#well. one might say. racist jokes.

[thebreakfastgenie]

@a-star-that-fell me when I found out Rosalind Chao was in M*A*S*H to begin with

[dukeofankh]

If your vision for the deradicalization of right-wing men begins and ends with "other men telling them that that's gross and to stop it" then I'm sorry, you do not understand how masculinity works.

"Men who hold patriarchal status" and "men who are feminists" are two groups who overlap less than you want them to. I'm sorry. That's not solely because men are so happy with patriarchal status that they don't want to risk it by policing misogyny/queerphobia/racism, It's because being misogynistic, queerphobic, and racist, end expressing other forms of toxic masculinity(and often abusively so) are part of how people establish and maintain patriarchal status. The men who have the ability to stop this via nothing but peer pressure are the very people who are doing it. That's by design. And engaging in feminist intervention is, in and of itself, usually the abrupt end of that status and its associated power to persuade misogynistic men.

Like, I have worked in blue collar jobs as a notably queer person. It was pretty much a constant deluge of verbal abuse. In my experience, most blue collar work environments are exploitative, abusive, and bigoted, and very gleefully so. On the occasions I have spoken up about someone saying something that was super fucking out of line (asking me which of the girls walking by was hottest. We were installing a portable classroom at a middle school), believe it or not, they completely failed to be shamed! Because nobody else on the crew gave a fuck. *I* was the weird one. They ghosted me. A full blown company ghosted me. I suddenly didn't have a job anymore because they just straightforwardly stopped telling me where the next job site was.

Like, this doesn't mean that it's your job to do it, but this vision you have of these big groups of men where everyone is on the fence and there is precisely one shit stirrer who can be shut down by a brave feminist man who can single handedly set the example for all these other guys...you are high. You are describing an "everybody clapped" level absurd scenario. Most of these truly virulent misogynistic guys either have zero friends, because, you know, our society is atomized to fuck, or they are in a group where the feminist guy is actually the weirdo who can be shut down and ostracized much, much easier than the misogynists, because there is no such thing as a man misogynists respect who stands up for women.

You might be saying "well, we're talking about longstanding personal relationships, actually. Like, they need to have to want to spend time with you and then, as a side effect, you can mind control them out of being a threat to us."

Problem with that being:

1: Many feminist men also have no friends, see the atomized society above.

2: Feminist men already stopped hanging out with men who make rape jokes because why the fuck would we want to spend time with them.

3: That isn't just because we respect women so hard. We are in many cases talking about men who are also deeply queerphobic, heirarchical, violent and abusive to other men. What initially drew me to feminism and women was a lack of heirarchical squabbling and constant bullying, and the ability to be openly queer. A lot of men who came to feminism did so because they knew that the patriarchy was not a place they would find success or acceptance. These are not the men who are gonna be able to change right wing minds.

4. Men do not view themselves as a monolith. There is no universal brotherhood of men. The actual meaning of the term "Fragile masculinity" is that men are constantly expected to prove that they are deserving of the status of being a member of their own gender. There are large swathes of men--including most of the men who you'd look to as examples of good, feminist men who you want to undertake this project--who are considered failed men, sissies, f****ts, soyboys, ect. They are. Not. Going. To. Convince. These. Men. Of. Jack. Shit. Much less successfully *shame* them. Jesus.

I know all of this sucks. I know it would be cool to be able to just point at a group and have them be responsible for the work. But nah. It's gonna have to be a societal project, one that will probably outlast all of us. Sorry. The thing you want these men to do is, absolutely, the morally correct thing to do. But presuming that it would be effective is, and once again I am so sorry about this, just ignorance of how these social groups function.

[solarbird]

I just want to get it out there that Elon Musk keeps saying – in words – that the Trump plan is to crash the economy. He keeps saying it, because he thinks it’s a good thing. Ordinary Americans will have to “embrace the pain.” People like him won’t have to do that, of course not!

But, you know.

You.

The little people.

Then and only then, after a big crash, will the economy be allowed to recover under what one supposes would be a new hyper-austerity regime.

From all historical experience, this “austerity” regime would really be a looter regime. It’d also be deflationary, which is great if you’re a billionaire and terrible if you’re everyone else, since most people will make less and less over time, while the billionaires will keep more and more since the rich won’t be paying any taxes, and the value of their stored wealth – their idle, uninvested, non-productive money caches – will increase all on its own.

The MAGA government would be gambling on the idea that American memory is so short that they’ll forget before the collapse.

Well, that, and…

And I give this credence because, well, one, yeah, Trump’s plans will crash the economy. But I also give it credence because of something Trump said before even running for office. He said this:

When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell and everything is a disaster, then you’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be when we were great. – Donald J. Trump on Fox and Friends, 2014

Because Elon’s saying that’s the plan this time. It wasn’t the plan last time maybe, but it’s the plan this time. And “go back to where we used to be” was white supremacy with women as men’s property. That’s what he wants.

Trump’s Director of Whitehouse Personnel just today called to end voting rights for women, saying that women shouldn’t vote and that the 19th Amendment “might have to go.”

I mean really, at this point in the campaign, what people generally need to be focusing on is getting out the vote. But sometimes things happen that are big enough to talk about, like the explosion of race hate coming out of the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. And that raw hatred – and their doubling down on it on Monday and Tuesday – is the most important item this week, absolutely.

But for the “fuck you I got mine” crowd amongst your friends, particularly the ones who are perfectly happy to laugh at racial hate jokes and really kinda like it since hey, it’s not their problem, well…

I would think that intentionally crashing the economy might give them something to care about.

Just maybe.

Because Elon keeps saying it, out loud. Elon, who would be in a Trump administration, who would be the one doing the broad strokes of fiscal planning, keeps saying that they will crash the economy, and that they will do it on purpose.

That might be something to tell your more racist family and friends.

Maybe – just maybe – they’ll care about that.

5 days remain.

[juanarc-thethird]

If interested please DM him

Nora: How was your Valentine's Day?

Jaune: Um... Normal.

Nora: You didn't ask a girl out?

Jaune: No...

Nora: Why not?

Jaune: Because no one is interested in me?

Nora: What?! How is that possible?!

Jaune: Trust me, it is possible.

Nora: Not on my watch! *Leaves*

Jaune: Hey! Where are you going?! *Sighs* Whatever, it's not my problem.

The next day....

Jaune: *Reading a book*

*Ting!*

Jaune: Huh? *Checks his phone* An unknown message?

*Ting!* *Ting!* *Ting!*

Jaune: More?

*Ting!Ting!Ting!Ting!Ting!Ting!*

Jaune: What the?

*TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!TING!*

Jaune: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!!

Momentas later

JNPR's Room

Nora: *Playing games on her phone while lying in bed*

Jaune: *Shows up* *Angry* What did you do?!

Nora: Do what?

Jaune: You know very well what I mean. What did you do?!

Nora: I seriously don't know what you're talking about.

Jaune: I'm talking about this!

Jaune shows his phone, still being bombarded by messages from unknown numbers.

Jaune: Why do I have a bunch of strangers asking me on a date?!

Nora: *Excited* Really?! That means that my post worked!

Jaune: *Confuse* What post?

Nora: This one!

She selects something on her phone and shows it to Jaune.

"Do you want a Man that has abs? Do you want a man that can cook? Do you want a man that is literally the dream house husband?! Well look no further.

