For two years, war interrupted my education and future plans.
Despite everything, I completed my Bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Engineering and continued supporting students through educational initiatives in Gaza.
Today, I am taking the first step toward my Master's degree.
🎯 Goal: $300
⏳ Deadline: 6 Days
This amount will help cover university application fees and the first steps toward graduate studies.
Missing these deadlines could mean postponing my dream for another year.
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Every dollar brings me closer to continuing my education and helping others through it.
There are only two days left to register for graduate studies at the university, and I still need an additional $170 to register. It's a simple goal, and I'm trying to achieve it today: to give a student from Gaza the opportunity to register for graduate studies and secure my future!
Today is the last day to achieve this goal of paying the seat reservation fee for my graduate studies. I'm afraid that $170 will prevent me from reserving my seat!!
I have 6 hours left to secure my place for the Master's program, and I haven't been able to raise the required amount of $300. I've only managed to collect $150, which means half the amount has been raised, and I'm now struggling to get the other half!
The deadline has passed and I haven't achieved my goal. After all this effort, I couldn't reach $300. I was prevented from registering for the Masters program because of this meager amount!!
And you all disgusting ranches waste of oxygen mayonise rats “””analysising””” “isnt she lovely” to be proof of jax being transfem desereve to go to hell. You all are why Black people feel unsafe in white queer spaces. No “isnt she lovely isnt she wonderful” isnt about your stupid fucking rabbit who fantasies about sexually harrassing women being transfem. Its about a Black father expirencing joy at his newborn daughter.
You all love to use Black trans women’s death to invalidate trans men’s struggles & constantly talk about cishets “stealing from queer culture” yet when turn around and steal from Black culture.
“Birth is a metaphor for being trans” so why cant you use a song created by a white person-oh i know why cause you hate seeing Black people have ANYTHING for themselves no actually “isnt she lovely” has to now be about a white woman’s self insert who sexually harasses a brown woman and fantasizes about a Black trans person’s girlfriend dying’s gender journey we cannot let this song be about Black joy no it has to include everyone/sarcasim
Gooseworx has been racist towards black/mixed people. Also sexist towards women. So yeah. I am mad. I don't support her anymore. All the female characters were used for in tadc was to get made fun of or harassed. The black/mixed characters never got a name drop or backstory.
None of this is spoilers in case you are wondering.
Jax was sexually harassing Gangle since episode 2. Zooble existed as a joke and nothing else. Pomni was used to give Jax character development, same for Ribbit. Queenie never got a name drop in the show and existed for Kinger's character development.
Ragatha also existed for Jax's character development along with Gangle. I have every right to be upset about this.
Edit: Queenie's real name may have been revealed if you wanted to pause and find it. But even then it shows Goose didn't care to make her name known. Just threw it in there because she is Kinger's wife. We knew Queenie since ep 3 and Ribbit got a name drop in ep 7 before we knew how important she truly was.
Queenie is also canonically black, it is not just the voice.
has anyone in glitch productions ever even made a Black and Brown character. like. as a main character ON PURPOSE? Like genuinely has anyone like actually tried for diversity with glitch or is it all just white.
I feel like it’s harder for people to have a more realistic reflection of Steven universe, that it wasn’t a perfect show and some criticism towards it are valid, is because of the more reactionary bad faith criticism SU got when it was airing (the Lily orchard video, or ppl implying that Rebecca Sugar is a creep for inducing queer themes in the show, and ppl who misunderstood fusing as a sex thing). As a result of that, it feels like former fans or fans in general need to defend the show at all costs regardless of how they personally feel about it because either it was an important part of their life, or they don’t understand people’s actual criticism of the show and they simply brush it off as them being hateful.
I’m well aware, this phenomenon happens every single time.
The story is always told as criticism as a whole was shut down because a few bad apples spoiled the batch. There will always be people that criticize things for less than sincere reasons, this will increase as the subject matter strays even further from conventional norms, that should not invalidate valid criticism.
Even now in the Digital Circus fandom, many fans are shutting down the valid criticism of those discussing the show’s racist and bigoted thought patterns, and they’re being drowned out people who want to be misogynistic towards Gooseworx. Then those stories are propped up, and once again this whole mess gets rewritten as completely invalid. If you tried to criticize Steven Universe back then, people would just say you’re an adult thinking too hard about kid’s media and also that there is no racial coding to the gems.
The cute quirky posts floating around aren’t just people being silly, it’s a direct attack on those who felt rightfully uncomfortable watching the themes of the show be discussed. The messaging was pretty blatant, and no just because white queers were able to find solace in the characters does not mean that the rest of the queer community felt the same. Their inability to sympathize with experiences outside of their own is the crux of the whole problem. This need to defend material that served so many an injustice is exactly what I can’t stand about that crowd.
