#acting for non-majors

[heir-less]

I think what a lot of people don't understand is that the cultural and societal aspects of religion can still exist in a society that is 100% secular. Most atheists aren't anti-theists, in fact, most of them still take part in many religious customs and celebrations in a secular form. Anti-theism doesn't even mean the eradication of religion, it's typically used to describe the intellectual opposition to belief in a deity,

So, I'm honestly perplexed whenever I see people arguing that the "end goal" of atheism is to eradicate religion, this is something both religious people and ill-informed atheists believe, for some reason. I guess this is what happens when Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris are your go-to atheists and you're measuring atheism against the most extreme religious zealots because that's what most people are reactive towards.

What should be completely removed are almost all forms of institutionalized religion and religious power structures. These are the exactual oppressive structures that have used religion as a tool to justify every form of bigotry and crime against humanity. They are also not essential to the practice of the religion or the survival of the religious culture. Your right to practice your religion ends if you're using said religion to advocate for the oppression of Muslims (assuming you're not practicing Islam), atheists, LGBT+ people, and other minorities. You can be a church-going Catholic without advocating for state-sanctioned religion or the rights of others being removed. This evangelical breed of religious extremism has no place in society and is what actually leads to real genocides happening today.

#non royal #text #also people really do act as if atheists are persecuting religious folks by being annoying and edgy #in my opinion it's like comparing islamophobia to a dislike of Christianity in canada/america #one is a form of dangerous systemic bigotry that kills and the other is at most being rude/ignorant #the religious majority always prosecutes religious minorities including atheists #i'm serious that atheist persecution is an actual problem and the rights of irreligious people are neglected #if you look at how atheists are treated in many religious communities and by evangelical governments there is no comparison #and they have little to no institutional power to fight for their rights as a group #in the US state governments are often times trying to institutionalize religion in ways that harm muslims atheists and all nonevangelicals #the things ron desantis and other republicans have said about atheists would make me feel unsafe living in their states as an atheist

[spitdrunken]

With the masquerade event spoilers somehow the blurbs you wrote for him regarding with him having an unhealthy attachment and him also not really taking care of himself that well is even more depressing now that it’s confirmed

People should write for him more, idk if it’s just me but he certainly gives me a lot of ideas. I actually wonder how he would be like with a magicless and nice person (still digging the noble bell college magicless student post you made bc you’re providing good Rollo food rn) , sorry I just wanna give this man a hug like can you imagine that instead of being fully angry with him you just

Both pity and sympathize with him

If it’s okay can you make this yandere as well? Sorry if this is a lot

notes: yandere, some elaboration on this piece in the tags

Rollo can't bear the way you look at him.

All the ideas he'd been stewing over for years, the ideals that shaped his life, the plans to take it all down... To reshape this world, and finally make it a safe place to live. (so no one may have to find one of their loved ones in such a state, ever again.) To you, he bared his heart. All of it came bursting out of him in one powerful, continuous, disjointed rant. For him to even have entertained the thought of confessing, much less go through with it, means he has come to care about your opinion far, far too much. He wanted you to treat him like you always do. For you to find the good in himself that he has failed to discover. 

He wanted you to tell him that his ideas were worthy, that the salvation he dreamed of was beautiful, that the people embraced by the cleansing fires would have deserved it. If you reached out your hand to him, he would have taken it. He thought, maybe, you would be the one to understand.

Instead, you look at him with pity. It causes his chest to tighten like it’s being constricted, and his mouth to set into a thin line. Your ideas do not align with his. But, how could they? Compared to him, you are too kind and untainted, too believing and warmhearted. He should not have expected you to be able to descend to his way of thinking. You are no fool for that; You, who hail from a world that never knew magic, to whom the concept is fresh, could not be expected to grasp all of its dangers. 

“Rollo... Um, it’s clear you’ve been suffering a lot. I’m sorry that I didn’t notice before, and that I couldn’t help you. What happened to your brother sounds... Horrific, and you have every right to be upset about that. But...” Your gaze wanders off. “I think that while magic has the potential to do harm, it can also do many good things. Taking it all away would be- Well, I don’t think it would be the right action to take here.”

With your words, your fate is sealed, and so is his. Rollo has gone too far down the path of no return to be changed now, and you are clearly too kind to take up the burden of truth from this world. He would have shown you their crimson salvation, but it is clear that you would, in your limitless, naive kindness, not be able to bear it. For all these filthy mages, you would only be a perfect victim. He has to do this. You will not known, until it is all over. And once you can walk the streets of the City of Flowers, without a care in the world, you will thank him. 

For now, he will pretend. His tongue feels heavy in his mouth as he prepares to tell his lies. He will have to sink down further, before being allowed peace. “I- I understand.” Rollo mutters. “What would you suggest I do then? And, please, do not tell anyone about this, because I...” He trails off, and you support him.