Jaune Arc, the only son of the Arc Family.

Let's talk about features: - Power: No - Money: No - A car: No - Great confidence: Nope... but he has a humongous dick that makes up for everything else.

Let me tell you a story. One day I entered the bathroom without checking to see if anyone was there using it. And when I did it, he poked my eye. "With what?" you might ask. I think we both already know answer to that.

You can present him to your parents, to your sibling who never stops bothering you that you are single and alone, to your weird creepy uncles, to your gossiping fat aunts, to your racist grandmother who no one dares to tell her to stop saying rude things, because for some reason everyone is afraid of her. And I can assure you that all of them will change their ways when they see what a good boy this man is. God damn it! Everyone will want to protect this golden retriever of a person!

Good boy Approved!!

Things this man is old enough to do: - Vote: Yes - Consent to Sex: Yes - Becoming Huntsmen: HE IS ALREADY A HUNTSMEN!

This man has history. He's seen some shit. He has done "things" for his friends. He has killed for his friends. He will not judge you like other people.

Interesting facts: - He is a good boy on the outside, but he is a beast on the inside~ *Wink* *Wink* - He is an Arc, so he is designed for breeding. - He holds the record for most boxes of cereal consumed in one day!

What more can you ask for?!

Look...

Let's face the facts. He may not be the most beautiful person in the world, but you aren't either (I mean that's why you're still single). So stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your mom about that "guy" you met at the supermarket. (We both know that's a lie). He may be too good for you, but he's really desperate. So send him a message and try your luck.

Jaune Arc 206-XXX-XXXX"

Nora: What do you think? Very cool, right?

Jaune:...

Jaune: Am I a joke to you?

[atopcat]

"baela is daemon's favorite daughter" so favorite that he doesn't say a word to her the entire series like (???) the way they treat baela and rhaena in the series is sad and problematic, the two just sit in a corner saying absolutely nothing and every now and then giving little smiles

The treatment of House Velaryon in general is an actual joke, Ryan Condal expects us to give him a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum by casting black actors whilst simultaneously ignoring everything about them.

Look at Baela and Rhaena in the show:

Does this tell you anything about their individual personalities? All I see are two girls who don’t have much going on other than standing around looking pretty, they might as well be cardboard cutouts with how little they’re given to work with.

Now compare this to fan art:

(art by chillyravenart) (art by dalberadiata)

Straight away I know Rhaena is feminine and sweet, whilst Baela is more assertive and a fighter.

George has told us so much about Baela:

She’s wild, willing and fearless

She was considered more boyish than ladylike

She was overly interested in boys

She loved riding her dragon so much she cropped her hair so it wouldn’t whip around her face

She was often chastised for wrestling squires

She was quick to anger

What does the show tell us? Absolutely nothing. We just needed ONE scene, a scene where Baela stands up for herself when Aegon is a creep instead of them making it all about how great Jace is. She refuses to leave Jace’s side in the books, why couldn’t she have a line where she says just that? The idiots even robbed us of her scene with Rhaenys where she shows her fearlessness as a Targaryen princess because apparently Larys being a creep is more important. The show is literally going out of their way to screw her over because she is brimming with personality in the books!

Ryan has told us absolutely nothing about Baela the Brave and Sweet Rhaena of Pentos because he didn’t think of them to be of any importance. He didn’t think the girl who takes down King Aegon II Targaryen and her sister who becomes the last dragon rider until Daenerys Targaryen are of any importance. It’s been left to fans to fill in the gaps and stress the importance of House Targaryen’s final girls because the show refuses to.

These writers are racist af because you just know if they were cast instead it would be a completely different story.

[grahamkennedy]

this might sound kinda stupid, but following your blog has genuinely had a huge imapct on the way i think about us-centrism online. Im australian too, and after reading your posts I began to notice that I avoid using regional words or talking about moveis/tv/music that i thought american people wouldn't know about. but why should i have to?! its such a simple realisation, but it was pretty powerful to me! you know, i have to learn about 1001 specific american brand names to understand half the jokes on here, but i feel embarrassed talking about idk.. netball?? the impulse to explain any australian specific experience that i mention so that the usamericans can understand it is so annoying! why do i feel the need to have to do that?? I've been trying to get over my cultural cringe surrounding australian art and literature for a while, but i sort of didnt realise how deeply it was ingrained for simple, everyday stuff. its also made me really quite angry too. because in many ways australia IS so similar to the us. yet so many people in the notes of posts about australia are just so deeply apathetic about learning (or even just being respectful of) any sort of cutural differences. needless to say, this often ends up leading to people spouting very colonialist ideas and just being very plainly and obviously racist against indigenous people. but the gleeful ingorance about any country other than than the us is staggering. everyone online has to have an in depth knowledge about us politics, but no one can make a post about the politics of their own country without being forced to dumb it down so that an american audience with no prior knowledge can understand it. sorry for the rant! i wasnt planning on writing this much (or getting this annoyed) but it kind of got away from me! anyway, i love your blog lol <3

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK

I've been thinking of how to reply but the problem is I'm kind of stupid so I didn't know how.

I first started getting super annoyed by this when I got into The Newsreader. It was something I thought 'this has so many themes and ideas and characters that people would so be into' but then as it gained popularity, people, mostly American, got really weird about it. I got an ask that I was very nice about at the time but retroactively pissed me off, being like "well its about Australian history, can an American still watch it???". I noticed similar attitudes popping up, and getting more popular from Sam Reid fans who came over from IWTV.

I think as people who live with USCentrism every day, we still shouldn't get complacent and limit ourselves to Western world views, especially white ones. We need to broaden our horizons as well and also understand the place we have in Western imperialism.

But I'm glad more people are actually starting to understand how prevalent USCentrism is and I'm more than happy to be part of the conversation.

Thaaaaaankkkkk u for this ask.

[delulujuls]

fuck, marry, kill | lh44, gr63

hi! im sorry for not being on time but hey, no surprise to having the best ideas when its already too late. anyway please enjoy!

summary: the mercedes trio is getting ready for halloween party, lewis is being a total babygirl as always, georgie boy being unbothered king as always too

warnings: none, they are pure goofballs

pairing: lewis hamilton x fem!mercdriver x george russell

George scrunched his nose, feeling the first stamp of paint on his cheek.

"I already don't like this."

Y/N rolled her eyes, putting more paint onto the sponge.

"I've just started, so please cooperate and let me work."

He squeezed his eyelids as he felt his face gradually being covered in white color. The atmosphere at the Mercedes headquarters that afternoon was very exciting, all due to preparations for the evening Halloween party.

"Is it at least vegan?" George asked again, nervously adjusting himself in his place.

Lewis sitting next to them couldn't help but laugh, tearing his gaze away from his phone.

"Give me one reason why makeup paint wouldn't be vegan" he asked.

"I have no idea, that's why I'd rather make sure."

Y/N shook her head and returned to covering his face with paint.

"And you, Lewis, do you have any ideas yet?"

She asked, glancing at the man who had been searching for inspiration for his costume for the past few minutes.

"I'd advise against anything with white paint and it's not just because it could be seen as racist."

George chimed in, trying to scratch his nose for which he immediately received a tap on the hand.

"Men in Black? The Weeknd?" the man shook his head while scrolling through Pinterest. "Everything is too simple and obvious."

