Sweet Inanity

she/her, SoCal, 40's-ish, demi/ace, writer/reader/gamer/thinker/lurker, LGBTQ+ friendly space!

[fleshst4r]

.

we're not going to make it

we will make it

it'll take too long to rebuild ourselves

we will make it

but what if we don't wake up in the morning

we will make it

i don't see a future with me in it

we will make it

we'll give up long before then

we will make it

im scared

i love you. we will make it

Voting ended onApr 11

[glorybean]

News about Murderbot TV season 2!!

Some things we know about Season 2 so far: r/murderbot

This is an amazing compilation post by u/ESE-enthusiasm on reddit.

Some key takeaways:

debuting before June 2027

boiling down the 3 pre-Network Effect novellas into a single season

episodes will be a little longer

per MW circa 5/8, they hadn't cast ART yet, and had a stand-in reading lines (so no human actor on-set, yay!)

we will see more visual effects depicting MB's POV and operating processes

we will see more of Sanctuary Moon and other shows

MW is happy with the changes the showrunners made and considers the TV show a parallel universe to the books

[glorybean]

Oh hell, post cancelled, didn’t realize I was reposting @securityunit-ese! Sorry!!

[glorybean]

News about Murderbot TV season 2!!

Some things we know about Season 2 so far: r/murderbot

This is an amazing compilation post by u/ESE-enthusiasm on reddit.

Some key takeaways:

debuting before June 2027

boiling down the 3 pre-Network Effect novellas into a single season

episodes will be a little longer

per MW circa 5/8, they hadn't cast ART yet, and had a stand-in reading lines (so no human actor on-set, yay!)

we will see more visual effects depicting MB's POV and operating processes

we will see more of Sanctuary Moon and other shows

MW is happy with the changes the showrunners made and considers the TV show a parallel universe to the books

[douche-canoe-regatta]

okay so I have a MUCH larger headcanon/vague prediction for this Murderbot detail, but here's something I've been wondering about since BOOK ONE:

yes, we know the company is shitty, lazy, and terrible altogether, but sending FULL SPECS of ALL the company systems? To a SecUnit?? That seems like a pretty big cock-up for a security company. It makes me wonder exactly what the company's Systems thinks of the way they're forced to treat their people (constructs included). It makes me think about all the little ways Systems find loopholes to help people, despite corporate hegemony.

This ALSO makes me wonder how many Units received this data, and if any others were able to break free of the Governor Module. If there are dozens, hundreds, even thousands of Units doing their own approximation of their job, just waiting for a chance at true freedom.

[glorybean]

I can imagine a couple of different scenarios for this:

I can definitely see this as being a one-off situation where this download was sent out in error and the tech who did it was soundly punished/killed/disappeared/sent to forced labor.

MB is probably unusually intelligent for a SecUnit, possibly due to its cloned organic tissue. It may be able to "work out" the codes for a hack where other governed SecUnits could not. Add to that, SecUnits are not supposed to be able to code in the first place. Figuring out how to code on the fly? How boring must it be to be a SecUnit in the first place?

It is possible that other SecUnits received the download and successfully disabled their govmods, went rogue and were immediately detected and destroyed. The company would have every incentive for keeping things like that suppressed; reports of rogue SecUnits are bad for business.

ALL the specs for ALL the company systems? A massive file like that was probably sent not to MB directly, but to a HubSystem or SecSystem on a job assignment. It must have been too large for MB's local storage. I can absolutely see MB having all the time in the world (figuratively) to poke its way through the code while it had downtime being repaired in a cubicle from Incident: Being Shot to Pieces No. 2378.

Space is huge! The wormhole network is huge! Trips through the wormholes take weeks at a time! You could be right, @douche-canoe-regatta!! There could be free SecUnits out there scattered to the four winds (??) of space that we'll never know about.

MB is an unreliable narrator. It's probably generalizing. "I got a download" could mean a lot of different things. Maybe we'll get a better explanation someday.

[glorybean]

How many people has Nanna Naja shot?

1

2-3

4-6

7-9

10+

Idk/See results

Voting ended onMay 17

Please speculate wildly about Naja’s early life experiences!

