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a-stitch-in-time-and-space · 4 years

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Cardassians aren’t Nazis (and also not quite the USSR, but I see where you’re coming from)

TW: for much discussions of Nazism, fascism, persecution, no details

So tottering around as a lover of DS9 and (disclaimer) as a major fan of the Cardassians as a not-yer-generic-villain type villain that then become less of a villain, because you can’t assign villainy to a whole species + also being German and hearing/watching/reading a lot of analyses that compare them to Nazis is inspiring me to write this (gasps for breath at the end of that sentence).

@tinsnip , @handsome-anne

1. Who were the Nazis that the Cardassians are specifically being compared to (versus neo-nazis/alt-rights, etc. that they’re not being compared to)

Short version: Post WWI the Versailles Treaty fucked over Germany in a way that left it wide open to the sort of megalomaniacal little bastard on a powertrip that fed on people’s fear and pushed them into a far-right disaster. The Nazi party itself didn’t have a ton of members, but it basically eroded any kind of democracy the country had and decided it would scapegoat Jews, Romani, communists, queer people, and other “intelligent elite”/political dissident and then spread those ideals across the world like a demented wannabe roman Caesar state. This didn’t last too long in the grand scale of world history, but left a body count of 6 million+ dead, mainly Jewish.

2. Germany and its relationship to this history

So Germany tries pretty hard to teach people this history in schools, through memorials, in film, etc. It’s not perfect by any means, there’re still discussions on how to make reparations, as well as neo-nazis and other far-right people around still, sadly just like in the rest of the world.

But it’s not covering up these atrocities, because there’s a belief that the way to make sure it doesn’t happen again is to be honest. Sadly, not everyone around the world gets as detailed a history surrounding its origins, happenings, and aftermaths, nor does every country engage with its own past like that.

3. Let’s get fictional (Cardassians, first impressions)

The Cardassians are a species that we mainly meet first through their subjugation of the Bajoran people, and then on DS9 following the immediate aftermath of the occupation on Bajor and everything that follows on from there. Throughout the story we discover various bits about what they had done - labour camps, mass executions, forced prostitution, and in that one Voyager episode I’m not a fan of because it didn’t have the range, experimentation.

On the surface, pretty comparable to the nazis, I get it. Hell, often that’s definitely “the source” of where the writers are getting their ideas.

4. So they’re... Nazis?

The problem comes when using one fascist regime as a go-to for these atrocities. It ignores the reality of fascism beyond this particular point in history and also it’s just not that simple.

When looking at Nazi Germany we also have to look at the source of its making, the climate around it (countries like the UK having a nazi party, Italy and Spain having fascist dictators, hell, the list of dictators that were/are not German is disgustingly long, the worldwide anti-semitism making surrounding countries apathetic or even sympathetic to the Nazis, etcetc.) and the aftermaths of WWII.

The Cardassians are not Nazis. (As an aside the Federation are not the brave allies, but that’s another post for another day.) I’ve seen them compared to the USSR - both by official writers and fandom - which I won’t comment on seeing as I am not from anywhere that was affected by that (I’m not East German, but I do have East German friends), but at least this points out that one cannot compare Cardassians to a specific atrocity that happened at a specific time with specific connotations surrounding it.

Is the Obsidian Order the Gestapo or another secret police? Which secret police? Is Garak “the good Nazi” trope - but then how does that align with Cardassians living under a repressive regime for centuries, not a few years, and therefore take into account an indoctrination and climate of fear created over several generations? No child “born” into the nazi regime became an adult while it was still lasting, unlike the Cardassians (and many other real life dictatorships and fascist states - as well as "democratic” states that have similar kinds of surveillance, oppression, mass-imprisonment and disappearances, and camps).

Is every Cardassian soldier a “nazi”? How does one compare that to polish and french prisoners (see Pierre Seel for a particular harrowing account, all the trigger warnings apply) who were forced to fight for the Germans and put on the front lines?

Eugenics, labour camps, and every other atrocity has been practised by numerous regimes, both in history and now, can we shrug off every country that’s participated in them for the sake of making the metaphor “easier”?

How does the aftermath of the Cardassian Union - when they’re attacked by the Klingons and themselves occupied by the Dominion and then have their main planet bombed to the point of millions dead - align with Nazi Germany?

5. It doesn’t.

It doesn’t. It doesn’t neatly align with any other fascist or military dictator-led regime either. This is not saying that there aren’t aspects obviously borrowed from history (and can easily apply to now). This is saying that in trying to bend the Cardassians into Nazis specifically, people are ignoring every other aspect about them and in my opinion doing a disservice to those who suffered under the actual regime. This is a fictional world, with fictional people that is based on an oppressive society template. It is also a fictional world in which the people themselves are oppressed (especially if you align with what’s written in Andy Robinson’s book) - I’ll be getting back to that point in a bit.

I would argue that making it “about Nazis” is too easy. This isn’t about “us” this is about “them” those evil bastards from wwii. It strips the Cardassian story of any current-day relevance. One can look no further than one’s own society to see people struggling against acknowledging histories, being treated as second-class citizens, etc. No need to go back in time to do so.

It also strips the Cardassians of any three-dimensionality. If they’re just villains then why are we rooting for their uprising to succeed at the end of season 7? Why do we want their society to flourish, their people to no longer have a broken court system, and their secret police to stop training and recruiting children if they’re Nazis, the convenient shorthand for über-evil?

Cardassia isn’t about a past society, it’s about our society. If we empathise with the Cardassians and don’t cast them as villains, then it’s a discussion about our own oppression and privilege. And it’s a damned good scifi allegory (even if I sometimes don’t think the writers and showrunners quite understand it themselves - death of the author and all that).

6. To conclude

I didn’t mention Bajor as much in this, because I was very focused on Cardassians, but I would argue that while there is value in casting them as “space Jews” (as I’ve seen here and there) because I understand the value of representation and I am not taking that away from anyone (I hope), similarly if one reads this take as the only valid one it ignores the reality of religious oppression on a wider scale and also that the Bajorans’ oppression at the hands of the Cardassians didn’t happen for the same reasons as the Jewish genocide at the hands of the Nazis - I would also argue that in making Cardassians = Nazis / Bajor = Jews, we similarly ignore that the Nazis were and are not alone in perpetuating anti-semitism, which kinda again leans into the “Good Federation (the Allies) Versus Evil Cardassians (Nazis) - because none of the Good Allied Countries have ever/are currently involved in persecution or dehumanisation *stares into the void*

And lastly - bringing back a point I made earlier about Cardassians themselves being oppressed by their own government - something that is often forgotten when people talk “Nazi tropes in genre fiction” is that the first country the Nazis occupied was Germany. I’m mentioning this, because it’s interesting in the metaphor, but it’s also conspicuously is absent in the simplification of how these reads are applied. It’s easy to cast the Cardassians as a whole as Bad People, but it makes for worse story-telling and has uncomfortable undertones of how the world reads Germany’s people as being at fault as a whole as well, without taking into account the specific events that we were globally complicit in - and once again the metaphor falls apart, because allegory doesn’t work so easily, and it shouldn’t.

TL; DR In general I am uncomfortable by “Nazi’s used as tropes” in any fictional world. One shouldn’t sacrifice analysis nor simplify history for the sake of making it easier to make a quick point about “bad guys” and forcing allegories into one shape makes them lose their power.

Also watch German films on Nazism and European ones on WWII if you’re looking for some better takes (also Cabaret, one of the best movies ever made).

#ds9 #st: ds9 #star trek #cardassia #bajor #cardassians #bajorans #ds9 meta #star trek meta #tw: nazi mention #tw: discussions about genocide #this is a looong breakdown basically summed up as *stop simplifying allegories*#but I've seen *nazi tropes' thrown around so casually not just here but in so much fiction that I kinda *nope*#so it feels like a post that I needed to get off my chest

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starsgivemehp · 4 years

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The Argument Against and Defense of Hetalia

Let me preface this by saying that I have not watched the show or read the manga in a few years now, and thus I am working mostly off of memory and what fan content I see these days, which is not a lot. Also, I am a gentile, and I don’t claim to know a lot about the Jewish community or traditions. I am, however, a writer and I have plenty of practice analyzing and criticizing works of fiction from multiple angles. With that in mind, this essay is an attempt to explain everything that is wrong and not wrong with the show, the comic strips, and the fandom.

I’m putting this under a read more for sheer length, this was 11 pages on Google docs.

Let us start with the list of grievances assembled largely from one post, the majority of which I had to go digging for as the original person in this post who mentioned Hetalia said, and I quote, “i dont feel the need to link a source for [hetalia] because…” and then listed two things, one of which is incorrect entirely. But I digress, I will address each one at a time. The list of grievances is as follows:

It is called ‘Axis Powers’ Hetalia

One of the main characters is a personification of Nazi Germany

The entire point of the series is:

Advocating for eugenics

Racial fetishization

Advocating for fascism

Nazi sympathizing/propaganda

The entire franchise is terrible due to rape jokes, racism, and Holocaust jokes

Hetalia fans are all terrible due to rape jokes and other issues

Death of the author cannot apply to this fandom

There may be more that are in other reblogs of the post in question, and I may add addendums further in this essay, but for the time being, I will address each of these grievances and explain the validity or non-validity of each, from a position understanding of both fans and of non-fans. Thus, in order:

‘Axis Powers’ Hetalia

When people talk about Hetalia, they usually are referring to the anime due to its widespread popularity. However, Hetalia began as a series of strip comics posted on a forum by Hidekaz Himaruya (and I spent a while trying to actually find the original comics, but I can’t, there are links to his blogs there in what I’ve provided). It later was formatted into a manga, and then later became an anime. While it was originally titled Axis Powers: Hetalia and the first two seasons of the show are named as such, it usually is only referred to as Hetalia. The anime seasons after said first two seasons have all been ‘world’ focused: Seasons three and four were titled World Series, season five was titled Beautiful World, season six was titled World Twinkle, and the upcoming season seven is titled World Stars.

For the purposes of tagging everything, I tend to see the tags ‘hetalia’ and ‘hws,’ which is short for Hetalia: World Series. This name of the third and fourth anime seasons is the most widely accepted and used name for the series as a whole. While it is true that, years ago, people referred to it as ‘aph’ for Axis Powers Hetalia, the fans and the series have put that behind them, for good reason. It is understandable, even righteous, to not accept the title ‘Axis Powers.’ It does draw focus to the WW2 era, and place the fascists and nazis as the ‘main characters,’ or even, ‘the good guys,’ which is not the case. Obviously, the Nazis were terrible and the entirety of the Axis Powers did horrible, unspeakable things during the war.

It must be noted, to anybody who has not seen the show or read the manga, that the first one to two seasons do have a ‘focus’ on the WW2 era, per se, but it largely talks about interactions between countries, as they are the personified party, and makes extremely few allusions to the war itself, and none to the Holocaust. I will address that in a later section. For now, the point to make is that after these original two seasons, Hetalia branches out into a much wider worldview, adds several more characters, and focuses more on said characters in individual arcs and offerings of historical facts - as generalized as they may be. Nobody claimed that Hetalia was correct in everything it said, but it aims to play out some historical information in a simplified and humorous way. This is due to the fact that the characters are all singular people meant to personify entire countries, which leads us to point two.

The Personification of Nazi Germany

This is the second complaint of the strand of the post in question that I was presented with, quoted as “one of the main characters is a personification of nazi germany.” This is an entirely incorrect statement. ‘Nazi Germany,’ as people call it, is the state of Germany during the era leading up to and of World War 2. The country is still Germany, the people were still German, the Nazi part comes from the political regime in power, a real world nightmare. In the Hetalia series, the characters are called by their country names, because that is who they personify. This may change at times. For example, the character now known as Turkey was previously called Ottoman Empire. They come to be when civilization starts or a colony is introduced to a place. This can be seen in the strip or episode where China ‘finds’ Japan as a small boy and begins to teach him reading and writing - and Japan thereafter invents hiragana. It can also be seen in the comic where a young child, Iceland, questions who he is and why he knows his people are “different beings” than him. The country that speaks to him (I only have the comic here in my likes in that list, the name isn’t mentioned and it’s been a while, but it might be another of the Scandinavian countries) explains that he is Mr. Iceland, they don’t know why he is Mr. Iceland, but they know he is.

What I am attempting to explain with all of these other examples is that there is no ‘Nazi Germany’ character. There is a character called Germany (or Mr. Germany), and all of his adult life, he has been called Germany. He is never addressed by anything else. He does, however, look remarkably similar to a childhood friend of Italy’s, Holy Roman Empire (or just Holy Rome), but as far as it has been explained in canon, Holy Rome went off somewhere and, later on Germany and Italy met as strangers. The general consensus is, due to the area where the Holy Roman Empire used to be is around-ish Germany, the characters are the same. But never, in any of the comics, anime, or movie, is Germany referred to as Nazi Germany. I don’t believe the word ‘Nazi’ appears at any point in time, even, though I cannot claim I have seen every shred of content, so I may be wrong. But I doubt that very much, as it is not in the nature of the series to do such a thing. Moving on.

