#but I will call out hypocrisy and mistreatment of other fans when I see it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nawcelest · 10 months

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If you want fanfic with the level of specificity that you have described, you should probably try writing it yourself.

TVD ran from 2009-2017 and if nobody in the bonnie bennett fandom has met your fanfic criteria at this point in time — THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2023, SIX YEARS AFTER THE SHOW ENDED — they most likely won't start now, especially if you go around accusing them of being fake fans 🙄

Stop trying to shame people for liking what they like just because it's different from what you prefer. At the end of the day, Bonnie fans are all on the same side of wanting our girl to step into her own, find happiness and love with a partner who is deserving of her.

The issue isn't nor has ever been about fanfics not meeting my expectations or who is shipped with who or etc. The issue has always been the hypocrisy that certain "Bonnie Fans" exhibit but rarely to never gets called out on. I have seen fans complain about Bonnie being used as a witch on call for the Mystic Falls gang and how it was wrong and Bonnie shouldn't be a witch on call but then in the same breathe talk about how she should have gone to New Orleans and been an on call witch for the Mikaelsons and how it was racist she wasn't. They also make comments about her being a slave because she uses her power to save her friends but when you point out Davina and Freya, two white witches, play the same role those characters are never associated with the term slave but black witches are by the fandom. Mind you the people calling the black witches magical negros and slaves are pro POC or at least that is what they claim. Mind you those people don't use terms like magical hunky or slave for the white witches, just the black ones despite both playing the same role. These fans talk about the mistreatment of black characters by the writers, which to an extent yes Black characters were mistreated, but then go on to further degrade those black characters by using slurs under the guise of being supportive of them.

As far as the fake Bonnie fans comment they are absolutely fake Bonnie fans. Why? Because they claim they hate her writing, hating her the first 5 seasons because she was judgmental, say she was wrong for seeking revenge on Kai, say her clothes were ugly and so was her hair but then say they liked the character. If you don't like the writing of a character then you don't like the character. How often do you see those fans talk about things they liked about Bonnie writing? No just the superficial "I love her character" "She is beautiful" "She had great chemistry with Damon or other white toxic male". Rarely to never have I seen this from those fans.

Now I don't mind fans saying certain storylines could have been slightly improved. However when you want to rewrite the entire character you could never have been a fan of the character to begin with. If you want to get rid of a fundamental trait of Bonnie Bennett then she was never your favorite character.

Also not all Bonnie fans are on the same side. You can't claim she deserved better but then put her with Kai or Klaus and not address or downplay the trauma she experienced because of them. You also can't say the relationship makes sense but ignore the horrible crap they did to her and all the other reasons it doesn't.

Once again I want to point out I don't care who anyone ships but if you make statements like "Bonnie deserved better and the writers were racist for not putting her and Kai/Klaus/Damon/Etc. together" I am going to address why it wasn't racist to not have Bonnie date those men and how dating those men is not giving Bonnie deserved better. For those people who ship Bonkai, Bamon, Klonnie, etc. but don't make such claims and acknowledge the horrible things those men did to Bonnie, I have no ill will towards those people.

As far as not writing my own fanfiction. I have made it clear I am not a fanfic writer or even heavy reader. Nor have I claimed I am a better fanfic writer than others. My post have been addressing the hypocrisy of certain Bonnie fans and fanfic writers. Just as those fans call out the flaws of Julie plec work I have the right to call out the flaws in their work especially when they claim they are better writers.

I have way more I want to say and will in the upcoming weeks but my issue with certain Bonnie fans goes deeper than rather Bonnie is shipped with a toxic white male. It is how those fans treated Bonnie for most the series and how under the guise of defending her the degrade and belittle the character. It is backhanded compliments of "I like the character but her storylines sucked and her outfits were ugly". It is also how she gets thrown under the bus by those fans when it comes time to hold thier fav white character accountable. Its the "Oh I hated Bonnie for not undoing the gilbert device and almost causing Stefan and Damon to die. She was annoying until Season 6" or the "Bonnie was wrong for trying to hurt Kai and she is to blame for everything he did". These are the comments those fans make when you dig deeper and have deeper conversations with them.

It is even deeper than the show or Bonnie Bennett but the treatment of POC by fans across multiple fandoms especially fantasy ones. It is how those fans degrade the character for most of the series but then want to jump on the bandwagon of mistreatment of POC characters towards the end and they do it with back handed compliments. Those fans claim the character was boring, their storylines sucked and how they were dressed ugly but supposedly are pro POC characters. Also usually when they jump on the bandwagon it isn't because they cared about the mistreatment of the character of color but more so because they know calling a writer racist holds more weight then whining about your favorite white ship not getting enough screentime or their happy ending. So they use the racism agenda to tarnish a writers career while simultaneously being racist themselves not actually caring about racism.

#bonnie bennett #the vampire diaries #tvd

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themoonsbeloved · 3 years

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People’s arguments against Leona being black lowkey reminds me of back when people would heavily debate and argue with their life that they’re was no way that Yoruichi from Bleach could be considered black. Or that Michiko from Michiko to Hatchin was not Afro-Brazilian. In fact now that I think about it people only seem to want to argue against someone not being a race due to not being human and etc when it comes to characters people see as black. And I noticed that almost entirely it’s when the black character is constantly considered attractive by the fandom that people debate if they have black ancestry which always got me rubbed the wrong way.

I found out your blog a couple of days ago and I’m honestly happy to see you also call out/see the mistreatment/bias against the POC-coded characters in TWST from the fandom compared to how some of the white-coded characters are stanned and excused for a lot of their actions.

I noticed when I got into TWST last idk November or December (I forgot when I got into it lol but I know it wasn’t long ago and that the 5th chapter with Vil was the current one) or whatever that a lot of people on Tumblr were inconsiderate of Jamil’s circumstances especially but would be overdramatic and overforgiving about the actions from the European/white-coded characters who basically had 1st world problems which tbh made me quickly distance myself from the fandom and really only engage on the level of reblogging fanworks and fanart on tumblr because it reminded me of how the Star Wars fandom would have people vilifying Finn/John Boyega but then woobifying and forgiving Kylo Ren for everything.

And as someone who is black it gets so uncomfortable to be in some fandoms because POC characters especially black characters tend to be demonized in fandoms but people will simp for non-POC characters who do things 10x worse. I don’t dislike Vil (though I haven’t caught up to ch 5 lol) but I know of some of the main things he did and I found it bizarre how some people on tumblr that criticized Leona’s actions in Ch 2 (while I don’t agree with some of his tactics the hypocrisy some people in the fandom give to him is really uncomfortable) were justifying Vil’s attempt to poison Neige like what 😐.

Anyways I am sorry for how long this is but I just wanna say I’m happy I found your blog because I used to think I was overreacting or possibly alone in noticing how hypocritical Leona was treated by people who stan Vil and how a lot of people in the fandom seem to not see anything wrong about that.

I still have no idea if this ask was ever sent to me, since I can only see this ask on desktop and not on the app (along with other random asks from deactivated accounts, which all appeared at the same time in my inbox just a week ago without any notification), but it seems relevant enough to be sent to me so I'll answer it.

