#I’m not Jewish btw so sorry if I got anything wrong

[riverkingmarley]

So… what was the point of Theo?

They set him up as early as arc 11, but he doesn’t really do anything?

He doesn’t stop Jack. He’s kinda sad about it. His family is composed entirely of Nazis. He’s kinda sad about it. His family is grey boy bubbled. He’s kinda sad about it. He puts a rift between himself and Taylor. He’s kinda sad about it. He named himself Golem. He’s kinda sad (and weirdly mean?) about it (seriously how do you, the child of Nazis, name yourself after a Jewish thing and then talk about how you regret it because the Golem is too mindless??? That’s so messed up what is wrong with you).

Maybe it’s just me but while all of these ideas are mentioned, none of them really feel relevant or like they’re explored. What really nailed this in for me was how Theo comments on Hookwolf. He has a little internal monologue about how he didn’t like Hookwolf cause he was a jerk, but he doesn’t talk to him about it. He doesn’t even yell at him or something. Did Hookwolf ever get his memories back? He could have taunted him with his failure to accomplish his dream or with the fact Hookwolf doesn’t know who he is. But nothing ever comes of it. What was the point of bringing it up?

I feel like the story pays some lip service to all these themes and ideas but never really explores them. Is there some key to it that I was missing? It mentions that he tries to cover his emotions up to put on a front. That could explain why he doesn’t really touch too heavily on topics, but that never comes to a head either. Also, there’s already a character I like more that covers those ideas: Grue.

Here’s my fun little counter pitch though: We just replace him with Sophia.

Jack nominates Sophia instead of Oni Lee before she is shipped out of the bay and instead of being sent to prison she works out the same deal with him about killing him in two years to save herself.

She still puts up this front about not caring about anyone so she acts like she doesn’t care about her family being on the line. She might try to run away at first but she gets caught by the prt who force/convince her somehow to stay and train/fight.

Maybe something happens with the nine that scares her enough to stay and train. Maybe Bonesaw puts a tracker on her and Amy’s not around anymore to remove it. Then, when Taylor becomes weaver, she’s still scared enough to put up with her the same way Taylor is willing to put up with her because of the end of the world.

Emma’s emotional state went differently because she never separated from Sophia in the same way. After Weaver shows up, she sees Sophia and Taylor working together on the news. Maybe she feels more alone then ever. Maybe this is the push that’s needed to finally get her help.

Sophia grows and develops over the time skip. She works hard and she even reconnects with her family.

This is why it hits ten times harder when they get grey boy bubbled and Taylor kills her younger sibling. She thinks of all the time she lost when she was younger and hated/was apathetic to her family. How her family is suffering forever because of her rash decisions when she was younger.

When she fails to take down Jack it’s a major blow in how she failed both in stopping him and getting revenge. When grey boy gets taken down without her she feels more powerless than ever. She breaks down and shows emotion, maybe for the first real time in the whole book (echoing Taylor’s breakdown with the end of the world).

Maybe she even kills Hookwolf, and it doesn’t make her feel better. While it’s still good that the nazi is gone and she’s protected people from him but she realizes that having power over others doesn’t really make her feel better and she finally realizes that she needs to heal and connect with people she cares about. This made all the more tragic by how her family is gone and it’s too late.

Maybe she says something about this to Taylor at the end and it influences how she fights scion. Taylor takes one last lesson from an enemy except this time it’s a gift instead of a scar.

We see Sophia in the epilogue. Maybe Sofia’s power allows her to affect grey boys bubble a little, lessening her family’s pain somehow. Letting her move past barriers between her and others instead of dodging and running from things.

[raayllum]

One of the things I like about tdp is how diverse it is, and not only with LGBTQIA+ people/couples. Nothing wrong with that ofc, but some shows that market themselves with "representation" only have that as the main focus, and its nice to have a show that has that AND more without all the dumb stereotypes. And honestly as a woc i'm just glad to see an asian who isn't short or nerdy for once lmao (I hope this doesn't come off as homophobic or anything btw, and sorry if this got posted twice ;w;)

Oh, you are preaching to the choir, and you are absolutely right. I’ve written before on how fandom prioritizes queer rep — specifically “same sex” presenting rep — above all else, particularly race. It’s super evident in the way interracial couples (canon or fanon, but it’s especially annoying when the ship is canon) is bemoaned as “can’t a guy and girl just be friends” often so the white character of the match can have a same sex relationship with another white character. It very much reeks of competing representation needs that queer white people in particular (which as one, I think I can say) don’t realize are competing. I’ve written more extensively about it before and it’s beyond annoying.