I think the recent racism discourse in the tadc fandom perfectly exemplifies how many "leftist" spaces are actually very conservative in practice and that it largely in part due to black-and-white-thinking as well as (mainly white) people's resistance to true intersectionality because they overly prioritize comfort and are thus unwilling to question their own racist programming.
Like you can actually decide for yourself how the creators' past racist transgressions (that have affected black people) should dictate your enjoyment of the show without dismissing and shutting down black people's voices in the process-- and you should stand by your choices regardless of what you think people may insist it says about you, as long as you believe you've given it serious thought and consideration through an empathetic and informed lens.
However, if your attachment to the show and your own comfort takes priority over real people's real issues, then I fear you are part of the exact problem you insist isn't real. It is a racist micro-aggression to tell black people what they should or shouldn't feel hurt by and then shame them for bringing attention to it, just because it makes you feel like a bad person by association. Point blank period.
We need to question our knee-jerk reaction to defend ourselves as non-racists in the context of racism that doesn't affect us, always, and we also need to learn how to take a step back while we let those affected take center stage as we listen and reflect on ourselves before we decide to share our opinions about it-- lest we continue the cycle of exclusionary bigotry, even if it seems minor in the grand scheme of things.
I'm not here to tell anyone what to think, do, or say. I'm not even gonna share what I've chosen to do as of now. That's still up to you at the end of the day, but I do think it was worth bringing up because I found the "backslash of the backlash" to be very disappointing, albeit not surprising, and I encourage you to reflect on it as dismissing it and holding no room for nuance is unfortunately very telling.
too many people have the idea that racism is a nothingburger thing. like. people die from that. it’s not “cancel culture” to call out racism. and if you’re white and you say anything close to that you have some serious self-reflecting to do. idc if you’re a content creator. idc if “it could happen to you.” having a platform on the internet and saying stupid bullshit doesn’t make you more oppressed than the marginalized groups you’re criticizing for being upset
Goose leaves TADC's cast and world so underdeveloped. We learn that Scratch intended to make a brain scanner, that the circus residents are brain scans, that you can access the minds of abstractions through physical contact, and about the cast’s real selves through a social media slideshow.
Instead of spending 36 minutes on Jax's angst, Goose could’ve shown us more of the cast's pasts as a whole and about Scratch, the first abstraction, whom Caine possibly modified. The finale reveals nothing about C&A, such as what happened to the company and their plans with Caine and the circus, which somehow still runs, implying someone maintains it, or else everything would’ve permanently fallen apart. If Goose hadn’t made the blue AI the source of Caine’s problems, his glitching and aggressive behavior could’ve caused by decaying software instead. Rather than having the cast try to reverse abstraction, Goose turns the abstractions into aquarium exhibits. We also never learn what Jax meant by people being "unpleasant" before abstraction because Ribbit and Kaufmo isolated themselves before they went.
Goose leaves certain situations unresolved, sweeping them under the rug. In episode 4, Gangle confesses to Pomni that it’s difficult to determine when Ragatha is sincere, but the show never elaborates further on this situation. In episode 6, Ragatha claims Jax is “corrupting” Pomni and Gangle tells Zooble how afraid she is of Jax and how his abuse dehumanizes her, yet Goose never expands on either of these issues.
Goose leaves multiple questions unanswered and problems unresolved, which makes it feel pointless to introduce in the first place.
Caretaker, mother, teacher, lover. I am put into this role consistently in relationships with white people, platonic or romantic. Their attraction to me conflicts with their racist passes and unconscious biases. I am a representation of their attraction and guilt.
We can bond and talk and all of a sudden a confession slips from their lips. The conversation turns dark and the air turns cold. Now we’re in a confession booth where I’m forced to be a Priest. I’m no longer a friend or partner; I’m a vessel to seek forgiveness from.
I coddle them and hold their emotions like they’re a delicate baby bird. Caretaking. I comfort them and deliver physical affection to break the tension. Mother. I walk them through, step by step, why what they did was wrong to break through those embedded mental pathways. Teacher. I love them unconditionally to preserve the relationship and fulfill my role for them. Lover
I prioritize the white guilt to placate them. Who knows their reaction to being challenged raw with no sugar coating? To the other party, it’s like having sandpaper scraping your skin when you meet a Black woman when you have the past you do. Attraction clashes with what you once knew and believed. She isn’t a potential love interest: she’s your reckoning.