"We could have some matching costumes," Russell suggested, feeling relieved as the girl put down the paint and reached for powder. "I'd feel better knowing that you guys are going through this as well."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Y/N nodded, looking at her friends. "The only question is, what kind?"

Lewis exhaled and focused on his phone again. The trio remained silent for a moment until the man showed them a photo with an potential inspiration.

"I think I have a favorite."

Y/N furrowed her brows, looking at the photo he showed. It took her a moment to decipher what the trio of girls in the picture was dressed up as.

"Fuck, Marry, Kill! Oh God, that is brilliant!"

"Let me be 'Kill' because I might as well kill myself if I have to wash this off" George said, adjusting the headband holding his hair.

"I'm fine with that" the girl assured, taking a brush, black eyeshadow and starting to paint skull elements on his face. "And what about you, Lewis?"

"I can let you have the first choice."

The man replied, resting on his hand and watching as George's makeup slowly began to take shape.

"Everyone thinks 'Fuck' when they look at you, so I guess we know the answer."

The girl said, giving him a meaningful look.

Lewis looked a little flustered, trying to cover his reaction with laughter. The three of them had been friends for almost four years, but Lewis was very easy to embarrass, even in jokes.

"You'd look good as the groom though, but I'm sure that everyone would probably point out that Y/N is being objectified for letting her being "Fuck", what about woman rights and all the other shitty nonsense," George added "PR people would have a busy evening."

"Geez Georgie boy, just say that I'm not attractive and no one would want to fuck me," Y/N interjected with feigned seriousness, struggling to hold back her laughter.

"Don't provoke me into this conversation, especially not now when I'm not at my best," he replied, trying to remain still as she painted his eyes.

Lewis returned to browsing his phone, this time with a clear idea of what he was looking for. When he found a specific photo, he hesitated for a moment about presenting his idea.

"Do you have red lipstick, Y/N?" He asked uncertainly, glancing at his friend. She nodded, not breaking her concentration. However, when he didn't expand on the topic, she looked at him.

"But what do you need red lipstick for, exactly?"

Lewis wordlessly showed her his phone with a picture where a guy was covered in red lipstick kisses. Y/N raised her eyebrows in shock, while George nodded approvingly.

"The idea is great and I truly love you, but don't count me as the one to give you those kisses,"Russell replied.

Lewis looked at Y/N, unsure if this suggestion wasn't too much and could potentially offend her in any way. However, she didn't react negatively at all; instead, she nodded and smiled enthusiastically.

"People on Twitter are gonna shit themselves."

When George's makeup was ready, the rest of the preparations went smoothly. Even getting the wedding accessories for Y/N wasn't as problematic as keeping Russell in one place with his mouth shut for more than five minutes during his make up. When the girl was ready, she took the red lipstick, which was the highlight of the program and found Lewis, who was already dressed in his dark red suit pants, perfectly matching his shirt. The man smiled at the sight of his friend, who had done a great job finding her costume at the last minute.

"How do you feel about the party?" the girl asked, opening a small mirror and painting her lips.

"I'm okay, and you?" the man replied, nervously adjusting the cuffs of his shirt.

"Me too, I must admit I like these kinds of parties."

Y/N closed the mirror and glanced at her friend, signaling him to sit down. He followed her command, getting nervous almost as if it were his first interaction with a girl ever.

"Do you have any specific idea about how to arrange these kisses, or can I improvise?"

"I trust you completely."

The girl nodded and without thinking too much just leaned toward him. Just then George entered the room, also dressed and ready to go.

"Thank goodness I found you in time," he said, closing the door behind him. "Now no one can accuse you of deliberate kisses."

"You're definitely taking this too seriously," Y/N laughed and leaned toward Lewis, pressing her lips to his cheek. The man smiled involuntarily and looked at her, slightly taken aback when she moved away and examined her work.

"One down, about twenty-nine to go," George commented, sitting in a nearby chair. "Don't fall in love with each other during this time."

Lewis sat still, even trying not to breathe too loudly. Y/N left kisses on his cheek, neck and chest like stamps. When she finished, she nodded approvingly.

"It turned out better than I thought."

"We all look awesome, but now get rid of the evidence and let's go because I'm starving."

The girl wiped her lips clean and the three of them headed to the company's party. Y/N secured seats, Lewis went for drinks and George immediately greeted the snacks. Toto holding a champagne glass took a big sip when he noticed Lewis's rather original outfit.

"I guess you're not the author of those kisses."

The man stated more than he asked, when he approached George.

"Come on, boss, I used my best lipstick for this. Huda Beauty," George said with utmost seriousness and holding three plates of snacks he returned to his friends, ready for the next adventures of the Halloween night.

[j0kers-light]

Hey <3 What would Joker think about a reader who speaks lots of languages? Does he speak multiple as well? Would he learn some together with the reader? Or does he not really pay attention to that? Have a lovely day~

Hey hi my love!! 🖤✨

It’s a beautiful day actually and my brain is running a mile a minute to answer this. As someone who is trilingual, (and working on learning more) I find it tricky to answer this ask from Joker’s perspective. 

Because on one hand learning a new language is both daunting and fun; anyone can do it! However it does have a tendency to pinpoint origin and define you as a person. 

Joker knowing a different language (in my opinion) is too risky given his strict, “I have an untraceable past” reputation. If he starts speaking a different language, it can be traced back to his past.

So no. I don’t think Joker would bother learning a different language. He speaks English and sarcasm. Now if it were for the betterment of his Light? He might?

Joker believes that pain translates the same across all languages, so why bother trying to understand what a person is saying as they plead for mercy?

He doesn’t have the need to pick up a new language so English it is!

That all changes when he meets his Bunny who is a foreign speaker. And ohh boy, he wasn’t prepared.

Your accent, the speed in which you talk.. Joker finds it downright sexy! Everything you say has a bit of a kick to it.

He doesn’t know a word you’re saying most of the time and you use that to your advantage when you’re upset with him. 

You stop talking in English and rant in your mother tongue leaving Joker standing there like 👁️🫦👁️

Joker is a certified simp. We know this. He instantly bricks up hearing you speak, especially if you say something during sex that he can’t translate. Horn-Y to the point of no return. 🥵

He is in awe how you speak multiple different tongues in the same conversation, simply because you can. 

One minute you are cracking a joke in English, you pause to listen to someone speak (insert language) and then you reply in a third; effectively blowing J’s mind.

You are constantly translating in your head and thinking of the correct consonants and vowels to use while still engaging in conversation.

It takes a sharp mind and loads of patience that Joker greatly admires. How you do it? He’ll never understand but it’s definitely hot.

Joker finds out that you know to sign and can read Braille too by accident; what are you? A walking Rosetta Stone? At this point what language do you not know?

Imagine his disbelief when he discovers you can sing certain songs in several more languages…

Joker dubs you his Google translate and if he needs assistance, best believe he’s asking for your help. 

You turn to glare at your boyfriend in disdain. He really dragged you out of bed for this. “I don’t know Mandarin, Joker.” You say for the fourth time.

Your response isn’t what J was expecting and his wide grin slowly falls from his face. Tense seconds pass as he hides his disappointment. “Bunny… you know a loT of languages..”

“Yes, but not..” You pinch your nose with a sigh. You are not an automated translator that J assumes you to be. You don't know every language! (that would be so cool btw)

The best course of action is letting Joker's hopes and dreams down softly. “It’s a rather hard and complicated dialect to learn, J.”

