#because that can be a microaggression against black people

[fitsofdespair]

i have hesitated to say anything before now. in part because i removed myself from fandom discourse and really from actively discussing iwtv a year ago. i consider it all a lose-lose situation.

but also because i’m generally of the opinion that black fans don’t need people to be their white saviors, least of all me. black people have never been saved by white people. they were never just given anything when it comes to strides in equality, they fought for it and still fight for it, against constant violent pushback every step of the way. only instead of the good ole’ days when racists just called those fighting for equality uppity, they’re now “bullies” for daring to call you out on your shit after the repeated condescension and the resulting harassment you’ve exhibited towards them.

in this day and age the word bully has zero meaning anymore. i mean come on, melania trump calls people mean about her husband bullies. elon musk thinks he’s being bullied by twitter users, though he clearly holds all the power and is absolutely the problem. its become a meaningless word that goliaths use to call davids because they won’t use the real word they actually want to say. some of these popular blogs are not being bullied, they’re being held accountable for their own actions.

it’s pretty disgusting the number of you who decided to identify strongly with these users that not only fail to question their own racial biases but have gone so far as to suggest black people don’t face racism anymore. this is so fucked. tbh it can be argued in many ways white people, especially in the deep south where i’m from, are inherently raised steeped in racism, even if its not direct. just because your family aren’t ostensibly racist doesn’t mean they didn’t bake their own little prejudices into your upbringing and being raised in your environment didn’t encourage them. even if you don’t see yourself as racist, you have to unlearn all this shit, even if it never once occurred to you that you are part of it. just cause you believe in equality and don’t hate people for their color or cultural background does not make you free of perpetuating microaggressions against them. this applies to fans across the world of course. (like for you white euro iwtv fans, you may say you have no problem with black people but i’ve heard some wild things some of yall have to say about the turks.)

i understand that probably half or more of you are not usamericans. but no matter what environment you live in, no matter where you were raised, there is no excuse for your behavior. just because YOU don’t see racism in your day to day life or are in the more likely situation, too blindly comfortable in your place in society to notice it right in front of your face, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist as a constant presence in other parts of the world or isn’t deeply ensconced in online rhetoric.

so for you white iwtv fans who can’t be fucked to mention let alone defend people you, in many cases once called friend, against the absolute horseshit your current comrades are spewing wrapped up in their nice safe cocoons of victimhood, i hope you do some serious soul searching to figure out if this is who you are, a person too cowardly to call out a friend because it might cost you their friendship. a person quick to condemn others on hearsay because you couldn’t be fucked to wonder am i on the right side of this? and if you do manage to get wise and change your mind, remember its not unforgivable to say, you know what? i was wrong. i wrote in an old post that the hallmark of being a functional adult is changing your views accordingly when you learn new information or even just ruminate on what you know (i myself was a little bitch about ep 5 when it first dropped until i had to sit down and ask myself why i was actually feeling some kind of way about it). dying on a hill is not all its cracked up to be. being told you’re wrong is not always a personal attack and its often an opportunity for improvement if you can be bothered to genuinely hear other people out. an alarming number from all walks of life never figure that out. for my part, i am still learning and hope i never stop learning.

while that sentiments all nice and gooey (i mean them, but i understand its still sacharine to put out there), i am still guilty for not having directly written anything about this until now. and thats on me and i earned any flack i get for that. again, i am more of the mindset that black people don’t need white spokespeople, but that doesn’t mean they'll mind allies. and as a sidebar, going out of your way to say you are rising “above the noise” or “ignoring the drama” is absolutely your right, but it does not make you superior. it just makes you complacent with the status quo. i mean as long as you get to squee!! about anything and everything who cares about other people, right?

#and to be clear since i think some people may be a bit confused: i’m admonishing user nalyra-dreaming and their followers #some people who reblogged seem to not understand that #iwtv #interview with the vampire #alex.txt

[asideoftrashplease]

On racism and the moral condemnation of certain danmei characters

In light of recent fandom discourse, I’ve been thinking of this open letter by diaspora, published in July last year. This statement really hit hard for me. Since then, I’ve talked to other diaspora at length about the meaning MDZS and the wider danmei fandom holds for us, the ways interacting with fandom can be a deeply painful experience, and the way that pain can be exacerbated by fandom discourse— in this particular case, black-and-white moral statements about certain characters, and by extension, about certain aspects of Chinese culture.

For non-Chinese people, I feel like danmei can be "just" a fandom, a book that you can pick up and put down. But for us diaspora, it's a lot more fraught. A common theme I've observed across a lot of the diaspora I know is the sense of having at some point shunned Chinese culture, language, or heritage, and thus becoming alienated from it, only to regret it later. Being in danmei fandom and being immersed in our culture forces us, in a lot of ways, to confront the ways we've grown alienated from our own culture. And in that way, it also forces us to confront the painful reasons for that alienation.

For a lot of western diaspora, it's confronting the racism they face as minorities, which caused them to shun their culture out of a wish to integrate fully and be accepted by others. For me, as someone living in Asia, it's confronting the sexism, homophobia, and transphobia rampant in our society. It’s confronting the many ways I've been told, angrily, and with disgust, that I do not have a place in Chinese culture because I am a queer, non-binary feminist, and that I’m “westernized” for believing in my own rights.

I feel in a lot of ways, danmei fandom has become a space in which diaspora can "come home", a safe space we can reconnect with our culture, and celebrate it in a prejudice-free zone. But too often, we face racist microaggressions in the way non-Chinese audiences condemn parts of our culture. Sometimes, it’s even outright racism, open declarations that “Chinese culture is backwards and barbaric”. All this drives us to have to DEFEND our culture against western audiences in our own safe space, even the aspects of it that we struggle with ourselves, the aspects that are the very basis of our own oppression. As the statement explains:

There is often a frankly stunning lack of self-awareness re: cultural biases and blind spots when it comes to discussions of MDZS, particularly moral ones. There are countless righteous claims and hot takes on certain aspects of the story, its author, and the characters that are so clearly rooted in a Euroamerican political and moral framework that does not reflect Chinese cultural realities and experiences.

Too often, I’ve seen fellow diaspora having to tackle issues of corporal punishment in the discussion of YZY and JC. I’ve seen diaspora having to defend collectivist norms or Confucian social hierarchy, or to explain the sexism and homophobia woven deeply into Chinese society, in discussions of characters like JC, LXC, and LQR. Often, these defenses are prompted by western audiences attempting to paint these characters, their fans, or even MXTX herself as BAD and WRONG in completely black and white terms. When diaspora have tried to provide perspective that “unfortunately, these mindsets are still prevalent and accepted in Chinese society, so the issue is really not so black and white”— they get slapped with accusations like “abuse apologist” and “homophobe”. OFTEN, we also get slapped with racist remarks or insinuations that we and our culture are backwards and barbaric.

The unfortunate fact is that due to the prevalence and widespread acceptance of these mindsets, we navigate a society where people we care about, people we love, people we know to care about us deeply, are inflicting these prejudices and oppressive hierarchies on us. Our defense of these parts of Chinese culture is often, in fact, a defense of our parents, family, and friends, the people we care about and love. Sometimes, it’s also because we’ve been outright and directly accused of “homophobia” “sexism” and “apologism” for liking these characters and producing positive meta of them. But do you think we like doing this? Do you think we LIKE having to defend the parts of Confucian hierarchy, the parts of broader Chinese society that oppress us?

Discovering MDZS was wondrous for me, it was like finding a promised land where I finally have a place in Chinese culture, language, media, and society. Here, I get to reconnect with my culture alongside other queer diaspora, other people who are like me. It has helped me to come to terms with both my queer identity and my Chinese identity, and it is helping me to reconcile the two. That's why MDZS fandom is a deeply meaningful place for a lot of diaspora. It is a safe space where we can “come home” to our culture and heritage.

That is why I am asking: PLEASE do not make this place a hostile environment for Chinese diaspora. PLEASE do not normalize the demonization of Chinese culture and Chinese people. No one is telling you that you have to agree with and be comfortable with all aspects of Chinese culture. HECK, most of us diaspora aren’t! No one is telling you that you have to like characters that represent these uncomfortable aspects. Not all diaspora like those characters either. But please— do not thoughtlessly fling around moral accusations. Please do not demonize diaspora for saying things that you disagree with.

To you, danmei and the culture depicted in it may just be a work of fiction— a book you can scrutinize, pick apart, and morally condemn, before closing the book and walking away to resume your life. But to us, it is a difficult and fraught social reality that we have to live with and navigate every single day of our lives. And so, I’d like to end off by quoting a line from the statement’s conclusion, a line that has stuck with me since it was published:

We don’t have the luxury of stepping away from our culture when we get tired of it. We don’t get to put it down and walk away when it gets difficult. But if you’re not Chinese or Chinese diaspora, you get to put this book down—we’d like to kindly request that you put it down gently.

#i hesitate to put this in the canon jc tag #bc its not fully about jc but also about yzy lxc lqr and others #its also about demonization of mxtx and other danmei authors #i also dont want diaspora issues and the words and feelings of diaspora #to be used as gotchas by non-chinese people in fandom wars #i dont want to see accusations of racism being flung around #but i feel this needs to be said #jiang cheng #yu ziyuan #lan qiren #mdzs #danmei #meta #canon jiang cheng

[doberbutts]

he's already pointed out the post himself, where he said that it wouldn't be right for israelis to move to america because it's also colonised land- but the way he phrased it was as if it was an afterthought, a footnote, to the more important fact that america is an antisemitic country, and also as though the colonisation of america has already been "completed" and is not also still being actively fought against. personally i felt like it was a little tokenising and insensitive, NOT purposeful or deserving of bigotry in response, but like, that's the thing with microaggressions? they're very small and it's easy to dismiss them as unimportant when you're not on the receiving end. and a lot of indigenous people are on edge right now, for reasons he should understand- because there's just as much anti-native sentiment flying around as antisemitism right now, and i wish there was some care taken in these conversations for our sake, even if it is just small things

While as a black and indigenous person myself I understand that those microaggressions are incredibly frustrating, I also want you to consider that you're upset at an autistic person about phrasing of all things and you're trying to tell me the correct response to an autistic person having maybe clumsy phrasing (a common problem with autism!) is to go on a multi-post rant about how terrible of a person they are instead of just being like. "Hey. I get it. I also think your phrasing sucks btw." And then being mad when said person goes "HEY" in response to the multi-post rant.

And I understand that maybe you don't have the relationship with him to feel comfortable doing that but like. I have absolutely poked various blogs that I genuinely like and enjoy and want to read their posts about their phrasing, and they have all gone "oh shit I didn't know" and fixed their phrasing. Not everyone is out to get you. We can always block those who go "no fuck you I MEANT IT" after all.

