#the First Lady of the kkk

[ains-disco-spam]

Thoughts on Lena

The first time I played through Disco Elysium, I talked to Lena right after Kim joined my party and immediately got the dialogue option where she says something racist.

Because of that, I was iffy on her from the beginning. But I’ve seen a lot of people say that they actually didn’t know about this dialogue or that they didn’t get it on their playthrough. Whenever I see this dialogue mentioned, there are always a lot of people saying how disappointed they are that she would say something like that because she seems like a nice old lady.

I think that this moment is actually one of the most important depictions of racism in the game. Besides this one instance, Lena is friendly toward you and Kim. If you call her out on the implication that Seolites are a different species than her and Harry, she basically says that being a different species isn't a bad thing because white people have earwax that smells and Seolites don't.

The whole interaction is such a small moment within the game, and a small part of her character. It’s so easy to miss. And that is exactly how racism works.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been talking to an older person who seems kind and then all of a sudden they say something extremely bigoted out of the blue. I actually got the idea to write this after the nice old lady who is a custodian at my job said something transphobic in front of me and it totally broke my heart.

It’s easy to condemn a cross-burning KKK member or a homophobic preacher who says that all LGBTQ+ people will burn in hell. It’s a lot harder for people to condemn bigotry when it comes from people that they otherwise see as kind.

But most bigots are not like Gary the Cryptofascist or Measurehead. Most of them are like Lena. They are the uncles who think that “if people just cooperated with the police then they wouldn’t be shot.” They are the classmates who make fun of the professor’s accent. They are docile old ladies who think that Seolites are not as human as white people are.

And that makes it harder for people to see the bigotry within themselves. People can easily tell themselves things like “I don’t want all trans people to die, so I’m not transphobic. I’m just worried for the children.” When the media only portrays bigotry in its most extreme forms, it is hard to see that being a little bit racist is still being racist.

And this is even more interesting because of her and Morrell’s friendship with Gary. He is a self-proclaimed fascist with an extensive collection of racist mugs, but Lena and Morrell still keep him around, presumably because they are willing to overlook his “differing political opinions” because they think that he is a good person in other ways. And because his fascist ideas do not affect people that look like them.

So yeah, I want to see more people talking about how fascinating Lena and Morrell are as depictions of racism in Disco Elysium.

[jessica-problems]

Vice & Violence - The Cowled Lady "I...I'm- I am Joryn Haranslad, Seventh Son of Clan Raithslass. My Clan rides to raid the holdings of Clan Corynslass, and... I need the strength of the Cowled Lady."

"ss-ssshh sss-ssweet thing. Pretty. With a pretty weapon. Make-sss-shh his mother proud she says. Won't last a week I reckon. K k kkk khchk.. k-khak. Killed her grandma's kiler first. Cut his guts out, slug herder. Take my scars up ye'self and I'll make you a murderer."

---

She is terrifying. Prowling the sodden, burnt forests of the Taint. The Cowled Lady is a mangled husk, riddled with scar tissue from innumerable cuts, burns and bites. Warriors see themselves in her broken visage, what unquenchable rage and unbridled violence does to a person. And the truly desperate will beseech her aid anyway. Warlocks of the Cowled Lady become frighteningly strong, but are increasingly covered in ugly, misshappen battle scars. They are sullen and depressing to interact with, but come alive in battle, whirling through enemies with a petrifying ferocity. ---

this OSR game is like, 10% actually interesting innovations on OSR gameplay, 10% compelling dark fantasy concepts, and 80% horny idiots sucking and fucking their way out of unbelievably stupid problems.

[reasoningdaily]

Understanding Words That Wound

Understanding Words That Wound

Written by leading critical race theorists Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, this volume succinctly explores a host of issues presented by hate speech, including legal theories for regulating it, the harms it causes, and policy arguments, pro and con, suppressing it. Chapters analyze hate speech on campus, hate speech against whites, the history

In the town of Skokie, Illinois, outside Chicago, where many Jewish people live, there was a Nazi march showing swastikas and Nazi uniforms (probably used the Nazi salute, as do the KKK groups, a lot of which are from Chicago and places unknown). The KKK do not go to predominantly black towns to show their allegiance to our right of being a white country. At least, we started out that way, then the blacks multiplied staring from the age when a girl had her first period so that her mother could draw welfare on the illigetimate child, over and over and over. Now, there are more of them than us; the joke is that the Latinos have infiltrated this country and they are the majority! Hate speech is not merely unpleasant or offensive. Sometimes it can be the truth couched in words not at all offensive, the truth finally being brought to the attention of anyone who will listen. Bigots suffer when their narrow, categorical thinking and expressions etches a little deeper. If you observe the way blacks treat the whites they think are dominant, you will understand why there are more of us speaking out -- and will continue to. They take care of their own to the detriment of the rights of others, because they are the wrong color. It happens here in Knoxville, Tennessee, every day with the bus system. Racial abuse can come from either or both sides. It's not the whites now doing the abusing; the blacks have been put into positions to take their hate out on little old ladies who are just the wrong color. They use the worst language and have nasty minds and mouths. They don't care who they hurt. So, to conclude, the blacks are not being abused. The Jews are not being abused. The tables have been turned, and now the whites are suffering for a few bad speakers and the elderly are fair game to hurt and harm in any way they can. Written by racial theorists, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancie from the University of Pittsburgh, it explores a host of issues but not from the viewpoint of the person being abused. The abusers are never punished. They don't lose their jobs. They are not reprimanded. Free speech has turned into hate speech because the person doing the talking has been abused by the other group repeatedly. And nothing is done!

[lotus-flower-writes-history]

The Unofficial Black History Book

The 16th Street Baptist Bombing (September 15th, 1963)

In the 1960s, Racial tension was at an all-time high. Many African Americans were doing their part in the fight for equal rights. A fight that claimed many innocent black lives.

Even the lives of four little girls.

This is the story.

The 16th Street Baptist Church was organized in 1873 as the first colored Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Many civil rights protest marches took place on the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. It has long been a significant religious center for the Black population and was a meeting place for civil rights organizers such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama, was one of America's most racially discriminatory and segregated cities and had one of the strongest and most violent chapters of the KKK. The city's police commissioner, Eugene "Bull" Connor, was known for his willingness to use brutality in combating radical union members, demonstrators, and innocent black citizens. Alabama's governor, George Wallace, was the leading opponent of desegregation.

By 1963, homemade bombs being set off in black homes and churches were such common occurrences that the city was given the nickname “Bombingham."

On September 15th, 1963, at 10:22 a.m., some 200 church members were in the building; most were attending Sunday school classes before the 11 a.m. service that morning.

A dynamite bomb was set off in the back stairwell, and mortar and bricks were thrown from the front of the church, caving in its walls. The violent blast ripped through the wall, killing four young African-American girls and injuring more than 20 others. 

14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, 14-year-old Denise McNair, 14-year-old Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley were in the basement of the church's ladies' restroom when they were crushed by the rubble.

Addie's sister, Sarah Collins, survived but lost her right eye.

The bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church was the third bombing in 11 days after a federal court order mandated the integration of Alabama's school system. 

Upon learning of the attack, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. sent a telegram to Alabama Governor George Wallace. He stated bluntly: "The blood of our little children is on your hands."

In the aftermath of the bombing, thousands of angry black protesters gathered at the scene of the bombing that same evening, and violence broke out across the city. Governor Wallace sent police and state troopers to break up the protesters. A handful of protesters were arrested, and two African-American youths were killed.

One at the hands of the police. And the other was murdered by a mob of white men. 

This all happened before the National Guard was called to restore order.

The deaths of the four girls and the brutal attack shocked the nation and drew international attention to the violent struggle for civil rights in Birmingham. 

Many whites were as outraged by the bombing as blacks and offered condolences to the families.

Over 8,000 people attended the girls' funeral services at Reverend John Porter's Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. The family of the fourth held a smaller private service. Dr. King spoke before the 8,000 people at the service. 

It was a clear act of racial hatred, -- as the church was a key Civil Rights meeting place and had been a frequent target of bomb threats. KKK members routinely called in bomb threats intended to disrupt civil rights meetings and services. 

In the investigation of the bombing, many of Birmingham's white supremacists and even certain individuals were immediately suspected. Repeated calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice went unanswered for more than a decade.

It was revealed later that the FBI had information concerning the identity of the bombers in 1965 but did nothing.

The head of the FBI at the time was J. Edgar Hoover. He disapproved of the civil rights movement. It was rumored and claimed that Hoover held back evidence from prosecutors and even tried to block prosecution. He later died in 1972.

In 1977, Alabama Attorney General Bob Baxley reopened the investigation. 

Klan leader Robert E. Chambliss was brought to trial for the bombings and was convicted of murder. He died in prison in 1985, still maintaining his innocence.

Later in 1980, 1988, and 1997, the case reopened again when two other former Klan members, Thomas Blanton, and Bobby Frank Cherry, were finally brought to trial. Blanton was convicted in 2001, and Cherry in 2002.

A fourth suspect, Herman Frank Cash, died in 1994 before he could be brought to trial. 

The legal system was slow to provide justice, but the effect of the bombing was immediate and significant. 

The outrage over the deaths of the four young girls helped build support for the struggle to end segregation. Support that would lead to the passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

But even so, it couldn't bring back four young lives that were lost in an act of hatred.

Painting: The 16th Street Baptist Chruch, By Mack Stanley - Asheville Art Museum

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Janet Collins

_____

My Resources

[lunarsilkscreen]

Dave Chappelle (The Last Thing I'll say about him)

There's a reason he said "I'm not done using my name yet, maybe you want to see what I do with it first?" When talking about his former schools and his name going on a theater.

Part of it is because he said those things that got him canceled. But the other part; is that he said all that shit *knowing* it would get him canceled.

He said it early on, I forget which special: "I figured that I would just be the one to say what everybody is thinking."

So when you're mad because of trans erasure (especially black trans erasure) or you're mad about him siding with a trans woman over that black community as a whole. (yes, that's part of the anger he generated.)

He did it on purpose. Not for the likes, but because he knew these *quiet things* were too important to keep quiet. He knew that he had to bring to the attention of the black community as a whole, just how inflammatory an entire generation was being.

I'm not allowed to talk about that though, cuz if there's one thing I'm not: it's black.

But I am trans (though some would say a trender. Don't worry ladies, I hate my D* as much as you do.)

And I know what this kind of rhetoric does, especially when it inflames a community. It helps people address the negativity that supremacists and orgs like the KKK would rather keep under wraps.

It helps bring light to problems that groups like queer and queer-poc people are facing. And explains that "Just because some white people are being white people, doesn't give the excuse that black people should act *black*"

And that isn't because white queer people exist, doesn't mean that queer-poc don't suffer the injustices their *more white counterparts* don't have to put up with.

I'm not quite sure where on that whiteness scale I sit considering I'm not entirely certain as to how I'm being perceived at any one time. Am I male or female, or Hispanic, or American. (Pre-American or Post)

It's like being a sundial you know, depends on the time of day, exactly where the sun is in the sky, whether or not Mercury is in retrograde. It's just a lot to keep a handle on sometimes.

There's an importance to saying the things that the "haters" are saying, as if you were the one to say them. Because then it makes people think "If he's saying these things publicly, just how bad is it?"

[aclaywrites]

How to fall in love via Deneuve Magazine Personal Ads Circa 1993

❖ Go to your mailbox and see that your latest issue of Deneuve magazine has been delivered. It’s in a plain brown envelope, but you still take it all the way inside the house before you open it.

❖ Take a moment to gaze at the cover and appreciate the fact that it’s named after Catherine Deneuve in honor of her sex scene from The Hunger which awakened us all.

❖ Flip past the first few pages of ads. Do I want to fax away for a brochure about the chance to go on a Kenyan photo safari with the world’s first out lesbian commedienne? What about the Olivia Thanksgiving cruise?

❖ Enjoy the Editor’s Column about how our new President Clinton has pledged to make real progress for the LGBT community. Bask in the warm glow of happiness knowing that the gay dark ages are finally coming to a close.

❖ Chuckle at Alison Bechdel’s ad for the Feminist Bookstore Network and wish you had one of those stores near you.

❖ Keep up with the state of the lesbian nation via the letters to the editor. Aren’t the repressive laws being passed in Oregon and Colorado shocking? Goddess bless that Kentucky baby dyke having to dodge the KKK at her high school 🙁

❖ Read the wedding announcements and get all choked up, remembering why you’re here. Resist the urge to flip to the end and see if there’s anyone new from last month. Hope springs eternal!

❖ Oh, the 20th anniversary of Naiad Press! I love their stuff! Especially how all the covers look like they’re printed with ink that was on sale. I wonder if they have any more copies of that Lesbian Queries book from 1990???

❖ Audre Lorde sure is gonna give them hell at the march on Washington, eh?

❖ So many bookstores. So many books.

❖ An article about Safe Sex! Hell yes! Even though lesbians don’t get AIDS because we’re God’s chosen people, this will be fun to read about in theory! “After all, aren’t we told that lesbians and priests are in the lowest risk category?” lol people thought priests weren’t constantly having gay sex. Simpler times.

❖ An interview with Alison Bechdel! She’s so swoony.

❖ Articles about soap operas, speculation about Hilary Clinton, gossip about Madonna and Sandra Bernhard. And what about Whoopi Goldberg? And that Ellen lady? She’s been on Arsenio Hall acting all cagy about the men in her life. A list of women we wish were gay, including Joan Jett? Didn’t she sing Crimson and Clover without changing pronouns like waaaaay back in the 80s

❖ Music reviews: Sweet Honey in the Rock and Alix Dobkin! We’re almost to the ads…

❖ Labrys jewelry, freedom rings. C’mon, let’s get to the good stuff!

❖ Here we go! Classified ads– 30 words for $20! Queer personal finance, we buy used computers, a lesbian resort in New Hampshire.

