#the state uses its power to kill and discriminate; now it can kill and discriminate faster.

[foxgirltail]

Yes, microsoft trying to make a "zero-water" data center (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-unveils-zero-water-data-170002064.html) is unambiguously a good thing. Obviously any reduction of pollution or water usage is a good thing. No, I don't think that means that ai's usage of water is something to singlehandedly be up in arms about.

By all means, be upset about ai! Just don't only be upset about ai for this or that when basically every other industry on the planet has the same exact problems.

A single cotton t-shirt requires 2700 liters of water, 5 trillion liters of water are used annually for fabric dying, and 20% of all water pollution is from garment production (source: https://www.wri.org/insights/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics)

This medium article (https://medium.com/@notkavi/stop-acting-like-ai-uses-a-lot-of-water-fafea5573c63) compares the numbers cited in the same study as the latest news articles about ai water usage ("Making AI Less 'Thirsty' by Pengfei Li et al https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03271) to the water needed to make beef. GPT-3 used as much water to train as it takes to feed 12 usamericans their average annual burger-patty supply. One quarter-pounder uses as much water as 36k GPT-3 queries or 3.6k GPT-4 queries.

Here is a comparison of Microsoft's water usage in 2022 to the water usage of golf courses:

In 2022, Microsoft claimed it used 1.7 billion gallons (6.44 billion liters) of water. Between 2003 and 2005, the golfing industry used approximately 2.08 billion gallons (7.87 billion liters) of water DAILY for course irrigation. (water usage of golf courses has dropped an estimated 29% between 2020 and 2005 - https://www.gcsaa.org/media/news-release/2022-news-releases/2022/07/26/golf-courses-reduce-water-usage-by-29-percent-according-to-national-survey - this still amounts to ~1.48 billion gallons or ~6.74 billion liters daily. 2 days of golf is more than a year of Microsoft's water usage)

Source for golf water use: https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%20Center/how-much-water-does-golf-use.pdf

Source for ai water use: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/ai-chatgpt-water-power-usage-b1106592.html

Yes, the world would benefit from less water usage for ai. But when you posit ai as uniquely evil for it's water usage, I have a hard time believing you actually have an issue with the water usage. Instead it seems like you just want a reason to dislike ai.

My goal is for all of these industries, and many more, to severely reduce their water consumption, or to even stop existing as industries at all! Is that yours as well? If so, why doesn't it feel like it.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

In 2016, Christy Lopez was an attorney at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division working on policing where, among other things, she led the team that investigated the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown. Lopez believes that her work spurred meaningful policing reforms, both in Ferguson and nationwide.

But as soon as Trump took over, things started changing fast. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sharply restricted the use of consent decrees — the legal tool Lopez and her colleagues used to force change in Ferguson. Lopez, who had left the Justice Department in 2017 to take a teaching job at Georgetown, could only watch from the outside as the work she took pride in was ground to a halt. Today, she is sounding the alarm: Whatever the dangers of a first Trump term were, the risks of a second dwarf them. “If Trump is elected, I would like to look back five years from now and say, ‘Oh, we were really alarmist,’” she told me. “But I do worry that it’s actually going to be far worse.” Many, many people have warned that Trump is a threat to American democracy. Many others have argued that these warnings are politically inert, that focusing on abstract concepts like “democracy” and “the rule of law” removes political debate from the concrete concerns people want addressed by government. Do people struggling to pay the bills have time to care about such matters of principle?

Yet in reality, the two things are inseparable. Trump’s plan to turn the government into a tool of his own personal will would have extraordinary consequences for Americans’ everyday lives. It would disrupt, or potentially even devastate, core functions of government that we’ve long taken for granted. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is a case in point. Founded by the 1957 Civil Rights Act, the Division is tasked with enforcing federal law regarding anti-discrimination and civil equality. This is a mammoth responsibility, covering areas of law that shape the fundamental experience of American democracy. Its attorneys launch hate crimes prosecutions, investigate discrimination in employment and housing, and sue states when their voting rules run afoul of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

If Trump returns to power, the department could easily be turned from a tool for protecting civil rights into a means of undoing them. Trump and his allies have laid out fairly specific plans for doing just that — plans that, if enacted, would mean a far more radical and methodical transformation of the federal rights civil apparatus than what we saw in Trump’s shambolic first term. The department’s Voting Section — which played a critical role in defending the integrity of the 2020 election — would be twisted, its attorneys replaced with cronies working to validate Trump’s lies and shield Republican-controlled states from federal scrutiny. Its anti-discrimination litigators would be tasked with investigating “anti-white” discrimination, effectively turning the Civil Rights Act on the minority citizens it was written to defend. And Lopez’s former colleagues working on policing would not only let abusive cops skate, but potentially even investigate local law enforcement Trump believed weren’t aggressive enough toward alleged criminals. We can see here that a second Trump administration would likely mean the inversion of the traditional purpose of federal civil rights law. Its guardrails against authoritarianism, discrimination, and abuse of power will be twisted toward advancing them.

[...]

Trump’s plan to invert the Civil Rights Division, explained

Trump has vowed to use a second term to enact “retribution” against his enemies. The Justice Department, and specifically the current Civil Rights Division staff, are at the top of the list. At the end of Trump’s first term, he issued an executive order creating a new classification for civil service jobs — called Schedule F — that would have allowed him to fire as many as 50,000 civil servants and replace them with handpicked allies. While Trump left office before his team could implement Schedule F, he has promised to reissue the order “immediately” upon returning to office. In anticipation, his allies have compiled long lists of civil servants they’d like to fire and loyalists they’d like to put in their place — preparations that have led one expert on federal administration to conclude that 50,000 firings is now “probably a floor rather than a ceiling.” Trump’s allies have focused on the Civil Rights Division as one of their chief targets for Schedule F and other power grabs. Project 2025 — widely seen as the chief planning document for a Trump second term despite the campaign’s disavowals — has an explicit, detailed plan for taking it over.

The document calls on the next Republican president to “reorganize and refocus” the division, aiming to make it into “the vanguard” of the administration’s crusade against “an unholy alliance of special interests, radicals in government, and the far Left.” It is one of three Department of Justice divisions singled out in the document’s call for “a vast expansion of the number of [political] appointees” overseeing and directing its conduct.

[...]

Election law politicized

On November 9, 2020, Attorney General Bill Barr directed the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s allegations of fraud in the just-concluded presidential election. The probe, announced after the election had been called for Joe Biden, was controversial inside the Department. It raised fears that Barr, no stranger to conspiracy theories about voter fraud, was trying to validate Trump’s claims of a stolen election. Yet the professional probe, staffed by veteran investigators in the Civil Rights Division and elsewhere, found no evidence of mass fraud. On November 23, Barr told Trump the investigation was “not panning out.” The neutral, competent investigation gave the attorney general the ammunition he needed to stand up to the president. Now imagine if things were different, if these career investigators had been Schedule F’d out, replaced instead with Trump-aligned attorneys. What if they had come to Barr and said that, actually, the bogus statistical arguments that the election was stolen had merit? What would he have done then? How would reports of such findings, however bogus, influence the rest of the country — including Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress? It’s an example that illustrates the importance of the Civil Rights Division. The American system is unusual, in global terms, by granting most power over election administration to state and local authorities. While this system makes it hard for the federal government to rig elections, it makes it comparatively easy for state-level officials to cheat and discriminate (Jim Crow being the signature example).

This is what a disaster of a 2nd Trump term will bring.

[meartemesia]

Hollywood's Modern Sensorship.

(My opinion as a young, queer, white person from South Africa who is aware of my own privilage as well as being discriminated against as a gay Afrikaans person who grew up in a church ruled, largely white Afrikaans community .)

As many fans mourne the loss of yet another show with queer and poc representation, it has become more evident that there is a pattern in Netflix's recent shows.

The graveyard of shows inclusive of positive queer representation wherin the queerness is not made out to be hyper sexual, destructive of friendship or lets the character have a happy ending, grows with another show. Dead Boy Detectives.

Sensorship is defined as: the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.

"the regulation imposes censorship on all media"

While Hollywood has made trives in recent years to abolish its former Haze code, it has managed to find a legal loophole in the inherent capitalism of showbusiness.

Shows with a dedicated fanbase and essence are being cancelled for not meeting a specific quota of income. While that might sound reasonable regarding the unbelievable amounts studios spend on media, this quota isnt just about the financial aspect. Studios rely on a show's fanbase and potential growth or popularity concerning future fans and a growing audience.

This means any shows that might be co troversial in the future stand less of a chance to be invested in.

2024 was a wildly restless political year globally and while every country had its own worries, all eyes have been targeted on the shitshow that is the powerhoise of the Unitedd States as the media hub of western culture.

America'a influence on the world is no small feat and while it can be argued that that might not be a good thing, it is a fact as true as South Africa's concerning history of corrupt governance.

The uptick in sexism, homophobia and especially transphobia that has become rampant in recent hears has become reflective in the media we consume. From the cancellation of First Kill to now, we are seeing the effects of homophobia as a meand of income.

The movement against rainbow capitalism and other movements exposing the exploitation of human right campaigns by companies seeking money from "trends" has lead to more and more companies dropping their former "support" as the views of the clientele shift with recent political unrest.

It is not onlt shows that are being cancelled.

Companies have removed pride month lines, stopped funding lgbtqia+ charities, have started supporting conversion charities, anti lgbtqia+ charities and have begun pandering to a wider and more sensorred audience.

This is a blatant disregard for human rights in the sense of spreading awareness, representation and watering down human lives to trends that can bolster an income.

These executives don't care about the audience. They do not care about "the sanctity of morals". They dont care about us or the conservative side of any government.

They care about money.

We need to start seperating corporations from government. No one is immune to propaganda. Not even you.

Sensorship isnt about moral rights or wrongs. Its about money. So wherever you lean on the political spectrum, anywhere in the world. The media you consume isn't made for representation, moral righteousness, serving a higher power, nor is it about the appreciation of art and film and writing.

This is an attack on art as a means of expression. It is the sensorship of what art is fundamentally about: The Expression of Ideas weather people like them or not.

Art has been turned into a money grab. A means of corporate propaganda and somehow, even in their attempt to overtly sensor art, they are exposing their true intentions and reflecting the larger issues happening in the world around us.

Queer people, wen, people of colour, trans people, disabled people and anyone who doesnt fit into the rigid framework of humanity's "perfection", we are being silenced by having our art silenced.

This is your sign to start supporting local artists. Lgbt owned foundations and other minority foundations. The lgbtqia+ community has shown a large support for Palestine in the past year and as we are aware, Hollywood doesnt agree with supporting the end of a genocide. So we, as well as anyone who politically aligns themselves with this humanitarian view of sacrid human life, are silenced. Why?

Because you can't profit off fair means. No empire has ever been built fairly. Capitalism has its pros and cons. So does any other form of politics.

But we must not let the future generations wonder why we couldnt stop the downfall of our communities. We must act now so that future generations will not have to be burdened with another Stone wall, Apartheid, Suffragette movement.

We are provilaged enough now by having rights thanks to the martyrs who fought for human life.

Religious or not, we can all agree that the chances of us existing is miraculous. Human life is sacred. Do not let the 1% fool you.

The only dangerous minority, are the rich.

[existentialcrisis-24-7]

Trix on your rewrite?

Thank you so much for this ask! I'm actually so sorry it has taken me this long to answer, but I am my own worst critic and couldn't come up with an answer until now that I was satisfied with. I'm still not totally satisfied with this, but I'd rather just rip off the bandaid with this at this point so it's not proofread or anything. Enjoy!

(cut bc it got long)

Icy was once the second princess of Dyamond. Her childhood was pretty normal by princess standards until she was 7, when a cataclysmic magical storm swept through the world and destroyed everything and everyone in its path, leaving only her. 

While stumbling around the ruins of her castle, she came across Mandragora. Icy panicked and shot a magic blast at Mandragora which she very easily deflected. There was a silent stand-off for a while between the two while the Ancestral Witches debated on what to do about the situation, shocked that anyone had been able to survive their storm, much less a child. Tharma thought they should just kill Icy, tying up their loose end, and be done with it. Belladonna believed they could use Icy to get what they needed and then they could leave her to die. Liliss pointed out that the only pawn they had was Mandragora who was in fact a known war criminal and that having a pawn so young, impressionable and unrelated to them could prove to be useful. Tharma got outvoted and it was decided that Icy could live. 

It was explained to Icy (in child terms) that Mandragora was trying to find the person who caused the storm and that if Icy came with them and followed the Witches’ orders they would help her get revenge. They generally exploited the fact that Icy was a child in an extremely vulnerable emotional state. Icy agreed and picked up witchcraft without too much trouble, meeting Darcy and Stormy years down the line when she was 13 and 14 respectively. 

Icy’s magic is incredibly strong, with her having the most experience and the one with the strongest negative feelings backing it as well as a lot of one on one training from the Ancestral Witches.

In terms of her role in the group, she’s the leader. She always has a plan and can keep her cool in nearly any situation in spite of her temper. While she wasn’t much like this as a child, Icy has grown to be incredibly cold and ruthless. She genuinely cares about her sisters, but if she needed to sacrifice them to achieve her goals and couldn’t find another way, she would do it. Beyond her sisters, she doesn’t really care for anyone and usually only keeps them around for as useful as they can be to her. Between her and her only, she’s got really bad attachment issues and kinda clings to people like life rafts. 

Icy is the only one of the Trix that knew anything about Darkar before he gets his big reveal, though she only really knew that he was more powerful than the Ancestral Witches.

I'm also debating as of right now whether I should make Icy have albinism.

Darcy was the middle child of the wealthy D’Arcy family on Fallot. She spent most of her childhood being routinely ignored and disregarded and learned to use this to her advantage. She taught herself how subtly manipulate people and blend into the background even more allowing her to get away with a lot of questionable things. Eventually she picked up witchcraft and found she had quite the affinity for it (repressed feelings of loneliness and anger helped immensely with that), and spent a lot more of her time practising it growing to be quite proficient for someone her age. Her family found out and, with witch discrimination running rampant across the Magic Dimension (in spite of Griffin’s best efforts), her family forced her to give it up. Darcy naturally didn’t take too kindly to this and made the choice to leave at the age of 12. Her family didn’t notice for nearly 2 days. 

Darcy went around a month before she met Icy and very quickly convinced her that she should be allowed to join. Mandragora was not happy to have to keep an eye on another child but relented after Liliss claimed that Darcy could prove to be a powerful witch if given the right push.

In terms of her relationship with the rest of the group, Darcy is the one with the spellbook. She is incredibly people-smart and intuitive. She has trained herself to be able to sense others’ magic in both strength and type allowing her to pick up large advantages in battles when it comes to bluffing, though she has never been one to like actual combat. Darcy prefers manipulating her target or distracting them with her illusions and isn’t that good at taking a direct hit. She also tends to panic in high-stress situations or when things don’t go immediately right resulting in her overthinking. Darcy is also a horrible actor in spite of her incredible manipulation and lying skills thanks to her tendency to panic. 

Darcy genuinely looks up to both Icy and Stormy. On bad days she’s convinced that they could do everything without her and if she didn’t push herself constantly to keep up they would drop her. The rational side of her knows this simply isn’t true, they’re sisters and all bring something special and important to the coven, but the lingering thought eats at her. She’s terrified of being alone, unseen and unheard again.

