#you don't understand how damaging your rhetoric is

[ravi-is-my-beloved]

"You have to think about Tommy's past—"

No, I don't. Not when we don't even know his past. You can't say he's had a troubled past filled with oppression when we don't know that. A throwaway line about his father being like Gerrard is not confirmation that Tommy was discriminated against by his own father for being perceived as a gay man.

"It was a survival instinct—"

No, it wasn't. It wasn't a survival instinct when he called Hen bitchy or was racist towards Chimney. Because you don't even know if he was doing it to protect himself since again, we don't know shit about his past before he was with the 118. The survival instinct y'all claim he had as an excuse against his racism and misogyny is fanon.

Some of y'all to talk about toxic fans and then excuse racism and misogyny because your favorite character is a gay man. Being gay doesn't excuse it, being oppressed doesn't excuse oppressing other people.

[cripplecharacters]

Does Your Scarred Character Have to Hate Themself?

[large text: Does Your Scarred Character Have to Hate Themself?]

(TLDR: no. literally no.)

A frequent topic that shows up around facial differences is the self-hatred, self-disgust, self-insert-negative-emotion that we must surely experience. I want to ask* writers without FDs - why? Why do you feel about us in such a way that that's the most common way of depicting us?

*- rhetorical question. I promise I know the answers, but I'm not sure if writers do.

It's frankly worrying to me. Is it really that common to assume that disabled people have this internal, never-ending hatred for themselves? The overwhelming majority of us don't. We hate inaccessibility, when people stare, or some symptoms when they get in the way, or how expensive being disabled is, but I find the concept of us being so completely disturbed by our own disabilities extremely strange. It’s “tragedy porn” intersecting “most basic ableism”.

“But trauma!”

[large text: “But trauma!”]

Trauma of what! People with facial differences don't have some sort of default trauma that we come with like it’s a factory setting. We are a group of people with tens of thousands of stories and experiences!

“Trauma of experiencing ableism/disfiguremisia” - that's better, at least this means something. If you're writing a story about this, please get a sensitivity reader with a facial difference. You can assume how we feel all you want, but in my experience these assumptions are often bizarre and unrealistic. Or just end up writing the same “disability so sad” sob story that everyone has seen a billion times. If you want to write about disfiguremisia, you need to understand the nuance and have more than just the basic level knowledge (which 99% of people don’t have either). If you can’t do that, don’t write about it. Simple as that.

“Trauma of the accident” - thankfully, the accident is an event and a facial difference is a disability. If you want to connect these two like they're one and the same, you're almost surely going to demonize disability. People with traumatic spinal cord injuries, acquired amputees, people with TBI, people with acquired facial differences - we participate in our communities, we have hobbies, we date, we play with our dogs. Disability isn't a death sentence. Media who make it feel like it is certainly don't help people who do suddenly become disabled, don't you think?

Here's a post by @blindbeta about blind characters becoming blind through trauma that’s better made than anything I could hope to write here. I heavily recommend giving it a read.

And, I can't stress this enough - most of us didn't have “the accident”, most of us are born like this! "Traumatic scars" isn't the only facial difference that exists, far from it, it's only one of thousands. It's 99% of our representation and "representation". If you want to make a character with FD - please consider that we aren't a monolith. Just like not all physical disabilities are "wheelchair user with paralysis", not all facial differences are "traumatic scar with somehow no nerve damage".

The overrepresentation of it is incredibly telling, and sometimes - or very frequently - feels like the writer doesn’t actually even want to deal with us. They want to use our disability as a way to cheap drama, moral metaphors, tragic backstories. Not to represent us as living people who are much more similar to you than you apparently think.

Now, I do have enough awareness to know that that's a big part of the appeal. “Horrific Thing #2456 happens” and boom, instant drama! Of course, it's a reasonable response that they would hide their disability for years, avoid talking about it in any way, and magically change their personality to be mean and reclusive, or at least be constantly soooo sad about how much it sucks to be disabled, right?

Do I really need to say that having your character becoming disabled be the worst thing ever is ableism 101? We have been talking about this for so long at this point. Writing about the process of adapting to a specific disability is better left to people who have actual experience in it.

To give an example that will hopefully resonate more with Tumblr users, I will use the fact that I'm also gay. It's not perfect by any means but probably much more familiar territory.

Imagine, let's say, a character. He's gay. The story he's in is supposedly progressive, certainly not trying to be homophobic. The character has experienced an incident, maybe an act of aggression or a hate crime, that happened because he’s gay, which was traumatic. Happens IRL, sure. So of course the character starts hating being gay. He talks about how gross and disgusting it is, he never lets anyone know that he could be “one of them”, certainly not take a stance against homophobia. You can't mention him without mentioning the accident, they're seemingly fused together. No gay love, joy, even basic happiness, he would actually choose to be straight in a heartbeat if given the option to and complains that he can't. This is shown as a neutral, obvious thing that a gay man would do, no one comments on it. He stays like this the whole time, unless there’s a plot twist in the last 10 pages where the world is now magically perfect ("we fixed discrimination, yay!"). This is the only LGBT character in the story.

Keep in mind that there are people similar to this in real life, living with extreme internalized homophobia.

Is this, in your opinion, realistic and thoughtful representation? How does it feel when written by a cishet writer, versus a gay writer who is recalling his experiences? Do you think that it's reasonable for the majority of media representation to be like this, or very close to it? How would it affect younger gay people who might already be uncomfortable with being queer? Are gay men the target audience, or are they not even considered as a group of people who read books? Is this helping or damaging the general public's idea of how it is to be gay? Why or why not?

The Masterpiece

[large text: The Masterpiece]

From 13 to 19 of May, we are celebrating Face Equality week (what a coincidence!). It’s important to me in general - and I wish it was more important to abled people, but I digress - especially its theme for this year.

“My Face is a Masterpiece”

Great statement, it represents the community well, I do enjoy how bold it is. Very cool stuff, I love the work our advocates are doing!

But why do I bring this up?

Well, to very non-subtly show that we aren’t a self-hating group of people. We are a community, a community saying “our faces are beautiful, look!”, we are saying “treat us equally, and do it now!”. Our activism isn’t about self-disgust. It’s about fighting your-disgust. 

Why can’t writers keep up? Why are you still stuck decades behind?

Is this the only reason I bring it up?

The Call to Celebration

[large text: The Call to Celebration]

FEI, the org behind organizing it, asks a very simple question (emphasis mine):

“Why do we so often see stories about facial difference as a ‘tragedy’, when they should be about triumph?” “Calling all artists, allies, creatives, galleries.  You can rewrite the story to bring about #FaceEquality and celebrate the unique artistry found in every face. Your participation this #FaceEqualityWeek will help to tell the real story, that there is a masterpiece in every face.”

Here. We are calling for you to stop. Directly from the biggest international advocacy alliance group that's out there. If you create, this is for you.

The last argument to not have your character with a facial difference hate themselves? Because we don’t want this. We are tired and frustrated. For me personally, I’m also offended by this kind of assumption. We aren’t tragedies or cheap entertainment for abled people to pity or be horrified by. We are people, and if you can’t internalize that, you have no reason to write about us.

For once, celebrate us. Happy Face Equality Week!

mod Sasza

[hoosbandewan]

No matter who someone votes for does not make them a bad person. If someone votes differently than you and you find that as a reason to not support them then you are part of the problem. I'm thankfully open-minded and glad I can have Democrat and Republican friends and we can all still be friends even with different beliefs and opinions. I don't understand how anyone can have that mindset.... You want Peace and love but are the first ones to throw someone under the bus if they think differently than you do.