Advocating for Eugenics

I will start and end this section by saying that Hetalia was, in the original post, roped in with Attack on Titan, of which (as far as I know) the author advocates for eugenics - or the idea that certain people should not be allowed to produce offspring due to their race or other factors. There is no example of Hetalia content wherein this disgusting opinion is ever mentioned or supported in any way. This is at worst a flat-out lie, and at best lumping Hetalia in with a much worse show that does do this (but I won’t get into that, I have never seen more than a few episodes of Attack on Titan and I don’t care to see any more of it. Throw your opinions or defenses elsewhere, I care 0% about it entirely). I have no more need to prepare a more detailed response to this accusation. It simply is not true.

Racial Fetishization

This particular accusation is a difficult one. Fetishization may be a strong word, as the series is largely a comedy. Everyone gets their turn in the spotlight, so to speak, so I find it hard to plainly state that any one character is fetishized or displayed as the most powerful. There is, of course, Rome, who only appears in small segments as Italy’s grandfather and is, in the series, touted as an amazing empire who had it all. I do not believe this is what the accusation is referring to. This accusation seems to be some sort of insistence that the show and creator believe that white people (or possibly just Germans/Nazis/the Aryan race?) are touted as the most powerful and nobody else can compare. I can confidently say that while that is never said anywhere, there are a few issues. Hetalia, particularly the animated series, had (and may still have) a longstanding issue of whitewashing countries that should not be white. This includes Egypt and Seychelles (who both later got a darker skin tone, probably still not dark enough though) as the worst offenders, and even Spain, Turkey, Greece, and Romano (southern Italy), and so on. Yes, this is a big problem. There is no defense against that. It should not be the case. These characters obviously should have darker skin. I will note, however, that many fans are already completely aware of this, have been complaining about it since the beginning, and tend to draw these characters with more correct skin tones in their fanart. This is a case where yes, the original content is not good, but the fans make their own fixes. If you are angry at Hetalia for whitewashing, good. You should be. But I do not believe this should reflect on the entirety of the content and the fandom (And note that I am not linking any particular fanart here, because I want nobody to go attack any fans).

It is also important to note that yes, a large majority of the series builds upon stereotypes. No, stereotypes are not good. No, you should not assume that the personifications of the countries encompass all citizens of said countries. The entire premise of the show is one person = the embodiment of a country, and that person changes and adapts with the times in terms of uniform and personality. It is extremely hard to do this without stereotyping. Most serious fans are aware of this, and do not in any way believe that these characters represent everyone from these countries. It may be true that much younger fans used to, and it may be true that people do not want to watch the show because stereotypes are, arguably, bad. But do remember that this is a comedy, and every character is picked on. Every one. And it is understandable if this branch of humor is not for you. I, personally, don’t like Family Guy or South Park or any shows like that for their humor. I also don’t attack the people who do. I ignore it.

Advocating for Fascism

This is another area wherein I believe the accuser is simply lumping Hetalia in with the original poster’s subject, Attack on Titan. Again, I will not defend or attack that show, as I do not care about it at all. However, regarding Hetalia, I can confidently say that it does not advocate for fascism. While the first two seasons are (sort of) set in WW2 era, as previously mentioned, the fighting is not really a big part, and nobody is touted as correct - only struggling in the conflict. For example, there is a scene where Germany, post WW1, is shown making cuckoo clocks by hand and lamenting the fact that he has to make so many thousands in order to pay back France. This is by no means painting fascism as a good thing, or explaining anything about how poverty and other struggles lead to the formation and rise of the Nazi party. It is simply a scene where we see a man frustratedly making cuckoo clocks and complaining while France’s big head jeers at him in his imagination. The surrounding scenes and the end of this one are making note of how Italy keeps coming over to his house to try and be friends and Germany keeps kicking him out because Italy is annoying and whiny. The episode further goes on to mention that Germany is attacking France again, and Italy has suddenly become his ally, and he is not happy about it for the aforementioned reasons. Again, this does not in any way paint Germany as being ‘right.’ The purpose of the segment(s) is/are to show him disliking the annoying Italy (whom the show is named for) and trying to get him out of his house before eventually giving up and accepting that they can be friends. Is it all 100% historically accurate? No, not by a long shot. Does it paint him as sympathetic? Sort of, you feel bad for the guy making a thousand cuckoo clocks, but only in the sense that he is one person doing a lot of work, a completely fictional situation. But Italy - and the audience - obviously know that attacking France again is not a good thing, so does it advocate the Nazis or fascism? Also no.

Nazi Sympathizing/Propaganda

I pretty well covered this in the previous section, but I will expand. I have alluded to the first two seasons as “focusing” on WW2, in a way, and also mentioned that this is a generalization of sorts, so here I will attempt to clarify. The first few episodes do, indeed, touch on ‘the way they all met’ in a sense; Germany is starting a war and he reluctantly becomes allies with Italy, and less reluctantly becomes allies with Japan, who examines both of them and decides he is content with this situation. However, none of it is very serious, and these ‘formalities’ give way easily to more humorous personable interactions, such as Italy hugging Japan without warning and the touch-anxious Japan pushing him off and getting flustered, Italy petting a cat and then freaking out when he is licked because a cat’s tongue is rough, the two of them ‘training’ by doing your regular old exercising and jogging and Italy being late, etc etc. Stupid, personable jokes.

On the flip side, the show covers the Allied Powers quite a bit too. A lot of this is the five big ones - America, Britain (/England/UK), France, Russia, and China - all meeting around one table and squabbling about various things. I fondly recall one scene where China arrives late and has a bunch of workers suddenly building a Chinatown in the meeting room because he was hungry and wanted his own food, and the others protesting. They are then offered food and become okay with it, because food. Other such nonsense plays out in other, similar meetings. There is also a segment where the Axis powers are all stranded on an island for… some unknown reason… and they set about attempting to survive via campfire and fishing and such. Twice (three times?) the Allied powers ‘attack’ them on this island via China whacking them each with a wok and, as the three of them are in a sad heap, something interrupts the scene to make the Allies retreat. One time, it is Rome’s sudden and also unexplained entrance across the sky singing a song, and another time, it is England’s preoccupation with a cursed chair. Also, at one point, Austria is playing a piano. Does any of this magic logical, real life sense? No. It’s stupid and funny and has nothing to do with war. These are just personable characters thrown into weird situations so they can be funny, with some extremely mild historical context along the way.

I will note again that WW2 is pretty much completely dropped after these two seasons, with the war hardly addressed at all, and future seasons focus more on other characters. The Scandinavians get to all have fun together, the Baltic trio is mentioned, there is a lot about Switzerland taking care of Liechtenstein (wow I spelled it right after all these years, go me) and being stiff and formal with Austria. There is also plenty about people mistaking Canada for America, and England and France squabbling throughout the years, and Spain finding Romano cute but also very grumpy, etc etc… This series is largely Eurasia-focused, yes, and it can be criticized for not being as diverse as it should be. But boiling it down to ‘Nazi propaganda’ is outright, obliviously false.

I don’t know if this is the best place to put this particular note, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to place it, so here it will go. I would like to mention that in the series, some characters, like Germany and Russia, express outright fear of their ‘bosses’ in certain points in history. It is important to realize that Germany, Japan, America, etc… these characters are not the actual, real-life humans in charge of these countries, but people of a fictional, separate species than humans who grow up as the nation grows and have lives that are affected by these world leaders (we even watch in the show America shooting up from child to young adult as the colonies expand, and England comments on how quickly he grew up - but not as quickly as his people, of course. We’ll get to Davie later). The president of the United States is America’s ‘boss,’ and naturally, that boss changes every time the president changes. The emperor of China is China’s ‘boss.’ It follows, thusly, that at one point, Hitler was Germany’s ‘boss.’ The terrible person himself was alluded to, as far as I know, exactly one time, not by name, and no face was shown. In a very brief scene, Germany laments that his new boss is scary and he was just ordered to go force Austria to come live with him. Said boss is shown as, I believe, an evilly laughing shadowy figure. That’s it. That’s the scene. There is no other mention of Hitler, nor is there any mention of the Holocaust anywhere. One could argue that the show is then trying to say that the Holocaust didn’t happen, but I think such an accusation is frankly absurd. It’s a comedy, it was always a comedy, and what in the fuck would be comedic about a mass genocide in any way? Nothing. None of it is funny. Of course it is not brought up in a comedy.

Rape Jokes, Racism, and Holocaust Jokes

While I did somewhat address racism already in the section about whitewashing and racial fetishization, I have another clarification to make, especially regarding the jokes. A lot of people complain that there are rape jokes throughout the series, and that there are two Holocaust jokes. I will begin by saying yes, this is all true, those things did happen during the course of the show. However, it is important to note that all of those things happened in the English dub of the animated show, and none of these terrible jokes exist in the Japanese/subbed version, or the original comic strips.

The English dub is, on all accounts, pretty terrible. Everyone has an over exaggerated accent, there are the aforementioned jokes, there are name changes (England referred to as Britain, among them, very confusing), and the voice actors themselves make mention in commentaries that their goal in this job was, to paraphrase because I haven’t listened in a while, ‘to be as offensive as possible to absolutely everyone’ (and one of the English dub voice actors is even a convicted sex offender, but that’s it’s own mess). Not the most glamorous or noble of goals. One could say ‘at least if it’s everyone, it’s not really racism, is it? Just humor?’ There is a case for that. Many comedians will say that they poke fun at everyone to avoid singling anybody out as inherently superior. It cannot be said to be the best way to make humor, but it cannot be said to be the worst way, also. Overall, I don’t like the English dub, I don’t watch it, I prefer the subs. And yes, the subbed version has a few issues of its own, but I can say that at least, no, it does not make any Holocaust or rape jokes. Are those kinds of jokes excusable? Fuck no. They’re completely inappropriate. Should you judge the whole series and fandom based on the grossness of the English dubs? Also no, the people who did the English dubs have zero to do with the original creator, the animators, and the fans. Screw them.

The Fandom Being Terrible

I must again preface by saying I was never super active in the fandom at large. I had my own little niche of friends and I stuck to them and I didn’t often branch out. I did, however, go to cons back in those days, and saw plenty of cosplayers. The main complaint I see regarding the fandom is that most of the fans are completely rabid, make a bunch of rape jokes, and even dress up as ‘Nazi Germany’ (iron cross and red armband and all) and pretend to shoot up synagogues. Now, I have not seen cosplayers do the nazi solute or do such photoshoots, but I can believe that people have done it. I have seen plenty of rabid fans, and some of the OCs created for Hetalia, especially many interpretations of individual states (or Antarctica), were extremely cringey, racist, and overall just not good. And yes, these things are undeniably bad. They are very bad things! Those people should be ashamed. They should know better, regardless of their ages or anything, for fuck’s sake. The nazi salute is not a thing you do jokingly, pretending to shoot people is not a joke. Everyone is aware of this. The people who did, or maybe even still do, those things need a serious sit-down and to be woken the fuck up, because they are acting terrible.

However, it is extremely unfair to paint all Hetalia fans in the same light. That is a very stereotypical thing to do, no? As I mentioned earlier, I stuck to my little niche friend group of fans, and while we all had our own flaws and were younger and kinda dumber, we never did things like that. I never did things like that. Rape jokes were never funny, I never liked them, I never accepted them. I have people I still know who still like Hetalia and they never made those kinds of jokes either. I think, as the years have gone by, a lot of the more rabid fans have died out of the fandom. They’ve either grown the fuck up or they’ve went off to pollute some other fandom. Recognize that, especially in the beginning, the anime was low-budget and had a lot of that old and gross queerbaiting and stuff like that, so it was undeniably a magnet for crazy yaoi fans. But the majority of fanart, fanfics, and just overall fan stuff that I see these days are nothing like that. Overall, the fandom has seriously calmed down. A lot of the focus is much more on taking these characters and applying them to other historical events with more accuracy than the show might give. The history in these fanfics and fanarts may also be of questionable accuracy at times. I personally once wrote a fic where I made allusions to the death of Joan d’Arc and, later, the death of Elizabeth I, but did I add much historic fact? No, do I look like a history major spilling all this? The point of the fic was England - the character - maturing through starting to love one of his rulers and recognizing a terrible thing that he did before. It’s not the best piece of work out there, and maybe someone could point out a few things I did wrong with it, but for what it’s meant to be, it’s harmless. Takes on characters not actually in the series, like Ireland, Scotland, etc etc are generally pretty mature from what I see, fanart tends to just be the characters in various poses and styles. The overall love the fandom has, I think, is in the better character designs and in the very concept of the countries as people who laugh and cry and live through war and peace for thousands of years. And here is where I address the final grievance that I personally saw in the notes of the post which started this whole thought process and essay.

The Death of the Author

A lot of people might not fully understand what ‘The Death of the Author’ means. The death of the author is a belief rooted in the 20th century that the personal intentions, beliefs, and prejudices of the authors of certain works can have no bearing on their produced content, because once it is out in the public, every reader may then have their own interpretation and belief system. By publicizing the content, the author ‘dies’ and the reader is born.

