[volcano-week]

Volcano Week is the first full week in February. It's a social media event that sometimes has real-world parallels 🌋

[creekfiend]

as an american with a sociological interest in the culture I live in*, i think it's interesting how much this is discouraged in our society.

when i am interested in learning about and talking about the ways that the specific time & place, material realities (what food is available to when and how readily and why, etc) government policies, the ways those policies and laws are enforced, what institutions run peoples lives and how much influence or choice do the average people have over this, who has power and who doesn't andv why, and so on, shape the culture of a group of people, it's considered fairly normal if it is a culture other than my own, whether far from us in time or space or both. but if I apply those same lenses of cultural Interest to "USAmerican capitalism," (an EXTREMELY specific time and place with a LOT of unique cultural weirdnesses that would be considered extreme or outlandish if they weird used for fictional worldbuilding!!! sociologicaly horrifying & fascinating!) people find it EXTREMELY off-putting. it's very socially discouraged.

it's so socially isolating to see the scaffolding of your reality and have everyone around you insist that there is no scaffolding and this is Just Normal. and the more you DO learn about other times and places and how various societies have organized themselves and run their communities, the absolute plethora of ways humans have organized their communities over the span of our existence as a species, the more you see the scaffolding! the more crazymaking it becomes to move through a world in which everyone requires you to be acting under a shared assumption that the US is just Regular and Neutral society. (it will also make you feel this way about the whole concept of nation states in general)

this is one of the ways in which my autism has lead to my ... having a worldview that's considered radical? I guess? to me, I'm applying analysis to a specific culture within a specific state at a specific time, which is normal and which I enjoy learning about with cultures and societies other than my own. and then seeing the social consequences for applying that analysis to our own culture sort of makes obvious the sinister way we are encouraged to live in this state of cognitive dissonance. and none of these observations are political opinions, but they're Assigned a political label by our society and that political label is considered radical.

*I'm aware there's plenty of other countries in which similar social rules exist. I'm not saying this is unique to the US, I'm just limiting my analysis to the US bc that is where I live and therefore what I have personal experience with.

[creekfiend]

this is part of why those "description of US culture written in the style of western academic sociological report of a Foreign Nation" are never not funny and satisfying. it's the snake eating itself

[creekfiend]

people interpret "curiosity about identifying the ways historical reality has shaped a culture and why things are the way they are" as antisocial behavior in a way that I think they would not necessarily label RUDE, per se, but it is definitely a socially punishable transgression. it's one of those Secret Rules that you don't learn about until you break them. which are always of particular interest to me as an autistic person.

[creekfiend]

& to a degree I think this comes naturally of the process of examining the ways in which my society failed and continues to fail myself and people I care about and... just, so many people. if what happened to me wasn't just a Thing that Needed to Happen due to the Way That I Am, and was in fact the natural outcome of societal systems that are in place, I must also apply that lens to things that happen to other people. I must also learn about the other ways these systems result in harm. having people examine this kind of thing critically is innately destabilizing to the state, and THIS is why white america worked SO HARD to redefine & defang the concept of wokeness to render it less threatening to the state; it was coined to describe this exact process and way of looking at reality.

[yr-tiktok-mom]

[syrnyj]

[summer-fruits-and-cream]

[mclennonyaoi]

i like the concept of sabrina carpenter being femcel music to someone .

[petefoxshend-deactivated2018062]

“Big Pharma” okay are we talking about how privatization and monetization has deeply corrupted the field of medicine or are you talking about how you think chemicals in the water are making the frogs gay

[greyramblings]

“GMOs”? Are we talking seeds that grow sterile plants and patenting genetic modifications then destroying any competition no matter how small they are? Or are we talking life saving rice with vitamin a to make sure kids don’t go blind in regions not suited for other high vit a veg? … or are we talking about your chidoodle?

[thefabelmans2022]

just came across a guy on tiktok who is doing something cringe every day for lent to increase humility. this is true christianity.

[fremulon]

call me a patron of the ass library the way I'm checking out that butt

[curlicuecal]

So!