Stormy was kind of a fucked up kid. She wasn’t evil ya know but it was that whole situation of looking after a “problem child” and just giving up on them because they’re struggling in a way adults don’t understand and lashing out. Eventually, after years of this treatment, Stormy had given up on the adults in her life and decided to strike out on her own at the ripe old age of 10. She was on her own for 3 years, travelling across the magic dimension, when, at 13, she encountered Darcy and Icy. She demanded to join their duo and the two were immediately against it, thinking she would only be a detriment to them and that they were far better off as two. Stormy started following them around in spite of their refusal and after they got into a bit of a pickle, she saved their lives. Icy and Darcy persuaded Mandragora to let Stormy stick with them, believing that Mandragora relented because of their expert convincing skills, though in all actuality it was due to Tharma taking an immediate liking to Stormy’s chaotic attitude.

Stormy, when Icy and Darcy first met her, gave off the impression of the character who’s the comedy relief with a dark secret, except she doesn’t really keep the dark parts a secret. Stormy was the first of the group to kill someone and she did it before she even joined them. She made money mostly by beating people up and stealing it, though when she wasn’t in the mood for a fight she would instead dance and entertain along busy streets. She ended up being quite the dancer, even making money off challenging professionals.

Stormy is the most adaptable of the group and tends to be able to go with the flow incredibly well thanks to how quickly she had to adapt and learn as a child. She’s the tank of the group, coming in with maybe not the most precise attacks but definitely the most deadly and destructive, and definitely doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty and fighting without magic. Out of all 3 of the girls, Stormy has the most magical stamina from all the intense dancing workouts she does nearly daily. This workout can get on the other girls’ nerves since she does it at all hours, but since it makes Stormy happy and ensures their heavy-hitter can continue beating the shit out of people they don’t bother her about it.

Stormy is incredibly confident in herself and words rarely ever hurt. She has no problem hurting others if she thinks it’ll be fun, though she struggles to find that point in which things have gone too far which can often lead to things blowing up in her face. This can happen with the Trix too, Stormy pulling a prank that she takes too far and She doesn’t have a lot of clear memories left from her childhood before being on the road and joining the Trix, however she can still remember how it felt before she ran. Over the years Stormy has grown very apathetic towards things, only really caring if she can cause chaos in some way, though her temper has not improved since she was young and continues to be very short. While a short temper isn't usually great, Stormy actually couldn't perform any strong magic without it since witchcraft relies so heavily on negative feelings.

Also, their names weren't originally Icy, Darcy and Stormy but their old names aren't really of relevance so I'm not including them. Just figured that was worth clarifying.

[julietasgf]

Juli

I'M BACK (I never left, it just took me a while to respond because I need to think about my answers otherwise I'll ramble on ad infinitum and college beats me eh). I love talking to you so I hope it's not a problem I'll keep asking you stuff about these fascinating characters (The Plinth) and any other topics because I love your ideas and your takes.

About your reply on AO3, I can promise that I will start doing my own HCs on Strabo and Ma and you will be the first person I will show it to when I have written it. I must also say that I agree with you: while ships and romantic relationships are amazing to explore, platonic and familial relationships are just as interesting and deserve to have their fics and hc and analysis within the fandom. (Can we talk about the potential of Lysistrata as a possible friend of Sejanus in canon?)

Before I start with my rant of the movie (it's finally here, another day we will continue with the many other things like the war in Two, First Quarter Quell, etc jsjsjfjs) I come to pass you the link of the fic I mentioned and also to recommend you a new series of fics that recently appeared centered on Baby Sejanus during the war (please tell me what do you think!!!)

1. Bullets Over Two

It is being update I must warn but what is there is for now, is very good!

2. All I Long for is Home (Little Sejanus series)

I really thought it was magical when they sent the link on discord for this series. It has everything we love: Baby Sejanus, studied the dynamics of the Plinth and their experiences during the war!

Speaking of the Plinth. I think its function is both ways: they are clearly the immigrant experience and the difficulties of forced assimilation of coming from another country as identity crises but also USA is a very large nation and as you say, the culture shock within its own territory is enormous and continues to reproduce these dynamics of discrimination.

Ah yes I send you a big hug for the mockery. People really can be cruel. I don't get it, to me it seems like such a nice way to call mothers. 🥺

In my case I'm from the capital but my father is not, he came from a state and has told me a couple of truly traumatic experiences about the problem of fitting in. Ah

But well. The time has come for the rant.

First I would like to clarify that I loved the movie. Great cast, great direction, costumes and cinematography. The soundtrack is a fucking work of art. Iconic enough that I will forgive them for not adapting the snowjanus song from the book. I also think Coriolanus and Lucy Gray had more than satisfying and well done arcs.

In fact there were some changes to the story they made in the movie that seem to me to be great additions or reinterpretations of the text (Example. making Felix the president's son, killing him and having Dr. Gaul use his death to interrupt Reaper's act of direct rebellion -another change that as you can see I am into it-, Tigris serving with that line "You look like your father, Coriolanus", etc).

I don't have a problem with any of that. My big conflict comes down to their portrayal of the Plinth and the Academy students (I'm mostly talking about Clemensia but I didn't limit myself to her). As I said before the absence of the Plinth (Ma and Strabo) seems problematic to me, because they will be the worst crime of Coriolanus. They are the proof of how many limits he is willing to cross to get to power while being the force that is able to allow him to fulfill those ambitions. It's fucked up and very necessary to show in order to understand Snow.

I understand that the time was probably here what contributed to the fact that we only got to see them in a small cameo but gosh I think one scene. One little scene they could have given us. Besides it wouldn't have been a waste, because a lot of information about the Snow's we found out in relation to the Plinth.

What can I say?, I just feel sad every day that we don't have the scene of Coriolanus and Strabo talking in the movie. It's such a short but intense conversation.

With Sejanus my biggest complaint is that because the involvement of his family and family history is almost nonexistent, viewers of the film alone don't know a lot of much needed facts about who he is to see his nuances and there were changes that worked against reflecting his character as well as his situation.

The most extreme example that we have discussed before is the Sandwiches scene. In the movie, the credit is taken away from Sejanus, who was the only one to be concerned about the welfare of the tributes in the book. He was the first to try to approach them not to put on a show like Coriolanus but to try to offer them dignified treatment.

That Sejanus brought so much food. That he did not give up even though at the beginning no tribute wanted to approach and in the end his thing with Marcus will not be settled are actions that speak a lot about who he is. Since such actions don't take place in the film, it leaves an incomplete understanding of the character (which leads people in tiktok to have the worst takes on him in the world).

But this doesn't just happen with poorly executed scenes, it's present even in well done scenes like Sejanus responding to Arachne's bad comments. While it's a scene I adored and establishes well that Sejanus and his fellow academy members live in very different worlds, I don't think it quite captures Sejanus' situation well.

Although inferred, in reality outside of disagreements of opinion there is little in the film that if you don't know the context of the book, tells you very clearly that Sejanus has been harassed and bullied by his classmates for over a decade and the true extent of the hostility of the environment to him.

Which in part doesn't quite capture the reason for his desperation. Equally influential is that Sejanus begins with a higher pitch of protest in the films rather than the escalating spiral he faces in the book.

Now about the Sandwiches scene, I think we can all agree that it is made to make Coriolanus look much better than he acted in that particular situation and ultimately impacts along with other subtle changes in his behavior to make the character a more gentle and selfless version than his book counterpart.

And as you rightly said Juli, Sejanus is not the only character who is prevented from showing his virtues to 100, to favor the image of Coriolanus. This happens in fact with all the students of the academy. Especially with Clemensia.

I wanted to talk about Lysistrata but I feel the same problem with her as with the Plinth: they are practically nonexistent, and it is striking that the other character who genuinely showed concern for her tribute, sought to give him a humane treatment and was not particularly in favor of the games, was almost eliminated.

But I'll go with Festus. Who like other characters in TBOSAS - THG is a greyscale. He'll say wild and clearly poorly thought out things like suggesting the use of capital punishment and brute force to get more people to watch the games but he's also a kid who mourns the death of Arachne, the twins, eats at all hours, is funny, and told Clemensia she was cruel for not wanting to send food to her tribute. And he had a kind of connection with Coral.

According to Coriolanus he was also one of the few people who liked Sejanus more than the average student at the academy. Which says something about his persona, but more importantly in Coryo's own words.

Festus was his best friend and I was quite surprised at the kind of focus they gave him in the movie because not only is there more focus on his flaws but his moments with Coriolanus are more sparse. You wouldn't think they were friends. Again I'm not 100% complaining about that alteration and I can understand where it comes from (it was to give more focus on snowjanus "friendship") but here we have a character who to a lesser extent is reduced to being a mentor who doesn't treat his tribute with gentleness unlike Coriolanus and who seems to not be his friend. Just his classmate.

Which brings us to Clemensia. Who I think is worthy of a place in the "I was close to Coriolanus Snow and he ruined my life" club. I think people underestimate the weight of Coriolanus' actions when he decides to put himself first. When he decides to put her aside to ensure his own survival.

Clemmie is one of Snow's closest friends. And their relationship is the least complex compared to other important relationships in Coryo's life. Which I think is something that promotes the strength of their bond, as Dovecote is genuinely just a friend that Coriolanus spends time with.

It's not as wearing and multi-layered as his love hate Sejanus. Like the conflicts Lucy Gray stirs up and it's nowhere near as torturous as his relationship with Tigris. Coriolanus genuinely cares for her and they seem to understand each other well but this is what I think makes her the first victim.

I can't really say that Coriolanus will act badly in the whole situation. It was Gaul at the end of the day who did most of the damage; demanding that rehearsal from them even when Arachne died, lying to Clemensia to send a message to Snow.... But it is the turning point. Because Coriolanus is faced with a crossroads, what happens with Clemensia forces him to acknowledge what he has always known.

The Capitol does not care about protecting its people. The Capitol is cruel and oppressive. The Capitol subjugates them. He can't rely on institutions or adults to protect him.

And I can't blame him for his reaction, but it is his reaction that makes him complicit. He decides not to protest, not to argue, not to tell and not even to try to take care or to know about Clemensia once she disappears. He does it to ensure his own survival. To take care of his family in theory and other things but it is that point of fall where the debate opens up within him as to why his actions and what he is willing to leave behind in order to survive.

He runs away from her, unable to face the horror of his own inability to act or do anything else for Clemensia and while he awkwardly apologizes, for leaving his friend behind, it was this event that marks this point of who else he is capable of leaving alone as soon as they "become a threat" to his interests.

So I don't understand for the life, why they didn't shoot the scene of her in the hospital with snake scales? Clemensia and Coriolanus' arc IS VITAL. And removing it was a huge mistake, not only that, but changing Clemmie's attitude to make it look like she "deserved" what dr. Gaul did. It was honestly the worst decision. It just doesn't make sense. And I mean that in all seriousness. They didn't even complete her story *scream*.

But well, who I am to complain... On a happier note our beautiful LATAM AU. 🤭 Of course, Sejanus is the one who fights with Strabo every time there is a family reunion. His cousins try to eat at the speed of light before Sejanus starts saying things against the pigs politics who exploit people and Strabo tells him he's a dumb anarchist and stop questioning everything and then they start yelling at each other and have to take the kids somewhere else 😭😭😭

By the way it would be funny if Sejanus, is disinherits by his dad every christmas and he's like "I don't even care about your dirty money" but Coriolanus DOES CARE so he scolds him every time he says that and tries to talk some sense into him although the odds are also very high that he tried to convince Strabo to make him his heir instesd of Sejanus by chatting with him in the yard JAJSJSJSJSIS

Arg Coryo is good because Tigris has an album and a copy of that album with pictures of him dressed as a chick for a dance and other horrors. AND SIIII YOU UNDERSTAND VESTA IS THAT MOTHER WHO CAN DANCE EVERYTHING.

Rip Coryo and his two left feet. He let himself be led but was a very embarrassing companion for someone like Vesta who moves with grace. Sejanus offers to give him lessons so he doesn't make a fool of himself again at parties jsjsjshs

GOD IS CANON. LGB WOULD DEFINITELY GIVE HIM A NASTY POLITICAL CAMPAIGN SHIRT to (make fun of him). Also she has permanently threatened Coriolanus that if he is ever an unacceptable jerk again, she will funar him on social media 💀

STRABO IS THAT KIND OF DAD JSJSJS HE LOVES TELENOVELAS HE JUST REFUSES TO ADMIT IT BUT IT'S SO OBVIOUS. Imagine Sejanus and Coryo discussing telenovela villains and someone gets a fact wrong and Strabo is like "but this actually happened..." and saying he knows because Vesta told him but everyone knows that in his office he watches telenovelas in secret LMAO

About the daddy issues. This the scene

This is getting long already but I think daily about Coriolanus and Strabo's talk and then that time Coriolanus realizes he's acting like Strabo with Sejanus. Damn. I just know that if we would have had a snowjanus + strabo encounter. THAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED I SWEAR JSKSLS

😭😭

Coryo: Don't yell Mr. Plinth at Sejanus he is just trying to help...

5 minutes later:

Strabo: But don't give him the order yelling,young Snow, you should know Sejanus is sensible...

3 minutes later:

*both of them yell at Sejanus*

Sejanus: This is normal yes :)

Oh. I forgot my song.

1. New song sejarcus certified and yes it's an accurate portrayal of Strabo's father. Its crazy.

2. European Mexican warning: but I need you to see the video of Rosalia - millionaria + Dio$ nos libre del dinero. It's two songs that share one video and there's something there about Coriolanus and Sejanus and their relationship with money. Ehh

Now I will shut up for the moment.

HIII!!! I absolutely understand and 0 judgements bc I'll spend hours just writing a single answer bc time is needed (specially bc I'm a tad bit slow thinking in english 😭) also, good luck with college!! and aaaaaa I love talking to you, this is really sweet, feel free to ask or say anything, I'll be more than happy 🥹

YESSSSS PLS I'm now anxious to hear your thoughts, can't wait for them!!! I stand by the fact that ships are lovely, but there's a big lack of exploration for platonic dynamics and it's painful (and I say that as a platonic bairdplinth truther, snow can go to hell, let these two bond and be such an iconic duo). and yessssss I love lysistrata sm :( every single time her character appeared, all I could think was "omg why couldn't sejanus get closer to her instead of getting close to coriolanus?". there's just so much POTENTIAL here

YESSSS HERE COMES THE (DESERVED) RANT!! but about the fics: thank you sooooo much for sending the links!!! I bookmarked the first to read later, but the second, I've read the first work of the series when it was posted and it's SO GOOD <333 it's genuinely one of my favorite works that I've read recently, and I love how the author wrote bby sejanus' perspective regarding the war

yessss!! I'm not an usa expert (bc, well, I never lived there), but I've seen some interesting takes from people who are from there, but more specifically, are from the appalachian region; and these people were talking about how there's this whole view of people from that region being "uneducated" and other things (and how important it is that D12 is located in this region; I'm not sure if in the movie lucy gray have an appalachian accent because I SUCK at recognizing accents in english except for the texan one, but I know that when suzanne collins read a passage of the book out loud, someone pointed out that she gave lucy gray an appalachian accent).

