#yes voting is marginal

[goatbeard-goatbeard]

Sure, Aziraphale lives in Soho and is THE southern pansy. But I’ve met multiple people in my own neighborhood who match Crowley’s exact description:

older trans/gnc person

military vet

living in their car

I cannot stress enough what a common combo that is, particularly for older trans folks. In my area, you can see the split between people who transitioned 10+ years ago vs. now, what kinds of experiences they had. There’s still a ways to go, but things have gotten dramatically better.

If you want to make things better even faster, vote in local elections.*

(that’s right, you’ve been tricked into reading a ✨🗳️ Voting Post 🗳️✨! Discover your civic obligations, fool!)

But seriously though, local politicians have TONS of influence on housing policy, and they really don’t hide their opinions. Even if their housing plans are awful, they’ll be easy to find on their campaign website.

They actually want to advertise those shitty plans, because those shitty plans are aimed at homeowners. Homeowners (1) have a stable address and (2) often worry about their home value. Both those factors make them super reliable voters.

Unfortunately, the “but my home value” folks always get riled up by low/no-cost housing. They’ll say it’s about “the character of the neighborhood”, but really, any increase in housing supply impacts the demand for their home investment. They also don’t want people visibly sleeping outside, so the combined effect is a neighborhood that blocks housing and harasses people for the crime of… peacefully sleeping in their car.

Whatever housing makes it through will often be too far away from necessary amenities or too busy/loud for folks with multiple overlapping traumas, whether from family or the jobs they took to get away from family (e.g. military).

But again, this is all very local politics, so you can outvote the Home Values crowd with a little bit of organizing!

For example: after voting, share your notes with your friends.** You have to research the candidates anyway, so why not pass around a little voter guide when you’re done?

List who you’re voting for in each position, and what info you saw that made you pick/avoid each person (this will also make your life easier the next time that person’s up for election). Even a very basic, bullet-point list can be the difference between someone forgetting the election date and filling out their entire ballot.*** Now instead of 1 vote, you’re moving a small handful of votes, which can have a big impact in local elections.

Also, creating a voter guide is surprisingly fun. There are some real characters in local politics, and you get to dunk on all their wacky policy ideas in your notes. An official voter guide will never say “<candidate name>: wtffffffffff”. But yours can!

*remember that local elections may happen more often than big-ticket elections. Search “<city name> election dates” and put reminders in your phone for a couple weeks before important deadlines, so you have time to research stuff.

**especially younger friends who may be less confident about voting their whole ballot, or unaware of different deadlines.

***this is one of the reasons why Christian conservatives are overrepresented in politics — they’re inherently organized because they already meet weekly (or more). It’s very easy for them to remind each other to vote. But we can steal this strategy! Don’t have a megachurch? That’s ok, remind your discord server to vote. Don’t have a Bible study? That’s ok, remind your D&D group, your boardgame group, or your knitting circle to vote.

#25 lazarii #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #crowley #anthony j crowley #the bentley #crowley’s bentley #yes voting is marginal #it’s the tiniest most insubstantial fraction of a miracle #so hold someone else’s hand when you do it #good omens meta #to the world

[qqueenofhades]

Going to cautiously posit that if they're moving toward calling Kentucky for Beshear (incumbent Democratic governor) in a blindingly red state Trump won by 30 points, in an off-year election, about 30 minutes after polls close statewide, that is a Good Sign.

#hilary for ts #politics for ts #still ohio and virginia to watch #but the twitter hellmachine seems confident of beshear's chances in KY #which #i mean #kentucky: home of mitch fucking mcconnell and rand paul and 30 point trump margins #i fucking hate election night it always stresses me out #and this is not remotely as bad as it will be at this time next year #but yes #maybe we can get some hard data that people do indeed continue to vote for democrats/abortion rights at overperforming levels #and get people to shut up for 2 seconds about garbage polls #i dream for far too much but yes

[darkwood-sleddog]

pride this year for me has been about using my new position of power within my community to force change and acceptance. even subtly. i wore my bi flag pin this week, i have never come out to any of my co workers, i didn’t feel the need to. But now that I’m elected and have solidified myself for years as a fixture in my community I’m forcing everybody that comes into my rural office to ask a service of me to interact with somebody wearing a pride pin. You want me to issue your marriage license? Your dog license? Notarize your documents? You’re getting a bisexual doing those services. Ordering new indexing cards for our birth, death, and marriage index i’ve made the switch to more gender neutral language and options because that’s something I can control and it’s wonderful.

