#in brutalizing us off our lands & out of our cultures

[lakemojave]

The Direct Actors: A Baldur's Gate 3 "Adventure" pt. 10 live tonight at 6pm Pacific!

WE! ARE! SO! BACK! After a several months hiatus @caputvulpinum is back from wandering the earth as penance for its numerous crimes against me, the channel, and the sovereign nation of Venezuela. We can get the team together again! Join us for the return of our co op campaign of BG3, with @radiofreederry as Dhudlei Durite, @caputvulpinum as Micah Harper, my friends Nana and April as Leviathan, and me as Delilah "Mama D" Harper! See y'all then!

Art by @terrafey, recap under the cut

THE STORY SO FAR: On the way to a union rally, Delilah "Mama D" Harper and her grandson Micah were abducted and taken aboard an ilithid nautiloid, which they escaped with mysterious dancer Leviathan and self-proclaimed "Champion of Ilmater and Paladin of Good" Dhudlei Durite. Each infected by a mind flayer tadpole, but so far immune from transforming into mind flayers themselves, The Direct Actors, as the party have come to be known, now turn their attention to the Shadow-Cursed Lands, where Moonrise Towers, the lair of the Cult of the Absolute, awaits them...

LAST TIME: With Leviathan missing after falling off a cliff, the Direct Actors allowed Lae'zel to venture forth with them, and at her insistence headed into the mountains in search of a Githyanki creche. Along the way, the party killed a racist who was trying to steal a Githyanki egg, and met a blue jay who asked them to kill some eagles. At the creche, the Direct Actors were introduced to the finer points of Githyanki culture, including a brutal training regimen. Dhudlei was allowed to take an egg to raise with his girlfriend, and said girlfriend was subsequently nearly killed by the Zaith'isk, a supposed device for purifying those infected by mind flayers. As it turned out, the device was really meant to kill the infected as sacrifices to the lich queen Vlaakith. Initially in denial about her queen's sinister nature, Lae'zel insisted that the party seek the Githyanki inquisitor, and an audience with Vlaakith herself led the party to enter the Astral Prism, the Githyanki artifact they'd been carrying which had protected them from ceremorphosis. Vlaakith demanded they kill the Prism's occupant, but Dhudlei was more interested in getting some answers from this being which bore his mother's face. The Dream Visitor explained how Vlaakith had deceived her people and, her secret exposed, Vlaakith declared Lae'zel a traitor and ordered her death. Fighting their way out of the creche, the Direct Actors stopped to catch their breath at camp. They were visited by Kith'rak Voss, who declared his allegiance to the Githyanki Prince Orpheus, and called for Lae'zel to meet him in Baldur's Gate, as Micah chastised Dhudlei for his recklessness in the creche. The argument was interrupted by the sudden return of not only Leviathan, who had spent days wandering the Shadow-Cursed Lands, but New Gale, who had taken a new form as a gnome. Leviathan remembered little of his time in the shadowlands, but seemed shaken by it. The Direct Actors returned to the monetary which housed the creche, and Dhudlei guided Micah to claim the Blood of Lathander, a holy weapon, for his own. Afterwards, after a conversation with Mama D about choice and destiny, Micah received a surprising visit from Ilmater himself, who promised that they would meet again, and answers would be revealed...

Will Lae'zel leave her cult programming behind her, and will she and Micah be able to bond? What has Dhudlei figured out about the Dream Visitor? What - and who - did Leviathan see in his time in the Shadow-Cursed Lands? Will Ilmater reveal himself again? Find out in another exciting instalment of Baldur's Gate 3, starring the Direct Actors!

#bg3 #the direct actors #baldurs gate 3 #twitch #stream #shameless plugging

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,” roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

Covered with Night by Nicole Eustace

The Pulitzer Prize-winning history that transforms a single event in 1722 into an unparalleled portrait of early America.

In the winter of 1722, on the eve of a major conference between the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) and Anglo-American colonists, a pair of colonial fur traders brutally assaulted a Seneca hunter near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, the crime ignited a contest between Native American forms of justice―rooted in community, forgiveness, and reparations―and the colonial ideology of harsh reprisal that called for the accused killers to be executed if found guilty.

In Covered with Night, historian Nicole Eustace reconstructs the attack and its aftermath, introducing a group of unforgettable individuals―from the slain man’s resilient widow to an Indigenous diplomat known as “Captain Civility” to the scheming governor of Pennsylvania―as she narrates a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations. Taking its title from a Haudenosaunee metaphor for mourning, Covered with Night ultimately urges us to consider Indigenous approaches to grief and condolence, rupture and repair, as we seek new avenues of justice in our own era.

Return to Uluru by Mark McKenna

A killing. A hidden history. A story that goes to the heart of the nation.

When Mark McKenna set out to write a history of the centre of Australia, he had no idea what he would discover. One event in 1934 – the shooting at Uluru of Aboriginal man Yokununna by white policeman Bill McKinnon, and subsequent Commonwealth inquiry – stood out as a mirror of racial politics in the Northern Territory at the time.

But then, through speaking with the families of both killer and victim, McKenna unearthed new evidence that transformed the historical record and the meaning of the event for today. As he explains, ‘Every thread of the story connected to the present in surprising ways.’ In a sequence of powerful revelations, McKenna explores what truth-telling and reconciliation look like in practice.

Return to Uluru brings a cold case to life. It speaks directly to the Black Lives Matter movement, but is completely Australian. Recalling Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, it is superbly written, moving, and full of astonishing, unexpected twists. Ultimately it is a story of recognition and return, which goes to the very heart of the country. At the centre of it all is Uluru, the sacred site where paths fatefully converged.

Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch

When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher "KC" Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and few people were actively looking for him.

Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds - that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oilmen, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit of Clarke is also a pursuit of redemption, as Lissa atones for her own crimes and reckons with generations of trauma.

#true crime #history #nonfiction #killers of the flower moon #reading recommendations #reading recs #book recommendations #book recs #library books #tbr #tbr pile #to read #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog #readers advisory

[yautjalover]

saw the 'bother with asks and questions' post and reblogged it so a lil obligated to BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE. I appreciate a fellow yautja appreciator that is for sure. I didn't watch the latest movie, if you did, how would you compare it to any of the other predator (or AVP) films? I'm taking my sweet time, but good press from someone who is focused on whats important (tHE BIG ALIEMS,,,), might move it up my priority list.

I get you! We gotta be the change we want to see! I myself went out and asked some folks things. 😊

As for your question concerning “Prey”, in comparison to the others in the franchise it stands out for multiple reasons.

1. It’s not set in the modern era.

With this film not being in modern times, we get to explore, for the first time on film, what a predator hunt in the past would look like! It’s no longer just seeing their historical hunts in the comics and novels, which has long been something we fans have wanted to see on the big screen. “Prey” also answers questions concerning historical hunts.

How different would their technology look and behave? Would they get tangled with historical events that shaped the future? What would they do in the face of long outdated weapons of that time?

“Prey” answers these pretty well, I think!

We get to see possible earlier iterations of the iconic weapons Yautja are associated with, we get to see how one becomes entangled with big historical events in pre-colonial North America, and also get the treat of one dealing with 17th century weapons.

The weapons of the time provide a few genuinely funny moments that help break the tension a little. I won’t spoil them, but I’m sure they’ll give you a good laugh!

I will say that it’s not riddled with excessive humor like 2018’s “The Predator”. There is a wonderful balance.

2. The lead isn’t some forgettable buff military guy and instead a Comanche Native American woman.

Unlike other current Hollywood female leads, she’s a genuine bad ass. She’s allowed to learn and grow from her mistakes, shaping up to use her intelligence against Feral. Naru knows the land and uses it to her advantage. She grew up surrounded by nature and picks up that something weird is going on, something she can’t explain until things happen.

Sorry, no spoilers here!

While there are moments where there is obvious plot armor, she still a cool and likable character with flaws but manages to also be a surprisingly worthy hunt for Feral. It’s also cool to see Indigenous representation and see a glimpse into that culture! We see parallels between a cryptid (can’t confirm if it was just for the movie or actual mythology for that tribe) and our titular Yautja.

With Naru, we get a coming of age story that mirrors Feral in this hunt being his first time on our planet and him slowly learning more about this hunting ground. They’re both, seemingly, out to prove themselves, setting up for later events in the film that pay off.

3. New Sub-Species of Yautja!

Thanks to Feral we get a glimpse of what a Yautja who originates from a different region, other than the jungle, of the planet looks like, with this case being a desert environment. While I think the facial design is atrocious, I can see what they were going for.

We learned from interviews with the design team that his sub-species consumes bones and has a special palette just for that in his mouth. His locs are slender and more numerous in order to keep cool, plus it looks pretty cool! I’m sure he’d be a shampoo company’s dream model!

You get to see a predator actually hunt things other than humans! I won’t spoil it, but there are some awesome scenes that really showcase the strength and agility that Yautja are known for but we hardly get to see. It’s pretty bad ass!

In “Prey”, we also see a more brutal predator who revels in bloodshed and fucks people up. There’s more violence on display, plus some new cool weaponry that only aids the carnage. While he gives off Young Blood energy occasionally, he’s still a bad ass! When he’s on the screen, he commands your attention!

However, he’s the only Yautja I’ll want the mask to stay on. He’s not a pretty fella and I liken him to a golden roast chicken.

“Prey” was the return to form the franchise needed after the questionable decisions made in 2018’s “The Predator”. Whoever thought that Yautja would be interested in my Autism was a big dumb ass. This film breathes new life into the franchise and gives us something genuinely entertaining while also bringing back some of the terror that the original 1987 “Predator” gave us!

I personally rank this high up on the list of previous films we’ve received over the years. It’s better than “Predators”, “The Predator”, and “AVPR”, sitting right with the OG, Predator 2, and AVP for me.

It’s worth the watch. It’s not a 10/10, more like an 8/10, but it’s still worth the watch! You should run to Hulu and give it a go. You won’t be disappointed!

Sorry for the LONG response, but I wanted to break it down. Thank ADHD and Autism and my rabid horniness for Yautja.

Oh! Last thing!

On a scale of 1 to 10, Feral is a solid four for me. His body is gorgeous. Those thick fingers? HELLO!

It’s the face that lowers the rating, though. My GODS that face design is…wow. 💀

#your asks #predator #yautja #yautjalover #avp #alien vs predator #feral is basically a dumb loveable frat boy #he looks like a roast chicken but I still love him #prey 2022 #prey movie

[zerogate]

Dian Fossey, who devoted nineteen years to living among and observing the mountain gorillas of central Africa’s Virunga Mountains, felt these creatures were among the most peaceful on earth. Yet mountain gorillas become killers when their social groups come face-to-face. Clashes between social units, said Fossey, account for 62 percent of the wounds on gorillas. Seventy-four percent of the males Fossey observed carried the scars of battle, and 80 percent had canine teeth they’d lost or broken while trying to bite the opposition. Fossey actually recovered skulls with canine cusps still embedded in their crests.