❖ Personals at last! Is my woman here?

❖ Hey there’s that woman who has an ad every month expressing her ‘complete and sincere respect for’ women in military, fire, police, private security, corrections’. A gay male ad would say ‘Uniform fetish’ but apparently we’re too delicate.

❖ Bisexual boston babe ‘femalely handsome’ looking for someone who’s ‘nice to look at, not a feminist and not a bitch’. Next!

❖ Lonesome in Wyoming, Bisexual Bodybuilder, Softball is over, time to find someone warm for winter, Reubenesque Arkansas Buddhist…

❖ Find a girl who sounds promising– seems interesting and is not too far away. Spend a day or so composing a letter with a pen and piece of paper introducing yourself. If you don’t have a photo of yourself that you like, have a friend take one. Then finish the roll of film and bring it to the Fotomat and wait a day or so and then pick up the prints and hope you like one of them. Choose one anyway, and put it in the envelope with your letter.

❖ Get a stamp, hang it on the mailbox, never hear anything ever again.

❖ One month later, go to your mailbox and see that your copy of Deneuve has arrived.

[offbookkeeping]

6. Wolf/Tuck Live with D'arcy Carden and Paul Scheer

Plot summary:

Jordan and Sharon are two teens that are sort of in love with each other. Jordan doesn't really understand consent and that's the main reason Sharon doesn't want to be with him. In the meantime, a bunch of teens are hanging out with their old man friend Todd Benji (or T.B) for short) who smokes a lot of weed, watches Twin Peaks, and has a van with a unicorn in a KKK hood on it. It's called the Clan Van. He's probably racist. Back to the woods, Jordan comes across 3 wolves disguising themselves as little girls and they explain consent to him, but wolf consent. They then eat him. A bunch of parents from the camping trip go to home depot look for weapons to kill the wolves. T.B. says the wolf man cleared all the wolves out of town but the wolves came back. The kids want to find the grave of the wolf man but T.B. says that's a horrible idea because he's long dead. Eventually he gives up and the kids all pile into his car to go find the guy who killed the wolf man and try to kill him with a George Foreman grill. The kids figure out that T.B. actually is the wolf man and all talk about how badly they want to fuck him. T.B. admits he's the wolf man and immortal and the kids accept him for who he is. The paint on the Clan Van peels away and it's revealed that it actually says Wolf Man Van and the unicorn is actually a wolf holding up two peace signs and saying black lives matter. The wolf man hollers with his magical collar and turns all the wolves back into good wolves. The kids and T.B succeed and the wolves and humans lived side by side together.

Best quotes:

• "That's what this show is by the way"

"An hour of party cats"

• "Well I realized that I'm just like an animal, you know? But like an animal that wears clothes. Like a Muppet"

• "I'm not saying we kill 'em I'm just saying we look at them when they're dead!"

• "As an actor, I thought that a wolf is social media, and that's the metaphor we were doing"

Best songs:

• I Hate Home Depot

Thoughts overall:

The show began with party cats. If you dont know what I'm talking about you should go listen to this episode. Jess McKenna sure knows how to make the ladies swoon. Also this is the episode where the infamous "You Touched My Boob" song came from. I loved this episode so much more than I did the first time and I think it's because I just adore D'arcy Carden

[yairtabibi]

The Horror Is True- Candyman

In Jordan Peele’s and director Nia DaCosta’s new Candyman released in 2021, Anthony McCoy, the protagonist, slowly discovers more and more layers of truth that he never knew. He discovers his own past, and with it his real identity. He discovers the more recent past, from the 1990s when Helen Lyle, a grad student, became obsessed with Candyman and went insane, murdering and eventually self-immolating in a bonfire. Then he discovers another layer of the past he did not know about, the story of Sherman Fields, a disabled man who in the 1970s was wrongly accused of putting razors into candy and beaten to death for it. Last he discovers the deepest layer of the past, the story of Daniel Robitaille, an artist in the 1890s South who was murdered after falling in love with a white woman.

I want us all to have the same experience, to discover the true stories behind the legends. I think Peele and DaCosta want us to as well. So, let’s talk for a moment about the real Ruthie Jean. It is a story that is only briefly mentioned in both the 1992 and 2021 versions, but it is her murder that sets of the events in the 1992 film. Someone came through her bathroom mirror and murdered her—Candyman did it, right? Well, there was a real woman, a real murder, a real case that inspired this part of the film.

Her name, and indeed let’s say her name, was Ruthie Mae McCoy, a name that gets used in the 2021 (it is Anthony’s last name). On April 11, 1987, right around time that Bernard Rose was planning the first Candyman film, a 52-year-old woman living alone in her apartment in the

high-rise ABLA in the Cabrini Green Projects was murdered by one or more men who accessed her apartment by pushing through her bathroom mirror and entering through the opening. She lived at 1440 West 13th street, and though two men were arrested for her murder, they were both eventually acquitted for lack of evidence. Like any good horror story, there is element of truth to it, and it doesn’t end with Ruthie Mae McCoy.

There are real Daniel Robitaille’s too. In 1880, lynch mobs murdered at least 40 African Americans, and in 1890, 85 were murdered, and in 1891 it was 235—the increase is clear, and yet we should also take note that these are only the murders that got reported and recorded for posterity. The violence was so widespread that racist mobs and the KKK organized “lynching bees,” like twisted and grotesque version of things ladies and children did, like quilting bees or spelling bees. In 1911, the famous boxer Jack Johnson, a Black man, was attacked by a mob in Chicago after he married a white woman. Daniel Robitaille might be fictional, but the things he experienced were very real for centuries in America.

The horror is true. The legends are true. And in Candyman, there are consequences for knowing the truth, for summoning up the ghosts of the past, but in real life there is no choice; we must look in the mirror, we must summon the names, we must remember the hidden dark parts of the past.

[treadmilltreats]

In case we forgot who this former president truly is

"Being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.” Former First Lady Michelle Obama once said.

This is such a powerful statement, especially in these times. One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou "People will tell you who they are."

So America, are you listening?

We got 13 days left for the biggest decision of our lives. This is literally the vote of our lifetime.

At this moment, we know that we should know that #45 has definitely revealed who he is and what he stands for. There are so many things he has said that came out of his own mouth, that definitely isn't “fake news”, no matter how much his supporters want to spin that.

Well... where do we start….

How about that women are pigs…and again he said these very words.

On Carly Fiorina.

"Look at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine the face of our next president? I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?" [Sept. 9, 2015]

On Jessica Chastain.

"She's certainly not hot." [February 2013]

On Stormy Daniels.

"Horseface" [Oct. 16, 2018]

On Halle Berry.

"I love her … upper body." [February 2013]

About the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.

In a speech from Trump Tower, Trump said there were "very fine people" on both sides of the protests.

White supremacist leaders, including former KKK leader David Duke, have praised Trump for his "honesty," while critics have slammed him for putting neo-Nazis and anti-fascist resistors on the same moral plane.