I looked the gay man that came in scared of his neighbor in the eyes and there was a mutual understanding between us that we knew of each other and I assured him of his safety with me, he spoke in codes I was only familiar with from my days years ago in drag clubs in a less liberal area of the country. We understood each other.  Yesterday, the first day of June, we hired not only a woman to an opening in a widely male dominated planning board, but an openly lesbian woman. 

Vermont may be more welcoming to LBGTQ+ folks compared to many areas of the united states, but being open can still feel scary to many. Some of us still feel the need to speak in code in our widely left leaning, blue voting communities which is in part due to how past people in similar positions of power to me have acted towards them. But i can help change that, even if just a little. If you’re LGBTQ+ you are safe in my office and safe in my care. 

#not dogs #pride #lgbtq+ #municipal stuff #do i dress in a way at work to sometimes make people that expect a certain type of dress from an elected person uncomfortable #yes #yes i do #i am of the opinion that marginalized groups need. i said NEED to feel safe in their municipal offices #which is very important imo in tiny white vermont #do we vote very left? yes #does that mean people are exempt and/or never engage in bigotry? nope #i see posts on r/vermont all the time of LGBT folk #looking to move and hoping its a liberal left leaning haven here #and sure yeah it can feel that way compared to other areas of the country #but you're naive if you think that a majority white farming state is going to be a left leaning monolith #we have extremely poor mental health care here and limited medical resources for trans folk btw unless you are close to MA in southern VT #or NH in eastern vt #but also eastern vt trends less left #so pick your poison #that being said i love it here and many of my LGBTQ friends from ohio who have visited note how different they feel they are treated here #(in a good way)

[maeamian]

I'll scream my little head off about this forever, but any post still mad about the 2016 election fundamentally needs to note that we fucking outright won that one for the email lady except that our allegedly democratic system of government does not award the supreme executive role to the person with the most votes. As much harm as Trump and did and is still doing, the people to blame aren't the marginal voters who didn't like their choices it's the fuckers who built the electoral college and senate, we need serious systemic changes to our voting to undo the damage, which is a lot harder of a fix than yelling at people about how they didn't vote enough when so many of us fucking did but live in a fundamentally undemocratic system that doesn't reward the winner of the vote with the office they were running for.

#If your takeaway was 'some people weren't enthusiastic about an objectively unimpressive candidate' that's fair #But if you then want to insist *that* and not fundamental problems with the system are why it went bad #IDK what to tell you learn more about how American politics works. #The electoral college is a fundamental problem and couldn't even do the one fucking thing people who excused its existence said it'd do #If it were an actual democratic protection they could've defected to the popular vote winner instead of the obviously fascist jackass #But it's obviously not designed as a protection for people who aren't deeply invested in the status quo #Fail country with cringe electoral systems. #Voting is a basic buy-in but like... maybe google disinfranchisment before being sure you're aiming your rage correctly on this one #Most of the states we lost it on engaged in that at margins easily enough to swing the fucking thing #It just rings a lot like Joe Biden's advice to out-organize voter suppression and I don't take kindly to it #I'm not saying don't be mad that election was a fundamental betrayal of the people of this country and should be treated as such #But you can't make it about the voters without acknowledging the system the voters were voting in #At least not if you want me to think of you as a serious person making as serious argument about American politics #But Jareth weren't you all in on Voting these past few months for the CA primaries? #Yes I think voting is good and important and that's why I think that the system should be set up to reflect the results of votes taken #Rather than the one we've got now. #Which does not meaningfully reflect the will of the voters in any way shape or form #Also CA's system is much fairer on the whole

[bloodyke]

next person to bring up project 2025 to fearmonger support for genocide joe is getting blown up i cannot stand you bitches

