#<- For tag blocking

[veal-exe]

EDIT

This has gotten a lot of traction so I’m gonna be rude and say that if anyone here has the means, that my spouse and I need help to not be homeless and hungry, and you can learn more about how to help via my post here;

END EDIT

———

I was discussing the incident mentioned later in this piece with my wife yesterday and I saw another post by someone earlier doing something mentioned in here and I'm finally going to say something about it.

There is a serious problem in leftist spaces, especially online, especially on Tumblr, when it comes to language.

The way people are expected to speak just to even enter these spaces is incredibly complex, to the point of being outright hostile to those who haven’t already spent time in them. And it’s not just newcomers; people who have important things to say, people speaking from lived experiences, people who don’t have English as a first language but still deserve to be heard, are constantly talked down to or even pushed out entirely for not using the "right" words.

This gets even worse when you factor in how often new terms are coined in English, and then people are shamed for not immediately knowing or using them.

I saw someone reblog their own post saying something like, "I know for a fact more than half of y’all didn’t understand a fucking word I said here."

And honestly? That stuck with me, because yeah, I’ve felt that before. Not because I don’t value critical thinking! because I absolutely do! I just made a post on that too! but because so many of these posts are written in a way that makes them Functionally Inaccessible to anyone who doesn’t already have the right background knowledge. And at a certain point, if you actually want your words to have an impact, if you actually want to create meaningful change, then you’re going to have to accept some things:

People will not always use perfect language.

2. People will not always know the exact terminology you personally prefer they use when engaging in discourse.

3. Dismissing or attacking people for how they say something, instead of engaging with what they’re saying, is actively harmful.

And more than that, if you genuinely want people to understand and engage with the things you’re talking about, especially people who don’t speak English as a first language, especially people without access to higher education, especially people who don’t even know where to begin when it comes to self-education (because yes, that is a skill that has to be taught) then you are going to have to be the one to adjust sometimes. You are going to have to let people say things imperfectly. You are going to have to take a step back and engage with the message rather than just the words being used to express it.

One of the experiences that made me realize that I, as a non-native English speaker, was not welcome in Tumblr leftist spaces was when I spoke about real-life oppression I had experienced. I left one word out of my post, a word which honestly, was not even important when talking about an incident that had Happened To Me, not theory, not hypotheticals or any what-ifs of oppression, a story, a story about something that happened to me.

And because of that, people sat in a Discord server, picking apart my words, accusing me of awful things, and then came into my askbox throwing jargon and buzzwords I’d never even heard before, then got mad at me for being frustrated that this was happening.

Think about that. People who are directly impacted by oppression are being pushed out of spaces meant to discuss it because the way they speak doesn’t conform to certain expectations. That is not justice. That is not solidarity. That is not progress.

There is a fundamental disconnect here between theory and praxis. Ironically so many of you do not know what praxis is, because most of you engage with a lot of theory, and not a lot of praxis, you use the word praxis a lot, but, ironically, you have no idea what it means.

{to put my money where my mouth is, it means Doing Something, in the simplest possible terms}

In theory, leftist spaces should be accessible. They should be places where people can speak openly about their experiences, learn from each other, and work toward meaningful change. But in practice? There’s a gatekeeping of language so intense that many people, particularly those who are marginalized in ways beyond just their political beliefs, are outright excluded.

And this is something I need people to sit with: The assumption that the "right" language is easy to learn, or that anyone who doesn’t use it is being willfully ignorant, is an inherently privileged stance. Knowing where to find information, how to process it, and how to integrate new terminology into your vocabulary is a skill that is largely tied to education. Having the time to engage with leftist literature and theory, to stay up-to-date on every new term that gets introduced, is also a privilege. And the fact that so many people refuse to acknowledge this, that they expect perfect articulation from everyone, regardless of background, and punish those who don’t measure up, is a huge problem.

Worse still, the same people who act as gatekeepers of this language often fail to communicate their ideas in a way that is accessible at all.

This doesn’t mean that complex ideas should never be discussed. It doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t strive for accuracy in their language. But it does mean that if your goal is to educate, if your goal is to spread awareness, if your goal is to help people understand and join the movement, if your goal is to engage with fellow oppressed people, then you have a responsibility to meet people where they are. You have a responsibility to make your language understandable.

Because if people can’t even process what you’re saying, then what’s the fucking point?

And before anyone says, "Well, people should put in the effort to learn!" Let me make something very clear: They do.

People who are new to leftist spaces, or who are coming in from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, are often trying their best to engage. They are listening, they are learning, they are processing. But if the response to every mistake, every slightly off phrasing, every unfamiliarity with a new term, is immediate hostility,

or even if it's just 'hey I see you're sharing a personal moment, but can you change your language to make me, personally, more comfortable with you discussing your oppression?' then you’re not teaching.

You’re just making sure only the people who already think and speak exactly like you get to stay in the room.

Your language, your terminology, your theory? none of it means anything if you can’t make it accessible to the people who actually need it. And it means nothing if you use it to Exclude rather than Include.

[platonic-f-o-things]

This goes out to the selfshippers who pet regress! 🐾

Imagine your platonic and familial f/os taking the time to look after and validate you!

All the headpats! Maybe even ear scritches? Who knows!

