i saw you in the water

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----GCS/H/O d-(x) s:++>: a? C+++$ UL*++>+++ P- L+++>++++ E--- W+++ N+@ o K w(--)@ !O-- M-@ !V- PS++(+++)@ PE-(--)@ Y+@ PGP>++ t@ !5 X@ R+(++)>+++ tv@ b+>++@ !DI D G++>++++ e+ h r--(-)@ z-(**) ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

[el-shab-hussein]

Hey guys, I've added the google doc where me and Nairuz have been compiling the vetted fundraisers all on one list that can be easily updated and seen by everyone. I think it's faster than the system I had going before.

Go check it out, I've added 13 links in the past hour.

[ortut]

Julian Hooper 1. Introduction, 2016 2. Inevitable conclusion, 2016 (Acrylic on linen)

[certified-door-posts]

certified door post

[corvidcall]

to anyone in the areas impacted by the wildfire smoke, my #1 biggest piece of advice as someone whos been dealing with wildfire smoke in the NW united states for years, is build yourself a Corsi-Rosenthal Cube

they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!

i think it took us maybe a half hour to put ours together, if that, and we replace the filters every 3 months. it's really made a HUGE difference, both when the air quality is bad, but also with our allergies

[o0fyuu0o]

Saw these easy to read instructions on Twitter. Stay safe 💚

[sun-cheyne]

Also just a handy, DIY air filter in general, if a bit bulky. For a less bulky and cheaper (but also less effective) solution, you can simply tape one filter to the fan, cut a shroud if you'd like.

[snowriddenwolf]

just FYI, this is quite literally what the climate scientists at my work who specialized in wildfire smoke impacts recommend. it works great, it's cheap to make, and it will make a noticeable impact on your air quality.

[mechanicalriddle]

i have asthma & keep one of these running in my room perpetually. after I set it up the difference in my sleep quality was pretty much night and day. Dont waste your time on proprietary air filters; SIMPLY bust out the duct tape

[geopsych]

Another public service announcement. This time it’s air quality. Some of you are probably in it already if you’re in eastern Canada, New England or New York, but it’s sliding south, a huge mass of wildfire smoke. Please be careful. When it starts getting bad, especially, like when the sky gets orange or brownish, it’s best to run air purifiers in the house and wear N95 or KN95 masks when you have to go outside.

It harms your lungs and it’s especially bad for children (and pets!) or anyone with health problems. There are all kinds of chemicals in that smoke. It’s not only trees that are burning. The heat already makes it harder to breath. This makes it worse.

If any of you are experiencing it, feel free to tell about it in the comments. 💚

Also, throw out the mask every day and shower before you get in bed if you’ve been out or you’ll be breathing the particles all night. Stuff like that. It gets all over you, your skin, your hair, your clothes.

[yeyinde]

Collins is gone.

Namaygoosisagagun First Nation/Collins has burned to the ground. The entire community is nothing but ashes after being quickly consumed by wildfires. They did not have any support from emergency services, and no one offered aid. The community saved themselves by escaping into boats because no one came.

Mishkeegogamang and Cat Lake have lost power. Families are ending up in shelters with nothing. Armstrong, Lac La Croix, Whitesand, Gull Bay, Lac des Mille Lacs are currently in the fires path and all members are being evacuated.

All this loss, all this devastation, and it was entirely preventable.

After steadily underfunding wildland firefighting and purposefully excluding Indigenous wildland firefighters and Indigenous wildfire organizations from wildfire operations, firefighter training, decisionmaking, and resource exchanges, in 2025, Doug Ford slashed the forest firefighting budget.

It's hard to ignore his decision to cut funding and leave us out of adequate fire training (even though we've lived with forest fires for thousands of years—far longer than settlers have been in Canada—and made sure fires like the ones we're all seeing today were prevented through kinisitotēn) when, despite making up less than 5% of the population, we account for 42% percent of all wildfire evacuations in Canada.

And when we are successfully evacuated, we face discrimination and racism—like Kashechewan—because it's always been easier to blame us than it is to blame the true culprit: denialism, corportate greed, and colonization.

The people of Collins and every other impacted community deserve better.

Right now, the AFN is currently accepting donations to help Collins First Nation. If you're able to, please consider donating.

ONWA (Ontario Native Women's Association) is another great place to donate to. They have outreach vans going to motels and inns and offering food, water, resources, and cultural support to those impacted by the wildfires.

Other places to consider donating to are Mikinakoos Emergency Fund, Red Cross, True North Aid, Indigenous Climate Action. You can also send donations directly to Whitesand First Nation via e-transfer ([email protected]) and they request that you add your full name in the e-transfer comment section to receive a tax receipt.

*Before sending money, verify that the appeal appears on an official First Nation, Tribal Council or registered charity channel.

If you can't offer financial support, please consider donating items of need. Moontime Connections is currently accepting drop-off donations. If you live in the Thunder Bay area, Namaygoosisagagun Health Office is also taking in donations! They can also bemailed to Superior Inn Hotel & Conference Centre at 555 West Arthur Street, Thunder Bay, ON, P7E 5P8.

items needed are: food, diapers, medical masks, men’s and women’s joggers (all sizes), children’s clothing (newborn to size 14), children’s shoes, summer clothing, men’s clothing, toiletries (lotion, Vaseline, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant, etc.), strollers, adult depends-all sizes, dog & cat food

wīya ispīh iyiniw-kiskīyihtamowin pasikōpayiki kāwi askiy ta-iyihyīmakan

[depsidase]

[portentous-offerings]

I think we should send the billionaires to space and then abandon them there.

[penny-anna]

okay, for those interested, here is a full timeline of how we got to Count Binface:

1977: Star Wars is released, featuring, of course, Darth Vader

(Pictured: Darth Vader)

1984: Director Todd Durham releases his Star Wars parody movie, Hyperspace, featuring Darth Vader inspired villain Lord Buckethead.

