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unbidden-yidden · 7 months

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And just to follow up on that previous reblog without derailing it: a lot of the really weird relationships and discourse that exist out there in the neo-pagan, Satanist, and atheist communities are in fact echoes of the weird relationship that Xtianity has with Judaism.

Xtianity has a weird, tumultuous relationship with Judaism because they must simultaneously validate the Tanakh and the Jews who created it or else their own religion is devoid of context and built on a house of cards. But! If they validate Judaism, then they have to grapple with the fact that the Jews did not accept their interpretation of the Tanakh, that we still, against all odds, exist, and that because we still exist, we are still around to point out the ways in which the New Testament does not fit with the Tanakh and that the Tanakh does not inherently or naturally point to Jesus. And that's to say nothing of the bloody history of Xtianity towards Judaism. Our continued existence is a sore point and a weakness in the Xtian narrative that has been a constant source of irritation, frustration, and violence since the dawn of Xtianity. And, at the same time, there is a certain fascination with Judaism related to things that have been appropriated by Xtians or understood as particularly useful in spreading supercessionist ideas. So what you wind up with is a toxic mix of antisemitism and philosemitism (effectively fetishization and orientalism) that drives too many Xtians to "love" us by attacking our beliefs and way of life, and stealing whatever they think will be most helpful in their mission (especially as it pertains to Jews) in order to try and convert us.**

Many people who have also been hurt from inside of Xtianity or by the broader Xtian culture they live in seek to deconstruct those ideas by creating an inverse of Xtianity in one way or another. Those who turn to Satanism typically do this by worshipping the opposite force of the Xtian god. Those who turn to neo-paganism typically do this by embracing an unambiguously polytheistic religion and/or by turning to the cultural historical enemies of Xtianity. Those who turn to atheism typically do this by rejecting "God," "faith," and "organized religion" (as these concepts are understood by Xtian norms.)

And honestly? That's fine. If it helps, if it brings you meaning and joy, knock yourselves out. I have no problem with people turning to these beliefs for reasons of healing as well as simply being drawn to it. And for what it's worth, I did a similar thing by turning to Judaism. Obviously I had many other reasons for becoming a Jew as well, and I assume that's true for the aforementioned folks, too. Judaism healed a lot of Xtianity-shaped wounds for me, and if your paganism, Satanism, and/or atheism helps you in the same way as well as bringing you meaning, I sincerely wish you the best.

However, the problem is that many times, unless you turn to Judaism and learn our side of the story, it's very difficult to deconstruct the antisemitism of your past entanglement with Xtianity. Xtian antisemitism has permeated western society so thoroughly for so long that it is real *work* to identify and unlearn it. Those converting to Judaism have the benefit of the Jewish community and extensive educational resources to help. Other folks do not.

Here's the problem: if you simply invert Xtian ideas, you are still treating Xtianity as the baseline reality from which your other assumptions and beliefs flow. If you just choose the opposite at every chance, you divorce yourself from Xtianity, but not its prejudices.

Now you might fairly ask, "hey Avital, if we are making the opposite choice at every turn, wouldn't that invert the antisemitism to being at least neutral if not positive towards Judaism?" And that would be perfectly logical! But unfortunately deeply and (for us) dangerously incorrect.

The reason is because (1) antisemitism has never been rational but reactionary instead, (2) philosemitism is also bad, and (3) it is structured in a way that it's pretty much always "heads I win, tails you lose." Have you ever noticed that according to antisemites, Jews are both ultra-white and also dirty foreign middle eastern invaders? That we are supposedly very powerful and run the world, but are also weak and degenerate? That both the Right and the Left have extensive antisemitism problems? Etc.? There's a reason - it's because antisemitism is designed to other us no matter what. So oftentimes I see folks inverting Xtian philosemitism to being "those awful fundamentalist Old Testamenters" or inverting Xtian antisemitism to valorizing Judaism, but only to the extent that they can meme-ify our religion down to fighting God and/or being un-pious godless liberals.

But like other groups, we are a diverse and complicated group with a very long history and a lot of trauma to boot.

If you're trying to unpack your Xtian conditioning, please also unpack your antisemitism and philosemitism. If not for our sake and for it being the right thing to do, at least do it for yourselves, because unless you deconstruct that as well, you will still be operating within a really ugly aspect of a Xtian mindset.

(**Please note that this isn't literally all Xtians everywhere, but it is a lot of Xtians in most places and throughout most of history. There are absolutely Xtians who are good allies to Jews, but they are much smaller in number and are swimming upstream in their relationship to both Jews and Xtianity.)

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tuesziday · 2 years

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Hot damn are Greek Orthodox Churches beautiful

#i wanted to look up my old church to see if it had resources for learning greek (it didn't)#and seeing the huge ceiling mural i used to stare at when i got bored felt so nostalgic #then i started seeing pictures of others churches and it's like #this is what a church should look like #why do the evangelicals insist on having boring ass office building churches #how is that supposed to bring you closer to your lord and savior #if I look at your church and confuse it for a paper company in Scranton PA; you have failed as a church #go back to the drawing board and invest in some stained glass windows smh #I'm still an atheist btw #I just expect more from people who make it their life's purpose to shove their religion down everyone's throat

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servantofthefates · 3 months

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Achieve Success & Happiness by Embodying Your Divine Parent

I remember being an outwardly Catholic but privately atheistic young girl, and asking my would-be elders, “How do you know you’re being a good child of your god, deserving of rewards? For Christians, it’s easy. Be kind and turn the other cheek. What about you?” This was their answer: “It depends on our divine ruler.”