And using Ewan to push your thoughts is shameful

Having friends on both sides of the aisle is fine. Having a difference in opinions is fine. I think it can be incredibly damaging for people to get caught in an echo chamber and be surrounded only by people who share their same viewpoint. And the fact that we can all have our own thoughts and opinions is what makes a free country like the U.S. so wonderful.

I even know a good number of Republicans and conservative-leaning people who didn't and wouldn't vote for Trump. And, you see, that's the difference.

Voting for Trump.

You cannot, in good conscience, look me in the eye and tell me that casting a vote for Donald Trump makes you a good person. I could have forgiven a Trump vote in 2016, but not in 2020 and certainly not in 2024.

Trump attempted to overturn a democratic election and was indicted for it. And on that day, he voiced support for the Capitol rioters who wanted to hang his vice president for failing to reject the electoral votes that proved Biden's win.

Trump nominated Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v. Wade, a move that has already killed women and will continue killing people. In Texas alone, the maternal death rate rose by 56% between 2019 and 2022, the year that Roe was overturned. Since the reversal, the infant mortality rate has risen by 7% nationally - and by 13% in Texas alone.

Trump is unapologetically and unabashedly racist, displaying repeated and disturbing rhetoric aimed at immigrants, Mexicans, black Americans, Haitians, Muslims, and more. In his first term, he instituted new procedural barriers to prevent immigrants from seeking asylum in America. He put migrant children in cages. He has unjustly called for the death penalty for numerous people of color - remember the Central Park 5?

Trump has threatened to deploy the military and law enforcement to target his political opponents and left-leaning Americans.

Trump rolled back almost 100 policies focused on clean air, water, wildlife, and toxic chemicals in an era when mitigating climate change is more important than ever. And he plans on gutting even more.

Trump is a convicted felon with 34 felony counts under his belt.

Trump has shown time and time again that his views and policies align with fascist ideals. He wants very, very badly to turn the U.S. democracy into an authoritarian regime.

And if this isn't enough, Trump has been endorsed by the KKK since his 2016 campaign. He's the golden child of white supremacists and white nationalists everywhere.

So, yeah. If this is your guy, I don't want fucking anything to do with you.

I am so sick and tired of Trump supporters crying about peace and love and civility and "oh, but where are the tolerant left?" when they turn right around and vote for Donald Trump.

You don’t get to hold abhorrent views and beliefs and then be friends with us. You don’t get to be friendly to our faces all while supporting a man who wants us dead or oppressed. You can't profess to love your fellow Americans if you are condemning them.

I don't want to hang out with racists and fascists. Because if you choose to support and vote for a racist, fascist, misogynistic, dangerous person, then that makes you one, too.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

"Mind my own business"

Sure. Right as soon as you stop advocating for people with mental health issues to be able to slip through the cracks and cut off body parts before they understand the gravity of having it happen.

The medical oath says to "do no harm" if a 14 y/o, decides "I don't want kids" you'd be a MORON to even consider it. Biology is a funny thing. And when your clock starts ticking, you tend to want to have kids. However how most people or doesn't kick in until they're late 20's early 30's. After 36 for women, there's a lot of risk in both child birth, and the health and development of the child.

By the same metric kids can't make those choices. They CAN'T understand the gravity of those choices. Because those choices sterilize them, can damage their growth, cause chronic illnesses like early onset osteoporosis. But you wouldn't know that would you. Of course not. And sure bodily autonomy is a thing but not when that requires the actions of another person.

You can shove your bullshit. My friend almost killed herself because of rhetoric like yours. Goes of to college, meets new people. Thinks they are her friends. She's a tomboy. They slow rolled her into thinking she was a man. They got her on T within 4 months of her being there and the day before she was going to get her BREASTS REMOVED she called me naw bawling her eyes out. Saying she wanted to die. She didn't recognize herself. Realized she was pushing me away because all her new "friends" said I was a bad influence on her.

Her, "found family" as it were. I was on the phone with her for THREE FUCKING HOURS trying to make sure she didn't kill herself. Texted her mother to go get her. Low and behold. NOT A FUCKING MAN just a boyish girl. And under your "it's not your business" mentality, had she gone though it, she probably would be dead right now. Her choice right? No therapist needed right? No road blocks right? Just let them get a testosterone high then when it wears off and they realize what they've done.

No more love bombing. No more, "you're so brave". Just left with your thoughts and removed body parts. Staring a stranger down in the mirror with a likely litany of other medical problems other than the chemical depression.

So how about you mind your own fucking business. I care about people's health. You clearly don't. And more over kindly remove your head from your own ass. You DON'T get to tell me what's my business. How many people have to die for your bullshit. How many have to live with medical issues for the rest of their lives? How many have to never be able to have kids. How many get to NEVER experience a real intimate relationship. But sure. "Bodily autonomy".

Cut the crap.

[batboyblog]

Is there any way you could put together like, an emergency positivity post or something? Some of Biden's biggest accomplishments in office? I ask this because after the debate... Well, people are spreading negativity, apathy, and anti-voting rhetoric faster than ever before, especially in regards to his response on Roe and Gaza.

again, vacation I'm tapping these out in a brief moment of peace while the kids are at the beach.

But 1. I'd tell everyone to buck up, and fight your corner, did the media react this way when Trump was indicted for crimes in 4 different cases? did they act this way when he was declared a RAPIST! in court? did they act this way when he was convicted of 34 felonies? and we don't even know if he'll end up in prison? no? then fuck off with this BS, there's one person who should drop out and its not the slightly older man who had a cold, its the rapist. And there's one way we stop a RAPIST from being President (again) we vote for the old man.

second, on Roe just briefly, Joe Biden's ability to do things on this issue without Congress is very limited, but he did two things that a Republican would not have done (indeed would have done the reverse) one he made sure that people can get mifepristone by Telehealth and through the mail, keeping the door open for medical abortion nationwide, of course this is not perfect but understand a Republican would have not done this, and so in states with bans it'd be BANNED, second he issued guidelines that the federal law that covers emergency care, the part where the ER can't throw you out with a heart attack because you can't pay, would cover abortion emergencies as well, too many women are being sent to wait in parking lots to bleed till its "their lives" at risk, how much worse would it be if HHS wasn't saying "no you HAVE TO treat them"?

it can ALWAYS be worse, always, Biden has done things to limit this damage, things a Republican would not have done, and in the case of mifepristone like would have taken steps to block access.

So you like Roe? you want abortion protected? Biden is your guy, send him a Democratic Congress, the first 100 days will see an abortion rights bill passed and him sign it, he'll only appoint pro-choice Justices to the Supreme Court. And just as a side note, he's said that, which in the past, Obama, Bill Clinton for sure, both felt like they had to say they wouldn't make that a test (while Republicans made overturning it a open test for every Justice since GHWB was President) The Democratic Party is more pro-choice than it has ever been before, its no longer scared to support abortion rights, thats a big shift, that Biden has been in the front of

[the-gentleman-pining]

Righto party people, we had a good run, we got a beautiful S1 of OFMD unmarred by bullshit, which was the first time a lot of us had seen queer rep in that way. It meant a lot, it's been my hyperfixation for a couple years at this point! I even met Rhys, Vico, and Samson this weekend gone, which was unfortunately a bit soured by everything going on.

It boils down to this: how can I enjoy a show with themes of anti-colonialism and rising up against oppressive powers, knowing one of the biggest people behind its creation, Taika Waititi, is himself in signing letters in support of Israel as they occupy and mass slaughter Palestinians. The whole thing smacks of hypocrisy. As someone in the UK, I couldn't watch this recent season in a way that financially supported it anyway. But it's about more than that. I don't know how fans can continue to comfortably engage with it.

