#why is it okay when muslims are hurting and wrong when others are????

[jesuis-snips]

LIES: Palestine is murdering civilians.

TRUTH: Palestine is expelling occupiers.

LIES: Palestine is attacking Israel.

TRUTH: Palestine is standing upon its rights in its own lands.

LIES: Hamas is giving Israel reasons to attack them.

TRUTH: Israel has already been attacking Palestinians without a reason for years. Every resistance counts and weakens Israel.

LIES: Israel is the victim.

TRUTH: Israel is suffering for its sins for the innocent children they have killed.

[101maverick]

Head cannons about Jason Todd and his relationship/feelings towards God/Catholicism after coming back from the dead? How does his religious angst impact his relationships (with the fam or a SO depending on what you want to write !) and how does he find peace for himself ?

A/n: ok tell me why while I was doing research for this I came upon tons of people outright saying they hate Christianity and are anti-Christian?? Seriously what is wrong with people nowadays, Christianity is the only religion people feel okay actively and openly hating on, but if you come across somebody saying they hate another religion, for example Islam, you'll find that person cancelled in a matter of minutes. Really sad stuff. Respect people's beliefs guys, I don't agree with Islam but you don't see me hating on it and attacking muslims on the internet. Anyways thank you so much for the ask Anon!! I love the originality of it, and it prompted me to do research on how Jason is portrayed in media.

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I don't believe he looses his faith

He's angry and he's confused about why what happened to him happened, yes, but somebody raised catholic in the environment he was, where religion was one of the only things you could cling to, really makes you strong in your faith

especially someone like Jason

He was a very smart and curious kid, so I believe he asked a lot of questions to his pastor and really pondered the answers, which I think made him really understand his faith and made it all the more strong

I've seen that a lot of people leave the faith after something bad to them happens and then they see that God's "not real" because if God were real then He would've helped them

I don't believe this happens to Jason because he understands that even if God isn't responsible for the actions of people corrupted and lead by sin everything that happens and that He lets happen does for a reason

So I believe he'd try to understand what the reason for what happened to him was

And the thing with God is that you can't always understand why He led you to a certain point, but with Jason I think you could see it in an eventual reconciliation, or him saving some people from some very hopeless situations (for example trafficking)

I really like the "purpose" Jason discovers for being where he is in the fic "forgive us (as we forgive those)" (it's not exactly his purpose in the pic but this prompted it, plus it's a masterpiece so go read it!!)

Aka Jason helping Damian with all the trauma that comes with being forced/conditioned to kill

Also ik people might come at me for saying this but I believe Jason could do without the killing

I believe it can be part of his character at the start, but the thing is that for the believer sinning quite literally hurts (at least for me). There's this ache inside your chest and this guilt that just calls out to you and does not go away until you pray/confess. Hence why I believe that, even though he does believe that some of the deaths he caused were necessary, he goes on to try and stop killing, abandoning it as a method of justice

Due to this I believe his relationships with his family get better, though it's a long road to better them and some will always be strained

His relationship with Bruce remains strained for a long time, depending on wether or not Bruce finally gets over his emotional constipation and apologises for everything, including blaming him for his death and in general his treatment of Jason pre-Ethiopia (trying to use him as a substitute for Dick, comparing them constantly, making him robin in the first place and stuff like that). Only if Bruce apologises for all of that plus how he treated Jason after he came back do I see their relationship really improving and actually progressing from the one they had when Jason was Robin

I don't really know how his relationship with Dick is, but in general I think that after Jason stops killing they gradually come closer to each other. I can see Dick feeling guilty for not having been there for Jason when he was Robin and so for not being a brother to him. On the other hand I also see Jason acknowledging that Dick and Bruce have their own problems to resolve and they always did, so I see him being understanding toward that 20-year-old Dick

Jason's relationship with Tim I think would start to improve only after Jason shares his thoughts about the Titan's Tower attack, about his eventual remorse for what he did. Tim is very calculating and analytical, I see him being able to understand the extent of the pit rage and what it made Jason do. I also think it'd take some time for Tim to fully forgive him tho, depending on when this apology happens, because it's still a lot of trauma that he has to process.

Jason' relationship with Damian would flourish with Jason helping Damian, who deep down is really grateful for it but doesn't understand Jason's methods for getting over killing (aka praying and religion in general). I see a very beautiful dynamic blossoming between them, a kind of silent understanding and the knowledge that they have each other's backs

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Hope you enjoyed!

[jordanianroyals]

Queen Rania of Jordan 's Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Decries Western Double Standard and Deafening Silence on War on Gaza, 24 October 2023

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR:��Jordan is home to 40 percent of the total registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, according to the UN. That is simply a huge number, especially for a small country. Jordan's Queen Rania is herself of Palestinian descent. And she's joining me now for a world exclusive from Amman, the capital. Queen Rania. Welcome to our program.

QUEEN RANIA: Thank you, Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Can I ask you first, as an Arab, as a Palestinian, as a human being, a mother, how you are feeling ever since October 7?

QUEEN RANIA:  Well, look Christiane, I cannot begin to describe to you the depth of the grief, the pain, and the shock that we are feeling here in Jordan. All of us are united in this grief, regardless of our origin. We just can't believe the images that we're seeing every single day coming out of Gaza. We're going to bed seeing those images and waking up to them. You know, as a mom, we've seen Palestinian mothers who have had to write the names of their children on their hands, because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies turning into corpses, are so high.

I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this, it's just unbelievable.

And equally, I think that people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen, you know, a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself, and condemned the attacks that happened. But what we're seeing the last couple of weeks, we're seeing silence in the world. Countries have stopped at just expressing “concern,” or acknowledging the casualties, but always with a preface of declaration of support for Israel. Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family – an entire family – at gunpoint, but it's okay to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here and it is just shocking to the Arab world.

This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire. So the silence is deafening and, to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit through their support and through the cover that they give Israel, that it is just trying to defend itself. Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it. And this is just horrendous and it's deeply, deeply disappointing to all of us.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Queen Rania, I'm going to ask you more about this and go deeper into your feelings about this. But first I want to ask you, you know, the Israelis are shocked to their core, the grief… What happened to them has never happened in that way since the Holocaust. And they are shaken to their core, as I said, and in grief. I just want to get from you what you felt on October 7.

QUEEN RANIA: Well, of course, I was shocked. Jordan has made its position very clear. We condemn the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. That is Jordan's ethical, moral position. And it's also the position of Islam. Islam condemns the killing of civilians. As my husband mentioned recently, the Pact of Omar, which was issued on the gates of Jerusalem 15 centuries ago – that's 1,000 years before the Geneva Conventions – orders Muslims not to kill a woman, child, or elderly person,  and not to destroy a tree or hurt a priest. So this is what we believe are the rules of engagement at time of war. But they need to apply to everybody.

So yes, there was the shock and there is the condemnation. But why isn't there equal condemnation to what is happening now? I just want to emphasize that this conflict did not begin on October 7, although it has been being portrayed as that. You know, most networks are covering the story under the title of ‘Israel at War.’ But for many Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall and other side of the barbed wire, war has never left. This is a 75-year-old story; a story of overwhelming death and displacement to the Palestinian people. It is a story of an occupation under an apartheid regime that that occupies land, that demolishes houses, confiscates lands, military incursions, night raids… The context of a nuclear-armed regional superpower that occupies, oppresses, and commits daily documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the narrative. You know, for too long, Palestinians lives…

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR:  Queen Rania, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I want to ask you a specific question because you're using a lot of words which clearly many in the Arab World have used – words like apartheid and the rest. But you know that you are going to come under a lot of criticism from Israel and its supporters. And I'm wondering whether you're coming out to speak…

QUEEN RANIA:  But let me just emphasize that “apartheid” is a designation that was given not by Arabs, but by Israeli and international human rights organizations.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: You wrote in an Instagram story just in the last week, “It isn't self defense if you're an occupying force,” and you showed the destruction of Gaza. And you have posted a video of yourself from a presser in 2009 during that war, saying “It is heartbreaking to see how little has changed. The world cannot remain silent. This has to stop.” Do you feel that you have a particular voice, you know, as Queen of Jordan, in a country that has a peace treaty with Israel, to speak up?