#zenith.txt #yall know NOTHING #you only have 1 talking point and its never worked #if you want people to vote you need to give them something to vote FOR not something to vote against or else all arguments are meaningless #second of all who the fuck do you think is currently laying the groundwork for project 2025? its literally biden #all the shit you fear is gonna happen is ALREADY STARTED UNDER HIS PRESIDENCY #third of all you all sound like fucking GHOULS when you say 'yeah genocide is bad but if we dont vote itll inconvenience ME this time' #what the fuck is wrong with you #joe biden will not get a second term that is a fact and it will be his own fault #if you guys ACTUALLY cared about these issues you would be mobilizing in your communities instead of yelling vote blue no matter who #its the fact that weve known about project 2025 for a whole year now but yall are only just now bringing it up bc people #are criticing biden more than ever and it scares you that your precious status quo is being challenged #legitimately fuck all of you trying to weaponize the fears of marginalized communities #the privilege in saying that under repubs things will get worse... #itll get worse FOR YOU. all of the things you worry about finally affecting YOU are literally already fucking happening #to black and brown (particularly black and brown disabled people) for DECADES #and im saying this from a place of privilege being white myself #yes i am a gay disabled puerto rican but i am white first and have been able to for the most part avoid a lot of the shit that has been #KILLING my family and the people in my communities #all of the things youve been saying will happen in project 2025 are things i have already fucking watched happen to the people around me #the only difference between now and this hypothetical project 2025 is now it will effect white people too #and thats the only reason yall even fucking care about it because now YOUR life is going to terrible and YOU cannot ignore it anymore #everything you criticized trump for biden and his team also does. #yall are so fucking pathetic wringing your hands and spouting the lie of electoralism but you refuse to do anything #that could enact meaningful change beacuse the point is you guys dont actually want change #the only thing yall want is to have people stop talking about all of this so you can continue to walk around with your head down #and not be inconvenience in your daily life bc you actually enjoy the status quo #saying you have to vote for the wolf in sheeps clothing over the wolf is not fucking better they are the exact same thing #and its time yall opened your fucking eyes to the world around you #'i domt support genocide but-' THERE IS NO BUT HERE.

[hannahchronism]

i wrote a whole tag thing in the tags of a post but then decided i didn't want to get into it where strangers were but "tru.mp won because young people didn't vote" is factually misleading anyway

#like yes a big thing about the 2020 vote (vs. 2016) was the increase in young people voting but ultimately trum/p won #because of the sitting representatives- not because of who did and didn't vote in the people's vote #in fact he lost the popular vote. by a small margin but he still lost. #(we swung a bunch of the sitting representatives in the following years as result. behold: bi/den.) #so like. yes there was an increase in young people participating but that's. not the sole statistic responsible for what happened lmao

[chaosmenu]

my thing with like "oh if voting didnt do anything then why are fascists trying so hard to prevent people from doing it" is. well you do understand that politics is their job, right? like. liberal and conservative politicians both want to get people to vote for them even by illegal or immoral means because thats how they get paid. its not because they want to Quash The Voting Revolution like a mustache-twirling cartoon villain its because they like money. thats why both parties do gerrymandering etc. like im not even saying you shouldnt go out and vote, i dont really care one way or another because ultimately the united states will always commit acts of imperialistic atrocities because thats what the us was and is founded upon and that will stay the same no matter whos in charge of the government. but its such a strange argument to use in defense of voting. if you want to vote then do it. if you want to get other people to vote then explain how doing so will improve the living conditions of marginalized usamericans. but its not super revolutionary or anything and its silly to me to act like it is

#op #like i think the mass pushback against voting is dumb too because well #i dont get why you'd get so angry at doing something thats usually pretty easy and cant hurt #at best you can maybe make life slightly better for certain marginalized peoples #at worst it does nothing. which is what wouldve happened if you didnt vote anyway #like yes you wont be doing anything major on a global level. but its also not hurting anybody. so who cares #idk its just a very pointless discourse to me

[fiercynn]

okay, if you have ever made or reblogged a “hold your nose and vote for biden” post, this is for you.

