#if that makes me a Zionist than I am a proud Zionist

[the-ships-to-rule-them-all]

I don’t think people realize how all consuming October 7, the war and the rising antisemitism is to most Jews right now. I was just on a five day family trip and nearly every single conversation ended up circling back to what’s going on in Israel, across the world and at home. My mom knew Vivian Silver, an incredible peace activist thought to be held hostage and I had to sit there and watch her realize that not only was Vivian murdered at her home 38 days before but that she was likely burned if it took this long for her body to be identified. I was forced to sit there and watch my mom, my favorite woman in the world, watch her face crumple. We were sharing updates, accounts to follow, venting and releasing frustrations. It is a constant unbreakable struggle right now for me and most Jews I know to not be glued to our phones, to not pay attention. Because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t. Because we can’t afford to turn our backs on what’s going on. And there’s a deep ever present grief not only for the victims of October 7th, the innocent citizens of Gaza, the hostages and also for my own personal sense of safety and security. I am also grieving what is a shattering beyond measure of my present and future trust in people as I’ve witnessed how easily well intentioned kind hearted people have decided to say nothing, publicly or privately, or who have quickly fallen into vicious antisemitic rhetoric. I’m just sharing into the void at this point but it’s been unimaginably hard on a personal level. I’m not the same person I was when I went to bed on October 6. It’s as though I’m a shadow, made of grief and anger and tiny fractured bits of hope. Every piece of joy feels as though it’s been muted because of how quickly it fades. And even the moments that last are related to my Jewish identity somehow. I am not sure where I go from here.

Have a cat gif for reading all of that

#abby speaks #jumblr #I don’t know if anybody in the tag relates to how I’m feeling but it feels like the right place for it to go #not tagging I/p and antisemitism though this post deals with it because I don’t want to get bombarded #Jews can reblog as can followers #I’ll say it here to fend of comments; this is my personal reflection #I’ve stated several times that I believe in a Palestinian state and their rights of self determination libration and pursuit of life #I simply don’t believe that that should come at the cost of Israel’s right to exist and to Jewish safety around the globe #if that makes me a Zionist than I am a proud Zionist #I firmly believe that those taking advantage of this pain and horror to spread hate will be judged by karma #that includes the settlers in the Israeli West Bank; Netenyahu and his corrupt colition #and anyone who is ripping down and defacing posters of the hostages #Hamas is a terrorist organization that benefits no one but themselves #if you truly cared about the Palestinians you would have understood that they need to be removed and their agenda dismantled

[stil-lindigo]

Hey, I just wanted to share something with you, as someone who's so invested in the Palestine conflict, I hope it might inspire hope, even a little.

I was born and live in Egypt, a very conservative and religious country. These days I deleted my Tiktok and rarely ever use Twitter, as I'm in my senior year, and seeing the constant deaths and torture was getting into me so much that I couldn't even eat or drink properly, nevertheless properly study. I honestly am not proud of myself for doing so, but there's comfort in the fact Egypt is so Pro-Palestine. There's a lot to be done, and even for people like me, we can help.

My school has been donating food, clothes and blankets to Palestine. The McDonald's in here have been trying to distance themselves, claiming they're "100% Egyptian", only to get mocked and insulted. I go by the local McDonald's, there's a lot of schools where I am, around 5 in two blocks, and where before they were constantly so full, these days they're so empty. I can only see maybe 3, 4 people in there. A lot of people in my school are on a complete strike, against every American product. We've resorted to buying and getting local products instead. Egypt is doing very poorly economically at the moment, but there's still a lot of effort into knocking out American products, even if not by the companies, by the youth and the children. I can't go a single class without one of my teachers openly supporting Palestine. My Arabic teacher constantly uses the people in Gaza to teach me grammar, calling them brave and courageous. My geography teacher denies Isreal, and has been in league with others to get more donations and aid. Egyptians believe so truly that Palestine will be free that it's hard not to think so too. I've had classmates openly agree that if they could, they'd join the army to help fight for Palestine, I've seen more people than ever mocking the current regime, I've seen more people than ever falling out of the American illusion and seeing it for what it is. I've spent a lot of religion classes being taught Arabic brotherhood and chivalry, when previously, the lessons were stereotypically conservative in nature and I used to despise them for it.

Yes, the government sucks like every other, but there's an air of open support in here. No one is losing their jobs for stating the truth, homes and shops are waving the Palestinian flag. Even the antisemitism, which was rampant, has seen a noticeable decline. People in here stand for Palestine.

I want to also let you know you've been an inspiration for people, or at least, to me. I want to be able to participate more, and I see your reposts and reblogs and I want to do even more than what I did at the start, which was retweeting and reposting and sharing what I can to my friends. Unfortunately due to my current living situation and my terrible memory, I missed being able to donate to the school, but they have stated to open up donations again soon, and I'm preparing in advance for that one. I was not raised Zionist, but I was raised warned against participating in political affairs, saying I'd be put in more trouble, and even could be killed. But I see you and I see so many Americans losing their jobs and being branded criminals and as moral failures for speaking out, and I find it harder and harder in me not to also speak out. And even if I'm not constantly retweeting and reposting, there is something I can do. You helped me realize that, and I'd like to thank you.

I hope this cheers you up even a little, I've noticed your posts these days expressing how much this has been upsetting you. It's been upsetting to all of us, and I want you to know that it's not fruitless, no matter how many western countries and how many bootlickers make you feel otherwise. This ordeal has taught me the world is a brotherhood, politics and money are never a reason for why we should not stand together, and why we shouldn't speak for those having their voice silenced.

Please excuse me if something comes off wrong or unnatural. Like I said, I was born and I live in Egypt, English is not my first language and I still have issues communicating my personal thoughts in it. Please never don't stand for Palestine. Please never lose hope for it, like the Egyptians never have and never will. Please never let people make you feel hopeless and insane.

Thank you for listening to me, thank you for caring about Palestine when it would've been easy not to. Thank you for using your platform, and if you found it in you to read this thing, thank you for giving time to a brown Arab, when the world so strongly encourages you not to. Please continue to inspire justice, and I hope the world one day continues to inspire hope for you.

😭 anon, I cant explain how much I appreciate you sending this message. I know there is hope for Palestinian liberation, I know that we will see freedom for Palestine. But god do I need the reminder sometimes that we aren’t all just shouting into the void. My country of Australia shamefully takes a cowardly stance on Palestine, always deferring to the US to guide our foreign policy, and yet always claims moral superiority over other countries such as yours. Thank you, really thank you so much for sending this message. I feel so so honoured to have earned an audience that includes you. I believe an audience does reflect an artist, and to know I have done you proud in any way makes me feel full.

And please don’t ever feel ashamed of your English, you are eloquent and have a wonderful, compassionate voice, and you have inspired hope in me for yet another day.

#free palestine #askbox #I need to save this one. to look at when all seems bleak and hopeless #thank you anon I needed to read this today

[upsidedownwithsteve]

hi, here’s me saying it with my chest!! the drama surrounding autumn was six months ago and you continue to make snide comments about ‘deactivated’ users sending hate like you genuinely believe that she’s stuck around to what? send you hate asks? and nothing else? what an incredible self-absorbed implication that is. either speak with your chest and accuse her outright or stop dragging her name through the dirt because you have some childish vendetta with zero proof. 

it’s incredibly fucking privileged to be able to remain ‘neutral’ on an issue such as genocide- whilst on your laptop, with free time to be online, you know, not being bombed to death. you write almost majority of your content for stranger things. if you’ve been paying any attention, there are several loud and proud zionists contributing to that show and by remaining neutral, you take their side. true, you don’t have to post about palestine - but it’s very telling when you make a post about how you shouldn’t have to post about palestine. again, didn’t realise it was so difficult to condemn a genocide. 

Thank you for finally talking without the security of an anonymous box.

