#Why do people want to immigrate to Canada

[teaboot]

How do Canadian schools teach about indigenous Canadian history and culture? -a curious USAmerican

In my experience we learned about colonization at the same time as we learned about the formation of Canada. At first it was "European settlers came and pushed out the indigenous population", then in the higher grades we learned more about the how and the why.

For example, how carts full of men with rifles would ride around shooting Buffalo, then leaving the meat on the ground to rot, because "a dead Buffalo is a dead indian", which was so fanatical it almost wiped out wild Buffalo entirely

Also how Canadian settlers were lured in with beautiful hand-painted advertisements for cheap, beautiful, fertile land that was unpopulated and perfect, if only you'd sail over with your entire family and a pocket full of seeds- only to be met with scared, confused, and angry lawful inhabitants already run out of ten other places, and frigid winters, and rocky, forested, undeveloped dirt.

also, smallpox blankets, where "gifts" of blankets infected with smallpox were intentionally given out

And treaty violations- Either ignoring written agreements entirely, or buying them out at insanely low prices and lying about the value, or trading for farming equipment that they couldn't use because they weren't farmers.

Then in the first world war, where they told indigenous peoples here that they'd be granted Canadian citizenship if they enlisted

To Residential schools, which was straight up stealing kids for slavery, indoctrination, and medical experiments

But we also covered the building of the Canadian Railway in which Chinese immigrants were lowered into ravines with dynamite to blow out paths through the mountain for pennies on the dollar

And the Alberta Sterilization Act, where it was lawful and routine procedure to sterilize women of colour and neurodivergent people without their awareness or consent after giving birth or undergoing unrelated surgeries

But I'm rambling.

We kind of learned Aboriginal history at the same time as everything else? Like. This is when Canada was made, and this is how it was done. Now we'll read a book about someone who lived through it, and we'll write a book report. And now a documentary, and now a paper about the documentary. Onto the next unit.

And starting I think in grade 10 our English track was split between English and Aboriginals English, where you could choose to do the standard curriculum or do the same basic knowledge stuff with a focus on Aboriginal perspectives and literature. (I did that one, we read Three Day's Road and Diary Of A Part-Time Indian, and a few other titles I don't remember.)

There was also a lunch room for the Aboriginal Culture Studies where Aboriginal kids could hang out at lunch time if they wanted, full of art and projects and stuff. They'd play music or videos sometimes, that was cool

And one elective I took (not mandatory cirriculum) was a Kwakiutl course for basic Kwakwakaʼwakw language. Greetings, counting to a hundred, learning the modified alphabet, animals, etc. Still comes in handy sometimes at large gatherings cause they usually start with a land recognition thanking whoever's land we're on, with a few thanks and welcomes in their language.

And like- when I was in the US it was so weird, cause here we have Totem poles and longhouses and murals all over and yall... don't? Like there is a very distinct lack of Aboriginal art in your public spaces, at least in the areas I've been

My ex-stepfather, who was American, brought his son out once, and he was so excited to "see real indians" and was legitimately shocked to learn that there weren't many teepees to be found on the northwest coast, and was even *more* shocked when we told him that you have Aboriginal people back home too, bud. Your Aboriginal people are also named "Mike" snd "Vicky" and work as assistant manager at best buy.

If you'd ask me, I'd say that the primary difference is that USAmerica (from what I've seen, and ALSO in entirely too much of Canada) treats our European and Aboriginal conflicts as history, something that's tragic but over, like the extinction of the mammoths, instead of like. An ongoing thing involving people who are alive and numerous and right fucking here

But at the end of the day, I'm white, and there are plenty of actual Aboriginal people who are speaking out and saying much more meaningful things than I can

So I'm just gonna pass on a quote from my Stepmum, who's Cree, that's stuck with me since she said it:

"You see how they treat Mexicans in America? That's how they treat us here. Indians are the Mexicans of Canada."

[sgvisa]

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[aristotels]

croatian political opinions are so funny to me, there is no bipolar nation like this one. you can literally pick a man from the street and he will hold all these opinions simultaneously as true: fuck putin and russia, but also the usa is the worst nation on the earth and should be destroyed, and also its actually good that putin is standing up to them because someone should. usa should get out of middle east but also its good to have a world policeman but also who the hell are they to think they should be a world policeman, why do they think the world is their playground. west is so developed and we should all emigrate there because we can get jobs as plumbers but imigrants shouldnt come here because theyre taking jobs. at the same time west is terrible, but we should be a western country. things were better in yugoslavia but also it was a criminal state and we should kill all communists, but also the government should pay for everything and its ridiculous that it wont. socialism is a travesty but we should all get jobs in the govt offices and we should have more of those jobs, and there is so much bureaucracy but he hired a cousin in the city administration. capitalism is even worse than socialism though and it has ruined our lives, but the solution to it isnt socialism, but we should have a socialist state just not call it that way. in yugoslavia you couldnt vote for a new president but we should end all the elections because they waste money and nobody ever does anything, why are we paying for them. eu is terrible but also we are better than serbs because we are in the eu but also why is eu opressing us and why are we a part of it and why dont we get out, also if you want money you should apply for eu funds. we should all be paid in euros but it shouldnt be a national currency. he loves milanović and votes for hdz at the same time and hates the hdz prime minister because he is a dictator and should be removed, but also he will vote for hdz on the next elections because he wants a job in the city administration. he thinks that this is a third world country but if someone else says that, its not. immigrants should get out, except for his buddy who immigrated into croatia because he is an exception and is a cool guy so thats different. doctors shouldnt get bigger salaries but they should also stop being traitors and emigrating, but half of his family has emigrated to ireland. also ukrainian immigrants should get out of the country, however half of his family left for canada during 90es. we should bring back the mandatory military service, he avoided it because he had anemia. the prices here are too high to survive but we should increase them when tourist season comes and why are people complaining about the restaurant prices, if they cant afford them they shouldnt eat there, also he hasnt been to a restaurant in 10 years. look how developed slovenia is, theyre doing it right, but also we hate them, why do they think theyre better than us.

