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this couldn’t be said any better

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When I studied abroad, I thought my host family just had difficulty pronouncing my name. They didn’t try very hard before deciding that they’d just call me Brahim and be done with it.

This kept happening no matter where I went in Morocco. Even fluent English speakers decided to give me alternative names, and I just shrugged it off as the consequence of one of the syllables being very unusual in Arabic.

That is, until one day I was talking to a shopkeeper in the souk and he asked me my name. I gave him my English one, and explained that I also answer to Brahim (and Daud, and… more than I can remember). He laughed hysterically and looked shocked, calling his friend over from the back of the shop.

“Tell him your name,” he said excitedly. I did so.

The other man’s face cycled through several expressions very quickly—surprise, anger, suspicion, and then exasperation when he realized his friend had set me up.

They very kindly explained to me that my name spoken with a Moroccan accent sounds very much like an Arabic profanity, and that I should definitely introduce myself as Brahim or give an alternative English name when meeting new people, because shaking hands with strangers and saying “Hello, I’m Fuck Your Mother’s Religion” is not a greeting that will win me many friends.

So. Brahim it was.

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“Now Colin, you’ve always been seen as a romantic lead to the ladies. How did you apply this to a gay context? Was it difficult for you? How did you-”

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Tbh, expecting Trump to be president for just another four years is wildly optimistic. Your democratic institutions have been eroded - and that hasn't happened thanks to a great Republican revolution, but through decades of work, the fruits of which you now see.

You won't change the world in one day. Writing about revolution is super easy, but actually starting one? Living one? Why risk a bloody revolution (which will most likely fail and demand a sacrifice you cannot undo) when you have the chance to prevent bloodshed with something as simple as voting - which is a privilege so many people fight to achieve, a privilege millions of people have died for and keep dying for because they want to have a say in their own destiny. And you throw it away to doom not only yourself, but the whole fucking world, to teach Biden a lesson by making a literal fascist the president of one of the most powerful countries in the world.

To reiterate what I read in the tags: How does this save Palestinian lives? How does it save ANY lives? Is it about them at all, or is it about your own feelings of self-righteousness? I wish Americans looked outside their own country and saw just how many people are trembling at the prospect of another Trump presidency, and can do nothing about it. I hate that the US has so much power that I have to care about your elections and your feelings of "must teach Biden a lesson" because your decisions have a direct influence on billions of lives. And then I see these supposedly leftists who are ready to doom the world because of their own feelings, who honestly still think that this is a normal election. I want to scream and I want to cry.

i kind of wish the anti voting people wouldn’t dance around the idea of what happens after the election. Like okay, the democrats lose, you taught them a lesson (and fwiw, I do think its a legitimate message to send- the people are not happy with the actions and status quo of the DNC). Now What. Trump, the multiply indicted crime president who incited a violent mob upon the capitol, is now President. He has all the qualities you hate about Biden, AND more, except he and his administration have even less reason to be sensitive to the wishes of their democratic constituents. He is a puppet for the far right and white supremacists and christian nationalists. I really shouldn’t even have to go over this- we LIVED it already. Genuinely asking, is this what you want? Because frankly I do not think 4 more years of Trump is worth it over Biden. Your hands are not clean, this is the future you want to choose. I just don’t understand why.

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I finally made the meme I've had in my head for over a year

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My sort of maybe embarrassing “late to the game” thing I’m learning now is how to tell if oil has gone bad.

I feel like most other foods have obvious visual tells like mold or they end up smelling foul and obviously bad. But I was googling about oil and the internet says “if it smells like crayons, it’s bad” which would not have been my first guess. And I tested it out on my somewhat old sesame oil and was like “by god, I would describe this as smelling like crayons”

Anyway protip if your old oil smells kinda like crayons it’s probably no good 🖍️

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hey do you think ronald mcdonald is a dom or sub. i sent this before but im not sure if you got it or not

yeah i got it last time

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A lot of Ukrainians (me included) feel like we're talking into the void. We share news about war and current genocide, talk about our history and culture, about all the opression we lived through because of russia, russian colonialism, etc. Every single question you could possibly have about Ukraine is probably answered by multiple Ukrainians on social media already. But it seems like all of this is being shared only between Ukrainians and those foreigners who already know all those things, the people who need to learn about it won't see it. Something educational about Ukraine goes viral, you check reposts - Ukrainians and people who already engage with Ukrainian activism, no regular people who know nothing about Ukraine or "war is being shoved down our throat" crowd or whataboutists.

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I hate how people can openly complain about "overpopulation" in the global south and "low birthrates" in europe and japan

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If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

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RUSSIA BOMBED MY UKRAINIAN PUBLISHER?!

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i dont care about validity i care about my civil rights

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why do you guys talk like you think not voting means no one gets elected

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I'd be unstoppable if I didn't have to worry about time or money or having a body

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