One gorilla group will deliberately seek out another and provoke a conflict. The resulting battles between gorilla tribes are furious. One of the bands that Fossey followed was led by a powerful silverback, an enormous male who left a skirmish with his flesh so badly ripped that the head of an arm bone and numerous ligaments stuck out through the broken skin. The old ruling male, whom Fossey called Beethoven, had been supported in the fight by his son, Icarus. Icarus left the battle scene with eight massive wounds where the enemy had bitten him on the head and arms. The site where the conflict had raged was covered with blood, tufts of fur, broken saplings, and diarrhetic dung. Such is the price of prehuman war in the Virunga Mountains.

Gorillas are not the only subhumans to cluster in groups that set off to search for blood. By the early seventies, Jane Goodall had lived fourteen years among the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania’s Gombe Reserve. She loved the chimps for their gentle ways, so different from the violence back home among humans. Yes, there were simian muggings, beatings, and rage, but the ultimate horror—war—was absent.

Goodall published a landmark book on chimpanzee behavior—In the Shadow of Man—a work that to some proved unequivocally that war was a human creation. After all, the creatures shown by genetic and immunological research to be our nearest cousins in the animal kingdom knew nothing of organized, wholesale violence.

Then, three years after Goodall’s book was printed, a series of incidents occurred that horrified her. The tribe of chimps Goodall had been watching became quite large. Food was harder to find. Quarrels broke out. To relieve the pressure, the unit finally split into two separate tribes. One band stayed in the old home territory. The other left to carve out a new life in the forest to the south.

At first, the two groups lived in relative peace. Then the males from the larger band began to make trips south to the patch of land occupied by the splinter unit. The marauders’ purpose was simple: to harass and ultimately kill the separatists. They beat their former friends mercilessly, breaking bones, opening massive wounds, and leaving the resultant cripples to die a slow and lingering death. When the raids were over, five males and one elderly female had been murdered. The separatist group had been destroyed; and its sexually active females and part of its territory had been annexed by the males of the band from the home turf. Goodall had discovered war among the chimpanzees, a discovery she had hoped she would never make.

Years later, biological ecologist Michael Ghiglieri traveled to Uganda to see just how widespread chimpanzee warfare really is. He concluded that “the happy-go-lucky chimpanzee has turned out to be the most lethal ape—an organized, cooperative warrior.”

So the tendency toward slaughter that manifested itself in the Chinese Cultural Revolution is not the product of agriculture, technology, television, or materialism. It is not an invention of either Western or Eastern civilization. It is not a uniquely human proclivity at all. It comes from something both sub- and superhuman, something we share with apes, fish, and ants—a brutality that speaks to us through the animals in our brain. If man has contributed anything of his own to the equation, it is this: He has learned to dream of peace. But to achieve that dream, he will have to overcome what nature has built into him.

-- Howard Bloom, The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History

#quotes

[rockbottomwithashovel]

In Honour of Invasion Day <3 (/sarc)

I would like to be proud of my country. I want to celebrate the culture of mateship, siding with the underdog, telling the pollies to piss off and multicultural diversity... but how can I??

How can I be proud of my country when the day we celebrate the country is the very day that this nation got stolen from the 'traditional owners'. There's already a problem with that term, see, a lot of Aboriginal people (First Nation Aussies and Islanders) see it as they belong to the land, not vice versa. I would like to appreciate Kevin Rudd's apology speech back in 2008, but not much changed, so where's the apology in that??

The people who's land I am currently writing this on deserve better than being seen as "lesser". What people don't realize is that the racism in this country is far from gone. Did you know that the stolen generation legislation didn't stop being a thing until 1969? Sounds a long time ago, right? That was only 55 years ago. My mother is older than that. Let that sink in. There are 55 year old men and women out there who were stolen from their families and given to white people for some wankery of an excuse "so they can have a better life" more like so they can be "civilized" and assimilated to our culture which we deem correct and anyone who stands in the face gets murdered, thrown in jail or worse.

I would love to celebrate, crack open a tinny, play some cricket and sing waltzing fucking matilda but that's not right. I have no rights to celebrate when fellow Australians have little rights in general and are being put in jail left and right, beaten to a pulp and left to die in prisons. And of course their deaths get covered up. The police brutality in Australia is horrific because it's insidious (I'm about to write another post about this with statistics, so stay tuned). A lot of cops around here will let you off with a warning, chilled out... but that's my experience. As a white girl who can cry tears at her "mistakes". I remember once I talked myself out of a $200 on the spot fine for sneaking onto a train, said I lost my ticket and fake cried over it (shitty move, right? But to be fair, I couldn't afford the train ticket, let alone a fine). The officers were nice, gave me a warning. But how nice would they have been if I weren't white? I'd probably have been taken in to the station even if I genuinely had been crying, bought a ticket, and lost it.

There is so much fucking racism in this country. I remember being 10, disgusted as the class threw the new, Aboriginal kid under the bus for a missing toy in the class room. He didn't steal it. We found it months later. But the hell he got as the students and teachers blamed him for it? He moved schools (Darren, if you're reading this, I'm so fucking sorry for not doing more). This system is against them. And my country, my people, have the nerve to celebrate this culture on the day that marked genocide of people who were perfectly happy just living??

Sometimes I hate being white. It's an unfair advantage and I don't want anything to do with those colonizing aka land stealing genocidal bastards, but what the fuck is the point in having this privilege if I don't use it? If Indigenous people aren't getting heard then I'll stand with them, maybe this racist system will listen to a white girl.

(Final note, you're not punk if you don't fight the system, you're a poser, if you don't stand up for people who are dying you're an asshole, if you're part of a minority and let other minorities get squashes what the fuck is wrong with you, and last but not least, if you don't have an opinion on things like this, you might want to check your privilege.)

#rock rambles #delete later #invasion day #australia day #survival day #aboriginal people #indigenous people #stand for something #boost this #tw stolen generation #tw racism #we need to talk about this #we need to do better #Spotify

[brineffxiv]

Garlemald is made of crushing despair. That is all.

While out looking for survivors with Alisaie and Alphinaud we discover a girl in a green dress running away from us. I follow her.

She is Licinia, and she and a few others are sheltered here at Victor's Spoils. They don't know what happened, or how they have remained untempered. She details what sounds to me like a mass tempering, happening all at once, set off with a great roar.

We set about building a fire for them as a show of good faith.

...I sense Licinia does not trust us. To be honest, I don't entirely blame her. We are representatives of a foreign power with which her country has been at war her entire life. And she was apparently under the impression that we "savages" were the ones that did this to them up until Alphinaud informed her otherwise. Wouldn't be surprised if she still thought that and was just keeping her mouth shut around the armed enemy combatants. Safer that way.

Garlemald has radios. The radio has been playing the same song since The Incident: presumably the people at the station were either tempered or killed. This man believes that Varis is still alive and speaks to them through their radios. I feel sad for him.

While stubbornly guarding the door and whoever is still inside the house, Licinia informs me of another group of survivors across the frozen lake. They have ceruleum, and she asks that I brave the wilds between here and there and make a deal with them for some of it.

Alisaie catches up with me. Privately, I worry that the group has sent Alphinaud off on his own errand and are now making their escape. It's not safe for them out here.

The Tappers are former employees of the ceruleum plant in the middle of the lake. The all belong to the title caste "aan" which represents the lowest rung of Garlean society. As such, they aren't especially friendly with the "purebloods" across the lake and weren't inclined to help them. But they will happily deal with us, and want to make a deal with our contingent for food in exchange for ceruleum. Their paymasters are long gone, but all that remain here are those that see their best option as staying here and continuing to work at the plant.

They gift us a barrel of ceruleum, and let slip that Licinia has a sister who was very ill. Sounds suspiciously like that's who's still inside the house.

While Alisaie and I were gone it seems these fools got it into their heads to attack Alphinaud, who, while he is injured, soundly beat their asses.

Seems they don't trust that we're here to help. Again, I don't necessarily blame them, even if I rather wish they hadn't expressed their doubts in this particular manner...

You stupid bigot.

Licinia and her very ill sister have fled us, out into the freezing Garlean wilderness. Seems the group have been planning the sisters' escape since we arrived.

Alisaie and I start out to search for them while Alphinaud tends his own and his attackers' wounds.

Oh no.

...They are already dead and cold by the time I find them.

A rather extreme example of how bigotry harms even the aggressors.

The tempered cannot save themselves. And even for the untempered, this is a brutal, inhospitable land. We have the power to bring aid to them; it would be wrong not to use it. We're just going to have to be more aware of... cultural sensitivities.

Albeit... That doesn't help Licinia and her sister.

We bury the two of them back at Victor's Spoils.

We take their radio with us; Alphinaud wants to get to the bottom of this story about hearing Varis' voice through it.

#ffxiv liveblog #rhesh'a tag #alisaie leveilleur #alphinaud leveilleur #fantasy racism

[hussyknee]

i mean as an indigenous person, the domari people and the armenian diaspora in palestine are just as indigenous as palestinians. indigneity is produced via a relationship to an oppressive, colonizing entity, not "who lived here the longest"

I don't disagree with you exactly, but colonization is also layered.

So bear in mind that my knowledge of decolonization is specifically subaltern (as in the Indian subcontinent) and patchy (disabled my whole adult life and a very start-stop-stagnate tertiary education). The Americas might be different. I'm completely open to being wrong.

In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese and Eelam Tamils are "natives" while "indigenous" are considered the Adivasi and Tamil Indigenous people in the North (I'm sorry I can't remember their names, only found out about them last year). The distinction arises because they were Austroasiatic people (and the Tamils were maybe Dravidians? Wow, ethnosupremacist black hole discovered) who arrived in migrations millennia before they were colonized by later migrants from the Indian subcontinent about 2500 years ago. Those are the progenitors of both the later Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms. (Obviously both intermarried with the indigenous populations; ethnic identities are cultural). The Adivasi never assimilated into the Indian migrants' agrarian societies. They still engage in hunting and subsistence agriculture rooted in the ecosystems of their ancestral lands. Unlike the rest of the population, being transplanted from these lands to anywhere else in the country would result in a devastating loss culture and community.

"Indigeneity" is an extremely fraught topic in post-colonial nations when conflated with being "native". It erases the actual pre-agrarian tribes that were victims of colonization two or three times over, and is used for nationalist ethnic cleansing and the creation of ethnic underclasses. The myth that all Tamils were descendants of "Chola invaders" that arrived only a thousand years ago is foundational to Sri Lanka's Tamil genocide. Eelam Tamils themselves heavily discriminated against the Malaiyyah Tamils the British enslaved and exported from India to work their cash crops (Indian Ocean slavery is as brutal and horrific as the trans-Atlantic one). The persecution of Muslims who migrated here the last few centuries from South India, Afghanistan, Turkey and Malaysia also involves seeing them as interlopers, even though they never claimed to be native because their ethnic identities are shaped by their migrant roots and the unique ways they assimilated into Sri Lankan society. They still have ancestral lands here from which they've been ethnically cleansed and are still under threat by both Sinhalese and Tamils.

