#and everyone else hated martin luther

[saisaixchan]

Since the One Piece Netflix Live Action adaptation has gotten popular, I've seen a lot of people wondering why OP is so popular, when it, from the onset, seems like a silly funny pirate show

Well! Here are a few reasons:

[SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES AHEAD]

One Piece is a silly funny pirate manga. It's entire focus is on adventure! Freedom! The romance of life and all it has to offer! But it still hits incredibly deep and relevant topics in our world.

To start with, since OPLA mentioned it, the focus on racism.

In the OP world, Fishmen and Mermaids are heavily discriminated against, and this is a major point in the series.

One of the biggest themes of the series is fighting against that oppression, and not passing on your hatred onto the next generation.

It explores the complications of fighting against systematic racism and the difficulties trying to move past it as a group, and how it affects so many parts of the Fishmen and Mermaid's lives.

It's one of the most nuanced takes on the topic in fiction, with the characters Otohime and Fisher Tiger being compared to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X by most fans.

OP also explores the idea of a century of lost history, hidden by the World Government. The government fears this history because whatever it is, it's inconvenient for them, and they'll go to any length, including erasing an island and it's people from existence, to keep this history hidden.

And somehow, this lost history is tied with something called the "Will of D."

They're people in the series with the letter "D." In their names, like "Monkey D. Luffy." We have no idea what this D. Initial means, but those who have it are know to smile at their death.

The "Gods" mentioned here being the Celestial Dragons, people who formed the World Government 800 years ago, who are so far above everyone else, that they casually collect and kill slaves like they're trading cards with absolutely no consequences.

They're the most despicable people in the entire series, and hurting them will get you immediately killed.

There have been other corrupt government heads and figures in the world of OP, but they're the distillation of the worst of the worst, and easily read as the culmination of "Absolute power corrupts Absolutely."

And then there's JoyBoy.

We're slowly dripfed who or what Joyboy is, and we find out that JoyBoy is someone who left a letter of apology to the Mermaid Princess of Fishman Island 800 years ago.

And then we find out that JoyBoy is also a sun god, Nika, the Warrior of Liberation.

We also learned that JoyBoy is a title, passed down by those who earn it. And the last JoyBoy is the one who left the tutular One Piece. The one that stared the whole series.

We still have no idea what promise JoyBoy broke, what their connection with the Fishmen or Mermaids were truly, or what the One Piece they left behind was. We have no idea what this grand treasure is, or why it's important. We have no idea why the Government is so afraid.

But JoyBoy's will has been passed on and inhereted in Luffy.

Whatever that treasure is, whatever connection it has to the Void Century, whatever history the World Government is hiding that they're trying so desperately to destroy, WILL be revealed once that treasure is found, and once it is, it will absolutely turn the world upside down.

And Luffy is the perfect person to find it. He's the new JoyBoy, he's the Warrior of Liberation, he's looking for this great treasure not for fame or fortune, but because he wants to be the freest man in the world. He's inherited JoyBoy's will, and Roger's, and everyone else who's been on this path in the past.

Luffy fights against any and all oppression, he hates it, and will stop it whenever he comes across it, no matter who it's towards. Luffy has always been free, and has always been freeing those who have been oppressed since volume 1.

The story of One Piece is so popular because of all these themes, and many, MANY MORE that I haven't even touched upon.

Themes of inherited dreams, and found family, and people not being inherently evil just because their parents were criminals.

Dozens and dozens of places that have their own unique culture and history and aesthetic. Pirate groups, revolutionaries, and marines, who all have their own personal morals and values. The deeply morally gray world they live in. There's plenty more to talk about in the series.

But ultimately, the series, at it's core, is about adventure and having fun.

Luffy doesn't want to know what the legendary treasure is before he finds it. Because not knowing is what makes it fun.

This is just a little taste of why OP is so, so beloved and popular.

#one piece #op #opla #long post #txt. post #i had to focus my love of op and its amazing lore into one post and this is mainly my excuse for writing this

[drarrily-we-row-along]

views on jkr?

Hello sweet,

I work reasonably hard at not saying uncharitable, unkind things about people. This makes it difficult to say anything at all about JKR because I find myself at a loss for any kind things to say.

So what I will say is this:

I believe in loving and honoring all human beings. I believe that the power of good can and will overcome the power of evil; I believe that love overcomes hatred.

Hateful views of the queer community have deeply wounded me and many people that I love. Being committed to loving humans and desiring their good is not only an act of loving others for me, but an act of loving myself (which has been, in my experience, much harder).

In case I have left any room for doubt, this blog is a safe space for everyone who falls under the queer umbrella. My deepest hope is that this blog gives a little light, a peek into the love that I desire for everyone; a love full of understanding, compassion, tenderness, healing, and depth.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Returning hate for hate only multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." I read this quote probably 15 years ago at this point but it was something that I found so profoundly moving that I haven't forgotten it.

I cannot change the hateful things someone else has said, as much as I wish I could. What I can do, is dedicate myself to the task of loving others and helping people know that they deserve to be deeply, truly loved for just who they are.

#i hope this answers your ask anon #all my love -c

[mememanufactorum]

Things I’ve said out of context (June 2023 edition)

* FEEL FREE TO SHARE AS YOU PLEASE, NO CREDIT NEEDED. CHANGE PRONOUNS OR ANYTHING ELSE AS DESIRED.

The creature has finally appeared.

Hate this. Fucking hate this. Goddamn fucking hate this.

Yeetus deletus.

My room might be getting dangerously close to becoming 50% methane.

Don’t tell me you too are intimidated by the mcnuggies.

[name] literally so brain blunted that he doesn't even realize he's naked on a beach until someone specifically points it out to him. It’s perfect.

How are you supposed to prove you’re better than [name] by jobbing?

WHAT ARE THEY SCORING FOR?

AH I SEE. PUT YOURSELF INTO A POSITION WHERE IT DOESN’T MATTER.

[name] going for blocks like he’s playing in 800 ping.

It's only when a ball's flying towards his face that [name] remembers how to dodge.

[name] ACTUALLY DEFENDED THE GOAL? THE FUCK?

Shit’s lit.

Bruh got bullets put up his ass for saluting a fallen comrade.

RING FINGER. WHAT WAS EVEN THE POINT THEN?

How many times in a row can [name] get thrown through a glass display case.

How many times can [name] get hit by a car.

Although ACTUAL WATER BULLET PHYSICS had me thoroughly entertained at least.

So it's starting to get a little creatively bankrupt in the "Let's find new ways to physically hurt [name]" department.

So I might be making a little fucky wucky.

Oh holy shit. We actually have Korean BBQ.

If I die in the next 24 hours, you’ll know why.

I feel marginally more awake than I did before. Marginally.

PUSHING BUTTONS.

WAIT, BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE EATING DONUTS. WERE YOU EATING, LIKE A MARTIN LUTHER OR SOMETHING? A BURGER SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO DONUTS?

This sounds like some SS13 shit.

I don't think the Bang did shit for me. I am right back to feeling like I did before I drank it.

I am also in the shrine. My shrine.

Everyone can’t wait to not play it.

Why can’t we get Gary Busey in DBD?

I hope she ass gets the poetic justice treatment.

I'm just trying to watch a Japanese man spend 3 days in a net cafe room. I ain't ask for a near 3 hour ad.

I offer you nothing more than the silence of shame at that pun.

Bros, you want a cheap ass Keurig with Pokemon stickers slapped on it?

This isn't even the weirdest Japan thing I've seen today.

I literally just watched a video about anime VN video games made about Uno.

I know I do literally no damage, but my self-sustain though.

[name] apparently made Clara so strong that she broke her internet.

Here's everyone's regular reminder that Lucina and Kaine have the same voice actress.