There are some scenarios where this cannot apply. One example is JK Rowling, a very special case of a very problematic woman who happens to be so powerful, and so rich, that consuming any type of official (or even unofficial) Harry Potter anything can and will give her that much more power to spread her TERF bullshit. Let me be frank: Any time that consuming a product is allowing a bigoted or problematic person to gain extra money or extra power that they then use for evil, the death of the author cannot apply. You cannot use it as a moral justification. You might perhaps use it as the reason why you struggle to let go of a fandom near and dear to you, as Harry Potter is to so many people, but you absolutely must recognize that purchasing the books, the movies, or any other official content is outright supporting a TERF.

That in mind, there are dozens of other cases where the death of the author absolutely can apply. The easiest, of course, is with authors who are actually dead, such as Lovecraft. Lovecraft was a complete bigot and racist, an overall terrible person, and his works are saturated in that racism. But he is dead, and his work is very popular, and there are ways to take and use his work that do not contribute further to racism and bigotry. All you have to do is slap a non-racist cthulhu on a page. Make that cthulhu eat everyone equally. That’s a good cthulhu right there, a nice, safe cthulhu.

So where does Hetalia fall in this spectrum of can or cannot have death of the author? I believe it leans more to the side of yes, you can apply it. For one thing, you can definitely find the show for free in some places, and watch it without giving Himaruya a single cent. The comics are also available online for free, and while you might be giving your ‘support’ by being a viewer, I think overall, that’s not only negligible, but does not contribute anything bad? The author of Attack on Titan has many charges levied against him in the post which prompted this, and arguably, giving him any money is bad. But as far as I have seen, while Himaruya might have started out with a flawed premise and may have some whitewashing issues, I have seen nowhere that he funds any kind of racist, nationalistic, fascist, etc anything of any kind. This is not like Chick-Fil-A, where offering any kind of patronage is (or maybe used to be) sinking funds into terrible organizations. This is not supporting literal Nazis, as the complaints claim. This is a largely mediocre series with good parts and bad parts and zero ties to horrific organizations or ideals. Consuming good fan content does not make someone a racist or a bigot or a nazi sympathizer. Even rewatching some old favorite scenes or checking out the new season doesn’t make someone that. By all accounts, the show is flawed but not a means to fund nazis.

The Bad Anything Else

I will now take some time to talk about some other problems Hetalia has, because no, it is by no means flawless. I already discussed the whitewashing and stereotypes and the mess of the English dub, but there is more. I made mention of the fact that battles and seriously bad events such as the Holocaust are not mentioned, and this holds true throughout pretty much all of the series. There are certain points where ‘battles’ of a sort are seen, but only flash moments. One scene in particular that I really enjoyed as a tween and can now see the problems with is the whole revolutionary war scene. This was a scene split into two episodes (for some weird reason, even an unrelated episode in between, like, what? Why??) about a particular (unnamed) battle in the American Revolution where England faced down America, they each had a gun with a bayonet, and England charged America and his bayonet deeply scratched America’s gun, and America declared he was no longer England’s little brother, and the whole thing was played out as an extremely emotional scene. England is lost in the past of seeing America as a cute little kid he took care of, who has now grown up and is being reckless and stupid, and America is all righteous and independent and proving he’s a grown up, it’s all very emotional, I cried, other fans cried, there was much fanart.

This scene is problematic in a way. Boiling down an extremely nasty conflict following lots of really bad laws and protests to this one scene doesn’t do history any justice. It says nothing about the struggles of the American colonists, the struggles of the British empire, the awful things the colonists did to the natives, etc etc. It is one small scene and it focuses on these characters as humanoid, with feelings, and completely ignores the complexities of history. And yes, in a way, that is bad. But it is bad in the sense that nobody can - or at least should - take this show to be the end-all be-all of history. It is not. It is not often entirely correct, and it picks and chooses what points in the past several thousand years to play with, and trying to use it as a map for history is a bad idea. However, this focus on the countries as human-like and struggling can also be a good thing.

It is also important to note that there have been other problems. The portrayal of South Korea, for example, is extremely controversial, and while I do not know all of the specifics, I believe that it was banned in Korea due to this, and the character was entirely removed from the anime, among other things. Obviously, a bad take, a bad character. There are also just straight up not great characterizations in certain cases. I don’t, for example, like anything about how Belarus is portrayed as a crazy psycho constantly begging Russia (her big brother) to marry her? I think that that is ridiculous, and I know nothing about Belarus as a country but I am pretty darn sure that that is not how one ought to go about portraying the country. There are a few other examples, but my purpose here was not to pull up a list of every country and explain what is correct or incorrect about each characterization. It is enough to say that some characters were not portrayed perfectly. But with that in mind...

The Good Anything Else

It is the most important to remember that this, all of this, is fiction. This is a silly, silly fantasy series. The countries are not humans, they are some weird semi-immortal species that share a universal language and know they are not human and are referenced by humans as ‘those people.’ They are fictional constructs. But the good out of all of this is that they explore human emotions. The American Revolution scene should not be taken as how the revolution was, and who might have been right or wrong. But it is a very emotional story of a big brother unable to accept that his little brother has grown up and wants to make his own choices. That, right there, is a heartfelt scene that I’m sure plenty of real people can feel something about. And there are plenty of other scenes that really grab you by the heartstrings, especially given how crazy, stupid, and humor-oriented the rest of the show is. And I will take a moment and enthuse about some of the more popular scenes that I think are, in fact, pretty good.

There is one episode in season 5, Beautiful World, where an American woman visits France (the place). This woman, Lisa, is blond and bears a striking resemblance to Joan d’Arc. While visiting some historical place somewhere or another in Paris, France (the person) spots her and rushes up with an odd look. When she questions him, he apologizes and offers to give her a tour of the area, which she accepts. He then proceeds to lead her around and explain some history and show off some beautiful sights, and he mentions some stuff about Joan d’Arc. She butts in and lists off some stuff she knows, he beams and looks proud and says yes, she’s right. The end of the scene has the two of them standing alone somewhere and him commenting how young Joan was when she was killed, and that he always wished she could have had a better, nicer life. He then states that he is very happy that she got it, while giving this American tourist a gentle smile. She looks away for a moment, distracted by something perhaps, and when she looks back to ask just who the heck he really is, talking about a historical figure like he knew her, he is gone. It’s a very emotional scene in a quiet sort of way, because the watcher/reader understands that he took one look at this woman and instantly believed that she was, in fact, Joan d’Arc reincarnated into a totally different and totally average life, and he is so genuinely happy that a woman he saw as a hero gets this chance to live normally. Whether or not you may personally believe in reincarnation, and regardless of how often other times in the show France is shown as an obnoxious sexaholic, this is an extremely tender scene that lots of fans seriously love. It is very ‘human.’ And I feel like this is what the series as a whole strives to offer. These human moments. They may be peppered in a sort of lackadaisical style in the anime, but they are far more prominent in the comic strips, so it is important to realize that that kind of scene is more of what the creator likes to focus on.

Another very popular and touted scene is the Davie scene. I don’t remember if it was put in the anime or not, I read it as a comic. It was a scene set in colonial America, where the man himself was just a very small child. Little baby America was hanging out in a field with a rabbit and sees this boy, who introduces himself as Davie. Davie brings America to his house and opens up a botany book and points out a blue flower (possibly a forget-me-not) that he wants to see but that isn’t in the New World. America assures Davie that he will find him one of those flowers, and goes off to do so. He fails his search and goes back to Davie, who is older now, but Davie looks embarrassed and turns and walks away. Distressed, America runs to England and explains about the flower, and England says the flower is not there, but they do grow at home, and he will bring some the next time he leaves and comes back. America happily waits, and when England returns with a bouquet of the blue flowers, America takes them and runs off to Davie’s house. He is let in by a boy who looks just like Davie and presents the flowers, and the boy then puts them on (or maybe in) a coffin of an elderly man. America, smiling, does not seem to understand what is going on, and hopefully calls the boy Davie.

This entire scene, in the comic, has very few words. Davie’s name is repeated a few times, but most of the rest of the ‘dialogue’ is in images. The flower, England saying it is not there, etc. This makes the scene extremely poignant, and when we reach the end, we, the audience, realize suddenly that while baby America was fixated on finding a special flower for his new friend, years and years went by, and that friend grew up and got married and had children and eventually died, all while America remained looking the exact same age and understanding the exact same things. Look, folks, I don’t know about you, but that is some angsty stuff right there. I cried. We all cried. We all miss Davie. Mention the name to fans and you will get sobs. We love you, Davie.

Which brings me to my penultimate point, that this series is heartfelt and, while it avoids a lot of the bad of history, can be very poignant about what human nature is like. Human lives are long, very long, but also so very short, they fly by. Some lives end in tragedy, others are mostly peaceful, and maybe we get second chances if you believe in reincarnation, maybe not. Maybe it’s good that our lives are so short, maybe the fate of living forever and watching people you connect with die is tragic. Or maybe it would actually be really fun, having friends for thousands of years that you may squabble with at times but ultimately care for. Maybe nothing is simple and life is about finding joy where you can, and everyone needs to sometimes take a step back and realize that everyone is flawed, and there might be good and evil but the vast majority of people are in a grey area, trying to live their own lives and do what good they can for whatever reason they might give. I want to end with one last topic, one I have not yet addressed this whole time. The big white alien in the room, if you will.

Paint it: White!

There is a Hetalia movie, folks, if you didn’t know it, and it’s called Paint It White. This movie has just as many silly parts as any other Hetalia thing, but it also has a plot! In this movie, strange, all-white aliens are starting to invade the Earth. They arrive and anything they touch, they turn into completely identical white humanoid blobs, even the country personifications. With this scary and seemingly-unstoppable threat, the main eight - America, England, Russia, China, France, Japan, Germany, and Italy - all try to infiltrate the alien spaceship in frankly hideous uniforms to find out more and figure out a way to defeat them. Hijinks and disaster ensues, and at the end, each of them is fighting a mob and gradually being defeated. Italy is the last one standing, and as Germany is slowly being transformed into a blob along with the others, he tells Italy to smile. Italy then finds (or has? the plot isn’t great, it’s just there) a black marker and he suddenly starts going around drawing ridiculous faces on everyone. He draws fitting faces on each of his friend blobs, like a stern face on Germany-blob, a deadpan face on Japan-blob, etc etc. The invaders suddenly stop. They look at each other, marker-faced, and start to laugh. Then their leader of sorts comes out and is basically like “wow, we thought you were all stupid and you have wars and stuff, but this? This is beautiful. Wow. We all look exactly identical on our world, and these faces are cool and new and unique. We’ll turn everyone on your planet back if we can have this magical thingie you’re holding.” And of course Italy hands the marker right over, and everyone is put back to normal, and crybaby, scaredy-cat, useless Italy saves the world.

The plot is, obviously, not super great. It’s not going to win anybody any awards. But it has a very poetic premise. The strength of humans is that they are all unique. Every human has a different face, a different body, a different life. Our differences may cause conflict, but they are also something to celebrate. At the end of the day, Hetalia is an okay show that can get you hooked on history and tries its best to teach you that we’re all only human and there might be war and conflict and bad things, but you have to reach for the good things and find yourself good friends and have stupid laughs and enjoy life, however long or short it may be. I think that that’s a pretty decent message to send out to people.

The Bottom Line

In the end, this is a fandom like many others. Hetalia has its flaws and its cringe moments, and it certainly had its fair share of awful fans. But I truly believe that painting it overall as nazi propoganda and one of the most problematic and harmful shows out there is a blatant lie and disregards… just about everything of the actual content. I think it is difficult for someone to concretely say anything is super good or super bad without seeing at least some of it, or doing some research, and this business of blithely going along with what everyone else says just because they use big danger words does not do anybody any favors. Spreading misinformation is, I’m sure, the exact opposite of what most people want to do. And make no mistake, I am definitely not saying that everyone needs to like, or even watch, the show. If you never ever want to watch this show in your life, that is absolutely fine. Go forth and never watch it. But mindlessly following the herd and yelling overgeneralized, unsupported opinions about it is not a good thing. I beg of you, do research on the things you want to form or share an opinion on, think critically, and for the love of God, do not swipe a giant paintbrush to forsake every single individual fan of a show as a terrible, awful person. By all means, hate nazis, they are pieces of shit. Boycott things that support genocide and fascism, yes, fight for equality, yes. But do not go accusing without thinking, and do not overgeneralize. I leave you with the words of my old laptop bag that I bought years ago at a convention:

Make pasta, not war.

Thank you for reading.

#I wrote an essay #I could probably source this way more #but I've been working on it for hours #Just take it

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bexterbex · 5 years

Text

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 25

(Gif by @huxsmug-deactivated20200201)

Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

MASTERLIST

Chapter 25: Of Pride and Pryde

“Now where do we begin? I believe we should pick up some societal and cultural structures. Now First Order started in isolation on the far side of the Unknown Regions. Under the guidance of the Imperial veterans, we grew to learn that we had been robbed of victory over the galaxy by terrorists and rebels. Who now make up the New Republic.

