#like indigenous genocide both physical and cultural

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

Stark and Hightower fans accusing House Targaryen of colonizing Westeros are beyond parody. Starks descend from the First Men and Hightowers from the Andals and both of these groups committed genocide against Westeros ’ actual indigenous inhabitants, the Children of the Forest. They either slaughtered them or forced them further North and destroyed their sacred trees, causing their physical and cultural destruction in the process.

LAND BACK FOR THE CHILDREN, LEAF AS QUEEN IN THE NORTH.

I find Stark and Hightower fans to be mostly Alicent and Sansa fans, so the hypocrisy doesn't surprise me. The "neutrals" and Team smallfolk are more of the same, hypocrites with double standards. It's funny because this two houses committed genocide while the Targaryens didn't, but it all comes back to the Targaryens being foreigners (disregarding that the Andals, Rhoynar and First Men are not natives of Westeros) it all just feels like xenophobia.

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #asoiaf fandom #anti team green #team black #pro team black #pro targaryen #targaryen loyalist #house targaryen #children of the forest

[amuseoffyre]

I was mulling on how well OFMD does layers and layers of storytelling in such understated way with framing and sets and dialogue that carries so much weight without beating you over the head with exposition. Especially when it comes to the text and subtext of the history of the characters and what is happening in context.

Like every scene has a surface read, but there’s also so much more going on underneath. It’s like the many strands of threads used in weaving, where even when the things aren’t said directly and out loud, they’re present and building depth and colour to what’s happening.

I’ve picked a couple of examples which tell so much with so little.

Even this frame gives so much context without a word: Ed is from a poor background, his father is pictured beside a tankard of alcohol, his mother is dressed in servant’s clothing and he and his mother are very much separated from his father who is halfway into the shadows.

Then we have the impact of colonisation show in the words and presentation of Ed’s mother. She and Ed are both played by Māori actors, while Ed’s father is white. The way she talks about not being “those kind of people” and “it’s up to God” were lessons drilled into the many Indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities to be forcefully assimilated in church-run schools in British colonies, where they were taught English, indoctrinated into Christanity and were usually trained for roles in domestic service (for girls) or manual labour (for boys).

In three lines and with some simple set dressing and costume, they have set up not only Ed’s own history, but the history of his family and culture and how that impacted him and continues to impact him.

Another scene where this is intensely evident is in the Privateering academy:

For the first time, Ed and Stede are in the same clothing. On a surface read, this puts them on an equal footing, with them both being in the same situation. But once again, colonialism rears its ugly head in the context, especially in regards to Ed.

As mentioned before, the British colonies created schools with the declared intention of educating and improving the well-being of indigenous populations, while the reality was cultural erasure, indoctrination and genocide.

A lot of these schools demanded the pupils all dress in uniforms and in most cases demanded the children abandon all aspects of their culture. The fact that Ed has to physically change his appearance upon arrival in this British-run academy - it wasn’t regulation, it had to go - is a call-back to that legacy.

While less pointed, Stede has also been forced to assimilate into the more traditional and masculine attire. Even in the 1700s, there are accounts of queer men being described as too colourful and flashy and in the academy scenes, they have stripped his flamboyant soft queerness away from him, pushing him into the stiff, colourless cultural masculinity that is represented by the British forces throughout the show.

I could go on and on but it is very cold and I am very sleepy, but I will finish on a note about the Act of Grace and specifically on Hornberry’s “it’s boilerplate, absolution for your terrible crimes, blah-di-blah-di-blah.”

That line alone carries the weight of every single treaty arranged by the British when they colonised countries and it is a very pointed barb because it turns out that the British were very good at loopholing the hell out of their treaties, making sure certain turns of phrase could be re-interpreted to their advantage, something that is still impacting many people today.

The fact that Ed - and Taika - is the one to say “that’s where all the tricks are” is especially loaded given the history of the Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa and how the British interpreted it to their benefit.

There’s so much history built into the body of the show and I love that it’s there, adding depth and weight, a realness which I think is what has caused so much resonance with the audience. It provides a grounding foundation and while yes, the show is a comedy and is very funny, the history is always there too.

#our flag means death #ofmd meta #long post #thinkie thoughts

[vital-information]

“Le Moyne confessed that he didn’t know the spiritual significance of the work being performed by the Timucuan hermaphrodites…Administering to the needs of the dead, bringing the transition between the living and the afterlife, was a spiritually significant task that was vital to maintaining balance and harmony in Indigenous societies.

It was European chauvinism, Christianity, and the superficiality of Laudonnière and Le Mount’s observations that imposed a marginalized status on the Timicuan hermaphrodites. That the people Laudonnière and Le Moyne described possessed physical strength, performed labor associated with women, and took on ceremonial roles similar to priests suggests that hermaphrodites occupied an important position in the Timucuan kinship system. As people who internally and externally embodied the qualities of both men and women, the people Laudonnière and Le Moyne labeled hermaphrodites were likely viewed by their peers as possessing spiritual knowledge of immense power.

…

European sources close off possibilities for gender roles and identities that transcended the male-female binary which was solidifying in European culture. Across a range of literary genres, European writers conflated hermaphrodites, sodomites, eunuchs, and cross-dressers. They did this to highlight what they saw as abnormalities in Native American societies. Two other labels that received increasing use during the late sixteenth century were “catamite” and “berdache.” These terms have a long history dating back to the ancient world. In Ancient Greek and Roman society, a catamite was a “kept boy,” the intimate companion of an adult male in a pederastic relationship. By the late sixteenth century, Europeans used this term as a slur. Similarly, the ancient Arabic bardaj or barah evolved into the Spanish terms bardaxa and bardaje, and the French berdache. Collectively these words referred to a “kept boy,” slave, or sodomite. Whether uttered by civil or church authorities, all of these terms carried negative connotations in European cultures.

The Latina Pueblo poet and activist Paula Gunn Allen lamented the use of these labels and their imposition onto Native American cultures. Looking back over the history of European colonialism in North America, Allen identified European notions of patriarchy and Christianity as the root cause of these developments. Europeans combined gender, sexual, and racial ideologies to justify invasion, the territorial dispossession of indigenous communities, and genocide. For Allen, feminist approaches to Native history and culture offered a path to “ameliorating the effects of patriarchal colonialism, enabling many of the tribes to reclaim their ancient gynarchical, egalitarian, and sacred traditions.”

Allen, who identified as a lesbian and lamented the “devaluation of lesbian and gay tribal members as leaders, shamans, healers, or ritual participants,” advanced an unapologetically Indigenous perspective on North American history. It’s a historical consciousness that helps us appreciate the enduring impact that labels like “hermaphrodite” had (and have) on the collective psyche of Native American communities”

— Gregory D. Smithers, Reclaiming Two-Spirits: Sexuality, Spiritual Renewal, & Sovereignty in Native America

#queer history #two spirit #colonialism #reservation dogs

[shirawords]

ive been having difficulty with the rhetoric around the i/p conflict and the genocide that the israeli state is committing rn and its something ive been trying to work through but

like. i do the 'terrified rabbit freeze' whenever i see someone referring to zionism or zionists as a bad thing that needs to be destroyed. and thats not because the government of israel doesnt need destroyed. its because ive spent so long seeing zionist and zionism be a stand in for dirty Jew that thats where my mind immediately turns

and the other reason is that i have a relationship w zionism. a very very complicated relationship, but id be lying if i said it didnt exist. the historical kingdoms of Israel and Judea are the homeland of my people. despite the many expulsions, weve never totally left. i feel a connection to the sacred land of my very place-based religion, and the reason i still feel attached to zionism as a term is because its just the anglicized transliteration of ציון, the word weve used for thousands of years to refer to the holy land. im working on that, because my connection to a word doesnt get to outweigh the harm that word has done, but its gonna take time for me to sever the connection between zionism as is exists in the political landscape and zion(ism) as is exists within my religious and cultural tradition

but the thing is. the thing is. it makes me uncomfy when people refer to Palestinians as indigenous and the state of israel as a colonizer. both of these things are objectively true, but the way theyre often phrased reads as an attempt to reject the indigeneity of Jews to Judea and cast the israeli establishment as white european colonizing interlopers. and the thing about geopolitics is that its not as simple as white = european = colonizer = bad, wherein if the oppressor is one of those four, the oppressor is considered to be all of those four. the world is more complex than that and to deny the complexity because its easy is to do a great disservice to everyone involved, including the oppressed peoples. no one will get anywhere by telling the israeli government that its a bunch of white european colonizers, because its actually a bunch of israeli colonizers of debatable and varied ethnicity and indigeneity. to actually make any progress on anything you have to start with what the thing is, not what you want to to be or think it should look like.