here’s the fucking thing about these kinds of posts. i've been seeing them since i first returned to tumblr in, I think, late 2022? they've certainly increased in frequency since october 7, but they were there before too, ready to counter any kind of opposition to biden that has cropped up. many of them are not just trying to educate people about what positive things biden has done, which, like, at least I can understand the motivation behind those ones? but so many of them are directly in response to people criticizing biden, and their only real point is “sure you’re upset at this thing biden did, but have you considered the election?” starting YEARS before the next presidential election, mind you.

and october 7 only made that clearer. i don’t think it had been a week before i saw these posts cropping up. can you not see how fucking ghoulish that is? to look at the rightful pain and anger of those whose relatives and communities are being slaughtered with active american support, to respond to one of the few pieces of agency most americans have in influencing what their governments do – their vote – by saying “yes but trump would be worse.” as if the primary people you’re lecturing – palestinians, muslims, arabs, black people, indigenous people, disabled people, other marginalized people – don’t remember exactly how bad it was under trump!

and even if you think not voting is an empty gesture – something i, who studied political science at a mainstream american lib college, who has worked as a field organizer on a previous democratic presidential campaign and for several policy campaigns, who currently works in public policy in america, used to believe, but have absolutely changed my mind on – what is in no way an empty gesture is saying publicly that you will not vote for someone. the arguments people usually have about why simply not voting is bad are that you can’t tell why someone is not voting, so it is as likely to be apathy or disenfranchisement as it is a political statement. but saying publicly that you will not vote for someone, and why you will not vote for them, absolutely is a political statement, and potentially a powerful one! but you choose to negate and/or ignore that by trotting out the “lesser of two evils” bullshit.

and then there’s the whole “yes but people will DIE under trump”. PEOPLE ARE DYING NOW. even if you’re fucking racist and have decided that palestinian lives don’t count, have you forgotten biden’s ongoing covid minimalism and dismantling of the CDC’s covid research and prevention infrastructure? have you forgotten his increase in spending for law enforcement scant years after the murder of george floyd and his administration's surveillance of protesters, including cop city protesters? have you forgotten his recent ramp-up in deportations of undocumented immigrants, including the active continuation of many trump-era policies?

maybe you have forgotten all those things and do purport to care about palestinians, but you just think that biden is doing his best to influence netanyahu and is getting nowhere! but then you must have forgotten all of the things that biden and his administration themselves have done to further this fucking genocide, including:

continuing to send arms to israel

putting together a military task force within days of yemen’s red sea blockade and attacking yemeni ships

bombing yemen

bombing syria

bombing iraq

vetoing three ceasefire resolutions at the united nations

testifying to defend israel and its genocide and occupation at the international court of justice

refusing to rescue palestinian-americans stuck in gaza

halting funding to the united nations relief and works agency for palestinian refugees (UNRWA) based on israeli claims that 12 of UNRWA’s over 30,000 staff were hamas agents, even though u.s. intelligence has not been able to independently verify this

lying that he’s personally seen photos of babies beheaded by hamas when he hadn’t because they didn’t exist (and even when his own staff cautioned him that reports of beheaded babies may not be credible)

questioning the number of palestinian deaths reported by the gaza ministry of health (when even israel has not questioned them, since they are in fact proud of those numbers)

perpetuating lies about hamas having committed the attack on al-aqsa hospital

questioning united nations reports of adults and children raped by israeli soldiers while claiming to have proof (that no one else has seen) of hamas doing the same

honestly so many more things that i can’t remember them all but others feel free to add

or maybe you haven’t forgotten any of that, and think that you’re still justified in lecturing people about why they should vote for biden, because you genuinely believe trump would still be worse. if that is the case, you have still failed to see that by saying you will vote for biden no matter what, you are part of the problem of biden continuing to act like this. because biden is counting on fear of trump to win him this next election no matter what else he does. despite his appalling polling numbers, despite the knowledge that he is losing the palestinian-american vote, the arab-american vote, the muslim-american vote, the black american vote, the youth vote – despite all of that, he is secure in the idea that he will still win because he is better than trump. can you not see how that allows him to act without impunity? how it becomes increasingly impossible for his base to influence what he’s doing if he thinks that they will be with him no matter what? this is how you make yourself complicit to biden’s actions, by not affording anyone even the slightest power to hold him accountable for anything.

and in most cases, the “hold your nose and vote for biden” thing is the response of people who aren’t even being instructed by others not to vote for biden. it is their response to people saying they themselves are choosing not to vote for biden. fucking ghoulish.

