#beyond identity politics

[chamerionwrites]

Because I am back on some very specific bullshit I am ofc also thinking about how Joseph Conrad and Roger Casement met (were very briefly roommates in fact) in the Congo, and seem to have really liked each other. Conrad wrote glowingly of Casement in his diary ("Made the acquaintance of Mr. Roger Casement, which I should consider as a great pleasure under any circumstances and now it becomes a positive piece of luck. Thinks, speaks well, most intelligent and very sympathetic"). Six years later Casement made a point of looking him up in London and they apparently talked until three in the morning.

And then two decades later Casement was hanged for treason because he tried to run guns from Germany to the Easter Rising, whereas Conrad prominently refused to sign the petition for clemency.

#contrast conan doyle who was at least as ardent a british imperialist as conrad but very loudly on team pardon #idk ultimately casement fascinates me *because* he was not an uncomplicatedly heroic figure #(he was also a man of his time and v much complicit in british imperialism) #but because he was capable of taking that step beyond cognitive dissonance and into anti-imperialism #and it's like. what is the thing that cracks someone's worldview open? witnessing atrocities sure but conrad witnessed the same things! #is it because he was irish is it because he was gay can we meaningfully answer such questions about ourselves let alone historical figures? #is it even useful to try? identity is not political destiny. we have so many examples of it not being that. #Ability To Open One's Goddamned Eyeballs is really kind of a wild thing to celebrate anyone for and yet. and yet. #if there was some secret foolproof formula for getting people to do it my god we could get so much done #roger casement #my posts #sorry i swear i will shut up now

[rhube]

Honestly, I just want to expose all Conservatives to questions about personal identity and the paradox of change and refuse to let them leave until they concede, weeping, either that they aren't even the same people they were yesterday, so if anyone wants to transition from anything to anything else they may as well, or that we are all space-time-worms that look nothing like the figures on bathroom doors anyway and our full shapes are not possible to perceive with the human mind so why make such a fuss about whether anyone has a willy or boobs, neither is a statistically significant protrusion on anyone's space-time worm - you named this portion of the worm Dave and that person Velma? OK? Who cares! Personal identity is impossibly complex and incredibly simple. I= I and I =/= not-I, so all the rest is noise and no one could possibly know you better than you.

#is this a coherent bulletproof argument? #no #not really #but it's batter than anything they have and honestly WHO CARES if you wear pink or blue beyond the fact that it's what you want to do? #this isn't just about being trans #it applies to most of what they call 'identity politics' tbh

[palestinenatural]

just complaining keep scrolling but. love when my mom turns around and invalidates my entire cultural heritage thank you mama I also love colonialism and assimilation

#she was like. oh you were raised with significant influence of palestinian culture? name one (1) thing. you're not arab #OK? then why do you tell people I am. #and it's like. yeah we've assimilated a lot bc sitti chose not to teach her kids arabic #but it's not like she discouraged them from it. my aunts chose to learn #and my dad chose not to but he's encouraged me to learn and talk to sitti about her life in bethlehem #when he HAS discouraged me from our culture it's mostly been bc he thinks the political situation is hopeless #and he doesn't want me to get caught up in it. which I disagree with but that's not the point #the point is I'm entitled to reconnection. I'm entitled to my cultural heritage! #ultimately I think my elders' decision to just not talk about it was not their choice to make #anyway how dare she #she doesn't know what it's like to beg for scraps of your identity #it's insane that I feel so ashamed just casually bringing up palestine with my own family who is from there and has traveled there. why! #why did they isolate me from the community like that it wasn't their decision to make!!!!!! #why can they give it up so easily I don't understand #my mom is like it's fine to engage with the other half of your culture! as long as you don't do anything beyond cook food ofc

[astral-from-afar]

Why am I so annoying and overbearing in any interaction I am apart of

#Astra writes #this is just me ranting/venting #But I really am bad at communicating #Whether it’s online or irl #I also seem to give people the wrong impression once they get to know me a bit #Since I act like such a ‘normal’ student at school #I mask everything I do #And it’s either that I overshare or not share at all #It took me two years to finally open up to a friend of mine #And they’re the closest person to me #I feel like I go above and beyond in all kind of situations #It’s feels like people could laugh at how hard I try #Then There’s me online #Which I’m sorry if anyone whose DMed me #I sound WAAY too polite or weirdly offputting #Am I so used to the fact that I’ve masked up my identity #That when I try to let loose #I still can’t let go of my formal behaviour #Or ramble for way too long #Like right now #I’m very sick of myself

[sleepywyrldbuilder]

Been thinking about my gender recently.