We had widespread abandonment and condemnation of JKR in queer circles after her TERF bullshit, and yes it took a while to catch on and for people to realise the smear campaign against an entire group of people wasn't worth them holding onto that piece of media. It's hard letting go of something that means so much. Or is it? I personally was never a huge HP fan, so I didn't share that struggle. But here? With OFMD? Yeah it's safe to say this show has been my life for a couple years. I'm heartbroken this is going down the way it has, and I don't mean that to have anything to do with the quality of the media in S2. It's not a relevant factor when its creator starring actor and co-creator is ADVOCATING GENOCIDE*. If that doesn't put you off, I don't really have more to say.

My conclusion? It's not hard to let go, you just don't think it's important.

I think, unless there is significant backtracking and work done to undo this damage, and even then probs not, this will be my last OFMD post.

Fuck you Taika, you betrayed your fans, but you also betrayed yourself by forgetting the things you used to stand for. Eat shit.

*some people have pointed out that pro-Israeli support is not inherently advocating genocide, because Taika may be ignorant to what's really going on. This is possible, however, firstly, if you don't fully understand something, don't fucking advocate for it. Secondly, intentional or not, he has contributed to a pro-genocidal rhetoric, by signing a letter that one-sidedly condemned Hamas taking hostages without awareness that Israel has taken far more, and for someone in his position of influence, that amounts to the same impact. Obscuring nuance pushes a biased narrative. It's insidious and easily denied.

[osleeplessflowero]

Hello hello! Hope you're doing well! I was wondering if you might want to make a platonic angsty (followed by comfort) oneshot? I just found your account, and I feel like there aren't a lot of platonic sans/papyrus and reader fanfics. Could I request an Underfell AU (If you do that) one shot with either Sans or Papyrus (aka Red and Edge) where they get into an argument with reader and some stuff is said that they didn't mean? Followed by some comfort ofc. Thanks!

ahhh hurt/comfort my beloved! thank you so much for your request! here's some angst coming right up. ;) 🌺

Request specifics: - Underfell Focused/Centered - Platonic! - Hurt/Comfort - Angst - Fluff

Oneshot Masterpost

You'd..gotten into some trouble.

Okay, a lot of trouble.

Living in the Underground was bound to bring its problems. Fights and Encounters taking place anywhere you look, monsters at each other's throats every second of the day over something as small as getting a seat at Grillby's bar. When you live in an area full of trouble, you're bound to get into some of it yourself. You do what you have to to survive.

Even if it means you get hurt.

Sans had noticed. How could he not see you coming home covered in bruises and scars, going through the next day with bandages like it was nothing at all? It irked him, knowing you kept going out and getting yourself thrown into trouble. Why would you do that? Why would you willingly go out into harm's way? It pissed him off to no end that he couldn't understand. And so one day..he decided it was time to confront you about it.

Sneaking out of your room, you make your way downstairs to the front door, placing a hand on the knob. You jolt when you feel magic around your soul, freezing you in place. Caught red handed. Slowly, reluctantly looking over, you spot Sans sitting on the couch with crossed arms. Seems he was waiting for you to do this..Crap. How long's he known? This was supposed to be kept under wraps!

"you have any idea how late it is?" He asks, a rhetorical question. You furrow your brows, narrowing your eyes a bit at him. You can't run. He has you right where he wants you, and you can't move an inch without taking damage.

"..Yeah. And?" You reply, looking over with an annoyed expression. He narrows his eyesockets at that.

"where the hell were you plannin' on going? it's the middle of the fuckin' night. you know how bad snowdin gets during the night, it's when the crooks come out." He leans forward a bit as he speaks.

"I know that. I just..had business to take care of, and I need to hurry and go get it done-"

"you don't need to do anything. what the fuck is going on?" Concern seeps into his voice. Worry, even. A dangerous thing to have down here.

"Would you just stay out of it? You don't need to know everything about me, Sans. Just let me go!" You struggle to move, as if there's some way you could possibly break free from his grip to run.

"and let you come home injured again? hell no! i've seen how bad you've been getting, and it's obviously being done by someone else. who is it?"

"You wouldn't understand, okay? It's personal business. Business I can handle on my own-"

"i swear to the angel, you are always doin' this shit. you keep gettin' yourself into trouble, gettin' yourself hurt, when you could be doin' literally anything else! you don't have to go out and get hurt like this for whatever reason that you think is justified!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" You raise your voice at him. He stands up, removing his hands from his jacket pockets.

"of course i do! i fuckin' lived it!" He puts a hand against his clothed ribcage, furrowing his browbones. "i'm not about to see you do the same shit i did-"

"I was doing it for US, Sans! If- If I keep going and I win, they can leave us alone- I can keep us safe!"

"you don't NEED to do that! i can fight, i've fought for years to protect this house! stay here where i can protect you! GOD, you can be so fuckin' stupid sometimes! this is why you kept being taken advantage of! you don't know when to fuckin' quit! you're actively hurting yourself! you have no damn idea what you're getting into, and you can't even fight back against them! you're WEAK!-"

Both of you freeze. Tears prick at the corners of your eyes. Sans holds his hands in the air, suspended almost.

"..fuck, i..listen, i didn't mean- fuckin' hell." He puts a hand against his forehead.

You sniffle, silently watching as he lets go of your soul before running upstairs to your room and slamming the door shut. Papyrus walks down the stairs with an irritated expression, arms crossed as he looks at his brother.

"Apologize. PROPERLY." He narrows his eyes at him, making him shrink as he goes upstairs, sitting down against your door. Hearing your sniffling on the other side makes him wince, as he stares down at the floor.

"listen, i'm sorry. i didn't mean that."

You hug your knees close to your chest, staring down at the bandages on them. He leans a bit more against the door, you can hear his jacket shift as he does.

"i'm just..i'm so tired. tired of seeing you come home like this. it pisses me off. you shouldn't think you need to risk your life for us. we've had a lot more fightin' experience. ..you're one of our closest friends. i know you can fight for yourself. but please..don't go out runnin' into danger. it..it worries me."

You look back at the door.

"..if somethin' happened..i wouldn't know what i'd do. i couldn't stand it. the idea of losing you. you mean a lot to me, more than you know. so please.." He pauses when you begin opening the door for him, standing up.

You give him a long look. His eyelight meets your eyes. It's quiet for a moment, before you rush forwards, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry. I just..I just wanted to-"

"i know." He shushes you calmly, patting your back. His voice is softer than his usual tone. Comforting to your ears (if you have any, that is.) "i know. i appreciate that you were thinkin' of us. but please..don't do it anymore. i'll handle those punks myself. they don't have any right to do that shit to you. okay? stay safe. ..let us take care of ya."

He backs up a bit, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"you gonna go?"

"..No.." You frown. He gives your shoulders a pat, before leading you back downstairs to sit on the couch together. Changing the channel to some movie you both like, he sinks into the cushions.

"..i've got your back, y'know. don't go in like that without me. i'll be there for ya in a heartbeat." He nudges your shoulder with his own. You smile a little bit, appreciating the gesture.

"Yeah..okay." You look down at your bandaged hands. "I just thought..if I'd fought them enough times..they'd know to back off. Because I'd defeat them. Then they wouldn't give you guys any trouble while we're out and about..they're a bunch of assholes, and I just got so mad that I..I wanted to fight them."

"i know the feeling." He rests his arms in his lap. "but they don't just wanna pick petty fights. some of those bastards are out to kill. you can't go in blind, knowin' that. yeah, you made it out the last few times..but who's to say what would've happened if you went in and they had a weapon this time?"