As I just said to someone else, we are all traumatized by bigotry and oppression. None of us are unharmed by it. Let us show a little solidarity among us and fix our issues with grace, because, as you said, it probably wasn't intentional, and he probably didn't realize it because for him the more pressing issue is antisemitism. Of course it is, he's literally Jewish? I think the most pressing issue in my life is antiblackness because it's mainly only other Natives who recognize me as Native without me having to bring it up. That means I might not realize if I've said something or phrased something in a way that is insensitive to someone who has lived a more Native experience than me. That's okay. I'm allowed to be wrong. As long as I strive to fix it and do better when it's pointed out to me.

I think that's worlds apart from a, ahem, racist sycophant.

[purecantarella]

BLACKPINK Reactions : You Deal With Racism

request : Question, can you do a post about a black reader dating a blackpink member and then dealing with racism? I’m black and never seen it done so it would make me happy! i was very nervous when i saw this, because i don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or to get anything wrong and offend more people, so i hope that i did the request and the community as a whole justice. i would like to stress and say that while i am filipino, while i have experienced microaggressions, i have been blessed enough to not have experienced outright racism...that i can remember at least. i hope i do the ideas justice though and to those who have to stand for these actions, you are brave souls indeed. blackpink x black!reader disclaimer/s : racial slurs and aggressive acts (verbal and physical), oh and cursing. read with a level head.

Kim Jisoo

When Jisoo began dating you, she entered the relationship with a sort of colorblind mindset. It didn't matter to her what color of skin you had, she just liked you and found your energy electric.

It was never an issue to her, until you came home one night in a rage.

She scrolled through her timeline, laughing softly at viral memes of her member over the course of the tour when you entered the house. Jumping when the door slammed against it's frame as you stormed in. Tears in your eyes as you pulled your jacket off of your body.

Instantly, Jisoo stared at you with a concerned expression. She allowed you to calm down as you paced in front of her, thoughts clouded with rage. "I just can't believe that in this century, this point in time people still look at me with such..."

You're unable to continue your statement, only blundering into a groan of frustration. Jisoo was rather confused, before taking your hands in hers, the contrast between your hands only fueling your frustration further.

You sit beside her before letting your tears run down your cheeks, feeling helpless as she runs her hands atop your head lovingly. "What happened...?" She asks, her clumsy English accent making you smile.

You sniffle softly before pulling your hands, wiping your tears away, "Just some idiots...they thought I couldn't understand them and they said quote-on-quote, be careful with your bags kids, that gangster might steal them from you." You explain quickly, not wanting to dwell on it any further, just wanting to find comfort in your soft girlfriend.

However, your beloved girlfriend simply tilts her head to the side, offering you a small smile. On a normal day, the hint of innocence in her smile would often comfort you, bringing you a sense of calm and reminding you just why you fell for her in the first place.

Now though, it struck you as insensitive and all together it added onto your frustration. Just when you thought she would say nothing more and you could brush it aside, Jisoo says, "Just ignore them."

It wasn't anything offensive. In fact it was good advice. But after the day you had, after how much you've pent up with living in South Korea and having to deal with it each day of your life, ignoring those kinds of comments felt impossible.

You pull your hands away from Jisoo, her bright expression melting into one of concern again. You laugh dryly before getting up, walking towards your shared bedroom, "You...Soo I don't think you get it."

"No, no, I do, I swear," She tries to backtrack before she shifts to face you better. Innocence smeared all over her face. "I get a lot of hate as an idol, but I suppose the best thing to do is to just turn the other cheek."

You laugh again, tears of frustration pricking your eyes. Your hands rushing over your face over and over again in attempts to get your thoughts together. "I will always be discriminated based solely on how my skin looks. It isn't the same." You try to explain calmly in spite of the fire kindling in the pit of your stomach.

Still she looks up at you confused.

You sigh deeply before walking back towards your shared bedroom, "It doesn't matter, Jisoo. It's fine." You say quickly before slowly closing the door behind you. Leaving Jisoo confused and guilty.

As soon as she hears the door click, she's on the phone with Jennie, asking for advice. Wanting to understand you and what you go through better without hurting you further.

"I'm sorry, you said what to her?" Jennie berated her as she looked at your closed door with a bitter taste in her mouth, regretting everything she'd said and done in the span of a five minute conversation.

Kim Jennie

Getting into a very public relationship was already a scandal to Jennie's fans, but dating someone like you was almost unheard of for her fans who saw her as an angel and had assumptions of you. Both of you were very aware of the potential consequences.

But in that moment it was all or nothing. And you were both all in.

To Jennie, the freedom of being able to hold her girlfriend's hand while they were on a date was the most liberating and amazing feeling she could ever have. Your hands intertwined with one another as you told her about your day, waiting for a waiter to approach.

"Ah miss Kim! It's a pleasure to serve you again." The waiter greets politely, his smile gleaming. The rapper offers him a kind smile before she notices that he looks over at you. Expression not as polished, more restrained. Merely offering you an acknowledging nod but she chalked it up to her being a regular and more familiar to the man.

"Hon, what do you feel like having?" Jennie asks you, her hand momentarily breaking from yours to pluck the menu from in front of her. You turn to her but before you can say anything the waiter butts in, "We have a selection of chicken, normally we wouldn't fry anything but if that's what your..." There's a pause as he eyes you up and down, "...companion would like miss Kim we can surely find a way."

You fall silent and laugh nervously while Jennie glares at him, resentment boiling under her skin, "N-No thank you, I'd actually like-" Again he cuts you off, "Or perhaps she would like baked potatoes, Miss Kim? We can have them serve it extra spicy for your companion."

"I can speak for my-"

"However I am sad to say there are no more watermelons available, miss Kim-"

Finally, Jennie has enough and cuts the waiter off with a kind but venomous smile. "First of all, she can speak for herself. If you had anything valuable to say, you can say it directly to her. She is not an object or dare I say what you think she is...the help." Jennie says begrudgingly, shooting you an apologetic look.

She watches the waiter gulp nervously, "Second, the stereotypes you've stuck to her based on what she looks like are not only offensive but outlandishly wrong. And lastly, saying she's my girlfriend. Not a companion but my girlfriend."

You've heard it a million times before but it still makes your insides melt when she says that. A sense of pride fills you as you watch the rapper stand up for you so fiercely. "Now, I suggest you go back and come back when you're ready to actually listen and tend to your patrons." Jennie finishes before the man bows, muttering a soft apology before he runs back to the kitchen.

You look over at your flushed with rage girlfriend before she looks over at you rather sheepishly. "I"m sorry if I caused a scene." You smile and shake your head, leaning in to place a delicate kiss over her soft cheek.

"I've never seen you get so riled up, Jen." You pause to laugh softly, "Anger is almost a good color on you."

She pauses and leans into you, catching you off guard. Just a moment ago she was a warrior, ready to fight any battle for you. The armor quickly melts as her hand finds yours again. Her thumb brushes over your knuckles, making you lean in closer. Nose burrowing in her hair.

"I shouldn't have made a scene...It might have made you look even worse to the public...I can see the headline now. Jennie Kim's black girlfriend is a bad influence to her good girl nature." Her voice is fragile before you shake your head.

"You meant well, Jen. Just don't make it a every night thing." You whisper before leaving a light kiss on the crown of her head. In attempts to lighten the mood, you look down at the menu, "You know, that chicken sound about right now."

Jennie chuckles softly before shoving your chest gently, "Shut up Y/n, I know you don't like chicken."

After that, the night wasn't so bad. But Jennie definitely took note to not come to the restaurant again.

Park Chaeyoung / Rosé

From the moment you entered the limelight as Park Chaeyoung's girlfriend, you were under so much more fire than you usually were. Scrutinized for every little thing and it didn't help that you were a woman of color.

It was an uphill battle every day, working extra hard to prove that you were worthy of the Blink's angel on Earth. You couldn't afford to make a mistake or even be proud of your heritage.

Rosé saw the pain that caused you every day.

One day, being fed up with how restricted you had to be, she got you something that she thought you would have loved.

"Okay Rosie, my eyes are closed and I'm in the bedroom. What's this big surprise?" You ask, laughter bubbling up in your chest as you feel around, swatting the air excitedly. You hear your girlfriend giggle softly before excitedly screaming, "Open your eyes love!"

You open your eyes and see a set of matching outfits. You chuckle as you turn to Rosé who wore a proud smile. It was the one where her cheeks crumpled in and her eyes were crescents, it made your heart do all sorts of flips. "We're going to your favorite coffee shop, picking out some books, and playing chess in the park down the street! Everything you've been hinting at the past few weeks."

You blush and twirl on your own axis, "I didn't think you were listening."

She smiles before leaning forward, pressing her lips to yours. "Get dressed, my love. I'm going to hop in the shower." She pecks your lips again quickly, "I want to be looking my best for you."

You smile as Rosé skips happily to the bathroom. You walk over to the bed, a smile growing on your lips as you see just what she's done. She was truly a dream come true.

After preparing yourselves, you take a short walk to the coffee shop nearby. It was secluded enough that Rosé wouldn't be spotted and they made your favorite drink perfectly. Of course there was an odd stare here and there upon seeing you walk in, but you'd come so often that it had slowly stopped.

"Y/n! You're back!" The manager called out jovially before taking head of the register. "You make it sound like I wasn't here last week, Han." You joke before Rosé departs from you to grab a table.

You say your order and the older man nods, striking up conversation with a new staff member. He introduces you but you can see the distain in her eyes as she nods you off. Feeling uneasy you walk over to your girlfriend who chirps up when you walk towards her.

You force a shaky smile, being fully aware of how much of your skin was showing in the outfit Rosé chose, pulling it down every few seconds. She takes your hand in hers, a concerned pair of eyes baring into yours, "Home...?"

A fond smile finds its way onto your face. She only asked when she was worried if you felt comfortable or not and would act according to your answer. You shake your head as the manager serves you your drinks, offering you his apologies about his employee. The singer's eyes shoot back to you but you wave off the concern.

You think it will get better at the bookstore. For a moment, there's a sense of bliss as you and your girlfriend roam around, laughing at certain titles, and offering one another a few recommendations.

You notice the owner's daughter carefully watching you but there was no surprise to you there. It was something you'd grown used to over the years of living in South Korea but it wouldn't deter you from the day Rosé had planned.

You two walk out hand in hand after you checked out. You read the back to Rosé who was curious what you had picked up. "'...will Lucky be able to escape the regime forced onto her or will luck not be on her side this time...?' I don't know it sounded really cool when I picked it up."