I’ve made one comment recently about “deactivated blogs” and please let it be known, there was more than one. my thoughts on who these blogs were (multiple) were said at the time, like you said, 6 months ago. if these blogs wish to attack me via an anonymous button, whilst bringing my unborn child into it, why should I give them the respect of putting their name on my blog? There are lots of people who are aware of who these blogs are and a lot of people who share the same views as I do.

I’ve never once said I’m “neutral” and I’ve spoken out about Noah and his actions before. I believe you also write for stranger things so I’m unsure what your point is. However, to me, you’re a stranger online, just like I am to you. You do not know what I do in my spare time, you do not know what charities and organisations I support, you do not know what I choose to do with my business, you do not know anything about me or my life. Speaking, or not speaking, online about things does not reflect on someone’s real life values and choices.

If you’re so unbelievably bothered by my silence - to the point of sending anonymous messages to me - then please, let me tell you my view.

I support Palestine. I do not believe this is a war. What is happening is a genocide. I support these views and beliefs through my own life decisions and through the ways I can use my business.

You do not know what else I have going on outside of the internet, away from this blog, above and beyond being five months pregnant. You do not know why I choose to use this blog as an escape from real life. You do not know what other issues, stresses or challenges I have in real life. You do not get to condemn and judge myself or others on the choices they make simply because they aren’t doing the same as you.

#ask

[akajustmerry]

Someone who hates Jews but you have a proud Jewish woman as your avatar. How do you live with yourself?

I was gonna block your ass but I'm actually gonna pretend your asking me about my icon in good faith because I actually chose it for very specific reasons. My icon is Natasha Lyonne. Specifically, Natasha Lyonne as Nadia in Russian Doll, a show Natasha wrote directed and starred in. As I'm sure you also know, Russian Doll is a show very much about recognising and accepting trauma, both personal and intergenerational and religious. It's about not letting that trauma rule you, even if it defines your identity. It's a show deeply rooted in Natasha's faith, and her life as a descendant of Jewish refugees. Most importantly, and what I love about this show and about her character in it, it's about Nadia's acceptance that no amount of pain she puts herself or other's through can change the traumas that defined her or her family. She realises after experiencing what 3 generations of persecution did to the women in her family and by extension to her that she must accept the past as an unchangeable country and that the best she can do is read it like a map to help her navigate the present and future. It's a story that means so much to me. so so much. more than any piece of media about intergenerational trauma I've seen, this is the one that speaks to me the most. I love it beyond measure. you don't have to believe me. I'm pretty sure you won't. But I don't "hate Jews". If anything, my icon is a testiment to the opposite. Do I hate Zionists? Yep. But unlike you, I don't fall for Israel's propaganda that Zionist ≠ Jewish because 1) I'm not an asshole and 2)I literally come from a town where the majority of Zionists are non-jewish, and where the local member of government who is most staunchly pro-Palestine is a proud Jewish man and I am proud to be represented by him because, unlike you, I don't make fucked assumptions about people based on appearances.

[transmascpetewentz]

Welcome to my blog! 🤍💙🤍

Hello everyone, I'm sure you already know me, but for the new people: I'm Lou, I'm a fem gay trans man, I'm white/slavic, and I'm converting to Judaism. There isn't really a theme to my blog, I just find sideblogs too hard to keep track of so I keep everything in one spot. Politics, my personal life, and fandom will be posted here all as one stream of consciousness.

Here's my old pinned post if you ever need it, though the information on there may be outdated and probably doesn't reflect my current views if I've said something contradictory more recently. You can find my tagging/filtering system and more about me under the cut.

To all the lurkers on my page, kiss the meowzuzah on your way in!

Longer About Me

I'm converting to Judaism. Currently, I'm working on observing Shabbat and beginning more serious Torah study. We'll see where this goes; I would say that the journey > the destination, if the destination wasn't so good. You'll see me shitposting about this a lot, because it's something that's important to me and my brain likes to make up jokes about everything I think about for a prolonged period of time.

I'm also learning Hebrew. Currently, it isn't very good, but I can understand a few words and some basic grammar. I had to re-learn nikud because of reading the Siddur and Tanakh. I'm not very commentary-literate, though I've attempted to get into reading some for the Torah. I'm also trying to learn about the history of Jewish philosophy. I would say currently my favorite philosopher/person I agree with most is Maimonides, but that might change as I read more stuff.

Tag Filtering

So, I'm not very good at tagging, but one that I use pretty frequently is #ask to tag and it's a catch-all for anything that you might want to proceed with caution in. I also use #long post and #arguing a lot, for long posts and arguing respectively. Other than that, I'll tag most things about a certain bigotry with #[bigotry], including examples of that bigotry. If you're affected by said bigotry, you can and should filter the tag for your mental health!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you a Zionist?

It depends on how we're defining Zionism. If we're defining Zionism as "support of the modern state of Israel," I am a post-Zionist because the state exists. If we're defining Zionism as "the right of Jews as a native people to live and have self-determination in their native land," (which is also my personal definition), I am a proud Zionist. If Zionism means "support for the murder of innocent Palestinian people," then I am anti-Zionist, but that is a definition that divorces Zionism from its historical context.

Can you reblog my donation post?

Probably not, unless we already know each other. Due to the amount of donation scams that have popped up on tumblr recently, I don't feel safe giving money to random people that ask.

#wentz.txt #pinned post #intro post #long post

[thatdebaterguy]

Usually I would go anon but I am at the point where I don't care what people think anymore. I would rather be honest and have these people off my blog than keep doing it in secret.

Anyways, I was scrolling through a post (because I hate myself). Tumblr wouldn't let me put the link for some reason:

This isn't the whole post, but 2/3 of it. It's about how Israel was "tricking" children into picking up bombs that looked like food cans. Someone corrected this in the comment section.

And in response to the correction (there was more than one person correcting):

This is a massive issue I've seen with that side of the conflict. They don't care if the information they spread is true as long as it fits the narrative of "Palestine = weak, helpless, 100% good and pure victim. Israel: evil, colonists, eats Palestine babies for breakfast." And it's almost scary the lack of critical thinking to make sure everything fits into this mindset.

I once corrected someone's mistranslation on Pinterest of all places, where someone said a Hebrew translation was ""May this (bomb) lands on innocent people". It was just the company name. I was attacked and told I was a "genocidal zionist" and there was my favorite, "well it doesn't matter if it's true or not, it's what they mean".

So basically, "yeah it doesn't matter if it's fake information, it fits with MY beliefs, so it's okay."

I hate the Pro-Palestinian cult.

It is genuinely depressing to see blatant misinformation spread, for example I've been given the link to a site that takes supposed quotes from Israeli officials completely out of context, half the time a complete lie, and told it's some kind of proof Israel is the epitome of moral sin, despite being the most equal state in the middle east. I saw this post and saw another one debunking how the imagine has been altered in a misleading way, just as I saw a post of a server room that's linked to a Hamas database under an UNRWA facility, and someone said it powered a solar panel. Keep in mind they didn't lie for the Palestinian civilians, that was to straight up cover for Hamas.

The screenshot of someone calling Hamas 'freedom fighters' is actually scary.

this is the first thing you see when you search for the ideology of Hamas. Yk the worst part? This would be called zionist propaganda just because it says Hamas have committed terrorism, and October 7th happened. These are literal facts though, Hamas are proud of October 7th, proud of killing thousands, kidnapping hundreds, committing acts of terrorism. If you have any sense of morality, you cannot defend Hamas, even if you see them as on the right side or as freedom fighters, their methods alone make them a monstrous organisation. They wear plain civilian clothes in war, a war crime, they have been verified to use civilian buildings for cover, a war crime, they've killed thousands of innocents purposefully, a war crime, they've openly called for the annexation and occupation of Israel, a sovereign country with millions of ethnic Jews who would be 3rd class citizens in a Hamas ruled Palestine.