and now is obviously not the time for me or anyone else to be nitpicking about the goyische understanding of the interplay between Jews and the land of Judea as a historical & physical concept and the state of israel and Palestinian liberation. its just that i see the rhetoric speaking about people as if they are their government and it scares me for all sorts of reasons, not least because of the trend towards moral purity thats basically people trying to figure out who they can be mean to while virtue signalling about it.

i dont have answers and i dont even have a point to this whole ramble. i guess its just to say that im working on my internalized biases and id really appreciate it if people could try to be accurate in talking about everything

i may or may not answer any well-intentioned questions that people have. im much more likely to talk about this with Jews (or obies tbh) but well see how much headspace i have

#i havent gotten much antisemitism personally and for that i am grateful #its just that all my life ive had dreams that im in the holocaust #so i get tense when i see people speaking in the manner so often used for hate and violence against my people #there are a limited number of words in any language so theres nothing to do about it #it is what it is and im working on not jumping on the dogwhistle train #israel #Palestine #i/p conflict #i spam

[psychotrenny]

Also fuck Albanese. Like I wasn't expecting to hear anything different from an Imperial Core Left Lib (especially the one in charge of a pathetically loyal vassal state of the US) but still it was so fucking infuriating hearing him go on and on about how awful and terrible Hamas was and how we stand with Israel with not even a single mention (not even in an offhanded or downplaying way) of the fucking hideous Israeli atrocities that led to this situation. I'd say that this is a classic case of how Settler states have gotta stick together but as soon as he was done talking about Israel he went on to talk about the importance of this referendum for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

And like obviously recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution and granting them some level of political representation is a good thing. It's not going to change all that much (definitely not undoing the violence at the very core of a settler state like Australia, nor will it make up for the long and ongoing history of both physically, culturally and environmentally genocidal policies or end their terrible poverty and discrimination overnight) but it's not a terrible half-step towards restoring some level of dignity and respect to Australian Aboriginals and possibly easing the path towards future improvements in their material conditions. At the very least it'll force people to recognise the immeasurable rift between the indigenous and the settler populations of this nation which appears to be where so much of the opposition to it is coming from; people from the "Vote No" campaign won't shut up about how this will divide the country but what they really mean is that they don't want to think about the divide that's existed for as long as European settlement.

And like there's something so infuriating to me about a politician calling for tepid reconciliation (although at this point it's arguably just appeasement and concession) with one group of indigenous peoples while essentially condoning the ongoing violence and impoverishment of another. I guess the difference here is that the Australian Aboriginals have to resist colonialism from a much weaker position then the Palestinians do; Australia's policies of dispossession and genocide have been going on for much longer and been much more "successful" than those of Israel. They're currently not a credible threat to state security and so don't have to be taken all that seriously, so certain concessions can be considered and even given without real risk of weakening the settler establishment. The sort of unrelenting violence as displayed by Israel just isn't all that necessary. Not to say that it isn't happening over here, but it's at a lower intensity and scale and many participants in mainstream politics are willing to condemn it and pursue measures to lessen it. Like if this referendum does pass then I'm sure various Left Lib* Aussies will go on and on about how it's a sign of how progressive we all are and how we can all come together and close "old wounds" together. But like I know for sure the Australian political establishment wouldn't be feeling so conciliatory if there was a real risk of Aboriginals mounting their own Intifada

(*as in Liberalism the ideology, which essentially describes all the major parties in Australian and really the rest of the Imperial core)

#stella speaks #genocide #genocide mention

[fanarchoslashivist]

Been bingereading your rotg fics and I know it's been a while but I gotta beg pretty please PLEASE: do you have any more hcs about Bunny or the Pooka race? It's so fascinating to read about and I love how you intertwine it so well into Bunny's mindset.

I'm so glad to hear you like my fics, I'm terribly sorry I am so slow at updating but I do promise I am actively working on them when I have the time.

Its hard to pic any one headcanon about the Pooka, they play an important role in all my fics both in helping to flesh out Bunny and in placing him in opposition to them. What I do with the Pooka is similar to what many scifi and fantasy writers do for their made up alien/magic races, which is to reflect on our own racial biases and differences here on Earth.

What I intend to do with that (and I hope I manage it somewhat decently) is that I place Bunny and the Pooka alongside my Indigenous Jack Frost as a reflection of survivors of genocide. This plays the biggest role in Unmade Bed we Lie In, as Jack is both Pooka AND Indigenous, but it will also come up as we get further into A Royal Pain as Bunny and Jack (and MiM as well) try to find a balance between forward progress into the rest of the planetary system while upholding the cultural and religious significance Earthlings have grown to place on them.

I like to pick the Pookans apart in ways similar to humans, the books have them being all one Alien race of coolly logical Warrior Scholars with advanced technological knowledge and magical abilities, but also insists that North is the first to be able to combine Magic and Technology. Belief does not stand in for religion or personal opinion as it does for adults here on Earth, but it operates on the same iron clad rule sets of children. If you Believe in it it becomes a fact of life for you, it becomes REAL, and if you don't believe or stop believing then it ceases to exist in your world. Unable to interact with you, unable to touch you. in the same way Santa goes from being a very real physical person who can be contacted, who visits you, speaks to you, gives you gifts, only to one day not exist as all. You have pictures of him, you have physical objects he has given to you, you only see him once a year but you also only see half your extended family during that time too. Santa is no more hard to believe in than Great Aunt Dorothy who lives in a nursing home in another state, is Great Aunt Dorothy also fake?

Its hard to imagine a race that insists they operate wholly on logic to be able to wield magic and time travel and fly by using their ears like a helicopter, but if you exist in a universe governed by the rules of Belief then you start working with a completely different reality. Pooka are logical because the BELIEVE they are logical, they, from their place of being the longest lived space faring people, who can travel through time and who were able to collect the very first light during the creation of the universe, believe that what is logical to them culturally is universally logical; and from there I can make them as unique or flawed as I want them to be. Pooka simply come to the same conclusions within the framework of their cultural identity and internal biases, and they call it logic. Its logical to treat any uninhabited planet as a potential colony, its logical to extract resources from asteroid belts and comets, its logical to harvest young stars before they stabilize. No one is using them yet, there are no sentient life forms there, its logical that their species, who is expanding across the universe, collect and control resources as they find them. They never stop to examine what they see as 'inhabited' or question what it means to be 'alive' or 'sentient'.

In Unmade Bed We Lie In the Pooka are not that different from anyone else, they feel anger and disgust and hatred, mostly when you interact with a Pooka they will be either an upper member of their society or a Warrior of the Eumundi Forces, each following a strict code of conduct. They see the Constellans as a very weak willed race, prone to emotional outbursts and delicate sensibilities, the kind of people who can be crippled by something and delicate as fear. In actuality Pooka are just really good at broadcasting their emotions with each other through their mental bonds, they don't NEED to police their tones or bother with inflections or elaborating on simple statements, they only seem emotionless because their emotions are clear to each other and the other races simply lack the ability to pick up on them. A basic level of expression to a Constellan (and a Human) would be considered an embarrassing level of dramatics to a Pooka, something like a childish tantrum.

Another thing I enjoy is splitting them up into demographics, both on their homeworld and their planetary colonies. in 'Unmade Bed' I LOVE the different races and ethnicities, especially in how their own racial tensions come about and how they were maintained even into a period of time where they are supposedly beyond such "illogical" things. How did they unify their planet? How did they maintain a ruling class? How do they justify a sovereign?