insane nation

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Nimaratta Randhawa “Nikki” Haley anglicized her name and her entire life to gain acceptance from a racist, white supremacist, white nationalist, far-right Republican Party of grifters. Haley chose to become a useful idiot for the Republicans and to share in their criminal grift.

Don’t fool yourself into believing all people of color or all marginalized people are hand in hand in some grand coalition. Haley and others do not support African-Americans, just the opposite, they want to distance themselves from them to gain acceptance from autocratic right-wing Republicans.

This is egregious. Haley denies her heritage and then becomes irate when Trump calls her by her legal name. Curiously the Trumps switched from Drumpf themselves to sound less ethnic.

I’m going to beat this dead horse again. Republicans will always refer to Barry Obama as Barack Hussein Obama to make him sound foreign and menacing and make a not so subtle reference to Saddam Hussein and radical Muslims which they villainize. Saddam wasn’t a radical religious fanatic nor was he involved in 9/11 but that’s another can of worms.

Let us not forget Rafael Eduardo Cruz who has labeled himself “Ted”. Republicans at Trump rallies literally chant “send those sp-cs back”. Rafael and his Dominionist father Rafael Sr know the Republican oligarchs and political establishment won’t accept a Hispanic named candidate so the decision was made to anglicize himself to “Ted”. This makes him more palatable to racist redneck Republican douche bag voters. Another useful idiot changing himself to be accepted by white supremacists autocrats. Racially Cruz is white and his claim to being Hispanic are dubious since he was born and raised in Canada and the US and his papi only lived in Cuba for about 17 years. Rafael Sr’s parents moved to Cuba from Spain just prior to his birth. Racially they’re white. The hypocrisy is stunning as Rafael claims to be Hispanic at election time to garner Hispanic votes in Texas. In point of fact the name Cruz is typically Portuguese but is sometimes found in Spain. Ted ALWAYS calls “Barry” by his given name of Barack Hussein Obama with emphasis on Hussein. The name Hussein is actually one of the most common names in the Middle East and does not imply connects to Saddam like the Republikkkans would have you believe.

While on the subject of name games. Devin Nunes is 100% white European Portuguese. The name is pronounced “noons” but Devin likes to go by “noon-yez” to imply he is Hispanic. Why? Same reason as “Ted”. Rafael’s claimed home state of Texas has a large number of Hispanic residents. California similarly has a large number of Hispanic residents and Devin needed some of their votes to get into office. Devin has even gone as far as to claim to be Hispanic which he is not. No connection to Spain or any of its former South/Central American territories.

These may seem like minor or subtle points but remember that Republicans can only win by cheating or by counting on Democrats staying home. Races are increasingly coming down to the wire and being won by a small number of votes. Nikki has fooled the entire Republican base into believing she’s white and doesn’t want to Trump to say her parents are immigrants from India. The Republikkkan party is built on racism and hatred of immigrants and the truth could potentially cost Nikki millions of votes. Likewise Ted needs to be anglicized for the same reason. Ted goes a step further with micro-advertising to Hispanic communities to gain some of their support without catching the attention of racist and anti-immigrant Republican deplorable assholes. Devin takes a different tack by openly claiming in the past to be Hispanic while privately claiming to be white European in private. Devin is not a national figure and had only to get votes in a small Congressional district where the Hispanic votes were crucial to his election. Like Ted he doesn’t even speak Spanish, however he does speak Portuguese poorly.

Three double dealing useful idiots in service to America First white nationalists. Three immigrant backgrounds covered up. One hoping nobody notices she’s South Asian even though she’s become unrecognizable from her own childhood photos. Three Trump trash traitors to America using a heinous political propaganda machine created by Karl Rove and now in the hands of racist, nativist, trash.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Religion and the conflict- an excuse for antisemitism

Many users seem to use everyone's interest in the conflict to spread misinformation and antisemitic beliefs. Antisemitism today is being rebranded as antizionism.

Zionism is simply the notion that the Jewish people should have a state of their own, in Zion (AKA the historical and religious name for Israel).

Debunking some common musconcepti0ons about Zionism -It's not a new movement- This concept has been around ever since the Jewish people were first expelled from Israel. Jews have tried to immigrate to Israel ever since and were often met with refusal. They were then sent back against their will to nearby territories such as Cyprus.

But I’m not antisemitic, I’m just anti Israeli

-Antisemitic hate crimes rates have gone up globally:

from slurs, genocidal chants and violence in American college campuses, to hate crimes and violence spiking across Europe…

Take London for an example - there’s currently a 1,350% spike in antisemitism.

