#when they’re actively funding a genocide

[birdietrait]

i’m so angry today i need to go sit in the sun and listen to adrianne lenker

[magic-owl]

lol runup to this election and the “vote boycott” people are posting like, blatant lies and misinformation about candidates, then people fact check those lies in the reblogs and the OP just turns off reblogs and throws a fit in the comments like babe just delete the post and move on

[robertsbarbie]

:/

[traegorn]

why do you think that voting for someone doesn’t endorse what they do? voting for a certain president doesn’t mean that you’re going to start a fight against them like you’re desperately trying to use as an excuse. people, even the young, remember 2016, and maybe they wouldn’t feel great with the idea that they’re supporting a genocide- i don’t care if trump is worse or whatever, you’re still supporting a man who’s actively funding an ethnic cleanse and doesn’t even care about trans people since that’s your main concern apparently.

"i don’t care if trump is worse or whatever"

That is the most arrogant, privileged thing you could respond with. Imagine telling that to the folks facing mass deportation under a Trump presidency. Look those people in the face and tell them you don't care what happens to them because you'd feel icky.

If you really cared about what you say you do, you wouldn't be taking this position. This feels more like you care about who you hurt than who you help.

It's a two party system, and one of two people will be elected in November. If you're going to challenge the person in power, it matters very much who the person in power is. It's not endorsement, because in an electoral system strategic voting is a requirement for survival. There is no magical option that doesn't put us under either Trump or Biden.

And they aren't even anywhere near each other on the one issue you say you care about.

Biden's position on Israel can be changed. Trump's cannot. Biden has threatened to withhold aid to Israel (which is remarkable to happen at all coming from a US President), Trump says he wants to "finish the job." Trump will escalate things, while Biden can be pushed.

Allowing Trump to get elected will literally make the genocide worse.

And there is no other possible result of the Presidential election.

You want to stop what's happening in Israel, right? How will you do that if you also have to also fight mass deportation, a rollback on trans rights, and further attacks on women's rights? What will you do when two more seats come up in the next four years on the Supreme Court? Will we flip the court back to the left or will a conservative majority stay in place for another fifty years?

So leave your doomerism, selfish, self centered bullshit at the door.

There are real fights to be fought, and you're telling me that not only. is my life worthless in your eyes, but so are millions of others. You don't care if anyone else dies if it means you can feel better about yourself.

[bonesashesglass]

Okay the election tags are trending right now and I just have to say, stop doomscrolling. Looking at posts of people being bitter and hopeless and placing blame on each other without offering solutions or ways to help is not going help in any way.

Everyone’s acting like we’re gonna start digging our graves. I even saw one person say not to say anything negative about the incoming party to protect yourself. Which is just, the absolute worst possible way to react in this situation.

I saw people blaming gen z, I saw people blaming third party voters - for the love of God stop doing that. People who see that Harris and Biden are actively supporting and funding a genocide are not to blame for not voting for her. Gen Z should not be called conservatives and Nazis (as a whole, I’m fully aware that a lot gen z people are like that, but they’re a minority) when in reality they’re the ones that were doing the most for Palestine (student protests ring a bell?).

If you want someone to blame, blame the democrats. People have been saying for a year that they will not vote for them if they continue to support a genocide, and they chose to ignore it. They decided that their imperialist and genocidal agendas were more important than appealing to their base, and this is the result.

So let them know! Call! Write! Tweet! Get in their face and tell them that if they don’t start listening to their base and actually implementing progressive policies this will happen again! Now is our chance to force democrats into a corner, don’t waste it on pointing fingers at each other!

It’s okay to mourn, it’s okay be depressed for a little, but when it turns into this - into defeatism and bitterness and toxicity and turning against each other, when we need to stand undivided more than ever - that’s a problem. That’s when you need to stop doomscrolling, and take action.

We’re looking at four years of a Trump presidency and we’re not gonna survive if we act like this. TAKE ACTION! FIGHT! Spit in the eye of anyone that tries to take away your rights. Every single conservative law or legislature that’s proposed in the coming months needs to be met with loud opposition.

