#This is a social commentary

[thenightsystem]

Have you ever wanted to be known?

Have you ever wanted to be known? Have you ever wanted to be known?

H̶a̶v̷e̴ ̷y̷o̴u̶ ̶e̵v̵e̴r̷ ̷w̷a̷n̵t̶e̷d̸ ̷t̵o̷ ̷b̴e̵ ̶k̸n̷o̷w̴n̷?̷

H̷̖͛ȁ̸̜v̸̖͌e̵̠͊ ̶͚̇y̸̝͂ö̴̺́u̸͓͠ ̵̲̕è̵̟v̸̳̇e̷̡͝ȓ̷̻ ̷̨͑w̶̜̃ȁ̸̲n̷͉̏t̶͈̚e̷̯̽d̴̯͂ ̴̥͌t̶̝̍o̸͎̅ ̷͉͂ḅ̵͘ȇ̵̹ ̷̟̄k̷͓͆n̸͙͒o̶̲̔ẉ̸͗n̸̈́͜?̸͎̊

H̴̗̉͠a̷̬͐̆̓v̷͖̜̋͠ě̷̳̊ ̵̖̦̍̒̿y̵̟̙͇̆̆̃ŏ̴̪̪̘͠ú̶̙́̉ ̸̼̳̣͛e̴̞̎v̵͖̀̀́e̶̖̒͝ȑ̵̼̺̱̇ ̶̬̇w̷̖͍̉́ͅá̴͊̋͜ͅn̵͚͒̕t̸̻̰̾̀ͅe̵̗̯͈̾̃d̵̘̉ ̶̭̖͎̓̕͝t̷̥̂o̸̝̤̍ ̷̖̙̠̌̀b̸̧͖̩̃̐ḙ̵͆͠ ̵̠̩̗̍̓͝k̷͓͐ͅn̸̥͍͚̆ơ̷̡͝͠w̴̜̣͐ṋ̵͌͊?̴̤̎͆̏

H̶̡̝̦̱̼̪̃̌̽̓͐̈́͝ạ̵͈̉̂̃̓͐͝v̵̛͍̗͊͗̉͊̕͠e̸̢̨̬̞̼̻͍͌ ̵̘̖̬͆͌̐̂̍͋̆y̷̺̜͛̂͑̇̐͑͜͠ȍ̷͓̝͈̇̅̇͋̚ͅṳ̴͖͍̗̼͒̽̇̏ ̷̮͈̓̄ę̶̡̥̳̓̚͝v̷̬͛̒é̸͔͔͗̈́̊̕͘r̷͈̎̏͗̓ ̵̡̧̲͓̹̫͆́̅w̵̢̛̪͚̭͉̪̩̌ạ̷̢̧̱̙̑̕͝ͅn̸̤̐ẗ̸̯͙́̔́ë̶͍̹̥̠̺̖̈͜d̵̞͔̼͊͐͊̆́͆ ̴̧̰̪̱̺̂t̸̢̰͇̘͎̩̊ō̵̧̘͉̆ ̵͍͔͚̫̩̹͋b̷̢͎͉͍͗é̷̪̭͖̄̇͗͘͝ͅͅ ̷̨̧̤̠̰̈̎͒̽͘k̸͍̣͍̲͛͂̏̽͠n̴̢̛̮̲̘̟̊̔̄͗̊͝ǫ̵̤̪̞̲̞͍͛w̴̺̘͚̿̆͊̅̊̀͝n̵̰͚̥̉͂͐̎̋͠?̴̟̱̟̫̑̀̔̄̆͘

