#a lot of my upbringing in that religion was "i don't understand this

[witchywitchy]

I wanted to share something personal because I don't think a lot of you understand the influence of the West and its atrocities on an Arab child's upbringing. English is not my first language; I learnt it initially due to my interest in the language and Western cultures. However, seeing the true face of the West motivated me to continue learning the language to dismantle the false image of Arabs and Muslims which was portrayed by the West. I also talk about how this impacted my standing with the Palestinian cause. Bear with me as this post is long and a little messy, but I need to try and give everyone a clear and full image as much as I can.

I grew up consuming Western media due to my fascination with the English language. However I noticed the lack of Muslim and Arab representation.

When I started seeing representation later on, it was mostly Arabs and Muslims being depicted as 'terrorists' and 'barbarics'.

When a Muslim woman is depicted, she is depicted as 'oppressed' and in need of 'saving'.

I was on social media starting from a very young age. Seeing people online describe my people as 'terrorists' was not only scary, but also confusing. Why am I as an Arab Muslim child -who's living a normal childhood as everyone else- being labelled as a 'terrorist' by the West? Why are people claiming all Arab and Muslim children are trained to use guns by ISIS or/and Hamas? I remember asking my parents as a kid "Is this a real gun with the police officer?" Because I only saw weapons in movies.

I asked questions such as "Why do they think Arabs = Muslims?" The lack of acknowledgment of Christian and Jewish Arabs and non-Arab Muslims confused me.

Why were Muslim women always 'oppressed' in these movies and TV shows I saw? This is not as common as they make it seem. Why are they using the struggle of some Muslim women to demonize an entire religion? Why are they pretending to be saviours when they're actually contributing to further oppression of Muslim women? Why are they weaponizing the awful struggle of some Muslim women against the vast majority of Muslim women? (White feminism is not saving us. It's actually a form of oppression of Muslim women)

Misrepresentation bothered me and made me angry and disappointed. I couldn't finish watching a movie or an episode of a TV show if I saw any mentions of Muslims or/and Arabs, because I knew what would happen next.

When it comes to the Palestinian cause, every Arab grew up watching endless footage of Palestinians being brutally murdered LIVE. Everything and all the footage all of you are surprised to see during this genocide, were a part of our upbringing.

When I was a kid I stumbled upon a newspaper in the house with a headline about a Palestinian father who returned to his house and found all his children shot. And I remember the image very well. The father was holding a prayer mat with people holding him as he broke down on his knees. His dead children were on the floor next to each other. Seeing this image of children my age murdered by the Israeli occupation shocked me. I remember my parents having to hide the newspaper from me because of the impact this image had on me.

I had to start reading into politics at a young age, and I realized that everything that Western media was trying to portray about the West being 'civilized' was a lie. How can you be civilized if you're a murderer or/and contribute to the murder of the innocent?

When I learnt about the history of imperialism, colonialism, slavery,...etc. growing up, I recognized the pattern that colonialists use and I saw that the colonizers of yesterday, are the same as today, except Western media is doing a great job covering for them nowadays, and a lot of people only started noticing that recently.

The West seemed fascinating to me as a child, but after seeing the horrendous false images that're being portrayed of my people in the West, all of my fascination turned into anger and motivation to fight against it.

The real terrorists in the world are not the brown and bearded men, veiled women, or the innocent children. The real terrorists are the ones who set the stage for the murder of innocent people, the exploitation of their resources, using propaganda and painting an image of the innocent that cannot be more false and racist, and the fascists that put on a 'civilized' mask.

I will forever stand with my Palestinian brothers and sisters. I will forever defend my Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters, and I won't give room to any misrepresentation. Enough is enough.

Edit: I wanted to add that growing up, I was scared of telling people about where I'm from, my religion, and what language I speak due to the microaggression and discrimination I was subjected to. Not to mention the amount of times I saw on the news Arabs or/and Muslims getting killed in Western countries (aka hate crimes).

#free palestine #palestine #gaza #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #signal boost #social justice #palestine resources #colonialism #imperialism #jerusalem #the west bank #Arabs #Arabian #Muslim #Islam #tel aviv #yemen #hamas #us politics #apartheid

[duderinomcmaam]

I see a lot of posts about transmisogyny and transmisandry on my dash, and I feel like I should talk about it because I think a lot of it is really harmful.

When we said that nobody deserves to be discriminated against based on their race, gender identity, sexual identity, religion, disability, etc. what did we mean? I have just as much love for our cis allies and trans brothers as I do for our trans sisters and other siblings.

"Trans men are the men of trans people," yes. And? Am I supposed to hate them for that? I used to be a man, and when I say that, I dont mean I was "always secretly a woman." I mean that I was a man. Did that make me evil? No. Did I have inherent privilege? Was I raised with values and expectations that were harmful, and placed on me based on my gender? Do I still have a significant trace of that left in me from my upbringing? Yes.

I am willing to acknowledge that trans men experience privileges that trans women dont, but I'm not going to pretend like they don't also experience their own unique struggles, because I do not claim to understand the transmasc experience, and I am absolutely not willing to paint them as the villain in the world of trans people, not just because its explicitly harmful to our cause but because it's wrong.

Of course, these kinds of posts predictably and consistently exclude non-binary people from the equation because it is convenient to their argument. I know for a fact that in a conversation about unique transgender discrimination, non-binary people should be at the forefront.

I love you people who are different from me. I love you men, women, and non-binary people. Infighting will not liberate me. It will not liberate you. It is okay to acknowledge systematic discrimination, but for fucks sake, hate the system.

#trans #transgender #mtf #m2f #transfem #trans women #trans men #nonbinary #transmisogyny #transmisandry

[samsm2mstories]

My coming out story.

I thought I should share you my story about coming out which was actually recently.

For many years I had a lot of suppressive issues that were out of my hands, society, cultures and other reasons which meant for me it wasn't the right time. Luckily for some countries it's easily being who you are compared to 10-20 years ago. The world sucks still as there are homophobic idiots everywhere, some are just sore losers who got not respect in society while others just don't know any better as their upbringing wasn't teaching them to respect others.

Luckily enough I live in the UK and we as a country have got better even although the early / mid 1900s generation are still hard at adapting to the modern world. It's not their fault as their times were different. Religion, society didn't know much better but that's history as we are the ones that living in this world and will be the ones moving forward. Some people will never understand it and respect it.

I'm lucky to come out around great people, I am a very well respected in person and in general a natural born leader so you could say I was like a captain that was popular which made my coming out harder.

Some of you might be thinking now does it become easier to come out as your identity?

I believe it's can depends on a number of reasons. You got to truly believe that you are who you are.

Don't question it.

If you question yourself, don't come out as that's a sign you are not ready. Talk to your friends, talk to strangers who are gay online (be safe not to disclose personal information)

I will admit I sat in my chair for a few good hours debating how to come out. I decided to go for it and do it in one big statement. That's a strong trait of mine as you all can tell on here.

I needed to write my story in a way that it wouldn't offend people, I did mention about the industry that was homophobic, some of my family and school.

It was that second most nervous point in coming out, just posting/saying it. I thought about listening to a few songs that were a big part of my life, thinking about those moments where sometimes I should of come out earlier to enjoy those moments.

You know what, I don't regret it at all, yes I missed out on some years but I had a brilliant life, travelling the world, experiencing new cultures, and making amazing friends on the way.

It did take a toll on my mental health at times but being the strong person I am, I dealt with it quickly enough.

So that night I sat there and my song came along.

Starship: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (read the lyrics while listening to this song)

You know this was a song of mine but the words in it made me realised I want to go out there and enjoy myself.

I finally did it.....

Those nerves, stomach turning inside out, emotions running wild. It all hit me like a ton of bricks.

What will people think?

What will people say?

Will I lose some friends??

