Maddi!

"I have a lot of feelings about a lot of things"

[queeranarchism]

"The US could stop the genocide in Gaza tomorrow!" Yes. As the biggest weapons supplier, the US could stop the genocide. But so could the EU, and that's not getting enough attention.

Israel's economy couldn't survive without the EU, not even for a short time. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner and the biggest investor in Israel (nearly twice as big as the United States) and the EU is the main destination for Israeli investment.

Firm economic sanctions by the EU would not be some long term pressure builder, they would have immediate effect. The EU could stop the genocide in Gaza tomorrow. They choose not to.

[queeranarchism]

Let's also name the most complicit countries by name!

Biggest weapons exports to Israel: 1. US 2. Germany 3. Italy 4. UK

Biggest financial investors in Israel 1. The Netherlands 2. The US 3. Luxembourg 4. Germany

Biggest receivers of Israeli investments: 1. The Netherlands 2. The US 3. Cyprus 4. Germany

Biggest importers of Israeli goods: 1. US 2. Germany 3. Italy 4. The Netherlands

Biggest exporters of goods to Israel: 1. US 2. China 3. Ireland 4. Germany

Any of these countries could make a massive difference even without full EU consensus. A fucking tiny country like the Netherlands has 43% of ALL foreign investor capital in Israel. Luxemburg has 7%. If they cut those ties, that would do so much.

[adult-life-fan-club]

FUCK ISRAEL

[queeranarchism]

#is this all cuz of the fucking bible?#Israel has no high profit exports#do they?#is everyone sucking their dick#because of location and biblical references?

It's not the bible, at least not in the way it is in the US. The kind of christian zionists that believe all jews must return to the holy land in order for Christ to return, are not a significant group in most countries here. Other reasons are:

Location. Israel is a military base for the US-Europe-etc. alliance to do their wars in the middle east and control access to oil, vital shipping-routes, etc.

Mutual interest. Israel has worked hard to make itself indispensable to Europe's security, particularly it's intelligence apparatus. A lot of the best software to hack your enemies and to prevent getting hacked comes from Israel. Upset Israel too much, and you can lose access to that stuff.

Not wanting to upset European relations with the US. This is particularly obvious for Ireland, where the vast majority of the electorate hates Israel but the elected are happy to ignore that and continue kissing US' ass because their economy depends on it.

Not wanting to upset relations with Germany, where the political class has brainwashed itself into thinking that Holocaust guilt demands that they follow Israel right into the next genocide.

Propaganda. European politicians are not immune to it and Israel spends a lot of resources lobbying to European politicians and journalists. They've been absurdly succesful in Germany, but they have had some success everywhere.

Filtering through smear campaigns and funding. Every European country has their own version of AIPAC, which for decades now have been promoting pro-Israel politicians and journalists while undermining the careers of politicians and journalists who are critical of Israel. In the Netherlands they're called the CIDI. For a long time, if the CIDI hated you, your political career was basically over. So it's not weird that our national politics has very few people who are willing to criticize Israel, they were filtered out before they became big enough to enter the national level.

The weight of each factor will differ from country to country, and some will have other factors unique to them.

[queeranarchism]

I want the zionists on this post to know that you are currently outnumbered 3 to 6.458. You are losing support everywhere. My 85 year old grandma who has voted christian conservative all her life, goes out to protest against the genocide now.

Zionist politicians and media are trying to push back the inevitable but society is changing everywhere. The dam will break, the safety that you feel now as you defend a genocide will fall away and very few people will ever forgive you for the blood that will forever cling to your hands.

[swiftiesbuddie]

i think buck deserved to be the one to break up with tommy

and tommy’s bigotry deserved to be addressed

[adurot]

I have just learned that Mountain Goats are NOT, in fact, actual Goats.

[adurot]

I have never heard of this band. I AM in fact referring to the animal.

[adurot]

But wait, there’s more!

[adurot]

[islandoforder]

i miss my emotional support 22 million killer bees :(

[whos-satan-now]

This is freaking me out

[heartclef]

Donate to Vegetables, food, and water for Palestinian families, organized by Barbara Marques

In 2018, a group of volunteering students launched a charitable c… Barbara Marques needs your support for Vegetables, food, and water for Pa

[finalgirlabigailhobbs]

€330,653 raised of €350,000 goal!!!

this group distributes food, vegetables, and other cooking supplies as well as everyday essentials (clothes, water, medicine) to families in North, Central, and South Gaza!

[theygender]

The goal has been raised to help more people and they're currently on a mission to provide 10 million litres of drinking water to people in need. As of the time of this reblog the fundraiser is at

€884,885 out of €950,000

[sesamie-moving]

eating pastries is so humiliating cause you'll be having the time of your life having it and then when you're finished you look down and you're covered in flakes and sugardust like fuuuck now everyone is going to know i'm a messy pastry whore

[biglawbear]

Btw you can be intensely critical of the Democratic party and recognize that it is full of aged out of touch moderates who are refusing to meet the urgency of the moment,

and also recognize that voting for Democrats is extremely important because it allows things like the confirmation of Justices and prevents the literal fascist party from gaining more power and that harm reduction is an important end in itself

These things can coexist

Politics is a long game. Being disappointed and angry today does not obviate your responsibility to participate

[cactus-juice-for-sale]

[krill-joy]

i've decided it's like donating blood. the current blood donation system is fucked up and needs to be overhauled, but i still donate blood because people are going to die without it.