She laughs before nodding along, "So...park or home, my love?"

You look up at her with a warm smile, "Rosie I'm fine, you don't need to worry about-"

"Hey! Stop!" Your words are cut off, you and Rosé turn around surprised at the angry young woman, practically gasping for air. Your girlfriend raises a curious brow while dread sets into your stomach. "You didn't pay for that!"

You open your mouth to explain when she shakes her head disappointed, "I watched you the whole time! Not once did you hand that to any staff member. I had a feeling when you walked in something would happen." She pries the book out of your hands and shoves your shoulder. Your eyes jot everywhere at once, panic filling you as a crowd begins to form. "How dare you try and steal from my father, you know your people have always-"

Rosé steps between the two of you with a piece of paper in her hands, "I paid for both books myself, you can see for yourself." The woman, recognizing the idol, lets her jaw hang open and eyes bulge to an alarming degree. Her hands tremble as she takes the receipt, reading it quickly before handing it back, offering the idol a low bow.

Without another word, Rosé wraps her arm around you and she guides you away from the now-dispersing scene. She taps your waist gently, before whispering, "Home?"

You nod, tears flooding your eyes, "Home."

She nods before quickly walking back to the safety of your shared apartment with her blood boiling. But she would get it all out later, in her own time. She knew that she needed to be strong for you, even for a moment.

Lalisa Manoban / Lisa

Lisa was absolutely bouncing off the walls to call you her girlfriend...that the most amazing, kind, intelligent, talented, and gorgeous being chose her. While you think you're the one who lucked out with her, she actively denied it.

In that spirit, she wanted to show you off constantly. In public appearances, you two were attached at the hip. You were always permitted backstage at the group's concerts. And most of all, once your relationship was made public, she bragged about her beloved girlfriend on social media.

It was innocent at first. Wanting Blinks to get a glimpse into her personal life, but then it became a whole PR thing for the company. Green lighting and excusing their actions by showing off that one of the company's aces, Lisa Manoban, was all about people of color so that excused all their actions.

However, that didn't stop Blinks who weren't on board to come after you and Lisa.

It was meant to be a romantic night, Lisa drew you a bath for the both of you when you got home, cooked you a nice hot meal, and played the romcom you watched for your first date.

It was a lovely evening. But it did come with a lot of preparation, so the moment the meet-cute for the couple in the movie rolled around your girlfriend was sound asleep on your shoulder. You smile fondly and see your phone light up.

A notification on Instagram.

You smile warmly as you see a post by Lisa. She had uploaded a time lapse of the bits of the evening that were appropriate and posted it for her fans to enjoy. You cringe to yourself as you see your surprised face when you see the meal she had prepared, but a loving smile grows from the sour face when you see the elation in her expression. Arms wide open for you to fall into.

By the end of the video, you've pulled Lisa closer to your body, gaining extra appreciation for your beloved. You see the likes and shares sky-rocket and feel the love from her fans.

But curiosity killed the cat. It was Lisa's number one rule about social media posts with you in them to not go through the comments. As an idol, she knew how toxic they could get. You scrolled through the text, it was sweet for the most part. Commenting how you were so happy with one another.

But those weren't the ones that stood out to you.

no one ever told me lisa got a pet gorilla 🤣

she's using lisa for clout, chick probably doesnt even shower probably, look how smelly she looks 🫥🫥🫥

🤮🤮🤮

@lalalalisa blink twice in your next story if you're being held hostage by this n-word (im sorry but im not writing the whole word)

They echo in your head and before you know it tears are streaming down your cheeks. The realization that you were probably in over your head. What was Lisa doing with someone like you anyway?

Feeling the dampness of your tears on her cheek, Lisa groggily lifts her head. Try as you may to hide it, she was wide awake when she saw the weepy look on your face. She's quick to brush the residuals away and her sleepy expression twinges into one of concern.

"Baby...baby...what happened? What-"

"I know you told me not to look at comments but I couldn't help it...and-and..." Your voice failed you and you fell into fits of sobs, unable to properly convey your emotions. Without another word, she takes you in her arms, brushing your hair back.

You calm down after a while, choking on air as you try to breath. Lisa patiently waits for you to be completely fine before she pulls away. She looks down at the bright screen and tosses the device to the side.

The dancer cups your cheeks, "I don't blame you, sometimes you want to know what they're going to say...so that when they say it again, it can't hurt you." She chuckles bitterly before continuing, "When I first came to Korea, I was the only trainee who wasn't Korean in the batch. They called me every name in the book, made fun of my accent, said that I was probably a transgender trying to pass as a woman."

You scowl before taking her free hand. "I'm sorry you had to go through that Lili..." A protective aura floating around you. Lisa shakes her head, whether its to say 'no' or to shake out the tears is a mystery to you. "People are shitty for no reason other than to feel superior to others."

She pauses, leaving a lingering kiss over your lips before pulling away, the pad of her thumb rubbing against your cheek lovingly. "But no matter what these people say, I love you. Despite everything people may think. I. Love. You."

You smile before nodding and pressing your forehead against hers, your grip on her hand tightening. "I'm lucky to have you, Lili."

"I'm even luckier, N/n."

The rest of the night was dedicated to you two talking about your experiences and feelings about them.

By morning, comments were disabled and a story defending you was posted. Suffice to say, Lisa made a personal account for just you and her friends.

i am so scared of posting this because sincerely i dont want to offend anyone but i do think it's important for media like this on a more informal platform to open up about how to and not to treat situations like this. i hope this got across what my anon wanted :"") and i hope you all enjoyed this one and i'll probably see you all tomorrow with a fluffier oneshot, im sorry this is how i returned to tumblr :"") - r

#blackpink #blackpink x reader #blackpink imagines #blackpink reactions #blackpink fluff #blackpink angst #kpop idol x reader #kpop idol imagines #kpop x reader #kpop imagines #girl group imagines #girl group x reader #girl group reactions #black!reader #black!fem!reader #purecantarella

[bloggedanon]

People are out here arguing that gatekeeping cpunk from people is actually perfectly fine because able-bodied ND people have mad- and neuropunk and that's "perfectly fine" with them and it's actually annoying as fuck imo, large explanation under the cut I forgot to add originally

• First of all, try to tell me that physically disabled people are mentally perfectly fine and have never had their mental health compromised as a result of their physical disability. Just try, I'll wait. Just like how I'm waiting to hear about "able-bodied" ND people not having any physical issues purely as a result of being ND.

• Secondly, that doesn't make gatekeeping with the mad- and neuropunk communities okay EITHER, even IF the first bullet SOMEHOW happens to be true. The separatist mind-body dichotomy is predicated in entirely false pretenses. The experiences between the physically and mentally disabled communities have SO much overlap. One "form" of disability is not inherently more or less disabling than another, that's down to the individual(s) and their conditions. A lot of either "form" can restrict people's abilities to perform a lot of the same tasks regardless of what the tasks may be or what "form" of disability is responsible for it. A lot of medical conditions (and systemic ableism) can produce a whole lot of symptoms that present like mental disorders.

• In the same vein, we DO have to acknowledge that some people have their disabilities affect them in ways that not everyone experiences. The experience of having a psychotic break isn't comparable to the experience of being wheelchair-bound. But neither is the experience of being a low support needs autistic that can function independently and being a high support needs autistic who can't bathe or dress independently and will need lifelong supervision, and this is just two examples of the same disorder! A person who's chronically bedbound isn't going to have a comparable experience to a Deaf-Blind individual, even if they both wind up with lifelong caretaking requirements. If we can acknowledge that experiences in the mentally disabled and physically disabled communities aren't going to be universal even WITHIN our own communities and we don't turn to separatists about it, what makes the physical and mentally disables communities as wholes any different?

• This one's the big one, and I see it a lot, you guys really need to learn what punk actually means. PUNK isn't about the "by X group and for X group" mindset at all. It's not about "X group of people vs X group of people." It's a community of people who are standing together against a SYSTEM. It's about highlighting society's wrongs and shouting about it, and trying to enact change in whatever way we can. Its praxis is just activism. You don't have to be black to stand with the Black community and fight for their rights, and fight systemic racism. You don't have to be a woman to be a feminist, and fight the patriarchy. You don't have to be queer to get down in the trenches with them and fight queerphobia (allies still get bottles 'n shit thrown at them regardless). You don't have to be disabled to stand against systemic ableism. You don't have to be the direct target of systemic oppression, or specific, targeted systemic microaggressions to fight it.

What punk is is getting down in the thick of oppression right alongside those who have to deal with it as a concrete force in their daily lives and being right next to them when shit hits the fan, fighting the same fight they are, and taking the blows as if you were one of them, because to those who want to perpetuate it, you might as well be. Anyone can be an ally, and allyship IS what punk is, just as much as being a member of a targeted group fighting for their rights. Systemic oppression doesn't care about the nuances when it lines us all up against the wall, and our infighting is doing its job for it. The second we start singling out groups of people for their identities is when we've already lost. Anyone standing up against these sytems is punk.

Anyone GATEKEEPING a punk movement isn't a punk, they're a fucking poser. A cop. A fed, even, because there are no cops at punk.

Can you have specific communities OF [x people with x identity and experiences], by and for that group by definition, to discuss their specific experiences unique to their situation(s)? Sure! Just don't do any fakeclaiming in the gatekeeping, mmk?

And don't you DARE call it fucking punk.