(this also hits harder when there's a passage in the book where sejanus says him and lucy gray are very alike regarding this, not being able to fit in anywhere, except she had talent 💔)

thank you, this is really kind 🫶 some people will just be ignorant for no reason, just for the joy of being ignorant. and I'm sorry about the things your father went through :(

but okay, let's go to talk about the movie:

absolutely agree!! the movie is GOOD. straight up good. and as an adaptation, there are a few things I think they actually did better than the book:

the whole game, in general. I think the rythm got much more dynamic than it is in the book. I understand the book's purpose, but as a reader, it's slow. the changes made it more interesting and it worked in movie-form a lot.

the whole scene with reaper and the panem flag not only is gorgeous and strong and impactful, but it's so well-adapted, I just- I was really at a loss of words, because it IS much better than the book, imo.

wovey dying from the snakes instead of lucy gray poisoning her. it was an impactful scene that made me feel hopeless and horrible watching. even though the book is brutal, this death specifically made the movie much more brutal to me. that was a child begging to go home.

as you said, making felix being the one who got killed during the bombs. it just made more sense and it was gaul's perfect excuse. and it also makes us question more things: is it one child's life worth the life of 24 children?

but when it comes to coriolanus... oh boi. I have thoughts.

(before we get into it, it's worth saying tom blyth did an amazing job with the text he got; the forest scene was TERRIFYING, it made me genuinely scared and tense when watching it at the theater. plus, he has this constant look that just unsettles you. it makes you sense that there's something wrong with this boy, even though you can't really put your finger on what exactly. if there's such a thing as a perfect actor for coriolanus, that's tom blyth, no doubt.)

now, this is a feeling I personally have: the movie is an action dystopian movie. it would obviously want to appeal to this public, including people who never read the book in first place. so, to appeal more to the general hollywood public, they adapter coriolanus' character to be more of an underdog who goes through some sort of corruption arc. he's not an indocrinated, bigoted boy who thinks himself to be superior, who grows more and more power hungry, and this leads him to do things that are more and more horrible. in the movie, he's an ambitious boy, yes, but who goes through traumatic things and famine, and who, in the end, chooses himself in order to survive.

now, let's say the writers want to change this character to make him more appealing to the big public; after all, who would like watching someone like coriolanus thinking the things he think, specially about district people? and the way they seemed to do it was by not changing the core story, but omitting and toning down elements that make coriolanus seem much worse.

the plinths are definitely the most problematic of these characters who got omitted or toned down. the end in the film is not near as impactful as in the book. he killed their child. their only son. and then he comes back and acts as if he did nothing. he knew how much sejanus' mom loved him, then he kills her son and proceeds to call that boy's mom MA. he was SO sick for that. stealing someone's life is already bad, but there's so many layers that the more you look into it, the worst it gets. it's essential to understand that atp of the story, there's no turning back, because he isn't able to feel remorse anymore. he just doesn't care, and this is extremely important to know that THIS is the snow we know in the future. this is the snow that do horrible things to children, that mercilessly kills his opponents. that's how far he's willing to go.

I agree with you regarding the time, specially because the movie was already very long, but they could've given us one scene. at least one. if they inserted, for example, ma plinth going to talk to coriolanus abt sejanus being missing, I think it would already add a great impact (of course the scene of sejanus' death screaming for his ma is heartbreaking by itself, but when you know the context, when you see how close they were in the book, it's just MUCH WORSE, MY GOD). or in the end, a little scene with coriolanus and strabo talking abt coriolanus being their heir would already do a lot for the storytelling (I also think that was left a bit ambiguous in the movie).

(I also adore that scene of strabo and coriolanus, it gives us a lot of insight and I would've adored to have it adapted 💔)

sejanus in the book is a complex character that has a lot of nuances, and that's why I like him so much. when you look through coriolanus' lens, you won't really understand how depressing his situation is. coriolanus just looks to the fact that sejanus have money and is financially privileged, but mostly ignores the fact that the capitol is hostile to the plinths (coriolanus himself is hostile to the plinths! he doesn't say it aloud bc, well, he's coriolanus, but it's still there in his narration, and the way he talks about them), and sejanus was relentlessly bullied through his whole childhood growing up. he had no friend and not really a support network besides his ma. he was utterly alone in an environment that hated him, hated where he came from, hated his family. and he still turned out kind. and we see this in details through the book; the sandwich scene is the most significant, as you said, and it PAINS me that they cut it out, bc reading it, it was when it was clear to me that what coriolanus says about sejanus is not really reliable. sejanus brought food not only to marcus, he brought food to ALL the tributes. he wanted ALL of them to have something to eat. and he really didn't need to do it.

another thing that was poorly executed was that they basically got rid of the fact that he was suicidal. in the movie, it seemed like a naive kid thinking dying on that arena would be a good act of protest (which wouldn't be at all, as we all know it wouldn't be broadcasted). in the book, the whole thing regarding it being a form of protest is more secondary, because that boy was straight up trying to kill himself, and if it actually ended as some sort of protest, then it would be just a side thing. sejanus was in so much pain that he really thought that the only way he could make up to marcus was by dying, and then, after this whole thing, (if I remember right, but I may be remembering wrong) he had to be on sedatives because of how stressful and traumatic the situation was. and sejanus says AGAIN later in the book that he was planning to kill himself. it makes the whole rebel plan have much more sense, because OF COURSE sejanus wouldn't care it's dangerous, he doesn't seem to care about his life at all, he would know the risks and do it anyway, while in the movie it just seemed impulsive and (again) naive. and talking about the rebel plan, this is such a tiny details but it drives me insane how they changed the fact that in the book, he KNEW about the guns and he GOT THEM PURPOSELY, and this actually changes a lot how the public can view his character.

and as you said, all these changes lead to people on tiktok having the WORST takes on him, and I can't even judge them 100%, bc in the movie (imo) they DID make him much more spoiled and naive than he is in the book 😭

to wrap up my thoughts regarding sejanus because I talk too much: sejanus' arc is not one easy to the general estadounidense audience relate to unless you went through some similar experience, but when you did go through some similar experience, it hits HARD. and the book worked this very well, where in the movie, I swear some people I know that never read the book didn't even remember that he was district. it was very poorly worked, they toned down his character a lot, and it just doesn't sit right with me.

but now, let's talk about the academy students:

one thing that I find interesting in tbosas is that even though coriolanus is the worse, we can't really blame it on being from the capitol, because we DO see characters from the capitol who have the ability of being selfless and have empathy. and that makes you realize that, yeah, even though coriolanus is a product of his environment... it's still not justifiable, because we see good kids at the academy who aren't bigoted like him.

lysistrata is the BIGGEST of these examples. even though we see coriolanus being nice to lucy gray, we also read his thoughts and he mostly sees her as a possession, a thing to be possessed, not a human being. he barely sees her as equal. and we have lysistrata, who forms a genuine bond with jessup. there's a scene that I find really remarkable in the book. one of the academy students (I'm not really sure who, but I think it was hilarius) comments, in response to lysistrata saying jessup is a protector, that jessup is almost like "a loyal dog". and lysistrata immediately says that no, not like a dog. like a human being. like a protector. and lysistrata was born and raised in the capitol, she probably never got any contact with the districts, her family for sure have a lot of money for her to study in the academy... and she sees jessup as human. not as a possession, but as human. and they got almost completely rid of her character, and it really did make it seem like coriolanus was the only capitol-born kid who wasn't particularly cruel or xenophobic (when it's quite the contrary lol).

we barely see festus in the movie, and when we see, it's just him being kind of a prick (and I don't really understand why focusing on him being a prick specifically; there were other academy characters who would've served this purpose well; why, of all the academy students, pick right the one that was not hostile to sejanus? it genuinely got me confused, like, why, leave him alone 😭). I can absolutely see why they didn't focus on festus and coriolanus' screentime, and I'm also okay with it, but what bothers me is that changing him into just another academy student who's pretty much cold to his tribute removes the nuance of the story (in the book, we see plenty of academy students bonding with their tributes and feeling bad when they die, we see they are indocrinated privileged kids but who can still learn to be better and do better and unlearn all their bigotry; while in the movie, it sounds more like, academy students = bad, coriolanus = good).

clemensia DOES deserve her own small seat at the "coriolanus snow ruined my life" table alongside with sejanus, lucy gray and tigris 😭 I think she's very much forgotten when we talk about the people coriolanus hurt

coriolanus did clemensia so wrong.... of course it's not as bad or complex as he did to lucy gray, but as the book progresses, coriolanus goes down a spiral where the stuff he does to people around him get more and more and more cruel and more nasty and more unjustifiable. clemensia was when that spiral started. he calls her by a nickname, they pretty much grew up together and saw each other around a lot. she probably trusted him. she's a friend, just a friend, not a possession or someone he's straight up jealous of; as you say, it's not as important as the other 3 most important relationships we see in the book (coriolanus and lgb, sejanus and tigris), but it's still a relationship, and if anything, the most innocent and pure one. and also, clemensia DOES have her moments of goodness!!! unlike coriolanus, she's against betting on tributes, and she thinks watching the games is gruesome. of course, compared to all of his victims, clemensia isn't the worst; after all, if anything, dr. gaul is the one to have more guilt here. but he was still wrong for how he reacted to it (she was his friend!!! and he didn't say a thing!!! he puts his survival first and the person he cared about in second), and each victim he makes, the reasons and the motives get less and less justifiable. but overall, I can't really add more thoughts regarding clemensia, because you were pretty much on point, and I agree with EVERYTHING. everything, really.

and also, talking about the movie and how they made her arc incomplete: it really annoys me how they make it implied that she died ("caught a flu" and stuff), but we don't see a funeral, we don't see her friends grieving, we don't see nothing. I don't remember if we even saw her during the games, srsly; I genuinely can't remember, and if she wasn't there, who the hell mentored reaper? they just left him without a mentor and that's it? I can't really remember a case like that in the book, as all the mentors that died also had their tributes dying, so... yeah, clemensia deserved much better, they did her so wrong by making it seem like she deserved it and took profit from coriolanus' work (when in the book, she was actually mad that he wrote the essay because arachne JUST DIED and he's there writing an essay). again, small details, small things, minor characters that are really important to understand how FUCKED UP coriolanus is even to the capitol standards, and they got completely toned down or just changed to make him better and more of an antihero ig.

(in general, loved your thoughts, they were very well put and I basically agree with everything, it should be kind of a requirement to read the book before watching the movie because I can't stand some takes I see on twitter and on tiktok, specially regarding lgb and sejanus; LEAVE THEM ALONEEEEE)

LATAM AU my beloved <33 STRABO CALLING SEJANUS AN ANARCHIST, I'M SCREAMING because this is actually so on character 😭 the plinth family having to start the christmas dinner much before midnight because if they wait for it, they KNOW there'll be no vibe for it because sejanus and strabo are already at each other's throats. ma tried to ban alcohol once, because she thought that if strabo was sober then he would be more mature and not yell with sejanus, but it's no use because sober or not, him and sejanus WILL fight over politics (and it's even worse when it's election year, poor ma is so tired, SHE JUST WANTS A FUN NIGHT not a civil war inside her own house)

PLSSSSSSS every single year strabo going "I'm NOT going to leave my money to you, I don't know who I'm going to leave it, BUT IT'S NOT YOU", and when sejanus talks back, coriolanus is there next to him "babe <3 don't do that <3 I wanna be rich <3 if you don't, that's up to you <3 but I want that good life <3" but the thought of coriolanus trying to convince strabo to make him his heir is also too funny 😭 because strabo would be there slandering sejanus, but when coriolanus tries to slander sejanus too, strabo immediately glares at him and is like "who said you can talk about my son like that? 🤨"

coriolanus being so embarassed because vesta knows how to dance tango while he does not 😭 and imagine it being like on a party, it was the first time sejanus was introducing him to his parents, and coriolanus wanted so bad to make a good impression, just to make a fool of himself in the worst way possible. sejanus thinks it's cute tho when coriolanus goes to him having to put his pride aside to ask sejanus to teach him how to dance (because sejanus is vesta's son, he KNOWS how to dance too, I just know it).

lucy gray having a whole album on her phone just of pics to post online and expose coriolanus if he dares to be a prick again, I know that's right, if he doesn't want to behave by his will, then it'll be by force ☝️ and plus she's supported by tigris

HIM TRYING TO HIDE IT BUT ATP EVERYONE KNOWS IT 😭 and when he talks to sejanus and coriolanus abt it, the conversation lasts long, and he knows a lot of tiny details (because that man is an insane observer, he'll catch the tiniest details and actually guess the finale much before), and then coriolanus stops and goes... "wait, mr. plinth, how do you know all of these stuff?" and he tries to justify it and say that vesta told him, but these are TOO SPECIFIC details, vesta didn't tell him that

okay, so, I watched the scene, and I'M CACKLINGKSKSKSDKKSDKSDKDS I just KNOW that if we got a scene of these three characters together, it would go pretty much like that 😭 it's even more funnier if this is an au (a modern setting), and sejanus takes coriolanus to meet his father, and just then when he puts coriolanus and strabo side to side he realizes that these two are actually TOO alike and he starts to reconsider most of his life choices

EUROPEAN MEXICAN TRIGGER WARNING (I'll never NOT laugh at it, that's historical reparation 😭) but I watched the clip, and YESSSSS you're so right!!!! and again, coriolanus and sejanus serving as a foil to each other and being on opposite ends (specially because in sejanus' case, that money comes from selling guns that kills people and children, that's blood money, and the lyrics just fit him so well)

but anyway, it was amazing hearing your thoughts, hope to see you soon buddie <3 take care!!

[namandabu]

Tannisho reflections: Chapter 1

The first part of the Tannisho is made up of quotes by Shinran, as recalled by Yuien-bo. This first chapter serves as an introduction to the rest by outlining the concept of other-power and its salvific effect on sentient beings and then emphasizing the universality of other-power.

In emphasizing the universality of the Primal Vow, Shinran says "We should realize that Amida's Original Vow never discriminates between the old and the young, the good and the evil and that what matters most is the heart of faith alone; for the vow was originally made for the purpose of delivering sentient beings sorely defiled by their vices and passions."

For me, I have often tried to answer the following question: Am I good, or am I evil? And it seems at first glance from Shinran's other writings that he is trying to tell me that I am evil. However, it is important to note that the teaching he is referring to is called "akunin shoki" in Japanese. In English, this means "The evil person is the intended target." In context, this means that the evil person is the target of the Primal Vow of Amida to deliver sentient beings to enlightenment. The first word, "akunin," is often translated as "evil person," but this does not do the word justice.

I will refer to the Calgary Buddhist Temple's Guide to Jodo Shinshu, found here:

http://calgary-buddhist.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/JSGuide.pdf

On page 24, they have the following footnote: "Note: The notion of an evil person in Jodo Shinshu encompasses more than the conventional moral or ethical meaning of evil. Perhaps it refers more accurately to the notion of sentient beings who are full of kleshas or desires. Shinran Shonin often referred to himself as an evil person."

Perhaps a better translation of "akunin" would be "selfish person" because selfishness can take on forms that we mundanely consider to be both "good" and "evil." If I am moved to help someone in their time of need, is it because they need help or because I desire to help them? The answer is probably both, but the latter part reveals a form of selfish desire, even if it is wholesome. I want to help that person and gain gratification by doing so. Even if I desire nothing in return from them, I still feel good about the result of my actions. Would I take such actions if I could witness no such results? Maybe, but also maybe not. There are many causes I don't donate to and many ways to help, which I do not take advantage of. And, if I did, it would in part be for my own satisfaction, and not purely for the sake of others. Ultimately, I am more inclined to help a friend or loved one than a stranger. This reveals a selfish outlook.