I'm not sure whether this is something unique to countries where the Europeans actually did fuck off forever. But if even if they never did, how do we discern our layers of colonization and oppression if we all believe we're indigenous? Do we ignore that the pre-agrarian societies* here are rooted primarily in the custodianship and protection of their ancestral lands, unlike the rest of us that thrive in mono-agriculture, industrial encroachment and urban sprawl (and constant ethnic violence)? Do we have to center European violence in our own understanding of ourselves and our responsibilities to acknowledge the histories and rights of minorities vulnerable to us?

To my understanding, the difference between "anti-colonial" and "decolonial" is that one is conceptualized as "resistance" and the other as "re-existence". What I've been taught is that seeing our place in the world through the white colonial lens and defining ourselves by colonial proximity is to give up our power of self-determination. We were native to this island before these violent borders imposed on us by the British ever existed, and we were native whatever kingdoms configured and reconfigured themselves over millennia. But we have also been violent colonizers of the people who were here before us, even during and after the Europeans came and went. Indigeneity afaik is acknowledging their identities and respecting the history that formed them, and the restoration of their long-obscured sovereign right to their lands independent of the nation state.

*I can't remember whether pre-civilization was a problematic term or not. I took like two modules on subaltern indigenous peoples five years apart lol.

#knee of huss #decolonization #indigenous rights #indigenous peoples #anarchism #i'm sorry but you have to be an anarchist to be decolonial #indigenous #sri lanka #subaltern #asks #anon

[frozenwastelanders]

THE TUNDRA CALLS... ❄️

The Cold Season was brutal on all. It tore through the Clans with no prior warning, ravaging the territory with harsh, blistering snowstorms and such heavy snowfall you couldn't see a lick of land underpaw. It grew so cold you would catch frostbite if outside for only a few minutes. Illness spread like wildfire, and the death toll rose quickly, unable to be tempered by the augurs and their dwindling herbs. The Clans distanced themselves, closing off from each other as they sulked in their own misery and death.

One augur, however, they grew discontent with their leader's inaction. Starclan was punishing them, and they had to act quick to right their wrongs. They went to their leader and urged them to host another Gathering, to bring the Clans together under Silverpelt's shine, where Starclan would see them once more. The leader was hesitant; they had not held a Gathering in many moons, not with so many cats sick and the weather being worse than ever. Still, they gave in to their augur's pleas and made the trek.

When they got to the Clearing, they found a small collection of the other Clan's warriors and apprentices there, the leader looking haggard but unphased. It was a cold, miserable Gathering in near-whiteout conditions, and for a moment the augurs had almost lost hope; but then, the blizzard eased and the clouds parted, revealing an array of shimmering blues and greens they had never seen in the sky before.

The augurs said it was a sign, that Starclan's Lights deemed it such. The Clans must stand together rather than apart to pull through the season and survive.

So they did. The Clans worked together to stay afloat, sending mediators bustling back and forth to share news and the measly herbs they could spare. They held Gatherings, even as their member counts fluctuated. In the end, they made it through, and the Newleaf following the Cold Season was one of prosperity and health.

It has been eight years now since the Cold Season, and the Clans are still struggling to find their footing after such a catastrophic Leafbare. While they have not seen a winter nearly as bad as the season of legend, they are still wary, not quite over the horrors of the past.

The Clans have found peace now, but how much longer until the past catches up to them ? How much longer until the shaky serenity they've established is shattered ?

CATS OF THE FROZEN WASTE is officially open for new members ! After months of working on this, I'm beyond ecstatic to finally bring my team's creation to life and bring a unique new experience to the Warriors text-based roleplay scene.

We offer:

A 16+ semi-literate to literate community that encourages growth.

Inclusivity towards all, and a welcoming, friendly staff team.

Two unique Clans; Evergreenclan and Ermineclan, both with two unique ranks & expansion on existing ones and their own nuances in culture and views on the world around them.

Distinct Clan worldbuilding and the opportunity for your cats to make a real dent.

Expansive, fleshed out lore, religion and more that is always being expanded on.

Flexible character creation and no 'main character' plots.

Simple behind-the-scenes roleplay systems and easy to track progression, as well as an active OORP scene with many channels to bond with others through and fun miscellaneous bots.

& more !

We are freshly opened and thus all of our HRs are currently available to be applied for ! Our roleplay is planned to start once all spots are full and we have a few cats in both Clans. While we are a 16+ community that intends on exploring darker themes in the plot and such, we do not allow any sort of NSFW content to be roleplayed.

The team here at COTFW truly look forward to all those who join us, and we can't wait to see how your cat's story unfolds !

Please consider reblogging so others can find our post and consider joining, thank you ! We look forward to everyone who joins !! <3

#wcrp #new wcrp #warrior cats #warrior cats roleplay #warrior cats rp #warriors rp #discord rp #cats of the frozen waste

[sakura-otome]

Currently Playing

Matsurika no Kei -kEi - Tenmeiiniden

マツリカの炯 - kEi - 天命胤異伝

NO-SPOILER OVERVIEW OF SETTING AND CHARACTERS

SETTING

The game is marketed as Sino-fantasy and “Mature” romance. It takes place in this fictional country Gekka no Kuni (月下の国), quite simply the “country under the moon” and, the surrounding unnamed countries and small villages and peoples. It’s sort of like the greater Han Chinese culture plus the small ethnic groups like those in Mongolia, if we were to make real life comparisons. The vibe is very much an ancient society that is brutal and shit’s unfair, but that’s how it is. The caveat is that magic is real. Mystical Beasts are very real and known to exist, as well as people called Senkou (仙虹), or Sages, who are ordinary humans who, through many years of intense training and study, become very long-lived or immortal and gain essentially magical abilities. 

The creation story plays a pretty big role in the story as a whole, with different individual components being highlighted in each of the routes (that I have done thus far). The creation story says that 999 years ago, the land was being terrorized by Shikyo (四凶), or the Four Calamity’s, which are Mystical Beasts. They were defeated by the Shiseijuu (四聖獣) or Four Holy Beasts, also Mystical Beasts, who worked hand in hand with a great sage Ko Unyou who went on to create the country. 

Now, our MC, “Naya” is from a small and very mystical village “Matsurika”, which lies just outside of Gekka no Kuni in the mountains north of the capital city. This village is very unique, being hidden behind a strange mist deep in the mountains, only accessible to the villagers and a special merchant who has the official seal of a Flame Merchant. Anybody who doesn’t fit these requirements would simply get lost in the mountains if they walked past the line of Red Jasmine Flowers and into the mist. If you try to take the Jasmine that grows there out of the village, it turns to dust the moment you step past the line of Red Jasmine. It only grows in Matsurika village, and nowhere else. 

In this village that is shut off from the rest of the world, they don’t worship the Shiseijuu. Instead they worship Keisei (蛍聲), who dislikes fire, which makes it so that it’s impossible to start a fire in the village. Due to this, they must purchase fire from the Flame Merchant every three months, as no matter what they do, the flame always dies out after three months. As they don’t have money, they barter with uncut gemstones referred to as Hougyoku no Genseki (宝玉の原石), which can only be differentiated from ordinary rocks with the use of the Keigan (炯眼), which are essentially magic eyes (think Naruto). The Keigan is an ability that only manifests in the girls of Matsurika village, and there is only ever one user at a given time. It is not genetic, and if the current holder dies, it will be passed on at random to any of the other girls of the village. It is our MC that has the Keigan.

THOUGHTS ON WORLD BUILDING

I think it’s very fantastical, and feels a lot like I’m reading the inner details of a mythological story. All of the characters feel very much “of the setting”. Naya, the MC, is raised in a very safe and sheltered village receiving a lot of love and care growing up, but the outside world is harsh and unforgiving. Gender roles are deeply embedded in the culture, and the importance of marriage and having and raising children is just a part of life. A small village like hers needs all the people they can get, and they all celebrate and raise children as a village. 

On the other hand, Gekka is a very big country with many people and places within the country that suffer from the usual: poverty, illness, starvation, cruelty, discrimination, etc., and it isn’t uncommon for children to be abandoned or sold. 

I really feel that they did a very good job of incorporating the reality of the kind of deeply held beliefs and prejudices that lead to awful treatment of people for unfair, but very human reasons. The people of Gekka regard tribes and people like the White Wolf Tribe and Matsurika Villagers who don’t worship the Shiseijuu as “Kizoku”, who are essentially heretics or “unbelievers.” Matsurika Village has a belief that “mixed blood” children – children born from a Matsurika woman and an outsider – bring calamity and curse the village. They are taught from childhood to never ever mingle with outsiders or leave the village. They chase both mother and child out of the village, should it happen, and they have a deep disgust and fear of this. 

I will say, the overall tone is very serious which given the setting is understandable, but I kind of wish they incorporated a little more humor and lighthearted moments. There just aren’t very many mental breaks from the harshness of life. 

CHARACTERS

PROTAGONIST

System Default Name: Naya

She is one of five young women in Matsurika Village to become 18 and reach the age of majority at the Keisei Festival. As the holder of the Keigan, her job is to assess the stones gathered for valuable gemstones, which is essential for Flame Trade. She has a lot of pride in this position, and a deep sense of responsibility, as her mother was the previous Keigan holder, before she passed away in childbirth and passed the Keigan on to her. This is noted to be very unusual, as the Keigan has never been passed directly from a mother to her child in this manner. She was raised by Agedo, the village leader alongside his children, one of which is the game’s LIs, Fei. 

I think her design is very cute, and I love the aesthetic of her and Maturika Village’s tribal attire. I’m not generally into heterochromia, but it doesn’t look bad at all on her. She’s not particularly headstrong, but she’s a sweet and earnest girl that outside of her magic eye is honestly just an average village girl. She honestly deserves better, oml. 

THE LOVE INTERESTS

Age: 21 VA: Okamoto Nobuhiko Route Restrictions: Must clear Ruwo, Seirin, Zebenera, and Enrai routes.

The main man. His route is locked behind the four other LIs, so you know it’s a big deal. He is the only son of the Village leader, and apparently harbors some secrets/fears regarding his duties as a man of the lead family that makes him hesitant to act on his feelings towards Naya. 

Personally I find his design to be the most appealing, and it’s interesting to see Okamoto play a character that’s more ~ fresh ~ and youthful, rather than deep, threatening and smexy loll. 

Name: Ruwo Age: 23 VA: Yamashita Seiichiro Route Restrictions: None

The Flame Merchant, and the only outsider permitted to enter the village on a consistent basis. He’s very friendly and flirty, but he keeps people at arms length and doesn’t want to let anyone close to him lest he lose his drive to accomplish his goal. As a player of Twisted Wonderland, I very much compare him to Ace because of them having the same VA, and they have the same easy going attitude. I like his design fine, but I’m not particularly struck by it. It’s ok.