People are killed for being Jewish. Swastikas are drawn, and the hashtag “Hitler was right” is trending all over social media.

You can’t deny that chanting “gas the Jews” in protests in antisemitic…

It's not like what happened in Canada & the USA -Treatment of Palestinians after the founding of the state of Israel: To better understand the situation, you'll need to understand the difference between Palestinian territories outside of Israel, Palestinian territories inside Israel, and Israeli territories.

-Palestinians living in Palestinian territories Outside of Israel (The Gaza Strip) are governed by Hamas. -Palestinians living in Palestinian territories within Israel are governed by the Palestinian Authority and not Israel. *For further reading, you can read about the differences between A, B, and C zones.

-Arabic Muslims and Arabic Christians living within Israeli territories have the exact same rights as Jewish Israelis. There are many "mixed" cities in which Arabic people and Jewish people live peacefully, it's a nonissue.

Israeli people are European settlers \ white colonizers

Are they all white? I can't believe I have to write this, but contrary to popular belief, not all Jews are white, just like not all Christians are white ... Stop being ignorant: there are Jewish People from Asian, Arab, and African countries. Please stop telling Arabic\African Jews to go back to Europe, You are embarrassing yourself. The reason why there aren't a lot of them in those countries right now is that they were either killed or forced to leave them (often without any of their possessions) after years of discrimination and violence. *Are they collonsiers?

The Jewish people are indigenous to the land of Israel. There is much historical, and archeological evidence for that. There is evidence that supports that the Jewish people have been here for thousands of years. The Jewish people all originated from Israel, and are an Ethnic group that originated from Israel. How can we be colonizers on our own land?

Most of the land of Israel was either given by the British mandate or purchased legally.

Obviously, some land was occupied- but that was during wars that were forced on Israel, after many terror attacks. -Many of the people claiming Israeli people are colonizers, are European, American, or Canadian.... AKA the biggest colonizers in history, who have 0 connection to the land they occupied. While Israel was a British colony until 1948-and Unlike popular belief, the conflict doesn't start there. That's what Hamas wants you to think. Your favorite Maps are a lie

They won't tell you about the Balfour declaration in 1917, the 1936 Peel Commission, or the 1947 UN partition plan which the Palestinian people rejected. Do you know what followed that rejection? Foreign armies from Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia attacked.

Many peace accords including the 1993 Oslo Accords (which since then were violated by the Palestinians)- were all initiated by Israel.

Not one of the wars in Israeli history was initiated by Israel. * Besides the occupation of the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula** Most of the lands that make up Israel were either given by the British after their mandate over the country had ended or purchased legally*. *Besides the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula**. **The Sinai peninsula was returned completely to Egypt in 1982. as part of the 1977 peace accords between Egypt and Israel. Further context and more information:

I suggest you read about the Suez Crisis \ The Sinai War of 1956, The Egypt- Israel Peace Accords, the Oslo Accords, the British mandate over Israel (especially the end of it), and different UN decisions made in the years before the founding of Israel.

[ziskeyt]

Christie Pits

Today is the 90th anniversary of the Christie Pits Riot. The largest race riot in Canada. Christie Pits is a park in Toronto, Ontario. It's pretty large, and these days is a very active park in the summer and a place for sledding and ice skating in the winter. On this day in 1933 the tensions between the Jews who lived in the neighbourhood around the Christie Pits park and the white Canadians who wished to ally with the nazis, who made up what they called Swasitka Clubs, came to a head during a baseball game. The Jews were joined in the fight by their immigrant neighbours, primarily Italians, who also had come head to head with the white nazis before. These hate-filled Canadians wished to restrict Jews from jobs, education, going to the beaches, owning property, and really, given their alignment with the nazis and proudly waving the swastika flag, we can be pretty sure they wanted us dead as well.

The Toronto Star paper noted that there were ten thousand people who ended up joining the fight.

This is the only photo that exists:

(ID in alt) Christie Pits resulted in one of the first prohibitions against hate speech with the Mayor of the time saying that he would prosecute any future displays of the swastika. If you'd like to read more, Jamie Michaels, who wrote the graphic novel Christie Pits published an article today about the riots:

There was an event today in the park to commemorate the anniversary. As well as a few in May and June, Jewish and Italian heritage months respectively. While I don't know the best way to commemorate a fight like this, remembering that it happened, and why it happened is incredibly important. We're in a time that is very reminiscent to what people were dealing with then; from money seemingly meaning less while everything costs more, to the wealthy flaunting their great discrepancy from the majority, to people walking off work to strike for better conditions. Times of turmoil are times when people will often turn to trying to find a reason for their uncertainty, and as history has taught us, this often leads people to explaining their misfortune by finding a scapegoat -- and that scapegoat is usually Jews. In today's world, there are those who are virulently antisemitic with their whole chests, and those people are easy to point to and say they are what they are. But, we're also in a time where there is a lot of coded antisemitism around, from age-old conspiracy theories, to various racist tropes finding rebirths in memes and "jokes", to character types and appropriation of Jewish culture to make something seem exotic and mystical. You as an individual have the responsibility to educate yourself about racist dogwhistles and coding so you don't go around parroting things you don't believe, and eventually find yourself falling down the rabbit hole of white supremacist rhetoric. They say those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, but doom makes it sound like something that people aren't able to do anything about it. Learn history. Learn what hatred has looked like in the past and morphed into today. Learn history. You are not doomed and you are not helpless. You too can take part in stopping rising fascism by learning what it looks and sounds like. You have a responsibility to yourself and to the future to learn about where we came from to get to where we are today.