You furrow your brows. "I guess you're right..I was in over my head."

"..just try to be more careful from now on, okay?"

"Okay, Sans." You lean on him, watching the TV. He puts an arm around you, relaxing as you both focus on the movie. Papyrus sighs, relieved and..a little surprised that was resolved so quickly. But, he supposes, that's what makes you such good friends. Even if you fight..it's not for very long.

He stills when you fall asleep against him, pulling a blanket over you and shaking his head.

"what am i gonna do with you?.." He huffs, focusing on the screen until he falls asleep himself. Papyrus turns off the TV after a while, covering the both of you up.

"Always Getting Yourselves Into Trouble.." He shakes his head. "You're Painfully Similar."

[psychotrenny]

It's perfectly reasonable to have criticisms around the specific policies of actual existing Socialist states; both in terms of the policies themselves and with how other Communists discuss and evaluate them. But if you believe that "Anti-Tankieism" is a useful, meaningful or even coherent position to hold then you are fucking stupid.

Like if you're a liberal or an anarchist* or something then you'll be much better off trying to understand the actual positions and rationales of your political enemies, rather than boxing at the scariest shadow you can conjure in order to mime political activism and make yourself feel better.

And if you consider yourself to be any sort of Communist then you should be fucking ashamed of your revisionism; willfully adopting one of the most Idealist Undialectical frameworks possible as you rhetorically throw your so-called comrades to the dogs in a pathetic (and inevitably unsuccessful) attempt to distance your ideology from Reactionary distortions instead of confronting them directly. Your attempts at criticism without any self-criticism are worse than useless. At best you'll only damage your own standing as you earn the contempt of any serious communists. And at worst your version of criticism will succeed in doing what it was designed for; spreading confusion and demoralisation among progressives forces without drawing any useful lessons from the genuine short-comings of Communist movements past.

A healthy culture of critique and ideological evolution is important for any sort of Communism to both win and to keep winning; improving itself and changing with the world rather than ossifying to a fossil. But it has to be appropriate critique, on Communist Dialectal-Materialist terms not Liberal Idealist ones. And you definitely won't get anywhere by believing every half-truth or lie the Bourgeoisie Media spreads about the results of revolution; they don't want communism to win so if you keep agreeing with them then functionally speaking you don't either.

Finally, to any outright anti-communists who've made it this far, I understand that you'll make up whatever you need to but could you please get some new material. All this "authoritarianism" bullshit is getting old and your "horseshoe theory" is no longer fit to shod a mule. Plus "Tankie" was a term the Trots made up and do you really wanna keep quoting those losers? You can do better than that... can't you?

[tanihanya]

Please don't use pro voting rhetoric for the US election. The person you are asking people to vote for is a terf who wants to commit genocide.

Heya, sorry i've slept on replying to this for so long, but it's was difficult to know where to even begin. I will never not use "pro voting rhetoric" for any election. I understand who Harris is, I understand how the democratic party acts and how it has acted, I understand that voting in the democrats is just the same as voting in another middle-of-the-road conservative party who are going to continue horrific and atrocious policies, aren't going to represent their voters on protecting the middle easy, and aren't going to help minorities in any meaningful way. I am not pretending not to know this. I am not pretending that I like Kamala Harris, or want her to be the president of the US.

However, I do know that Trump is a lot worse. Trump follows all of these same issues but is more radical and further right than the democrats on all of them-- You know this, I'm not gonna waste time talking about how awful another trump administration would be, not just for the US, but other countries like mine, too.

I'm not asking for anyone to vote for someone they like--- Voting has never been about choosing the perfect or ideal candidate, very rarely do people actually vote for a president that they would support in any other circumstance, because that's how this system happens to work. Stop envisioning every election as a summary of your ideology or political viewpoint, and see it for what it is- Damage control. Voting is a bare minimum, and so much more needs to be done outside of voting in national elections alone. Not voting achieves nothing. We've seen how the democrats act-- if they lose this election, it won't punish them, in fact-- They'll just move further to the republican-created centre like they always do. No. If the democrats lose the election, they don't suffer- You're not hurting them- You're hurting the minorities that live in utter fear of another trump presidency. you're hurting the people of gaza worse than the slightly-preferable Harris administration

and yes!! this is awful!! This isn't okay at all!! it's okay to be really fuckn frustrated and angry at the fact you have to vote for genocide or genocide lite, but holyshit it is VITAL that you do!! Much more change is needed, but that is action to be taken outside of elections AS WELL AS within them. you can't just wait around for a revolution to happen-- nothing will change if you don't make it change, and Voting is the bare minimum for creating change. I do not claim it will make any more than negligible difference on it's own, just that in order to make any meaningful change, you have to at the very least be prepared to vote for someone awful over someone even worse. Don't accept the system given to you. don't accept the two terrible choices you are given. I agree with this. But not voting isn't doing that. It's just keeling over for the worse option. You're not leaving the game, you're just skipping your turn. Please, I beg you, vote for Harris next week. Vote reluctantly and do whatever you can before the next election to make the next candidate even a little more desirable. But still vote. Voting for Harris unfortunately doesn't mean that things will get better, but less minorities will end up dead. Voting is a tool, not a summary of your politics. Please Remember that. Please Vote. I'm begging you for my trans and black friends in the US. I'm begging you for my friends in my country, which US policy influences so deeply. I'm begging you for at least a chance of- not things getting better, but rather things not getting worse. Vote Now. Campaign and Protest and Riot, Later.

[creature-wizard]

"Paganism isn't a Burger King or a Chinese buffet, you can't just pick and choose what you want" is bad rhetoric, and here's why.

I recently got an anon message telling me that paganism isn't like a Burger King or a Chinese buffet; you can't just have things your way or pick and choose what you like, and that "everything was organized a certain way for a reason" and that you "change the system at your own risk."

I pointed out that this is an incredibly historically-uninformed take, because there's never been a time or place in history where paganism was pure and unchanging, and there were many reasons for things being the way things were, most of them just not that deep or mysterious. (For example, politics.)

Anon sent a follow-up message stating that they were talking about cultural appropriation, which... strange if true, given that I hadn't been posting anything about appropriation recently.

In fact, it seems that the post this person was responding to was a post about pop culture witchcraft, given that the OP of that post got an anon message with the words "Chinese buffet analogy" and "pop culture paganism" in the same sentence. (It seems this person doesn't understand the difference between witchcraft and paganism. Common beginner mistake, but also, oof.) Said post wasn't encouraging any kind of appropriative behavior, but go off I guess, anon.

In any case, this kind of restaurant rhetoric isn't even good for safeguarding against cultural appropriation. It doesn't actually explain why cultural appropriation is a problem, and functionally just tells people to stay with what they they've been taught and don't question it. If anything, it reminds me of conservative Christian rhetoric telling people that they can't be Christian and pro-LGBTQ+ because "you can't pick and choose which parts of the Bible to follow." (And I think we can all agree that we're better off when Christians decide to ignore this kind of sentiment.)

And speaking of conservative Christianity, people trying to get away from that kind of crap are generally not the kind of people who appreciate being stuck in shitty little boxes and being told they have to follow the rules Or Else. If you use this line on them, sooner or later they'll probably decide that this whole notion of cultural appropriation is a bunch of xenophobic, dogmatic crap, and they're not going to care anymore.

And if it does work on them? If they do internalize it? Congratulations, you've just taught them that policing people's practices for Not Being Pagan Enough is the way to go. This is how you get people harassing each other and putting each other down over total non-issues. It also means that they're less likely to think critically about their own beliefs and practices, and realize that maybe, just maybe, they're actually kinda shitty.