[glorybean]

While it's fun to imagine Nanna Naja has a loose trigger-finger, I seriously doubt she's ever actually killed anyone. Someone pointed out that as a Preservation elder, she could be second generation of the first settlers of the planet. So it's likely that her weapons experience comes from the early days of the planet's founding. But from what we've heard of the planet's history, that period seems like a very structured, peaceful era of development.

Add to this, Murderbot has said that weapons are not allowed on Preservation, except in areas where large fauna could be a threat. So what weapons could Naja have handled? Possibly she was a hunter/defender when settlements still needed humans doing security work against environmental threats. But that wouldn't require shooting people.

Another point to consider: Sofi's the one that says Mensah has told Naja that she's not allowed to shoot anybody anymore. So Naja's antics must have been recent enough for Sofi to be able to recall Mensah's admonishment. We don't have a solid age for Sofi, but this has be within the last couple of years. Also, why on earth would Mensah be talking to Naja about shooting people in front of Sofi in the first place?

I propose a theory: Naja is a gold-medal level sniper who broke into the local paintball scene and annihilated the competition, traumatized more than a few preteens (not Mensahlings) and is consequently banned.

[passion-of-l0vers]

caramel frappe give me the strength to clean my room

[passion-of-l0vers]

caramel frappe PLEASE

[passion-of-l0vers]

#this art is so evocative. it feels like a goya painting 

thank you so much this is the highest compliment

[tintheelvenking]

OP did a lovely job with this piece. The pose they picked is a difficult one to do correctly and dynamically- the doubling over is hard to illustrate without making it look weird or poorly drawn, the low seat of the “pelvis” making the figure dip down lower (to emphasize the clutching motion of the hands) is a hard perspective to imagine without a reference. I liked the way OP chose to draw the shoulders, evoking both the hunching of shoulders that would be present in a fleshier painting and drawing out the strong, dynamic curve of the body.

The blood, the desperate clutch, the crying and the pose all suggest something religious, making the post all the more impactful with its drawing- The caramel frappe does not answer the subject, just as God does not answer the subjects of paintings who depicted the same theme.

It’s also intriguing where OP chose to put details. In amostly minimalist creation, the (relatively) detailed frappe, hands, and face guides your eyes in a a dynamic way- from the frappe to the face, then follows the line of the body out to the end of the legs- making the art more interesting to the eye.

I have a theory about the colors that I’m not sure is true, but I think the subject being black and white separates it from the frappe, which is fully colored. The blood, neither frappe nor person colored, acts as a connector between the two– the only ways the two subjects can connect are through touch and sight, both of which causes the human subject pain. Then again, I may be reading into things too much idk

[passion-of-l0vers]

okay this is my favorite comment on this entire post

[glorybean]

Tumblr: come for the blorbos, shipping discourse and gay jokes, stay for the university-level analysis of 5-minute shitpost ms paint art.

[fairycosmos]

let it go my friend... i say this as a fat "ugly" dyke. your body is the vehicle w which you move in the world, give love, receive love, make things, SEE things, KNOW things. that's all that matters. beauty and ugliness are marketing scams esp for women. LIVE and FUCK THE WORLD it's not easy to get there but it's so sweet. ppl will love you fat and "ugly" i swear on god.

this is like a religious text to me and i'm not joking even a little

[matchagirl]

[homura]

[glorybean]

How many people has Nanna Naja shot?

1

2-3

4-6

7-9

10+

Idk/See results

Voting ended onMay 17

Please speculate wildly about Naja’s early life experiences!

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

Remnants of 3,400-Year-Old Loom in Spain Sheds Light on Bronze Age Textile Production

Remnants of 3,400-year-old loom discovered at the Cabezo Redondo archaeological site in Spain sheds light on Bronze Age textile production.

The 3,450-year-old loom was inadvertently preserved when a fire decimated the surrounding Iberian village and a roof collapsed on top of it; typically, wooden looms don’t survive, with only the loom weights existing as archaeological artifacts. Loom weights, often made of clay, are used to hold vertical threads taut during the weaving process.

1,800-year-old nails discovered in 3 burials in Roman necropolis, possibly to 'protect' both the living and the dead

Archaeologists excavating in Rome's Ostiense necropolis found three skeletons with iron nails on their chests, hinting at a ritual to prevent restless spirits.