Her place in your life is a reminder of all you’ve done wrong. You want to correct it, you need to. It’s gnawing away at your core. But we all know the saying about bad habits and hard to break, right?
She becomes your dumping ground for your sins. You can confess and confess, praying her forgiveness alone will wipe you of your guilt and the trauma you’ve inflicted onto others. This is your Act of Contrition.
My constant role, no matter what I do or try to wiggle away from, is to be a Saint. My feelings don’t matter, my own history doesn’t matter. It’s the same cycle. The same words. “My environment,” or “my parents”. “My friends,” or “the alt right pipeline”. You hold their woes and lose your identity in becoming their sick version of a Priest for racial confessions.
I’m sick of the confessions. I have to hold your heart and tears in my weary hands while I tremble in front of you. From your eyes, I’m a chance to right your wrongs. A stepping stone. A fresh start. I take the racial abuse or hold your past of it and absorb it all for you, so you can transform into the “you” you long to be. From my perspective, I’m exhausted and terrified like a doe in the woods.
Right back to where I once was, playing multiple roles at once, fulfilling multiple purposes. Eye to the barrel and feet clenching the ground. My reaction determines how we will see each other, how your psyche will hold. I am a deer in front of your shotgun. I have to talk you down to spare me. I could be met with vitriol or a breakdown from standing my ground.
But if I’m kind, if I’m kind we all go back to normal. The only one left with a shaken nervous system is me.
Caretaker, mother, teacher, lover. The same four roles with only two options for me to choose at the crossroads. Sugarcoat or lay it plain. Why do I have to choose? The burden is always on me, me, me. The Black woman, the one who is strong enough to carry your sorrows and reform you.
You take on the weight of their burden and, and you become an object to resist deflection or aggression. You learned this. You mastered this. How much more mental stress could you take, honestly? None, and you know this.
It’s easier to forgive and avoid long lessons that lead to dead ends. But you never forget, do you? It stays and sticks to your back like an itch that grows deeper and deeper until it hits the bone.
You ruminate and think of the words that should’ve been spoken but were caught under the ball in your throat. You’re a coward, you tell yourself. It happened again, you think. You told yourself to change and you still didn’t. You haven’t.
Not trying to say that this is the exact same situation at all or that it's worse because it's not, but the TADC fans invading the comment section for "Isn't She Lovely" and people being rightfully annoyed by that reminds me of my annoyance with Dispatch fans invading the comment section for Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" song. Of course people have to make a song whose message was about how women are multifaceted and neither inherently good or evil about "haha funny Flame Guy sings about how Robert's a loser and has a tiny penis." I think I saw some people say they didn't even know it was an actual song before Flamebae sang his own version. Like man, my song knowledge isn't really the best and I even knew this song was a thing because I heard it on the radio.
It’s a common occurrence that seems to happen within fandom, and it all largely seems to stem from the same two reasons: racism and/or misogyny.
This reminds me too of that infamous Homestuck parody “You Can’t Stop The Homestuck” being a revision of “We Didn’t Start The Fire”. To hear a song that is (especially so relevant in this day and age) able to discuss the problem with indifference and how lack of empathy leads to so many atrocities…and apply it to a shitty webcomic is so absurd.
It’s ironic too, given the fact that most avid Homestuck fans carry the exact attitude the song is critiquing.
There's something super insidious about Jax and Gangle's dynamic where before episode 9 it's just... sad. Gangle is continuously and aggressively threatened, bullied, mocked, and injured by Jax and no one else really says much (until it becomes important to the narrative to do so). Jax has an offhand comment of "do you think it's possible for Gangle to be happy? [...] what? She likes it when I'm mean to her!" + paired with him saying "we're always in teams together!" after Gangle doesn't join him in the gun episode.
Now that we know Jax literally named Gangle (and did so in a demeaning way) AND has some strange psychosexual fascination(???) with Gangle it recontextualizes some of his early behaviour around her.
He seemingly wants her to feel as if she has some level of power/control/influence (and/or masking?) only so he can come in and displace that and, I guess, have sex with her only in that sort of dynamic?
Plus him somehow thinking of Zooble in an almost villainous light because they care about Gangle so Gangle has more people in her life than just him...? He seems to have completely isolated her and taken great joy in how no one truly stopped him from being around her and bullying her, and given his reaction to Zooble bringing up sex I.... hesitate to say that if sex was possible in the circus, he wouldn't aim to have a very toxic/unhealthy relationship with her.