QUEEN RANIA:  It's not about me, it's about speaking up for humanity. You know, this is not about being pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. This is about choosing the people, the everyday people on both sides. And explaining again that the Palestinian people have for too long been living under oppression and dehumanization. They suffered daily indignities and human rights violations, whether being jailed or humiliated or harassed. They do not have freedom of movement. There are over 500 checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank. You have a separation wall, which is deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, that has separated the territories into 200 disconnected enclaves. And you've seen the aggressive expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, and those have interrupted the territorial contiguity of the territories and has deemed an autonomous, independent Palestinian state not viable. So this is the background of this conflict. There is a hyper-fixation on Hamas now because of what happened in the last couple of weeks. But this is a problem that far precedes Hamas and will continue after Hamas. This is a fight for freedom and for justice, and that is what needs to be heard.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Can I ask you this question then? Because, quite a brave…I think she's Saudi anyway, a journalist on the Saudi television network Al Arabiya, took this and hammered Khaled Mashal, the former head of Hamas, and said to him, the butchery – well, that's my word – But she said, what everybody is seeing on their screens has turned the world away from the Palestinian cause. And just to expand, people are saying Hamas and what it did has brought this down on these poor people of Gaza. Do you accept that?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, I do not believe in, as I said, in the killing of civilians. But this is a story of violence that has been going on now for so long. And this violence needs to be condemned. But at the end of the day, what we're seeing today, and what people need to understand, is that yes, under the guise of the right to defend itself, we are witnessing atrocities.

You know, every country has a right to defend itself, but not through any means – not through war crimes, not through collective punishment. 6,000 civilians killed so far, 2,400 children – how is that self-defense? We are seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons. So for the past two weeks, we have seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza. Entire families wiped out, residential neighborhoods flattened to the ground, the targeting of hospitals and schools and churches and mosques and medical workers, journalists, UN aid workers – how is that self-defense? Why is it that whenever Israel commits these atrocities it comes under the banner of self-defense, but when there is violence by Palestinians, it is immediately called terrorism. Is the word “terrorist” just reserved exclusively for Muslims and Arabs

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Well let me ask you then…

QUEEN RANIA: There's a real double standard here that we’re seeing. A false symmetry that we see…

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Well, let me ask you this, your husband, King Abdullah…

QUEEN RANIA: Yes, false symmetry, because these are not two equal people in the conflict. One is an occupier, and one is the occupied. One has a military, the mightiest in the world, and the other doesn’t have a military at all. So there is a false symmetry here that is being drawn. And also, when you say “the right to defend itself,” that does not say the entire story. It doesn't say the story of the violation of international law, international humanitarian law. It doesn't tell you the suffering and the story of an occupation. You know, Israel is in violation of no less than 30 UN Security Council resolutions that require it, and it alone, to act to withdraw from territories occupied in 1967, to stop the settlements, the separation wall, the human rights violations. This is at the crux of this issue. It is not this hyper-fixation on Hamas.

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Can I ask you, you know, to sort of elaborate, because your husband, King Abdullah, I believe it was last weekend at the summit of Arab leaders in Cairo, he said, “The message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear. Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives.” I know you've said a lot about your feelings about what's going on right now. But do you think in general, that that’s true? That even world leaders and others, and you meet a lot of them, and so does the King, which is why he said that, I assume?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, like I said, it has been very disappointing to see the double standards in the world today. To see that the strong condemnation of what happened on October 7, but very little condemnation of what is happening today.

Why isn't there a call for an immediate ceasefire? We are seeing staggering human suffering happening today. Why is the narrative always skewed to the Israeli side? The Western media and policymakers are quick to adopt the Israeli narrative. When Israel attacks, Palestinians “die,” but when Israelis die, they are “murdered in cold blood”. It’s a massacre. So even like on October 7, we've seen the situation described as savagery, barbaric, bloodthirsty, cold-blooded. We're not seeing that terminology describing the situation today, even though the atrocities are of greater magnitude.

I'm not arguing accuracy, Christiane, I am arguing equivalence and double standards here. When the President of the United States is told that, you know, he has seen evidence of children beheaded, only to retract because the IDF said that there's no proof of that, that is confirmation bias. Even at your network, Christiane, you know, the CNN website at the beginning of the conflict reported a headline of Israeli children found butchered in an Israeli kibbutz. And when you read through the story, it hasn't been independently verified. Now, my question to you, would you publish, such a damning yet unverified claim made by a Palestinian?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Queen Rania, I just need to stop you right there. Because there have been pictures shown by the Israelis and our journalists have been down there. I'm not talking about beheadings; I'm talking about babies’ bodies riddled with bullets and things. But let's – it is just all so horrible, as you say.

I want to ask you about what Jordan has said. And your husband the king has said that there has been anyway, an attempt or suggestion to move Palestinians who are trying to seek safety either into Egypt or into Jordan, your country. And the king has said, “This is a red line. I think the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground. No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt.”

QUEEN RANIA: Well, look, the people of Gaza now are facing two choices: either they leave or they face death or collective punishment. So essentially, they're given a choice between expulsion or extermination, between ethnic cleansing and genocide, and no people should have to face that kind of choice.

And what my husband was referring to is the people of Palestine, of Gaza, should not be forced to be moved again. Most of the residents of Gaza are already refugees. And right now, at least a million have been displaced from their homes. So, we do not want another mass displacement of Palestinians, like what happened at the Nakba in 1948. And that's what my husband meant about this being a red line. The Palestinians have the right to remain on their land.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Yeah, because they were concerned about so-called forcible transfer and never be allowed to come back.

There have been quite a lot of protests in your country, as in many other parts of the world. And you have explained what is shaking up, and that is a very different narrative about what's happening depending on what part of the world people come from, and certain leaders come from. There's a most definite taking-of-sides. That's absolutely going on, as you illustrated. What about though – or are you kind of used to it now and have to manage it – the protests on the streets, even against the 1994 peace treaty? Are you concerned about the anger and wider war or wider instability in countries like yours or in others around the region?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, you would be concerned if there's division, but we are absolutely united in our stance. We all believe in the same thing, we are all feeling the same pain, we all want the same thing. And so, I think there's a lot of unity in the Arab World. And like I said, there is a sense of: do our lives matter less, you know? Why is it that when people are coming to represent, you know, the Palestinian issue, at the top of an interview, they have to have their humanity cross-examined, they have to present their moral credentials: “do you condemn?” We don't see Israeli officials being asked to condemn, and when they are, people are readily accepted by “our right to defend ourselves.” I have never seen a Western official say the sentence: Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.

And so, you know, we are seeing this even in western democracies. Freedom of speech is apparently a universal value, except when you mention Palestine. When people gather to support Israel, they're exercising their right to assembly. But when they gather for Palestine, they're deemed terrorist sympathizers or anti-Semitic. So you're seeing these double standards and it's creating all of the disillusionment in the Arab world, and in many who are just seeing the injustice.

And I just want to emphasize, Christiane, that at the end of the day, there is no military solution to this issue. Wars are never won; they're always losses on all sides. Victory is a myth that politicians make in order to justify immense loss of life. Even if Israel goes and defeats or kills every last Hamas member, then what? Haven’t they left a trail of terrible memories, horrific memories, that will just create a new generation of resistance that is fiercer and more violent? Because, at the end of the day, you can only have a political resolution to this, and my husband has for so long always emphasized that there could be no peace and stability in the Middle East without a political resolution.

So, even if you're an ally to Israel, you are doing it no service by giving it blind support. Your expediting and expanding the provision of lethal weapons to Israel is only going to expand this conflict. It’s only going to prolong and deepen the suffering. There can never be a resolution except around the negotiating table. And there's only one path to this and that is a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel. That is the only path that's going to that's going to get us there. 

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Many, many analysts are already talking about that. And we hope that something like that can emerge from the ashes in this catastrophe. Queen Rania, thank you so much indeed for joining us.

[wavebiders]

Football hooligans destroying flags and provoking the other side, because they want violence? Sadly expected and can be found all over Europe easily. Add to that the general atmosphere around anything that involves Israel and Palestine. Powder keg. And there are always agitators who want to be the spark. Which is terrible and I hate that. Also very little about what happened in Amsterdam was actually about the match itself. Shocker, I know that. Sorry that doesn't come across in a one sentence under 140 characters tag.