We should be able to explain to people that being mindful of cultural appropriation is about respecting other people's boundaries, access, and general welfare. We should be able to explain the actual harm that cultural appropriation does. Here are some examples:

The high demand for white sage among neopagans has contributed to overharvesting of white sage for commercial sale. This has resulted in ecological damage and made it more difficult for Natives to access the herb.

Ancient astronaut theorists twist and distort myths and traditions from numerous non-white cultures to make it seem as if they support a pseudohistorical narrative in which aliens supposedly built structures such as the Great Pyramids and Puma Punku. This narrative is linked with far right conspiracy theories in general. Those who speak out against the appropriation of their cultures' myths are regarded as unenlightened or agents of the conspiracy.

Commercializing aspects of marginalized culture to sell to the masses is essentially a form of exploitation; large companies benefit while they get nothing. Basically, if you wouldn't support intellectual property theft, you shouldn't support this kind of thing.

Said commercial products typically reinforce harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about said cultures.

In reality, there's no reason why people shouldn't pick and choose what they want provided they are minding boundaries. If somebody wants to worship Freya and Mercury and ignore other Norse and Roman gods, it literally hurts nobody.

There are many things that paganism is not. Paganism is not an unchanging monolith. Paganism is not decreed to us by an infallible authority. "Paganism" genuinely isn't even a very useful term to talk about Europe's rich tapestry of polytheistic beliefs with. But one thing that it is, is up to us, the living practitioners.

[syscultureis]

hey this a friendly question not an accusation or anything i just wanna ask why it is you don’t support endos? im new to this community n just kinda learned what an endo is, and i understand why you might not want to interact with endos, but im confused as to why you’re anti-endo. ty for reading!

Endos spread a lot of harmful misinformation, especially the biggest one that systems can be formed without trauma, because they can't

DID/OSDD are traumagenic disorders in nature, and a lot of endos push for the de-medicalization of plurality. Getting a diagnosis as a system is already so insanely hard, and if it got demedicalized it would be even worse

On top of that, systems who enter Endo spaces when in early discovery often don't remember their trauma, or if they do they don't remember a lot of it. And while it's not good to push to remember what you aren't ready to, it's worse to become convinced it never happened. Because you can't heal if you never acknowledge that you were traumatized

We've also had endos try and convince us that what trauma we expirenced that gave us this disorder wasn't enough to be a traumagenic system, so we had to be endogenic or we weren't a system

What endos do and spread does so much damage to the healing of systems, and they push so many anti recovery rhetoric

Personally I'm not actually anti-endo, I just don't want them to interact with me. I believe they're systems, I just don't believe they formed how they think they did because the disorder is doing it's job and protecting them from it

I consider myself neutral, because at the end of the day if someone isn't spreading misinformation idgaf. But a majority of ppl who identify as endogenic spread so much misinformation it's genuinely scary

And again, as always when this topic comes up, please just do your own research. Read papers, look for articles, find information that's trustworthy and form your own opinion

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 Hope in Work and Joy in Leisure

5. [Composure - Legendary 14] Assess his body language.

+1 More than poor health. +2 Odd flower behaviour.

COMPOSURE [Legendary: Success] - What strikes you about this gaunt man is not the stomach pain, or the cough, or the malnutrition. For a man who's spent 44 years hidden in the urban wild...

He is surprisingly okay.

COMPOSURE - Indeed. He speaks fluidly, his movements are rapid, if erratic. His voice, despite the cough, is there. It is capable of expressing complicated ideas. Above all, he seems *animated*.

+5 XP

Level up!

I put this point into Pain Threshold.

Animated? By what?

COMPOSURE - It's a mystery. This animation comes at a cost too: erratic hand gestures, thought processes cut off like threads, as he just stares at the logs or the reeds. He also suffers mood swings, bubbling to the surface, unconstrained by his nervous system.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - Great leaps of emotion: from anger to grief, despair...

Dementia?

Wouldn't a foul temper be a by-product of his life?

COMPOSURE - You've seen demented people before. This feels similar, yet different. When his thoughts move they are lucid, keen even -- not senile.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Is it some kind of substance damage? Like he's addicted to something -- not only the painkillers he's clearly on.

Dementia?

Wouldn't a foul temper be a by-product of his life?

"Mr. Dros, are you on some kind of a psychoactive substance?"

"Mr. Dros, are you okay? How is your memory?" (Finish the examination.)

EMPATHY - Perhaps. But his seems more than that. The inner turmoil takes unexpected turns, as if forced on him in a way...

COMPOSURE - In summary, you sense some underlying neurological disorder.

3. "Mr. Dros, are you on some kind of a psychoactive substance?"

THE DESERTER - "No!" he snaps out of staring through you. "I won't be stuffed full of shit like the rest of this city."

KIM KITSURAGI - "You said you take painkillers..." The lieutenant follows your lead.

THE DESERTER - "I take them to cope with pain. The people of this city use painkillers, because they have *pain*. Untreated illnesses, not enough money for a greedy doctor."

RHETORIC [Medium: Success] - He is indeed very lucid at times..

COMPOSURE - It's not a downer. Rather an upper, judging by his snaps.

4. "Are you on amphetamines?"

THE DESERTER - "Like some kind of decadent rock star?" He doesn't dignify it with more of an answer.

5. "Mr. Dros, are you okay? How is your memory?" (Finish the examination.)

THE DESERTER - "No I'm not *okay*..." He waves his hand, chasing something that's not there. "I shit blood and I'm surrounded by insane people..."

COMPOSURE - There it is again -- erratic hand motions. Bouts of rage. And the stomach thing too of course...

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Could it be a symptom of overdosing on something? Something even you have not tried? Keep your eyes peeled.

There's only one thing left to say.

5. "Iosef Lilianovich Dros, you're under arrest for the murder of the Krenel colonel here in Martinaise."

Iosef curls up and begins to rock back and forth.

THE DESERTER - "What?!" The old man's eyes fill with sudden, unexpected terror at the words: "But you said I would be taken to the..."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - This terror is the sum of all the uncontrollable movements and mood swings he's been exhibiting.

SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - The wind picks up. The silence on the water is broken all around you, little shivers of waves appear. The lieutenant continues, like an incantation...

KIM KITSURAGI - "Your Wayfarer rights have been suspended. Information provided to the officers on the scene will be used against you by the prosecution. You will be given legal counsel within one week, and must face court in 44 days -- do you understand?"

THE DESERTER - "..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Do you understand?"

THE DESERTER - "But..."

"Kim, he's afraid..."

"Do you understand, sir?"

THE DESERTER - "No, I don't want to! I have to stay here." He looks at the reeds, eyes submerged in growing terror.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] - He's sweating. Beads are forming on his forehead.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Pupils are dilated too, eyes getting blacker and blacker.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Your confirmation is not required, sir." The lieutenant turns to you. "Now -- on to the boat..."

First say: "Does it have room for *three*?"

[Perception (Hearing) - Legendary 14] Wait...

KIM KITSURAGI - "Not really." He shakes his head. "We could escort him to the pier, then either one of us can take him inland while the other stays here, but..."

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - But then -- who watches him, while you're coming back here?

"Who watches him there while I come back for you?"

"This is not a problem."

KIM KITSURAGI - "You come back for me? How about I go and send a boat back for you."

THE DESERTER - "What is this... farce?" He looks around, with strange desperation. "This a fucking farce, I can't..."

INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success] - Something is happening. Stop.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - Lilienne. You could ask her maybe?