“I get it. I promise I won’t. You haven’t done anything yet. Thoughts are just thoughts, and you’re not evil for them, or anything.” You smile. The rest of your words are lost on his ears, but Rollo cannot stop staring at you. If he tucked you away somewhere safe, until all is said and done... You wouldn’t be able to try and save him with your good intent.

#cha.rollo #yandere #rollo flamme x reader #rollo flamm x reader #i do not think you can 'fix' rollo even in his yandere state or anything like that #non-yan rollo i imagine... would suppress all of his feelings for you until after his 'great act' #but in this case his feelings would be too overwhelming and that's the major difference #he believes he's doing something that will benefit you as well in the end. that only makes him more determined #if someone wants me to elaborate more on his mindset / if something in this fic wasn't clear feel free to shoot me an ask :3

[madtomedgar]

Noticing that the flashpoint around members of religious minorities, including atheists from those groups, using the term "cultural christianity" seems to be that ex-christian atheists, or atheists who are not related to minority cultural-religious groups, think that when we say it, we mean something bad. That in this context "christian" means something derogatory, and cultural means "crypto" as in covert.

This is a neutral term. It isn't a bad thing to participate or be shaped by the culture that grows up around a religion, which includes language, holidays, architecture, food, music, storytelling themes, etc. Someone who grows up as a christian in a country that is not culturally christian but later becomes an agnostic or atheist is still a member of that broad, shared culture of holidays, food, etc.

The problem is when a majority culture uses the power of the state and of civil society to enforce cultural norms tied up in, or stemming from, its historical religion on others. This includes things like the state recognizing christian holidays, but not any one else's religious or cultural holidays; supermarkets being full of holiday associated food for christian holidays, but it being difficult or impossible to find appropriate food for Eid or Rosh Hashanah; Kosher and Halal slaughter being banned while fish Friday is still a thing, even if few students are practicing catholics; wearing crosses being fine, sometimes more fashion than religion, but kippot or beards or hijab being penalized; Assuming all religion is fundamentally similar to the dominant religion.

These are problems of cultural hegemony, not of culture. There is nothing wrong with having a December holiday party. There is a problem with assuming everyone has holidays in December and should be happy to participate in eating cookies and exchanging gifts, while not being willing to go have lunch in someone's Sukkah.

And saying people should be aware of and work to dismantle cultural christian hegemony means asking people to support colleagues who want to take time off for their holidays without dipping into sick or pto, and not assuming your world view is objective or the only correct one.

It's not asking people to "repent" for some inborn "sin" or saying anyone is secretly the thing they are saying they aren't, just like criticizing US imperialism isn't an attack on racial minorities in the US or erasing their oppression.

And assuming it is betrays a world view steeped in christian philosophy of good, evil, and personal accountability that is in no way a universal way of understanding things. It's not an inherently inferior way of understanding things, but it is specific, and assuming that it's how everyone understands things is a sign of the cultural hegemony of christian-dominant culture.

#also breaking with the church doesnt have to mean #breaking with your entire cultural background #it cant and it benefits the church to act like it does #plenty of atheists or otherwise breakaways from #non christian religions who talk a lot #about this struggle of reconciling their heritage and identity #with rebellion against their religion #and that looks different for every group #like. there were radical jewish atheists at some points hosting yom kippur feasts #that just wont read as the major rebellion it is if you arent jewish yknow

[allisonreader]

My heart hurts. Not physically, but emotionally. I don't like the news, I tend to avoid actively searching it out, for that exact reason. I ache because as people we just can't seem to get along. Learn to compromise and fully try to understand the other side. It's exhausting to understand why people are against certain things, even when it's the opposite of what I personally believe in.

#this is about a pronoun law being passed locally (one that I believe is appropriate and good) #as what's being passed is that under the age of 16 parent consent is needed for any name or pronoun changes #while there's at least one person throwing up a fuss about how terrible that is #like I get it lady you think it will cause harm where I see it as protecting kids and letting their parents know what's happening with them #it's not that I'm unsympathetic if anything I'm too sympathetic but there has to be checks and balances #especially when all of this trans/non-binary stuff is still so new and radical #people have been living life for a long time without these terms and without issue #and something that has always bothered me is that there is a reason why straight relationships are majority beyond religion #I do think that same sex attraction is natural #but that still doesn't mean that I think that it should be acted on it is a sin in the bible for a reason #though I would never kick a child of mine out of my house for feeling same sex attraction it would be a conversation needed about such #I have many more thoughts but most of them I would never necessarily post #as I would breakdown in tears at the first disparaging remarks because I'm soft like that #I also don't feel well educated enough to fully and properly make a case for myself #I'm surprised that I've even posted this though my most controversial thoughts are here in the tags

[simnostalgia]

The thing about people constantly talking about theocracy after the overturning of Roe is that I don't think some of you understand how deeply puritanical extremism still runs in America's rural areas.