(Pictured: Hyperspace poster featuring two Jawa-esque aliens flying through space in a shopping trolley.)

1987: Hyperspace is released on video in the UK, under the new title Gremloids.

(Pictured: Gremloids cover in the style of the original Star Wars poster, featuring Lord Buckethead.)

To promote the film, Mike Lee, the owner of the distributing company, ran for parliament as Lord Buckethead. He ran in Margaret Thatcher's constituency, Finchley, in order to get on TV. Lord Buckethead was representing the Gremloids party.

(Pictured: Lord Buckethead on TV with Margaret Thatcher.)

1992: Gremloids is re-released. Lord Buckethead rides again, this time against prime minister John Major in Huntingdon. (Here's a fun fact about Huntingdon: I was born there! :D) 87/92 Buckethead seems to have leaned pretty hard into the space supervillain thing, with campaign promises including 'demolish Birmingham to build a spaceport'.

(Pictured: Lord Buckethead on TV with John Major. Other notable candidates include Screaming Lord Sutch of the Monster Raving Loony Party.)

2017: comedian Jon Harvey, having recently watched Gremloids and learned of Lord Buckethead's candidacy for parliament, decides it's a great bit. He runs against Theresa May in Maidenhead. 2017 Buckethead seems to have a wackier and also more political approach, with campaign promises ranging from nonsense like 'nationalise Adele' to gesturing at actually sensible policies with stuff like 'lower the voting age to 16 and restrict voting after age 80'.

He also made an appearance on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. As with his previous incarnation, he was a member of the Gremloids party.

(Pictured: Lord Buckethead dabbing on stage with Theresa May.)

2018: Director Todd Durham asserts his legal ownership of Lord Buckethead. Jon Harvey opted not to go to court over Buckethead and handed over the reins. Todd Durham extended an invitation to anyone who wanted to be the 'authorised' Lord Buckethead.

(Pictured: the new Lord Buckethead.)

2019: Lord Buckethead, now played by journalist David Hughes, stood against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. He ran for the Monster Raving Loony Party, the UK's pre-existing gag candidate party. He ran with a similarly silly manifesto as the 2017 incarnation, but with a bit less of a political edge. His promises included 'All doorways to be increased by 1 foot (30 cm) in height' and 'Nigel Farage to be sold for parts'.

(Pictured: Lord Buckethead and Count Binface square up.)

Meanwhile, Jon Harvey in his new persona Count Binface, also ran against Boris Johnson. Buckethead and Binface face off! Binface ran as an independent with a manifesto once again blending silly and semi-serious promises such as 'nationalising model railways' and 'giving £1 trillion a week to the NHS'. This was also I believe the debut of his promise to 'move the hand dryer in the men's toilet at Uxbridge's Crown and Treaty pub to a more sensible position'.

(Pictured: Count Binface presenting the offending hand dryer, inconveniently close to both the sink and the urinals.)

He has a point.

2021: Count Binface runs for the position of Mayor of London for the first time, with promises such as 'London to join the European Union'. He notably finished ahead of far right party UKIP.

2023: Count Binface runs in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election following Boris Johnson's resignation. He once again gets more votes than UKIP.

May 2024: Count Binface once again runs to be Mayor of London, debuting his now iconic 'build at least one affordable house' promise. Notably, he finished ahead of far right party Britain First.

(Pictured: Count Binface with Rishi Sunak. Also pictured: Monster Raving Loony Party candidate Sir Archibald Stanton with a ventriloquist's dummy.)

July 2024: Count Binface stands in the general election, running in Richmond and Northallerton against prime minister Rishi Sunak. He debuts his promise to cap the price of 99p flakes at 99p. This is his most successful election to date with 308 votes.

(Pictured: Count Binface with Andy Burnham. Also pictured: independent candidate Robert Pownell, dressed as a fox for his own reasons.)

June 2026: Count Binface stands in the Makerfield by-election against Andy Burnham, (recently) former Mayor of Manchester running for parliament with the intention of standing in the Labour Party leadership contest.

(Pictured: Count Binface on BBC's Newsnight.)

July 2026 (this week): Count Binface announces his intention to run against Nigel Farage in the upcoming Clacton by-election. He is briefly the only other candidate in the race and by the time other candidates announce themselves the narrative of 'Nigel Farage vs Count Binface' has already bedded in. And then it was now, and then I don't know what happened.

[killhitleragain]

PBS and NPR were never beholden to the US government.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created so that the US government could fund public media without public media being influenced by the government. It was a private non-profit funded by the government, not a part of the government itself. This is by design. This was a good thing. It meant that even small local TV and radio stations, could afford to create media for the public good, without government influence.

This meant TV and radio stations for poor communities. For non-english speaking communities. For rural communities. For minorities. It meant that free and accessible media could be created for everyone, even if the government didn't like it.

That's why conservatives defunded it.

Because if they couldn't control it, and if it helped the people they hated, then they would have to destroy it. Do you really think that a fascist government would defund their own propaganda machine?

Not only is the idea that PBS before being defunded was propaganda wrong, but ignores the fact that defunding it is going to have long-term negative effects on vulnerable communities.

OP of the post in the screenshot called me an idiot and blocked me for pointing this out. So I'm setting the record straight. The CPB was never our enemy.

[jayrockin]

Almost Real's POP CULTURE issue is live on Kickstarter! Time to introduce the cute yet vaguely horrible cover critter, a living gachapon toy bioengineered by scud aliens!