Let's look at what I said "the people contorting themselves to justify what just happened in Amsterdam..." Did I say it is wrong to look into the whole situation? (With investigations showing that there was some premeditated planning involved, so at least we can both-sides this thing. And not even Ajax fans, because this wasn't about football. This was very much Jews vs Muslims, less Maccabi vs Ajax.) Did I say there is one side that is 100% right and the other is 100% wrong? Did I say I agree with Israelis chanting their anti-arab slogans and provoking the pro-Palestine crowds?

What I am appalled by is the simple fact that we did see Jews chased down streets in a big European city and people come forth with explanations of why that is okay. The JUSTIFICATION of the violence that broke out (I don't agree with tearing down flags, but I agree less with stabbing people). There have been a few arrests made pre-game, including on the Maccabi side. Rightfully. Also to think only the bad hooligans who deserved it by their actions got beaten is my problem with the situation. That's what I mean when I say "contorting [...] to justify". I much prefer people like Melhem Asad, who helped to keep people safe and stood up against violence, than either celebrating the stupid bolsterous singing of disgusting genocidal songs or applauding hitting any perceived enemies in the face without even caring if they were actual agitators.

I see where you're coming from but I do think focusing in on the "jews" aspect of it all just gives validation to the idea that zionist speak for all jews or that any critisism towards them is antisemetic. You're also leaving out the fact that they assaulted a taxi driver on top of burning flags and singing songs about the slaughter of children.

I'm sure there were some folks who got hurt that weren't the ones inciting violence in the first place and that's a tragedy, but the people of Amsterdam were under no obligation to just lie down and take that shit and as the authorities failed to step in they took it into their own hands. Perhaps in the future the city will just do the smart thing and not host Isreali teams the same way they wouldn't host a Russian team

[ihatepolice1234]

the mistreatment of people with personality disorders is so infuriating. why does no one love me. why was i the toxic one in the relationship when my partner was literally transphobic and ableist and racist. literally was friends with nazis. literally im trans and disabled and jewish. literally made me uncomfortable despite me telling him to stop. literally told me it was my fault and its not okay if i am vocal about the fact im uncomfortable. why do you hate me. why are my mood swings the end of the world.

"youre acting weird" -him "i havent been doing so good lately" -me "this behavior is making me uncomfortable and it concerns me" -him

literallyyy he said women are the "greatest thieves of a man's energy". literallyyy called his mexican friend a tacoslave. literallyyyy said to a THIRTEEN/FOURTEEN YEAR OLD "this is why your mother abuses you". literallyy told me this when he found out that 13/14 yr old was an ISTP "i cannot trust ISTPs they will attempt to hurt or destroy me" in which i said "??? (name) is like 12". "leftists are really closed off and judgmental" youu got 100% judgment for MBTI (saying this since you used MBTI to dictate all of your thoughts) and you admitted to being really closed off. called a leftist version of a nazi we knew and that im ignorant and i dont listen to other beliefs. when the conversation was either 1) unrelated to politics or 2) about people dying. "instead of hating muslims you hate christians" i think every religion is cultish.. i used to be a christian.. he had no reason to say this except for the fact i stated i was either atheistic or satanist.. "instead of hating black people you hate white people" im literally white.. i dont hate white people.. i just acknowledge that white people are oppressors.. and that racism exists.. and that white supremacy isnt good.. "you want to genocide those of differing ideologies and races" ??? where did this come from?? 'differing ideologies and races' WHO????? who and what are you referring to???????????? "you get your beliefs from jreg and sources that shouldnt be taken seriously" my interest in politics came from jreg.. sure.. but i KNOW he shouldnt be taken seriously.. thats why i dont take him serious.. thats why i spend my time learning about politics.. from actual good sources.. "why should i have to listen to you when you shut me down whenever i wish to add something" when did i do this??? maybe you were just wrong.. and saying some racist or ableist bullshit.. maybe that should be recognized as wrong by you.. but it isnt.. you make jokes about being schizophrenic, you dont care about my mental illness and how it affects me, you blame me for it like its my fault ??? like come on bru.. you misgender me after i stop talking to you.. as soon as you found out i was trans (which was NEVER supposed to happen) you called me my deadname.. "i think i understand, you dont dislike me, youre just out of control of your own emotions and need to become a better person" so close.. but so far.. "i cant separate myself from my mental illness as well as you can" -me. AND THEN HE LAUGHING EMOJI REACTS ME??? WHAT??? "i cant do the same things you can" -me "skill issue" -him. LIKE WHAT "not a lot of people understand me only (name) does" you told me you wanted to kiss me and have a future with me. you told me you wanted to go places with me and hug me and be with me forever. and then you proceeded to make fun of that person behind her back??? are you kidding? and then when she found out you told her it wasnt true?? and just a joke??? and now she isnt friends with you, because now you make fun of her, and you basically left her for someone else who even called you explosive and scary.

"vin my not understand tone as well as you do and the thing about online arguments is that theres no way to tell tone besides tone tags. i dont think he was coming off as rude (nor was he trying to, as stated by him), just different" -my friend

"ok, well some people being slow and incapable of processing social ques doesnt enable them to be cocky and belittling. there is a way to show tone, you can read it in someone's speech patterns, and if youre incapable of picking up on those tones then you simply have a bad intuition and understanding of people and how they work." -him

why are you a hater

[caffeinatedopossum]

AH! Okay Im reading the Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Dalai Lama was asked how he could experience joy when he had so much stuff thats happened to him and he said, based on a practice from another teacher, basically it was if you cant do anything, why worry, and if you can, why be worried? In other words ofc but thats a phrase we use a lot, isnt it?

But then he talked about being exiled and all his people who are suffering from it, too. If he looked at just that he would be really worried, but if he looked at how the muslims are also struggling and the people in China? He can unite his suffering with theirs and not be so worried. Like, he can see we are all human brothers and sisters suffering together (not comparing pains and saying his is less than or anything). Which I guess means he cant do anything with worry on that scale except be responsible for his joy and mental state. (And point to ignore, since western ideals is that if youre not worried then you must not be doing anything, it doesnt mean that at all. Hate that bit of propaganda, i swear).

How do you think this works? And what it means? And how to apply it to other situations, like being disabled or having been hurt by another in the past or something. I really like the idea but my brain is giving me an error warning. Though buddhism is one of those things you just vibe with and cant think about lol

Oo! First of all, I love thought-provoking things like this so thank you c: also hope you're doing well!

I think the simplest way I've heard it put is "pain shared is halved, joy shared is doubled" so even when we or people around us are suffering from things outside our control, the simple ability to connect with or relate to each other is really powerful.

On that same note, though, I don't think happiness/contentedness is something we have complete control over. I mean, it'd be a little weird if I did, as someone who was miserable until I got the right antidepressants recently. I always used to feel like I was just doing something wrong, like there was something I was missing if I couldn't make myself happy or okay. But then I got these meds, and it was like a switch was flipped, and suddenly everything was just okay.

I think ultimately this concept is about acceptance and connection - like accepting what you can't control and taking comfort in the unity of pain. With being disabled, I guess what that means for me is just reminding myself that this could happen to anyone (and it does happen to others) and that even though my pain and limitations may be of a different nature or intensity than most people I see day-to-day, that doesn't mean we don't have anything in common. We both still have felt pain, no matter what. That's just a part of life everyone can relate to.

[andyinmiddleearth]

One of my friends in my small red town high school was literally the second one. She was so “supportive” until I talked about medically transitioning, and she basically said what person #2 said, and that broke me. Later I found out she was a Trump supporter and had never told me😭

Same goes for a girl I had a crush on that pretended to be okay with my transness but was secretly a pro-life antisemitic Trump supporter and I didn’t find out until years later when one of my actual friends told me. Also broke me. You pretending to be an ally ain’t very girlboss of you.

I also had a white cishet man that was like “just because we disagree on politics doesn’t mean we can’t be friends 🤪🥺” like no, sir, I can’t be friends because you disagree with my very existence and vote for people that are oppressing me and committing genocide against my community.