#fuck biden #u.s. politics #free palestine #genocide #covid #immigrant justice #prison abolition #police abolition #ableism #from the river to the sea palestine will be free

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

note: i've had to increase the tempo very slightly in order to be able to upload it.

Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler 1999

"Freestyler" was released in Finland in 1999 as the third single from Bomfunk MC's debut studio album, In Stereo. It was released internationally in February 2000 and became a chart-topping hit worldwide, reaching number one in eleven countries. In Finland, the album resulted in Emma awards for best new band, best debut album, best song ("Freestyler"), and best producer.

The music video for the song was mainly filmed at the Hakaniemi metro station, an underground station on the Helsinki Metro line in Finland and with platforms 21 metres below sea level. For the twentieth anniversary in 2019, a new music video was produced featuring the original band members, with updates to reflect developments in technology and culture.

Despite the many nos from first time listeners, the poll won by a very slight margin; 51,6% total yes votes vs 48,4% total no.

#finished #high votes #high reblog #bomfunk mc's #90s #00s

[wugblogs]

shoutout to Kansas for keeping abortion

#okay yes there's a little more of the vote to go but it's a wide margin no has won #also thanks whoever made sure that amendment got on there ages ago #some good foresight there

[skaldish]

To add onto that last ask abt voting, while I think destroying the system would be beneficial, they're forgetting that there's going to be horrible people participating in the system regardless of our participation and voting for the GOP. How can you destroy a system when a significant chunk of the population is going to enthusiastically participate in it regardless? It's not like Conservative bigots won't vote.

Bruh. Do you know what would happen if you were to destroy the system?

Millions and millions of people will die, starting with the most marginalized and the most vulnerable.

Do you know why? Because the power vacuum left behind by a collapsed government will not stay unoccupied. It will rapidly be filled by whoever is the biggest, nastiest, bloodthirstiest bully on the block.

Why do you think Project 2025 is all about destroying the system? Because the system, again, is the only thing preventing the alt-right from going on an ethnic cleansing spree, killing everyone who doesn't fit their vision of a white ethno-nation.

You will not herald in a golden age of equity by destroying a system that has working checks and balances. You will get a lifetime of stress and living from moment to harrowing moment. You will have to sacrifice getting to be who you are in exchange for becoming a machine for survival.

Anarchy is a beautiful dream, because it's a dream that'll do whatever you want in your mind. It is Intriguing. It is New. It is Different. It looks like a fresh start, a blank canvas...but the error lies in assuming you'll get ANY SAY in how that canvas will get painted. Life is not something we get to shape like that, because it's not something we can control no matter how we organize ourselves. All we can do is figure out how we want to co-habit and co-operate within the ecosystem of all things.

There will always be "bad people" participating in the system, yes, but that's because "bad people" is a construct—bad is a thing we made it up. What's bad in one worldview is good in another. Not only that, everyone is capable of being bad and good, regardless of the morals and values they hold, system or no system.

Additionally, those same bigots who participate in the system now? They will GLADLY participate in a non-system.

Hell, they've got fucking plans for it.

#answered #ffs #politics #humanitarian issues

[boreal-sea]

Withholding your vote might feel powerful. It might feel like the only action you can take in a system that is designed to work against you.

But not everyone has the privilege to choose to abstain. A lot of people have had their vote stolen from them.

And not voting doesn't influence anyone. Our election system doesn't care how many people participate in it. Republicans will go to the polls come rain, shine, or snow. They will vote red. If every Democrat abstained from voting, Trump would win and that would be that.