Israel doesn't want Gaza. They don't want to destroy it, to own it, they wish they never had to hear about it again, let alone invade it to remove Hamas from power. And the fact that people are scared to voice their beliefs against a literal terror group, against misinformation, is insane. You know, the only reason I'm on Israel's side is because when it comes to debates I follow the science, the figures, the statistics, a fixed code of morality and logic, and that leads to me to Israel because they've never instigated a conflict in their entire history, they've voluntarily surrendered land in pursuit of peace, aided the countries that have invaded them, they're by the definition not committing genocide, they're legally and factually in a war of self defence to topple an extremist dictatorial government, the figures show as far as modern urban warfare goes, the civilian-military death ratio is lower than most conflicts, they factually have a historical claim to the land, they built Tel Aviv, built Jerusalem, 400,000 Jews lived the region of Israel before its existence as a modern state, it just all points to Israel.

But I support the people of Palestine, I empathise with them, I want them to be free of the dictators who lead them to this war and suffering they must endure, and I pray they'll get the liberation they deserve. They deserve better than the nightmare of a government that rule over Gaza. And yet none of the Palestinian supporters protest Hamas. They don't realise, protesting against Hamas doesn't weaken the right for civilians to receive aid, because they're forced into this mindset that the Palestinian government and movement has always been one of perfect ineffable morality and one that you must be insanely villainous to even have any contradicting thoughts on. I'm a more conservative guy who's best friend of 4 years recently told me that they're genderfluid, in a polyamorous relationship with a trans man, and have a 'fursona' but since I know they're a person with good intentions in life I support them in finding happiness and getting better. I'd say that makes me fairly open minded, without tooting my own horn too much. But I will never be open to the idea that Hamas have ever wanted what's best for Palestine. Their actions are selfish, their goals are psychopathic, their behaviour is unwarranted, and their care for being a successful governing body is minimal. Gaza, whether prospering before October 7th or not, was legally an independent, sovereign region of the nation of Palestine, who have their own government, constitution, voting system, currencies they operate with, culture, freedom of movement, unless it's to Israel of course, and have been so since Israel pulled out of Gaza.

Israel actually occupied Gaza once. It was better maintained, the people were more looked after. In the years before Israel pulled out of Gaza, the Palestinian economy grew by the largest margin in at least 20 years, and then under Hamas, became incredibly stagnant, with foreign aid being the only thing propping it up. They let unemployment skyrocket despite the opening of more high tech facilities, once again thanks to foreign aid. Now, Israel doesn't want Gaza back, nor should they have it, but when the people of the nationality that Hamas wish to destroy, governed their land even better despite not even being the sovereign owners of that land and just the occupiers, it says a lot. Don't be afraid to speak out against Hamas, since you have no love for the Palestinian people if you don't want them to be free from the suffering Hamas has brought.

#israel #politics #palestine #gaza #current events #hamas

[starryseas-tardisdreams]

Someone anon messaged me some bullshit message about Palestine and than anon messaged me again within a few hours saying I was a coward for not answering. So let me be real clear on a few things.

1) You need to go outside and touch grass. Not all of us live on the internet 24/7. Why do you expect instant replies from strangers on the Internet? I spent my evening sharing food with the homeless and planning our next local Palestine March. Maybe instead of making hateful Palestine content, you should go do something for others as is the real Jewish way.

2) Messaging someone anonymously and then calling them the coward is pretty wild. If you’re proud of your stances there’s no reason to be anonymous.

3) I will not engage with Zionists outside of sending them educational materials. In the last few weeks Zionists yelled antisemitic and gendered (bitch, cunt, whore, etc) slurs at me, called me a fake Jew (I am visibly Jewish in a Kippah and Tallis at protests), pushed and groped me, and threatened me with rape and murder. I don’t care if you think you’re not one of them. The fact of the matter is you’re still cool with colonization, apartheid, and genocide. You are cool with evangelical Christians, including Holocaust deniers. You have bastardized my religion. I will not engage with you.

#zionism #anti zionisim #israel #free palestine #palestine

[strawbebbynya]

About me!

Hello! I'm Sylvan, 28, and my pronouns are he/him and mew/mews (the latter pronouns are preferred)!

You can support me financially through Paypal, Cashapp ($giftofeden), or venmo (@giftofeden)!

You can find stuff I've made in the tag #my stuff. You can find my face in #bastard spotted.

My other blogs are northamericanpurgatory (aesthetic), wordofazem (FFXIV spoiler blog), and aretheyaterf, which I run alongside my friend Andy.

Hit that read more to learn more about me!

I'm a Jewish man living in the US, but was raised secularly in deep south Texas, so I've been (extremely) slowly trying to learn about my heritage. I make a lot of mistakes, so please tell me if I got something wrong or reblogged from a Zionist or a neo nazi.

I'm also a therian, fictionkin, and otherkin (surprisingly they all have different meanings), and have known I was otherkin since I was a child. I am willing to talk about my kins and whatnot when asked, but don't expect a list. Also, I'm specifically a sphynx cat (hairless cat) therian!

I'm also a huge furry, and my fursona is a hairless vtuber named Strawbebby! I'm also wanting to make a dragon, Pokémon, and wolf fursona, but that hasn't come to fruition yet. I have no money.

Probably should've mentioned this earlier, but I'm a genderfluid trans masc man. I call myself a femboy personally, but don't expect me to fit the stereotype of pretty n skinny boy. I call myself queer loud and proud, but I will not call you queer if you don't want me to, just don't expect me to play into your respectability politics

I am disabled, physically and mentally, which I sometimes talk about here. Idk what wise to say.

I am asexual, demiromantic, and polyamorous! I have two girlfriends who are not on tumblr, a QPP, and a boyfriend (daedricprincessorigin).

I'm a former fanfic writer under the username ElZacharie on FF.net and AO3, as well as a poet, with some older poetry on deviantart under the name victimofscience. My much older work from the beginning of my poetry career, under the name xHigherxNowx, was deleted and lost more than a decade ago. I hope to one day write something substantial enough to be published, or at least have my poetry catch the eyes of others on the internet. You can find my newer stuff under #my poetry and #my writing. I'm also a huge fan of creating backstories for characters and worldbuilding, mostly because I suck at sticking to long projects.

Speaking of long projects, I plan to slowly teach myself to draw with a tablet and to play guitar, two of my lifelong dreams. I also want to learn to sew, but I'm too scared of fucking up, among other more tangible reasons like space, so that's never happening.

#Pinned post #Pinned intro #Wip

[tempobrucera]

Because I have enough and I usually don't talk about the anon asks in my inbox or anything that isn't fun on here (for reasons) but I have a limit. And this here is just ugly.

TW: Antisemitism, saying Ukraine is lead by a Zionist (yeah, Jewish people rule the world - got it), rape mention, literal death treats, ect. The list is long. Here we go, those are the highlights from about 100 asks or more, I am going to spare you the holocaust denial.

@anon - You're a clown. An antisemitic clown but you're still a goddamn clown and nothing more. I hope you're aware that I could take this to the police.

Discussing with people who feel the need to talk like this is absolutely senseless but maybe we can show someone else what the problem here is.

This is the problem: Jewish people are currently telling you that your rock icon (R*ger W*ters) on his pedestal is walking on antisemitic terrain and has done so for years. Not the first time Jewish people do so and are disregarded by people who don't know about our struggles or what we face. I told someone today that it's not good to talk over Jewish voices when it mainly concerns us, we might be few (open a history book - antisemitism didn't start during the 1930's) but we still have the right to be heard and to be threated like humans. I said this in a reply to a post and in DMs (which haven't really been answered, neither was I listened to - you can't apologize one billion time for "personal backlash" (......... you mean antisemitic hate death threats which don't have to do anything with me except for me being Jewish? Stop pretending this is "personal backlash") and was literally told, that they aren't talking over Jewish voices (you are - I'm not the first Jewish person pointing his tendecies out) and basically that it was disinformation. You're still talking over me.