For the love of God - resist! It’s like Americans forgot the meaning of the word! If scrolling through these tags fills you with a sense of dread, then get out of them! They’re not good for anything and they’re not going to help!

We can fight this, and we will fight this. Organize and take action. Defeatism is not an option

[novy2sirius]

HUMOROUS you’re talking abt me “not caring” abt children in gaza when u won’t even acknowledge that its a literal genocide and keep calling it a “conflict”.. tired of my friends sending ur lame ass posts.

i’ve apologized and don’t align with those views abt karma anymore yet u still stay posting abt me

for the record i have NEVER said i didn’t care abt ppl w cancer or that i don’t care abt children or ppl suffering i do.. also this is not performative activism. i care abt the children suffering in gaza. i have been posting abt them, not just today weirdo.

u literally stated that u believe biden didn’t fund a genocide and won’t even acknowledge its a literal genocide. stop posting every single day abt me acting obsessed bc u crave attention so badly when u have done worse. all u want is a reaction out of ppl u don’t even actually care abt these things ur just insecure.

u don’t know me. stop twisting my words into something they’re not and reevaluate the type of person u are for the things u said in the pictures above and ur other posts abt the GENOCIDE which is an actual GENOCIDE and not a “conflict” as u call it instead of worrying abt other ppl.

[shurikene-of-spades]

Seeing everyone focus on blocking celebrities on tiktok reminds me of black squares in 2020. I get that its coming from a good place, the desire to help Palestinians escape, but why are we putting celebrities on the pedestal? Celebrities aren’t going to stop this genocide, they don’t have as much power as we assume they do. The strikes last year are evidence of that. Blocking these celebs is performative at best, nothing changes from this.

The people who can actually turn the tide are the politicians. Do you know what scares politicians? Losing votes, protests, seeing actual people fighting for Palestinians. The internet is easy for them to drown out so they don’t care that you’re blocking celebrities, because that’s less pressure on them. But when they have to see the irl presence of people, they’re scared. Biden canceling those weapons shipments? He wouldnt have done that if the pressure against Americas role wasnt increasing. If you can’t go out to protests, even a sticker on a lamp post that says free palestine is enough. Because its hard to ignore what’s happening right in front of you irl.

It’s still important to donate to escape funds but we can’t limit our activism to the internet. The internet can’t become a crutch, it has to be one of the many tools in our arsenal.

[tzifron]

As disabled people around the world and as disabled diasporic Asian queers, we have been grieving heavily and finding as many ways we can to be in solidarity with Palestinians during the last 80 days of the genocide against Palestinian people. 

We want to get money and resources directly to Palestinians in Gaza, however, as many people know, the blockade has made it almost impossible to get cash and resources into Gaza. One way that is possible is getting people eSims. 

The Israeli Occupation Forces have attacked wifi and cellular service over and over again, which stops people from being able to get information, be in touch with their families to let them know they’re alive, and for people to get the word out about bombings and conditions in Gaza. The several times that Israel/the IOF cut off all wireless and cellular service have been chilling and also provided sites where harsh damage, murder and atrocities could occur without media coverage, period, and by the heroic young citizen journalists whose social media accounts are some of the only ways that accurate, up-to-date news has been getting out of Gaza. 

On October 29th, 2023, Egyptian writer and activist Mirna El Helbawi founded #ConnectingGaza to get eSims directly to people in Gaza, with updated information about which carrier is most needed. A few weeks later,  poet and organizer Jane Shi decided to sell her remaining “Immunocompromised people are worth protecting” stickers to raise funds for eSims as well as for Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto’s Community Defense Fund after her friend Divya Kaur (@soft.kaur) suggested fundraising for eSims with art and after her friend Vivian Ly and co-organizer at Masks4EastVan linked Mirna’s instructions in a group chat. Doing so was quick and easy, as her stickers were already listed on her Big Cartel page from when they were previously sold to fundraise for fires and floods impacting predominantly Indigenous families in so-called British Columbia. 

Like many others across her social media feed, Jane was floored when she saw that one of the eSims she purchased, which lasts 20 days and has unlimited data, was activated, meaning that it is currently being used to connect Palestinians in Gaza to the Internet. She excitedly sent the screenshot of the activated eSim to a bunch of her friends and community members, hoping to offer some respite against the high stress of protests, social media posts, and ongoing organizing. 