The wild gachapede is a segmented worm-like arthropoid that lives parasitically inside a bivalve-like "giant diatom" in shallow, sandy-bottomed seas of the scud homeplanet. The giant diatom's shell is made of two interlocking lid-like frustules of transparent silica, allowing light to pass through to its veins of symbiotic unicellular algae. Much like the microscopic diatoms of earth, giant diatoms reproduce in two different ways, asexually and sexually. Asexual reproduction is carried out by the two frustules separating and each generating a new frustule, a phase during which they may be parasitized by the gachapede. But because the new frustule is always smaller than the old one, like the lid and body of a box, eventually one lineage of giant diatoms is too small to safely carry out asexual reproduction. These tiny ones will finally give up and reproduce sexually by releasing sperm and eggs that will join to create new larvae and maximum-size giant diatoms. The parasitic gachapede has a relatively low impact on a large healthy giant diatom, as it lays dormant until the frustules split, surviving off the "bloodstream" of unicellular algae.

Scuds have used the unique properties of these two organisms in combination with their civilization's advanced biotech to create a collectable toy; twisting the basic bodyplan of the gachapede into thousands of variations of "funny little guys." The wild diatom has been modified into a "gachapod," which is far more spacious and transparent than its wild counterpart. To obtain the toy, you crack open the two frustles and recycle the gachapod (which will now grow into two new pods). However, once removed from its food source, the gachapede typically only lives a couple days at most. At the end of its life, its cuticle calcifies and makes them into a rigid figurine. Scuds who are really into the gachapede scene will pose their gachapede into a desirable pose like a insect collector pinning a bug.

Anyways, if you want to read about even more strange, horrifying, and fascinating intersections of biology and pop culture, check out Almost Real: A Speculative Biology Zine. We've also got a big thick book of the previous issues with different themes, including Mythology, Biotechnology, Aquatics, and Flight.

[creekfiend]

you're not supposed to wander around appalachia at night bc you'll fall off a sheer drop that you couldn't see coming. this is also a major risk during the day. you really have to watch out for the sheer drops that you don't see coming due to the undergrowth. I suspect 100% of spooky missing persons cases in appalachia have the spooky explanation of "sheer drop disguised by undergrowth"

really cannot overstate how many utterly invisible ravines we got here and also how big the woods are. they can't find people because the woods? are big

[creekfiend]

in seriousness you can learn about the isolated Appalachian communities that were up here until quite recently by checking out the foxfire books. it is true that there were many isolated communities that remained pretty separate from mainstream American life for a longish time but most of the last ones were my grandpa's generation. and they were regular? can't overstate how regular they were. just rural and isolated with their own culture. do check out the foxfire museum if you want to learn more about them and their lives! those books are based on real interviews conducted by local high schoolers and college students of the old folks in their communities and they are very interesting windows into day to day rural life up in the mountains in the early to mid 20th century.

[creekfiend]

I absolutely 100% do not mean this in a like derogatory city slickers way; I myself grew up mostly in a city and I think that it is morally neutral to not have experience with The Outdoors. having said that, I have noticed that a lot of people who do not have regular interactions with "landscape that can kill you" do seem to have an internalized idea that "landscape that can kill you" is something that only happens to other people, or not very often, or only under extreme circumstances. which I think often leads them to assume that there must be something else out here that can kill you. but I fear I must inform the people who wanna believe scary Appalachian woods monsters are real that it's Landscape. inclusive of the beasts that dwell there such as the cougars and bears. its Landscape! (GRASPING EVERYONE ON THE SPOOKY APPALACHIAN TRAIL SUBREDDITS) IT'S LANDSCAPE THAT KILLS YOU! ITS ALWAYS LANDSCAPE! Old Man Hidden Ravine and his best friend Exposure!

[dykepuffs]

The moors of north and west Yorkshire have this reputation in England, that people will go walking in them and just never come back, vanish without a trace. There's hundreds of stories of farmers taking their usual walk home from the pub in town, setting off with a skinful but otherwise sound, and then in the morning their wife phones the pub because he never made it back.

We're on limestone karst.

What that means is that the ground, below the topsoil, is a very porous sponge of limestone, which is soluble in rainwater. Over thousands of years, the water carves out tunnels and caves and pits, which are all completely invisible from ground level, or occasionally break the surface to form little holes, usually smaller than a manhole cover and easily lost in the sedge. You'd never know it, but there is always a chance that the "solid ground" you step on is just an inch-thick crust over a hundred-foot drop into oblivion.

[orcbara]

i swear to god if people don't start understanding that responding to doylist critique of a piece of media with watsonian exonerations is not an actual rebuttal

[orcbara]

somebody saying "hey i don't like that the only gay man in this story is a weird pervert and it portrays gay sexual promiscuity as a moral failing and character flaw" cannot be rebuked by arguing about how the character's backstory or personality traits explain their behaviour. the choices made by a writer are all fundamentally mutable; somebody saying an author's choices should have been different is not going to be persuaded by an argument that takes those choices as immovable fact

[shamebats]

The (European) sun is a deadly laser, stay safe everyone

[unfuckablebogtroll]

☝️🤓 it’s because the further you move toward the earth’s poles, the lower the angle of the sun is at the hottest parts of the day, meaning the radiation hits your whole body, causing it to feel 10-20 degrees warmer than the thermometer reading will tell you. People from tropical climes, aka close to the equator, are used to the sun’s radiation hitting a much smaller target- their head and shoulders.

Also the further you move toward the poles the more pronounced the difference between the length of day and night is. Worst part of a far-north (or south) heatwave is it doesn’t get dark long enough for meaningful cooling.

It’s not the heat. It very literally is the sun.

[lesbianshepard]

waaaay back when I was a cashier in retail we would talk about dumb shit while unloading the truck, and we got to the "what would you do in a zombie apocalypse" me and another worker were like yeah we would just die. End it all, we can't fight or run or shit. I refuse to put that much effort into survival.