Similarly, I had a dick in high school trying to “politely” cisplain to me why it’s okay for trans people to be banned from the military because we are “mentally ill and the military could be dangerous for us 🥹” like yeah no shit, welcome to the military industrial complex that YOU signed up for too, but I can’t. Also being trans isn’t a mental illness. It’s people like that that vex me the most.

Also, shoutout to the girl who broke my heart by completely ghosting me and never talking to me again after she found out I gave her an anonymous rose for Valentine’s Day. She lived in an even smaller red rural city so uh. Kaylee if you’re out there, I was in love with you and you didn’t even properly reject me, just. Stopped hanging out with me and that hurt. So much. I deserved an explanation at the very least. I would have understood if you didn’t wanna date me.

You know who were some of the best allies at that same place though? The girl that tried her hardest to use my pronouns, even though she once called me “biologically a girl” when talking about FAFSA.

It was my super progressive dual credit English teacher, who was a DOCTOR btw, who would sometimes call me “Miss *chosen name*” and then apologize for her mistake.

One of my closest friends, who to this day sometimes accidentally calls me ma’am, and corrects herself, and also said I listen to “lesbian music” one time (tbh she wasn’t 100% wrong).

My economics teacher who would mess up my pronouns over and over again, but kept trying anyways, showed up to my top 10% honors dinner and took pictures with me in a suit and tie, and defended my transness when my parents were being transphobic towards me.

My school nurse and principal, who offered for me to use the women’s nurse bathrooms because that was the only option available for me. And my principal also defended me and was quite “aggressive” according to my mom cause she refused to let my parents be transphobic towards me.

My Latina Spanish teachers, who did their best even though our language as Latines (I’m Mexican btw) is extremely gendered and were always so sweet to me. I don’t like being called “mija,” but it’s the affection that was there that matters.

It was my classmate who called me a queen when I offered her muffins but then was like “oops my bad, sorry king,” who restored my faith in Gen Z.

The white lady that took my senior picture, who offered me the fem outfit and when I told her I wanted to wear a suit she went “I can respect that, that’s valid” and gave me what I wanted to wear.

My two cis Black gay male friends, who would say stuff to me like “no ma’aaaaam” but later eventually caught on and then they were like “no sirrrrr…”

My biology Muslim teacher whose name I don’t remember (he wasn’t teaching for too long because he kept getting made fun of for his SWANA accent unfortunately, and that got to him) who would try his best to call me by my name even though he would use the wrong pronouns.

And my physics teacher, who let two of my classmates and I start my school’s first LGBTQIA+ club when no other teacher would (not even the only openly gay teacher) and put up with our weekly meetings and never outed anyone. He would say funky things like “do any of you girls think you might be homosexuals?” (I wasn’t out as trans then) He would also talk about how he thought it was cool that a type of fungi has thousands of sexes and would just. Vibe with us the way a sweet millennial ally uncle would. I think later he ran over a deer and a cop cause I think he was on drugs since he didn’t look too hot the last day I saw him in class, but anyways shoutout to him. I did not learn a single thing about physics in his class but I did learn how to catch crickets to feed a lizard.

People aren’t perfect, but I would much rather educate person #1 than person #2. And I say this as a queer transmasc nonbinary person that has been out for years.

"The trannies should be able to piss in whatever toilet they want and change their bodies however they want. Why is it my business if some chick has a dick or a guy has a pie? I'm not a trannie or a fag so I don't care, just give 'em the medicine they need."

"This is an LGBT safe space. Of COURSE I fully support individuals who identify as transgender and their right to self-determination! I just think that transitioning is a very serious choice and should be heavily regulated. And there could be a lot of harm in exposing cis children to such topics, so we should be really careful about when it is appropriate to mention trans issues or have too much trans visibility."

One of the above statements is Problematic and the other is slightly annoying. If we disagree on which is which then working together for a better future is going to get really fucking difficult.

[halaldua]

Dua For Success and Happiness in Marriage

In Islam, having a good marriage is really important. It's not just about two people getting together, but it's a big deal because it helps keep people on the right path and makes life better in many ways. Let's talk about why having a good marriage in Islam is so necessary and the good things that come from it. In this we will know how dua for successful marriage can help you in getting success in your marital life.

Significance Of Dua For Successful Marriage

Duas are like a shield that protects your marriage. By asking Allah to watch over you and keep your relationship safe, you're inviting His blessings and mercy into your lives. Dua for successful marriage help you stay away from things that could harm your marriage and make it stronger.

To sum up, saying prayers is really important for a happy marriage in Islam. It helps you ask for Allah's help, brings you closer as a couple, helps you get through tough times, makes you appreciate each other, strengthens your spiritual connection, and protects your marriage. By praying together, couples can make their marriage even stronger and happier with Allah's blessings.

Staying Good and Doing Right: Being married in Islam helps people stay away from doing bad things and keeps them focused on being good. When people are married, they can have a special relationship that's okay in Islam, and it keeps them from doing anything wrong.

Feeling Complete and Happy: The Prophet Muhammad once said that when you get married, you've done half of the important stuff in your religion. This means that being married can make you feel complete and happy, and it helps you grow as a person in your faith.

Making a Family and Having Kids: Getting married is the start of making a family in Islam. It's important because it gives kids a good home to grow up in. Families in Islam are supposed to be loving and teach kids about what's right and wrong.

Helping Each Other Out: When you're married, you have someone to help you with everything. You share your money and chores, and you support each other. This makes it easier to handle problems and be happy together.

Protecting Each Other's Feelings and Honesty: Being married means you promise to stay true to each other. It's a special bond that keeps you away from doing anything that might hurt your partner's feelings. You're loyal to each other, and that's important.

Showing Love and Being Kind: In Islam, marriage is all about love and being nice to each other. The Quran says that spouses should be loving and kind to each other. When you're married, you show love and care for each other, and that's really special.

To sum up, having a good marriage in Islam is super important because it helps people do good, stay happy, and build strong families. It's about being there for each other, staying true, and showing lots of love and kindness. By being good spouses, Muslims can make their marriages strong and happy, which is really important in Islam. You can visit our website to know more about dua for successful marriage in Islam.

[neeharlow]

I am not a religious person. I don't believe in God. I believe there could be a God but, not likely. I'll believe in aliens before I ever believe in God. I'm all for others being religious as long as you don't try to push your beliefs on others or say I can't do something cause it's against your religion. At that point I'll tell you to fuck right off. My mother tried to raise me catholic. Church every Sunday, First Comminuion, confessions, the works. Hated every moment. Rebeled every chance I got. Thankfully after my Grandma died when I was 10 my mom didn't return to church until about a year or so before she died when I was 19 and by that point she didn't force me. At that point she would invite me but that's about it. My mom, thankfully, wasn't a strict Catholic. She would let me do whatever. She even sat in and did a few wiccan spells with me around a candle lit table when I went through a witch phase when I was 16. So I hold no ill will against her for trying to raise me catholic. It was how she herself was raised. Now my Dad... *rolls eyes* Didn't ever go to fucking church but would lose his goddamn mind if he saw anything that looked like a pentagram. Which got really fucking annoying when I got into Slipknot cause they have the nano-gram, nine points, nine members. Anyway, my dad is a POS and I don't feel like getting worked up about his fucking ass right now.

So as an adult I am not religious at all. My husband considers himself spiritual. But he hates Christian nut jobs like me and will actively go around and cut down those "JESUS OR HELL" signs when he sees them. (Almost got into a fight with some Nazis over one. He's a bit of psycho and will defend himself so I'm glad there were cop cars going by cause that could have ended much much worse. He literally would be bringing a knife to a gun fight.) Cause that sort of shit fucked him up as a kid and as a little boy he was scared to death of going to Hell.

My husband's grandma is a MAGA cultist. She added me on fb years ago. She never really commented on my posts. I don't sugar coat shit on fb for family. So she has found out that I don't believe in God. And she has brought this up multiple times with my husband on the phone. And it annoys the shit out of him. Mainly cause it's super passive aggressive. The convo went like this...

Grandma: "Why doesn't Renee believe in God?"

Tyler: "I don't know Grandma. It's just her beliefs."

Grandma: "Well even tho she doesn't, just know I'm praying for her."