Amidst the onslaught of violence, criminalization of protest, egregious censorship, and grief, including for the assassination of English professor and poet Refaat Alareer, the small blue “Active” offered a glimmer of hope, however small, however inadequate. 

Poet Rasha Abdulhadi, a disabled, queer Palestinian Southerner, invites us to do everything in our power to refuse the genocide against Palestinian people and in so doing, encourages us to make connections between our struggles and theirs.  In their bio in The Offing and elsewhere, they share, “Wherever you are, whatever sand you can throw on the gears of genocide, do it now. If it’s a handful, throw it. If it’s a fingernail full, scrape it out and throw. Get in the way however you can. The elimination of the Palestinian people is not inevitable. We can refuse with our every breath and action. We must.” As disabled people we owe our disabled kin in Gaza to get in the way. 

In the spirit of many disability justice crowdfunds, like Stacey Park Milbern’s collective fundraiser to buy the Disability Justice Culture Club in 2019, we are organizing this disabled (and ally) crowdfund to buy a shit ton of eSims.  

Anything you can contribute helps. There is power in numbers. We know that as disabled/ sick/ ND/Deaf people we are often poor or broke, but we can pool our money to collectively make a big difference. We also know that there is a rich tradition of poor and working class people donating more than middle class and rich people in general, and of poor and working class disabled people sharing what we have as a form of collective access and solidarity. We also call on people with access to money and/or wealth to contribute as you can.

We are also looking for disabled orgs and collectives to connect with and move money and resources to as asked—we have listed some below. We also recognize that everyone in Gaza is now disabled due to the massive number of deaths, new disabilities, life-threatening illnesses and destruction of medical facilities going on. Such destruction also debilitates the land, water, and air, which will impact Palestinians and all surrounding life for generations to come. We owe our kin in Palestine to throw sand on the gears of genocide with our every breath. 

[dyinginfandom]

Been trying to put my frustration with what Israel is doing in Gaza into words for months. But I’m done with the bullshit from Zionists and their supporters

My grandfather was Hungarian and as part of a non political paramilitary youth organisation likely had to have a hand in the war I know this from his POW papers from 1945 in an American pow camp in Germany . He would later flee the soviets in Hungary after taking part in their attempted revolution. He abandoned his family; a wife and son and we don’t know what their fates were. He first went to Austria then to Turkey then the uk where he met my gran and they married in 1963 and moved away from her entire support system to a city with many Hungarian refugees like him working in cutlery works and steel factories. He’d never talk of the war or of his first family past them existing, his siblings families don’t know their fates other and with no one from his generation left we can only guess. He was an awful man who died an awful death alone because of his own actions.

I use this to preface what I’m about to say

He was forced to take part in a genocide and support it, I’m watching my government do that now, watching as universities label anti Zionism as antisemitism while my uni hosts one of the Brits who went over and fought for the IDF and was allowed to return while a girl who joined isis almost a decade ago just lost her appeal for her citizenship back. Both went over to partake in a foreign war and commit acts of terror, one is stateless and the other is allowed to walk around with no consequences. We aren’t allowed to protest on campus so the Palestine society held one off campus to try and stop him from visiting.

The university of east anglia has labelled these two quotes graffitied on campus as antisemitic and the BBC is reporting on this as such, antisemitism. They are anti Zionist. ‘Judaism opposes Zionism’ and ‘Zionism = colonialism’.

Aaron Bushnell an active duty US service man set himself on fire in protest of the war on Gaza.

Brazil’s president spoke out against the Zionism and Israel decided to have a word with the Brazilian ambassador but knowing what was coming Brazil recalled him

China has called out that Hamas should not be labelled as terrorist under international law as it is armed resistance.

Countries have cut funding to the UNRWA a relief group that exists because Israel refuses to call the Palestinians refugees or allow their return to their ancestral homes once it has stolen it

Israel is knowingly committing a genocide and has said it won’t listen to the ICJ

They are killing their own hostages that are being held by Palestine then cheering when 2 are saved while others lay dead murdered by their own hands.