With Bunny I always use the Pooka as a tool to give him depth, as much as I love my OCs they exist primarily to show how different Bunny is from them, either from the start or from his many years among humans. Depending on the story I can have Bunny be deeply weird in the eyes of the Pookan "culture", similarly to how we have our own outcasts, or that being exposed to so much here on Earth could have changed him. I like to have him idolize parts of his culture and gloss over parts that are uncomfortable, or to struggle with setting aside parts he no longer agrees with.

Its hard, as the sole survivor of a genocide, so look at your entire species and try to salvage and preserve a culture that had so many moving parts (many from ethnicities you weren't part of) and even harder to find yourself disagreeing with things you used to not even consider COULD be disagreed with. Something so integral to your culture that it didn't even register as cultural, just plain old boring everyday life.

A living culture can adapt and adjust to new ideas, can pick up and set aside aspects of a culture that don't work for them anymore, or that new information shows may have never helped them. The very existence of Homophobia in a culture means that Homosexuality exists within the culture, the fact that legends and lessons in oral histories warns against cruelty, cannibalism, over hunting, murders, this all shows that these were issues people faced and lessons they want to teach. Breaking taboos and discarding teachings is the right and the choice of each new generation, for good or ill. People are not a monolith, and there is no perfect society. Everyone has things they like and dislike about their lives, things they want to try out or change. Quaker passivism was popular among young Indigenous warriors for a reason, indigenous living was so well received among early colonists entire settlements 'dissapeared' for a reason, people want to try new things, they have difficulties and hardships in their life and the parts of their day to day that outsiders would consider integral to their culture is not always something that they would immediately consider vital to them. Especially if they are feeling unheard or unappreciated, especially if they are somehow 'different' enough to be labeled strange. whether it was 700 years ago, 70 years ago, or 7 months ago people want to try new things and hope that it will bring them joy or alleviate some discomfort in their lives.

Being able to have a portion of your people say "actually we don't like mind melding, we want to keep most of our thoughts private," or "I've never liked our Warrior culture, I'd like to focus solely on my art or scholarly pursuits" instead of insisting on everyone being equally skilled for the betterment of their race, that is a sign that the Pookan culture is alive and thriving. Maintaining a perfectly uniform cultural identity when you are a long lived space faring race that can travel through time and that can TALK to a Constellation of Stars as if they were people if you simply Believed they were real people, who terraforms whole worlds and has countless colonies across the cosmos, to have zero variation in culture and belief between them all, that would involve some pretty strong restrictions.

Is Bunny's eccentricities part of him being a Pooka? Or is he eccentric even by Pookan standards? Do Pooka act like Bunny did in their first meeting in the book series, or was that his centuries of PTSD and seclusion and loss of faith in the human potential for a New Golden Age? And how would these things change if the Pooka were not wiped out? (like in Royal Pain) or if other survivors found him? Would there be other Pooka like him who would see him as someone to admire and learn from, or would he be cast out and alone?

And how would he react to that? How would the extent of their genocide change his reactions, how would his attachment to his own culture be influenced by that level of destruction?

In my fic April Showers there was never any genocide, Kozmotis and his family are all alive and well (or long dead depending on how you think Belief effects their aging process) so Bunny and Jack are pretty similar in that they were passionate about their work but shitty government jobs disillusioned them and they retired after they managed to grab one small prize. (Bunny stays on Earth, Jack gets his Humidifier)

In Calefaction Bunny is called away by a band of survivors but they grow quickly disillusioned with each other, the Survivors want to rebuild and keep everything about their people as a perfect and unchanging history and culture, Bunny has spent too long among Humans and finds some of the old ways rubs him wrong now, or lacks room for his new interests. He wants to tell them "actually this wasn't a popular belief even then", "that ceremony was hardly ever practiced, almost nobody actually did coming of age ceremonies anymore you mostly went out for the Pookan equivalent of a pizza", "that practice was actually brought over by Constellan ball culture, the elders were pretty miffed about its popularity". But how do you say that to a bunch of people who only remember their culture through the lens of their family dynamics, and how do you tell someone that a part of their culture they are tying to rebuild and thrive in was actually incredibly oppressive to their people and meant to keep them in line? Was meant to separate them racially? Or restrict what was popularly considered deviant? Whats the Pookan equivalent of homophobia or slavery? Was there culturally ingrained child or spousal abuse? How do you bring it up (as a writer) without fumbling it terribly?

In A Royal Pain the rebuilt Golden Age doesn't learn at all from their brush with extinction and just continues on colonizing worlds and harvesting resources, and this rams right up into our small little Earth where for billions of years Bunny has had to deal with every mountain having a god and every tree a spirit and all the planets and stars being sacred to someone. And Jack, whose people were colonized and placed under the power of another has a lot of opinions on what these magic alien space rabbits want to do to their solar system.

(The delicate balance of keeping the tragedy of colonialism while making it less than our reality since Manny halted much of it military-wise but largely remained hands off in anything not outright "conquest" because 'war bad uwu' but all other aspects of colonialism is okay I guess?! Its a whole thing its why Royal Pain is taking so long. Also why you can't just say "Hey colonialism never happened and all the Native Americans are living in peace in my AU fantasy world :3" because lmfao are they people? Are they living breathing people? With agency? And flaws? Then you bet your ass they are causing conflict. I lost my train of thought... what was I saying?)

I have no idea how much sense I'm making, but my Pookan head canons are so vast and they are always changing based on each fic because I need them to be different things so I can better shine light on Bunny, who I love and cherish and who I want to both thrive and suffer.

#pooka #e aster bunnymund #bunnymund #rin's nonsense #my fics

[uboat53]

I haven't commented much or directly on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. There are reasons for that, but they're fairly complicated, so I think it's best to do so in the form of one of my LONG RANTS (TM).

WHY I HATE TALKING ABOUT THIS

Honestly, it's depressing. This has happened before, it'll happen again. Israel and Hamas will fight each other, most of the dead will be civilians, a disturbing amount of them will be children, and then things will get quiet again for a time until the next blow up during which only single-digits' worth of civilians will be killed each day instead of triple. No one thinks any of this will change and, in the meantime, it will dominate news coverage that could instead be going toward something where public information might actually make a difference.

I should note that I'm not trying to minimize the consequences of this conflict, but isn't everyone else also tired of watching death and destruction that accomplishes nothing? It's like watching an abusive couple that never seems to split up. Everyone is just waiting for the current violence to end, but no one seems to have any interest in making sure it's the last outbreak of violence.

So, as much as I hate talking about it, let's talk about it.

THE CURRENT OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE

The current outbreak of violence began when Hamas staged a particularly devastating attack across the border from Gaza into Israel proper. Numbers are still coming in, but it appears that well over a thousand Israelis were killed and a few hundred captured and taken back to Gaza. The amount of death is bad, but it also represents a particular failure of Israeli intelligence and their military which failed to see the attack coming or do anything significant to stop it.

Since that time, Israel has been shelling Gaza. Numbers are still coming in with regards to that action as well, but it appears that over 5,000 Gazans have died so far continuing the usual pattern of far more Palestinian deaths than Israeli in any given conflict. There are rumors of a possible Israeli ground incursion into Gaza, but it remains to be seen if Israel can pull that out without massive civilian casualties, massive casualties of their own soldiers, or both.

Whatever happens, the most likely outcome is that both sides declare some form of victory, the shooting stops for the moment, and we go back to a situation which will inevitably result in the next outbreak of violence. Exactly what's happened in every previous outbreak of violence.

THE CAUSE OF VIOLENCE

No one who studies the situation is at all confused about what is causing the violence. Every nation has an original sin, Israel's original sin is the mass expulsion of Palestinians in the conflict that followed the creation of Israel and Palestine in 1948. Yes, it's far more complicated than just "Jews kicked non-Jews out" and, yes, that simplification actually is good enough to get a basic understanding of the issue.

(Lest people think I'm picking on Israel here, I live in a country that's "lucky" enough to have two original sins. We Americans managed to both enslave millions of Africans in a horrifying form of chattel slavery AND commit physical and cultural genocide against our indigenous population. Go USA?)