“Do you want a treeeeeaaaat? :3”

You know they’ll be picking you up and singing silly songs about how you’re just a little guy!

Yes. You CAN bite them.

Blanket burritos, to contain the little creature you are!!

Remember! Your F/Os love you so unconditionally, and you are allowed to have “weird” coping mechanisms! They’re always here to look after you!

~ Mod Teddy 🧸

[gps-yaps]

oh

[moldsporr]

I hope you're not one of those people who hate others for liking Harry potter because I love it even if I hate jkr lol I hate seeing people being so mean to Harry potter fans

I am one of those people actually if you're a Harry potter fan and over the age of like. 16 I do not like you and want you as far away from me as possible

[helsex]

hear me out here

This song is so exhels coded

(song is Little Clone Baby from Stellar Firma :D)

[I.D. A screenshot of lyrics that read:

When it's dark at night

And I close my eyes

I see you there

Only one that doesn't hate me

I think I dreamed it all

Got your drawing on my wall

I just feel so calm

Held by your arms

Why are you so far away in Galactonium? Hey

Won't you save me?

Hold me

Maybe?

I just want to be your little clone baby END I.D.]

Ohhh you're literally so right

[purpledanti]

being a jew in these times is so difficult. on one hand, hamas's actions in israel are so fucked up and the fact that i saw a statistic saying what, like 50% of young people think hamas was justified in that? people tearing down missing posters for kidnapped israelis? mobs of people in places not too far from me chanting slogans about massacring jews? people acting like the suffering of jewish people is forgivable because israel's government is shitty? all of that is TERRIFYING. on the other hand, israel's government IS incredibly shitty. the things it is doing to palestine right now and in the past are unjustifiable and disgusting. it is reprehensible. they are commiting war crimes and it is saddening to watch some of my fellow jews try to find a way to justify it and throwing their support behind the israeli government.

[antlersish]

Mad about politics again

[spookacola]

I think both interpretations work together, actually! Text under read more :)

It’s not uncommon for AI usage to have adverse effects on real people in much the same way you describe. The obvious example is “AI chatbots” that are actually just underpaid people in other countries, but even outside of that AI usage has quite a lot of real human costs (environmentally, economically, etc).

Consider how AI is being implemented specifically to cut out people whose work is not dangerous or detrimental to their health, but rather people whose work is considered beneath the business class. Artists, writers, customer service, and potentially much more (I have a bad feeling about social work and other govt positions…) Convenience for the shareholders at the cost of literally everyone else.

Theres a lot to get into regarding the relationship between business and creative work (a lot of contempt, to summarize) but I think its a mistake to assume that the labor concerns in the show are unrelated to what I said. Our analyses go hand in hand.

Quick edit addition: The pursuit of convenience and prioritizing your comfort as seen in Severance and in the promotion of AI is very much the root evil behind many unethical labor practices. Many people will allow people to be underpaid/abused/etc if its convenient for them (re: burgers flippers dont deserve a living wage-> McD’s should be open all hours). I think the demand to not be bothered ever is fundamentally opposed to good labor practices and equality in general. Sorry I forgot this part when i wrote my response

The connection between Lumon’s clear intent for people to sever all unpleasant/boring parts of their life at the expense of the many innies and their own identity+ the show runners insistence on doing things the hard way (re: complex camera shots, shooting through cables, making a whole building to film in, seemingly very little greenscreen) + the emergence of AI irl as a salve against doing anything hard or inconvenient (write my emails for me, attend my meetings for me, pick my media for me, live my life for me)….

[wacklemons]

lets scream with mama

TERFS STOP INTERACTING WITH THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DONT LIKE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF YOU DONT RESPECT TRANS WOMEN GET OFF MY BLOG!!!!!! PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!!!!!

[saszor]

Overview of some topics when it comes to drawing characters who are burn survivors.

DISCLAIMER. Please keep in mind that this is an introductory overview for drawing some burn scars and has a lot of generalizations in it, so not every “X is Z” statement will be true for Actual People. I'm calling this introductory because I hope to get people to actually do their own research before drawing disabled & visibly different characters rather than just making stuff up. Think of it as a starting point and take it with a grain of salt (especially if you have a very different art style from mine).

Talking about research and learning... don't make your burn survivor characters evil. Burn survivors are normal people and don't deserve to be constantly portrayed in such a way.

Consider supporting me on ko-fi if you find this to be helpful.

edit: apparently tum "queerest place on the internet" blr hates disabled people so much that this post got automatically filtered. cool!

second way more important edit: How are people seeing this post where I specifically talk about burn survivors being normal, real people, and still tag this as "TW body horror"? Not a single one of these drawings or pictures is a fresh injury. All of them are healed. How the hell would you feel if someone tagged a photo of you as "trigger warning: gore"?

Disabled people are not your fucking body horror. Grow up.

[gps-yaps]

WHY is there kari backflipping in my mind help

I can't build my Minecraft house

[howsublime]

Excited to share my first linocut, based on the three meme kittens that I love.

Update: T-shirt requests.

[salamispots]

it got turned into a 17" x14" pillow instead haha

[shesnake]

90% of pregnancy plotlines

[mercymornsimpathizer]

counterpoint to that poll: what was your favorite assigned reading in high school??

[honeyhobbs]

Kitten square!