Name: Zebenera Age: 25  VA: Hatano Wataru Route Restrictions: None

The King of the White Wolf Tribe, who live in the snowy mountains north of the mountain where Maturika village is. He bears the burden and responsibility of keeping his dying people alive. He’s generally a quiet guy who isn’t good at conversation, but you can see that his actions all have a deep underlying kindness. I generally love white haired characters, and I think his fit is cool, and while I feel his design is good, it’s nothing special.

Name: Ko Seirin Age: 17  VA: Tachibana Shinnosuke Route Restrictions: None

The one and only prince of Gekka no Kuni. He appears to be very sheltered and naive to the ways of the world, as Naya first meets him getting in trouble for having accidentally stolen food from a vendor because he didn’t know that he needed to pay for it. However, he has deep self awareness of what is expected of him and his place in the political landscape, and struggles with a deep sense of loneliness. I’ve never found the beautiful type characters immediately attractive, but I don’t dislike his design. It’s very ethereal, and the voice acting does a great job balancing that soft lightness and hints of darkness. 

Name: Ku Enrai Age: 27  VA: Horie Shun.  Route Restrictions: Must clear Ruwo, Seirin, and Zebenera routes.

The head of the Ku clan, which is a powerful family with the longstanding trust of the Imperial Ko family. He is the designated educator of the prince, Ko Seirin. He is a very intense guy with deep loyalty to Seirin, and wishes to see him become a great leader and King. His clan has an old, long standing desire that is very close to being realized. I wasn’t that into his design at first, but it grew on me pretty quickly. Also has major Sasazuka vibes, with him being an asshole and a manlet.

COMMON ROUTE

The story begins with the approach of the annual Keisei Festival, and the sudden inexplicable extinguishing of the flame just one day after it was purchased. Naya, having a map given to her by Ruwo, makes the decision to go to the capital of Gekka breaking the rules of her village, to buy another flame and come back before this incident is discovered by the rest of the villagers and in time for the Kesei Festival. 

From there we begin to branch out into two major story flows, which further break down into the individual routes. One gets her involved with the Imperial Love Interests, and the other has her leading into the rest of the routes.

Without revealing too much, Naya ends up fucking really going through it. Like it’s super fucking depressing. The end of common route is just. Man. If you want to feel the full impact of it though, I suggest going through either Zebenera or Ruwo first. It still happens in the leadup to Seirin's route, but it just isn't as visceral and personal as it is in the lead up to either Zebenera or Ruwo routes.

#マツリカ #Maturika no kEi #otome

[sixbucks]

Making Arkansas worse again

By Austin Bailey, Lindsey Millar, Arkansas Times, April 23, 2023

With the 2023 legislative session blessedly at its end, Arkansas progressives (plus moderates and anyone to the left of the Proud Boys) know what complete and utter political defeat looks like. It’s this: tax cuts for the wealthy and out-of-state investors, even as children in the state go hungry; universal vouchers to subsidize wealthy families’ private school tuitions while denigrating and defunding the traditional public schools that educate the masses; no budging on a near-total abortion ban, not even for victims of incest or women carrying fetuses destined to die before birth or to suffer for only a few torturous hours beyond it; a barrage of new laws that do nothing but hammer home the message that transgender Arkansans are not welcome and will not be accommodated.

Supercharged by a mountain of MAGA money and an even bigger ego, Gov. Sarah Sanders called all the shots. The supermajority Republican legislature raced to do her bidding. Their rubber stamp on all of Sanders’ priorities (vouchers, prison expansion, tax cuts) marked a vast departure from the last administration, when Asa Hutchinson’s pro-gun, pro-life record failed to impress an increasingly insane right-wing extremist legislative branch. Where Hutchinson recoiled from drama, Sanders pursued it, eager to throw Trumpian blows of staggering cruelty if it landed her on Fox News. Her foot soldiers didn’t seem to mind Sanders’ obvious bid to get out of Arkansas and back on the national stage as soon as possible. It wouldn’t have mattered if they did. Republican lawmakers knew to expect a primary challenger to knock them out of office if they dared veer out of lockstep.

Saying it’s the worst session ever feels trite, too flip to capture the brutality heaped on all but the wealthiest and most insulated. Not only did lawmakers do nothing to protect Arkansans from our chart-topping gun death rates, they voted instead to protect the gun companies from us. A new law passed this session bars state entities from investing with firms that eschew the industry profiting off our homicide epidemic. Protecting children got lots of lip service, but no real action. Requiring proof of age and identity to get a social media account or view online porn, laws passed allegedly to protect kids, will be a boon for identity theft but won’t likely shield many innocent eyes. Threatening librarians with jail time if they allow young people to view or check out books about sex is not only a direct assault on free speech, but also a surefire way to maintain Arkansas’s spot as the state with the most teen pregnancies.

Protecting kids was not a priority when lawmakers opted to sacrifice children to quell the labor shortage. The 94th General Assembly did away with a work permit requirement for 14- and 15-year-olds, meaning children can now get a job without their parents having to sign off and without any government oversight to make sure working conditions and hours are safe and appropriate.

Arkansas’s wealthy and its businesses are safer than ever, having easily secured tax cuts by simply pointing fingers at transgender children and woke librarians, then grabbing the cash when no one was looking. Most of us didn’t get much of anything beyond the insult that the schools we send our children to — schools that anchor our communities — are hotbeds of inadequacy and indoctrination that anyone with the means should flee at their first opportunity. Is this really what Arkansas voted for?

CULTURE WARS

The Arkansas Capitol grounds will soon get a “monument to the unborn” thanks to a new law sponsored by Sen. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R-Perryville), which allows for private funds to pay for a monument dedicated to the embryos aborted when women still had bodily autonomy in Arkansas. Bentley promised the design would be “something beautifully done to honor precious children.” Several Republican opponents of abortion pushed back on the proposal, with one suggesting it had “the look and feel of spiking the football.” Rep. Cindy Crawford (R-Fort Smith), always ready with a comment so inane you wonder if you’re hearing things right, suggested we call on slaves for wisdom and guidance here. “You can ask slaves what happens when we forget. We have to remember slavery in America so it won’t come back. We have to remember abortion in Arkansas so it won’t come back. There’s no reason why we can’t have a monument. It’s not a poke in the eye; it’s a ‘God forgive us for what we have done.’ ”

DEES IS NUTS: Siloam Springs Sen. Tyler Dees (right) passed laws requiring Arkansans to show ID to watch porn and create social media accounts.

In other culture war news, Arkansas will be the first state in the country to require users to show ID to create new social media accounts. Senate Bill 396, sponsored by Sen. Tyler Dees (R-Siloam Springs) and championed by the governor, will require social media companies to contract with third-party companies to perform age verification on new users. Those younger than 18 won’t be able to register for an account on the platforms without parents’ permission. How all that will work remains unclear. Dees repeatedly referenced Idemia, a third-party verifier based in France, as a good actor.

This legislature has done a lot of things that make little sense, but in the same breath that lawmakers talk about the national security concerns TikTok poses, they want Arkansans to give sensitive personal information to a foreign company?

Many legislators were told that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, believes that there’s no way to comply with the law. The way it’s written, a private citizen can bring a legal claim against a social media company if their child gets an account without parental permission, but the soon-to-be law also forces third-party verifiers to delete personal information. So how could the social media company defend itself?

Dees also sponsored another similar new law that will require Arkansas residents to show ID to visit pornography websites. Let’s hope no one tells these guys how easy it is to pay $5 a month for VPN access to mask your location, thereby bypassing all of this nonsense.

The economic cost of culture wars became briefly quantifiable during debate over a new law to require all state entities to divest from holdings with financial providers who consider ESG — environmental, social and governance — factors. It was sponsored by Rep. Jeff Wardlaw (R-Hermitage) and Sen. Ricky Hill (R-Cabot) and based on a model from the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Koch-funded right-wing bill factory. It’s also part of an increasingly activist turn for right-wing state treasurers, including Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery. Called the State Financial Officers Foundation, Lowery’s group aims to wield the power of the state to protect polluters from those forces attempting to save humanity by stopping climate change. Sure, the planet will die sooner if Lowery and his ilk succeed and states will sacrifice investment dollars for this newest version of corporate welfare, but the rich guys will go out on top. Similar laws have cost other states millions of dollars.

The same sponsors also pushed through related legislation that requires all state contractors to pledge that they won’t boycott energy, fossil fuel, firearms or ammunition industries. After the bill was introduced, Arkansas Times publisher Alan Leveritt wrote a slightly tongue-in-cheek op-ed pledging to continue the Times’ long-standing policy of boycotting gun and fossil fuel industries by keeping our money in the bank. The new act is based on an existing law that requires contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. The Times has refused to sign that pledge and unsuccessfully challenged its constitutionality in the federal court system.

VOTING

Republican lawmakers hate that the Arkansas Constitution gives citizens the ability to propose laws and constitutional amendments for consideration on the ballot. The legislature tried to curb that power by referring to voters a constitutional amendment in 2020 that would have raised the threshold required to make the ballot, and another one in 2022 that would have required 60% of voters to approve constitutional amendments for them to pass. Both proposals failed handily with voters, who recognized these amendments for what they were: a power grab by legislators to weaken the power of the people.

Unfettered, this session Republicans passed a clearly unconstitutional new law that increases the number of counties from which signatures for a ballot initiative or constitutional amendment must be submitted, upping that number from 15 to 50. The state Constitution specifically says “at least 15 counties,” which merely sets the floor required, sponsor Sen. Jim Dotson (R-Bentonville) said. Just like many other things that are silent in the constitution, here the legislature can step in and make laws, he argued.

But Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock), who should have been paid by the hour for all the legal advice he was forced to dispense to his know-nothing colleagues, said he believed this was among the most blatantly unconstitutional bills he’d ever seen during his time in the ledge, including bills that were inviting constitutional challenges. The “at least 15 counties” language in the Constitution clearly means that “you don’t have to stop at 15” when gathering signatures. He also noted that while Dotson is correct that when the Constitution is silent, the legislature can make laws, in this case, Article 5, Section 1 of the Constitution explicitly says that unwarranted restrictions are prohibited.

Other anti-democracy bills aimed to make voting less convenient and less comfortable in hopes of convincing more people to give up on the American experiment entirely. “Election integrity” is code for “voter suppression,” and Arkansas Republicans touted election integrity all over the place as they carried on with their years-long campaign to make it harder to get your ballot counted.

Act 544 by Rep. Austin McCollum (R-Bentonville) and Sen. Jim Petty (R-Van Buren) creates a so-called election integrity unit within the attorney general’s office to further police the polls, adding new layers of red tape and intimidation. Because the AG is a partisan official, the measure further politicizes the management of our elections and delivers another unfair advantage to Republicans, who are quite skilled at using their power to keep challengers at bay.