Furthermore, I am no stranger to unskillful actions when they suit my own desires. Even with my (albeit sparse) knowledge regarding the Dharma, I still engage in actions that would be considered unskillful. My mind is constantly working to justify such actions to myself, and though I try to make progress in killing my bad habits, it is challenging to do.

Now, this does not mean that we should simply sit back and do nothing simply because anything we do is mixed with selfishness. Instead, it points to the attitude we should take when engaging with the world of Samsara. We should be careful in our actions, knowing they are motivated by our selfish desires. Furthermore, we should all the more entrust ourselves to the power of the Buddha, who transcends selfish desires and vows to bring us to the realization of selflessness. After all, being satisfied with our mundane goodness is not good enough. If we satisfy ourselves with our own actions, this is nothing more than stroking the ego, leading to more rebirth in Samsara. That is why the greatest good is the Nembutsu of gratitude to Amida; it comes from the mind that trusts in Amida for enlightenment in the next life and is the result of his great compassion, not our own small compassion. Stated in chapter 1:

"Therefore once faith in the Original Vow is steadfast, no other good is needed, for there is no good superior to the nenbutsu. No evil should be feared, for there is no evil powerful enough to obstruct Amida’s Original Vow."

Entrusting ourselves to the Buddha, we are able to spend our lives walking a path that ends in our enlightenment. Along the way, he makes us deeply aware of our faults and errors, deepening our trust in him and ensuring our birth in the Pure Land.

I have read many accounts by Shinshu followers who, upon entering into the Dharma, began to realize the depth of their blind passions and were thus enabled to empathize and show kindness to others more effectively. One of the effects of turning to other-power in this lifetime is deep humility, resulting in a kinder and gentler demeanor when dealing with others and when dealing with oneself. I myself have had multiple such moments of clarity into my own selfishness. These are not like the attainments brought on by self-power practice. They were gifted to me by Amida and are not my own doing. There is nothing to be proud of in them at all.

[creators-novel]

Exisite, DarkClaw, and Uriel awaken in a world that was unfamiliar to them, or perhaps that’s what they wanted to believe. A purple and black void; glowing stalagmites and stalactites, purple, spinning translucent cubes, an unstable wormhole, and the air is still.

Behold

VOIDVERSE.

            The three pick each other up and examine their surroundings. After a moment, a small group of Stygian creatures approach and surround the trio. Exisite sputters, “This is-!” “Exactly like your dream, Castor?”, Vyz interrupts. Uriel grips her sword tight, “(This is getting ridiculous-!)”, she focuses her thoughts and calls out, “(Koto-! Can you hear me? Are you there!?...KOTO!? COME ON MAN, ANSWER ME!!)”

DarkClaw prepares to fire at Vyz, ready to protect his boy, “Stop trying to rope him into your crap.” Vyz sighs, “You and that pup weren’t supposed to be here. But… you could make a nice gourmet meal for my servants… or I could just make you both into servants yourselves… like …his parents.” “…What?”

            The group hears footsteps coming up to them, and two figures appear. One has red hair with white highlights, and the other has white hair with black highlights. Their resemblance to Ex is uncanny, but these two seem barely like people anymore. Uriel remembers what it felt like to be corrupted, to feel like a broken piece of code; but this was something different entirely. Ex’s parents looked sickly, their bodies were coated in the same substance that Vyz’s “servants” were comprised of, and they wore flat expressions. She gulps and a bead of sweat goes down her face. “(Koto and Straus wouldn’t make us lose-! There’s no way this guy was made by them, right?!)”

Vyz reaches a hand out to Exisite, “So, Castor, what shall it be?”

“…No. This is ludicrous. You’re saying all these things like you know anything about me; as if you understand me. And why are you interested in me?”

“When you’ve been discriminated against and locked away for years, and see the same thing happen to someone else, you tend to be sympathetic. You’ll soon see that it’s better to destroy them all.”

“Never…I’m not going to kill anyone.”

“…Then…F a l l.”

            As if on cue, the Stygian beats all lunge at Exisite, baring their teeth and ready to strike until DarkClaw runs up and pushes him out of the way, screaming, “LOOK OUT!” One of the disgusting creatures sinks its jaws into DarkClaw’s arm as he lets out a pained yelp. Uriel, as fast as a lightning bolt, slashes the beast across its torso, releasing him from its grasp. Vyz crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows, “Ohoho… excellent.” Exisite, seeing his friends once again getting themselves hurt for his sake- no- he’s not just his friend, he’s his most trusted ally, his maker, the one who brought him into this world! He’s getting hurt and it’s all his fault- it’s too much. It's.

Too.

MUCH.

“No…no no NO NO NO!!! aAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Exisite’s telekinetic power explodes outwards from him, becoming a blaring red color. Under his mask, his hair turns snow white while his eyes become red and jet black.

“GO AWAAAAAAAYYY!!!”

All of the enemies are blasted back, even Vyz, who didn’t even foresee this happening. Exisite continues to scream as his energy flares up even more, making completely sure that everything was cleared from around them. Uriel was lucky that this didn’t blow her away too! She digs her feet into the ground while supporting DarkClaw and shouts, “EXISITE! Calm down!” After letting out one more emotionally-charged yell, Exisite catches his breath and his excess power dissipates away, returning him to his normal state.

“Hhh…hh…sir?”

            Exisite’s attention is grabbed by DarkClaw’s arm. DarkClaw grabs the area where the creature bit down, it’s obvious it broke the skin but the pain feels like it’s traveling up through his whole body. There’s no doubt about it. Whatever happened to Ex’s parents to make them the way they are now was happening to him. He was infected with whatever this gross purple goop is. “…Oh boy.”, he sighs. Uriel takes note of the despair in her close friend’s eyes and reassures him, “W-We can fix this!” “Like there’s a cure for this…”, DarkClaw turns slightly and sees that the portal to the outside is still accessible, they just need to make it in time before it closes for good, “…Uri. Castor. You should get out of here.” “What-!? No-!”, Uriel clings onto his non-infected arm tightly, “We need you!!” He scoffs, “Pft…With this? Heck no.” Castor stands with Uriel, “We can’t just leave you!” “We have no choice at the moment!”, DarkClaw snaps, “…And I don’t feel like killing you if this takes over.”, he winces as the infection spreads up his arm, onto his hand, and shoulder, creeping up towards his neck, “…Castor. Go.” “No-!” Uriel’s usual demeanor finally falters as she breaks down crying, “PLEASE NO!!”

            Meanwhile, on the outside, the Stygians left in Lightverse begin to retreat, having sensed their master wasn’t nearby anymore. The heroes catch their breaths but they know it’s not over until they can get the others home. “Uri!”, Ex calls to his sister through the portal.

            “Go, now!”, DarkClaw commands, “I’ll fend these off for as long as I’m able!” Seeing the beasts approach, Castor pulls the howling Uriel away from DarkClaw. He leads her to the portal and shoves her through, but not before removing his mask and looking at his maker one last time. This is the first time Castor has experienced anything like this, he feels tears stream down his face. He wants to say so much but he squeaks out one word.

“…Dad…”

DarkClaw smiles at Castor, his proudest creation, and watches him leap through the portal back to their home as it closes. As he promised, he attacks the Stygians for as long as he can. But eventually, the corruption takes him.

The shining red cybernetic solder, a savior of Lightverse, and one of the few brave souls who heralded a new age in the Multiverse was gone. As he stands above the massacred bodies of the beasts that infected him, all that can be seen under his shaded expression are glowing, purple eyes.

            Uriel falls to her knees and cries out in grief as Castor gloomily follows through behind her, resisting the urge to start sobbing himself. It doesn’t take a scientific genius to figure out what’s happened. Nave’s eyes widen, “…Aaron…why…?” Xenos finally lowers his sword as it all hits him, “…He…saved them…” Delta arrives on the scene just in time to see all of his friends tired, emotional, and broken. He approaches Castor and asks, “Castor, what happened?”

Castor looks at his young companion and simply says, “…I failed him.”

            “Ladies and gentlemen. It is a tragic day in the lives of the people who protect our fair city… Aaron Duvall, veteran cybersoldier, has been declared as killed in action by the local military branch. He had fallen to whatever darkness befell the forest today.”

            Ex, Ajax, Xenos, Delta, Indigo, Selena, and Castor watch as the news station broadcasts what they already knew. They lost, for real this time. And Aaron “DarkClaw” Duvall was no more. Uriel stands outside in the hallway, still stunned in disbelief, “(…They wouldn’t do this to us.)”, she thinks to herself. Her disbelief quickly turns to anger. She focuses, steadies her breathing, and with a swing of her arms, catapults herself in a flash of light outside of her World, into Straus and Koto’s Space; to figure out what exactly is going on.

“YOU TWO HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO-…do…no…”

            Straus and Koto stand lifeless. Koto is holding tightly onto Straus’ hands but neither of them moves. They’re not infected like DarkClaw, rather they’re in a trance they can’t break free of. In a similar matter, their World Orbs are surrounded by a purple hue, a lock. No one can get in, no one can get out, it’s a miracle that Uriel was able to even break through the seal. Surrounding the Space is a barrier, one that she can’t hope to break through. Lightverse cannot ask for help, they are alone. Uriel returns home in complete hysterics. While she updates Ex on the current situation, Castor sits alone in his room. His unstable energy causes the objects in his room to float off the ground and hover. In his hands, he holds the Gaia crystals that the team has collected thus far. As if they could hear him, he asks, “I don’t know much about what you are… but please, guide me through this crisis.”

[vergess]

The actual text of the resolution is as follows:

Whereas the Jewish people are native to the Land of Israel; Whereas throughout history and across the reign of multiple kingdoms, the Jewish people were persecuted and expelled from the Land of Israel, forced to live as minority diaspora communities in other lands; Whereas Jewish diaspora communities were historically violently persecuted in, and in some cases expelled from, other countries throughout the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia due to their religion; Whereas the Nazis attempted to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe during the Holocaust, murdering 6,000,000 Jews during this time; Whereas this genocide provided new urgency to re-establish a Jewish homeland for the Jewish people following the Holocaust, where they would not be a vulnerable minority, where they could freely practice their faith, and where something like the Holocaust could never happen again; Whereas the modern State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948; Whereas even after the establishment of the State of Israel, other countries and terrorist entities continued to attack Israel, reject its right to exist, and call for its destruction; and Whereas Israel is the only Jewish State, and therefore, despite persistent external threats, the existence of Israel provides Jews a place to live free from persecution and discrimination: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— (1) reaffirms the State of Israel’s right to exist; (2) recognizes that denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism; (3) rejects calls for Israel’s destruction and the elimination of the only Jewish State; and (4) condemns the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel.

So, let's break that down, because yes it's bad, but no it's not doing many of the things this post is claiming about US-HR 888:

Claims that antizionism is antisemitism: TRUE

2) Claims broadly that all Jewish people are indigenous to Palestine: TRUE

3) Claims that the holocaust justifies the resettlement of Palestinian people: FALSE

4) Supports Israel's right to exist: TRUE

5) Rejects calls for Palestinian sovereignty: FALSE

6) Condemns the Palestinian restistance: FALSE

7) Implies all present parties voted yes: FALSE

So that's a 50-50 split on true and false claims.

WRT the false ones: 3) The holocaust was used as a justification for the resettlement of Jews AND Palestinians, BOTH. 5) No comment was made whatsoever on Palestinian sovereignty 6) Condemns Hamas 7) 20+ present parties abstained from the vote entirely

Now I really personally want to focus on number 6, because I see Americans do this CONSTANTLY.

So let me repeat myself. Again. For the millionth time.

STOP EQUATING ALL PALESTINIANS WITH TERRORISTS YOU FUCKS.

I know y'all are so desperate to equate every middle eastern on earth with a terrorist sect, but you need to FUCKING. STOP.

The Palestinian Resistance is NOT and HAS NOT EVER BEEN Hamas.

Hamas happily terrorizes Palestinians who actually seek real and lasting peace. Kills them. Tortures them.

You can fucking speak in defense of Palestine without reducing all Palestinians to rabid terrorists in your rush, you fucks. You have the fucking power.

Anyway the rest of the post is fine, it's whatever, the false claims are basically logical exaggerations of the reality, but for fuck's sakes.

STOP.

CALLING.

HAMAS.

"THE PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE"

YOU DISRESPECTFUL, DEHUMANIZING TWATS

Absolutely. Fucking. Disgusting.

(link to post) (link to Clerk House vote results)

(link to Business Insider's article confirming this)

From that article, Thomas Massive (R-Kentucky)'s comment on his no vote:

"Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful," Massie wrote on X.

I hope everyone of those islamophobic, arabphobic, Palestinianphobic, antisemitic 412 members of house lose their elections to people who actually give a damn about Palestine.

ALL of them put their seats in jeopardy with this shit.

Anti-zionism isn't antisemitic, Palestinians are native to the region AND EXIST and NONE of them are listening to anyone about that. Fuck all of them.

[despair-to-future-arcs]

//Now obviously you will expand on it later on, but rn I could see Akane's and Nagi's dynamic in that with Akane being in a braindead state and the only people she can reach out to are those with Divine Luck, seeing how almost everyone else is using their powers for selfish reasons, she chose Nagi for two reasons. The first is that Nagi would not abuse her powers and the times she does use it, its for the benieft of others which imo is probably what Utsuro intended for all of his "children", to use their gifts to aid others, and the fact so many of them turned out like the Voids is what made him jaded towards humanity and eventually prey to Junko's whims.

The second is that even if Nagi was unaware of this power, she is defintiely afraid of it, viewing it as a curse and thinking if anyone found out she would be put to death immediately and worse, her attempts to redeem her class would be all for naught as not only the Kisagari Foundation but certain radical elements of Future Foundation (looking at you Kyousuke) would argue Nagi is a sleeper agent and the Remnants are not redeeming themselves and thus they should all be killed. Thus Akane is trying to teach Nagi to not be afraid of herself, Divine Luck is not a evil force and Nagi has the good heart to use it and not fall into the pitfalls that everyone else did. As maybe the fact that UNLIKE the other Children of Utsuro, who all had terrible childhoods and became radicalised as a result of their powers (This could also be why Utsuro's decision to bless those types of people was a bad idea as he clearly hasn't heard of the phrase the child who is not accepted by the village will burn it down to feel it's warmth) Nagi by contrast has had kind and supportive parents and also friends who look out for her, so she grew into a stable mature woman in spite of having Divine Luck. Nagi has the heart to not fall to the toxic whims of Divine Luck.

Despite this, Nagi still won't be happy not only due to the discrimination around Divine Luck (And with Tsurugi also being blessed, I really hope Nagi gives him a harsh lecture how he indirectly caused the events of SDRA2 to occur by driving Nikei and friends into such a corner that they had no choice but to obey a obviously evil AI and commit crimes. After all, if they are "born evil" then why bother trying to be good? It will be a massive lesson on why his mindset breeds more crime and not less of it) But also the fact that Akane is a former mastermind will NOT help matters in the slighest as even if the whole "Divine Luck is a evil force" can be tossed out the window, having secret conversations with a former Mastermind? Yeeahhh no. Even the more reasonable members of the Future Foundation would give pause to that.

I do have one question. Akane mentioned that Nagi used her powers to save Yukio from being killed by Mikan. But Yukio still died, didn't he? So why's that? Did Nagi's lack of control over her powers mean it only gave Yukio a brief respite? Did Junko find a way around her Divine Luck? So many unanswered questions.

Sorry for the long ask, I had a lot to say.