Everything was rushing in and out of my mind, I just went to bed, signed out of social media. I recommend you doing this for a day or two as you want to feel the response in one go.

People started to message me, those who had my mobile number. It became a bit easier, I wasn't in the mood for talking much so I text back in small sentences.

I went to work that day and luckily enough nobody there is on my social media pages. I managed to complete 8/10 hours of my shift.

I went home and cried for abit, emotions still hitting me like bullets. You will have moments thinking was this right but deep down you know you are right.

I decided to look at my social media pages.

The final verdict?

I'm finally a free man.

For those who are younger, there shouldn't be anyone under the age of 18 reading my stories as they are explicted but if you are reading this.

For you coming out would be different, I would recommend you do it now when the moment is right but take into consideration your family. Make sure you won't be disowned or kicked out of the house. Have a read-up online about it all and PLEASE RESEARCH EVERYTHING.

We all have different circumstances and you must be completely assured that coming out will be good when the moment is right..

Yes some might not agree with it.

Yes some might hate you now.

Yes some might be shocked and haven't replied.

Who cares????

This is your life so go out there and enjoy it, be safe while at it. Please use protection during sex with strangers.

Remember if you ever feel I doubt or want to talk, there's helplines, friends in the community, even send me a text if you want to talk more.

Don't be afraid to talk.

I hope you all enjoyed this irl story and it would be amazing if some of you reply to this about your coming out stories. It would make a brilliant discussion.

For those who are unsure on their sexuality, speak to me or other members of the community. Talking helps to make a decision. You will feel much better.

Sam your favourite Alpha writer 😎

#coming out #gay #bisexual #body switch #body theft #possession #muscle theft

[steveisagay]

Stranger Things guys X Pagan Reader

cw: very biased opinions of Christianity (from my upbringing), cursing, mentions of sex,

Eddie

"Wait, wait, like, ancient deities?"

He thinks that it's so cool cause 1. you can't tell me that in middle school he wasn't one of those kids that would research ancient gods and 2. hell yeah non-conformity to other religions

He'd want to learn all about how your worship is and different rituals, including wanting to help out

He'd also bring you different crystals/rocks/twigs/anything you could use in your practice

Eddie also wouldn't hesitate to educate and stand up for you if anyone ends up being an ignorant little shit-

Would definitly try to include parts he finds interesting in campaigns for hellfire

Steve

our poor little himbo, he would be so confused

"But isn't it proven or something that ancient gods are myths?"

He doesn't seem like someone that would know about other cultures and religions

but after a bit he'd act like he understands

he doesn't

he'd still go along with it until it gets to the point where you'll have to simplify it to the bare minimum

he'd look out for crystals but I don't think he'd know where to get them

overall he'd be confused but supportive

Billy

I personally worship Dionysus and I think that he would one-hundred percent help you worship *nudge nudge wink wink*

As well as any other deity that can be worshiped through sex/sexual activities

I feel like he'd understand it pretty well, asking questions after you're done trying to explain paganism

He'd understand the need to have something to believe in, ergo any other religion

He'd also help out with rituals as long as his dad doesn't know

If he did find out about him dating someone who didn't believe in the christian god he would take the opportunity to beat him, or, "put the faith of god" in him

Jason

If it was early in the relationship he would dump you

But if he ended up learning that you were pagan in around 2+ years of you dating then he might reconsider

There would be some arguments about it because his upbringing focused a lot on his religion so he finds it harder to accept other religions being intertwined with his

He wouldn't help with rituals or any celebrations

and he wouldn't want yule to be celebrated with christmas

He's fine if you do your own thing, as long as it doesn't interfere with his beliefs

#jason carver #jason carver x reader #protestant jason #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #stranger things #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson #steve x male reader #steve stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie stranger things #eddie x reader #billy stranger things #billy hargrove x male reader #billy x reader #billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader

[wisecrackingeric-2]

Luis ramble time

TW//homophobia??

I think my favorite thing about Luis has to be the idea that his religious trauma led him to become homophobic but not in the sense of how it normally is. I think he internalized it as he grew up in a Catholic setting and became more interested in other people. This is why I believe he probably wouldn't have kissed Leon,,he will flirt and make flirty gestures but I don't really believe he'd full on go for it. I think it's more believable that he would've felt guilty because we all know one thing Luis still holds dear is his religion.

To me Luis is bisexual and when he met Leon it made him remember those odd feeling but he was to afraid to express them both from fear of loosing Leon and the feeling of being sinful. (this comes from someone who connects to Luis in these regards,,dw I came to terms with myself awhile ago!) And just like everything else in his life he ran away from it and ultimately..

He never let himself feel those emotions nor tell Leon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW FERAL I WENT OVER THIS I STARTED GOING DOWN SUCH A LONG RABBIT HOLE OUUUUGHHH

BUT YOURE SO RIGHT YOU HAVE A BIT BEAUTIFUL BRAIN IT HURTS SM,,,,,,,, I think you’re absolutely right but I wanted to add my own headcannons too cuz I think it could be a very very interesting discussion!!!!!! I’ve put my thoughts under the cut so it doesn’t clog up peoples dashboards!!!!

I couldn’t agree more I think it’d be pretty safe ro say Luis has a FAIR BIT of internalised homophobia from his religious upbringing (now I wanna clarify that I don’t have any religious trauma like, at all, I wasn’t brought up relifious but I have TONS of friends who’ve gone through it so I’ve done my best to understand it best I can!!!!) and where my headcannon sliiiiiiiightly differs from yours is that I think Luis probably would have come to terms with his own queerness by the time he’s working with Umbrella

Obviously he’s already very flamboyant and VERRRRYYY flirty w both men and women and he’s clearly confident in himself- but what a lot of people seem to forget that the lovely @blveherb and @possessionisamyth have gone into detail about is that Luis is an immigrant, and if you look at literally any piece of history from before like,,,, roughly around the 80’s queer and immigrant history were REALLY intertwined, like, the two communities would often be at the same places or facing the same struggles at the same time etc and obviously white historians haven’t done us any favours with preserving this history (and ALSO also i am WHITE AS ALL HELL so im obviously not in a position to be speaking on topics that i dont fully understand/havent affected me which is why i ask that if anyone is more knowledgable on the topic please do elaborate on it!!!!!!!)((also it’s obviously very very important not to try and take away focus from or erase poc history when talking about queer history!!!!!!!!!!!!!))

So I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to say that Luis, after leaving Valdelobos and ending up wherever he did, would have also discovered the queer community as a whole just by virtue of being apart of a minority (again, this isn’t something that’s ever even remotely effected me so please if I’ve made any mistakes or if anyone wants to point anything out do so!!!!) also I just imagine that, in general, Luis would’ve been grateful for any kind of community to fall back on after he left his own- how old he was when he left is unknown obviously but I can’t imagine being barely even an adult discovering the big wide world for the first time after spending your entire life in a tiny rural catholic village would’ve been easy which is why communities like that are so important (also you could absolutely go into how Umbrella would’ve fed that need for a community even further in a young naive Luis but that’s getting ahead of the subject)

Also somewhat on and off topic but M A A N Y historians have pointed out that Don Quixote is a pretty queer fricken book. That’s an entirely different discussion in and of itself but the whole book itself, the relationship between Alonso and Sancho, the history itself surrounding the book etc can leave a lot of queer interpretations to be read (and @highball66 has pointed out that while not specifically a term used for gay men, in some areas ‘Sancho’ has been used to refer to ‘the other guy in the relationship’, ie the man the husband is sleeping with etc) ((AND also it’s just,, kinda hard to analyse super old books through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community as we understand it roday- Kaz Rowe on YouTube has some good videos on the topic I can’t reccomend enough!!!!))