So. We established that he used a pig with a Star of David on stage. People already pointed out ten years ago that this is antisemitic and he tried to weasel his way out of it with a half-assed explanation which btw doesn't make it better.

I am aware that Pigs is part of one of his bands concept albums and that they stand for wealthy, cunning people in office. He has said and claimed that it isn't the represent Jewish people. The problem is when you don't want to represent Jewish faith it is easy enough to not use the Star of David. "I have many Jewish friends" is an argument like "I'm not rassist, I have a Black friend", "I'm not a homophobe, I have gay friends". "it is almost inevitable that the symbol of the religion becomes confused with the symbol of the state" - No, you are the one who is confusing it. I have never stepped foot into Israel (while I worked for humanitarian aid in Palestine and Iraq (that's a story in itself) - when these countries where labelled active war zones), but I'm proud of my Jewish heritage. Stop confusing Israeli (government) with Jewish faith. Most Jewish people live outside of Israel. The other problem here is that "Judensau" / "Judenschwein" (Jewish pig) is used as an insult, especially by Nazis and people who are leaning towards antisemitism (you might not know that as a person who's not Jewish but I've heard this enough times growing up), so putting the symbol of Judaism (not goddamn Israel) on a pig isn't the smartest idea by default. In Germany and Europe, in churches and paintings, Jewish people were often depicted as pigs or Jewish people sucking on a sow (I can tell you, not in good faith). Furthermore have Jewish people adjectives like "wealthy", "cunning", "manipulative", "dirty" or that they "secretly run the world" associated with them for millenia. So putting the Star of David into this context is not a smart idea. Not at all, because it's heating up antisemitic rhetorics and resentments. You might not want to be associated with Nazis but I can tell you, Nazis will always be happy to associate themselves with you and they always do, I have seen them leech onto less than this.

He also claimed that the U.S. is being controlled by Jewish Republican donor Sheldon Adelson and described him as a “puppet master” who is “filling the coffers and pulling all the strings” on U.S. policies. Which brings us back to the antisemitic believe that Jewish people run the world. If you think, he said something like this only once, no he did it more than once over the years. (Also more than twice, or three times, honestly I STOPPED counting).

"Waters repeatedly promoted antisemitic conspiracies and themes, including that a nefarious “Israel lobby” prevented the election of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK" - this interview is from this year btw, not ten years ago because you all so fixated on how long some bullshit is ago.

"(Sheldon Adelson) believes that only Jews – only Jewish people – are completely human, that they are attached in some way… everybody else on Earth is there to serve them" - That is a quote out of the interview from this year. He's talking about JEWISH people, not ISRAEL. You get what the problem here is? It doesn't matter that he apologizes anymore, he does it so often, his apologies are fucking worthless at best at this point.

He also implied Israelis / Jewish people are kind of responsible for George Floyds death (yes, Jewish people run the world, it is getting boring)

He called verified reports of Beijing’s enslavement of Uyghur Muslims and massacre of Tibetan Buddhists "absolute nonsense".

I don't know how much bullshit has to come out of one single person that you might think, maybe I shouldn't support this.

All of this leads to another problem. You can always say stuff like "I don't agree with everything this person does", "I don't agree what he said about Ukraine", "I can disagree and agree with some one" (Yes, but you're automatically treating some people as lesser with this view, congratulations. One good thing doesn't make the other things better or excusable). The problem is that there's also other people who will be like "Thank you, but I agree with the view on Jewish people and I think the same on Ukraine" and in a few hours you will have a person under your post that says Ukraine is being lead by a Zionist (yes, Jewish people rule the world, we got it). And then you don't even have the balls to call this out or you think the same, who knows. And people who feel encouraged to send death threats, are denying the shoah, and so much more. This is the problem, if you think it's okay on a small scale, people will use it on a big scale. If you really don't see one problem with any of this, you're the problem, not me.

And for fucks sake: Stop getting on people's nerves who talk to me, are nice to me or reblogged my previous post.

#i will tag it because people have to understand their actions and that they have consequences #you might be priviliged enough that they don't have consequences for you. but they do for other people. #maneskin #antisemitism #nazis tw #(not really but they associated themselves with an idiot. so. and their fanbase clearly has a goddamn problem)

[tjmystic]

Short version: racists, stop co-opting religious symbols, because now I can't tell who's just religious and who's using those symbol to declare their racism.

Long version (under the cut):

Something happened to me in the late 2000s where I stopped seeing crosses as a source of comfort. Like, I have one in my bedroom, but I mean seeing crosses on other people, like on necklaces and things. As a kid, seeing them made me feel safe, to a degree, because I automatically "knew" that I had something in common with the people wearing them.

And then I started listening to the kinds of things that most of those people said, and all of the comfort bled away.

I'm still Christian, but I never see a cross anymore and think, "Oh, that person believes the same things I do!" More often, they believe the exact opposite. I generally hate to be an idealism purist, same as claiming to know everything and have all of the answers, but I DO know that Christianity has rarely been what Jesus wanted, and never when it was the predominant religion of the ruling class. Even though what these people practice clearly ISN'T Christianity, though, the religion itself and its symbols mostly make me feel uncomfortable now.

Well, I'm starting to feel the same way with Stars of David. And I DETEST that. Because, just like with my religion, I KNOW that Judaism is NOT what Zionists and evangelical hate groups are trying to make it into. I know that more Jewish people than not oppose the genocide in Palestine because they've been victims of countless genocides themselves and know that "never again" means for everyone, not just Jews. I know that Judaism is not a religion or ethnicity built on hate. But, just like I know the same about Christianity while evangelicals and fundamentalists clearly don't, I know this about Judaism while Zionists don't. I can't even say there's a significant difference between the two, because, at least in America, nationalism has tainted both to the degree that most public figures of both Christianity and Judaism are the loudest supporters of Israel. And now I'm wary every time I see a Star of David in someone's profile picture, because I don't know if it's from a Jewish person who's rightfully proud of their heritage and/or religion, a Jewish person loudly reaffirming their faith by asserting that their beliefs don't condone genocide, or a Zionist who co-opted the symbol for their hate crimes or support of them.

I hate it.

I mean, what next? Am I going to start feeling uncomfortable when I see the aum? The crescent? The yin yang symbol? Which group is going to take a religion -- an inherently neutral thing -- next and turn it into something vile that makes me question the morals of everyone associated with it?

I don't hate religions. I love the ways that people have faith and express it. I love the different ways that so many human beings see God or the divine. Religion is not the enemy because, to paraphrase David Mitchell, people have killed each other in the name of anything, whether it was politics or religion or something else, since the dawn of time. Removing religion just removes the comfort and sense of identity that a lot of people cling to in their darkest moments. But the more that wicked people appropriate symbols of faith, the harder it is trust that any religious person believes what they say instead of using their beliefs as a justification for cruelty. Especially since the people who are loudest about belonging to a specific religion are usually the ones doing the most harm.

And in case it wasn't clear (and because reading comprehension on this site is notoriously poor), this is NOT a place for antisemitism. Get out of here with that bullshit. Jewish people are just as much people as everyone else and have just as much of a right to their faith and ethnicity. Zionists, however, are scum who typically hide behind either Judaism or fundamentalist Christianity as an excuse to kill innocent people and colonize land that doesn't belong to them.

#anti zionism #free palestine #anti evangelism

[artichao]

I am truly happy that yesterday, none of my art peaked and instead it was the important information I posted about yesterday's strike.

As an artist, none of your work should matter when it comes to demanding a ceasefire. Some other time you can fuss about your work. March 2nd was about making a global stance.

Thank you to everyone who spread the information and a much much larger thank you to everyone who took part in the strike.