Especially bc I’m a white pan queer in a same sex presenting relationship (neither my partner nor myself are women but we’re still socially perceived that way), so like, I get it. But I will always be just as happy about a cute & healthy interracial “het” relationship as I would be about a queer ship.  (Because my relationship is also interracial, too.) Because Yes, it’s wonderful seeing my queerness in things like The Dragon Prince and the Owl House — I’ve shed happy tears over it before — but it’s also important to see beyond my own personal representation horizons to pursue and support others.

It’s also frustrating how much representation has become synonymous with queer rep when like, no, it’s not the only rep that matters. Disabled rep matters, neurodivergent rep matters, religious (ex: Jewish, Muslim) rep matters, racial rep matters. And we need stories with all of those things even when they don’t overlap, and to celebrate when they do.

Like I love the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, but an antagonist in the tv show falls into antisemitic caricatures (so does Tangled, twice unfortunately) and what little racial rep it has also isn’t great. But the two main leads are disabled with another two disabled characters, and that’s all awesome and important. Again, more diverse stories for variety is key.

Hot take, maybe, but TDP would still be groundbreaking with its racial and disabled rep even if there was no queer rep, which is a lovely — and is groundbreaking in its own way. The Dragon Prince has two same sex kisses in 27 episodes — one of which takes place only fifteen episodes into the series. What other kid’s animated show can say that?

And TDP’s Asian rep is also something I don’t feel enough people praise, tbh, particularly in regards to Callum and Ezran in some ways? Like Amaya and Sarai are heavily praised, and rightfully so, but Callum is also an Asian lead (and arguably the Main lead of the show) and Ezran is Black and Asian. 

It was a source of frustration when people felt like they had to justify shipping something “het” like Rayllum by making it “woke” somehow, based upon gender roles and insisting that Rayla had to be taller and Callum had to stay shorter (because one inch is that important, apparently?). And I’m totally fine with that headcanon, I have no problem with it. I do not care. But it ignores the interracial aspect of Rayllum’s relationship and that Asian men being shorter is the stereotype. Just like how women being shorter is a stereotype. In fandom, they can coexist, and whichever one canon goes with (if either) will be subversive in its own way. But the whole thing and the way it pops back up from time to time is absolutely a symptom of people not knowing how to look at race just as much as gender or queer rep in fandom.

Most of the Dragon Prince is good about it, though, which I appreciate, and I think it’s a great reflection of how the show treats representation, too: all important, overlapping, and intersecting.

[itbe-jess]

My OC for the new Family Matters reboot I have in progress. Although, I'm a little disappointed that he didn't come out as bulky as I wanted. >.< 

Made here.

His name is Bjorn Miller. He's 17 years old, 6'1 in height, African American, Jewish, and gay. Bjorn is Norwegian for "bear" btw. XD 

Bjorn is a transfer student from St. Louis. His birth father is currently deceased, but his mother eventually remarried. Of course, Bjorn only addresses his step father by his first name (he's not a bad person though). He is the second clumsiest character in the show, due to his issue of controlling his great strength. He made use of it by joining the school boxing team. He's a boxer, but he really wants to be a cartoonist. 

He worked part-time as a retail sales associate. But then he got fired for punching one of the customers. Now he's a grocery store stocker, which is also a good use for his strength. 

Other than clumsiness, he also has an anxiety problem. He's worried for his mom's health, ever since the loss of his father, always insisting on doing the cooking, cleaning, and other errands. He's worried he might say the wrong word in a conversation, and whenever he feels he says the wrong thing, he repeatedly says "sorry." He's worried of confessing his love for Steve, thinking he might get rejected or he's not good enough for him. Sometimes, whenever he feels threatened, he'll accidentally punch someone in the face. Steve and Laura like to accompany him as his emotional support buddies, trying to help him cope with his anxiety. He's also very protective of the little nerd.