//Ah yes, Akane and Nagi's dynamic is gonna be quite a fun one to explore and look into and even how the idea of having Divine Luck doesn't make you an evil person; it's how one uses it.

//I got a lot of things plan and looking forward to writing this aspect of Nagi coming up, given that she is focusing on helping her class and trying to make things as comfortable as possible especially as Nagi does have the power to make a difference if she wants but she has to be careful with that power of Divine Luck.

//As for your question, well... let's just say that Yukio was able to give Nagi somethings before his death but as say, will wait and see.

[mint-moon25]

THEMES - OPERA - ADD - ON

SETTINGS - TOOK - AWHILE

F - FAHRENHEIT - USA - IS A

SQUIRREL - WHY - BECAUSE

UNITED STATES - TEMPTED

2 B - AN - EMPIRE - KILL KILL

THE - HOMELESS - KILL THE

POOR - FOUND - SOLUTION

2 - USA

NATURALIZED - US - CITIZENS

CAN - B - PRESIDENT - AS YES

FEMALES - UNDER

CITIZEN - OF - THE - UNITED

STATES

BARBIE - AS - PRESIDENT OR

HER - COUSIN - BORN IN THE

PHILIPPINE - ISLANDS - OUR

1ST 2 - FEMALE PRESIDENTS

OF ASIA - WORLD's LARGEST

POPULATIONS - MORE - MEN

NO - FOUNDING - FATHER - OF

USA - GOT - THEIR - LIBERTY

PURSUIT - OF - HAPPINESS &

DIED - ALSO YOUNG DEATHS

SOLUTION - PG 7

'THAT - 2 - SECURE - THESE - RIGHTS

MIAMI - POLICE - HAITI - BLK - MEN

ALWAYS - PAIRED - WITH - SHORT

HISPANIC - FEMALE - DISCRIMINATION

OF - RACE - AS - AGE 246 - UNITED

STATES - LOVES - THEY - HAVE - YES

FOREIGNERS

AS THEY STAND - FRONT - OF - 67,000

PHARMACEUTICALS - MAKERS - OF

MEDICINE - WORLD - DISTRIBUTION

KILL - MANY - OF - THEM

WORLD - BETTER - WITH - MIDWIVES

LIKE - ENGLAND - KILL - SURGEONS

KILL - FOREIGN - DOCTORS

US FIREARM - AGE 246

'THAT - 2 - SECURE - ALLOWED - 2 - LIVE

LIBERTY - RIGHT - 2 - ACT - AS - WE - YES

PLEASE - RIGHT - 2 - SLEEP - LONGER

RIGHT - 2 - SLEEP - PURSUIT - OF - YES

HAPPINESS - 'NO - 2 - SOME - JURY

DUTY - NOT - PAID - DURING - THESE

SELECTIONS' - 'RIGHT - 2 - DECLARE

COURTHOUSES - ONLINE - ONLY'

JUDGES - 4.000 GPA - MANY - FIRED

JURY - 4.000 - GPA

ONLINE - FREE - 2 - INCREASE - GPA

OFFICIAL - NEW - GPA - IN - USA

WORLD - ACCEPTED

'THAT - 2 - SECURE - ABOVE - RIGHTS

GOVERNMENTS - ARE - INSTITUTED

AMONG - MEN - AND - MEN - WITH

WOMB - (WOMEN) - DERIVING - THEIR

JUST - POWERS - FR - THE - CONSENT

OF - THE - GOVERNED' - MIAMI - LOCAL

POLICE - SAID - 'NO' - THE - HOMELESS

THE - POOR - ARE - NOT - GOVERNED

PEOPLE - WE - DO - NOT - NEED THEIR

CONSENT' - SAID - HAITI - SPANISH YES

SPEAKING - IN - MIAMI - FLORIDA - FL

AS - WARD - OF - KING - OF - SPAIN

THEY - WILL - NEVER - HAVE - HIS

PROTECTION - EVER - ANY - YEAR

'THAT - WHENEVER - ANY - FORM

OF - GOVERNMENT - BECOMES

DESTRUCTIVE - OF - THESE - ENDS

JURY - SELECTION - ON - YOUR

BIRTHDAYS - FREE - NOT - PAID

MONETORY - FINE - NOT - SAID

$5,000 - AND - OR - STATE - PRISON

GUESSING - GAME

DISARMED - INSIDE - FRONT - OF

THE - LOBBY - BY - LOCAL - POLICE

TOLD - BY - FORT MYERS - POLICE

MALE - WALK - FRONT - NOW

WALK - BACWARDS - WALK FRONT

2 C - IF - BOMB - WILL - DROP - OFF

WHAT - FIREARM - FUNDED - BY

FEDERAL - TAXES - IN - FLORIDA

CAN - DO

THEY - ALL - SAY - NO - CITIZENS

OF - USA - NOT - BORN - IN - USA

CAN'T - B - PRESIDENT

SLANDER - MALICE - PERJURY

FORT MYERS - POLICE

MIAMI - POLICE

ALLIED - UNIVERSAL - SECURITY

$750,000 - PER - DAY - STATE PRISON

'RIGHT - OF - THE - PEOPLE - 2 - ALTER

OR - 2 - ABOLISH - IT - AND - 2 - INSTITUTE

NEW - GOVERNMENT - LAYING - ITS

FOUNDATION ... ORGANIZING - ITS POWERS

IN - SUCH - FORM - AS - 2 - THEM - SHALL

SEEM - MOST - LIKELY - 2 - EFFECT THEIR

SAFETY - AND - HAPPINESS

HAITI - MALE - BLK - MIAMI - POLICE

SAID - WALMART - SELLING - ILLEGALLY

AIR - MATS - 4 - PARKS - AIR - MATS ARE

ILLEGAL - LIKE - HEROINE - $2,500 FINE

TALKED - TALKED - THEN - SAID - AS HE

GRABBED - FIREARM - 2 - SHOOT

(STUPID) - I - TOLD - U - 3 TIMES - FAGS

FAGS - HAITI - KILLS - WOMEN & KIDS

BEGINNING - JANUARY - AFTER - NEW

YEARS - EVERY - YEAR - BY - SPOUSES

SIBLINGS - BY - PARENTS

CANIBALS - CHRISTIAN - VUDU

CHRISTIANS - HAITI - CATHOLIC BIBLE

ASKING - DEMONS - 2 - COME - INSIDE

THEY - KILL - THEIR - BABIES - EAT

AFTER - POOREST - COUNTRY - IN

LATIN AMERICA - POOREST - CARIBBEAN

COUNTRY

FORMING - NEW - GOVERNMENT

ABOLISHING - THE - FORMS - THEY

ARE - ACCUSTOMED - A - LONG

TRAIN - OF - ABUSES - AND USURPATIONS

GOING - 2 - THEIR - POLICE - STATION ALL

SET - UP - 2 - PROTECT - THEMSELVES

OUR - MICKEY - MOUSE - WATCH - WILL

DISAPPEAR - BUILDING - LESS - THAN

1 MIN - NW 2 AV - NEAR - US POSTAL

AT - SW 5 ST - MIAMI - FLORIDA - FL

'THEIR - DUTY - 2 - THROW - OFF SUCH

GOVERNMENT - 2 - PROVIDE - NEW

GUARDS - 4 - THEIR - FUTURE

SECURITY - SOCIAL - SECURITY

GAVE - MONEY - 4 - DISABLED - SURVIVORS

VETERANS - ALSO - 2 - MENTALLY - ILL

ILLEGAL - ROBBERY

SECTION 8 HUD - BY - DEMOCRATS - TO

ADDRESS - POVERTY - AMONG AMERICANS

FILLED - WITH - MENTALLY - ILL - FROM

ILLEGAL - FLORIDA - BAKER - ACTS LESS

THEN - 3 DAYS - 19 DAYS - 24 DAYS

SO - ILLEGAL - THIS - FLORIDA - FL

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

PRESIDENT - JOB - 2 - HAVE - TREATIES

APPROVED - BY - SENATE

THEN - SENATE - SHOULD - MAKE - THE

TREATIES

NEW - GOVERNMENT

IT IS - OUR - RIGHT - IT - IS - OUR - DUTY

2 - THROW - SUCH - GOVERNMENT

AND - 2 - PROVIDE - NEW - GUARDS - 4

THEIR - SECURITY

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

GIVING - OUR - TOKYO - MALE - SCIENTISTS

LARGE - PRINT - EDITION - OF

CONSTITUTION - AND - AMENDMENTS

ONLY - LAWS - OF - UNITED STATES

NOT - WEE - WEE - LAWS

NOT - PEE - PEE - LAWS

THAT - 50 STATES - LOVE - ABOUT

BEING - LOCAL - VERY - VULGAR 2

GOOGLE - SEARCH

FULL - OF - LAWYERS - OPINION - OF

HOW - 2 - OBEY - STAND - YOUR

GROUND - HOW - 2 - OBEY

DEADLY - FORCE - PROTECT

YOUR - CASTLES

MEANING - KILL - THOSE - KIDS

KILL - WOMEN - AS - MALE YES

LAWYERS - MALES - MALES

COUNTY - EMPLOYEES

MALE - POLICE - MALE - MALE

DISCRIMINATION - OF - GENDER

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

WE'RE - THROWING - OFF - THE

GOVERNMENT - OF - THE - UNITED

STATES

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

NEW - GUARDS - DEPORTING - MANY

HAITI - POLICE - SECURITY - DEPORTING

MANY - HAITI - BLK - MEN - AND WOMEN

NEW - GUARDS

TONGUES - ONLY

SINGERS - ONLY

MEN - OF - INDIA - ONLY - COLLEGE

GRADUATES

NOW - DECLARING - ALL - 50 STATES

OPEN - CARRY - OF - WEAPONS - FOR

18 AND OLDER

ALL - ARMED

DECLARING - ALL - BULLETS - MUST

B - LESS - THAN - TIC TAC - SIZE

MOUTH - FRESHENERS

500 BULLETS

5000 BULLETS

RECYCLE - ANTIQUE - USA - FIREARMS

MY - TOKYO - JAPAN - MALE - SCIENTISTS

UPON - READING - CONSTITUTION - AND

AMENDMENTS - WHAT - WORKS - WHAT

DOESN'T - ENGLAND - AND - UNITED

STATES - BLEW - UP - WORLD's - FIRST

ATOMIC - BOMBS - KIDS - PREGNANT

BABIES - HIROSHIMA - AND NAGASAKI

THEY - KILLED - OVER - 2,000 - DURING

WORLD WAR 2 - NOT - PEACEFUL TIMES

THUS - TOKYO - JAPAN - MALE - SCIENTISTS

WILL - DICTATE - WHAT - MUST - REMAIN

WHAT - MUSN'T

14TH - 'WITH - DUE - PROCESS - OF - LAW'

THEREFORE - NO - MORE - LIFE - PRISON

NO - MORE - EVICTIONS - REPOSSESSION

FORECLOSURE

ARRESTS - OF - FINANCIAL - INSTITUTIONS

COLLEGE - ESPECIALLY - 4 - STUDENTS

OVER - $9,000 - DUE - 4 - LOAN - OF YES

$3,000 - ARRESTING - ILLEGAL - BUSINESS

END - OF - BAKER - ACT

MENTAL - LOCATIONS

PLACING - ALL - AGES - SEPARATE

PLACES - YOU - SEE - DEAD - SPIRITS

HEARING - WORD - OF - GOD - YES

PREACHED - 24 HRS - WILL - CHANGE

THEIR - SPIRITS - FULL - OF DEMONS

TONGUES - WILL - HELP - BUT THEY

MUST - HEAR - WORD - EVERY - HOUR

BUT - MUSIC - ALSO - DISNEY - ALSO 2

DEAR - KOREAN,

15 US - MILITARY - BASES

IN - SOUTH - KOREA - ARMED - WHILE

CIVILIANS - LIKE - CANADA

NEW - GOVERNMENT - WILL - ALLOW

KOREANS - 2 B - ADDED - VOTING

POWER - WITHOUT - CITIZENSHIP

RIGHT - 2 - VOTE

CHANGING - LAWS

AGE 16 - MARRIAGE - VOTING

DRINKS - ENDING - WHISKEY

ALL - BOTTLES - SOLD - BUT - MAKING

PRODUCING - SELLING - BUYING - END

THE - END

PRESIDENT - HARRY TRUMAN - BEGAN

EACH - DAY - WITH - WHISKEY - AND HE

YELLED - AT - JAPAN - IN - ENGLISH

WITH - CONSENT - OF - ENGLAND

THOUGH - THROUGH - COURT - THEY

SAID - 'SORRY'