I've talked about it before, but I grew up with what were basically preppers on a farm in the rural south. We're talking HARD religion. I *really* wish I had the time and energy to really go into every thought I've had about this because it's complex but to keep things short:

America has had a religious extremism problem forever basically, but it's only become more unglued over the past few decades. Honestly, this post isn't so much about the Roe decision as it is that I think that people see this as religious America coming INTO power rather than what it is: a desperate attempt to hold ONTO power.

This might just be anecdotal evidence but places where religion used to be the only option somehow became basically functionally secular overnight. There is statistical evidence to back that up too. Do you know how low church attendance is? How many people changed religion to none? And that's only the people that were polled/were honest.

Like, I'm not saying it isn't awful or horrible, but I am saying that this isn't the dawn of Gilead it's more like the inevitable instability and violence that comes from a culture that has undergone an unprecedented amount of technological and cultural change in an incredibly short amount of time.

This is retaliation for a paradigm shift, this isn't the paradigm shift itself.

#TW: Relgious violence #tw religion #tw religious mention #tw religious abuse #like I keep seeing people act like this was a majority opinion #and I'm just like #people are historically LESS religious now than they've ever been #nonsims #non-sims #non sims

[magdaclaire]

okay yes united states muts we were all subjected to the sats but did y’all ever take the act

bc it’s required in nc and that bitch has more sections that the sat and i did not deserve that

#this post is about standardized tests for non usamericans #the sats are required for admission to most colleges #the act is not but it is encouraged #and by the way u say those as if they are just letters. S A T all said separately as if they are initials (they are but i don't remember #what they stand for) and act said as A C T #nc is short for north carolina which is the state i live in - it's southeast usa and coastal #also yes i scored well on both the sat and the act but they still sucked major dick #mer rambles

[youssefguedira]

surprise! more zelda au but this time less sad and in the og not-100-years-later timeline

Yusuf fastens the buttons on his tunic one by one, runs his fingers over the delicate silver embroidery on the sleeves, pulls on the white gloves with their swirling golden patterns on the back of his left hand. It’s the afternoon of his birthday, and he hasn’t spoken to another person in hours. 

Not since the guard had arrived this morning, with a folded piece of paper in his hand and the message that Nicolò would not be on duty today, but that he’d left a message for Yusuf. When he’d opened it, three dried flowers, almost perfectly preserved, had fallen onto his lap. The note had read, I don’t know if these have any kind of scientific value, but I thought you’d like them. Happy birthday, Yusuf. I’ll see you later.

Nicolò’s absence shouldn’t have unsettled as much as it has, but Yusuf has been feeling off-centre all day. A year ago, he wouldn’t have blinked at being by himself for this long - ever since his mother died, he has trained alone, eaten alone, worked alone. But he’s gotten too used to having Nicolò around, and now he doesn’t know what to do without him.

He can't stop thinking, either, about what he'd overheard Nicolò saying to Andromache less than two weeks ago, after Yusuf had spent hours in the freezing water of the Spring of Courage with absolutely no results, to the point where he’d barely eaten all day and almost passed out from exhaustion. I don’t know what to do, Andy. I care about him too much to watch him keep hurting himself like this. 

He glances over to his desk, where the flowers are resting now, placed carefully on top of a blank page in his sketchbook, then back to himself in the mirror. Wonders if he looks as unsettled as he feels. It’s less than an hour until the ball starts - Andromache, Quynh, Nile and Sebastien have been here for a week. Tomorrow, everything changes, but tonight, he’s been instructed by his father to act as if everything’s fine.

When it’s time, he’s led from his room by one of his father’s aides and a guard to a small antechamber attached to the main ballroom. The man barely looks at him, just tells him to wait. Behind the door to the ballroom, he can already hear people talking. He tries, and fails, not to fidget too much with his gloves.

The door he’d entered through swings open again, and Nicolò walks through, lighting up when he sees Yusuf. Something in Yusuf’s chest finally settles.

Nicolò’s in his blue and red ceremonial guard’s uniform, sword strapped to his back in a more decorated sheath than the plain one he favors, his hair tied neatly back. His brown gloves are embroidered with the same pattern as Yusuf’s, but on his right hand instead. He smiles, looking Yusuf up and down. “You look good.”

“So do you,” Yusuf says.

“Did you get my note?” Nicolò asks, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind him. “I asked Taloh-”

“I did,” Yusuf responds. “The flowers were beautiful. Thank you.” 

Nicolò’s smile widens at that. Yusuf’s heart skips a beat, and he doesn’t know why. “I missed you today,” he says before he can stop himself. 

“I missed you too,” Nicolò says, and the look he gives Yusuf is painfully soft. Yusuf doesn’t know what he’s doing, only that he has to do something. But before he can, his father’s aide returns. 

"It’s time,” he says, before leaving again.

Nicolò offers his hand. “Ready?” he asks. Yusuf isn’t, but he takes it anyway.