Nothing makes me happier than knowing I did something to help. I was worried my post wouldn't reach anyone, but with your help it did. I noticed in the Notes that, just like me, not everyone was made aware in advance of the strike. So I'm so glad I was able to educate at least one or two more people. That's all I wanted.

Yesterday, making my stance was a struggle. My stepdad is a zionist, my mother doesn't bother to educate (she listens to my stepdad or prefers to stay ignorant), my middle sister doesn't understand the severity of the situation (she said I should stop looking at viral depressing news, it's "not that serious") and my eldest believes "we should stay neutral". I am surrounded by people who do not understand. Regardless, I tried spreading as much information and media as I could and subtly wore Palestinian colours to show my support in public.

Standing up for what's right will always, always be difficult. Especially when your own family doesn't believe you're correct. But I'm proud in each and every one of you for having the confidence to speak on the behalf of Gaza. Your voices are heard.

[bandzboy]

it's a difficult topic but i personally feel like at a certain point, openly supporting the idols still makes you complicit in a way. there's degrees to this, of course, but kpop is built on fanbases' effort. personally streaming some songs might even have less of an impact than openly supporting idols, maybe even creating content like gifs and videos, and pulling in other fans to keep platforming them. kinda like not buying a product on a boycott list but still raving about it (and with idols their personhood/idol persona is so tied up into the end product of the music that it's basically impossible to separate). social media silence would be a lot more impactful than just limiting streams, but there's no way that's gonna happen.

this situation is not like the loona situation, because the idols are not the victims here, but are, to varying degrees, actively complicit/silent and enjoying the benefits from that (while people who speak out are being punished). this is a very harsh statement, but most people, and most idols, do care more about their comfort and careers than any social cause not directly affecting them and would rather not speak out.

it's an uncomfortable situation, but i think it's an extremely important conversation to have, and keep having, and keep in mind. even if you don't wanna completely boycott your idols, fans need to be fully aware of what that means, from both sides. even if people come to the conclusion to still openly support and promote their idols, even if they don't stop collaborating with zionists, they need to consciously know what that means and not look away because it's an uncomfortable truth.

i genuinely can see where you are coming from and that's maybe in part i have been feeling so disconnected from groups nowadays and it's because i do also think about this. i just hate that there are variables here which is like some of them might not support this and be against it but there isn't much they can do about it or they do and genuinely don't care my problem with all of this sometimes is not knowing what any of my faves actual stand for. this side of the kpop industry that annoys me severely it's how they essentially make idols to not be political or any of the sort so we don't exactly know what they stand for most of the time. i get some of them might make an effort but it's still not a huge display of anything if you get what i mean. and we always find ourselves thinking of whether or not we are supporting someone awful bc that has happened many times in diverse situations and then the fans feel bad for not knowing and like how can you feel bad when they are actively hiding that from you? and i mean it's insane how so many groups nowadays have international fanbases and these labels always are oh so proud of this but then don't care about what international fans have to say or how we feel especially fans who are targeted by their race and when these idols do something out of pocket and we want a statement there's no accountability or genuinely no effort on their part to make anything right. and this brings me to this like, it's obvious that are fans that are palestinian in kpop spaces and some of them are leading these boycotts and when these boycotts get bigger, which they will have no doubt in that, i wonder what they will do or if idols will say anything at all because how can something be so in their face and then don't say anything at all STILL? and that's when i will genuinely give up. but truly, there are certain things that should maybe be reevaluated about this boycott but truly i am just trying to especially hear what Palestinian fans want because their opinions matter the most here i don't really know what else to say or to add but i do agree that this is a conversation that should be brought up in this context because we have to evaluate all possibilities unfortunately

#but i completely agree #it's something i debate about it a lot #and that's why i definitely don't put this topic aside #asks #anon

[archtroop]

Listen. Listen.

I am Zionist. I am Jewish. I am proud Isrseli.

This is my home.

I believe in WHERE I am. This is my place. I was born to end up HERE. And although I don't know what the future holds, I feel in my bones that thisTHIS place is RIGHT AND TRUE.

And I have to say something important about Evangelical Christian Zionism:

I don't mind it. I really don't.

Listen. If you believe that, Jesus Christ will fall off the sky at the end of days because Jews are back home, listen. I won't stop the man, ok? If Jesus falls right here right now in front of my doorstep, I'll greet the poor guy, and make him a NesCaffe. We will have a talk. Really, I wouldn't mind. The man will probably have some questions. He missed on pretty much a lot.

Listen. If Gog U Magog is what will come for all of us at the end of times... I don't mind because it would be The End of Times, and until then, we need to survive TODAY. And then, when the End comes for us, we will fight it too. We will cross that bridge when we get there. That's how our story goes.

We Jews are realists. More than one might imagine. So, if we survive today to see tomorrow, with the help of thy neighbor who believes in the YEAR that comes next? Who am I to devoid him of this belief? As long as thy neighbor don't wage a war against Israel, and Bney Israel, I don't mind.

And anyway, if Jesus decides to fall off the sky, I am pretty sure he wouldn't try and kill me because I am Jewish.

Kind of OOC.

People do weird shit for religion. And that man will have a long reckoning with his followers for all the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc. They will have to have a loooooong talk. Like Bulgakov wrote, and I am paraphrasing, "I feel like this confusion might last for a while", Jesus said, as he walked off into the light.

So, yeah, that is me, Jewish Israeli and firmly Zionist, and to be frank, you can't scare me with Jesus.

#zionism is landback #homeland #Evangelical Christian zionism #jewish secular thoughts

[nation-of-bros]

They pray before driving out Palestinians to found more Jewish settlements on their land…

» With Hamas' attack on Israel, the situation has become even worse. Since then, eight Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by settlers and 113 others by Israeli soldiers, according to the UN human rights office. Around a thousand Palestinians were driven from their homes.

…

Under Netanyahu's right-wing government, the settlers, an important group of voters, experienced a political boost. Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both live in settlements themselves. In March, Smotrich spoke out in favor of "wiping out" the small Palestinian town of Huwara. «

[source]

—

Goyim – Just Milking Cows

In their eyes, we "goyim" are just "cattle" literally. They exploit us shamelessly; stupid non-Jews, groupies of the Zionists who are milked and sacrificed; we are nothing more for them.

The entire Israeli state and welfare is financed by the USA, but also Europe. They are living out their Zionist dream at our expense. They are nothing but parasites who have caused all the hatred of Hamas itself through generations of violence against Palestinians.

The Muslims in Europe are young and willing to use violence, but they don't have this much deeper malevolent intelligence that works against us behind the scenes, mentally perverting us from the inside with all the garbage they put into our society, including their morals.

Christianity must be overcome

Starting with Christianity, which is ultimately just Judaism for non-Jews and has been perverting us for centuries; where they made us worship a "Jew Jesus Christ" who sacrificed himself "for our sins." mixed in with a bit of pagan stuff to make it more digestible for the people of the time. It's such bullshit from start to finish. I really wonder which culture we are actually supposed to be defending here. What is really “German”? In any case, unlike Merkel, I cannot identify with “our Judeo-Christian heritage,” as she once claimed.

I've always pissed on the cross and the entire church! I am also proud to be unbaptized!

Ultimately, in 500 years one could then say in Germany or what is left of it: "we must defend our Islamic heritage"… At least I can get a little more masculinity out of it than this sheep religion called Christianity. Since, it's really the case that in Europe you can say: Christians are consistently pro-vaccinations, pro-climate rescue, pro-Ukraine aid, pro… no matter what the authorities say, they are always fully up-to-date with the system , just like it once was, only now adapted to the postmodern, green, cosmopolitan zeitgeist. This 180 degree turnaround from witch burners to green cosmopolitan hypocrites is remarkable. But the idiocy always remains.