“And that mumbo jumbo you sang the other day wasn’t hard?!”

You drew a blank at him cutting you off. “J, what are you talking about?”

“Uhh you sa~ng in the car jusT fine, what's stopping ya now?” He grumbled. It took you a minute to remember what he's talking about and even then, you're still confused.

“Joker. That was Hebrew. Completely different language. Omg, are you really that racist?” You ask.

The poor guy that Joker abducted will just have to wait until you and J finish arguing to confess that he's fluent in English. He's too invested in this discussion to interrupt.

So that was a self insert head canon anon sorry not sorry. 🤣🤣🤣🥴 To clear the air. 

I can speak English, Greek, and Spanish. Although I can read and comprehend Spanish better than speaking it. 😭

I began learning French and Russian when I was in school but dropped it for personal reasons. Oh! I totally forgot that my boss was teaching me Vietnamese for two years back in the day lol.

I can sing certain songs in Hebrew, Danish, Latin, Spanish, French, and Japanese. I also poorly translated a few chapters of a book in German out of desperation until the official release was published in English. 🙃 I'm a menace.

[catbountry]

Re: your reblog: No idea why a lot of men don't want anything to do with a movement that was regularly comparing them to bowls of poisoned M&Ms. It'll forever be a mystery

Oh fuck, that fucking post.

Like, look. I understand the importance of communicating why women might be intimidated by men. But that was such a bad comparison. I remember it being circulated by the kinds of people I was hanging out with who would wind up becoming increasingly right-wing, and it felt like every single time there was some sort of poorly articulated point about the fear that gets ingrained into us, it would just push these guys further and further away. This is purely anecdotal, but I was in a discussion with some guys in a server who said that they'd talked with multiple guys who were just kind of vaguely anti-woke not because of any deeply held principles, but because someone on the left was mean to them or disparaged them. In nerd spaces especially, these are guys who were likely already ostracized in school for being weird and are looking for, well, a safe space. And when perceived outsiders (other nerds who are demographically different from them) come in and try and make a space more inclusive, make it safer, and call anybody who objects a bad person... there's a really big social element to that. Like yeah, there's probably misogyny or racism or homophobia that could be unpacked, but those are things you can unlearn. And the best way for these guys to unlearn these behaviors is just through contact with people who are different from them with whom they have positive experiences. It's not the whole process, mind, but it's a good first step. And simply telling someone off for being bad when they might not even fully understand why it is that they have objections will succeed in getting rid of those guys from your spaces, but where do they go from there? Not the diverse and inclusive spaces we would hope they'd go, that's for fuckin' sure.

I don't want to say that it's our jobs to be super nice to these guys all the time, because you know what? Yeah, some of them do suck, as many people of all walks of life do. They won't change their minds because they see no reason to do so. But if you have the energy to try and level with these guys and just say things in a way that isn't accusatory and is just matter-of-fact, it works better. They're more likely to see you as a whole-ass person if you're willing to engage with them as a whole-ass person. It's exhausting, and I'm not the best at it, but goddammit, I've tried, with varying results. Even if they come in swinging, they can be tripped up by a simple "why would you say that?" or "I don't get it." Challenging them in a way that's not accusatory so much as it is asking them to self-reflect. Why would you say that? Why is that offensive joke funny? Why do you think it's an appropriate thing to say to people you barely even know?

I'm not one of those people that denies the existence of the male loneliness epidemic, though I certainly do think loneliness is up with everybody, not just men. I think neuroatypical men are particularly vulnerable; people with autism aren't any more likely than NT people to believe conspiracy theories, but I definitely found myself taking the word of people who I was friendly with when they perpetuated misinformation to me about shit like AGP or ROGD because why would they lie to me? Looking back, there were definitely people who were racist in a more lowkey way that wasn't immediately detectable by me because I couldn't hear the dogwhistles. But just by virtue of being a enby in predominately queer social circles, I have people around me that were able to challenge these views and help pull me away from these ideas (and help me realize that my gender is more "woman?" rather than just "woman"). These friends allowed me to realize just how stupid they actually were. There's a lot of guys, particular straight guys, who just do not have that in their lives. The bigots are always recruiting and there's nothing they love more than disenfranchised young men who are full of misdirected anger and resentment, especially ones who might be psychologically or emotionally vulnerable and incredibly insecure about it. It's a really hard mindset to get out of, particularly when your views get more extreme, and it's also something you have to actually want to change. Admitting you've been played for a sucker by people with agendas and who don't actually give a shit about you is hard. Nobody wants to admit when they've been had.

There's always a lot of resistance whenever anybody floats the idea that hey, maybe we shouldn't automatically assume these guys are assholes when we encounter them; they might just be ignorant, and you can talk to people who are ignorant without coming across as condescending or sanctimonious. Some of them might be assholes but let them show themselves first before deciding that you can't deal with them. But men are like most people; they don't want to see themselves as fundamentally bad or wicked. Nor should they. I know a lot of women who have been hurt by men; shit, I was hurt by the same man over and over and over again and was in denial about it for decades, and it was only after leaving him that I realized just how absolutely fucked he was as a person, and how he'd never have any incentive to change, even when faced with the consequences of his incredibly selfish actions. I tried so fucking hard to get him to improve only to be met with the same rote excuses for why he couldn't, and I kept giving him grace he did not earn. But also I was trying for 21 years. But his problems are his own. Not every man is going to be like him. I've known men who are, deep down, decent people, but they pick up shitty ideas that linger around them like a stinkcloud. The good news about stinkclouds, though? You can take a shower and smell better. You do it regularly enough, you won't stink no more. It's not an immutable trait. But it definitely helps to not hang around other guys who cluster and form a larger stinkcloud. You gotta wash your ass, if you must, as Del the Funky Homosapien once said.

Fellas, you are not a poisoned bowl of M&Ms. You might just be kinda smelly and in need of a bath. You can't remove the poison from those M&Ms, but you can clean up and become the best version of yourself. A lot of us have the stink of a lot of cultural ideas we've been fed without question, and you're not a bad person for having thought these things one time; it's a long process trying to challenge and prune these ideas. But you might be a bad person if somebody tries to reach out to you and you go and roll around in pig shit and declare how much you love being stinky, while also being upset that girls don't want to talk to you on account of the stink... unless they are taught from a young age to ignore it, or they also want to just socially isolate themselves by diving headfirst into the Bog of Eternal Stench. Those women do certainly exist, but they're not going to bring out the best in you, you know?

It's not an easy process, and it's not easy to reach out to people and have the psychological wherewithal to be able to handle some potentially wild shit. But if you're the kind of person who believes in rehabilitation in the justice system, then you should be able to extend that to people who just have some really shitty ideas that they just internalized without question who might just need to hear a perspective that they haven't heard before. Not everybody can do it, but for those who can? Try. You might help keep somebody from quoting crime or suicide statistics to strangers online in an attempt to feel some semblance of power above those they see below them in the societal hierarchy. You can't force change, but you might be able to nudge them in the right direction.

I think that's the best anybody can do. Try to be as kind as patient as you can, but don't take any shit, either. Remain firm in your principles. Remove yourself if you have to. But at least try, even when it's hard, because like it or not, we need as many of these guys on our side as possible of we want to affect the kind of change we want to see in the world.

... And that's all I have to say about that.