--------------------

Most of the ball is a blur. Nicolò is with him for almost all of it, save the odd moment, and when he isn’t, Andromache or Nile or Quynh or Sebastien are. But even though he’s not by himself, there’s only so many people he can talk to and smile at before he needs a break.

He slips out of a side door when he’s certain the attention is somewhere else. Outside the ballroom, it’s near silent, and it’s late enough that the hallway is lit only by moonlight. He finds a small alcove that’ll hide him from anyone passing by, leans back against the wall, and just breathes for a moment. He doesn’t mind people, but he knows they’re all expecting more of him than he can give, and he’s tired.

It’s not long before he hears footsteps, and sighs. He should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to stay away long.

But it’s not one of his father’s men - it’s Nicolò. “Yusuf, you-”

“I know,” Yusuf interrupts. It’s not fair, maybe, but he’s tired of having his every move monitored.  “I shouldn’t be out here by myself. But the castle is well guarded, so if that’s why you’re out here, you should go back inside.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” Nicolò looks almost hurt. “I’m here because you left, and I was worried. And because I am your friend, Yusuf, and I care about you.”

I care about him too much to watch him keep hurting himself like this. Yusuf hasn’t asked about it, but now he can’t stop himself. “I was awake, when we were visiting Andromache the last time.”

Nicolò blinks. “What?”

“I’d spent too long in the Spring the day before, and then I slipped away from you to go visit the Divine Beast. You found me hours later at the camp with Andromache. You thought I was asleep, but I wasn’t.” Yusuf can see the exact moment Nicolò realises what he means, but he keeps going. “You told Andromache you cared about me too much-”

“To watch you keep hurting yourself,” Nicolò finishes quietly. He’s silent for a moment, then- “What do you want me to say, Yusuf?”

“Did you mean it?” Yusuf asks, because - he’s not sure, really, only that this feels like something new and fragile and he has to know. 

Nicolò doesn’t look at him for a long time, long enough that Yusuf worries he’s said the wrong thing. Maybe he never should have brought it up. 

“Of course I did,” Nicolò says finally, quiet enough that it’s barely even a whisper.

Yusuf moves closer without really thinking about it. “You sent me flowers.” He sees it all in a different light now - the flowers and Nicolò’s perpetual habit of finding him things he thought might interest him, the times Nicolò would sit with him while he worked and remind him to eat before he even realised he was hungry, the way Nicolò would always be there when Yusuf needed him. He almost can’t believe he didn’t see it before. 

Nicolò finally looks at him. “I did,” he says, and steps forward so there’s barely an inch of space left between them, and Yusuf can’t really remember how to breathe anymore. Nicolò cups his jaw in both hands, his thumb just brushing Yusuf’s cheekbone, pauses for just a second. Yusuf could step away if he wanted to, should really go back to the ball because surely someone else must have noticed his absence. He doesn’t move. Closes his eyes instead, and Nicolò kisses him, achingly gentle. Yusuf’s hands settle on Nicolò’s hips, keeping him close. 

Even when they separate, Nicolò stays there, resting his forehead against Yusuf’s. This is dangerous, they both know it. Yusuf doesn’t know what will happen if his father discovers this, only that it will not be good. 

“You’re thinking too much,” Nicolò says softly. Yusuf can hear him smiling, and opens his eyes. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Yusuf says. He doesn’t want to think about any of that now. It can wait. 

“Are you sure?” Nicolò asks. He knows Yusuf far too well, but Yusuf nods anyway.

Nicolò smiles, and kisses him again.

#this one i think is comprehensible to non zelda people #because i left out the Major Lore sections so this is a very stripped down version of this scene #and after there's a whole wider thing that references yusufs semi prophetic dreams but i need to leave some things for the actual longfic #i want to write someday. not yet but Someday #but yeah. have a lot of feelings about nicolo acts of service di genova in this au. bringing yusuf food when hes working. making sure he #rests even when hes training. bringing him things he might find interesting just to make him smile #something something yusuf is viewed as either a divine figure or a means to an end and nicolo is one of the few people to care for him just #as a person rather than a legend or in terms of what he expects of yusuf. yeah #2 ficlets in one day. who am i #i have a third which is heavily self indulgent lore stuff but the concept is very everything to me #neon writes #the zelda au which lives only in my head #the old guard #kaysanova #this was posted purely bc of shini's tags on the one i posted earlier! thank you im glad you enjoy this au! <3