We were taking some boxes of leftovers home from a local grill and my mom went up to ask the cashier for a sack to put them in. The cashier became very confused, and, after some back and forth, finally said "oh! a bag!" and got Mom the plastic grocery bag she wanted.

My mom thanked her and asked, "what does 'sack' mean to you?"

And the cashier said "Like a potato sack." (By which I assume she means burlap?)

So now I'm curious.

What do you call this?

Either a bag or a sack

Only a bag

Only a sack

Never bag OR sack (tell me in the tags?)

Voting ended onMar 14

[curlicuecal]

the results of this poll have been so interesting to me! I'm really enjoying the comments. Lots of people who would only call this a bag, but also a minority of people that would use both (maybe a regional thing?). And variation in whether peo0le would be confused by the use of sack.

Someone pointed out the term "un sac" is used for bag in french. Someone else pointed out the term "sack lunch", or ocassionally "sack of groceries", and another person said they would call the brown paper grocery containers a sack, and the plastic containers with handles a bag. But also I found someone else saying they worked at a grocery store in Dallas, Texas, and had had more than one customer who would use bag specifically to refer to th brown paper and sack for plastic!

Language is fascinating!

[wiigiwaamcore]

Opinions: is Gothic literature inherently colonial?

What I actually want to ask is somewhat less obnoxious and polarizing than that but I am not sure how to phrase it. I saw this posted today:

And I’m just thinking about how much of gothic literature feels really deeply rooted in European colonial neuroses…but also I know there is a flourishing Native horror scene which may have overlap with the gothic? I’m very much not the person to evaluate this so interested in the thoughts of people more into this world of literature!

[wiigiwaamcore]

okay I am going to attempt to explain a little more of what I'm thinking about specifically here.

I guess what I'm wondering is not exactly is Gothic literature "inherently colonial" but rather, could you truly "Indigenize" Gothic literature? As multiple people have pointed out, it's very rooted in the fear of the Other (as perceived in whatever given period the story was written). I'm not going to say there is no "precolonial" Indigenous fear of the Other, but some of the aspects of how that fear looks in Gothic lit are very particular. Specifically I'm thinking of the frequent featuring of ruins and settings tied to the past and the ideas of decay as well as the general Romantic era ideas of madness, mysticism, etc in contrast to rationality.

I think there's definitely decolonial Indigenous takes on these aspects of Gothic lit, often by sort of turning the perspective around on the colonizer. But I was struck by this list in particular because I was doing a little thought experiment like, if you chose an appropriately Indigenous symbol from each of these categories, would it add up to an Indigenous Gothic story? I'm not actually sure, because the social valence of so many of these things are different in Indigenous cultures. Like okay, meteorological, we could have mist and storms and darkness (though even those things have different meanings in Indigenous cultures, especially thunder) but then I hit the topological list and I'm immediately brought up short by "impenetrable" forests and "inaccessible" mountains. Those are not the associations I have with forests and mountains in my own cultures! Forests aren't dark or scary or impenetrable, they're places where we make maple sugar every spring or where we go to fast for ceremonial purposes.

The thought that initially inspired this entire random idea was me wondering if you could set a Gothic story around an ancestral Indigenous earthwork site rather than like a European castle or Greco-Roman ruins. And I'm still working through that specifically bc I think there are different ways that could go. There's certainly a colonial version (basically the "Indian burial ground" trope) and probably a decolonial version you could write (taking a more critical or Indigenous-centric perspective on colonization of ancestral sites). But could you write a Gothic story about a 15th century person from the Illinois tribe encountering the ruins of the city of Cahokia? I'm not sure what that would look like or if it would make any sense.

there's also a whole convo about Indigenous storytelling traditions and spirit beings that evoke similar feelings to horror, the being that starts with a w, and the flying skeleton beings to give two examples from my cultures....but I feel like that's a whole other can of worms to open up.