H̶͓͍̝̼͖͂̅̈̄̂̂̂̎͛̆̂͌̔̌̈́̒a̵̳̰͇̙̥̱̟͖̓̅̒͐̔̏̂͆̀̾́͘̕͘ͅͅv̸̝͚̲̻͓̆̒͛͆́͌̒̃̓̽é̵̢̡͉̥̥̼͓̥̩̱͓̈́͆́̍͆͂̈́̔͋̈̓̃̍̈́̚͜͝ ̵̧̛̠̟̱̟̅̃͛́͋̉̓͆̓̽̿̿̈́̐͜͝y̸̞͎̙̞̻͙̯̳̥͎̗̱͈͇͍̩͊̅͒͗̃̔͗̂͗͑͜ͅo̶̱͎̝̜͈̻̤͛̌̿̏͒̄̋͛̀́̌͊̀̔̚̚͠ú̴͌ͅ ̸̢̡̧̥͚͇̰͋͒͛͗͆̈́̿͜͜͝ẹ̸̡̡͎͈̘̦͎̬̝͇̩͉̩̲̱̺̐v̷̢̢̧̢̥͓̱͇̣͍̙̺̺̠̤̳͋͌̉e̶̮͔̫͎̱̱͉̮̳̬̝̫̊̑ͅͅȓ̶̢̛̛̛͈̞͕͙̺̮̐̅̑̌͊̔̏̔͜͠͝͝ ̸̨̨̝͚̭͐w̷̧͇̟͇̩͇̲͈̟̣̩͓͓̙̟̗͐̐̐̏́̔͝a̴̛̤̝͍̯͇̽̐̿̑̓̊̆͆̍̌͊̓̚͝n̸̨̘̭̹͉̘̱̪̈́̉̐͝t̷̮͙̻̔̓̿̒̀e̵̘͕͙̟̎̌͛ͅḑ̸̭͍̘̲̣̻̫̰͇̣͎͐͌̆̐͆̍̉̉͒͋̄̽̓̔́͘͠ ̶̧̖̻̥͉̬̟̫̩̯̤̺̐̾̂͒͛̐̎̈͂͌͂̚t̶̨̗̩̜̰̏́̓̈͜͜ͅò̸̲͖̺̦̙͎̟͎̥̥̝̺͇͔̼̩͒͛̎̾̽̂̇̏̈͑̈̑͋ ̷̛̦̘̝͉̅͋̏̀͆̒̽̿̿̅̄̎̾͝b̵̧̮͈̩͎̙͍͇̝̯͕͍̳̺͕̩͔̫̑̄̎̉̏̽͛̃̅̈́͊͌̃̚̚͠ḛ̸͈͈̘͇͔̬͂̓̾͘̕ ̶̢̢̨̳͕̻͉̣̙̯͉̠̦̝̘̺̜͘̚͜k̵̨̡̰̹̥̲̯̒̈́͗̈́͒̓͂̑̐̑͗̔̔̈́͝͠n̶̨̘͓̫͎͔̐̾̋o̴̡̮̻̗̺̪̝̖͍̊̀̈͒͐̇̐̀͘͠ẇ̷̛͗̓̎́͐́̏̂̔͋̒̆̕̕͜͝n̴̥̗̼̱̜̹̤̋̊̒͆͗ͅ?̴̜̣̓