[sternen--staub]

occasional posts from users

[ann-decart]

reblog if you make occasional posts

[cleolinda]

Sometimes I still hear my voice

[catshinji]

For Australian residents!

A House of Representatives petition has just been filed. Unlike other petitions, this one will be presented to the House and requires a response from a Minister.

Elbit Systems, the Israeli defence contractor responsible for much of the weaponry currently causing devastation in Gaza, has just been awarded a $917 million contract with the Australian government.

The demand of this petition is to remove all contracts and deals between Australia and Elbit Systems.

Again, this is more than a change.org petition - this is a government petition with a certainty of being tabled before the House of Representatives. This is just one step of many that this country needs to take in ending Australia's support for the genocide of Palestinians.

Please sign and share the petition here. And don't forget to confirm your signature via the email afterwards.

The deadline is April 17th - make sure to sign before then.

No contracts with the Israeli war machine.

[beggars-opera]

Your honour, I admit that I do have a superiority complex over not watching Disney "live action" remakes, but in my defense, I am right

[beggars-opera]

#council shall remind the defendant to refrain from such outbursts#particularly because the defendant's opinion on Disney has little to do with her seven counts of manslaughter for which she's being tried

[secretivedreams]

“You simply cannot fit more America into a single incident than a man dying a horrifying death in protest of war crimes while a first responder screams at cops to stop pointing their guns at him and go get fire extinguishers. If you were to pick a single moment in history to sum up the essence and expression of the US empire, that would be it.”

Caitlin Johnstone, The Most American Thing That Has Ever Happened

[tzikeh]

I want everyone to look at how The New York Times (paywall-bypass link) covered this event - specifically this sentence:

“I will no longer be complicit in genocide,” a man says in the video, echoing language that opponents of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza have used to describe the war.

Read it. Read it again. Think of all of the ways in which they could have presented his statement. Read it again.

Every single Language Arts teacher should use this sentence to teach students how to read for bias.

[figsandtea]

In case anyone is curious:

De-personification - referring to Aaron Bushnell as just "a man" in an article specifically about him and his actions.

Passive framing - he's not making a statement, he's "echoing" things other people have said, thus decreasing the impact of his statement.

Referring to people who are against the genocide in Palestine as "opponents", implying that there is an equal conflict between two parties, instead of, you know, a genocide.

Specifically naming Israel and not Palestine

Describing the genocide as a war, again implying a conflict and not a colonial state murdering civilians.

Finally, the overall tone of this sentence is one which SPECIFICALLY distances both the reader and the actions of Aaron Bushnell from the genocide in Palestine. "Have used" being past tense instead of present tense especially stands out to me, because it, again, implies something which is not currently occurring, and separates Aaron Bushnell from the category of people who are opposing the genocide in Palestine.

The media is not impartial, not any media, anywhere, ever. The key is to be able to identify any bias and decide what that tells you about the statements contained within.

[animentality]

[gal-lexicon]

I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such an interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

[pitbolshevik]

it actually annoys the shit out if me when people act like ww2 isn't something that you need to learn about anymore. like no actually that's all still very important sorry

[pitbolshevik]

like yes the guys who just salivate over which weapons killed the most people are fucking weird, no argument there, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't know about the various war crimes committed by literally every country involved. it's all still very much relevant, the 1940s wasn't really that long ago, all things considered.

[pitbolshevik]

oh and learn about how people fought back. I'm not talking about the allied soldiers, im talking about the warsaw uprising, the sobibór uprising, the many many resistance movements that existed across the globe, the idea that everyone just meekly accepted fascism and didn't bother fighting back is simply not true

[synthient]

crazy that in the 1970s they were like, "fine, women can play sports. but because they're innately less athletic than men, only in a special ghettoized League For The Frail And Delicate where they get paid less 😊". And not only is that still the system in 2023, but viciously lashing out at the smallest challenges to that system gets framed as Feminist Praxis

[synthient]

even setting aside the fact that gendered bodytype averages aren't universals, and plenty of individual (cis) women and (cis) men could easily go to toe to toe. have we considered that the fact that all the most prominent and well-paid sports are ones that require things like Being Tall and Having Muscle Mass, as opposed to, ex, gymnastics...is itself an artifact of sexism

[beemovieerotica]

also to people who are like "well do you think WOMEN should be playing AMERICAN FOOTBALL against MEN" actually I don't think anyone should be playing american football on account of, you know, the irreversible brain damage.

[emmaharwoods]

you can click on this button once daily to help palestine and support other causes in the middle east for free. it takes literally 5 seconds and could help save lives so please take the time to click and share this link.

[grelliam]

#oh it raises money thru ad revenue and ur click confirms the value to advertisers. neat

[findingmybravado-2]

Proceeds are donated to the UNRWA, which is one of the major funding agencies providing aid to Palestine. Recently, the US and other major countries have escalated genocidal efforts by cutting funding from the UNRWA, as AlJazzera reports : Which countries have cut funding to the UNRWA and why?

This is a direct action you can take to say fuck you to the government directed genocidal efforts, bookmark the tab, add a calendar notification daily, do what you want. Or if your prefer: Donate Directly to UNRWA