We are the only ones who have the power necessary to wrest the galaxy from a path of chaos and corruption. The New Republic’s corruption and ineffectiveness are plain to see across the galaxy. This corruption is one of our crucial weapons. Because of this, our citizens see the Rebellion as a false shepherd and that Rebels can only tear down governments and not build them.

The Republic is depraved, they allow famines to continue on Ibaar and Adarlon and the brutal suppression of the people of Balamak. The First Order has victories of liberating labor camps on Iktotch and we have won a fleet battle in the Bormeea sector.”

You could see the pride in his chest as he was speaking of the First Order victories.

“In fact, we utilize a commemorative rank insignia system, issuing armbands bearing the names of famous units and heroes during the Galactic Civil War. Lieutenant would you kindly show her your rank armband,” ordered the general.

The short brunette man sitting next to you showed you the sleeve of his uniform. In the armband, there was a group of symbols you could not read.

“What does it say,” you ask.

“Ah yes, I suppose we will have to teach you. We will add it to the list. His band says ‘Power.’ In memory to Admiral Clyss Power of the Galactic Empire. I shan’t get into why he is important at the moment as we will save that for another time but anyone who ranks from a squad leader to a colonel has an insignia that designates rank on their sleeves. Black uniforms denote combat positions, grey usually means mid-level officers who may see combat and teal denotes higher-ranking officers who run sections. Generals and admirals are denoted with silver for generals and red for admirals,” he said gesturing to his own uniform.

“Now the lieutenant and I are similar in many ways. We were recruited at young ages like I discussed yesterday. We were instilled with First Order doctrines to have a strong sense of duty, loyalty, patriotism, and obedience to the state of the First Order. We were taught to forgo our own personal desires for the greater good of the First Order unless that personal desire is for the betterment of the First Order.

Our military ranks do emphasize individual strength and improvisation, both physically and mentally. Our training programs that are mandatory for all recruits, beginning at a young age, become more aggressively severe into adulthood. We like the Empire before us believe the naturally strong rise to power, while the weak are left to serve their natural leaders. Power is not a means; it is an end.

First Order citizens are educated to believe that the pursuit of individual selfishness and desires is what allowed the Rebel-Alliance to topple the galaxy-uniting Empire. The Rebels and similarily the Resistance are short-sighted terrorists who cannot see the benefit of an Empire. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. That is why we must win. The Resistance is chaos and disarray, we are better.”

This time you did not even bother to attempt to take notes as you saw the lieutenant’s fingers fly across his data pad at an unbelievable rate. You were correct in your assumption that he was going to send you them as your phone received them in a new document.

“Now my lady, I believe it is time for you to join General Pryde and me in the officer lounge for dinner,” said the general. You followed him out of the room and down the hallways to a large lounge that high-ranking officers were milling about in. All attention in the room shifted to you, before the general shot a look to the other officers. They then proceeded about their business. It seemed that no matter where you went either on the ship or down on Earth you seemed to draw attention--unwanted attention.

You followed the general to an alcove in the room that held a table that General Pryde was already sitting at. General Hux dismissed Lieutenant Mitaka for dinner and you watched him for a moment go sit with a group of young officers.

“My lady it is a pleasure to have you eat with us,” said General Pryde dripping with morbid infatuation.

You could see General Hux shooting him a look as you both sat down. “It is my pleasure, but the person you have to thank is the Supreme Leader. He is the one who set this up.”

“Yes, the Supreme Leader asked to make sure that you were not to spend this evening’s dinner alone. He does believe that he will return for tomorrow’s dinner,” replied General Hux.

A waiter came to your table and took your order, both men encouraged you to join them in a drink as well as the entree.

“So, have you been enjoying your time with the Supreme Leader,” asked Pryde. There was something lurking behind his eyes you just couldn’t tell what it was yet.

“Well, I am on day four of officially knowing him and everything seems to be going relatively well. Why do you ask?”

You could see the generals exchange glances. “We only ask to make sure everything between you two is alright. We care about your safety and the Supreme Leader has a tendency to be a bit of self-destructive in more ways than one,” responded Hux.

Before you could respond the waiter came back with your food and a refill of your drinks. “But Allegiant General Hux has informed me that your education on the First Order is going well,” said Pryde. The pair exchanged glances again. You could tell that there were parts of this conversation that you were missing entirely.

“Yes, you’ll have to excuse my lack of conceptualizing the information yet. I am learning about a world or rather a large part of the galaxy that until six days ago I didn’t even know existed.”

“Of course my lady, no one expects you to learn galactic history overnight,” replied Hux nonchalantly.

“You have been a natural in the Health Committee meetings. Rather dignified if I do say so myself m’lady,” replied Pryde. Hux shot him another look, to which appeared to you to be a signal to back off.

“Thank you. But that reminds me of a question that I have had. Who is the First Order High Command?”

You see both men straighten up in their chairs. Allegiant General Hux replied: “the First Order High Command are the admirals and generals within the First Order meaning both General Pryde and myself are members m’lady.”

You look between the two men, with some scrutiny. “So can you tell me who it was that suggested the two-child policy should be enacted immediately?”

Now there was a look of slight fear in their eyes as they exchanged glances once again.

“M’lady I informed the First Order High Command of your wishes,” replied Pryde quickly.

“The Supreme Leader made the ultimate decision,” said Hux defensively.

“But that does not answer my question,” you replied.

“My lady, that policy does not apply to you and the Supreme Leader it only applies to the majority of First Order citizens,” responded Pryde.

You stood up outraged. “That was not my question. And that is none of your concern!” You quickly left the lounge and started to make your way down the hall before Lieutenant Mitaka caught up with you to help guide you back to your chambers.

Reaching the door you told the lieutenant you were to see him in the morning and that you did not want to be disturbed for the rest of the evening.

Shortly after entering the living room you received an alert on your phone from the First Order messaging system. It appeared to be a ship-wide alert informing everyone that you did not wish to be disturbed.

How convenient.

You paced around the living room for a bit trying to blow off some steam. Ultimately you went to your room and changed into something more comfortable. You exited your room to return to the living room but before you did you spent a few moments looking at Kylo’s empty bed. For how angry you were at him for the moment, tonight would be the first night since you met that you would be without him. You wondered for a moment questioning if it would be childish to sleep in his bed tonight. You pushed aside that thought for now and retrieved your laptop from the living room coffee table.

You glanced at the time seeing that it was only 7:30 you thought you should pull up a movie. You scrolled through your favorite streaming platform and found something to pass the time. After it ended it was around 10 p.m. you decided you should head to bed. Climbing the stairs to your room you once again looked at Kylo’s empty bed. One night sleeping in it wouldn’t hurt right? Would he even notice? You made the decision to crawl under the covers. One night wouldn’t hurt, especially when the sheets smelled of him.

You awoke earlier than usual the next morning. You hoped you beat the lieutenant usual arrival and tried to hurry back into your room and got ready for the morning. If the lieutenant noticed anything different then he failed to mention it during his usual morning greeting. You did the usual of ordering your breakfast and his coffee and sat in the dining room.

“Are you alright m’lady,” he finally asked.

“Of course I am. Why do you ask?”

“Last night you seemed very unhappy leaving dinner and you gave me the order that no one was to disturb you.”

You breathed a small sigh of relief. He was only asking about dinner last night and not your sleeping in Kylo’s bed. “I’m fine, it was just something General Pryde had said, that is all. Nothing you did or anything else for that matter.”

“Would you like me to inform the Supreme Leader that he offended you? Allegiant General Hux might have already done so, but I can send another message to him if you wish.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose out of slight frustration. “No, it isn’t that important.”

“Ok, ma’am. Would you like to go over your schedule for today?”

“Yes please.”

“You have nothing once again until the Health Committee. Since the Supreme Leader will still be a way you are open for lunch but he will be back in time for dinner. After lunch, you have your lesson with the allegiant general. Is there anything else you would like to add?”

“No, that is all. Thank you.”

You then went about reviewing what you had discovered yesterday and you opened the meeting topics agenda that Dr. Koroban sent over. Exercise, vaccinations, sickness prevention, and injury prevention was the list of upcoming topics to discuss. This time you would be discussing the topics without the health experts and you were less than thrilled. You figured you should do some preemptive research before meeting so you pulled out your laptop and got to work.

A/N: Special thanks to the discord chat for helping me with words last night.

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo x reader #kylo x you #sw first order imagine #first order #star wars first order #first order propaganda #star wars imagine #star wars #Star wars soulmate au #armitage hux #enric pride #a soul to mend his own

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aenwoedbeannaa · 5 years

Text

Forest Fires Pt. 6 | Geralt of Rivia x Reader

Warnings: None, for once. Hmm.

Summary: Geralt is tied to her by destiny, and you are tied to her by guilt. Now that you’ve chosen to stop outrunning the inevitable, you are going to need some help from one of the Continent’s most powerful sorceresses.

Word Count: 2,444

A/N: The plot thickens. Hope you all enjoy! And hopefully I have everyone who wanted to be tagged on the taglist, it’s a bit hard to keep up with, but I am trying my best! (I will be making a specific post/page on here to keep my taglists up-to-date hopefully this week.) Thanks to @salmonbutter for the original request/idea.

If you enjoy my work, be sure to follow to stay up to date and maybe reblog if you’d like (it always helps out)! And if you’d like to be added to my taglists, either comment or message me. Thank you all for reading!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Masterlist

In Search of Aid

“The Temple of Melitele?” you ask, eyebrows raised in suspicion, “You cannot be serious.”

The Witcher looks at you with an expression that indicates that he is in fact quite serious. It has been two days since the Nilfgaardian unit descended upon your home, and the two of you are still picking your way through the forest. You are tired from walking and sore from sleeping on the forest floor – not to mention cold down to your very bones. The weather is unnaturally cold for this time of year, which seems only reasonable considering the state of things—Nilfgaard threatening the Northern Realms via indirect means, using Scoia’tael and other non-humans as guerrilla armies, sending hundreds to their deaths for the sake of expanding its borders north of the Yaruga.

Your life as a recluse in the forest had suited you well. You’d never cared for politics; even when you’d been a court mage in Nilfgaard. It was nothing more than a group of powerful men making decisions for the whole of the Continent; moving humans and non-humans alike as if they were nothing more than pieces on a chessboard. And, while Nilfgaard was certainly your current and most pressing pursuer, you were far from fond of any of the other nations, either. They were all the same—tyrants with too much power and too little care for the citizens whose lives they were supposed to protect.

So, when the Witcher suggests that the two of you head for Temeria, specifically Ellander and the Temple of Melitele, you are more than wary. You remember Aretuza, the things you learned there – the way it was run. You expect the Temple of Melitele is much the same despite the difference in course material.

“Why not the Temple?” Geralt challenges, “Do you have any better ideas?”

“Mhm,” you mutter noncommittally, “Going somewhere less… populated, for a start.” You narrow your eyes at him, not wanting to admit that you don’t have anywhere specific in mind. You’d been hiding in the forest too long; you hardly knew where was safe and where wasn’t.

So, instead, you launch into a list of reasons why the Temple of Melitele is a bad idea. “It’s in the middle of Ellander, right off the main road.”

Geralt is quick to cut in with a response, “Yes; and the Scoia’tael rarely attack along the main roads. And running to Nilfgaardian troops is even less likely; they aren’t stupid enough to march the main roads of Temeria.”

“So, you think,” you say rather bitterly. If there is one thing that you are certain of, it is that you can never guess what Nilfgaard will do. You’d never expected them to attempt to kidnap the child eleven years ago, and yet they had—and they would have succeed had you not deserted.

And they still might succeed, since you left her there, you remind yourself bitterly. Who knows where the girl is now. She could very well be in Nilfgaard. Hell, she could have died in Cintra for all you know.

One thing you do know is that the Witcher’s calm demeanor – usually so comforting – is pushing you over the edge of irritated to downright livid at alarming speed. He sounds so sure of himself it’s maddening. But then again, if the Law of Surprise is real, and his fate is interwoven with the girl’s, perhaps his intuition should be trusted. You, after all, are bound to the Princess of Cintra by guilt rather than by faith.

Yet you cannot bring yourself to trust that Geralt will not lead the two of you stupidly and needlessly into a trap. You’d been on your own for long enough that you’d forgotten what it was like to have to talk to and compromise with other people – to consider other’s opinions. Until recently, whenever you’d wanted to do something, you’d just done it. You’d needed no one, and no one had needed you. But now, as you found yourself hopelessly tangled with the stranger who’d turned up out of nowhere right in your backyard. There was no way around it – the two of you would have to reach some sort of decision – together.

“Why?” you demand, not particularly wanting to hear his reasoning but knowing that you needed to.

“Because,” he responds, still giving no indication that he is anything but collected, “I have a friend there, Mother Nenneke. She’s in charge of the Temple, and she’s never turned me away.”

“And pray tell, Geralt, what help a nun would be in a time of war,” you scoff. “If Niflgaard turns up at the gate, I doubt a gaggle of nuns would be much help.” The idea of being shut up behind stone walls pressed like a weight on your chest, reminding you of your years spent in Nilfgaard – years you would rather forget. Even if it was not the same as being shut up behind the walls of a castle with a king and court of fools, it would still mean being stuck behind stone walls surrounded by other people. Too many eyes and ears; too many who might profit from informing Nilfgaard of the two strange guests.