H̸̛̲̙̍̽͌̔̌̎̃̀̐̀̓̏͛̊̎̽͛̄̌͗̉͊̿̌̒͑̊̇̃̉̚̕̚͘̕͝a̸̡̧̛̭͖͉̱̻̺̞̩̤̮̗̠̣̹̹̫̩̫̩͌̉̀̍̎̈́̏̀͊̈́̇̋̀̾v̵̳͍̮̺̺͉͍͎̳̟̞̻̱̹̪̟̗͇̂̐̒̓̉̽͜e̸̤̠͇̰̘̯̩̲̠̾̔̽͐͝ͅ ̷̨̦̳̲͔̮͕̗͉͙̪̟̅̎̄̆̈́̂̆̀̌̄̀̐̆̄̑̓̆͆̊́͑́͂̈́̂̐̽̈͘͝y̶̡̢̨̨̭̣̙̼͍͔̠̪̖̬̬͎̜͙̻̫̥̲̱̳̻͑̅̆͗̀͒̊͆̈́̂̉͋̎̃̎̉̿̅̓͊̋̀̅͂̓͒̾̿̑́̚͝͠͝o̵̹̔͐̇̃̄̂̈͛͑̕ū̸̡̡̬̦̘͖̦̮̣͕̖̦̩͍̯̼͙̥̳̬̗͊͌͑̽̇̑͗̂́̃̽̈́̋̿̽́͐͗̾̐̓̀̅̏̋͑̉͐͊́̄̏̈́͐͒̚͘͜͝ ̷̧̡̧̢̢̢̳͔̲̣̮̹̳̮͚̳̭͕͚̗̖̳͓̪͎͔͖̳̭̮͎̮̲͔̫̯͇͋̾̈́̽̀͗̎͌͒͆̒͛̃́̅̎̅̍̓̊͒̉̒̅̆̀̂͌̈́̚͘͝͝͝ͅẽ̸̡̢̡̢̡̧̨̥̥̜͓̠̜̠̤̣̖̳̱̻̜̫̜̭͔̞̤̮͇̼̭͈̤̦̤̤̘̯̀̋͋̿̈v̵͚̙͒̔͆͂͊̒̀͑̅̄̀͑͂́̇̓̄̈́̄͘ę̴̧̨̡̧̛͇̜̪̟̣͎͍̻̝̮̺̥̱̰̰̠͍͓̦̝̫̦͎͓͍̣̥̳͈̝͕̳̯̙̥͉͊̈̌̆̍̋̀̿̐͊̎̊̂̓͑́͐͒̔̈́͋̓̃̕͘̚̕͘͜͠͝͠ͅr̷̡̪͖̬͚̤̠̘̼͎̹̗̮̘̹̣͖̞͍̭̯̺̯̦̙̻̣͎̭̫͇͊̋̒́̈́̽̎̈̀̈́̅̾͛͌̋͊̈́̒͌͋̓͋̃̇̃͌͜ ̷̧̜̬̣͕̭͎͈͕͖̦͛̀̎̆̋͑͊́͐͜w̶̨̡̢̛̛͕̞̠͕̬̙͙̤̳̝͖̝̼̞͐̄̐͗͌̊̅͗̏̓͐̐̃̾̒̌̂̃̈͛́̽͌̄̆̑̊͂͋̕͘̕͘͜͜͝͝å̸̧̦̥͎̻̠̝͈͗̏͛̿̃̔̇͂̉̇͒̚͜͝n̶̨̢̤̖̗̻͇̲̣̯̞̲̺̲̫̔̍͛̑̃̈́̉́̆̈́͌͒̌̽̐̂͒̚̚͝͝͝ͅt̴̨̨̛̖̬̬̜̲̥̻̭̄͛̆͗̒͌̏͂̒̓͗̒͠ę̷̜̮̭͔̙͑́̀̈́͆́̀̾̓̈́͘ͅd̸̢̦̦̺̺̥̜̻̻̤͐́̈̍̾̉͌͘͜ ̵̢̞̘̞͙̭̩̱̫̜̣̜̖̮͕̠̣͕̫͓͙̮̺͔͚̜̜̳̳̻̐̈́̀̏̽̉̆̆̈̓̀̒̀̍̒̐͊̂̽̋̀̃͊̏͑̀̕͘̕̚t̴̬͓̤͈̱͂́͌̇̈̍̍͒͊̍̀́̇̌̋̚̕͠͝ǫ̷̧̨̛̜̯͙͉̗̮̘̩̜̅́͜ ̴̢͔̪̖̠̣̳͚̯̪̥̫̻͕́b̸̢͖̺͈͍̫͙͉̻͚̮͔̦̗̲͙̼̱͇̂̓̂̈́̉̎̓̈́̿̓̃͌̕̕͝ě̵̡̦̩̱̭̠̱̱͈̤͔̖͓̜͕̼̥̥͚̯̻̯̟̝̣̥̫̤̦̠̎̎͛̎̇͌̔͆͒͋̑̇̊̋̈́̀̈͌́̋̓̒͂̈́̂̉̍̚͘͝͠͠ͅͅͅ ̸̡̧̧̢̡̡̧̮̖͚͍̪̲̥̬̱͙̞͔̖̬̼̣̭̤̭̺̝̥̼̯̰͚͎̬̖͇̋̒̇̃̓̉͂͒̓̀̐̄͌̄̓̋̔͐́̈́̊̇̾͛͘̕͘͘͘͝͝͝ͅk̷̡̟̹̪̯͙͉̞̳̩̜͇̪̞̫͚̩͔̱̩̝͉̣̹̜̮̩̳͆́̔̑̂̚̚ń̷̡̨͇̜͚̮͎̲͚̥̤̹̤̹̝̲̫̣̮̘́̈͑͛̎͂͝ͅǒ̸̙̞̩͙͈̻̣̱̲͖̭͇̰̝̠͉̌̀̑͝w̶̪̓͆̈́͊͗̏͐̃̋ń̵̯̮͈̥̖̤͔̝̜̞̖̝̠̪͉̏̈́͜͝ͅ?̶͔̩̦̺̮̥͓̐̓̈́̔̈͆̽̇̆̅̂̾̏͜͝