Honestly have nothing else to add because you're pretty much spot on, though no one ever wants to have these conversations, and whenever I have brought it up there's a history in the fandom of getting attacked and told off for making people uncomfortable or getting angry at the 'inaccurate' understanding of their fave white character when the issues I've talked about precede anything to do with the characters and more on the environment of racial microaggressions (as well as overt forms) in fandom itself, not just in the twst fandom but all fandoms like you've mentioned. Or i've had anons insist its solely my duty to be the calm and collected educator and reserve all my emotional labour on issues of race for everyone else, or I'm too aggressive lol. I've always been vocal about the discomfort fans of colour experience in the fandom and the racism and bias in the fandom in general, but yeah.

No need to apologise for the long post! Whenever I get fans of colour telling me they've also felt really uncomfortable I never know what to say except I'm sorry, and you're not overreacting or overthinking it, you have a right to feel upset but we also have a right to a good fandom experience without constantly being uncomfortable. We all feel weird and upset having to scroll through the main tags seeing racially insensitive posts, and having to block 90% of the fandom until we're forced to be outcasted because there's nothing left. Or just the fact that Yana couldn't do anything differently but rely on the same racist and Islamophobic stereotypes around the Black African and Arab-coded characters.

#twisted wonderland #twst racism

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yesthebatmanme · 3 years

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Happy Birthday, Allison Mack aka Pain in the Ass Woman! I don’t condone what she did at that damn awful fucking cult. I’m glad she’s away from it despite how disappointed i am of her still the way she led her life despite she wasted her talent on a disgusting asshole pedo like Keith Raniere. I still believe Allison can turn her life around but given time if she puts more effort into it then she has a chance. I normally don’t but too faith in anyone but a few people. Allison’s character on Smallville was the best in opinion and i honestly don’t care too much if anyone disagree’s with me. But she was to me, When i met her the first time in comic con she was very nice to me when i was fresh out of the hospital being 27, after almost dying. I didn’t have any direction in my life. I was so angry after being mistreated as i was shown the true colors of my so-called friends. I didn’t have any hopes or dreams left in me anymore. I was wrong to throw them away. I gave up on myself as i was so angry at society and rebelled. Then i went a road trip with a friend of mine at the time at a comic con. Then i met Allison one day inperson. She was full of life that inspired me to be better but i made that choice to be better. She never knew one act of kindness she did getting my stuff i left behind at her booth would effect me. I ask myself would someone like JDF do that for me? No, He can careless if i live or die. He never cared for me only used me but later i used him. I have no regrets over it maybe if he wasn’t an asshole bully wanting to fight anyone he deems a threat to him and his ego. Maybe i would respect him. Why can i forgive Allison but not JDF, JDF did worst to me more ways than anyone will ever know. Allison was a bitch to people i will not sugar coat that. I’m not sorry for using the tough love method seeing what she was becoming under Raniere’s control. The last time i saw her inperson. I don’t hate Allison unlike alot of people do. They’re worst people than Allison in the world she alone will have to live with what she did for the rest of her life. Ill always consider Chloe Sullivan my most favorite n Smallville. but Allison.....Well thats another issue although i don’t hate Allison as not many brought out the passion in me to be better. I can walk on, to start living in the here and now.

But.....Ill say this that not many will like but deal with it.

But thats how i feel. I asked myself for the past four years was it Allison or Chloe that brought that deep depression i felt all these 14 years in my life? The answer was both did in their own way. I choose not to have a deep grudge on Allison Mack she has enough people having that. The advice i got from Allison although i don’t know if she’ll ever take hers is to not focus on what other people think of me is to my thing. It’s what ill continue to do not giving a fuck or seeking anyone’s approval of anything. I’m just going to be me, thats all i can truly be not someone that i’m not.....I’ve never been a fake person, hell thats one of the reasons why i don’t like people too much due to some of them being so phony. I’m not her hope, she isnt mine neither as i can be my own hope. I hope she can find hers or she won’t make it in a life away from the cult. I’m thankful she was nice enough to sign my Batfleck t-shirt with a note and cut her autograph price 10% off on her, It suprised me but i was greatful of it. I wasnt honestly expecting but yeah many will say well of course she don’t have that many fans because what she did, blah, blah, but i honestly like to believe she doesn’t do that to alot of people but i got in the mail during the private signing three months ago. And no, the note she left me is between me and her, nothing biggie but i prefer that part be kept in private.

I wish her the best. Will i ever see her again? who knows what the future holds but i’d take seeing her over a few people including that asshole JDF except my fist hitting his jaw Batman style for hurting and slandering me, he hurt people who were my friends and among other things. Allison on the other hand i love and respect. I was angry at her for four years for what she did but now. It’s time to just move on from it and her for the best. I don’t want to carry her weight upon my shoulders just loosen the fat and be free from it. I don’t want to fight Allison but i would fight JDF in a heartbeat no questions asked. I can give a shit how many black belts he has fuck them, fuck his martial arts, fuck his hypocrisy bullshit code of the arts. He’s no different than the monsters he made go boom in Power Rangers. He had nothing to do with my development as the new me that i am now. In my eyes he’s a punk with ego.

I believe Allison can get her life back on track, anything I’ve learned reading comics including Batman that some people can be redeemed. I normally don’t have faith in alot of people but Allison. I do more ways than anyone will ever know. Even if she’s a pain in the ass to deal with at times. I don’t regret meeting her inperson the first two times. The last two on the other hand when she wasn’t all there not the best in company. But when i first met her she was full of life and energy. I enjoyed her hugs so much, she was great to talk better than some of the women /celebrities that i’ve met that bored me to tears. Maybe i am a fool, she maynot care if someone like me care’s for her or not, but those things don’t mean a damn to me. I like to believe that care for more than certain people in her life who care about is money. Not about lives or anything. I can go about life and be strong enough to deal with it. I got my life. She has hers. In a strange way i feel like ill always be linked to her in a strange way. Whatever we both like it or not, I can’t fight her battles even i wanted to she’s on her own. I believe she’ll do fine but i wish her nothing but the best.

#allison mack #chloe sullivan #smallville #happy birthday allison mack #i have faith in her

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swampgh0stt · 4 years

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Alright, so we’re doing this again.

No, ASL does not fall under any definition of incest. I’m sorry, but it does not. None of the boys share blood & none of the boys have ever been adopted into each other’s families. All they have between them is childhood promises of brotherhood over a cup of sake each.

Non-blood incest would include shipping between Sabo & Stelly.

ASL shipping is friends-to-lovers. That’s it. Children call each other their siblings all the time, because they don’t usually have a nuanced concept of love- especially in regards to rampant homophobia & how quick they are to deny the existence of same sex couples as nothing more than “just friends,” or even have the idea of siblinghood forced on them. It’s happened to me.

Ace & Luffy do have official couples merch, & Oda has already given fans his blessing to go with whatever interpretation we want of his characters.

& if you’re going to insist on filing it under non-blood incest, then you cannot decide to move the goal post when it comes to Ace & the Whitebeard fleet either. They call themselves family as well. You do not get to pick & choose when it applies.

We see your hypocrisy.

I won’t get into the sanitization of queer spaces in regards to flushing out nsfw content “for the children” as that’s just... way too long, but when you start policing what you deem acceptable in fanworks especially? We have a problem.