APOLLO

Be generous. To yourself and to others. By giving yourself praise; by always having the utmost faith in yourself and in your abilities. Also by giving those who deserve it a share in your resources and a lot of inspiration.

DIANA

Be nurturing. To yourself and to others. By caring for yourself at all times, never falling into self-blame or self-doubt. Also by teaching those who deserve it how to do the same even in their darkest moments.

MERCURY

Be clever. For your own and others’ benefit. Find strategic and cunning ways to get out of difficulty, especially unfair ones. Manipulate, if you have to. Do the same to help victims who deserve your kindness.

VENUS

Be beautiful. Take great care of your physical vessel. Take the time to always be at your most presentable. Make your home a sanctuary for beauty. Inspire others to do the same. Find, create and share beauty wherever you go.

MARS

Be brave. Always choose the courageous path, never the cowardly one. Stand up for yourself, for your principles or for your people when winning seems impossible. In such moments, he will turn the impossible into guaranteed.

JUPITER

Be positive. Delusionally so. Believe in miracles. Smile in the face of tragedy. Laugh in the face of agony. And teach those who deserve it how to do the same. Your insane optimism will make him notice and reward you.

SATURN

Be indefatigable. He designed your life as a marathon, not a sprint. Never let temporary losses discourage you. Never pity yourself. Believe you are the hero of the story — who first needs to survive before he can thrive.

URANUS

Be a contrarian. Never follow crowds — lead them. Never follow trends — break them. Be a chaotic good for the benefit of society at large or of your own little community. Dare to disrupt, and victory shall await you.

NEPTUNE

Be a romantic. Towards yourself and your reality. Romanticize your mistakes as necessary lessons. Romanticize enemies as keys to your growth. Romanticize the saddest parts of life, and life will become romantic towards you too.

PLUTO

Become karma. Be the avenger of the helpless. Speak up for the voiceless. Defend the weak. Never let anyone — friend or foe — hurt you and get away with it. See yourself as an instrument of cosmic justice, and power shall be granted to you.

#Old gods #Paganism #Astrology #Witch tips #servantofthefates #Witchblr #All About Astrology #All About Paganism

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writingwithcolor · 5 months

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Would it be problematic for me to have a black girl convert to sikhi over the course of the story with the assistance of her Sikh friend & the friend’s family and then get married to said friend in the future? I don’t want it to seem like she did it simply to be with her friend so I thought that maybe if I showed how she enjoys hearing things about the religion (for example how sikhi emphasizes treating everyone equally and also the protection of those facing injustice) from her friend that it could seem more natural but could that be seen as fetishizing? The black girl has been friends with the family for 10+ years (aka since she was 8) and also wasn’t raised following any religion (but not as an atheist either) so I feel the conversion would be somewhat easy for her but if any of what I’ve wrote is problematic I’ll change it! I’m still doing research so if I messed anything up I’m extremely sorry. Thank you in advance!

Black woman converts to become Sikh - Is this problematic?

If SK thinks these circumstances are okay from the Sikhism standpoint, then absolutely it is fine. Black people are all individual and different people throughout the diaspora. We are not some collective monolith with a build-in set of interests, beliefs and rules on what we can and cannot do! The real question to me is if someone can convert to Sikhism and if so, how being Black factors into the lifestyle.

On that note, I will hand the mic to SK and also welcome Black Sikh followers to chime in.

-Colette

Sikhi accept converts

Short answer: No, it is not problematic. Sikhi accepts converts. There’s nothing wrong with being drawn to a faith because of certain aspects and then looking deeper and choosing to convert.

Longer answer: Conversion into a completely new faith is rarely easy. I would say Sikhi is a harder faith to convert to because there are few resources in other languages and many Sikhs are unaccustomed to converts. As in most, if not all, religions, there is a gap between what is said and how it’s practiced.

Despite the messages about fighting injustice and treating others equally, many Sikh converts, especially Black Sikhs, deal with prejudice. This is not even unique to converts - Afghan & Kashmiri Sikhs have also faced ignorant comments from Punjabi Sikhs who aren’t aware of Sikh communities outside Punjab. The 1980’s-1990’s Sikh genocide disconnected many Sikhs in Punjab from the revolutionary messages of justice and equality laid out in Sikh holy texts.

A challenge unique to Black Sikhs is that the way kesdhari Sikhs take care of their hair and tie it in turbans can be a challenge for someone with Black hair. I would recommend Gurpreet Kaur’s writing.

Resources

Being Black & Sikh

Articles by Gurpreet Kaur

I would also suggest checking out The Black Sikh Collective on Tumblr, Instagram & Facebook for more perspectives of Black Sikhs.

-SK If this answer was helpful, SK accepts tips here: https://ko-fi.com/skaur | Venmo & Cashapp: skaur1699

#Sikhism #Religion #convert #Black #Black hair #asks #genocide tw #Sikhism history

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luminalunii97 · 10 months

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Some tankie bs detection

I saw this post on my dash. The user is blocked now. But just to educate people so that they won't fall for idiotic claims online, here are a couple of facts:

1. The Islamic Republic is not anti imperialist, they're anti USA. The regime is very much in love with Russian imperialism. At this point, Iran is an unofficial russian colony. And by the support of their imperialist father figure they have their small version of imperialism in middle east. Ask Iraq and Lebanon.