Geralt actually smiles at your comment despite the fact that you were very much serious and not at all in the mood for hearing jokes, much less making one, “You’d be surprised.”

However, some of your anger evaporates when you see a sudden smile and the flicker of memory in his eyes. You are curious now, what exactly this Mother Nenekke could have done to surprise a Witcher. Your gaze softens a bit and your words lose a bit of their edge, “So these are warmongering nuns?” you ask, eyebrows raised, “I didn’t know that they teach sword fighting and battle strategies at the convent.”

“I once watched Nenneke turn two knights around in their tracks,” Geralt says, another flicker of memory flashing warm in his eyes, “Though she used words, not a sword.”

You have to admit, the woman does sound rather intriguing, and perhaps the Temple wouldn’t be a horrible place to stay. It was unlikely that Nilfgaard would go looking for a Witcher and a former court mage at a temple – perhaps it was not the worst idea. Still, you do not like the idea of travelling to a major city, nor do you trust that everyone within the Temple is as loyal to Nenneke as Geralt seems to think. If there is one thing you learned at Court, it is that people are not to be trusted; especially in places like that.

“Hm,” you must, eyes screwed up in thought, “In theory it seems like a good idea,” you tell him, “But I just don’t see how you can trust that no one there will spill secrets to the Nilfgaardians.”

Of course, you know this is a risk that the two of you must take no matter where you end up. Trust was hard to come by in the best of times, and even more so during times of war. One could never be sure who was on whose side, and how long they would remain an ally.

“Nenneke has no interest in spilling secrets to the people who’d gladly see her goddess burned away in the Eternal Fire,” Geralt says.

You pause, chewing your lip as you consider his words. It made sense enough, you supposed. At least it would give the two of you a destination, which was better than aimlessly wandering the woods. But, before you can voice your thoughts, Geralt is speaking again.

“I also know of someone who is rumored to have headed there – a powerful sorceress.” He looks at you for a moment, eyes focused on your crystal necklace. Of course, the Conclave would have some interest in this whole situation. They had a hand in everything.

“Who is this sorceress?” you ask, sounding much more eager than you’d expected to. It had been years since you’d even allowed yourself to think of your sisters from Aretuza, and you had to know if this was one of them.

“Yennefer of Vengerberg,” the Witcher answers.

“Yenna?” you ask, eyes wide. The last you’d heard of Yennefer; she’d left her job as a court mage in Aedirn to live on her own. It had taken time, but you’d eventually followed her lead. And now, somehow, the two of you ended up tangled in this mess anyway.

“You know her?” the Witcher asks.

You nod slowly, lips twitching up to form the ghost of a smile. “We were at Aretuza together,” you say, “But I’ve not seen her in a lifetime.” You pause for a moment, remembering the headstrong girl you knew at school before continuing, “I just… Yenna at the Temple of Melitele? Are you certain?” It was hard to believe she’d be anywhere where there was someone in charge who was not her.

“Not certain, but the information is from a good source,” the Witcher says with a sideways glance as the two of you pick your way through some especially dense brush.

“Did this source happen to mention why she’s there?” you question, quite dumbfounded by the whole thing. “And did this source give you any reason to believe she will help you?”

“No, they didn’t,” Geralt said with a shrug. “But she’d at the Temple and not tied to any kingdom, which makes her infinitely better than any other mage or sorceress on the Continent.”

You know Geralt didn’t mean it as a dig at you, but you cross you arms anyway, “Right. The rest of them are absolute garbage.”

Geralt stops walking and turn around to face you, blocking your path. “Oh, don’t pout,” he says with a half-smile.

You roll your eyes and take a step to move past him, but he catches your arm to stop you. You turn back to look at him, gnawing at your lower lip. You have no reason to be upset – hell, you’re excited to see your old friend. But there’s a small part of you that worries that the only reason Geralt has paid you any mind at all is because you’ve been the only human contact he’s had in weeks. The comment had brought your anxieties to the surface.

“Just because I don’t do magic,” you say evenly, “Doesn’t mean that I’m incapable.”

Geralt’s expression sobers as he looks down at you, catching your eyes with golden-yellow. “I don’t recall ever insinuating that,” he says in a tone that is somewhere between apologetic and annoyed. You can’t figure out which.

You sigh, frustrated with yourself more than you are frustrated with him. Yennefer was the most talented in your class – she had this way with magic that most of the girls at Aretuza didn’t. There was always this strength in her that you’d envied. And naturally, you’d envied her having been sent to Aedirn rather than Nilfgaard. It took you several years, but you’d eventually realized it didn’t matter much which of the kingdoms you were sent to; they were all pretty shite.

You lower your eyes, staring at the muddy ground as you take a deep breath in and out again before finally flicking your eyes back up to meet the Witcher’s. “A Witcher and two rogue sorceresses,” you say with the slightest bit of humor, “This poor child.”

A small smile breaks out on Geralt’s face, erasing the clouds from his eyes. The world was truly descending into chaos; and despite it all there were reasons to laugh.

“Now, I’m going to need you to picture the Temple as clearly as you possibly can,” you say, quickly turning back to the matter at hand. You are tired of freezing to death out here, and it could take ages to reach Ellander on foot.

Geralt, on the other hand does not look enthused. He even let’s go of your arm and takes a step back. You almost laugh at the sight. Somehow, you don’t expect him to be afraid of anything, but Geralt is clearly afraid now. You cross your arm once more, cocking your head to the side and smirking up at him, “Oh, come on, Geralt,” you say, “It may have been a while, but I certainly still know how to portal.”

Geralt’s face has gone deathly pale, and he only shakes his head, “Not the quality of your portals I’m worried about,” he says, “Just portals in general.”

“Portals,” you laugh, “Portals are your great fear?”

“You say that as if it’s ridiculous!” Geralt responds.

You take a step toward him, shaking your head, “Because it is ridiculous.”

Of course, you know plenty of people do not like portals. You’d been terrified of them initially, but Tissia had broken that fear rather quickly. It was impossible to be a sorceress and have that fear hanging around. Aside from the fact that magic was far too easily sensed and traced, there was no better way to travel. Traversing the Continent could take insurmountable amounts of time, but portals shrink that to a few seconds.

Geralt grumbles something under his breath as you wrap your arms around him, but he wraps his arms around you anyway. For a moment, you just stand with your head resting against his chest, breathing in the scent of him and just enjoying the feeling of being so close to him; enjoying the last few moments of being completely alone with him.

But you can hear his heart beating more quickly than usual, truly unusual for a Witcher. So you take a deep breath and squeeze him a bit tighter. You’d only been to Ellander once, but you gingerly open your mind to reach into his. You can see the stone walls, the bright gardens. You can feel the warmth of the sun on a summer day and smell wood smoke wafting in from the village.

But visions of Ellander and the Temple of Melitele are not the only things his mind reveals. You feel slightly wrong – you shouldn’t be probing his mind – but you know that it is necessary. There’s no way you’d get the both of you safely from this place in the woods and to the Temple without him. But still, you can’t help but smile into his chest as you squeeze your eyes shut and let the magic flow from you, wrapping the two of you in ribbons of shadow and light.

You are smiling because the last string of thoughts that stream from Geralt fill you with warmth despite the stomach-turning speed with which you slip through the universe—

“Fucking hell. She’s lucky I love her.”

* * *

To be continued.

Taglist: @dark-night-sky-99, @pantrashtic, @lilred254, @cilorawr, @blackravena @keithseabrook27, @danielarlington, @jesseswartzwelder@fairytale07 @divaroze, @evyiione, @salmonbutter, @godsaverosemary, @dontforgetthepieh @little-miss-emmalie, @hookahpop @haru-ririchiyo; @unnamedmaincharacter @geeksareunique @lazilyscentedwerewolf @boogeywoogeywoogeywoogeywoogey @alwayshave-faith @stretchkingblog97 @alienemilyyyy @hufflepupperino @curlyhairedandconfused @nikolanna @divineslipcast @p3nny4urth0ught5

#the witcher #the witcher fanfiction #fanfiction #geralt fanfiction #geralt reader insert #geralt x reader #geralt of rivia x reader #story: forest fires #witcher #geralt of rivia #yennefer of vengerberg #reader insert #fic

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hg47 · 4 years

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47 Reasons Why I Fear Islam - (Reason 1)

-1-I am suspicious of any religion that demands the death of any member who quits. Polls taken worldwide consistently reveal that the majority of Muslims in the world want the laws of whatever country they are living within changed to allow the execution of any Muslim who leaves Islam (if the laws do not already allow this). The majority of Muslims in the world also want the laws of whatever country they are living in to make blasphemy of Islam an offense punishable by death. The majority of Muslims in the world also want the laws of whatever country they are living within to allow for hand amputation as a punishment for theft. This frightens me because it indicates that so called “moderate Muslims” are in the minority, possibly far below the 50% mark of Muslims. 10%? It also frightens me because it shows that Muslims are not inclined to assimilate into Western society; they will generally NOT acquire Western values. A few will; but most? No. It frightens me because the bulk of Muslims expect whatever country they are living within to change and adapt to their own religion. Most moderate Muslims fully expect to slowly destroy EVERYTHING non-Islamic, over a period of centuries. Western culture honors the individual, The Unique Individual, and tries to provide a framework for different people, with their differing backgrounds, to work constructively together. Islamic rulings deny the value of the individual. People only exist so that their God will have worshippers. And their God is delighted in proportion and intensity of the received worship. (Asking for a Muslim who pretends to be my friend: Since a female Muslim is only worth half a male Muslim, does that mean that her worship only delights the Islamic God half as much?) As I write this, 9/25/2013 10:20 AM, significantly more than half the Muslims in the world want to kill any Muslim who quits their religion. What does this say about Islam? What does this say about what Islam does to people? One of my favorite TV shows is LIFE, starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. It only ran for 2 seasons. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001I24BTA/ref=dv_dp_ep4 Episode 4, Season 2 of LIFE is based on the Stanford Prison Experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment This Wikipedia entry details what the Guard/Prisoner Dynamic does to people. In the LIFE episode: “Us Against Them -- A university’s prison experiment goes horribly wrong when one of the students acting as a corrections officer ends up dead.” The show demonstrates in a dramatic way, how civilized college kids can be made to behave in savage ways, doing terrible things they never could have imagined they would ever do, just by organizing them within a Guard/Prisoner Dynamic. I believe this is what Islam does to people: it sets up a Guard/Prisoner Dynamic. Male Muslims are the Guards. Female Muslims are the Prisoners. Male head of a household: Warden. Sons: Rookie Guards. Religious leaders would be the Western equivalent of Rock Stars. Super-Wardens? Outside the prison walls: “Infidels! We must make the prison larger! Need more prisoners!” Anyone who quits Islam: “Escaped prisoner! Kill! Kill!” Obviously, I am over-simplifying. But I think I’m onto something. A useful First Approximation? Is Islam a force for Good, or a force for Evil? You tell me! Send me a tweet. ++++------- tweet ~ Islam theologizes the inferiority of Muslim women as being worth 1/2 of Muslim men. A non-Muslim has no worth unless impregnated by a Muslim ++++------- http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Terrorism-teaches-Christianity-violence/dp/0884198847/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380596025&sr=1-1&keywords=islam+and+terrorism+mark+a+gabriel In ISLAM AND TERRORISM by Mark A. Gabriel, Ph.D., Mark tells how when he quit Islam to become a Christian, his father tried to kill him as he ran away: His own father, with tears streaming down his face, shooting bullets at him. ++++------- tweet ~ Christianity + Judaism + Technology = Man on the Moon (Reaching for Heaven?) \\ Islam + Technology = Rioting Muslim Mobs (Hell on Earth?) ++++------- http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Islam_and_Apostasy The majority of Muslims in the world want anyone who quits Islam to be killed. The stats show that most Muslims are inflexible on this point. Keep it in mind, before you convert to Islam. Once in, never out. ++++------- tweet ~ HASSAN ROUHANI: “Iran only wants Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Medical purposes. Medical tests scheduled for Tel Aviv, New York, London…” ~ (OK, I’m joking! But I do believe that is their intent.) ++++------- http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/son-of-hamas-holds-islam-responsible-for-middle-easts-anguish/article2239037/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2239037 In this article MICHAEL POSNER argues that the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict is not about politics or security, but is all about religion. He also argues that anyone who does not believe in Islam is under a Death Sentence. ++++------- tweet ~ Female Suicide Bombers in Paradise: “You are a brand new Virgin! We’re giving you to Male Bomber #45889! Happy Eternity!” ++++------- http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_3_muslim-economy.html In this article Guy Sorman gets into the whole sharia banking thing, how Islamic banks do all the formerly forbidden Infidel monetary practices like interest and credit, but just describe them differently so the imams back home don’t get upset. Guy also brings up the point that any Sunni imam can define what it means to leave Islam and become an apostate under a death sentence, and that this tends to discourage any innovation. Why try something new, if you might get killed for it? ++++------- I am amused. Muslims, always concerned with the letter of the law, never the intent of the law, are now using forbidden Infidel banking practices of “interest” and “credit” which are illegal under Islamic law—but the Muslims just give these practices different names. So, it’s OK! Is this Islam lying to itself? Or is this an instance of Muslim banking specialists lying to Muslim imams? Or are they all “in on the game” and cool with the Great Big Lie? This whole “describing things differently” thing to conform with Islamic law actually is an Islamic legal precedent, if moderate Muslims wish to take advantage of it. Feminists, get on this! If Muslim bankers can find a “description” of the hateful Infidel banking practice of “derivatives” which conforms to Sharia law, perhaps Muslim feminists can find a “description” of women which will give them equal rights with men under Islamic law. There may be a better approach, but this Islamic legal precedent of “describing things differently” may be of some use. Possibly “Infidels” might be described as “innocent future Muslims” so as to avoid bloodshed. ++++------- tweet ~ 66% of Protestant pastors in the US believe that Islam is “Dangerous” * (Harper’s) ++++------- http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.9182/pub_detail.asp In this article, AMIL IMANI argues that Islam is not a religion, but rather a cult. The way Amil Imani describes it, Islam does seem to fit the definition. ++++------- tweet ~ Which is the better TwitterName for that guy? Ahmadinedildo or Ahmadildojad? I love pushing a dildo into Ahmadinejad, does that make me gay? ++++------- http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/the-stifling-effect-of-muhammeds-life-and-teachings-on-muslim-society/ One of the things Hege Storhaug mentions in this article is the Pew Research study results that 84% of Egyptians want to kill anyone who leaves Islam. ++++------- tweet ~ ISLAMABAD (Reuters – May, 2015) - Pakistan has blocked all Western media indefinitely in a bid to contain “blasphemous” material. ~ (OK, I’m just trying to think ahead here. It’s now 10/12/2013 5:06 AM. But something like this may happen. Iran is trying to set up its own Islamic-Approved Internet to control information and eliminate protest against the government.) ++++------- http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8622/pub_detail.asp In this article Diana West mentions the Pew stat about 84% of Egyptians wanting to kill anyone who leaves Islam. ++++------- tweet ~ US (Reuters – May, 2017) – Twitter begins filtering in deference to Muslims: Muhammad, Mohamed & Muhamad now appear in Tweets as GEORGE. ~ (Again, this is just me, circa 10/12/2013 5:11 AM trying to think ahead.) ++++------- http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-1206-muslim-poll-20101206,0,252922.story This article by Meris Lutz, Los Angeles Times, has more stats about Islam. Muslims, by wide majorities in Egypt, Pakistan, and Nigeria want current laws changed so that anyone who exits Islam can be executed. ++++------- At present, Muslims who leave Islam are sometimes killed by family members or, occasionally, angry Muslim mobs. So I can see why Muslims want the laws of their nation changed to kill those who leave Islam. Let the state deal with it. This would save family embarrassment. I wonder if there are stats on what percentage of Muslims quit Islam and survive? ++++------- tweet ~ So which do the #TeaParty Tweople hate more? Black man Obama in White House? Or Shiite Muslim Rima Fakih as winner of Miss USA contest? ++++------- http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2009/05/terrifying-brilliance-of-islam.html Citizen Warrior, in this article, confirms that Islam is a Once-In-Never-Out Proposition. ++++------- tweet ~ Saudi Women are not allowed to drive, inherit, divorce or gain custody of children, and cannot socialize with unrelated men. Can they Tweet? ++++------- http://www.hudson-ny.org/1610/sharia-advancing-in-west This article by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is mostly about Islamic Banking in the West, and how the Sharia experts are setting the stage now for the eventual destruction of the United States of America. The murder of apostates is also mentioned. ++++------- tweet ~ INTERPOL Agrees to Same-Sex Couple Conjugal Visits between Ex-President Ahmadinejad & Ayatollah Khamenei if they both surrender immediately. ~ (Yes, another joke.) ++++------- http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/10/12/26542/ This article by Brendan Carroll brings up Geert Wilders, and asks some serious questions concerning Free Speech, Islamic values, and Western Values. It also notes that Muslim youth today have been radicalized compared with former generations of Muslims living within the West. ++++------- tweet ~ We have political ads on TV to influence voters; Iraq has clerics in mosque chanting for death. The real #Iraq ballots are bullets & bombs. ++++------- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451 Stephen Evans in this article notes that Muslims have largely failed to integrate as useful members of German society, instead becoming a drain upon the state and a threat to German values. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Go-To-2+ +Go-To-Beginning-Of-47-REASONS-WHY-I-FEAR-ISLAM+