Bjorn happens to be very sensitive towards insults, mainly targeting towards his sexuality and religion. He has some experience being bullied. It happened when he came out gay at age 12. Tired of hiding and running from bullies, he then resorted to physical workouts, so that he'd become strong enough for the other kids to fear. That's right! He likes scaring homophobes! XD 

Bjorn loves cats, despite being allergic. He's a huge fan of classic Motown songs. He draws pretty well, and his art design is dedicated to the cartoony Hanna Barbara style. His favorite comics to write are about cutesy romantic shorts between a muscular tone, tall rat, and a scrawny, short, nerdy mouse. Both are male, by the way. He hates cops, but eventually learns that Carl isn't so bad.

For relationships, he's very close to Steve. What made him fall in love with Steve was the fact that he's unconditionally passionate, funny, helpful, supportive, and they're both clumsy. Because of these traits, he's become blind to all the turn-offs that annoy everyone. He's very shy to admit his feelings towards him. He tried giving hints, but Steve is oblivious to them, due to never receiving romantic attraction from anyone. Bjorn performs as a bodyguard to him.

He's gets along well with Laura. She likes to act as his straight man. He feels she is much more useful to help cope his anxiety better than Steve. Laura is the one he always turns to for advice. She was very trustworthy to share his crush on Steve with. Laura may have told Maxine, but she was trustful as well. He has listened to every advice thrown at him, accept for the ones regarding him to buck up and just confess his love for the nasally voice nerd. When not taking "therapy sessions," they're doing normal friend stuff such as playing video games, sports, watching TV, and eating out.

He likes Waldo because he makes him laugh, even though he doesn't intend to. And thanks to him, he's learned at lot about anime. (That's right, Waldo is a weeb in this reboot. XD)

Maxine is fun to be around, but he tends to bail out whenever she wants to record him for her vlog. 

Eddie is his least favorite. He can't stand narcissistic, macho ladies' men. He's the only kid he won't go easy on during sports. Despite Eddie being one year older, Bjorn is taller than him.

As for his mom, he loves her with all his heart. He would do anything to make her happy, and make sure she does less work around the house. She is very supportive of her son being gay, and everything he stands for. Ever since dad died, he’s been taking good care of her, hoping he doesn’t lose her too.

[scriptpastor]

(1) Is it me or do like Chinese people practice several religions? Usually it seems the 'non-religious' still practice or at least agree with folk religions, AND Buddhism AND Taoism, even other religions get mixed in. It's so confusing that they all get mixed together as in which part is which religion. I suppose it's like Abrahamic religions that have the same religious figure, but the division is much simplier. I can definitely tell if someone is Christian or Muslim or Jewish. But I definitely

(2) can’t tell whether someone is Buddhist, Taoist, or just believe in folk religion, because it’s all mixed, yet some claim being non-religious have one Chinese friend who has it all mixed in, also talks of hell. But, at first glance sounds more like Christianity. I’ve just read your post saying that the concept of hell is mostly NOT from the bible but rather fiction. That’s what I mean, those fictions not bible depictions. For example, she mentioned 10 levels of hell instead of the 18 from 

(3) Chinese folk religion and then added Meng Po, a Chinese deity, and then said something about reincarnation that sounds totally Buddhist. Really, how does Christianity even get mixed in there?? This is not the only instance, there are more people who do this and not just Christianity, but Muslim as well as all sorts of religions. Although one in particular was half Hui and half Han so I can understand how Muslim got mixed in. The majority are those who claim Han Chinese only. 

(4) So yeah, this is confusing when I’m trying to write Chinese people in my story and I’m not getting clear religious information and it’s so messed up. I suppose it’s okay to write it mixed up because that’s exactly what I see, but as a writer, it is hard for me to write without aiming on distinguishing, and I’m afraid that I’d write it mixed in a way that sounds ‘wrong’ or 'odd’ to a Chinese person. So sorry for the super long question but I’d be grateful for help on this. Thanks so much.

What you’re describing is called religious syncretism, and it’s very common! (I would hesitate, BTW, before attributing the existence of Buddhist hell to colonial/Western influence; “hell” is the English translation of a concept that already existed.)  I’ve written about religious syncretism a little bit before and even used several East Asian cultures as an example, just because they’re the ones I’m more familiar with. 

Confucian/Taoist/Buddhist syncretism is the most common sort of syncretism found in Chinese people, with a good dash of “folk religion” thrown in. There’s a sort of jokey saying: “Christian for the wedding, Buddhist for the funeral,” meaning that weddings will often be Western-style church weddings with the white dress, perhaps in a nondenominational chapel, but funerals will be Buddhist affairs, complete with chanting monks. Of course, as with anything concerning religion, some people are more observant than others, and if they’ve immigrated to another country they tend to become less observant with each generation. My immediate family is less observant: no ancestor worship, no altar in the house, though we do burn paper money at funerals; but I have friends whose families did the kitchen god thing, and one of my uncles keeps an altar in his house. So it can vary. And of course, some Chinese people convert to other religions entirely!