Ancient Ukrainian burial mound reveals millennia of sacred continuity

Archaeologists have identified compelling evidence for the long-term reuse of ritual sites in the North Pontic Steppe, offering new insights into cultural continuity and landscape engagement in prehistoric Europe.

500-year-old Aztec ritual offering uncovered in Mexico City

Greenstone sculptures from Guerrero, thousands of marine shells, copal spheres and snake-shaped pendants were part of a 500-year-old Aztec ritual offering uncovered at Templo Mayor in Mexico City.

Gladiatorial reliefs discovered near the Appian Way

Archaeologists in southern Italy have identified the remains of a Roman funerary monument decorated with reliefs depicting gladiatorial combat, dating to the early 1st century AD.

Archaeologists identify lost medieval village in Polish forest

Researchers at Poland’s Relicta Foundation are finally confident that they’ve located Stolzenberg, a lost medieval village shrouded in the dense forest outside Sławoborze, in the country’s northwestern region of Pomerania. Thus far, the 15-acre site has yielded 1,500 surface anomalies, from ancient coins to the remnants of buildings, many of which confirm its supposed former identity.

‘Mentor’ shipwreck study uncovers possible fragment of Parthenon

Archaeologists have released images and new findings from the latest phase of underwater excavations at the historic shipwreck of the brig Mentor off the coast of Kythera.

Ancient skeleton unearthed in France is latest to be found sitting upright

Scientists trying to work out why Gauls chose to bury some of their dead in seated position facing west.

Ancient burials marked by mounted skulls revealed at Lake Duvensee

Archaeologists investigating the Duvensee Moor in northern Germany have uncovered new evidence on the lives and beliefs of early hunter-gatherer communities more than 10,500 years ago.

Roman well unearthed during shop renovations

A Roman well and other historical artefacts have been found during building renovations. Georgian wall panels and timber work, believed to date to the 17th century, were also found at the site in Caistor, Lincolnshire.

Mosaic floors from early Christian basilicas identified in Berat, Albania

Archaeological analysis of two mosaic floor fragments discovered in Berat, Albania, has identified them as remnants of early Christian basilicas dating to Late Antiquity.

Excavations in Syedra reveal a 1,500-year-old mosaic

A team of archaeologists working in the ancient city of Syedra, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, has uncovered a mosaic floor dated to 1,500-years-ago.

Roman funerary inscription emerges from mud in Livorno countryside

A chance discovery in the countryside near Livorno has brought a fragment of ancient Roman life back into the spotlight, after a remarkably well-preserved funerary inscription surfaced from a muddy canal following heavy rains.

Neolithic trackway discovered by archaeologists

A 6,000-year-old trackway that dates back to the early Neolithic period has been discovered by archaeologists.

Archaeologists find ancient evidence of “lost world” beneath the North Sea

A vast prehistoric landscape now hidden beneath the North Sea may have supported forests and wildlife thousands of years earlier than scientists previously believed.

Three intact 17th-century storage barrels discovered in Skien

Recent archaeological investigations in the urban core of Skien, Norway, have yielded a significant discovery: a cluster of three well-preserved oak barrels associated with construction-related material culture.

Hazelnut shells rewrite the prehistoric history of Cornwall

Radiocarbon dating of hazelnut shells found during excavations at Tregunnel Hill has revealed some of the earliest Neolithic remains yet identified in Cornwall, England.

Researchers confirm location of lost city of Alexandria on the Tigris

An international team of researchers has confirmed the discovery of the lost city of Alexandria on the Tigris in Iraq. Founded by Alexander the Great, whose brief empire stretched from Greece to the Indus River and encompassed swathes of Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia, it was a vital trading center until the 3rd century CE.

Major hoard discoveries reshape our understanding of Iron Age Britain

Archaeologists have uncovered one of the most significant Iron Age metalwork deposits found in Britain on farmland near Melsonby, North Yorkshire.

Ancient whale trap discovered beneath Norwegian seabed

Marine archaeologists have uncovered a striking piece of Norway’s past on the seabed off Øygarden, near Bergen—a large, carefully constructed stone formation believed to be around 1,000 years old and likely used as a whale trap.