2. There's no "safety" when it comes to economy in Iran. The "national sovereignty" is called "those fvckin thieves in power" here. Iran's regime is one of the most corrupt regimes by international index. Rent, nepotism, embezzlement and money laundering are serious issues in Iran. Done only and only by the governors and people in power. Social class is not only a thing, there's a raging gap between rich people and those in poverty. And the gap is getting bigger and bigger by month. If you have connections in government or you are in the government, you'll get richer and richer. Other wise, soon enough you'll be in poverty too. Many families, including mine, who used to be considered middle class, have incomes lower than the poverty threshold now.

About 15% of Iran's economic failure including inflation is on the sanctions. The rest is on the corruption within the regime.

Iran's banking system is also a corrupted organ. The so called Islamic banking is anything but Islamic. The loan interest rate is one of the highest worldwide, 23%, so that often you have to pay back more than twice the money you've received. It's called Riba in Islam and it's Haram. According to the regime themselves, the banking system in European countries, even in the USA, is more Islamic than us. The fact that some of the biggest embezzlement in Iran has been done by bank managers should give you a picture of how they're drinking our blood.

None of this is on USA imperialism. It's all the Islamic Republic.

3. The Islamic Republic doesn't support Palestinians. The regime is extremely racist and anti Arab. I dare you talk about this with an actual Arab. IR don't give two shites about Palestinians lives. The regime is antisemitic. That's what they are. Palestine is just an excuse to attack Israel. In the past 20+ years of my life, living in Iran and dealing with these posers, not once we've been educated about Palestine and Palestinians lives. Everything I know, I've learned from online resources and documentaries make by Palestinians. The regime doesn't talk about Palestinians when they pose as supporters. I'm pretty sure they don't know or care to know anything noteworthy about Palestine, considering my knowledge of the human rights violations there is always more than basiji people of my country, and I don't even know that much. All the regime talks about is how Israel should be eliminated. IR supports a terrorist organization called Hamas, not Palestinians.

4. Let's forget about everything I said so far. I wonder if tankies like the op has any ounce of humanity in them! The regime has been oppressing women, violating every type of human rights and murdering lgbtq people and other-thinkers for the last 40 years. The spectacular environmental disaster in Iran is the direct result of regime's policies and neglect. This is a case of human rights violation since it's ruining people's lives, especially ethnic minorities, like Arab farmers in south.

No religious minority is safe in Iran, be it atheist, Baha'i, Jew, christian, or Sunni Muslim. They commit crime against children, through labor and through war. IRGC have little regards for human lives in general but it descent into no regards at all for ethnic minorities.

They have MASS EXECUTED 30,000 leftists (members of Marxist Communist parties and their supporters) within the first decade of their autocratic rule. It's unbelievably funny to me when foreign leftists support a regime that has executed many of their fellow thinkers and still arrest and torture any left activist in Iran.

To say the reason the 1979 revolution happened was to get rid of western influence and to establish a democratic free independent government is true. But the Islamic Republic is not that result. Don't be fooled.

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searchingforatrail · 6 months

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Drift, Rodimus, Ratchet & Religious Trauma and Healing allegories:

TW: Discussions of religious trauma. This is just another perspective I wanted to bring to the situation with Drift and Rodimus (and Ratchet) as someone who's experienced a lot of pain with religion and can see myself in Drift.

I've been fixating on how Drift was handled when Rodimus kicked him off of the Lost Light, and how often the severity of what Drift went through was downplayed often to prop up Rodimus.

As if Rodimus could do no wrong, and that Drift's suffering was somehow okay because Drift never raised hell and accepted Rodimus's apology.

I also thought about how with Drift's adherence to religion and tendency to follow Rodimus, even to suffering, was very catholic, and very religious trauma.

Rodimus, a Prime, caused Drift to suffer for something Rodimus did. Drift who worshiped the ground Rodimus walked on, was made to suffer for his mistakes. Drift was almost Rodimus's martyr.

And Drift accepted it.

And it's not just that he accepted it, it's that he took on the psychological and physical torment that followed. The social isolation, the physical harm, the lack of resources. The regression back to a side of himself that he fought tooth and nail not to be. It removed him from his safe space and forced him to fight to live every single day.

And this just reminded me so much of how religious trauma actually works in real life. How you are often made to suffer, by your congregation (especially in Christianity) for something you didn't do. How you're expected to suffer because your "God" makes it so, or you suffer so that your religious figure doesn't have to.

And when you are "shunned" or "excommunicated", you lose everything. The very thing that saved you (because religion did save Drift) is used against you.

And even after all of that, they still refuse to take actual accountability. And you are still expected to forgive them.

Their relationship is so complex because Drift has a heart of gold to have forgiven that. He worships the ground Rodimus walks on, but Rodimus was wrong and Drift deserved better.

And then we have Ratchet, the atheist, who respects Gods but understands that they don't have the right to control your life like that, and that you still ultimately have control of everything, save Drift. Save Drift from his own God, and that's so powerful.

And that's why they actually last.

Their story is very much an allegory to religious trauma to me. It took Ratchet, an atheist, to make him realize that what happened to him was not okay and that he was not deserving of what Rodimus did to him.

Drift's "God" didn't safe him. The one Drift suffered for, nearly died for, didn't save him. A non-believer who laughed in "God's" face did.

Drift and Rodimus are religious trauma. Drift and Rachet are religious freedom and religious healing.

#rodimus prime #dratchet #idw ratchet #idw drift #transformers #Lost Light #MTMTE

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libbee · 1 year

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Astro observations (October 2022: part 1)

Sun in aries in 1st house (aries ascendant+sun in 1st house) men make YouTube videos as a hobby. They are also egoistic and self centered in a materialistic way.

Saturn in 9th house is the hallmark of PhD scholar. These natives always have a higher education degree and stay in college for a long time.