And so I personally like to imagine that by the time he returns BACK to Valdelobos, he’s probably come to terms with it- but like most traumas, returning to the place where it all started and manifested probably would’ve brought up those same feelings of internalised homophobia like you’ve said; which is why he’s so afraid to confess to Leon. Even if he KNOWS he’s come to terms with his identity n such, that doesn’t mean that returning to the place where it all started doesn’t bring back up those old feelings (also him returning home in the manor that he does just makes my theory/headcannon that he’s Trans go WILD but I’m saving that for ANOTHER DAY)

‘He holds Religion very Close to him’ GOD YOURE SO RIGHT ABT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like even if he doesn’t still believe in god or anything his upbringing still effects him!!!!!!!!!!!!! He still always does the sign of the cross whenever he sees a dead body and obviously that classic catholic guilt and need to repent follows his every actions alongside just, y’know, the average amount of guilt people would feel in his situation BCNEHENDJDND so can you imagine how much WORSE he’d feeling going BACK to Valdelobos and meeting LEON and having all those feelings and fears come up again???????????? OUGH WHY MAKE ME THINK ABT THIS OP /lh

AND and, like you mentioned, Luis always has this reoccurring theme of thinking he has more time than he actually has and that he can run away from anything. It’s honestly so so so very tragic; and just the idea of that cycle repeating AGAIN in something SO PERSONAL (ie, his love for Leon) is just,,,,,,,,,, o u g h it’s so heartbreaking man why would you say that I am strangling you /jjjjjjjj

Luis always thinks he has more time to fix his mistakes, to be a better person- and even when he starts to realise he doesn’t, he still holds out hope. He thinks, ‘tomorrow I’ll tell Leon’, but he never gets that opportunity.

And finally this one is purely self indulgent but I’ve always pictured Luis as being the kind of person to just be happy labelling himself as ‘queer’ cuz it’s quick and convinient but BISEXUAL LUIS SL TRUE

(Also obligatory ‘these are just headcannons/theories/analysis nobody is saying these are CANNON this is just an observation’ message!!!!!!!)

#ericswriting #dear god this turned out to be so much longer than I intended ABSBDBENDHDNXJDND #I have. thoughts #luis serra #this is subject to change ofc I’m no expert on poc history and I might add even more thoughts into this later xhdndhnsjdns #also also if you’re gonna be mean or homophobic in the replies. just don’t. please be nice I just wanna have a nice discussion abt Luis ok #but ofc if I’ve said anything incorrect/offensive PLEASE please tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #luis sera #luis serra navarro

[thejewitches]

So I kinda grew up in an evangelical environment, and I'm just now able to expose myself to and learn about other religions. The only things I learned about Judaism growing up were likely very twisted to suit the teachings of the pastors. I heard a lot about "messianic Jews" (which I now know is very much not a thing) and how "a lot" of Jewish people converted because they began to believe that Jesus was the messiah (yeah it was bad, really bad)

Anyways since I'm trying to educate myself, I'm trying to not just read about other religions, but if possible, I'm trying to read the holy books of the religions as well. I talked to a Muslim friend I had at work and he told me I could read the Quran (I guess I felt weird about reading it because I wasn't looking to convert to Islam). In the same vein, could I read the Talmud to learn more? I was told that the Bible and the Talmud were the same growing up (so there was no point in reading it, according to my elders, also incorrect information). Is there a particular translation that would be better to read?

Very sorry for all the parenthetical statements I was trying to keep it brief but I have severe adhd so thoughts just come at they please. Love your blog, and I'm very happy to be learning a lot from you already, and unlearning a lot in the process, so thank you for posting resources and the like. Very appreciated.

Could I read the Talmud to learn more?

The short answer is: Reading the Talmud without knowing how or what you are reading will not give you the information you are looking for. The sentiment of reading to learn more is wonderful, but on your own without any prior learning, it is tantamount to reading a book in a language you don't speak to understand the poetry of the language better. You can do it, but you won't have the tools to decipher it in any meaningful way. If you want to learn more about Judaism, studying Talmud is definitely not the place to start.

There is something called Daf Yomi where Jews study one single page of Talmud every single day. With 2,711 pages in the Talmud, one Daf Yomi cycle takes about 7 years, 5 months--and it takes this long because studying the Talmud to understand the Talmud is not just reading a book. There are ways you can just read it, sure, but that doesn't mean you will be learning or understanding what you are reading in the way that Jews do (just as you can read a series of random words without actually comprehending what is in front of you).

If you're looking to study Talmud, have you studied Torah with Jews? Begun to understand the Jewish perspective on the Torah? How we approach our texts with a completely different eye than Christians? How the Old Testament you grew up with may look nothing like what we know and love?

If you're certain that the answer to those questions is yes, and you feel ready to start learning Talmud, see if there is a local rabbi in your area who offers a class or a seminar. Many are free. It is meant to be a community activity. But chances are, that isn't the case.

But frankly: you don't need to study Talmud to learn about Jews and Judaism. There is no need for that. The best way to learn about Judaism is always going to be listening to Jews. Listen to our conversations, hear us, and read the resources we create to share about Judaism. One of the greatest barriers that people often face is shedding the unrealized paradigm and perspective that is left from an evangelical upbringing. Challenging those perspectives is paramount.

If you feel more than a small draw to know, you can go ahead and study Torah, and maybe eventually study Talmud, but if all you want is to know more about Judaism, studying Talmud is not step one.

This is the layout of a Talmud page in Hebrew--it is much more than just a straightforward reading, especially if you want to genuinely engage with the text.

This is, of course, but the opinion of one. The Jewish community is made up of more opinions than individuals and all deserve to be heard.

#jumblr #jewish #judaism #talmud

[spurgie-cousin]

ok my mom understandably had to go to bed (very late here in her time zone, and it's even an hour later in the one I'm used to) but I'm a mental masochist so I will trudge on until I can't physically watch Shiny Happy People anymore (and I'm just going to edit my comments instead of reblog bc so far there's really not a lot most of us aren't aware of):

- firstly, I knew Deanna was raised Christian but I didn't know she was raised VERY conservative Christian. Per Deanna, this is the reason Amy was allowed so much freedom; she didn't want to limit her as a female in any of the ways she was

- going off of that, I can see how that foundation would open Jim Bob up to a religion that is so insanely misogynistic

- I know it's a thing all of us who've been around a while have known, but it's all but explicitly said that the Duggar kids had any steal of rebellious beat out of them. By Michelle, regardless of what she sounds like.

- I can't help but wonder if this is the reason Michelle sticks so closely to this faith, even after all that's happened. Even as her own children have expressed how abusive their upbringing was. Leaving the ideology means admitting you were an abuser and not an educator.

- Jill felt like she lied in the Megyn Kelly interview. She didn't want to do it and said she wouldn't have without her parents urging, and she felt obligated to protect her family. She didn't want to do this interview, but didn't trust anyone else to tell the truth which, given her upbringing, I totally get.

- the interviews with other ex-IBLP kids are just as fascinating to listen to as Jill's (if not more bc a lot of them WANT to be there). Tia Levings in particular is so incredibly brave and wonderful, please follow her your preferred platform ❤️

- Mike Huckabee is an accomplice to abuse and ped*philia at best

- I know Derick can be insufferable but I promise he's worth listening to in this doc, at least so far (I'm halfway through episode 3). And he's a very serious Jill advocate, which I feel like all the Duggar girls need so badly.

- Jill didn't want anyone at her birth because SHE DIDN'T WANT TOO GO THROUGH WHAT ANNA WENT THROUGH. She agreed to a diary cam at most.

- For that work they did during their babies birth, the Dillards requested not a full paycheck, but a small health insurance renumeration fee from TLC, who asked them to do this work. TLC informed then that they had already paid all sums to Jim Bob.