Arkansas lawmakers also pushed some cookie-cutter legislation crafted by out-of-state groups as part of their ongoing “stop the steal” disinformation campaign. Sen. Tyler Dees (R-Siloam Springs) carried the water on a bill outlawing ballot collection boxes in Arkansas, just in case anybody ever thinks about putting one up. We don’t have them here, even though they’ve worked well in other states. National voter suppression groups shopped the same bill to outlaw ballot collection boxes in South Dakota, Virginia, Ohio, Kansas and Arizona. Absentee voters routinely send ballots through the mail, and Dees was unable to answer questions about how ballot drop boxes were more susceptible to fraud than the U.S. Postal Service. His bill passed into law anyway.

MOTHERS AND BABIES

With a near-total abortion ban in place after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, women in Arkansas find themselves in even worse shape than before. Arkansas had the highest maternal mortality rate of any state before the ban, and without access to abortion care, more women stand to suffer and die.

Amazingly, Arkansas lawmakers failed to come through on the paltry handful of small-potatoes bills that aimed to help keep mothers and babies alive and healthy. Most of these measures are low-hanging fruit and already standard practice in other states. But the Republican supermajority at the Arkansas Capitol failed to make maternal health a priority, dedicating their time instead to heaping shame on public school teachers and transgender children.

A plan to add Arkansas to the list of states that provide Medicaid for new mothers for a full year after birth went nowhere. Thirty-two states plus Washington, D.C., already tap into federal dollars to help make sure new moms with scant financial resources are covered through that tumultuous year after pregnancy and birth. Ten more states have plans in the works to extend coverage beyond the minimum 60 days federal law requires. If any state needs to add this tool to its arsenal, it’s us. Arkansas is the most dangerous state in the country for expectant women, with high poverty rates and an undeniable need for more support for new moms. Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-Knoxville) sponsored the bill to extend Medicaid coverage for new mothers, but the committee never even bothered to take it up. Aptly enough, this change that would cost less than $2 million and would definitely save lives got no attention from lawmakers and was left to die in committee. That $2 million savings the state will realize by letting new mothers’ health coverage lapse is enough to offset only a drop in the bucket of tax breaks legislators granted to the wealthy this session.

Women carrying fetuses cursed to suffer and die got a similar F.U. from Arkansas lawmakers this session. Rep. Nicole Clowney (D-Fayetteville) represented the will of the majority of Arkansans who, polls show, support exemptions to Arkansas’s near-total abortion ban. Her effort to change the law to reflect Arkansas’s wishes tanked in the face of bullying from the Christian soldiers who claim to know what is best for everyone. Women carrying a fetus that will die before birth or suffer for a few hours or days before dying after birth will still have no choice but to carry the baby to term.

Rep. Ashley Hudson (D-Little Rock) mounted a similar failing effort with a bill to let women who become pregnant through rape or incest access abortion. In this post-apocalyptic wasteland of reproductive rights, it’s unclear whether we should consider it a small victory or an utter defeat that Hudson did get one pregnancy-related bill passed. Her House Bill 1161 ensuring the school days teenagers miss to have babies count as excused absences is now signed into law.

EDUCATION

The Arkansas LEARNS universal voucher bill to sacrifice Arkansas students and communities at the altar of right-wing ideology might or might not be the biggest travesty of the session, but it’s likely the one whose harm will spread the farthest, the fastest. A Waltonite lobbyist’s dream of a law based on the demonstrably false premise that the school choice tide will raise all schools’ boats, Arkansas LEARNS will subsidize the private school tuition payments of wealthy families at the expense of traditional public schools that serve all students. By giving parents with the time, money and know-how enough public cash to get their children into private schools and away from us riffraff, the state’s new universal voucher program will send us back to Arkansas’s shameful days of segregated classrooms.

LEARNS WILL LEAD TO SEGREGATION: But Republican lawmakers, who with few exceptions supported the omnibus bill, don’t care.

But it’s not all bad. Arkansas LEARNS’ high points include a minimum $50,000-a-year salary for every public school teacher in Arkansas, and $2,000 raises for educators already over $50K. That’s where they leave you, though. LEARNS repeals the state salary schedule which, to be fair, was almost wholly under the $50K mark, anyway. But now, without state-funded step increases, only districts with tax bases robust enough to foot the bill will be able to give annual raises based on service and education. The state will fund some merit-based bonuses instead, but there’s not much cash set aside for this, not even enough for a single teacher at every Arkansas public school to earn the maximum $10,000 bonus. It will be difficult for poorer districts to entice teachers into a career with no real prospects of a raise, ever.

Plenty of educators applaud the literacy component of Arkansas LEARNS, but bristle at the characterization that the state’s third-grade literacy rates indicate “we have failed our children.” Only 35% of Arkansas third-graders are proficient readers. In Massachusetts, the top state for third-grade literacy, 44% score as proficient or higher. Arkansas LEARNS calls for third-graders in public schools to be held back until they can reach reading proficiency (or until they transfer to a private school or homeschool with no such requirement).

To improve literacy, Arkansas LEARNS includes plans for more reading coaches, plus some money for tutoring programs. Not enough, but some.

The rest of the 144-page bill has less to like. Arkansas hasn’t gone in for these gigantic, all-in-one, D.C.-style omnibus bills in sessions past, and for good reason. I like 60-70% of the bill, Sen. Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville) said, but a cheeseburger that’s 30% poison is still a bad cheeseburger.

Leding was being generous with his percentages. Some consider the repeal of the Fair Teacher Dismissal Act that protected teachers from petty, political or personal retribution to be the poison pill that makes LEARNS simply untenable. For others, the “don’t say gay” component forbidding teachers to acknowledge the existence of anyone not straight and cisgender until middle school is enough to tank the whole deal. Or maybe sending public money to fund private schools that are by definition exclusionary and unaccountable is the arsenic in the well.

The vast majority of vouchers in states with universal voucher programs like the one codified in Arkansas LEARNS goes to families who were already paying their own private school tuitions just fine but certainly aren’t going to turn down a windfall.

Only the kids at the bottom of that system will be saddled with a new graduation requirement that sounds a lot like the criminal sentence for a first-time DWI offense. With the passage of LEARNS, all public school students will have to put in 75 hours of community service to graduate. Proponents argue that 75 will be easy because high school students can answer phones in the school office or provide unpaid, coerced labor to small businesses. Not surprisingly, private school students are exempt from such requirements, meaning their spring break ski trips and horseback riding lessons are safe from any interruption. Any student who takes a LEARNS voucher but fails to meet the new private school’s academic expectations can get kicked out of not just the school, but the voucher program entirely. Crafters of this bill determined the rightful consequence for such a lapse is a return to public schools, which don’t have the option of booting poor performers. It’s barbs like this one that suggest attending public schools is a punishment, along with LEARNS sponsors’ oddly venomous accusations that public school teachers are indoctrinators and liars, that make lead sponsor Sen. Breanne Davis’ (R-Russellville)pledges that she has teachers’ backs ring hollow. Scheduling the Senate’s only public hearing on the bill for a school day, then joining Sanders staffers in attacking teachers for taking a day off to be there to testify, felt shady, too.

It’s notable that the educators who stand to earn sizable raises are the plan’s most outspoken opponents. During the two marathon days of public comment on the bill, only three of the dozens of public school educators who gave testimony were there in support. A coalition of teachers and other public education supporters are attempting to repeal the LEARNS Act by referendum; others are planning legal challenges.

The Marvell-Elaine School District became the first led into a privatization scheme under LEARNS. Trapped between consolidating with another district because of its low enrollment numbers or going under state control because of low scores, the district is now the first to choose door number three, making plans to hand over the reins to a yet-unnamed outside entity.

Will Marvell-Elaine ever get the district back into local hands? Sen. Clarke Tucker (D-Little Rock) and Rep. Vivian Flowers (D-Pine Bluff), both of whose home school districts have fallen victim to state takeover, scored the rare moderate win this session with the commonsense Senate Bill 364. Now Act 633, the measure limits the time the state can keep their hold on districts to a firm five years before releasing them back into a local school board’s hands. What about Marvell-Elaine, though? Does the new legislation apply here, or can the charter company stay in charge? Florida man and Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva suggested such questions are now a matter of local control.

LEARNS WILL LEAD TO SEGREGATION: But Republican lawmakers, who with few exceptions supported the omnibus bill, don’t care.

LGBTQ+

The church lady caucus came in hot for the 2023 session, gunning to protect innocent eyes from lewd and lascivious drag shows. Republican morality police duo Rep. Mary Bentley of Perryville and Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch humiliated themselves with their sophomoric stabs at drag shows that almost certainly never happened. Bentley claimed a good Christian family asked for her help after seeing a drag queen wield a dildo as a microphone during a parade. Stubblefield claimed it was a drag queen who implored him most passionately to save the children from all the jumping up and gyrating that goes on at drag shows.

Of course, drag is a form of artistic expression that spans cultures and centuries, and our Constitution protects it. A legal case against the original drag show ban bill would have been a slam dunk. Bentley’s and Stubblefield’s attempts to regulate drag shows like they were peep shows or porn shops was eventually so watered down that it does nothing at all.

Still, LGBTQ+ Arkansans and the people who love them took plenty of hits this session. As we await a ruling from U.S. District Judge James Moody on a challenge to the 2021 ban on medical gender-affirming care for Arkansas youth, legislators hedged their bets by piling on more impediments. Lawmakers passed a bill that adds new restrictions on access to gender-affirming care for people under 18 and creates debilitating malpractice liabilities for any medical providers involved.

Pegging bathroom bills as the nonsensical economy killers they are, the Arkansas business community saved us from such legislation in the past. They dropped the ball this year, though, sticking Arkansas with two humiliating hate laws targeting any trans person who happens to be in Arkansas when nature calls. A bill that would have made it a sex crime for a transgender person to be in a bathroom when anyone under 18 was also present nearly passed, but a commonsense suggestion added at the last minute — on the suggestion of a dad of a transgender youth — adds the caveat that the adult in this situation would have to be in the bathroom for the purpose of sexual gratification. The law passed, which is redundant since peeping tom and sexual assault laws are already on the books. Transgender kids’ bathroom habits also got a creepy amount of attention from lawmakers. Arkansas’s public school educators will now have to police bathrooms lest a trans person uses the facilities corresponding with his/her/their gender.

And speaking of pronouns, it’s probably best that we find a way to work around them entirely, as Rep. Wayne Long (R-Bradford) was successful in passing his Given Name Act. A plug-and-play piece of legislation crafted by the anti-trans hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, this new law that right-wingers are shopping to red legislatures across the country polices what teachers can and cannot call their students. A signed permission slip from parents will be required before teachers can show their students the respect of using preferred names and pronouns.