Ḥ̸̢͙̝̻̺̯̫̮̰̗̟̫̭͔̪̥͔͇̇̍̅̃̈́̆̿̊̂͗̈́͆̽̽̾̚̚͜ǎ̸̡̡͙͙̫̪͙̖̩̙̱̱̯͚̦̜̜͔̰̗̦̳̤͔̖̱̪̫͇̟̔̐͛̿̈́̑̃̽͌͑̑̑̽́͗̌̍̏̐͐̕̕͠͝͝ͅv̷̨̨̢̢̢͔̙̟̜̰̤̬̱͚̮̰̦̳̭͚͍̺̯̝̼̘̥̰͉̰̤͉͖̱͚̣̞̦̳̪͉̙̖̯̾̔́͗̋̑̏̓̊̏̾̀̅̿̾̾̂̕̚͠͠ͅę̷̡̢̨̧̨͉̮̰͕̜̮̙̦̣͈̤̥̬̱̯̠̔͋͊͑́̀͆́̇̽̈̎͛̃́̈̀̕͘͜ͅ ̵̢̢̨̧̣̣̥̗̳̦͚̯̻̱̖̙̱̖̫̟̻͙̬̻̪̖̜͖̻̟͔̖͇͖͓̅͂̓ͅͅͅy̷̢̡̛̛̛̛͈̪̰͚͈͔͓͉̭̲̣̼͕̲͍̜̖͉͚̞̯̥̪̪̙̝̠̩̣̳͐̇́̎͋̈́̌̐̔̀̌̓̂̍̇͋̇̉̊͗̆̓͒̑̀͊̆̀̌́̍̈̆́̇́̈̐͐̿̕̚̕͘͜͝ͅǫ̴̗͚̦͍͚̣̥̥̣̮̭̐́̋͑̈̾̿̄̏̾̈́͊͒̓̒͘͘͜͜u̸̧̡̨̧͉͙̮̠̣͓̭̤̯͕̱͚̮̙͚̼̪̟̼̓̓̈̎̍̆̂̿̂̅̓̅͑̈́̇͋͗͛̐̉͌̆̌̌͌̓͐̓͂̓̈́͂́̒́̑͘͘̕͜͝͠ͅ ̴̨̹͕̠̮̱̿̂̆̓̈̔̀͆̾̂̅̀̇̑͊̎̓͆͑͑͝ͅè̶̢̨̪͈̳͎̹̮͙̝̯̦͚͔͖̝͚̥̃̇͊͆̅̀̊̔͂̕ͅv̵͍̝̭͓͎͗̋́͛̓̿̈́̄̕͝ȇ̴̡̡̡̛̺͙͇̳̺̺̮͍̞̮̙́̐͗́͐̊͐͐̎͛͐͋̚r̶̨̢̢̨̢͎̻̻͖̠̰̜̻̯̗̞͇̩̲̞̝̻̫̩̱̯̗̪̙̥̮̲̍͆̊̋̉́̈̀͆͛̾̎͜͜ͅ ̶̨̨̢̨͔͙̥̼̺̩͖̠͎̓̾͐̐̀̔͆͋̉͒́̉̾̍̊͐̓̇͋̚̕͝͝͝͝w̵̢̡̧̛̛̯͉̗͉̼͓̲̤̝̣͈̟̘͓̦̬̭̲̤̜̦̫̰̯̻̖͔̯̼͔̹͉̠̌̍͊̏̈́̾͛̐̉̃̃̊̇̅́́̈́̅̈́̐̌̅̋̉̂̔͆̐͑͐̈́̓̽̂̈́̕̕͘͜͜͜͝͝͠ă̸̛̗̄̅̐̊̂̾͒̃̄̌́͌̑͐̎̀͆̿̎̓͗̀͑̈̋̉̀̈͑͒̐̚͝͠͝͠n̸̡̨͇̰̣̫̜̮̳͓̱͍̙͖̗̜̊̑̌͊͆́̿͜t̷̛̗̞͔̀̒̀́͑̿̽̅̑̇̐̊̚͘̕̕͝ę̴̨̨̡̢̧̢̢̢̳̰͇͉̺̜̯͇͇͚̞̮͙̜͈̼͍̼͔͖̦͇͇͓̖̜̜͖̪̞̯̜̯͎̙̮̌̓̇̒̌͜͜d̸̢̡̛͚̙̟̘̭̫͙̪̭̭̖̬̤̼͎͉͓͎̳̤͗̉͒̈̿̐̄̅̉͑̓̒̽͌́́͋͋̿̅̊͐̆̇́̈̾̽̍̊̀̕̚̚̕̕ͅ ̵̛̛͎̫̜̗͔̝͇̝̯̤̝͈̥̫̫̯̊̈͒̓̄͑̎͛͑̈́̓͗̀̌̽̽́͋̿̒̉̿̓́̂͛̅̂̈͘̕͝͝͝͠ţ̵̨̢̡̛̺̖̘͉̳̲̣̩̭͓̭̜̘͆̒͆̊̌͊̈́̾̈́̿̅̅̀̉̾͑̉̇͒̈́́́̀́̈́̀̅́̅͗͊͂̅͋̈̚͘͝ő̴̧̡̢̫̦̲̞̪̩͓̪͉̗̦͔͖̭̠͔̣͙̱̖̟̤̫̘̆̌́͒͐̋͊̓̐̄͒͒́̓͌̔̓̀͑͂͌͑̚̕̕͜͜͝ͅ ̷̡̨̡̧̡̢̨̡̹̺̫̟͉̥̟̯̱̭̥̼̱̩̼̗̦̖̬̠͓̣̼̗̝̬͖̭̥̚͜ͅͅḇ̶̛͕͍̦̜͔̤̜̟͖̥̔̅́͛̿͒̑̅̂̌̎́̂̑̑̽̇̀͒̈̓̀̊̈́̕̕̕͘͜͠͝ȩ̴̨̙̱̗̻̻͓̣̗͔̗̜͈͈̲̜͑͊̀͆͛̏̌́̓͜͜͠ ̸̨̝̹͈̹͎͙̣̩̼̠̪̘͚̩͇̝̗̪̥̪̲̲̪͇̜͎̼́̀͑̄̆̐̊̒̋͂̇̏̑͋͊̿͒̎̓͆̉̓͒́̓̐̈̋͗̌͛͛̕̚̚͘͜ķ̷̛̥̩̯̟̖̿̾͌͌͋͊́̌́̿͌̂͆͂͛̉́̋̉͠͠n̸̢̡̙̘̺̻̹̖̬̥̱͉̱̰̬̭̯̝͇̻̠͈͙͈̲͔̖̫̯͕͗̍͑̈́̃̐̒̈́̂̐̀̌̐̈́́̔͋̔̈̅̚͝͝ǫ̶̗̦̦͓͈̩̝̮͖͇̠͈̍̌̐̆̌͐̏̿̀͑̀̋̇̇̊̈́̿̅͒͛̃͂͊̉̈́̓̃̒̀͊̋͛̚̕͠w̶̡̢̨̖̗̺̳̞̼̬͕͕̻̞̜̻̳̞̬̺̩̠̹͔̝̯̳͉̼͐̾͊̒͊͂͐́̂̇̏͒́̿͋̈́̐̈́̕͝ṅ̵̨̢̧̨̡̨͈̮̘͙̠͔̻͈͙̩̪͉̙͕̩̳͚̻̳̜͓̘̬̙̣͉̲̘͔̩̣̫̬̜̺̫͈̰̻̖̜͓̆̉̋̄͆͂̅̋̔̀͂̀̐͆͗͑͒̌̈́͂̇̋̊͆͂̆̌̆͛͌̀͘̚̕͘̕̕͜͝͝͠͝͠?̸̡͕̘̳̯̫̜͈̫̖̫̫̜̟̻̭͎̟͙̘͈͕̹̝͓̘̮̝̗̱͔̓̓̇͑̔̇̄̅̈́͛͛̓̽̒̃̇̾̎͑̕͜͠͝