Since that time, Israel has also captured three territories from neighboring nations (the reason you don't hear much about the Golan Heights is that it barely has a population and is mainly just a strategic high ground between Israel and Syria), annexed them, and begun to settle them with hundreds of thousands of Jews, displacing the existing population in violation of international law.

At this moment, there are about 7 million Jews and 7 million non-Jews living in territories controlled by Israel. Most of the non-Jews have very few, if any, rights under Israeli control and this creates a breeding ground for violent opposition.

PEACE

Actual peace would require that Israelis and Palestinians both live under a situation that provides them with basic rights and liberties. Given this, it's pretty much always been clear that there are only two ways that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can end peacefully. Either Israel and Palestine will become two separate states or all people currently living in Israeli controlled territory will become Israelis under a truly representative government.

The reason that neither of these has happened yet is fairly simple, the Israeli right-wing and particularly the settler movement, will not tolerate either one. They demand that all the territory attributed to the 12 tribes of Israel must be under Jewish control. (Note that this desire will eventually require war with Jordan as the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh controlled the territory on the East Bank of the Jordan River, but that's for another time.) Separating Israel and Palestine would require giving up at least some of that territory and combining all peoples would result in a state that was basically no longer majority Jewish.

The problem is that the only other options are war crimes or crimes against humanity. The status-quo is increasingly (and accurately, in my opinion) being called Apartheid under the United Nations definition and, as far as I can tell, the only options other than separation or unification are mass expulsion or mass extermination.

PALESTINIANS

You'll note I haven't talked a lot about Palestinians in general or Hamas in particular here. That's because, from a high-level view of the conflict, they don't really matter.

Even Hamas' latest attack, brutal though it was, hasn't changed the situation in the slightest. Even if Israel had completely refrained from any sort of counterstrike, it would still control virtually every aspect of the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Likewise, even if every single Palestinian laid down every weapon today and committed to never pursuing violence again, it would not fundamentally change the main facts at issue.

At this point, Israel is overwhelmingly powerful compared to Palestine. It controls every legal, political, and military aspect of the interaction between the two sides and any changes in the current situation will rely almost entirely on what Israel chooses to do.

THE JEWISH ANGLE

I also haven't spoken much about religion in all of this. As many of you may know, I am Jewish (hello to those who don't) myself. More and more, I think the notion of Israel as a state representative of Judaism is no longer accurate. Instead, I think it largely seems to represent two other groups these days.

To explain the first group, I need to get a little "inside Judaism". I'm sure it will shock no one to know that Jews talk quite a bit about the Holocaust. In the last decade or so, I've noticed more and more, though, that there are really two different groups when we talk about it. The first group of Jews are the ones you've probably seen before, the "Never Again" crowd (I count myself in this one). This group of Jews believes that the Holocaust was wrong because genocide is wrong and we work to ensure that genocide becomes a thing of the past that will never happen to any group of people again.

The other group, though, believes that the Holocaust was wrong because it happened to the Jews. If you think for a moment about the difference between those two statements, you'll see that these are two very different groups with two very different sets of ideas in terms of their applications to the world. This is a bit anecdotal, but matches with conversations I've had with and comments I've seen from numerous other Jews in that time. It seems very much that Israel under Netanyahu, who has been Prime Minister for 13 of the last 14 years, has been representing the latter group under increasingly extreme governments.

The second group is not Jewish at all, it's American Evangelical Christians. This group believes that the Jewish people need to control the entirety of historical Israel in order to bring about the end times and have put extraordinary amounts of time, energy, and, most importantly, money behind that project. This has bought them enormous influence in Israel, perhaps even more than many Jewish groups, and they're a huge part of Prime Minister Netanyahu's political operation. Needless to say, they don't necessarily have the good of the Jewish people in mind when doing this, if you're familiar with the prophecies of Revelations you'll know that it does not end well for us.

So, is Israel really the Jewish state? To me it seems less and less true as time goes on. To me it looks more and more like it only represents a specific faction of Jews who are backed up by an increasingly domineering non-Jewish behemoth.

CONCLUSION

So yeah, this seems more and more depressing to me the more I look at it. Civilians are being killed in huge numbers by both sides in a war that no one seems to have any desire to actually end and a country that claims to represent a moral system that I identify with has come under the sway of one of its most extreme factions and their non-Jewish backers.

If you've got anything that could brighten my mood on the issue, I'd appreciate it. In the meantime, here's a clear statement of my position: Both sides are committing abhorrent violence and I do not support either of them. I support the civilians who are being attacked recklessly by both sides and encourage you to support organizations that focus on protecting and healing them throughout what is likely to continue to be a bloody conflict.

#politics #international politics #israel #israel palestine conflict #long rant (tm)

[blackrebelphotographyclub]

Not to be all CLS-lawyer-on-main, but there are larger and larger portions of my day during which I realise I may have hit a wall with genocide denialism. And maybe the answer to that lies in history, so painfully recent, and what we should have learned from it (and clearly failed).

I was thinking particularly about two things. One being the role of media in and around genocide, and how we should be more careful about what, how and why we consume certain media. The other was about prevention as a focus but punishment as a consequence.

Let’s staff with press, or media in general. There is no separating genocide from the propaganda surrounding it. Propaganda is not necessarily a Soviet-era ads for weapon factories on state media; it can be much more insidious, much more easily, largely due to how technology evolves.

When we talk about media and genocide, we talk about how the former influenced and/or incited the latter. That’s the before. We do not talk necessarily about the during, and the after. During, the crime of crimes only allows us two options: we resist or we deny. There is no neutral space.

(I don’t care if you try to carve one; you can’t empty the ocean with a spoon and you can’t be neutral on genocide.)

This extreme polarization we see now, not just in the media but in our streets and in our governments, is however entirely predictable because it is a by-product of genocide, a crime so abhorrent, many have equated it to the phenomenon described by some indigenous tribes as “soul loss”.

The side that denies is not in a position to modify (genocide is ongoing) its position and cannot soften it (there is no gray zone on genocide). Therefore an entire machinery of erasure must take place in order to sustain this absence of reality.

Erasure takes so, so, so many forms, many sometimes we are by and large oblivious to. We think of erasure as direct (mass extermination) or indirect (loss of history due to the absence of elders). Indirect is so much. It means the collective memory of the people and the place is also gone.

Think of genocide as a collective memory hole. There is a reason the crime is drafted as beyond mass murder, in both physical and mental element. You don’t just wipe out people; you end language, history, culture, traditions, stories, religions, myths. An entire apparatus.

If you really study Rafael Lemkin and understand his approach (and that of the father of crimes against humanity, Lauterpacht), you see genocide in the past (incitement) present (extermination) and future (erasure). Children, grand children, endless generations will never see, experience, or know.

This is relevant to journalism because the profession doesn’t just provide you with evidence, it also has a duty to preserve it. This is even more true these days considering the internet is, well, forever. Mass denial in papers of record doesn’t mean it isn’t at play. It means you can’t access it.

Remember to be critical of any and all media you consume at any time. Nothing is acci- or inci-dental. It doesn’t mean that any of that is inherently good or bad. That those factors exist are not because of the genocide, it is the ecosystem of genocide and has always been.

Radio Milles Collines was extremely popular at a place and time when most families would never have access to a TV, and under a regime that controlled the media. The incitement was crude and unambiguous, but it was lodged between popular pop songs, and was swallowed like a pill with no edges.

Denial is the same, especially in places close to the perpetrators of the genocide. The domestic conversation must be moved away; but if it becomes impossible to avoid, everyone is responsible for staying on message. You dilute (they’re not dead, just displaced). You congratulate (aren’t we safer?)

So everyone claiming that genocide requires a certain number of civilian deaths to be determined (absolutely not true, quantity has no bearing) or that extermination has to be total (also not a thing) just reminds me that it is excruciatingly stereotypical.

Let’s talk about prevention, because that has never worked now has it? But this was the spirit in which the Convention was drafted, its main goal. The entire world came together in ‘48 and said never again. By the time it entered into force at the tail end of 1951, wars of decolonization had started.

The world believed with all its might that with the end of turn of the century imperialism so would the impetus to commit atrocity crimes. They would not know that the coming decades would extend the list of crimes against humanity, not make them relics of an obsolete society.