#islam

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ghost-shepherdess · 4 years

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the aggressiveness of that last post on political history and war history is not sitting right with me so here goes:

while i do agree with the overall point that things cannot be studied in a vacuum (and this becomes a more relevant topic everyday, considering that the way we perceive history and its related areas is largely influenced by the intense specialization of academic research) i feel it's wrong to assume that this is just about people consciously ignoring the social aspects of cultural and technological evolution ! we must look at the bigger picture here:

the average person's knowledge of history will come solely from what is learned in school, with some added vague information given by historical movies. sadly the western school system isn't built to provide an intersectional deep understanding of history, but rather to ensure that the average citizen will have a base knowledge in a multitude of areas so that he may proceed to the work market and 'be of use' to society.

this makes the teaching of history feel very clinical, distant and almost list-like. we're quickly taught about how humans came to be and how their technology developed so we can speedily reach the greeks and romans, and, from that point on everything is set out to learn about the people in power, usually families of royal bloodlines. we learn all about their genealogical trees, their marriages, their conflicts for territories in distant lands. we only learn about a select number of relevant uprisings, and usually you get centuries worth of social and cultural unrest summarized in a couple of paragraphs. to sum it up: everything becomes about data rather than people! dates, locations and the upper social hierarchy.

this creates a barrier for empathy and self-recognition between the curious student and the thousands of people who walked the land before them. at most it may create a misguided pride over the nebulous deeds of their birth nations.

which brings me to my next point! the social context of the initial post!

most of the userbase in this site is based in the US or in other english speaking countries, which more often than not means that they come from historically colonial power nations.

and it has to be said that the way that history is taught and perceived in a former ostracized or colonized country may be wildly different from the way its taught in the colonizer country. (can we really expect to see colonial history being taught in the same way in brazil and in portugal, for example?)

even though in the past centuries up until this day the voices of marginalized people are still consistently erased!! we have to realize how lucky we are to be in an age where information is easily accessible to a wide audience! but we also need to acknowledge that the information and work that these people put out there is not placed in the front row for others to access and still needs to be searched for; people need to know what to search for!

and this just isn't a tool given to students who study history in the school system, if you're only taught about major wars and political events How are you supposed to know that things like textiles or food are heavily intertwined with those very wars??

I'd much rather some kid on tumblr interested in general textiles with little knowledge of history realizing by chance from a random post that that lovely gown they saw on the museum connects heavily to the sociopolitical context it lived in (and subsequently falling into a nice historical research rabbithole) than to have some kid heavily aware of all of the world's major wars and battles but thinking that's all there is to human history

to wrap it all up since its 3h00 here we need to focus on bringing radical changes to how history is approached within a school setting rather than doing a witch hunt on tumblr kids and teens who were failed by said system

because YES we are witnessing a terrifying period of social unrest and rise of far-right parties that has been shown to bring terrible results repeatedly throughout history!! but the solution is not to rant and publicly drag people but rather to do our best to take direct action and share resources and information so we can fight this as a unified global community

#i could do another full rant on how convenient it is for the far right to have blissfully unaware apolitical citizens #and how historically the people they try to keep uneducated and the people who are marginalized intersect almost completely #but its so late and i probably am not very coherent at this hour #h #political history #dont even know how to tag this #delete later?#guess im being a tad contradictory by saying we shouldn't rant as a wrap up to a big rant lol #also fr op overall comes from a rightful place and its understandable that they'd be completely upset about how unaware ppl are??#specially if you're from a marginalized community! seeing people removing themselves and history from any sociopolitical connotations is #really harmful and exhausting

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darkarfs · 4 years

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Those Americans who believe that the Democrats are their best hope for thwarting the rise of authoritarianism must confront a basic question: Given that President Trump intends to spoil the elections if he can’t win them, how do citizens ensure that November’s victors take office? As Kamala D. Harris and Joe Biden dominate the news, we have looked past Belarus, whose courageous citizens show us the way. In this post-Soviet republic, run for a quarter-century by the same man, we have a refreshing example of how to face the worst — and win. The predicament of Belarusans after the rigged presidential election of Aug. 9 is a sharpened preview of what Americans will face this November. The local dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, responded to the outbreak of covid-19 with magical thinking. As the economy crumbled, his opponents realized that they enjoyed a majority. When Lukashenko claimed an improbable victory after the election, Belarusans took to the streets. They were beaten and detained by riot police; Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations to Lukashenko. It is not hard to imagine that Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr would be satisfied with a similar turn of events here in November. Yet the Belarusan story did not end there, because Belarusans were prepared and did not give up. They came out again, all over the country, in smaller groups that were harder to disperse. Avoiding direct clashes with security forces, they made their presence known with the colors they wore, the flags they waved and the posters they held. Onlookers applauded from their apartments, pedestrians flashed the V sign and drivers honked their horns in support. On Tuesday, Belarusans were horrified by footage of police beating men and threatening to rape women. On Wednesday, parents gathered outside detention centers, demanding to see their children. That same day, women wearing white formed human chains to stop violence, and doctors demonstrated in front of their hospitals. Some policemen filmed themselves throwing their uniforms into the garbage, expressed solidarity with protesters or even changed sides. The minister of internal affairs, roughly the Belarusan equivalent of acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf, apologized for the beatings and detentions. On Thursday, four days after the election, some of the detained protesters were released. They had been forced to adopt humiliating positions while in custody and have the red, black and blue of truncheon beatings on their backs, buttocks and legs. Outrage was general. Factory workers went on strike. A factory manager tried in good old Soviet style to call his workers together in support of Lukashenko. They told him that they had all voted for the opposition candidate. Most people had. First, one election official, and then a second, admitted that the official result had been falsified. Americans have had other things on our minds this past week, but this is no excuse for looking the other way as others defend values we claim to hold dear. Yet even if we missed what happened Minsk, people in Minsk had learned from Minneapolis. The rhetoric and tactics in the cities and towns of Belarus carried echoes of Hong Kong; Khabarovsk, Russia; and Portland, Ore. Protesters around the world increasingly learn from one another. Just as Trump is already preparing to do, Lukashenko was counting on the support of his cronies among local election officials, police and Russia. We cannot know whether his opponents will succeed: Unlike the United States, where the most effective Russian intervention comes through the Internet, in Belarus, Putin and Lukashenko can threaten an invasion. As Americans think ahead to November, we should learn from people who have taken risks for democracy, in circumstances more challenging than our own. Belarusans teach us what I would call “the six Ps” of defending an electoral victory against authoritarian chaos: preparation, predominance, protest, peace, persistence and pluralism. Preparation means understanding that your local authoritarian will spoil the election and planning in advance. Predominance means getting out the vote and winning by a wide margin, so everyone will know that the authoritarian is lying. Protest means taking the streets when the authoritarian makes his move. Peace means keeping demonstrations nonviolent as the regime discredits itself with violence. Persistence means coming back anyway the next day, and the day after that. And pluralism is a summons to groups, such as those Belarusan workers, women and doctors, to make their presence and their feelings known. Democracy is a value, so it must be valued, and it is a practice, so it must be practiced. If we want it, we must be open to learning from others, and then be prepared to take responsibility for ourselves.

Rebecca Solnit

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imagitory · 5 years

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*exhales heavily*

Okay...I don’t usually go off the deep end in political essays that often. If it’s a quick thing like “f**k Neo-Nazis,” then sure, fine, that’s easy. I don’t have to explain why Neo-Nazis -- especially the cowardly ones that try to label themselves as the “alt-right” in a vain attempt to seem more acceptable to modern society -- can go screw themselves. Everyone already knows they’re awful -- or at least, everyone should already know they’re awful. If you’re the sort of person that wants to try to “teach” me about how the alt-right are not Neo-Nazis, then this post isn’t for you, so kindly don’t interact and keep scrolling.

This post is instead for my Democratic followers, whether you support Bernie, Biden, Warren, whatever. Please feel free to skip over it, though, my dear followers -- I know this whole political season has been very draining, and I have a lot more positive posts on my blog that you can consult instead. If you do want to read my thoughts, though, here’s a cut.

Hi, guys. How’s it going? We really dodged a bullet with Bloomberg dropping out of the race, didn’t we? At least now no one should be able to say Democrats and Republicans are alike, right? The Democrats kicked their racist, sexist, obnoxious, out-of-touch billionaire accused of multiple sexual assaults to the curb, while the Republicans made theirs president.

On that note, though...we still have the Republican version of Michael Bloomberg -- the one and only Donald Trump -- in office. We all remember how he got there...Hillary won the popular vote, but thanks to the ridiculously outdated electoral college rules and Russian interference, the electoral votes went Trump’s way. We could conjure up multiple reasons for Hillary’s loss, but at least in my opinion, I would say we learned a few lessons from the 2016 election that I think we should keep in mind. (Alongside making sure Russians butt the hell out of our elections and fact-checking all the rampant misinformation from our media outlets.)