Have you ever wanted to be unknown?

[triaelf9]

I'm sure some people online could spend their time better

[jaradraws]

DISCLAIMER: the blood is a feature, not a bug 🩸☎️

[heritageposts]

tumblr citizenship test (uquiz)

[fella-lovin-fella]

currently thinking about how when we saw barbie and it was at the point where it said "and all misogyny and inequality for women was gone. at least that's what the Barbies think." and all the women in the theater laughed while all of the men were dead silent

[wickedwitchofthesouth]

Do you think people have shit to say about mutants taking part in the Olympics? Are there mutant beauty influences who are campaigning for larger shade ranges from makeup companies, e.i, not just human skin tones?? Do you think there are some fashion trends that mutants start just to make life easier for them selves and at first all the humans called it ugly and then culturally appropriated it and rebranded it with some gentrified name? Do you think mutants get barred from entering churches or temples? Do you think 98% of mutants have faced violence at the hands of a human at some point in their lives?

Do you think?! Do you think? Do you think?!? because I do. all the time all I do is think

[aptericia]

Not proud to be here.

--

Ok, here goes draft like 5 of this fucking post. I spent 4 hours tossing and turning in bed last night thinking about this, and then this morning I found a tumblr post that really helped me understand what I was trying to say.

The post talks about how aromantic "advocates" claim that "aros don't take up resources, so there's no reason not to include them!" And if that's actually what people believe, I think I can finally articulate why it is that I feel so alienated in queer spaces.

It's because aspecs in general aren't "welcomed" by much of the queer community. We're tolerated. We perhaps get the luxury of not being contradicted on our own identities, or not being specifically kicked out of LGBTQ-only spaces, but that's the whole point: what we get out of the queer "community" is people NOT doing things, not actually doing things FOR us. And that, frankly, is not enough. We deserve conversations about us. We deserve to have others consider our feelings, even when making lighthearted jokes. We deserve varied, respectful representation in media. We deserve the active deconstruction of amatonormativity in society. We deserve to have space made for us, rather than at most being told we should "go take up more space!" ourselves.

Of course, the reality is that my being aspec is a personal matter that does not inherently affect anyone else. But the same can be said for literally any queer identity. Your being gay doesn't say anything about me, so of course I shouldn't hurt you for it, but why should I help you either? Because your happiness and comfort are important. The same goes for aspecs.

And most of the time, I don't even need anyone to make space for or expend resources on me; I can live fine in everyday, non-queer-specific places without mentioning my identity at all. But it's the queer community that claims it will make that space for me, doesn't, and then acts defensive and morally pure if I call out the hypocrisy because "we're queer too, you can't erase our identities to advocate for yours!!!!"

Again, this post isn't about specifics. I have queer friends who are incredibly thoughtful and supportive about my identity, just as I have non-queer friends who are. I find more solidarity in aspec-only communities, as well as trans/genderqueer ones, although there are still many exceptions. This post is also not about amatonormative ideology, which is extremely common from queer and non-queer people alike. This post is about the reason I've felt so betrayed by the queer community.

