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robert-c · 4 years

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How Common Business Practices Contribute to the Perpetuation of Poverty and Racism

Over the last century a number of laws were passed to ensure that employees would not be cheated by their employers. It began with ensuring that they were paid for all the hours an employer required them to be on the job. More followed: safe procedures for certain jobs, guarantees that promised retirement benefits would be there, that group medical plans sponsored by employers could not permanently exclude pre-existing conditions. It was only fair since the company’s cost of these benefits could be deducted from the company’s taxable income. Some employers simply violate the laws, counting on the fact that most employees don’t know their rights.

Even without directly violating the law, ever clever businesses have been finding ways around these protections: claiming that employees who should be covered under overtime pay rules are in positions exempt from those provisions; recasting employees as “contractors”, so they are not covered by employee regulations; utilizing part time employees so that they can be excluded from benefits, like healthcare and 401k’s. Their excuse, as always, is to limit expenses and therefor keep the cost of their goods or services low for the ultimate consumer. A closer examination of that argument usually falls apart when it becomes impossible to trace the line between these expense reductions and lower prices to the consumer.

However, there is a small point in their favor in that consumers usually do simply go for the cheaper product. Then again, if there really was a big connection between these cost saving measures and the final cost of goods and services there are things the companies could do. Their massive advertising budgets could be used to educate consumers about the reasons their product costs a little more than competitors, they do it all the time with claims of value and quality. It might be something like “Quality and community responsibility cost a little more, but it’s our neighbors who are earning a decent living providing you these goods and services. And we think they’re worth it.”

They don’t because it’s easy to get away with these practices when virtually everyone else is doing the same thing.

The large segment of the workforce that is excluded from company provided benefits (either because of schemes like above or because the employer is too small to provide them to anyone) is reason enough to scrap the idea of a completely “free market” healthcare system.

After more than half a century of propaganda about how wonderful and good the profit motive is, it’s about time that we acknowledge that it can do just as much harm as good.

Here’s another move that works for both part time and full time employees. When they have the potential to earn more, fire them, or drastically cut their hours (in the case of part time) so that they’ll have to quit. This keeps turnover high for the low paid jobs, but these are typically the jobs that don’t take much training to do, so turnover isn’t so costly, especially in high unemployment times. It is also a backhanded way of claiming to give raises to the more experienced people, while weeding them out at the same time.

You might think that part-timers could just get other jobs to supplement their income loss but then you’d run afoul of the next “dirty trick” of employers.

This works especially well with part-timers; continually change the schedule. Employers can make up any number of bullshit reasons why this “makes sense”, “is necessary” etc. but the net effect (and likely real purpose) is to keep part-timers from looking for, let alone accepting, other work. If you don’t know until days before what your schedule is going to be it’s pretty hard to plan interviews, let alone schedule other work, especially since the other employer is probably doing the same thing with their schedules. This essentially makes part-time employees the virtual slaves of their employer, an easy and enviable position for the company, not so much for the employee.

Their only way out is to have enough savings to do without income for a period of time to look for better work (let alone the money to get the training for higher paying full time jobs). But then, those earning even twice minimum wage for only 20 to 30 hours a week aren’t likely to have much left over for savings. That’s roughly $15,000 to $22,600 a year BEFORE taxes. The middle (or median) rent in the 50 largest cities in the US for a one bedroom is about $1,235 a month with an additional $147 for utilities (data from businessinsider.com). That’s $16,584 a year! The rents are lower in places with fewer jobs and higher where there are many job opportunities. A real double bind choice, since the wages aren’t generally higher in the same proportion as the rents in the higher job opportunity locales.

In fact, the free market essentially works against these people. As more people come to these high employment cities, the limited availability of apartments causes the rents to rise, while at the same time, the abundance of job seekers keeps the wages lower. It’s a perfect arrangement for landlords and employers alike, and a perfect storm of shit for those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

And since it cheats the rest of us, not just the employees, we should also mention that when people don’t earn enough to meet basic living expenses (and are essentially barred from being able to earn more through alternative or additional jobs) the welfare and public assistance they require is paid for by the rest of us. All thanks to the for profit businesses managing to find ways to pay as little as possible, all the while bragging about the number of jobs they’ve brought to the community, while others pick up their slack. To add insult to injury, these are often the same business owners who constantly prattle about “responsibility”, “self-reliance” etc.

Now, let’s get down to the hardest core facts about this and admit that people of color make up a disproportionate share of the folks struggling at this level. True, some people manage to rise above this, but it takes extraordinary effort beyond just being talented. It takes so much more that I seriously doubt many (if any) of us born to privilege could have done so ourselves.

Using a few people who manage to succeed despite their original circumstances does not excuse the artificial obstacles placed in their way. Instead of focusing on the “feel good” story of someone succeeding against the odds, we should be looking at why the deck was stacked against them in the first place. Failing to look at the system that holds people back and justifying it as fair because a few do overcome the obstacles is the same as defending the slavery of the pre-Civil War south because a few managed to escape it.

This “Pollyanna” view of our economic system plays well into the myths we want to believe; i.e. that there are no major problems with our system, and that it is fair and “anyone” can succeed. That attitude will not help us address inequities and injustices, and the problems that continue to arise because they remain unresolved.

Most whites imagine that they are not racists as long as they don’t support the white supremacists. Not seeing that the economic practices above create and maintain poverty, and that poverty is overwhelmingly people of color, is a form of racism. It isn’t as obvious, and it’s easy to pass off as all about ambition and determination. Nevertheless, it plays its part as surely as police and justice system presumptions that suspects of color are generally violent.

Please note this last, as it will be ignored by those who are quick to condemn me as some sort of “socialist” or “communist” simply because I don’t “drink the Kool-Aid” that any and everything a business does must be good and proper because it was done in pursuit of the sacred goal of profit. My first inclination IS NOT simply more law or regulation. I see those as last resort measures.

I would rather that some prominent businesses would openly acknowledge and then disavow these practices, and set an example for others. Failing that perhaps there are ways to set up incentives to do the right thing and as a last resort more expansive legislation and regulation.

Imagining that some great political affirmation of the “good old days” can keep things the way they are (or were) is the same sort of folly that allowed French aristocrats to imagine that there could never be a revolution. I don’t want a revolution, but we’ve had almost two and a half centuries to solve this situation and the progress has been incredibly slow.

Now that more and more whites are falling into this poverty trap they should be allying with people of color to change things. Perpetuating racism benefits only the rich, white, upper class. Poor white supremacists are being played for fools the same way their ancestors were when they died in the Civil War attempting to protect the rich plantation owners, most of whom conveniently bought their way out of service in the military.

But I don’t expect any of them to figure that out. I’m sure that they’ll just use it to justify their baseless complaints that they have been deprived of something they think they deserved.

#racism #poverty #capitalism

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crimes-and-gelato · 4 years

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Title: Leave Room for the Unexpected Rating: M Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian Chapter: 1/5 Tags: Mpreg, A/B/O, Fake Dating, Modern Setting AU Summary: Wei Wuxian would be anything but ordinary. And being second gendered as an omega doesn’t stop him from bending the laws of society on what to expect from his kind. He might say he’s just applying his adopted family motto — “to attempt the impossible” — but many would say that, naturally, he’s just unrestrained for an omega. Sometimes he himself thinks that maybe in his past life he was an alpha, he clearly has the traits of one. That’s why some people call him unorthodox. But nonetheless, he will live his life as he likes: untamed by what is expected of him.

‘And having a baby is another attempt at defying society’s expectation. How exactly?’ Nie Huaisang, another omega, raises one delicate eyebrow at Wei Wuxian, taking a sip of his tea.

or Wei Wuxian asks Lan Wangji to be his baby Daddy, but things go different from what he had planned.

Chapter 1: Starting at the Beginning with You

I tried to write you a love poem but it ended up looking like a grocery list

an inventory of all the things we’d need for breakfast. I tried to write you a love poem but it ended up looking like a thank you note tucked underneath the heart shape fridge magnet.

I still don’t know how your name found its way into my prayers

how your silence ripened into something this soft and pure

how this sky is no longer mine but ours.

-Mariah

***

Wei Wuxian would be anything but ordinary. And being second gendered as an omega doesn’t stop him from bending the laws of society on what to expect from his kind. He might say he’s just applying his adopted family motto — “to attempt the impossible” — but many would say that, naturally, he’s just unrestrained for an omega. Sometimes he himself thinks that maybe in his past life he was an alpha, he clearly has the traits of one. That’s why some people call him unorthodox. But nonetheless, he will live his life as he likes: untamed by what is expected of him.

‘And having a baby is another attempt at defying society’s expectation. How exactly?’ Nie Huaisang, another omega, raises one delicate eyebrow at Wei Wuxian, taking a sip of his tea. The four of them — Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang, Wen Qing, and Wen Ning — are gathered outside of Wen Ning’s bakery, enjoying cupcakes and afternoon tea, and the rare sunshine of mid-Spring.

Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes and licks his fingers free of chocolate icing from the cupcake he’s eaten. ‘By not having to tie myself to an alpha,’ he explains in between licks. ‘While having an offspring of my own.’ He wipes his hand on a napkin. ‘Just how many single parent omega is there? Most of them are widowed. There are no omegas — that I know of — that have kids just because they can and want to, since the rest of the world thinks an alpha is needed to be a parent. And don’t get me started on their endless praises on alphas who choose to be single parents. They act like it’s the world’s most heroic decision.’

‘So, you’re starting a propaganda,’ Wen Qing points, merely stating a fact and not at all condescending like most alphas. She supports Wei Wuxian’s progressive lifestyle as long as it’s not him being an idiot, which is often since Wei Wuxian has some complicated hero complex that gets him hurt for the sake of those he loves. Sometimes, she wants to either wrap him a blanket and protect him, or stick her needles into him so he cannot move and make rush decisions that would send him to an early grave. Not that she’s ever going to tell him of the first because she’s got a reputation to uphold, that’s why she often threatens him with the latter.

Wei Wuxian shrugs. ‘Not really.’ He takes a bite of his new cupcake. ‘I just want to have a baby without an alpha.’

‘How is that even possible?’ Wen Ning asks innocently, because he is their group’s youngest member and their sweet summer child. The beta looks very confuse as if he’s recalling what he learned in Biology class in case he has missed something about reproduction.

Wei Wuxian sighs and focuses on his cupcake instead of answering the question.

‘Wait a minute.’ Nie Huaisang stops Wei Wuxian mid-bite of his treat, hand clasps on Wei Wuxian’s wrist. ‘How _really _are you going to have a baby without an alpha?’

He glares for a second at Nie Huaisang and pulls his arm away to eat his dessert in peace. ‘I’m gonna have sex of course,’ he says in frustration and rewards himself with a bite of his cupcake.

‘That we know,’ Nie Huaisang points out. ‘To whom is the underlined question?’

All three pairs of eyes curiously focus on Wei Wuxian as he chews his cake. The father of Wei Wuxian’s child should be a big deal. He can’t just get someone despite him being one of the most sought after omega because of his family background and his genius brain.

‘To create an offspring that would put all other offspring to shame, because let’s be real, any child of mine would be the paragon of beauty and intelligence,’ he announces haughtily that has Wen Qing and Nie Huaisang rolling their eyes. Wen Ning gives a small nod because he’s supportive like that. ‘I have found the perfect seed to match mine. And together our offspring will be perfect.’

His three friends all wait with bated breath for Wei Wuxian to say who, only that the arrogant bastard keeps prolonging it too much.

‘Wei Wuxian, if you don’t say it this instance I will stick my needles in you,’ Wen Qing threats.

‘It’s Lan Zhan, okay?’ Wei Wuxian answers abruptly because he doesn’t doubt that she will surely follow through since she’s often with acupuncture needles on her person. Wei Wuxian believes she’s some sort of Black Widow spy in her past life. And if he leans away from Wen Qing it’s because he’s smart enough to be cautious than be sorry.

All three have their mouths gape at Wei Wuxian, he doesn’t notice, still wary of Wen Qing.

‘Lan Zhan as in Lan Wangji?’ Nie Huaisang inquires just to be sure he heard it right. ‘He agreed to be the father of your child?’

‘Only biologically,’ he explains. ‘I just need his genes.’

‘And he agreed?’ Wen Qing’s eyes are wide, eyebrows almost up to her hairline.

‘What are you implying?’ Wei Wuxian frowns at the question. ‘Lan Zhan and I are friends. Best of friends actually. He’s been very supportive of me since the beginning when people don’t see omegas beyond their second gender.’ He smiles at the memory of being rivals with Lan Zhan in high school and university. The other man had always been respectable to Wei Wuxian and other omegas, never seeing Wei Wuxian as someone who is beneath him or fragile like others do just because Wei Wuxian is an omega.

‘What exactly did he say?’ Nie Huaisang prompts, edging closer to Wei Wuxian. ‘And how did he take it?’

Wei Wuxian shrugs again. ‘He just agreed.’ He takes another cupcake from the plate. ‘We made a contract so it’s all professional and all that… Plus, I think I wore him down after whining to him about it for so long. I even had to make a back-up plan, if in case he doesn’t agree within my time stamp.’

‘And what exactly is your back-up plan?’ Nie Huaisang reaches for his tea blindly, still trying to absorb the news, and holding himself back from the other questions he wants to ask.

‘I’ll either ask Da-ge or Xichen-ge to make the baby with me.’ He ignores how Nie Huaisang chokes on the tea and the Wen siblings’ saucer eyes. ‘I told Lan Zhan this just so he doesn’t have to feel pressure, and also, so that he knows I’m serious about this whole pregnancy.’

None of Wei Wuxian’s three friends move, still processing the shock of their friend’s news. They dumbly blink at him as if to make sense of his existence and the insane information he’s sharing.

‘Lan Zhan agreed after that,’ Wei Wuxian states, ignorant of his friends’ current turmoil. ‘I believe he also realised that his genes and mine would be extraordinary.’ His lips form a smug grin. ‘He was my first choice to begin with. And he would know better how right I am since genetics is his field of expertise. Right?’

All three of Wei Wuxian’s friends groan in frustration on Lan Wangji’s behalf. And he ignores them, thinking that they’re mocking his brilliant idea and instead focuses on his third — fourth? fifth? oh, who cares — cupcake.

‘Oh, right.’ He wipes his fingers again and unlocks his phone. He’s quite pleased with himself that none of his friends have yet to notice the change in his scent. ‘Do you guys want to see the ultrasound?’

There’s a lot of screaming after that.

*****

6 months ago…

‘Lan Zhan,’ Wei Wuxian greets, all formal and business-like, sitting across Lan Zhan’s wooden desk. They’ve decided to do the contract signing in Lan Zhan’s home office because Wei Wuxian is often at the alpha’s estate than he is at his own penthouse.

‘Wei Ying.’ Lan Zhan’s eyes never leave his as he pulls the manila envelope closer to himself. He fishes the document inside: two A4 white paper, not quite filled with scribbles. He already knows what it contains but reads it thoroughly nonetheless.

‘My heat is coming next month,’ Wei Wuxian states as Lan Zhan reads, the man continues on but Wei Wuxian knows he’s heard him. Despite it being the end of their work day, Lan Zhan is still looking all pristine in his baby blue turtleneck and white blazer. Lan Zhan had always been unfazed since Wei Wuxian knew him in their youth. Not even his schedule at teaching in university and doing research in his lab seems to fluster his ever-so immaculate countenance. Wei Wuxian loves how sturdy Lan Zhan is all through the years he’s known him. Anyone would be lucky to have such a dependable alpha. ‘I think it’s the perfect time. Don’t you agree?’

Lan Zhan looks up to him, eyes wide but not in panic. There’s something in there that Wei Wuxian cannot fathom, he thinks it’s because of the low light in Lan Zhan’s study that’s only coming from the desk lamp which hinders his ability to read Lan Zhan fully. He’s sure it’s not because Lan Zhan is having second thoughts about their arrangements since the man’s usual scent of sandalwood and grapefruit remains pleasing. He fervently hopes not, because he really wants Lan Zhan’s baby and no one else, even when he did voice out before that he’s willing to try with Nie Mingjue or Lan Xichen. He’s not above begging the two older men. Wen Qing, despite being an alpha, is out of the question, she’ll probably skin him alive before he can even finish his request. Plus, she’s like a sister to him.

‘Lan Zhan?’ Wei Wuxian is slightly nervous, for reasons he doesn’t know of. He’s never felt so helpless in a boardroom full of alpha and beta who looks down on him for being an omega. ‘You’re not changing your mind, are you?’

Lan Zhan shakes his head slowly and composes himself, the unknown expression is changed into Lan Zhan’s normal jade-like profile that some would call: cold. He thought of it, too, before, when they weren’t close friends as they are now. But it’s just Lan Zhan’s normal face — well, if you can call an ethereal beauty normal, but that’s just Lan Zhan and his older brother, Lan Xichen — close off because he doesn’t say much or when he does it remains the same. People often brush things off that they don’t understand, or when it’s not in their taste of normal, not knowing that it creates a gap between individuals that turns into prejudices, or worse: hate.

Wei Wuxian’s quite intimate with these biases ever since he’d presented as an omega, and an orphan at that. He was luckier than others when he got adopted into the prominent Jiang family since his late father was close friends with Jiang Fengman.

Other orphaned omegas are usually wedded off immediately by eighteen to any capable alpha, that is if they’ve never gotten adopted. And most often they are not since it’s hard to raise an omega; too many responsibilities and they need a lot of taking care of especially that they have heats once every three months. They need suppressants, too, to keep off their smell and so that they don’t get pregnant.