Dark message warning enemy to 'learn your lesson' found inscribed on 2,000-year-old sling bullet from ancient Holy Land

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 2,000-year-old sling bullet inscribed with a cruel message: an ancient admonition telling enemies "Learn your lesson."

INAH uncovers Epiclassic stucco reliefs in Tlaxcala

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered two stuccoed high reliefs in Tetlatlahuca, Mexico, offering new insight into the region’s pre-Hispanic past.

Cannonball dating to the Alamo battle unearthed one day before 190th anniversary of the conflict that killed Davy Crockett

An intact bronze cannonball unearthed near the Alamo was likely used in the 1836 battle between Mexico and the Republic of Texas.

Submerged structures identified beneath Dicle Dam lake

Remarkable images captured beneath the waters of the Dicle Dam lake in southeastern Türkiye have revealed a hidden archaeological landscape dating back approximately 2,400 years.

Burnt mounds mystery solved

Excavations at three sites—Marham Park in Fornham All Saints, as well as Laxfield and Hepworth—have produced compelling evidence suggesting that burnt mounds were primarily used for hide tanning.

‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative

Harold may have sailed, not marched, in 1066, reshaping explanations for his defeat in England’s historic battle.

This theory is due to be presented at a conference this week, where it will no doubt spark furious debate, so stay tuned.

Monte Verde, one of the earliest Indigenous sites in South America, is much younger than thought, study claims. But others call it 'egregiou

A new analysis of archaeological layers at Monte Verde in Chile suggests that people lived there 4,200 years ago, not 14,500 years ago as or

A team of archaeologists is questioning the 14,500-year-old date of Monte Verde in Chile, one of the oldest human occupations in the Americas, and proposing a much younger age for the key Paleo-Indian site. The researchers suggest their new date challenges the current narrative of how early the Americas were settled, but other experts are not convinced and call it "egregiously poor geological work."

These claims have been met with a lot of skepticism, so if anyone goes to an archaeology conference soon, let me know what happens, because things sound like they will get spicy.

Museums

Comment | What is the role of art museums in times of civic stress?

Museums and cultural organisations must embrace our vital role in bringing people together, whether friends or strangers

Museums and cultural organisations must embrace our vital role in bringing people together, whether friends or strangers. This work is essential to building the connections that bind us in a shared sense of community. It is perhaps no surprise that in Minneapolis, where people actively engage with the arts, we have been able to stand together with resilience in the face of violence and loss.

Snuffboxes stolen in Paris daylight robbery to go on display at V&A

The snuffboxes, made in 18th-century Berlin, come from the Gilbert Collection, and will go on display in a new gallery space at the V&A in South Kensington

The sartorial is political in “The New York Sari”

At the New York Historical, an exhibition reminds us that the sari is a living art form, an heirloom, a document, and a political statement in one.

Dizzy, nauseous Columbus Art Museum workers issue complaints about chemical fumes

Workers at the Columbus Museum of Art in Ohio have complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about headaches, nausea, and dizziness thought to be caused by a chemical sealant used on gallery floors.

Closure goes against everything: Community says goodbye for now to Barrington Woolen Mill museum

The museum closure, along with a 20 per cent reduction in operating funding, will impact at least nine jobs at the Barrington Museum Complex

Prado implements new crowd control measures to combat overtourism

While museums around the world work tirelessly to boost visitor numbers, the Prado Museum in Madrid is on a mission to reduce footfall. This week, it announced new measures against overcrowding, which it says is pushing world-class museums to their limit.

Repatriation

Congress Moves to Expand Holocaust Art Restitution Claims

The House approved an expansion of the HEAR Act, aiming to ease claims for Nazi-looted art and limit legal defenses used by museums and fore

Congress has moved to give new life to a law meant to help families recover art stolen during the Holocaust, while at the same time reopening a long-running battle between heirs and the institutions that still hold those works.

Heritage at risk

Blue Shields Placed at 34 Archaeological Sites Across Lebanon, Signaling Enhanced Protections

Blue shields now guard 34 archaeological sites across Lebanon, as the country moves to protect its cultural heritage amid escalating war.