In order not to endanger my peace of mind and ascent into transcendence, I should put these negative thoughts aside after this short essay, but these impressions have triggered these thoughts in me that I have intuitively been harboring deep within me my whole life, probably bad experiences from past lives in dealing with Christians.

I really have to say, Christianity has spread so many untruths and false views that it pisses me off that the world is the way it is. I will never accept this. Let alone the whole concept of the beyond in Abrahamic religions is incredibly spiritually limiting; not to mention their sexual morals coming from idiotic literal old text interpretations.

#essay

[theros]

Things you may want to look out for before following me:

Accessibility warnings:

I have colored text and special fonts turned off by Xkit. Eyestrainy textposts are a migraine trigger for me. If I reblog something with eyestrainy or hard to read text and I don't tag it, it's because it looks like ordinary plain text to me.

My gif tag is "#gif warning". I try to use it consistently but may forget.

I've started trying to use "#autoplay warning" for videos. Again, I may forget.

Regarding users under 18:

Minors can follow, but please do not private message me. Likewise, any asks sent by minors will be posted publicly. I'm not comfortable with private one-on-one conversations with minors, sorry.

I prefer not to follow minors. If I followed you and you're a minor, it's because I couldn't find your age range (which you are NOT required to share). Please soft me.

Opinions:

I don't agree with every single thing said by anyone I follow/reblog from. I might reblog one post I wholly agree with while completely disagreeing with the OP/commenter about a different post they make. Unless I find out OP/the commenter is actually a bad person (zionist, white supremacist, etc.) I don't care if we have different views on some things or even different discourse opinions. That's literally normal.

I support the majority of controversial or "weird" identities. This includes but is not limited to mspec gays/lesbians, multisexual/romantic labels other than bi, xenogenders, neurogenders, religiogenders, gender nonconforming and pronoun nonconforming people, nonlesbians using "femme" and "butch", quoi- labels, contradictory labels, confusing labels, and more.

I don't support any identity or label that comes from the radqueer/transid/transx/trans+ community.

I support nondisordered systems that are not transplural or otherwise radqueer/transx. I'm traumagenic. Endos don't harm the plural community in any way.

Species dysphoria is a thing. "Transspecies" was a term used by alterhumans long before the radqueer community bastardized it.

I'm really uncomfortable with the term "p-shifter". I am aware that some alterhumans have been reclaiming it, but please don't follow me if you identify as a p-shifter. I was physically abused when I was in the p-shifter community and the word brings up really bad memories whenever I see it.

Ship/art/kink/whatever:

I don't care about shipping or shipcourse. Don't force proship/antiship labels on me. I'm neither, I hate the black/white thinking on the issue, and I'll block anyone on either side who thinks doxxing and callouts for shipcourse are okay or says the people they disagree with should be shot/executed/anything else.

Other than pedo/zoo stuff (which I block over [including lolisho; it makes me uncomfortable]), I don't care what you ship, write, draw, or get off to, just please for the love of god tag it so that people who are triggered by, squicked by, or just plain don't want to see certain things can blacklist and avoid them.

Monsterfucking or thinking sheaths or other nonhuman traits in fantasy art or sex toys are hot doesn't make you a zoophile or bestialist. Wanting to abuse real life animals does.

Dark/taboo/"immoral" kinks are fine. What two or more consenting adults do with and to each other is none of my business 👍

I'll hardblock bestialists/proud zoos, maps, aams, white supremacists, zionists, radfems, and radqueers who follow me.

[chicago-geniza]

well i intended to go for a nice evening walk, ended up having a panic attack, ordering a couple of cocktails at the bougie bar, joining a jam session with a bunch of old hippies on the logan green (one of them gave me a handpainted wooden medallion which seems to be carved out of tree bark, strung on a length of yarn???), met a crustpunk train-hopping dude in town for the month (& his dog, in a leather-studded harness) who's lived in 45/50 states & a 44 yr old guy everyone called "the wizard" wearing a tattered, patch-covered robe who shares most of my parents' conspiracy theories & considers himself a latter-day prophet, he bought us sorbet & ice cream, wound up hanging out with them & staying up all night at their indescribably eclectic, cluttered, blood-spattered (!!!) apartment, belonging to 44 yr old guy's art curator father & decorated accordingly, smoking m*th & listening to music & talking (or rather listening to them rant/rave/recount stories from their incredibly wild lives), i gave them advice on applying for unemployment & medicaid & how to appear compliant enough w/ carceral psychiatric intervention so they won't section you without actually submitting to forced medication or institutionalization, especially if they assign you a case worker & do regular "wellness checks." also how to pass off certain aspects of behavioral dysregulation as executive dysfunction, get them to pay for an adhd evaluation, get an adderall IR scrip, sell the 30 mg pills (cite body weight, high doses of other psych meds as reason for higher dose; look sincere; play to systemic biases toward cis white men, unfortunately), & use the cash to buy m*th, if they'd prefer to keep doing that. you can also pass positive psychotic symptoms--agitation etc.--off as severe anxiety, especially if you have a history of trauma, & they will give you benzodiazepines. it is in their best interest to keep you docile, i.e. tranquilized, particularly if your past convictions & involuntary institutionalizations revolve around a pattern of aggressive behavior, & that's On The Record/there's a paper trail. (e.g. one dude got arrested trying to keep cars away from an injured bird on the road, some genre of raptor i think (???) by threatening them with a shopping cart, not hitting them, but like, running at them as if to collide then feinting at the last minute so they'd swerve out of the way. not the safest or most effective maneuver, lotta reckless endangerment, but the motivation was admirable. probably put the fear of god into some drivers, though. he doesn't seem to have, like, impulse control.) it's a lot easier & you have fewer run-ins with the cops if you game the system & appear cooperative. they gave me this coat, which "just showed up in their apartment one day," like i did. 44 yr old guy walked me back to apartment, stole a street sign & tore down a real estate sign en route, lori lightfoot did indeed take down the pride flag in front of her house on july 1st & replace it with an appropriately patriotic american flag, i walked past the idling plainclothes cop car & another marked police vehicle with their Mayoral Guarding Detail inside at like 4.30 am smoking a menthol cigarette (not inhaling), high on m*th, draped in a neon anime jacket, in the company of a visibly insane, unshaven & unshorn middle-aged man in a technicolor patchwork trenchcoat, holding a lit cigarette in one hand & an upside-down traffic cone in the other, which he was using as an ad hoc amplifier for a noise track playing on my phone. he was also carrying the stolen real estate banner &, inexplicably, a stack of mail. i gave him my old backup phone (no SIM card & doesn't hold a charge long, ancient, but still works), since neither he nor the other dude have phones (cops took them), also one hybrid edible for each of them, as a thanks for the m*th & the kindness. their hearts are in the right place but they have some fucked-up beliefs about "reverse racism" being real, while also saying in the same breath that you can tell our country is irredeemable by the way it continues to

treat black people. we were discussing medical weed for seizures on medicaid & 44 yr old guy mentioned one of his close friends, a black epileptic woman, whose seizures were frequent & severe enough they prevented her from working. then he added, in apparent bemusement, they she hadn't spoken to him in some time, & he wondered why. a little while later he relayed their last conversation & i was like "my dude, i can say with 100% certainty she is not talking to you because you said some *appallingly*, jaw-droppingly racist shit & did not even realize it was racist." then i, comma, a white person, explained to this man that he literally thought of their exchange as, like, an abstract argument over insignificant ideas, a theoretical exercise, & therefore considered it simply a smug gotcha to "counter" hotep theories about egyptian origin by claiming that "if that's true, american slavery & the oppression of black people in america are divine retribution for the enslavement of the jews in ancient egypt, an eye for an eye & a deserved punishment." like, first of all, what the actual fuck, if i were that woman i would also never speak to you again, second of all there's the collapse of historical time & mythical time, history & exegesis, an assumption that rests on spurious claims of biblical literalism (zionist colonization logic, btw! him: what's exegesis? what's zionism? me: never mind, not the point. exegesis is the interpretation of religious texts in a religious CONtext, in this case what you would likely call the hebrew bible.)--but most importantly it is 100% irrelevant to this discussion whether or not black americans are Actually Factually descendended from ancient egypt! you just told this woman to her face that the ancestry she claims, of which she's proud, is the reason & justification for SLAVERY & BLACK SUFFERING--not only that, but that if it WERE true, than black people would DESRVE to suffer, by DIVINE DECREE. you are trying to force her to abdicate her claim on this heritage by putting her in a position where she'd be forced to concede complicity in her people's historical & present-day persecution, oppression, & essentially the existence of structural racism. & using The Figural Jew as a rhetorical cudgel to bludgeon her into this corner. what a despicable thing to say. like, he hadn't considered it from her perspective at all, & once he groked why the comment itself was, like, unforgivable (idk, maybe she's more forgiving; she has a virtue-name), i started socratic-method-ing him through why it was particularly unforgivable for *him* to say to *her*--the individual is not responsible for the systems from they benefit, but they are imbricated in them, they are implicated when they actively perpetuate & uphold them, even with speech acts. & finally gave the same "there is no such thing as reverse racism because racism is not an individual act, it is an institutional, systemic phenomenon, & it is an ideology, one which individual acts can bear out or be in accordance with, & to which individuals can subscribe (this bearing it out in their behavior, in their institutional roles, in their interpersonal interactions--here i gave & solicited examples of each) or be subject (also gave & solicited examples). m*th makes me very good at Explaining clearly & he was surprisingly receptive--like, it was astonishing that it had not occurred to him??? but it hadn't, the same way it hadn't occurred to my mother, & she interpreted it as "reverse racist" when their next-door neighbor called her the "white devil" for disputing their property line, & i had to be like "ok but if you called in a random third party to mediate in lily-white [city], oregon, where white supremacists openly drive down the street in pickup trucks with swastika armbands, whose side do you think they would take, statistically speaking, in your property dispute. that's why racism is systemic & institutional, & your rude neighbor calling you a name over a disagreement does not constitute 'reverse racism,' because 'reverse racism' by definition cannot

exist." now this dude wants to like, read books, so i gotta get him some entry-level Intro To Racism primers??? how did i end up here, but better me than his black epileptic (ex-)friend, i guess??? jesus christ. both of these guys have the most chaotic, reactionary politics in a potpourri with these deep commitments to abolition & mutual aid & a kind of proto-anarchist consciousness, none of which would be called by those names, but all of which is borne out in practice & in the politics of everyday life. they remind me a LOT of my parents. i'm loath to imagine how they'd internalize my stepdad's rambling, street-preacher-style libertarian lectures. probably go out & buy guns & invest in gold on the stock market & double down on the conviction that free speech is being curtailed & individual rights are in jeopardy because you can no longer unleash a barrage of harassment against some guy on the street because you think he looked at you funny. these claustrophobic convictions, like the space to express oneself is getting smaller & smaller every day, *other people* are taking it away from you, suffocating you on all sides with their offense demanding your silence, they are *making* the walls close in--when in fact it's more like a holodeck. you're a member of the Hegemonic Group, afforded the privilege of the default, so you don't question the vast verdant expanse that is your domain--ah, Free Speech, the sun never sets on the empire of ~uncensored expression, you can say whatever you want whenever you want without facing consequences because you control all the organs that mete out consequences & you have also determined that those groups who might be adversely affected by your words--emotionally OR materially--are not, well...of consequence. but of course the vast verdant domain is an illusion, photons & forcefields, held together by the all-encompassing TOTALITY of the dominant group's hegemony, power, etc. once that power begins to redistribute throughout the system--however unevenly, however incrementally, however slowly--as even the smallest pieces are appropriated by those deemed inconsequential, who have endured years of systemic, material, institutional violence that allowed the dominant group to become dominant & retain its dominant position--once those 'inconsequential' groups speak up & say "actually, these words bear an indelible imprint of the violence enacted upon us, these words are the legacy of that violence, these words are a tacit endorsement of the ideology behind that violence, which classifies us as subhuman, & even if *you* can't hear those echoes, the words broadcast on two historical frequencies, so now that we're able to broadcast on a frequency *you* can hear, we request you find other language, & consider the implications of the words you've been using for years." well--once The Subaltern Speaks, the dominant group loses its 'innocence,' & becomes aware the vast verdant expanse of language is an illusion of infinite space, aware of the four holodeck walls pressing in behind the simulacrum of the horizon, & suddenly "what one can say without negative consequences"--largely social, sometimes, rarely, if social media goes viral, professional--feels much more claustrophobic. so they get angry. & some of them are just bigots, obviously, but some of them--like my parents, &, even, this weirdly well-intentioned m*thhead who said one of the most shockingly racist things i've heard in my life & *honestly didn't understand why it was racist*, is really riled up about free speech & individual rights, hates the government, hates "FANG" (facebook amazon netflix google) & has a bunch of dystopian conspiracy theories about data harvesting & personal information that only miss the mark in that they get too nefariously biopolitical (billionaires want to put microchips in everybody for surveillance to monitor our movements & sell us more stuff; they don't need to, they already use our phone location & browsing habits to generate the algorithm & sell the information to ad companies lol, it's digital& cast a

single illuminati figure in the role of comic book villain, controlling the operation behind the scenes like an evil puppetmaster (classic conspiracy fare; again, we gotta take that energy, that suspicion, the understanding that they are being taken advantage of & tricked, the idea that power & capital & resources are concentrated among a very small number of people, however it's not an individual wealthy villain with a desire for world domination who wants to turn Free Americans into microchipped drones, it's a *class* of people--or rather several classes, but *who those people are as individuals does not matter*. if you guillotined bill gates, another billionaire would take his place. bill gates qua bill gates is not the problem. it is classes of people who control the means of production & own property & profit enormously from exploiting the labor of a desperate, rapidly increasing underclass, i.e. from the system as it is. therefore it is in their interest to maintain the status quo, because it serves them. 'the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.' the middle class gradually ceases to exist. if you want to compound it by race, consider the GI bill as an example - you learn about it as the leg up that enabled thousands of WWII vets to buy houses, enabling them to enter the middle class. hundreds of thousands of third-gen middle class white americans still reap the structural, socioeconomic benefits of their grandparents' initial upward mobility, including,, very tangibly, those selfsame houses, which can be inherited & then rented out as a second property if the children or grandchildren accrue enough money to buy their own properties. but only about 100 black vets got approved for homeownership loans, despite the staggering numbers of black soldiers who enlisted & applied through the GI bill. anyway! the impulses are there, & they're only being funneled into conspiracy thinking because that makes intuitive sense on a narrative level. these guys have a high school education; so does my stepdad. their reading habits are...eclectic, sporadic, pretty much dictated by occasional recommendations & like, little free libraries around the neighborhood. it's both interesting & frustrating to see like - hey, here are these people, we agree on a lot of things, they're earnest & open & want to learn & would give their neighbor the shirt off their backs as a matter of principle. they'd give a *stranger* the shirt off their backs; they'd share whatever they had. even what chores there are in their collective--they live with two other guys--(dumpster diving, walking the dog, tidying up the apartment) are allocated by ability & inclination. they made advance plans to look after the dog & their roommate with War PTSD on the 4th of july if the fireworks upset them, jokingly called the dog an emotional support animal. you give them the tools, the reading, talk to them like normal people with a stake in society--like, imagine a society that would have a stake in people like you instead of criminalizing you & consigning you to the margins! that's already *political imagination* because anyone who occupies a marginalized position will have their existence politicized, whether they want this or not, so better to become a self-aware, self-reflexive political subject, no?--talk *with* them because tbh i am them, i'm just better at situational masking & also i am very very afraid of cops so i only damage property in groups during planned political actions (not spontaneously, because i feel a flash of rage at my neighborhood gentrifying, & simply do not have a superego, so i tear down the real estate sign for the fancy new apartment complex in a fit of pique, because in this house we believe that spontaneity can & should be developed into class consciousness, again, the seeds of which are there in the initial trigger for the spontaneous reaction, i.e. anger at gentrification. not opposed to a little direct action, but they're just gonna put up a new sign tomorrow, it doesn't advance your agenda or hinder the gentrifiers' progress. now, if