[notafragilething]

Late Night Buck & Tommy Rambles: Surprise, Bitches. I'm Back!

It has been a very long, chaotic summer but I'm back. Now that we've gotten more than some CGI bees and mustache jokes I'm emerging from hiatus and ready for season eight of 911 to consume far to much of my time.

We have several new quotes from Tim, some stills from the season premiere and my predictions for this season. This is going to be a long one but I hope you'll read and comment. I've missed y'all and need to ramble because I have thoughts!

So let's start with the interviews. There are two that dropped that have caught my attention because they confirm that Tommy will be back and that Buck & Tommy are still together.

So What's New? These Articles! (They include stills from the episode as well)

There is the TVLine interview here from the 9th that gave us the following quote: "On the bright side, Buck’s relationship with Tommy is going strong (“They’re still getting to know each other a little better”), so at least he’ll have someone to complain to after a long day of putting up with his racist, sexist, homophobic boss."

Second, today we got an EW interview here by Patrick Gomez. I bring up the interviewer because you might recognize him as the same one who did an article on the Tommy deleted scene over the summer (which I swear, PR or marketing had to be involved with).

The important Buck & Tommy bit from the EW interview: Minear says not much time has passed between the events of the season 7 finale and the season 8 premiere, so there haven't been many developments in Buck and Tommy's relationship. "But we see that they're more comfortable together," he explains. "We'd definitely call them a couple. Obviously they're comfortable hanging out with Eddie, but when you couple with somebody, it takes up some of your time, so that also leaves Eddie a little bit out in the cold. Well, not out in the cold, but Buck doesn't have as much free time as he did before, let's put it that way."

So what do I think this means? Let's get into my predictions!

I'm going to start out by saying this is 100% speculation. I may be right, I might be wrong. I don't have some secret inside source that is sneaking me information. I'm just going off what we've gotten so far and vibes.

But...I've had the feeling for a while now that the show was going to commit to Buck and Tommy going into season eight. This started with the joint interview, the release of the deleted scene and the following articles about it (which did seem to possibly be influenced by PR/Marketing) and the lack of Buddie we've been getting so far in bts stuff.

Now, I know some buddie shippers have taken the Eddie mention in that EW quote as proof it's happening but truthfully? That seems like a very, very bad sign for them. To me, this seemed like a gentle way of preparing the fanbase that Buck and Eddie weren't going to be spending as much time together in season eight as in the past.

This lines up with what we saw at the end of season eight with Eddie really depending far to much on Buck to handle his issues (something Ryan himself commented on). We saw that didn't work out in the finale when Buck couldn't and wouldn't attempt to make Christopher stay for Eddie. I think this season is going to make Eddie face and handle his own issues without Buck. I predict they'll still be friends but I wouldn't be shocked if the "family" dynamic started to fade away.

The fact that they're also saying Buck and Tommy are comfortable and getting to know each other makes me think that they want to show us their relationship building and getting serious. Which would make narrative sense if you were planning this relationship to be long term.

I'm intrigued to see if this pattern continues with future interviews and promotions that will be dropping over the next two weeks.

I do have a theory of what might play out in the first three episodes but that includes some spoilers (and I like to keep these mostly spoiler-free outside of what is in articles and official promo) so I'll be posting that in a little bit as a separate post.

With all that said. I'm pretty excited for this season and Buck's storyline. How are you all feeling? You getting the same vibes as me?

[blairshifts222]

What your DR says about you!

⚠️Disclaimer: This is a joke; I have nothing against anyone ⚠️

Harry Potter

You're a self-proclaimed bookworm/nerd and you either crave familiar comfort, want to experience a childhood, or have a thing for racist blonde boys with daddy issues. You probably also think of yourself as dark and mysterious, but you're really just extremely introverted. You may have also gotten into Shifting when it first got popular and made this DR because you didn't want to feel left out.

Marvel/MCU

You like violence and power fantasy. You probably also have a very specific relationship with one of the characters and because of this you think of them significantly differently than any other character in the entire universe. You're maybe also very creative and/or good at making edit videos because holy crap y'all make some amazing stuff on the internet.

Fame DR

No one paid attention to you as a child and so you like to fantasize about having fans and being well-known. You definitely scripted unlimited money and if you're a singer you scripted your songs as being by Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, etc. If you're an actor/actress you probably scripted yourself into random movies that you like. You probably also have a random celebrity as your S/O.

Any horror movie/franchise

You're terrifying and you either scripted a really long list of safety precautions or none at all. You probably have a thing for traumatized middle aged men or angry teenage boys. However, if your DR is FNAF, you just want to party with dead children that are possessing animatronics, which I fully respect.

My Hero Academia

You scripted that you're basically impossible to defeat and you gave yourself 3+ quirks. You have a crush on one of the three main boys (or all three). You might have also scripted that one or both of your parents are pure evil. You maybe also scripted that your DR-self looks like you but with a different aesthetic.

K-pop DR

You love attention and you're creative enough to come up with a whole discography, which is honestly really impressive. You practice dancing when you're alone, and you watch and/or make fan edits of K-pop idols. You also probably scripted some kind of cute scenarios between you and your S/o.

YouTuber/Streamer DR

You have a crush on a YouTuber/Streamer, and you most likely have something to do with Markiplier, Sam and Colby, or any members of the DSMP in your DR. You probably scripted a face claim of a girl with long brown or dyed hair and winged eyeliner.

Parent DR

You are a very caring person, and you really want to experience being a parent. Or alternatively, you don't care for kids and just want to see what it's like. You probably also scripted that your family is rich.

Stranger Things

You are obsessed with the 80s, especially the music. You probably scripted that Eddie is your friend and/or s/o, and you have a very long list of safety precautions in your script.

[crowleysgirl56]

Book Omens! A meandering journey to reading Good Omens to my son. Part three.

Things of note:

- The Elvis gag. I absolutely didn’t get this joke the first or even second time I read the book. (Is it included in season 1? I don’t remember it). The set up of a diner chef implied to be an aging Elvis, and then the payoff of Death later on in the biker bar playing the trivia machine game which asks what year did Elvis die and his reply “I NEVER TOUCHED HIM”. Chef’s kiss. 10 out of 10. What a brilliant call back. That is 100% a Terry joke.

- below screen shot: this hit me a little hard. He was so upset he cursed Aziraphale as well. From the point of view in the book, Crowley was scared for himself because Hell was after him and that he went to Aziraphale for (what I’m assuming was) protection. The fact that Aziraphale wasn’t there makes it seem more like a betrayal. He doesn’t cry about losing his best friend.

- in addition to this, the more I read Crowley’s sections after this, he really is very scared of Hell, but there is no indication in the rest of those scenes that he is upset with Aziraphale not being there or missing him. It’s interesting to see just how much the fandom projected onto that relationship in the times since. Like, honestly their relationship is so subtle it’s almost barely there.

- something that hit me terribly (and I had to explain it to my son because he was VERY confused), were the incredibly racist sections of Aziraphale flying around the globe trying to possess a body. (As an aside it’s interesting how the book provides no context around why he’s doing this. We at least get the added scenes in season 1 of him in heaven and then speaking to Crowley before possessing Madame Tracy). First he speaks to an Australian First Nation person, then a native Haitian both of which are performing rituals to summon their ancestors. In basically a very stereotypical manner. The type of trope scene you used to get in 90’s Western media because they’ve misunderstood a specific cultural practise. Completely forgot about these sections. I KNOW this is written in the late 80’s and we shouldn’t judge it based on what we know now. Still isn’t great and disappointing I never noticed it before. So glad that wasn’t included in season 1.