Blue shields now guard 34 archaeological sites across Lebanon, as the country moves to protect its cultural heritage amid escalating air and ground assaults from Israel, the Lebanese Culture Ministry announced Sunday. The shields signal that the sites are protected under international agreements regarding cultural property during wartime

Call for urgent international monitoring of Iran’s cultural heritage

A group of cultural heritage professionals has called for “urgent monitoring, documentation and safeguarding” of Iran’s museums and heritage sites by international bodies in light of the escalating conflict and restricted communication in the country.

54-storey tower could test protections for London, Ont.'s castle-like national historic site

Plans by York Developments obtained by CBC News through a freedom of information request show the proposed tower would require four storeys of underground parking garage that would extend to within roughly 16 metres of the courthouse building.

Fears over French art loans to the Louvre Abu Dhabi as war rages in the Middle East

Escalating conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns about the safety of masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, raising questions about the security of the famous museum's only foreign branch.

Stonehenge tunnel plan officially scrapped after years of protests

A controversial plan to build a tunnel under the Stonehenge site has been officially cancelled after millions were spent on the doomed project. Campaigners have been fighting proposals to dig a tunnel for cars under the location of the world heritage site since the idea was first proposed in 1994.

Mexican culture ministry calls on eBay to halt sales of pre-Columbian artifacts

The culture ministry of Mexico has called on eBay to remove sale listings for 195 pre-Colombian artifacts, claiming they were obtained by way of “illicit extraction” and that they should be returned to their country of origin.

Ötztal Alps: 6,000-year-old glacier archive is melting rapidly

Researchers, including scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, have extracted and analysed an ice core from the Weißseespitze summit in Tyrol, providing a continuous record of climate and environmental conditions spanning several millennia. The results also underscore the accelerated rate of glacier loss in the Eastern Alps: since 2019, the ice mass at the summit has been reduced by almost half.

Odds and ends

‘The world’s memory’: why Nigeria is burying its history under a mountain in Svalbard

It is the first African country to deposit data in the Arctic World Archive, a storage facility designed to protect records of everything fr

The Arctic World Archive (AWA) is a data storage unit where organisations and individuals can deposit records kept on specialist digitised film called Piql that lasts up to 2,000 years. On 27 February, Nigeria became the first African country to place archives at the facility 300 metres beneath a mountain where the cold, dark, dry conditions are perfect for preservation.

‘These connections are overlooked’: how British companies profited from slavery in Brazil long after abolition

Britons learn about the country’s involvement with slavery “almost as a self-congratulatory narrative”, said Mulhern, as if the country had been a “self-appointed moral arbiter in the demise of the slave trade and slavery – despite the fact that the UK was one of the biggest countries involved in the slave trade.”

A 600-year-old document exposes a historic fraud: someone faked the Shroud of Turin

The study presents a newly rediscovered piece of writing, penned by the French theologian Nicole Oresme, which discusses the famed Shroud of Turin, a cloth that features the outline of a man’s face many believers purport to have been left behind by Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. And Oresme minces no words, outright declaring the object a fraud perpetuated by unscrupulous clergymen.

Fundraising campaign launched to create Scotland’s first national heritage hub

Scotland’s oldest heritage charity has launched a £1.5m campaign to secure a permanent home in Edinburgh ahead of its 250th anniversary. 

‘Lots of theories’: Halifax Harbour Bridges looks to solve mystery of 126-year-old bell

A 126-year-old brass bell has sat in storage for decades and now there’s an effort to uncover its origins.

Treasure hunter freed from prison after 10 years but location of gold coins still unknown

A US treasure hunter who was imprisoned for 10 years after refusing to reveal the location of missing gold coins has been released from prison, without officials apparently ever learning where that gold is.

Russian archaeologist can be sent to Ukraine for trial, Polish judge rules

A judge in Poland has ruled that Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin can be extradited to Ukraine, although his defence says he will appeal.

Dog digs up possible link to notorious 19th-century Devon murder case

A man in Devon believes his beloved dog has dug up a key piece of evidence in his back garden connected to a notorious Victorian murder case.