TAXES

Same song, new verse: Lawmakers passed yet another tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthy, which Sanders has framed as a first step toward eliminating the income tax altogether. Retroactive to Jan. 1, the state’s top income tax rate will drop from 4.9% to 4.7%, which follows a steep reduction of the top rate — from 5.5% to 4.9% — by the legislature in a 2022 special session. Under the new plan, the top corporate tax rate would drop from 5.3% to 5.1%. Combined, the cuts will reduce state revenue by an estimated $124 million per year.

RICH GET RICHER: Gov. Sarah Sanders, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd (left) and Sen. Jonathan Dismang pushed through another tax break for wealthy Arkansans and out-of-state corporate shareholders.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates 80% of the benefits of the income tax cut will go to the top 20% of earners and that $20 million of the $24 million corporate tax cut will go to out-of-state shareholders.

The legislature also approved a phase-out of the state’s “throwback rule,” which required sales that multistate corporations based in Arkansas make in other states or to the federal government that aren’t taxable to be “thrown back” to Arkansas for tax purposes. The change will ultimately reduce state revenue by $74 million in fiscal year 2030 and beyond.

That $74 million would have been more than enough to cover free school lunches for every student in the state and a full year of Medicaid coverage after birth to ensure the health of new mothers, and we would still have tens of millions to spare. It’s all about priorities, and in Arkansas, corporate profits for out-of-state investors trump the wellbeing of our own mothers and children.

CRIME AND PRISON

Arkansas already has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, and it’s not working: The state also has one of the country’s highest crime rates. But solving difficult problems has never been in modern Arkansas Republicans’ wheelhouse. So while the likes of Texas and Oklahoma are embracing economically and ethically wise reform to reduce their prison populations, Arkansas plans to build a new nearly-half-billion-dollar prison and keep offenders locked up longer. The “Protect Arkansas Act,” sponsored by Sen. Ben Gilmore (R-Crossett) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R-Paragould) and crafted with heavy input by Attorney General Tim Griffin, will eliminate parole for the most serious felonies and require those who commit other serious crimes to serve 85% of their sentence.

Sanders and Griffin said that the new prison would allow county jails, which for years have housed overflow state prisoners, to go back to serving local communities. Griffin said misdemeanor justice had been effectively removed from the state criminal code because of the county jail backup, but now we will have room to lock up the scofflaws once again.

“I was going to Chick-fil-A the other day,” Griffin said at a press conference announcing the plans, “and there were people riding wheelies on dirt bikes — and I love dirt bikes — riding wheelies on dirt bikes that aren’t street legal with no helmets … If you think you’re going to get jobs to come to this state with that kind of nonsense going on, you’re sadly mistaken.”

ENERGY

Arkansas’s booming solar industry will see a slowdown thanks to a new law. Senate Bill 295, sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Searcy) and Rep. Lanny Fite (R-Benton), will end Arkansas’s one-to-one net-metering policy, where customers who generate electricity, usually with solar arrays, get credited at the full retail rate for any excess power they generate. Instead, solar customers would only get credited for the wholesale rate. The difference today would amount to about 5 cents per kilowatt hour.

FITE-ING SOLAR PROGRESS: Benton Republican Rep. Lanny Fite carried water for Entergy and other electrical utilities with a bill that will hamper Arkansas’s booming solar industry.

After negotiations with the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association, the bill was amended to grandfather solar projects into existing net-metering policy until Sept. 30, 2024. It also caps the project size at 5 megawatts and allows the solar array to be located within 100 miles of the location of the business that owns the array (Little Rock-based Central Arkansas Water’s solar system, for instance, is located in Cabot).

Dismang said that in 2019, when the legislature passed a law that allowed net metering, then-Public Service Commission Chairman Ted Thomas admitted that net metering would lead to what’s known as cost shifting, where the expense of utilities having to pay the retail rate for excess solar generation gets passed along to customers without solar. He said Thomas promised lawmakers that within six months the PSC would evaluate the cost shifting, but failed to follow through.

Thomas, in fiery testimony in House and Senate committees during this session, acknowledged that promise, but said that Entergy and the electric co-ops had never demonstrated that cost-shifting amounted to anything significant. The Arkansas Court of Appeals has also upheld the net-metering rate structure.

HUNGER

A commonsense bill by Dismang and Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R-Horatio) to ensure that any student who qualifies for reduced-price school meals would get them for free sailed through the ledge. But another proposal from Dismang aimed at helping the working poor was amended to be almost meaningless after Sanders dissed the original.

Arkansas is one of only a handful of states with restrictive asset limits from supplemental nutrition assistance payments (SNAP, or what used to be known as food stamps). SNAP eligibility is based on family income, but Arkansas additionally limits recipients based on their savings. If you’ve got more than $2,250 in assets, you won’t qualify. Dismang’s bill initially would have raised the asset limit to $12,500, a move that would have given families the breathing room to save up for a car, education expenses or a deposit on a better place to live without having to starve. Gov. Sanders’ spokeswoman, Alexa Henning, announced Sanders’ opposition early in the process: “We oppose expanding welfare and trapping more people in lifetime dependency that is paid for by the labor of hardworking taxpayers.” The bill then got amended to raise the asset limit to $5,500 if the federal government approves a waiver request from the state.

Read it in the Arkansas Times.

#sarah huckabee sanders #shs #Arkansas #the decline of western civilization #regressive policies

[leftenantmackgordon]

Wings Over My Heart - Pt. I

A 1936 Things to Come film AU Gordon x Audebert (x Horstmayer)

Series Main List

Warnings: Explicit 18+ NSFW smut (including m/m anal sex), dystopian re-imagining of WWI and aftermath, no need to have seen film

Word Count: 1.5k

Pt. I -

“Permission to land on Runway 3-2-7. Maintain your present course.” 

Gordon held position, adjusting the stick as he sighted the runway. “Copy, 3-2-7.”

“Welcome back, Major Gordon.” 

Even ten years later, the surreal moments still strike him. How he had found hope just when the world seemed lost. How he’d been pulled from a muddy trench, cleaned up, and trained as an aviator. How a group of men had preserved with a peaceful vision for the future after decades of endless warfare and brutality. 

No one ever imagined that war would rage in the ceaseless destruction of humanity from 1914 to 1940, but here the world is. Gordon knows nothing but a world of constant war, and while he has vague memories of life in the World-That-Was back in his younger years, they pale in comparison to life as he now knows it. 

He angles the nose of his airplane as he makes his final approach and descent for landing. His wheels touch down on the pavement, and the brakes slow his forward momentum. Following the guiding lights, he pilots his craft to the waiting hangar and ground crew. Small fingers of sunlight rise in the eastern sky as he kills the engine and unstraps his harness. Stepping out of his black, streamlined aircraft, he pulls off his helmet. 

“Good morning, major.” The crew chief greets him. “Another good patrol?” 

“Quite encouraging.” Gordon confirms. “Our efforts on the Italian peninsula appear to be taking hold, and if the council agrees with the squadron’s report, then we’re ready to scout the regions northward.” 

“Very encouraging indeed, sir.” The chief nods at Gordon before looking up at the airplane. “Any issues with the machine?”

“None at all. Your men do a fine job.” 

“Well, it’s a fine design.” 

Gordon feels his mouth pull to a small smile. “Everything here is.” He nods in farewell before he turns to fall in line with the rest of his squadron mates. Fatigue tugs at the corners of his mind, but he needs to file his report. Progress of rebuilding the world doesn’t stop in the face of one’s exhaustion, and Gordon knows that while he sleeps, another squadron will take to the skies. 

Camille’s squadron, in fact. 

The thought of his beloved sustains him through the post-scouting-mission debrief. As he finally trudges down the brightly lit corridor towards their shared quarters, he can’t help but wonder if Camille’s squadron will use the intelligence gathered during his patrol to implement next steps. 

With a press of his hand to scan his fingerprints, the door opens and his eyes adjust to the darkened interior. Artificial light may keep the main interior of their complex lit to support the 24/7 efforts of societal restoration, but it’s 0534 in the morning, and Camille still sleeps.  

Gordon sheds his sharp, all-black flight uniform before stepping into the hydrosonic shower. At first, his arrival here had been such a shock. While the rest of the world devolved into violence and barbarism, here was a society with scientific purpose united by a determination to improve man’s fate instead of destroy it. The innovations at the Basra headquarters proved endlessly captivating - from the new fleets of airplanes to non-metallic construction materials to clean energy generation - even stretching so far as to break down previously-conceived cultural norms. It’s what allows him to live freely with Camille at his side for the rest of his days. 

The vibrating water cleans the sweat and petrol fumes from his skin before he reaches for a towel. After stepping into soft shorts and brushing his teeth, he’s careful to turn the light off before opening the door back to the bedroom. Despite the sweltering heat of Basra, the conditioned air keeps their quarters more than comfortable, and he never takes issue when curling up next to Camille. 

The Frenchman’s hair is soft and mussed from sleep as Gordon breathes him in. He presses gentle kisses along Camille’s nape as he drapes an arm around the younger man’s shirtless midsection. 

Camille sighs in drowsy contentment as his fingers interlace with Gordon’s beneath the covers. “Good scouting mission, mon amour?” 

Gordon hums sleepily as he relaxes against the soft mattress. “You should still be asleep, love.” 

Camille chuckles low in his throat. “I never sleep soundly when you’re away.”  

“Good thing my squadron is only on this rotation for another six days.” 

Camille groans in frustration as he rolls in Gordon’s arms, and Gordon lays back against the bed to welcome the taller man nuzzling kisses into his neck. A sleepy smile tugs at Gordon’s mouth. Despite all that they see and do, despite all the talk of forward progress, these quiet moments with Camille are his favorite time of day. Here, they don’t have to be Major Gordon and Commandant Audebert. Here, they’re just Mackenzie and Camille. 

He nuzzles Camille’s brow and basks in the comforting weight of his beloved. “You should sleep, love.” He says softly. “You only have an hour until you need to prepare for your rotation.” 

“I know,” Camille confirms. 

“Do you know where your squadron is headed?” 

“North, last I heard. Continuing to establish contact in regions of former Germany.” 

Gordon hums gently. “Slowly but surely, expanding the New Rule of the Airmen.” 

“And a New Life for Mankind.” Camille finishes the motto, drifting more kisses along the column of Gordon’s neck. “A new life that I found here with you. A new life that we share together.” 

Gordon ducks his head to meet Camille’s kiss. It’s everything he ever wants as they linger in the intimate contact, basking in the reassuring touch of each other’s lips. Gordon lets his jaw relax as Camille leans into the kiss, and their tongues meet. Heat licks down Gordon’s spine as his cock hardens, groaning when Camille’s hand finds him over the fabric of his shorts. 

He rolls his hips to chase Camille’s touch, stirring a delicious moan from the Frechman. Gordon smiles into the kiss as Camille shifts to lay atop him, grinding their burgeoning erections together. The perfect friction shoots sparks through Gordon’s veins as he arches up into the taller man. “God, Cami….” His hand settles to Camille’s hip to hold him so close. 