Not cis, not trans, but a secret third thing. Not non-binary, not demi-boy (I'm comfortable with he/him pronouns entirely), but not not non-binary, not not a demi-boy.

So long as there are boxes, clear categories for which humans can be placed into, there will be people who are defined by not laying in any of those categories. The human instinct is to make this not a category a new category- A new label to encompass everyone who didn't get a label the first time, so that everyone can feel invited. But that's not what some people are looking for. I am not "just non-binary", not "just gender-non- conforming" , there is no word for what I exactly am, as I am defined explicitly by there not being a simple word, and single category, for what my gender is.

I will not introduce myself this way to everyone. For the sake of the wider world, I am a cis man. That is coolio with me. I don't really need to be anything else for the sake of interacting with the world. This label is useful, it gets me access to the things I need to feel safe and comfortable in my own skin, and barely any hassle.

But for myself, how I perceive myself and exist for my own self-expression, I don't need a category. Labels are for the purposes of finding communities, common struggles, common goals, which can be worked towards more effectively as a group. It is important for people to have the support of those around them, and the simplest way for that to happen is to have those that share the same experiences to justify that yes, this can be normal, this is something that exists beyond you, that is greater than you, that supports you.

I don't need that for my gender. I could be the only person in the world who feels this way, or this could be some overly pretentious way of describing something that literally every human being feels. But I don't care. I do not need a simple word for what I am in this state, as I am not attempting to be marketable. I am simply being. This is how I exist, not as a "what", but as an "am".

Not cis, not trans, but a secret third thing (a secret third thing).

Sometimes you don't need A Word, you just need words.

#lgbtq+ #gender #gender expression #gnc #my writing #this is totally self-indulgent #but i wonder if it'll be useful to anyone else #not looking to start a new label (like reverse of my point) #but giving people the room to define their own gender beyond what category you best fit to #is the best way to move forward #i feel #the alternative is getting really really specific lables #which start to obfuscate each other and get into #identity politics #love you all #you deserve whatever gender makes you happy #whatever form that takes

[appendingfic]

One of the biggest cons of the Reagan-era economists was convincing us that the people who would do literally ANYTHING to increase their wealth would work LESS HARD at trying to drain money out of the system if you taxed them more.

#the laffer curve is actually identical to the 'money doesn't buy happiness' lie #the level at which it starts reducing government intake is vastly beyond anything we were doing before regan #us politics #modern economics

[imaginesomethingrand]

Not conforming to anything even the fact that i have to choose some sort of gender expression or non expression or that I "have" to choose some sort of label

Denying the power of culture over me

I'm being fully only myself and u just have to deal w it

#im a woman #who may wear a wig over my face one day #face painting the next #suit from 1800z #woman who rejects any other labels #except writer #infp #im Beyond #everyone else #prophet #i see silly culture and politics #ppl tied too tightly #justify awful things bc “right #i deny culture and religion #i make new things #new space #and i eill be confident to be myself #thats the problem ppk band together more out of fear than solidarity #and ostracized anyone outside #maybe we should think more of the common ground of humanity? #rathrr than... hyper identity politics #etc #have things but also. #think #and have empathy #anyway im following no one

[buckbutch]

how to make friends when you aren't in fandom anymore for trauma reasons tutorial top ten tricks anything please please please I'm dying

#cricket chirping #i appreciate the mutuals i do have to be clear but all but quite literally one who i dont talk to (love you though you know who you are) #are just . my partners mutuals who i have over time migrated over to for funny posts reasons #which is fine and i enjoy talking to people but i wish i had people who independently found me and thought i was cool or whatever #and also to not be exclusively surrounded by white transmascs (i do love you guys though) #yes in order to do this i need to make posts and have an identity beyond politics and funny posts but unfortunately: i dont</3 #/lh #i just feel. stagnant and isolated and empty #and i dont want Media to fill the hole because fandom is so vile but idk how else to do that #because i dont really create anymore either #omg hashtag flashcards hashtag dollar tree grocery haul hashtag 20 min walk #just blegh. dont feel like im made of anything but bitterness and fear anymore #vent