I wish I had some resources for you; I’m sure this is a very confusing topic to research for someone who hasn’t lived through it. I hope it clarifies things to know that a) this is normal and b) there’s a lot of natural variation. You’ve observed a lot of variance already in the form of friends and acquaintances! I think my only recommendation might be to read some fiction by Chinese authors, to get an idea of “common” practices; Amy Tan is the obvious choice, but you might also try Grace Lin, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Laurence Yep.

Hope that helps!

Disclaimer

[wirefern]

Update: here are a lot of articles and stuff I found over a year ago, when I wrote my first long fan fiction for this film. I really dislike what I wrote (even though it got some kind comments from you guys, you’re so sweet), so some of the links here don’t really relate to that story anymore. But I think they might be interesting, so I’m keeping this post the way it orig. was instead of updating it to reflect the fic as it now stands.

I hope someone can use them to write some fic in the future that covers more of this stuff. 

Orig post:

First of all, apologies: I tried to be as accurate as possible to the film. Some of the  fashion history stuff is probably wrong. I’m really sorry if you’re in the UK and found it too American-sounding. I tried my best. (I still have no idea about the difference between trousers and slacks?) And the dog and cacti books are in kitchen during the omelette scene. 

Anyhow, here are a bunch of thoughts, reviews, and articles about Phantom Thread that I read while writing this fic. (BTW, these don’t even touch on the Cyril as a lesbian icon stuff, so idk, that might be another post.)

It wasn’t too hard to imagine flashbacks about how Reynolds was so close to his mom and idolized her over all other women, but I couldn’t come up with a flashback for Alma because we don’t really know shit about her.

A big thing I was trying to figure out: is Alma Jewish? Luxemburg was occupied by the nazis; what did that do to her and her family? How did she get to England? No clear answer on that, but anyhow:

http://thequietus.com/articles/23989-phantom-thread-review

I also read a thing about PTA saying she had two brothers, but that part got cut out of the film....presumably so that Reynolds could continue going on and on about his mom, i guess. Anyhow, I couldn’t re-find the thing after I read it so I can’t post it here.

Most of the articles I read talked about Reynolds’ (Reynolds’s?) issues with his mom and how it shaped his relationship with Alma. Some of the articles were like: Reynolds and Alma are having sex all the time, but others were like: they only have sex twice (after she asks if he’s thirsty and then after they take Barbara Rose’s dress). A few said Reynolds is asexual. There were also a few articles by gay men who were angry that PTA made a movie about a male fashion designer who wasn’t 100% gay. I thought was kind of a ridiculous thing to get angry about, but I’m not a gay man, so what do I know?  Anyhow, here is one of those articles. I mean, I don’t agree with it, but here it is:

http://gaycitynews.nyc/heterosexualitys-phantom-stalking/

Now in my opinion, I thought Reynolds might be (gray?) asexual. He would need to feel very close to Alma in order to really want to have sex with her. I mean, think of that flirtatious smile he gives Alma when Dr. Hardy is examining him and then how he lies in Alma’s lap after being sick the second time....he never would have acted that physically affectionate with her before mushrooms round 2. (I really don’t know much about the asexuality spectrum, so please let me know if I’m way off base with that assessment).

Of course, it could also be a non-sexual BDSM relationship, but then I was like...uh, how are they going to have this baby that Alma’s fantasizing about if they don’t have sex? 

I know that PTA said that he wanted the film to have an old school/ Hitchock vibe that only hinted at sex, but I honestly felt zero sexual chemistry between them until the omelette happened. After that, as I mentioned, I think their relationship becomes much more physical. 

However, i think my opinion is in the minority and the general interpretation is that they are having sex on the regular from the start.

About the argument that his clothes are mediocre?:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/01/13/the-dresses-in-phantom-thread-are-gorgeous-but-not-dazzling-and-thats-the-point/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.24e197997457

And okay, so, food?