They are executing young children in front of their parents who are then carrying them to hospital to hope for salvation.

They’re stealing belongings from walking canes to underwear from those they’ve killed or displaced to humiliate them for owning normal things.

They killed the Family of a six year old girl, Hind, while she was in the car with them then when the Red Crescent ambulance arrived which they allowed in they bombed it and killed her and the two paramedics, Ahmed and Yousef, who were there to save her.

During the Super Bowl they displayed propaganda while they bombed Rafah, the safe Zone they had told people to go to. There was a little girl, Sidra, hanging from a window!

They are targeting journalists and their families. Wael’s family was killed while he worked and he was reported, he was attacked with his camera man who was killed and he reported on it. Over 25 journalists killed

They have attacked every place where documents can be found to destroy them, mosques, churches, government buildings, universities, everything gone.

Egypt is building a buffer zone in the desert, Bissan a brave young journalist has talked of her fear of this desert buffer zone killing them

Canada has removed Palestine as a country of birth on passports

ITV filmed as a man with a white flag they had just interviewed and was walking way as he was murdered by a sniper

In the West Bank IDF shot a teenager at a family bbq then prevented his family getting him to an ambulance

Also in West Bank IDF dressed up as civilians walked into a hospital and assassinated a man incapacitated in a hospital bed and those at his bedside

THEY HAVE LABELLED ALL PALESTINIANS AS TERRORISTS!

Heck they’re allowed to stay in Eurovision, ‘October rain’ in name alone has political connotations meanwhile Russia and Belarus are banned and the Palestine flag has been banned - Iceland was fined the other year for a free Palestine banner.

This occupation, this genocide has been happening for over 75 years since the creation of Israel in the aftermath of ww2 but their want for this land goes back further. When Zionism was founded in the late 1800s they chose Palestine, a peaceful place where the abrahamic religions lived in peace, to be their land and no one else’s (did we not learn from the crusades?) in 1903 they got the support of the British govement then ww2 and the Holocaust happened and Britain ‘owning’ Palestine gave them what they wanted, Palestinians who had not been consulted or considered in this who’s homes were stolen fought against it and you get the war of 1948 where this kicks off.

When you look at their defenses for this we have ‘self defence for October 7th’ that isn’t an excuse for genocide and reminds me of Germany faking a polish invasion to invade them and kick off ww2. ‘They have hostages’ so do you and you’ve refused to exchange hostages for a ceasefire heck you’ve killed your own hostages in Gaza. ‘Palestine started it’ see my very very cut down explanation of the history.

Then there’s the classic ‘we can’t be committing a holocaust cos that happened to us’ see the cycle of abuse, the number of Holocaust survivors in poverty in Israel, and the other victims of the Holocaust cos everyone focuses just on the Jewish casualties of the Holocaust that 6 million number cos they’re the biggest proportion but there were 5 million other victims, political enemies of the reich, disabled people, lgbt, poc, Romani, Soviet pows, by making the Holocaust just a Jewish genocide in discussion you erase the rest of that genocide.

I put on les mis for a fanfic I’m writing and all I can think about instead of what I’m writing is what Palestine was and how we treat Palestine today.

I was labelled a nazi for my heritage growing up, just like Israel is calling Palestinian children Hamas. Only difference is that Hamas is closer to those of the Warsaw Getto or the French resistance than the Nazis. Because Israel’s laws against Palestine are extremely close to the Nazi laws against the Jews.

End Zionism on Israel and return Palestine to the Palestinians

FREE PALESTINE

[good-old-gossip]

It was early May when the Grammy Award-winning US rapper Macklemore released his now viral pro-Palestine track condemning Washington’s support for Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

“What is threatening about divesting and wanting peace?” the rapper said in Hind’s Hall, a track that has now become a pro-Palestine anthem and amassed tens of millions of views across various platforms.

“The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting/ It goes against what our country is funding/ Block the barricade until Palestine is free,” the rapper added.

Now, almost a month after its release, social media users are calling on Macklemore to cancel an upcoming concert in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the country’s role in Sudan’s civil war.