- Speaking of we shouldn’t judge things from the 80’s but I’m going to do it anyway, the First Nation person calls Aziraphale a poofter. Ssiiiiggghhhhh! Ok, apologies for not censoring the word, but it’s very colloquially Australian so I thought if I censored it people might not know what it is. AWFUL gay slur (and one I’m happy to say I very rarely hear anymore. I think we’ve finally put that one in the bin). But honestly, I get they’re trying to really push the idea that Aziraphale appears very gay, but is this necessary? Also, in Australia in the 80’s, did we really decide that anyone with a posh accent was automatically gay? There are some times when I miss the 80’s and 90’s, but man, stuff like this! The 80’s and 90’s can get in the bin!

- I will admit Aziraphale possessing the American Evangelical was pretty funny though. The speech he gives is quite interesting because it implies he is FAR more questioning of Heaven and the ineffable plan than he is in the show. Like, he really is very resigned to not knowing how it will end and he doesn’t have that much faith in heaven.

We’re in the home stretch now. Tune in soon for the last part of the book.

[arsene-ee]

Can we talk about how both Preston Garvey and Wyll Ravengard are pretty much the characters that get treated the worst by their respective fandom? (Also Ik I'm being incredibly Biased here because I love both of them dearly)

Cuz like both tend to be called incredibly bland and are often times just overlooked. While both of them are incredibly complex character (as complex as a bethesda character can get in Preston's case)

Preston is consitently the butt of the same boring ass Joke. "hAhA aNoThEr SeTtLeMeNt NeEdS yOuR hElP, hAhA sO FuNnY" and yes I get it the line is incredibly repetitive, but every characters' dialouge gets repetitive with time as well. The reason this line is so repetitive is that Preston is pretty much the only Questgiver for the Minutemen for a huge part of the game, while other factions like the Railroad (and I assume the BoS) have multiple characters that give you quests. Lorewise Preston being the only quest giver for the minutemen makes sense due to him being like one of the few survivors and all (and the other characters wouldn't really make sense as quest givers, well maybe sturges but he's busy hammering the walls).

Preston has so much interesting lore if you take the time to listen to him, He feels so much survivor's guilt about what happened in Quincy. HE BELIVES HE DESERVES DEATH FOR GODS SAKE.

And I'm still so upset about how he's treated by the fandom, although I do mainly blame bethesda's lazy ass writing. (Also let's not forget that X6-88 is often completely ignored)

Now to Wyll, the love of my life, my babygirl. Wyll was extremly neglected by Larian's writing with him only having about 8.5h of content according to this reddit post. which probably has a lot to do with the fact that he was rewritten very close to release. Wyll is not boring, Wyll is not bland, Larian just didn't want to do him justice compared to other characters (Cough Cough Astarion Cough Cough 12.75h of Content Cough Cough) due to the response to him in EA being low. And let's not forget that up until Patch 7 his dialouge was bugged (apparently), it shouldn't have taken this long to fix it, but Larian was probably busy Animating the 1000000th Astarion cutscene (And don't even get me started on the racist white guy). Wyll didn't even get his own outfit like the rest of the Party (well Lae'zel is wearing Typical gith armor but you rarely encounter them, I recall like 3 or 4 times you actually wearing that armor) Wyll got the basic ass Warlock outfit, and yes it might make sense if you put it as "Well Wyll doesn't have anything anymore, he probably bought or got what was quickly available" well yes but then Astarion should wear some rags or something or at least more plain clothes cuz Cazador most likely would not pay for his clothes to get fixed or get fancy clothes for him, it was just Larian neglecting Wyll again.

And just like Preston Wyll is an incredibly complex character if you take your time to get to know him. His pact causes him pain (mostly mentally n all that) it got him disowned yet he doesn't regret taking it. Wyll was a menace of a Child, almost accidentally robbing a bank, reading smut when he was too young to read such content and then during the game reciting that shit in public. He is incredibly corny and he is proud of that and he fucking fangirls over Minsc. Wyll doesn't even hate his father for disowning him (I'm not saying Wyll should hate or forgive his father, I believe their relationship is incredibly complex), he only speaks rather fondly of him. (also if I see one more person stating Wyll is a Tiefling/Modding Wyll to look like a tiefling I wyll throw hands, he is not a tiefling he is touched by the hells. Same goes for the damn bloodstone eye mod, it's not supposed to be a bloodstone bbg lies about it). Wyll has been under Mizora's close watch for 7 years of course he wants to take romance slow.

Unfortunatley in both offical art and fanwork Wyll tends to be replaced by Halsin or straight up forgotten and in the offical art he does appear in he is often just glued to Mizora (yes I get that a Warlock pact is Binding blah blah) like in the offical art book where every character's alternate design is shown, just not Wyll instead it's Mizora. And I hate it, yes someone may percieve him as bland/boring when they just put him in camp and just don't interact with him, hell if that was a reason to call a character boring I could call Astarion boring but I'm not.

I understand that "good" characters might not be everyone's cup of tea but holy fuck it sucks so much that all the characters I like are just ignored.

The main difference between Preston Garvey and Wyll is that Prestion is the butt of a lame joke and at least is somewhat acknowledged within the fandom, while Wyll just tends to fall behind (Just like X6-88). Both of them are overshadowed by other characters in the game. Preston, Wyll and X6-88 are all pocs and all of them are overshadowed by/less popular than white/white read characters. it's honestly exhausting to see, especially for Baldur's Gate 3, when I see that Larian does indeed respond to fan complains in their content ("Fixing" Tav's expressions for Abuser Astarion kisses...dark romance has ruined fandom).

There is nothing much there can be done about Preston's lazy writing since fallout 4 is pretty much ancient by now (it's like 8 years old so almost a decade). But Baldur's Gate 3 has only turned one (1) year old recently and modern games get consistently updated, it would not be hard for Larian to just add more content for the characters that have less content and make the amount of content each character has kind of equal, hell I would write them the Wyll content for fucking free.

This casual racsim in fandom spaces, whether it's intended or not, is scary to see especially with the curent rise of right wing extremism in western countries (I'm mainly talking about germany here since that's what I can talk about, actually being from such a right wing extremist state).

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Donald Trump’s Racist NYC Rally Was Vile. It Was Also Political Suicide

FINAL ACT

The Madison Square Garden rally, operatic in its repulsive bigotry, will almost certainly alienate more voters who might have voted for Trump.

David Rothkopf

Updated Oct. 27 2024 10:57PM EDT / Published Oct. 27 2024 10:49PM EDT 

Opinion

To all those Republicans who shed crocodile tears because their feelings were so hurt that people were calling Donald Trump a fascist: stop.

To all the MAGA defenders who said it was over-the-top to compare Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally to that held by the German-American Bund in an earlier incarnation of Madison Square Garden: shush.

To all those who were falling once again for the bought and paid for narrative that Trump somehow had the momentum going into the final week of campaign 2024: nope.

Even Republicans Angry at Trump Rally Joke About Puerto Rico

‘MAGA ON STEROIDS’

Amethyst Martinez, Matt Young

On Sunday at MSG, Donald Trump engineered what will be seen by political analysts and later by historians as the coup de grâce that killed forever his prospects of being president and may well have set him on a post-election course on which he finally may be held accountable for his actions.