--

On a personal note, I remember being so excited when I started identifying as aromantic (and later asexual). Fitting myself into labels has been a lifelong struggle for me; to this day I still can't confidently say if I'm White or PoC, neurotypical or neurodivergent, abled or disabled, cisgender or not cisgender. I continue to struggle making friends because I don't fall into social cliques. To discover that I officially, certainly, was LGBTQ+ lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. And now I'm just so sad to find that despite that, I'm still stuck in the middle. I didn't get rewarded with a community. I still feel alienated from both queer and non-queer people. I know it was silly to get my hopes up when there's such vast diversity in both groups, but it really was a disappointment. Going to my first Pride parade last year was really the moment where I realized this.

[p-paradoxa]

dorohedoro + witch hat atelier + dungeon meshi my holy trinity of “what if magic felt as weighty as it should. what if the process of doing magic didn’t exist in a vacuum, and there were costs—social, economic, and environmental—to using it. there are consequences but ultimately it’s just a part of the greater system that governs people and life. so what happens when people who feel like outsiders in that system push against it by testing the boundaries placed on magic”

[carlyraejepsans]

light cannot exist without darkness yadda yadda anyway kinda sucks that in order to have clever, subversive social commentary in storytelling you also need to have possible decades of an established cultural canon of Trope That Sucks Ass

[ketchupmonster52]

I don’t care is he’s a villain, he’s a villain with CURLS

[secretmellowblog]

The thing is, Jean Valjean’s “nineteen year prison sentence for stealing a loaf of bread” from Les Mis isn’t actually unusual….not even today! I see people talking about it as if it’s strange or unimaginable when it happens every day.

In modern America — often as a result of pointlessly cruel (and racist) habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws— people are routinely sentenced to life in prison for minor crimes like shoplifting or possession of drugs.

The ACLU did a report in 2013 detailing the lives of various people who were sentenced to life in prison without parole for nonviolent property crimes like:

•attempting to cash a stolen check

•a junk-dealer’s possession of stolen junk

metal (10 valves and one elbow pipe)

•possession of stolen wrenches

•siphoning gasoline from a truck

•stealing tools from a tool shed and a welding machine from a yard

•shoplifting three belts from a department store

•shoplifting several digital cameras

•shoplifting two jerseys from an athletic store

• taking a television, circular saw, and a power converter from a vacant house

• breaking into a closed liquor store in the middle of the night

And of course, so so so many people sentenced to life without parole for the possession of a few grams of drugs.

And we could go on and on!

Gregory Taylor was a homeless man in Los Angeles who, in 1997, was sentenced to “25 years to life” for attempting to steal food from a food kitchen. He was released after 13 years. The lawyers helping to release him even cited Les Miserables in their appeal, comparing Taylor’s sentence to Jean Valjean’s.

And there’s another specific bit of social commentary Hugo was making about Valjean’s trial that’s still depressingly relevant. He writes that Valjean was sentenced for the theft of loaf of bread, but also that the court managed to make that sentence stick by bringing up some of his past misdemeanors. For example, Valjean owned a gun and was known to occasionally poach wildlife (presumably for his starving family to eat.) . So the court exaggerates how harmful the bread theft was—he had to smash a windowpane to get the bread, which is basically Violence— then insist the fact that he owns a gun and occasionally poaches is proof that he is habitually and innately violent. Then when Valjean obviously becomes distressed traumatized and furious as a result of his nakedly unjust sentence and begins making desperate (and very unsuccessful/impulsive/ poorly thought through) attempts to escape…. the government indifferently tacks more years onto his sentence, labels him a “dangerous” felon, and insists that its initial read of him as an innately violent person was correct.

And it’s sad how a lot of the real life stories linked earlier are similar to the commentary Hugo wrote in 1863? Someone will commit a nonviolent property crime, and then the court insists that a bunch of other miscellaneous things they’ve done in the past (whether it’s other minor thefts or being addicted to drugs or w/e) are Proof they’re inherently violent and incapable of being around other people.