Saturn in 9th house natives also are born into super religious family but when they grow up they become atheists and start to explore their own philosophy.

Moon in 3rd house natives love to text, talk on phone call a lot. You can find them chatting with someone most hours of their day.

Sun in aries natives especially men are prone to be fuckboys and date many girls by way of manipulation. Most of the girls are in young age because these men are attracted to physical looks. They show a sense of entitlement too when it comes to dating young girls without any remorse for what they do. It also happens that they act this way to feel masculine because of their moms being very controlling and infantilizing them. So they use girls to feel powerful and strong. This is the case of immature ones btw. A mature aries native man plays sports to feel strong and powerful. Instead of using girls, he uses physical activities like sports to be competitive and ego boost.

Immature Aries natives men also use girls for ego boost and not really for emotional connection or partnership. They date many girls for attention and ego boost. Scorpio girls can be perfect target for them because these girls give doormat people pleasing energy. These girls can be codependendent that Aries men like as being "needed" as a hero.

Sun in 12th house natives have an unavailable father owing to his work or personality or death. But these natives have an imagination of their father figure in their head that they tend to idealize. Despite father being absent they don't really worry about it because emotionally they feel connected to an ideal father figure.

Sun in 12th house natives also grow up in a large household, usually a big house with riches and resources. A comfort childhood although absent father. They have a rich imagination life too.

Moon in 8th house natives in whichever sign are prone to self realize and enlighten in their lives. When they discover the impact of their mother's behaviour and that their mother had personality disorder/emotional instability. These natives also carry the learned behaviours from their mother unconsciously. They will reach self awareness and change themselves during the time period of the dispositor of 8th house.

How to see which area of your life will be active with astro? Check out the Vimshottari dasha chart. Any good website is fine. Whichever planet is running its Mahadasha--find in your birth chart where its sign is placed. For eg, if you're running mercury mahadasha, check out which houses are occupied by Gemini and Virgo. Now, which planets are placed in these houses? Check out the signs of these planets and in which house they are placed. You can then check out antardasha as well. And so on.

Sun in 7th house natives lack self esteem. They cant stand being alone. Always needing to be around others and especially being in romantic relationship. In the early days of dating, they will attract narcissists in their life, especially if the 1st house is empty too. Then they will mature and find self esteem. Even then they will attract self centered partners but there will not be ego clashes because natives have matured already.

Sun in 7th house natives find themselves through reflection in other people. They don't know who they are until they project their own unconscious personality traits on other people and see what clicks with them.

Sun in 7th house or 10th house are a good position for public service career.

Saturn in 8th house can be a really sad placement. Being a karmic planet in a karmic house is a combination that leads to delays, hardships, poor quality of life, emotional stagnant, fear of occult, fear of transformation, ageing faster than usual, prolonged disease, sudden life transformations.

All moon in 8th house natives can unite for psychological studies, spiritual insights and being perceptive of emotions. They do really like to talk about psychological topics with their peers.

#astro community #astrology observations #astrology #astro observations #shadow self #astroblr #occult #astro notes #astro placements #astro tumblr #astrology blog #astrology notes

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gsirvitor · 10 months

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Woke activists and Antifa thugs face off against a united group of Muslim, Christian, and atheist parents who are fed up with gender-theory indoctrination in Ottawa schools.

In an unprecedented display of unity, Christian and Muslim communities joined hands with concerned parents in Ottawa in opposition to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s (OCDSB) plan to force non-binary pronouns on all students.

The directive, issued to all staff, advised the use of ‘they/them’ pronouns for all students until their preferred pronouns were expressed. The move, viewed as an overreach by many parents, triggered a protest attended by more than 250 individuals.

The email directive sent out by the OCDSB, aimed at fostering “inclusivity and belonging” according to spokesperson Darcy Knoll, met with considerable backlash. Anonymously speaking, one Ottawa mother, formerly associated with the OCDSB, expressed her shock, remarking that the emails from the board sounded more like “LGBTQ propaganda.” It was not a stand against inclusivity, she clarified, but against the erosion of open discussion and the propagation of a radical stance that silences any expression of doubt or differing opinion.

The directive, moreover, calls for LGBTQ identities to be incorporated into all classroom resources and curricula across all grade levels. The Ministry of Education had previously offered Ontario parents the option to opt out of sex education classes. However, the current directive effectively bypasses this opt-out option, causing further unease among parents. In a show of silent protest, OCDSB saw high rates of absenteeism on the first day of Pride Month, with absences reaching above 60 percent in two of their schools and over 40 percent in nine others. Critics argue that this dissent from parents was more than a mere reaction to the heatwave or the desire for an extended weekend.

Earlier heated debates in OCDSB board meetings over the topic of gender-identity discussions and their age-appropriateness underlines the deepening rift between the school board and the parent community. Parents are not opposed to discussions about inclusivity and diversity. Rather, they are requesting the board to respect their right to express concerns without fear of being labeled or marginalized.

1400 years of religious conflict, ended the instant you went after their children.

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aleprouswitch · 11 months

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From One Goth to Another...

You don’t have to wear all black all the time! Black is obviously the most important color, but if you want to mix in other colors that you like into your wardrobe, there is nothing wrong with that at all. I personally like mixing black with dark shades of red and burgundy/maroon shades. Occasionally I mix in black with white too just because I like the contrast. Play around with colors and see what looks best to your eyes.

