education to be done. Plenty of people educated that woman. Plenty of friends patiently and calmly explained the situation. It didn’t matter, and it was all taken and twisted to suit her preferences. In my experience, there really isn’t much education to be done concerning this. People already know who is being harmed by this game and the franchise, it’s been shouted to the rooftops. The people buying this know it’s antisemitic, they just weighed their options and decided they didn’t care. There’s no amount of education that will change the minds of people who want to buy the game, because they don’t have their priorities straight, if it doesn’t affect them directly then it can be ignored. Education doesn’t seem like it will change people like this, even to prevent it in the future, because it will always be taken in bad faith no matter how patient and calm we are. But, you’re right, we shouldn’t be chasing people down over it either. All that will do will give these losers more chances to try and make us out to be the bad guys, not that they won’t do that anyway. I’ve just lost my patience for people choosing to ignore any sort of concern for real people to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a shitty, nazi-made and funded game about slavery and blood libel of which the money earned will go directly to attempting genocide on real life people. And I think maybe the people suffering from this deserve to have a little hate, as a treat. Maybe not to the extent that we start harassment campaigns lol, but I think some personal fire is justified. Anyway, point is, I see what you’re saying, and I agree with you that it’s not a good idea to encourage people to start harassing people. (Actual harassing, though. If you’re just telling someone ‘hey you made a choice and now you get the consequence of losing trust and friends man’ that’s not harassing or bullying lol that’s just being reasonable).
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otnesse ¡ 1 year ago
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He'd be a lot better if they cut out the Gaston Reprise, as that sabotaged any brilliance he might have had as a villain. Even Vladimir Lenin, himself not exactly prone to keeping his crimes or those of his Bolsheviks hidden (he was notorious for, among other things, boasting with pride that pointless and excessive cruelty was one of the fundamentals behind Marxism in response to complaints about his Cheka forces' excessive brutality), or for that matter being a huge bully towards his own forces [there's plenty of stories where he tries to bully his own inner circle into submission if they even slightly disagree with the way he conducts his plans] nevertheless was careful to avoid broadcasting his intention throughout the entire USSR to have the Romanovs assassinated, and don't get me started on how Hitler kept his genocidal plans against the Jewish people so top-secret he nearly had Heinrich Himmler brought before him to at a bare minimum scold him just for the latter indirectly alluding to it within his own office at the SS Headquarters. The comic adaptation certainly did it far better, they just had Gaston say "Crazy old Maurice... Crazy old Maurice... Hmm..." before cutting away to back at Beast's castle, and then showing him meeting with Monsieur D'Arque the next time we see him, which gave the distinct impression that he kept the other Villagers in the dark about his plans for blackmail in contrast to the film where he outright gloated his plan to blackmail Belle in front of everyone. If anything, the Gaston Reprise killed any sense of him being genuinely believeable due to the writers cynically thinking their audience was too stupid to realize Gaston was a villain already (in real life, no matter HOW much he has it made in life, if he exposed his plan in THAT manner, the villagers would turn against him, at the very least try to talk him out of it). Heck, even the remake was a lot better in that front in actually DEMONSTRATING Gaston as very manipulative, since the arrest of Maurice was less to force Belle's hand in marriage and more of a CYA to cover up attempted murder when he tried to expose it to the bar patrons (and his trying to force Belle's hand in marriage came across in that version as him simply jumping at the chance rather than the main crux of his plot).
As far as the other stuff like the references to Scar, Ursula, or Jafar, I'd say that's unfortunately VERY realistic compared to Gaston's antics (or rather, his antics if we include the Gaston Reprise), largely because that's literally how every single tyrant and dictator gained and maintained power throughout history, whether via force or even by being elected (Robespierre, Lenin, Castro, Mao Zedong, Stalin, Hitler, Putin, Obama, Mussolini, Biden, Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot, you name it). Heck, it's even been the case with some non-politics based stuff as well. Like Belford (the Wolf on Wall Street). And that's not even getting into wikia administrators who do by and large tended to be bullies (and unlike Gaston who literally got a pass for openly declaring his intent to persecute a harmless crackpot just to force Belle to marry him and got cheered on, I know a few weaseley mods who end up ticking off too many people and got blocked from the place they terrorized, like DocColress [too bad he found an alt in the form of TruthGuard]). If anything, the most successful bullies are the ones who KEEP their more bullying aspects secret from everyone else rather than openly engaging in it in front of everyone like Gaston did.
Gaston definitely had SOME potential to be a realistic villain, but that got squandered due to Linda Woolverton and Jeffrey Katzenberg wanting to force in a feminist message in the most blunt and crass manner possible at the time. So all in all, while he could have been a genuinely threatening villain, they squandered it to such an extent that he actually comes across as one of the more cartoonish ones purely by accident.
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