And so, we fail to prevent, because no matter how much jurisprudence and history scholarship there is out there all the signs of Rwanda, all the signs of Srebrenica, all the signs of Darfur were there, and are there now, and we’re under the sad exceptionalist belief that somehow, this is different.

It is not different. It is a genocide we have decided not to acknowledge. We are neck-deep inside campaigns of dehumanization - of trans people, of any migrant - that we are somehow either blind or jaded to the very same being perpetrated and live-streamed.

I say this all the time: human absence wears very heavy. I also say that genocide prevention is a collective responsibility. You have a duty to stop genocidal speech and you have a responsibility to stop incitement speech as well as denial speech. You must know, and you must remember. /end

#free gaza #free palestine #lawyers of tumblr #genocide #history of genocide #wars of information #big rant

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 To Shape a Dragon's Breath Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ "I don't believe that any of the changes that you or others seem to expect of me would be improvements," I said. "I don't think that there's anything wrong with the way I dress, or speak, or behave. My clothes are clean, and in good repair. I can make myself understood. I am honest, and I endeavor to be kind. I don't speak ill of others regarding things beyond their control, and I don't speak against anyone who hasn't given personal insult to me or my loved ones. I wouldn't consider a person to be my social inferior simply for being poor. ❞

❓ #QOTD What would you name your dragon? ❓ 🦇 After finding a dragon egg and bonding with the hatchling, fifteen-year-old Anequs becomes Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique, unbreakable relationship with a dragon. Dragons were once common on the remote island Masquapaug, long before the Anglish conquered the land. Anequs and her dragon Kasaqua are forced to attend an Anglish dragon academy, where Anequs is expected to dress and behave like the Anglish who killed and conquered her people. Despite being treated like a second-class citizen, Anequs keeps her head held high to prove she's worthy of Kasaqua. If she can't pass her classes, Kasaqua will be put to death—and Anequs will unintentionally prove the Anglish right about their prejudice against her people. Can she defy the prejudice set against her?

💜 Moniquill Blackgoose shines a powerful light on important themes we can never allow society to ignore: equality (both in political and social power, between races and genders), agency, power, and consent. The entire story reads like an oral history, easily sweeping readers into the thrall. Anequs encounters extreme prejudice from teachers and classmates alike, yet still navigates both physical and emotional harassment with grace. This alternative history fantasy shows North America's occupation from an Indigenous perspective in ways no book has before. Despite the dark themes (including cultural genocide, indentured servitude, and child abuse, among others), Anequs is a delight. She's passionate, determined, and never falters in who she is—despite the number of Anglish people who want her to feel bad for remaining true to her history and heritage. Sending Anequs extra love for her bisexuality and interest in a poly relationship, both of which are normal among her people.

🦇 There is a HEAVY, seemingly unnecessary STEM-focus, namely through the combined geometry and chemistry necessary to shape a dragon's breath. While interesting, it's difficult to follow the logic that's given so much time and attention in this book. These explanations steal away from the story's real magic while adding hundreds of pages to the text, making some chapters lag. I also wish a glossary accompanied the novel, since there are a lot of foreign words and phrases readers will need to use context clues to unlock. If you pause reading long enough (or try to juggle reading multiple books at once), it's easy to forget what certain words mean. Some scenes drag, namely because of the necessary world-building. I'm eager to see if the second installment in this series flows better.

🦇 Recommended to anyone who loves alt-history fantasy fiction, dragons, amazing representation, and thorough world-building. Get ready for some serious escapism.

🐉 Fantasy Fiction 🐉 Queer MC 🐉 First in a Series 🐉 Indigenous Representation 🐉 Women of Color

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

#netgalley arc #arc book review #book review #books #bookstagram #book: to shape a dragons breath #book release #book recommendations #author: moniquill blackgoose #book recs #battyaboutbooks #batty about books

[viiridiangreen]

Copypasta'd my reply to that comment on this post bc I wanna keep it here for reasons Not to rant on your comment but......... I'm gonna. People always interpret the hypothetical "you wouldn't have been born" as if it were equivalent to dying NOW, *after* you've become a whole thinking feeling person with loved ones who would be sad if you were gone, or whom you would also be "k1lling" by "pushing the button". But like, Not Having Existed wouldn't be painful or a loss, the crux of that thought is PRECISELY non-existence. It wouldn't BE anything lmaooooo

The magic button of 'erase colonialism from History' we're talking about would alter the whole entire world in ways we can't fully imagine by reversing actual genocide. Millions of people and hundreds, maybe thousands of cultures would presumably be restored. It's so myopic and absurd to ask your interlocutor to weigh THAT against any one life- ESPECIALLY if said life is actively being made shittier by colonialism (both aftershocks of its OG form and its current, ongoing manifestation in shit like how The Economy and Industry and Politics™ function TO THIS DAY).

I get that it's a lil upsetting to think about, but NO actually, I like my life and love my people but me existing now is NOT "worth" the unimaginable pain and loss that set up the circumstances into which I was born. The fact that colonialism happened is actually categorically hideous. That nice stuff like people with ''''''mixed heritage''''''* who are personally pleasant, and unique cultural expressions like crafts and delicious food and whatnot that are very dear to the people who grew up w/ them ALSO happened in the wake of colonialism isn't a 'gotcha'. I've been hearing people throw this enormously dumb idea around as if it were a brilliant gotcha since childhood & I'm TIRED of hearing it.

*(read: who inherited a warped version of the culture of their coloniser ancestors alongside the few scraps that are left from their indigenous ancestors' culture which was systematically erased by the former, also a ton of the early '''mixing''' was like... rape)

Like I'm trying to experience & cause as much joy as I can now that I've landed in this wretched-ass existence, but the aspects of my life that relate to colonialism are all shitty, painful things. Throwing that in my face isn't the great argument they think it is.

Also I Have The Depression™. Or have been depressed. Or something (I don't have a great grasp of what my mental health status is bc I've had very limited access 2 mental healthcare. Bc I live in an economy still impacted by the effects of colonialism where seeking that out is Pretty Hard). In my case THAT means I've fantasised about vanishing or popping out of existence w/o the hassle of seeking out physical d3ath SO MANY TIMES. This imaginary "undo colonialism and disappear" button would be extremely welcome in so many ways than one to others like me...........

#viitalks

[harmonyhealinghub]

The Orange Shirt Story: Unearthing the Truth and Healing Generations

Shaina Tranquilino

October 1, 2023

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the dark chapter in Canadian history known as the residential school system. This deeply traumatic experience, which forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families, cultures, and languages, has had profound and long-lasting effects on generations of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. Phyllis Webstad's powerful memoir, "The Orange Shirt StoryBook," sheds light on this painful past while also providing a path towards healing and understanding.

Unveiling the Painful Past:

Phyllis Webstad's story revolves around her personal experience as a young girl entering St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia. On her first day at the school, Phyllis' vibrant orange shirt was stripped away from her by the staff. This symbolic act left an indelible mark on her psyche, representing not only the loss of identity but also the erasure of culture and dignity experienced by countless Indigenous children.

"The Orange Shirt Story" serves as a poignant reminder that these schools were not just institutions where children received an education; they were sites of cultural genocide. Children were forbidden to speak their native languages or practice their traditions. They endured physical and emotional abuse that scarred them for life.

A Journey Towards Healing:

However, Phyllis Webstad's story is not solely focused on unveiling historical trauma; it is equally about resilience and healing. By sharing this raw narrative with readers of all backgrounds, she invites us to reflect upon our shared responsibility to address the wounds inflicted by colonization.

Education plays a pivotal role in reconciliation efforts, and "The Orange Shirt Story" offers an invaluable resource for educators seeking to foster understanding among students. By highlighting one individual's story within the larger context of systemic oppression, this book helps break down barriers of ignorance and engenders empathy for those impacted by the residential school system.

The Significance of Phyllis Webstad's Message:

Phyllis Webstad's memoir has become a symbol of resistance and hope, resonating far beyond the Indigenous communities it directly touches. The orange shirt itself has become a poignant emblem, representing the resilience and strength of survivors while also serving as a reminder that every child deserves to be seen, heard, and valued.