Running a fandom blog “for the fans” is hard & requires a lot of maturity for true inclusion. You can’t just leave out the very specific “Some discrimination will apply” until something like this happens either. You’re not running a fandom blog anymore. You’re running a clique blog. A popularity circle.

People don’t have to agree on everything either, I’m not preaching for that. But you want to run a space for fans, you need to be inclusive & not discriminatory. I can’t run a fandom blog for that reason; I don’t like a lot of content, I can’t find myself promoting it either.

That’s why I don’t run fandom-centric blogs.

Some content creators are trying their best, & nsfw creators always get shafted & are constantly losing their spaces in fandom. This affects marginalized people first before anyone else.

That is all I will really get into on that subject though.

It is not, & never will be okay to send death threats to people however. I will never condone it & it’s actually illegal. But you can’t pretend you’re trying to create a safe space for people who I have known first hand to be particularly violent as well.

Anything between death threats like this, blatant racism, dehumanizing- I’ve seen a popular artist get away with saying ASL shippers have brainworms & say violent things like wanting to bash out their kneecaps. This person gets reblogged constantly. People just let them get away with mistreating other fans.

It’s not okay.

All this over fictional characters too.

One Piece fandom is way too big already, there will always be a group, a ship, fanworks you don’t like. It’s too large of a beast to tame & honestly? Not your right to police when the creator has given his blessing already.

Cater your own spaces, but do not try & police others.

#acelu #sabolu #saboace #portgas d. ace #monkey d. luffy #one piece #sabo #optext #one piece fandom #hate is not activism #hateisnotactivism #proship #proshipping

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shannaro-kamo · 7 years

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Sakura has a point in chapter 3 when she calls Naruto selfish. Yes, Naruto was acting selfish with his antics. Yes, Sakura was ignorant, but she was right that Naruto was being selfish.

Sasuke is honestly a hypocrite when he calls out Sakura’s mistreatment of Naruto. Sasuke keeps treating Naruto like absolute crap throughout the series and literally doesn’t stop until 699.

People will literally say “oh it’s he was just doing it to hide the fact that he cares about Naruto!! he gets a pass!” and in the SAME BREATH say it’s not okay when people say boys are jerks to hide their feelings for girls in everyday life. Many SNS fans excuse Sasuke’s mistreatment of Naruto day in and day out and it’s totally hypocritical. It doesn’t help the LGBTQ community at all whatsoever. They’ll rant and rave all day when people say Sasuke’s “you’re annoying” is hiding the fact that he cares about Sakura. The more these things dawn on me, the more I can see that the fujoshi hypocrisy is truly endless. Their attempts at SJW valor just keep backfiring on them.

I should honestly be able to tag this as SNS without people coming at me with pitchforks, because this is addressing SNS fanbase hypocrisy. I even had an SNS fan tell me the other day that they agreed with me when I said that people shouldn’t excuse Naruto’s dedication to Sasuke while ridiculing Sakura’s, proving that more open discussions DO HELP. This post even has elements of anti-SS, but because I ship SS it’s okay for me to post this in the SS tag. Like what? But I won’t tag this as SNS because some SNS fans just can’t handle being called out.

#anti-sns #sasusaku #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #naruto uzumaki #anti-fujoshi #anti-fake SJW

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punkrock-streetlight-diy · 3 years

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Darren Johns of Crazy Arm in interview

We just had an interview with Darren Johns (vocals / guitars) of Crazy Arm. They have a fantastic new album out on Xtra Mile Recordings!

How are you doing? I'm hanging in there, thanks, despite the never-ending anxiety. I was the same before Covid, to be honest, but now there's the added layer of social disconnection. It feels like I'm on auto-pilot most of the time. If I think too much about things, I start to question the point of my existence. Although, it's just been announced that the UK may be back to normal by mid-June, so there's light at the end of this hellish tunnel.

The world is on fire. What particularly annoys you right now the most? Where to start? The cops, the neo-Nazis, the neo-liberals and the super-rich. The hypocrisy and collusion of Western governments in the face of war crimes in Yemen and Syria. The abuse of human rights in Myanmar, China and the middle east. The global mistreatment of, and cruelty towards, refugees and migrants. The insanity of Brexit and the Tory scum who instigated it – how a huge, complex socio-economic decision was left in the hands of a manipulated and misinformed population is something I'll never come to terms with.

What reaction to the new album have you been most excited about so far? Critically-speaking, Classic Rock magazine describing the album as “Staggeringly ambitious” was right up there. But the reaction from fans and friends has been amazing, and a big relief. We didn't know what kind of world we were releasing this album into, or whether anyone gave a shit about us any more. Of course, releasing a new record during a global pandemic is probably one of the dumbest ideas we've ever had, but we just couldn't delay it any longer.

You have a special relationship with Eastern Europe and Larry And His Flask, don't you? With LAHF absolutely. They're lovely people, the best band to tour with and they have amazing songs. We struck up a great relationship with them over the years and I miss them dearly. A couple of them have formed a new band called Thirsty Work, which carries the Larry flame. Do we have a special relationship with Eastern Europe? I wasn't aware! We've had great times in the Czech Republic, especially playing Mighty Sounds Fest, but we've only toured other Eastern European countries once, which was pretty eventful. I'd love to go back and play/see more of the Balkans, along with the Ukraine and Russia.

Who are your favourite bands at the moment? I'm currently listening to Mogwai, Constantines, Propagandhi, Lana Del Rey, Elder, Murder By Death, The War On Drugs, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Wipers, Fucked Up, Weyes Blood, Woven Hand, X, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Ted Leo and Hot Snakes. That's my cycling and night-walking music.

Which acts from the UK should we check out? I'm totally out of touch, especially after the last 12 months. But I recommend Bob Vylan, Harker, The Skints, Commoners Choir, Waco, Petrol Girls, The Human Project, Sam Russo, Skinny Lister, Muncie Girls, Bad Breeding... And there's my other band, Tripper, who I play bass for. We made an album with Mike Watt recently which should be out this year, zombie apocalypse notwithstanding.

What has been your funniest tour experience so far? Not funny, but the oddest experience was when we unwittingly drove someone's pet cat from London to our hometown Plymouth (370km) when it had become trapped on our van's engine, clinging to the battery. I only noticed when I decided to check the water level about ten miles from home. Her owner took a train down the next day and picked her up. The poor kitty was in shock for a very long time but lived to purr the tale.

What's your favourite Against Me! song? 'Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart'. Love it. New Wave was the album that got me into the band. They were promoting White Crosses when we toured with them in 2011 so I've got a soft spot for 'I Was A Teenage Anarchist', despite being a quinquagenarian anarchist. I understand the sentiment.

What comes to your mind when you think about Germany? Amazing little anarcho/punk pubs like the Cobra Bar and Onkel Otto in Hamburg; venues that were once Nazi fortresses; Gunnar Christiansen and Gunner Records, who put out our first two albums in Europe; the lovely Digger Barnes; Cornelius in Mainz; Eva Roelen and Berlin; playing an awesome wedding near Oldenburg; Heidelberg and Villa Nachttanz; Riez Festival; Robert Kasel in Koblenz; Blauer Engel in Lubeck; unbearable 40 degree summer heat; crazy, hilly autobahns; weighing food in service stations; endless plates of kartoffelsalat. So many brilliant memories. I just hope we get to do it all over again.