My source may be that I'm making this the fuck up, but how else do you explain it?

You don’t know what powers you invoke.

I just had to fucking double check to make sure I didn't just somehow make it up in my own head.

Let me just firmly root myself in reality for a moment.

This exists. We can all confirm this is a thing that exists.

The Jhammel’s just gonna grow its head into the giant voidgate on the moon, look Zeromus dead in the face, and call him a bitch.

Time to interrogate everyone you know.

For once, a batshit comedy anime gave me practical knowledge.

Time to fucking burn the chair.

Because when you steal from the criminals' monetary depository and then suddenly turn around and try to pay them back for the same exact amount that got stolen, they're going to most likely put two and two together.

WHO WANTED MORE SMALL SOLDIERS?

Things are beautiful just before they die, struggling until the very end.

Let me make something clear here: Just because 2 out of 3 of us aren’t a threat doesn’t mean I’m still not a threat.

#roleplay meme #roleplay prompt #rp meme #rp prompt

[ausetkmt]

Black history in the United States of America is a story of discrimination, hate, and violence. For centuries, White people enslaved, murdered, and criminalized an entire race on the basis of their skin color. Undoubtedly, remembering this is crucially important for ensuring we never forget how modern-day’s society has been built upon a history of injustice.

However, Black history in America is also defined by examples of perseverance, struggle, and determination to defy violent oppression and fight for fair and equal rights. Alongside the persecution, individuals and groups stood up in the face of hatred to demonstrate the excellence of Black cultures and societies.

Today, things still aren’t perfect and the legacy of a two-tier society remains in the social positions of different ethnicities, but more people are standing up in unison to call out the bad and build a more tolerant society.

Why is Black History Important?

Black history arguably goes back to the beginning of humanity if you go by skin color alone. Scientific evidence suggests that early homo sapiens likely had dark skin and almost certainly evolved in Africa, now the continent most closely associated with traditional Black countries and societies.

To only ever document the relatively small portion of history from 1600 in a single location would be a disservice to Black cultures, let only entirely unrepresentative of entire ethnicities. 

Therefore, it is important to remember whilst reading this timeline, that Black people are not defined only by this specific period in time. Nonetheless, remembering Black history in the USA during this time period is still incredibly important. First of all, documenting the levels of discrimination and violence that Black people experience is crucial to understanding why society remains unequal today.

For example, we must always know that White ethnicities are, generally speaking, more likely to hold higher-ranking job positions or earn more money because of historically informed structural and institutionalized racism. It is also important as a way of holding those who perpetrated injustices to account and ensuring that we never slip anywhere close to what happened again.

In another way, it is important to document Black history to highlight those that struggled against oppression to fight for a future where Black people could live equally to everyone else.

If we only speak about the violence and oppression, then we lose sight of key figures in Black history that have both defined, and continue to define, where Black societies stand today. 

Timeline of Black History

The timeline of Black history in the USA is long, beginning with outright oppression and developing through early Black rights, segregation, the civil rights movement, and eventually a society where Black cultures have emerged as dominant forces in modern-day life.

Key figures throughout the timeline include politicians like Abraham Lincoln, activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, and societies such as the NAACP. In the background of it all, major events played out in society such as American independence from the British, the American Civil War, and both World Wars.

When Did Black History Begin and Where?

In general, Black history, in terms of skin color alone, began in the continent of Africa about 60,000 years ago. The earliest humans are thought to have had dark skin as a means of protecting their bodies from intensive sunlight. In fact, it is believed that all Homo sapiens are descended from common ancestors who originated in Africa. 

Modern African Americans are descended from ancestors in West and Central Africa that were transported as slaves to the USA and other western countries. In that sense, the history of modern-day Black Americans is firmly rooted in African societies that have now developed into sovereign countries.

Modern Black history, when things like modern Black music, art, literature, and a general distinctive culture came about, was a result of an amalgamation between African heritage and the cultural features of the countries their ancestors were transported to.

What are 4 Major Movements of African American History?

While the whole of Black history is important and impactful, certain movements stand out as particularly fascinating and progressive, helping society arrive at the point of acceptance that it has today.

Abolitionist Movement

Contrary to popular belief, the abolitionist movement began well before the input of Abraham Lincoln in the 1800s. As early as 1688, German Quakers living in colonial America issued their own petition to end slavery.

It was then carried forward from then by evangelical colonists who saw slavery as an affront to the humanitarian dynamics of Christianity. During the Revolutionary War against the UK, all existing states outlawed international slave trading, and northern states of the Union abolished slavery entirely during the intervening years between the Civil War.

Southern states refused to do the same and the Civil War evolved to largely become concerned with the ending of slavery, with the Republican north led by Lincoln. The Emancipation Proclamation was announced in 1863 upon the end of the civil war, abolishing slavery across the entirety of the USA.

Underground Railroad

Around the same time as Lincoln came to prominence, the Underground Railroad was formed. The Railroad wasn’t a highly organized, country-level organization but rather many individual small groups of abolitionist sympathizers that would work to free slaves in the south and transport them to the north.

The process would involve identifying a slave in the south and then sending someone to pick them up once they had escaped. The free person would then be relayed across the country by a series of helpers until they reached their final destination. Often, this was Canada where they would be less at risk of being kidnapped and re-enslaved, but for some states such as Louisiana, a southern route to Mexico was easier.

Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights movement started in 1954 when protests and action against structural racism in the USA became a widely adopted strategy to fight for Black rights. After the Civil War, Black people were made free from enslavement and given some equal rights. However, as time progressed, racist sentiments remained and began influencing social attitudes against non-White people.

Segregation became the norm and the Jim Crow laws were adopted wholeheartedly in the southern states. Key figures came to prominence in this era, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, as focal points for the fight for true racial equality. This ended in 1968 with the passing of various civil rights acts which outlawed things like segregation in schools. However, struggles against racism remained after this time and still exist today.

Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter movement began in 2013 after Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, was killed by George Zimmerman, a white male. Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges which caused uproar in Black communities and beyond at what was perceived as an unacceptable response to a racially motivated killing.

The movement took off on social media and was used as a way to bring attention to the everyday struggles Black Americans go through in life. It swelled into protests over further court rulings surrounding White people killing Black people and eventually became an official organization. It has been compared to the Civil Rights movement for its motivations and tactics.

What Are Some Important Moments in Black History?

Perhaps the most important moment in Black history was the first importation of slaves to the North American continent in 1619. This marked the beginning of mass slavery of African people and therefore determined the social position and struggles Black people would face for centuries to come.

Following this, the American Civil War put the issue of slavery front and center as the North fought the South in a conflict that became defined by this issue. The victor would have the chance to decide the future of slavery for the whole country and the victory of the abolitionist North proved key for Black freedoms. Nationwide emancipation soon followed which saw the transformation overnight for many Black people from slavery to freedom. 

This didn’t mean that problems with racism were over. After decades of building hatred and institutionalized racism in America, the Civil Rights Movement kicked off as one of the key moments in Black history. Many place the starting point in 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to move from the "white’s only" section on a bus.

Another key moment within this period was the rise of Martin Luther King who became a figurehead and driving force for Black rights in 1963. Although he was assassinated in 1968, his legacy and motivations live on. The passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is also extremely important as the moment when discrimination in any form became officially illegal in the USA.

Struggles against racism continued throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st, especially with the legal system and policing. Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency in 2009 marked the first African American president and was symbolic of not only how far Black rights had come, but also how public attitudes had changed toward Black people. Most recently, the sparking of Black Lives Matter in 2013 represented a modern-day incarnation of the Civil Rights Movement and pushed the struggle of being Black in a prejudiced society into the spotlight.