“I keep checking to see if Macklemore has cancelled his show in Dubai. I just think of how backward his message will become if he genuinely intends to perform Hind’s Hall there,” said one user on X, formerly Twitter, regarding the concert slated for 4 October in Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.

“Speaking out against a genocide against one group while directly funding the genocide of another,” the user added.

The UAE has been accused of being actively involved in the conflict, which the UN calls “one of the world’s worst humanitarian tragedies in recent memory”.

Abu Dhabi has faced allegations of funding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force rights groups say is responsible for the killing, raping, looting, and the ethnic cleansing of Massalit and other non-Arab populations in West Darfur.

In May, Human Rights Watch said the violence could constitute genocide. The UAE has previously denied “supplying weapons or ammunition to any of the warring factions in Sudan”.

Some users called for bigger boycotts of the UAE, as well as a “spamming” campaign on the social media accounts of the rapper, who has been vocal in his support for Palestine, often repeating: “liberation and freedom and equality for all human beings” in his concerts.

[caramel-covered-apples]

politics vs. genocide

this is what they want us to believe when we think of the palestinian genocide. they want us to believe that this is a debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. they want us to believe that this is a governmental activity.

no. this is not a conflict, not a war, not a debate, not something to keep quiet on because it’s “too political.” this is not political. this is the ethnic cleansing of millions of people. this is the slaughtering of women, men, children, elderly, pets, loved ones, friends, family.

this is not a conflict. why? because it has escalated. a conflict is defined as such:

this is not a serious disagreement or argument. this is not a simple argument that can be resolved with an easy solution. this is not something to be stuffed into a singular word with only two definitions when people’s lives are at stake every single day, every hour, every minute, every second.

a child in gaza dies every 10 minutes.

put that into perspective. most households have 3-9 people, depending on where you live, and 2-5 of those people are kids.

say you’re doing the laundry. 10 minutes pass, and then one of those kids dies.

20 minutes pass. the neighbor’s kid dies.

30 minutes pass. the kid you saw at the store the other day who wouldn’t stop crying dies.

everyday people with everyday lives and dreams that you won’t remember, and I’m not blaming you. they’re just background noise, and why would you wanna remember the kid that wouldn’t stop screaming about his toy that fell on the ground?

but they are children, regardless. they could’ve had the chance to live, to grow, to learn, no matter how forgettable they are, and they didn’t.

there are 1,440 minutes in a day.

divide that by ten.

144 children in gaza, some just turning one, some barely out of the womb, some nearing adulthood, some just breaking into their teenage years.

144 children in gaza, who perish at the hands of israel.

this is not a war, either. why? because a war means both sides are fighting against each other. palestine is not fighting back in the sense that they are fighting with an army, because that has been revoked. (this is not to say palestine isn't fighting back, it's just that their means of defense has been stripped away)

this is a war. armed conflict. palestine is not armed. palestine is helpless while bombs are being dropped on innocent people.

do you see palestine on the front lines? no, you don't, because everything has been taken from them - electricity, water, medical aid, a military, their land - while israel has bombs and fundings from the usa and other countries. israel has an army. israel has hospitals that aren't reduced to rubble because of airstrikes. israel has clean water that people can drink from freely. israel has warm places to stay and safe places to sleep.

palestine doesn't.

this is not a debate.

a debate is defined as such:

this is not formal. this is not something to be discussed. it is facts.

palestine is under attack.

palestine is currently having bombs dropped on them.

we cannot debate this simply because there is nothing to debate about. zionists can pull the antisemitic card all they'd like and word the narrative differently so it's in their favor, but facts are facts. no matter how hard the damn pill is to swallow, you've got to take it or else you fall into sickness.

if you don't swallow the "speak-now-for-palestine" pill or the "genocide-isn't-political-it's-slaughter" pill, you fall into the sickness of complicity.

you comply with what they want. they want you to be silent. it gives them more support. they don't want you to speak. they want you to be obedient. they want you to live your consumeristic lives and wonder about whether you should buy an apple or a samsung instead of donating to families who need it more than you. they want you to remain focused on your first-world problems. they don't want you to look outward.

speak up for palestine, or you risk being on the wrong side of history. of things that will be in your children's textbooks and of their children and of their children.