#GunnerRecords #XtramIleRecordings #CrazyArm #UKPunk #FolkPunk #DarrenJohns

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meldelen · 4 years

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Dragonlance Legends - A (not so brief) Review

"- No pretendía lastimarme - justificó a Raistlin en respuesta a la expresión severa de su gemelo. - Es lógico que el dolor le convierta en una criatura díscola. No podemos reprochárselo. ¿Qué es nuestro sufrimiento si lo comparamos con el suyo? Tú, mejor que nadie, deberías entenderlo. Sus esotéricas visiones lo capturan hasta tal extremo, que no es consciente del daño que causa a los otros. (...) - Es más que consciente de lo que hace - replicó el guerrero para sus adentros.- Y estoy comenzando a vislumbrar que siempre lo fue."

Let's see if I can review this trilogy without getting emotional.

Remember when I said that Dragonlance Chronicles hadn’t lost one iota of the original charm I found so many years ago, when reading them for the first time? The same can be said of Dragonlance Legends, which are, without a doubt, a trilogy not only superior, but probably the best in the Dragonlance universe. The same person who recommended Chronicles told me that Legends bested the original trilogy at all points. Skeptical at the beginning of the reading, I had no doubt when I finished that this was true. For many reasons, which we’ll see now. Before we begin, a warning: those who complained and whined about Game of Thrones’ painful ending - meaning the TV show, of course - should experience reading Legends to find out what real pain is, always concerning the ending.

Where’s the key to Legends’ success? Firstly, they follow a structure on its own, original on the part of the authors, now free of the corset model of Dungeons & Dragons; that is, more novels than role-playing games. Secondly, they’re focused on the best character in Dragonlance universe; the mage Raistlin Majere, Margaret Weis’ masterpiece - with Haplo’s permission, but that’s another story. Thirdly, the trilogy, rather than exploring great axioms or cliches of fantasy, focuses on developing something as simple as human feelings - love, hatred, blood ties, perversion and redemption. And finally, the authors don’t give up on any resource, however extravagant it may seem, to develop these topics. Time travelling? Of course. Raistlin’s horny and not in the arcane sense? Why not? A saintly priestess gets seduced by the villain? Well of course! World's end? Gladiators in the arena? The death of the gods? A kender visiting the underworld? Caramon finally using his brain? The sky's the limit!

But let's not digress. The plot at first glance might seem very hackneyed: after the Lance War, which was closed with Chronicles, Raistlin, now the world's most powerful mage, doesn’t settle for that and wants more: to become a god. To achieve this he needs to defeat the other gods, starting with Takhisis, the Dark Queen. If he wants to access the Abyss where she dwells, he needs the cooperation of a cleric in the service of Paladine, the god of Good. Although such a possibility seems very remote in the mentality of those who designed this requirement, Raistlin will find a way to do it: seducing, in all aspects in which a person can be seduced, the proud priestess Crysania, to open the way to his final destination.

This plot, which may seem very simple, opens a trilogy that keeps you in suspense throughout the three volumes (Time of the Twins, War of the Twins and Test of the Twins). It cannot be read without having previously read the Chronicles because understanding the characters and their motivations is basic, and we already met these in the previous trilogy, except for Crysania, who’s new.

Time of the Twins. Cover art by Matt Stawicki.

Raistlin being absolutely fascinating is not new, and it’s in this story where he reaches a total degradation on the moral plane - from sociopath to psychopath, to summarize it quickly and badly - you start to wonder, like Caramon, if he really has been always evil; or if the sufferings, abuse and mistreatment to which he’s been subjected since childhood made him wicked, the loneliness, the rejection and the misunderstanding of others, the sick jealousy on his healthy and attractive twin; or if he’s simply a desperate person who had nothing left but magic and any sinister objective it could provide to keep his ego afloat. Undoubted villain of this story, the reader relates to him nevertheless. We empathize with him because we know where he comes from and what he has gone through, and following him in the accumulation of horrors and cruelties he intentionally commits produces almost physical pain; because it’s impossible not to feel compassion for him, even though there is practically no action of his that we can defend or justify; in the way he manipulates and brutalizes the people around him - particularly the woman who loves him and the brother who still believes in him - to achieve his goals.

The important thing about this story, however, is that the authors do not fall into villain apologizing, or elevate him to the rank of antihero, or even draw a false equivalency between him and other characters who, being also imperfect, choose a very different path. This painful journey has an agonizing end when, at the last moment of his life, Raistlin becomes aware of what he has done - or rather, what he is about to do - and uses his last energies to undo, or prevent consolidation of his evil plan. And so the villain, through his spectacular sacrifice, redeems himself in a second, leaving us all as if slapped in the face for hours.

War of the Twins. Cover art by Matt Stawicki.

I don’t need to convince anyone about the masterful writing of Raistlin’s character, but what about the others? Because Caramon's development is also spectacular. In the Chronicles we met him as the handsome twin of the mage, a powerful, brainless warrior, but successful in life, in friendships and in love; truly, the opposite of Raistlin. Very cliche and uninteresting. In the Legends we attend his transformation, going through a brutal arc whose key is the slow, but sure, assumption of the awareness that his twin is a perverted and perverse person, condemnable, and that nothing can be done to change him - as long as he doesn’t change himself. It is also the rupture, extremely painful, of all the ties that unite him to his brother, blood ties that, he now realizes, have always had to do with physical dependence and emotional abuse rather than with the brotherly love that should have existed between them. And by breaking those ties he will finally find a reason to live for himself.

Finally, I will speak in favor of Crysania, that third character so dismissed for being considered, in most reviews and fan debates I have read, as a mere extension or instrument of Raistlin, a lady in distress, an used, brutalized and discarded tool. I consider these visions to be misogynistic, and surely not even applied had she been a male. I recently had to reply to a reader who called Crysania an absurd character, without agency, purpose or interest, added only to give "sexual tension" to the story. Not so at all.

Time of the Twins. Cover art by Matt Stawicki

Crysania is a priestess, and she has a very clear agency: to redeem Raistlin, to save him from the damnation to which he willingly casts himself. At the beginning, her motivations are merely selfish: in her pride, the priestess wants to prove to the world, to her co-believers and to her god, that her faith can do everything, even saving the soul of a doomed man. So she agrees to cooperate with him to reach this goal: destroy the evil goddess and bring the mage to the light. Eventually she ends up falling in love with him - if she wasn't already - but I don't think it's correct to dismiss the character simply because in addition to religious pride, love also prompts her.

Not all female characters have to be brave warriors or magical creatures. Crysania is the symbol of a proud Church that for the sake of good believes it can achieve anything, blind in her privileged entitlement; and then, already in love, she believes that love will do what mere faith or apparent goodness have not achieved.

The authors grant her a masterful catharsis when confronted with her own hypocrisy. Used, tortured and abandoned by the man she loves and whom she believed she was going to save, Crysania reaches the end of the story being aware of her own pride and emptiness. Far from punishing and liquidating her because of her mistakes, neither turning her example into a cautionary tale - "it's your fault for falling in love with the bad guy" - the authors will grant her a second chance, and like Caramon, also inner peace.