I just can't see how that's a good outcome. I can't justify throwing away my vote when many don't have the right to choose.

If you want things like election reform, you HAVE to keep Democrats in power right now, because Republicans are 100% against election reform. Our broken system helps them win. In many cases, it's the ONLY reason they win. We the people cannot vote on laws if they don't end up on the ballot, and Republicans will never let things like ranked-choice voting get on a ballot if they are in power. Congress will never pass term limits with Republicans in power. We will never have enough votes for a constitutional amendment to remove the electoral college with Republicans in power.

People are dying right now - yes. But MORE people will die at a faster rate if Trump and the Republicans are in power.

Please, please think about that. Biden is harm-reduction. He is not the perfect candidate, but he has genuinely done a lot of good for marginalized people. His administration has helped us! He's not a do-nothing president. Anyone telling you that is lying to you.

#uspol

[transmascpetewentz]

While Russophobic allegations of someone being a "Russian psyop" are a thing, one thing that those outside of the Russian political sphere need to understand is that the Putin government DOES use bots and paid shills on websites such as Tumblr, masquerading as marginalized minorities in order to sway elections. While this shouldn't cause you to mistrust accounts of minorities, you DO need to be aware of a few different kinds of rhetoric that are attempts to make you into a useful idiot to Putin's authoritarian regime:

ANYTHING telling you not to vote in elections, or anything saying that democrats and republicans are the same/republicans are better than dems for minorities just bc dems have issues

anti-Ukraine sentiment, claiming that what Russia is doing to the people of Ukraine is not a genocide (and yes, I am Russian, I don't hate all Russians, shut up)

"Nazis in Ukraine" or defending Russian settler colonialism in eastern Ukraine by ignoring the fact that Russian settlers swayed elections in the area

anti-west sentiment in general. "the west is so weak and degenerate unlike the glorious east." This talking point is used by tankies as well as Putin-affiliated users, but shouldn't be confused with the general critique of European white supremacy.

antisemitism of any kind, but especially rootless cosmopolitan rhetoric and holodomor denial.

This rhetoric is used and spread around by a lot of people, and doesn't 100% guarantee that whoever posts this is a bot, but these are just some of the ideas to avoid if you don't want to fall for the paid shills that are objectively on these sites.

Remember, people can go on the internet and just lie. People can claim to be from anywhere. We've caught a lot of people pretending to be Jewish online in the past few months to validate their opinions on Israel. Stay vigilant, don't play into the hands of a genocidal monster destroying a smaller nation.

Check For Comprehension

How is OP more qualified than the average person to speak on this subject?

Is OP advocating for uncritical support of the US/western governments? Might there be a middle ground between uncritical support and uncritical condemnation?

Did the statement about antisemitism make you uncomfortable or angry at OP? If you answered yes, why might that be, and how should you change that?

Can people lie about personal characteristics such as identity and background on the internet? If so, what might be some evidence that someone is a paid shill or just lying?

Did this post ask you to mistrust leftism or minorities?

#wentz.txt #ruspol #long post #don't be stupid

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

This election day, I'm thinking of my Nana.

I'm thinking of how as a young woman, she fled political violence in her native Colombia to build a new home in a more stable country. I'm thinking about how she lived a long life, but not long enough to see her home country elect its first ever progressive president (just a few months ago!).

Coincidentally, I was living in Colombia at that time (in the very city she grew up in), and I was able to witness what felt like a miracle. A very conservative country, suffering from the violent inheritance of colonization and catholic invasion and the war on drugs, against a backdrop of the dangerous global rise of the far right--this unlikely country managed to elect one of the most progressive heads of state in the world, in 2022. That's a pretty big deal.

And I'm thinking about this, this election day, because that election was won by a very thin margin. I'm thinking about how it almost didn't happen. I'm thinking about how it was only possible thanks to the highest voter turnout in 20 year. And I am thinking about the countless number of voters who chose to vote for the first time. I am thinking of the poorest and most disenfranchised citizens who showed up at the polls. I am thinking of the indigenous women who rode 12 hours on public buses to vote at the 'nearest' polling stations. I am thinking of all the money and corruption that went into preventing minority citizens from voting, and I'm thinking about how they showed up in the millions and voted anyway.