A small very petty fandom side note: This is also why I dislike all those common jokes you see everywhere along the lines of “lol it’s so unrealistic for the police to want to arrest Valjean over a loaf of bread, there must have been some other reason the police were pursuing him. Because the state would never punish someone that harshly and irrationally for no reason. so maybe javert was just gay haha”. (Ex: this tiktok— please don’t harass the creator or poster though, I don’t think they were intending to mean anything like that and its just a silly common type of joke you see made about Les mis all the time so it’s not unique in any way.) because like.

As much as I don’t think Les Mis is a flawless book or that its political messaging is perfect….the only way that insanely long unjust sentences for minor crimes is “unrealistic” is if you’re operating on the assumption that prisons are here to Keep You Safe by always only punishing bad criminals who do serious crimes. And that’s just, not true at all. Like I get that these are just goofy silly shallow jokes, and I’m not angry or going to harass anyone who makes them. but it feels like there’s an assumption underlying all those goofy jokes that “this is just not how prison works!” “Prisons don’t routinely sentence people to absurd laughably unjust pointless sentences!” “Prisons give people fair sentences for logical reasons!” When like…no

Valjean being relentlessly hounded and tortured for a minor crime in a way that is utterly ridiculous and arbitrary in its cruelty is not actually a plot hole in Les mis. It’s a plot hole in …..society ajsjkdkdkf. And the only way to fix that is to fight for prison abolition or at least reform, and (in America) stand up against the vicious naked cruelty of habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws.

But yeah :(. I hate how Les Mis opens with a prologue saying the novel will be obsolete the moment the social issues it describes have been resolved— but two hundred years later, the book is still more relevant than ever because we’re dealing with so many of the exact same injustices.

[eccentricphilosoph]

It's also not about making the movements anti-man, anti-white, anti-straight. Very important to remember.

And it's NOT ABOUT YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL either if you're a part of these groups. It's about the GROUPS.

[purgetrooperfox]

tired: fox has never done anything wrong in his life he was under control of the chip he didn't mean to kill fives he would never do that

wired: fox was being deliberately, continuously manipulated by palpatine into doing anything he wanted under threat of severe bodily harm, no chip necessary

inspired: fox is a product of brainwashing and genuinely believes in the senate and the republic, which is in constant conflict with the rhetoric he hears from politicians and his general dislike of senators, but that conflict is ultimately irrelevant. he believes in the institution with his entire self. he was born to die for this system and would lose his shit if he started questioning it in any meaningful way. The Institution told him to kill fives so he killed fives, it told him to hunt down ahsoka so he did it, etc etc. conviction that this is all worth it because the republic Can Only Be Right (or else his entire existence and everything the guard puts up with are meaningless) is what gets his ass out of bed in the morning. he'll do terrible things to protect it, and by extension his sense of self, and he won't apologize for it because it's categorically Right in his brain. none of this changes the fact that he's routinely abused by this system, or the fact that he's enslaved by it, or that he has no real choice in anything, only how he personally reconciles it all

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[queerism1969]

[filmnoirsbian]

I do think it's funny whenever film reviewers who clearly don't enjoy horror as a genre are forced to review a horror film and fall back on the tried and true "well it's no [insert classic horror film that is not similar in any way to the film being discussed but is one of the only ones non horror fans respect as a work of art in itself]" method. Like, you're right, this movie ISN'T Dawn of the Dead 1978. Léon the Professional is also not Holes. What has that got to do with anything.

[whereserpentswalk]

Never trust anyone who criticizes people with privilege more than they do people with power. If someone's version of class consciousness leads them to see academics, white collar workers, people who can afford things they can't, and people they see as 'intellectuals' as the enemy, more often than they see billionaires, politicians, the police state, and Christian fundamentalism as the enemy, they do not have your best interest in mind. When people who make hundreds, see people who make thousands as the enemy, people who make millions win.

If you see yourself falling into these traps, be aware of it, and remember that there's a difference between those who are privileged under systems of power, and those who control and benefit from them. While it's important to see privilege, you have to understand that it isn't the same as power. The average blue collar worker, and the average white collar worker have more interests in commen then either will ever have with a ceo. Division in the working class only benefits capitalism. And when you start to criticize things you consider intellectual because you think someone more privileged than you is associated with them, than you're starting to think like a fascist.