Camille rocks his hips again with a shuddering exhale against Gordon’s lips. “I know you’re tired, mon amour. But I’ve had more than enough rest.” 

Any other words are downed by the firm intensity of Gordon’s kiss as they lose themselves in rising pleasure. Shifting his weight to brace on a forearm, Camille lifts just enough to slide his shorts down and work at Gordon’s. The bare length of their cocks brush together, and Gordon hisses through his teeth and tightens his grip on Camille’s hip. It’s been too long since they last took a moment for themselves, and he already feels on the edge of combustion, not helped by his exhaustion. 

It certainly doesn’t help when Camille shifts his hips and takes Gordon in hand before surprisingly, easily welcoming him into his body. Gordon's mind spins, dizzy with rushing pleasure when he realizes the loose, slick stretch of Camille’s muscle meant that the younger man had already prepared for this moment. With a pleasured cry, Gordon’s head falls back against the pillow, and he loses himself in the enveloping heat of Camille’s body. 

Camille groans, low and debauched, as he lifts up before sinking back down. “I’ve got you, mon amour. Let go for me.”

Gordon groans as he meets Camille’s thrusts, delighting in his soft gasps. “Fuck, Cami….” 

Camille whimpers, chasing his pleasure as Gordon’s cock fills him over and over. They push and pull at all the skin they can reach as they move together, never wanting to let the other go.  Their burning connection feels like heaven as they crest the peak, Camille’s release splashing hot on Gordon’s belly while his own seed plants deep inside his lover.

Heedless of the mess, Camille slumps forward to meet Gordon in a sated, languid kiss. Neither of them wants to rise, content to stay in this breathless, euphoric moment as they drift on the edge of bliss. Gordon cradles Camille close, brushing kisses along his brow as he sighs with bone-deep satisfaction. “You’re going to be the death of me someday, you know.” He whispers. “Surprising me like that. Bloody hell, Cami.” He pauses to press a lingering kiss. “Just the thought of you in our bed, stretching yourself for me… makes me wish I were ten years younger.”   

Camille chuckles gently. “Neither of us are as young as we used to be. And ten years ago… none of this would have been here, and I wouldn’t have met you.” 

Gordon’s arms tighten around Camille’s back to hold him closer. “I like to think that - somehow, somewhere - we still would have found each other.” 

The younger man smiles against Gordon’s skin as he brushes a lazy kiss. “That is indeed a nice thought. And a perfect way to start the day.” 

“A perfect way to fall asleep, you mean.” Gordon draws him up for a kiss as his eyelids grow heavy. “I look forward to having more time in six days from now.” 

Camille’s eyes sparkle in the low light as his smile grows. “Me too, mon amour.” He lingers in one last gentle, affirming kiss. “Pleasant dreams, and I’ll be here when you wake.” 

#joyeux noël 2005 #joyeux noël #lieutenant horstmayer #lieutenant gordon #lieutenant audebert #horstmayer #gordon #audebert #karl friedrich horstmayer #mackenzie joseph gordon #camille rené audebert

[apexart-journal]

Mvelo Mahlangu in NYC, Day 18

This morning, I woke up, checked out at 11 am and luckily because I packed light, just carried my backpack with me everywhere. Today I was going to the National Mall and doing a self guided tour. Seeing the Capitol building in the distance, I realised that time felt different here unlike NY. Walking 30 min in NY for me feels like 15 minutes. But 30 min in DC feels like 40 min. I took the bus down to the national mall and started off on my tour. Before following starting the guide given to me online, I made a stop at the National Museum of the American Indian. I intentionally made this stop because I had never seen or interacted with anything on native Americans expect for online. At school and through the years, I’ve always learnt so much about the construction and colonial occupation of the US but never formally learnt much on the indigenous people and life before. To say the least, I walked out of there feeling extremely emotional. Extremely emotional and frustrated. I absolutely hate the idea that the progress of a lot of our societies to what it is today meant the culling and exploitation of indigenous people, indigenous customs and indigenous knowledge. And I say this as an African. But alas, let me not open those can of worms. 

My next stop was the Smithsonian National museum of Natural History. I was so excited to see fossils. But when I got there, it was packed to the brim. I experienced complete sensory overload as I tried walking through the building and marvelling over preserved remains of history while also keeping an eye out for time as I still had to make a bunch of different stops which were walks away. I could only stay inside for about 30 minutes. I then made my way to the National Museum of African History and Culture. It made me so happy seeing a structure dedicated to preserving archives on black culture from sports, to music, to art and film/performance. Again, I was quite overwhelmed by everything I wanted to see but also keeping an eye out for time. Walking to see everything had cut out so much time. I moved onto my next stop which was the Washington memorial park. At this point, my face and fingers were frozen. The thing I realised with DC or at least this particular region in the Capitol Hill was that, since there were no tall buildings and just flat land, the wind was brutal. That mixed in with the temperature and sho, I was going through it. Seeing the memorial tower was incredible though because I had only seen it in cartoons and films. And there it was, in all its glory in front of my eyes. I then made my way to the Martin Luther King  memorial which was so beautiful. From the stone carving to the lake. It looked so peaceful. I sadly couldn’t say long because of time and had to make my way to the Lincoln memorial. With my times, I was running about an hour over time. Making it to the m emorial, I could only stand there for about 5 minutes, because there were so many people. Looking aback at the view from the Lincoln memorial was incredible. I then made my way over to my last stop on the self guided tour at the Vietnam memorial, which was constructed beautifully. There was definitely a sombre atmosphere around as I could see there were people who were placing photos and flowers in front of some names, obviously for people they knew.  I then made my way to the nearest bus stop, waiting for it to pick me up and take me back to Union Station for my bus out of DC. I was in a little bit of a panic with time because the bus was not coming, I was cold, and also extremely hungry because in the rush of walking around, I forgot to sit down and have lunch. Since the bus was not coming, and there was a problem with my uber app, I had to walk to Union Station which was an hour away from where I was. Once I got to the station, I finally got something to eat and drink and reflected on the days events. 

While I enjoyed parts of my experience, I felt a bit disappointed at how my day turned out. In a place surrounded by so much history, knowledge, art, and things I’ve never seen before, I barely felt as though I got to truly experience any of it. And I say this without the intention of sounding ungrateful. This put into question the agency I have over my own experience within this program. Do I try doing everything on the calendar to say that I did it? Or do I immerse myself into an experience as best as I can to say that I understand it? Or rather how do I balance the both? It’s hard for me to say because to be in a new environment, all I want to do is see everything and do everything so i'll push myself knowing that I might not get another chance anytime soon. But then at what cost?

I finally got onto the bus and this time, someone sat next to me. I tried sleeping for the first hour of the bus ride, but was too uncomfortable, so could not sleep at all. The person sitting next to me, Rishard, started talking to me and we immediately hit it off! We spoke the entire way from Baltimore to NYC, 4 hours straight. He told me about his background growing up half Jamaican and half Nigerian, his reconnection to his Nigerian identity, growing up in NY but then working in DC, his career successes and extensive travels. It was so refreshing speaking to a young, Black, Queer and Successful individual working their way through the corporate construction and banking world. Of the many things we spoke about, we spoke about the politics of America, and I was shocked again at just how intense the cost of living has become. We spoke about Roe v. Wade and overall voting in the upcoming elections for both South Africa and America. One last thing we spoke about was him encouraging me to come back to DC. We arrived back in NYC almost an hour after the scheduled time, and rode part of the subway together. I got off first, and got to the apartment at 1:30am feeling so happy that I was back. Over the last couple weeks, this apartment has felt so homely and also been such a comforting space that I’ve been happy to return to everyday. 

I couldn’t sleep properly from body chills and could only get to sleep at 4:00am.

#Mvelo Mahlangu #inbound from Johannesburg

[acornspirals]

“Never Forget”

Regardless of where they currently live, most people are proud of their roots. They are proud of their culture, they are proud of their heritage, and they are proud of where they came from. In the melting pot that is the United States, this fact rings truer than anywhere else in the world – our holidays honor everything from the resilience of Native American tribes to the emancipation of slavery. We designate months of the year to draw attention to the equally important history of our nation’s most marginalized groups and celebrate their accomplishments. What happens though, when the legacy of a people– their struggles, their stories, their voices, continue to be drowned out by a louder, yet false narrative?

50 years after its conclusion, the bloody legacy of the Vietnam War continues to leave a stain on the conscience of the American public. Today, the popularly accepted “explanation” for America’s involvement in the war, or any of its more recent wars for that matter, is the following: the rich and powerful in America wanted *insert natural resource*, so they used western imperialism and colonialism to brutally murder people of color. The antiwar movement of the 1960s claimed to support the most marginalized members of society, who they argued were unfairly targeted by the draft. They claimed to support the people of Vietnam, who they argued were choking under the boot of Western imperialism. And yet, nothing could be further from the truth.

After Congress crumbled to antiwar pressure, the United States withdrew its troops from South Vietnam and cut off all assistance. Not long after, North Vietnam’s communist army conquered the South. Fleeing the persecution that came with a totalitarian communist regime, South Vietnamese men, women, and children sailed into the ocean in makeshift boats, facing not only the threat of the natural elements, but the possibility of capture. Many ships were robbed and raped by pirates. Of the 2 million refugees who would leave their occupied homeland searching for freedom and refuge, 500,000 would die at sea. Of the millions of South Vietnamese men and women who fought alongside America and its allies to defend their own country, 250,000 were killed, and the survivors were sent to forced labor camps. Many would never return.

Of the 2.7 million American soldiers who were deployed in Vietnam, 58,220 would lose their lives. Those who survived were forever disfigured, both mentally and physically. The same antiwar movement that claimed to advocate for their survival called them “baby killers” and spit on them like they were dirt, leaving the scarred veterans homeless on the streets to struggle with their post-traumatic stress disorder in the dysfunctional and incompetent institution known as Veterans Affairs. 

During the war, 15 million Americans gathered at hundreds of anti-war demonstrations. When the dust settled, there were zero large-scale marches for the better treatment of veterans, or for the resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees.

And yet, despite all efforts to eradicate them, the people of South Vietnam and their descendants, still exist. In cities like San Jose and Los Angeles, commercial districts like “Little Saigon” proudly stand as a monument againstthe numerous obstacles that refugees and immigrants face coming to America. The diaspora of survivors opened their own businesses, started their own churches, and most importantly– they built their own schools. In doing so, they ensure that their culture, their language, their way of life, will never be forgotten. In doing so, they ensure that future generations will understand their struggles to reach this land, learn their stories of survival, and hear their voice of defiance, so that their children may never forget.