I am thinking that I would like to see a miracle like that in my own home country.

So if you're on the fence about waiting in line today to cast your vote, I hope that you will think--about the country you want to live in, the future you hope will unfold, and about all of the people it takes to make a miracle.

Because history may deem us nameless and faceless, but when we show up en masse, we are the ones who make history happen.

And yes, maybe also spare a thought for my Nana. Who was in fact a very angry and judgemental woman who supported the republican party for 50+ years, and who would be turning in her grave right now (if the family hadn't had her cremated). Think about the mean angry ghost of my Colombian grandmother, who very much wants you to not show up at the polls to support abortion and other sinful progressive values. Think about her. Do it for her. Do it for Nana.

#Do it! for her #not a shitpost #serious post #politics #ask to tag #I love you Nana but i disagree SO vehemently with almost all of your personal political and religious values #also you should have treated my mom SO MUCH BETTER when she was a kid. all of your kids really #i see you very much as a victim of religious trauma & childhood poverty #followed by the cultural isolation of being a first generation immigrant with no local hispanic community to provide support #plus the failure of late 20th century mental health care almost certainly compounded by medical sexism #recognize sympathize and am indignant on your behalf for all of those reasons and more #but that truth can also coexist alongside the truth that #hot DAMN Nana you and Papa very much failed to provide your children with an emotionally safe and stable environment in which to grow #and me and my sibs are still dealing with the generational trauma #and who knows how many of my cousins. I HAVE TWENTY-ONE COUSINS AND I DON'T TALK TO ANY OF THEM #that is too many cousins to not be in contact with any of them #(and fyi that's on *one* side of the family. on the other side are a dozen half-aunts-and-cousins I've never met #because Other Grandpa was a Certified Piece of Shit) #Anyway. ANYWAY... #apparently i really needed to overshare today. know what? no judgement. judgement free zone #i have no judgement thoughts or opinions i am finally FREE #........gosh that sounds so relaxing #ANYway #yeah. break the cycle of abuse or your descendants will grow up and critique your parenting choices on third-tier social media platforms #when people say 'they will always be remembered' at a funeral--that is a THREAT #what they actually mean is 'OH HONEYBUN YOU DONE FUCKED UP' #.........i want that in my eulogy actually

[clangenrising]

sorry if this is too harsh to ask. when ever the story leans over to the city cats, they mistreat others or lean on the evil/bad side (look at poor aldertail, lake, scorch, and smokeyrose :( ) the more I read this, the more I'm siding with the clan cats to wipe out all the city cats. that way there can be peace for everyone because I can't see how the city cats have any remorse in the clan cats eyes or yours

Wow. Okay.

Um, first things first, I will never be in support of Wiping Out any group of people. I get what you're trying to say but that's just not an ideology I can get behind. It is honestly a very dangerous and upsetting argument to make and hopefully, I can explain why.

Most of the city cats are not Evil. Most of the city cats are people who grew up in a corrupt system and have been taught to do bad things from a young age. Like Mystique for example: Has she hurt people? Yes. Does she seem resistant to change? Yes. Does this mean she is not worthy of compassion or a chance to grow and be better? Absolutely not!

I was raised Mormon. I know a lot of people, some who I love, who do bad things on the regular - people who voted for trump, people who support homophobic or imperialist policies, people who are hurtful to the marginalized people in their lives. I will NEVER believe that these people deserve to die for the way they are. They are just humans doing their best with the knowledge they were given and the baggage they've accrued.

I do think that there are cats, like Razor for instance, who need to be Stopped, certainly, and removed from positions of power. Unfortunately, cats don't have the ability to institute more systemic solutions to these kinds of problems so they will most often solve these problems by killing the cat. But this should only happen after it is clear that there is no opportunity for a non violent solution.