you sabotaged the construction site for the new apartment buildings & painted a few potent symbols + graffiti'd a pithy, written statement expressing your opposition to gentrification generally & these apartments specifically? in a prominent place, large font, eye level, visible & legible from oh, a block away? maybe as a member of a collective, your neighbors, perhaps? & you could sign it "[neighborhood] or [block] residents" to pack more of a punch, the power of a crowd speaking in unison to say "not OUR home, you predatory developers"? that's no longer spontaneous, impulsive, affective violence, & it's also no longer an individual--acting alone leaves you vulnerable. again--i didn't just *intuit* that he tore the sign down because he was mad about gentrification, i asked, in a genuinely curious tone, not at all accusatory, no hint of reprimand or censure, just...interested, "why did you do that?" & he was like "it made me fucking mad." & i was like "what about it made you mad? the apartments? how come?" & he thought about it for a minute & explained. i'm not sure *he* necessarily made the conscious connection until prompted. idk, i know people talk a lot about the fact that breitbart & drudge report are free while NYT & "all the news fit to print" is paywalled, & q-pilled covid hoax sites are free while "reputable" pandemic coverage & public health guidelines & explanations of mRNA vaccines for a lay audience are paywalled & that's true but also We Live In A Society & if you talk to the wingnuts who AREN'T that way because of any far-right ideology, a lot of them are just...autodidacts without much formal education but a lot of raw intelligence that leads to analyzing The Big Picture & trying to deduce a pattern, find a framework that explains why the world is the way it is, profoundly frustrated, deeply aware of American society's, universalized & figured as the world's, exceptional unfairness & cruelty, & *that can be redirected* with reading, discussion, prompting critical thought, introducing community connections, & perhaps most importantly for this genre of person, getting them to see patterns at work in terms of systems & structures rather than individuals, letting go of American individualism's explanatory power & belief in its liberatory potential (see: the sort of ad hoc libertarianism that goes hand-in-glove with much conspiracy thinking, both stemming from 1) mistrusting the government, & 2) ultimate freedom of the individual as the most sacred value, therefore it is what all enemies want to take away), outlining positive, actionable goals rather than just ambient suspicion & anger at authority, & figuring out how those goals can be accomplished more effectively by an organized collective (but this will ultimately benefit the individual). If the world isn't run by a shadowy cabal, if you begin to understand the structures responsible & how they manifest even on the scale of your block (e.g.!!! predatory developers buying up properties during a pandemic, tearing down affordable housing to build expensive condos on the lot, or giving old buildings a "spit and polish" so they can double the rent, pricing all the current residents out, not to mention all the little local businesses, almost all mexican & run by the mexican families who live here, that give our block its culture & will get pushed out by boutique coffee shops & the like, catering to a more affluent & almost certainly whiter clientele)--you can, in fact, change the world, something both of them repeatedly referred to as their purpose on earth. it may not be as a maverick figure, one against an army, but strength in numbers is an aphorism for a reason.

anyway! thse guys were also really weird about jews, in the philosemitic way conspiracy theorists of a certain stripe often are. the itinerant vagabond guy gave me one of his drawings; it's really lovely. i'm going to give them "are prisons obsolete?" & "the wretched of the earth" & some david graeber. 44 yr old guy has this idea that society is atomized & people aren't connected to each other & have lost the willingness or the ability to communicate with each other, also that the overreach of authority has driven some people to violence, & that makes the world feel unsafe to everyone else. he feels guilty because he is acutely aware that language, when wielded adroitly & intentionally, always has the capacity to manipulate; he is afraid of succumbing to the temptation, because he senses the coercive power of language within himself. the other guy was mostly quiet but said 44 yr old guy is one of the best friends he's ever had. he thinks animals are able to sense emotions and to heal, & he thinks they can mediate between people who have become too isolated, who have forgotten humans' innate ability to forge connections, approach others as social creatures seeking to bond instead of mistrustful, apprehensive, rejecting overtures of friendship because they expect subterfuge, or propriety has evolved to deem such overtures inappropriate outside of strictly delineated, artificially orchestrated contexts. deviation from the norm is not permitted. & back again to policing. they have an idea called "the omega family," omega for the end, a group of like-minded people who come together, who encounter each other serendipitously (predicted through auspicious auguries & recognized on sight through a constellation of signs & wonders, because of course we are all psychotic here, it was nice to just be psychotic & discuss these things like they were normal lol), & serve as catalysts to each other's "personal truth." anyway this is why i don't go out when i'm crazy, i always end up in situations like this, see also: the last time i did m*th, in a pizza hut bathroom in tallinn with an art student from glascow named muhammad ali (he went by ali), the son of white muslim converts--we thought it was c*ke but it got lost in translation & that's how i figured out i had adhd. later i got [redacted] by a filmmaker from kazan & he gave me his business card afterward for some reason, which was extremely funny. thankfully these dudes were better behaved. one of them even gave a speech about how men shouldn't rape people??? & also how our society shouldn't construct women as universal victims because in doing so it makes victimhood almost compulsory & shoehorns women into a victim role as part & parcel of womanhood? i was like yes my dude you are almost there, read the essay "abject feminism." (i did not tell them i was trans bc i wasn't sure how that would shake down, to be honest; couldn't get a read on it. did tell them i was gay & they respected it, though one did say he dated a lesbian once, & i explained that many men feel compelled to interject with an anecdote relating an exception to the rule or insist that they will he the exception to the rule, & it's really just bad manners, not even getting into the bad politics. he took it on the chin & talked about how the girl in question came home to find her partner dead of an overdose & his wife had just died of MS, so their relationship was more about grief & comfort than sexual attraction. i was like that's really, really sad, & it's wonderful that you were able to be there for each other at a time of such staggering loss, & i am a person who totally understands what you mean to communicate, but if a lesbian tells you they're a lesbian & you reply that you once dated a lesbian & they get offended & instead of responding with contrition or correction you elaborate on the tragic backstory of the relationship as though that explains the circumstances in which a self-proclaimed lesbian would date a cis man, other lesbians *will* deck you, or at the very least not take you, an unwashed white guy in

his 40s who isn't neurotypical & sits way too close for social convention in a way that could easily be construed as a come-on, in good faith.) tl;dr made some new friends, did some good drügs (i much prefer smoking m*th to snorting it, basically like purer, more potent adderall, & as such will not be doing it again for a LONG time, because i enjoy it FAR too much; slices through the brain fog & the chronic fatigue & the joint/bone pain, makes me able to pay attention, follow the thread of a conversation, actually be *interested* & want to ask *questions* & expand, build, encourage my interlocutor to elaborate, place more kal-toh pieces until the conversation shimmers into a three-dimensional shape, instead of being listless & exhausted & disengaged & *bored* all the time, so obviously i would get addicted immediately if given the opportunity, & i've known this forever lol)--now going to hydrate, refill pill case, write some emails, & meet C at the beach! not how i expected to reboot my brain, but it works! also putting them on limited facebook view because i try to keep some groups of people in my life quarantined from each other & that includes 1) my relatives & my academic ~colleagues (ne'er the twain shall meet), 2) my exes & my family, 3) my relatives, colleagues, & uh. a couple of lovely, but extremely psychotic dudes with very long criminal records i met while doing hard drugs