1) We Democrats have more things in common than we might think, sometimes.

Clinton was infinitely closer to Bernie, politics-wise, than Bernie was to Trump or Gary Johnson. Yet there were those who were so upset about Hillary’s nomination and the role Democratic Party officials had in coaxing delegates to support her that they protest-voted against Hillary, even if that vote wasn’t in their best interest. We don’t have a system that lets us rank who we want for office from most to least, so sometimes we have to accept a bird in the hand rather than reach for two in the bush. You might feel good about voting your conscience in the short term, but you probably won’t when it results in your vote being a drop in the bucket that doesn’t prevent someone like Donald Trump from winning. We’ve already seen this happen not just in the Trump-Clinton election of 2016, but in the Bush-Gore election of 2000.

2) Despite that first point, if we want unity, our Democratic candidate must be aware of how diverse our party is.

Even if we do end up having to settle for a less liberal candidate in order to win an election, that candidate MUST acknowledge that we are not like the Republican Party. We will not march lock-step with people we don’t agree with just because they’re in our party or we agree with some things, and we will certainly not be satisfied with simple pacifism. The Republican Party has been tilting farther and farther to the right over the last three decades, to the point that their policies now involve mass internment of Mexican immigrants and family separation, directly paralleling plans carried out by the THIRD EFFIN’ REICH. We cannot keep begging for civility and peace and trying to reach a compromise -- you cannot compromise with this kind of extremism without sacrificing all of your principles, because those kinds of people do not make concessions.

I remain convinced even after four years that Hillary should’ve chosen Bernie to be her running mate -- if she had, the rift between the centrist and more liberal branches of the Democratic Party might have been healed enough that we could’ve looked at our ticket with excitement and hope, as we had for Obama and Biden back in 2008. Instead Hillary chose Tim Kaine, an inoffensive centrist Democrat who added absolutely nothing to her presidential bid. He couldn’t even help Hillary out by boosting the campaign with youthful energy or natural charm -- Bernie would’ve both boosted morale among younger and/or more liberal voters and lit a fire under those who were anxious about what a Trump presidency could lead to. The same could’ve been true if Bernie had been chosen to be president -- if he’d chosen Hillary, she could’ve better appealed to moderate voters intimidated by the thought of voting for a Democratic Socialist and run on her international experience as Secretary of State.

3) In order to make any difference at all, we must vote, and we must win.

I’m the first person to acknowledge that I hate voting against my convictions. If the Democrats had chosen Michael Bloomberg, I would’ve probably been ready for whole-scale revolution, right then and there. But let’s be frank here -- in 2016, we got complacent. We assumed that Trump would lose. We assumed that America wouldn’t choose racism, or Islamaphobia, or sexism, or Nazism. BUT WE DID. In the end, our country -- like many other countries before us were -- is more afraid of the promise of social change than we are of the threat of fascism. Yes, I called Trump’s vision of the country fascism, and I stand by it. Fascism is defined as far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial authority, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and the economy and often supplemented with government-sanctioned racism -- and yeah, given that Trump clearly wants to do whatever he wants whenever he wants without facing any consequences for his actions, persecute any so-called “enemies,” make money for himself while in office (even using his office and political power to achieve that end), and scapegoat minorities, I think my point is made. And so I will state it again -- America is more afraid of the future and the progress that could come with it than it is of the cruelty, bigotry, and tyranny of our past. It’s an absolute tragedy, but it’s true. Americans were absolutely terrified of Obamacare until it actually became law and people saw how cool it was, not to be booted off your care for preexisting conditions and stuff. Once that happened, Americans were ready to bite off the hand of any Republican who made any move toward repealing it. If it’s something we’ve never done before, it’s beaten back like the plague, but once it’s something we’ve become accustomed to, you can tear it from our cold, dead hands.

In the 1930′s, Germany had a choice between three political parties -- the Communists, the Democratic Socialists, and the Nazis -- and in the end, the reason the Nazis got power was because the Communists and the Socialists could not band together to stop that greater threat. The Nazis were able to paint a pretty picture to the German people of returning their country to its supposedly long lost, mythic greatness, and they won power, even if they were still not the majority when Hitler got into office. And as soon as the Nazis got power, they never let it go and went out of their way to destroy both Communists and Socialists, just like they did with Jewish people, the Romani, and the rest. We are at such a crossroads now. I am deathly afraid that the Republicans will try to find some way to keep power even if Trump were to lose, but we cannot let that happen. We must stand together, strong and united.

The more liberal of us must acknowledge that radical change cannot be put into place quickly. Our system is broken and falling apart thanks to the Republicans’ on-going sabotage, and we cannot hope to remodel our house until our foundation is secure. Even the Republicans were not able to destroy our country in so many ways these last four years without dismantling a lot of other things first -- corrupting our elections with money thanks to the Citizens United ruling -- sparking two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that drained us of money and added to the backlog of veterans that have yet to receive their deserved financial support -- intimidating political officials away from substantive gun control legislation -- chipping away at abortion rights nation-wide -- stacking the courts, both local and Supreme, with unqualified, strongly right-leaning candidates -- gerrymandering districts like crazy so as to split Democratic-leaning areas and puff up Republican-leaning ones -- even spreading misinformation through shows on their own private so-called “News” network. It will take time to repair all of the damage the Republicans have wrought, but we must first win if we are even to have the chance to try.

On the flip side, the more centrist of us must acknowledge that we cannot go back to the way we were because the way we were was WRONG. We might have nostalgic visions of it being more civil and peaceful, but the tremors of war were still rippling under our feet. The Neo-Nazi rats that elected Trump were gathering under us, and we let them. We let them gain enough confidence to come out into the light in large numbers and we stood by, assuming that they wouldn’t succeed in their goals. We ignored the rampant spread of anti-immigrant rhetoric and Islamaphobia -- we downplayed the racism, the homophobia, and the sexism. Sometimes it was due to arrogance, and sometimes it was due to flat-out indifference, because those things didn’t directly affect us. We should know by now that that rosy view of our past was not how things were -- just as many of our Founding Fathers were still slave owners, and America interned our own citizens in camps during World War II, and the supposedly great Ronald Reagan turned a blind eye while thousands of Americans died of AIDS, our country saw the signs of racism, xenophobia, and ultranationalism coming out in full again and didn’t fight back. And now that racist, xenophobic ultranationalism is in control of the Oval Office. If we have any chance of stopping them, we can’t simply go backwards -- we must charge ahead. We can’t simply pretend like everything can go back to normal -- we must accept responsibility for what we’ve done and pursue justice in making things right. We must fight back against these far-right, tyrannical policies and we must pay restitution to those our country has hurt. I do not want the Mexican families we have destroyed to be treated the way our Japanese American brethren were after they were released from the internment camps in the 40′s -- dismissed and forgotten, with our flag figuratively slapping them in the face every time some stupid guy crowed his head off about America being the greatest country on earth. I may have hated Trump’s immigration policy -- I might not have voted for him -- but he still represents my country, and therefore me, to the rest of the world, and even if he’ll never apologize for a single damn thing that he’s done, I want my country to make things right.

Maybe once a Democrat -- even if it’s a centrist like Biden -- is in the White House again, we’ll have the chance for real change -- good change. We certainly won’t get it as long as we’re stuck on the outside looking in.

Now of course, even when this whole presidential thing is done, we can’t rest on our laurels. We must get out in force for local elections too -- we must take back the Senate and keep control of the House. We must pressure our lawmakers to get the money out of politics, and fix gerrymandering, and restore environmental protections, and hold corporations accountable, and tax the rich, and abolish the Electoral College, and put term limits on Congresspeople, and impeach Brett Kavanaugh, and fund dismantling the backlog on VA benefits, and cancel student loan debt, and implement universal health care, and pass gun control legislation, and do all the other things we need done.

I really hope that whichever candidate we end up with -- whether it’s Biden (*sighs begrudgingly*), Bernie (*smiles*), or Warren (*wiggles in glee*) -- that candidate will strongly consider choosing a Vice President who is either more centrist (if they’re more liberal) or more liberal (if they’re more centrist) and filling their Cabinet with those other ex-presidential hopefuls who still have something to offer. Kamala Harris was Attorney General of California -- why not have her become Attorney General of the United States next? How about Tom Steyer as Head of the EPA, or Cory Booker as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?

Here’s the thing about us being more diverse in thought than the Republicans -- it means we have a great swath of very different members with very different skill sets, as well as the ability to learn, critique, rationalize, change, and improve. And if we are to defeat an institution like Trump’s that demands lock-step, mindless obedience and praise, it seems to me that’s something we should use to our advantage.

#excuse me politics coming through #personal #hopefully I won't get too many of my followers upset with this #feel free to ignore this if you're not in the mood for politics I get it #democrats #republicans #i just republiCAN’T #donald trump #joe biden #elizabeth warren #bernie sanders #opinion #oh boy here i go

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english-courses-hong-kong · 5 years

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Why Learn English in Hong Kong?

Is it necessary to learn English in Hong Kong? Well, it depends who you talk to and who you are talking about.

If you’re talking to a local Hong Kong person they’d probably tell you that it’s very important if not vital for them to learn English.

If you’re suggesting to a foreigner that it is necessary to learn English in Hong Kong and that it is a great alternative location to further their English studies, they might raise a skeptical eyebrow.

It just depends where in the world they are from and their knowledge of this great world city.

Should Locals Learn English In Hong Kong?

Firstly, English is one of Hong Kong's official languages, so for a local to not be able to speak English is at times frowned upon.

Secondly, from a very young age Hong Kong children are strongly encouraged to work hard at their English studies with a view, for those who can afford it, to eventually studying at a Western university.

Thirdly, the level at which you are able to communicate in English can have a significant impact on your job prospects.

" Not Everyone In Hong Kong Speaks English"

It would be inaccurate to say that everyone in Hong Kong can speak English well. On the contrary, many do not - or at best, have very limited English communication skills.

However, a lot do, and the vast majority strive to various degrees to improve their level of English throughout their lives, with good reason:

" Learning English in Hong Kong is a great career move!"

If you are a Hong Kong local and plan on having a future in any type of business, particularly if you want to do business which extends beyond Hong Kong and China, it is advisable to learn English and master it to a level where you can communicate your thoughts and ideas with ease.

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Likewise, if you aspire to a future within either the Government, or legal and medical professions - as many do - you'll find that the English language is as widely used in those circles as it in the business world.

Similarly, the Hong Kong tourism industry expects you to have a good command of English.

Indeed, in 2010 Hong Kong received a record high of 36 million visitors from around the world. Perhaps you can imagine how many of those visitors were English speakers who rightly expect Hong Kong (which boasts of being a major world city) citizens to be able to communicate adequately in English?

It's safe to say that learning English in Hong Kong is a good career move! You may also want to study English in Hong Kong if you, like numerous Hong Kongers, wish to study abroad in one of many renowned universities in either the UK, the USA, Canada or Australia.

There is a lot of competition for university places these days and applicants are required to have a high standard of English as well as good grades in their chosen subjects.

Foreign Students Study English in Hong Kong

If you have ever had the inkling to study English elsewhere in the world, some place new and exciting where you can explore a radically different culture, then perhaps you should consider Hong Kong.

If you hail from the Asia Pacific region, studying English in Hong Kong can be a great alternative to more obvious countries in which to study English such the UK, US, Australia or Canada.

Basing yourself in Hong Kong will make it easier and cheaper to visit home on a more regular basis, which can be good not only for you but for your family. A short break home can do wonders for the soul and those homesick blues so often experienced by students studying abroad; and let's face it, wherever in the world you are from your parents will always miss you and worry about you.

Flights to anywhere in the Asia Pacific region from Hong Kong are relatively short as well as inexpensive making short breaks home to keep you and your folks in touch is easy.

On the other hand, if you are not from the Asia Pacific region, why on earth would you want to travel all the way to Hong Kong to study or to learn English, apart from the fact that you will be immersed into a completely new culture?

Excellent Hong Kong Language Schools

Well, first of all, you can be sure that you will find some very reputable international English schools.

Similarly, there are many excellent Hong Kong Language Schools, which, by and large, employ well qualified, native-speaker teaching staff.

English is one of the official languages of Hong Kong and, perhaps due to its colonial past, this great city has strong historic ties to the UK.

This could have something to do with the popularity of educational establishments at which you can further your studies or even start to learn English.

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Hong Kong Is Safe

What's more, unlike various other renowned places in the world, Hong Kong happens to be one of the safest cities on Earth, even at night, when people generally walk alone with confidence.

Furthermore, it is very rare that Hong Kong visitors are scammed or harmed in any way by locals.

October 11th, 2019 update:

IS HONG KONG SAFE TO VISIT RIGHT NOW, AMIDST PROTESTS?

Protests and violence have caused much of the Central area of the city to shutter, including MTR, Starbucks and other common areas. Most protest violence is in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay and is expected to continue through the weekend.