[bitchfitch]

sorry if my asks overwhelmed you, i just thought it was important to point out. the poll itself is not important, but it is important that you understand that your poll exposes a subtle antiblack belief about slavery that you (and many others) hold. i would hope that someone who truly believes that "BLM" would be receptive to considering why distinguishing between slavery and immigration is actually extremely important (even in casual, mostly non-consequential instances like this.) im not pressed for an answer, but i truly do hope you can bring yourself to learn more about why this distinction is key to understanding black history and black oppression

nah it's cool and I understand where you're coming from. if I could edit the poll to add more nuance options (bc it's still a poll about the most recent immigration, so someone with slave ancestors but who's mom is from like, Canada would still probably need/want an option seperate from the second one and so on and so- It was a badly designed poll, it needed more nuance in general you're smart, you know what I mean) but tunglr doesn't like, let me do that or delete it from other people's blogs you know? And at this point making another one kinda seems like a job for someone who's better at poll design than I am

So it's a big Shrug situation I guess is the point, it sucks and I'm sorry it upset you and others and ill be attempting to do better in the future, but there's nothing I can like. do about it in the here in now.

[mysteriouslytransparentwitch]

Just a comment on Tommy Robinson. He’s all over X calling for violence today. What happened to those three little girls in north England was tragic beyond words. But it’s like red meat to man like Robinson whose been spoiling for a fight like this with the police since earlier in the year and last weekend. People like him want to start a race war. And they won’t be satisfied till they do. That’s why he was kicked out of Canada, he wanted to give an anti immigrant speech in Toronto. Violence is not the answer but he’ll be running on this for months. Vile creature, just like that 17 year old murderer.

the European continent is currently falling into violence and hatred. Because it is declining because of ultra-capitalism but people do not want to understand, they think it is the foreigner opposite. The global south is reorganizing without the global north and this will create imbalances. We are at the beginning of a global change. This is my opinion

[aloeverified]

i’m curious do u have any headcanons abt wayne and raj… they are the characters ever

yes 💪

their fullnames are raj kapoor & wayne graham (the most candian name ever for the most candian character ever).

wayne was always way taller than raj growing up, but now they're roughly around the same height. it's just not obvious to most people since wayne wears boots and raj sticks with his trusty converse. raj is just pushing 5'10 and wayne's a little over 5'11.

raj has two younger siblings who are twin brother and sister and are much younger than he is. wayne is an only child, but their families are so intertwined that they basically consider him their older brother too.

they're juniors in high school (assuming that's how it works in canada, too lazy to google it rn) and are about seventeen. they don't look or act super young, but they still got the "when i'm older" type of vibe that most people who are right about to graduate don't really have.

they've been best friends for a while, but not quite childhood best friends. i think they met during gym class of sixth grade and just instantly hit it off due to their shared interests in sports and humor.

raj's parents are first generation immigrants so they're not completely fluent in english and have a bit of an accent when they talk. since his moms raised him to be the most highly of gentlemen, wayne asked raj to teach him a bit of telugu so he could make polite conversation with them whenever he came over without all the pressure being on them. that was his first step to almost being immediately adopted by them.

this actually caused them to both realize they really enjoy studying languages. they continued studying telugu together, with raj tutoring wayne. wayne also decided to take up french classes early, and raj had his parents sign him up to learn the basics of other southern indian languages they knew. they both view this as a helpful skill for when they're international hockey stars, of course.

they live in a decently smaller-sized town, so despite not being neighbors, they still find a way to be at each other's house every other day. they switch off depending on what they're feeling, and their parents learned to accept that they're a package deal that comes and goes whenever they please.

since his parents discovered he was gay through the show rather than raj actually coming out to him, they — along with wayne's moms — thought it would be funny to turn his coming home party from the show into a coming out party as well. raj realized this when he cut into the cake and it was rainbow inside.

his family was very adamant about showing raj how supportive they are. he wasn't sure why, as their best friends were a lesbian couple and his best friend was the son of said couple, but they still repeatedly told him how proud of him they were and how much they loved him. the only pushback he received was his nani complaining about how he wasn't allowed to date until he was thirty and that this bowie boy was ruining that.

teacher hate these two. they never shut up in class, will ditch their assigned partners to work with each other, never get their work done, and yet still manage to have good grades (because they know they won't be able to play otherwise). no one understands how they do it.

they always have the most over-the-top cartoony outfits for spirit weeks. even the asb and student council kids find it embarrassing how much school spirit they have.

besides their accidental menace behavior, they never actually get into any real trouble at school. the only time they've ever gotten suspended was when wayne wanted to test his new padding gear and rammed himself into the lockers at full force and nearly killed himself while raj recorded.

because of their ridiculous stunts they like to post, wayne has a bit of a following on social media. he doesn't really do it to be an influencer or for attention or anything, he just likes being able to look back on all the fun moments he and rajie have together. that's one of the reasons they were so eager to be on total drama, to showcase their awesome friendship and have the tapes of all their fun challenges together.

they work part-time at the local ice rink, where they were able to land jobs due to their skills on the ice. they even work the same shift most of the time since they have the same availability hours, although they switch off between standing behind the counter and supervising on the ice. sometimes they both get to help out with the little league hockey teams, though, which they both really enjoy.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Adam Zivo

Published: Nov 30, 2023

Given the chance, Hamas would murder every LGBTQ person in the world

Amid renewed conflict in Gaza, a startling number of queer progressives are romanticizing Palestinians and playing down their hatred towards LGBTQ people. This whitewashing is wrong, no matter how legitimate Palestinian calls for self-determination may be.

Since the early 2000s, radical queer activists have fervently advocated for Palestinian rights under the assumption that, as both communities oppose the capitalist West, “queer liberation” cannot be disentangled from “anti-imperialism.”

This has never made much sense. Strategically aligning against a shared enemy does not necessarily make two groups friends. There are obvious tensions between Palestinians and the LGBTQ community that cannot be ignored — mainly the fact that most Palestinians, along with their political leaders, hate gay and trans people and many want them dead.

In a 2019 poll conducted by the BBC, only five per cent of Palestinians in the West Bank approved of homosexuality — which was the lowest rate within the Middle East and North Africa. Gazans are generally excluded from this research, but local Islamic law mandates death or 10 years of imprisonment for homosexuality.

LGBTQ people face such dire threats to their safety in Gaza and the West Bank that hundreds have fled to Israel as refugees. When interviewed by the United Nations, escapees have recounted harrowing torture and death threats from both family members and Palestinian security forces. Yet even abroad, these people are not safe. Last year, Ahmad Abu Marhia, a 25-year-old gay man living under asylum in Israel, was kidnapped and then beheaded in the West Bank just two months before he was scheduled to immigrate to Canada.

Despite this, activists throughout the West have paraded signs bearing the message “Queers for Palestine” — a slogan that some have ridiculed as the equivalent of “Chickens for KFC.” Earlier this month a banner was hung in the University of British Columbia reading: “Trans liberation can’t happen without Palestinian liberation.”

It’s unclear why LGBTQ rights are in any way dependent on Palestinian self-determination — activist explanations here tend to be vague and muddled at best.

Is the argument that no disadvantaged social group can be free until all are? If that’s the case, then why is this logic rarely, if ever, applied to antisemitism? And if all disadvantaged groups need support, then why should any LGBTQ person, who has limited resources and time, prioritize the Palestinians over the many other communities fighting for rights and attention in the world today?

While LGBTQ people have no special obligation to support Palestinians, there is nothing wrong with defending Palestinians’ fundamental rights despite their rampant homophobia — the validity of these rights is not conditional on moral perfection, after all. If a gay man can support Afghan and Iranian women, or Uyghur Muslims, all of whom have their own prejudices, then Palestinians can be reasonably supported as well.

Deciding what social causes to support is a deeply personal choice for anyone — some LGBTQ people prioritize Palestinians, and others don’t. Each option is understandable, but which path one chooses to take should, ideally, be based on accurate information.

Rather than allow this, though, the queer left uses misleading arguments to inflate support for the Palestinian cause — firstly, by fabricating an artificial obligation to Palestinian liberation, and, secondly, by playing down the severity of Palestinian homophobia (and, by extension, Islamic homophobia).

Queer leftists are quick to argue that the Qur’an’s language on homosexuality is ambiguous, while ignoring the fact that the hadiths, which are the canonical teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, explicitly prohibit homosexuality. Muslim-majority countries do not pass discriminatory legislation arbitrarily — they work off mainstream interpretations of Shariah law.

Some queer leftists try to exonerate Palestinians of any moral responsibility for their homophobia by blaming western colonialism. To make this argument, they typically fixate on the fact that legal prohibitions on homosexuality were first introduced into the region by the British in 1936.

But the British ruled this part of the Middle East for only 30 years (from 1918 to 1948) and implemented sodomy laws for barely more than a decade. Palestinians have had 75 years to improve their attitudes and laws, but haven’t done so and show no desire for change — even though the Israelis, who also inherited these laws, were able to shed this baggage decades ago.

To blame contemporary Palestinian homophobia on a relatively brief, long-dead period of colonial rule is inane and patronizing. It implies that the Palestinians have no moral agency; that their beliefs and institutions are simply dictated by western policy choices; and that they are incapable of being held to the same ethical standards as Europeans.

Another minimization strategy is to argue that Islamic homophobia is not much worse than what is experienced in the West. For example, world-famous drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova (an Irish-American who cosplays as a Soviet citizen) recently claimed on X that anti-LGBTQ violence in Gaza is comparable to that in Scotland or Massachusetts. The post went viral and was liked over 140,000 times.

The last time I checked, gay people are not beheaded or routinely tortured in the West. While some anti-LGTBQ violence exists, only very coddled westerners can delude themselves into believing that this is similar to what occurs in Gaza, the West Bank or the rest of the Islamic world.

Some queer leftists also nonsensically claim that criticizing Palestinian homophobia “erases the existence of queer Palestinians” — but absolutely no one, except maybe Hamas, is saying that LGBTQ Palestinians don’t exist. Calling attention to social prejudice actually spotlights victims who would otherwise be forgotten. This should be glaringly obvious.

The queer left’s tendency to romanticize Palestinians and ignore their homophobia may seem strange at first, but it becomes intelligible when one remembers that this crowd often subscribes to a strain of “anti-imperialism” that interprets the world through a simplistic and reflexively anti-western framework.

This framework divides the world into a simple binary: oppressors (who are unambiguously evil) and the oppressed (who are morally pure). “Anti-imperialists” assume that: i) communities that oppose the West overwhelmingly fall into the “oppressed” class; ii) members of this class tend to have similar political and social priorities; and iii) political violence committed by the oppressed automatically counts as morally justified “resistance.”

Of course, the world does not actually conform to this framework, because global conflicts are far more nuanced than anti-imperialists are willing to admit. There is no black-and-white divide between good and evil, and no grand coalition of victims — real life is too diverse and fractured for such a simplistic narrative.

Yet false simplicity provides comfort to many queer activists, because it conceals the uncomfortable compromises that come with political life. Many progressives feel anxious about their own privileged positions in the world, and, as a result, often resort to performative righteousness to assuage these insecurities. The dynamics here are not much different from what is sometimes seen among the devoutly religious — the presence of doubt, compromise and moral greyness is psychologically unacceptable.

In the context of the Palestinians, this fundamentally selfish need for black-and-white thinking leads the queer left to minimize homophobia that, in any other context, would be unacceptable. It encourages the romanticization of Hamas, a terrorist organization that would, if given the chance, murder every LGBTQ person in the world.

If queer leftists wish to ensconce themselves in fairytales, then that’s their prerogative — but other LGBTQ people are justified in taking a skeptical approach, which, yes, can include support for Palestinians’ self-determination that uncomfortably co-exists with clear-eyed recognition of the very ugly parts of Palestinian culture.

[beardedmrbean]

If you plan on flying around the country in 2025 and beyond, you might want to listen up.

You have about 365 days to make your state-issued driver’s license or identification “Real ID” compliant, per the Department of Homeland Security.  

The Real ID compliance is part of a larger act passed by Congress in 2005 to set “minimum security standards” for the distribution of identification materials, including driver’s licenses. This means that certain federal agencies, like the Transportation Security Administration or DHS, won’t be able to accept state-issued forms of identification without the Real ID seal.

It's taken a while for the compliance to stick, with DHS originally giving a 2020 deadline before pushing it back a year, then another two years and another two years after that due to “backlogged transactions” at MVD offices nationwide, according to previous USA TODAY reports.

You won’t be able to board federally regulated commercial aircraft, enter nuclear power plants, or access certain facilities if your identification documents aren’t Real ID compliant by May 7, 2025. 

Here’s what we know about Real IDs, including where to get one and why you should think about getting one.

Do I have to get a Real ID?

Not necessarily. 

If you have another form of identification that TSA accepts, there probably isn’t an immediate reason to obtain one, at least for travel purposes. But if you don’t have another form of identification and would like to travel around the country in the near future, you should try to obtain one. 

Here are all the other TSA-approved forms of identification:

◾ State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License

◾ U.S. passport

◾ U.S. passport card

◾ DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)

◾ U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents

◾ Permanent resident card

◾ Border crossing card

◾ An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized, Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe

◾ HSPD-12 PIV card

◾ Foreign government-issued passport

◾ Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card

◾ Transportation worker identification credential

◾ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)

◾ U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential

◾ Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

However, federal agencies “may only accept” state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards that are Real ID compliant if you are trying to gain access to a federal facility. That includes TSA security checkpoints.

Enhanced driver’s licenses, only issued by Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont, are considered acceptable alternatives to REAL ID-compliant cards, according to DHS. 

What can I use my Real ID for?

For most people, it's all about boarding flights.

You can only use your Real ID card to obtain access to "nuclear power plants, access certain facilities, or board federally regulated commercial aircrafts," according to DHS.

The cards can't be used to travel across any border, whether that's Canada, Mexico, or any other international destination, according to DHS.

All you have to do to get a Real ID is to make time to head over to your local department of motor vehicles.

Every state is different, so the documents needed to verify your identity will vary. DHS says that at minimum, you will be asked to produce your full legal name, date of birth, social security number, two proofs of address of principal residence and lawful status.

The only difference between the state-issued forms of identification you have now and the Real ID-compliant card you hope to obtain is a unique marking stamped in the right-hand corner. The mark stamped on your Real ID compliant cards depends on the state.

[belethlegwen]

The Rescue - Chp 54 - That Dark Old Friend [+ Life Update]

Hey there everyone!

So sorry about the delay in updates since the Christmas season, there's a lot of shit to blame for it and I'll get into it in more detail, but in short this was a wildly busy Christmas season where I had 0 time to write between work and family stuff from like, November-end of December, and then a whole lot of house shit started happening and I've been unbelievably stressed since just before New Years.

Longer details and stuff below the cut for people who are interested, but in short the important details are:

Updates to works on AO3 may be at random times with long delays between for the coming year. Can't be sure, but for now that's how things are looking while I have way too much shit going on IRL.

Please enjoy this little chapter for now, and if you're up for a long winding journey about why it felt like all of my hair has been falling out for two weeks, meet me below <3

So the Christmas season at my job was wildly busy, on top of that there's some issues going on there between the business owner I rent space from and the person who owns the building. It's a mess, for a while it looked like/still kinda looks like we're going to have some major issues with the lot clearing what with winter being a major issue where I live in the Frozen Nor'Atlantic. That was all bad enough.

I had been told back in the fall by my landlord, who I've been renting from for 10 years now, that her mortgage was up for renewal in January and that it looked like it was going to go up a hot amount. Rates are super fucking high in Canada right now, shit's bad, the mortgage specialist at the bank I was talking to yesterday said that it's bad enough they legitimately expect the government to be stepping in soon to do something about it before it's a crisis (or more of a crisis because personally, it's already a fucking crisis and has been, but I digress). She warned me the rent was going to have to go up, I told her I expected it, I knew it was going to happen, she's been amazing to me for 10 years, if it's gotta go up it's gotta go up, I get it.

This past fall is when my partner Zip came to visit for 6 weeks and we got engaged, and when we started to plan to move them up here so we could start immigration and the like, which we were aiming to do for the beginning of this summer.

So as we're gearing up to New Year's and everything, I am expecting to deal with the start of immigration application readying, and expecting rent to increase. December 27th, I got a message from the landlord that uh, someone wants to buy the house (as an investment property and keep the renters) and despite her best efforts to try and bounce around and get a lower mortgage rate, it didn't work out and she's going to have to sell either way. So we suddenly had to get the house ready to be listed and viewed.

Viewings were fucking hell, by the way. While priority for accepting the offer was going to someone who wanted to take the property over and keep the renters in place, Real Estate agents just want the fucking sale, so being in my home while people are wandering around it scaring my cats and talking about how my bedroom was going to be the kid's room and my office was going to be turned into something else? Shit time, don't recommend. Not to mention the agents that were showing up half-hour not just away of their own scheduled appointment but a half hour outside of when viewings were actually permitted to happen.

I'm glad we have such high paying careers available for people who are, apparently, fucking illiterate, but I was getting extremely rude to agents and their desperation for a sale by the end of it. Someone tried to show up yesterday after a offer was accepted literally the night before and we sent them packing fine enough, but now anytime the rain hits the gutters too hard I think someone is walking into my home so that's fun.

We have signs all over the house about keeping doors closed to keep the cats inside, including one on the back door (where it isn't an enclosed porch) that says in extremely large lettering Access To Patio From Outside ONLY, and there were still at least two agents that opened the back door, so. Nightmares all around.

An offering has been accepted, the person who is hopefully going to buy wants to keep us as tenants, and I'm locked in a lease until later this year anyway. Things are at least, as of yesterday when I got the confirmation that an offer was in that stage, stable now that I didn't throw up this morning. Hooray! It's been hell. I can not stress enough that this has been hell.

It still leaves the later part of the year up in the air a lot, because new landlord may still want us out at the end of the lease of whathaveyou, and between now and then I am flying down to America to drive across that wild country with a car full of stuff to move my fiancee here, then we gonna get immigration rolling and the employment switchover and everything else. My Dad has been a massive rock for me during this time in terms of trying to keep me level, and as he says: "this is all just one-step-at-a-time things. You're just keeping ducks in a row".

And as I keep saying: "Yeah but I've got a lot of fuckin' ducks, man."

So that's the kind of thing that's in the air right now for me. Lots and lots of stuff going on. I'm still picking away at writing but to make things easier on myself, I'm going to not stress about any kind of schedule or the like right now and just play with whatever flows come when I have them and have the time/ability to focus on them in the few quiet moments I have between all of the other stuff.

Much love to all of you, thank you all again as always for the wonderful comments you've all left, the kudos, the people who reached out, all of it. You're wonderful <3

Take care of yourselves out there,

~ Belle

[nerdy-talkie]

What makes a movie memorable? Is it the dialogues? Or the cinematography? Or is it the people you watch it with? There can be one answer or there can be multiple. For me, Past Lives was memorable for multiple reasons.

The movie revolves around the lives of Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends, well, they're more than just friends but also not exactly lovers. Fate comes between them when Nora immigrates to Canada from Seoul. The conflict begins when they meet again after 12 years through a social media platform. It takes them another 12 years to meet in New York, physically.

It's hard to come to terms with the fact that this movie was the debut of Celine Song, it's meticulously crafted and the nuances of a love story are wonderfully captured. It's refreshing and takes its time to bring you into its world. Shabier Kirchner has done a wonderful job with the camera, the frames are neither flashy nor are they boring, there is just enough depth and just the right amount of colors to compliment the story. If that's not perfect cinematography, I don't know what is. The cities in the movie, especially New York and Seoul, are beautifully shown, they're so well integrated into the script that they feel like supporting characters in their own rights.

The story is also wonderfully paced, although there isn't much in the second half of the film, it still doesn't feel out of place or awkward. More than anything, Past Lives is a cozy watch, it's a movie you may want to watch on a comfortable day when regular rom-coms may feel too artificial and a European art house might feel like too much of a work to understand. Infact, this is why I love some of the Asian dramas, the last time I felt like this was when I saw Koreeda's 'after the storm' and 'still walking'. These movies don't complicate the plot, neither do they introduce unnecessary drama, they understand that there's enough drama in everyday relationships and show just that. In the case of Past Lives, it shows the regret of two lovers, two souls that never got a chance to be together and explore what could have been.

In the end, this movie is not so much about past lives or future lives, it's about coming to terms with the present life. We all make choices that define who we are. Nora chooses to immigrate, she chooses to live in New York and become a playwright over going back to Seoul. Hae Sung chooses to stay in Seoul, he chooses a traditional job over a creative one. The choices they make continually push them apart, but something holds them together. Maybe it's In-yun, a Korean concept that says people are brought together based on interactions in their previous lives. Or maybe it's something more. But whatever it is, it's not strong enough to win over reality, and the characters are painfully aware of that.

A Korean proverb says, "even simply brushing clothes with someone is a fate". The movie stays true to this philosophy, maybe even the all powerful director didn't have enough power to change the fate of these broken lovers. But that's okay, because maybe in another life, they'll find comfort in each other's warmth.

If someone tells you that past lives is about a love triangle, don't believe them. Rather, it's about human connections, proper good-byes, overcoming regrets and coming to terms with one's life.

Watch the movie if you want to watch something that's grounded and simple, but beware of the emotional hangover it may leave!

[sidewayspeace444]

I love that you call LSQ out on their shit, the blog that constantly gaslights.

Has Lonesome done their research? On USA Immigration laws I doubt it!

They are so dumb also if wedding vendors and light and dwell would have signed NDA’s and wouldn’t be aloud to say anything plus Light and Dwell would have tagged him on Social media when he was active.

I do know this as I work in the entertainment industry and know what it entails.

LSQ is a CAA run blog intent on destroying him.

They are pushing the narrative because CAA pay them too.

People please block or unfollow LSQ as since ariel and pascal took over its gone to shit!

For me personally, it’s weird. I don’t believe the wedding talk because it never actually made sense. If she’s getting married in such a short time, then why isn’t she in MA? She’s been in Portugal all summer, then NYC, and Bermuda.

If you’re doubling down and really believe in this wedding, then good for you. I don’t. It’s not because I don’t want it to happen because Chris Evans getting married to a Lolita racist isn’t going to change my life, or my income.

I asked a simple question. Where’s the ring? She had to crop her hand out to keep people talking. I was blocked for that very question. At least once or twice this summer she would’ve slipped up and wore a ring in a picture if this actually happened. She shows us everything. Including her naked body.

Something else that always stuck out with me was how she said Alba was there when the pottery video was taken. Why would she fly back from Portugal to MA for two days only to fly to Canada with her mother after? Then he was off to Hawaii. It’s okay to ask questions to things that don’t exactly make sense

[space-robot-named-data2]

Ranking Star Trek actors from the UK (and the rest of Ireland too - I’m narrowing it to them bc I don’t want to type a post as long as a cvs  receipt) on how well I think they’d do as a Dr Who doctor based entirely on their Star Trek performances

James Doohan (Scotty)

He’s Canadian

Well his parents immigrated from northern Ireland and Canada has the monarchy on their money so…

Personally I think he wouldn’t be all that bad at it. A good mix of jaded and optimistic. However the loyalty to his captain and militaristic habits definitely detracts

Joan Collins (female lead of city on the edge of forever)

I don’t want to load this with small roles but city on the edge of forever is one of the biggest og Trek episodes so here we go

She’s got a very compassionate role here and compassion is something people like to see in the doctor. Her role was someone who’s got a bleeding heart and never did anything wrong ever. These traits while being things that can be good for a doctor are equally bad if they’re constant or applied wrong.

Old woman doctor though, think about it, munch on it. You see you see.

Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean Luc Pricard)

No

He can’t do this. He’s also too British for Dr Who

Marina Sirtis (councilor Diana Troi)

It’s pretty notorious that the writing team did her dirty. Originally she was supposed to be the smart one. I like her character despite how they frequently depict her in show but off of tng (I haven’t seen pricard yet) she isn’t doctor material. I’m so sorry

Colm Meaney (Miles O’Brien)

He’s perfect. No notes. Charisma is just right, perfect jaded to optimistic ratios. You can’t convince me he’d not do good.

Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir)

The only reason why I’m not mentally placing him right next to Colm Meaney in my head is because I haven’t seen all of ds9 yet (nor have I seen anything after it, so this is my final guy) I think he’d be able to pull it off pretty well

Here’s where they all fall worst to best:

Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Joan Collins, James Doohan, Alexander Siddig, Colm Meaney.

:P

[depressedcatgirl]

I will never understand the hate that immigrants get (i mean i know its bc of racism and xenophobia but i dont get what makes ppl racist in the first place). They always say shit like "i dont want immigrants coming into our country and stealing our jobs" but also say shit like "immigrants are lazy and dont work they need to work to be in our country." They get blamed for everything, for the economy for crime for politics. "It's immigrants that are ruining our culture and need to assimilate into our culture or gtfo out of america/(insert European country). And it's always about people from third world countries too, you almost never hear people seriously complain about immigrants from canada or europe. Like my mom keeps complaining about illegal immigrants on the news despite the fact that my dad is an immigrant from canada and moved here when he was young...he never had to legally get his citizenship and he cant vote bc of it. He never gets harassed or told to "go back to his country".

I think I'm just too empathetic to understand WHY so many people in different countries hate immigrants so much. Why do you care if someone from a foreign country moves here. It baffles me that americans get so upset over this when this country is literally founded by immigrants. Literally 99% of the population of America is descended from immigrants.

There is nothing that makes immigrants inherintly more violent or lazy or whatever than the "native" white people. They just wanna take the actions of a few bad apples as an excuse to be racist and xenophobic to all immigrants. You can't just generalize a big and diverse group of people like that.