Heavy makeup is not a necessity. Not everybody has the time, energy, patience, or resources to look like a variation of Morticia Addams or Elvira every day of their lives. Some goths don’t even like that look at all. If you’re not that keen on makeup or you prefer a more simplistic makeup style, you’re still goth.

You do not need pale skin to be goth. I repeat - YOU DO NOT NEED PALE SKIN. If anybody tells you this, they are dead wrong and also probably racist. The great thing about wearing black is that black looks great on any skin tone. Goth is inclusive to people who are the palest shade of peach and the darkest shade of brown and every other shade of skin in-between.

If you’re not into TradGoth styles or TradGoth music, that’s fine. No really, it’s fine! I think it’s important to educate yourself on the origins of goth and to be familiar with the OG scene, but if you’re not into backcombed hair or Bauhaus, that is 100% okay. Sadly a lot of TradGoths are snobbish about this kind of thing too, but their snobbery shouldn’t discourage you. Like whatever aspects of goth culture you want and do your own thing.

Don’t let your aesthetic drain your bank account. Buying a ton of expensive accessories, clothing, furniture, and household items that match your goth aesthetic is a bit impractical, especially if you’re on a budget. Instead, hit up some local thrift stores - you’ll be amazed at how much goth-style clothing can be found second-hand. About 80% of my wardrobe comes from thrift stores, plus I’ve found candelabras and decorative art with dark themes, too.

Additionally, don’t let your aesthetic compromise your professional life. If you have a job or career that requires you to look “normal” from 9 - 5, there is no shame in that. We all have to tone ourselves down a bit in a professional setting, because putting food on the table is a bit more important than being mysterious and spooky. If you can, find ways to subtly express your goth style in the workplace without getting yourself in trouble with Human Resources.

Don’t have an “us vs. them” attitude. This is a big mistake that a lot of mall-goths/baby bats make - thinking that everyone who isn’t goth is a “prep” or “the enemy”, even if they don’t outwardly say it. Having a diverse group of friends is SO important. Don’t shut somebody out just because they’re a part of a different scene. Most of my closest friends aren’t goth, but we get along great just the same. Friendship is about loyalty and being there for each other, not about outward appearance.

You don’t have to practice witchcraft to be goth. I think this is another huge misconception about goth culture, that “goth” equals “occultist”. Although there does seem to be some considerable overlap, not every goth is a witch, and not every witch is goth. If you’re a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Pagan, Atheist, Flying Spaghetti Monster adherent, whatever - you can still be goth. Goth is a stylistic culture, not a dogmatic one.

If there are days when you’re like “fuck it” and you want a break from being goth, take that break. Have mousy hair and wear sweatpants for a day. Wear something pink if you want. Put on some really embarrassing pop ballads from the late ‘90s and belt your heart out. Watch some terrible romantic comedies. Feel good about yourself knowing that you’re goth when and if you want to be, and that you’re not playing a character for anyone, including yourself.

#happy world goth day #goth #gothgoth #world goth day #opinions #advice #elder goth #salvaged from my old blog

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hindahoney · 1 year

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Hey - this is kind of an odd question, but I was wondering if you had any recommendations for books or articles to read to learn more about Judaism for someone who’s kind of Jewish (but not really)?

My mum is Jewish, but stopped practicing when she was a teenager, and I was brought up atheist - my dad’s family are Protestant. I basically don’t know anything about Judaism, which feels particularly weird because I know loads about Christianity, just through osmosis. And I’ve never met a whole branch of my family who are apparently very orthodox and live really near us in London. Anyway, I’d like to learn more, and don’t really know how to start? Or if I should start?

Thank you for your question. First of all, if your mother is Jewish, you are Jewish. You're not "kind of Jewish," you're not "Jew-ish." You're fully Jewish, and every movement of Judaism recognizes you as such.

Second, there are endless amazing resources for people in situations like yours. I wish I could say that it was more rare to have descendants of people who assimilated wanting to reconnect, but sadly it's not. I've known some people have found resources for converts to be helpful in reconnecting, so those are mixed in with my list as well.

MyJewishLearning is a great resource for really anything Jewish. I've found their articles to be pretty diverse in terms of approach, and they give perspectives of different movements on each topic.

Jewish101 Playlist - This is great not just for beginners, but for people familiar with Judaism already. They are talks given by one of my favorite Rabbis, Rabbi Mark Golub, about everything from how Jews view G-d, our relationship & struggles with Him, how sex is treated in Judaism, to Jewish holiday traditions & the meaning behind them.

Jewish Learning Institute - This entire channel is beneficial for learning about really any topic. They have a more frum perspective, but I think that learning the core observant values is really important when deciding which ones speak to you. It's also important for Jews to understand their more observant siblings, as many people don't and that ignorance leads to observant Jews being marginalized by their own family. By having that baseline understanding of the reasons behind why Jews do what they do, so that you can decide for yourself it that matters or can fit in your life. The video I've attached is about the survival of the Jewish people, a brilliant and moving speech given by Rabbi Y.Y Jacobson. I think this speech is sure to give every Jew a sense of pride and connection to their fellow Jew, which is vital when forming a Jewish identity. We're a tribe for a reason.

TY Channel Henry Abramson - Not a Rabbi but many people mistake him for one because he's highly educated (PhD). He gives very educational lectures on all sorts of Jewish topics, usually Jewish history. Peppers in some humor too, so he's entertaining to watch.

Unpacked - Gives crash-course type videos (entertaining, some animation, higher budget, etc) on issues that Jews face today, conversations Jews are having in the community, and Jewish history.

My Jewish Mommy life - Jewish vlogger who makes videos on the basics of Judaism, shabbat, holidays, etc. A good resource for anyone just entering the fold. Comes from a more reform background but does a decent job of explaining different perspectives.