And my manager was like no!!!! If that happened, I would drive to find you guys in my truck and we could eat stuff from my wife's garden and I would make sure everyone I know survived!! I would carry you all on my shoulders away from the zombies!!

Anyway, random shout out to that guy. You were too kind for retail management, Devin.

[lesbianshepard]

also afterwards everyone who was talking about their cool bunker fantasies were like "Damn, Devin's right, we should also be considering helping people around us." which is the only recorded instance of a retail shift making people better human beings.

[plum-soup]

[kmbw]

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

From one Animorphs fan to another, is there a series comparable to Animorphs that you could recommend?

TBH, I don't know of any that are super similar. Animorphs is such a product of its time and its author(s) that even series that directly competed (Goosebumps, Dinotopia) look nothing like it. However.

Series that do cool things with first-person narration like Animorphs:

Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. Set in a fictional version of ancient Greece/Turkey, the series follows one protagonist (primarily a thief, but hobnobs with queens) through a handful of different narrators who see him as a hero, a villain, a loser, a genius, a traitor, a savior... And they're all kind of right.

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale. The world's most relatable teenager narrates adventures across the multiverse. It's notable for its overt grappling with questions of ethics during war — at one point the narrator has to decide whether to kill 30 innocent people to keep nuclear weapons out of Nazi hands.

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis. Truly a book about "we live in a society," only the twist is that the two different protagonists live in two different universes with two different definitions of "disability"... and then they develop a psychic connection.

Children's books that will ruin your life (/pos) like Animorphs:

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel. A heartbreaking and horrifying story about loss, fear, being disbelieved by adults, being overshadowed by a new baby, and the dawning realization that grown-ups can't fix any of the things that are most fundamentally wrong with the world.

Lewis Barnavelt by John Bellairs. The series that shows that children's horror does not have to be cozy, when it could instead be paranoid and atmospheric and disturbing.

Feed by M.T. Anderson. This book came out in 2002 but could have been written last year, all about how advertising is eating the lives of contemporary teens.

Books with many of the plots/structures that make Animorphs good:

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. Thank you @zarohk for recommending this series — it really is the closest to Animorphs I've ever found. A group of teens is camping in the Outback when the alien invasion takes their town, leaving them to decide how much violence they're willing to do in order to try and free their parents.

Endling by Katherine Applegate. Do I cheat by including this? Very well, then I cheat. An unapologetically disturbing premise (an "endling" is the last animal in an otherwise extinct species) gets softened over time by the power of friendship and screwball comedy, without losing sight of the horror.

Die by Kieron Gillen, or The Power Fantasy (Gillen), or The Nice House by the Lake by James Tynon IV. All are comics, not novels, so I'm grouping them at the end. But all have the common thread of "queer found family gradually turns toxic while dealing with dark magical adventures," and all remind me of Animorphs' uplifting yet disturbing codependency between the protagonists.

If other people have recs, please weigh in!

[zarohk]

I just came across this post and it reminded me how I first found out about Tomorrow, When the War Began. It was an accident, as I was looking for books by William Moulton Marston (psychologist who invented the lie detector and the character of Wonder Woman, along with his wife & their mutual partner), audiobooks books narrated by James Marsters (actor who played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, also does good audiobooks), and accidentally found actor James Marsden. Then I got from him to author John Marsden.

Very glad I'm so mediocre at remembering actor names!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

That's amazing. Reminds me of how I stumbled on T. Kingfisher while looking for Stephen King.

[blkdyke-deactivated20230921]

A good video that accurately explains why stud is a term used for black lesbians only, not white, not poc, BLACK

I’m not even going to say please. Respect black identities and labels, they are ours for a reason.

[daddyisatitlenotagender]

Imma need this reblogged by white queer tumblr users since it’s mostly yall who wanna use it or want to know why you or other white people shouldn’t/can’t use the term “stud”

[sanguinewolves]

[video description: a tiktok made by @/callmekellin, responding to a comment that reads “what does being black have to do with being a stud …….”

the person in the video is a fem presenting black person in their car. they say “i love that you asked, lemme give you a little history lesson. full disclaimer, no hate to the commenter, i’m just giving everybody a bit of a debrief! now firstly, let’s talk about where the term stud actually comes from.

back in the days of slavery, when people still used to refer to us as animals, black people that were taller were known to be stronger because they could do more work. so down in the south, they started comparing us to horses. that then coined the term[s] studs for men, and stallions for females. like megan thee stallion. it was really big in the south. to compare us to animals.

but enough about the bleach brigade, let’s actually get back into the history. as you know, or if you don’t know, black women were not able to enter the working class until well into the 1960s. before then, there was a small populous of women that were still working, even though they technically were not supposed to.

‘how was it possible?’ these women would be dressing more masculine—using binders in order to help put down their chests, dressing more in a male form—and because of the fact that most bleach bandits believed that we, as black women, were already masculine, they got away with it. thus coining the term, in the black community, “stud.” because all the dudes knew, but she was one of the guys. so what did it matter?

any time the chlorine community would come up to black people and be like “hey! is that a female working!?” the guys would just save her and be like ‘nah, that’s a stud right there.” it was joke to them because they all knew. but as times changed and slang did too, the black community still keeps it close at heart. and yes, it was rooted in racism, but we’re taking it back for ourselves.

so once again, if you’re not a black, masculine lesbian that wants to be called a stud, you’re not a stud. you’re a masculine lesbian. even a butch if you want to. i hope that explained it!” end video description.]

[creatingblackcharacters]

@kneadbees you asked me about what "stud" meant!

[creatingblackcharacters]

“The Advantages of Being Quiet”- The Policing of Black Emotions

“…amongst the minor nuisances of a West India town, are whistling and singing… Negroes are very fond of these execrable accomplishment- execrable as practiced by them; for as they have stentorian organs of noise… A negro never seems to be happy but when he is yelling and bawling, whistling or singing, and he cannot understand the advantages of quiet.”