WORLD - 1ST - ATOMIC - BOMBS - 2

ACTUALLY - BLOW - UP - JAPAN BUT

DIDN'T - SUCCEED

MILITARY - CITIES - AUGUST - BOMBED

OVER - 200,000 - EXPLODED - BUT YES

WITH - DANGEROUS - RADIATION

PHILIPPINES - ALL - THEIR BEARDS

MUSTACHE - FELL - OFF - SAME IN

JAPAN - AS - MALES - MANY YEARS

THEY - NEVER - GREW - BACK LIKE

PHILIPPINES

NEW - GUARDS - CHINA - WHO - MAKES

FURNITURE - CLOTHES - APPLIANCES

OF - UNITED STATES - WAS - LARGEST

POP - ON - EARTH

NEW - GUARDS

300 MILLION - CHINESE - MALE

SOLDIERS - AS - 2 - SECURE - THE

CHANGES - BY - OUR - BARBIE

NEW - GOVERNMENT - CLOSING

OF - ALL - PARKS - IN - THE USA

ALL - PARKS - CLOSED

BAD - WEATHER - DOG - POOP

AREA - ALL - PARKS - CLOSED

INSTEAD - HOTELS - RESORTS

24/7 - ALWAYS - OPEN - CAFES

SERVICES - COME - BAD - WEATHER

PARKS - TREES - FULL - OF - URINE

FLYING - EVERYWHERE - BUT - HOTELS

THEIR - BUILDINGS - BLOCKING SNOW

BLOCKING - WINDS - ROOMS - SUITES

2 - HOUSE - FAMILIES - PEOPLE - AND

PARKS - NO - FOODS - BUT - HOTELS

PROVIDING - 24/7 - FOOD - DRINKS

NEW - HOTELS - KITCHENS - WILL

BE - REQUIRED - WITH - OVENS

MICROWAVES - DISHWASHERS SO

FAMILIES - CAN - SAVE - MONEY

AND - EAT - BETTER

TONGUES

SING TONGUES

GETS - MONEY - DAILY - INCLUDING

VISITORS - WILL - END - MURDERS

AND - ROBBERIES - WE - CAN - LIVE

IN - HOTELS - ALSO

ALL - BUILDINGS - MUST - B - SOLAR

END - OF - ELECTRICITY - BILLS

WATER - MACHINES - SO - NO - MORE

WATER - BILLS

ELECTRIC - CARS - WILL - BE

MANDATE - EVERY - HOUSE - EVERY

ONE - MUST - HAVE - ELECTRIC CAR

BECAUSE - FREE - RIDES

NEW - GUARDS

ALL - APTS - MUST - B - SMART HOUSE

SMART - BUILDINGS

HORSE - LANES - 4 - BLIND - KIDS

DISABLED

DOGS - REMOVED - OF - SERVICE

STATUS

NOW - NO 1 - BRITISH - SHORTHAIR

MALE - CAT - ONE - EACH - 4 - KIDS

BLIND - DISABLED - NO - BARKING

NO - BITING - LIKE - DOGS - MAJOR

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS

SOUTH - KOREA - 16 AND OLDER

WILL - B - ALLOWED - VOTING - 4

USA - UNTIL - THEY - REMOVE - THE

USA - MILITARY - BASES

WE - WILL - OVERTHROW - US

GOVERNMENT

1 YEAR - TERM

18 AND OLDER

NO - RESIDENCY

AS - PRESIDENT

AS - MADAME - PRESIDENT

BORN - IN - UNITED STATES

OTHER - CITIZENS - OF USA

THUS - AFTER - TOKYO - JAPAN

MALE - SCIENTISTS - HAVE - IMPROVED

CONSTITUTION - OF - UNITED STATES

I - WOULD - LIKE - 2 B - PRESIDENT OF

THE - UNITED STATES

APP - 2 - VOTE

NEW - RULES

$500 BILLION - EACH - AGE 16 - AND

OLDER - TAX - PAID - 2 - VOTE - 4 ME

NEW - WORK - LAWS

FULL - TIME - 25 HRS

MINIMUM - WAGE - $25,000 - PER HOUR

TAX - PAID - 6 DAYS - STRAIGHT

ALL - CHURCHES - WILL - NO - LONGER

ALLOWED - SUNDAYS - AS - WORSHIP

DAYS - WILL - ONLY - BE - ALLOWED

SATURDAYS

PREVIEWS - SUNDAYS

MUST - SUBMIT - WHAT - THEY

BELIEVE - IN

ALL - NON-PROFIT - RELIGIOUS

CLOSED

PER - AMENDMENT - NON-PROFIT

NOT - PAYING - TAXES - ON - INCOME

PER - AMENDMENT - THAT's - ILLEGAL

MANY - NON-PROFIT - CLOSING

THUS - DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

VOTE - 4 - ME - AS - FIRST - PRESIDENT

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

EVERY - 6 MONTHS

NEW - SSN - SOCIAL - SECURITY

ISSUED - EVERYONE

BABY - BORN - IN - USA - WILL NO

LONGER - PETITION - ILLEGAL

ALIENS

ALL - ILLEGAL - ALIENS - IN - USA

WE - DECLARE - LEGAL - ALIENS

OF - THE - UNITED STATES

ANYONE - IN - THE - USA - YOU

ARE - DECLARED - LEGAL ALIENS

NO - MORE - ILLEGAL - ALIENS

JESUS - IS - LORD

UNITED STATES - NEW - DEMOCRATIC

GOVERNMENT - NO - RELIGION

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

ABOLISHING - USA - GOVERNMENT

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

WED - 17 JAN 2024 - 3:23P EST MIAMI

WORD - TRESPASSING - TRESPASS

REMOVING - FR - AMERICAN - HERITAGE

DICTIONARY - ALL - SIGNS

NO - TRESPASSING

NEW - GUARDS - SENDING

ALL - SIGNS - NO - TRESPASSING

MUST - B - REMOVED

8TH - CRUEL - AND - UNUSUAL

PUNISHMENT - INFLICTED

CRIMINALS - WILL - 6TH

CHANGING - NOT - HAVE - ASSISTANCE

OF - COUNSEL - 4 - THEIR - DEFENCE

ONLINE - 'DEFEND - YOURSELVES'

MANY - LAWYERS - WILL - B - PROSECUTED

MANY - JUDGES - WILL - ALSO - BE

ILLEGAL - NEW - OCCUPATIONS

MIDWIVES

PSYCHIATRISTS

FAMILY DOCTORS

GYNECOLOGISTS

CHIROPRACTORS

REPRESENTATIVE - PAYEES

PLENARY - GUARDIANS

SHERIFFS - SURRENDER - YOUR - RIFFLES

SHERIFFS - YOU'RE - FIRED

FIREMEN - SURRENDER - AXES

FIRES - WILL - B - REMOVED - BY - AIR

NOT - WATER

MANAGERS

SECURITY

PROPERTY - MANAGERS

LANDLORDS

SUPERVISORS

24/7 - ARREST - ALL - THESE - SICK

HUMANS - PROFESSIONS YES VOID

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

NEW - GUARDS - MEN - FR - INDIA

NEW - ARMED - FORCES - FR - CHINA

JESUS - IS - LORD

USA - MILITARY - BASES

COUNTRIES - WILL - HAVE - FULL - VOTE

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS

WE - HAVE - THIS

POWERED - BY - BARBIE

BROWSER - FREE - BY - OPERA

EVERYONE - IN - THE - UNITED STATES

SPEAK - TONGUES

MONEY - DAILY

WELCOME - PACKAGE

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

FREE - APP

SPEAK - TONGUES - $500 BILLION

TAX - PAID

SING - TONGUES - ADDITIONAL YES

$500 BILLION - TAX - PAID

ALL - AGES

KIDS - INCREASING - DAILY SPEND'G

CLOSING - ALL - PUBLIC - SCHOOLS

CLOSING - ALL - PUBLIC - COLLEGES

ALL - SCHOOLS - PRIVATE

ALL - COLLEGES - PRIVATE

WEDNESDAY - MUST - B - CLOSED

NO - SCHOOL - WEDNESDAYS

NOT - COOKING - ART - SCHOOLS

NEW - LAWS - COMING

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

NEW - GUARDS

DEPORTING - VIOLENT - BLKS - YES

HISPANICS - INCLUDING - BORN IN

USA - DEPORTING - HAITI - CUBA

VENEZUELA - COLOMBIA

REMOVAL - OF - HANDCUFFS

NO - MORE - PSYCHIATRIC - WORDS

CONFISCATION - REFUNDS - OF

USA - PSYCHIATRIC - MEDICATION

END - OF - ALL - THAT

END - OF - TOBACCO - CIGARS

CIGARETTES

END - OF - WHISKEY

NO - MORE - DISTRIBUTION - MAKING

IMPORTING - EXPORTING

ALL - USA - WINES - ITALY - WILL - BE

CHECKED - TASTED - BY - OUR TOKYO

MALE - SCIENTISTS - ALL - NOT

APPROVED - DECLARED - ILLEGAL

FREE - PINEAPPLES - GUMMIES

ENDS - ALCOHOL - ADDICTION

FREE - STRAWBERRY - GUMMIES

ENDS - NICOTINE - ADDICTION

RELIGIOUS - CAFES - GROCERIES

WEEKDAY - LICENSING

CAN'T - B - CLOSED

CHRISTIAN - HOLIDAYS

EASTER

CHRISTMAS DAY

SUNDAYS

CHICK FIL- A - SOUTHERN - BAPTIST

THEN - CAN'T - B - CLOSED - ON THE

SABBATH - SATURDAYS

CHICK - FIL A - WE - WILL - ISSUE

YOU - AND - WALMART - PUBLIX

WEEKDAYS - LICENSING

EVERYONE - MUST - HAVE - SELF

SERVICE - CHECK - OUT

BURLINGTON

ROSS - DRESS - 4 - LESS

TARGET

PUBLIX - ALL - WALMART - ALL

WE - WILL - PROVIDE - EQUIPMENT

CASH - COINS - MUST - B - ACCEPTED

BY - MACHINES

THEFT - INSURANCE - GIVEN

EVERY - THEFT - DOUBLE - AMOUNT

GIVEN - TAX - PAID

HIDDEN - CAMERAS - MUST - SAY THAT

BEAUTIFULLY - SAID - WE - WILL

PROVIDE - SIGNS

VIDEOS - 2 - GIVE - HARVARD - LAW

2 - PROSECUTE - ONLINE

PAPERLESS - TICKETS

SENT - BY - EMAIL

HIDDEN - CAMERAS - EVERYWHERE

DETECTS - RECKLESS - DRIVING

50 STATES

SPEEDING - WILL - B - ALLOWED

NOT - RECKLESS - DRIVING

SO - DRIVER - ALWAYS - LOOKING

FORWARD - HIDDEN - CAMERAS

FRONT - AND - BACK - PASSENGER

SIDES - AND - BACK

NO - HIDDEN - CAMERAS - IN MIDDLE

WE - DETECT - THEN - VIOLENCE

KIDNAPPING - SIMPLY - EVERYWHERE

HIDDEN - CAMERAS - CAN - HEAR

SIGNS - NO - BICYCLES - NO - SKATES

ALL - MUST - B - REMOVED

14TH - NO - US - STATE - CAN - DEPRIVE

DENY - PERSON - OF PROPERTY - YES

ALREADY - BOUGHT - BY - THEM

ALL - SIGNS - MONETORY - FINES

$750,000 - $500,000 - EACH WILL

GIVE - MANY - TAX - PAID

CRIMINAL - RECORDS

JESUS - IS - LORD

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

NEW - GUARDS

MALES - OF - INDIA - COLLEGE GRADS

THEY'RE - STARVING - AND - POOR

TIME - 2 - BRING - THE - RIGHT YES

FOREIGNERS - 2 - UNITED STATES

NEW - ARMED - FORCES

CHINESE - MALES - AGAIN - VERY

POOR - PERSONS - STARVING AND

ALWAYS - HUNGRY - AND - COLD

TIME - 2 - STOP - BEING - MEAN

AND - CRUEL - 2 - FOREIGNERS

JESUS - IS - LORD

THROWING - OUT - US - GOVERNMENT

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

NEW - GUARDS

NEW - UNITED STATES

LIFE - LIBERTY - AND - PURSUIT - OF - HAPPINESS

DESCENDANT - OF - SIR PATRICK HENRY

VIRGINIA - CASTLE - DOCTRINE - STATE

ALL - 50 STATES - NOW - CASTLE DOCTRINE

NEW - SPEECH - FR - ME

1ST - MADAME - PRESIDENT - OF - THE

NEW - DEMOCRATIC - GOVERNMENT

1 YEAR - TERM - ONLY

18 AND - OLDER

NO - RESIDENCY

'GIVE - ME - LIBERTY - THE - RIGHT - 2 - ACT

AS - I - PLEASE - OR - I - WILL - GIVE - MANY

DEATH' - '2 - THE - MOST - HIGH - GOD WHO

KEEPS - US - FR - FALLING' - 'OUR DEFENCE

OUR - PROTECTION - OUR - PROVIDER' - USA

[californiaprelawland]

California’s Legislative Response to the Fentanyl Crisis of the Nation

By Anakalia Casperson, Menlo College Class of 2025

January 10, 2024

New Year, new laws? California was put through a whirlwind of different events that resulted in the further establishment of bills, which in turn, would become new laws. One major event that captivated the nation in the year 2023 was the fentanyl crisis. It was estimated that ‘a little over 100 Americans’[1] were overdosing or being poisoned by fentanyl almost every week. Governor Gavin Newsome had to deal with an onslaught of bills that were directly associated with fentanyl along with subordinate association programs that could be implemented with the intent of reversing the rising number of overdoses within the state of California.               

  With staggering numbers in deaths, as days pass, there is some questioning revolving around the subject of the next war on drugs. The only difference with this potential war is that opioids are the center of attention, instead of a widespread variety. Opioids are hitting the streets of the nation with disguises that sell death, without the societal environment even having a single clue. Within three years alone, ‘between 2019 and 2021, California’s opioid-related deaths spiked %121… the vast majority of these deaths were linked to fentanyl’[2]. It took less than five years for opioid-related deaths to triple in percentage rates, not only is that statistic very alarming, but it puts pressure on the legislation that runs specific parts of the nation. In this case, specifically,

California is at stake.

  Fentanyl is a drug that is primarily used in the aftercare of a surgical procedure or within the ER during a trauma. According to the DEA, fentanyl was ‘first developed in 1959 and introduced in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic’[3].

In medical terms, an intravenous anesthetic agent runs course through the human body's veins as the drug induces the anesthetic rapidly with the intent of achieving high concentration within the central nervous system. This process is followed by common side effects such as chills, dry mouth, headache, etc. It is a strong and very addictive drug. A powerful anesthetic that is known to be ‘up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine[4]. Hence the phrase, ‘one pill kills’. Fentanyl was created with the pharmaceutical purpose and intent of treating excruciating pain post-surgery. However, ‘cheaply manufactured illicit fentanyl has become a growing threat in large cities, rural communities, and suburban neighborhoods. This is a drug that does not discriminate amongst its environment and can be obtained in any type of area within the nation. Additionally, what makes fentanyl much more of a dangerous opioid is that it could be disguised as another anesthetic drug delivering a misguided impression amongst other drugs that are being purchased on the streets. Even more, a simple misinterpretation could lead to the death of an innocent individual.

The harm is ‘in counterfeit prescription pills and party drugs, unbeknownst to the user, are laced with fentanyl’ [2]. A significant shift from the war on drugs epidemic of the 1990s where people were abusing pharmacy opioids and now ‘fentanyl can be mixed with other substances like xylazine, commonly known as “tranq”,  a powerful sedative approved for veterinary use’[2]. The trending shift of different processes in producing variations of an individual drug has resulted in the dramatic increase of deaths that take place widespread throughout the nation as each week passes. The overdoses aren’t derived from a singular substance, it is a mixture of foreign substances, including those that have sole purposes for care that don’t pertain to humans.

  As a response to fentanyl becoming a major contributor to the opioid crisis that currently plagues the nation, California Representative Mike Garcia has ‘cosponsored H.R 6671, Alexandra’s Law which would significantly increase penalties for drug dealers of lethal fentanyl’[5].

The bill was established in late December of 2023 and with 2024 now rolling, Alexandra’s Law is in full effect. The law was named for ‘Alexandra Capelouto of Temecula, who tragically died in 2019 at the age of 20 from fentanyl poisoning’[4]. Alexandra’s Law is meant to raise awareness of the current opioid crisis of the nation while diminishing the presence of fentanyl unknowingly being distributed into the streets of society. With this law, legislation requires ‘convicted fentanyl dealers to sign a sworn statement acknowledging that fentanyl is fatal and they could face murder charges if they deal again and it results in death’[5]. Much more rigorous pressure is applied amongst dealers within society rather than a simple charge of being sentenced to a few years. Alexandra’s Law is a law that requires convicts to be held accountable for their actions on a completely different level, which is needed as the opioid crisis continues. In California’s efforts to contain the crisis, Gavin Newsome has dedicated over $1 billion in an attempt to control the current fentanyl epidemic. The general fund of California along with money allocated from lawsuits with major corporations that are involved in the contribution to the opioid crisis. For instance, Johnson & Johnson with a few other wholesale distributors has resolved to pay $26 billion ‘to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by cities and counties nationwide. California will receive just over $2 billion of that through 2028’[2]. These funds are directed towards specific programs that are created for specific purposes, mostly centering around the education of opioids.

  According to the Department of Finance, the budget of funds is divided between three specific fund programs: federal grants, state general funds, and settlement funds. The program that receives the most funding is federal grants which are applied to the youth and tribal entities, these are the groups in society that are the most impacted and affected by the fentanyl epidemic currently.

  It is very refreshing to see that the nation is tackling problems from 2023 that have made their way into 2024. Very early on too. The fentanyl epidemic was just the latest contribution to the opioid crisis, a crisis that has been happening within this country since the         1990s. For so long, many different parts of society have been able to acquire anything at their fingertips, especially anesthetic and synthetic opioids. It is hoped that with Alexandras’s Law and different funding programs established in California, the nation could place itself on the path to recovery, one step at a time.

______________________________________________________________

[1] Wires, KQED News Staff and. “The New Laws Now in Effect for 2024 in California.” KQED, 3 Jan. 1970, www.kqed.org/news/11971361/new-laws-go-into-effect-in-2024.