Webstad's work is an essential contribution to truth-telling and reconciliation in Canada. It encourages us all to confront uncomfortable truths about our nation's history and take an active role in addressing the intergenerational trauma caused by colonial policies. By amplifying marginalized voices like Phyllis', we can collectively dismantle systems of oppression and foster a more inclusive society.

"The Orange Shirt Story" by Phyllis Webstad is not just another memoir; it is a catalyst for change. By sharing her deeply personal experience within the residential school system, she invites readers to embark on a journey towards understanding, compassion, and healing. This book serves as both an education tool for schools and an empathetic touchstone for those seeking to learn more about the legacy of colonization in Canada.

As we engage with this powerful story, let us remember that acknowledging the past is only the first step towards true reconciliation. We must actively work towards creating spaces where Indigenous voices are uplifted, their cultures celebrated, and their experiences validated. Only through collective efforts can we heal historical wounds and build a future where no child suffers from cultural erasure or systemic discrimination.

Phyllis's Orange Shirt https://a.co/d/fYT0ocu

#orange shirt story #Phyllis Webstad #Every Child Matters #Residential school survivor #indigenous history #reconciliation #truth and reconciliation day #education for all

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

Your brain ever just go quiet

#random thoughts #so i realize this is a white people thing #and ive heard of it before but ive never really internalized it until now #you guys ever realize just how many of your hobbies are baked in the colonizer mindset??? #like minecraft and shit like that #open world games where you conquer worlds #there's like a much better video explaining this on youtube #its by folding ideas and its about colonization in sandbox gamws #but like??? #ive just realized ive been doing the same thing with cowboys #ive been enjoying cowboys while ignoring all the shitty stuff about their history #like indigenous genocide both physical and cultural #and like ive done research on that before #but ive never connected them in my head until now #how much of why i like cowboys is because of the colonizer mindset??? #racism

[hymnsofheresy]

I'm Native and I have like, less than zero patience or tolerance for neopagans-because I overwhelmingly have encountered neopagans who a.) in their efforts to overcome their own religious trauma and separate themselves feom Christianity(which! is valid! I'm not discounting those efforts in and of themslves!) have the unmitigated fucking gall to compare the Christianization of Europe to the Western colonization and forced conversion (which like. the last residential school explicitly designed for that purpose closed literally the year I was born) of my people on a continetal scale and b.) are too aggressively self-absorbed and selfish to listen to Native people when we try to explain to them that no, your family's voluntary conversion however many centuries ago is not the same as our (ongoing!) physical and cultural genocide. That's not even beginning to get into how many neopagans will just straight up steal elements of Native cultures/religions because it's "spiritual" and get aggressively anti-Native when you tell them no, that's a closed tradition/religion, that's not for you. I find neopaganism in general to be exhaustingly anti-Indigenous, and it makes me very wary of people who call themselves pagan or Wiccan of any kind

I honestly think that it has something to do with the victim mentality that exists within both white Christianity and white neo-paganism. I think that most white people feel unconsciously guilty (I say this as a white person) about the reality of white supremacy, so many try to somehow construct their experiences into a narrative that aligns those who are oppressed around them. Which is why you see the exhausting comparisons to the holocaust or Native American genocide. Instead of simply being in solidarity with these groups, they wish to claim that they somehow have it "just as bad." It is difficult to acknowledge that one has privilege in a situation, but it is absolutely necessary.

[witchcab]

Restricted and Closed Practices II

Restricted Practices Eastern European Religions Eastern European religions include Catholicism and other forms of Christianity. Now, you do not have to be mentored or initiated to be considered a Christian. The restricted aspects of this are more in place for those who seek to obtain some sort of status in the hierarchy of Christianity- priest, cardinal, bishop, pope… All of these typically do require one to be baptized and chosen by their superiors in some way. Hoodoo

Hoodoo is a spirituality that was created by African slaves when they were brought to North America. It evolved based on African spiritualities, incorporating some Haitian, European and Indigenous folklore into it over time. Practitioners of Hoodoo were commonly African slaves, and due to this their work had to be kept secret from their slave owners. You could imagine what the punishments would be for practicing Hoodoo during those times, but I won’t get into that since it could be triggering for some. Although Hoodoo is dominantly practiced by black people, there are some people of other races who authentically practice Hoodoo. There are some people who find the practice being used by anybody other than black people to be controversial, but there are also black people who state that as long as you honour the origins of Hoodoo and pay respects to the slaves that developed the practice, you can learn it. Judaism Judaism is restricted, mostly for religious reasons but the history of the Jewish people could also be taken as a perspective as well. There is a process for converting to Judaism, which typically involves finding a Rabbi. The person would also need to begin studying Judaism- the religious texts, the holidays, etc… Of course there are other aspects depending on if you were born into the religion or not, as well as if you were attempting to seek placement in the hierarchy. There are more steps to converting to Judaism, so if that is something you wish to research feel free to. We also must acknowledge the history of the Jewish people. During World War Two, around six million Jewish people were murdered by Nazis. The methods used to murder these people were gruesome, so if you wish to research that feel free to. Although anti-Semitism did not begin with Hilter and the Nazis, they were one of the biggest faces of anti-Semitism in history. Anti-Semitism is still a problem today, which is why Judaism and its practices being restricted needs to be respected. Sikhism Sikhism is a religion originating from the Indian subcontinent. Although there isn’t necessarily a “hierarchy” in Sikhism, the communities are responsible for choosing five respectable people to be in place of authority. Although I was unable to find information on a specific conversion process, I would still urge you to seek out people that are within this religion to learn more about it. One particular word that people seem to find problematic that is in relation to Sikhism, as well as other Asian religions, is the use of the term “Guru”. Gurus were significant spiritual masters dedicated to their faith, and in Sikhism there were ten of them. The use of this term in modern times is seen as problematic because the Gurus of the Sikh were such important spiritual leaders, and their role in their religion was not taken lightly. Some view the use of Guru in some contexts to be disrespectful to the religion Hinduism The topic of Hinduism being restricted is a little tricky. Hinduism, like many other Asian religions, does tend to get appropriated by westerners a lot. Think of the western idea of Karma as one example of this- the original concept of karma that roots from Hinduism and Buddhism is NOT what westerners have made it out to be. Now, Hinduism is actually more of an umbrella term for a variety of sects, some of which are restricted or closed and some are not. The general understanding goes that, as long as you seek information from a true Hindu and respect the religion and its practices (especially if they are restricted or closed), you can convert. Tread carefully when getting into Hinduism- do lots of research; seek out a true Hindu to learn. Buddhism Similar to what I mentioned earlier, the topic of Buddhism being restricted is tricky. You can convert to Buddhism and use Buddhist practices, but there are certain practices that do have a limit for how open they are. Take chakras as an example- everybody has them, and you can work on your own chakras. However, you should avoid attempting to work with other people's chakras unless you seek

a mentor to teach you how to properly do so. This is another religion where you should do lots of research and seek a true practitioner from the religion. Gardenarian, Alexandrian & Corellian Wicca I’ve mentioned this before, but Wicca is a far more modern pagan religion than the rest. Wicca, generally speaking, took inspiration (in many cases, appropriated) other cultures and incorporated it into what Wicca is today. Although Wicca is generally open, these three branches of Wicca are considered restricted and typically require invitation and initiation. Shamanism Now, shamanism in particular is restricted depending on the culture. Many cultures have their own form of shamanism, and although most are restricted, Indigenous (North American) shamanism is considered to be closed. This will be explained later in the lesson, but for now we will focus on shamanism in general. As I already stated, different cultures have their forms of shamanism. The general rule is if you wish to practice shamanism, you must seek out a shaman and ask for mentorship to learn it. Although you may find all kinds of information on how to practice shamanism online, most of the information was stolen from other cultures and altered. Sami This one is particularly tricky. There is some historical evidence that the Sami influenced Norse paganism, and that there are some similar practices between them due to this. This makes the debate on how restricted Sami traditions are difficult to determine by outsiders. Yet another culture where you need to find somebody from the culture to get truly accurate information, but there are aspects of the Sami culture that are more closed than others. Closed Practices Indigenous Practices