-Five Years Residence in the West Indies, Volume II- Charles William Day

Have you heard these things before:

Everyone claims the Black Character is boring... But then suddenly, White Character that is both the fan favorite and canonically nothing like that, suddenly has some extremely familiar qualities...

There will be Black characters- often women- that are close to an MC, but those characters will be ignored for someone irrelevant who receives an entire plot line... Because somehow it wasn’t possible for the Black character to fill that role despite doing so...

Black people are in a public place, and they are laughing. People are uncomfortable because they’re ‘too loud’… but have never once spoken up against loud white people, men in particular, taking up just as much space and sound.

A Black person says their perspective online, speaking from a place of emotion because they are directly affected… and no one listens or shares, worried that it’s ‘too aggressive’ and will cause conflict. But a white person will share that same perspective, in ‘nice words’ or maybe even really obnoxiously, and suddenly that perspective is shareable, understandable… safe.

This really ought not to have been a lesson, that somehow our feelings are not… understandable or acceptable. In a way, it feels extremely demeaning, to have to explain something that is so innately connected with the human experience. Everything that I’ve talked about before is going to apply here, because the truth is, it doesn’t matter how good the writing and characterization is if you aren’t willing or capable of comprehending the characters due to your own pre-existing bias for Black people and our emotions. So if you haven’t read my prior lessons, particularly the stereotype series… roll on back first.

"it's gonna be a long lesson?" Yes. It very much tis.

“The Black character (person) just isn’t relatable!”

People will often claim, with no sense of shame or forethought, that they don’t “relate” to the Black characters “as much”, and they don’t see that on the flip side of that, they do not offer grace or objective understanding for the Black characters “as much”. I shouldn’t have to be the same type of person you are in order to understand you! To even want to understand you!

Not only will they not understand Black characters, but in a misguided effort to interact with Black characters, will project their own biases onto them: they’ll make the Black character something they are not in order to fit what they unconsciously believe Blackness should be. This happens with real Black people as well- the biases don’t come from nowhere!

This includes but is not limited to emotions often associated with this antiblackness: anger, meanness, sneakiness, aggression, hypersexuality, arrogance.

Meanwhile, the emotions we are often really expressing are things we aren’t supposed to be: sad, scared, hurt, offended, threatened, anxious, confused, confident, happy.

Very often, our emotions are perceived as ‘dangerous’. How many times has a Black person dared to speak up against something and been accused of being a ‘bot’, a ‘psyop’, of ‘propaganda’? As if, by having an unfamiliar perspective that conflicts with your comfortable status quo, they must not be someone real- their emotions, their pain, must not be real. It must be a ploy to affect the emotions of the real people that matter, because surely the Black people THEY imagine would not seek to disturb their peace with their reality…

It’s odd, believing the only Black people that are real, are the ones that serve you, and the ones that don’t, aren’t real or are threats. It’s a form of antiblackness that has existed, at least in the US, since the abolition of slavery. A mindset that has been exported globally with the rest of the United States’ hegemony- so yes, it is a common mentality with nonblack people of color globally, to think that Black people are speaking ‘out of their place’.

“Uppity”

If you’ve ever been in a public comment section of literally any Black creator being happy, confident, charismatic, self-respecting, proud of themselves, or even just minding their own business with a smile… You’ll find a range of people who make it a point to be vocally uncomfortable about it. From overt racism to covert yet equally if not more infuriating accusations of ‘bragging’ and even ‘narcissism’. As if I need permission to be happy, that my happiness means someone else is lacking. As if the only way to be appropriate is to have humility for online strangers, despite my successes having nothing to do with your failures.

This is not me saying that arrogance doesn’t happen! This is me saying that a lot of times, what y’all consider arrogance is not because it actually is arrogant, but because you are uncomfortable with our confidence, particularly when we don’t weigh it against your societal approval but against our own.

Think about the quote I posted earlier. West Indian Black people whistling and singing while doing all the labor that white bodies don’t wanna do, and Charles William Day has the audacity to say that their singing is “stentorian” (too loud) and “execrable” (terrible). As if it is an inconvenience to him, to their society, to have to HEAR the Black people whose lives they have captured and enslaved for their own benefit!

An example of this is the “shut up and dribble” situation. During the height of Black Lives Matter, Black athletes were speaking out about injustices towards Black Americans, and this pissed off a LOT of people who expected them to… well, shut the fuck up and dribble. As if their only value was in entertaining audiences, but not to consider their humanity. Because you’re not supposed to be heard!

Another example of this is when Black people aren’t sorry. This is one of my favorite and most commonly used tactics against racists and racism- and it always works. I’ve stopped apologizing for respecting myself, for pointing out when I’ve been mistreated and standing on that, for demanding that I’m the one who deserves respect.

You would not believe how angry that makes a lot of people! If a Black person is not willing to be demeaned or is nonplussed, it throws off the equilibrium. Socially we’ve taught Black people to lower their heads and be non-intimidating for the sake of maintaining order- not peace, order. But at this point, if you’re already intimidated or insulted due to my Blackness, then there’s no point in lowering myself any further!

Consider Afroman’s two trials:

To be clear: Afroman is Black MAGA 😅 this is not to say he is a role model. HOWEVER! This court case showed that as much as he might want to dance for white conservatives, at the end of the day he is Still Black and Still Subject to what that means. Which means, he was supposed to bend the knee and submit here when the police raided his home. Instead, he was not sorry! They tried to LEGALLY- in a court of law- use the embarrassment and tears of the white woman cop who barged into his home illegally and threatened his and his children’s life. And it didn’t work. Not only was he not sorry, but he mocked them- publicly! And won! Despite the on-stand display of white woman tears and white male insecurity… he still won! That’s not the norm, but it goes to show that hurt feelings do not equal violation of rights.