[genderkoolaid]

if i never hear another person talk about the prefrontal cortex it will be too soon

[genderkoolaid]

its incredible how for centuries we have been able to talk about the follies of youth and how people may make decisions when they are young that are informed by inexperience (in the subject matter, in relationships, in communication, in navigating emotions, etc.) and that needs to be taken into account. without making it a whole thing about how if you are under 25 you are basically brain damaged.

and its crazy how many people will be like yeah the rise of fascism is so scary, so many people are at risk of losing their autonomy, the government really wants to expand its control over us and how we act and think, we're probably gonna see a rise in eugenics..... btw did you know that teens and young adults are basically biologically incapable of critical thinking. i love being immune to propaganda :)

[zinziinziiin]

[alwayswasalwayswillbeourland]

Happy Bunuru everyone

[bogleech]

Hey so I still see people utterly baffled by how religious fundies (still a majority in America and moreso its senate) react on certain issues so uhhh is it actually not common knowledge what the antichrist is all about? You guys know his defining characteristic is ending war, right? That he’s foretold to unite the world under his leadership by preaching global peace and solving basically every single problem in the world? So you know when you try to talk to these people about equality and togetherness they literally believe that’s what makes you an agent of the devil right???

[parfstar]

im sorry what.  so.  ok im assuming they think that this is all like.  to gain trust and then take over or something?  because.

[bogleech]

Yes, he’s called the “antichrist” because he’s an imposter Jesus and the majority of the world will love him when he ends all class divides and erases all borders, creating one world government with him at the top. That’s the “new world order” they’re terrified of. But they think he’ll oppress true Christian believers who see through his ruse, which is why they’re constantly looking for signs that they’re being discriminated against and panic when they lose any control over government. This is why they fear diversity, immigration, socialized anything. The less religious right are pretty clearly still running on the same logic; they might drop some of the spiritual lore but this is where they get the idea that all progressivism leads to the “real” fascism. Some believe the antichrist isn’t a literal person either but just that entire set of beliefs, so everyone protesting against war and trying to feed the hungry is a *collective* antichrist.

[bogleech]

So from the notes it turns out people are MUCH less familiar with all this than I suspected and that’s honestly kind of alarming, guys, you should really really pay attention to things that affect so much of this country. No these are absolutely not obscure or fringe beliefs, these are MAINSTREAM with megachurches, Trump voters, the GOP and a vast proportion of the wealthy. Alex Jones and multiple Fox News hosts openly believe word for word what I described here.

And yeah as several people pointed out it isn’t even explicitly in the bible, but something some radicals pieced together in maybe only the last century. My uncles all believe it to the letter and they all believe it’s what the Bible is “supposed” to be communicating.

A lot of people are also confused as to why they would believe the peace and unity are villainous things and what the difference even is then between the “antichrist” and actual Jesus, which brings me to another thing I realize some folks CRITICALLY overlook about American Christianity, which is that they do not believe in good or bad deeds. They believe the same deed can be right or wrong strictly according to whether or not it’s performed by a believer with God’s stamp of approval. Like, they KNOW the Satanic Church and Witch Covens do community service or donate to cancer research and they are not confused, surprised, bitter or embarrassed by that at all. It’s exactly what they’re taught to expect. They believe the forces of Satan do primarily “good” things so people will think he’s just as good or better than God. So if a pastor heals a sick child with a prayer then that’s good, but if a “witch” heals the same sick child with “magic” (not something I believe exists, but they do) then that’s a false miracle from the devil and the child was better off dying because now everyone involved is a sinner who deserves hell. They’re taught to view you as a ridiculous fool if you don’t grasp this difference, and every single argument you might make is a part of the satanic trickery.

After all, they think our entire existence on this Earth is an insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things. The suffering in the world isn’t a bug to them, but a feature that God set up to test everyone’s worthiness, teach them lessons and filter out the faithless, so they actively do not believe it’s always morally right in itself to help people or save lives. Rather, certain people are just intended to suffer and die and it can be MORE wrong to help them.