Timeline of Black History

#Timeline of Black History #Black History in america

[chronically-obsessive-compulsive]

Religion and OCD

disclaimer: this post is from my personal experience only and is not meant to attack anyone's faith. it's just something that I've been going through again recently and, since I'm primarily going to be posting about my OCD on here, I wanted to post my experience with this as well

What is Scrupulosity?

according to the IOCDF, scrupulosity is defined as "a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) involving religious or moral obsessions" (IOCDF, What is OCD & Scrupulosity?). they continue on, adding that "scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or other violation of religious or moral doctrine" (IOCDF, What is OCD & Scrupulosity?). It can manifest as compulsive praying, compulsive confessing, fear of angering God, etc.

although I can't speak for everyone, I can speak of my own experiences with faith and growing up with OCD.

for some context, I grew up with a Lutheran father and a southern Pentecostal mother who joined the Lutheran church after they were married. Lutheranism is your average protestant Christian church (although it's ironic because Martin Luther, the founder, had severe religious OCD. just like me fr). The Pentecostal church is very different (note: I'm saying Pentecostal, not Apostolic Pentecostal if anyone looks into this). the BBC describes Pentecostalism as a "form of Christianity that emphasizes the work of the holy spirit and the direct experience of the presence of God by the believer...The direct experience of God is revealed by gifts of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing" (Pentecostalism). so yeah. of course, this isn't to say anything negative about either church, just to give context of the environment I grew up in.

I can still remember when I was a kid around the time that my OCD had started to develop when my mother told me that I needed to thank God for everything that I have and everyone that I would miss if I woke up the next morning and they were gone, because God could do that. so that started my compulsive praying. It started with maybe ten or twelve close friends and relatives that I would pray for every night. I said the same prayer- if I said it wrong, I needed to start over. if I forgot someone by accident, I needed to start over. soon though I added more and more people. after all, if anyone around me were to not show up to school tomorrow or make it overnight and I hadn't prayed for them, it would have been my fault. I would be praying for hours, starting over again and again when I would remember new people to pray for. as you can imagine, this was a very stressful time for me.

then I started seventh grade. middle school leads to a lot of things, puberty being one of them. so when I started to find one of my female friends attractive, it shouldn't have been a surprise. but it was- because this friend was the same gender as I was. I had heard from the religious people around me that being bisexual was wrong. this led to a lot of issues, but the biggest one was with my OCD. I was terrified that God now hated me and that I had no chance to go to heaven with all of my friends and family. I prayed for it to go away- just like I prayed for the rest of my OCD and intrusive thoughts to go away- but nothing worked.

around this time my mental health was very steadily declining. I needed to see someone for my anxiety. my parents picked the therapist form a recommendation by our pastor. unfortunately, she didn't do anything good. I didn't even know why I was there because she would never try to get to the bottom of my anxiety. I knew that there was something else wrong with me at the time (my OCD) and was told that I was there to figure out what it was. all she did was play religious board games with me and tell my parents everything that I told her when I did open up. it was only ever a problem when she told me that my parents had also been seeing her for issues in their marriage and that they were considering a divorce. it only mattered when she told me their business, not that she told them mine.

after that incident, I wasn't seeing a therapist at all. this was the time where I started to break away from the Christian beliefs that I held for my entire life.

fast forward to a few days ago, my mother asks me if I'm still praying. I immediately start to panic- I've acknowledged that compulsive prayer and scrupulosity has been a problem I had for a long time, and I don't want to go back to that fear. so I finally open up to her about my scrupulosity. it was terrifying. and she seemed to be understanding, telling me how sorry she is that I went through that but ended by saying that I need to start praying again anyway.

this post isn't to say that no one with this subtype of OCD can have a relationship with God. there are a lot of people with OCD that can get through these obsessions and be happy. the point I want to make is that, if you are in the situation that my mother was in a few days ago, you should not push someone with OCD to do compulsions or things that may trigger them if they aren't ready to do so. please be understanding if a friend or loved one opens up to you, as a religious person or not, about their scrupulosity. if you are spiritual, they are probably afraid of your judgement. but just because you don't criticize them for stepping away from faith or not praying, telling them to do the things that make them stressed and trigger their OCD can be harmful as well.

to reiterate, I am in no way saying that if you have scrupulosity OCD that you cannot be religious. but if someone opens up to you about their scrupulosity, please be understanding and aware of how your response could make that person feel. telling them to pray again anyway can be like telling them that you hear them and understand how they feel, but none of that matters.

much love to anyone dealing with this form of OCD, if you need to reach out, my inbox is open <3 you are not alone

sources:

"What is OCD & Scrupulosity?" International OCD Foundation, https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/what-is-ocd-scrupulosity/.

"Pentecostalism" BBC, 2 July 2009, https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/pentecostal_1.shtml

#ocd #obsessive compulsive disorder #obsessive compulsive behavior #scrupulosity #scrupulosity ocd #actually ocd #mental health #mental illness #anxiety #general anxiety disorder #depression #religious trauma #religion #christianity #compulsive prayer #compulsions #obsessions

[nimixo]

International Human Solidarity Day 2023!

Wishing Everyone loads of love, health, wealth & happiness on International Human Solidarity Day 2023!

Top 10 quotes to motivate you!

A hand fought best when it made a fist. -Guy Gavriel Kay. 

Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much. -Helen Keller. 

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. -Martin Luther King Jr. 

Here beyond men's judgments, all covenants were brittle. -Cormac McCarthy. 

I won’t die in an accident or die of any disease. I will go down in glory. -Major Sudhir Kumar Walia. 

If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again. -Malcolm X. 

Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it; it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it. -Anonymous. 

Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learned how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future. -Nelson Mandela. 

Soldiers do not fight because they hate what is in front of them. They fight because they love what is behind them. -G.K. Chesterton. 

Solidarity is not an act of charity, but mutual aid between forces fighting for the same objective. -Samora Machel. 

#solidarity #unity #humanity #compassion #hope #Nimixo #motivational #motivationalquote #motivationblowbyblow

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Is Enough

“…Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” Matthew 24:11NIV

One relative has discovered— we Christians have been deceived for the last 2000 years about everything to do with serving God. Royal anger rages because of this supposed deception, and that especially because Lou and Debbie will end in hell by the deception. I have been looking seriously into the allegations.

— “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” Exodus 20:8NLT. I’m seriously considering this— not because it’s a requirement of Law. As a new Christian, I put Sunday dinner in the oven before church. After church we relaxed, visited with friends, played games, napped went to Sunday evening service— no work all day other than cooking and washing dishes. 

Over the years, I’ve become lax and break the commandment, in that I don’t like to cook Sunday dinner anymore, preferring rather to eat out. I’ve been known to write devotionals on Sunday. (Could the ‘keep the day holy’ be an open door for satan to attack through?) Per ‘Relative,’ I’ve become seriously deceived, sinful, headed for hell. Especially because I consider Sunday to be the “Sabbath” day, not Saturday, the supposed Sabbath. Decision… Jesus’s blood is enough, period.

— “Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.” Jeremiah 10:2-4ESV. ‘Relative’ believes Jeremiah is speaking of Christmas trees— freaks out because I put up a Christmas tree. Yes, the Romans and Druids put pine trees in their homes in worship of their gods. Jeremiah’s point had nothing to do with the “tree” but with what was created out of the tree— an idol to be overlaid with silver and gold— object worshipped.

—Spiritually, decorating with lights has special meaning, supposedly started by Martin Luther declaring ‘Jesus is the light of the world.’ Green stands for God’s mercy; gold or yellow lights represent God’s shekinah glory; blue represents the hope we have in Christ Jesus; red represents Jesus’ blood shed for us; purple represents our Savior’s royalty. 

—FYI: Christmas is not celebrated in all parts of the world on December 25. ‘Relative’s’ big gripe here is— December 25 isn’t really Jesus’ actual time of birth, plus it’s very close to pagan celebrations. —True Christ’s birth was probably around Yom Kippur. My thought— Jesus’s blood is enough, period. 

‘Relative’s’ ‘religion’ screams against Resurrection Sunday, (pagan holiday), screaming we must be — “…a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:” 1Peter 2:9KJV. 

— “Do not be conformed to this world,..” Romans 12:2ESV.

Most peculiar of all peoples, those who love in contrast to this evil world— loving even enemies. Meanwhile ‘Relative’ adheres to the following Law is being peculiar, hating non-conformity like the rest of the world. Peculiar — “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35NIV. ‘Agape’ love—unconditional, not brotherly love, or romantic— sermon on the mount kind of love.

— “…A Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” Romans 2:29ESV. Jesus’s blood is enough.

What Jesus did on Calvary is left out of ‘Relative’s’ every equation— making His death in vain. Ephesians 2:8-9 —erased along with Colossians, Philippians, Corinthians. The religion of law is from a false prophet deceiving many. Don’t be one of them. It’s your choice. You choose. 

LET’S PRAY: Father God please save ‘Relative’ from this deception and everyone else being deceived by this, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

by Debbie Veilleux 

Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

#Jesus Christ #lord of lords #word of god #God #Holy Spirit #it's your choice #devotional #Is enough #deception #obey the law #religion #raging #screaming #mercy #grace #believe #love #hope #faith

[the-firebird69]

It's Sunday so there's not a lot of stuff going on in Charlotte county but that's normally and the idiots are stirring up trouble in town and around town and outside of town and it's the trumpsters and a bunch of people oppose them doing that and they don't want them doing that and they will die until they stop or are gone and they have to concentrate on these clones they're absurd, and yeah Trump's absurd and should be eliminated if they don't stop tons of people are attacking them already because there are still these crass idiots everyone's taking these clones seriously. There's a force of Trump's gathering outside the 18th ring and it's very large it's about 10 billion and the crews have been about 5 billion every hour and last night were almost all Trump and people just hitting them as they tried to get out here to the 18th ring and they're hitting them in their places when they're trying to get ready and they're hitting them when they're trying to get here by sea and bja turned around and started wailing on them and was really a lot happier minority more lack of siding with him for now still got this empire stuff in a few places like Australia. It is so stupid did this guy Trump should shut up but he just starts blabbing his son says you're fighting each other all the time and I'm taking all your stuff and territory that's the game that I saw that's the game I play and you're a loser and you're losing that's what it is so you can explain all sorts of weird s*** to me I'm just going to use it against you you're a loser. These two are stupid as hell and are laughing because they get killed and trying to take his key to the apartment and they're getting killed all over by the way these pseudo empire is backing stan up finally, and they're plowing through this a****** finally finally free at last free at last thank God we are free at last. Is Cody Martin Luther King and there is a road out here but for Christ's sake that guy is a huge a****** Trump is a freaking moron and it's massive massive massive ASSHOLE, and he's a Dead Man walking. It is true too he does these movies Miami vice then Todd Johnson's gone and this bag is imitating him and gets his ass pounded in and his son too these freaks die every day every single day they're dead once a week they get their brains blown out they're complete losers. They are getting decimated globally right now people are surrounding their forces and destroying them this won't shut up and it won't try and do the job and hands and they're not necessary anymore everybody hates them New Zealand is going to come under a strict fire momentarily these pseudo empire and about 10-4 Nations with gigantic fleets to crush them to Oblivion make them suffer for their treatment they're going to blow the f****** assholes away out here and shoot them on site almost as the clones are they're going to be out of Florida probably today we would have to look at this idiot with his two vehicles he doesn't do any work all day long he's a laziest person on Earth he is a slob and his place is a mess and we need him out of there to get the bugs out and was sending people now to fix this place and Stan has his hands full and what we mean is we send him crews to help them get something done here. They are getting decimated globally this Trump group they have the money they have stashes caches all sorts of stuff huge numbers of people going after them. And Dave's area is New Zealand is a gigantic base under it it has the most gold and other stuff but it also has secrets of his and people figured it out

Thor Freya

Can you believe it it's about something else other than this guy is remarkably bad attitude and stupid system

Zues

It's actually true it's about New Zealand and he's spent they're going to waste this stupid a****** but his attitude and demeanor and approach to us is horribly wrong he's sitting there waking the giant every few seconds talking about all the stuff trying to ruined any relationship like a b**** he's freaking horrible Stan is going to a victim shortly he's saying it out loud other people are going to help and they don't want Jason in nobody does Trump is going to take care of that he says what a guy and what a nuisance it's stuck to your dumb freaking retard family and you people are the biggest assholes I've ever seen are going to sue you so I have funding

Hera

Olympus

[lasantha2305]

THE WORTH OF THE WORLD IN GOLD -

"I Like Humanity, but I hate Humans", - Said once, Albert Einstein.

The message says it all. I sat in my living room, hearing the daily bulletin of the day's breaking news. As a routine ( here it goes, please bear with me ! ). Reports on destructing earthquakes, terrorism, train strikes, google. Explosions, logging rain forests, forest fires, hurricanes. Polluting aeroplanes, overweight people, cholesterol, bankruptcies. Redundancies, micro-plastic in fish, pesticides in food, unemployment, depletion of natural resources, currency rates, slave workers, bitcoins, human rights in China, rocket man Mr Kim Jong Un, diabetes type 1 & 2, Cancer, Vladimir Putin, Corona liar Bolsonaro to, President Biden.

The list goes on endlessly, from North, East, West, South - NEWS! There is nothing positive on reports, news larger than life twenty-four-seven; I want to be updated; I am addicted and can't let go!

Pandemics, Panic, overpopulation, pollution and more poison. It all goes in through the ears and gets stuck in our minds. The promotion of a gloomy future — A ticking time bomb.

I want to climb Mount Everest alone, in the footsteps of Sir. Edmond Hillary, and hide there. I reflect on "We didn't start the fire" by Billy Joel long ago.

The World was safe and intact while the Chinese dragon slept before Globalisation. There was no internet, a half-bitten apple, Facebook friends, amazing Amazon (not the jungle or the river!), Google or Ali Baba (no, not the one with the 40 thieves!), and a time when people read books in the Metro!

It was an iconic song. Billy had a vision; I saw many rocking to the beat without analysing the message! All the while, the fires were spreading steadily, fueled by corruption and greed. I see the fire spreading, and the glaciers are melting out of control. My hands are tied; big brother is watching, and no one will throw the first stone! We are sitting on a train with one-way tickets, about to enter a dark hole!

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most outstanding men ever, was killed. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Marcus Garvy, Malcolm X, and John Lennon were silenced! Why must they die so young? If those lived to face their natural deaths like everyone else, Would this World be better than it is today?

We, the masters of the universe, will fabricate news because our people lack compassion and purity. We cannot calculate the value of the Earth in monetary terms; the Earth that gives life effaces it in time as the ever-evolving evolution transfers us closer to our destiny.

I could epitomise, and it feels like I am reliving the work of Stephen King, but think positive and hope for a miracle; everything will be fine in our lifetime!

The crying Earth & other stories

[yuna-writes]

Anesthetics

I feel like these days, people care a lot about anesthetics which are mostly looks. It makes me wonder if I’ll always be perceived as a minor, even though I am an adult legally. A simple blood test will prove my real age, but socially, I have been treated as a minor instead of an adult, which puts me in an awkward situation. 

I know most people would think looking young is a blessing. Because there are so many people who go under the knife to look young forever. I never really understood why people alter their appearance to be perceived as someone else. Someone who is younger or more ‘attractive’ but it’s not their real appearance. As much as people want to always be treated like a young person, the truth is age itself won’t change. The time is still ticking, and even if an 80-year-old appears like a 30-year-old person, it doesn’t change the undeniable fact that death is a very real thing. There’s no escape from it, but I suppose some people want to be valued in society, and so they alter their appearance to appear young till death because those are the beauty standards. 

What happened to beauty inside of a person? The body is just a vessel for the soul. Martin Luther King have always believed in the notion that we should judge people based on the content of their character. But practically speaking, people do still judge other based on their appearance. We are a very visual human being. My question would be do looks carry more weight in defining reality? I could technically live all my life pretending to be a minor based on my appearance alone. But that notion in itself is a lie I have fabricated. I wonder how many people go about living their lives pretending to be a different race, age or gender. I don’t know if Michael Jackson himself have bleached his skin on purpose to appear white, but everyone knows that he was born black. It does make me question whether he bleached his skin white to be more popular with his fans. That’s just a speculation for now, it could also be a rare skin condition. I have doubts because he has also gone into plastic surgery to change his face. 

I always feel conflicted about the ethics of changing your appearances. Western medicine does allow people to have body modifications, but at what cost? I know people mention if it makes the person happy, then it wouldn’t be harmful. But I also think it also encourages people to change their appearance. It does send a message to normalize self-hate. Again, the body is a vessel that nourishes the soul. I’m always looking into understanding human soul instead of appearances. The body changes and will eventually decay after death, but the spirit of a person lives on. 

#notes

[lovelyirony]

Ironwidow fake dating and cousin Sharon matchmaking

Nat and Tony have been friends since seventh grade, when Tony made fun of her drawing and in retaliation, Nat stuck a pencil in his thigh. 

He grinned at her after sneakily getting a tissue from the front desk. 

“You’re pretty good, Nat.” 

“My name is Natasha.” 

“Not to me, it’s not.” 

So it becomes Nat and Tony. Tony and Nat. They do everything together, from attend the eighth grade pool parties and hate all of them to the freshman orientation in high school where they make fun of the senior leaders and sneak into the admissions office to make sure they have at least one class together. (And then change the schedule when they don’t.) 

Tony has been in love with Natasha Romanoff since the first eighth grade pool party, when she showed up in a full wet suit because she didn’t like the way that their classmate Ivan liked her. 

But, he hasn’t done anything about it. Why is that, everyone asks? Just ask her out! 

Well, Tony has a special talent that is medically known as “anxiety,” but he also has common sense. 

Natasha Romanoff is beautiful. She has gorgeous red hair, eyes that know everything about you before you even think they do, a wicked sense of humor, and a sense of self that is beyond anything Tony’s ever encountered. 

Tony stays up until three a.m., doesn’t give a shit about his appearance so he is frequently rushing to school with the worst bed hair imaginable, and also wears possibly the most out-of-style clothing ever. 

Like right now. A pair of jeans that’s too short and he cuffed only on one leg, a shirt that’s advertising some college Howard made him visit, and he’s pretty sure that the plaid he layered it with has a coffee stain down the back. 

He’s proven right when Sharon wrinkles her nose. 

“Dude, you seriously haven’t done laundry since two weeks ago, have you?” 

“Do I smell bad? Do I?” 

She leans in. 

“No, just like old coffee. So regular. We’ll see when Nat comes. Or you could confess your love to have her not roast your choice of apparel.” 

Tony scowls, adjusting his backpack. 

“Do you have another topic, or are you just that boring?” 

“I could also tell you about World War One,” Sharon adds. “I just read about it in one of those stupid textbooks I have to carry around. Did you know that the French are actually the worst at war?” 

“Yes, everyone knows that. I think they know that too.” 

Nat’s already at her locker. She looks gorgeous with her jean jacket, the new patches sewn on. 

“Looking cute,” Sharon says appreciatively. “Do you think you’re gonna get dress-coded for the ‘fuck men’ patch?” 

“Not if they want me to write an article on how the club fund got cut but the football team got another new field within four years,” Nat says. 

“Still a good article,” Tony says. “If you could still get into a college without a reputation ruined. You know how much schools care about sports.” 

“More than education at times!” Sharon cheers. 

Nat snorts, bringing Tony into a hug. 

“Nice to see you, dude. Ready for history?” 

“Not in the slightest. We’re probably talking about government procedure again while our teacher waxes poetic about the justice system. I think I might try to change the FDA’s home screen again.” 

“You know, they might catch on after the fourth time of you inserting random YouTube videos to different links.” 

“It’s the Federal Department of Agriculture, I highly doubt they care,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Besides, I’ve already proven that I’m probably better with technology than the government itself.” 

This was true; Tony had hacked into the official website of the White House with shitty hotel Wi-Fi and half his sanity. (It was flu season, he’d had way too much Ny-Quil.) 

School passes by with little incident, all things considered. A classic Monday, with the only real excitement being an announcement of no school the following Monday for a staff meeting. 

It isn’t until Tony gets home to find both of his parents home and in the same room, waiting for him, that he starts to panic. 

“Is this an intervention?” Tony asks. “Did I do something bad?” 

“Not yet,” Howard says. “Although I wouldn’t be surprised.” 

“Dear,” Maria reprimands. “No, there’s an event that we want you to attend.” 

“Want or need?” Tony asks. “I was supposed to hang out with my friend Bruce to work on his genetics lab.” 

“I’m sure the lab can wait,” Howard scoffs. “You’re in high school, for god’s sake.” 

“Bruce is doing lab work for Culver,” Tony says. “He got early acceptance, so he’s doing a weird deal so he gets college credit and a year off early.” 

“Impressive, dear,” mom says, smiling. “But this event is something that you can’t miss.” 

It’s a goddamn family reunion. Maria’s side, but still. At least Peggy and Sharon would come. 

Family reunions on the Carter/Carbonell side are…interesting. A lot of loud people, aunts that couldn’t stop cooking, and at least one uncle that would say something marginally horrible and cause a rift for at least six hours where everything was tense. 

Sharon had to take this advantage carefully. 

So she got her own email into the family chain of them–a mistake by all accounts, but one that should be committed sooner rather than later–and tells the family that Tony is bringing his girlfriend, Natasha. 

They both love each other, she knows that much. Tony looks at Nat like he could give her anything in the world, and Nat looks at him with so much vulnerability that she always says she doesn’t have. 

They’ve liked each other for a while now. Sharon wishes that it wasn’t at her family reunion that she was doing this, but it was either that or a dance for high school, and that’s far too much work. 

Tony, understandably, is stressed. 

“Does she even know she’s going?!” Tony yells. “Holy shit Sharon, she’s going to meet like eighty of us!” 

“Yeah,” Sharon says. “She just doesn’t know that she’s supposed to be your girlfriend.” 

“Sharon.” 

“Yes?” 

“Run.” 

Sharon squeals as she skids out of the room, Tony chasing after her. He’s not really going to do anything about it, but he still has to text Nat. 

i am. so sorry 

lmao it’s fine. sharon just said i’m going to the reunion. why? 

funny story…

fuck what’d she do 

she emailed everyone that i was bringing you as a girlfriend. and i’m not really going to spend the whole weekend correcting it. 

gotcha. operation: fake dating commence! 

thank you nat. seriously love you 

Nat reads the message, but doesn’t respond. Of course Sharon would pull something like this. She knew that Nat liked her cousin, probably since they were kids. 

And now she had to pretend to be his girlfriend, something she actually wanted very much to do. 

She gets a text from Sharon. 

Please don’t wear your jean jacket with all the patches. It’s very cool, but you will start a fight in my family and win. But then you aren’t allowed to come back :( 

Natasha sends her back the middle finger, but then promises not to bring it.

This brings up the subject; what do you wear to a family reunion? 

- 

Tony’s fidgeting in the car as he goes to pick up Nat. His mother was very surprised. 

“You got your father’s distinct habit of not shutting your mouth,” she says with a chuckle. “But I do suppose the gazes say it all. Every Carbonell man looks like he’s in love before he says it, so–” 

“Mama, not now!” Tony hisses. Natasha’s making her way to the car, backpack slung around her shoulder and an elegant handbag in the crook of her arm. 

“Hey Ms. Carbonell,” Natasha says. “How are you?” 

“Doing good, better now that I get to have you with us,” she teases. “Anthony over here never told me that he was going to have you on as a special guest.” Natasha sends a raised eyebrow over to Tony. 

“Oh?” 

“I forgot,” Tony lied smoothly. “You know how I get in the labs. Just completely forget everything I’m supposed to remember.” 

The conversation is easy after that: just a few little anecdotes that Nat and Tony have gone over last night over the phone. They had confessed that they liked each other a year ago, had kept it extremely low-key since both didn’t want to fuss with it, and that was that. 

“How come Sharon knew but I didn’t?” Mom pouts. 

“She’s an imp,” Tony answers. “An imp who doesn’t know how to keep business to herself.” 

Their family fills up a small inn out of the way, and Tony sighs as he sees three of his aunts already conspiring at the bar. 

“Be prepared for a barrage of questions.” 

“Roger that.” 

Natasha is whisked away by the ladies with a few compliments to the cute flats she’s wearing and her favorite type of perfume. Tony gets led over to Sharon, who is playing darts with Trip and their kind-of-but-not-really-cousin, Ricardo. 

“What have I missed out on?” Trip asks, grinning. “Heard some girl was crazy enough to come and date you. She’s a looker, Tony.” 

“Thanks,” Tony says. “But yes, crazy enough to date me. Sharon knows how crazy it is, I practically get the same gene from her.” 

Sharon rolls her eyes, landing another bullseye. Ricardo curses. 

“How do you always manage to do this?” 

“Practice for this exact moment,” Sharon says with a grin. “Go get me a drink. One of the good ones.” 

“You seriously get him to do your bidding every single time,” Tony says with a laugh. Trip excuses him to see Uncle Erik, leaving Sharon and Tony alone. 

“So. You liking your new status of boyfriend?” 

“You seriously need to stop meddling,” Tony scowls. “Just because I like her doesn’t mean she should be in on this.” 

“She doesn’t mind,” Sharon scoffs. “Besides, I think Aunt Angie is going to tell her about the cardboard incident.”��

“Oh my god–” 

Natasha saunters over, grinning devilishly. 

“So. Naked and a cardboard box for modesty? Why am I not surprised at the innovation, Tony?” 

“Dammit,” Tony swears. “I’m going to learn something embarrassing about you. I’ll ask Clint.” 

“Like he’ll tell.” 

The reunion goes about as well as expected. Uncle Daniel finally spills the beans and says that his son who couldn’t make it was going to bring his girlfriend that no one likes, but they canceled at the last minute. 

“They’re horrible,” Tony says. “I’m serious. They’re the kind of people that take advantage of old people.” 

“Gross.” 

They gravitate closer to each other. While Natasha doesn’t have a problem with this, it’s bittersweet. Every time Tony casually puts his arm around her and tells another story about how they snuck into the office to match schedules and his family coos and says it’s so cute, and Sharon smiles at them. 

It stings, to be this close and yet knowing that it isn’t at all real. 

Tony lies awake at night. Becuase this is nice. All of his family loves Nat, so does he, and it seems…possible almost. To have her this close, smiling at him like she has. 

So it’s not a good idea, but he goes to her room at three a.m. She’s still awake. 

“Why are you still awake?” 

“Watching funny videos. Why are you awake?” 

“That’s why I’m here. Follow me.” 

They go into the courtyard. It feels…nice outside. Tony’s wringing his hands. 

“What’s got you so nervous?” Natasha asks. “And why at three in the morning?” 

“I think this is literally the only way I could do it,” Tony says. “Only time my family shuts up.” 

“Go for it then,” Natasha says. “You have until four, when your baby cousin wakes up. Lorenzo?” 

“Got it,” Tony says, smiling. “Um, well, I–” 

“What?” 

“Oh fuck,” Tony curses. “Listen, I’m just going to say it. I’m just going to say it.” 

“You’ve said that twice.” 

“Iloveyou.” 

“What?” 

“I…I love you,” Tony says, sighing. “I’ve loved you I think since eighth grade, and I’m now telling you because I don’t think I can just go on with life without telling you. I also realize that you’re stuck at the family reunion until this is over, so now I realize I’ve put stress on you and I’m sorry, I can fake my death if you really want me to, so–” 

Natasha envelops him in a hug. She kisses his cheek, looking at him in the dim light of the lanterns. 

“You absolute fool. I love you too.” 

It’s the first of many “I love you’s.” 

Sharon takes credit for the relationship, and Tony and Nat let her. She’s also the maid of honor and meets her future wife, Maria. 

Tony and Natasha don’t go to the same college, but compete against each other in the trivia clubs that both schools have, and so they spend other time together. Natasha shows him her favorite tea shop downtown, and Tony shows her all of the hideaway spots he uses for studies. 

(And to hide her away from Rhodey, who will tell her anything and everything that’s embarrassing about Tony.) 

Right after college, Tony and Nat move into an apartment. 

About a year later, Natasha holds out a gold ring for him to put on, asks if they really have to get married in a fancy church, and watches as Tony tears up and hugs her. 

“I told you!” Sharon crows when they reveal the rings. “I told you that you would get married!” 

“Okay loser,” Natasha says. “Then you’re the maid-of-honor. Congrats on throwing my bachelorette party.” 

“I’m making us go paint-balling.” 

Tony rolls his eyes, but looks at his now-fiancee. 

Things will be good. Aren’t they always? 

#holy FUCK this is long and it's not showing me my read more link #oh well! #lovelyirony writes #long post #this is long as fuck #ironwidow #sharon carter #iron man #black widow #natasha romanoff #tony stark #i love them okay #so much #i did this instead of read about the protestant reformation but all you need to know about that is martin luther hated the church #and everyone else hated martin luther #so that was fun #fake dating au #i love how i search up teh characters name to find this nad i can't #that's so sexy ;)

[robertreich]

Want an answer to Trumpism? Rewatch “It’s a Wonderful Life”

As I’ve considered the real lesson of January 6, I’ve been prompted to rewatch a movie that provides a hint of an answer — Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which was released 75 years ago this month.

When I first saw the movie in the late 1960s, I thought it pure hokum. America was coming apart over Vietnam and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and I remember thinking the movie could have been produced by some propaganda bureau of the government that had been told to create a white-washed (and white) version of the United States.

But in more recent years I’ve come around. As America has moved closer to being an oligarchy — with staggering inequalities of income, wealth, and power not seen in over a century — and closer to Trumpian neofascism (the two moves are connected), “It’s a Wonderful Life” speaks to what’s gone wrong and what must be done to make it right.

As you probably know (and if you don’t, this weekend would be a good time to watch it), the movie’s central conflict is between Mr. Potter (played by Lionel Barrymore) and George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart). Potter is a greedy and cruel banker. George is the generous and honorable head of Bedford Fall’s building-and-loan — the one entity standing in the way of Potter’s total domination of the town. When George accidentally loses some deposits that fall into the hands of Potter, Potter sees an opportunity to ruin George. This brings George to the bridge where he contemplates suicide, thinking his life has been worthless — before a guardian angel’s counsel turns him homeward.

It’s two radically opposed versions of America. In Potter’s social-Darwinist view, people compete with one another for resources. Those who succeed deserve to win because they’ve outrun everyone else in that competitive race. After the death of George’s father, who founded the building-and-loan, Potter moves to dissolve it — claiming George’s father “was not a businessman. He was a man of high ideals, so-called, but ideals without common sense can ruin a town.” For Potter, common sense is not coddling the “discontented rabble.”

In George’s view, Bedford Falls is a community whose members help each other. He tells Potter that the so-called “rabble … do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community.” His father helped them build homes on credit so they could afford a decent life. “People were human beings to him,” George tells Potter, “but to you, they’re cattle.”

When George contemplates ending it all, his guardian angel shows him how bleak Bedford Falls would be had George never lived — poor, fearful, and dependent on Potter. The movie ends when everyone George has helped (virtually the entire town) pitch in to bail out George and his building-and-loan.

It’s a cartoon, of course — but a cartoon that’s fast becoming a reality in America. Do we join together or let the Potters of America own and run everything?

Soon after “It’s a Wonderful Life” was released, the FBI considered it evidence of Communist Party infiltration of the film industry. The FBI’s Los Angeles field office — using a report by an ad-hoc group that included Fountainhead writer and future Trump pin-up girl Ayn Rand — warned that the movie represented “rather obvious attempts to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a ‘scrooge-type’ so that he would be the most hated man in the picture.” The movie “deliberately maligned the upper class, attempting to show the people who had money were mean and despicable characters. This … is a common trick used by Communists.”

The FBI report compared “It’s a Wonderful Life” to a Soviet film, and alleged that Frank Capra was “associated with left-wing groups” and that screenwriters Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were “very close to known Communists.”

This was all rubbish, of course — and a prelude to the Red Scare led by Republican Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin, who launched a series of highly publicized probes into alleged Communist penetration of Hollywood, the State Department, and even the US Army.

The movie was also prelude to modern Republican ideology. Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have used Potter-like social Darwinism to justify everything tax cuts for the wealthy, union-busting, and cutbacks in social safety nets. Rand herself became a hero to many in the Trump administration.

Above all, Reagan Republicans, CEOs, and Trumpers have used the strategy of “divide-and-conquer” to generate division among Americans (a kind of political social-Darwinism). That way, Americans stay angry and suspicious of one another, and don’t look upward to see where all the money and power have gone. And won’t join together to claim it back.

What would Republicans say about “It’s a Wonderful Life” if it were released today? They’d probably call it socialist rather than communist, but it would make them squirm all the same — especially given the eery similarity between Lionel Barrymore’s Mr. Potter and you know who.

#it's a wonderful life #Trumpism #FBI #Republican Party #ronald reagan #ayn rand

[voluptuarian]

“Medieval” Media on TV checklist

It’s in the UK. They can name it whatever they want, but it’s supposed to be the UK. (And not anywhere specific either-- is it Cornwall, Yorkshire, Aberdeen? None of the above, and also all.) So of course, it was filmed in Hungary, Croatia, and 2 French castles. Also it’s always winter because in medieval-fantasy-old-times-England it was always winter, always cold and gray, and always muddy, because of Christianity. Or something.

Paganism stand-in religion that is free-love-feminism-horned-god-bambi-rainbow-divine-feminine-oh-goddess!-silver-ravenwolf-glitter-farts and gives you magic powers and probably Disney Princess animal-handling skills. Clergy are female except for the only relevant character who is male and also probably Merlin, wear woad and Ren faire face paint, and are free of dogma or structure despite somehow having once governed. Now pushed into the shadows by “new” Christianity stand-in that hunts followers of the “old” religion as heretics.

Grimdark and repressive Christianity stand-in that rules with a patriarchal iron first and has made everyone miserable. Inexplicably Protestantism-based and Evangelical-inspired. Despite claiming to be medieval, no mention of Mary, Saints, feast days, pilgrimage, mystery plays, music, rosaries or medals, icons or relics, or probably even confession-- if you get lucky somebody might mention a Nail of the Cross or have communion. None of the clergy really believe unless they’re zealots, or sympathetic-and-tragically-misguided (and probably self-hating lesbians or something), everyone else is there out of ambition. Unlike the “old” religion, this one has zero divine or magical power and if it appears to have, that will actually come from demons-- who are real, although “new” God isn’t. Exists just to police sex and personal expression, self-flagellate, and guilt trip characters vaguely about “sin” without providing any discussion of what level sin it is or how many Hail Mary’s must be said to expatiate it.

Witch hunting mania which combines Renaissance Inquisition with independent early modern Puritan witch finding-- somehow is both Church-sponsored and widespread. Goes after women who are too sexy and independent, women who can read, anyone who believes in birth control, and the protagonist’s mother. Also followers of “old” religion who are usually secretly the above. Anyone caught will be burned at the stake, because hanging isn’t flashy enough.

Corsets as outerwear. Because bodices and corsets are the same thing. And everyone wore their underwear over their clothes. Victorian tightlacing de rigeur to combat wandering wombs and female mobility. If a female character wears armor, it too, is probably a corset. The enlightened heroine finally abandons hers with a feminine gasp of relief-- and no lingering health issues from years of tightlacing-- and her titties stay up anyway because of the Wonderbra she has on underneath.

Priests look like Martin Luther or the Ku Klux Klan. Nuns-- if they exist-- are only there to get killed, possessed, or dominated by male clergy (and possibly squeeze in an ill-fated lesbian romance before doing any of the former). No one has ever heard of an abbess and if you bring the subject up they’ll burn you at the stake.

If there are any Romans, they are exclusively played by Irish or German actors, with crisp Shakespearean accents. If there’s a German, they’re Dutch or Russian. If the “English” characters are actually English, they must be Southerners doing a basic British accent; if not they’re played by Americans doing no accent at all.

Chrome plate armor was all the rage in 500 AD

Despite witnessing the magic of “the old religion” firsthand, and being born and raised in the “new” one, the protagonist is an atheist, and even if he should meet god in person will steadfastly refuse to believe in Him. Because he’s just too cool and enlightened for that.

The plague is ever present, and has no name, since no one needs to define which plague, because there has only ever been the one. Other than starvation or being killed by the Baddie’s henchmen or the Church, it’s the only way anyone has ever died (except for pregnant women, who all die in childbirth.) Symptoms include fever, coughing, concealer appearing inexplicably on the lips, and then a few dramatic final words.

Nobody brushes their teeth because it’s Olde Tymes (incorrect) and nobody takes baths because it’s Satanic (also incorrect) yet every character with the exception of somebody only credited as “Ancient One-Eyed Old Coot” is clean, has shiny hair, no BO, and mouthfuls of big white teeth. Also perfume was never invented in this world, and the only beverage is water, mostly drunk from the hands at random streams, which are never mucked up or disease-carrying.

All the peasants dress in throw blankets and the remnants of Water World’s costuming department in a color range going from “Black Death” to “Dun”, accessorized with warts and fresh mud. The nobles meanwhile, drowning in money and with trade access to China dress like they were sent to The Wall, with the exception of “sexy slut” character who wears magenta crushed velvet off-the-shoulder gowns, and the only gay guy in the movie, who has slashed sleeves in 1350 and is one gold chain away from a rap career.

During interviews the cast will all say how they “wouldn’t have survived in medieval times” with all the mud and disease and sexual repression and they would have probably been “burned at the stake” for reading or swearing. The women fulfill their contractual obligation to complain about their corsets, yet another reason they would have died in “medieval times”. Somebody mentions the plague.

The harvest will be burned a dozen times, all the livestock will be slaughtered, the populace will end up homeless and starving, (which will of course, only concern the protagonist, who must dutifully share a crust of plain bread with some toothless vagrant) but once The Baddie is slain peace will return to the land and the infrastructure will magically rebuild itself, miraculously re-planting fields and restocking larders. Also it’s Spring now.

#I was annoyed and had some time on my hands #game of thrones #cursed netflix #every 'medieval knight movie' ever #middle ages #medieval

[akria23]

Wooooo

Another great episode - gave more perspective but also more questions imo.

I said before the episode that I feel the show has been giving us a White x Sean x Black trifecta (just bond wise and not romantic of course) and given this episode I still feel that way - that so storylines were erased or even redistributed to have these elements be the main focus even BUT I don’t know what the endgame is - failure or unity or if it intents to even lead into one of them. Because while it was hinted at that Black has a calmer side to him that those close love - Gram (his supposed best friend in the gang), Eugene (love interest who hadn’t wanted to separate), Sean (who feels Black have him his life goal) and even Todd (who despite it being easier for him can’t even kill) - and yet we do not really ever get to engage with the Black that would’ve had any softness with them at all. And the moments that seem to show he’s even capable of human affection are fleeting and covered in violence - be it him leaving Eugene sons he wouldn’t be in danger, him getting emotional during the Sean fight, or him sending White away so he won’t get hurt. Every act that shows he might care somewhat comes heavy with coldness, and detachment.

The same ppl who gave him a somewhat humanizing aspect are the same ones that are taking it from him - Gram who tells Eugene that Black ain’t shit be with me, every chance he gets (I really don’t know what’s going on over there)

- Sean who yes hated Black for his betrayal and coldness but clearly admired him for that same drive only now feels like - I’ve always hated you and white is the better twin (which granted he’s in love with one while black is keeping him away so it’s valid to be like 😑 you suck bring the good twin out, I guess)

- White referring to him as his evil doppelgänger 😬

- And even Todd implying that Black doesn’t care about the issues he’s just having to have it all his way - control.

I said before that it felt like we might transition into White against Black (White’s last transition into this new White being not just walking in Blacks shoes but having to overcome his brother to be himself) but in someways it feels like everyone and then Black on the other side and that’s what makes me question the real endgame for Black.

I’ve implied this before but I’m gonna be very disappointed if the ending message for Black here is that he’s too radicalized. I’m just not on that personally.

Speaking of I found the conversation between Todd & Black to be interesting and it makes me wonder at the overall ending. Will they take down 2 enemies or will they take down Tawi only for us to see Todd take over and gain the power position that came vacant with the lose of Tawi. I know some ppl may not like that but I’d be okay because it’s realistic. They used Martin Luther King as their example and as Todd said yes he fought against racism, but he was assassinated and there’s still racism. And I think for me the illuminating part is that Martin is used by racist in today’s society against black ppl, to keep them in their place. Martin wouldn’t do that, Martin would be turning over in his grave, he believe in turning the other cheek. He is used as a safe measure while they ignore all of his ideologies they cannot use and ignore the fights that worked at then same time he did. Yes the ideas and standing moves things, but the reality is someone else takes the space or they adopt a new way to keep the same systems in work. And the fight never ends. It’s just a new generation having to strap up and get to work. It may be easier or the fight may be different but the fight carries on all the same.and I think having that sort of ending where one power dies and they get ready to take on the next is just as close to reality as we’re gonna get.

Also side note I’m not saying that SeanWhiteBlack is the only triangle - there’s BlackToddTawi / SeanTawiDan / YokDanSean etc I just mean that’s our main focal point that we have been aware of from the very start. Idk this episode just left me questioning even more the endgame message & intent. Def with Dan wanting to tell Sean about what he did 😐 so many questions 😂

#not me #not me black #not me sean #not me white #not me series #not me the series #seanwhiteblack #seanwhite #gmmtv #thai bl #episode 11 #offgun

[renardtrickster]

So I was right and everyone else was right in saying that conservatives will use CRT as a buzzword and extend it to mean “literally anything”. The Republican Texas Senate is trying to amend a bill that, if passed, would remove the following from school curriculum.

The history of the Native Americans.

The writings of anyone who isn’t directly a founding father, including their contemporaries, families, and the slaves who were owned by them.

Frederick Douglas’ newspaper, “The North Star”.

The Book of Negroes.

The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1840.

The Indian Removal Act.

Thomas Jefferson’s “Letter to the Danbury Baptists”.

William Still’s Underground Railroad Records.

Historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations, including documents related to...

The Chicano Movement.

Women’s Suffrage and Equal Rights.

The Civil Rights Movement.

The Snyder Act of 1924.

The American Labor Movement.

The history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong.

The history and importance of the Civil Rights Movement, including the following documents...

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail“ and “I Have A Dream” speech.

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in “Brown v. Board of Education”.

The Emancipation Proclamation.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Mendez v. Westminster.

Frederick Douglas’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave“.

The life and work of Cesar Chavez.

The life and work of Dolores Huerta.

The history and importance of the women’s suffrage movement, including the following documents...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments.

Abigail Adam’s letter “Remember the Ladies”.

The works of Susan B. Anthony.

The Declaration of Sentiments.

The life and works of Dr. Hector P. Garcia.

The American GI Forum.

The League of United Latin American Citizens.

Hernandez v. Texas.

Also says that teachers are not compelled to discuss current events, and if they do, they must not give deference to any one perspective. Which sounds benign, until you realize that this means we’re going to have to “both sides” on stuff like “is COVID real” and “did this black man deserve to be executed by the police”.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone. The CRT backlash was always an astroturf and always an excuse to ban any discussion of or even acknowledgement of racism in America. The only surprising element should be in how bold they decided to be about it. Despite adoring the aesthetic of MLK Jr. they secretly hate him, always hated him even when he was alive, but I never would have imagined that they’d actually try to exeunt him from Texas schoolbooks, nor would they bold-facedly try to scrub the Civil Right’s Movement or even the Emancipation Proclamation from the textbooks.

For those who say “oh, they aren’t being banned, they’re just being removed from the curriculum, teachers can still teach them if they want”, I remind you that textbooks are written based off the state curriculum. If MLK isn’t in the Texas curriculum, he isn’t going to be in the Texas textbooks. If you want to argue “why should these need to be taught”, I ask you why they shouldn’t need to be. We all know the saying “those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it”, so I ask why Texas is trying to make it such that the younger generations won’t be able to know their history specifically concerning the oppression of women and racial minorities, slavery, and the KKK, among other things.

My thing is, conviction and lack of conviction can both be used to intuit where someone’s principles lie. “I think we should teach kids about MLK” is pretty good. “I don’t really care one way or the other about teaching MLK” is pretty bad, because you’re basically saying you’re ambivalent to the Civil Rights movement and just really don’t see what’s so important, man. But I can’t even make the “lack of convictions” argument because there’s a group of people out there whose convictions are apparently “we don’t need people knowing about Civil Rights, or MLK, or women’s rights, or slavery, or” YOU GET IT, RIGHT? This bill doesn’t explicitly say “fuck women, fuck brown people, fuck civil rights, and fuck you”, but I’ve outlined the effects above. None of these will be in the textbooks, and it’s much more likely that they won’t be taught, or taught as extensively as everything else is taught. It would basically eradicate civil rights education, or at least cripplingly kneecap it, which I don’t even think I need to elaborate on why that’s bad. To deny that this would harm civil rights education and to argue “this is harmless, not racist, and morally neutral” is essentially “he brings up racial IQ and crime statistics a lot and he keeps mentioning ‘cultural insurgents’ a lot and he’s constantly going on about ‘reclaiming the fatherland’ but he doesn’t have an armband on so how can we really know he’s a nazi” meme being applied to STATE LEGISLATION CONCERNING SCHOOL EDUCATION.

#oh no renardie is posting #this is what erasing history actually looks like by the way #not removing confederate statues #long post #infoxicated

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

#cyclops #scott summers #the mutants #monica rambeau #X-men #xmen #marvel #MCU #fancast #jharrel would actually be a better sunspot #but you get the point #my man would have OPTIONS