Test of the Twins. Cover art by Matt Stawicki

I'm not saying anything about Tasslehoff, who really is the key to events taking not one, but several unexpected turns - like a butterfly that flutters in the middle of chaos theory - because he defends himself, he doesn’t need me at all. And after this devastating ending, all that remains is to wipe away the tears and move on. Because there is more, luckily - or unfortunately, if you are one of those who think that the authors should have left it here.

For my part, I still don’t have my fair share of sociopathic and ambiguous mages. I'm going back to the origins of evil, to read The Soulforge, for the sake of boring you with another endless review. Thank you for your attention.

#dragonlance #books #margaret weis #tracy hickman #dragonlance legends #reviews #time of the twins #war of the twins #test of the twins #my reviews

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actutrends · 4 years

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The ‘voice of China’ sounds increasingly like Trump

It’s also loaded with paradox: China’s federal government obstructs the large bulk of its own residents from using Twitter, and China itself is implicated of numerous hypocrisies and human rights abuses, not the least of which is its detention of more than a million Uighur Muslims.

It’s unclear if the Chinese were motivated specifically by Trump’s pugilistic use of Twitter, and it’s far from certain whether echoing him will assist China’s cause in the long run. Analysts the extreme brand-new Chinese tone, which is typically expressed in English, suggests at the very least that Communist Party leaders think they need to do more to control the narrative about their country– and that Twitter is a vital battlefield.

” The Chinese Communist Celebration sees itself as in a global info war,” stated Expense Bishop, who helms the extensively read Sinocism newsletter about China. “They feel like their international discourse power is significantly smaller than it should be.”

The brand-new Chinese effort appears to rely greatly on an old method, used extensively by the Soviets during the Cold War, called “whataboutism”: explaining another nation’s problems as a method to deflect from one’s own.

” Forget native Indians’ tears & blood? United States politicians like @SpeakerPelosi so oblivious & hypocritical to talk about ‘conscience’,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s official account tweeted recently, describing Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s criticism of the mistreatment of the Uighurs.

It goes on to insist: “Ethnic minorities in China take pleasure in equivalent rights and liberty in religious beliefs and culture. China’s ethnic policy is more successful!”

Trump administration authorities are tracking the moving Chinese method online. They worry, however, that the change is more about tone than substantive placing on issues.

The Chinese Communist Celebration, after all, has actually long relied on propaganda.

Beijing is particularly sensitive to charges that it abuses its people. China even publishes its own report on human rights abuses in the United States as a method to rebut the annual State Department report on human rights abroad, which has routinely slammed China on whatever from suppression of labor rights to forced abortions.

U.S. authorities watch out for entering into a Twitter war with Beijing. When it pertains to the Chinese diplomatic attacks online, “We’re going to respond to by effectively explaining our position within a structure that’s very measured and affordable, and we’ll see how they react,” one senior Trump administration authorities told POLITICO.

Trump himself is an outlier in his administration when it concerns aggressiveness on Twitter. He’s used it to push and flatter Chinese leader Xi Jinping to reach a trade deal in the middle of an escalating, tariff-driven financial conflict between the 2 countries.

” I state openly to President Xi & all of my many pals in China that China will be harmed really badly if you do not negotiate due to the fact that companies will be forced to leave China for other countries. Too expensive to buy in China. You had a good deal, almost completed, & you backed out!” Trump tweeted in May.

Perhaps due to his desire to secure a trade offer, Trump mainly prevents discussing other issues, specifically human rights-related ones such as the Uighurs or the circumstance in Hong Kong. He stalled for days prior to signing a widely backed brand-new bill from Congress targeted at holding Beijing accountable for human rights abuses in Hong Kong.

Others in the Trump administration, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence, have handled sensitive subjects such as human rights in China head-on. (” The imagine flexibility stays remote for the Chinese people,” the vice president stated in a speech in 2015.)

Still, they’ve mainly stayed with speeches and carefully worded social media remarks that are a far cry from the belligerent language now being used by Zhao and other Chinese officials.

In a speech at the Hudson Institute in late October, Pompeo having a went at China’s details technique. He said that Chinese state-run media and government spokespeople are “consistently maligning American intentions and policy goals.” However Pompeo also showed that the Chinese method has actually worked over time due to the fact that the U.S. has actually been slow to get up to the dangers the Communist Party postures to the world.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to an e-mail looking for remark. Like other Chinese embassies, it has boosted its online existence over the previous several months, including developing a Twitter account for its ambassador, Cui Tiankai.

Tiankai, who studied at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Researches, is an expert more mindful with his words than Zhao. Even he has actually been willing to strike a sharp tone on Twitter.

He’s pressed back, for instance, against allegations that China is trying to remove the culture and way of living of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province, arguing that the government is merely trying to get rid of terrorist activity in the area.

Human rights groups and investigative reporters have actually found proof of torture and brainwashing of Uighurs at camps that China calls “trade education and training centers.” A Pentagon official said in Might that as many as 3 million people may be detained, assertions Chinese authorities like Tiankai insist are overhyped.

” The life of local individuals of all ethnic groups in #Xinjiang has actually returned to normalcy,” Tiankai composed this previous week.

Zhao, who notes his title as the deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry’s info department, did not react to direct messages looking for remark by means of Twitter. He follows more than 182,000 accounts, and has more than 220,000 fans.

Zhao previously served in a senior role in China’s embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. While there, he ended up being popular on Twitter, utilizing heated language to protect his nation or attack others.

Over the summer season, he tweeted that white individuals prevented certain neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. because they were greatly populated by blacks and Latinos. “There’s a saying ‘black in & white out’, which suggests that as long as a black household goes into, white people will quit, & cost of the house will fall dramatically,” he wrote.

That triggered Susan Rice, who acted as nationwide security adviser to previous U.S. President Barack Obama, to denounce him a “racist disgrace.”

Zhao erased that tweet.

He’s likewise taken on Trump himself, though typically in a subtle way. Keep the oil …” he tweeted, duplicating current Trump comments about the Middle East.

Experts said Zhao’s increase suggests China is using him as a test-case.

” It appears that some people have been offered license to be far more aggressive in ways that one definitely would not have related to standard Chinese diplomatic practices since 10 years earlier,” said Sophie Richardson, a China expert at Person Rights Watch.

Rush Doshi of the Brookings Organization, who is working on a report about China’s worldwide info influence operations, said that in years past, standard Chinese propaganda strategy revolved mainly around promoting favorable stories about China rather than unfavorable attacks on others. There has been a growing dispute in Chinese circles about which method works best.

Doshi and other experts, however, worried that the troll-like technique could backfire in the long run, destructive China’s image and even making it look silly on the world phase.

In late October, for instance, Zhao drew ridicule for declaring that the “reincarnation of Living Buddhas consisting of the Dalai Lama must abide by Chinese laws & regulations.”

” Yes,” read one reply, “The supernatural must conform to Chinese laws & regulations. Obviously.”

The post The ‘voice of China’ sounds increasingly like Trump appeared first on Actu Trends.