Every time she says she's praying for me she always adds the "Even tho I know you don't believe in that stuff.." Every. Damn. Time. Normally if someone says they are praying for me I thank them. There have been several times when in the hospital nurses or doctors will offer to pray with me. And honestly, I'm like okay, cool. I'll pray with you. Good vibes aren't going to hurt. Christian prayer, Muslim prayer, Jewish prayers, any prayers (I know there's many, many more religions those are just off the top of my head) are all good vibes and nothing wrong with putting goodness into the world. But constantly bringing up the fact I don't believe just rubs me the wrong way. I asked my husband why and he's like, "She's just terrified you're going to Hell." So yeah... a bit aggravating.

[everything-is-crab]

ok i am not an american (though i do live in a western country) and am not a rightwinger either, i'm fairly centrist, and definitely i am anti-interventionist and far more isolationist than the average progressive. 9/11 was an act of US gov against its own citizens to justify further aggressive action abroad with the consequences we both know. the civilians in the twin towers were just as innocent as anyone in the middle east.

progs loooove to say peoples are more similar together than to their governments, and vice versa, and this everyone loves to cite when it benefits them (let me come to your country! i am like you!) however as soon as americans are killed and subjected to police state by their own gov (a fact of 9/11 and its later policy) then it's open season.. i find it inconsistent. in the end, everyone - EVERYONE - even bleeding heart liberals, cares more about those close to them. it's normal, and they are entitled to, as long as they do not denigrate others.

Bro what are you getting mad at? Did I even argue that those people were not innocent? What are you arguing against?

And if you're a centrist then idc. Ik progressives today want more foreign intervention (totally unaware of imperialism), I told you to even the check that survey. And that's why my criticism was and is directed at mainly liberals and leftists. You can leave.

Idgaf about arguing with "centrists" or anyone close to the right wing. I left that a long time ago cause it's a waste of time, as you're proving to be. No offense but our core beliefs differ. I get where you're coming from but you're thinking from an individual pov and I am not individualist (but you are cause you're a centrist and that's why idc about taking this further).

"Everyone cares more about those close to them" ok so in this context, it's nationalism. Caring more for your own people than others. What did I say wrong then in my og post? I just shortened what they do and believe in one word.

"As long as it's not denigrating" that's literally what I said in og post. You should find it inconsistent on how the Internet memeified another country's tragedy as I pointed out in the og post and then expected sympathy for themselves from the same people in return. And in your previous ask too (by providing link to a post where people are saying shit like "they had it coming to them" and yada yada).

So what's your point? I don't think it's worth arguing cause clearly your politics are much different than mine at the core. I care about other minorities. That's why I am anti Hindu nationalist and am with Muslims in other countries as well even though I am a Hindu myself. Do you think the whole GS is just one place and we don't have our own complex relations with each other? If you don't care about others then okay. Good for you

And you clearly are not ready to own up American civilians weren't innocent in supporting the war (do not even lie about that, all of you swallowed propaganda like candies) which killed more people in other countries than Americans killed in 9/11. That's why it's "open season". You were hurt? Fine you have our condolences. You use that to hurt others? You're gonna get shit on for it and don't expect any sympathy after that in return especially when your regrets and apologies aren't sincere.

[beatrice-otter]

Hokay. This is not what actually happened.

First, as to the strike, I assume you're talking about the railroad strike? Yes, Biden did work to avert the strike in enforcing a deal that gave the rail workers some (but not all) of what they were asking for. And then he kept pressuring the rail companies for further concessions, which was one factor in why they got the rest of their terms a few months later. In other words, Biden tried (and succeeded) in working to see that the rail workers got their demands WITHOUT having a strike which would have hurt the national economy. Most of the credit goes to the rail union and workers, of course, but it's not a case of Biden breaking a strike in the classical sense. He prevented it but kept working to support them in other ways. (And at the same time he pushed through a Railway Safety Act to improve railway safety and increase the fines for rail companies doing unsafe things.)

As for his support of unions, Biden is the first President to join a picket line. Presidents have traditionally been supposed to position themselves as above the fray and not get dragged into disputes if at all possible. They're not supposed to say "no, this side is right and that side is wrong." Biden flat-out said "the union is right and the corporation is wrong." First time a President has ever been willing to do that. Sure, it's a publicity stunt. But no other President has ever been willing to do it even as a publicity stunt.

As for student debt: it wasn't Congress that stopped his initial sweeping plan, it was the Supreme Court (stacked with conservatives). Most presidents would shrug and give up. Not Biden. Biden said, "okay, we're going to do this the hard way then." And started looking for every loophole he could exploit ... and the dude is fucking good at finding loopholes. He has expanded a TON of student loan forgiveness programs and debt relief programs. His initial plan would have canceled up to $400 billion in debt for about 43 million borrowers. Through various loopholes and expanded programs, he's managed to forgive $138 billion for 3.9 million borrowers. So it's about 1/4 of his initial try ... and it's concentrated on the people in greatest financial need. It's far more than any previous President or congress has accomplished. More needs to be done, but it's amazing given the Supreme Court's ruling.

As for sending military aid to Israel, yeah, that sucks. HOWEVER. Israel is a US ally, and has been since the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948. The relationship is very firmly entrenched. There is zero chance of getting a President who is not in favor of maintaining our alliance with Israel. (However, US support of Palestinians is also firmly entrenched; we spend a lot of money every year on development and humanitarian aid in Gaza and the West Bank.) And a congress supports Israel, too! Biden didn't override congress when he sent that aid, he just cut through some red tape. Congress supported it. But let's take a look at what Biden has done since the initial military aid deal. He's upped the humanitarian aid to Palestinians several times, which is kinda tepid considering he's also funding the military that makes them need humanitarian aid, but would you rather he didn't? He's started sanctions against Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians in the West Bank. He's stated publicly that he supports a two-state solution--that is, carve up the current nation of Israel and make two countries so the Palestinians have their own country. Which is a massive change in US policy. And Biden has been pressuring Israel to stop the attacks and work towards peace. (Another article on that.)

Contrast that with Trump who is a friend of Netanyahu, hates Muslims, and actively supports genocide. His response to the whole situation has been to say that he would bring back--and expand!--the Muslim ban he enacted as President.

There’s some common threads I see in the anti-voting posts going around, and I feel like I need to discuss some of them. Let’s start with the biggest one:

Voting to punish evil. I see lots of variations of this. Biden is supporting Israel, therefore we can’t vote for him. Is there any viable candidate who would stop the genocide? I don’t think the anti voting crowd actually cares. They are appealing to moral feelings rather than political strategy, because strategically, you have to realize that voting is not going to change foreign policy, and that change has to be pushed by other means. It’ll probably be something in the long haul.

Democrats should run someone else. First of all, this is a shit strategy. You don’t primary your president in the second term unless your party is falling apart. This may come from people from countries where replacing the head of government is easier, but the POTUS is the de facto party head. Also, going to the lack of thought to the goal — do you know someone willing to primary Biden and able to win who would do the things you want.

Biden hasn’t done anything anyway. This is just a way to bat away pro arguments. There’s plenty of lists of progress on lots of things. Student loans, insulin price caps, regulations, anti-trust.

Putting the entire Palestinian genocide on Biden. I’m not saying there’s not culpability there, but understand that the entire US government is in support of Israel, on both sides. It was a miracle we got a handful of Senators to call for investigations. We should cut off aid, absolutely. Who’s running to do that? And keep in mind that Israel chose to engage. US officials would have liked a more limited response, not out of care for Palestinians, but because they know from experience that it will come back to bite Israel in the form of newly radicalized Hamas recruits.

Liberals just have no hope for change. This is a new one. Just some idea that people are stuck in a rut and that’s the reason the two party system exists. The two party system is a mathematical consequence of the way we vote. There is reason to hope for change. The change, though, whatever means you choose, will take decades. Keep working at it. The hope is not that this election will fundamentally change things. The hope is that many small political actions over the years will push things forward.

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen a whole lot of third party promotion, just lots of this rhetoric aiming to punish. When voting, ask yourself:

Is this problem I have with this candidate something that the other candidate would be better on?

Are there other political actions I can take that will help?

What things can change with a different President or Congress, and what needs to be pursued by other means?