#cripplepunk #neuropunk #madpunk #cripple punk #cpunk #disability discourse #punk discourse #discourse #Log barks #also geting real tired of the physcially disabled community using ''able-bodied'' people when they actually mean abled people #angry cripple

[wejustvibing]

Here to vent. Everything you said was perfectly said and I agree. The issue is and has always been (imo) is that no one stands up for lewis appropriately. Just a lot of empty words. And I don’t even mean just his team and teammate I mean in general. I don’t trust a single person around him in that sport. It’s tiring sad and exhausting because every week i anticipate abuse or bias against him with little to no support or backlash for certain actions against him. Even other drivers that are nice to him I don’t believe it. Maybe I’m being far too cautious but no one around him has given appropriate levels of support in all situations that require it. Irrespective of who Lewis is and how he wishes to deal with things, his team have a duty of care to support him, treat him equally and protect him and I feel like because he can articulate himself rather well most of the time, has a mindset of rising above and a good work ethic / strong will - they assume he doesn’t need the support. Everyone needs it. And the difference between how they treat George Vs him is like day and night, very different and very gross. It may be unconscious or deliberate, but regardless of which it is it’s worrying. The team in a general sense hasn’t been the same since 2021. The dynamic has shifted, the strengths that made them a force have disappeared, social media has been a mess etc i could make an entire list. What’s happening here isn’t something a fast car is going to fix. That being said i don’t think Lewis needs to leave the team per se but I do think there needs to be some changes and fast. You don’t necessarily need to quit a job straight away, sometimes what’s obvious to us isn’t obvious to everyone and can potentially be solved. He clearly gets along with many of the people there and feels comfortable there, and amongst thousands of employees there are only some that need to be better in regards to the problems I am discussing so I won’t dictate to him about whether he should go elsewhere or leave. He’s grown he can make those choices himself (not saying you are trying to talk for him btw i hope that doesn’t sound rude to you) but I do think he may need an eye opener as does the team that they are just not working well lately. For a while. Things need to change. I think these issues are fixable though with the correct support and people. Honestly as a black person myself this is tiring seeing things play out like this as all too often I have experienced these things too. Merc has some gems in their team for sure but that’s being overshadowed by a colossal pile of problems. I want Lewis to have support. It’s not about babying him. It’s about the fact that he rarely gets support sufficiently (and it’s still lacking) until he’s being called slurs. This sport is rotten and I wish I could tune it out. Every race week I’m anxious.

thank you and i agree

you're not being too cautious, i feel you there. this perfectly describes the conditioning we've had through microaggressions and racism irl. you just can't let your guard down. it's instinctive and it's stressful especially when you know there's nothing you can do about it.

the number of times this team has failed to show up for him is concerning. and really, we (i) don't expect a special treatment or babying, in fact, there's no need for a pedestal they keep putting him on when it suits the brand. just let him be a fucking human? back him up when you know everything he does invites insane levels of hatred and abuse.

and you're so right! if anything, a fast car is going to make things worse for them given the team dynamic they're cultivating, quite evidently through social media at least and often with strategy. i get that the car is shit but they can easily put effort into sorting these issues out. they're just too casual with the way they leave him to fend for himself just because he can. but are quick to exploit his success, emotions and words.

and many are failing to see why we are unhappy. george is a selfish asshole which well all the drivers are. but he is not a threat to lewis in terms of race craft or talent. it's what this team is actively trying to portray that's damaging and pissing us off. i get it, it's not a portrayal of the entire team but then they need to stop taking advantage of lewis' character and show him the support he deserves.

#anonymous

[newcaptainofsquad9]

Was This Vacation a Mistake?~Crazy Rich Asians (Astrid x black! fem! reader) ~Part 3

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 

Summary: After a traumatic night, you decide to stay with Astrid a few nights before you depart back to America. The situation left you angry and terrified, but Astrid proved to be an amazing hostess and a shoulder to cry on.

Word Count:

Warnings: Talk of racism and microaggressions. 

Author’s Note: Here’s part 3 guys! As always tell me how this is going so far and what you like about it. Idk if this is good or not but I really want to finish this series soon. Anyway, hope y’all enjoy.

The cup of tea Astrid offered grew cold in my hands as I sat on her fine couch in the living room, my head against Rachel’s shoulder. Astrid strolled back into the room, returning from putting her son Cassain back to bed. 

“Do you need anything else, Y/N?” Astrid said as she circled the couch and leaned against its back. “Blanket or something, you and Rachel look like you’re about done for the night.”

She wasn’t wrong, my eyes were heavy and Rachel was quiet for a while. Her phone dinged, awakening her from her semi sleepy state.

“Mmh, N-Nick! He’s outside!” she said, eyes and fingers sweeping her phone simultaneously. 

I sat up to the best of my abilities and try not to blink too much with grogginess and stress already pulsing around my temple. Grading papers should have been the move from the beginning; I wasn’t welcome here from the start, people like me weren’t welcome from the start.

“Y/N,” Nick’s caring voice broke me from my thoughts thankfully. He stood in the center of Astrid’s living room with Rachel at his arm, his eyes sparkling  in concern. “First of all, I’m so sorry this happened. Come here.”

Nick pulled me into his arms, nearly making me weep from the contact. His tall frame was soothing, yet I felt terrible because of all that’s happened; this happened because of me. If I stayed home, they wedding would have gone on, Rachel probably wouldn’t have to worry as much as she has to. I wouldn’t be the center in all this, so much pity. It isn’t pity, I should know that, it’s racism. Full blown racism in my face and I can’t fathom it for some reason. I don’t know why. Frustration pooled at me, tears and heat pricked my skin and eyelids.

“Y/N? Are you all right?” Nick asked. He pulled back to pat my elbows. 

Rachel sunk to my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Y/N?”

“I-I’m OK. I-I’m fine, I-I just need a night to, I don’t know, forget all of this,” you said as you leaned into Rachel. “I want to go home though, I’m sorry, guys.”

Nick shook his head. “No, no. In fact, I booked you a ticket home the day after tomorrow. First class of course, my friends stay in style. It’s the least I can do for how uncouth and down right disgusting my family and our associates were. I can even book you the best hotel around here.”

The thought was nice, a little too nice but I had to declined. 

“Sorry, Nick, I don’t think that’d be a great idea. Don’t want to seem out of place again.”

“Would a coastal house work? A short heli ride would get you there in--”

“Nick, I don’t think that’ll help,” Rachel said, cutting him off. “Traveling somewhere that isn’t home won’t help, yeah? Y/N?”

I nodded. Nick’s amazing, I love him but throwing money at everything isn’t going to bring me the comfort he thinks it will. It is endearing though. 

“She can stay here for tonight, tomorrow as well,” Astrid said, speaking up from her position behind the couch, hand smoothing out the plushness of it. “Anything she needs, I’ll be willing to provide, no issue.”

My heart skipped a beat at the offer; Rachel’s trying not to grin from ear to ear, brought me closer by the shoulder to look at me with those brown eyes. They’re still glossy, all authentic for me I know but know she’s using them to her advantage I swear. 

“Astrid sounds like great company, yeah?” she said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “She’ll look out for you, I promise.”

Nick embraced Astrid prior to turning back to Rachel and I. “Thank you, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

Astrid smiled, it reached her beauty mark, highlighting her face perfectly. How was I going to survive a night in her home? Two nights even. Rachel beamed back as if she heard my mental question, squeezing my shoulders.

“You got this, call us when you feel a little better. OK?”  

I nodded. Rachel and Nick gave me quick hugs, doing the same with Astrid before they left, leaving me alone with her. Alone with Astrid Leong. Alone with my thoughts. Alone with all that’s happened.

“Y/N?” Astrid called.   

Her voice soft, as it was before yet lower, tender. I didn’t want to look at her, didn’t want her pity. I just want to go home already. 

“Y/N?” she called again. I glanced at her, she’s close now, right in front of me; the pity I harped on wasn’t there in her eyes though, hurt and worry, similar to how she seemed at Nick’s grandmother’s house.  

“C-Can I hug you?” she asked, opening her arms a bit. Her mouth twitched in a tiny smile while she hesitated with her movements. “Hugs always put me at ease, I-I want to put you at ease.”

The word ease broke me, almost. Tears pricked at my eyes, Astrid found them as she inched closer. She didn’t hug me though, still gauging my reaction. I nodded and met her in a warm embrace; it eased me as she said: her arms wound around me perfectly, fit me well and the tears slipped. A sob broke through too. Why the fuck am I crying? I was supposed to forget about all of that shit. 

“It’s all right, darling. Let it out, it’s OK,” Astrid whispered. She pulled back to wipe my tears. She nodded to her couch. “Want to sit?”

I nodded, pursed my lips to keep from tasting the salty tears. 

Astrid led me by the hand toward the couch, left some space between us when we got there, still holding onto me. Her touch proved pleasant, more so than it has been before--I was at ease. Her hand wrapped around my own wasn’t a huge deal either. I’m not even sure how long I can last but its working so far.  

“T-Thank you, i-it means a lot, letting me stay here,” I managed to say. Astrid’s thumb rubbed my knuckles a little prior to her pulling it away. 

“It’s nothing you have to thank me for,” she said. “Do you want to talk about it at all?”

This is a safe space I realize, however I’m not completely sure about opening up about these racially charged encounters. Sure, she’s non-white but like Rachel, sometimes it’s difficult bringing these matters up and talking through them. Sometimes I just need to deal with it on my own, then again, I do need to talk it out--somewhat. 

“I-I just expected to tag along with Rachel and for this to be a normal vacation,” I started. “But I got centered, I-I should have known. Anti-blackness is global. I should have thought about it more, researched. I’m a professor for God’s sake, I always tell my students this. Maybe this vacation was a mistake, maybe I should have just stayed home.”

Astrid’s hands flocked to mine again, her eyes glossy once more. “No matter how much research or preparedness you set yourself up for, no one deserves to be harassed or see something like that.”

I nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s the same. We both experience some fucked shit, I’m sure, you went to schools in England right? Most of those posh white folks, right?”

Astrid giggled at the description. “They were the living embodiment of posh. And you’re right. My experience is not the same but I can tell you about them. Take some of the weight off from today. Will that help?” 

“Yeah,” I said. 

Maybe I said it too quickly. It was her touches and how intense she looked to me: attentiveness deep in her brown eyes, paying all the mind to me, I had to glance to the spotless carpet below. 

“As you know, or maybe you don’t, I’m not sure how much Nick has shared about me, I attended Harvard during university,” Astrid explained. She ceased holding my hands, calming my heart for a bit. “At this time, I was eighteen, away from home with enough money to make my posh peers turn their heads. Unfortunately, my money wasn’t the only thing they noticed.”

Astrid grimaced and I didn’t want her to delve back into anything like that. It’s different yes, but it can still hurt people. Rachel’s told me plenty.

“Astrid, you don’t have to tell me, if it’s too much,” I said. My hand moved on instinct, holding her hand myself. “I-I get it.”

“Darling, it’s fine,” she said. “It’s not the most pleasant story to look back on but it happened. First semester, I was the only Asian girl in my class. There was an Asian boy, but he flocked with the white boys and a grade above me so there wasn’t too much we’d mutually have in common besides our ethnicity. I was Astrid the princess, according to Nick and I wished my white peers saw me as just some spoiled girl. Instead I was Astrid the girl who could grant you a happy ending; Astrid the girl who had to sit up front because her eyes were too slanted. There was worse things but, Y/N, you shouldn’t have to limit yourself because of what history has done. What these systems and institutions have done. Don’t let that stop you.”

She’s right. Astrid’s  absolutely right. The dam broke again at this obvious realization and I’m crying again, trembling and all. 

Astrid just pulled me toward her, embracing me yet again. I feel so stupid.