[your-god-empress-lavender]

as an anarchist, i feel that my advice to kids who are going through a tough time is rarely considered enough. Like, i personally think i'm totally being reasonable when my solution to "my parents are being assholes and not letting me read" is "question their authority, blatantly violate their rules and see how they react. See exactly what punishments they are able to inflict and find ways out of them (eg. if they take away your electronics, but aren't physically strong enough to take them out of your hands, don't give them over; if they try to ground you but aren't physically able to keep up with your running pace, then just sprint out the door any time you want to go out). If their punishment is physical and hurts you, you can either run away [gives very detailed instructions on how to do so], or [proceeds to explain how to make various poisons, explosives, and how to make it look like an accidental death]." But unfortunately my friends and the mods on the discord server think that i'm all unreasonable and shouldn't be allowed talk to kids. to be perfectly clear, i'm not saying these things to a 7 year old or anything, i try to be as """normal""" as i can with kids under 10, and not recommend anything illegal for kids under 15. am i in the wrong? probably not, right? maybe i should refrain from suggesting lethal solutions. that said, parents should definitely be held to a higher standard as they've been entrusted with the wellbeing and task of raising someone right

#anarchist issues #talking to kids is hard #adults are the worst thing to ever happen to kids #kids should raise themselves #but also definitely get outside education #idk #the things i'm saying in the tags aren't super well thought out #but definitely adults are not good for kids #the only way adults can help kids is by staying out of the way #the number of times an adult has hurt a kid is multiple orders of magnitude more than the times an adult has helped a kid #parents are probably disproportionately responsible for the pain #non-parents probably do the majority of the good things #kids don't declare war #kids don't do genocide #kids are lovely and wonderful creatures #90% of bad traits that kids have are learned from adults #saying that an adult is acting “childish” is 100% a complement #the only times a kid acts badly is if they're acting like an adult #and yes i am an adult #i would be sorry for ranting #but i'm not beholden to anyone so yeah

[artful-aries]

Have you ever wondered if your soulmate is out there somewhere pulling a push door?

ALL THE TIME because I know if I fall in love with a man he’s gonna have to be a little stupid

#aries rambles #listen when cis men think they’re smarter than you they get to acting a certain way and my ego dictates that I knock them down a peg or two #so when a man is a little dumb and he knows it that’s when I’m most compatible bc I’m like yes lemme take care of u sir #for women tho I love ‘em all #non-binaries I actually haven’t come across a lot irl but I imagine I’d get along with the vast majority

[jaredthebc]

I’m sorry to the Hilda is the main protag enjoyers I physically cannot imagine Hilda being the protag after all the Masters brainrot or at the very least I cannot see it without her setting a ton of things on fire

#trainer hilda #gen 5 #pokemon black and white #pokemas #LIKE its not that she isnt caring at all but her personality just kinda doesnt fit a hero? #or if she was the hero she wouldnt be the one to really break the cycle of siblings fighting #hilbert i see as the one who can realistically manage to make his point across in a non hostile way #while also still putting up a good fight. hes sympathetic #but in a way that he could still act as a hero who breaks a cycle #meanwhile i think Hilda wouldnt see into the nuance of N and treat him like a generic grunt #like i imagine her not really picking up on the finer lines and focusing just on beating Plasma everytime she sees them #basically Hilbert didnt really have a major ambition in his life and was willing to see finer details #while hilda would be the one already knowing she wants to do a lot of battles and beat the champion lazer focus #rather than really seeing the evil team as people #this isnt even to say she would hate N cause its clear in Masters once knowing his story that she cares a lot for him #but in the context of just him in plasma she would obliterate the twink #sorry for the ramble im just thinking of how good Hilbert fits the accidental chosen hero role gihtighutg

[everony]

One of the things I think about sometimes is that time I told my nepotism manager, in much nicer terms, to fuck around and find out if he wants to make me mad again. Then went above his head and tattled on him to his wife, the owner, and his cousin, the other owner, telling them exactly what I told him and that it wasn't an empty threat.

He backed off and pretty much leaves me alone bow lmao

#straight up told the dude that im autistic not stupid #and if he wants to stop me from doing the main part of my job #but then get mad at me for doing the other major part of my job #then its going to be his problem if he wants to make me mad again #tbh i also told him that if he pulls that shit again then im just not going to listen to him and he can suck it up #this fucker is also aware that im literally LEGALLY DISABLED because of my processing issues but acts like im not #i think he also forgot about telling me to my face that his 4y/o son would be better at the job that ive done for 8 years #until i mentioned it #because he got real quiet real quick #like yeah #i have a shit memory #but im also the type of person to remember tiny insignificant details #and being called stupid by the man who has to constantly ask you how to do shit really leaves an impression on someone #auDHD #also im the type of person who doesnt like to get angry #id much rather just laugh it off and hope the asshole has the day they deserve #but thats because im very non confrontational #and im aware of my temper that burns like thermite #ill be seemingly fine until suddenly the spark catches and my anger burns so fiercely that it scares me #i get described at work as bubbly and easy going #but in those moments youd never be able to see that as truth #but within moments the rage is gone and only apathy for the fucker who pissed me off remains #and apathy is far more unsettling than sudden rage #because now im not masking #i dont have the energy left to mask for the sake of someone who isnt worth a second of my time #and the unfortunate part of being autistic is that i know i make nerotypicals uncomfortable when i dont mask

[fullhalalalchemist]

URGENT: 🚨🚨EARN IT ACT IS BACK IN THE SENATE 🚨🚨 TUMBLR’S NSFW BAN HITTING THE ENTIRE INTERNET THIS SUMMER 2023

April 28, 2023

I’m so sorry for the long post but please please please pay attention and spread this

What is the EARN IT Act?