Every Indigenous tribe has their own culture and traditions. Some tribes have similar traditions, but this happened over time through respectful teachings and trade. There are various titles within Indigenous tribes, such as Elder or Medicine Man/Woman. These titles aren’t given out easily- they are earned by those to seek them. Those who seek these titles go through years of training and initiation to earn these titles. Earning these titles means a great deal to Indigenous people, and to have outsiders take these titles and use them to scam others has become a major problem. Indigenous people do speak out about this, but they tend to get overshadowed. Beyond the cultural reasons for Indigenous practices being closed, there are also a lot of historical reasons. When Europeans arrived in North America, they also brought disease and genocide with them. Not only that, but they were forced to adopt European beliefs. This caused a huge shift in how Indigenous people practice over the centuries, and for a while they had to do everything in secret. At one point, it was completely illegal for Indigenous people to go through with their practices and ceremonies, and this didn’t change until 1978. If this isn’t bad enough, residential schools were put in place starting in the 1830s, and didn’t get completely shut down until 1978. Residential schools were boarding schools specifically for Indigenous children, where they were forced from their homes and taught how to be more “civilized”. In reality, these schools were just a hotspot for abuse and death. Indigenous children were forced to adopt Christianity, were not allowed to speak in their native language, cut their hair short and were never allowed to do anything that seems “Indian” to any extent. Punishments for breaking rules included washing their mouths out with soap, being locked in guardhouses and any form of physical abuse imaginable. Families were not able to keep their children from going to these schools because, if they resisted, the families would be arrested and forced to have their children taken away. With all of this in mind, please avoid using any and all Indigenous practices. This includes using their sacred medicines (such as white sage), using sacred tools (such as dream catchers), attempting to perform a powwow, etc… If you think you have Indigenous blood, find the name of your ancestors to prove it. Blood quantum is not relevant. Polynesian Religions Similar to what I wrote about Indigenous tribes, there are both religious and historical reasons for them being closed. Unfortunately, the historical reasons are very similar. There are different Polynesian religions, such as Hawaiian and Cook Islands Māori, and although they have similar histories each one is very different as well. Please do lots of research and avoid using their practices. Santeria Santeria is for those who have Cuban and other Latin American heritage. Similar to what I explained about African slaves and Hoodoo, Santeria grew out of the slave trade in Cuba. Today’s Santeria practices developed from a combination of the African Yoruba religion and Roman Catholicism. All Variations of Voodoo/Vodou African religions and their forms of Voodoo, Haitian Vodou, Cuban Vodou… There are plenty more forms of Voodoo/Vodou, but all are closed. All of these religions and their practices faced discrimination, racism and other acts of hate throughout the centuries. Although colonizers tried to wipe them out and “civilize” the people of these cultures, these practices still thrive today. Information about these religions and their practices that are authentic is hard to come by due to outsiders attempting to take their practices and adjust it to fit their narrative, however it is safe to say that since all of these religions have their own religious foundation and origins, they are closed for religious reasons just as much as they are because of historical reasons.

#baby witch #beginner witch #witches of tumblr #witchcraft #it felt appropriate

[anandasamsara]

I’ve been seeing a lotta north americans people talking shit about Encanto, specially the fact that Pepa is white, born from two light brown skinned Colombians, and well... These people dont understand a lot of things.

First, i will not explain biology bc i do not know it, but i do understand the possibilities. Second, there’s nuance in being a white latine person.

On the first point, i have two exemples. I have a friend whose mother is clearly from indigenous ascent, with perhaps a very light skin color, black straight hair and what not. The father is a black man. And my friend is very white, with very ginger, extremely curly hair - kinda like Pepa, ya know. And her younger brother is white and so blond he looks albino. And there’s no way to say “oh, so the guy is not their father, or the woman not the mother” bc they share the physical appearence of their parents perfectly 50/50. Both of them. 

Also, both my gran and my grandpa were the usual white people we see here, with black hair and a bit sunburned (which is normal in a country where the sun tries homicide every single day). My uncle looked like Bruno, if he was fat. And my aunt is so white it hurts too look at. But my dad would be a perfect middle eastern man, beard included. So you get the biology part, a bit.

And then, the nuance. I have a friend who went to a scholarship in Japan a few years ago, and she met a few americans who were part of the same group. My friend’s skin is very very white, and her hais is very very curly, and her eyes are green. For the first 3 days she was never asked where she was from, but by the time she said she was from Brazil, the americans started refering to her as a lanitna, instead of just another white person like them. 

You see, here in Brazil, and in most latine countries, being white is your skin color and the privileges it brings to you. For most people outside here, for who we call gringos, it’s like your ethnicity. For us, white-passing means that the skin is light enough to pass as white. For gringos, it’s a possibility of pertaining to an ethnicity other than the one you are born in. I myself have a hard time, and always have had if my childhood memories can be counted, thinking if im a white person or not. Because i look at my father and see a clearly mixed “race” person, despite his birth certificate declaring him white, and i look at my clearly white from german and portuguese ascent mother, and i get confused. And this confusion only exists here, as a brazilian person living in Brazil, bc outside of here, im a white-skinned latina, not a white person.

So, when people get so worked over a clearly well decided and researched choice from the production, i worry. Bc the people who get so upset arent spendind their energy trying to understand a different culture that was presented to them. They are taking something at face value, and wrongly so, making this feel like a hollow “gotcha” for when we, as latines, or asians, or easterners, or whatever “minority” claim for representation.

And like, the “fault” of Pepa Madrigal being a white, ginger person, biologically speaking, can very well be of the white colonizers that showed up in latin america and decided genocide was a good thing to do. Just because the movie is showing a true representation through a fantasy lens, doesnt mean that the history behind the real world place it’s based on doesnt carry any weight.

#encanto #pepa madrigal

[epic-sorcerer]

Merlin would have been so much more gay if the writers stayed true to Celtic paganism(the historicaly accurate “old religion”)

Trigger warnings:

Main triggers: talk of sex, homophobia, religion, Catholics, colonization, anti Celtic, murder

Mention triggers: rape and sexual assault, creepy men, gore, insest, toxic masculinity

I will mark the sections with quick triggers with 2 red lines. Below the second one is when the trigger is gone.

_____________

I am posting this on December 21st, as today is the Winter Solstice, a Celtic Pagan holiday. It will be posted at 3:33 PM, as 3 is a sacred number among the celts. Because of the special occasion, I will be speaking on a subject that was important to many of them—homosexuality.

Some stuff first for introductions. Yes, yes, I know this may be boring but it helps with context. This religion didn’t have a name other than Celtic pagan or Celtic religion bc it seams everyone there believed it. This was until the Roman Empire concurred what is now the UK. Since Rome had adopted Christianity—more specifically, Roman Catholocism—they only allowed that religion to be practiced.

———(genocide)——

Once England was concurred in 43 A.D, the pagans were killed and their religion was surpressed. Not much is known about the pagans for this reason. However, we do know somethings from what the Romans have written down. Although, it is biased, as they believed the celts to be barbaric and also didn’t wright much about women.

——gore ——

First, we know they preformed human sacrifice on kings when the kingdom suffered along with some other groups.This could be from bad ruling to really bad weather. These kings died horribly, as they seamed to be stabbed multiple times, had thier nipples cut off, and left to die in a bog.

They had thier nipples cut off because the subjects would suck on the kings’ nipples to demonstrate submission, so cutting them off would fully dethrone the king.

—————

Now, background over. Here’s where it gets good.

Nipple sucking between too lovers or ‘special friends’ was seen as a preclemation of love, physical intimacy, and sexual expression. This, like other types of sex, was seen as something beutiful and sacred. Often, male soldiers would have these ‘special friend’ relationships with many fellow soldiers in groups. The Romans even observed that Celtic men seamed to prefer other males for love/sexual interest over women.

Nipple sucking was mostly described was between two men. Although, we must recognize that women may have been left out of written history. I would also like to point out, this may prove that aromantic people existed in that time, as these ‘special friends’ had sex and were not mentioned to be romantically involved.