“I’m sorry,” I sobbed against her shoulder. “I-I don’t mean to do this. I hate feeling like this.” 

“Don’t apologize, it’s OK.”

We stayed like that for a while: Astrid wrapping her arms around my back, my head against her chest, heartbeat nearly lulling me to sleep. Tiny footsteps neared however, along with a few creaks of the floor and staircase. 

“Mommy?” 

Astrid tore herself away to face the child standing in a purple satin sleep shirt and matching pants. His hair askew, face clearly scrunched up from sleep. Cassian. Astrid’s son. I pulled myself further from Astrid, wishing I could sink into the couch altogether. 

“And what are you doing up, sweetie?” Astrid said, grin plastered on her face, not feeling awkward about her son seeing his mother hug a woman he doesn’t know. “You should be in bed.”

Cassian rubbed his eyes with the back of a fist, attention on me while Astrid lifted him up to her lap, showing the boy off to me. 

“Who’s that?” he asked. 

Astrid’s eyes shined, love filling them to the brim as she stared at her son, then to me. I still wanted to disappear; Astrid’s got my heart flipping again and skin set to a scorch. Maybe Rachel had a point, definitely not telling her about all the details of tonight.  

“This is Y/N, Nick and mommy’s friend and our guest for a few nights,” she cooed, kissing Cassian on the forehead. “How about we go settle in bed and give her some space, hmm?”

I waved at the boy awkwardly. He seemed delicate in Astrid’s arms, fluttering his eyes, squishing and yawning as she stood engulfing the boy in tender love. 

“C-Can you read me a story too?” Cassain whined. 

“Of course we can, my love,” Astrid said. She was halfway up the stairs; I couldn’t stop looking at her. She turned back toward me, voice dropping a bit.“I’ll bring you some blankets to get comfortable, darling.”

Astrid’s gone before I can react, off to her motherly duties like the day we met. I’ve talked with her, seen her heart, been catered by her heart and I’m still skeptical about the entire thing. A mother, divorcee and a rich person. Rich rich. Loaded and her actions, her demeanor already triggers me, in a great yet intense way. Is she just being nice? Or is Rachel right? Should I talk to Nick about this? Should I not take this venture? Leave it alone before something drastic occurs again, her family is still old money, old traditions, old systems. Maybe I shouldn’t be looking at a potential straight woman like this? 

The thoughts continued to linger while I sunk deeper into the couch. 

Astrid returned after a while, a set of fancy comforters and covers hulking her arms. “I wish I would have prepared the guest room better but the couch is just as comfortable. Make yourself at home, stretch as much as you’d like, all right?” 

I nodded, laid across the couch and reached up for the covers. Astrid pouted and shook her head. 

“No, no. Let me, I am your hostess after all,” she said as she fluffed up the covers. “I need everyone under my roof safe, sound and more importantly, tucked in.”

My face and heart raced among-est each other each time Astrid placed a layer on me, tucked a cover against my arm and back, patted in place. She’s so close, there’s no way she’s just being nice. 

“Y/N? Are you all right? This didn’t make you uncomfortable, did it?”

I shook my head fervently. “No, this is so much more than I can ask for Thank you.” 

Astrid’s eyes softened. “Not a problem, darling. I hope your dreams are sweet and more pleasant than today.” 

Those words tingled me to my bones, warmed me more than the massive quilt bulking me and allowed sleep to overtake me. 

#gemma chan #gemma chan x reader #astrid leong #astrid leong x black reader #astrid leong x reader #black reader #black fem reader #black female reader #crazy rich asians #crazy rich asians fanfic #crazy rich asians fanfiction #fanfic #wlw #wlw fic #wlw fanfiction

[bilbobagginsomebabez]

never do nothing

okay. sounds like bullshit. it might be. but it's a rule that I live my life by and it has not failed to preserve my sense of justice against an economic system that wants me to abandon it.

this advice can be so easily misused, but

it only applies to real life with people you interact with irl. it does not apply to online.

never do nothing means that when your sense of justice gets pinged, you ask whoever needs help what would be most helpful. in your real life. when your Black coworker is dealing with microaggressions, you ask her what you can do to actually help and if she says "nothing," you ask her if you can still send her timestamped proof of support on some kind of work communication. you seek justice and you never ever do nothing when there is something that you can do.

you look for ways to support others. you look for ways to build solidarity. you seek opportunities to put yourself on the same chopping block as more vulnerable people because their lives are worth it. because their lives are depending on it. because if enough of us do it at once, they can't threaten any of us and we get to build something based on mutual well-being. something as symbiotic as our best instincts would lead us to be.

never do nothing isn't perfect, but it's far fucking better than nothing

[drdemonprince]

Do you have any advice for an autistic & trans therapist to safely establish a job in the mental health field amongst NT cishet coworkers? I’ve experienced discrimination every step of the way in this field and the only way for me to have job security is to finish up my licensure hours somewhere so I can be on my own when licensed.

To be blunt, being Autistic & trans and a therapist will never come with any guarantee of safety, because the entire field of institutionalized mental health is built upon a bedrock of ableism and (often violent) rejection of gender and sexual non-conformity. It's not just the NT and cishet coworkers as individual people that are the problem, it is the entire foundation of the field and what it sets out to do.

Look at what happened to Marsha Linehan -- she was one of the foremost, most accomplished researchers and treatment developers in her subfield and saved thousands of lives, yet she still had her competence challenged and lost a ton of professional respect the moment she came out about being BPD. That is not just the work of biased or bigoted NT individuals, that is the natural consequence of a line of work that by definition categorizes some classes of people as less competent and worthy than others.

I have taught and done consulting work for many organizations and I have never yet seen a mental health facility of any kind where persons with mental illness or neurodivergence are not discriminated against, nor have I ever been particularly impressed with the therapeutic practices or clinical psychology programs that profess to be queer affirming.

Even orgs run and led by trans or Autistic people are still forced to operate by the rules and standards of institutionalized psychology and psychiatry, and so they are invested in promoting respectability politics, stigma, and the theft of disabled people's autonomy to some extent. Obviously some are far more egregious than others. But they are all institutions with unjust power they can leverage over the marginalized, and they're invested as institutions into holding onto that power.

Counseling psychology programs and their graduates tend to be a bit more open minded and less prone to pathologization than clinical psychs, as are the licensed social workers who do not come from conservative Christian background or educational tradition (unfortunately, many social workers do have that kind of background). I wish I could recommend some queer-owned practices but all the ones I'm familiar with are run by rainbow capitalist grifters with no true conception of intracommunity dynamics such as transmisogyny.

When I taught for the Chicago School of Professional Psych, I heard from many of my students about their many licensure hour placements, and none of them sounded like good or safe places to be -- and many of those facilities were far worse to their Black and brown patients than they were for their (majority white) therapists-in-training. But on the whole everyone relatively lacking in power in those spaces was either exploited or judged as inferior or both.

I imagine that working on your own/for yourself would be the best route ultimately-- the few ND therapists I know who are doing a more liberatory practice are quietly doing so on their own. I think that's a sensible long-term goal for you to have. But on the way to getting there, you will be working in spaces that are not safe to you. I would never trust any institution or therapuetic practice to keep you safe, no matter how they brand themselves or how progressive they profess to be. 

I think the real question, then,  is what supports will you have in place to make getting your licensure hours possible for you? When a colleague microaggresses against you or is discriminatory toward a patient, what will your emotional recovery plan look like? What are the absolute dealbreakers that will make a facility or organization unworkable for you, and what are the nice-to-haves that you can live without?

Basically, if you want to get your necessary hours, you might have to be in survival mode for a while -- and I think having realistic expectations about that and a plan for dealing with the secondary trauma and systemic biases you'll endure is what will make it possible. That said, I'm not a therapist, I've only seen this stuff from the sidelines as a teacher, trainer, program evaluator, and sometimes as a patient. So I would also encourage you to try and find a neurodivergent and queer therapist who has gone through this stuff before, who can serve as a mentor for you. Getting through this process will be tough, and I think it’s important to be realistic about that. You’ll need to steel yourself for a lot of unfairness and ignorance, and you’ll need a good support system in place to help keep you feeling strong in the face of it. 

[zupawama]

to elaborate more, here’s a list of things to NOT do around/to a biracial person: - call them “exotic” - imply their parents’ relationship is weird/fetishy/abnormal/abusive without any necessary context given by the biracial person - attempt to pull the “but you’re [insert race here], you can’t talk about/participate in this!” card. most biracial people are only as much one race as they are the other and therefore your statement is likely to not even make much sense - try to force them to conform to monoracial standards/act monoracial [e.g. ask them to “pick a side/race”; address them exclusively by whatever race you may perceive them as if they’re not “racially ambiguous”; refuse to include a ‘biracial’ option on papers and forms that you are in charge of creating; etc.] - use the fact that the person in question may be half-whatever as an excuse to take jabs at them, humiliate them or make fun of them - imply that the person’s biracialness means they’re less connected to their own culture(s) than you are, if you are both from the same culture - on a similar note: treat yourself as though you’re “pure-blooded” and more valid of an individual than they are because they come from mixed roots. yes, i have had this happen to me before. it’s actually pretty common at times - encourage, make, or passively allow jokes that treat biracial people as though we’re more sexually promiscuous and unconventionally attractive or ‘mysterious’ - prod into a biracial person’s racial background without their permission. we as biracial people experience microaggressions sometimes on a daily basis, depending on who we’re surrounded by and/or forced to interact with, and we may be wary that you’re trying to gather information that you can use to invalidate us or discriminate against us - act like “biracial” is a label that exclusively means “black mixed with white”

#biracial #monoracial #racism #bigotry #fetishism #mixed #mixed race #mixed person

[sakebytheriver]

Okay. Let's talk about this post for a second

Now I think it starts off relatively okay

I'm not exactly a fan of people playing their music or the tiktok sounds from their phones without headphones, so I get the feeling but also at the same time I do think there's a huge world of difference between a person playing their speakers loud on a crowded bus or subway car and a person going on a hike in the middle of nature with a handful of other humans around them also going on that hike and bringing a speaker with them to listen to their music without their headphones getting in the way or getting sweaty while they walk

But then of course once we get through all of the people talking whimsically about some random musicians playing in public we get to the last response. Now I want you to notice how op said "speakers" but the last person said "boombox". And not just "boombox" but they said "a clown with a boombox". An absolutely hupothetical clown with a boombox mind you that they state that they would have gone out of their way to harrass just for existing in the same space as them playing music.

Now, we're about to get into the real big thing I wanna talk about with this post, so first things first can anyone in the class tell me what ethnic group is usually associated with boomboxes? Anyone? Hm? Oh yeah that's right. Black people. You know who is also more likely to be targeted by the police and their (white) neighbors for noise complaints? Oh yeah that's right. Black people. And darker skin people of color in general

Here's an article and a quote to give you proof if you want some

Like it's really not lost on me that this last response was also written by a seemingly progressive blog that literally has the word "politics" in their name even if I blocked it out for you guys. They literally perpetuated a racial microaggression and they probably don't even realize it.

Like look me right in my fucking eyes and tell me right now that you didn't read the words "clown with a boombox" and picture someone who looked like this

Like this language is so overtly charged I cannot believe liberals and progressives are just letting that shit slip by and get 10k notes without a single bit of pushback and instead just lots of agreement instead, like not one bit of self reflection to be had, huh? Not gonna think about the broader implications of the thing that you've just decided is an inherently bad thing because it slightly annoys you?

And look, I get it, I do. I am an autistic bitch who does not enjoy human beings who just let their shit go without headphones, but like. They're not doing anything except existing and taking up space in a way that you don't like

There is literally nothing different between a dude playing his little fiddle on the street corner and the kid playing his boombox on the same corner

They are just two human beings existing and taking up space in a way that brings them a modicum of joy and personally I'd rather just let them both live than try to enforce some arbitrary noise constraints against them which would ultimately just mean people of color get targeted, because if you don't know how society works by now after spending decades living in it, the dominant "In" group is the one that gets to decide what's "Litter" and what's "Adding Beauty"

Maybe take a look at your internal biases and ask yourself why you have such a problem with a kid holding a boombox on his shoulder, but not a guy with a guitar 🤷‍♀️

#ignore me #racism #yes i did see this post reblogged uncritically by a normie liberal i follow #and yes i did have to break this shit down for you #because im seeing way way too many posts like this on here and none of you are thinking about this issue logically #youre all being annoying elitist suburbian autistics about noise and you need to grow the fuck up and get over it

[supahstarrr]

Sowwy still talking about it anyways. also this whole "whitemisia" and "white racism" and "reverse racism" stuff just reminds me how much people—especially white people—don't acknowledge racism as trauma, abuse, and generational trauma. when black people express their dislike of white people, it's not just "hatred" but its a defense mechanism against the the power that white people hold over us in the past and present, and the reaction to all of the the abuse and terrible treatment that white people has gotten away with due to this continuing power that they uphold.

its a reaction (and defense mechanism) to the victim complexes and victim-hood that is supported by the system, fueled by their power, that they will always have access to even when POC are simply expressing ourselves. its a reaction to the way our emotions (kindness, quietness, anger, sadness) and humanity will always be ostracized, demonized, and what makes us violent against white people — people will always think we have unjustified anger anyway, even if we articulate ourselves and explain ourselves so hard! Microaggressions, cannibalism, demonizing us and our culture, abuse, dehumanizing us and our culture in various of ways, stealing our culture away from us, hate crimes, bombing our neighborhoods, etc. white people has gotten away with so much.

even if "-misia" describes hatred or dislike, it is still very insensitive to even suggest that "whitemisia" is an appropriate term because that term suggests no weight behind the hatred. the hatred is a defense mechanism, fueled by the systematic imbalance. it's blaming the actual haters or the "haters" (also known as black people whose words and commentary on white people's privilege & power gets misinterpreted into "hating whites" or black people saying jokes/light-hearted statements about white people based on truth) for being defensive against white people. even if only a minority of people on here support "whitemisia" or "racism against white people", it's a well needed discussion because i can still see people on here not fully acknowledging that racism is our trauma and abusive in nature in different spaces (ex: fandoms), even without saying "racism against white people" or "whitemisia" or any other similar terms & statements.

#racism #sunny's thoughts #anti radqueer #(so it wont be showed to them? i hope it wont)

[captainsvscaptains]

If you're new here, it might be the first time you hear me talk about anti-propaganda. Others... well, I can be quite stubborn. Some might considering my investment in this fight ridiculous. Well, it's your right, block the "not polls" tag if you must, but I think this particular piece everyone should read

You can not always tell, because bias may have made you assume a brown character is merely tanned, or there wasn't official art, but some (I know the proportion is low but people can only submit characters that exist, and popular media's providers still find ways to make their casts whiter than snow / are not willing to promote products with BIPOC main protag(s), which mostly leave us all with indie creators to rely on) characters in the polls are Black or Brown.

Reading "Kill him with violence" about a brown guy, be it a fictional person from an imaginary world, feels very, very wrong, especially when they're against a white character. Possibly the person saying that didn't realize how it'd sound to strangers / didn't notice the character wasn't white (the alternative is quite concerning).

This is also why I've been insisting about not using propaganda. You wouldn't believe how many times someone knows nothing about a media they criticize.

Many times, you don't know the history and ethnicity of a character, or even what kind of media they're from, when you vote against them. Or their gender, for instance. So many people called Jihye a guy when two seconds in the comments' section would have helped you determine her gender (when they just didn't go straight for racism and decided that she must be an anime character. I've seen people literally call her a generic anime boy). Just use "they/them" when you're not certain of a character's pronoun.

Racism isn't always the big, obvious thing often portrayed in media. Yes some people will use the n word and make fake, hurtful and offending comparisons. But racism is much more insidious than that most of the times and here this is what it is about : microaggressions

As a white person -which is also my case- , you will certainly commit some, even if you'll do your best to fix it when you've given it some thought. Apology when you have to and learn to do better. Racism is not always intentional, and you should be aware of that. Just thinking "I'm not racist" doesn't make you not racist. That'd be wishful thinking. European and US cultures are full of racist things most white people wouldn't be naturally aware of since we don't suffer from it. Racism appears in our structural systems and we have to address that.

Anyway, I'm running out of time but take a moment to think about why someone (possibly but not necessarily a teen) would feel the need to threatens a non white character of violent death (even if we can agree characters don't get hurt and hopefully that person would never have acted this way irl), as if death wasn't enough

Don't threaten characters. Or people. It's really not necessary and could easily be interpreted as systemic racism in some cases.

Also remember than China and Japan are not the sole Asian countries and that many art forms exist in such a vast and populated continent

#not polls #about antipropaganda

[shinidamachu]

Sid, I know you’re mostly an InuKag blog and this probably isn’t your area of expertise, but as a POC the discourse surrounding Kikyo - and by extension InuKik as a ship - really bothers me.

Seems like all anyone can focus on about Kikyo as a character is stupid Iove triangle shipping discourse, if she is hated or called out it’s generally only for that reason and that reason alone. Otherwise if people aren’t hating her because “she gets in the way of InuKag,” she’s treated as this cool girlboss who’s a tragic figure and simply misunderstood, now this is not to erase the complexities and nuance that is inherent to her character, but it kinda bothers me that she’s not called out more for her actual crime in actually being really low-key racist? Like personally she’s one of the most problematic characters in the franchise to me.

The way she treats Inuyasha throughout the anime and manga she acts like she’s doing him a favor and gives off strong “I can’t be racist, I have a black friend/bf!” vibes. She treats him as one of the “good demons” constantly comparing him to the full-blooded ones saying how he’s not like *that* because he has human blood. She straight out just asks him if he ever just thought of stopping being biracial essentially, telling him to throw half of his identity and race away and get rid of his problematic “ethnic features.” She is literally Microaggressions: The Character.

And I know IY is fiction and demons aren’t an actual race that exists in real life, but I’m of the belief that fiction does not exist in a vacuum, it influences and informs reality just like reality informs it. The whole “demons vs humans” conflict that is at the center of the narrative and a hanyou’s place in it feels like it’s meant to be a direct allegory/metaphor for racism between different ethnic groups out in the real world and how mixed people are often caught in the middle. Inuyasha to me reads as a very POC-coded character with very distinct physical features alien to the dominant human society that he is judged for constantly. And maybe I’m just being overly sensitive but it feels really wrong that shipping drama is people’s biggest issue with Kikyo when they’re kinda ignoring this big 5ft pink elephant in the room? I mean tons of other fandoms are always ready to decry and call out the racism inherent to their franchises so why doesn’t the IY fandom? (Though the callouts of Sunrise over whitewashing Shiori in Yashahime was a good start)

InuKik’s whole relationship in general is just really uncomfortable and has these weird racial power undertones to it, I mean Kikyo is a respected village authority who is a Miko in charge of protecting the village in demons, so literally in the position of a “cop,” while Inuyasha himself is a poor, disenfranchised minority youth who’s discriminated against day in and day out and Kikyo basically takes it as her task to play white savior and try to “rehabilitate/civilize” him society, all while she clearly has the upper hand and holds all the privilege between the two and yet she wants to play little miss “woe is me” and pretends or even dismisses the fact that she has any privilege at all? That her and Inuyasha “are in the exact same position???”

And sure we could talk about misogynist double standards and how it’s unfair I’m suddenly interested in “cancelling” her character when Sesshomaru himself is also a big ass racist, but see the difference is is that at least Sesshomaru is an upfront, out-and out open racist. Neither he nor the narrative ever attempt to paint him in the right and openly criticize and give him comeuppance for his racist attitude in life which he has to actively learn from. Kikyo on the other hand is imo the much more dangerous type of racist, she’s the insidious “covert” racist, who might not even realize they’re being racist but has internalized a lot of toxic societal messaging regarding certain skin colors (Or I guess in IY’s case, supernatural powers and animal-like physical features) and so overtly looks down on POC and does a lot more institutional harm to them than a KKK-style racist like Sesshomaru could ever do. She’s not a self-aware racist, which imo is the much more dangerous type.

Anyways sorry for going off on this long rant to you like this, it’s just always bugged me that the fandom seems to overlook this major flaw and problematic connotations surrounding Kikyo’s character when this is an an extremely important issue that deserves to be talked about more and has much more serious implications than any petty shipping debates.

I'm gonna preface this by saying I'm not white either. However, this doesn't necessarily make me an expert on the subject by any means. It's definitely not my intention to speak for every people of color in the fandom. I'm simply sharing a personal opinion.

Of course Inuyasha is fiction and demons aren't an actual race, but as you so pertinently put it: fiction doesn't exist in a vacuum. It influences and informs reality and, in return, reality equally influences and informes fiction.

Inuyasha's predicament is a very clear representation of racism. Just because it doesn't get called out by name, it doesn't mean it's not there. The prejudice, the discrimination and the ostracizing he went through certainly are.

The unfair way in which he has been treated might have nothing to do with his skin tone, but it's deeply associated with his status as a half demon, something he can't nor should naturally change. For an allegory, it can't get more explicit than this.

In that sense, it matters little which real life minority we think Inuyasha was coded after. What's really important is recognizing that his half demon heritage carries an undeserved stigma. It shaped who he is and how he's perceived by others. As a result, everything concerning his demonic blood will inevitably rise very real racial issues. That's why Kikyo comes off in a bad light.

She initially spared Inuyasha's life because she didn't see him as a half demon, but as a half human. And then she got into her head that, due to their shared loneliness, they were not so different — completely neglecting the fact that said loneliness came from totally different places.

Like I've said before: Inuyasha didn’t choose loneliness. Everyone else chose to isolate him. Kikyo, on the other hand, isolated herself. Both Kaede – as the village priestess – and Kagome – as the new guardian of the Jewel – proved that it's more than possible to fulfil their duties while still mantaining deep, meaningful connections to other people. Kagome in particular relied on those connections for her power to grow.

And so Kikyo had the option to simply drop everything if she so desired: pass the Jewel on, stop using her powers and start fresh somewhere. She had the option to ask for help, to let people in.

At the same time, all the reasons why she doesn't are completely understandable. It makes perfect sense for her character, fleshs out her personality and it makes her interesting from a storytelling perspective. What she didn't have was the right to compare her situation to Inuyasha's, who didn't have the luxury of choosing.

Of course, having a little sister who loved her to death and an entire village worshipping the ground she walked on aren't impediments to feeling lonely or depressed, but it's still way more than what Inuyasha ever had at the time.

Kikyo's sorrow doesn't take away from the fact that she was privileged and therefore, could never speack to Inuyasha from a place of parity. Presenting herself as his equal is a false equivalence and the way the scene was framed made it look like Kikyo was asking Inuyasha for sympathy when the goal was — or at least should have been — showing him compassion and understanding.

In that sense, suggesting to use the Jewel to turn him into human is just awful. Not only would it be a selfish wish, but also there's no way for us to know exactly how it would backfire, only that it would. Inuyasha was being used to test a theory that would have failed. Spectacularly.

Sure you can. You're half human, after all. But if it was used to turn you into a human... the Jewel would be purified and would probably cease to exist.

The repetition of the word "human" emphasizes said circumstance. Also, notice how it gets confidently associated with "purity", while such certaninty is not applied to what could happen to the Jewel, which would only "probably" cease to exist.

Not to mention Inuyasha canonically hates being human. It's bad if Kikyo doesn't know that fact, because it shows just how little they actually knew about each other for two people who are supposed to be in love, but for obvious reasons, it's even worse if she does know.

One might argue that her intentions here were good. Adopting the "we're not so different" approach was her way of reaching up to Inuyasha and turning him into human was mutually beneficial in theory. Regardless of what her reasoning was, though, the point is that she never should have done it in the first place. It was highly insensitive at best.

And even if you believe that Kikyo didn't have an actual issue with Inuyasha's demonic features — which is as valid an interpretation as any — there's no denying she wasn't too fond of them either, otherwise she wouldn't have jumped at the chance to get rid of them. She liked Inuyasha despite of who he was, not because of it.

The situation gets even worse when you realize that this arrangement isn't mutually beneficial at all. Hypothetically, Kikyo would be free of her duty, becoming an ordinary woman with a human Inuyasha by her side, which was already everything she wanted. But what about him?

Inuyasha is the one making all the compromising. He was the one putting his life — the one his demon father died to save — on the line. He was the one sacrificing his powers, his physical appearance and his father's legacy (because he wouldn't be able to wield Tessaiga as a human, even if he didn't know about its existence yet). Inuyasha being a half demon was the living proof of his parents tragic love story and he was turning his back on that not because he thought was what he wanted — like becoming a full demon, for instance — but because someone else suggested it to him.

What was Inuyasha getting out of it? "Acceptance" from villagers he didn't really care about and who would only be friendly to him because he wouldn't look like himself anymore, while still being racist to other demons? An "official" relationship with Kikyo, even though there isn't really a good reason as to why he couldn't have that without forsaking a part of who he was, since relationships between demons and humans, though rare, already existed and he eventually got that with Kagome?

Unless, of course, Kikyo's offer to live together was conditional. Which raises the question: what was Kikyo giving up, apart from things she wanted gone anyway? And what would have happened if Inuyasha refused to go with her plan?

Because it was one thing to kiss him in secret — like the anime-only scene in the docks — or after she was technically dead and had nothing to lose, but it's a totally different thing to own up to that relationship without the prospect of using the Jewel to change him. Unfortunatelly, her character isn't written well enough for us to draw our own conclusions based solely on canon material.

The point I'm trying to make is that despite the narrative portraying Kikyo's suggestion as a selfless act on her part, she would be the only one actually benefiting from this deal long run. In the end of the day, it was more about her needs than his, because the kind of acceptance she was offering Inuyasha wasn't the one he needed, which Kikyo should've known.

Inuyasha going for it isn't the proof of love Takahashi — and part of the fandom — tend to paint it as. It's a proof of desperation: desperation that Kikyo would walk away if he told her no. Desperation to belong somewhere. Anywhere. Remember: Inuyasha had his mind set on becoming a full demon literally a few days prior.

That's why this ship was build to wreck, with or without Naraku. There were no trust, no intimacy, no honesty. They barely knew each other. Inuyasha put Kikyo on a pedestal and was constantly trying to act like someone he wasn't to please her (restrained, apathetic and unsure). Their whole relationship was based on loneliness and idealization.

All of this is to say that the way Kikyo treated Inuyasha's heritage is a defining trait of her character and, by extension, of Inukik as a pairing. And although it is possible — even preferable — to call out her behavior outside the shipping discourse, it's also perfectly understandable that both things will blend together because Kagome and Inukag are direct paralells to Kikyo's actions in this regard.

Trust and acceptance are recurring themes in Inukag's relationship and the lack thereof, in my carefully curated fandom experience, is the biggest source of Kikyo and Inukik criticism and it circles right back to those racial issues. Sadly, the closer we ever got from the narrative challenging Kikyo's perspectie on the matter was having Inuyasha end up with Kagome, who had an opposite worldview.

Obviously, there are still people who will make this solely about the love triangle and there will always be, but as far as I can tell, they're mostly casual anime watchers nowadays, not at all comparable to how it used to be back when the ship war was still raging on.

I dislike Inukik and Kikyo is one of my least favorite characters not because I'm an Inukag shipper or a Kagome stan, but because as an Inuyasha stan and someone who appreciates themes and character growth, I can't get behind it even if Kagome never became a part of the equation.

And I believe a considerable amount of people who share this feeling think the same, we just don't express it more often because... Well... You said it yourself: I'm mostly an Inukag blog. And I'd much rather focus on the things I love instead of the ones I dislike.

You see, the Inuyasha fandom is old and the Inuyasha material is older. Inevitably, some part of its content did not age well and inevitably, someone has already pointed that out. It's understandable, though, that some people would chose not to engage the discussion in exchange of peace of mind. Especially with the "let people enjoy things" trend going on.

I think your frustration is completely valid and strongly encourage that you keep the discussion going on your blog if voicing your opinions and experiences will make you feel better. Particularly, I'll be avoiding the topic unless prompted by asks such as this one, in which case I'm fine talking about it.

Fandom is my escape from reality and using my recreative time explaining to the white people in it why certain dynamics portrayed in the show can be considered problematic in a racial level feels exhausting and it's not really my — or any other people of color's —obligation to do so if we don't feel up to it. Especially when there's a huge chance of backlash and of people reducing valid points to ship wars.

It's funny you shall mention the Shiori incident because, unlike Inuyasha, the sequel doesn't have the "test of time" to blame for its poor "creative" choices, since it's from 2020. I distinctly remember calling out the blatant white washing her character suffered, along with the sane part of the fandom and either got ignored because people thought we were overreacting or straight up got told that we were only speaking up because we didn't like a specific ship the show portrayed and that what Sunrise did was fine because Shiori's dark skin is, and I quote: actually orange. So yeah.

That being said, I have reservations about comparing Kikyo to a cop because, personally, I've always thought the priestess occupation — at least as it was originally portrayed in the series — had more to do with medical and spiritual care than with mantaining law and order. Plus, cops tend to do everything in their power to keep their authority and privilege intact, while Kikyo was willing to give that up to become an ordinary woman, but I do see where you're coming from.

As for the double standards, Kikyo isn't the first female character to fall victim to rooted misogyny and unfortunately won't be the last. Kagome herself gets hate for sexist reasons, often from the very people who reprove it when the same thing happens to Kikyo. However, I feel like claiming misogyny is the only reason Kikyo gets hate is not a completely honest statement.

I'd say this argument would hold a lot more water if Kikyo hadn't constantly belittle and actively tried to kill the female protagonist — who had been nothing but kind and understanding towards her — over jealousy, or if her post death existence wasn't literally based on feeding off of miserable women's souls.

The double standards regarding Sesshomaru are real, but it had little to do with gender and everything to do with context. Kikyo was a fallen priestess. One the narrative asks me to believe is in love — or at least loved — a half demon. Sesshomaru is a racist demon who despised his half demon brother and humans alike.

So when Sesshomaru takes a little human girl under his wings and acts somewhat respectfully towards Inuyasha, that's a huge deal to me. But when Kikyo, who is already dead, gives up her "life" to save the child she was planning to sacrifice for the greater good and treats Inuyasha with dignity, my reaction will naturally be "alright, what else is new?" Swap or even their genders and my feelings will remain the same.

It's not a crime having higher expectations for her than for an actual antagonist when the narrative insists on sweeping the bad things she has done under the rug and focusing on how she is still as good as she has always been because, in that case, doing good deeds is not some extraordinary feature, but rather the bare minimum.

Sesshomaru's bad actions were openly and correctly portrayed as bad. He was forced to face his limitations, his weakness and his loses. That made him grow as a character. And if I criticize Sesshomaru, people will most likely ignore me or agree instead of try and justify his actions with his daddy issues. Kikyo being armored by the plot didn't do her any favors in this regard.

Besides, if we're talking double standards, I frankly don't think some people would be as willing to look past Kikyo's mistakes — Sesshomaru's too, for that matter — and ship her with Inuyasha if she wasn't so pretty. And honestly? That's fine. No one needs an actual reason to love or hate a character.

Lastly, it's not like I don't get Kikyo's tragic backstory, it's just that a huge part of why it's tragic in the first place is because of the choices she made. Naraku was detrimental to her fate, yes. But Kikyo's appeal is that she wasn't a passive person to whom things just happened to. She had agency to make decisions for herself.