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/phantom-thread-is-the-best-food-movie-in-ages

https://foodonfilm.net/2018/02/05/getting-love-sick-with-phantom-thread-2017/

This one isn’t about just food per se, but more about how Alma enjoys life while Reynolds denies himself almost anything fun: 

https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/alma-matters-modelling-and-being-in-phantom-thread

Is it kink shaming to ask if this is a *real* kink? 

https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/has-there-ever-been-a-real-life-case-like-phantom-thread.html

https://www.thecut.com/2018/01/dissecting-the-twisted-relationship-in-phantom-thread.html

Here’s a really interesting thing about Barbara Rose:

https://nylon.com/articles/phantom-thread-harriet-sansom-harris-barbara-rose-barbara-hutton

And my favorite article so far:

https://electricliterature.com/phantom-thread-is-the-love-story-for-assholes-we-ve-all-been-waiting-for-9793b0668dcd

[valeriemperez]

I screenshot these from a forum. What do you think? imgur(.)com/a/VSj3a

This is very eloquently speaking, and I understand all of this person’s points. Which forum is it from?

Can we please still do the WestAllen deserved better tag. I still can’t believe they really pulled that 😭

I’m not the arbiter of trends, promise. I only make the posters and stuff because people ask. If someone wants to do Westallen Deserved Better, I will support and reblog it.

Long ask about WA/OF below, among others:

Part 1: Me again, thanks for answering. I'l probably take a little break from fandom if that’s the only way I can enjoy Barry/Iris being married. do what I gotta do. yk ;) About your other point, in the context of this story at least F is not just a white woman. She’s a Jewish woman, one whose E-X version we saw brutally mistreated. In a story with nzis invading her character (and other jewish characters) should have got more focus, not less.part 2, I was not talking about you when I mentioned the more about x than x stuff, fyi. I think you’ve made your opinion very clear. Was more talking about people who didn’t say/retweet anything (which has so many possible reasons depending on comfort level so I don'blame anyone for not saying anything) but then I see them fire off post after post about this dw like it’s the worst thing in the world, and that does make me shake my head because the comparison of the responses.part 3, Yes, as a black woman Iris should have gotten her say, but a jewish character getting her say and story this crossover was very important to me. Her romance getting focus felt correct in a story with invading nzis. I feel like part of this crossover has really shown how insensitive some people are with regards to antisemitism and see other issues as more important. (me talking generally again, not about you!)Part 4 (fandom general stuff, not wa fandom:) Then there’s people joking about how nzi version Ollie and Kara r still a better couple than K*ramel (which I don’t ship, but come on). Apparently there’s also a ‘funny’ twitter poll about which is worse, OF or nzis, and some r voting for OF. idk who made it, only saw a post about it. That’s vile. We can care about more than 1 thing, yes, but i'v come to to point of shaking my head when I see yet another wa was wronged and its the worst thing evapostpart 5/ sorry for dumping all this on you! It’s one thing when we fight hate for WA/Iris together, but when you’re kind of disappointed in your own fandom it’s hard to give your feelings a place. Crossover aside, I suppose I expected more from people. It was kinda self absorbed decision, but is that a reason to trash the entire character? Sounds too much like how people scream Iris needs to die if she has 1 episode they don’t like her in.part 6/ almost done, promise. The way I see it, there are WA fans that are upset (which I get) and then there are people who hate f and/or of and are using this to hate them more. I can support the former (to a point), but not the latter. Barring some overlap, those people don’t care about WA/Iris and will drop them as soon as they can’t use them anymore (which is exactly what happened last season when they thought OF wasn’t happening anymore).Part 7/ final part! And what gets me is I’ve seen people being immediately super hostile to some of the same of fans that have been defending Iris in the vile stuff that went down against her this season because they understood it with F. (not trying to paint them as saints, bec oh boy are there mean people in their fandom, jikes) but..yk what I’ll stop because I can never fully explain how it makes me feel. Thanks for listening :)

Yeah, fandom can make things worse for you as an individual instead of better a lot of times, so I totally get stepping back. And I agree that it makes sense for Felicity as a Jewish woman to have a central story when the villains are Nzis.

I’m glad the crossover worked for you on that front, and I agree that plenty of people don’t see antisemitism as serious because it’s not something they’ve ever experienced or witnessed. 

And, yes, joking about Nzis or OF being worse than them is fucking gross. The account that made that poll is an Arrow fandom troll who has been around for years: @LoveOverwatch on Twtter, btw. Steer clear of them.