2. "Maybe I can just ask Lilienne to watch him?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "This is no harmless old man." The lieutenant shakes his head.

THE DESERTER - "This fucking world..." He stares at something -- who knows what -- in the dust. "This world... what is this?"

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - Below the confusion and rage -- a fit of jamais vu, like yours? The thought passes, more pressing matters take its place...

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - No, listen! Listen now!

3. "*You* could come back for me. Once you've taken him to the Precinct." 4. "*I* could come back for you. Once I've taken him to the Precinct." 5. [Perception (Hearing) - Legendary 14] Wait...

+1 Inland Empire warned.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Legendary: Failure] - You thought you heard something, but it's just the reeds...

KIM KITSURAGI - "Maybe we could all fit in there..." the lieutenant says.

"We could all fit in the little boat?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Actually, no..." He scratches his head.

4. "*You* could come back for me. Once you've taken him to the Precinct."

KIM KITSURAGI - "No, no, it would take a whole day on this island. You go and transport the prisoner, I'll be here. I can escort him to the pier with you."

"No need to be polite, I'll do it."

"Maybe you're right…"

THE DESERTER - "This world..." The old man interferes again. "What are you *talking* about? Is this..." His voice drowns out in a sudden gush of wind. "Us..."

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - The wind is cold. From the east.

SHIVERS [Easy: Success] - Your skin is crawling suddenly.

🎵 La Revacholiere

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - A delicate tangle of arms and legs unfolds from the reeds, limb by limb -- to then just stand there, moving its scythe-like arms in ghostly silence.

Blink.

"What is THAT!?!" (Point to it.)

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - It's still there -- an unfolding mechanism of reed-like chitin. Hovering in place.

"What is THAT!?!" (Point to it.)

THE DESERTER - "What are you talking about?" The old man looks at the reeds, then at you.

"The giant stick insect!"

"I don't know what the hell that is..."

THE DESERTER - "There's nothing there." He looks confused.

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - The stick insect is over three metres tall. It looks straight at you with its tiny pinprick eyes and its grotesquely small head.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - You feel your legs shaking under you and your gun hand move to your holster -- to grab the gun...

"There IS! I see it!"

"I've finally gone insane…" (Put your head in your hands.)

THE DESERTER - "Tell me what you see, dammit, I can't make out one small thing in the reeds..."

"Kim, can *you* see it?!"

"I've finally gone insane..." (Put your head in your hands.)

KIM KITSURAGI - You feel the lieutenant's hand on your back. And then you hear him say four words:

"I can see it."

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Thank god. If he can see, then you're not insane.

LOGIC [Easy: Success] - But that means...

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - It's really there. Spinning slowly -- in absolute silence -- its limbs long and slender.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Be very, *very* careful," the lieutenant whispers, then takes a step toward the giant arthropod...

New task: Inspect the phasmid

It's gotten dark out. I equip the torch.

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - The creature stands on long stilt-like legs, antennae hanging from its head like a woman's hair -- white and curled at the tips. It is no more than five steps away from you.

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - The segmented antennae move with apprehension, searching for something that's not there...

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - Reed-like tufts stick out of its joints. As the insect moves its forearms it produces a faint hiss -- like a reel-to-reel machine spinning after the tape breaks.

(Whisper.) "This is the Insulindian phasmid."

(Say something to it, quietly... something like...)

[Electrochemistry - Medium 10] Approach carefully.

Retreat slowly. [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "It is," the lieutenant whispers behind you. You hear the familiar ring of his jacket unzipping -- slowly. Painstakingly so...

You glance over your shoulder. The lieutenant holds a piece of milled aluminium. He begins to pull it open, extremely carefully -- it's the camera!

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - No! The flash will scare the creature off! Warn him NOW!

"Kim..." (Whisper.) "The flash is loud. It won't like that."

(Whisper) "Are you sure you won't scare it off?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "We *need* a photo -- no one will believe us." He continues to pull the lens open...

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - From the corner of your eye, you see a sudden cascade of motion ripple through the phasmid's limbs. A series of ultrasonic clicks fills your ear...

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - I am not palatable. Do not eat me. I am afraid.

"Okay, take the picture."

"It's afraid. Stop *now*."

KIM KITSURAGI - "I won't be one of those fools who didn't take a picture..." He has stopped fiddling with the camera, but does not put it down.

AUTHORITY [Medium: Success] - He's letting his pride get in the way.

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - You see the phasmid turn to him, its mandible antennae reaching out. The motions are quick, sudden.

(Whisper) "Who cares what they *think* Kim."

"Just listen to me!"

KIM KITSURAGI - He comes to, abruptly. "Understood. Of course," he says with a nod.

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - The spindly mechanism turns itself back to you, its antennae taking their measure of the air, slowly...

+5 XP

2. (Say something to it, quietly... something like...)

INSULINDIAN PHASMID - ...

[tidesreach]

i think the issue with cql/mdzs fandom (specifically jiang cheng antis) is that it seems to have a very rigid view on a) what being a good person looks like and b) what trauma looks like, or significantly, what it should look like, and c) the meeting point of the two: what being a good person with trauma should look like. e.g. the way wei wuxian is held up as this sort of shining example of how to be traumatised the right way. so much of this fandom consistently frames wei wuxian as Good Traumatised rather than what he actually is, which is quite simply a person with various trauma responses and trauma-learnt behaviours that he did not choose and that have no actual bearing on his goodness. whereas jiang cheng is condemned as Bad Traumatised when actually he is just a person with different trauma responses and trauma-learnt behaviours that he also did not choose and that also have no actual bearing on his goodness. people categorising the way wei wuxian responds to his trauma as Good and the way jiang cheng responds to it as Bad (or even Evil) is a mindset that is deeply rooted in stigma whether you realise it or not.

like, i don't interact with jc antis if i can help it. which, yeah, is because i have no interest in reading endless hate posts. but i also steer clear predominantly because as someone with a heavily stigmatised mental illness a lot of the discussion around jiang cheng and the notion that trauma making you angry and hateful = Bad reads as "i support people with mental illness but only the people with symptoms that i personally find palatable" which is very reminiscent of frankly dehumanising real life debates around whether people who display certain symptoms (people like me) are worthy of help (or whether they even can be helped or whether they are just inherently terrible people etc.). and that is a horrible and damaging thing to read about yourself.

essentially, it all boils down to the wholly problematic idea that there are right and wrong ways to be traumatised—as if (in the absense of therapy and/or medication) you have any choice or control over your own symptoms/trauma responses—and that anything that doesn't fit into the "trauma made me kinder" mold is the wrong way to be traumatised. which is exactly what stigma is and why a lot of people have to fight so hard to get a modicum of help. so much of the language used around jiang cheng's trauma and his emotional responses to that trauma is rooted in real life stigmatising rhetoric that denies people the help they need and deserve because they're not the right type of mentally ill. this mindset that wei wuxian did trauma right and jiang cheng did trauma wrong is based on a made up concept designed to demonise certain mental illnesses.

it's like, there are so many takes which go something like, "well, wei wuxian has trauma too and he didn't do x, y, z." and sure, you're right, he didn't do x, y, z, but he did do a, b, c, if you see what i'm getting at. and arguing that a, b, c, are better responses than x, y, z shows a lack of understanding of the complexity of trauma and the way it can be informed by self-perception or perception other people have of you, i.e. it can become a bit (or a lot) of a self-fulfilling prophecy. because if anything the idea that trauma made wwx kinder oversimplifies the damaging effects it actually had on him. because it also made him reckless and (re)vengeful. it also gave him a messy saviour complex that repeatedly leads to ruin (like, man, when jiang cheng says to wei wuxian in anger, "wei wuxian, do you have a saviour complex?" he reads him very well. he knows him very well. in the same way wei wuxian knows that jiang cheng holds on to too much anger). wei wuxian's trauma is just as messy as jiang cheng's but it manifests in very different ways. different ways, not the right ways. wei wuxian's trauma responses hurt people too and you can acknowledge that. it doesn't make him Bad.