So, maybe Madam Yu will never win Best Aunt Award — ever — but at least she tolerated Wei Wuxian’s and took him into her household, and never once complained about him being an inconvenience because he’s an omega. As an alpha, she has more power in the Jiang family than her beta husband and it would have been easy to kick Wei Wuxian out if she wished to. But she let him stay. And Wei Wuxian will forever be grateful for her benevolence, however little it may seem to others, it meant the world to him.

He’s not the one to look at the gift horse in the mouth, so he’d never actually asked Madam Yu why she never turned him away even when she clearly wasn’t happy with his presence since she’d always been jealous of his mother, Cangse Sanren, for being Jiang Fengman’s first love (as cheesy and childish as that sounds). But he’s heard of Madam Yu’s older brother, an omega, who was sent away by their parents — wed off to the richest alpha who proposed since these were the older days when omegas don’t have much rights. He’d like to think it’s because of that dear brother who had to leave because their parents were tired of having an omega child. Too difficult. Too needy. Too much.

‘Wei Ying?’ Lan Zhan calls.

‘Huh?’ He can’t believe he got lost in his own thoughts again. He needs to stop thinking of things that he can no longer change and focus on what he can do now. The sad reality of omegas before — and even until now — will only upset him and it certainly won’t aid him in fixing what he wants to improve.

‘Are you okay?’ Lan Zhan’s put down the contract, all his attention on Wei Wuxian.

He beams a smile at Lan Zhan. ‘Just thinking of who the baby will take after,’ he lies half-heartedly, wanting to erase what he’s been thinking and also realising that he’s quite curious about his baby with Lan Zhan. ‘What do you think, Lan Zhan?’ He puts both arms on the table, enjoying Lan Zhan’s startled expression at the topic. ‘Will they have your eyes? I wish they would... And your features? I would love that... Can you imagine how cute they will be if that happens? A mini you pouting about wanting sweets and whatever strikes their fancy that are totally bad for them.’ Wei Wuxian can already imagine them and can’t help the smile growing bigger on his face.

‘They’d look cuter if they have Wei Ying’s smile,’ Lan Zhan states seriously.

Wei Wuxian’s heart tripped thrice in his chest as he tried to process what Lan Zhan had said. Lan Zhan sounds genuine with his declaration, golden eyes focus on Wei Wuxian. Sometimes he forgets how honest Lan Zhan can be that often it does weird things to his chest. He had to visit a cardiologist thrice to be sure that there’s nothing wrong with his heart.

And his only excuse right now is that he’s making a big decision with his best friend, so it’s possible to be nervous and easily flustered over simple words. That’s it. He doesn’t need to be weird about it because that would be uncomfortable to Lan Zhan if Wei Wuxian thinks too much of it, the alpha is already doing him a big favour.

‘I think any kid of yours and mine would be cute,’ he adds casually because he’s not going to be weird about it, and missing to notice the reddening of Lan Zhan’s ears.

#wangxian #wangxian fic #lan wangji #wei wuxian #a/b/o #mpreg

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444orbiter · 5 years

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ATTENTION these are the signs of a psychological abuser.

If someone close to you in your life is doing the things on this list to you, then you need to cut them out of your life immediately before it’s too late.

If this list scares you or you are not sure PLEASE talk to someone, feel free to even talk to me. YOU DESERVE BETTER.

1. Lying (by commission) : It is hard to tell if somebody is lying at the time they do it, although often the truth may be apparent later when it is too late. One way to minimize the chances of being lied to is to understand that some personality types (particularly psychopaths) are experts at the art of lying and cheating, doing it frequently, and often in subtle ways.

2. Lying by omission: This is a subtle form of lying by withholding a significant amount of the truth. This technique is also used in propaganda.

3. Denial: Manipulator refuses to admit that they have done something wrong.

4. Rationalization: An excuse made by the manipulator for inappropriate behavior. Rationalization is closely related to spin.

5. Minimization: This is a type of denial coupled with rationalization. The manipulator asserts that their behavior is not as harmful or irresponsible as someone else was suggesting, for example, saying that a taunt or insult was only a joke.

6. Selective inattention or selective attention: Manipulator refuses to pay attention to anything that may distract from their agenda, saying things like “I don’t want to hear it”.

7. Diversion: Manipulator not giving a straight answer to a straight question and instead being diversionary, steering the conversation onto another topic.

8. Evasion: Similar to diversion but giving irrelevant, rambling, vague responses, weasel words.

9. Covert intimidation: Manipulator throwing the victim onto the defensive by using veiled (subtle, indirect or implied) threats.

10. Guilt trip: A special kind of intimidation tactic. A manipulator suggests to the conscientious victim that they do not care enough, are too selfish or have it easy. This usually results in the victim feeling bad, keeping them in a self-doubting, anxious and submissive position.

11. Shaming: Manipulator uses sarcasm and put-downs to increase fear and self-doubt in the victim. Manipulators use this tactic to make others feel unworthy and therefore defer to them. Shaming tactics can be very subtle such as a fierce look or glance, unpleasant tone of voice, rhetorical comments, subtle sarcasm. Manipulators can make one feel ashamed for even daring to challenge them. It is an effective way to foster a sense of inadequacy in the victim.

12. Vilifying the victim: More than any other, this tactic is a powerful means of putting the victim on the defensive while simultaneously masking the aggressive intent of the manipulator, while the manipulator falsely accuses the victim as being an abuser in response when the victim stands up for or defends themselves or their position.

13. Playing the victim role: Manipulator portrays themself as a victim of circumstance or of someone else’s behavior in order to gain pity, sympathy or evoke compassion and thereby get something from another. Caring and conscientious people cannot stand to see anyone suffering and the manipulator often finds it easy to play on sympathy to get cooperation.

14. Playing the servant role: Cloaking a self-serving agenda in the guise of a service to a more noble cause, for example saying they are acting in a certain way to be “obedient” to or in “service” to an authority figure or “just doing their job”.

13. Seduction: Manipulator uses charm, praise, flattery or overtly supporting others in order to get them to lower their defenses and give their trust and loyalty to the manipulator. They will also offer help with the intent to gain trust and access to an unsuspecting victim they have charmed.

14. Projecting the blame (blaming others): Manipulator scapegoats in often subtle, hard-to-detect ways. Often, the manipulator will project their own thinking onto the victim, making the victim look like they have done something wrong. Manipulators will also claim that the victim is the one who is at fault for believing lies that they were conned into believing, as if the victim forced the manipulator to be deceitful. All blame, except for the part that is used by the manipulator to accept false guilt, is done in order to make the victim feel guilty about making healthy choices, correct thinking and good behaviors. It is frequently used as a means of psychological and emotional manipulation and control. Manipulators lie about lying, only to re-manipulate the original, less believable story into a “more acceptable” truth that the victim will believe. Projecting lies as being the truth is another common method of control and manipulation. Manipulators love to falsely accuse the victim as “deserving to be treated that way.” They often claim that the victim is crazy and/or abusive, especially when there is evidence against the manipulator. (See Feigning, below.)

15. Feigning innocence: Manipulator tries to suggest that any harm done was unintentional or that they did not do something that they were accused of. Manipulator may put on a look of surprise or indignation. This tactic makes the victim question their own judgment and possibly their own sanity.

16. Feigning confusion: Manipulator tries to play dumb by pretending they do not know what the victim is talking about or is confused about an important issue brought to their attention. The manipulator intentionally confuses the victim in order for the victim to doubt their own accuracy of perception, often pointing out key elements that the manipulator intentionally included in case there is room for doubt. Sometimes manipulators will have used cohorts in advance to help back up their story.

17. Brandishing anger: Manipulator uses anger to brandish sufficient emotional intensity and rage to shock the victim into submission. The manipulator is not actually angry, they just put on an act. They just want what they want and get “angry” when denied. Controlled anger is often used as a manipulation tactic to avoid confrontation, avoid telling the truth or to further hide intent. There are often threats used by the manipulator of going to the police, or falsely reporting abuses that the manipulator intentionally contrived to scare or intimidate the victim into submission. Blackmail and other threats of exposure are other forms of controlled anger and manipulation, especially when the victim refuses initial requests or suggestions by the manipulator. Anger is also used as a defense so the manipulator can avoid telling truths at inconvenient times or circumstances. Anger is often used as a tool or defense to ward off inquiries or suspicion. The victim becomes more focused on the anger instead of the manipulation tactic.

18. Bandwagon effect: Manipulator comforts the victim into submission by claiming (whether true or false) that many people already have done something, and the victim should as well. These include phrases such as “Many people like you …” or “Everyone does this anyways.” Such manipulation can be seen in peer pressure situations, often occurring in scenarios where the manipulator attempts to influence the victim into trying drugs or other substances.

#alert #psychologicalabuse #relationships #lgbtq #love #help #boyfriend #girlfriend #talktome #aesthetic #nihilism #depression #rare #sad #iloveyou #abuse #abusehelp #therapy

#signal boost

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#lgbtq positivity

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#share

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#share to save a life

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kiruuuuu · 6 years

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More recruitverse in which Ivan is actually nice! (Rating T, nothing but fluff, ~2.2k words) - written for @nutbrain because you inspire, encourage and support all those around you 💙💙

Ivan Ivanovic has been called blind countless times throughout his life, sometimes a variation like deaf or stupid, usually in relation to perceived obliviousness. He’s neither of the three yet sees no trouble in letting others believe he is – after all, their assumptions about him reveal more about their personalities than his.