[ewwis-after-hours]

i am doomed to never receive love I fear

#in my feels this evening #idk it's just #i have a very intersectional and multifaceted identity but #it honestly feels like i never fit in to any of those identities individually #none of the same 'rules' that apply to everybody apply to me #and while i do enjoy being this uninaginable lovecraftian entity #it also feels like i can never find community within those spaces #like i can never find company beyond a hello and polite smalltalk #i crave intimacy! I crave attention! I crave understanding! #i want to be selfish for once #and demand these things #but im afraid im too strange and out of place to demand any of it #at this point I'll settle for apathy #and tolerance #id be happy if I could coexist with someone without feeling like i have to explain why I'm not what I am

[canisvesperus]

:D

#I need to. APPRECIATION POST FOR MY BFF #who I love very much #and doesn’t have tumblr so I’ll gush here lol #I think the root of a lot of my problems with former friends boils down to them not having similar lived experiences as me #no idpol but tbh it does not lend them to having as much of a potential to really empathize with me and understand my individual struggles #to be quite frank it REALLY boils down to white friends with their white fragility and virtue signaling #who just cannot be bothered to do something with their privilege when the time comes for them to make a choice that impacts the rest of us #because suddenly they don’t want to rock the boat or get involved in an argument or ohhh it’s just so complicated and confusing :/// #where did your punch a nazi energy go? all of your posturing and self proclaimactions of allyship were ultimately bullshit get over yourself #okay enough venting let’s get to the point: it is so refreshing beyond words to have another Indigiqueer who you can trust #and who can intimately fathom all of this frustration I have had to deal with… #I have always gotten on well with other first gen immigrants but that does not mean we have the same experiences beyond a surface level #we’re both autistic similar interests similar politics even similar experiences with wrestling historical/colonial identity #bff is even vegan and we always talk about cooking our precolonial dishes for one another since they are usually plant based :D #mutual and intense hatred of spain and france as colonial powers is cathartic too and idk just so interesting to see how it has left a mark #on both of our cultures in very similar ways despite being otherwise pretty different and an entire ocean away… sad that many things we have #in common are results of having the same colonizers… okay I said I wouldn’t VENT DAMN!!! anyway I feel understood completely #and it’s super AWESOME and we spend lots of time together every day and broo healthy communication and boundaries for once in my life!!!! #former friends could never holy shit… we can trust each other with anything and it’s so great and conversation is effortless stress free #bff feels the same way and tells me all the time it makes me so :D!!! also my bff is super smart and I’m always learning new things #I think I always missed out on the best friend experience bro let’s not even get into the first and only one prior… but THIS. yep this is it #the fact that we both already agreed on so many things and shared so many interests upon the first few conversations was unbelievable lucky #divine intervention or something because I never go out of my way to make friends and poof. new friend starts talking to me out of nowhere #I love my best friend!!! sorry if you’re a yt who truly puts in the effort but the bar has been drastically raised #I’m no longer settling for mediocre white people who look to me for validation get your ass out of here for REAL I’m SICK of y’all 💀💀💀💀💀 #genuinely fuck you get out of my sight I do not have the patience any longer! btw any of my current white friends reading this ur cool dw 👍 #if you weren’t cool you’d be gone long before this dissertation lol… #feeling so honored and thankful every day :) really really happy :D I hope everyone like me feeling isolated and alone right now finds #someone like this! mind blowing how I stayed sane in the past having been surrounded by unsavory characters sheesh… #ven talks

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A decorative orange ceramic plate with a pyramid of green herbs and sesame seeds, topped with deep red sumac and more sesame seeds. End ID]

زعتر فلسطيني / Za'tar falastinia (Palestinian spice blend)

Za'tar (زَعْتَر; also transliterated "za'atar," "zaatar" and "zatar") is the name of a family of culinary herbs; it is also the name of a group of spice blends made by mixing these herbs with varying amounts of olive oil, sumac, salt, roasted sesame seeds, and other spices. Palestinian versions of za'tar often include caraway, aniseed, and roasted wheat alongside generous portions of sumac and sesame seeds. The resulting blend is bold, zesty, and aromatic, with a hint of floral sourness from the sumac, and notes of licorice and anise.

Za'tar is considered by Palestinians to have particular national, political, and personal importance, and exists as a symbol of both Israeli oppression and Palestinian home-making and resistance. Its major components, olive oil and wild thyme, are targeted by the settler state in large part due to their importance to ecology, identity, and trade in Palestine—settlers burn and raze Palestinian farmers' olive trees by the thousands each year. A 1977 Israeli law forbade the harvesting of wild herbs within its claimed borders, with violators of the law risking fines and confiscation, injury, and even death from shootings or land mines; in 2006, za'tar was further restricted, such that even its possession in the West Bank was met with confiscation and fines.

Despite the blanket ban on harvesting wild herbs (none of which are endangered), Arabs are the only ones to be charged and fined for the crime. Samir Naamnih calls the ban an attempt to "starve us out," given that foraging is a major source of food for many Palestinians, and that picking and selling herbs is often the sole form of income for impoverished families. Meanwhile, Israeli farmers have domesticated and farmed za'tar on expropriated Palestinian land, selling it (both the herb and the spice mixture) back to Palestinians, and later marketing it abroad as an "Israeli" blend; they thus profit from the ban on wild harvesting of the herb. This farming model, as well as the double standard regarding harvesting, refer back to an idea that Arabs are a primitive people unfit to own the land, because they did not cultivate or develop it as the settlers did (i.e., did not attempt to recreate a European landscape or European models of agriculture); colonizing and settling the land are cast as justified, and even righteous.

The importance of the ban on foraging goes beyond the economic. Raya Ziada, founder of an acroecology nonprofit based in Ramallah, noted in 2019 that "taking away access to [wild herbs] doesn't just debilitate our economy and compromise what we eat. It's symbolic." Za'tar serves variously as a symbol of Palestinians' connection to the land and to nature; of Israeli colonial dispossession and theft; of the Palestinian home ("It’s a sign of a Palestinian home that has za’tar in it"); and of resistance to the colonial regime, as many Palestinians have continued to forage herbs such as za'tar and akkoub in the decades since the 1977 ban. Resistance to oppression will continue as long as there is oppression.

Palestine Action has called for bail fund donations to aid in their storming, occupying, shutting down, and dismantling of factories and offices owned by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Also contact your representatives in the USA, UK, and Canada.

Ingredients:

Za'tar (Origanum syriacum), 250g once dried (about 4 cups packed)

250g (1 2/3 cup) sesame seeds

170g (3/4 cup) Levantine sumac berries, or ground sumac (Rhus coriaria)

100g (1/2 cup) wheat berries (optional)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp aniseed (optional)

1/2 Tbsp caraway seeds (optional)

Levantine wild thyme (also known as Bible hyssop, Syrian oregano, and Lebanese oregano) may be purchased dried online. You may also be able to find some dried at a halal grocery store, where it will be labelled "زعتر" (za'tar) and "thym," "thyme," or "oregano." Check to make sure that what you're buying is just the herb and not the prepared mixture, which is also called "زعتر." Also ensure that what you're buying is not a product of Israel.

If you don't have access to Levantine thyme, Greek or Turkish oregano are good substitutes.

Wheat berries are the wheat kernel that is ground to produce flour. They may be available sold as "wheat berries" at a speciality health foods store. They may be omitted, or replaced with pre-ground whole wheat flour.

Instructions:

1. Harvest wild thyme and remove the stems from the leaves. Wash the leaves in a large bowl of water and pat dry; leave in a single layer in the sun for four days or so, until brittle. Skip this step if using pre-dried herbs.

2. Crumble leaves by rubbing them between the palms of your hands until they are very fine. Pass through a sieve or flour sifter into a large bowl, re-crumbling any leaves that are too coarse to get through.

Crumbling between the hands is an older method. You may also use a blender or food processor to grind the leaves.

3. Mix the sifted thyme with a drizzle of olive oil and work it between your hands until incorporated.

4. Briefly toast sumac berries, caraway seeds, and aniseed in a dry skillet over medium heat, then grind them to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle or a spice mill.

5. Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until deeply golden brown.

6. (Optional) In a dry skillet on medium-low, toast wheat berries, stirring constantly, until they are deeply golden brown. Grind to a fine powder in a spice mill. If using ground flour, toast on low, stirring constantly, until browned.

Some people in the Levant bring their wheat to a local mill to be ground after toasting, as it produces a finer and more consistent texture.

7. Mix all ingredients together and work between your hands to incorporate.

Store za'tar in an airtight jar at room temperature. Mix with olive oil and use as a dipping sauce with bread.

#spice blends #Palestinian #Levantine #za’tar

[demontobee]

Good Omens is queering TV/storytelling - part 1: GAZE

I would argue that part of why Good Omens is so refreshingly queer is because it does not cater to the male gaze (which centers around the preferences - aesthetic, romantic, sexual, visual, logical, emotional, political ... - of mainly white men in positions of power):

no oversexualization of groups or types of people: Women or characters that could be read as female presenting are not overly sexualized. In fact, some of them are shown to be grimy, slimy and not sexual at all. All of them are real characters and not just cardboard-cutout on-screen versions of male misogynistic fantasies. They portray real people with real people problems. They are human, or exempt from our categories when portraying angels or demons. There are no overly sexualized bodies in general (as has so far also often been the case with young gay men, PoC, etc.), no fetishization of power imbalances, and not exclusively youthful depiction of love and desire.

sex or sexual behavior is not shown directly (yet): All imagery and symbolism of sex and sexuality is used not to entice the audience but is very intimately played out between characters, which makes it almost uncomfortable to watch (e.g., Aziraphale being tempted to eat meat, Crowley watching Aziraphale eat, the whole gun imagery).

flaunting heteronormativity: Throughout GO but especially GO2, there is very little depiction of heterosexual/romantic couples; most couples are very diverse and no one is making a fuss about it. There is no fetishization of bodies or identities. Just people (and angels and demons) being their beautiful selves (or trying to).

age: Even though Neil Gaiman explained that Crowley and Aziraphale are middle-aged because the actors are, I think it is also queering the idea of romance, love and desire existing mainly within youthful contexts. Male gaze has taught us that young people falling and being in love is what we have to want to see, and any depiction of love that involves people being not exactly young anymore is either part of a fetishized power imbalance (often with an older dude using his power to prey on younger folx) or presents us with marital problems, loss of desire, etc. – all with undertones of decay and patronizing sympathy. Here, however, we get a beautifully crafted, slow-burn, and somehow super realistic love story that centers around beings older than time and presenting as humans in their 50s figuring out how to deal with love. It makes them both innocent and experienced, in a way that is refreshing and heartbreaking and unusual and real.

does not (exclusively) center around romantic/sexual love: I don’t know if this is a gaze point exactly but I feel like male gaze and resulting expectations of what a love story should look like are heavily responsible for our preoccupation with romantic/sexual love in fiction – the “boy gets girl” type of story. And even though, technically, GO seems to focus on a romantic love story in the end, it is also possible to read this relationship but also the whole show as centering around a kind of love that goes beyond the narrow confines of our conditioned boxed-in thinking. It seems to depict a love of humanity and the world and the universe and just the ineffability of existence as a whole.

disability as beautiful and innate to existence: Disability is represented amongst angels by the extremely cool Saraqael and by diversely disabled unnamed angels in the Job minisode. Representation of disability is obviously super important in its own right, but is also queers what we perceive as aesthetically and ontologically "normal". Male gaze teaches us that youth and (physical and mental) health are the desirable standard and everything else is to be seen as a deviance, a mistake. By including disability among the angels, beings that have existed before time and space, the show clearly states that disability is a beautiful and innate part of existence.

gender is optional/obsolete: Characters like Crowley, Muriel and others really undermine the (visual and aesthetic) boundaries of gender and the black-and-white thinking about gender that informs male gaze. Characters cannot be identfied simply as (binary) men or women anymore just by looking at them or by interpreting their personalities or behaviors. Most characters in GO, and especially the more genderqueer ones, display a balance of feminine and masculine traits as well as indiosyncracies that dissolve the gender binary.

Feel free to add your own thoughts on this in the comments or tags!

#good omens s2 #good omens #good omens 2 #go2 #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #queer #queer TV #male gaze #thank you neil gaiman for cranking up the queer #neil gaiman #thank you neil gaiman

[fairuzfan]

As a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide, I am acutely attuned to the haunting echoes of that dark chapter in human history, a chapter that refuses to be closed. Today, as I witness the unfolding tragedy in Gaza, the spectre of genocide resurfaces with a poignant familiarity.

The Palestinian landscape, scarred by 75 years of Israeli military occupation, mirrors the hardships faced during the Bosnian War and Genocide - displacement, economic hardship, and restricted access to basic resources.

The ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation. This is more than a geopolitical conflict; this is a contemporary genocide.

In 111 days, more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel, including at least 10,000 children. More than 8,000 are missing, trapped under the rubble, and presumed dead. Another 63,000 are injured, and more than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced.

Videos of Israeli leaders calling for the destruction of Gaza and the forcible displacement of Palestinians echo the sentiments expressed by those responsible for the Bosnian Genocide.

In the case of the Bosnian Genocide, while both the Bosnian Serbs and the Serbian political leadership knew they were committing genocide in their expansionist plans to create a “Greater Serbia,” publicly they attempted to conceal their crimes to avoid accountability.

Their genocidal intent was not as open or as loud as some of the sentiments expressed by Israeli political leadership.

Nevertheless, comparing the Bosnian Genocide with the current situation in Gaza necessitates a nuanced examination. While historical contexts differ, the core elements of mass displacement, targeted violence against civilians, and the overarching goal of extermination of a specific group are the same.

To comprehend the concept of genocide, it is crucial to understand its legal definition and sociological framework. Coined by Raphael Lemkin after the Holocaust, genocide encapsulates acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

Genocide goes beyond the mere act of killing; it encompasses a deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate a specific group based on its identity.

Genocide is a process. In Bosnia, it did not simply occur one day in July of 1995, nor did it suddenly rear its head in October of 2023 in Gaza. It is a process that starts with dehumanisation, discrimination, and persecution.

#palestine #gaza #bosnia

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

If you consume a certain type of online content about friendship (often in the form of “10 signs of a fake friend” and similar), you may almost get to the conclusion that anyone who is not your best friend is your enemy - or at the very least, that any friend who doesn’t know *everything* about you is entirely worthless to your life and you would be better off cutting them out.

That’s a pretty radical view of human relationships, and it would ultimately cost you a lot of joyful social interactions if you strictly adhered to it. 

Unless you barricade yourself in your room and never leave it (which would be pretty awful for your mental health), you will end up in situations where you have regular interactions with people who are not your best friend ever. The ability to be friendly to those people, to enjoy those connections, isn’t “fake” or “toxic”. It’s an important source of positive social interactions and a valuable tool to fight loneliness.

If you have a constant social circle, these may be the friends (or partners, family members etc) of your friends, those “I’m not directly friends with Rose but I’m friends with Lisa and Lisa is friends with Rose” situations. But even if you do not have a circle like that (because you don’t make friends easily, you have social anxiety etc.), there will most likely be some “casually friendly” people in your life, as these are often simply the people who happen to be at the same place at the same time as you: colleagues, classmates, neighbors, people at places you frequent (employees in stores, patients in group therapy etc.), or even just the guy who waits for the same bus as you do every Monday morning. 

These people wouldn’t be the first one you’d call if you need help with a potentially life changing decision. They don’t know all your deepest secrets, fears and desires, they may not even be able to name your favorite color (or hey, maybe not even your name), and they certainly won’t be able to list all your identity labels, political beliefs, medical diagnoses, traumatic experiences and sexual fantasies - but they don’t need to. 