[2] Ibarra, Ana B., et al. “California’s Opioid Deaths Increased by 121% in 3 Years. What’s Driving the Crisis?” CalMatters, 25 July 2023, calmatters.org/explainers/california-opioid-crisis/.

[3] Drug Fact Sheet: Fentanyl - Dea.Gov, www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Fentanyl-2020_0.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.

[4] “Fentanyl: One Pill Kills.” Texas Health and Human Services, www.hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substance-use/mental-health-substance-use-resources/fentanyl-one-pill-kills#:~:text=Fentanyl%20is%20a%20powerful%20synthetic,100%20times%20stronger%20than%20morphine. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.

[5] “Rep. Mike Garcia Cosponsors Legislation to Charge Fentanyl Dealers with Murder.” U.S. Representative Mike Garcia, 12 Dec. 2023, mikegarcia.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1264#:~:text=27).

[roboticutie]

And again I do want to reiterate:

The two most likely Republican candidates have made absolutely no promises to ceasefire. Red or Blue, the USA is loyal to Israel. You abstaining to vote may make you feel better that you "didn't contribute to actively putting a warmonger in power" but you WILL contribute to putting a woman-hating, homeless-hating, racist, homophobic, transphobic, cruel asshole in power nationally speaking.

Last time Trump was in power his staff sent out signed fliers to homeless shelters telling them how to spot/clock trans women to deny them shelter in the middle of winter. Look at Project 2025. It will be worse for everyone. He's done ghoulish things and he WILL target more people. Don't ignore that.

I'm not fucking kidding when I say: international politics with America are so beyond fucked at this point you need to focus on just national issues in terms of presidents. They're all going to wage war. That's what the USA does. That's a sum 0 game if you're basing your vote on wanting a ceasefire. You NEED to look at the actual differences in policies in the parties, and assist international issues in other ways like donating, sending aid, sharing ways those with means can do so, and pressuring politicians across the board for a ceasefire. Voting is not your only tool. Voting is a crucial tool.

Nationally speaking, Biden has:

Capped pharmaceutical prices and passed a law which pressures the medical industry to have competitive prices or else they lose their patent and cheaper options of the exact same product become available on the market, ENSURING competitive prices

Insulin is now $35 instead of $200 thanks to his administration

Passed (albeit a trimmed version) federal student loan aid

Decried states passing LGBTphobic laws instead of emboldening them like Trump and Desantis have done

Protected nearly 1 million acres of Indigenous land and permanently banned uranium mining near the Grand Canyon with one national monument: Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument

The Biden administration committed $26 million to assist with restoring the salmon habitat of the Columbia River and help with the tribal studies on the best way to reintroduce salmon to the area

Biden's DOJ is going after Google for its monopoly over search engines

President Biden signed the executive order January 27, 2021 to end federal use of Private Prisons

Biden continued working with the railroad workers to get them mandated sick days. “We’re thankful that the Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months after Congress imposed our updated national agreement,” Russo said. “Without making a big show of it, Joe Biden and members of his administration in the Transportation and Labor departments have been working continuously to get guaranteed paid sick days for all railroad workers.”

He codified queer marriage rights after the Supreme Court went rogue on RvW

Through executive orders and working with Congressional Dems, he's added layers of anti-discrimination ordnances

Biden’s DOJ has joined with parents of transgender children to SUE TENNESSEE for discrimination against transgender people and their rights

Biden's $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure package that will pour federal money into things like public transit, high-speed internet in places that don’t have it (which are overwhelmingly poor, and cut off from the rest of the world), and a whole lot of other basic things that make life easier for ordinary people

He Halted Federal executions. This doesn’t affect state-level convictions, but it does affect federal-level executions; those are completely off the table for as long as he (or any other) Democrat is President. (13 people were executed under Trump and he is bragging about executing more)

Bidien rejoined the Paris Climate Accords and is pushing for other environmental care legislation (which Trump left, cut, and tried to kill in favor of letting companies do whatever they wanted)

Pushed through the “Inflation Reduction Act” (named that to get Republicans to be willing to allow it through). It’s actually the largest climate bill in U.S. history and allows Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs for the first time. It includes 369 billion for a climate initiative to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote lean energy technologies. $300 billion in new revenue through a corporate tax increase. $80 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to hire new agents, modernize its technology, audit the wealthy and more. A $2,000 annual cap for out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for those insured by Medicare.

Managed to get a modest gun-safety bill through the gauntlet of Republican opposition. (The first one anyone’s managed to get passed in decades.) It’s far from perfect, or enough, but it did expand background checks on gun purchases and made it easier to prosecute illegal gun trafficking. And the reason it was as weak as it was, is because the Republicans have a majority in the House and they blocked anything stronger, it’s the Republicans’ fault. Not Biden’s.

Hearing aides are now available over the counter (no doctor or Rx costs!) thanks to Biden's administration

AND LITERALLY MORE. THIS ISN'T EVEN EVERYTHING.

Please please consider that Republicans will not fucking save lives. They will kill more people, overseas and within the US. Democrats CAN, HAVE, and ARE being pressured to do better. Please. Please vote.

sorry but i want to hit every american talking about not wanting to vote democrat anymore with hammers. lol

[bramblewatchescharmed]

The thing that gets me about male Charmed fans pushing for a male version of the Charmed Ones is that, AFAIK, there wasn't as much of an obsession with the idea until Joey Falco came out on social media with his plans for a hypothetical fifth season of Charmed (2018) that would have introduced a "triquetra-verse" where one universe was that of the Halliwells', the second was the Vera/Vaughn/Dansos' universe, and the third was for a universe where the Charmed Ones were male witches . . . only they would be college frat dudebros and exist solely to prove Falco's point that men can't handle magic.

(Weird take, considering the reboot he was a writer on since season 1 and then showrunner for season 4 went out of its way to show that male witches don't exist in its universe, but okay. The only male magic users in the reboot are Whitelighters, demons, and whatever the hell Jordan is by the end of the show with his healing ability.)

Plus, if people are that desperate for male!Charmed Ones:

The original series already had this concept with the Rowe coven of warlocks, with each generation of the Rowe line becoming stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of three brothers who would inherit an evil version of the Charmed Ones' Power of Three.

Season 5 under Brad Kern changed the sex of Piper's unborn child from a daughter to a son, and to top this all off, Wyatt was born on Imbolc (a Wiccan Sabbat) + was the never-before-mentioned prophesized Twice-Blessed Child with super-powerful magic potentially greater than that of the Charmed Ones. To make things worse, Season 6 reveals that he eventually inherits Excalibur and is basically the next King Arthur.

Fanboys wanting male Charmed Ones, to me, completely undermines and misses the whole point of why the original series (and even the 2018 reboot) has the Charmed Ones being female, and why the 1998 series based its witchcraft in Wicca.

Charmed (1998) was created by Constance M. Burge, who based the lead characters of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe on herself and her two sisters. The Craft came out two years earlier in 1996 & Practical Magic was also released in 1998: Hollywood riding on the sudden wave of popularity of Wicca in the United States now that the Satanic Panic from the previous decade was over. Teenage girls and young women were very much into exploring witchcraft / Wicca as a counterculture to the dominant mainstream religion/culture of Christianity.

Through using magic and witchcraft as an allegory, Charmed was able to explore real-life issues women face through its female leads: sexual harassment, work-life balance, mistreatment in the workplace, stalking, kidnapping, domestic violence, murder, religious & gender discrimination. It didn't shy away from the fact that women can, in fact, be abusers, murderers, and sexual predators. It also was not afraid of its female leads showing sexual interest in men and pursuing their desire on their terms, something not even Buffy the Vampire Slayer did: Buffy was punished by the narrative for having consensual sex with her vampire boyfriend Angel by him losing his soul and becoming Angelus.

All this, while having powerful female leads, and still including male characters who are powerful in their own right: Leo Wyatt, Cole Turner, Darryl Morris, Andy Trudeau, Victor Bennett, Sam Wilder. Charmed (1998) has its heroines being the most powerful good witches on Earth, saving Innocents and helping other witches, while allowing for the existence of male witches (in fact, it's stated in the pilot that all warlocks were once good witches who killed another witch to steal his/her power, making Jeremy, Rex, Nicholas, and all the other male warlocks seen on-screen former male witches--at least, those who became warlocks by killing other witches to steal their powers). The first male witch explicitly identified as such that we meet is Max, a thirteen-year-old boy who inherited his power of psychokinesis from his witch mother. (Max, his father, and his mother are all Black --- this is something not even the 2018 reboot did, by the way, despite two-thirds of that show's heroines being Afro-Latina.)

I could do without a male version of the Charmed Ones, because, frankly, men are not lacking in that sort of representation in other media: John Constantine, Doctor Strange, Tony Stark/Iron Man, Marvel Comics' take on Thor and Loki. Powerful male characters with superpowers (supernatural or scientific) are a dime a dozen. The Charmed Ones themselves are undermined in the later seasons with the introduction of Wyatt, whom one of the Whitelighter Elders conspires to kill in season 6 because they are so scared of his power level: that it's too much for one person to have. More, that he's the son of a Charmed One and a Whitelighter born on a Wiccan Sabbat, and the Warren line of witches was destined to become more powerful. This is also after Brad Kern, a straight cisgender man, took over the position of showrunner and executive producer from Constance M. Burge, the woman who created the series.

Charmed does not need a male version of the Charmed Ones, and fanboys pushing for it after coming into a female-led, female-created show, in a fandom primarily dominated by women and LGBTQ+ people (both, even!) have missed the point entirely.

[purple-tent-project]

There is a video from the 1950s or 70s where conservatives and liberals are at a dinner discussing who is at fault for allowing the black man into the relm of political power. The Liberals explain that by bringing a chosen black man up to their level, they lose their identity, their anger over their heritage of being a slave, and instead become an outcast to their own group, a pariah. They dont understand how their people have suffered from systematic discrimination and slavery, and believe that they succeeded on their own. Thus, falsely believing that any of the black community could travel the same path and join them. This false belief ignores the help that the white community and its connections provided to make this happen.

But ...

This wasnt the only way blacks where subjugated.

Consider the Tusla Race Massacre, where blacks were building their own safe haven and thriving. Had this continued unabated, blacks would have raised themselves up, not been seen as pariahs and not needed the white man to be considered equals. Or, look at all the black farmers who lost their land through state sanctioned schemes. Land ownership is considered a very powerful political position. Or, look at how the white man used drugs and gangs to create division in black communities to disprupt their access to safe nurturing environments. Or, how RFK Jr seeded discontent among the black community about the covid vaxcine to kill blacks through their own distrust of government programs .. like, Henryetta Lax,s cancer cells, or Mrs Evers Boys who were ginny pigs for a US sanctioned syphilis study.

And, now Thomas Clarence has argued that blacks dont deserve special treatment or access to the political table. They can get there on their own. Which is true .. they can .. , but ... Only if they are allowed to.

Remember, people in power want to stay in power. They can only hold onto power as long as those they lawd over allow them to. And, until, the next uprising, they will systematically create laws, taxes, credits, tariffs, and other obstacles to ensure they remain at the top.

As one researcher clearly showed to an audience .. anyone who wants to be treated like a black person, stand up. Since none of you stood up, you know exactly how the black people are being treated, you know you dont want it for yourself, and why are you willing to accept it / allow it for others.

[cyberbenb]

In Lukashenko’s Belarus, Belarusian culture is not welcome

While Belarusian is one of the two official state languages in Belarus, the decision to speak, read, and write it can be a dangerous choice for Belarusians. Growing up, the Belarusian poet and translator Valzhyna Mort was aware of how the Belarusian language was perceived in her country. “Belarusian was mocked for its ‘village sound,’ and was generally considered useless – a language that couldn’t possibly express daily life in Belarus. This is a sad irony, of course,” Mort told the Kyiv Independent.

The truth was that “the Russian language didn’t express what it means to be a little girl in Soviet Belarus and then, after the Soviet collapse, living in a colonial schizophrenia of waking up in your country in which nothing is actually yours,” Mort added.

In spite of more than two centuries of Russification policies imposed on the country, Belarusian writers say that their language and culture have quietly persevered.

After the eruption of mass protests in 2020 against Alexander Lukashenko’s fraudulent presidential election “victory,” more Belarusians became curious about their heritage and how it sets them apart from Russia. Those publicly doing so might now face imprisonment in Lukashenko’s Belarus. People who speak Belarusian are considered to be against the regime and have been arrested, fined, or imprisoned on politically-motivated charges. Despite that risk, many see preserving the Belarusian language and culture as continuing their fight for a democratic and truly independent country.

Belarusian language’s precarious status in Lukashenko’s Belarus

After years of oppression, there was hope that a Belarusian cultural revival would follow the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, that brief window of opportunity was shut by Lukashenko’s rapid accession to power.

After gaining independence in 1991, Belarus' national white-red-white flag and the Pahonia emblem – now symbols of resistance against Lukashenko’s dictatorship – were made official symbols of the country, and the Belarusian language enjoyed support from the state. For a brief moment, Belarusian was the country’s sole official language. After Lukashenko took power, a hardline approach toward the country’s culture and language was introduced. Lukashenko became president in July 1994 and, in 1995, he put forward a referendum that would also make Russian an official state language. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) later released a report suggesting that Lukashenko’s government had purposefully attempted to influence the outcome of the referendum, as well as the parliamentary elections held that year. The legality of the 1995 referendum has been questioned by legal scholars and human rights organizations, as well as members of the Belarusian opposition. Lukashenko has also been publicly challenged over the years by politicians and journalists alike for favoring the Russian language over Belarusian. Additionally, he has said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has “thanked” him for “not demonizing” the Russian language as Putin claimed had been done in other countries. Despite his assertion that using either language is a legitimate choice, Lukashenko has conveyed on numerous occasions that he perceives the Belarusian language as inferior. “People who speak Belarusian cannot do anything, because nothing great can be expressed in Belarusian. The Belarusian language is a poor language. There are only two great languages in the world: Russian and English,” he famously said back in 2006. In 2023, you will rarely hear Belarusian on the streets of Minsk and other major cities, while the white-red-white flag and the Pahonia emblem can land you in jail.

Centuries of Russification

For generations, Belarusians have been discriminated against, attacked, and even killed for embracing their culture. Tsimokh Akudovich, a Belarusian historian who works with the media platform Belsat, told the Kyiv Independent that Belarusian nationalism has always been deeply rooted in the unique sense of Belarusian cultural identity and shaped by the Belarusian language. “The Belarusian language has always defined the geographical boundaries of our nation and became a place of accumulation of intellectual resources and images. All of Belarus’ political movements during the last 100 years were strongly tied to the Belarusian language and culture,” Akudovich said. According to Akudovich, this is why every power that set out to subjugate the nation was keen on attacking the language and those who spoke it. During the Soviet Union, authorities made a point of targeting Belarusian cultural figures.

While there was a brief period in the 1920s when Belarusian language and culture were permitted to thrive, it was followed by two decades of brutal repressions. As a result, only a handful of Belarusian writers, musicians, and academics managed to survive – many were sent to the gulags or killed outright. The Holocaust also devastated the Belarusian Jewish population. According to Swedish-American historian Per Anders Rudling, Belarus used to have one of the largest Jewish populations per capita in Europe. Prior to that, the Soviets targeted the Yiddish cultural revival in Belarus. Yiddish was once a language commonly heard spoken in major cities and towns, in addition to Belarusian, Polish, and Russian.