He learnt early on that some of the facts taught to children in good faith are nothing but propaganda, a desirable yet unattainable outcome, merely a way to try and manipulate them into ‘goodness’. He’s unable to help everyone so he doesn’t, reduces the situations in which he could help to a simple cost and reward deliberation: when he notices Shay (who quite clearly has his heart in the right place even if his head isn’t on straight) hanging around with the wrong people, he doesn’t interfere; when Jojo gets bullied for something over which he has no control, he stays away; when Valenti becomes a regular scapegoat since he wants to fit in so badly he’d rather take the blame, he doesn’t speak up; and when Gian is alienated and called elitist behind his back because he refuses to partake in activities he feels are unfair to others, he ignores it. None of these scenarios were worth his meddling.

But he also got told that others would come to his aid. That humanity is inherently good. And while he remains conflicted on this notion, he must secretly believe it true or else he wouldn’t be fighting for them. Even so, he remembers digging his own grave by allowing everyone around him to share his happiness, the life he was building with her, and in the process undermined his own credibility. Because when he started telling others of her worrying behaviour, they waved it off. She was so nice, wasn’t she? He was lucky to have her, who cared if she wanted to go through his phone? He shouldn’t have anything to hide, right? And if he did, it was his own fault. And so, eventually no help came. Because he’d been happy so far, hadn’t he? He knew what she was like, and he was probably exaggerating anyway. He shouldn’t throw away years of happiness after one off day, everyone has those, she’s been under a lot of stress recently, right? No? Well, there must’ve been a reason and the reason can’t have been anything other than him.

And then Jojo wouldn’t go away, and he brought three others with him. And Gian listened with more compassion than any of Ivan’s friends and family had done. And Shay treated him as if they’d known each other since they were kids. And Valenti, who normally doubted all his achievements and frequently demanded proof, defended him viciously the moment someone outside of their group did it.

Helping anyone became a lot easier with these four idiots as pay-off.

So no, Ivan isn’t blind. He’d even call himself unusually perceptive, though he doesn’t often act on it which, he assumes, is the reason why his awareness gets insulted, and he doesn’t act on it as it oftentimes requires him to go out of his way for someone who generally isn’t worth his time or effort. But sometimes, the opposite is true.

“I got propositioned just now!”, Jojo announces sarcastically proud as soon as he’s breezed into their room, hair still wet from his shower and already wearing clothes fit for sleep.

“Did you reactivate your Grindr account?”, Gian wants to know, being quite aware of the fact that Jojo proclaimed never to use the app ever again, but seeing as it was the third outburst he’s had over it since they’ve known each other, none of them took him seriously. Gian and Valenti only just came back as well from some form of punishment outside, meaning they’re both shivering and dancing on the spot to warm up faster.

Ivan’s arms remember the feel of the Frenchman’s body between them and remind him sharply. He regrets the hug they shared, the entire odd moment really because it leaves him no peace. He thinks back to it at least three times a day and has since tried to stay away from Valenti – and if his presence is unavoidable, then he at least hasn’t touched him again.

“Fuck no, I’d rather rim the devil than go back to that endless void of horny middle-aged creeps.”

“Sounds like you have solid target group at least”, Ivan offers as half-hearted comfort and gets shown a finger in return.

“Tell us, Jojo, who was dumb enough to hit on you while you’re in a mood this rotten?”, Valenti joins their conversation, trying to rub some feeling back into his hands.

“My mood was perfectly fine before that douchenozzle macho fuckboy opened his stupid mouth.”

“Please, your mood has been rotten for days now.”

“That’s not bloody true, why would -”

Wordlessly, they all glance at Shay who’s stretched out on his top bunk, phone in hand and texting away blissfully with a smile on his face. He hasn’t even welcomed Jojo back, let alone acknowledged any of them since he’s started talking to Brittany half an hour ago. By now, even Thatcher must be aware of what’s going on yet the Irishman in their middle remains unsuspecting. He would deserve to be called blind.

“Anyway”, Jojo continues and they all seem relieved at him picking up the thread of the conversation once more, “I ran into Jacob Griffin-Worthington, and as the laws of nature dictate, with a name like Jacob Griffin-Worthington, he had no choice but to be a giant arsehole. So there I was, minding my own business, when Jacob Griffin-Worthington appeared out of nowhere and wanted to know how my love life was going. And I told him it was fantastic, I literally can’t stop sucking dick every free minute I have, so Jacob Griffin-Worthington -”

“I swear, if you say his full name one more time I’m going to tell him you’re crushing on him”, Valenti groans, much to Ivan’s amusement. There’s no love lost between Jacob and any of them.

“- so he who shall not be named suggested I kiss his ass in case my mouth would ever become available again and I said before I voluntarily touch any part of his body, I’d rather -”

Shay produces an odd sound, almost like choking, and this time he notices holding all their attention, looking both flustered and thrilled. “What? It’s nothing. Keep talking.”

“Are you alright?”, Jojo asks, concerned, because as much as he’s pissed off with his best friend for everybody to see, they’re still best friends.

“Yeah, it’s just – Brit just -” He trails off, looks at his phone screen again briefly and cradles it against his chest once more. “No, it’s fine. What were you talking about?”

“Did she send a nude?” Valenti must’ve noticed Shay’s bright red ears.

“Well, not quite, but – almost. She’s so pretty.” Another glance. The red darkens. “Jojo, do you want to see? I’m only showing Jojo, before you ask, everything else would be weird.”

“It’s weird enough showing me”, Jojo murmurs and rolls his eyes, “but alright. Let’s see the goods.”

And while the two stick their heads together to marvel at Shay’s girlfriend at the one end of the room, Valenti and Gian exchange a few exasperated looks at the other. For the moment, Ivan returns to tapping away at his phone, learning all about castling while simultaneously keeping his ears open for fragments of conversations in case anything interesting comes up again.

“Did you not own a scarf?”, Gian addresses Valenti questioningly.

“Ah, curses, you’re right. If it’s gone, Bandit must’ve taken it. I’m telling you, we need to take him down, truce or not, he offered me another brownie the other day and I bet it wasn’t a normal one.”

“Perhaps we could try to endeavour not to instigate trouble for which we suffer the same consequences as Bandit does for his pranks.”

“So what you’re saying is: we shouldn’t get caught again.”

Gian’s deep sigh doesn’t cover up Shay’s quiet ‘you smell nice’ to Jojo and if Ivan wasn’t already busy googling something all of a sudden, he’d attempt to send Jojo some telepathic sympathy.

Getting away from the others isn’t difficult for Ivan, he merely needs to threaten with additional exercise and they drop out, and even on the occasions Valenti doesn’t, he can tire him out easily and then sneak away while the Frenchman is busy trying to breathe. He rarely makes use of this way to distance himself, yet sometimes needs a bit of time alone without having to justify himself and sometimes just so he can browse the shops in town. Wholly being in charge of his own income is a relatively new concept to him and so he makes a few purchases just because he can. He knows Valenti caught a look at some of his animal socks at some point and watching him struggle with himself about whether or not he should bring them up was extremely entertaining.

In this case, he makes a trip to buy something specific and then pretends to go for a late run that same evening, instead seeking out the only operator in Rainbow of whom he’s certain to receive assistance.

“You’re a recruit, no?”, Zofia asks him as soon as he’s gotten her attention.

“Yes. Ivan Ivanovic. I need your help.”

Admitting it to her is daunting. She possesses a strong presence as well as confidence and reminds him of two women in his life, none of whom he’d like to ever meet again. But where they abused their power over him, Zofia listens to his request willingly, asks a few questions and eventually agrees with a kind smile. Most operators neither have the time nor the patience to deal with any of the recruits’ problems, not even necessarily out of malice – Ivan understands it all too well and therefore doesn’t hold it against them, but it means he appreciates what Zofia’s doing even more. She wants to know why he came to her specifically and laughs when he reveals she just seems the right person for the job, like someone who has the skills he requires.

She goes out of her way to teach him, inspects his work readily and even meets with him secretly during the day for more encouragement. He vows to find out more about her interests so he can pay her back accordingly, but for the moment he’s busy with other things.

“Sounds like we’re meeting her tomorrow”, Jojo says over his shoulder as he enters and Ivan makes a conscious effort to arrange his expression into something neutral so he doesn’t give anything away. “Hey, Ivanko, have you heard? Shay wants us to meet his beautiful girlfriend with the differently-sized tits tomorrow.”

“Be nice to her”, Valenti warns him as they swarm out and gather a few supplies in preparation of going out again. “And for heaven’s sake, don’t mention her boobs.”