what seems to cause real issue though, is the differences in the way they respond to trauma. what causes real issue is that those differences are indisputably to do with certain symptoms jiang cheng displays being the more stigmatised ones. it's his anger and hatred and volatility. it's his very extreme fear of abandonment and equally extreme efforts to avoid it by furiously protecting what he has left because he cannot bear to lose anything or anyone else. it's his dichotomous thinking that can make him irrational. but those are not evil or wrong trauma responses. they're just trauma responses and they are actually fairly common trauma responses at that. certainly more common than "trauma made me kinder". i don't know who needs to hear this but a person's involuntary emotional responses to trauma are not an indication of whether they are a good person or not. you can struggle with anger and hatred and symptoms considered "less palatable" and still be a good person. trauma does not give "bad" symptoms to bad people and "good" symptoms to good people because there is no such thing as a morally good or a morally bad symptom.

people need to stop letting stigma inform their (mis)understandings of mental health and trauma and try to remember that there are real life people who suffer from the symptoms they are stigmatising and who face barriers every single day because of that stigma.

[touchd0wn-boy]

Since I keep seeing it in certain corners of the fandom:

Chromosomes = gender is a transphobic statement. Genitalia/secondary sex characteristics = gender is a transphobic statement. I can't believe I have to explain this. It's "real transphobia" not just a fun argument you can co-opt to use against other queer people online. It's the basis for why transphobes want to bring back chromosome testing and sex verification in all sports so only Real Women and Real Men can compete against each other, something that's not only damaging to trans people but pretty much everyone who doesn't fit the very narrow definition of what a "normal" body and "normal" hormones are, even cis people, as the whole controversy around Imane Khelif has shown during the Olympics. It's why bathroom access for trans people has become such a point of hysteria and conspiracy theories. It's why anti-transgender laws are on the rise all over the world.

Last month, the ACLU published a very illuminating research brief on the impacts of anti-transgender laws and policies that I HIGHLY recommend (you can check it out here).

Instead of posting performative bullshit about what an Ally you are, and how we should all focus on "real transphobia" instead, you could reflect on why immediately falling back to transphobic rhetoric 101 as a cheap gotcha argument against the actual queer and trans people in your fandom saying things about your favs you don't like and don't agree with, is not actually??? a good thing? If your first gut-jerk reaction to shut down queer people is to rehash the talking points of every conservative politician and every Elon Musk Verified Alt-Right Twitter Influencer, then maybe do some introspection on WHY that is. When you perpetuate arguments about chromosomes and gender, you’re giving oxygen to the same ideologies that justify anti-trans laws and discriminatory policies. You're contributing to the environment that makes life harder for trans people, even if you don’t realize it.

By all means, donate to trans and queer charities and inform yourself on the issues impacting trans and queer communities.

But performative allyship is not a substitute for genuine support and understanding. Donating without actually challenging your own biases or engaging in meaningful discussions isn't enough. Being an ally means being willing to listen, learn, and grow—even when it makes you uncomfortable. It means understanding that harm can be done through ignorance, and being willing to address that ignorance within yourself and your circles.

Anyway. Translegislation is a wonderful website to track anti-trans bills that are being considered and passed in the US. Contact your representatives. VOTE, not just in the upcoming presidential election but also—and ESPECIALLY—in your local elections.

Besides the Trans Youth Equality Foundation, I also recommend

The Trevor Project

Mermaids (UK-based, God knows they need the support, considering Ms. Joanne R. still has internet access in the year of our lord 2024)

your local Planned Parenthood

your local trans/queer organization

mutual aid requests for gender affirming care

[jedi-enthusiast]

Honestly I’m so confused why people are so upset that Israel was included in Eurovision, like…my dude it’s literally a music contest for a bunch of countries---that Israel has already been included in before---not an actual political statement.

It’s literally insane to me, especially with how people were treating the Israeli contestant---protesting her, forcing her to change her song, other contestants saying shit like “talking to her doesn’t mean I support Israel,” etc. etc.

And I feel like that’s a reoccurring thing with all this mainstream pro-Palestine bullshit: y’all don’t actually care about Palestine or want to help anyone, you just want “good person points” socially, but don’t actually care about your impact.

You'll post shit like "stan Hamas" and ignore the fact that they're literally a terrorist organization dedicated to killing Jews, and that they're literally hurting Palestinians too, as well as the fact that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is only ongoing because Hamas keeps breaking the ceasefire and won't give back hostages.

But you'll ignore all of the organizations that actually help Palestine because they're run by Jews/Israelis, or even just supported by Jews and Israelis.

(And how much do you want to bet that the same people who cry- "Hamas is only doing this because of Israel's actions regarding Palestine, so it's justified/reasonable/understandable, etc." -would never say that if it was a group like, say, ISIS that was kidnapping/killing/waging war on Americans because of the US's actions in the Middle East?)

You'll harass random people on college campuses just because they're Jewish, even though they clearly have no fucking say in what a country on the other side of the world does, and barricade yourselves inside a building and be shocked when you're suspended or expelled for property damage/harassment/etc.

But you won't volunteer at any organizations that are dedicated to helping Palestine, or donate money to those organizations, or donate food/clothes/etc., or actually do anything besides whine and cry because you helped destroy a campus building and your college doesn't want you there anymore.

(Hell, 99% of y'all don't even bother volunteering for your own communities, so I know you're sure as hell not volunteering to help anyone else's---again, you just want the "good person points")

Everyone that was so gung-ho about "oh yeah, let's punch Nazis!" a few years ago are now spouting Nazi rhetoric.

Everyone that preached that bigotry is never ok, even if someone from a minority does something bad, are now the same people chanting- "Jews are shit!" -and spreading blood libel.

Everyone that was calling for solidarity between minorities and oppressed groups are now the same people ostracizing Jews because they won't condemn the only country that will actually protect them- (or rather, they'll condemn the Israeli governments actions, but won't stand side-by-side with antisemites or say that Israel should be destroyed).

Everyone that said that it wasn't okay for people to be racist towards poc because some of the BLM protests were getting out of hand/violent are now the same ones going- "oh, it's fine to be antisemitic because these disgusting Jews Zionists aren't agreeing with me on everything."

Everyone that was posting shit about being aware of misinformation and doing your research before posting something are now the ones that have no idea what Zionism actually is, don't even know which river and sea their chant means, has no clue what Israel has actually done to Palestine and is just calling it a "genocide" as a buzzword despite all the evidence stating otherwise, etc.

Like...you guys are really just proving that you don't actually have morals beyond what's socially acceptable.

"Never harass random Muslim/gay/trans/black/etc. people just for a cause or because they did something you didn't like...unless they're Jewish, then you can stalk them on campus and be physically violent towards them."

"Bigotry is never okay, even if someone from a minority does something you don't agree with or something awful...unless they're Jewish, then spread blood libel and call for the "final solution" all you want."

"Not everyone from the US/Republican states/Christian churches/etc. agrees with what their government/state/religious leaders are doing, so it's not fair to blame and ostracize them for it...unless it's Jewish people or Israelis or, G-d forbid, Jewish Israelis, then you can hate them and blame them for everything!"

Like, genuinely, fuck off.