He also said “Laziness is a trait in blacks”

“I have black guys counting my money. … I hate it,” Trump went on to say “The only guys I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes all day.”

He spoke on John McCain. "He's a war hero because he was captured, I like people who weren't captured,"

This from a man who never served in Vietnam and who received multiple deferments to avoid service had this to say in July 2015 about the U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a naval aviator who spent five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, where he was tortured.

"Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican illegals because of his wife."

Trump retweeted this - and then thought better and deleted the post on July 4, 2015.

In a 1989 interview with Time magazine, Trump dropped this doozy when he was asked to ballpark his total wealth.

“Who the f knows? I mean, really, who knows how much the Japs will pay for Manhattan property these days?” he said, employing a common racial slur for the Japanese.

“There was blood coming out of her wherever”

Trump made these remarks after he was manhandled during a primary season debate by former Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Trump also denounced Kelly, a respected journalist as a "lightweight,"

“I am the least racist person there is”

Simply not supported by the available evidence and truly laughable.

“No need to spill the beans”

In 2016, Trump retweeted an image negatively comparing the looks of his wife Melania Trump, a former fashion model, and Heidi Cruz, the wife of then-primary rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

Cruz went on offense, defending his wife: "Donald, real men don't attack women. Your wife is lovely, and Heidi is the love of my life."

“She was bleeding badly from a facelift”

So what is it with Trump and blood anyway? He directed these offensive comments toward MSNBC anchor and "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brezinski. As The New York Times reported:

"The president described Ms. Brzezinski as "low I.Q. Crazy Mika" and claimed in a series of Twitter posts that she had been "bleeding badly from a face-lift" during a social gathering at Mr. Trump's resort in Florida around New Year's Eve. The White House did not explain what had prompted the outburst, but a spokeswoman said Ms. Brzezinski deserved a rebuke because of her show's harsh stance on Mr. Trump."

YES - they really did go with the "she was asking for it" defense.

And our all time favorite horrible remark “Grab them by the p***y”

Trump has said some pretty terrible things about women during his years of wandering this Earth. But these remarks to a former "Access Hollywood" host might be the sine qua non to understanding his attitude.

“Some, I assume, are good people.”

The racist gaffe heard around the world: Trump said of Mexico.

"They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

These are quotes and tweets this man who is trying to run our country again has said. And seriously how great did we become during his time running our country?

We had more racial unrest than ever? When black men were being hung once again. When he stirs the pot by saying "Stand by and stand tall"

When he calls people who are not like him, or against him names? When he belittles and demeans women? When he is trying to divide us instead of bringing us together?

This man is out for himself and his "white friends" he doesn't care about anyone but himself. He literally wants us to go back into the 50's where blacks had no rights, women had no choice and the LGBT community were in the closet. Instead of moving us forward, he is moving us backwards.

So today my friends, remember all of this when you vote but more importantly remember this if you are not voting, if you think your vote doesn't count, if you are undecided, this is what you are voting for. This is the character of the man who wants to run our country for four more years.

This vote is literally depending on you, it is your life. Your vote affects the women in your life's choice, if you're black or of color this could mean life or death for you and your loved ones. If you are LGBT or know someone that is, this is a vote to keep them free and living how they want to.

Please, please... I am begging you to vote as if your life depends on it because it does.

"Be the change you want to see"

@TreadmillTreatsCheck out my daily blogs @ https://treadmilltreats.blogspot.com/?m=1

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[stmaryslibraryios]

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain  ‘you have to read it’ said Clare Mackintosh.  Well if Clare says I have to read it then that is good enough for me!  And it was a good book – not in the league of Kristin Hannahs The Women but good.

It begins in South Caroline in 2010.  Kayla and her husband worked for the same architect firm.  They built & designed their own house and it is the first to be finished in the new lot on the street/road.  It is nestled in between trees at the end of the street.  Kaylas husband died, working on the house, before they had chance to move in.  Kayla has misgivings about the move and is spooked even more when a red haired lady turns up without an appointment and says she is going to kill someone.  She knows all about Kaylas family and where the house is, it is a warning.  Kayla & their 3 yr old daughter, are living currently with her father in the neighbouring town.  Her father Reed, grew up around the area and knew the family who still have their old house on the corner of the street but they don’t speak. 

We jump back to 1965.  Ellie is 20 and lives at home with her family in South Carolina and attends university where she is their campus reporter.  She had been dating Reed for a few years.  He was dependable , a banker & loved her.  Civil unrest is stirring in the South, segregation in the shops & cafes still exist and only white people are allowed to vote.  Protests are starting L B Johnson as talking about changing the laws so that ‘negroes’ have the right to vote.  Several hundred students from North & West colleges are coming down to South Carolina for the summer to help them understand & help them register.  Ellie attends the peaceful protest in her town and becomes fired up when the Northern students arrive about the injustice of it all.  She joins the organisation living & canvassing with the students.  It turns her family and the community against her especially when she starts to form a relationship with a black man.

Unpleasant things start to happen in and around Kaylas new home.  Dead squirrels are hung in the tree, her daughter goes missing, it was the red haired lady who took her.  Ellie who had left SC over 40 years ago comes back to care for her frail mother & terminally ill brother.  The link between people in each era finally comes together and the past is re-ignited.   

Short chapers which jump from 2010 to 1965 but you don’t get lost with timeline as each chapter has the year written on with Ellies name or Kayla.  It is part of history we probably all know about Martin Luther King, the violence of the KKK and the prejudice & small mindedness of communities.  It was a little predictable but a disturbingly good read.

Review by Lindy

[crackspinewornpages]

It Can't Happen Here 6/38 -Sinclair Lewis

1 

The dining room of the Hotel Wessex was reserved for the Ladies' Night Dinner of the Fort Beulah Rotary Club. Not as picturesque but it had its moments of humor, but the whole affair was serious. “All of America was serious now, after the seven years of depression since 1929. It was long enough after the Great War of 1914-18 for the young people who had been born on 1917 to be ready to go to college...or another war, almost any old war that might be handy.”p.1 The Rotarians weren’t outwardly funny, Brigadier General Herbert Y. Edgeway’s topic, Peace Through Defense-Millions for Arms but Not One Cent for Tribute. Mrs. Adelaide Tarr Gimmitch who was known for her anti suffrage campaign and her effort to maintain the barring of divorced, or foreign movie directors who haven't sworn to the flag or Bible. (she sounds like that type of person but wait she’s much worse) 

They were all listening to General Edgeway’s rhapsody on nationalism, how the United States have no desire for foreign conquest their highest ambition is to be left alone. Their only relationship with Europe is to educate their masses of ignorants and we must prepare the shores against alien governments who eye America’s mines, forests, cities and fields. (flip that around) “For the first time in all history, a great nation must go on arming itself more and more, not for conquest-not for jealousy-not for war-but for peace.”p.2 (that sounds like an oxymoron) They all cheered save a few pacifists and Doremus Jessup, the editor of the Fort Beulah Daily Informer. 