“Or what, Gian’s going to write me a very stern letter? If she’s a bitch, I’m gonna fling shit back at her. Not that Shay would ever be interested in a bitch, but just in case.”

“Well, he’s friends with you”, comes the mumbled answer which startles a chuckle out of Ivan. Valenti shoots him a quick smile before finally taking notice of the object lying on the blanket of his top bunk. “Oh, what is this?”

“The last fucking thread holding my patience together”, Jojo grumbles in response but looks over nonetheless, squints at the fabric Valenti picks up. Rich dark red is cascading over his hands and nearly reaches the floor on both sides, the material soft yet thick wool. “Looks like a scarf.”

“I recently lost mine, but – Ivan, was this here when you came in?”

He’s hesitant to make eye contact in case he gives himself away but needn’t have worried as Valenti’s attention is still focused on the cloth he’s holding. “Yes”, he says simply.

“Huh. Then I have no idea where it came from. You didn’t buy this for me, did you, Jojo?”

“I would’ve gotten you something more stylish and you know it. Maybe in purple.”

“But this is my favourite colour. I think only Gian knows it is, but I don’t think he can knit. It looks hand-made.”

“Yeah, whatever, just put it on and quit whining about the cold. Do we have everything? Ivanko, you want to watch us ruin our complexion by planting face-first in the snow with our improvised sleighs?”

“Always.” He closes the game app and gets up to put his jacket on, trying not to let his satisfaction show upon seeing Valenti wrapping himself in the scarf with a content expression.

“It’s really warm”, he announces and sinks deeper into the several layers, “and it smells good. Forget whoever might’ve lost it, it’s mine now. Let’s go.”

And while the two lead, rekindling the discussion about Shay’s girlfriend, Ivan follows them with a smile.

#rainbow six siege #recruitverse #ivan/valenti #even if it's light it's there!#fanfic #all the torture jojo has to go through #shay would probably ask him to help send a visual reply #iykwim #also valenti would never suspect ivan #he's not even on the list of suspects

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crimsonrevolt · 6 years

Photo

Congratulations Leah you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Xenophilius Lovegood!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

To get a Pandora and a Xeno all in one day...! I don’t think my heart can take it. Xeno is always a beloved character and you’ve written him so well in your application that we just cannot wait to see what you do with him. Also thank you Taylor for dragging her here! *your faceclaim change to Austin Butler has been accepted

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

I’m Leah, 25, and I use female pronouns and live in EST

ACTIVITY

I’d say about a 7. I do have a full-time job, but I’m usually able to be around some evenings and weekends

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

Welllll…I happen to know Taylor and she may or may not have drug me here

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

Look, I know this is going to sound like a line given who I’m applying for, but honestly, it’s always been Luna. I’ve always been a Ravenclaw and always known that and was always really disappointed that really in the books (at the beginning) the only character we had was Cho. But then Luna was introduced and I was just so happy. She’s my little Ravenclaw baby and she’s so weird and bizarre and just owns that that’s who she is. The year she was introduced in the books, I made my parents buy me a Harry Potter robe, printed out a Ravenclaw emblem, hot glued it over he Gryffindor emblem, and dawned earrings of a crab grabbing onto a foot and went as Luna for Halloween. I just love how intelligent and eccentric, but also how good and loyal she is. It’s always been her above anyone else that I relate to.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Nothing I can think of :)

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

Xenophilius Hezekiah Lovegood

Xenophilius knows their name is obnoxiously long. Nicknames are going to happen, it’s only natural with a name like Xenophilius, really. They don’t mind and they don’t really mind why you call them—Xeno, Xen, Philly, even Lovey if you wan to take something from their last name. But DO NOT, under any circumstances, ever call him Phil. Just. Don’t. Do it.

Additionally, being demi-male (see more later), he tends to use Xeno more when feeling masculine and Xen when feeling agendered.

FACE CLAIM

I’d really, really love Austin Butler (first choice) or Toby Regbo for Xen. I’m not against Jamie, but his tendency to play villains/assholes makes it a little harder for me to see him as Xeno

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

As stated above, I really, really love Luna which makes Xen an obvious choice. I’m also a Ravenclaw, so I feel like I have that tie to him. I started looking through the characters and there were probably a half a dozen I started looking at, but Xen just started talking to me before I even read all the way through their bio. I love that he’s kind of wild and crazy and just free. They believe fully in being whoever you are and not letting anyone stop you, unless of course you’re hurting someone else. They’re incredibly intelligent and driven to always know more and investigate more. I also see him as horribly loyal. Few people take the time to get to know Xen or become friends with them. But those that do gain a fierce friend.

I think an important thing to know about the Xen we’ll see in game play is that they’re not the same Xeno we see in the books. In the books, he’s a lot more unhinged (for lack of a more fitting word), a lot more willing to throw anyone under the bus for the sake of his daughter. But I think a lot of that comes from losing Pandora. He’s been in the midst of a war for the better part of 20 years, his wife died at her own hands (even if by accident) and there was nothing he could do to stop it, the wizarding community as a whole believes him entirely delusional, really the only thing he has is his daughter who’s taken by death eaters. A lot of what is seen in the books comes from all that trauma. He’s eccentric in the current timeline becomes craziness. His protectiveness of his friends becomes a willingness to go against even is own principles to save his daughter. His laid back, open-minded demeanor has morphed into something that’s jarring to most people. At their roots, the personality of current Xen is still very much the same as Xeno in the books, but the way it manifests itself is much more dialed back. Xen is a little more in line with their daughter now, rather than the more extreme manifestation they become in their older years.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

End-game for Xen is definitely Pandora. With how much we see that they love her in the books, I can’t imagine it any other way. That being said, I’m more than open to exploring other relationships with other characters. Xen is also definitely pansexual. They’re a person who loves love and acceptance and openness and not closing yourself off to anything for any reason so I can’t imagine them being anything other than pan.

When it comes to romance and sex, well Xeno actually has far more experience in the latter. He’s had his fair share hook ups—with parties of both genders and have they explored outside human/wizard species…well maybe. But romance? Honestly, Xen considers themselves lucky to have friends. They aren’t going to push anything more. They rather like the idea of falling in love, having some little house somewhere surrounded by plants. But love and romance at this point are more ideas to Xen than they are reality. If it happens, it does, and he’ll be more than happy with it. If it doesn’t..then they’ll just adopt a house-full of creatures and live happily ever after with them.

Xen identifies as demi-male with a bit of genderfluidity behind it, using both male and agendered pronouns. Gender is just another construct and they suppose they align more with male than female if they have to choose. That being said, the never-ending comments about being feminine for their long hair and tendency to wear far too many accessories never bothered him either. Use what pronouns you will with them, none of them really matter. Xen has far more important things to worry themselves with.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

-AN AESTHETIC

Pinterest for Xeno can be found here

-A PLAYLIST

Playlist for Xeno can be found here

-A FEW HEADCANONS

Xen’s crowning achievement of their Hogwarts years is sabotaging the Slytherin Quidditch team. It wasn’t about winning a game or the house points—Xen couldn’t care less about Quidditch really and the house tournament always seemed rather trivial to them. No, the Slytherin team was being rather awful to a group of first year Hufflepuff girls and someone had to put an end to it. So right before the Slytherin/Gryffindor game, Xeno may have enchanted all their brooms to give them all a horrible case of jock itch.

When Xeno wasn’t trying to sneak into the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library or wondering off into the Forbidden Forest, you could usually find them at the lake. It was a nice relaxing place and a good place to get high without the professors catching you. There was, of course, also the giant squid. Xen named him Sqedward and tried desperately to train him. Much to Xen’s dismay, the squid never did listen, no matter what they tried, and their dreams of riding the great beast as Muggles do dolphins at Sea World were thwarted.

Xeno isn’t sure how to feel about all the violence Aversio has been using lately. They’re not much prone to violence themselves and tend to take less traditional approaches when push comes to shove (see above). They don’t necessarily support just how violent the group is being, but they know something needs to be done given the state of the wizarding world and their Muggle relations. Sure, it’s nice the Order exists, but just talking about making change isn’t enough. You have to do something for anything to happen. Maybe Aversio’s path isn’t the right one, but it’s the best path available at the current time, so he’s going to take it.

Xeno has an extremely deep love of New Scamander. They think he’s absolutely brilliant. Living a life searching out and findings and treating and fighting for and writing about magical creatures, it just sounds like an absolute dream. Xen’s copy of Fantastic Beasts long ago had to be enchanted so the pages wouldn’t fall apart from wear and there’s paragraphs of notes scribbled into the margins. If they cared less about trying to make a difference for humans, they would almost certainly become a magizoologist, but there’s far too much work to be done getting humans to care about each other before trying to get them to care for creatures. Not that that puts any damper on Xen’s love of all things animal, vegetable, and mineral and his extraordinary adoration of his hero. The day Luna brought home a Scamader was damn near the proudest day of his whole life.