The EARN IT Act (s. 1207) has been roundly condemned by nearly every major LGBTQ+ advocacy and human rights organization in the country.

This is the third time the Senate has been trying to force this through, and I talked about it last year. It is a bill that claims "protects children and victims against CSAM" by creating an unelected and politically appointed national commission of law enforcement specialists to dictate "best practices" that websites all across the nation will be forced to follow. (Keep in mind, most websites in the world are created in the US, so this has global ramifications). These "best practices" would include killing encryption so that any law enforcement can scan and see every single message, dm, photo, cloud storage, data, and any website you have every so much as glanced at. Contrary to popular belief, no they actually can't already do that. These "best practices" also create new laws for "removing CSAM" online, leading to mass censorship of non-CSAM content like what happened to tumblr. Keep in mind that groups like NCOSE, an anti-LGBT hate group, will be allowed on this commission. If websites don't follow these best practices, they lose their Section 230 protections, leading to mass censorship either way.

Section 230 is foundational to modern online communications. It's the entire reason social media exists. It grants legal protection to users and websites, and says that websites aren't responsible for what users upload online unless it's criminal. Without Section 230, websites are at the mercy of whatever bullshit regulatory laws any and every US state passes. Imagine if Texas and Florida were allowed to say what you can and can't publish and access online. That is what will happen if EARN IT passes. (For context, Trump wanted to get rid of Section 230 because he knew it would lead to mass govt surveillance and censorship of minorities online.)

This is really not a drill. Anyone who makes or consume anything “adult” and LGBT online has to be prepared to fight Sen. Blumenthal’s EARN IT Act, brought back from the grave by a bipartisan consensus to destroy Section 230. If this bill passes, we’re going to see most, if not all, adult content and accounts removed from mainstream platforms. This will include anything related to LGBT content, including SFW fanfiction, for example. Youtube, Twitter, Reddit, Tiktok, Tumblr, all of them will be completely gutted of anything related to LGBT content, abortion healthcare, resources for victims of any type of abuse, etc. It is a right-wing fascists wet dream, which is why NCOSE is behind this bill and why another name for this bill is named in reference to NCOSE.

NCOSE used to be named Morality in Media, and has rebranded into an "anti-trafficking" organization. They are a hate group that has made millions off of being "against trafficking" while helping almost no victims and pushing for homophobic laws globally. They have successfully pushing the idea that any form of sexual expression, including talking about HEALTH, leads to sex trafficking. That's how SESTA passed. Their goal is to eliminate all sex, anything gay, and everything that goes against their idea of ‘God’ from the internet and hyper disney-fy and sanitize it. This is a highly coordinated attack on multiple fronts.

The EARN IT Act will lead to mass online censorship and surveillance. Platforms will be forced to scan their users’ communications and censor all sex-related content, including sex education, literally anything lgbt, transgender or non-binary education and support systems, aything related to abortion, and sex worker communication according to the ACLU. All this in the name of “protecting kids” and “fighting CSAM”, both of which the bill does nothing of the sort. In fact it makes fighting CSEM even harder.

EARN IT will open the way for politicians to define the category of “pornography" as they — or the lobbies that fund them — please. The same way that right-wing groups have successfully banned books about race and LGBT, are banning trans people from existing, all under the guise of protecting children from "grooming and exploitation", is how they will successfully censor the internet.

As long as state legislatures can tie in "fighting CSAM" to their bullshit laws, they can use EARN IT to censor and surveill whatever they want.

This is already a nightmare enough. But the bill also DESTROYS ENCRYPTION, you know, the thing protecting literally anyone or any govt entity from going into your private messages and emails and anything on your devices and spying on you.

This bill is going to finish what FOSTA/SESTA started. And that should terrify you.

Senator Blumenthal (Same guy who said ‘Facebook should ban finsta’) pushed this bill all of 2020, literally every activist (There were more than half a million signatures on this site opposing this act!) pushed hard to stop this bill. Now he brings it back, doesn’t show the text of the bill until hours later, and it’s WORSE. Instead of fixing literally anything in the bill that might actually protect kids online, Bluemnthal is hoping to fast track this and shove it through, hoping to get little media attention other than propaganda of “protecting kids” to support this shitty legislation that will harm kids. Blumental doesn't care about protecting anyone, and only wants his name in headlines.

It will make CSAM much much worse.