The dinner culminated in Adelaide’s speech, she wanted to send every soldier in the Front a canary but was denied by the Quartermaster General, (of course it was) and claims she gave him a piece of her mind. (yeah she’s also a Karen but wait she’s worse) She called every soldier she met within two blocks her boy and her speech listing them all lasted an hour. Now she was busty purifying films, she had advocated for then fought Prohibition and daily sent President Hoover lengthy advice and despite being childless she wrote about Child Culture. (would you believe she’s even worse) Now she was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, women who boast of being descendants of seditious American colonists and attack contemporaries who believe in the principles their ancestors struggled with. They became beyond criticism, contrived to be just as ridiculous as the defunct KKK. (...insert that monkey puppet meme here) 

She went on that women did nothing with the vote, if they listened to her she could have saved them all the trouble, women must resume their place in the home. (quotes an author who thinks women should have six kids) Lorinda Pike was appalled and interrupted her, she was the village scold and crank, criticizing every interest in the county and she asked if a woman can't get a man should she have kids out of wedlock. Adelaide countered that if a woman has any charm, she won't have to hook a man, they’ll be lined up at the door. Adelaide went on that too many are selfish and won't help responsible businessmen (ha) bring back prosperity, the labor unions are money grubbers extorting their unfortunate employees. The country needs discipline, peace is a pipe dream, they need to be in a real war again to learn discipline, all this intellectuality is just a toy for grownups.  

She turns to General Edgeway to fess up that he thinks when a country goes money mad so the thrift has to pay for ne’er do wells, to get some iron in them a war might be a good thing. People clapped and cheered and Edgeway confesses that while he abhors war, there’s worse things a state, labor organizations, nations out of Russia, where professors and authors are seditious and people lacking pride of a warrior. He really wants is the country to come out to the world. “Now you boys never mind about the moral side of this. We have power, and power is its own excuse!”p.8 (no not it’s not) Italy and Germany had enough honesty to say to other nations to tend their own business, (this takes place in 1936 WWII hadn’t really ramped up yet) nobody ever loved a weakling. In 1936 there's less than seven percent of colleges that don't have military training as rigorous as the Nazis, now the youth demands it. (this sounds a lot like our modern performance activists they have no legacy or sense of purpose in life so they join whatever gives them a feeling of belonging to something) Three years ago a big percent of students were pacifists, now these meetings (calls them exhibitionist orgies) have been raided and Red students beaten so severely they won’t rise the banner of anarchism in the country. 

When he was applauded Lorinda stood up again but was interrupted by Francis Tasbrough reminding her Edgeway and Adelaide were invited to speak and she is just a guest. Then Doremus Jessup popped up that Lorinda should apologize to Edgeway. “My friend, Mrs. Pike, ought to know that freedom of speech becomes mere license when it goes too far as to criticize the Army, differ with the DAR, and advocate the rights of the mob.”p.9 (freedom is only as free as those in power allow it) They should be grateful for Edgeway explaining what the country’s ruling class really wants. He was looking at Lorinda with sternness, but Medary Cole wondered if he was actually kidding but Lorinda caroled an apology. It wasn't a bother to him and people laughed and the program ended with patriotic ditties by Louis Rotenstern. 

Rotenstern was 100 percent American and frequently stated they should keep foreigners out of the country. (slurs for everyone who’s not white bread American like Kikes Wops Hunkies and Chinks) He was convinced if ignorant politicians could keep their dirty hands off banking and labor hours, the country would profit, and everyone would be rich. (he’s like those Boomers that don’t realize those checks and associations are there for a reason then wonder why they’re sick from food after the FDA was dismantled just go read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair) After the choruses everyone said their goodbyes and gossip. Doremus’s wife Emma says he did right butting in, Lorinda always parades her Socialists ideas. As people got to their cars Frank Tasbrough invites Doremus to an after party. 

2 

After taking his wife home he went to Tasbrough’s and let the hills break up his thinking of Edgeway’s epidemic patriotism. “It was a downy town, a drowsy town, a town of security and tradition, which still believed in Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and to which May Day was not an occasion for labor parades but for distributing small baskets of flowers.”p.12 He thought about Vermont, Fort Beulah, Pleasant Hill and the people in it. “But most of the wishy-washy young people today-Going seventy miles an hour but not going anywhere-not enough imagination to want to go anyewhere!”p.13 Music by dial, phrases from comics instead of the Bible, Edgeway and Adelaide were right, maybe they do need a war. (careful what you wish for on that monkey’s paw) 

Tasbrough was the general manager and chief owner of granite quarries, rich, persuasive and had labor troubles. Now in his private barroom only Tasbrough, Medary Cole and Emil Staubmeyer were comfortable in his caped elegance. Tasbrough told Doremus to stop playing Liberal and join the family, it’s going to be ugly with the Jew Communists potting to control the country. They even tried to ruin his business and is still sore at Doremus for taking the side of the strikers. These labor racketeers and Communists are determined to ruin the country, to tell men like him how to run his business and they won't serve the country if they go to war. Doremus agrees and Senator Windrip has an excellent chance of being elected President and his buzzards will get them in some war. 

“People will think they’re electing him to create more economic security. Then watch the Terror! God knows there’s been enough indication that we can have tyranny in America-”p.16 Democracy hasn't been universal, even if it’s given industrialists too much power and money, it’s given ordinary workers more dignity. That’ll be now menaced by Buzz Windrip into a real Fascist dictatorship, Tasbrough calls it nonsense. “That couldn’t happen here in America, not possibly! Were a country of freemen.”p.17 Doremus says the hell it can't, no other country is more hysterical or obsequious, Windrip owns his state, Americans will casually accept crookedness. (just a page of examples) “Why, where in all history has there ever been a people so ripe for a dictatorship as ours!”p.17 

RC Crowley thinks it won't be so bad, why is he afraid of fascism, it’s just a word. It won’t be so bad with all the lazy bums living off his income tax, a strong man like Hitler or Mussolini and have them make the country prosperous again. Staubmeyer points out Hitler saved Germany from Marxism, he’s got cousins there, (for now) he knows, but Doremus isn’t impressed. “Lure the evils of Democracy by the evils of fascism! Funny therapeutics. I’ve heard of their curing syphilis by giving the patient malaria, but I’ve never heard of their curing malaria by giving the patient syphillis!”p.18 (this was an actual thing the doctor got a Nobel prize for it) Tasbrough thinks Crowley is right, it might be good to have a strong leader but it can't just happen here in America and Reverend Mr. Falk said the hell it can’t. 

3 

By twelve Doremus was well read and would graduate from Isaiah College where he wrote bad poetry and become a book addict and track athlete. After graduation he was a reporter, in 1901 his father died leaving him almost three grand (the inflation calculator only goes to 1913 but this is still about 96k) and his library, so Doremus moved back to Fort Beulah. Despite the Republican state he was independent in politics against injustice, considering himself the opposite of politically loose. He married Emma and had three children (Philip Mary and Sissy) and one grandchild. (David) His house he described as ugly in a nice way, he went up to his private study (two pages describing his study) and looked out over the countryside, every year he loved it even more.  