(Note: I saw you guys have a profession list and picked on that feels the most fitting for a young Xeno. I’m more than open to adjusting to fit your views/group needs for job positions.) Xeno currently works at the Daily Prophet. Sure, it’s corrupt and what they’re printing is hardly the truth, but Xen is convinced they’ll be able to change it from the inside out if only they try hard enough. They thought if they joined the Prophet they’d be able to print articles to change minds and change the ideals of the paper’s staff. So far it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere though. Most of his articles wind up getting cut out of the paper and the editor is scolding him more than publishing him. It’s starting to get frustrating, but they’re still holding out hope to make a difference. (The Quibbler will still be founded at a later date when Xen can no longer deny that they aren’t making any impact at the Prophet. Or possibly the Quibbler is founded as an Aversio propaganda paper that either uses Xen’s eccentric interests as a way to send veiled/coded messages to members or it just simply morphs into something entirely different as the war winds down and after Pandora’s death becoming the zany brain child seen in the books.)

Xenophilius sends Howlers quite frequently to anyone in the select group they consider friends. They’re not angry, no, of course not, that’s just now who he is. But there’s just something about a talking/screaming message that simply conveys things written letters can’t. Hand written messages just aren’t…dramatic emphatic enough.

More often than not, when writing Xen tends to dictate out loud to an enchanted quill while pacing around the room and keeping their hands busy.

Xen is a lover of accessories and is rarely without at least half a dozen rings between their two hands.

Xeno is a babbler. Bring up any topic he’s half interested in with anyone willing to even half pretend to be half listening and he’ll babble on endlessly about most anything. Their speech patters tend to involve long drawn out sentences that can be a bit hard to follow.

A few quick facts about their family: Their dad is a wizard while their mum is a muggle. Their father isn’t entirely supportive of their (for the time) progressive gender and sexual identities—the older Lovegood doesn’t necessarily scorn it or treat their child poorly, but he just doesn’t get it. Xen is an only child.

He brought a toad with him for his years at Hogwarts named Wartly. He talks to him a lot and even created a miniature, functional piano for the little guy to enjoy, fully infuriating most all of the Ravenclaw house as the toad would “play” at all hours of the night and Xen did absolutely nothing to “restrict the creature’s right to freedom of expression.”

Two brief headcanons about Xen as an adult that likely won’t have an impact on game play but I can’t shake:

Xen often calls his wife Panda Bear and his daughter his Little Moon

Xen’s knowns about the Deathly Hallows for quite some time, but the reason he carries so much information about them in Harry’s time is because of Pandora. After her death, Xenophilus poured himself into a way to bring back the love of his life. He’s still certain the only thing that could bring her back. He never managed it and maybe that’s for the best, but his knowledge of the Hallows comes down to his longing to bring back Panda.

Connections: (These are a few ideas for connections, all pending approval of the characters’ respective players and naturally his connections aren’t limited to these, but it’s a jumping off point and a look into how he relates to others)

Marlene—Marlene and Xen easily go back to their early Hogwarts days. She’s one of his best friends and one of few that can fully stomach everything that is the complexity of Xenophilius Lovegood. She’s a pub buddy and his go to for someone to smoke with. No one makes them smile and laugh quite the way Marlene can—even if they both spend just as much time rolling their eyes at one another.

The Black Family—The Black Family as a whole is just…distasteful to Xeno. They’re the perfect portrait of everything wrong in the wizarding community. They can’t stand them. Even Sirius, who’s long been a member of the Order and Aversio, Xen can’t quite bring themselves to fully trust—can someone truly disconnect so completely from a family so deeply tainted? The Blacks are violent and bigoted power hungry. Despite his typically warm personality, he’s often notably cold to the Black family and their backwards ways.

Rita—A fellow wizarding journalist, Xen and Rita have always been in the same circles. It doesn’t make them friends though. They have very different world views. She’s the kind who is actually published by the Prophet—though really he can’t see why as so many of her article are full of half-truths and exaggerations. Xeno is always trying to get her to write something good. Something worth her time. Something valuable and positive. It hasn’t worked thus far, so for the time being they’re really just rivals at best.

Arthur—Arthur Weasley is something of a treasure to Xen. They both have immense loves for things that no one else can quite fully appreciate. And sure, they don’t always have interest in the same sorts of things, but there is something nice about finding someone how loves loving things the way you do. The two can sit and babble on for hours, neither really saying anything relating to what the other’s just said and neither really minding because at least someone is finally listening to them.

Sybill—Sybill is so free and strange, just like himself and honestly, Xeno loves it. They always feel free to be unabashedly weird with her and it’s rather freeing. They’ve tried time and time again to get her to teach him divination. And she’s tried, she really has, but every time he fails to see anything of the future, he just tells her he’s failed to teach him properly rather than accept the fact that he’ll never have the affinity she does.

Lucius—Few people really truly get under Xenophilius’s skin quite the way Lucius does. He’s just so smug and so self-important and so sure he’s better than absolutely everyone when the reality is, he’s not. ‘Men’ who act like they are men, like they are more than what they are, when really, push comes to shove, they are nothing, are an utter frustration to Xeno. They’re very, very tempted to put him in his place and at some point, they just may. Someone needs to.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“One? Only one? Boiling down the entire universe worth of possibility into only one options?” Xen’s cheeks puff up as he lets out an exasperated and dramatic sigh. “Merlin’s beard, that’s a big question. Oi I suppose…something that would cause some kind of instant karmic retribution. Or perhaps a potion that allows you to know everything—absolutely everything, even if only for a while. Or what about the ability to see all creatures, even the invisible one or the ones that run away really fast. Or maybe-” They stop, suddenly realizing themselves and let out a small chuckle. “Well I suppose that’s more than one it’s it. It’s far too complex a question. You can’t honestly expect anyone to be able to give only one answer, it’s entirely unfair.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“Well it would certainly have to be Marlene to bring along with me, it’d be rather grate fun. We’d find some good trouble to get into. I mean not that we haven’t already found good trouble in the Forest. You know everyone is so against the centaurs and, no, they’re not the friendlies group, but they’re not all bad. Now what would I bring with me?” They pause for a moment contemplating. There were plenty of good things to bring, plenty of things they had dug up spending far too much time in parts of the library and personal tomes that they should have never laid their hands on. The Philosopher’s Stone came to mind. Or maybe the Hallows. But that wasn’t exactly information they thought best to share with anyone. “Hmm…perhaps a griffin. Or a phoenix. Maybe a Thestral—they just have bad reps you know. Oooo, or perhaps a Graphhorn. Sure they’re rather hard to find, but you didn’t specify the likelihood of being able to obtain said object before entering the forest with it.”

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“Decisions in general are rather difficult I find. Even the most mundane ones. The world, by design, is full of choices and you’ll never be able to choose all of them—never. Isn’t that a thought?” As their words die off, their face gets an uncharacteristically morose look to it. “Those with gray morality, I suppose. Where right and wrong blend together and white and black are not so clear. When you know more needs to be done, but you aren’t sure the best path forward. The choices where there is no right and no wrong and yet someone could wind up hurt regardless. Those are the hardest.”

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

“Most anything that could be said about me has already been said. And frankly, I don’t much care about any of it. I suppose he one thing I’d never want said about is that I’m unkind or uncaring. There’s a great many things that can be said about a person, but I think that, by far is worst. That and unimaginative. Both terrible, terrible things.”

REACTION TO LAST EVENT DROP

Reading through the plot drop, there were two different places I really saw some place that Xeno would fit in. In the first portion of the plot drop where Aversio and the Order are working together, it mentions that some, including Sirius are frustrated with how long it’s taking. I think Xen would fall into that camp. To them it’s just obvious that something needs done and everyone should be willing to take action. Sure, it’d be nice if it were a little more peaceful than what Aversio is doing now, but it certainly needs to be more than what the Order has been doing. They just can’t quite understand why things aren’t moving more quickly and why the two factions of the same side can’t seem to get along and find a solution. They’re trying to get everyone to work together and find a better middle ground, but it can at times wear at him and become rather frustrating.

The second part is that he would most certainly help Hestia and Edgar making the posters. Xen, being Xen, making a paper as bright and vivid as we all know the Quibbler is, I can absolutely see him helping to write and format propaganda (for lack of a better word) for Aversio trying to recruit or spread their message. It’s something he would definitely have a heavy hand in given half the chance. It’s something that would let his imaginative and creative ways be put to work. There’s also a fair possibility that if given a chance, he would have help with creating the potions to help Aversio/Order members go undercover to the Death Eater events as well.

WRITING SAMPLE

“Lovegood! My office now!”

Xeno was more than familiar with that tone. It was more or less the only one they ever got from the editor of The Daily Prophet. Sure, it had been a bit disheartening at first—Xen was used to their fair amount of trouble, but being a disappointment, a let down…well not so much. They had gotten used to it now. Which was probably why they were more often tasked with the mundane articles—new students arriving at Hogwarts, the menu changes at the Leaky Caldron, a nasty flea outbreak at Eeylops. Not that that stopped Xen from writing the articles they really wanted to write. The ones that really mattered. They waived their hand at the enchanted pen scribbling away mid-air and it clattered down onto his desk with a rather defeated clunk as he made it way into the editor’s office.