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modsumessenger · 7 years

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when people enforce their favorite pairings so fuckin viciously i cant help but get annoyed. Ive never been one for shipping, im more invested in the characters and story themselves rather than who i think should fuck or whatever, but the worst kind of people to me are the ones who have to make every aspect of the source material about their ship or shove aside anything that doesnt support/focus on it, and essentially just force as much as they can to have it permeate the media as a whole. I could say this sentence for just about anything but: fujoshis are the fucking worst when it comes to this. You really can't deny it, especially when being a fujoshi is a disgusting thing to begin with. Not only are they usually the most guilty of demanding to have their pairing catered to, its also really ass-pissingly common to see them berate and tear down anyone or anything that DOESN'T support it, even when it has nothing to do with them and is truthfully a matter of personal preference and opinion. Infuriatingly Ironically, the same people who claim intolerance when confronted are also the ones who respond with outrage when presented with the notion that people who disagree with them are allowed to coexist and have just as much of a right to presence on the internet and to enjoy the content as well. In all my experiences both first and secondhand fujoshis have always been the fucking Worst with really aggressive and immature behavior as a means to ensure that they can consume as much fetishized "YAOI!!!!1! XD" content as they want and be as obnoxious as they can towards anyone with a different opinion or tastes. If that weren't enough, they also tend to drown out content that doesnt relate to their shipping, so people who just want to enjoy either of the characters as they are, you know, as in, more than a hypothetical relationship because straight girls like the way they look together, they have to do so while flooded with so much content focusing solely on that that by comparison the remainder seems practically barebones.

And listen, just disliking or being apathetic to something thats popular doesnt make you a victim to see it a lot, thats not my point at all, but the hypocrisy of the types who flood any platform with their favorite pairing really shows when anything that conflicts or doesnt pander to it surfaces, because they'll usually be the first ones to cry that it's being "forced" on them, even when theyre still receiving the overwhelming majority of content. You know the people I'm talking about.

So outside of giving my two cents on a topic thats literally giving me whiplash like I'm back in 2009 to talk about, what really bugs me is when whatever they're shipping is not just baseless, (because canon is not law and the freedom to explore outside possibilities and "what ifs" is kind of a core element to enjoying and being creative with content you like) but also unhealthy and romanticized. Toxic relationships are horrible things. And even then, I'm not saying they are objectively bad! Sometimes the toxic pairings are even the CANON ones, but the romanticizing it and prettying it up (particularly common in mlm pairings and especially from fujoshis) to create something that's optimal for yaoi fangirls to squeal at and flick their bean to is just genuinely upsetting. I know I'm about the millionth person to point this out, I'm practically certain everyone and their grandma has said this by now, and believe me I'm not thinking that my typing this will suddenly give fujos a biblical revelation and end toxicity forever, no, no such luck. So, yeah. You know the drill. Portraying abusive/neglectful relationships as something healthy, let alone romantic, is bad. yadda yadda, someone comes back at me with the "it's just fiction" argument, blah blah, I remind them that throughout history and constantly to this day media has and will influence real life on both an individual scale as well as en masse, they tell me to leave the internet or kms or something bc this apparently warrants that in their eyes, yadda yadda, done. You've all heard it before and frankly I'm just waaay too tired to put myself and a million other people blessed with some sense, since it's apparently a commodity, on repeat. But even that's not all. This pertains more to me I guess since the kind of media I enjoy tends to focus on more dark topics and circumstances, so I guess fans of slice of life style stuff might not have this problem, at least not as much? But when I see such an unhealthy pairing praised like gospel, especially with a character I not only love but relate to, resonate with, whatever you want to call it, it's just depressing. You've probably had this feeling at least once before, when its like; As if it's not bad enough when a character gets the short end of the stick in canon, now those shitty circumstances and terrible treatment are being erased and prettied up because fujos would rather rework the material into something better suited for their fangirling. I dunno, when you like a character so much, when you sort of imprint on them in that way and kind of go like "yes. you." somewhere along the line, and start to root for them and relate to them and even see bits of yourself in them, if you're anything like me I guess, when something unfair, grisly or depressing happens to my favorite character in a series/game/etc, I hate it as much as the next person, it fuckin blows, man. But people acting like the character's mistreatment didnt happen, rework it into something they can use for ship fuel or anything less than what it was just feels worse somehow. Like on top of everything else even people looking at the story and events from an outside perspective either just dont or wont recognize and acknowledge what that character endured, even when its a critical moment and integral to who they are, or even to the story as a whole. Idk, call me lame, pathetic, immature, whatever, for having a piece of fiction become important to me, but it just stings every time I see them altered, manipulated, and reduced to something completely different from themselves for the sake of a pairing. Like the idea of the pairing, that concept, is more important to them than the integrity of what the character is, and from people who claim to be fans, no less. The idea of something beloved to you being dominated by people who simply want to shave it down to create a Person A and Person B for them to mash together and making kissing sounds is just kind of... completely exhausting.

If it seems like I'm taking this suuuper super seriously, think of it this way: coming from someone who is an aspiring content creator themselves, it kind of just gives a bit of unpleasant foresight for what I and creators like me will have to brace themselves for, and then maybe it'll at least make a little more sense to you for me to be so bitter, lol.

#modsu rambles!!! the movie! the show! the musical! the experience! the revengening! the game! the movie! & KNUCKLES #madsu #oooooo bitch go off

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michellerlgr · 7 years

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Why does the Music Industry keep “Underground Hip-Hop Music” Underground?