It’s much harder to deal with when it comes to the professional world; unlike people’s bad takes online, not bending your head to microaggressions at work may cost you a job. Once again, it’s why racism is more than hurt feelings- as demeaned as I may feel, when I am in a room where Whiteness is the prevailing mindset, I cannot always risk respect over loss of livelihood.

As an extreme example of this: we’ve discussed the Mammy and the Uncle Tom in prior lessons, so I won’t repeat myself with definitions. But the core part of why these archetypes were so palatable to white people as the standard of Good Blacks is because they were “selfless”. They never questioned authority, they always placed the needs of others over their own, their role was to coddle and comfort Whiteness, to act as though being a slave was the most natural thing they could be to prioritize their owners. Consider what the alternative of not obeying a slave master/mistress was!

“I’ve never seen this before” Yes, you have. If you have never seen it called out, it’s because you haven’t spent a lot of time around Black people that trust you. It reminds me of the time someone said ‘that parents demand respect, but what they mean is authority’. The world expects to have authority over Black expression, and is appalled when we reject that.

“Isn’t That a Stereotype?”

I admit, I am getting a bit exhausted of this question. Not even because I don’t want to encourage curiosity or understanding- I am glad that we’re trying to avoid being racist! But it is tiring to realize that people believe stereotypes are ‘Black people not behaving’, essentially. Of Black people being “bad” and people seeing it. As if antiblack stereotypes are because of Black people and not the racists that came up with them, as if that mindset is not equally as racist.

Black people shouldn’t have to be ‘good’ for you to not treat them as inhuman. When I think of all that villainous and antagonistic white characters in media- why can’t it be like that? Why is it that white people don’t have to defend their entire race every time one of them is violent on screen? Especially when- being honest- people of color have a lot more reason to believe that that white violence is more likely in real life? Why do I have to explain why a Black person doing things on screen is not a reflection of ALL of us?

Anywho, I chose movies that were emotionally charged as low branch examples. All of our stories deserve to be told, but if you can only stomach the easy ones, of course you’ll never realize just how much of the bad you’ve internalized. Can you watch a movie with us (and UNDERSTAND it) in a nuanced light? The way you would expect your own story to be treated and understood?

Moonlight

Y’all want to know about how it might be for a closeted gay Black boy in the hood growing into a closeted young gay Black man, this is certainly an option. For taking us through the journey of a dark-skinned queer Black boy?? And how he grows big and strong but is still quiet and unsure, the way society acts like he cannot be?? Because he’s from the hood?? As if those experiences are mutually exclusive? Masterclass in writing and acting. Beautiful movie all around, all Black cast. It deserved film of the year.

Moonlight is a story that, for all intents and purposes, Tumblr should have loved. Angst, gay, bad parenting and seeking forgiveness, found family and mentorship, discovering sexuality while being in love with the straight best friend, compulsory heterosexuality, the homoeroticism of the trials of boyhood, vengeance on the childhood bully, reconciliation, touch starvation and yearning... Tumblr LOVES these concepts. So why is Moonlight not held as a top standard of this sort of storytelling? How many of you- at least if you're in the United States- have even watched it?

All the moments Little Chiron (pronounced SHY-roan) had with Juan and Teresa, the way he suffered deeply with his own drug-addicted, tormented mother and his peers, his confusion for his sexuality with Kevin. It warms my heart to see Chiron had SOMEBODY willing to show him kindness, in a world that felt like it had none for him. So often little Black children are abandoned to deal with their own emotions because God forbid they have any. It can fester into anger. But the moment he felt safe, he began to open up.

I loved to see how YES, his mentor Juan (Afro-Cuban!!!) is a drug dealer. However, that does not make him a stereotype- you see how he helps the community around him, how he was willing to pick a severely depressed and scared child from inside an abandoned drug den, feed him, and take him in, teach him how to swim, and began teaching him how to self-actualize. They even sat down and had an open, honest conversation about his sexuality when someone called Chiron a f****t. This was all in the first thirty minutes! The movie is two hours!

So… why doesn’t Tumblr love and adore this movie? Why doesn’t anyone see their queer experience in Chiron? Why doesn’t anyone write endless meta? Why don’t Chiron and Kevin have endless coffee AUs and fantasy worlds and canon fix-its (not that I would want any of that)? I can give you a hint, but I’m sure you figured it out.

Precious

TW: incest, sexual assault, parental abuse, ableism

Hard watch. Monique truly portrayed the villain of the year. The novel, Push, was hard too. I didn’t fully understand it as a middle schooler when I read it, but walking in as an adult, I realized quickly it was going to be HARD. Anybody who has had traumatic experience with incest or sexual abuse, this movie probably isn’t for you.

Precious is from the perspective of Claireece, a dark-skinned, fat Black teenager who struggles with writing, spelling, multiple forms of abuse and PTSD, trying to better her life despite the odds. You want to know how to write this kind of story without being stereotypical? Because here’s the thing- a lot of people within the story at the beginning treat Precious like a stereotype, like a statistic. But Precious herself is the voice of her diary! You understand how her reality and mentality is warped due to the life she’s lived! She is the victim! Hers is the voice that is centered! She is not the statistic that they belittle her to be- she’s human!

Within the first ten minutes of the movie, the principal threatens to suspend Claireece for being pregnant with her second child at 16. “Is there something going on at home”- there is OBVIOUSLY something going on at home for this to be a reoccurring situation. Nonetheless, society consistently punishes Claireece for her circumstances. There is always SOMETHING standing in the way- bullies, bills, standardized testing, the social workers, her own parents. Because who would love a fat, dark-skinned, Black girl that can’t read? It must be her fault!