One of the many reasons this bill is so dangerous: It totally misunderstands how Section 230 works, and in doing so (as with FOSTA) it is likely to make the very real problem of CSAM worse, not better. Section 230 gives companies the flexibility to try different approaches to dealing with various content moderation challenges. It allows for greater and greater experimentation and adjustments as they learn what works – without fear of liability for any “failure.” Removing Section 230 protections does the opposite. It says if you do anything, you may face crippling legal liability. This actually makes companies less willing to do anything that involves trying to seek out, take down, and report CSAM because of the greatly increased liability that comes with admitting that there is CSAM on your platform to search for and deal with. This liability would allow anyone for any reason to sue any platform they want, suing smaller ones out of existence. Look at what is happening right now with book bans across the nation with far right groups. This is going to happen to the internet if this bill passes.

(Remember, the state department released a report in December 2021 recommending that the government crack down on “obscenity” as hard the Reagan Administration did. If this bill passes, it could easily go way beyond shit red states are currently trying. It is a goldmine for the fascist right that is currently in the middle of banning every book that talks about race and sexuality across the US.)

The reason these bills keep showing up is because there is this false lie spread by organizations like NCOSE that platforms do nothing about CSEM online. However, platforms are already liable for child sexual exploitation under federal law. Tech companies sent more than 45 million+ instances of CSAM to the DOJ in 2019 alone, most of which they declined to investigate. This shows that platforms are actually doing everything in their power already to stop CSEM by following already existing laws. The Earn It Act includes zero resources for proven investigation or prevention programs. If Senator Bluementhal actually cared about protecting youth, why wouldn’t he include anything to actually protect them in his shitty horrible bill? EARN IT is actually likely to make prosecuting child molesters more difficult since evidence collected this way likely violates the Fourth Amendment and would be inadmissible in court.

I don’t know why so many Senators are eager to cosponsor the “make child pornography worse” bill, but here we are.

HOW TO FIGHT BACK

EARN IT Act was introduced just two weeks ago and is already being fast-tracked. It will be marked up the week of May 1st and head to the Senate floor immediately after. If there is no loud and consistent opposition, it will be law by JUNE! Most bills never go to markup, so this means they are putting pressure to move this through. There are already 20 co-sponsors, a fifth of the entire Senate. This is an uphill battle and it is very much all hands on deck.

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.

This website takes you to your Senator / House members contact info. EMAIL, MESSAGE, SEND LETTERS, CALL CALL CALL CALL CALL. Calling is the BEST way to get a message through. Get your family and friends to send calls too. This is literally the end of free speech online.

[phone] connects you to the congressional hotline. Here is a call script if you don't know what to say. Call them every day. Even on the weekends, leaving voicemails are fine.

2. Sign these petitions!

Link to Petition 1

Link to Petition 2

3. SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE

If you have any social media, spread this online. One of the best ways we fought back against this last year was MASSIVE spread online. Tiktok, reddit, twitter, discord, whatever means you have at least mention it. We could see most social media die out by this fall if we don't fight back.

Here is a linktree with more information on this bill including a masterpost of articles, the links to petitions, and the call script.

DISCORD LINK IF YOU WANT TO HELP FIGHT IT

TLDR: The EARN IT Act will lead to online censorship of any and all adult & lgbt content across the entire internet, open the floodgates to mass surveillance the likes which we haven’t seen before, lead to much more CSEM being distributed online, and destroy encryption. Call 202-224-3121 to connect to your house and senate representative and tell them to VOTE NO on this bill that does not protect anyone and harms everyone.

#earn it act #internet censorship #restrict act #us politics #net neutrality

[pedestrianversee]

i think vegans would find people would hate them less if 1. their movement wasn't overrun with ecofascists and 2. if they all didnt have such a cult like mentality.

#i dont care if you dont eat meat but dont shove it down other peoples throats and dont try to act holier than thou #most vegan propaganda about how it saves the environment is bs anyway #like you dont think crop farming harms the environment and is wholly ethical? buddy i have some bad news for you #not to mention vegan alternatives to fur and leather are just plastics #also vegans are SO RACIST!!! they are soooo fucking racist #they attack natives for their culture and ways of life all the fucking time. #also some disregard animal welfare to an extreme which is absolutely hilarious to me #feeding their pets vegan diets... believing we can just release domesticated animals into the wild and theyll be fine... lmao... #get back to me when the mass release of domestic house cats absolutely destroys wild bird population #in general just. the vast amount of guilt tripping and shaming vegans inflict on others. ie CULT MENTALITY!!! #that is literally what cults do!!! they guilt trip manipulate shame and shun non believers or those that oppose them #and then guilt trip and manipulate those that are on their side even more so so that they are complicit/blinded to outside opinion #im sorry for this long ass rant i just fucking hate the vast majority of vegans lmao #vegetarians and pescetarians youre fine youre all very normal and i love and appreciate you