The world is complicated and messy and it means people are taught bad things and have trauma that makes them hurt other people. I'm not saying that those behaviors are okay. They should be held accountable for the harm that they do. But those behaviors do not make them irredeemable or Evil. Hell, I don't think there ARE Evil people! I don't think there are GOOD people! People can't be good or evil because they are always going to be making new choices. Some of those choices will hurt people, some of those choices will help people, some of those choices are entirely neutral. I believe you can judge people's actions but its impossible to judge their 'soul' so to speak.

There are a lot of cats in the city who do bad things because they see those things as normal or because the system rewards them for doing so. Do you think the Clans should kill all of those people?? Because I will never agree with you if you do and I urge you to rethink how you see the world.

Give me any city cat and I will be able to find a way to empathize with them. Yes, even Razor. They're all just people. And in my opinion, none of them deserve to die. They deserve to change and heal. And I think most of them will. I'm a death penalty abolitionist and that means I don't think ANYONE should be put to death. You don't get to selectively apply that kind of belief only to the people you think are 'good'.

Sorry for how long and rambling my response was. If anyone has follow up questions or comments, I'm open to discussing this further, just please remember to be kind and avoid any sort of harassment, and that goes both ways. Nobody harass this anon for what they said. I believe they are very misguided but that doesn't make them a bad person. If you think that then you've entirely missed the point of everything I said.

#not art #asks and answers #anon asks

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

I want to write a little bit about structural racism in the UK against Travellers, and the Labour Party's complicity with this because I think it might help explain why that letter from Diane Abbott disturbed me so much.

Romani and Irish Travellers in the UK experience discrimination all the time. They'll be barred from shops and pubs, they experience discrimination from the police, they experience racial abuse. If they are living a nomadic lifestyle, they struggle to access schools and hospitals. Educational outcomes for Romani students are the worst in England by a large margin, followed by Irish Travellers. They're also over represented in the prison population compared to the proportion of the general population they make up.

Irish Travellers are generally "white/white passing" although they are a distinct ethnic group from the settled Irish. However, not all Romani people are "white passing" and some see themselves as PoC. Both groups have fought for a long time to be recognised officially as ethnic minorities and to gain legal protections.

In 2022, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts act was passed. This is the "bill" that was the focus of the "kill the bill" protests, and lots was written about the restrictions it placed on protestors. However, part 4 of the bill related to unauthorised encampments. Although the law does not specifically name any ethnic groups, it effectively criminalises the traditional nomadic traveller lifestyle.

It creates an offence of residing in a vehicle (this would include a caravan) on land without permission. It allows the police to seize the vehicle, even prior to the offence being committed. It allows the police to impose fines and prison sentences.

Although the bill itself does not name any particular ethnic group, much of the advice and communication around the bill does. This is because it's clearly designed to target certain groups who live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. It's designed to make them homeless, and force them into housing- essentially forced assimilation. The British have been trying to do this to Romani and Irish Travellers for centuries.

This law was passed by the Tories, but one thing people don't know is that Starmer whipped the Labour party against most sections of the bill. He allowed a free vote on Section 4- the section that specifically related to "unauthorised encampments".

Around the same time, in 2021, his party produced local election leaflets which mentioned "traveller incursions"- eventually they admitted the leaflets were racist and destroyed them. It's not the first time, and won't be the last, that Labour use racism against these groups to win points with the electorate.

In this context, Abbott is part of a system which is systematically discriminating against Romani and Irish Travellers- yes, Labour aren't the party in power, but they are a part of the system enabling this to happen.

So, I read her letter in that context. I read her minimisation of the struggles of the most marginalised ethnic groups in our society in that context (I don't want to make this "who has things worst" but it's nonetheless true). At best, she's throwing them under the bus to make a point she thinks will be popular with her supporters. At worst, she's actively affirming her own party's racist policies.

"It doesn't matter if we criminalise their way of life, because it's not "real" racism".

She is someone seen to be on the left, seen to be anti-racist, and she's effectively saying this prejudice is acceptable.

#uk politics #diane abbott #labour #racism #GRT #is the backlash more severe because she's black and a woman and on the left #well maybe #But there's also an awful lot of gaslighting going on towards Romani Irish Travellers and Jewish people on twitter #who don't have her institutional power #a timely reminder #politicians are not your friends