An archaeologist

Dinosaur fossils in Brazil reveal new giant species

Brazilian scientists have identified a new species of giant dinosaur with ties to a similar animal ​found in Spain, reinforcing knowledge that land routes once ‌connected parts of South America, Africa and Europe about 120 million years ago.

[violet-phoenix-nebula]

This is easily the most interesting take I've ever seen discussing why the older generations seem to struggle so much with the discussions and changes with gender identity, and I think it's absolutely worth reading.

Obviously it doesn't cover 100% of intolerant people, but I think it explains a decent chunk tbh.

[kimyoonmiauthor]

US Book ban on LGBTQIA books

The Nationwide Book Ban Bill Moves to the House: How to Take Action Now

The nationwide book ban bill, HR 7661, has progressed out of committee and into the House. Here's what you need to know to take action.

At least hit the shiny repost button if you're going to do nothing else. This should not stand.

Stop the bill dead in its tracks. LGBTQIA people have a right to be represented in books.

[daysleftofsecondterm]

1,034 days left

[willgrahamscock]

I cannot believe there's absolutely no way to watch free shows and movies anymore, there are too many paid streaming platforms and pirating websites have viruses and ads preventing you from watching it uninterrupted((.)) id rather follow the rules and purchase media moving forward because it is too inconvenient. Seriously, free and no ads or viruses with 1080p streaming is DEAD.

[part-time-zombie]

Exactly! It's freaking annoying when I want to watch movies but I would have to subscribe to like 24 different services . Just to watch the shows that I like.

[someones-here-for-sure]

Oh and wouldn’t it be nice for cartoons? Just anything animated. I just wanna stream things without getting conned. Must I be cartoonless forever?

[stonesense]

i’d like to make whether or not you claim to really be the herald of andraste a MAJORRR choice that affects your reputation with all sorts of factions & characters

[stonesense]

claiming to be the herald of andraste should get you more resources & support from most humans who are numerous & powerful so it’s like a mechanically advantageous choice and build guides will always tell you to do it. but it has massive interpersonal consequences with certain members of your party & it’s harder to win over some important npcs and groups like the dalish. there’s gotta be youtube videos titled True Herald Playthrough COMPLETELY BROKEN??? and How To Claim Herald WITHOUT Hardening Cassandra (Good Playthrough)

[stonesense]

it’s a binary choice to publicly claim or not claim herald for how it interacts with public figures & factions but talking to the inner circle there are roleplay variations for “lying about being the herald/really means it” and “i am absolutely not/well i don’t think so but maybe!” because i love liars and doubters most of all

[glorybean]

I would love this for two reasons:

A) to OP’s point about liars and doubters, I feel like there could have been great story potential for an Inky who would publicly claim to be Herald while privately disavowing it with, you guessed it, Solas. Everyone expects his contempt but the strategy gets his highest approval rating in the game. Too spoilery? Maybe.

B) on the public denial side, after you deny a certain number of times you unlock an Easter egg encounter with a small horde of idiot Andrastians who just follow you around and get in the way, just babbling, “Hail, Herald!” After a time, you can confront them, “please leave me alone, I’m not the Herald, honestly!”

“Only the true Herald denies their divinity!”

“What! Well, what sort of chance does that give me!? All right, I AM the Herald!”

“THEY ARE!! THEY ARE THE HERALD!!”

“NO…… SHOVE OFF!!!”

And after that you unlock a War Table mission to send them to Tevinter or Orlais or something.

[columboposting]

tumblr keeps putting rpf baseball yaoi on my dash, and like, okay fine I get it. Whatever. But it’s all rpf baseball yaoi of fucking YANKEES PLAYERS. YANKEES PLAYERS??? Tumblr thinks I’m a fuckin YANKEES FAN???? Tumblr coming into my house and accusing me of being a goddamn motherfucking yankees fan???????? You say that to my face. You come to my house in the great beautiful city of Boston Massachusetts and say that to my fucking face tumblr. Ohh when I get my hands on you tumblr. Yankees yaoi. I’m actually for real mad about it.