And that is not just something that the story tells us to feel- that is something that people genuinely feel already, reflected by the story! Society consistently lets down its most marginalized, blaming them for ‘badness’, ‘unworthiness’. Does that mean that these stories don’t deserve to be told? Because they are judged as ‘bad’?

Or Precious’ abuse- some Black children have abusive parents!  But her mother is not a bad mother because she’s Black, and that’s the part that we have to be able to separate. We see that there are good Black people throughout this story who are trying, in varying levels, to reach her. Claireece herself wants to be a good mother to her children, no matter how they came about.

To be clear: her mother is a terrible person! Anyone that forces their child to eat, blames them for their own sexual abuse and weight gain, calls the child with Down Syndrome born of that abuse “Mongoloid”, doesn’t even know her own child’s birthday, and even more Truly Unspeakable things- horrible person!! No question!

But if you’re watching this movie with the expectation that that’s how Black mothers are (evil welfare queens and bad mothers), or if you are not taking the time to recognize that it’s she herself that is the problem, then that is all you’ll perceive! Because I can find a long list of evil white mothers- does that mean we should never discuss those stories? That you’re all terrible?

There is still beauty in the story! Her trauma and her circumstances are not all she is- her multicultural friends at the alternative school get along, they show up for her pregnancy, they write stories! She has a good (lesbian!) Black teacher! She’s learning! Her son is born healthy and surrounded with love! She gets her daughter back!

It is not that Claireece was guaranteed to live the life that she had because of who she is, it’s just one story of an infinite amount. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be understood with dignity. Our stories shouldn’t have to be perfect to be told.

A “Universal” Perspective

We read White Tears/Brown Scars in #CBC Book Club, so I won’t go into deep details when you can find the quotes and even read it yourself. In short, it is about the insidiousness of White Womanhood and how it actively contributes to white supremacy throughout history while masquerading as a net benefit for all women. I have said before that I don’t like watching TV and movies with a white woman as the main character anymore. And I know saying that will have me accused of misogyny. However, it works for the example I’m about to explain.

The reality is, I’ve spent my entire life watching things from the perspective of white women. I’ve been told that this perspective is something I need to prioritize as much as my own, that this perspective is a sign of my own power and presence. And frankly, while I have been able to enjoy it, I’ve grown to realize that this perspective is often in conflict with what I have known to be... Well, white women. I have been told my entire life that y’all represent the underdog, the victim, the one that has to rise up above, girl boss girl power. And that makes sense... From a misogyny perspective!

But from a race perspective... the way I see white women portrayed is not the experience that I have had. They are not powerless, they are not the underdog, they are not the one that needs the come up, very often they have been the actual antagonists when it comes to women and people of color! You have not been forced to see my experience the way I have been forced to live through yours. And I don’t enjoy doing that as much anymore, especially when I also have to consider it in real life, the way mine... Won’t be.

And yet, that experience hasn’t stopped me from objectively understanding a white female character when a story is told. I don’t see an image of one ‘bad’ white woman on screen and assume “well, this must be what the expectation for real life white women is”. Because I’ve interacted with real life white women and know they can do and be a whole of things. So why is that mentality not respected in kind? Why is that not something that white and nonblack people can do for us, and our stories?

Literally Policed Emotions

As I explained earlier, one of the most powerful tools in white supremacy’s tool belt was treating our emotions as invalid, as dangerous, as threatening. By constantly making us question our voices, question even using them, it is bullying everyone into being silent about their systemic abuse.

So I asked my Black viewers these questions, and I found a couple interesting patterns amongst the responses. One of them was that a lot of people would claim that they weren’t being policed... Before proceeding to describe the obvious policing of their emotions. And it’s sad, in a way, that it’s so normalized to close oneself up in anticipation of poor treatment that we don’t see that!

“If I don’t do something wrong, this person won’t hit me.” That is a quote of someone being abused, dear! The fear or concern to emote didn’t come from you naturally being afraid- if you were worried about experiencing what others are experiencing for emoting while Black, THAT is a part of being policed!

Just like policing in real life. The police presence isn’t just active, it’s the threat of being harmed. The threat of their existence, of knowing what would happen if you went against ‘the rules’. Of what would happen if they were called. If you walked into a room and knew you wouldn’t be accepted for yourself without conflict and therefore did not try... If you hid who you were to avoid problems… I would call that policing!

For those who are nonblack reading this: knowing that Black people are often hiding their full range of emotions from you… how does that make you feel? Do you want them to show those emotions? Are you willing to accept the discomfort that may come with them expressing them openly? Are you safe?

Offering Grace

When we were playing South of Midnight, I noticed how frustrated with Hazel my husband got during one of the chapters. And to be fair, she was deeply incorrect and willfully blind, and it had devastating consequences! The chapter was meant to be that moment of failure for Hazel, of a deep miscalculation on her end! Every hero is meant to have one!

The thing is... She is a child. She is allowed to be wrong. We are allowed to be wrong in the narrative! Especially Black girls and women, God knows there’s a higher expectation for us to either always be right or let down the entirety of what is “required” for us to be respected. We are expected to carry heavy weight and NEVER express upset with any of it- which, ironically enough, was a major part of Lacey and Laurent’s- Hazel’s mother and her ex- story! Emotions and dealing with them is a major theme of the game!

Disconcerted, I discussed the bias with him. That we have to be willing to allow Black characters to be wrong, to go through the traumas, to lash out, to misunderstand, to go through the messiness of the human experience. We don’t have to like what they do, but we cannot expect them... To never do it.

We especially cannot judge them for doing so on a different level that we do their nonblack counterparts... And that happens a lot! I cannot stand the Precocious White Girl character, where she ends up hurting those she loves thinking she’s in the right, and the narrative, if not outright agreeing, offers her the grace to fix it. Not because she doesn’t deserve the chance, but because I envy the opportunity to do so.