He checked his letters, one from his old college, something dangerous is rising there and they’re worried the undergrads have gone war like. “When I cautiously ask them what the dickens war they are preparing for they just scratch and indicate they don't care much, so long as they can get a chance to show what a virile proud gents they are.”p.24 The faculty was warned if they criticize any military organizations they’ll be fired and students that have proof will get extra credit. (oh they’re turning the youth against those that could speak reason) Doremus realizes Tasbrough was a trustee that voted for it and encouraged them to be Gestapo. 

4 

All week Doremus was waiting for the broadcast of Bishop Paul Peter Prang, now six weeks before the 1936 National Conventions. Senator Walt Trowbridge will be nominated for the Republican party, Senator Berzelius Windrip for the Democratic party, though it’s said his secretary Lee Sarason is the real brain. Windrip went through several colleges before settling for his home state, a boisterous speaker, willing to lend money, drank as the people did and in twenty years ruled his state. He built up the farmlands, knew America would deal with the Russians so had the state university teach the language and quadrupled the state militia, rewarding the best soldiers. The militia considered him their god so rose against the town that wanted to indite Windrip for grifting two hundred thousand in taxes. (so he has his own private army) He took the Senatorship for six years and preached of redistributing wealth and the rich given a five hundred thousand a year (about 11 million today) allowance, so everyone was happy. (I doubt the rich were actually happy) 

Reverend Dr. Egerton Schlemil once stated Windrip coming into power was like the blessed rain. “Dr Schlemil did not say anything about what happened when the blessed rain came and kept falling steadily for four tyears.”p.28 No one knew how much of Windrip’s career was really Sarason, who’s background was a mystery. (ah so it’s a puppet government pay no attention to the man behind the curtain just keep the puppet content) Officially Sarason was Windrip’s secretary, but he was more everything and most consulted in Washington and least liked by newspapers correspondents. He had done the actual writing of Windrip’s book (so it’s not really Windrip’s words then) on exhibitionist boosting economic program, Zero Hour-Over the Top. (a lot of idealistic American imagery of his childhood on a farm) The most quoted paragraph saying they have to change the system, maybe the whole constitution. (legally not by violence and if that’s not foreshadowing I don’t know what is) 

1936, the most confusing campaign, the Republicans begged for office and the Democrats were professors, city slickers and yachtsmen in wagons. Windrip’s rival was Reverend Prang, he was sentimental reviled enemies by name, told stories, he was pure Middle West. He had power over his audience, as he told them fifty thousand wrote to the congressman to vote on a bill. “Thus, by the magic of electricity, Prang made the position of any king in history look a little absurd and tinsled.”p.32 

Doremus could never forgive what political gossip he preached, nationalization of banks, mines, transportation, increase wages and strengthen unions, (these all sound great) but no one expected them to be carried out. (yeah...not surprised there) All Perang wanted was his listeners to obey him in everything (and that is dangerous in the wrong hands) and to Doremus that made him a worse fascist than Napoleon. (see even Doremus thinks so) He doesn't believe the rumors of embezzling dues to pay for his radio time. “It’s much worse than that. I’m afraid he’s an honest fanatic! That’s why he’s such a real Fascist menace-he's so confoundedly humanitarian,”p.33 So noble the majority will let him boss them in everything, a country this size it’s quite a job. All while Trowbridge, suffering from being honest, wouldn't promise miracles, they lived in America not a highway to Utopia. (even in Utopia the slaves wore chains of gold) 

5 

A quote from Windrip’s book that slanders editors, they have no interests in family or the outdoors and only plot how to put out their lies and advance their positions, preying on statesmen who give their all for the common good. (hmm sounds like he wants to discredit the press) 

Doremus’s son Philip and Mary's family popped over for the weekend, the whole family is demanding a picnic, Doremus insisted, as an editor, it was his job to listen to Prang’s broadcast. They laughed and teased him until he promised to go and snuck along a portable radio. Lorinda Pike and Buck Titus came along and the hired man, Shad Ledue, who complained because he had to carry everything. Philip tells his father he should fire him, but Doremus thinks of it as an experiment, to train him to be a gracious Neanderthal, he even reads (you’d think someone as smart as Doremus would know this kind of treatment can breed spite and resentment) and believes Windrip will be president. Philip says Windrip just shoots his mouth off but the only thing he could do is protect them from the murdering Bolsheviks and Jew spies that pose as American liberals. (this book was written in the 30s) 

They set up the picnic and have trivial conversations and admire the view. The only flare on conversation was Buck calling all these politicians new Messiahs, his favorite is Father Divine who doesn't just say he’ll feed the underprivileged in ten years, he’s already handing out food. (huh someone who actually practices what they preach) Sissy’s boyfriend Julian Falck appeared, Doremus thinks he’s nearly tolerable compared to the others. Doremus adjusted his radio and gets annoyed by the sponsors and who was singing the oldies (a male sextette called the Smoothies) he thinks the country needs Windrip, then came Prang’s broadcast. He announced he only has six more weekly petitions before the national conventions to decide the country’s fate, it’s time to act.   

He quotes the sixth chapter of Jerremiah, time to prepare for war. “Far from the leasy of them even unto the greatest, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely...saying Peace, Peace, when there is no Peace!”p.41 It was spoken in the book of old and again in 1936, the League of Forgotten Men has warned there is no peace and they have demanded money be taken from private banks and soldiers be given their dues, farmers and unions be recognized and be made a part of the government. They have no problem with individual Jews but these subversive organizations which are unfortunately largely Jewish, must be driven from the earth. (also says Jewish communism anarchism and atheism be stopped from all activity) How long have the politicians and Big Business pretend to listen, there is no more time. 

The ones before died on the guillotine, perhaps they can be more merciful this time with the New Constitution and New Deal. Like Windrip said, it is the Zero Hour, after months of taking counsel they secured the Democratic nomination of Berzelius Windrip. He pledges to take their advice, and they’ll back him with their money, loyalty, votes and prayers. (so of course he’ll say he’ll listen to them) Doremus had his family listen to history, Emma calls Prang a Red Radical but does it really mean anything. “Why, nothing much except that in a couple of years now, on the ground of protecting  us, the Buzz Windrip dictatorship will be regimenting everything.”p.43 Julian has tempted to turn Communist, Buck jeers they’re out of the frying pan of Windrip into the fire of Stalin, the Five Year Plan, what do they expect his horse to foal six colts a year. Dr Fowler Greenhill says, “Why, America’s the only free nation on earth. Besides! Country’s too big for a revolution. No, no! Couldn't happen here!”p.43 (people say that because they think it’s true but only those that know it could happen are the ones preemptively stopping it) 

6 

Zero Hour quote that says people could call him a socialist all they want as long as they help him slash poverty and intolerance to pieces. 

His family believed Doremus had fickle heath, he raged at their worrying but knew they had a point, but sill snuck around staying up late and smoking. These deceptions gave him satisfaction, but his wife was sad by his aging and failing health, only happy when he was snappish before breakfast meaning he was energetic with ideas. After Prang’s announcement the summer went to words, political conventions that disturbed Emma since Doremus was silent at breakfast. 