[bogleech]

Sorry to put this big ass thing on your dashboards again but I’m downright awestruck by the notes. There’s 15,500 of them at the time of this reblog and almost zero disagreement, just hundreds of people expressing absolute terror that they didn’t realize they were living under the thumb of a doomsday cult, and I’m really really sorry for that because I really did not expect to be the bearer of that news to so many. If you haven’t looked at the notes for yourself though, they’re pretty eye opening even to me, especially the next most common type of response on it:

….And something I’ve heard before but still neglected to mention:

…..so that’s all pretty nightmarish confirmation of how pervasive this mindset is around here, but you know, if the majority of reactions to this information have been either “what the fuck are you talking about?” or “yeah I WAS taught this and I’m better now,” maybe that’s a sign that it’s slowly but consistently fading with every generation?

I actually wasn’t raised religious AT ALL, and it was still impossible for me to not hear this shit constantly in the 80′s and 90′s from basically everyone outside my immediate family. It’d even crop up on television and radio stations that weren’t even supposed to be christian-oriented. Just boom, there’s an evangelist suddenly talking about how Only God is Allowed to End War and Satan Takes the Form of Kindness, like these were just normal banal perspectives to toss in between a relationship advice segment and the latest movie reviews. I’m really proud of every person saying they escaped from that indoctrination and actually feel much better and more hopeful about the whole thing. It might not be fixed completely in our lifetimes but clearly it is fixable.

[bogleech]

Bringing back my most viral post because:

[redhairandpronouns]

transandrophobes act like "trans" and "man" are two separate modifiers where "trans" (oppressed) and "man" (privileged) cancel out (or somehow "man" is the stronger modifier and makes the entire identity privileged) when in reality you cannot separate your gender from [checks notes] your gender

[bedupolker]

its funny how nearly everyone in Washington hates Starbucks. Do you think Starbucks is a little jealous that Massachusetts loves dunkin so much. Like they've conquered the nation but they failed to make their homeland proud. Maybe it was all the union busting or maybe their drinks just taste kinda ass for what you pay for them, idk.

[monkeyislandtwo]

i think "[sic]" is one of the funniest things of literature. like yeah this guy really wrote it out like that

[legendaryvermin]

For the uninitiated, you write [sic]—literally "this" or "so" in latin—to indicate that you haven't altered the wording or spelling. While it can be used to preserve a joke misspelling (aminals) or indicate that you know it looks weird (the Toronto Maple Leafs), it is also the most biting three letters that you can throw at a motherfucker who should know better.

[marlynnofmany]

Somebody made an error here and it sure wasn't me (derogatory)

[grubarchived]

i see a lot of art filled with plants, like, in the american art scene there seems to be a kind of general movement towards and appreciation of ruined structures being overtaken by nature. offices full of dead computers and leaves. walls with ivy. old factories crawling with new growth. a symbol of degrowth, of new futures that devour and reject colonial modernism, of a refutation of the tyranny over land. it's a nice sentiment.

but consistently im noticing something odd, which is that over and over the plants depicted in art are very familiar -- they're houseplants. pothos. monstera. calathea. zamioculcas. plants growing in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong climate, a mishmash of unrelated folks with far-flung origins symbolizing "natural" retaking of the modern world.

plants, specifically, that are directly tied to the legacy of colonialism. from northern africa. from southern america. from india. plants that were collected as curios during periods of direct imperialism. plants kept as trophies, plants sold at high prices. plants that are "exotic". that are beautiful. that are high-value. plants whose people got no payment for their capture.

they're the plants people in american colonial territory, who lack access to native plant community, see most often -- that is, other than "weeds". and so when these artists reach for the pure idea of plant, the concept of nature, these plants are their only blueprint. dragging with them all of the baggage of hundreds of years of empire.

it's incredible how much this changes the messaging of the image. dreams of ecological participation stained with a creeping theme of alienation from their native biosphere. the thumbprint of colonialism, clear as day. a hopeful vision of the future, kneecapped by its own symbology. hundreds of individual artists so alienated from their own ecosystems that even their fantasy of participation with nature is inextricable from colonialist trophies. trying to imagine reclaiming the world.

[realjohnnytruant-deactivated202]

more trans man tops. more trans men being called daddy. more trans men gym rats. more phalloplasties. more diy hrt. more high protein diets. more body hair, more muscle mass, more boxy clothing. more dick pumping. more trans men in leather. more trans men being animalistic and sadistic and dirty and mean during sex. more het t4t porn.