Global Research, September 23, 2013 Music is everybody’s possession . It’s only publishers who think that people own it. John Lennon The Corporate Music industry has had a monopoly on what youths from all around the world listen to. They have been controlling the thoughts and beliefs of our youths and even adults through their control of the music industry. The Music industry is a multi-billion dollar business. There are now “Big Three” record labels since 2012 that include Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group that dominate the market. They control the artist and set what percentage of the sales receipts they keep as profits. They also keep the competition between the major record labels at a minimum since they are already a monopoly. There are many underground hip-hop artists that the political and corporate elite don’t want the public to know about. They control what kind of music is produced and sold to the public. In an interview with Jay Woodson, organizer of National Hip Hop Political Convention (NHHPC) in Philadelphia with online news source The Final Call: FINAL CALL (FC): A recent study of rap songs and music videos on BET and MTV found that several major corporations advertise their products or services during programs that often expose explicit lyrics and images to children. I remember the time when the music industry and society held that rap and hip-hop music was just a fad that would pass. What’s happening now that “everyone” seems to be on board? JAY WOODSON (JW): What our options are in this political economy are options for profit, which benefits large corporations. This includes the entertainment industry. They give a very narrow message and image of what Black life is. It’s materialistic, about death, it’s about violence, and it’s about misogyny and any diverse or alternative messages and images of that, they don’t seem to support because they don’t find it profitable to have diverse aesthetics within the entertainment industry for people to purchase and to view on television. A lot of time when it comes down to critiquing BET and Viacom, we really need to look at the policy of communications. Like, we understand that the airways are owned by people, who give licenses through the Federal Communication Commission. With legislation that was passed in the mid-90s under Bill Clinton, Congress narrowed the plan for people to tap into the media. A lot of larger media bought up media in smaller markets and it narrowed the choices for smaller media or even public access to have cable programming or even local radio stations. So you have these large corporations such as Clear Channel giving such small packages of 20 songs that are played over and over again. Lauryn Hill is a Grammy award winning singer, songwriter, rapper and a former member of the Fugees explains how the music industry operates in a letter she wrote on Tumblr to the public about the music business and her tax evasion case where a judge sentenced her to 3 months in prison earlier this year: For the past several years, I have remained what others would consider underground. I did this in order to build a community of people, like-minded in their desire for freedom and the right to pursue their goals and lives without being manipulated and controlled by a media protected military industrial complex with a completely different agenda. Having put the lives and needs of other people before my own for multiple years, and having made hundreds of millions of dollars for certain institutions, under complex and sometimes severe circumstances, I began to require growth and more equitable treatment, but was met with resistance. I entered into my craft full of optimism (which I still possess), but immediately saw the suppressive force with which the system attempts to maintain it’s control over a given paradigm. I’ve seen people promote addiction, use sabotage, black listing, media bullying and any other coercion technique they could, to prevent artists from knowing their true value, or exercising their full power. These devices of control, no matter how well intentioned (or not), can have a devastating outcome on the lives of people, especially creative types who must grow and exist within a certain environment and according to a certain pace, in order to live and create optimally. I kept my life relatively simple, even after huge successes, but it became increasingly obvious that certain indulgences and privileges were expected to come at the expense of my free soul, free mind, and therefore my health and integrity. So I left a more mainstream and public life, in order to wean both myself, and my family, away from a lifestyle that required distortion and compromise as a means for maintaining it. During this critical healing time, there were very few people accessible to me who had not already been seduced or affected by this machine, and therefore who could be trusted to not try and influence or coerce me back into a dynamic of compromise. Individual growth was expected to take place unnaturally, or stagnated outright, subject to marketing and politics. Addressing critical issues like pop culture cannibalism or its manipulation of the young at the expense of everything, was frowned upon and discouraged by limiting funding, or denying it outright. When one has a prolific creative output like I did/do, and is then forced to stop, the effects can be dangerous both emotionally and psychologically, both for the artist and those in need of that resource. It was critically important that I find a suitable pathway within which to exist, without being distorted or economically strong-armed. During this period of crisis, much was said about me, both slanted and inaccurate, by those who had become dependent on my creative force, yet unwilling to fully acknowledge the importance of my contribution, nor compensate me equitably for it. This was done in an effort to smear my public image, in order to directly affect my ability to earn independently of this system. It took a long time to locate and nurture a community of people strong enough to resist the incredibly unhealthy tide, and more importantly see through it. If I had not been able to make contact with, and establish this community, my life, safety and freedom, would have been directly affected as well as the lives, safety and freedom of my family. Failure to create a non toxic, non exploitative environment was not an option. As my potential to work, and therefore earn freely, was being threatened, I did whatever needed to be done in order to insulate my family from the climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism that I was surrounded by. This was absolutely critical while trying to find and establish a new and very necessary community of healthy people, and also heal and detoxify myself and my family while raising my young children. There were no exotic trips, no fleet of cars, just an all out war for safety, integrity, wholeness and health, without mistreatment denial, and/or exploitation. In order to liberate myself from those who found it ok to oppose my wholeness, free speech and integral growth by inflicting different forms of punitive action against it, I used my resources to sustain our safety and survival until I was able to restore my ability to earn outside of it! When artists experience danger and crisis under the effects of this kind of insidious manipulation, everyone easily accepts that there was something either dysfunctional or defective with the artist, rather than look at, and fully examine, the system and its means and policies of exploiting/’doing business’. Not only is this unrealistic, it is very dark in its motivation, conveniently targeting the object of their hero worship by removing any evidence that they ‘needed’ or celebrated this very same resource just years, months or moments before. Since those who believe they need a hero/celebrity outnumber the actual heroes/celebrities, people feel safe and comfortably justified in numbers, committing egregious crimes in the name of the greater social ego. Ironically diminishing their own true hero-celebrity nature in the process. It was this schism and the hypocrisy, violence and social cannibalism it enabled, that I wanted and needed to be freed from, not from art or music, but the suppression/repression and reduction of that art and music to a bottom line alone, without regard for anything else. Over-commercialization and its resulting restrictions and limitations can be very damaging and distorting to the inherent nature of the individual. I Love making art, I Love making music, these are as natural and necessary for me almost as breathing or talking. To be denied the right to pursue it according to my ability, as well as be properly acknowledged and compensated for it, in an attempt to control, is manipulation directed at my most basic rights! These forms of expression, along with others, effectively comprise my free speech! Defending, preserving, and protecting these rights are critically important, especially in a paradigm where veiled racism, sexism, ageism, nepotism, and deliberate economic control are still blatant realities!!! Learning from the past, insulating friends and family from the influence of external manipulation and corruption, is far more important to me than being misunderstood for a season! I did not deliberately abandon my fans, nor did I deliberately abandon any responsibilities, but I did however put my safety, health and freedom and the freedom, safety and health of my family first over all other material concerns! I also embraced my right to resist a system intentionally opposing my right to whole and integral survival. I conveyed all of this when questioned as to why I did not file taxes during this time period. Obviously, the danger I faced was not accepted as reasonable grounds for deferring my tax payments, as authorities, who despite being told all of this, still chose to pursue action against me, as opposed to finding an alternative solution. My intention has always been to get this situation rectified. When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes. This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family. As this, and other areas of issue are resolved and set straight, I am able to get back to doing what I should be doing, the way it should be done. This is part of that process. To those supporters who were told that I abandoned them, that is untrue. I abandoned greed, corruption, and compromise, never you, and never the artistic gifts and abilities that sustained me.” There are many “underground Hip-Hop artists that are politically conscious-driven such as Common, Flobots, Dead Prez, Rebel Diaz and many others. Lowkey is another underground Hip-Hop artist, a former member of Poisonous Poets, lives in the UK and has traveled the world in support of Anti-war and human rights causes. He announced last year that he will leave the Music Industry to pursue his studies. Lowkey is a rapper that can easily be distinguished from main stream rappers. He has