It’s wonderful if you have a best friend (or another close relationship) who fulfills that role of being someone you’d trust blindly, someone who knows you inside and out. But not everyone you are friendly with needs to be that for you. There’s enough other roles. Acquaintances, work friends, casual friends, small-talk friends… those roles aren’t worthless. They won’t be the one you call at 3 am after a breakup, but they can inject a bit of joy in your everyday life. They can offer friendly interactions that come with no pressure to go beyond the surface (something that’s valuable in itself! It would be very exhausting if everyone already knew everything about you and every conversation had to be deep and philosophical). 

Plus, only knowing each other in one context has its advantages: your best friend may not know anything about the printer issue in your office but your office friend sure does! And if you met someone in a crime novel forum and all you ever talk about is crime novels, is that really negative? Isn’t it beautiful to know someone who shares your passion for that genre and is always happy to talk about it? 

Of course an office friend or a crime novel friend can also become a best friend over the years. There are plenty of people who meet in a specific context, bond in that context and gradually develop a relationship out of that context as well. But one-context friends still enrich your life. 

Even if that context is purely “we say hi when we see each other at the bus stop”, it’s a positive social interaction - and those will bring color and joy into both of your lives. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

#lgbt #lgbt+

[apas-95]

I think we need to acknowledge that most people who try to explain why electoralism is bad fail to actually... explain why electoralism is bad, because they don't ever actually mention class dictatorship, class characteristics, or even class at all, beyond vague gestures at it being the ultimate reason *why* 'the democrats and the republicans are both the same', but without actually delving into the *how*, or the implications of who stands to gain by what action. Just saying 'the democrats and republicans are both identical in terms of important policies like wars' does little to explain why you couldn't Push Them Left in the way an actual explanation of the basics of political power, ruling classes, and of playing 'good cop, bad cop' would.

[utilitycaster]

The thing about Ludinus is that yes, he does have a very high INT score but he is in fact stupid. He is a particular brand of stupid that I like to call Wizard Stupid, which is related to but not identical to Wizard Hubris. Wizard Hubris is the vision; Wizard Stupid is the realization.

Wizard Hubris is excessive confidence that is derived from the fact that one is a wizard, and therefore obviously knows everything, probably even more than the gods. Wizard Stupid is then carrying out the plans derived from Wizard Hubris without any kind of safety net. Where Wizard Hubris says "There is nothing beyond my capabilities"; Wizard Stupid says "No consequences can touch me." Wizard Hubris is building the Tower of Babel; Wizard Stupid is leaning one ladder on top of another ladder to do so. Wizard Hubris is the belief that you can, and indeed, are entitled, to fuck around. Wizard Stupid is the unshakeable belief that you will not be subjected to finding out.

So: let's look at Caleb. Caleb is FULL of Wizard Hubris for most of Campaign 2, given that he desires to reconfigure the time-space continuum, but except for a few relatively rare occasions, he is not terribly Wizard Stupid. He actually tends to be extremely cautious, and the cases in which he indulges the Wizard Stupidity are relatively self-contained (eg: the emerald).

Yussa, meanwhile, has few grand designs and mostly wants to hang out and fuck with the gentrification and political cronyism of Nicodranas, and honestly, good for him, seems totally reasonable. However, he does think that the Archmage's Bane is not referring to him (archmage) and that Astral Projection, a totally standard high level wizard's spell well within his abilities without any need for hubris, will carry no risk if he then decides to check out a little place called Cognouza.

Of course, many wizards have both. It's actually pretty rare to be mostly one or the other (which is why Caleb and Yussa are used for illustrative purposes). It's also pretty rare to have neither; Allura is the closest, and even she has her moments. Some degree of Wizard Hubris and Stupid do come packaged with the act of being a wizard.

Ludinus, obviously has both; he is, basically, building the Tower of Babel and he is, canonically, violating a list of safety protocols that rivals the length of a CVS receipt. And so: the hubris is "I can, should, must, and will blow up the moon that imprisons a god-eating abomination"; the stupid is sticking his fucking arm in the machine to power it.

#highly recommend watching the Mr. Show blow up the moon sketch btw #also highly recommend reading about how the vast majority of lethal radiation accidents occur #hint. it's highly trained people sometimes with phds in physics being like. well *I* am too cool and smart for safety #critical role #Ludinus Da'leth