“What in the bloody hell is this?” the editor asked, slamming down his most recent article. The big, bold headline of Death Eater Takes Minister Title and the sub-caption of Rodolphus Lestrange, a member of the terror organization known as the Death Eaters usurped power unjustly from former Minister Millicent Bagnold. Sure, it wasn’t big flashy words, and Xen has spent ages trying to come up with something better, but he figured cutting it straight to the chase might be best given the circumstances.

“Well it’s the truth.”

“The truth? The truth? We can’t go making claims like that about the LestrangesXenophilius.”

“They’re not claims, they’re the truth.”

“You’ve nothing to support that argument.”

“I have everything to support that argument,” they countered. They could feel their typically laxed personality starting to pull back as they got more and more frustrated. How on earth was he supposed to do anything, change anything when every decent article he wrote led to this kind of conversation? There was good to be done here, change to be made, but once again, they were just the crazy little wizard with an imagination too bright to understand the reality of the world. What no one ever seemed to notice was that it was that exact imagination that made them see things perhaps a bit too clearly.

“We won’t be publishing this sort of nonsense here.”

“It’s not nonsense! Sir, surely you have to know! You have to know the kind of things that man is wrapped up in. Him and the Black family, all of the Death Eaters, this never ending parade of hate that’s only leading to genocide. The wizarding community needs to know what’s happening! They have to be enlightened.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“We’re the leading paper in the English wizarding community. If we’re not going to talk about it, then who will? We have a duty as members of the press to publish the truth, regardless of backlash, to make readers informed and keep them up to date on the reality of the world around them, even when it’s a reality that is hard to stomach.”

“Enough.” With that one barked word, Xen knew. They knew that surely, same as Rita, the editor knew. He knew about all of this and was just going on complicity. Maybe he was even one of them. “I was warned when I hired you. That this kind of drivel is what I’d get from you, but some of your professors seemed to have good words to say about you. Last time I listen to them.”

Xeno’s face fell. His writing wasn’t drivel. It was good. It was the only good he had to offer the world right now. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t doing anything if no one ever read it. Their mind flashed back to all of Aversio’s talks of future plans. All the wrathful ideas they had that churned Xen’s stomach. But sitting here and being peaceful wasn’t working.

People would hear Xenophilius Lovegood’s messages one way or another. Maybe they’d have a turn of staff soon, an editor who would listen, who would be interested in the truth. Maybe Rita would quit and free up page space that could go to articles that really mattered. Maybe the world would finally just start seeing things as they were and cry for the truth themselves.

“Get out of here. Go write me something I can actually publish Lovegood. We won’t be having this conversation again.”

Xen turned to the door, shaking their head as their fingers played with the rings that adorned each one, already plotting out their next articles—both the ones they would turn in and the ones they would find other ways to distribute to those who would listen. They were just to the doorway when the editor spoke again.

“And nothing about Nargles this time Lovegood.”

#Accepted App #HP RP #skeleton rp #lsrpg #xenophilius lovegood

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bridgeinn-blog · 7 years

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Animal Activist or Troll? Our Foie Gras Journey

Is Foie Gras controversial? Yes. Is it a delicacy? For me definitely.

In my humble opinion Foie Gras is a beautiful thing and is incomparable to any other food stuff in the world. The velvety texture and buttery flavour is a thing of wonder. For me though it is also personal! Before I tried Foie Gras for the first time, I like many others watched a decade old Peta video online and declared I would never eat such a thing. Then came a trip to Paris, problems with my French meant I ended up accidentally trying it for the first time. Wow! This accident made it much harder for me to resist Foie Gras in the future. I am a self-confessed foodie and many of my happiest memories include food. My fist solo trip to Paris is definitely one of those memories as is the night I got engaged to my husband in Palma when we drank champagne and ate Foie Gras. He loves it to too by the way, more than he loves me, I think! When we decided to buy our second pub, a run down two room local that had not had any work done to it for over 25 years I don’t think we even had to discuss what we wanted to do with it. We just knew we wanted to bring everything we love about eating and drinking and share it with other people. What followed was a £650k refurbishment and a menu which allowed guests to try new flavours with those they love; a modern take on tapas if you will. It was a given that our version of the beautiful Foie Gras dish we ate the night we got engaged would be included on the menu. There it has sat on our menu since we opened in July 2016.

Activist Nonsense But what about the Peta video’s I hear you ask? Well in a nutshell here is the argument I have repeated 100’s of times over the last 3 weeks. I believe Foie Gras production is the same as all meat and dairy production – there is good and there is bad. You have battery eggs (lots of PETA videos available), free range eggs (no PETA videos available), Mass produced Beef (lots of PETA videos available), Free range grass fed Beef (no PETA videos available) and many other examples. I believe Foie Gras is exactly the same there are good farms and there are bad but Activist organisations clearly do not care, sentiment beings just shouldn’t be killed for our gratification and Foie Gras is up there with Fox, Seal and Whale Hunting.

Activists scream “but what about Gavage? How would you like to be force fed?” Well no I wouldn’t but I am not a goose and physiologically a goose and a human are very different. Geese have no gag reflex and they do not breathe in the same way humans do, so not only can they still breathe during Gavage but the oesophagus of a Goose is hard like a finger nail. Its not like the easily torn tissue of a human throat. Force feeding Geese which are migratory birds and naturally Gorge makes it ridiculous to compare force feeding a goose to a human. I do gain weight in winter as it happens but I blame all the stew and my own love of food. Put another way – I wouldn’t like to have a metal shoe nailed into my foot but then I’m not a horse and horses do not object in the slightest.

Beware it could happen to you! Three weeks ago, we received a public post on our face book wall. The post was from a lady who had dined with us and complimented both our food and service but went on to say she was dismayed to see we had Foie Gras on the menu and would not be returning until we removed it from the menu. I replied, thanked her for her kind comments and very politely explained that we do not believe in policing the choices of others and that I hoped she would change her mind about returning. Within 1 hour my phone was going crazy with notifications as one star reviews came flooding in from people all over the world and within 2 hours our previous unblemished five star Facebook rating had been reduced to 1.3 in just a few taps on a keyboard.

Either we had just had an international contingent descend on our pub and managed to deliver the worst service in the history of services or something else was going on. Turns out it was the latter. The lady who had originally posted her complaint had sent the response to her animal activist / internet troll friend who had posted it on over a dozen different animal activists websites and that was it, we were off on this crazy and horrifying journey! Naively believing that this was all a misunderstanding and that if we could just explain our position reason would prevail and the fake reviews would stop, we drafted a statement and posted it on our page. We may as well have poured vinegar on an open wound, calm the situation it didn’t it only seemed to aggravate. What I thought was a calm and rational explanation of our thoughts and feelings on animal welfare, fake reviews and the situation in general was met with abuse, ridicule, personal insults and a host of decade old pictures of Foie Gras production plastered all over our page.

This post went on to attract 1.2k comments and was seen by 20,000 people (every cloud and all that). To cut a long story short I blamed myself, blamed my writing, blamed Facebook and decided to correct the situation by writing a follow up post clarifying all the points from the first post that had been taken and twisted and identified me as the anti Christ.

Now I am not a writer as I am sure you are beginning to appreciate, but it whatever I or other supporters wrote it made no difference it was indeed just like groundhog day. So the abuse continued, day after day. We sought advice and were advised not to engage to just let them get on with it or take it off quietly and wait until they have gone away. I’m from Liverpool and rolling over to bullying and blackmail is just not a Scouse trait I am aware of. I challenge anyone to take that much abuse and say nothing to defend yourself. So I continued to engage with the individual posts believing that reason would prevail if I could just engage one on one, have a sensible discussion and help them understand that things have changed etc etc. Wow, was I was wrong, turns out that’s just not how activists / keyboard trolls roll.

We were broken Against everything we believe in we were about to cave in to bullying when Troll in Chief suddenly blackmailed us.

She explained she had organised a protest outside our premises but if we took Foie Gras off our menu she would cancel the protest & remove the fake reviews. We were to tag her with a link to our updated online menu and when our new menu was printed. Given that she is neither my mother (who I am indeed scared of), my priest (who I am also scared of) or my boss this was a step too far and the path ahead was sealed. We decided to fight back. We spoke to our local community and received the same message – this is idiotic don’t give in to them, the support was amazing. We also spoke to friends in hospitality and they spoke to their friends who spoke to their friends and support came flooding in from all over the world. Our review score started rising as five start reviews came flooding in. While many were real reviews from people who had just never rated us online before a lot were just fake reviews from supporters who had never been. Facebook doesn’t care if reviews are genuine so what the hell? Facebook reviews are like internet memes to me now – completely hilarious and totally irrelevant to my decision-making process.