I also totally understand what you’re saying about some people aligning themselves with garbage misogynists who have already shat on Iris and will continue to do so next week, just because they’re shitting on a different woman this week. That’s why I try to avoid publicly airing out my hatred of any female character, no matter how much I may dislike her. I never know how much of it is rooted is misogyny or the “there can only be one” mentality, and I don’t want to give a voice to those people.

I am not sure which fans from their fandom have defended Iris from vile stuff, but I trust there are some.

I believe the Flash show was used for ratings. Nearly every character got to shine on their own respective shows, but Barry barely got a few lines in his. I’m glad that Queen Iris got to kick some ass. But the writing for her on Error was OOC to an extent. Now I know what happens when Iris crosses over. I’d rather she stays on the Flash where she gets some respect.

You’re not wrong.

ugh, imagine cheering on some of the same people who treat Iris like trash just because this time it’s directed at something else. smh (not you!)

Yeah, I’m not here for that. I know those POS will be back at it again the second Iris breathes too loudly for their comfort.

Will Barry and Iris ever get a dance scene? The most basic stuff they don’t get. I won’t even ask about a love scene. I question the reasoning behind it all.

There’s definitely a reason to question it, and I hope you direct some of those questions to @gberlanti @flashtvwriters etc.

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

On a post about how Mom felt uncomfortable about seeming smart, and mentioned in passing my family’s “place” in the community...

aconitum-napellus said I was made to feel ashamed constantly for being clever, at school. And they celebrate physical prowess with sports days. There’s nothing public like that for intellectual prowess.

But just to dial back - your family were shot at and threatened? What? Why? WTF?!!!

On another note, I found this post both interesting and profound.

Oh, I always used to grumble about sports being the focus of everything. In fact the cheerleaders were held in higher regard, and here they didn’t even do any acrobatics, just shake their pompoms and ass at intervals. I’m not being nasty but accurate for my school. In fact as far as I can tell the “elite” team of cheerleaders, the “Silver Bullets”, walked around in what looked like silver swimsuits and boots but didn’t even have to do that much. Athletes and cheer leaders were the stars. But good at anything academic? HA! 

As one teacher said when asked why the struggling  students got stickers as rewards and the ones doing well got nothing... “Good grades are their own reward. You don’t need any praise!” Maybe not, but it might have been nice to feel like it was valued. I mean, theoretically the purpose of the school was to teach those “boring” subjects and not just have football and baseball teams!

You wonder about the dangers my family faced...

(I hope you don’t mind me making a new post about this, but it might be a bit long for a re-blog.)

(Ok, it is VERY long!)

I started to say it has to do with the 1960s, but it dates back farther. While my family has had this land since the area was first stolen...sorry ...”settled” by the English, my great grandmother was orphaned as a baby and raised by an older cousin. I don’t know when great grandma and cousin Annie moved back to the farm, but it was after my grandmother grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. Now while the locals didn’t think a couple of old ladies were outsiders, that would NOT be the case when my father’s parents came back to the farm too.

My grandfather was from around Boston, the wild child son of a wealthy dentist. When he he married grandma (they would be married over 50 years BTW) they moved near where he grew up. That would cause problems with certain members of his family for marrying a southerner, and in fact one of his sisters would never consider us “real” family and try to demand back all his belongings when he died. Still, generally, there time living in Massachusetts would always be remembered fondly. “Home” Pop called it.

Unfortunately a childhood illness had damaged gradaddy’s heart and he had become a pack a day smoker. He was told he had months to live, so he quit cold turkey and became a passionate anti-smoker, so much I was shocked to be told he’d ever smoked. Still, his health was fragile and they told him he needed to move south for the climate (really? This crazy place where temps  in January this year  ranged from 9 to over 80 F? Ok...) And so they came to live here on the farm.

Actually, they toyed with moving near Highlands in the mountains, which would have been right down from Mom’s family home in Franklin. Instead they moved here a year or two before Mom and her mother came to live with an aunt after her parents divorced. If I believed in destiny I would think it wanted my parents together! LOL

Anyway, my father and his parents moving here was not welcomed by the community in the 1950s. They were “Yankees”, which around here seems to mean anyone from north of Virginia. Yankee was an insult. They would chase my father home from school throwing bricks at him and there was a general shunning going on. One teacher his senior year burned their gradebook telling the witnesses “Thay will keep that yankee from going to college!” And this was after my father had won some national science prize (sorry, I forget the name...I think the one for the laser came later). In fact my grandfather (who while ultra charming and with an amazing sense of humor was super tough having been a first mate in the Merchant Marines) ended up going out to the school and pinning the principal to the wall, informing him that this was going to be corrected in no uncertain terms. There was a reason my father had no nostalgia for the era. As a child I defiantly self identified as “half yankee” because even that much later it was looked down on.