[donveinot]

[reinedescauchemars]

on colonialism, imperialism, and racism

this is just kind of the culmination of a few days' worth of anger at the world for being the way it is, and especially towards people like me, since i feel like a lot of the time desi (south asian) people aren't considered to be victims of anti-black (because if you're from the north, you're probably too pale for that) or anti-asian (because people where i am seem to take "asian" to mean "east and southeast asian") racism, but desi people are victims of racism, and also of imperialism and colonialism

i think a lot of people fall into the model minority myth trap when thinking about desis. they think we came to the west for opportunities because we're highly educated tech workers, or because we're gas station or small shop owners who pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps. there is a literal stereotype that gujaratis are convenience store owners. and when the model minority myth is used, it erases the impacts of colonialsm and imperialism and racism on us, because we can't be doing great financially (desi americans earn more on average than white americans) if we've been oppressed, right? wrong

and then there's also fucking modi and hindu nationalism and that makes some non-desi people think that oh, india's always been like this, a hotbed of sectarian violence, but it wasn't always like this

and then there's the non-desis who go off to their yoga classes and talk about aligning their chakras and appropriate desi culture without even thinking about it. i'm supposed to just be okay with people divorcing meditation from the underlying buddhist philosophy because meditation is trendy but being buddhist isn't, and honestly i don't think you can divorce yoga and meditation from the religions that created them, especially since yoga isn't about stretching but about finding peace with yourself and being able to handle all the life throws at you in a calm way

anyhow. that's the first bit of anger out of the way

this all started with me trying to fill out a form for school and i saw that it had autofilled my ethnic background as pakistani, which is wrong. i'm punjabi, my mother was born in india, and my ancestors were sikh. most pakistanis are muslim; there's a small sikh minority but most sikhs got the fuck out of pakistan during the partition

sikhism originated in punjab, which was a large area of land named after the five rivers that run through it. punjab now is an indian state and a pakistani state, separated from each other by the radcliffe line that set the india-pakistan border. the combined area of both states is smaller than the actual punjab region. so there's sikh holy sites in what's now pakistan, a muslim country known for its intolerance of religious minorities, including sikhs. the holiest site in sikhism is in amritsar, a city right on the border and just barely in india

i say i'm punjabi before i say i'm indian because to me, being from that region is more important than saying what country my mother was born in. punjabis are indian and pakistani. punjabis on both sides of the border dance bhangra. punjab used to be a fairly tolerant place of different religions, with hindus, muslims, and sikhs living side by side. it was never perfect, but it used to be a heck of a lot better than it is now

in 1947, east and west pakistan (later renamed to bangladesh and pakistan, respectively) were created due to the british-supported muslim nationalist movement. yep, that's right: the british sowed discord in the citizens of the raj, turned a prominent political figure into a muslim nationalist, and then drew borders based on outdated census data that forced millions to move across the two borders. that line is called the radcliffe line

that was the partition. it was brutal, it was violent, the true number of dead are unknown but there was so much death. there were sectarian massacres and murders and rapes. and partition tensions have never really calmed down: there's still the question of kashmir, which both india and pakistan want

i blame the british government for the rise of modi. i blame the british government for the generational trauma that my family has suffered through. i blame the british government for exploiting sikhs during wwi, in which they were underpaid for wartime service and farmers were underpaid for their grain, and i blame winston churchill for the preventable deaths of so many bengalis during wwii. i blame european imperialists for destroying the economy of bengal and making bangladesh one of the poorest countries in the world

i blame colonialism and imperialism for fucking up the indian subcontinent and screwing over desi people

and what else do i blame imperialism for? making calling myself indian virtually impossible without having to explain that i don't mean that i'm native american, because i'm not, i'm punjabi

in 1492, christopher columbus sailed the ocean blue and brutally exploited and murdered taino people when he discovered that he'd landed on an island with gold, not realizing that there wasn't actually that much gold, and the gold the taino had had been painstakingly collected over generations. columbus thought he'd reached china. but what did he call the taino? "indians". and that term stuck, so now all indigenous peoples in the americas were called "indians" and that somehow stuck around in the minds of most americans

i call myself indian and then realize that almost nobody around me understands that i mean to say my ancestors were from the indian subcontinent. i say i'm indian american and then get asked if i mean "american indian". i tried to change my ethnic background on the form to indian or punjabi or even desi, but the form had none of those options. instead, it had "asian indian"

this term pisses me off because first off, no indian person i know would call themselves that. we're just indian. and secondly? almost every time i see a survey that asks for race, indians are excluded from the asian category

here's a little fun fact that's not so fun at all: punjabi people were, for a long time, classified by the us census as white, but denied the same rights as other white people because their skin was "too dark". (punjabi people are pretty pale in the grand scheme of things.) a wwi punjabi sikh veteran, bhagat singh thind, who fought for the us was denied citizenship (by the us supreme court) because of this in 1923

here's another not so fun fact: sikh people, especially men, have been targeted in islamophobic attacks in the us because they wear turbans. most muslims don't wear turbans, but because pop culture says than anyone who wears turbans is muslim, this has resulted in violence against the sikh community, who are more than 90% of the turban-wearers in america

but back to the form: the fact that the survey split up the desi mainland ethnic backgrounds into asian indian, bangladeshi, and pakistani makes me annoyed. the borders between bangladesh, india, and pakistan were meaningless until 1947, because they didn't exist. bengalis and punjabis, to name but two ethnic groups, live on both sides of these borders. i'm more similar, from an ethnic background perspective, to a pakistani punjabi than i am to an indian bengali, but because of the borders, i am in the same "ethnic background" group as the indian bengali but not the pakistani punjabi. indians have all kinds of ethnic backgrounds, but i very rarely see that reflected in western society

i have a lot of anger on how colonialism and imperialism and racism have hurt people and this is just the tip of the iceberg about this, but i'm sick and tired of my culture and heritage being misrepresented and oversimplified and appropriated and so i'm going to end this here, having burnt off some steam but before i start boiling with rage about this again

[thevisibilityarchives]

There There (2018), Tommy Orange

BIPOC

Summary: From the ill-fated Alcatraz Occupation to the nonprofit cubicles and projects of millennial Oakland, three generations of Native Americans are brought together for an annual Pow Wow that provokes questions of identity, and oppression, and highlights the experiences of America’s overlooked. 

Full review:

“What does it mean to be a real Indian?”

It’s the question that lingers in Tommy Orange’s There There, the celebrated debut novel that erupts with a brutal, but profound message: you think you’ve erased us, but we’re still here. 

The question itself is posed by Orvil Red Feather, an earnest teenager who ironically embodies the most passionate and solidified sense of self of all the characters presented in Orange’s vignette-style novel. Even as he questions and doubts himself, his identity, and his authenticity, he does so as someone attempting to connect with his heritage in a way that is admirable–and enviable. 

Orange makes it clear from the outset, that no community can be represented monolithically. While Orvil ponders whether he is “Indian enough”, a young man named Tony suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and his friend Octavio hatch plans to heist an upcoming Pow Wow, stealing the prize money from their community so the latter can pay off money owed to his drug supplier. 

Set against the backdrop of Oakland, California is a prominent theme: poverty and oppression, rooted in white supremacy starting from the initial first contact and colonization of The Americas. When judging the actions of Octavio and his friends, or observing the prominence of alcoholism, drug addiction, or destitution prevalent within Orange’s novel, one cannot do so without examining how scenes of the past come together to form the full picture. 

In 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (today, arguments question whether ethnically he may be of Portuguese, Spanish, or other descent, but outside of the United States nationality is viewed with far less complexity. A person of Ghanaian descent born in France would simply be identified as French. Likewise, an American with Irish grandparents would not be wise to call themselves Irish when abroad.) set out on a wayward journey to India, instead landing on the other side of the globe. Upon landing in the “New World”, he noted the dark-skinned individuals and erroneously deemed them “Indians”, however in their interactions quickly found them to be far inferior to those he expected to find in India. 

They were uncivilized and barbarous creatures, serving Pagan gods, living in filth, exhibiting laziness, and lacking the technological advancement that made Europeans so righteous. Columbus recognized they were fit for conquer, relaying the following to Queen Isabella:

“...They have no arms and are all naked and without any knowledge of war, and very cowardly, so that a thousand of them would not face three. And they are also fitted to be ruled and to be set to work, to cultivate the land and to do all else that may be necessary, and you may build towns and teach them to go clothed and adopt our customs..." (Morgan, 2009)

It could of course seem as though he sought to do kindness to these poor savage creatures, but the reality was that Columbus’ methods varied depending on the tribes, and cooperation of the locals. They also eventually involved slavery, a practice that would come to grow into the largest, deadliest, and most consequential slave market in all of history: the West African Slave Trade. 

Today in the United States, he is held as a representative of Italian culture, his name marked by a celebratory bank holiday associated with cultural heritage despite the fact that other Italian figures–Leonardo Da Vinci, Julias Caesar, and Michelangelo to name a few–have all had immense contributions to culture that did not result in bloodshed that continues indirectly centuries later. 

 According to this map, a small number of states have thus adopted Indigenous People’s Day (in name only, mostly) in place of Columbus Day. Meanwhile, the holiday of Thanksgiving itself still serves as a celebratory recognition of the first shared holiday between European settlers and Native Americans, with no mention of all that would come next: slaughter, the despoilment of lands, and an intentional erasure of culture that lasted up until the last few decades. 

The dropoff of this government-sponsored erasure is where There There picks up, with a group of Native Americans attempting to occupy the island of Alcatraz in the momentous year-long preservation that served as a catalyst for Native rights protest movements of the 1970s. It is a turning point in which Orvil Red Feather’s grandmothers Jacquie and Opal Victoria come to understand that they will return to their lives in the city, struggling to make ends meet because it is all they can do. Alongside the other black, brown, and yellow people tucked into ramshackle houses and forced to fight for a way into the suburban sprawl to achieve the American Dream–combatting brick walls of stereotypes, the realities of poverty, and the toll racial trauma takes on our mental health–they become lost in the melting pot of urbanization. Another statistic, another person of color, another welfare recipient. Some intermarry. Some retain the old ways of life. Some die off too soon. Most adapt, persevere, and continue on. 

Orvil’s question is never answered. It can’t be, but it provokes poignant observations nonetheless. Most notably, can this definition change over time? Today, most people who are of Indigenous heritage have the unique perspective of having access to their culture, as well as the recent cultural memories of oppression and pain other ethnicities do not. It’s an enviable ability, one that cannot even be claimed by European-Americans and exists solely within Indigenous people of the world who have faced the pressure of assimilation, adapted, yet retained parts of themselves.

The full puzzle these pieces come together to create over time is a portrait that Orange displays in full gravity: a small sampling of the lives that each Thanksgiving, more and more of us are beginning to think about, despite being pressured to forget and focus instead on family, turkey, and American football. 

Which seems strange, given the purpose of a holiday seemingly rooted in the mythos of remembering these very people. 

You can find There There at your local library, here, or at your local bookstore. 

Citations:

#thevisibilityarchives #tva #books #diversity #bipoc representation #nativeamericans #indigineous people #there there #tommy orange #anti colonialism #native american authors