Back in the 1920s Doremus advocated to recognize Russia and Fort Beulah thought he was turning Communist. He was milder, somewhat, Liberal and disliked pomposity and the itch for notoriety. “But for all the cruelty and intolerance, and for the contempt of the fortunate for the unfortunate, he had not mere dislike but testy hatred.”p.46 He alarmed his fellow editors with his advocacy and politicking and was called a Bolshevik losing over a hundred papers in circulation. Maybe he was a little, he stopped at a Communist camp once and thought they resembled the YMCA. He once supported a strike against Tasbrough who reviled him still eight years later even after the strike lost. If Doremus wasn't from there generations of Vernaters he’d be penniless and less detached from the Sorrows of the Dispossessed. (Return With Bombs Strapped To Their Chests~   sorry reflex) Emma complains about what people must think of him, they don't understand he’s not a Socialist.  

NEXT

[jakubciechomskicasblog]

Creativity-Movie Review-April

The Help is yet another Oscar winning movie and deservedly so. It’s a touching portrayal of how racist and discriminatory rich white ladies were to their black house maids. Surprisingly it also intertwined some humour in between the horrifying scenes of verbal and physical abuse. The jokes made by the black maids were incredibly funny and helped in proving the point that they were no different from white people other than the colour of the skin. They’re the same humans, the same species and yet many characters in the movie treated them like if they were monsters. They could fire a maid for simply using the same toilet as them, they perceived their maids as disgusting in that aspect but also allowed them to carry and take care of their children. In fact, they allowed the children to be with them so much that they pretty much completely being raised by the maids. One of the small girls in the movie even said that Aibileen (one of the maids) is her true mother. This unfortunately is only the tip of the iceberg as the white ladies were deeply hypocritical, advocating for funds for children in Africa while despising them in private. What we should put in the most attention though, is the incredible bravery and courage the maids displayed when telling Skeeter (a character writing a book about how they’re being treated) their stories. All of them were terrified of the possible backlash from their previous employers if they found out, going so far as to fear being murdered. Breaking that barrier of fear is no easy feat especially in times where the KKK was still active and constantly hunting down innocent black people. There is only one negative point to this narrative, being that it’s a white hero story. The book is being written by an educated white woman which helps and frees the black women by publishing a moving story about them. That doesn’t really sit right with me and many others as it is a movie about black maids, not white heroism. I’m ashamed to admit but at first, I didn’t realise this and deeply enjoyed the movie. It is overall extremely good, just with that one stain which makes a story about black maids also the story of a white hero.

[innytoes]

Leverage Redemption 2.05

-Holy bad photoshop batman

-Proof sports are dangerous.

-Breanna I love you. Showercap of equality indeed.

-Harry you are also a good bean.

-STOP WALKING ON THE LAWN THERE IS A PERFECTLY GOOD STONE PATH ONE STEP TO THE LEFT

-Breanna’s hat is amazing.

-Flying squirrel Parker my beloved

-Okay so Baby Grifter Sophie learned how to take a car hit before she was 11 and Parker was a baby getaway driver at 11 and now I need the AU bb!criminal fic.

-100% was waiting for Parker to be like: yeah they hunt people for sport.

-Okay Eliot that’s a nice speech but you can be not-a-coward/a hero and still keep a running tally of the amount of times you were shot and bitch about it, I feel.

-Did the costume department really go like: let’s give these dudes a nice subtle KKK vibe.

-The rhythms of nature and fellowship of men... is this a gay orgy? Is it????

-Harry gets to be Eliot and his first instinct is to growl I’m dying.

-Okay I forgive the stupid speech now because Harry doing it is amazing (also adorable that he remembered it word for word.)

-Not gonna lie was waiting for frog lady to punch that dude.

-Candlelit beers with his boyfriend aww.

[memecucker]

You’re gonna run into really interesting stuff just going down the list of mayors of major US cities

For example the two most corrupt mayors in Los Angeles history are typically seen as #2 being George Cryer who was mayor from 1921 to 1929 with #1 being Frank Shaw who was mayor 1933-1938. And yeah the Prohibition era rise in organized crime obviously plays a role but the reason people confidently say they were the “most corrupt” is that it wasn’t so much they were paid off by the gangsters but were themselves gang bosses in crime syndicates with Cryer being part of a triumvirate known as the “City Hall Gang” but would overtime be eclipsed in true power by the two other members. However despite campaigning on a platform mostly about fighting “Dens of Vice” the tenure of Cryer’s mayoralty saw construction projects like a secret tunnel connecting City Hall to a speakeasy/casino/brothel and LAPD scandals like when a woman with a missing child was given the wrong boy by the LAPD and when she was like “This isn’t my son” they said “you’re crazy lady” and had her committed and then it turns out her real son was murdered by a serial killer. But yeah Cryer was a figurehead really whereas Frank Shaw was the crime boss and didn’t need any “powers behind the throne” with there being plenty of scandals and corruption going on.

A person who both mayors got along with was Police Chief James E Davis whose tenure as chief happened to coincide with the respective rise and falls of both of his mayors. Chief Davis attitude towards policing work was something like “bloodthirsty maniac” and he would talk about his favorite times in his early career were beating striking dock workers with clubs and as chief under Cryer once bragged to the press about his new elite division known as “Gun Squad” for the military grade weapons they carried and how he would reprimanded any officer from it that brought in a criminal alive. It’s widely believed the Gun Squad was responsible for more than a few unsolved murders during the time period. Davis first fell from power when the weight of corruption scandals finally brought down George Cryer but was brought back by Frank Shaw due to being popular with the city’s upper class conservative establishment and because Davis was known as someone with zero issues with carrying out dirty orders from the mayor’s office as long as he gets his fix of violence. Anyway Davis and Shaw’s fall from power happened after the attempted murder of via car bomb of private investigator Harry Raymond who was working pro bono for anti-corruption campaigners and while neither man was ever charged with anything they did eventually get removed from office due to the backlash.

Anyway in between Cryer and Shaw was this guy named John Porter who served a single term from 1929-1933 under a “serious” anti corruption platform backed by many religious leaders who were part of the anti-Cryer movement and also Mayor Porter was a member of the KKK and fanatical puritan so by 1933 it seems like people were all “Actually you know what let’s just get another crime boss that was actually not-as-bad as the klansman mayor”

[brydeswhale]

I think what really weirds me out about the whole “Alex bashing” in the #tarlos fandom is just how gratuitously unnecessary it is.

I mean, again, we really know very little about this guy.

Just that he dated TK, and he fell out of love with him, so they broke up. And also that TK wanted to marry him(moved on pretty quick, tho, so I suspect a great deal of the fantasy in regards to that wish).

The only ppl who would logically have bad things to say about Alex are TK and Owen.

And the only thing Owen really says is that TK is moving too fast(which he is).

And as far as TK is concerned, he says that Alex fell in love with someone else and that the break up was hard.

Which, sad, but also fairly neutral statements.