You aren't good people, you aren't "making a difference" or "on the right side of history," you don't give a shit about morality or justice or doing any good for anyone---all you care about is your fucking popularity and the social norm.

So keep your stupid, hateful, misinformed hands off of the I/P conflict---you've proven that y'all clearly can't handle having opinions on it.

[keezybees]

Hi! I follow you across social media and I really love your art and am super looking forward to reading Hello Sunshine! I wanted to reach out because I'm also Bipolar and I really appreciate the work you do to spread awareness about it but there's something that I find kind of harmful in how you talk about it, and it's just the insistance that it absolutely can't be treated through non-medical means. I fully understand that meds are life-saving and that depending on the severity of symptoms, length, and frequency of episodes, going without medication can be lethal. However, as someone with Bipolar I but controlled symptoms (and frankly symptoms that seem a lot less disruptive than yours, I'm sorry), hearing that there's no path forward without medication would easily have triggered suicidal thoughts when I was younger. There are a lot of reasons why people can't be medicated (for me it was a combination of family control and financial struggle), but hearing at your lowest that there's no way forward without something that you can't have is really damaging. I think it's totally possible to stress the importance of medical access and the need to work with your medical provider without erasing the ways that non-medical treatments can also be life-saving, depending on a person's situation/symptoms/etc and that some people can live full lives even if their symptoms aren't fully controlled. Anyway, I love your work and I just wanted to raise this alternate perspective because I think you're helping a lot of people, but I also think a lot of people can be harmed by this rhetoric, especially marginalized people who can't seek medication for any number of factors beyond their control.

Hi Anon! I totally hear what you're saying, and so I just wanted to run through a few things to clarify my stance, both for you and for others who might be reading this (omg I am SO sorry this is so long though haha):

I do emphasize treatment a lot, because I think it's really important for people to work with professionals to find ways to manage their illness. This is partly due to my own experience (I avoided treatment for a looong time) and anecdotally, but also because the research we have is pretty clear--untreated bipolar has much, much worse outcomes for a vast majority of people. However! When I say treatment, I don't necessarily mean medication, and certainly not only medication! I absolutely think some people (though it is sadly rare) can find ways of managing their illness medication-free. I just feel that it's best to do this work with the help of professionals + peers (whether that's a psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, social worker, support group, etc) who can help you find your way, and help you manage symptoms that do crop up (this is especially true if you're currently on medication and choosing to go off of it, since that can come with physical risks). I could definitely stand to make this distinction a lot clearer though, and I'll try to be more mindful of it in the future.

I also can definitely see how my words could imply that I think non-medication ways of treating bipolar aren't valuable, and I'll work on my phrasing going forward, because they absolutely are! My aim is not to dismiss stuff like self-help or lifestyle changes or meditation or exercise, because I think they're great--for example, that kind of stuff has helped a ton with my anxiety and overall quality of life, and I know for a lot of people they help with their bipolar symptoms. But for me, these things simply don't have much of an impact on the bipolar, and our culture's emphasis on them frustrates me because it prevented me from getting proper care for a very long time, and made me feel like a failure for not being able to control my symptoms despite working so hard. So I'll also try to be more clear in the future about whether I'm venting about my own situation vs speaking broadly.

I also definitely hope I've never said anything that implies that our symptoms are inevitably life-ruining! My symptoms aren't completely controlled (particularly my lows), either, and I like to think I live a pretty good life. I think for many people un-treated bipolar can be life-ruining, and I've just heard too many stories about people who thought they could manage on their own only to have an absolutely devastating manic episode to not warn people of the risk. But most of us will continue to experience some degree of symptoms throughout our lives, absolutely.

I totally understand why someone would want to go med-free, or at least try it, and I in no way think the medications we have now are flawless haha. Side effects are awful, life-changing, and can even be life-threatening (I've had some horrible experiences with side effects myself); the meds we have now aren't very effective against depressive episodes for a lot of people (myself included), and for some people they're not effective at all; meds for most people don't completely eradicate symptoms, etc. I'm fully on board with the med struggle, and I honestly spend a lot of time criticizing the options available to us, though less so publicly, since I don't want to further stigmatize the idea of taking psych meds in general!

One of the reasons I emphasize medication (when I do emphasize meds, specifically) is because when I was younger, I was terrified of even the idea of them. I avoided it for years and really, really suffered because of it. I think our culture does in general look down on psych meds, particularly the kind we usually take, so I'm trying to destigmatize the concept of them, and emphasize for people with similar fears that taking meds can be just as life-saving and healing as they are harmful and frustrating, and that it's at least worth trying.

I'm a YA cartoonist (and former teacher, barista at a youth coffeehouse, tutor, I worked for a kids' gaming website...actually all of my jobs apart from dishwashing have involved kids, now that I think of it lmao), so a lot of the time when I'm talking about this stuff on social media, my target audience is sort of...very young people and kids who think they have bipolar (or may have even been diagnosed) but are afraid to seek help and/or don't think they need help and/or don't think help is going to actually help. So my goal is to demystify and normalize the idea of taking meds and/or seeking treatment for those people, and to emphasize that just because they're able to manage their illness now, that might change in the future, and imo they need to be aware of the very real risks, which includes things like an incredibly high suicide rate for unmedicated individuals, and the reality that the illness can be progressive (episodes can get worse and harder to treat the more you have them--they certainly did for me, and I wish I had been more open to the idea much earlier).

On a similar note, it's also important to recognize that a lot of things can look like bipolar, and a lot of people don't really know what bipolar actually looks like to begin with (particularly if you're getting your info from tiktok or similar). So if you've self-diagnosed and never explored treatment options (emphasis on options!) you can easily be missing stuff like thyroid issues, epilepsy, brain tumors, vitamin deficiencies, or a myriad of other treatable mental illnesses that mimic bipolar, and I strongly believe that people deserve care and help for whatever they're struggling with, including the possibility that it isn't bipolar at all!

Finally, I truly hope I've never said anything that comes off like I'm looking down on or judging people who choose to not be medicated for whatever reason! If it works for you then that's phenomenal (I'm jealous tbh) but it's honestly none of my business haha. When I talk about this stuff I do try to stress most people, because we're of course not a monolith, and when I say something like 'a majority of people with bipolar will need some form of medication to flourish' I don't mean to dismiss those who aren't in that majority. It's more that I want people to be open to the idea that they're not failures for needing meds, that they're actually in very good company, as well as to combat the 'just meditate! or try harder!' narrative that's so prevalent in our culture.

Edit: one last thought, which is that part of my target audience is also parents or guardians whose kids might be struggling--kids are obviously the group with the least access to treatment on their own terms. My hope is that talking about my experiences and discussing the risks will help motivate guardians to get help for their kids, and also help motivate kids to seek their own treatment as soon as they're able. Most people develop bipolar in their late teens and early 20s (though my first hypomanic ep was at 16), so it's a relatively small percentage of folks in this situation, but I do see how a kid whose parents aren't willing to help them could take my words badly, so I'll try to keep that in mind!

I'm definitely going to be more careful about how I phrase things going forward, because I can absolutely see how my intent could be lost. Hopefully this clears things up a bit (although it's also possible that we simply disagree, and I think that's okay too--like I said, our community is not a monolith, and a lot of these conversations are fundamentally ongoing)!

tldr; I'll make an effort to watch my words so that it's clear that my target audience really isn't my bipolar peers, and that the target of my criticisms is anti-medication wellness culture + psych med stigma, not the concept of non-medication alternatives or additions in general. And I'll try to do a better job of highlighting when I'm speaking only for myself vs our community as a whole!