The interminable rally concluded by an interminable, disjointed, incoherent and yet clearly vile speech by the former president, might have been touted by Trump’s son Don Jr., one of the former president’s warm-up acts, as the “king of New York returning to reclaim his crown.” But Trump was never the king of New York. (Sorry, Lara, your father-in-law did not “build” New York. Immigrants did. But we’ll get to that in a minute.)

Trump has always been loathed in New York City, especially in his former home borough of Manhattan where the vote against him was and will be dependably over 80 percent. But if he was hated before, rest assured, he will be more despised after tonight.

That was clear early on when Tony Hinchcliffe, a man invited by Trump to give one of the introductory speeches—who in true MAGA fashion alleged without providing a shred of evidence that he was a comedian—offered a KKK buffet of nauseating slurs. He called Puerto Rico “an island of floating garbage.”

“There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico” pic.twitter.com/IXbXqDijyU— Acyn (@Acyn) October 27, 2024

The “joke” was as stupid as it was repulsive because there are almost 600,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City and many more spread across regions of vtial importance in the upcoming election. It also happened to come on a day when Vice President Kamala Harris announced her detailed and thoughtful plan for Puerto Rico, an island Trump wanted to trade to Denmark in exchange for Greenland.

But this loser did not stop there. He offered unfunny commentary about his view that Latinos “love making babies” and a reference to how his Black friends liked carving watermelons.

You might think that a few super-racist comments from one speaker might not warrant comments that compared the Trump rally to the Nazi meeting 85 years ago. But his comments were hardly the worst. And the racism and the hate and incitement to violence and the promise of an increasingly authoritarian state continued from the very beginning of the event to the very end.

One speaker said that Harris was managed by “pimp handlers” and said of Democrats that “we need to slaughter these other people.” Disgraced and destitute former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, as did several others, that Democrats were behind attempts to kill Donald Trump. Another speaker called Harris “the devil” and “the antichrist.”

Former Trump aide Stephen Miller as is his habit went directly for the Nazi playbook saying, “America is for Americans and Americans only.” Tucker Carlson came out to offer more racist slurs about Harris. Hulk Hogan ripped his shirt off while declaring he saw no Nazis in the audience (thus proving that steroids abuse can not only shrivel up your junk but that it’s not really good for your eyesight either).

Elon Musk was there acting strangely and promising to slash the size of the government (except presumably the parts that are subsidizing his businesses).

Trump attacked the media, and egged the crowd on to boo journalists in the crowd. He said migrants had taken over Times Square (which Is 9 blocks uptown from where the rally was held). He called the US an occupied country which, while bad, may be better than his reference to it as a garbage can the other day. He called Harris a “low IQ individual.” He offered so many lies that cable networks tuned him out because it was impossible to keep up with fact-checking him. He returned to old themes like the bizarre notion that Harris would reinstate the draft and start World War III.

Most importantly from the perspective of confirming his fascism he reiterated at length his assertion that his opponents were “enemies of the people.” (You know the ones against whom he promised to unleash the US military.) He called them “the most sinister and corrupt forces on earth.”

In other words the entire event despite its marathon length and hodgepodge of z-list speakers, delivered over and over again a very focused message. The Trump campaign is about retribution and revenge. It is about the white supremacist desire to purge America of all their neighbors of different colors and beliefs. It is about Trump’s desire to seek out his enemies and punish them. And over the course of its Wagnerian length (and resonances) it single out group after group that would be deported or punished.

But worse still, unlike the Bund rally, Trump’s was not a fringe affair. It was led by a former president of the United States on behalf of very nearly half of the American people.

Its threats of authoritarianism were supported by efforts during the first Trump presidency to sidestep the rule of law and by crimes including a coup attempt we all saw with our own eyes. Its future plans for concentration camps in the US and for mass deportations and the use of the military against the American people have been carefully developed, and there is a plan to put them in place.

That is why Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden was, as it turned out, far more ominous than its predecessor. It should chill Americans to the bone. But, I expect it will do more than that. I believe it will mobilize more voters to take action on Nov. 5 to stop the 21st-century fascism of Trump and MAGA.

Trump may be thinking the rally will help him mobilize thugs to violence when he contests his loss and we should be wary of that. But he has provided on the eve of the election the best case why he must be defeated that has ever been presented. In the end, because what unfolded was so foul and so offensive and threatening to so many of us, I believe that is why we will someday conclude that for all intents and purposes Trump’s final political act occurred on the biggest stage in America’s biggest city, a couple of blocks from Broadway.

David Rothkopf

djrothkopf

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

[endlich-allein]

I KNOW that you are a specifically Till acc, but do you have any facts on his bandmates? (If not That’s okay love your blog)

Hi ! Thanks for the ask, I tried to gather all the facts I could think of but I probably forgot quite a few (feel free to add to this list if you feel like it !) :

— Richard did a lot of odd jobs when he was young (shoe salesman, cook, etc.) but the job that made the biggest impression on him was as a cleaner for an old lady who had stuffed her poodles. She made him run a feather duster over her poodles ;

— Richard bought his first album in Hungary for 200 marks. It was the album Plastic Surgery Disaster by Dead Kennedys ;

— Rammstein and Depeche Mode got into a tomato fight in the backstage at the 2001 MTV Europe Music Awards.

— Richard bought his first guitar at the age of 16 in Czechoslovakia, not because he knew how to play, but to sell it back in Germany. On the road, he (and some friends) stopped at a campsite and a girl insisted he play, so he strummed the strings. And it was because girls liked guitarists that he became one himself ;

— Paul said that every time Till went to Leipzig, he went to his grandmother's and ate pasta ;

— Paul thinks he might have been a psychic or psychiatrist, Schneider thinks he might have been a computer scientist and Ollie a masson ;

— Paul thinks that if the band were stranded on a desert island, they'd eat Till first, but they'd have to wait until he fell asleep because he probably wouldn't let them. And the worst thing is that Till agrees with it because, when asked the same question, he replied that the group would eat him first because he has more meat than the others...;

— Flake and Paul, along with Feeling B and others, turned Till's house upside down, smashed tables, turned up the music and cooked fried eggs with honey because they couldn't get their hands on the butter ;

— Paul says that if he had to invent an object, it would be a plate that keeps the heat in, because according to him, the dishes are always too hot, so he waits and then they quickly become too cold ;

— Richard and Flake, during the recording of Reise Reise, got into a verbal joust : Richard said that Flake's wife "sang like a cuckoo", and Flake informed Richard that nobody cared about his children's talents ;

— Richard grabbed Till's collar and slammed him against a wall because Till made a joke about Richard's unconditional love of Donald Duck movies. Till repeated this in an interview (with Richard and Ollie) in 2006, to which Richard replied: "Idiot ! I’m a fan of Italian realism from the early 60′s. Alberto Sordi, Fellini... I’m not a snob but unlike these gloomy guys I know cinema well." ;

— Flake told Paul he couldn't be racist because he didn't like anybody ;

— Schneider and Till have gardening competitions, but Till is jealous because Schneider always has the most beautiful orchids ;

— Till sent a huge box of candy with the note "Enjoy the fucking candy" to Chris Martin (Coldplay) to thank him for helping him with a sore neck. Since then, they've been friends, and Chris dedicated a Coldplay song to Till and his children during a concert ;

— Schneider's mother was angry with him because of the Mutter song, but he didn't understand why, he just told her that he didn't write the lyrics ;

— Ollie accidentally hit Till on the head with his bass, Till had to leave the stage and be bandaged, he ended the concert with a huge bandage ;

— Ollie once stole something. It only happened once. It was a little wooden boat, and when he got home he felt so guilty that he confessed the whole thing to his mother ;

[heathersdesk]

I'm a Mixed Race Woman in Idaho and I'm Calling You Racist for Not Voting for Kamala Harris

It is a fact of life that most people don't actually say what they mean. And I've been struggling for almost 35 years to learn the lesson that this means, unavoidably, that most people don't actually mean what they say. They don't like being confronted on it, and will double down the second you reveal it. So I try—genuinely—not to point this out as often as I see it.