[massachusetts-official]

Official Post of Massachusetts

[tiktoks-i-enjoyed]

[pusheenthenerdcat]

oh trans twins you scientific GOLDMINE... absolute blessing to the world of medical research on a level that is barely comprehendible... the same age and same genes and can be tested in the same experiment conditions simultaneously? one independent hormonal variable? absolutely magical oh my goodness gracious

[run-of-the-milf]

I highly recommend watching this testimony from Aliya Rahman, the disabled woman who was dragged out of her car and kidnapped by ICE on her way to a doctor appointment in Minneapolis a few weeks ago.

Truly my worst nightmare.

[liitohauki]

Transcript of Aliya Rahman's speech:

Thank you members, for taking the time to be here today, and thank you staff for making this happen.

My name is Aliya Rahman, and I am a resident of South Minneapolis. I am a Bangladeshi American born in Northern Wisconsin. And I’m a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury.

Not all autistic brains do this, but mine fixates on sounds, numbers, and patterns. And while what the world saw happen to me exactly three weeks ago today on video was a terrible violation it is still nothing compared to the horrific practices I saw inside the Whipple center.

So I am here today with a duty to the people who have not had the privilege of coming home, and I offer this data because these practices must end now.

On January 13th on the way to my 39th appointment at Hennepin County’s traumatic brain injury center, I encountered a traffic jam caused by ICE vehicles and no signs indicating how to get around it. I had not wanted to pull in to a blocked, chaotic intersection, but verbally agreed to do so and rolled down my window after an agent yelled, “Move! I will break your f-ing window!”

His first instruction.

Agents on all sides of my vehicle yelled conflicting threats and instructions that I could not process while watching for pedestrians.

Then, the glass of the passenger side window flew across my face.

I yelled, “I’m disabled!” at the hands grabbing at me and an agent said, “Too late.”

I felt immersed in a pattern, and I thought of Jenoah Donald, an autistic black man killed by the police during a traffic stop in 2021.

I remembered mister Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by ICE in his vehicle last year.

An agent pulled a large combat knife in front of my face, which I thought was for cutting me, and later learned was used to cut off my seat belt. Shooting pain went through my head, neck, and wrists when I hit the ground face first and people leaned on my back.

I felt the pattern, and I thought of mister George Floyd, who was killed four blocks away.

I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled. I now cannot lift my arms normally.

I was never asked for ID.

Never told I was under arrest.

Never read my rights.

And never charged with a crime.

Approaching the Whipple center, I saw black and brown bodies shackled together, chained together, being marched by yelling agents outdoors. I continued to hear the word “bodies”, because that is how agents referred to us:

“We’re bringing in a body.”

“They’re bringing in bodies 7, 8 at a time, where do I put ‘em?”

“We can’t use that room, there’s already a body in there.”

You have no reason to believe you will make it out alive if you’re already being called a body.

Agents repeatedly had to stop and ask how to do tasks. I received no medical screening, phone call, or access to a lawyer. I was denied a communication navigator when my speech began to slur. Agents laughed as I tried to immobilize my own neck. I asked for my cane and was told no, pulled up by my arms and prodded forward in leg irons by agents laughing and saying, “Walk! You can do it, walk.”

Agents did not know if the facility had a wheelchair.

When I was finally placed in one to be taken to interrogation an agent taunted, “You were driving, right? So your legs do work.”

I pleaded for emergency medical care for over an hour after my vision had become blurry, my heart rate went through the roof, and the pain in my neck and head became unbearable.

It was denied.

When I became unable to speak my cellmate pleaded for me.

The last sounds I remember before I blacked out on the cell floor were my cellmate banging on the door, pleading for a medic, and a voice outside saying, “We don’t wanna step on ICE’s toes.”

When I opened my eyes at Hennepin County’s emergency room, I learned I was brought there to be treated for assault.

The impacts of DHS detention on my physical, mental and financial well-being and safety have been very severe, but I do not deserve more humane treatment than anyone else, US citizen or not. And I am here today with a strong spirit and a duty to the many people who haven’t had the privilege to tell their stories or see their loved ones come home. I am extremely distressed by the pattern that violence from law enforcement has been happening to black and indigenous communities for centuries, and to DHS survivors for over 20 years.

We call ourselves a civilized nation, but we lack rules and accountability around what a person claiming to be law enforcement is permitted to do to another human being.

I am not afraid, and I’m not afraid to keep working on this problem even after ICE is gone. Thank you for your time.