numerous albums produced independently that include Dear Listener, Soundtrack to the Struggle and Uncensored. One of his most popular songs is called ‘Obama Nation’. He has toured the world with several rappers including Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco. He is an influential part of the underground world of Hip-Hop music transforming how rap music can be used to inform and educate people not to turn them into consumers. Lowkey is one of several rappers who are at the forefront. The main stream media does not mention Lowkey, instead they continue to play Hip-Hop music from the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Snopp Dog among many others. Their Music has no substance or positive meaning behind the lyrics. It is music that destroys the minds of urban youths. But according to the media whether based in the United States, Great Britain and Israel, all criticize Lowkey. The Jewish Chronicle Online describes in a 2011 article how Lowkey and other artists such as Elvis Costello can become a “Potential Nightmare” that can influence youths during an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for the second anniversary of Operation Cast Lead and the Gaza conflict that killed thousands: One expert studying anti-Israel activity described the increasing influence of performers such as Lowkey as a “potential nightmare,” and compared the impact of his backing for the campaign to the effect of artists such as Annie Lennox and Elvis Costello attacking the Jewish state. Lowkey was heavily criticized by the Jewish Chronicle when it said “At last week’s rally he spoke of his pride at being an anti-Zionist and called Israel a “terrorist state”. The event organisers and audience later successfully persuaded him to perform his track “Long Live Palestine”, written during the Gaza conflict. It accuses Israel of bombing hospitals and mosques and criticises everyone from Barack Obama to Coca Cola and Huggies nappies. Fox news jumped on the bandwagon with Glen Beck mocking Lowkey when he danced and showed gang signs to his song “Terrorist? In his Website Glenn Beck describes why he did what he did on his show: Sometimes a story comes along and it’s almost impossible to find the words to really capture what’s happening. More often than not, the story involves tragedy, riots, and possibly some kind of new world order/Edward Bernays “conspiracy”. Sometimes Glenn just breaks down in tears because of, well, anything really. It could be the death of the Republic, uncensored pictures of the Alamo, or the latest Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy. And sometimes the stories that take the words away involve Glenn dancing and throwing up gang signs. Is it a coincidence that big name rappers who are known throughout the world are sponsored by the biggest corporations in the world? Hip-Hop music gets nominated for the Grammy awards based on the number of sales and popularity of the rappers. Lowkey lives in London, the heart of the former empire known to support numerous causes especially the Palestinian struggle against Israel. What drives Lowkey to focus his music on human rights issues? In an interview conducted by ‘Ceasefire’ an independent political and cultural quarterly publication by Jody McIntyre, Lowkey was asked what has “hurt or inspired him the most?” He replied: Well, I have been privileged enough to travel to many different countries, particularly doing what I do for a living, it is a real blessing. Recently I travelled to Australia, a nation founded upon the genocide of over 500+ separate nations, I heard some harrowing stories of what life has been like for the indigenous people of that land the last 223 years since Captain James Cook arrived there with a British flag. I learned that until the 1967 Referendum, the indigenous, native people of that land were considered “Fauna and Flora” ie Plants and Animals within Australian Law. True justice can only come with acknowledgement of the historical context within which we live. The fact that his date of arrival on the land is still celebrated as “Australia Day” shows that justice for the indigenous people of that land is something we all must fight for, especially those of us who are British citizens. Travelling and touring throughout the United States alongside my friend Norman Finkelstein, showed me that despite the constant manipulation by the mainstream media in that country, there are millions of US citizens who do NOT believe US security is dependent upon on its supremacy and global dominance. There are millions of US citizens who do not believe it is a good idea to have over 1,000 military bases worldwide from Japan to Colombia to Diego Garcia, these people are just so marginalised in the mainstream discourse that in the rest of the world it is easy to forget they even exist. Being detained twice in Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv was an interesting experience; particularly the second time, when I was held for 12 hours. It made me realise that a state which is built upon the foundations of injustice will never feel secure. The ever-changing and diverse citizens of Israel will always be united by one thing and one thing only; fear. The IDF are a colonial force of scared teenage supremacists who would shoot at their own shadow. The worst thing about that, is that they are supplied with the most sophisticated weaponry on the face of this planet by the United States and Britain. Israel is a colonial supremacist state which is rapidly expanding, and the Zionist dream which Theodor Herzl had is still yet to be reached. Many rappers in the West come from poor neighborhoods where crime, drugs and high incarceration rates affects their communities and do rap about “life in the ghetto”. But many rap about sex, drugs, prison and money. I have seen rap videos where they have numerous women on multi-million dollar yachts as Jay-Z’s video called ‘Big Pimpin’. According to Dr. Carolyn West, associate professor of psychology and the study of prevention of violence at the University of Washington said “What’s changed over time is the greater sexualization of hip-hop. Initially, it started off as a revolutionary form of music. Now, large corporations produce images that sell, and there is a blatant link between hip-hop and pornography” in a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article in 2008 called ‘Researcher cites negative influences of hip-hop.’ Rappers promote business agenda’s for the music industry where advertisements and propaganda prevail over young minds. Lowkey raps about real issues that affect life on earth. He wants his music to make a change in society. Why does the main stream media (MSM) and the Music industry criticize Lowkey? Why does the Jewish Chronicle Online call him and other musicians of consciousness a “Potential Nightmare?” Can Lowkey’s music inspire youth to seek change or the truth for that matter? Yes, the MSM and the music industry want to keep youths interested in issues that don’t matter. They want them to follow “Uninspiring rappers” who are about nothing. The majority of rappers are used by the major labels to sell propaganda. They use rappers to further demoralize people who have no idea what is happening in their communities and the world. Do music fans who follow main stream rappers know who Lowkey is? I doubt it. But I will bet that the state of Israel does. In 2009, Lowkey was detained in Israel, when he arrived in Tel Aviv’s airport for 9 hours. According to Music News and Reviews, Concert Tickets, Videos, Pictures and Free MP3s - NME.COM The musician had been travelling to Tel Aviv to take part in a series of charity shows in the country, including sites in Palestine and Palestinian refugee camps, to raise funds to help rebuild the Gaza Strip. He told NME.COM that his passport was confiscated at Tel Aviv airport on February 27, after which he was questioned, detained for nine hours then released. “As soon as I stepped off the plane with my AA guide to Israel tucked under my arm, I was pulled away to the side and interrogated as to why I was in Israel, by a man who wore no uniform identifying himself as any type of security but was clearly heavily armed,” Lowkey explained. “After this I carried on through to passport control. After giving over my British passport it was confiscated. I was then detained for nine hours. During this time I was interrogated about many aspects of my life, what the purpose of my trip was, where my parents are from and where I planned to go in Israel. “Eventually I was told my story was a lie and was subjected to a bout of the Israeli polices paranoid mind games. I was eventually released, knowing that no matter how frustrating what I just went through was, I knew that it was not even a miniscule fraction of the degradation Palestinian people are subjected to on a daily basis.” Lowkey and many other underground Hip-Hop artists are controversial to the corporate music world and even to average people who follow the main stream rappers. Some people may not like his style. People do have different tastes, styles or other musical preferences. All legitimate reasons. Hip-Hop is controlled by major corporations, they have a monopoly on several record labels mentioned earlier. Singer Cee-Loo even commented on how and why corporate influence is relevant to hip-hop music. In an interview with The Daily Beast, platinum recording artist, Cee-Lo commented on the current state of Hip-Hop and what is the agenda behind corporate control of the industry: We don’t judge, but we acknowledge that acting and performing music are very kindred spirits. You write something down, go into a recording booth, and reenact the emotion onstage. At one point in time, there was a code of conduct: creed and credential. And I’ve said this before on Twitter, but hip-hop was once an Ivy League institution, and now it’s become a community college—you don’t need any qualifications to come on in. And, quite frankly, it can be a little embellished-upon. There’s a low entry level, and it’s become monotonous and congested. All you need to do is be able to rhyme “cat” and “hat,” and you can become an MC. But executives have a lot to do with the larger agenda to emasculate and colonize. I believe hip hop is being used in some mass way to influence underachievement. Maybe these individuals may not be aware of the larger agenda, and how they’re being puppeteered, but if they are, that’s even more shameful. He is correct to point out that corporations “colonize” youth through music which promotes “underachievement” and depicts women in a negative way. Lowkey is an example of what major corporate record labels do not want people to listen to. Down below is one of Lowkey’s music videos which I recommend to those who never heard his music before. It is worth a listen. So I ask the question once again, why does the music industry keep “hip-hop underground music” underground?

#Lauryn Hill #Underground Music #Hip Hop #Music #Mainstream

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