But I have to in this case. No, not have to. I get to. I get to do it in this case because it's racist. And I'm tired of pretending it's not.

I've been watching TFG and Kamala Harris are "basically the same" takes, especially when it comes to Israel, for over a year now. And now that we're less than a week out from Election Day, I'm willing to kick that hornets nest right over a fence with everything I've got.

Because that's not what you believe. Not really. At the core of that argument, you're trying to say two things, not one.

The first is that Donald Trump's only term and Joe Biden's second first term are "basically the same" when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That's what you mean to say. And if that's what you want to believe, I'm not going to stop you. If you want to compare those two time periods, badly, at the exclusion of all the other history since the 1940s, knock yourself out.

But that comparison (Trump 1 v. Biden 2 1) is a stupid thing to bring up in a discussion about Kamala Harris unless you also mean to say a second thing: that she and Joe Biden are "basically the same." They very much are not, and haven't ever been. And if you are uninformed enough to think that, let's take a tour through some recent history together.

Remember when she humiliated him in the 2020 debates when he bragged about being able to work with anyone, including segregationists, in Congress? And she called him out on national television for opposing school integration because he didn't support busing black kids to white schools?

She looked him and all of America right in the face and said, in accusation to him, "there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public schools, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me."

She throat punched him in front of God and everyone. Go back and watch it. It was in the second debate of 2020. You can see it in his face that she snatched the air right out of his lungs, and he couldn't do anything to defend himself because he knew he deserved it. That moment was decades in the making and his bill for being a "moderate" came due. It was an incredible thing to witness, and something more moderates need to learn from.

That moment was why I was genuinely shocked that he picked her as his running mate. I still don't believe he wanted to do it. And why I wasn't at all surprised when this was the reporting that was coming out. This example is from 2021.

Joe Biden attempted to prevent Kamala Harris from replacing him, in exactly the way she ended up doing, by giving her absolutely nothing to do as a Vice President. He chose the candidate who was the greatest threat to him as his Vice President so he could bury her. He let people gossip about her and humiliate her without ever coming to her defense in any meaningful way, for years. He gave her stupid and meaningless assignments where she never got to punch at her weight, let alone above it, when she was more than capable of doing that.

People made fun of her for how she sang "The Wheels on the Bus" wrong and her "love" of yellow school buses. They called her cringey. They made fun of her laugh. They made jokes about how they needed to find someone to love them as much as she loves yellow school buses. She doesn't love school buses, idiot! You might as well say that about Ruby Bridges while you're at it.

You did all that without ever questioning whether Joe Biden putting her on school bus duty (do you see the irony now?) was the best use of a former prosecuting attorney's talents and abilities. You've already forgotten that him doing this to her was an ongoing source of conflict between them that was poorly concealed the entire first term of his presidency.

Multiple people in my family say they don't like her because they're picking up on the fact that she has a very controlled, almost artificial demeanor.

Of course she does! Did you ever stop to ask yourself why?

She goes to work every day with a boss she fundamentally doesn't respect on many levels, day in and day out, because that's what it's going to take for her to get the promotion she deserves.

We could've had her instead of him already! Israel's escalation in Palestine could've never happened if she had been president! But we'll never know now, will we? Y'all were too racist to vote for her in 2020 when she was running. You fell for the right wing nonsense that told you to call her a cop, when the exact opposite was true. But y'all don't want to talk about that now, do you. No question mark because it's not a question.

She has to watch an old man do a job she is more than capable of doing, while he's doing it very badly at times, without revealing how frustrated she is. And she had to learn the hard way to be careful who she showed that frustration to because they went directly to the press with it every time.

Could you do that? I've done my own version of that, in a very small way, with a sexist old white man. He was a mediocre veterinarian from Minnesota who loved polka music and pissing me off. I lasted a year. I was losing my mind by the end of it and quit my job when I couldn't take it anymore.

Have you ever had to do cleanup after an old white man who should've retired two decades ago? Because I have. It is some of the most humiliating work you can do. I was helping an ungrateful man make more money than I'll ever see keep his clients, despite being very bad with people, while I was being paid $12 an hour.

It's ridiculous we still make women do this. Have you ever had to do it, at a national level, with cameras pointed at you everywhere you go? No. You haven't. Shut up.

And by the way, it hasn't ended. It's still happening. He still can't get over himself, and neither can his staff. They're going to make podcasts about it one day and y'all are going to see how bad it was for her.

Kamala Harris has not put up with eight years of Joe Biden's inadequacies and petulance for you to say she's exactly like him. That's a deeply uneducated and racist thing for you to say. All it demonstrates is that you didn't see and recognize all of this when it was happening for what it was, either because you couldn't see it or didn't care. You never stopped to examine your own gender and racial biases to understand why you felt that way. A part of you somewhere genuinely believes that this was part of her job, to be a Mammy to Joe Biden, which is why you couldn't see the problem while it was happening. Those were the conditions under which you accepted her becoming Vice President.

You and Drew Barrymore both. Remember that? Drew Barrymore said what the rest of America was thinking, and has been thinking since Kamala Harris became Vice President. And now that she's been Mamala to Biden and to us for eight years, you don't want to promote her? And you want me to believe there's anything other than misogynoir behind that?

Get out of my face with that. Don't you ever say she's "basically the same" as Donald Trump or Joe Biden ever again. It makes you look incredibly ignorant and unkempt, like you've never had anyone who loves you enough to teach you how to act in public.

Kamala Harris is a Black Asian woman from California who grew up in segregation. She is more qualified to be President than Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Joe Biden put together before she even wakes up in the morning. She deserves respect she doesn't get, and will continue not to get even as President, and she's still running anyway with a smile on her face.

Miraculous!

The least you can do is vote for her. But if doing the bare minimum is asking too much of you, you need to sit down and really look at yourself. Why do you let the people around you tell you to hate black women, to mistrust them even as they're actively taking care of you? Why do you feel like that's okay for you to do? And why do you only stop when everyone else collectively changes their mind about that black woman?

Especially y'all who want to constantly call out white cishet nonsense. What good does it do anyone to put your mama and daddy, your grandpa, and your uncle at Thanksgiving on blast for clout if you can't even see the ugly in yourself when it matters?

Fix your face. Do it now. You have until November 5th. Go vote for Kamala Harris.

And quit expecting strangers on the Internet to do the free labor of spoon-feeding you the things you should know already—especially if you were there. Do whatever you have to do to be smarter than that. As always, I suggest reading a book, preferably from your public library.