[ipoddymouth]

isr++l/p+l+st+n+ stuff is so sad but its also like.......what'd yall think would happen in an apartheid state. like what did you REALLY think would happen if you treated a group of humans as a second class

#not to dust off the polisci major in me or anything like this is just common sense #treat a group like shit and they will go batshit feral rabid on you #and its wild that we're in the year 2023 and people still dont understand #why non-western countries don't like the west???? #like slavery was bad but at least im a citizen #us fuckin up countless countries abroad leaving and then being like 'why dont they like us :(' #you cant kill people's families and then act shocked to have enemies!!!!! #i know its more nuanced and complicated than how im making it sound #but there is still some truth to this

[takeiteasyjoan]

hmm i shouldn't have done that

#and that is the non major act of chugging and 11 oz bottle of soylent #but my tum tum sometimes doesn't like when things like that happen #and i really hope i don't barf #tiej

[craycraybluejay]

You know how a pretty obvious majority of kinksters are submissives? You want to know a big part of the reason why it's hard to find a dom that's into the same hard kink you are?

Ask a hardcore masochist what they think of being whipped.

Then ask a hard sadist what they think of whipping someone.

Do you notice that the sadist/dom will often either dance around an answer or try to use soothing language/euphemism not unlike the way how in many places people are still expected to discuss sex if at all. Gentle, calculated language.

The issue is, especially with a new surge of purity culture overtaking so-called "leftist" online circles, is that fantasy becomes a moral judgement.

Sub with a noncon kink: "I want to be raped" (cnc but like. People can talk ab it how they want don't cancel me fr.)

Response from Normies: "well that's weird and kinda dark but ok"

Dom with a noncon kink: "I want to rape"

Response from Normies: "I'm calling the police and you should kys and you're also a sexual abuser and even though you haven't said anything about kids you're also also a pedophile :)"

Not only does the attitude of murderous hatred against doms/tops with hard kinks/fetishes/paraphilias make it difficult for them to practice those kinks (safely and ethically) out of fear of social backlash if it's ever found out even if both they and their partner[s] had a great time and are fine-- but, it actively puts innocent people in danger by equating thoughts and attractions of ANY KIND to the act of hurting others against their will. It equates fantasy, which can oftentimes be played out safely if in a modified way with real harmful actions.

Also, kink is still illegal in many places, so don't "its illegal" me about harder kinks. Law is not morality, none of us are free until all of us are free, etc. You get the gist.

You want to see more doms? Meet someone who can indulge your "scary badwrong" sexy feelings? Then maybe don't actively promote a culture where you put ANY kind of attraction or kink under fire. It doesn't matter if it'd be unethical to act out in real life. Some of the most common kinks worldwide are unethical as fuck to act out irl, including rape. That's why we have cnc, come on, guys.

You know what? In fact, you SHOULD actively shun people who shame others for their sexual feelings. EVEN if you think it's gross. EVEN if it wouldn't be ethical to act on irl. Let these types know that their puritan ideals are NOT accepted here. Let them know that if they want to go to church they can do that but not in your space, not forcing other (non consenting!) people to listen to their hateful and repressive ideology.

Like, hey, I'm not into ABDL, for example. But I will defend to the death other people's right to be into that. To think and feel whatever they think and feel. You think diapers are sexy? Great! I don't personally see the appeal, but you do you boo. There is no Correct Way to be sex/kink negative. Either you believe in thought crime or you don't.

And yes, this post includes "harmful" paraphilias (I put it in quotes because they're only harmful if acted on), sadomasochism, mutilation fetishism, etc etc. Every "gross" or "evil" kink, fetish, para you can possibly imagine. The stuff that makes you horny is just stuff that makes you horny, and being horny is normal. Being "weird horny" is also normal. No one deserves to experience shame, let alone public harassment or hate over feelings they most of the time don't Choose to have. Be mindful of puritan rhetoric and strike it down when you see it.

#important #psa #hard kink #nsft topic #pro para #pro kink #the 'dom shortage' #obv there are other factors but this is just a connection I'm pointing out #purity culture #purity wank #puritans #sex and sexuality #tw r@pe mention #p3d0 panic/the trend of calling everyone you don't like a p43d0phi13 despite that that's as i said before #NOT the same thing as csa or ANYTHING like that and simply an experienced attraction #attraction is not r@pe; foot fetishists r not going to randomly hump ur foot and same w ever other kink #thought crime #puritanism #the purity culture wave #discourse #except if you disagree pls block me this is a pro kink blog forever and ever #thoughts are thoughts #anti para people scare me bc if u think someone cant help but have sex with someone/something theyre attracted to... #what EXACTLY are you going to do if someone romantically rejects you???????????? #turning the argument around here. if this is your belief then i do not trust you around me and my loved ones #because if attraction is action then i am scared for the people you are attracted to #because it isn't. and the fact that you think it is says more about you than anyone you hate for their attractions