People like Inuyasha, Sango and Kohaku had way worse than her and definitely not by their choice, but they never used their traumas as an excuse to be cruel. And I'm not saying this is a competition. Kikyo's pain it's just as valid. I'm just saying that, given these circumstances, in a fictional level, it's way harder to relate and empathize with her character.

And it's not like I didn't want to stan Kikyo. On the contrary. She's beautiful, cunning and interesting. I have a long list of powerful, unapologetic, morally grey female characters that I love and most of them were a bigger treat to my ships than Kikyo ever was to Inukag. The difference is that they were well written.

Kikyo's entire concept is fantastic, but the execution was abysmal. It's very clear to me that Takahashi didn't know what to do with her and it's a shame to see so much potential get wasted. I don't mind her characterization at all. She should be flawed and controversial. It's the lack of character development and satisfying redemption arc that I take issue with, if the narrative is gonna sell her as a changed woman worthy of our sympathy.

Anyway... if you want her complexities and nuances done justice, I've heart the Sesskik fandom is the place to be. They actually acknowledge her flaws, hold her accountable for the things she's done and explore very interesting sides of her personality.

I didn't mourn Kikyo's death for a second. But I mourn the character she could have been every single day.

#Holy fuck I feel like I owe you a new keyboard #Thank you for passing by #And thank you for your patience as well #This has been sitting in my inbox for a while #But I felt like your question deserved a more complex answer #Also don't feel sorry for ranting to me #I actually enjoy when people go off over a topic they have strong feelings about #Especially when they put it as respectfully and politely as you did #Sidmailing #Also please you guys don't use this post to start anything alright? #I won't answer #This is just my opinion not an invite to debate

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"Safety first." That’s the approach taken by university administrators these days.

On campuses across the country, "safety first" has been the rationale for silencing speech and firing professors. This practice has birthed a whole new moral framework, one that treats microaggressions as acts of violence.

"It's your job to create a place of comfort and home for the students."

But when it comes to threats and calls for genocide against the Jews...

"One solution! Intifada revolution!"

... it's a different story. Not safety first, but anything goes.

Just look at the facts. Last year, Harvard told students in a mandatory training session that using the wrong pronouns for a person constitutes abuse. "Sizeism and fatphobia," according to the session, are also attitudes that "contribute to an environment that perpetuates violence."

But when Harvard's president was asked by members of Congress this week in a hearing on campus antisemitism, if calling for the genocide of Jews constitutes bullying and harassment, here's what she said:

"It can be, depending on the context."

In 2018, the University of Pennsylvania barred law professor Amy Wax from teaching freshman after she said black students "rarely" finish in the top of their graduating class. Penn has since been trying to sanction Wax for statements the law school says violate its antidiscrimination policies.

But when Penn's president was asked if calls for genocide violate college rules, here's how she answered:

"If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes."

"I am asking specifically calling for the genocide of Jews. Does that constitute bullying or harassment?"

"If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment."

"So the answer is yes."

"It is a context-dependent decision."

And when she was asked this:

"So is your testimony that you will not answer yes?"

This is what she said:

"If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment, yes."

"Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide? The speech is not harassment? This is unacceptable, Ms. Magill. I'm going to give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn's code of conduct when it comes to bullying and harassment? Yes or no?"

"It can be harassment."

In 2021, MIT canceled a major lecture about climate change by scientist Dorian Abbott because a group of graduate students disagreed with his belief that hiring should be based on a person's merit, rather than their identity. If MIT won’t tolerate unacceptable views, surely the college president would shut down chants of "Long live the intifada" on her campus...

"Long live the intifada!"

... right?

"At MIT, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate MIT‘s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment? Yes or no?"

"If targeted at individuals, not making public statements --"

"Yes or no? Calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying harassment?"

"I have not heard calling for the genocide for Jews on our campus."

"But you’ve heard chants for intifada?"

"I’ve heard chants, which can be antisemitic depending on the context when calling for the elimination of the Jewish people.

"So those would not be, according to the MIT's code of conduct or rules."

"That would be investigated as harassment, if pervasive and severe."

But antisemitic speech on campus has already escalated into physical violence.

Students at these campuses have been assaulted, targeted and harassed.

"Safety first." But when it comes to the Jews, it all depends on the "context."

==

It would be one thing if these universities had consistently refused to censor free speech, and told the students, "no, you have to accept that people can and will say things you don't like."

But they haven't. They've done the opposite. Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, presided over the worst score any university has ever received on FIRE's College Free Speech Rankings: 0 out of 100. Actually, they scored lower than 0, but FIRE had to round it up.

https://www.thefire.org/news/harvard-gets-worst-score-ever-fires-college-free-speech-rankings

In 2020, Harvard ranked 46 out of 55 schools. In 2021, it ranked 130 out of 154 schools. Last year, it ranked 170 out of 203 schools. And this year, Harvard completed its downward spiral in dramatic fashion, coming in dead last with the worst score ever: 0.00 out of a possible 100.00. This earns it the notorious distinction of being the only school ranked this year with an “Abysmal” speech climate.

What’s more, granting Harvard a score of 0.00 is generous. Its actual score is -10.69, more than six standard deviations below the average and more than two standard deviations below the second-to-last school in the rankings, its Ivy League counterpart, the University of Pennsylvania. (Penn obtained an overall score of 11.13.) 

These universities have done nothing but suppress speech, but suddenly they're free speech absolutists when it comes to calling for the extermination of all Jews?

This makes much more sense if you re-read the section on Dorian Abbott and take a moment to glance at the panel for a moment: they're all intersectional feminists put into top university positions as diversity hires for identarian reasons.

FIRE maintains a Disinvitation Database.

Harvard:

University of Pennsylvania

MIT

I keep seeing people making excuses that "intifada" means anything from just demonstrations to more aggressive armed action, so calling for "intifada" is not necessarily a call to genocide.

The problem here is the same as "faith." There is, by definition, no boundary on "faith," so as soon as you endorse "faith" as a way to know the world, you forfeit the right to judge what others do based on "faith." If "intifada" is so broadly defined, you don't get to say, "well, to me it means demonstrations." It doesn't matter how you define it, privileged Western college student, it only matters what the sickest, most depraved, most psychopathic Palestinian does in the name of the far-right Islamic religion, ideology and movement you've just promoted and endorsed. There's no distinction between your "intifada" and theirs.

By calling for "intifada," you endorse anything and everything done under that banner. (Besides which, we all know by now that "pro-Palestine" activists are really pro-Hamas, due to their abject refusal to condemn the Islamic jihadi terrorists.)

Now remember that Hamas are jihadi Islamic supremacists, and Palestinian civilians were also involved in the attacks, including dragging dead Israelis through the streets and beating captives in the backs of trucks. So, when they seek "intifada," are they more likely to veer more towards "demonstrations" or are they more likely to go more in the direction of a genocidal atrocity?

"You should attack every Jew possible in all the world and kill them." -- Fathi Hamad, political leader of Hamas.

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." -- Hamas Covenant, 1988

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-1/Book-8/Hadith-387

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah."

🤔

#Maya Sulkin #Bari Weiss #safetyism #antisemitism #The Free Press #Mein Context #intifada #genocide #free speech #freedom of speech #academic corruption #censorship #pronoun culture #pronouns #Harvard University #massachusetts institute of technology #MIT #University of Pennsylvania #UPenn #religion is a mental illness

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

I am 🤏 this close to leaving evan twt (not fandom just this part of the app) bec of dumb tweets like this

https://twitter.com/partyhardyren/status/1749351384120692754?t=ml6NJQKje3Az72RLBvjydA&s=19

Of course Evan isn't racist, but this tweet makes US look like we're racist, saying you can't be racist if you have poc friends 😭 and most people are dragging the poster but so many people think he's getting canceled for something and this is their way of defending him

Like...

https://twitter.com/sullibible/status/1749485592713257179?t=a8_qJp0PJ5WUvJEBAUtBAQ&s=19

https://twitter.com/alonaokay/status/1749495014550347944?t=gqdyj4g81h3YoHbiTzyusQ&s=19

https://twitter.com/StephyBx_/status/1749480605694234872?t=KeQtJpquU7_Ra4fSwL-Cxw&s=19

i've received a bunch of messages about this, but because i don't want to dogpile, i'm just going to respond to this ask. thank you for not immediately jumping to be a jerk.

i hear you and i completely understand. i don't believe this person is ill-intentioned at all, i think they genuinely believed they were showcasing that evan would never mistreat someone due to their race or look at them as less than. but it's a naive viewpoint on racism and how it affects black people and people of color as a whole. outside of the very worst people, every racist you'll ever come upon and will use the first line of defense, which is that they have black friends, or friends of whatever ethnic group they're being accused of racism towards. it means nothing, and using these people they're ''friends'' with as a shield against criticism is incredibly offensive.

the general problem here is that people hear talk of racism and immediately think that discrimination and hostility looks like someone spray painting nazi symbolism on someone's car or yelling out racial slurs, and most of the time that's not what anyone is arguing about. every single person on the face of this earth has unconscious biases we've acquired in life (not just about race - it could be looking at a homeless person and thinking all unhoused people are just lazy bums who didn't work hard enough, or that a female doctor is less competent than a male doctor) that manifest in some way or another, even if it only stays inside your head as a thought you brush away because you know it's wrong. what sets good people apart is that we can recognize these things, acknowledge them and put in the work to change our mindset and challenge stereotypes that have been impressed upon us.

i'm only saying all of this because it's not helpful at all to see someone who is displaying ignorance to a situation and immediately attack and alienate them when their intent was not bad. if i'm going to criticize, then i will at least attempt to educate you on why what you're saying is counterintuitive to the cause. the truth is that most white people don't think deeply about racism because they don't have to, and they flat out don't understand the complexity of discrimination, they don't see the routine microaggressions black people and other POC deal with on a daily basis. they will casually contribute to unhelpful narratives and think they're doing something good. in this situation, it's enough to say that evan peters is not racist because there is, quite literally, zero indication of this regardless of what uninformed and reactive people on twitter say. no black person has ever came out and said evan treated them poorly, and evan has never said or done anything indicative of this. it's not appropriate to show him happily in the presence of black people and use this as proof that he isn't racist. this reflects poorly on the fandom and evan by proxy, bringing attention to this non-issue which can only be negative and make people feel suspicious of him. for that reason, i hope they delete the tweet and everyone moves on.

ETA: i have reached out to ren directly about this and won't be speaking on it further until we've had a chance to have a civil conversation about this tweet, and hopefully removing it. at this point, that's the best case scenario.

(i'll be back later to answer everyone else's unrelated messages, i just wanted to address this while i had a free minute)