[solarwynd]

Tbh I don't even care / dislike boycott armys. If you don't want to spend money on BTS because they haven't spoken about Palestine, that's your perogative. Because they're enlisted, that does make a difference for me - maybe others find it an excuse but as someone who doesn't live in a liberal western country myself, I know how things like this work in my country and how vulnerable you can be in this situation, so I don't know how it works in s korea but still I'm giving them some leeway. Also there's just this weird disconnect for me because on one side yeah they're millionaires with a huge platform, on the other side they're currently in the mfing army right now. It feels foul to start tweeting about their privilege from the comfort of my bed in my home - something they currently do not experience. That's just my opinion. Someone else might perceive them to have more power than I do and maybe they're right. I won't say mine is the only right way to think. Plus again it's your money - if you donate more and spend less on merch then that's still a net good imo.

But the whole tone of people remarking on this donation has been completely gross. The way they talk about a genocide the same way they talk about the stupid fanwars that happen on twt everyday rather than with the weight it deserves makes me feel like this is some performative bs. Tweets like the ones some armys and kpop stans make just degrades the whole movement.

If you do have genuine intentions and start making stupid tweets like that, you should really touch some grass, log off twitter and do some more actual activism offline instead of letting twitter brain worms consume you. Acting like everyone's misconstruing what you said and playing victim is also not the move. This is a serious topic so I'd expect tweets related to this to have some actual thought behind it instead of spewing some idiocy as a gotcha because again it looks like you're treating this whole issue like some fandom war and trying to one-up the other side. Click-clack my ass.

Armys always come at BTS crazy during times like this and it’s not because it’s “necessary” since you want them to speak up. It all just comes off as sanctimonious and BTS ruining the perception armys have built around them as stans of them being a bit more conscientious than other k groups. I’ve never had an issue with boycotting in theory it’s just that armys can’t stand behind shit or just go about it the wrong way.

Why is it the minute they don’t perform to your exact standards, all of a sudden they’re low down and evil?Why couldn’t y’all have used Jimin donating as a beacon to rally fans to open a pool or something? And I try not to go tit for tat on things like this, but it’s extremely hard not to when you see proof of all these armys happily buying and streaming golden from last year and have been the main ones making these posts about jimin’s donation.

Nothing has changed from that time to present day. Same with the kpop stans trying to join in on it stanning groups who haven’t said a word either. How do you expect me not to believe y’all don’t have ulterior motives by singling him or BTS out? Now all those accounts have deleted those tweets cause they’ve gotten called out on their hypocrisy and got caught up in how dumb they look getting Jimin dragged over something so harmless. Cause it’s not like he gave money to something inane or inconsequential. He’s helping underprivileged children. Just real dickheaded behavior from that person.

Now considering how a member has close ties with scooter, making a statement would come off as hypocritical. I know in the grander scheme of things, what’s needed and what’s important is the awareness and I’d take it as such. But denouncing Zionism with a Zionist so avidly in the mix still wouldn’t be a good look. Which is why I feel like donating would have been the better option. It’d be much more substantial helping out with funds/materials imo because those are things Palestinians desperately need. But I understand that it’s not on the table since they’re in the military.

[sissa-arrows]

A lot of (liberal) Americans have realized post October 7th that their lives and status depend on American imperialism.

And they’re making the conscious choice to focus exclusively on “domestic” politics for their sake and actively ignore the death of people not in the empire.

What’s surprising and that they expect people of color (especially Muslims) to feel like them and to put their own comfort first. The amount of liberals who have been saying “Well enjoy being deported by Trump” and stuff like that under messages from Muslim Americans who don’t support Biden is crazy… like Biden if funding and supporting a genocide getting deported is absolutely nothing compared to that?!?

A guy legit said “if your choice is between voting for 100% Hitler (Trump) and 99% Hitler (Biden) your moral duty is to vote for 99% Hitler” and I was like No?!?! If the choices are 100% Hitler and 99% Hitler the moral duty is to fucking revolt against a system that put you in front of such a choice…

Also when they are out of argument they accuse you or secretly being pro Trump or of being a Russian or Chinese propagandist… and if they know you’re not American they dismiss you saying you have no business talking because the election will affect them only not you (because the US famously never attack Muslim majority countries and don’t contribute to the rise of anti Arab racism in the West)

They keep proving how true the saying “scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds” is.

[ransolm]

Hi all,

I haven’t been very active on Tumblr, nor have I been much of a political voice here; however, I have some insight to share…

In early 2023, I worked—albeit briefly—on Capitol Hill in the U.S. By no means was I a senior staffer, but I do have some brief, hopefully helpful, advice. (To be completely transparent, I was an important senior republican’s staffer—I am not a republican nor right-leaning and never have been. This time for me was entirely meant to gain experience on my resume and earn university credit.)

(I do not mean for this post to offend anyone, I just hope to provide some context when it comes to US congressional processes, and, hopefully, provide some advice when dealing with red representatives.)

When it comes to reaching out to your representatives: don’t stop, but know it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making a difference (at least in red states):

When disgruntled constituents reach out (either via calls/mail/fax) it’s logged on an online database but typically discarded and shallowly acknowledged by staffers (also only constituents are acknowledged by that office—don’t call out of state representatives,, they don’t care and won’t log it ((also it’s extremely annoying and clogs the phone lines; out of state correspondence will mostly be thrown in the trash)).

When staffers say they’ll let *insert politician* know about the caller/emailer/faxer stance, it’s by that online database. They’re not lying but also not necessarily telling the truth: most politicians don’t care to look on that database, but they have access to it. Politicians are only aware of their constituents concerns when it’s aligning with their political party or REALLY concerning (and I mean if it goes against their political party’s ideology or donor funds).

If you really wanna go for the politician’s throat, go for the money. They are funded by super PACs or large state corporations. Boycott them/expose them/do whatever you have to do to interrupt or pause donations. Politicians only care about what their donors and political party care about.

If you go to their office to complain straight to a politician and cause a ruckus/protest/demonstration, staffers will likely call security/police on you (at least in DC office buildings they will). Keep in mind, politicians aren’t usually just sitting around in their office; meetings are happening between staffers, lobbyists, constituents, and/or advocates. If the politician is there, their office is WAYYY back behind the staffers and likely not even within earshot of anything. Any demonstration will be disrupted and dispersed by police (in DC it’s capitol police). Unfortunately, like I said, any disruptions/demonstrations at such offices will likely cause annoyance among staffers (from my experience), and if politicians hear about it, it’ll most likely be because meetings were disrupted. Overall, it’s a negative experience and will be brushed away.

If you do want to go the solo route and continue to contact your representatives, please stay cordial to staffers. If you become combative, rude, aggressive, or belligerent, staffers can and will put you on a do not answer and/or do not correspond list. Also, as I was a junior staffer just trying to get experience, having callers verbally abuse you on the phone is NOT it. If you call in, do not insult the staffer. It’s rude and, quite frankly, disgusting. We’re humans too, and most of us just want a pay check plus experience. Senior staffers rarely take phone calls, and swearing at the staffer will not get you a phone call with your representative period.

If you have any questions about my experience/observations/advice(?), please DM me or comment. I’m not used to posting much on Tumblr, so I apologize if this is scuffed—I just want to help provide some behind the scenes context to your representatives.

I stand with Ukraine. I stand with Palestine. I stand against genocide.

[punksocks]

Ok y’all I’m not sharing this to steal any attention away from the very needed focus on Palestinian voices and advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. I just thought I should share the work I’m doing on my other platforms for fundraising efforts for Palestinian nonprofits and mutual aid orgs. I guess I don’t want to seem disingenuous when I say as soon as I have the funds I’ll donate to gofundme campaigns (I have donated to several of those and can add those receipts if you’d like)

I want to use all the resources I can to actively work for solidarity for Palestine and all of the global activism going on to actually free Palestine and rebuild Gaza.

I donated $405 to the PRCS in November, and donated $916 to buying eSIMs for Connecting humanity in May, and donated just over $250 so far to Bridge to Baladi and their work to feed families and support mutual aid in Gaza

All this to say I want to be as active as I can be on tumblr as well in my supportive efforts. If you inbox me with a vetted fundraiser I will share it and if you purchase a birth chart reading l’ll donate 50% of that to either Bridge to Baladi or a fundraiser from my inbox or a fundraiser of your choice.

As an American I feel like it’s responsible not to use all of the resources I can to give to Palestinians in need of resources, advocacy, and a ceasefire from weapons and settler violence funded by tax dollars.

As a Black person I know that none of us are free until all of as are and as a member of the diaspora it’s my social responsibility to aid indigenous folks in solidarity of decolonial efforts with any resources I can get my hands on, especially while they’re enduring one of the worst genocides in history and asking for our help

Free Palestine🍉

[drpepperhateblog]

The Hogwarts Legacy boycott is the most counterproductive internet activism I’ve ever witnessed

Note: I’m not playing Hogwarts Legacy because I think the author is overrated and hasn’t been good in years. And well, again, feeling concerned about some of her opinions on transgender people.

With that said, finding it very interesting how everyone are harrassing anyone who dares to touch the game, whether by purchasing it or by playing a free copy or by pirating, due to the transphobic views of the author... On Twitter. Which is ran by Elon Musk. A transphobe. 

Not just that, but Twitter most certainly on the regular hosts and spreads more antisemitic and transphobic views on their site than Hogwarts Legacy ever will...

I especially find it fascinating when tweets show they were sent from iPhones. You know, iPhones, primarily made in China, likely helping fund the genocide of Uighur Muslims.

If you choose to boycott the game for concerns over transphobia or antisemitism, then I do commend you for that. I’m a big proponent of the idea that people need to show their opinion with their wallets more often. Rejecting something you could’ve enjoyed because you don’t want to contribute to making the world a less safe to live is commendable. For the same reason I have a lot of respect for vegetarians and vegans. I could never do it. More power to you.

With that said, no one consumes cruelty-free in reality. You’ve probably eaten meat. Or used Twitter. Or had an iPhone. All things that you didn’t actually need to do in order to survive, but things you chose to do anyway.

Why did you? Likely because it’s impossible to care about all causes at once. No one is capable of doing so. 

When deciding what to focus on, it’s likely a competition between what is easiest to give up and what cause you care the most about. Hogwarts Legacy is probably to most very easy to give up. To others, not so much. Which may sound silly, but then again, so is choosing Twitter (created by a transphobe) over going outside and touching some grass (created by Mother Earth who is likely not a transphobe). We all have something we’re attached to that we don’t actually need.

There’s an additional angle to this, though. Not only is it hypocritical to shame others for consuming in a way that could potentially fund something you consider harmful, but it’s also ineffective.

An aggressive approach is counterproductive.

Similarly to how you’re probably not going to make someone stop smoking by putting a cigarette out on their skin and yelling at them how they’re going to get cancer, sending death threats to people for playing a video game is unlikely to be effective either. Chances are they’ll double down. Note how some responses to this organized bullying has been “well then, I’m going to buy two copies”? Congratulations, the hydra grew two more heads and now the game earned even more money. Odd how you’d want to contribute to that if your concern is genuinely that buying the game could cause transgender people to die en masse.

Hogwarts Legacy became the best-selling game on Steam before even being released. Not just in spite of the boycott, but also in spite of the bad reputation of early access game releases.

Perhaps the biggest irony of it all is J.K. Rowling’s fear of transgender women surpressing cis women are now as a result of the boycott suddenly not looking so unwarranted. Women streamers have been pushed to tears. Girlfriend Reviews being an especially sad case, where a Jewish woman received a free copy of the game, donated any money earned from it to transgender charity, and yet was harrassed, threatened, blacklisted, and even had some accounts on social media shut down due to said boycotters making deliberately false reports of hate speech. I guess it wasn’t enough that J.K. Rowling herself got death threats and had a book written about her in which she dies a gruesome death. No, instead activists doubled down on the misogyny. 

And it’s sad. It’s genuinely sad. A movement that should be about the freedom of loving and respecting people for who they are and who they choose to be has now instead become an authoritarian movement against wrongthink and a breeding ground for bullies and oppressors.