Hazel gets the chance to redeem herself, to grow, to do better in the next chapter, and it was so nice.

But I’m always asking people to remember that the same way everyone else gets to have a moment of weakness, of wrong, of confusion... Allow Black characters, Black people, that grace! Our entire image should not fall apart just because you were- however consciously or not- looking for a reason not to care about us. Stories would be pretty boring if everyone was always happy and always correct all the time! If we only told stories where everyone did everything right, we wouldn’t have a lot of myths, legends, and fairy tales!

Treat People The Way You/They Wanna Be Treated

This first one is one we all learned in like... Second grade. “Golden rule”. The goal was to teach us empathy. And I can tell that, in the Internet age, we are all deeply lacking in it. If you wouldn’t want someone to judge you at your lowest moment- especially when it isn’t a reflection of you, but of your stress in the circumstances- maybe you should take the time to consider that for others.

And no, I’m not saying that the response with every emotion is valid. Obviously not. However, there’s a difference between someone being a horrible person consistently through their actions, and someone having a horrible day and responding poorly, and you thinking this must mean that they are a horrible person. Remember what I said about the stereotypes- is your character an Angry Black Woman, or is she a Black woman that is angry? Because Black women are allowed to be angry! Is your character a Hypersexualized Mandingo, or is he a Black man with a high sexual libido? Because Black men are allowed to like having a lot of sex!

Sometimes they’re not even horrible characters, the crowd just doesn’t like them 😅 and it would be a lot easier if we just SAID that, instead of trying to apply some sort of ‘moral failing’ to them. Especially because that dislike, circling back around, often is held from a place of bias. Anyway, I’m asking you to practice empathy, but more importantly, I’m asking you to practice emotional intelligence towards Black people. Be able to identify your own emotions and recognize when you’re being less gracious towards us. This is a skillset that will benefit you in your life as a whole.

Move to Innocence/Right to Comfort

This section is going to upset a lot of you, and I’m asking you to sit with that discomfort. As a segue from the last section, consider this: how often do you find yourself going “But maybe/but what if they-” when someone mentions something is racist? Or “I’ve never seen this before!”

Why?

Why is your first reaction to counter, or deny, what is happening? Or to stand in awe as if this is so new? Why is it not empathy and an attempt to understand the situation from their perspective? Do you understand how that shows a lack of concern for the Black person, prioritizing your own feelings and that of the person who harmed them?

Move to Innocence: "The term white innocence in the critical race, critical whiteness, and Social Justice literature usually reflects the idea that white people, in that they experience the privilege of dominant racial status in a white-dominant society, are generally naive about the realities of race and racism, particularly in systemic and structural senses. In particular, they are afforded the luxury (deemed a privilege) of not having to engage with race or racism unless they choose to do so intentionally (see also, antiracism). As critical race educator Robin DiAngelo points out (above), white innocence reflects the idea that “racism is not a white problem.”"

I am of the belief that this sort of response is a way to deflect harm from the self. It is not because you care about that person, but because if THEY are racist, it might mean that YOU are racist- if you do or have potentially done this behavior before. And rather than allow that to sit, and then respond with “I will work on changing my behavior”, it is a self-defense mechanism to fight against it, because you are Good and would not do that, and would want someone to defend you if this happened.

The problem here, is that we’re finally showing empathy… for the wrong party! You are pulling out the very skills asked of you to listen to Black voices, to defend those that harm us! This isn’t me saying that Black people can’t be wrong. But if you find yourself fighting against our words far more often than you do standing with us… well, the pattern of actions is not avoidable.

Or sometimes, you get the more well-intentioned but sometimes still damaging “yeah this happened to me as a [some other marginalized identity]”.

Right to Comfort: Essentially the idea that any conversation, particularly about racism, should be done in a way that never makes anyone uncomfortable. Which is not possible, because discussing race is always going to be uncomfortable for someone who doesn’t to discuss it. That white people are entitled to comfort at all times, that if something interferes with that comfort, it must be an attack on their rights. It is a core tenet of why Black emotions and perspective upset everyone.

The response itself is not always a bad thing, and yes, it is done as a way to empathize. But again, I often feel like this is an unconscious tactic to maintain one’s own comfort and place in the conversation that they were not involved in. In order to not feel uncomfortable, to sit with the idea that someone like me harmed you, that I need to make sure that I do not do these things to you and others… it centers that ‘oh, I’ve gone through this similar thing, so I am safe and understand completely’ when that is just… not true. It is not some automatic guarantee of your allyship.

It is so hard to find space to express yourself and your disappointments when it comes to Blackness. Sometimes what we need is the space to be heard, to vent, to be the center of care for once. It’s not a reflection of YOU, or that YOUR experiences don’t matter; it’s just what THEY need. Treat us the way WE want to be treated.

BTW, I know what I’ve cited here is from the perspective of white supremacy, but keep in mind that one doesn’t have to be white to participate in white supremacy. We ALL gotta work on these things! Purposely stopping yourself from making their experience about you and how you feel about it is an action you can take, to practice being a better ally. Sometimes, I would like to be the one that receives care without having to give it back!

Conclusion

Everything you feel, I FEEL! In addition to that, I have to deal with everything else affecting why I am and am not ‘allowed’ to feel! Why would that be hard to understand? Why would that be hard to sympathize with? You might not understand it from a “Black” perspective, but you can understand feelings. You can understand why things would cause joy, cause pain. Do you actually want to, is the question. Do you actually want to understand Black emotions and the Black perspective, at the risk of it conflicting with your own?

If nothing else, this one lesson is the one that guarantees bettering your relationship with Black peers. It is the easiest and most palpable action you can take to make us feel safe around you... To actually CARE and allow us to feel. Because it’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers.