#U.S colonisation

[irithnova]

Notes on Empire of Care by Catherine Ceniza Choy

The scapegoating of Filipino nurse immigrants: Filipina Narciso and Lenora Perez are examples of two nurses who were scapegoated.

Filipino nurses with temporary work visas, H-1 visas, were exploited

Mass murder cases involving Filipino nurses included the 1996 Richard Speck massacre. Some of his victims were Filipino nurses and the only survivor was one of these Filipino nurses

The only survivor - Luisa Silverio

The victims

The 1975 Veterans administration hospital murders that happened in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and involved the previously mentioned nurses Narciso and Perez, bering initially convicted and then later acquitted. They were accused of poisoning and conspiracy

These cases reflect how US imperialism shaped the treatment that was levelled at Filipino nurses

During the late 1970s, Filipino nurse organisations emerged in order to combat the exploitation and discrimination that Filipino nurses faced

There is still a huge gap in the study of Filipino Americans. Quoted from Sucheng Chan's essay on Asian American historiography

"Despite the steady progress in Asian American historical scholarship, significant gaps remain. The most glaring is the absence of book-length studies on Filipino Americans"

American imperialism still shapes the way in which Filipinos - especially Filipino women are perceived

Jesse Ventura, an American politician in his autobiography "I ain't got no time to bleed" reminisces on his days as a Navy Seal stationed in the Philippines.

He talks about being young with a large libido, and how the abundance of Filipino women for him and his comrades to take home relieved that.

He spoke of going through less hurdles when he came to getting a Filipina to sleep with him compared to American women back home. In other words - Filipinas were easy.

This is a reflection of how US imperialism has shaped how the Philippines is viewed.

Filipino women are used in order to portray the Philippines as a feminised, hypersexual, always-willing paradise for the pleasure of Western men.

This depiction of so called "love" between Filipinos and Americans erases the long history of US violence, US domination, the colonial relationship between the US and the Philippines and the history of sexual violence perpetuated against Filipino women. Not to mention the destruction of the environment and spread of disease

US military presence in the Philippines also helped in influencing migration patterns.

By 1970, there were more Filipino men in the US navy than the Philippine navy. This was due to the active recruitment of Filipino men into the US military

Yet another example of how the US imperialist narrative erases truths about history and the lived experiences of Filipinos:

Filipino American organisations had to convince Minnesota legislature to correct a plaque commemorating the Spanish-American war.

The plaque stated that it was honouring the fact that the war was fought to free the Philippines from the tyrannical Spanish

This is unequivocally untrue and rings back to the concepts of American exceptionalism - The US being far more "benevolent" to it's colonies than their European counterparts.

The war was fought in order to defeat the Spanish - not to liberate the Philippines.

The Philippines then fought against the US for independence thereafter

America's so called "forgetfulness" when it comes to Filipino-American history continues to hurt Filipinos.

In particular, Filipino American war Veterans who struggle to fight for their access to veterans benefits.

[lino-ppang]

oooh if morocco kicks france's ass that would be so sexy

[girlfictions]

I cannot even begin to tell you how hollow it sounds when you cry and shit yourself over dead Palestinian children while a few days ago you were celebrating the deaths of innocent Israeli children and saying they deserved it, calling BABIES colonizers and cheering on the wholesale rape and kidnapping of women and children who have yet to be released. I guess childrens lives only matter so long as they aren’t Jewish.

Usually I wouldn't bother engaging with Zionists because it's not worth the energy but this is actually a great learning opportunity for other people to see exactly how the Zionist narrative works.

"I cannot even begin to tell you how hollow it sounds when you cry and shit yourself over dead Palestinian children"

Absolutely insane way to start off your message. Just pure dehumanisation of the nearly 3,000 children who have been murdered since October 7th, not to mention the 1,434 children who have been killed by Israeli forces from 2008 to October 6th 2023. I am not "crying and shitting myself" over dead children, I am mourning them. I am grieving for them and the lives they should have rightfully lived. I am aghast that thousands of children have been killed while the world watches.

"a few days ago you were celebrating the deaths of innocent Israeli children and saying they deserved it, calling BABIES colonizers and cheering on the wholesale rape and kidnapping of women and children who have yet to be released"

Show me exactly where I said anything even remotely close to this egregious statement. Every one of my posts about this situation has been tagged with #palestine, so it should be easy to prove your claims. I have never celebrated the death of an innocent child because I am not a complete fucking scumbag. I have never called a baby a coloniser because I am not stupid. I have never, ever cheered on the rape and kidnapping of women and children and it's disgusting that you'd even accuse me of doing so. These blatant lies are honestly shocking; why do you feel the need to put words in my mouth? Is it because your narrative falls apart without it? Or are you just projecting how you feel about Palestinians onto me?

"I guess childrens lives only matter so long as they aren’t Jewish."

What a pathetic attempt at moral posturing. And, of course, the classic Zionist move of accusing those who support Palestine of anti-Semitism. Never mind the fact that 500 Jewish protesters were arrested for calling for a ceasefire at the U.S. Congress last week, or the hundreds more, including rabbis, who were arrested just yesterday during another ceasefire demonstration. I get it — you're losing the PR war. It's hard to get away with supporting a genocide when there are millions of us bearing witness, so you've resorted to sending hysterical, vitriolic anons. I hope you realise no matter how desperately you try to paint this situation as anything but a one-sided massacre, nobody believes you. We will fight for a free Palestine and we will see a free Palestine.

من النهر إلى البحر

[vouseofwolves]

Israel bombed a cancer hospital today. one of many other hospitals and places of shelter they have bombed not only since the 7th of October but over the years. and yet some of you still dare to take a neutral stance or even still support Israel. Israeli news call over 8000 civilians killed as 'terrorists we eliminated' and you still dare to ask people to condemn Hamas and "look at both sides" there is only one thing any kind of resistance is called and its terrorists. the oppressor is the oppressed and the resistance (the only militia that Palestine has btw, while Israel posseses nuclear weapons and army funded by the U.S) are terrorists. those who fight for freedom and human rights of their people after being colonised 75 years ago (yes; Israel is a colonial state that has been there for only 75 years and it's existence is anti-therical to the Judaist belief itself)

but look at the Israeli hostages that Hamas took, i am looking at them and i see people forgotten by their government and used as an excuse to annihilate Palestinians. When revealed by a released hostage that hamas keeps them in tunnels Israel announces they will flood the tunnels with nerve gas. if you lack reading comprehension let me repeat. when Israel learns where their hostages are kept they decide to just kill everyone inside, alongside their citizens they care so much about and genocide Palestinian population over. When Hamas offers to release the hostages under the condition of ceasefire, Israel denies. Three times. Israel has killed around 50 of their own people since the 7th of October because you guessed it ! the only thing they care about is wiping the Palestinians out. The families of the hostages are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The blindness of you people is incomprehensible. your ignorance blows my mind. one look at the map, one quick read about the history of Palestine and Israel, one look at the military forces, the number of martyrs, tells you all you need to know about this "war" that isn't a war but an ethnic cleansing that Israel has been doing since 1948.

Pray for the peaceful rest of those martyred and never forget. But most importantly pray for the living Palestinians and a free Palestine.

[timetravellingkitty]

hi!! I just found out about tumblr having an anti-hindutva tag and I shall be making myself comfortable here! just found your account like a few mins ago and if it’s ok, i wanted to ask some questions (you absolutely don't have to answer if you don't like any of them or even if you don't feel like answering :) ) (edit added, this ask got way too long lol. feel free to skip it! also, you're kinda super cool lol)

I'm Indian, currently outside India, and I've only started learning about the shitshow going on in my 'mahaan bharat' since November (specifically since finding out that we are Irahell's biggest weapons buyer). and the more I find out the more shocked and heartbroken I feel...

like this week i learnt about the immigration ban in US against Chinese women that existed a few decades ago, and the ongoing discrimination against Palestinians in Canadian immigration services... and both the times I was so disgusted and there was this subconscious feeling that India should never be like that. but then an hour ago I learnt about the 2019 CAA and wtf!?

another example being that currently we're seeing israhell's continuous bombing of heritage sites of great cultural and religious significance, that also held so many centuries old records and histories... and learning about how they are bulldozing over graveyards and exhuming them...

and then today I learnt about Akhonji Masjid and Gyanvapi Masjid and of course have known about Babri Masjid for a few weeks now...

and only learnt about Kashmir in november...

and I feel like my whole worldview has shifted from a previous foundation, except it's so drastic and I still don't have a new foundation...

I try to talk to members of my family about this but they're the Indian equivalent of the U.S. liberals, and every single time they'll tell me "whatever news you're hearing is propaganda written by Pakistan/China/U.S./Russia. trust me I have Muslim friends and they're very happy. you just don't know the situation cause you're not in India" and like it sometimes make me think maybe I'm the one losing my mind...

I even read some places about free Punjab and that confused the fuck out of me cause I'm Punjabi (who does not live in Punjab) and I don't have any clue what it's about... I asked my fam, but they just gave me a weird look and told me to stay away from anyone that mentions Khalistan😭💀

(this got way longer than I expected, so sorry) but would you have any recommendations for any blogs/articles/books/podcast resources or any personal recommendations for news publications that are reliable (finding God would probably be easier than finding such publications lmao) like I thought Al-Jazeera is super credible, but then read that they're super credible when it comes to Palestine, not when it's global...

like where tf do I go from here lol

hello nonnie! some news sites I'd recommend are newslaundry (they have a youtube channel too), the wire, scroll.in and newsclick. maktoob media is mostly focused on minority rights in india. hindutvawatch.org is about hindu fascist violence committed against minorities. I still think you should stick to al-jazeera at least when it comes to palestine (they have journalists on the ground there, shireen abu akleh was one of them)

this is a good introduction to anyone wanting to learn about hindutva, this and this are about how india is becoming increasingly unsafe for minorites and is undergoing a democratic backsliding. this and this are about the rss link to nazism

hostile homelands by azad essa is about india's historical relationship with israel and the parallels between hindutva and zionism. the brown history podcast has an episode about how india went from the first non-arab state to recognise palestine to its largest buyer of weapons, featuring azad essa (x). you can also read colonising kashmir by hafsa kanjwal about how india came to militarily occupy kashmir. if you want to learn more about kashmir there are the blogs kashmiraction.org and standwithkashmir (which is um. blocked in india. i wonder why)

i have not read khaki shorts and saffron flags yet but this one is about the history of the rss. i also suggest watching the documentaries ram ke naam and jai bhim, comrade which are about the hindutva mobilisation in the 1980s

for me free punjab is very ?? the indian government is beyond evil as they continue to spy on sikhs abroad (and ofc, how can we forget the 1984 sikh genocide) but i don't think liberation will be achieved through a religious ethnostate. any state formed on the basis of a religion will inevitably turn out to be a disaster. i do encourage you to read lost in history: 1984 reconstructed by gunisha kaur, which is about the human rights violations committed against sikhs during this time and why operation bluestar was in fact not about freeing sri harmandir sahib from "terrorists." all i can say is to stand with sikhs unapologetically as our shitass government continues to commit more and more human rights violations against them

in general, i'd tell you to observe the language used by different news outlets and question it (eg. american news referring to israelis below the age of 18 as children but the same courtesy is not extended to palestinians) and check their sources. if it's from whatsapp university don't even bother

[elfgarlic]

quakers are one of the religious groups that ran indigenous boarding schools in the usa, and it's important for people to know. just because we have a peaceful reputation does not mean we are not colonisers too. we all need to fight for indigenous sovereignty and not bury this evil legacy. you can learn more in this article:

[ptseti]

ERIK PRINCE: ‘U.S. SHOULD COLONISE AFRICA’… AGAIN? 🤡

Imperialists’ audacity can amount to clownery. But their intentions have dangerous consequences.

For example, private US-based mercenary firm Blackwater killed 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007 in what came to be known as the Nisour Square massacre.

Erik Prince, the speaker in this video, is Blackwater’s founder, who once served as CEO and later as chairman. Some might see him as an extension of US foreign policy. Blackwater has won billion-dollar US-government security contracts to patrol throughout West Asia. He now thinks ‘underdeveloped’ Africans need the US to help govern the continent.

Africa certainly has leadership issues, but hasn’t Africa had genuine leaders who worked for the good of their people? And what became of them? France, a NATO member, assassinated Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara. The US, UK and Belgium killed the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Patrice Lumumba. The US-backed South African apartheid government allegedly took out Mozambique’s Samora Machel. The CIA ousted Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, as well as Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. In every case, the West’s fingerprints are on the crime scene. Why are these facts glaringly absent from Prince’s rationale?

In many ways, the US already colonises Africa. Most African countries’ economies are at the mercy of the International Monetary Fund’s loan terms. These countries are reeling in debt on Washington’s conditions. The impacts can range from cuts to healthcare and subsidies, labour market deregulation, and privatisation of state assets and services. Plus, while numbers are not easy to pin down, of Africa’s 54 countries, 15 reportedly host 29 AFRICOM military bases. And 53 African states have varying military partnerships with the United States.

The point is, has Africa ever been free?

[discluded]

MileApo in the Associated Press article on Dior's collection!! They were one of the few stars highlighted in the article.

(courtesy of AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

In case you aren't familiar with how AP works, it's one of the oldest English press syndicates in the world. The stories are distributed to members, U.S. newspapers and broadcasters with the exact same text and content so dozens of press junkets run the same story with the same photos!!

What is fashion? On Dior Fall 2023's Gateway to India collection

I also wanted to take a moment to share some of the pieces from the show, which once Elle India shared them, I was like ...oh... this is actually a good collection. (Kim Jones needs to stop being allowed to dress MA)

First of all, some important context from the AP article:

Dior has had a long association with India through the Mumbai-based atelier Chanakya, which works with artisans and underprivileged women.

“I personally wanted to celebrate and showcase the incredible knowledge India offers to the international world of fashion in the field of embroidery, the mastery of the artisans who continue to work on this craft, and the commitment of Chanakya’s founders to preserving India’s history and culture, portrayed by each embroidery technique,” [Dior women's creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri] said in an Instagram post.

(courtesy of AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

There's this brilliant post detailing one of the dresses, the Peacock Dress, from colonial Britain that had thousands of detailed sequins and embroidery made by expert dressmakers in India who were never given credit for their work. The style and couture expertise of these Indian dressmakers who were subjugated to colonialism was stolen and claimed as British culture.

recently [Cathy Hay] been more outspoken of the fact that British colonisation really enables these wealthy western Europeans to wear gowns that almost look impossibly beautiful, but rightful credit was of course never given to the people who made it [...] I always wonder about the craftsmen behind so much of history's most beautiful art. They're never named because the one who commissions the work, the patron, is usually given all the undue credit.

I think it's obvious I don't love (Kim Jones') Dior, but what collaborations like these do is elevate Indian fashion and couture expertise beyond the level of cultural fashion to high fashion, as something worth celebrating for its luxury and specific vision and a rightful label that was stolen from them by British colonialism.

And by using Indian models -- of a variety of skintones that reflect the diverse population of India -- and also naming and openly celebrating the atelier Chanakya and its dress makers, it gives an opportunity for Indian fashion and dressmakers to share their specific vision of fashion as ART with the world.

Is it still branded under Dior? Sure, but Dior is the vehicle that facilitates this publicity. It's so important that Chiuri highlighted Chanakya as a collaborator driving this collection with their vision. And it gives this atelier and other Indian designers an opportunity carve out names for themselves that might mean eventually their own brand is the highlight. Don't forget that Marc Jacobs led Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford led YSL and Gucci before their own brands became big enough.

This isn't a restorative justice, it doesn't right any wrongs, but a way to create opportunities for people who were always a driving force of fashion. It's economic opportunity. And it's art. So there is still a place for fashion in the world.

Check out the entire runway collection on HypeBeast here.

Now back to our regular MileApo programming.

(disclaimer: AP content reproduced under fair use for educational purposes)

[ahaura]

In regards to one of your recent posts about freeing Palestine, may I offer the following information:

-The Peel Commission investigated a one-state solution and came to the conclusion it is not feasible

-Hamas's mission is not only "river to sea" but also to kill every Jew and Israeli

-Statements about Jews being colonisers often do not take into account ancient origins (for which there is plenty of evidence) as well as the presence of numerous Jewish villages before Israel became a state. Many Jewish families have been a part of what we now call Israel for thousands of years. Judaism is one of the most ancient religions to exist, and that area has always been considered the homeland — making it a favourable location

I would also like to mention that since the elections in Gaza in 2005 or 2006 (I fail to remember off the top of my head), there has been no more voting. Once the Hamas was elected approximately 18 years ago, they became the sole possible governing power in Gaza. Hamas is also classified as a terrorist organisation by a considerable amount of countries, not all of which support Israel. That's really important to mention when discussing Palestinian liberation.

This is intended to be a civil ask. I simply wanted to offer some more information + another take on things. I would deeply appreciate a response

hi i'll do the best i can to answer these but i wont have all these answers and if anyone else has things to add on please do

I looked up the Peel Commission and according to Wikipedia it was a "British Royal Commission of Inquiry", which is the first red flag on the list for me. The Peel Commission occurred in 1936, before the Nakba, but it was part of Britain's colonial project in the region ("Mandatory Palestine" was around from 1920-1948). I find it hard to respect a British "commission of inquiry" when Palestinians were being subjected to colonization seeing as how it was between the colonial entity and the people it wanted to subjugate. Furthermore, the fact that it seems the Peel Commission introduced recommended a "partition plan." Partition is just a nicer word, in modern times as we know it, as segregation. The "separate but equal" slogan that is used to justify segregation has never, ever once worked or ever benefited anyone, least of all the people who are subjugated to the legalities and practices of segregation. And consider this as well:

According to Benny Morris, Ben-Gurion and Weizmann saw [the resoultion] "as a stepping stone to some further expansion and the eventual takeover of the whole of Palestine".

Anyway, I don't think one ruling from the 1930s during Britain's colonial subjugation of Palestine should be the defining judgement of a state solution and considering how much things have changed (have worsened for the Palestinians, and, yes, Israelis as well) they have time and time again said that a one state solution under a secular government under which all peoples are equal is the only real pathway to peace.

Hamas presented a new charter in 2017, citing the following:

The new document states the Islamist movement it is not seeking war with the Jewish people – only with Zionism that drives the occupation of Palestine.

@/bloglikeanegyptian illustrated the difference between the Hamas charter and recent statements from Israeli in government and military about Palestinians here, when they dehumanized the Palestinians entirely in order to justify the ongoing genocide happening now. Furthermore, despite what their propaganda would have you believe, Israel rejected peace with Hamas on 5 different occasion.

Not all countries designate Hamas as a terrorist organization (see the section titled 'Terrorist designation'). The designation of "terrorist" is purely a political one. An example I can give you is one from the United States: U.S. forces trained the Mujahideen - which would lead to the creation of the Taliban - in order to fight communist forces; they were initially designated "freedom fighters" when they were serving U.S. interests [see here].

(Also it should be noted that the ANC, IRA, and Algerian resistance forces were also designated as terrorists, to name a few.)

See Zachary Foster's thread on the history of Hamas with regards to how the Israeli state funded them and how they came to be the group they are today.

This is not me saying that those people should have been killed. This is not me saying that they deserved it. No one deserves that. But violence of Oct. 7th must be contextualized within the broader history of the colonization of Palestine, and the fact that Palestinians have been subjugated to that very violence for decades. Colonialism and apartheid are inherently violent. Colonialism and apartheid dehumanize, brutalize, demoralize, and ultimately murder those being colonized: i.e., in this case the Palestinians. As others have said: when you imprison a people in the world's largest concentration camp, when you strip them of their rights and humiliate them and brutalize them and make them second class citizens in their own country and don't allow them to leave and if they are they are not allowed to return - they are going to lash out. When they do nothing, they are murdered, brutalized, and imprisoned. When they protest peacefully - (see the March of Return) - they are assassinated and maimed by IOF soldiers who laugh as they murder children and the disabled. The Palestinian people have exhausted literally every other option; the Israeli state is ultimately responsible for their turn to violence as a means of liberation.

It is understood in post-apartheid South Africa that the innocent people who were killed should not have died - but that the violence committed by the oppressed is the fault of the apartheid state. Violence begets violence. What happened on Oct. 7th was blowback - it was inevitable, and the Israeli state knew that, and they didn't care (and they still don't care about the safety of Jewish people, they don't care about their citizens; it took them 2 days to retake towns in the south because they immediately started bombing Gaza - and in their bombing will murder their own citizens who they use as a means to commit genocide, but there are more recent posts about that elsewhere).

Under International Law, Palestinians have the right to armed struggle. The Israeli state is responsible for every single death; the Israeli state - as the colonial entity, as the occupying force, backed by other colonial giants such as the U.S. and Britan - is responsible for every single person killed, both Palestinian and Israeli.

One thing that people who talk about the 2 state solution never bring up is the West Bank. The West Bank is not under Hamas control; there is no Hamas. The West Bank is supposed to the "collaborative project" with the Israeli state - i.e., the 2 state solution in practice. The reality is that the 2 state solution is an abject failure. Why? Because even though legally land in the West Bank belongs to Palestinians, settlers come and illegally occupy it. Homes are either literally taken or bulldozed from Palestinians; the IOF protects these settlers, who have gotten away with killing and harassing Palestinians for years. (Read more about Israel being a settler colony here; I have a variety of resources to learn from regarding these subjects posted here). Settlers get away with - under the protection of the occupying force, therefore with the blessing of the state - illegally occupying Palestinian land.

There may have been a point where a 2 state solution was possible. But, at this point, unless the apartheid was completely reversed, Palestinian right to determination was not only recognized but enforced, etc., it can't happen. Not when the state has been slowly but surely encroaching on and stealing Palestinian land for years. The only pathway to peace - real pace - is a 1 state solution, detailed in Dispatches from Gaza:

MZ: Unlike what they’ve been told, we’ve never had a problem with Jews. Jews have been part of the fabric of our society way before the establishment of Israel. In fact, Jews escaping European persecution found refuge in Palestine. Gaza had a Jewish quarter. They were living peacefully, not with Arabs but as Arabs, right up until 1948. The establishment of Israel didn’t protect Jews; it caused the divide and danger. The solution is to roll back and dismantle the colony. My message to the colonizers who left their home countries to occupy our lands is simply to go back home. As for those who were born here, my message is: You are secondary victims of this colonial project. You are being used to occupy other people’s lands, and your Jewishness is being politicized for colonial means. Meditate carefully on the examples of South Africa, Angola, Algeria—they may not apply wholesale to the settler colonization of Palestine, but they hold lessons for you. Today you must make a choice: Either support this deadly colonial project, or side against it by supporting the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a democratic state that liberates Palestinians, as well as Jews, from Zionism. A state that will honor the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation and that will welcome and protect its Jews as citizens of Palestine. This transition from Zionism to democracy will not cost anyone’s life; it will cost you your colonial privileges, and will free you—and us, its primary victims—from colonialism.

See above point in regards to Jewish people living in historic Palestine before the creation of the Israeli state.

I need to reiterate what others have said and make it very clear: the problem with the Israeli state is that it was publicly acknowledged as a colonial project and then marketed as an empty land for people to settle in. The problem is that there were already people there when both the British colonized Palestine and when the Zionist state was created. Palestinians - Muslim, Jewish, and Christian - were already there. The Zionist state was not. The formation of the state is built on the massacres and expulsions of Palestinians from their lands.

Regarding the election: you can read about it here. It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that the United States meddled here, too. The summary is this, as I understand it: the United States wanted there to be an election; they backed Fatah, the secular party that was Hamas' opposition. Fatah repeatedly told the U.S. that they weren't ready for it but the U.S. ignored it and Hamas, having run on an anti-corruption campaign, won (by a small margin). Then the U.S. tried to pull a coup on Hamas, which was unsuccessful, after which Hamas took full power. (Again, see Zachary Foster's thread for the history of Hamas).

Again, as many others have said: a 1 state solution under a secular government under which all peoples are equal and are allowed to live freely both under the law and in practice. I'm compelled to quote Mohammed Zraiy again:

This transition from Zionism to democracy will not cost anyone’s life; it will cost you your colonial privileges, and will free you—and us, its primary victims—from colonialism.

+ I recommend visiting Decolonize Palestine where myths and propaganda is addressed.

[fairyofthehollow]

just me screaming and yelling into the void.

i feel like i’m going crazy sometimes. specifically regarding the literal genocide of palestinians being documented and broadcast online right now. i don’t know how people have gone so long, literally nearly two months (!!!!!!), without knowing what’s going on. how? how is that possible? and let’s say they do know about it, they might say “well, it doesn’t concern me” or “i’m neutral” or “it’s too complicated”. WHAT? i’m so so sorry? what was that? what on earth is complicated about apartheid, occupation, colonisation or GENOCIDE. and it does concern you, actually!!! like it really does!! it should enrage you that the world is watching an occupying power murdering en masse. it should enrage you that human beings are being subjected to such horrific acts of violence. it should enrage you that children are writing names on their arms so people can identify them if a bomb drops on their heads. it should enrage you that palestinians have to scream and cry and shout and hold up their martyred loved ones to validate their suffering and get the world to even glance at them. it should enrage you that a group of children had to stand in front of the tv, say a speech in english, to get the world to listen. it should enrage you that nurses, doctors, and surgeons had to hold a press conference in front of the martyred to show the world what is happening — because telling the world wasn’t enough. it should enrage you that the president of the united states accused people in gaza of releasing false numbers of people killed, to which the palestinian ministry of health had to release tens of pages of names — entire families aged 0-100 — of the palestinians murdered. to justify their suffering. it should fucking enrage you beyond belief that even democrats and progressives in the u.s don’t give a shit about marginalised communities or brown people or arabic people or muslims because they just signed a bill declaring any condemnation or criticism of the “state” of israel is anti-semitic. the list goes on and on and on and on. so many people don’t care. they don’t care or they’re okay with it or they support it. from people in incredible positions of power to celebrities to the every day person — so many people don’t give a shit about what is happening in gaza and the west bank. people are refusing to hold any person with a platform accountable and for what? they’re refusing to boycott (such a simple thing to do) and for what? for WHAT? is your life going to end when you don’t get your overpriced starbucks drink? or your shitty mcdonalds? is it going to end when you put your critical thinking caps on and start looking at celebrities for who they really are at the end of the day: money hungry capitalists? is your life going to end if you acknowledge that people don’t want to vote for joe biden for committing genocide? is it???? is it???!!!!! when will people wake up. when will they open their eyes and pay attention and do the right thing. when will people have a backbone. when will people gain empathy for an entire people being erased from the planet. when when when when when when when.

like do people not see it? the terrorist occupiers are erasing an entire people. an entire group of people. they’re destroying their historical documents, their schools, their neighbourhoods, their olive trees. they’ve colonised their food for fucks sake. they’ve killed doctors, scientists, journalists. they’re targeting anyone who speaks up against them. they’ve taken thousands of hostages. they’ve berated and beaten and tortured those hostages. they’ve bombed mosques and one of the oldest churches in the world. they’ve raped women and left babies with pieces of their skulls missing. they’ve made parents carry pieces of their children in bags. they violated a “truce”. they didn’t let them have funerals or celebrate or dance when they were reunited with loved ones (freed hostages) they’ve arrested palestinians for throwing rocks at tanks. rocks at tanks. rocks. at tanks. they ran over rachel corrie with a bulldozer for protesting the demolition of palestinian homes in rafah. they shot and killed a nine year old boy for standing in the street. they beat orthodox jews for standing in solidarity with palestinians. they shot a jewish man pleading for his life. they’ve stolen they’ve murdered they’ve beaten they’ve colonised they’ve done nearly every unimaginable, horrific act of violence under the sun to palestinians. where is your anger. where is your grief. where is your empathy for palestinians. where is everyone? where is the world?

[irithnova]

Notes on "Empire of Care : Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History"

Previous post:

Filipino nurse Patrocinio Montellano was a nurse who was interviewed for this book

Art by Filipino-American artist MYSTERIOUSxBEAUTY

She was an accomplished woman, furthering her nursing career in the US by taking post-graduate courses.

She eventually secured deployment through the aid of Americans such as William Musgrave, former director of the Philippine general hospital.

In 1924, she returned to the Philippines, becoming the field representative and nurse supervisor of the Philippine chapter of the American red cross.

None of this would have been able to happen had it been a few decades earlier - when the Philippines was under the colonial rule of the Spanish.

Under Spanish rule, Filipinos were only offered unequal opportunities rooted in gender by the education system implemented by the Spanish at the time.

Because of this, very few Filipino girls were permitted primary education given to them by Spanish charitable institutions.

Women were outright excluded from the University of Santo Tomas - the Spanish university in the Philippines

This was until 1879, when a school of midwifery was opened

When it came to specialised health care jobs, only midwifery was allowed for Filipino women to enter into

Traditionally, Filipino women would take on the role of the caretaker at home

Filipinos would also rely on indigenous healers

On the other hand, in Spanish medical institutions, usually Spanish Friars and Priests were the caretakers.

Sisters of Charity, along with a European nurse, arrived in the Philippines in 1862 to work at the San Juan de Dios hospital.

Spanish surgeons and male Filipino physicians would practice both generalised and specialised forms of healthcare.

In the 19th century, elite Filipino men (called ilustrados) were encouraged by the Spanish government to further their education in European countries.

Jose Rizal - a Filipino national hero and ilustrado was a doctor of medicine himself.

Filipino women were outside banned from these opportunities

US colonialism did implement some changes of opportunities that Filipino women were offered - as Montellano's story reveals.

The opportunities that were now offered were nursing, education - and travel opportunities to the U.S

These opportunities for both work and travel were closely linked.

Montellano's account demonstrates how like clockwork, the beginning of the U.S colonial rule marked significant transnational relations between the U.S and Filipino women

Montellano's socioeconomic and geographic mobility was enabled by these relations

Montellano was aided by American physicians and nurses in order to reach her employment goals in the United States

Montellano's experience in the US helped her secure an advanced nursing career upon her return to the Philippines.

Montellano notes that it was also her sheer determination and courage that helped her progress her career - even against her father's wishes.

The literature on women and imperialism challenges the perception of imperialism as masculine.

American women's participation in U.S. colonialism in the Philippines has been overlooked.

U.S. colonial nursing played a crucial role in American modernity and American women viewing themselves as civilised.

Filipino nurses' perspectives reveal the role of Filipinos and Americans in Philippine nursing.

Nursing and medicine legitimised U.S. colonial agendas and social hierarchies.

Western medicine is often seen as a humanitarian effort, making it difficult to critique its exploitative effects

Reynaldo Ileto noted that it was even difficult for the most nationalist Filipino writers to criticise the US sanitary regime as it saved countless Filipino lives.

Reynaldo Ileto, Filipino historian

The introduction of professional nursing in the Philippines had both liberating and exploitative aspects.

This chapter highlights a period of transnational mobility in Filipino American history.

American and Filipino nurses shaped Philippine nursing through travel, teaching, training, and practice.

This multidirectional mobility has been overlooked in Asian American histories.

The formation of a gendered labor force laid the foundation for significant migrations of Filipino nurses later in the twentieth century.

[lost-technology]

Dear My Brain, I do NOT need to do another massive Trigun AU right now. However, just to make you happy, I'll toss out my ideas here for "maybe someday." Okay, I'm on a Fallout-kick lately. Good show for my games, yes? A rare pretty decent live action adaptation of a set of video games. Definitely nods to fans / players there. Also been doing a little playing of Fallout 4. (Fallout 3 is the only game of the series I've played all the way through main quest sadly (maybe I'll download the classics from Steam...) Anyway, I've played with this notion for Trigun before - but only in the "if they were players." I made perks / gameplay styles for the main characters. So, what are you doing, brain? Why are you starting to come up with ideas for an actual story for me to write as a crossover?!!! Especially when I do not know if there are enough people who like both properties AND read fanfiction to be interested in a crossover AU / fusion fic - then again, I tend to write things primarily for my own delight, anyway. I was telling myself "no, these two things are already too similar, there's really no need," but then came the idea that "no, there are some things unique enough to the Fallout setting that you could really have fun with the Trigun characters wandering a post nuclear North America rather than Planet Gunsmoke / No Man's Land." I could even interchangeably refer to the Wasteland as No Man's Land... Okay, Brain, so you're telling me that in this fusion universe, Vault-Tec had a subsidiary that worked closely with the budding U.S. space program, which if I am not mistaken, is canon (that satellite-dish quest in Fallout 3 and that experimental for space-colonisation front Vault concealing the real experiment in the Nuka-World expansion for 4). SEEDS was sort of its own separate thing, more benevolent than the Vaults and free from their wild secret experiments. Their mission was open: Developing a new, yet profitable, source of power for the cooperate overlords to profit from, being a failsafe for re-terraforming the Earth in the event of a nuclear war, and being a study for close-quarter scientist-living for potential space colonies. SEEDS Vault 05 (as distinct from Vault 5, SEEDS gets a different class) saw the successful bioengineering of life forms they called Plants. They were actually developed shortly before the war of 2077, but were not considered perfected. After the bombs dropped and the doors sealed, further study showed the Plants' potential as essentially living G.E.C.Ks (Garden of Eden Creation Kits). A living answer to the G.E.C.K, water-chips, cold-fusion... Even a potential way to divest from the atomic energy that America had been depending on since the end of WWII. (Fallout, for non-players, is an AU of reality diverging at WWII's end). And then Independents are born. Rem Saverem, a rogue scientist who rebels against Vault-Tec's lack of ethics managed to smuggle out the first Independent. Poor Tesla, being a little girl she had to send out, but the Hell of the Wastes were literally a better shot for her survival than for her to stay in the SEEDS-Vault. Sometime later, a pair of twin boys are born and Rem manages to convince the crew not to make them into test subjects. Until she can't. Cue big escape scene where she gets Vash and Nai out of the vault and dies in a hail of bullets right before them as guards cut her down and come after them... And so starts the journey of pair of living McGuffins who can either save the world or destroy it in search of their lost sister. Nai eventually becomes Millions Knives, a brutal Wasteland warlord bent on the destruction of humankind. Vash is on the run with bounties upon bounties upon him. He meets a ghoul named Wolfwood, dependant upon a certain kind of Chem to heal his wounds and to keep him from going feral and a couple of reporter-ladies from one of the larger settlement-cities intent upon uncovering Wasteland mysteries.

[eponinesflowers]

I wish natives would realise that being for Palestine is actually going against themselves. I am not talking about demanding peace or wanting the war to stop and so on. Im talking about wanting Israel gone. Israelis are natives in the area. They were forcibly relocated (something indigenous people all over the world know all too well) and discriminated against. And once they finally managed to get their land back (as all indigenous people ask for), they are called colonisers. Imagine native Americans managed to get all their ancestral land back and would be called colonisers and protested against all over the world. And no, that doesn't mean i condone what is currently happening in Gaza. Every single human life is precious and irreplaceable. There is no excuse for violence, not even as a backlash for violence. But this is honestly sad to see from people who should be able to relate the most, that they are actually siding with the coloniser and call them the natives instead of the actual indigenous population.

Indigenous people throughout the world overwhelmingly stand with Palestine because they have also had their land stolen, lived under apartheid, and been subject to ethnic cleansing. I would rather listen to Indigenous people than speak for them.

You neglected to mention that there are people who have lived on that land since a lot of Jewish people were forcibly relocated, and they were not considered at all when the state of Israel was established in 1948. Palestinians have been subject to repeated killings and repression for existing on the land that their ancestors have spent centuries on. Additionally, it’s extremely important to recognize that the U.S. and UK were big supporters of the creation of the Israeli state so that they could have political influence in the SWANA region. The state of Israel as it currently exists is set up extremely similarly to colonial projects throughout history.

Regarding your fictional scenario: if Native Americans got their land back and put non-Indigenous Americans in an open-air prison, I would not support them in doing so. I think that everyone should be able to exist freely and safely in their own identities, and I would not support retaliatory measures (such as an apartheid state being created) being taken against civilians.

I have taken the time to research this subject thoroughly, and no one will ever convince me that apartheid is acceptable as long it’s perpetrated by another oppressed group. You are not obligated to follow me, but I will continue using my blog as a space to speak up for vulnerable and marginalized populations

[dnaamericaapp]

Aaron Bushnell Rest In Power #SayHisName

Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force has died after he set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, in protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which he described as a “genocide.”

Over the past 143 days, Israel has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave. In video footage recorded prior to and during his self-immolation, Bushnell states that he will “no longer be complicit in genocide” and that he is “about to engage in an extreme act of protest – but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonisers is not extreme at all”.

To be sure, Palestinians have long been accustomed to, well, burning to death at the hands of Israeli weaponry, ever since the state of Israel undertook to lethally invent itself on Palestinian land in 1948. The Israeli military’s use of skin-incinerating white phosphorus munitions in more recent years has no doubt contributed to the whole Palestinian “experience”.

After pertinently observing that US complicity in the genocide of Palestinians is “what our ruling class has decided will be normal”, Bushnell plants himself directly in front of the Israeli embassy gate – in full US military fatigues – and proceeds to douse himself with flammable liquid. As he rapidly burns to death, he repeatedly shouts: “Free Palestine”, while security personnel order him to get “on the ground”. One particularly helpful individual points a gun at the blaze.

And while such an intense and passionate form of suicide is no doubt bewildering to many, genocide should be all the more appalling; as Bushnell himself said, self-immolation is nothing “compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine”, where people know all too well how quickly human beings burn. -(source: aljazeera)

DNA America

“It’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics #aaronbushnell

[do-you-have-a-flag]

we talk a little about the way a lot of people from the U.S centre themselves online and culturally sort of by thoughtless default, but i think one thing a lot of them struggle to conceptualise is we aren’t JUST complaining that they assume everyone speaking english is also from america and should therefore know the same pop cultural touchstones and have the same values and attitudes or whatever..... it’s also that american cultural hegemony is so wide spread through media domination. here in australia for example we cannot even enforce support from streaming services to provide 10% of content as australian local productions. americans do not have the same relationship with foreign media that any other country does with film and tv and music from the u.s. the way actors only feel successful in their feild when they get exported, the way local arts people rely on international work for a steady job, the devaluing of local institutions in culture, the loss of accents, the lack of respect on an international stage, the invasion of terminology and politics from a completely external context resulting in new issues of misinformation and discourse.... this doesn't even get into the ways in which colonised nations generally have a complicated relationship with culture and how the vast impact of north american media flattens and assimilates rather than enhancing or diversifying in many contexts due to economic reliance.

non rebloggable post cause i just wanted to rant but like my point is: cultural cross pollination is good and is not the problem, it is the dominance of ONE culture over almost all others that is so frustrating, so yeah haha funney when people think your country also has a shit public transport system and car culture but also..... it goes deeper than that.

[aphroditesknife]

There are still quite a lot of people who are grateful for the Spanish and American colonisation of the Philippines. I can see you rolling your eyes right now, but you don't have to dig deep on the web to find these kinds of people. But while I've seen some people being very critical of the Spanish, the American one seems... diluted? Like people don't know how seriously fucked up the Americans were to the Filipino people.

So here's some details about those things they did in the Philippines. Keep in mind that this is only some and not the whole of the history of American colonisation.

>The Philippine-American War (1899-1902)

Considered by many historians to be the first counterinsurgency fought by the U.S

Featured guerrilla warfare by the Filipinos

Americans used torture, mutilation, killing prisoners, and other genocidal moves.

Intensely criticized in the U.S. by anti-imperialists like Mark Twain and Democratic Party leader William Jennings Bryan, who were the most notable critics of the war and the way it was fought

Military dissenters were also prominent critics.

Tortures included “water cure” where a prisoner’s mouth and nose were flooded with torrents of water from tanks funneled through syringes. Today we call this waterboarding.

4,200 US soldiers died

20,000 Filipino soldiers died

250,000-750,000 civilians died from violence, famine, and disease.

>Colonisation

Self-described imperialists insisted that America had a duty to bring order and civilization to what Indiana senator Alfred Beveridge called a "barbarous race." As the senator insisted, "The Philippines are ours forever. We will not repudiate our duty in the archipelago. We will not abandon our duty in the Orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee under God, of the civilization of the world."

Racism was rampant, especially from American veterans. Some racial slurs often used were the "n" word, "monkey men", and "gugus", used to dehumanise Filipinos.

Images of Filipinos as animals, or displaying animalistic qualities were common in popular magazines in the United States like: Harper’s Weekly or Judge. Images of Filipinos as dogs, mosquitos, or trained monkeys underscore the qualities associated with Filipinos: trophies, an annoyance, or as pets.

Education used to "civilize" Filipinos and make them more like Americans. After the war, white teachers would come to the Philippines to "educate" the next generation of Filipinos. Either by eliminating the Filipino “half devil” or educating the “half child,” the United States had discovered a method of "cleansing the savagery" of the Filipino peoples: through violence or an American education.

Villages were burned and resulted in the displacement of 3,000-4,000 Filipinos who were forced to abandon their homes and possessions and flee without any idea of where to go next.

American soldiers were some of the first to develop and use concentration camps in their “war” against the Filipinos Additionally, the “dead line” surrounding the camp kept all the natives in check and prevented them from leaving the camp on the threat of death.

In the Coney Island amusement park in 1905, a band of Igorrote (Igorot) were taken to the United States, performing mock tribal ceremonies and consuming dog meat in front of Americans in a human zoo.

From the big bourgeoisie and landlords, US imperialism chose their main political agents to train them as capitalist bureaucrats, benefiting from government colonial loot

Puppet politicians performed the role of deceiving the people during the colonial rule of US imperialism.

The US imperialists extorted the patriotic and revolutionary spirit and spread the narrative of worshipping foreigners so they can control the thinking of the people.

Public education system was used, English language was imposed and taught submissiveness in the minds of the people to US imperialism.

Sent many pensioners to the US to train reliable puppets and propagandist.

Cinema, radio, newspapers, and literature used to discredit the Philippine revolution

Let the Catholic church continue to spread the feudal mentality and superstitions.

Filipinos who continued to be a part of armed resistance were called "bandits".

Brought by the rapid development of trade and use of money, the farmers became even more poor. The bankrupt farmers who owned farmlands were forced to sell their land to landlords, merchants, and rich farmers. Basically during the American era, the evils of Spanish era continued.

Throughout the 1920s, there were many outbreaks spontaneous resistance of the working masses and farmer. This is a result of the continuous intensification of exploitation by foreign and local ruling classes.

In Manila, many strikes broke out. Farmers went on strike in large numbers part of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

If you keep up with Philippine politics, you can see some very obvious similarities to present day and history. Hence why remembering these atrocities is very important.