- Jill has never received any amount of payment from TLC for all the time and work she had given them. Neither had Derick.

- this is probably a NO DUH for us around here, but here is a short list of IBLP/ATI approved lives of training, especially for minors who are doing work for free for other members of the organization (i believe the Bates kids are included in some of the pictures accompanyingthis part):

1. CoNSTrUCTioN!!!

2. Cosmetology (women only of course)

3. Ministry

4. Business?

5. Healthcare consultant

6. ALERT counselor

Secular college courses so not apply to accreditation in these fields

- other ex-IBLP members confirm that children were trained in construction trades and child labor was used gratuitously in the organization, for anything from repairs, to setting up conferences, to building actual buildings. And it was all, of course, free.

- ALERT confirmed as a purposeful paramilitary organization

- am ex-IBLP woman who was sent to ALERT states that they took tampons away from her, as they were a form of purity violation (she says they said she had purposefully taken her own virginity by using them).

- a woman raised in IBLP recounts a story at a conference in Oklahoma City where her roommate almost slit her throat with a knife over being a 'glutton'. Essentially, a teenage girl almost killed herself over not being thin enough to be 'godly'.

- David Green, the CEO of Hobby Lobby, is STILL IBLP's biggest donor. Don't fucking shop there!!!!

- a purposefully sanitized version of Bill Gothard's teachings have been and might still be used in elementary schools, prisons, police and military units as a way of indoctrinating those in attendance to be more open to absolute authority.

- All of the kids besides Jill & Derick might've very well signed a very lengthy contract that extends at least a decade. The Dillards didn't, and have received extreme yet Christian-flavored threats over it???

- The Dillards were using a food bank even after they asked Jim Bob for the most basic payment for their services to the show

- Jill, Derick, and others all agree tha Journey To The Heart was a vetting mechanism for Gothard's abuse victims

#the duggar family #shiny happy people #iblp #institute of basic life principles #tia levings

[scientia-rex]

I do a lot of blocking, and much of it is not "oh this person is so morally abhorrent," but rather "reading your Hot Takes is annoying and exhausting and you do them on my posts." Yet again, I am not an influencer and I don't aspire to be one; my livelihood and my self-worth come from a different place than "many strangers on the Internet thinking I'm right about stuff." Think about any influencer; have they had a scandal of some sort, or have they just not been on the Internet long enough/gotten famous enough? Humans will, inevitably, the more you learn about them, disappoint you, because they are not you. They don't share your exact experiences and values. And to expect them to, in the sterile environment of text on a screen, is to set yourself up to be disappointed in them. If you knew them in real life, you'd find yourself making compromises--yes, perhaps they think this, but I know they'll still come pick me up if I need a ride; this opinion is too much for me to look at them the same way, but this other opinion is something I can understand if not condone. Society isn't about finding the people who think exactly the same things you do and forming an impenetrable mass. Religion and politics have always tried to make it like that, and it's never worked. Humans are all different and navigating that is non-negotiable. Even people with identical upbringings turn out with different opinions--you can't expect thousands of people to march in perfect lockstep with you, you can't scream them into it, you can't disregard them if they don't.

Social media is built to make you angry, because when you're angry you make them more money. Don't forget that when you're trying to use these platforms to learn and make friends and have fun. That's not what the platforms are built for. You can use something in a way it's not intended, but it may bend you to its will.

[joyfulapostate]

Hey!

I was raised aetheist, and I never really realised how badly Christianity could screw people up. There were some people in my extended family who were religious, but it was always just this vague distant thing that existed on the periphary. The only times I entered churches were in a touristy way, and only then because my mum dragged me into them - I've always hated churches, they have bad vibes.

Then I met my best friend who was raised in a religious family, and they described a lot of the strange, disturbing rituals they would perform in church. Around the same time, I began watching a content creator who was raised in a religious family and was going through the process of reconciling their religious upbringing with their homosexuality.

Since then, I've been really fascinated by how this religion can screw people up and make people doubt their entire being. I think a lot about how on earth this one religion - or cult - from a city thousands of years ago became so persistent and all encompassing.

I was wondering, what do you know about the real-world history of the Christian religion and Jesus? One can assume that Jesus was a real person, but what are the details? Was he a cult leader? A rebel? Both? How did he make people believe he was a prohpet? Why did he make people believe he was a prophet? I'm fascinated by the real historical events that occurred to create such a long-lived ripple effect, but I'm cautious of researching "religious history" on my own because I don't know how to avoid the many dangerous people one would be likely to come across in that feild. Do you have any knowledge to share?

-🟪

My favorite biblical historian is Dr. Bart Ehrman (link to his website). He’s a former Christian, current agnostic which I think gives him a balanced view of biblical history. He talks about what it was like to believe in the Christian story, what it was like to figure out what is real and what isn’t, and what actual biblical scholarship should look like. His books helped me disentangle the complicated stories around Jesus and develop my own sense of scholarship.

Most historians believe that Jesus was a real person who existed around the same time and place as was claimed in the Bible. We have no eye witness testimony about anything Jesus said or did. All we have are copies of copies of legends that people wrote about him decades after his death. We have no real way of knowing what Jesus thought about himself or what he claimed to be.

That being said, we can try to understand the traditions of the stories told about Jesus. I’ve heard a lot of fundamentalists claim to be going back to the “early Christian church” but there were so, so many traditions that sprang up around the story of Jesus all believing different theologies. For example, early Christian mysticism is a weird, wild rabbit hole to go down if you’re ever curious. 

We can try to understand the man that Jesus was by looking at the stories told about him. These stories were based in apocalypticism under Roman rule: the belief that the end would come, but hey at least it would free people from Roman tyranny. Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher whose death caused shockwaves of grief among his followers. I do believe that he made promises about the coming kingdom and when those promises were suddenly impossible after he was killed by his government, his followers found a way to make those promises relevant again in their own minds.

I find this stuff interesting, but I really wish that this specific history didn’t affect people’s lives in the modern world. I wish it were just a weird history niche instead of a direct threat to people’s wellbeing. Being hesitant to research biblical history makes sense. There’s a lot of nonsense out there to dig through and it can be exhausting. Take care of yourself first. Biblical history is not as important as your wellbeing. But if you do enjoy researching, have at it! Find people that you respect, hold on to ideas loosely so you critically evaluate them, and be ready to take a break if you burn out. 

#exchristian #asks

[cobwebcorner]

What are your thoughts on Wesker's capacity for empathy? Using TWDTC as an example, we see a decent spectrum of behaviours from him. At first I had him down as understanding empathy but not experiencing it, so his relationships would all in the end be based on his own enjoyment. But as the fics progress, it's becoming decently clear he doesn't really have a super strong grasp on the complexities of empathy? Like, he is genuinely having trouble understanding Leon's care for others. I'm still not sure to what degree he actually experiences empathy though, it could be anywhere from not having the capacity to relate to other people to having suppressed it in childhood as a defence mechanism and never letting it develop. Basically I have thoughts about his character and was wondering if you happened to have any you found interesting as well.

Personally, I don't apply mental illnesses like personality disorders to villains if they aren't explicitly stated in canon to have one. 1) it's just lazy 2) it demonstrates a poor understanding of both psychology and the nature of human evil 3) it contributes to the stigma against those disorders.

So, does my Wesker have the capacity for empathy? Yes. He's not a sociopath, he's not clinically narcissistic, he's not psychopathic or delusional. He's just an asshole.

I write Wesker as a man who has been hardened by his upbringing and his job. He was taught a twisted worldview as a child, and throughout his entire life has been strongly encouraged to repress any 'softness' or 'weakness', and that includes caring about other people. This man was given charge of a bioweapons lab at the ripe age of 17 and basically told 'here you go kid, you have ultimate power here, but you better produce results or else :)". Can you imagine how that would warp a person? On top of being taught throughout his childhood that the weak exist to be eaten? Throw in the hyper-competitive work culture between Umbrella's baby geniuses and you've got a real snake in the making.