In response we declared we would arrange an anti-online bullying protest in the home town of chief troll, this proved a popular idea and my inbox was full of messages from her previous victims. Mostly from mothers who had given their children meat and faced her wrath before. In troll land giving a child meat is as bad as giving them a cigarette apparently.

Three weeks later as I write this our Facebook page is gone. Not because we gave in but because frankly it took on a life of its own and we don’t have the time to moderate it and Facebook will not let you anyway. The journey for which there is no playbook continues, there has been international press coverage and their protest is planned for next week. Coverage made The Times, The Telegraph, & bizarrely Fox News

We didn’t contact the press, the activists did but then they didn’t like that the coverage sided with us so accused us of pulling a PR stunt. I have learnt much more about animal activists and online bullying in the last three weeks than I ever wished to. For instance, I can tell you that online harassment makes you feel threatened and alone. It makes you anxious and irritable and causes huge stress for yourself and your family and it must be stopped. I have had a glimpse of why 1 in 8 of young people who are bullied online ends up attempting suicide. We are older and have a great deal of support but for others; especially those who feel alone; the mental effects must be horrendous.

The Future Outlook Democratic protest is a right and I have no objection against those who wish to protest although I do wish they would get their facts straight and stop peddling the same old 10 year old propaganda but that’s another story and a battle for another day. I have also discovered it is not just Foie Gras that enrages them either, Jamie Oliver’s Bristol eatery was recently targeted and his only crime was to go on TV and encourage more people to buy Organic, Free range milk. His reasoning was that happy cows make tastier milk. A noble quest for animal welfare some might think but to the activists he made the fatal mistake of implying cows could be happy. There are no happy cows they wailed on their keyboards. I live surrounded by cows and they look pretty happy to me but as I am apparently devoid of any caring about animal suffering what would I know?

If they succeed in removing Foie Gras what is next? Who will next to face their wrath? Will they stop until we are all Vegan? Well its our business, we employed the capital and took the all the risk to create The Bridge Inn that has pleased our target audience and created new jobs in our community. Our guests like what we do, sales are growing and aside from the trolls feedback is excellent, so we soldier on.

If I could go back in time would I do anything differently? No I wouldn’t but only time will tell whether the playbook we have adopted works.

Foie Gras is still on our menu and will remain there for as long as our customers want it. We will not be bullied or blackmailed by an online mob to dismiss our own knowledge, judgements and values. We hope to see more restaurants stand up in the same way and hope that activist groups change their methods when they disagree with what a restaurant sells. We hope social media review sites and governments take more responsibility for the damage online attacks can have on individuals and business that are every economies engine of growth.

We are currently working with various people to try and put something together so people who do decide to stand up will have international support, resources and advice. We want an overhaul of the review system so restaurants can no longer be targeted with fake online reviews. We could not have done this without the support of our local community or our global chef community and we know we are incredibly lucky. We want to make sure every restaurant is afforded the same.

If people don’t like something about our business they can vote with their feet and choose not to dine with us. This is their choice. What we sell and why is our choice and will remain so.

Samantha

This article was written for the Chef Magazine called Culination in the USA.

#foiegras #animalactivist #freshfood #vegan

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freespeechfandom-blog · 7 years

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Fanaticism vs. argument

@overlycaffeinatedwarmage wrote:

Last night I finally had to block someone on here who keeps rehashing the “Pritkin pushed her off the cliff so he’s just as bad as Mircea” argument.

Dajuan, I remember you claimed you were a ‘good arguer’ but coming up with a ‘straw man’ (see link) like this, and not being able to bring up supporing evidence just weakens your point (this is a contrustive suggestion I made earlier too, for people to better their claims). Claiming something I never said just makes it seem that you have no real substantial ‘ammunition’ so to speak, so if you need to make up lies to make some imaginary point, what does that say about your case, really?

So, I don’t know where the ‘pushing off a cliff’ stuff came from, certainly not me, and nobody claimed that P is as bad as M, but please, do look it up. Every time a complaint is raised, I urge people to show what they base that on, point to a post or message, and just like @cassiepalmerfan and @windsurfingthroughhell, you come up empty. What was actually said is that like all other POV characters Pritkin has his own biases, I made a point about ‘unreliable narrators’ (see link) from literary theory, which was supported by the evidence of him telling Cassie there will be no other attempt on her life two minutes before she’s almost assassinated. That is the point that was made in that argument, just like all my arguments are about a medial perspective against double standards, cherry-picking and just plainly projecting ‘headcanon’ made-up stuff into the books that are not supported by any evidence. If you have an issue with that, do discuss, but coming up with a lie and playing the victim only makes one look irrational and powerless.

This is why I love you guys, you see this.

What you’re saying is basically that you love people who think like you and do not challenge your biases. Again, not a mark of a ‘good arguer.’ Just because a number of people share mistakes won’t make it right, many people voted for for Trump too - that does not confirm that Hillary is a warmongering devilspawn nasty woman. Can everybody see the logic in that? And this isn’t about preferences or loving a character, it’s about basing one’s judgments on unsubstantiated claims and lies, when there would be perfectly good points to be had about things that actually are up for debate. So why do it?

And the reason for that is a simple case of biased fangirling. What happens in fanatics versus rational people is a deeply emotional feeling of attack at the slightest mention of limitations - this must not stand, the hegemony of our pitched ideology must not be challenged by pesky common sense; we must deny all proof of a moderate perspective. Let us plug our ears, let us ignore the parts we don’t like, let us construct a narrative that we maintain by surrounding ourselves only with people who echo our own biases back at us. None of that would be necessary in the possession of rational arguments. And the reason I take issue with that is not simply literary, but you may be able to recognize exactly this kind of toxic extremism in current trends of politics, gender and race discourse, or religion.

Because discussion is not threatened by the claims of others - if they are wrong claims, they are easily exposed; and if they have merit, then we can learn from them and improve our stance accordingly. It is dogma and propaganda that are threatened by any claim that points to the fallacies of their own beliefs, becase that narrative would fall apart without the biases and ignorance that maintain it.

You’re free to pitch your side of the arguments along my few little corrections and limitations - that I raised in order to bring the discourse from extremism towards a more moderate and rational perspective - to a collection of literary critics or theorists, and see which sounds more objective and which one is sexually motivated obsession contrary to independent critical thought.

Nobody likes to be wrong, for sure, but the choice is ours whether we want to use these to improve, to take it with dignity, or to act like a fanatic or child. Also, I did use terms like “seem” “look” and “act like” because I firmly believe that such behaviour is not an innate permanent trait of an individual, only an unconstructive bad habit one can grow out of. Best of luck with that!

#cassie palmer #cvgr #fanaticism #argument #echo chamber #ideology #straw man

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beckynelsonpadilla-blog · 8 years

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Yale historian and Holocaust expert Timothy Snyder shared the following powerful thoughts: Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. Now is a good time to do so. Here are twenty lessons from the twentieth century, adapted to the circumstances of today. 1. Do not obey in advance. Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. You've already done this, haven't you? Stop. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom. 2. Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of "our institutions" unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don't protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning. 3. Recall professional ethics. When the leaders of state set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become much more important. It is hard to break a rule-of-law state without lawyers, and it is hard to have show trials without judges. 4. When listening to politicians, distinguish certain words. Look out for the expansive use of "terrorism" and "extremism." Be alive to the fatal notions of "exception" and "emergency." Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary. 5. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that all authoritarians at all times either await or plan such events in order to consolidate power. Think of the Reichstag fire. The sudden disaster that requires the end of the balance of power, the end of opposition parties, and so on, is the oldest trick in the Hitlerian book. Don't fall for it. 6. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. (Don't use the internet before bed. Charge your gadgets away from your bedroom, and read.) What to read? Perhaps "The Power of the Powerless" by Václav Havel, 1984 by George Orwell, The Captive Mind by Czesław Milosz, The Rebel by Albert Camus, The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt, or Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev. 7. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy, in words and deeds, to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. And the moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow. 8. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power, because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights. 9. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on your screen is there to harm you. Bookmark PropOrNot or other sites that investigate foreign propaganda pushes. 10. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them. 11. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down unnecessary social barriers, and come to understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life. 12. Take responsibility for the face of the world. Notice the swastikas and the other signs of hate. Do not look away and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so. 13. Hinder the one-party state. The parties that took over states were once something else. They exploited a historical moment to make political life impossible for their rivals. Vote in local and state elections while you can. 14. Give regularly to good causes, if you can. Pick a charity and set up autopay. Then you will know that you have made a free choice that is supporting civil society helping others doing something good. 15. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble. Authoritarianism works as a blackmail state, looking for the hook on which to hang you. Try not to have too many hooks. 16. Learn from others in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties here are an element of a general trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports. 17. Watch out for the paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-Leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the game is over. 18. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no. (If you do not know what this means, contact the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and ask about training in professional ethics.) 19. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom. 20. Be a patriot. The incoming president is not. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it. Feel free to share, but please copy & paste the text into your own status or else it will not be viewable to all of your friends. -----

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