Withholding your vote as a punishment isn’t really going to help. Biden doesn’t know who you are or why you are not voting for him, and there is no one with a chance of winning that will do everything you want. But you have other means. Protest, organize, donate, build up alternatives, advocate for a different system.

Vote to give yourself space and get a little bit. Do other things to keep things moving.

[thewritingcoroner]

It's I'm bitter about religion time. And by religion I really mean Christianity.

What is it with Christians that scream and shout about other people needing to "respect their religion" but then the MOMENT someone does respectfully disagree with them, or even just openly says "I don't believe what you believe and that's okay" they whine and cry and complain about being oppressed???

Like why do I have to be respectful in the face of Christian fascism just because people I love are Christian? But nobody has to show me respect because I'm an atheist?? My Jewish friend regularly has to deal with direct and overt antisemitism everywhere she goes, she's very devoted to her faith and observes her culture with care and dignity and defends herself when it is safe to do so (and sometimes when its not, looking at you German airport security). Never once has she looked at me and said that my lack of religion was wrong or that I would change my mind one day. (Real quotes from actual Christians)

My Muslim friends loved partying with me, not because they drank or ate what I did but because they liked watching me make a fool of myself. Never once did they feel the need to tell me I was living my life wrong. (Real quote from actual christians) They did of course make sure to video me dancing on tables. But I feel that's fair.

My Sikh friends rarely spoke about their own religion, only in the context of "I'm not Muslim but Islamophobia is directed at me too" during our discussions.

My Buddhist friends always showed me respect in return for my own. They don't care if I eat meat as long as I didn't try to manipulate them into eating it.

I've met many different types of Christians of many different sects and what they all have in common is this oppression complex like they're somehow the victims of other people disagreeing with them. I literally have never had a single problem with anyone of any other faith EVER. But Christians just can't handle the diversity of an entire goddamn planet.

It's always "I demand respect for my beliefs!" But then when you say "cool believe what you want, I'm still going to live my life how I see fit" and they're all offended that you could possibly hurt them in this way.

Anyway I have a hard time respecting any Christians at this point. Like you can be all "I respect everyone, I'm not like those other Christians!!" But at the end of the day it's about action and I haven't seen a single Christian ever in my life put their own pride to the side to show me respect in return for respect for them.

[lorei-writes]

Basic Guide on How Not To: Slavic Characters

Well, as most of you have probably realised by now, I’m Polish. Truthfully, I am quite upset now. I generally tend to avoid most content involving Slavic people, because well, stereotypes are plentiful and I have only one stomach - there is only so much anger I can fit inside of it. However, this time I was merrily watching an episode of a series, for goodnight sleep, and got smacked in the face with just that... So, I suppose, let’s use my anger towards something - hopefully - productive. This is a very hard post for me to write. It may be closer to my personal experience, although I did try to be more general.

Contents:

Where Do I Even Begin or Sad Slav Filter

Common Stereotypes - Professions & Jobs

Common Stereotypes - Characteristics

Few basic issues with languages & names

Where Do I Even Begin or Sad Slav Filter

Grey buildings, empty plazas, ominous blocks of flats with walls up to the very sky. Snow. Gloom faces. Dark nights. Red. Gold.

To start with, be aware that this sort of image is oftentimes not only written into stories or presented in picture-based media, but that I had the displeasure of seeing it being used for cover art for several books.

What I jokingly call sad Slav filter is presenting the reality of Eastern Europe* through, well, pessimistic glasses. The architecture speaks of terror, of being post-communist state, of never having recovered. The streets portrayed in such fashion are gloom, unwelcoming, threatening in a way. Winter is oftentimes the season of choice, to add an extra layer of depressive atmosphere and cold. Nobody smiles. One may say that usage of gold and red brightens the image - however, those connect directly to the communist flag, thus locking the entire space in a rather obvious context.

The reality?

Yes, old blocks of flats built in 60s or so still exist. Some are even grey and in dire need of being re-painted! However... Many are not in such a state. In Poland, the common colours for elevation of such buildings are white, pastel orange, pastel yellow and pastel green, oftentimes put together in combination of stripes or other geometric shapes. What also should be noted is that such estates were designed with plenty trees and other plants around them in mind, as to accommodate for a development of a community - especially for older blocks of flats, those are most likely situated nearby a primary school and a kindergarten, not to mention stores and other services. It is not uncommon for playgrounds to be present as well. You could also expect small flower gardens.

Parks exist here. Architecture does not begin and end at the blocks of flats, especially not in the major cities - most, if not all, have old towns or historical representative streets. Buildings dating back to medieval still do exist in plenty of places. Churches & Tserkovs - those are oftentimes tourists sites for a reason! 

It may happen that the side of a building will be decorated with a mural. It is not very common, but does happen. Here are some examples (from Poland). The designs sometimes relate to other works of art, or to some forms of traditional art.

mural by NeSpoon, a street artist who incorporates motives of koronka ludowa [a type of lace] into her artwork

Overall, I come from a poorer region of Poland, from a small town to add to that. The one thing I would list about it? Flower gardens. All of my neighbours had flower gardens in front of their houses. In the recent years, I’ve seen plenty of new houses being built, plenty of renovations being made. Especially in spring and summer, it is all far from grey. Some major cities started investing in fields of wild flowers, as to aid pollinators. And winters? Well, the way it should be (as climate change shows and I have not seen a proper winter in a while), they should be snowy. Yes, it may involve a rather depressing image, at least in places where snow cannot just rest over the ground and glitter... But I do think it may be the case in plenty parts of Europe, as winter days are overall shorter as well, which hardly helps :”) Eastern Europe as a region is not locked in an eternal winter.

People may not be smiling, but they are not frowning either - it is the... Neutral resting face.

*- that being said, Eastern Europe is not inhabited only by Slavic people, even if it is often presented like so

Common Stereotypes - Professions & Jobs

List of common stereotypical jobs/professions usually performed by characters of Slavic descent:

a member of a mafia (Russian mafia)

a drug dealer

a spy

a prostitute

a maid / a cleaner

As you can see, nearly all of those involve crime, the only exception being a maid / a cleaner (which, I’d argue, speaks of a lower socio-economic status). If you do not plan to have more than one Slavic character in your work, I advise you to avoid those - especially if you wanted to make your character Russian. I do not think I have to explain why representing a group of people nearly exclusively as criminals is hurtful. 

Certain stereotypes exist in media. They do influence the reality. I have seen covers of books about spy programs (non-fiction, referencing an issue from 2000s) which involved clear references to communism (+ used the most hideous Sad Slav Filter I have ever seen). The title suggested all Russians are spies. This is not okay.

If you want to have a character who is performing any of the above, and want to make them Slavic, but then never have their heritage influence anything about them - ask yourself why.

EDIT: Do allow me to also add that being a sex-worker may not be a choice for all Slavic women. Sex-trafficking of Eastern Europeans is a real issue. You should be mindful of that when writing a story - even more so as it affects some countries more than others. Research is due.

Common Stereotypes - Characteristics

Common hurtful characteristics in depicting slavic characters:

uneducated or otherwise stupid

rude, loud, uncultured, violent

an alcoholic / addicted to drugs

extremely conservative / religious

Do I have to explain it? Yes, alcoholism is a social issue, same as addiction to drugs. Yes, some people are conservative and / or religious. However! We are not a monolith! Social issues are not the general rule! 

Scale of conservativeness and religiousness also differs greatly by age group and region. In Poland we have an entire category of practising atheists - non-believers, usually from smaller communities, who appear in church once or twice a year, despite not believing. Due to social pressure. What religion? This differs greatly too! Roman catholic, Greek orthodox, Muslim? Slavic people are not a monolith.

(about women specifically):

beautiful (must put plenty effort in her physical appearance)

looks for a rich (western) husband

submissive

obedient 

Well. This ties into the greater issue of objectification and sexualisation of Slavic and Eastern European women. Admittedly, such portrayal [including all of those] is more so present in online spaces, if you turn a few wrong corners down the roads of the internet :) It is dehumanising.

If your Slavic character happens to be a woman and must be extremely sexy femme fatal spy - this reeks of stereotypes.

Few basic issues with languages & names

As I’ve hinted already, it appears that oftentimes Slavic = Russian. This, however, is not true, both language-wise and culture-wise. Despite sharing some common elements, Slavic cultures do differ. Polish characters, unless they are 50+ years old, won’t generally speak Russian. Czech and Ukrainian are different. Ukrainian is not just another version of Russian.

I decided to single out this paragraph for one reason: authors oftentimes do not bother to check for appropriate names and just use whatever seems right. If you want to write a Slavic character, do make some research. 

The common mess-ups I’ve seen:

inappropriate form of the surname (about Russian surnames in particular; giving a woman a male version of the surname, giving a man the female version of the surname - Slavic languages are heavily gendered!)

claiming a character is of nationality B, while giving them a surname which is most definitely speaking of nationality A (e.g: Polish character with a clearly Hungarian name & surname)

wrong spelling

using very rare forms of names for all the characters written into the story (it sounds very unnatural - in one particular case it seemed to have been done on purpose, as I’ve had to google whether some names were even names. They were used as code names for few organisations during WWII. That sort of uncommon).

nicknames derived from the actual names that would not work at all (Żegota -> Zeg; It just would not work like this. It would be literally more likely for a character named Żegota to be nicknamed/renamed Staszek than for somebody to call him Zeg. It does not only not include the ż sound, but it also ends with g - which a Polish person would simplify to k when speaking. In other words Zeg -> zek. This, meanwhile, is not only not exactly pleasant to say, but it also sounds like a grammatical form of another word, albeit pronounced with a heavy lisp - “river”; It is possible to find appropriate nicknames online).

Also, unless you want for some character to be a dick, do not make them purposefully mispronounce the name of a Slavic character or have them name them after an object/thing. (Calling “Maciej” by “Magic” because they can’t be bothered to learn to pronounce the name or at least try to get it close is not nice).

[chit-a-to]

❗❗ TW ❗❗ sexual assault

Her statement scared me... Like... Okay I got it, when I was still a kid I used to like (much) older guys, too, maybe like 10 yrs older or something. But then as I grew up I realized that even though it was a harmless crush, it's still dangerous and morally wrong to build a relationship between a minor and an adult. Still, it is understandable because as a kid we're still learning and cannot really differentiate yet as to what is morally wrong or not.

Now if this Lina person said that when they (sauceribs) were kids they thought Rin was going to ended up with Sesshomaru, shouldn't they be growing out of that mindset? Because they're adults now and they should've learned that romanticizing a minor and adult can be constituted as supporting grooming which is part of pedophilic behavior. Even if she they said that "it's just a drawing! it's not a big deal!", then again every time there's an animation that features POC or people from non-christian religions (e.g. buddhists muslims, &c.) as the main characters, we called them "representation". So, what makes it so different when it's a child or a teenager on screen? Won't it represents children/teenagers/young adults, too?

What I'm afraid of is not her mere statement, but what it might implies. If sauceribs' ways of thinking are like that, and they all now are adult, I'm afraid that they might let that mindset seeped into their every day's life. For example, they see a 20 yrs old something man hitting on a teenage girl and they'll be thinking "Oh yeah, that's totally fine. The girl definitely wants to be with him."

And that's on a very basic and very common example of what grooming looks like in our modern society. But there are also child predators who is unheard of with appearance like a good, law-abiding citizen. Who knows that one of them are a mangaka? 👀 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not saying that if you support sessrin then you'll become a pedophile. What I mean is that if you couldn't realize the disturbing nature of their relationship, it could potentially blind your judgement towards similar cases, real life or not.

Oh and one more thing. It seems that raisins and proshippers always deflect antis' statement with "So if you think that liking sessrin making me a lolicon/groomer supporter, then by that logic I wanna be a murderer too if I watch anime that has murder scenes huh?"

That's a good analogy and I've been thinking about it, too. But after some pondering, I don't think those are the same thing. Because, in the case of murder, we have been thought ever since we're little kids that it's bad to hurt other living creatures. So, even if we watch anime/movies with the MC being a killer, we'll realized - albeit unconsciously - that that's a wrong thing and we shouldn't do that. Only in some unfortunate (and extreme) cases where people are actually get inspired to murder other people or kill animals after watching anime/movies with that theme.... [1] [2].

Meanwhile, as for the case of grooming &/ other sexual abuse, we learned about all of that only recently, and just bit by bit too, thanks to the increased interest in law protection for women and especially for survivors who are brave enough to share their stories. Most of the time we can't sniffed it out immediately, particularly if we haven't known the couple for a long time or their background stories, because we've been told that "it's not our business" to know what's happening between a couple. That's why seeing a seemingly innocent couple in an anime/movie and being told "that man/woman sexually abuses his/her partner!" feels like a foreign thing to us, and of course for the die hard fans of the couple it feels like an insult hence the denial and deflection.

Again, if you wanna ask "wtf does the anime/movies couples hv to do with rl cases? 👿👿". Then I wanna ask you too, can you look at a teenager or a young adult who has been a real victim of sexual abuse and think "poor little thing..." but then proceed to watch an anime/movie that portrays a character with similar backstory? Will you be irked by the similarity or will you keep gushing over it?

In conclusion, justifying/normalizing sexual abuse in a mainstream media can leads you to justifying/normalizing sexual abuse in real life, too.

[punemy-spotted]

The Cut

Pairing: Helmut Zemo x Muslim-Coded Reader

Warnings: Explicit Content; Smut; Oral Sex (F-receiving); Discussion of FGM/Clitorectomy; Allusions to Child Abuse; Allusions to Scars; Angst; Mention Cutting;

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary: You cannot carry all your pain on your own.

Author’s Notes: When I was five years old, I was subjected to a clitorectomy, a procedure that was a violation of my human rights and bodily autonomy. It has fundamentally changed the way I view my sexuality and challenged my ability to see myself as a person worthy of sexual pleasure and love. This procedure was done very deliberately to make me a person who did not have sexual autonomy and did not derive pleasure from sex. And for a long time, it worked.

When Dibs at @gotnofucks #dibspositivitychallenge came out, it really only felt right to do a piece that represented this story, because if I don’t give voice to this pain, then there’s a good chance no one else will either. Which is why I’m submitting it as part of the challenge — and it was a challenge! I’ve alluded to FGM in other, now mostly-abandoned pieces, but never anything where it is acknowledged and soothed, and for the most part, endured it alone.

And before this note becomes almost as long as the piece, thank you, @gotnofucks, for the opportunity to be okay with the things we are not.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

No, not like that.

Helmut Zemo invades your life like a virus, consumes your loneliness in greedy kisses, winds his arms around you like he might just swallow your pleasure whole, might make you a part of him to carry away forever. Bare yourself to him and he might sink his fangs into you, drain you of all your fears and leave only obsession in its wake, might turn you into the same cold lover as him, might just make you fall in love.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

You are soft and delicate and precious under his lingering gaze, under appraising fingers, under appreciative hums. He bids you Lay still, sweetling, bids you Let me look at you, bids you You are a masterpiece made flesh, and you believe him, and you forget.

You forget, as he claims your soft mouth with his own, willing and wanting. You forget, as his tongue explores the pleasurable symphony of your surrender. You forget, you forget everything. There is only the hunger of his lust, the wanting he leaves on your skin, marking you with nips of teeth and suckling kisses, makes a game of your yelps and whimpers, chuckles against your tender form, So needy for me, sweetling.

And you are.

Helmut, you plead, running fingers through his hair as he simpers with lips wrapped around the pebbled skin of your breast, watching him wide-eyed and enamored, a halo of dark locks around your face and you are made of adoration and to be adored.

Darling, he purrs, fingers sliding along your sides, Do you trust me?

And oh.

Oh, you do.

Let him kiss along the planes of your body, let him love the soft lines of you in the early morning light and bid you spread your legs for him Yes just like that, darling, good girl…

Helmut Zemo hums against your skin, takes in the sight of you full of want and wanting, your hands tangled in silk sheets and lips curved around the praise of your love and he is lost to you just the same.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

The softness of your sex is an intoxicant and the kisses he places to the plush apex of you is a whisper of a promise, seeking the sweetness of you on his senses and if he notices the scars where the missing parts of you are then he does not speak and if he notices the way your breath hitches and you tense then he does not speak. He only presses the flat of his tongue against that which you have, taking a decadent lap of your sweetness while you whine and if there are tears in your eyes, sweetling, let him pause to wipe them away, let him watch you in adoring silence to see if you will utter to him the words which will put a stop to this worship and bring about another kind. You are exalted and let him raise you to the heavens just like this, Just like this, sweetling.