Even more appalling than where they were from were their attitudes. See, my family believed in the shocking notion that people were people. They had friends of all sorts of backgrounds, including black ones. The current head of the NAACP’s father was friends with my father, and even in the 1980s I remember the shock of bystanders as they greeted each other as “cousin”. They did that, in case you are wondering, because they might very well be since some of our ancestors had owned some of his ancestors. My family did little things like donate turkeys to the local black school (remember segregation) at Christmas. I really don’t know all the small gestures they were involved in) While not super activists they simply refused to treat people the way the local culture demanded. 

There were apparently rumors my family were jewish, and that made them hated too. Now actually they weren’t. On my Mom’s hillbilly side I DO actually have jewish ancestry, but not on the “Wolfe” side that the locals suspected. My family never corrected them because there nothing wrong with being jewish and why even seem to agree that it’s something you shouldn’t want to be? To this day folks still assume we are jewish.

Now between the outsider status and the views on equality, things were going to inevitably get worse as society took a darker turn. As the 1950s became the 1960s both the civil rights movement AND the KKK were active. In fact, not just this region but this state were hotbeds of the KKK. The tensions were high, making my grandfather’s heart problem worse, so my parents (now married) left college before getting their PhDs (Mom always regretted that to come back here to help.

This area in the 1960s was an ugly place, but it had been an ugly place for a long time. Lynchings did happen, in fact my high school English teacher told how her favorite cousin was lynched when she was growing up. Black friends of my parents were beaten up by cops for walking on the “wrong” side of the road. The first time my grandfather visited the area with grandma they saw the aftermath of a mob castration of a jewish man back in the 1920s, but the tensions had gone in waves. The 1960s were one hell of a spike in hate. 

I have no idea if there was an initial trigger to the death threats, but my family started getting them. And I don’t mean veiled threats or anonymous voices on the phone. These were face to face “We are going to kill you!” threats laces with profanity and slurs I won’t use here.   

You must be wondering why they didn’t go to the police. Well they did, but they say the local sheriff was a nice guy but a coward. There was no way in hell he was going to arrest anyone. Instead he told my family that when they come for you shoot, and shoot to kill. Then bury the body in the swamp and never tell anyone what happened. Especially not him. You will notice it was “when” not “if” they come for you, since the reality was very bleak. I don’t know what percentage of the white male population were KKK, but certainly the majority.

My family were effectively on their own to deal with it.  This meant they ended up with three German Shepherds (one a rather scary ex prison guard dog)  and a bunch of guns. They would make a big show of their target practice, especially the fact that Mom turned out to be a crack shot. It runs in her family, with cousins that were top shots in the military, and here is was very handy so they didn’t assume the women folk were easy targets. Guns were kept at the ready, for instance tucked under the table where the fiberglassed in the business they had started or under the seat of the motorboat. These would be sensible precautions. 

Since I wasn’t alive then I can’t really tell you how many times they were shot at. There were many incidents of pot shots meant to frighten them, clearly underestimating my family. Some incidents were more serious.

Take the one where my father and grandfather were out on the river. Someone up the bank made a serious attempt to shoot them. Since they missed either my father or grandfather pulled out the automatic they had (sorry, I forget gun names), one of those military type serious firepower. They returned fire, aiming roughly towards the area they had been fired at from. They got to see their attacker running for his life!

Actually, returning fire but in a sort of “won’t shoot you if you back off” way was something they did a few times.

You know that big boat of ours I’ve posted photos of? Well, they had a big barn they built to construct it in. Naturally the ones that hated them for existing intended to burn it down. Goons were caught crossing our  fields carrying buckets of gasoline to set it ablaze. They were spotted. At gunpoint Pop told them to put the buckets down and get the hell out. He’d chuckle telling it saying  he got a couple buckets of gas out of it. 