In his article “The Invisible Genocide: The Holocaust in Belarus,” Rudling wrote that no less than 800,000 Belarusian Jews perished in the Nazis’ efforts to conquer Europe. After World War II, the Soviets undertook a significant urbanization project in Belarus, forcing the rural population to move to cities and learn Russian. This reshaped the linguistic makeup of Belarus. “Former villagers brought their language with them, but it was not welcomed. Russian was the language of the state and power and of the comfortable urban life,” Belarusian poet and translator Julia Cimafiejeva said.

This led to a rise in the usage of “trasianka,” a mixture of Belarusian and Russian that is still commonly heard today and incorporates Russian vocabulary with Belarusian grammar and phonetics. It is a similar linguistic phenomenon to “surzhyk” in Ukraine, which is a mix of Ukrainian and Russian.

During the post-war period, the Soviets employed subtle tactics to undermine the importance of the Belarusian language.

Scholar Lieanid Lyč wrote that in the late 1950s parents were allowed to petition for their children to be transferred from Belarusian- to Russian-language schools.

“The architects of such an anti-national language policy in the education field understood very well that if only the Russian language prevails in all higher and secondary educational institutions in Belarus, if all types of official records are conducted exclusively in it, then practically none of the parents will insist that their children were taught and brought up in their native Belarusian language,” he added. This fostered a belief among many Belarusians that knowing Russian had more value. By the start of the 21st century, some Belarusians worried that the Belarusian language would disappear from everyday usage. However, Russia “could not completely destroy the roots of Belarusian national identity” and “despite ongoing pressure from Moscow, there has been a gradual expansion of the Belarusian language and culture,” Akudovich said.

Two Belarusian literary scenes

Julia Cimafiejeva and Alhierd Bacharevič, the husband and wife literary duo who currently live in exile, took part in the mass protests of 2020 and have explored what it means to be Belarusian in their bodies of work. Cimafiejeva was born in a village along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border that was evacuated in 1986 after the nuclear fallout from the Chornobyl disaster. When she entered school in Homiel, the second-largest city in Belarus, “learning to speak Russian competently and correctly was a necessary, although not prescribed, condition to be accepted,” she wrote. However, both noted that the Belarusian language could always be heard somewhere on the radio or TV, or read in newspapers and magazines, while they were growing up. Predominantly Belarusian-language schools also existed, although they were usually in villages. Belarus has never been perceived in terms of strictly Belarusian- and Russian-speaking regions. The use of either language typically depended on your background and where you wanted to be in life, Cimafiejeva added. Bacharevič echoed that sentiment, adding that the Belarusian language was never a “dead language,” but it remained, for a long time, deeply undervalued.  

“We studied Belarusian language and literature at school, but most people did not understand why. After all, the Russian language dominated,” he said.

In the 2010s, the Belarusian literary scene of which Cimafiejeva and Bacharevič were an active part existed in two separate realities. The Union of Writers, established in 2005, was backed by the Lukashenko regime. Its members enjoyed privileged access to state-controlled media outlets, such as TV channels and newspapers. They also received frequent invitations to appear at educational institutions. Their language of choice was Russian. However, choosing to write in Russian has never been a definitive marker of being aligned with Lukashenko’s regime. Cimafiejeva, Bacharevič, and Mort have all worked in both Belarusian and Russian during their careers.  

Additionally, Belarus’ most famous writer, the 2015 Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich, writes predominantly in Russian. Most of her work has been published outside of Belarus, given her longstanding history of publicly opposing the Lukashenko regime.

Despite state-level support, those belonging to the Union of Writers “could not provide a bright image of the new future of the dictatorial state,” according to Cimafiejeva. Meanwhile, independent authors existed “in a kind of cultural ghetto,” she added. Since their work was exposed to a much smaller audience, this relative obscurity actually provided Belarusian writers with a certain degree of freedom for a period of time. Belarus’ independent cultural sphere launched various initiatives during this period to cultivate interest in Belarusian language and literature, where writers had the chance not only to connect with their peers but engage with their readers. Belarusian authors also faced the daunting task of competing against the massive influence of the Russian market. Cimafiejeva told the Kyiv Independent that the majority of the books sold in Belarus in 2019 were imported from Russia. By contrast, Belarusian-language books, most of which were educational materials, were far less common. Initially, the Belarusian cultural movement was not perceived as a threat by Lukashenko’s regime. However, following a series of protests against fraudulent elections over the years, that started to change. Literary magazines, publishing houses, and other cultural institutions soon found themselves under growing scrutiny and became targets for closure. The writer’s association PEN Belarus told the Kyiv Independent that there is essentially a ban on the profession for those who speak out against the regime. This is because the cultural and artistic initiatives undertaken by Belarus' independent cultural scene over the years influenced, to a certain extent, the protests and shaped the political consciousness of the people, according to Cimafiejeva.

“They helped their audience to feel the urge to self-identify themselves as Belarusians and be freer in a political sense,” she explained. Repressive measures further escalated after the mass protests that began in 2020, which led to the exile of Cimafiejeva, Bacharevič, and countless others. According to PEN Belarus, there is “permanent discrimination on the basis of the Belarusian language” given that it is associated with opponents of the regime. “Not only do we live in exile; Belarusian publishers also live in exile, our readers live in exile, a lot of people have left Belarus and for the last few years we all try to survive and develop our culture in these difficult conditions,” Bacharevič said. In 2022, Bacharevič’s novel “Dogs of Europe” was banned by the Belarusian authorities as “extremist literature.” It’s an expansive novel with several interweaving storylines that unfold over several decades. Set in a dystopian world, it depicts a reality where Russia has taken over Belarus and several other countries to become a dictatorial superstate. Bacharevič wrote on Facebook in July that he’d learned Belarusian authorities planned to plow over confiscated copies of the book with tractors. His novel “The Last Book by Mr. A” was also banned in 2023, he said in a recent interview.  Merely possessing a copy of these books in Belarus can now land an individual in trouble. Meanwhile, PEN Belarus told the Kyiv Independent that there are 132 members of Belarus’ cultural sphere currently being held in Lukashenko’s prisons, which amounts to an estimated nine percent of all political prisoners in the country officially registered by Viasna human rights group. However, Lukashenko’s crackdown has targeted not only Belarus’ literary sphere but the artistic sphere as well. People from all walks of life in Belarus face imprisonment, torture, and murder for daring to want to live in a democratic country. The renowned artist Ales Pushkin died from “unclear circumstances” in prison on July 11. He was arrested on politically motivated charges in 2021 after the Belarusian authorities claimed one of his paintings “rehabilitated and justified Nazism.” In 1999, Pushkin famously marked the five-year anniversary of Lukashenko’s ascent to power by dumping a red wheelbarrow full of manure at the main entrance of the Presidential Office in Minsk, placing a photo of Lukashenko on top of the manure, and piercing it with a pitchfork. He also flew the historic white-red-white flag over his home and said back in the 90s that Lukashenko did nothing good for Belarus and its people. “Ales was an incredibly talented, provocative, and courageous artist – and a good man,” Bacharevič wrote. “He will remain an artist and a person who was killed in prison, killed by this government. He was killed for language, talent, and bravery – for being Belarusian,” Bacharevič said, adding that “this murder cannot be forgiven.”

An ongoing cultural revival

Despite increasing attacks on those who dare to speak the language, an increasing number of Belarusians are writing in Belarusian, speaking it, reading it, and realizing why they need it. This is critical given that there is no state-level support for the Belarusian language and Lukashenko’s regime is destroying Belarusian culture, PEN Belarus told the Kyiv Independent. Cimafiejeva started using Belarusian more frequently back in 2006. Like many other Belarusians, it was a conscious decision made in the climate of protests against election fraud. She also started working for Belarusian-language independent media and entered an educational institution that taught mostly in Belarusian. “I had a quite wide circle of people speaking Belarusian, but it was a learned language for them all,” she said, given the prevalence of speaking Russian, especially in Belarus’ major cities. Only in the past 20 years have more children born in cities been raised to speak Belarusian as their native language, according to Cimafiejeva. “I’ve become more optimistic about the fate of the Belarusian language, especially if you compare today’s situation with the situation we had in the 1980s or even the 1990s,” she said. Although Belarusian cultural initiatives lack state support, and much of their work is being done in exile, they are dedicated enthusiasts who believe in what they are doing and are trying to spread it to wider audiences. Embracing the Belarusian language and culture can also be a means of comfort when processing the impact of having lived through a failed revolution, being faced with exile, and witnessing the outbreak of Russia’s genocidal war in neighboring Ukraine, of which the Lukashenko regime is an unofficial participant. “People are seeking clarity in ideas and in language, which is to say in literature, and in the language of the arts in general. Emotions are intense and it’s music and visual arts that can reflect that intensity without putting on labels, without naming. So, in these periods of crisis, the demand for art is high,” Mort said. Likewise, Bacharevič explained that a lot of Belarusians realized after 2020 that the system they lived in “was built on lies and violence.” “In 2020, these people started reading more Belarusian literature because they need answers to their painful questions: who we are, how this (political) disaster became possible, what our past is, and where we are going now,” he said. Despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine being one of the factors that have influenced many Belarusians to establish closer ties with the Belarusian language and culture, not all Belarusians are ready to cut the Russian language out of their lives completely. Belarus has never been a monolingual state, and Cimafiejeva does not expect Belarusian to be the only language spoken in the country. “Although I do want to see a better future for it,” she added. Previously, Bacharevič translated many of his novels into Russian himself. He is of the belief that knowing many different languages is always beneficial, but he still considers himself first and foremost a Belarusian speaker. “I think in Belarusian and dream in Belarusian,” he said. “The Russian language is our colonial heritage. I have not forgotten it, but I rarely speak it, mostly when I speak with Russians.” Mort said she doesn’t consider the Russian language itself a problem but rather those who promote the destructive ideology of the Russian regime. Her main issue with the Russian language has always been that it doesn’t allow her to express herself as freely as the Belarusian language does and that it has denied Belarusians a sense of pre-Russian history and agency. “The Russian language doesn’t understand the Belarusian countryside,” she said.

Belarus Weekly: Lithuanian president calls Belarus a ‘Russian province,’ urges increasing defense

As NATO’s anticipated 2023 Vilnius Summit makes headlines, the alliance’s members urge Minsk to end its complicity in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda urges NATO to bolster its eastern flank, claiming Belarus is “no longer independent’ but rat…

The Kyiv IndependentMaria Yeryoma

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Kate Tsurkan, thanks for reading this article. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there’s been a lot of talk about Ukraine’s cultural revival. However, Belarusians and people from other neighboring countries are reckoning with years of Russian colonialism as well. Culture has taken on an even more important meaning during wartime and if you like reading about this sort of thing, p

[thottacelli]

"Decolonization of Palestine doesn't mean getting rid of israelis or wiping them out…" Yes, I agree

True, decolonizing Palestine does not require the death of israeli settlers, only the dissolution of the state of israel.

"….and anybody who claims they are afraid of Israelis being removed or wiped out is just saying that because of irrational colonizer guilt" Um. Not only is it totally unnecessary to go there, this is also in very bad taste, right?

False, fearing what the oppressed minority might do once they are free is based entirely on racist notions. Its rhetoric used to put the theoretical threat to the lives and safety of the settler class over the current and constant abuse of the oppressed class. And this fear has not been supported by history. White South Africans still own like 70% of the land in South Africa, and they suffered no mass murder when the apartheid gov fell. This is an extremely dangerous idea to give any kind of credence or validity to, so yes, it is necessary to go there. Its never in bad taste to call out settler colonial lies and rhetoric when it happens.

"It is silly and paranoid to be afraid that people posting about freeing Palestine are anti-semitic" I don't know about that, there were a lot of anti-semitic people last I checked, and somehow I doubt they all vanished in a puff of smoke after October 7.

Semi-true and Semi-false. You are right, there are a lot of antisemites and they did not disappear on Oct 7th, since then they have been throwing their support behind israel in droves. Multiple loud and proud antisemites, like John Hagee, also happen to be very Pro-israel. I trust an antisemite to do what they think will hurt Jews the most, and they have decided to do that by supporting israel, not Palestine. If antisemites taking advantage of this war is what you are worried about, you are going to find them supporting israel before anyone else.

Also, conflating being anti-israel with being antisemetic is only going to put more Jews in danger. Anti-zionist Jews write and talk about this all the time.

...the switches can be set to "Victim" or "Perpetrator." And y'all spend most of your time trying to resolve cognitive dissonance about how you have the switches set up, instead of thinking, "Wait, why do we even have these?"

Nuance exists, but not when it comes to the israeli occupation of Palestine, especially the active genocide happening right now. In this case there is a clear "Victim", the people who have been occupied and genocided for the past 70+ yrs, and a clear "Perpetrator", the people doing the occupying and the genocide. There is no gray area here, this is genocide.

Personally, I think "People deserve equal rights and to not be discriminated against legally and socially" and "Blowing up mass numbers of little kids is bad" capture the heart of the matter just fine...

I really don't understand what you mean by that "equal rights" line. Whose rights? If you are talking about Palestinians' rights to not be legally oppressed by a settler colonial gov, then yes. Then why contrast it with the "blowing up kids is bad" line? Palestinians are doing neither of these. The Palestinian Authority is a shell of a gov that barely protects Palestinians, they have no power to subject israeli settlers to legal discrimination. The israeli gov is the only entity denying people their rights and the only one killing children. You're right, those are two issues at the heart of the matter, but seeing as israel is the doing these things, how does this support the "this is more complicated than you think" argument it seems like you are trying to make here?

This post troubles me deeply, the rhetoric you are validating in it comes straight out of a racist's mouth and only hurts Palestinians who are already suffering unimaginable pain. Its kinda crazy to me that you can look at what israel has been doing for the past 2 months, for the past 70+ yrs, and think there is any room for discussion. What are you trying to accomplish with this post? What are you tying to convince people of? Because it sounds like you are worried people are taking an unfairly hard stance against israel. If that is the case, then I must assume that you either don't know much about the israeli occupation of Palestine (if so, why are you opening your mouth), or you think what israel has done for the past 70+ yrs is fair, which is horrifying.

"Decolonization of Palestine doesn't mean getting rid of israelis or wiping them out..." Yes, I agree

"....and anybody who claims they are afraid of Israelis being removed or wiped out is just saying that because of irrational colonizer guilt" Um. Not only is it totally unnecessary to go there, this is also in very bad taste, right?

"It is silly and paranoid to be afraid that people posting about freeing Palestine are anti-semitic" I don't know about that, there were a lot of anti-semitic people last I checked, and somehow I doubt they all vanished in a puff of smoke after October 7.

Sometimes it seems like in place of a brain, y'all have a control panel with a bunch of light switches each labeled with a name of a different demographic or group of people, and instead of "On/Off" the switches can be set to "Victim" or "Perpetrator." And y'all spend most of your time trying to resolve cognitive dissonance about how you have the switches set up, instead of thinking, "Wait, why do we even have these?"

Personally, I think "People deserve equal rights and to not be discriminated against legally and socially" and "Blowing up mass numbers of little kids is bad" capture the heart of the matter just fine, and I don't think these things are very controversial when it comes right down to it. And whatever answer the people fighting on my dash about questions like "What is the identity of being indigenous to a region derived from" eventually come up with, I don't think that answer is likely to be particularly illuminating into the subject of whether it's all right to blow up little kids.