Books

The Torah (Hebrew-English, also has Spanish, French, Portuguese. There are tons of versions online)

The Jewish Book of Why - This book is essentially a compilation of a million different questions commonly asked about Jews/Judaism and the answers given range in the interpretation of various movements.

Choosing A Jewish Life - Kind of a how-to guide in terms of choosing a Rabbi, synagogue, overview of basic Jewish concepts & movements, choosing a Hebrew name for yourself (You can give yourself one if you don't have one!!), and how to discuss with your family your decision to be Jewish, or more observant.

Jewish Literacy - ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE JEWISH RESOURCE. Can be read like a novel or an encyclopedia (like for referencing certain topics). I read through this completely and it is an amazing compilation of every topic from important Biblical stories and their Jewish interpretation, Jewish history from its creation to modern times, IP conflict, major Jewish historical figures, modern Jewish thought on certain topics. Genuinely, if you want to know something about Jewish tradition and practice, it's probably in this book.

To Be a Jew - Halachot (Jewish laws) around observance in daily life, their oigins, and why we do them. Guide for major and minor holidays, major life events, and an explanation of rationale for modern Jewish life.

Living a Jewish Life - Another why-to and how-to guide for Judaism in your daily life.

Helpful Apps:

Shabbat Times (Self-explanatory, you put in your city and it tells you what time Shabbat starts)

Jewish Chronicle/Jooish News - News around the world for what's happening to and by Jews

TorahAnytime - Like Youtube but for Jewish learning

Daily Jewish Prayers - Invaluable resource that explains when which prayers are said, provides it in transliteration, English, and Hebrew

CalJ - Jewish calendar. Great for knowing what the Hebrew date is and when/what times Jewish holidays start.

JVL (Jewish Virtual Library) - a bunch of Jewish books

Jewish accounts to follow:

Here's a very short and incomplete list of Jewish accounts I recommend following, because they post about Judaism a lot and give a good idea of what every-day Jews think about a wide range of things. They are really invaluable resources when it comes to learning from real Jews and I trust their judgment:

@shretl

@tikkunolamorgtfo (has been around forever, literally amazing)

@adoratato

@jewish-kermit

@spacelazarwolf

@magnetothemagnificent

@laineystein

@gonnauseanomdeplume

@hiddurmitzvah

@girlactionfigure

@rimonoroni

@anonymousdandelion

@starlightomatic

@unbidden-yidden

#jumblr #jewblr #judaism #jewish convert #jewish conversion #jewish culture #jew by choice #frumblr #jewish history #jewish resources #jewish stuff #jew stuff

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solar-plant-princess · 7 months

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I’ve been so normal about Fionna and Cake. And I recently saw a theory about where Simon is actually from. The theory goes that he’s clearly not “white white”, he has a Russian last name, and brings up Jewish foods with some regularity. So it was theorized that he’s Central Asian.

And I agree with this and would just like to add some details about his wider pre-apocalypse origin. I believe he’s probably ethnically Uzbek just based on his more olive skin tone and that being the country with the highest Jewish population in Central Asia.

So if I had to make some large leaps, to me it seems he could have been born to a mixed family of (maybe) Uzbeks and (likely Russian Ashkenazi) Jews. As they would have lived under what we can assume was the Soviet Union given we see various military vehicles with red stars on them in flashbacks. We can assume he or his family probably moved somewhere else in the Soviet Bloc to pursue higher education or better opportunities generally. Which is why he ends up in roughly where Ooo begins which is implied to be Central Europe, specifically Germany given that he interacted with the mother gum and Bonnie speaks fluent German as a second language in every dub except the German version (where she speaks Turkish iirc, which isn’t anything direct, but would be a funny coincidence that Simon is seemingly Turkic).

So piecing some things together it seems like he’s mixed race from Central Asia, and then at some point moved out west. And seemingly from Cheers being like the only show he remembers and has fond memories of, as well as a total lack of any family being mentioned, he escaped into West Germany to pursue his academic career which required a lot of travel looking for the most fucked up cursed artifacts at some point. Also all of his artifacts being of a truly magical nature as he believes probably wouldn’t have been received well at all in the State Atheist USSR, whereas in the west it’s still looked down on but not something the government would like actively clamp down on unlike in the USSR.

Which also explains why in his memories there is largely western architecture despite his Russian last name. And since we know what caused things to go wrong is the “Mushroom War” which was obviously a nuclear war which explains all the wrecked military vehicles where he was surviving. As a nuclear war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact would have seen a huge amount of extreme fighting in Germany as both sides had intended to push through Central Europe in case of war.

This is all basically empty conjecture, but to me at least the pieces fit together and build up a more well rounded origin for Simon. It could also explain a little bit about why he survived beyond the crown. He likely spent a lot of his youth moving around to escape poverty, and had to be resourceful during that time. On top of escaping across one of the most guarded borders in history, it is no small feat.

It at least makes a bit more sense to me of how a brown man, with a Russian last name, who brings up Jewish food, ended up in what seems to be West Germany, and had a career as a niche archeologist looking for actual legit magic artifacts around the world.

#fionna and cake #simon petrikov #fionna and cake theory #i’m so normal #but i really do stand by him being from the soviet union #it just makes sense to me #and it could explain his niche interest in magic artifacts as that wouldn’t have been allowed by soviet authorities enforcing state atheism

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psychologeek · 2 months

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I love your work and fics but because of your support of the genocide in Gaza Strip I am unable to truly continue supporting you.