He does not devour you, he is no beast, but he does drink of your pleasure, letting his tongue delve into your softness. Gentle hands holding you in place, encouraging you to surrender, writhe and move and let him nuzzle deeper, let him moan, soft and hungry against the feast he adores so much and when you surrender, sweetness, he is overcome.

The first time he touches you, he asks nothing.

The first time he touches you, he sees everything.

Does it hurt?

The next time he touches you, he is curled around you in bed, fingers languid and lazy against the plushness of your sex, finding the space where nerves are made scars and watching you turn, watching your eyes grow desperate and realize he saw and he touched and he loved you anyway and you say nothing at first, not until he asks again, Does it hurt you, sweetling?

Sometimes.

But today?

No.

Will you tell me?

Someday.

And he asks nothing further, only whether you are warm and comfortable here in this home he had made out of your bed and when you nod he is calmed and when you nod he is taking another hungry kiss from your plush mouth and when you nod he is patient.

He is always patient, and careful, and skilled, and waiting.

One day it does hurt, and for once, you do not hurt alone.

One day it does hurt and you tell him.

He holds you while you cry, just as he is, kissing your fingers and promising divinity in your adoration and you tell him of the girl you once were and you speak of the knives and the crimes and he listens.

He listens and in his heart, he simmers with the pain and rage you have absorbed for all your years, the iceberg shelves of his heart cracking under the weight of your hurt and your confession and he asks no questions but sweetling, you tell him every word, pressed against his chest and tears in your eyes, Let yourself cry, darling, and Helmut Zemo might be a murderer and an extremist and a villain but in this moment he is yours and there are no greater villains than the ones who drove you to this, who charged a child with crimes she did not know the names of, demanding reparation from her in her blood and flesh.

So you tell him. You tell him of the dusty hospital and the sneering faces. You tell him how your mother could not bring herself to come with you and so you stood, too young to remember your native tongue with no interpreter to make your grandmothers understand that you were afraid.

You tell him of a bird with her wings clipped before she even knew she could have flown, you tell him how you thought you would never, you tell him how it used to hurt and sweetness… you tell him how you thought he would leave you if he saw.

It’s not their fault, you tell him too, and he does not believe you but it is not his place to tell you what to feel and so instead he runs fingers through your hair and holds you to his chest and kisses your temple.

It’s not their fault, you insist, They trusted the wrong people, they were misled, they—

They are not yours to defend, sweetling, he tells you in his softest voice, breaking you from your guilt, They are not yours to justify.

And so you do not give it.

You give nothing, only your tears to a man who demands nothing, only bids you seek refuge in what safety he can give but sweetness he knows the meaning of revenge and the power of loathing and you have carried your burden for so long and justice has failed you so often — Let me carry this pain with you, my darling — and oh sweetness, you will.

You will, and he will carry you through the days you try to give a name to your anguish.

You will, and he will find the means to demand the justice you were denied because you deserve your justice, because you cannot be allowed to hurt while they go home and pretend they are correct to do this to you and your sisters in faith.

You will.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

No, not like that.

Not when he shows you how wrong they were.

[fromthefishbowl]

Can you elaborate on how they don’t see Marwan as a person please ?

Okay, so... here's the thing: most, if not all, the people who claim to be constantly working against racism in fandom are, themselves, so fucking racist it's incredible. Racist and xenophobic and antisemitic and overcompensating like hell because they know they're shitty people but actually working through their problems is too hard so they have to pretend it's the others, who are racist and xenophobic and antisemitic.

They pretend to like Marwan because they can use him as a prop for their internet wokeness and virtue signalling, and they pretend to care about racism in fandom spaces because it's one of the easiest ways to gain attention and followers. But we all have seen what they do when one of them is outed as being actually racist to the point of using racial slurs against MENA people: they fall into silence and make excuses and then get mad when people won't let them move on as if nothing happened because they think they didn't do anything wrong ever. Sending death threats, rape threats, insults, harassment, writing slurs against the people they pretend to be campaigning for... all this shit is normal, to them.

Their attitude towards people like Marwan pops out when they interact with actual MENA and Muslim people: they belittle them, insult them, send them links to articles written by white Americans about how to discuss Islam.

Just look at how they write Nicky: they perceive him as "white" - lmao - so they use him as the token racist character that can embody their dumb thoughts about Joe/Marwan - which... again, it's incredible how xenophobic these people are too. Like, it's clear that they are in this fandom because "brown man give us brown points uwu" and they couldn't give a shit about any of the characters, not even Joe, because if they actually cared they wouldn't have propped up an artist who draws him a thousand shades darker than how he actually is -. So Nicky, the character who is canonically always shown as being head over heels for Joe, turns into a racist, ignorant gremlin uncaring of his husband's culture and who doesn't respect him.

Like... even the whole debacle of "if Nicky rapes Joe it's fine because colonialism" is so fucking stupid. These people just like to imagine Joe/Marwan being abused. It's a fetish they turned into morality. Like... it's fine if you want to be fucked by Luca, you don't have to make up a discourse around it. You're fine with the thought of being dicked down by Chris Evans, you should be fine with the thought of being dicked down by Luca Marinelli too. Literally the only difference is that you're xenophobic and it really shows.

But to go back to Marwan... I was talking about it with a fandom friend, and they said that they like to "defang" him and his characters: they are scared of him, so they need to neuter him, take away from him any characteristics that make him """big""" and """scary""". It really says something, the fact that Len the Defender of the Weak Moroccan People and Undiscussed Maghrebi Princess, in that long ass post about how much of a victim she is, talked about MENA men being dangerous thugs and used Majid as inspiration: she couldn't make him defenseless and small and uwu, because Majid is aggressive, hot headed, a criminal - which... what a fucking shallow read of his character, my god - so he scared her and was the first thought when she came up with the idea of "lemme write a woe is me post and include how dangerous and unruly the MENA men I know are".

So when they write Joe they make sure to eliminate every possible thing that scares them. Canonically, Joe is protective, active, aggressive when people hurt his family; he is open and charismatic and loves deeply, but he also doesn't forgive easily; he hunts down Keane with the specific purpose of murdering him for having shot his husband and insists that Booker needs to be exiled for a hundred years for what he did; he is not religious in any possible way, and when he swears, he says the names of Catholic saints. But he can't be these things, because Marwan is a brown man - fuck, how much I hate relegating people to their race. So fucking American, I swear - and if a brown man does these things then he scares them, so they turn him into this... weak, demure creature who cannot get mad because otherwise it's racist, who cannot stand up for himself and his family because otherwise it's racist, who cannot do this or that because otherwise it's racist. They make him religious to the point of being almost a fundamentalist, but orientalize Islam by taking away any restrictive aspects and make it all flowers and rainbows. They write Joe as the stereotype of the Noble Savage: he can only be positive things because somehow he hasn't been corrupted by the evil white civilization to the point that he even lets his husband insult him. Ooooh, how big is their Joe's heart!

And the same thing is applied to how they want people to perceive Marwan: he's just a widdle boi. When people were joking about him being a Dutch fuckboi - which... he is, he really is -, they were going mad and saying it was racist. Why would it be racist? How? Because Len told you about that stereotype about MENA men she got completely wrong? Marwan is a charismatic, handsome guy who clearly knows how he looks and who works in an industry where he is constantly around people who are as beautiful and charismatic as him. He is aware of how good looking he is. He talked in interviews about how he likes to "chat up girls". He makes fun of it himself, and yet we can't talk about it because "Brown man with a sexual life they can't control" scares them, it makes him an actual person and not just a picture or a video they can reblog with dumb tags about his looks immediately followed by racial slurs.

They defang him. They neuter him. They take away his humanity because, if Marwan were human, he'd have "bad" characteristics too, and they just can't have that because then he'd become scary again.

And like... let's always remember that when Len saw him with a look she didn't like and that made him look like probably 50% of MENA men who are over a certain age, her first instinct was to insult him with a racial slur and think it was something cute to do.