Also another note but holy fuck I've seen people justifying Jax's misogyny as proof of him being transfem or part of the transfem experience and that??? Sounds??? Horrible??? I could more greatly understand a trans man hating men before coming out (experiencing oppression and the idea of "betraying women" that is pushed by some groups) but the idea that it is somehow ""natural"" for transwomen to hate women feels incredibly transphobic and gross to me, especially when paired with "you're being transphobic if you're against it"?
Not sure the best way to word it, but it frames masculinity as being inherently dangerous and femininity as being some sort of magical cure-all to being a bad person or making choices that hurt others, and also frames it as "if Jax ACTUSLLY transition he'd be perfect :)" <- it doesn't matter if he is or isn't trans, and it's always cool to get more rep! Rep doesn't have to be inherently of "good morally right" characters too, but for people to tie his moral failing to his potential transness makes the message far messier and.... more uncomfortable than it should be.
He is the way he is because of a cisheteranormative society and trauma, not from being trans?? I don't know if that makes sense, but considering his weird dynamic and near obsession with Gangle / keeping Gangle "subservient" to him, how Pomni literally revolved around him and Ribbit abstracted because of him (and Ragatha only partially not falling into that role), I just struggle to see why people want to excuse his behaviour as being part of the trans experience??? All it does is reinforce transphobic stereotypes and backs up the idea that transwomen are dangerous to cis women, or will use (I don't want to type this because the logic is gross but I feel should be brought up here) ""their access to masculinity/patriarchy against cis women"". If any of that makes sense?
AND THEN HEY!! WE HAVE A CANON TRANS CHARACTER IN THE SHOW!! ZOOBLE!! Who gots lumped in to ""the girls"" by Jax repeatedly and has their nonbinary-ness be expressed by.... standing up to Jax? They do have body dysphoria and that's great to see on screen, but so much is off screen or we're told it happens and apparently that just isn't the "good interesting proper trans representation everyone wants". Also so many people ignoring them being trans because "he they're basically afab".
TADC is just a mess when it comes to representation and has a truly baffling concept of gender. Kinger basically exists as a genderless being because he's too "insane" half the time to be brought into the mess that is gender in the show.
Also there's so much ableism too?? Everything around Kinger and Gangle and Caine too. Plus there's also Pomni's whole "you need me to fix you!" shit in ep 9 with Jax that was such a massive red flag, like holy fuck she's happy to be friends with someone that's driven others to suicide and she watches bullies and assaults others but she just needs to fix him! Because????? No one else is good enough??? She has no empathy and is selfish and I hate how much people talk about her being the pinnacle of goodness and morals and empathy
She and Kinger only have moments because for some reason literally no one else has been in the dark with him?? Ragatha in episode 1 because circumstance forced her to be, same with Gummigoo. Her moment with Gangle she's visually uncomfortable and immediately says "talk to someone else" and standsby or finds it amusing when Jax goes after her. She gets mad at Ragatha expressing her emotions at Jax when Pomni literally told her to do so?? And her distraction with Caine was essentially "we'll all kill ourselves rather than be around you!!!" which like?? Holy fuck man you can dislike or hate someone without going after their worst insecurities and being so cruel. Everything between her and Kinger in ep 9 felt like pandering and the show TELLING us that she's this good awesome amazing empathetic person but... do we see this?? How much is Pomni thought to be empathetic just because we are TOLD that she is?
TADC had such an issue with telling or saying things and thinking "well! Someone said this happened so that's that. Nothing else to cover" when that's just blatant bad storytelling. The show revolves so much around Jax yet he does nothing to build intrigue or stakes or show any level of growing or changing as a person. His biggest ""growth"" is a scene that happens years ago and he canonically gets more aggressive and cruel after that. Plus women literally existing only for him to abuse, because what else can we say defines Ribbit or Gangle or Pomni or even Ragatha or even honestly Zooble (though not a women he views them as one in a way) beyond their dynamic with Jax??
Somehow they didn't even make his death satisfying!!! He never showed remorse or regret or any sign that he could change. He just cries and says he doesn't want to die. The fact his abstracted form is treated with kore kindness and caring than Queenie?? It's insane and the show just screams that Gooseworx has serious issues when it comes to writing and even just thinking about other women. Jax being her stand in has grown increasingly more concerning the more you watch ep 9. What is she trying to even say??
Also thank you for creating a space here where it is safe to talk about TADC genuinely!!
I don’t think I could add anymore to this, it’s a damn good summary. Happy to provide a safe space!
so this is a racist serial killer who murdered multiple black children in the movie nickel boys, a movie partially about what black kids in reform schools had to do to survive this man and men like him
romaincrisis
vaporwave
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
germansingergirl
kaledo-art