I know that you believe that supporting the Palestinians is anti-semitic but if you learned about these topics you would know. Zionism is inherently anti-semitic itself, Zionism is a political philosophy that was first created in the 1600s by anti-Semitic Christians who believed Jews from all over the world should be expelled and gathered in one place. And then Theodor Herzl, an atheist, adopted Zionism to find a "suitable country" to colonize, and several countries were suggested: Uganda, Argentina, Cyprus, and Madagascar. But with Jews' rejection and with the support of Western politicians, Zionism secured their interests in the resources of the Middle East, thus Palestine.

Maybe if you learned what it was like to see through the eyes of people like Bisan Owda, Wael Al-Dahdouh, Motaz Azaiza, Hind Khoudary, or maybe even the six year old Hind Rajab who died after traveling through a "Safe Zone" with her family and being stuck in a car with their bodies for 12 days.

This is not a war. This is a genocide. I'm not asking you to change overnight, but knowing the full truth of what Israel is doing under the same excuses that you're telling yourself will help you understand what's really going on.

Thanks for the compliment? I think?

Uh, ok, this isn't about my writing - this is about you complaining about my thoughts and experiences. Cool.

Edit: I have to admit that I'm curious what brought this up. Was it the A/N in "Some of Them (want you)" (a Damian-centric fic), and the mention of the bombed hospital in Israel? Raising awareness to the facts refugees need to bribe their way into Egypt to save their lives? (From Sudan and Gaza)? Was it the mention of the war in Kurdistan? Or maybe it was the way I talked about the Iranian regime, and how Baluchistan and Akhwaz are a flame?

Or perhaps it was the PSA in "Who am I? (to disappear)", in which I tried to remind ppl that watching and passing forward videos of ppl being tortured/killed/sexually assaulted is a bad thing. Do you not agree with the sentiment?

Or maybe you just don't like Cass. That's probably another option

Anyway -

Support genocide etc.

A. I do not support genocide.

B. What's happening in Gaza rn isn't genocide. It's war. And the use of that term is very disrespectful and dismissive to other places, in which there IS, actually, a genocide.

C. That being said, I don't support war. I don't support death. And I really wish this wouldn't happen.

I Don't??? Think?? Supporting Palestine is antisemic???

I do think that pro-palestine rallies with chants like "Gas the Jews" and harrasing jews and Jewish place ARE antisemic, yes.

If you need that difference explicitly said, I guess you should look at the rallies and pro-p things you're talking about.

"But if you learned about these topics"

EXCUSE ME????

If I LEARNT ABOUT IT?

Because of course - my knowledge, as part of a minority group, of a subject that is INHERENTLY related to in-group topics, and the what I learnt from people in-group are obviously less relevant than what you, oh great saviour, has learnt through Tik-Tok.

"Zionism is inherently anti-semitic itself"

Do you even understand how ignorant saying that is??

Do you understand how much this is propaganda?

"I believe that (Jewish people right to self-determination and live peacefully) is a bad thing" - do you even hear yourself??

"Zionism.... was first created in the 1600s by anti-Semitic Christians who believed Jews from all over the world should be expelled and gathered in one place. "

No. Just don't.

Idk - maybe this is what they teach in America or idk where, right next to "jews, Muslims and Christians lived peacefully before the evil Zionists colonisers " (look up the massacres in Zfad, the massacre and ethnic cleansing of Habron, Gush Etzion, Gaza-several cleansing btw).

Anyway, Zionism in the older form (yearning to go back Home, Eretz Israel as the Jewish homeland, and a connection between God-People-Land) is one of the first things in the Jewish narrative.

Practically, the Jewish calander is SoLunal calander that based on the seasons, weather, and agriculture in the levant.

Religiously - jews prayed to go back to "build Jerusalem" every year since the 2nd temple was destroyed. We kept practicing traditions and Mitzvahs that are related to the connection to the spesific area.

(And there always, always been jews going to Israel.)

Herzel's thoughts and actions to create the Zionist movement came after he watched the Dreyfus trial and realised that jews will always be haunted and discriminated BECAUSE of their Jewishness. So if you want a place without this, you gotta make a Jewish state. (There are many kinds of Zionism, I go with this as a general and simple explanation.)

(more about why this is problematic undercut)

"You don't know what it's like" -

What. The. Fuck.

You said you came here via my fics.

I'm sorry.

Did you miss the whole long AF a/n I wrote in the last months??

About my personal experiences with war??

Both current (the whole saga with physical/mental safety, the evacuation, losing my glasses, etc. ??)

And previous (being bombed and evacuation 1 as a kid. My first PTSD. Terror attack and PTSD number 2 (ft. dead babies. Fun times). Rockets, more rockets, war, friends hurt in terror attack, friends-of-friends DIE in terror attack, more wars, etc.

(And that's not even the reason I was suicidal since young teen).

"This isn't war, it's genocide"

I'm sorry, do you remember how it fucking started?? How it continues?? How there are still FUCKING ROCKETS AIMED AT Israel??

Yes. This is sad. People shouldn't die in war.

In fact, I truly believe that death-machines and people should not be near each other.

**Which is why I'm so mad at the fact non one's talking or doing anything to make Egypt open the fucking borders and let ppl through without having to bribe their life out**

" the full truth of what Israel is doing"

Right.

You, who's purely immune to Propaganda, of course.

You sure knows much more then me - who, you know, the one who ACTUALLY LIVE THROUGH this, and actually familiar with the history of the country and conflict (no, it didn't start in 1948. Not even in 1918. It was way earlier.)