So to answer the question, yes he has a basic understanding of empathy, and yes he can feel things for other people, but he's severely out of practice doing so. It's like his heart has a giant callous on it.

I think a lot of people misunderstand empathy. It isn't something that you either have or don't have depending on whether you're a "good" person--it's a skill, and like any skill it requires exercising to refine. You have to actually dedicate energy to thinking about others, to consider their wants and needs and feelings. People often turn it off to focus only on themselves, either deliberately or without thinking. This is made even easier if the other person is somehow different from you; a different race, class, religion, orientation, etc.

For Wesker, he thinks empathy is not only a pointless waste of energy, but a dangerous potential weakness. Because the world he inhabits is so cutthroat, any kind of 'softness' could mean death or worse. If you care about someone, and people find out, then they know they can use that person against you just as he used Burton's family against him.

So what's confusing for him about Leon is not the idea that empathy exists, but the fact that Leon exercises his empathy with reckless abandon. That he refuses to turn it off, even when it is impractical (Wesker's a very practical man after all). That he chooses to serve others over himself, again and again, often at great risk to his person. That he cares about other people even when there's nothing he can do for them, when that empathy does nothing but cause himself emotional pain. Leon does not shove his feelings in a box and bury it, he does not compartmentalize the way Wesker does, he places an absolute value on human life and he never stops caring. He sits with dying Umbrella scientists and listens to their final words with patience and compassion, giving them dignity in their last moments no matter how angry he is at their past actions, no matter how those actions have affected him.

All this is utterly baffling to Wesker. And let's be honest, Wesker isn't the only one confused by Leon's big heart. I've seen enough streamers react to the remakes. "Why are you still haunted by that guy, you knew him for 5 minutes," people will say when Kendo flashes across the screen in the opening for RE 4 remake. "Why do you care about this woman, she was using you," they say when Ada falls off the bridge.

Leon cares and he keeps caring no matter what happens to him, who betrays him, or what corruption he finds in his own government, and Wesker's over here emitting question marks at him because 'why haven't you learned better by now? You're obviously not stupid?'

Anyway that's my thoughts on Wesker and empathy. This is a subject I'm passionate about, as both a villain enjoyer and someone with lots of mental illness in my family.

I'm going to end with a Pratchett quote, one that goes around on tumblr a lot because it's very good. "Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things."

#verb answers

[ramshackledtrickster]

some1 told me a while ago that once you got on a writer's for writing a fic about altaïr eating ham. i don't know if this is true and while they tried telling me this to get me to stop interacting with u and ur art i'd actually like to say thank you as an arab muslim. both for this if it's true and your vocal support of palestine. you and all the others who do/would do the same! i'm always wary of interacting with media that has arab characters so it makes me feel safer knowing that there are people who would stick up for us

i understand if u don't respond to this i've just been wanting to say thanks for the altaïr thing for a while now (even if the person's original intent was to get me to steer clear from you bc you didn't let someone make their "harmless headcanon" which i think proves my point mostly). if this is something u did i appreciate it and rock on

Ty for the ask! I vaguely recall this but I don’t remember ever interacting with that person directly— I was kinda privy to it second hand thru a few friends who are Muslim and way more knowledgeable on this kind of thing. And then I blocked and moved on.

I know there’s a wide spectrum of how Muslim people (and characters) can behave in relationship to how religious they are or whether or not they’re that connected to their own culture, (etc etc there’s a lot of nuance) but it is a good convo to have regarding Arab and/or Muslim characters and their treatment within fandom (especially with regards to misrepresentation or forgetting aspects of those identities entirely,, it’s sad enough that Altaïr’s original accent was sanded away to plain American for more mass appeal back in ac1 and it’s attitude about religion as a whole). Honestly it’s a convo best led by people of those groups, that’s kinda how I remember it going since my friends showed discomfort to that n other things.

I’m in neither group myself, so I prefer to just listen in rather than inject my two cents— but I do believe more care should be applied to Arab and Muslim characters, to both further humanize them as well as paying mind to their respective cultures (like even if a character isn’t practicing, would they still be culturally Muslim based on upbringing and environment?) it’s always something to consider and be mindful of bc again these do reflect real people, and Arab and Muslim characters are usually pretty poorly handled. Representation is important like that, both in and outside of this series.

There were some more issues I had with that fic and the attitude around it/around “old” fandom standards that I could more confidently say so. But that just shows that fandoms should be more open to accommodate for fans of color and other marginalized identities, and how easily that could be blindsided when those voices aren’t at the forefront unfortunately.

Listening and learning is the least that could be done, and I for sure want the ac fanbase to be more open minded and protective of those members. Fans of color deserve a safe environment irl and online.

Outside of fandom though regardless, everyone should be supporting palestine— real people and their real lives are leagues more important and pressing.

Still, I’m thankful for your support!!! I’m happy you’re supporting my art and account, and I’ll keep trying to learn and spread awareness. Thank you again❤️

[peach-and-bugs]

Need to hear more thoughts about mistylot, please? 👀

I wrote a whole blurb about them thinking it was saved, only for my laptop to unexpectedly reboot when I took a break, so this is my second time writing this lol

Why I love MistyLot and why it should be canon

✰ so, I'm personally the fondest of teen MityLot, specifically after Lottie gets her shit rocked by Shauna in s2 ep7, bc Misty gets to do what she does best, and that's taking care of someone who has no choice but needing her!

✰ Lottie is someone who clearly didn't have very present people in her life. She was kind of given the "money instead of parenting" kind of treatment if you get me. She had everything she could want, except for her parent's attention. I like to think her mother tried her best, as we do see her show concern for her daughter, but ultimately her father controls the family dynamic

✰ and then we have Misty who we know next to nothing upbringings, except that her parents are in the medical field. I personally headcanon that her parents were a really sweet and doting couple, but almost to the point of being overbearing. Misty gets her craving for attention from her parents because she's grown up with that dynamic and thinks it's completely normal. But they also taught her the importance of taking care of the people you love by any means necessary

✰ While this definitely isn't the healthiest dynamic, (but let's face it, who actually has a healthy dynamic in Yellowjackets?) in a weird way it works for the two of them. Misty has someone to look after and care for while Lottie gets what she perceives as positive attention for a change

✰ The attention Lottie gets out in the wilderness isn't what she wants. She didn't mean to start some religion surrounding the wilderness. It just kind of happened given that she was off of her medication and was delusional, also while being surrounded by fellow delusional girls

✰ But Misty isn't delusional. She doesn't believe in anything supernatural when it comes to the wilderness. It's like a game of make-believe to her and she enjoys playing that game with Lottie, but I don't see it in a manipulative way. I think ultimately she understands Lottie's delusions and knows she's sick. She knows that Lottie is fragile both mentally and then physically after the fight, so she takes on this caring role for her

✰ And I think over time, this dynamic turns into a messed up kind of love where they don't know if it's really love, but they find comfort in one another regardless, so it must be something

✰ I also kind of see it how Lottie sees religion. When Lottie was baptized in the lake, she didn't do that because she suddenly believed in god and wanted to convert to Christianity. She was scared of what was happening around her and how she was seeing her world, but she had this person giving her an "explanation". If she could believe she was getting visions from god, it made the reality less scary. Misty and Lottie's "love" is very similar for both of them

✰ this became a lot more analytical than I originally planned on writing, but if you want more sweet dynamic stuff let me know! I think these two would make such a weird, fun couple together

#◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡ kay's at it again♡ #◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡chit chat with kay♡ #ask box #yellowjackets #yellowjackets fanfic #yellowjackets thoughts #yellowjackets headcanons #lottie matthews #lottie matthews headcanons #misty quigley #misty quigley headcanons #mistylottie

[menalez]

is it possible to still have some religious or spiritual beliefs without belonging to a misogynistic religion? i was raised muslim (i'm assuming you're ex-muslim but not sure lol) i realised i'm a lesbian when i was 13, and as i learnt about feminism and began to analyze islam under a more critical feminist lens, i realised the horrible misogyny, pedophilia, homophobia, etc, it contains. i even read about other religions, abrahamic and otherwise, hoping i would find a better one, but all of the ones i read about seem to have misogynistic elements. it seems like religion as a whole is inextricable from female oppression and that there is no religious framework that isn't built for men, nothing that respects female autonomy as people. maybe it is due to my upbringing but i still believe some of the religious stuff i was taught (not the misogyny obviously, but i believe there is a god) and i still find myself wanting to pray. i don't know how to do that without contributing to a misogynistic religion i don't want to be a part of though. i feel pretty lost tbqh

i think it’s possible to denounce religions while picking and choosing aspects of them that you like and want to practice. i was never raised religious so i never had any religious practices that felt comforting to me. despite that, i know lots of women who did grow up religious and don’t even believe in islam but out of habit and due to being accustomed, they would practice certain aspects. considering how it becomes a thing of comfort and habit, i understand why you still do things like pray or believe in god despite you not believing in islam itself. i don’t see why that would be an issue tbh, if you feel comfortable with that then go for it. the only way i can see it as contributing to the religion is if you went to the ka’ba or something lol

[the-library-alcove]

So my best friend is a Bisexual man who was raised in a conservative Christian home that homeschooled him and amount others things taught him that LGBT were going to burn in hell and deserved no rights. He has since left the religion and moved to a different part of the country that is a lot more pro-lgbt and a lot less religious. He’s a lot happier now having embraced both his sexuality and atheism! But according to you, you he’s still a Christian. Even tho his family rejected him and he’d rather be homeless, which he currently is, than to return to them. Christianity abused him for no other reason than he’s bi but you don’t care and still put him in the same category as his abusers. Do you not see how fucked up that is?

Culturally Christian Atheist whining that he doesn't understand that he and his friend are still going to have deep-seated influences from their upbringing on how they view the world and saying that the mere statement that, no, you didn't spring forth from the ground as a fully formed adult with zero influences is somehow "putting him in the same category as his abusers".

It's judgement neutral, yah dummy! If you're feeling that it's an attack, that's on you, but FFS, this is something I get from every fucking Culturally Christian atheist to the point that getting this whine is itself part of being a culturally Christian Atheist--because you're acting like a Christian who has been mistakenly labeled to be a "Catholic" and now has to throw a tantrum over it!

But shit, dude, I'm a culturally Jewish atheist! See, it's that easy to acknowledge your background! Can you stop acting like an Evangelical with a persecution complex when I point out that you have a historical background that's going to inform how you view things and interact with the world? You're not a video game character who spawns when the protagonist enters a new zone! I'm not saying that you're still religiously a Christian! Honestly, I'm proud of you for walking away from that faith--statistically, you've probably left Evangelical Christianity, which is the closest thing to a fully fledged Religion of Evil on the planet! But it's still going to leave marks on you and your mindset that take a lot more work to identify and acknowledge and remove than just going "I don't accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior!" And I can tell that you've still got work to do--because you're whining like an Evangelical that you're being persecuted for someone making an observation about your cultural background, including, for starters:

Taking my statements out of context to attack me.

Treating this as a black-and-white issue.

Treating my statement as a moral attack.

Assuming that you have all of the answers already and other perspectives are a danger to be attacked and dismissed.

Treating me as an outsider to be attacked for pointing out something, rather than someone trying to help you fix a problem.

Among others. You still have some deeply embedded cultural programming that comes from being raised in a Culturally Christian background environment that includes behaviors like that. But rather than try to remove them and get rid of those vestiges of thinking, you're instead proving my point. And while you aren't as obnoxious as some other Culturally Christian Atheists I've run into, this belligerence and resistance to actually listening because you're convinced that you already have done all of the work and possess Truth is so Culturally Christian it hurts. Like, I feel sorry for you. Still going to block you, because there no more point in trying to have a conversation with you than the missionaries who have told me that I exist to be a blood sacrifice to bring back Jesus, and for the same reason: You have your Truth, and damned be anyone who says anything that contradicts it.

EDIT: Also, checking out your blog and seeing you deliberately going after Jewish bloggers even more than you go after Christians, to say how much you hate them for existing and mocking our own origins?

Yeah, that antisemitism is also part of your Culturally Christian background. Ask yourself why you hate Jews so much and so specifically.

#now to find out how many suspiciously empty new blogs I have to block today #because that's the usual pattern when dealing with either evangelicals or this type of atheist

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

Crazy but I saw you said Henry used to be your favorite so do you have some headcanons to share with us?

i'm glad you asked, actually! i've been writing a fic about him for 2 months (someday i'll finish it) so i have some thoughts on his character. but i haven't shared them because well, let's just say that mafia 2 is super valuable to me for honestly revealing not the best human traits (and i'm trying to make these mf even worse) and henry is like. fandom's fav boy so i just didn't really want to get burned at the stake like some kind of a witch

anyway  1) about henry’s family i've seen a lot of hc about him being the youngest + spoiled child. but for some reason it seemed to me from the beginning that he was the middle child and clearly not spoiled. and it's not about an abusive childhood full of deprivation, no. i think inside his family was quite cold (maybe not from the beginning, but if you take henry as the middle child - it had time to become so by the time he was raised). i think henry's mom wasn’t exactly tough, but strict (have you ever talked to mothers who raised multiple sons practically alone? i have and they’re some of the strongest and toughest women i know). and I think she took on the main responsibilities of parenting because her husband just didn't have time for it.

and then there's the whole Sicilian conformity thing (this reminds me of a story of an acquaintance of mine whose mother wouldn’t let him go to the store to buy bread as a child until he put on a suit and tie. he was seven or so btw)

especially since henry's mother had to organize the emigration of the family and the Empire Bay settlement all by herself (i.e. i'm sure there was help from clemente, but the point here is to create a home(!) in a new place in a new country. emigration is often a heartbreaking situation in general, and when you flee to another country to survive, it's hard. you also have to stay strong because you’re responsible for an entire family). i based this whole story of coldness within the family on one (1) documentary about mafia families (it’s called mafia women i think??women of mafia??? i dont remember) and my hair just stood on end at how far from normal relations within the families are. i.e. if his family found out he was a rat, they wouldn't come to his funeral, and if he survived, they would consider him dead. it's wild, but interesting. the fact that even in the families slides mafia traditions  back to henry and how his upbringing affected him.

arrogance - memories of how his family was treated in sicily.

coldness - his parents' prohibition of weakness/emotionality. this is where his outbursts of aggression come from - repressed emotions always lead to a breakdown.

critical of others - rare praise from his parents.

wounded pride - he lives in the shadow of his father and perhaps more successful brothers. a sense of competition, to which he reacts not by wanting to grab his rival by the throat, but by trying to hide and run away from it, just so that these feelings don't torment him. an attempt to change his mind and pretend that he is really cool and successful (instead of actually doing something. fake it till u make it only without making it). he's trying to be lana del rey but really he's just an aggressive wounded dog. maybe a flea-bitten one

mistrust of people is probably a consequence of the fact that mafia families are closed and live in a very detached space (?)

 anyway. it's absolutely 100% henry to me:

+ henry in relation to vito and joe (at least at first? can't say i thought much about their relationship to each other)

+ closure because of the trauma of death. because of the deep understanding that in this business it’s useless to have close ties, friends, love, anything. in the end you will lose everything. and for what?

2) henry and religion i've been wanting to write about this for so long, but i thought (still think) i'd get kicked to death for it

anyway, i'm sure henry's religiosity is totally hypocritical and selfish

hypocrisy - "if they wanna kill themselves so badly i'll gladly help them out. especially for twenty grand". excuse me. suicide is considered one of the worst sins in christianity (at least in orthodox christianity). that phrase couldn’t be uttered by a man who truly believes in god. not to mention what he does for a living.

religiosity is his way of asserting himself, his way of standing above others. the way he (not directly?) chides vito and joe for not going to church. it's actually an attempt to humiliate the other person and show that "i'm better than you".

and!!!! it's funny!!!! he believes in superstition!!!!! as far as i remember it's against christianity. booo poser 🙄

it's funny that he tries to appear to be a religious man and yet he's in the most abusive family in the city

nevertheless i think he donates money to the church but it's all some kind of payoff attempt too! not sincere!!!

3) random analysis - to me he is a fatalist! hence the lack of ambition. fate is inexorable and cannot be changed. maybe it's the trauma of emigration and upbringing, reinforced by the fact that he never succeeded. the idea of henry being a fatalist is based on his "it's the 13th contract, it’s a jinx" etc. lack of ambition due to fatalism - you blame external circumstances/fate for your own failure. maybe he broke his bones a lot as a kid and stuff, maybe he's got a reputation for failure? i don't know. not because he's bad, but because all sorts of bad things keep happening to him for some inexplicable reason (maybe if he prays especially hard it will go away?)

- the further he goes, the more he moves towards a crisis and a fractured personality. frustration, big losses that he couldn't deal with and that just weren't worth it (betty's death probably had something to do with criminality; i think almost all of his brothers were criminals and some died). and i have a hc about clemente who was going to make henry a capo after luca died. but then chapter 10 happened and everything was ruined. such a crisis could be a reason to work for the feds, or it could be an attempt to make a big score with objectively very little chance of success (............. or to become a don, which is the plot of my fic). either way, all of these actions to me lie in deep despair and entrapment

 - hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite 

 - funny how he positions himself as a professional even though in the game he fails every time (character = actions, not words). i don't know, maybe he was once good, maybe it's wounded pride and he never admits to himself that he's not good at "the one thing he's good at" and considering this dialogue:

the situation is again quite tragic. it's like "im no artist i've wasted my life". i can totally understand that feeling and it's very hard. to me he's a man trapped in a world he can't get out of. he's trapped in a cage of a life he didn't choose (i think that may be one of the reasons he started working for the feds).

4) henry and betty i think they had a lot of genuine love for each other (..... unlike falcone and lauretta who are much more complicated) and for some reason i like to think that he and betty met because they lived next door to each other in neighboring apartments (the first scene with them in my head was betty looking out of the window and seeing henry in the next window taking dried clothes off the ropes that run between the houses. idk i like to think that he was helping with the household). and it does somehow seem very natural and right that betty was more proactive and that their relationship started because of her (he probably pushed her away at first btw?)

 if betty was killed by one of the families, henry never had a vendetta (probably clemente didn't allow it? one of the first reasons henry has a growing disgust for alberto)

5) random hcs - he knows francesca. very fucked up story because to francesca, henry is just a low-key polite christian (which evokes simple human sympathy), but he is actually the person who put her brother in jail. a person who commits the most heinous sins on an almost daily basis. henry doesn't know francesca is vito's sister either - if henry had spent more time with vito and joe: henry projects his traumas onto joe and vito: "you're so fucking naive." but then at some point he gets a brotherly instinct toward them - when eddie came to collect some of the profits from the drug deal he greeted henry with a punch in the face 🙂 personal grudge among other things (and since henry has many addresses, eddie went to each one and only the last one was correct. man was on the verge of a mental breakdown) - vinci and henry really are distant relatives - in the short time that henry and eddie have been working together (i want to believe that they’ve been working together), they have grown attached to each other. they’re opposite personalities, but they share a deep sense of loss and loneliness (in that don henry fic, there's a gunfight scene where henry and eddie are on opposite sides of the conflict and neither of them dares to shoot the other. eddie resigns and bows his head first. in this version, he also realized that he secretly wanted carlo to fail (still canon thing to me), he was incredibly tired of him and carlo's potential death seemed like a release) - one of henry's brothers took up boxing upon arriving in empire bay and was very successful at it. i have a random hc about this random brother having a fight with eddie. one of the reasons henry vaguely remembers eddie - i haven't written about luca and clemente here but my main point is that over time he developed an aversion and the family as a whole. this is the reason henry says he doesn't care about clemente family's destruction

6) vibesssss (there was supposed to be more here, but i forgot what i wanted to add while i was writing the main text) - about emigration. very painful and realistic topic for me. these screenshots aren't mine anyway it makes me think about henry and his attitude to emigration (which in my understanding is most often a tragedy for a person, because it is the destruction of the old familiar world and loss of emotional ties):

henry after betty's death. to me (esp the last one):

sorry henry it's you:

- it's also him. to be completely honest:

7) track list"Sinnerman" by Nina Simone: makes me thing about his death & character as a whole. his main song to me "Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run to? *** So I run to the Lord Please hide me, Lord Don't you see me prayin'? Don't you see me down here prayin'? But the Lord said Go to the Devil, the Lord said Go to the Devil He said go to the Devil All on that day So I ran to the Devil He was waitin', I ran to the Devil He was waitin', all on that day *** So I ran to the Lord I said Lord, hide me Please hide me Please help me, all on that day He said, hide? Where were you? When you oughta have been prayin' I said Lord, Lord Hear me prayin', Lord, Lord Hear me prayin', all on that day Sinnerman, you oughta be prayin' Oughta be prayin', sinnerman"

"Cold Cold Cold" by Cage The Elephant "I've been breathing air, but there's no sign of life Doctor, the problem's in my chest My heart feels cold as ice, but it's anybody's guess *** Well, it's cold, cold, cold, cold inside Darker in the day than the dead of night Cold, cold, cold, cold inside Doctor, can you help me 'cause something don't feel right? *** Counselor, give me some advice Tell me how hard will I fall if I live a double life *** And as the darkness falls, it fills up both my eyes My life before me like a flash in the night With my arms open wide"

"Snakes" by Pixies about the disaster he caused "Snakes Are coming to your town In tunnels underground Some travelling overground A plague for our mistakes They'll be right next to you Snakes up against me too There'll be nothing to do When the rattle shakes"

"Christmas Kids" by Roar about him trapped in a cage of a life he didn't choose "The Christmas kids were nothing but a gift And love is a tower where all of us can live *** I'm going to escape, but you won't know how Or where to find me when I'm gone I'll drink myself to death inside this prison cell This prison cell So get me out of here Get me out of here *** You'll change your name or change your mind And leave this fucked up place behind But I'll know, I'll know"

"Little Green Bag" by George Baker Selection (not really about his character. it's about a drug deal)

i apologize for a lot of text (i could write more tbg but a) i'm too lazy for it b) i need more time for this (which i just don't have) ) all this is probably ooc but idk idk. this is the version of his character that has settled in my head (and i honestly!!!!! rewrote him a lot in october-november because at some point i realized that i was actually giving him falcone's traits. just because falcone is 100% my type of character) anyway i hope you'll have a nice day/night/etc and all this mess will be interesting to read💓

#i'm not gonna add fandom tags bc i think my thoughts on him are still controversial & ooc i guess and i don't want anyone to judge me🙄 #i think those of you who follows me are used to me making all these criminals the worst people in the world #so this is exclusive to you my darlings. don't kill me #anyway i think the main problem for me is that henry has a passive personality (which isn’t a bad thing) #but it's so hard for me to understand on a personal/rational level (carlo is the most comfortable character for me in that regard) #m2 #ask #oh my god im so tired of this man. bye henry im going back to falcone family

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hello! I am Filipino (Kapampangan) and my family used to be very close to their animist/polytheistic roots but are no longer due to the genocide of our indigenous culture/peoples. I am very passionate about anti-colonialism (and the revival of culture, including religion) because of how it affected my life (and many before me), and I really like your blog! I find much joy in that people are willing to stand up against the squashing of other cultures simply because they do not fit the "ideal" or "aesthetic". Because I am not Greek, I would like the opinion of someone who does come from that culture on religion specifically. Would it be okay that people like me who aren't Greek worship the Greek pantheon/participate in Hellenic Polytheism? I was learning about polytheism in context of my own ancestry, and along the way, I came to learning of Hellenic, Egyptian, and Hindu, among other religions. The more I learn on Hellenic Polytheism, the more I believe in Orphic teachings as they just make sense to me. If it would be okay, how would I do so in a way that isn't harmful? What sources would you say are best? If not, I completely respect that. I understand how it is to deal with misrepresentation of your home culture/religion, and I don't want to contribute to all the cultural appropriation of Greek culture. Thank you !!

Hello! Thank you for opening up with your story and it was great learning about your experience and your thoughts💙 I know the internet connects everyone from all places on earth but if you think about it we are pretty far away from each other, and it makes me so happy that a person from so far away found joy in what I keep!

Most importantly, I feel it's so touching that a Kapampangan Filipino would say to a Macedonian Greek "I have found my spiritual way in your ancient gods* and the Orphic beliefs". What are the odds of this happening during the last thousands of years of human history! (There are some Filipino immigrants in Greece but the odds of this specific discussion happening are slim.) I miiight be getting a bit emotional about it, but again... what are the odds!

*We still refer to our ancient gods as "our gods" although nearly all of us are baptized Orthodox :p

Greeks don't mind if non-Greeks worship the Greek gods. While the Greek gods have a Greek cultural identity (Greeks literally believed they descended from these gods as a nation) there was never any point in restricting the worship of these gods to people from other regions. There are no such limitations in the ancient texts or rules of the religion.

To be faaaair, there are so many times many Greeks think "just don't touch the damned thing because there's a 99% chance you're gonna fandomize it or treat it like a doll play with a dash of Evangelical upbringing" but that's another problem and it comes down to attitudes 😂 There is this 1% of people who want to be respectful and research as much as they can, so we get very excited about this authentic cultural contact!

If you're here for long you've probably realized that Greeks could relate to some experiences of cultural erasure and prosecution + genocide of the Kapampangan people. You would have seen the post about the Ottoman Empire posts, the genocide, the anti-Greek sentiments, the pogroms etc. (And how we are pretty much dead in the eyes of many Western nations who don't even know what language we speak in Greece and call Greek a "dead language", but I digress 😂) I know our histories are not the exact same. But I appreciate how your message showed our shared goal.

For starters, you can check my f.a.q. page , you can check my tags #hellenic polytheism , #greek gods, #greek mythology, #ancient greece #zeus and hera, #hades and persephone, #xenoi doing bs , #greek speaks , and #hellenismos (which is an incorrect tag the way I use it, but I keep it for people who don't know it's better to avoid using it xD) There are lots of discussions there that will probably shed light on the opinions of Greeks and how inaccurately Greek culture is seen through a Western lens. The material is a lot but it will be a good start, and the posts have various moods.

I understand that you have some experience with cultural erasure, and perhaps some experience with outsiders adopting animist practices in disrespectful ways. You could use this experience to pin down the details of your learning path. I don't imply that you would cause any disrespect. To be honest, I already see that you are approaching the entry to the practice in the healthiest way!

What I am saying is that you could check for potential gaps in your understanding by examining how people misunderstood Greek symbolism or beliefs because of cultural differences. (I would do the same if I attempted to practice a faith foreign to me because I also have my own cultural lenses on)

Depending on where someone comes from, they might see the Greek gods as too cruel, or too soft, or too distant from humans, and the reason for this different POV (even if this POV sounds bonkers :p) is always interesting to investigate. So you can later bridge the gap based on what characteristics might be different between your culture and the ancient and modern Greek culture. This whole advice section might make more sense if you read the posts in the tags #zeus and hera and #hades and persephone .

But definitely start with ancient Greek texts as your guide! Any type of Greek text that mentions the gods. Be careful with ancient Roman texts, as they are later, and especially with whatever Ovid has written.

I'm sure you have already thought "I should approach the ancient Greek religion as I'd like a foreigner approaching my ancestral beliefs" and that would be just right! In addition to that, I would urge you to follow the ancient Greek texts but also look at what the modern Greeks are doing. Many of our rituals and religious philosophy have carried on to our Christianity, so they have evolved, in a way.

This is a bit tricky course because, obviously, you don't want to become a Christian Orthodox, and you still want to retain some ancient Greek practices which might not be used today. Reading a bit on Christian Orthodox practices might give an insight into this evolution so if you want to check it out read the tag #greek orthodox and #greek culture. Chances are, you are familiar with Catholicism but there are differences with Orthodoxy. Since our saints have replaced the ancient gods and their domains (Panagia for Aphrodite, Agios Giorgios for Ares and Athena, Agios Haralampos for Asclepios), seeing how we approach these saints might give an insight into how we used to approach the ancient gods.

As an example of being "out of touch" I bring up the traditional ritualistic cleansing before entering Greek a temple (Polytheistic and Christian). Many westerners have analyzed the concept of "miasma" greatly, writing very long posts and intricate explanations about this. Meanwhile Greeks are like "guys don't stress too much about it. Just don't be dirty or a biohazard to others while entering a temple. It's common sense" xD I don't blame anyone for wanting to be as accurate as possible but sometimes checking in with the locals simplifies things :P

Veiling in Greek temples, both Polytheistic and Christian is an element we ditched as a nation since we have come to associate veiling with a type of purity that works as an oppressive force. Of course our priests, monks and nuns are still extremely covered and modest but the average Greek thinks this is not a practical way to live.

In any case, you will worship in 2023 and not in 300 BCE, so you don't have to follow all the rules of 300 BCE. This post is a small window into what the few Hellenic Polytheists in Greece do in their worship. And you don't need to use the ancient forms of Greek words. We still use them, so you can use their sliiiightly different 2023 forms. No deity will judge you if you use the Greek terms of your time :p (it's not necessary to use Greek words if an equivalent exists in your language)

I think it would keep you "in touch" if you maintain a decent relationship with today's Greek culture while practicing the ancient Greek religion. The ancient religion and culture are not a forgotten part of us. By researching Greece you may find ways to combine the new and the old ways of worship. In Greek tradition all inanimate nature is alive and, as in our ancient epics, the mountains and soil and trees, etc, are still entities that speak to us. The ancient nature - and death - deities also exist in our recent tradition.

As a last point, also based on "I should approach the ancient Greek religion as I'd like a foreigner approaching my ancestral beliefs": You can make a checklist with basic concepts and how they are different in the culture you know compared to the Greek (ancient and modern) culture.

E.g. What are the cleansing rituals? What is a "respectful" attire? When do they eat fish? How important are the dead to them? How many days, months and years have to pass before the next remembrance ritual? Do they address their dead? What offerings do they make to them? What are the seasonal festivals? What's their relationships with trees and mountains? What types of incense and alcohol do they use in their rituals?

That's all I can think of now! I am not an expert and I don't know everything - I am not the absolute Truth - but I hope I helped. I'm sure you'll have lots of things to work on but I am sure it will be a fulfilling journey. Don't hesitate to send more questions if you think that I can help with anything. Many Greeks follow this blog so they can write opinions and suggestions as well.

Farewell and have lots of success with your endeavour! 💙

#answered #masterpost #hellenic polytheism #worship