And there was the incident where they got word the KKK would be marching through on the highway and intended to burn a cross of out front yard. Pop and Grandaddy parked out in the front yard in chairs with guns on their laps and the dogs at their side, waiting. And along came the KKK. The KKK mob stopped in front of the house, grandaddy made a show of getting his gun ready, and there was a very long pause as the two sides faced each other. Nobody on either side said anything...and then the KKK turned and went on walking.

Anyway, that’s a selection of the stories I was told. My family was scared of course, despite their determination not to be chased off or intimidated. My parents married in 1959 but didn’t dare have kids until the 1970s because it simply wasn’t safe. While things had cooled down by the time I was growing up I was very aware that some folks mysteriously hated my family. I also knew Pop bristled at certain people, like never setting foot in what was then the only store in town. When I asked why he said “A man seriously threatens to kill you to your face you don’t just forget.” 

Generally though, the community did seem to forget.  I expect now the grandchildren of KKK members don’t even know about their beloved family member’s history. I’d like to think some were ashamed, I know for some it was just realizing the tide of society had changed. In their hearts they might hate, but they didn’t want to get into trouble. In public they whispered their slurs, but what they said at home was probably not so quiet. Classmates would whisper to me things, not unlike what their grandparents had said and then be shocked when I loudly disagreed. They didn’t realize my family’s stance. Funny isn’t it they could forget the past but not the underlying hateful attitudes.

 I suppose it’s nice their dislike of me was based on my own merits! LOL

Anyway, sorry to have written so much but a short “They were liberals in the US rural south, which was nothing like 1960′s hippie nostalgia Beatlemania montages.” seemed a bit too short. 

[gayjaytodd]

Rules: Tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better. 
 I was tagged by the incomparable @nolofucker
- give ‘em a follow!

Nickname: variations of becs and becsen, sometimes becky
 Zodiac sign: gemini 
Height: 5’5 
Last Thing You googled: that new film that viggo mortensen is oscar-nominated for (it looked fucking awful btw) 
Favorite music artist: idk uhm… hozier?? I like a lot of music tbh; right now I’m really into soundtracks, specifically ones composed by bear mccreary who is simply amazing

Last Movie you watched: an unexpected journey bc I like tolkien and pain 
What are you wearing right now: blue skinny jeans, black sneakers, green jumper, glasses and array of weird-ass jewellery 
What do you post: memes, political things, fandoms, anything that grabs my attention really

Why did you choose your URL: because I love ingoldo and dumb puns (does my url qualify as a pun? dk dc)

Do you have any other blogs: nah one’s enough for me

What Did Your Past Relationship Teach You: that I have commitment issues and am not really into dudes

Religious Or Spiritual: I’m jewish, technically, but I’ve always been more drawn to like asatru and the more pantheistic religions

Favourite Color: dark green; especially that sort of autumn green that goes really well with red

Average Hours Of Sleep: six or seven

Lucky Number: 13

Favourite character: lena luthor, john silver, curufin, ingoldo, boromir, too many to count honestly

How Many Blankets Do you Sleep With: just my duvet tbh i overheat really easy

Dream Job: acting, no doubt about it, if I can live on acting I’d be very happy

Board games, video games or tabletop games?: board games, my family is really into board games and it’s awesome

Do you have any OCs? If yes, talk about a couple of them!: I do! she doesn’t have a proper name yet, but she’s a noblewoman whose entire family was murdered in a war with the neighbouring noble family, and now she wants revenge (obviously), and she’s like not a very good person? she’s an assassin and like doesn’t see anything wrong with killing people for money; I’m not sure where her story ends yet but it’s gonna have a happy-ish ending. probably. One thing you wish was canon in a fiction story/fandom?: I can’t really think of anything tbh

Favourite thing to draw/ write about/ think about?: I dally in a lot of different things but the three I always return to are Star Wars, Tolkien, and Harry Potter.

The strangest song you like (and a link to it if possible!): I… I got nothing I’m sorry

A book/story/fanfiction you read recently and would recommend (doesn’t have to be fiction): everyone should read dancing with my punchlines by the amazing @imindhowwelayinjune and sansûkh by @determamfidd those are my two favourite fanfics ever; also if you like slash you should just take a general look at 1D fanfic bc there’s a lot of amazing, original, incredibly well-written Larrie fics out there

I tag: @thebooknerdkaro @feanope @dandalf-da-gay my entire face is in pain and I am literally incapable of thinking of anyone else so like if you wanna do the Thing consider yourself tagged in the Thing cheers