(And just as you mention - have you heard about Ellin (9) and Eithan (5) Kapshiter? They were shoot in the car with their entire family.

Ellin was considered missing for 2 weeks, before her body was identified. That was a couple of hours after her family's funeral.

For some reason, I didn't see any "where's Ellin?" On Tumblr.

Oh, and do you remember Kfir and Ariel Bibas? Kfir just had his first birthday.

They are still held captive, btw. For some reason, I don't see anyone in the "ceasefire now" crowd talking about how CRUCIAL it is that Hamas bring back the people they, you know, kidnapped. That they should get medical attention and visits from the RC.

In fact, in the last hostage deal, this was something Hamas refused to include.)

Calling it genocide is problematic in many ways. Including for the people who suffer from this war.

Calling it genocide allows the the activism to be mostly anti-Israel, instead of pro-palestine.

For example, focusing the efforts on "stopping Israel" and "Israel is bad" and "boycott Israel", instead of "how do we save lives" and "why Egypt not opening the borders".

Less "ceasefire now!" (Though a good target) And "defund Israel!"

More "release the hostages and let humanitarian aid in".

(not to mention that all those efforts, for some reason, never go to other places and other people who suffer. Never even go to Palestinian in refugees camps - in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria.)

Pro-tip:

If someone tells you "a (very important thing in a minority's group culture) was actually created by (A majority group) as a (bad thing)", then you have one of those options: It's a lie, reclaiming, and "yes but no" .

1. It's a lie - aka: Just bc you didn't know about it, doesn't mean it's not real. (Sort of like the term of "dark ages" - that come to portray the intellectual darkness in Europe between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. Though it wasn't the same if you look at non-european history.)

And in a simpler example- Pasta! Usually considered "Italian", but only got there at 4th century BC. Evidences in China during the Shang Dynasty (1700-1100 BC). There was also African form of pasta, made of kamut crop.

2. Reclaiming (see "queer" - was used as a general term, then a slur, going back to an Identity.)

3. Yes, but actually no (take for example sign language (s) - languages, as community languages, started to form when schools-for-deaf became a thing. Residential schools, where the students lived together and worked together ehad to learn to communicate.

Then they learn sign language - of the area/country/etc.

It doesn't mean that "Hearing created SL". The languages were built from home-signs (look at the difference between simple words, like "eat" in different SLs - like brit vs. Japanese) , and gained depth through the creation of Deaf communities.

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self-loving-vampire · 8 months

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I get the motivation to comfort gay/trans people who are questioning their religion by pointing them in the direction of more tolerant sects/resources and stuff but like...

You can just become an atheist instead, you know? There's nothing wrong with it and a lot of people find it very liberating and healing.

Questioning your religion and determining that it is wrong or harmful is not a bad outcome that people need to be saved from.

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batboyblog · 6 months

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Hi I am Jordanian and wanted to say thanks for sharing news of backlash the Jewish community has faced for the actions of Israeli government/IDF. It is not fair that you guys are getting that punishment especially when it was never a Muslim vs Jew issue, rather a conflict of supremacy and control and money. I don’t know if you support the Palestinian cause but I will try to support my Jewish brethren when they are in need. TY

First I'd like to say, antisemitism existed long before Israel.

The events of October the 7th has gotten me thinking about the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, if you're not Jewish it's likely you've never heard of it. Pogrom is a Russian word, for mob violence against Jews, they did it so much in Russia they needed to come up with a special word for it, before the Nazis, Russians were the nightmare of the Jews, and those 19th century Jews could not have imagined worse was waiting for them from the West. Any ways today Kishinev is called Chișinău, its the capital of the tiny country of Moldova, but in 1903 it was the edge of the Russian Empire. Starting on Easter Sunday and lasting for 3 days while Russian police and soldiers looked on mobs hunted the local Jews like animals, beat and killed any man they found, raped as many women as they could.

I've been thinking about Kishinev, because it represents a break, you want to know when Zionism got really serious? it was with the blood in the streets of Kishinev, the idea that life in Russia was no longer viable for the Jews that lived there and they had to leave and go any where, its also the point American Jewry really got organized.

I'm also reminded of the Farhud, in Iraq in 1941, before Israel about 1/3rd of the population of Baghdad was Jewish. In June 1941 a violent riot against the Jews broke out. We'll never know how many people died, maybe more than a 1,000. The violence was unspeakable, and like Kishinev for the Jews of the Middle East it was the break point, they could no long safely live in the countries they had lived in for over 2,000 years.

any ways, my point is I think antisemitism is maybe the world's oldest hate and people are using Israel as an excuse to unleash it, they've used other excuses in the past, may use other excuses in the future.

I would agree it's not a Muslim Vs Jewish thing, much of the violence and threats are happening in non-Muslim countries and coming from non-Muslims indeed atheists. Hate of the Jews is not religious (well sometimes it is, I got called a Christ Killer just yesterday) but an ethnic hate.

"a conflict of supremacy and control and money" ah yes, Jews, Money etc I don't think I need to explain this to most people. Just leave it to say your "support" is kind if misguided, if you believe any group of Jews are money grubbing trying to control the world or have ever said the phrase "Jewish supremacy" well all thats pretty antisemitic

As for the Palestinians, I wish them what I've always wished them, good health, for the Palestinians of Israel I want greater integration and their fair share of the resources of their country, for the Palestinians of Gaza I want them free of a terrorist organization that robs them, beats them, suppresses them, and for the West Bank and Gaza a state of their very own.

#Jewish #judaism #am yisrael chai #antisemitism

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