And yet, despite this glaring lack of evidence, fandom is rife with such hot tales as, “Alex is abusive/Alex forced TK to relapse/Alex cheated on TK”.

All of which are basically silly.

There’s no evidence that Alex was an abusive partner. It’s never mentioned by anyone who knew him, and certainly not by TK. And in a show that milks drama like a freshened cow, you’d think that kind of thing would come up. But nope.

And as far as TK’s relapse and subsequent, as sad as it was, there’s just one person responsible for that, and that’s TK. While his illness does make the relapse understandable, he did have other options. He chose, of his own volition, to relapse.

And the cheating thing would have also come up in the show. It would have been a huge component of TK’s relationship with Carlos. But again, it’s never been a thing.

He fell in love with someone else and ended his relationship. That’s actually a mature and healthy thing to do. He’s not responsible for how TK reacts to that. He’s only responsible for doing the right thing and being honest. Which he was.

So, why so much animosity?

And, I mean, it’s not like Tarlos shippers even want him around. Alex isn’t an obstacle for the relationship, he’s just an ex. He’s just a bit of drama to spice things up for Carlos and TK.

So, why so much animosity for someone who, for all intents and purposes, is basically part of a back ground plot point to get TK to Texas?

Alex isn’t there. He’s not trying to get between them, the extent of his presence in the show is(like so many things in TK’s character) all about TK, and it’s quickly discarded after the first season.

Fandom does love a villain, tho, in more ways than one. It’s not uncommon to grab a random character and make them the bad guy, even if they’re realistic innocuous in reality. Alex, being an ex, would naturally fill that role.

But the sheer level of vitriol aimed at a dude who, quite simply, isn’t present in any substantial way, is kind of messed up.

Having said all that, this is a pretty obvious pattern when it comes to fandom and characters of colour, ESPECIALLY Black characters.

You can see it in things like the Star Wars fandom, the Flash, and many others.

It’s how “holding her hand to draw her away from a fire fight” becomes “unwanted sexual contact”.

A close friendship blossoming into love becomes “ew, incest, I like the piss kink lady better!”

But at least Finn and Iris had an actual presence that could blossom into love.

Alex just, like I said, exists in the backstory. His piece of TK’s arc is over and done with and he’s in New York, one presumes, living his best life.

(And, I mean, given the level of harassment that both John Boyega and Candice Patton have experienced in the past few years, I kind of think that’s for the best, for the actor’s sake, at least.)

Before I continue, let me tell you what I’m NOT saying. I’m not saying every Tarlos fan who uses these tropes is a card carrying KKK member. What I AM saying is that these people seem to have a lot of subconscious biases they need to examine.

To be blunt, fandom stereotypes characters of colour, especially Black characters, as abusers, drug pushers, cheaters, etc, because those are prevalent stereotypes about Black people in many countries around the world.

And no matter how much we might SAY we’re immune to propaganda, God and Garfield both know otherwise.

So it’s worth examining one’s motivations in who one chooses to make into a villain and why, and maybe to avoid doing it.

[transsherlockpropaganda]

A Guide to the Sherlock Holmes Canon

Compiled for BBC Sherlock fans who wish to branch out into the original stories by ACD.

A Study in Scarlet - Holmes and Watson move in together. Shade is thrown at the Mormons.

The Sign of Four - Mary Morstan comes along. Racism.

The Hound of the Baskervilles - The most beloved of the canon. Demon hound stalks Devon aristocrats.

The Valley of Fear - Freemasons have man killed.

A Scandal in Bohemia - Holmes is beaten by the woman.

The Red Headed League - Red headed shop owner is tricked by bank robbers.

A Case of Identity - Step father poses as young man to keep young lady's money.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery - Dying Australian kills another Australian, is let off.

The Five Orange Pips - The one about the KKK.

The Man with the Twisted Lip - Gentleman becomes beggar, is accused of own murder.

The Blue Carbuncle - Precious gem found in crop of Christmas goose.

The Speckled Band - Deadly snake trained using milk and whistle.

The Engineer's Thumb - Criminals try to crush man in hydraulic press.

The Noble Bachelor - Rich man loses wife on wedding day.

The Beryl Coronet - Banker loses part of very expensive coronet.

The Copper Beeches - Governess made to cut hair and wear electric blue dress by creepy employers.

Silver Blaze - Horse commits murder.

The Cardboard Box - Woman receives ears in the post.

The Yellow Face - Man is surprisingly not racist.

The Stock-Broker's Clerk - Man replaced by criminal at job he hasn't started yet.

The 'Gloria Scott' - Holmes's first case. Man has been lying to son for whole life.

The Musgrave Ritual - Butler solves puzzle that has remained mystery to generations of aristocrats.

The Reigate Squires - Holmes pretends to faint, scares Watson half to death.

The Crooked Man - Crippled man returns from India to surprise of man who betrayed him. Also there's a mongoose.

The Resident Patient - Ex-criminal sets up doctor in practice.

The Greek Interpreter - Watson meets Mycroft. Two Greek men get beaten up.

The Naval Treaty - Important state document stolen.

The Final Problem - Persued by Moriarty, Holmes and Watson flee to Europe. Holmes disappears, assumed dead.

The Empty House - 3 years later, Holmes returns. Watson faints.

The Norwood Builder - Man fakes own death to get revenge on ex.

The Dancing Men - Woman is terrorised by coded messages.

The Solitary Cyclist - Woman is followed by strange man on bicycle.

The Priory School - Child kidnapped by his own family.

Black Peter - Drunk man killed by harpoon.

Charles Augustus Milverton - Blackmailer killed by victim.

The Six Napoleons - Scotland Yarders are really proud of Holmes.

The Three Students - Student cheats on exam.

The Golden Pince-Nez - Woman kills man by mistake.

The Missing Three Quarter - Rugby player goes missing.

The Abbey Grange - Holmes lets killer go because of love.

The Second Stain - Woman told she doesn't understand politics.

Wisteria Lodge - Man dies trying to kill Spanish tyrant.

The Red Circle - Italian couple flee from gangster.

The Bruce Partington Plans - Submarine plans stolen.

The Dying Detective - Holmes pretends to be dying of a tropical disease.

The Devil's Foot - Holmes and Watson poison themselves and hallucinate.

His Last Bow - Holmes's final case.

The Illustrious Client - Holmes beaten up on the orders of an Austrian. Watson gets very angry.

The Blanched Soldier - Man's boyfriend does not have leprosy.

The Mazarin Stone - Diamond stolen, disguises worn.

The Three Gables - Woman steals story written by man she had beaten nearly to death.

The Sussex Vampire - Man thinks wife is vampire.

The Three Garridebs - 'It was worth a wound'.

The Problem of Thor Bridge - Governess framed for murder.

The Creeping Man - Monkey serum as viagra.

The Lion's Mane - Jellyfish kills man.

The Vieled Lodger - Woman savaged by lion, hides face for rest of life.

Shoscombe Old Place - Dog provides the answer.

The Retired Colourman - Man is terrible husband.