The celts were known for their sex positivity and even eroticism because they loved it so much.This is one of the reasons why the pagans and the Chatholics clashed so badly.

Before the Romans really took over, Saint Patrick—yes, the Saint Patrick—started to try to convert the celts into Roman catholosim. He was appalled at the wide acceptance of polyamory(women were aloud to marry however many people they wanted) and homosexual relationships/marriages. Not to mention the celts could have sex with any one at any time as long as it is consensual.

——(Tw creepy men)——

That means no waiting til marriage, unless a Celtic chose to do so. Although we should take into consideration a statement made by Diodorus Siculus, an antient Greek historian, that “the young men will offer themselves to strangers and are insulted if the offer is refused.” In his series Bibliotheca historica. This could mean that either creepy men were comman place, or that homosexuality was so comman and done with everyone, it was wierd to be rejected.

————

Getting back to the Roman Catholics, the book Sextus Empiricus is published in the early 3th century and states,

“...amongst the Persians it is the habit to indulge in intercourse with males, but amongst the Romans it is forbidden by law to do so...”

It also goes on to say,

“...amongst us sodomy is regarded as shameful or rather illegal, but by the Germanic they say, it is not looked on as shameful but as a customary thing.”

For clarification, Germany is apart of Celtic society. So what we can infer is a very serious culture shock in terms of Rome and other places. During Emporor Serverus Alexander’s reign, openly homosexuals were deported.

In early 4th century, Emporor Constaine—the first Christian Roman Emperor—destroyed an Egyptian temple populated exclusively by femme, gay, pagan, priests. The Emproror then went on to eradicate all of them. However in 337 A.D., 3 emperors ruled, including Constantius II and Constans I, who where both in mlm relationships.

An odd thing these emporors went on to do was criminalize male bottoming during mlw sex 342 A.D.. 8 years later, Emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius ferther punished this act by killing these men by Public burning at the stake.

———(Tw toxic masculinity)———

I believe this was because masculinity was very important and a man acting in a more feminine role was seen as emasculating and humiliating. For the average man, he had to fight and defend his masculinity. Not doing so was seen as a personal failure.

——————

The last ever known peice of European literature containing a positive representation of homosexuality for 1,000 years was a large epic poem by Nonnus of Panopolis. It was titled Dionysiaca and the first part was published in 390 A.D., the last in 405 A.D..

So yeah, The catholics were very selective in terms of sex. One can only imagine how badly the celts and Catholics clashed. Back to 435 A. D., Saint Patrick began to preach Catholism and around that time wrote in his Confessio. He recounted that he found a boat to get out of Ireland and refused to suck on the nipples of those aboard.

“And on the same day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from the place, and I said that I had the wherewithal to sail with them; and the steersman was displeased and replied in anger, sharply: ‘By no means attempt to go with us.’ Hearing this I left them to go to the hut where I was staying, and on the way I began to pray, and before the prayer was finished I heard one of them shouting loudly after me: ‘Come quickly because the men are calling you.’ And immediately I went back to them and they started to say to me: ‘Come, because we are admitting you out of good faith; make friendship with us in any way you wish.’ (And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of these men from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ, because they were barbarians.) And for this I continued with them, and forthwith we put to sea.”

—(Tw very mild rape/sex assault mention—

So, as you can see, Celtic and Catholic ways clashed horribly. Something seen as good and sacred to the indigenous tribes was seen as barbaric and sinful to Saint Patrick. Also, don’t worry, the celts did not press the issue ferther, or else this would be a very different story.

—————

This only snowballed into a much bigger issue much later in medival English sexuality. They were VERY picky on what sex was aloud. Missionary was the only aloud position and it has to be the least pleasurable as possible. Making out and masturbation wasn’t aloud either, as that was also seen as a sin. Here’s a low Rez chart to help figure out when sex was okay.

While we are discussing such a queer topic, I would like to bring up the topic of Anam Cara, or Soul Friends in Antient Celtic culture. A Soul Friend was a word used to describe a Philosophy in which one is not completely whole without thier “other half.” This person can be in a platonic, romantic, or familiar kind of love. Really, all it boils down to is that 2 poeple were made to be together since the beginning of time and will be at thier strongest when they become companions.

There is a Celtic legend that seams to depict a mlm Anam Cara relationship. It tells the story of Cuchulainn and Ferdiad, two male worriors who have known and loved each other a long time. But they must kill each other in a duel. Both are vary reluctant, as at least one of them will have to die.

————(Tw insest)———

Before I go on, it is important to mention there is a lot of debate on wether or not this is homosexual. Mainly because they were foster brothers, but since insest wasn’t as much of a taboo, I do not think this would be as much of a set back as it is today.

—————

They had tried to kill each other each day for 3 days, but they ended up hugging each other and kissing 3 times. On the fourth day, however, Cuchulainn killed Ferdiad. The man then holds Ferdiad in his arms and sings peoms for a long time. Here are some:

“We were heart-companions once,

We were comrades in the woods,

We were men that shared a bed

When we slept the heavy sleep

After hard and weary fights.

Into many lands, so strange,

And side by side we sallied forth

And we ranged the woodlands through,When with Scathach we learned arms!”

Heart companions seams to be similar or the same as soul freind, because of how it’s used. Although sleeping in the same bed isn’t inherently sexual, Cuchulainn then goes on to complement Ferdiad’s physical features.

“Dear to me thy noble blush,

Dear thy comely, perfect form;

Dear thine eye, blue-grey and clear,

Dear thy wisdom and thy speech”

Although this is deeply sweet I would also like to caution that Chuhulainn may have simply been commenting on his healthiness, but blush is an odd word considering he is now dead.

Two male lovers, one dead in the other’s arms. Soul friends, maybe. Reminds me of a certain show..I don’t know I just can’t put my finger on it...

I would also like to point out that because Celtics did not pressure others to have sex, and that a soul friend can be any type of love, I do think that an asexual or someone on that spectrum could live without judgment.Unfortunately, I could not find much about intersex, androgynous, or trans people. Perhaps if I find anything in the future and will make a new post.

In conclusion, if Merlin were more historicaly accurate, he definitely would have been queer. Especially because he is said to be magic itself, it would make sense for him to be the personification of Celtic values. That may include homosexuality, because as previously stated, Celtic men really liked other men.

I’m excited to see what will come of this post, seeing as not a lot of people in the fandom seem to know this. More fanfiction? More fanart? It would probably inspire a lot of creators. So, if you do make something because of this post, please notify me in the notes, an ask, an @ or something. Basically anything but a PM. I would be happy to see/read the creation.

Sources:

Sexuality and love in Celtic society:

Same Sex Celts

Druid Thoughts: of Sex and Druids

Anam Cara, what’s a soul mate?

Sexuality in Ancient Ireland

The Celts, Women, and Sex

LGBT history

Sexuality and love in Medival Society:

Getting down and medival: the sex lives of the Middle Ages

Sex in the Middle Ages

Here’s What Sex Was Like In Medieval Times. It’ll Make You Feel Glad You Weren’t Born Back Then!

General Celtic Society:

Who Were the Celts

Celtic Religion and Belieifs

Saint Patrick

17 Things You Probably Didnt know about Saint Patrick

Confession of Saint Patrick

Cuchulainn and Ferdiad

Cuchulainn and Ferdiad, Gay Lovers?

The Combat of Ferdiad and Cuchulain

Insest in Antient Celtic Society

Ancient Irish elite practiced incest, new genetic data from Neolithic tomb shows

Homosexuality in the Roman Empire

Timeline of LGBT history

Timeline of LGBT history in the United Kingdom

#bbc Merlin #Merlin bbc #Merlin #merthur #merlin x arthur #arthur pendragon #merlinxarthur #merlin/arthur #Tw long post #tw violence #tw body gore #tw body horror #tw sex mention #tw sex talk #tw religious mention #tw religion #tw christianity #tw catholicism #tw creepy #Tw sex assault #Tw rape #tw colonialism #tw colonization #tw homophobia #Tw killing #tw genocide #Tw insest #arthuriana #Arthurian #arthurian mythology