Protestors are targeting any and all Chinese businesses and have set fire to metro stations. Be advised that leisure travel to Hong Kong in the near term is likely not a great idea, as unrest has spread to a tipping point where restaurants, bars and other tourist friendly businesses are closed.

Hong Kong is in the midst of change, as China seeks to gain a stronger political grip on the special administrative region, which puts the SAR in Hong Kong’s official title. Recent government proposals to extend Beijing’s power to Hong Kong have caused outrage amongst locals and outrage has lead to large scale protests around government buildings and an expanding range of the city, including the airport.

Naturally, all of the above has people wondering if it’s safe to visit Hong Kong right now.The short answer: mostly yes, but the situation is worsening and with new emergency powers in place, things could get worse as tensions rise.

If you’re coming for tourism or relaxation purposes, you may now want to reconsider travel if it involves the Central district. Many businesses are closed and all metro stations have also shuttered as violence and destruction are now more widespread.

So Is It Really Safe To Visit Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is one of the safer cities in the world, with low crime rates and excellent standards of medicine and healthcare, even with current unrest. With that said, this situation doesn’t seem as if it will come to a close anytime soon.

Unless you’re planning to join the protests, Hong Kong should still be safe for visitors, although clearly much less enjoyable than usual. A Level 2 warning from the United States State Department means they equivocate all the action in Hong Kong to be of a similar level of caution as daily life in London, or Rome.

Basically, be on alert, but no one is saying not to go. That’s up to you.

Source: https://www.godsavethepoints.com/is-it-safe-to-visit-hong-kong/

Cheap Accommodation in Hong Kong Is Possible

When it comes to the living arrangements, chances are that you will find some very reasonably priced accommodation that will leave you with more than enough money to go out and explore the marvels that Hong Kong has to offer when you are not studying English. The same cannot be said of many other cities around the world.

Most hotels are located close to the harbour in Central, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and North Point on Hong Kong Island and in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), Tsim Sha Tsui East and Hung Hom in Kowloon, as well as the bustling areas of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok.

" If you find the right Hong Kong language school they will have a student accommodation service where they will find you clean, safe and affordable accommodation whilst you are studying in Hong Kong.

If you find the right Hong Kong language school they will have a student accommodation service where they will find you clean, safe and affordable accommodation whilst you are studying in Hong Kong. (Some also offer a student visa service which you will likely need if you intend to stay there for any length of time. My understanding is that you need to study at least 15 hours a week to be able to apply for a Hong Kong study visa.)

" Hong Kong Island is relatively small, so students are never too far from shopping areas and major attractions. What's more, getting around is simple, with cheap public transport easily accessible wherever you stay."

Hong Kong Attractions & Public Transport

Hong Kong Island is relatively small, so students are never too far from shopping areas and major attractions. What's more, getting around is simple, with cheap public transport easily accessible wherever you stay. There are trams, taxis and buses everywhere and very modern rail networks (known as the MTR and the KCR). Arriving at Hong Kong's international airport is also a delight. It's modern, very spacious and very efficient. Some Hong Kong language schools will even meet you at the airport.

#english course Hong Kong #Hong Kong #learn English Hong Kong #language study Hong Kong #is Hong Kong Safe

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artisticgryfess · 5 years

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Stormlight Modern AU - Worldbuilding

I’m never gonna write this but if anyone sees this they should feel free to!!

It’s a lot so it’s going under a read more

Each of the princedoms is a province of Alethkar

Each province has an army, which are used much the same way as they are in the canon books (i.e. against each other trying to get more land and by the king, working for the benefit of alethkar as a whole)

Each province has claim over one major thing in terms of running the country, although they must accede to the king should he make a decree

Kholin has War (the most important and highest ranked general)

Sebarial has Commerce (regulates trade)

Sadeas has Information (spies, criminal justice, policing forces)

Slavery works the exact same, except while most singers are slaves, they have the same legal rights as human slaves

Highprince is still an official title and has the exact same station and meaning, but they are elected, for life or til resignation. While it is usually passed down in families via the sons/daughters being the only one running, it is fully possible for an outsider to run and win. It is a very rare occurrence, though.

Kings are also elected, but no one from outside the family has ever run against members of it and won

Gender roles are more expectations than societal laws; there are a few male scholars and a few female soldiers, although neither is extremely common and all of them face some prejudice

Safehands stopped being a thing long ago, and everyone is literate, not just women (the literacy fight was the harder one)

Spren are still a thing, and while it is well-known amongst the scientific community that if you record any singular measurement for a given spren, that individual spren maintains that measurement possibly for the rest of time, even if it varied before it was written down

There are scientists who devote their life to studying spren, but they cannot really learn what spren actually are, due to the lack of Elsecallers, Lightweavers, or Willshapers.

Someone did once propose the hypothesis that they are living ideas, but she was ridiculed and laughed out of the sprenologist community

Jasnah has studied her proposal

There is no mention of Shadesmar made anywhere but ancient documents, and there is no real reason to associate those with spren

Spren are widely regarded as the most mysterious phenomenon in the world, and while generations of scientists have been studying them, they will likely remain so

There are plenty of references to the Desolations, the Heralds, the Knights Radiant, Stormlight, etc. but there are few documents that actually explain them

After electricity was invented, people stopped leaving their gemstones out in highstorms - after a while, it became a folk tale, then a true myth, then disappeared from the minds of the non-historians entirely

There are historical mentions of it originating from pretty much everywhere in Roshar, even a few (though only a very few) from Shinovar

Shardblades are either buried beneath lots of rock, sitting in museums, or on display in rich people's’ mansions

Shardplate was tried in combat, but has fallen out of use due to its lack of effectiveness against bullets at first, and later the lack of how to recharge gemstones and thus regenerate shardplate

Same for soulcasters

Technology is modern level - and people have caught radio waves from Scadrial from a hundred or so years back.

There is ongoing research on the origin of these waves, how old they are, and what any of it even means (language barriers yo!)

Jasnah is a historian at a college in Kholinar, but doesn’t teach - its just her main base of operations for her research

She’s studying the ancient civilizations of roshar, she’s currently trying to figure out what soulcasters were used for + what stormlight was

She’s found mentions of Stormlight all across Roshar, and knows that the highstorms renew it.

She believes that if she could find the right reference from Shinovar, she could learn just what it is - unfortunately, if such a record exists, it has not been found yet.

Shallan is going to the same college on a student visa, convinced Jasnah to tutor her

Kaladin was a soldier in Sadeas’ army, serving under Amaram until one day he killed a high-ranking enemy officer and refused the boon Amaram offered him - so Amaram killed all that was left of his squad and sold Kaladin into slavery. He is currently working construction on a new building in the university in kholinar, the very place he had been hoping to go

He’s still very skilled with the spear, but learned it as a hobby sport in his teens and has never wielded one in actual combat

He’s still 19 - signed up to pay for med school, and for Tien’s school

Shallan is a citizen of Jah Keved, going to college in Kholinar on a student visa

She’s majoring in Art and Ecology, and considering a minor in history after Jasnah pointed out just how much there still is to learn there and how little she personally knows

Lived a sheltered life on her father’s estate - he owned a small company

Going to college in the hopes of finding a way to continue to maintain it, possibly by selling some of Jasnah’s research?

Parents die same way as in canon, pretty much

Dalinar is Jasnah’s father, highprince of war, and highprince of the province of Kholin

One of the king’s most trusted advisors - its said that if he decided to run for king, he would be the first outside of the royal family to be placed on the throne

His house has the closest familial ties to the throne, but they’re still pretty distant. They no longer share the same last name, due to various women holding the throne

Adolin is Dalinar’s eldest son, and the most likely successor to the Kholin throne

He’s a very accomplished duelist

greatsword is his preferred weapon, second is longsword

Romantic activities much the same

Unsure what he wants to do with his life, but guesses that he’ll probably end up being on the Kholin throne or going pro with his dueling

Doesn’t really want the former, thinks he’ll have to do it anyway

#didnt put these in any sort of order before posting #oh well whatever #its also been forever since ive actually looked at this #i thought it up at least a year ago #i had people running for king???#it has been SO long #this is not up to date with Oathbringer and i should fix that #nah #still some good thoughts here #anyway #The Stormlight Archive #cosmere #cfsbf #modern au #my writings

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atamascolily · 6 years

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more Crystal Star quotes from Vonda N. McIntyre

The third [ship] was Alderaan, Leia’s pride and joy. Alderaan was a sleek little ship with hyperdrive capabilities. Luke had chided her for spending the time to learn to fly it that she could have used to study the ways of the Jedi. But the truth was, it was much easier and faster to learn to fly Alderaan than to learn to be a Jedi Knight. And a great deal more fun. Maybe that was why she loved the little starcraft so much. Her responsibility to the Republic kept her from having much fun.

The same was true of everyone she knew. Luke worked himself to exhaustion. Leia thought that he deliberately worked himself beyond exhaustion, either to test himself or to take himself to another level of achievement. But he scared her, sometimes. She wished they had grown up together; she wished she had known her brother as a child, so she could understand him better.

Han did not deliberately push himself beyond his endurance. He had passed plenty of tests in his life; he never needed to give himself more. But he did press himself to his limits without meaning to. Often Leia would come home after a diplomatic reception or a long meeting with her advisers to find Han facedown at his desk, snoring. Once he fell asleep in his bath. Leia was convinced that if she had come in five minutes later, he would have drowned.

That was why he and Luke had gone on a quest together. They were both burning out. They needed time off.

She doubted Luke would find any other Jedi Knights on his quest, but she hoped he would find some rest. And she hoped Han would let loose, like in the old days.

Errr... exactly like the old days? I don’t think you want that, Leia. But I love Leia having her own ship, though I don’t buy Luke chiding Leia for it. I mean, he’s a fighter pilot, he understands or ought to.

Leia laid one hand on the silver flank of her ship. No distinguishing mark marred its limpid finish, which looked like puddled mercury. It was registered to a person who did not exist, a second identity Leia had established so that someday, sometime, somehow, she would be able to take a few days off and fly away to a pleasant place without being recognized. Its ship’s signature did not even list its name, only its number, because the name of Alderaan gave too great a clue to the true identity of the ship’s owner. Almost all the citizens of Alderaan had perished in the attack of the Death Star. Only a few had survived. Princess Leia Organa had been one of them.

I woulda called it something else, but okay...

She opened her hand. In her wide palm lay a deck of cards. A design of complex knots decorated the back. The enhanced human moved her hand, and the deck flipped over. Chance & Hazard, illuminated with gold and emerald paint, topped the stack.

I love sabacc, even if no one in the EU evr figured out consistent rules.

The letter of resources was a worthless piece of trash in Han’s pocket. His immediate impulse was to rip it to shreds and throw it into the nearest crater. But that would be stupid as well as impossible. It was printed not on paper, but on a practically indestructible sheet of archival plastic. The edges would cut his skin before they would tear.

SOLID. Cash flow is a major problem in Han’s subplot, #respect.

Ghostlings had always mesmerized him. They looked like humans, but were not. Their ethereal beauty tantalized humans and they in their turn were fascinated by human beings. They were as seductive as incubi and succubi, but as fragile as spiderwebs. For a human and a ghostling to enter into a physical relationship meant certain death for a ghostling. But there’s no harm in looking, Han said to himself.

Cool world-building detail to borrow.

Han displayed the rainbow edges of a few bills of New Republic currency. He was glad, for old times’ sake, for the sake of his smuggling days, that the Senate had failed to pass a law abandoning physical currency. Smuggling would have been a whole lot harder without hard-to-trace cash money. Of course, that was why the Senate wanted to abandon it.

LOL.

“Just thinking about the Jedi Academy. I hate to leave my students, even for a few days.....”

...because they’ll set everything on fire, right, Luke? Right?

But if I do find other trained Jedi, it’ll make a big difference. To the Academy. To the New Republic …” “I think we’re getting along pretty well already,” Han said, irked. He had spent years maintaining the peace with ordinary people. In his opinion, Jedi Knights could cause more trouble than they were worth. “And what if these are all using the dark side?”

Luke: Yeah, Jedi are awesome!

Han: *recalls being personally tortured by Vader, plus all the drama involving various Force-sensitives over the years* Whatever you say, kid.

But she and Jacen had lots of hold-fathers and hold-mothers. Anakin had lots of hold-fathers and hold-mothers.

YEAH extended families. But I prefer “Uncle” and “Aunt” myself.

"[Winter's] services are no longer necessary,” Hold-father Hethrir said. “Children, children! You are important! Your abilities are precious! You cannot be raised, you cannot be taught, by a servant.” “She isn’t! She’s our friend!” “She has her own life to live, she cannot raise you properly with no one to pay for you.” “We wouldn’t eat much,” Jacen said hopefully.

LOL. Though FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE, WINTER IS NOT A SERVANT. Also, she is a badass.

Tigris tried to take Anakin from Jaina. She stepped back. Jacen jumped in front of her to help protect their little brother. Together, they created the barrier Uncle Luke had taught them to make. No one would be able to get through it. They would not let Tigris take Anakin! The barrier shimmered around Jaina. And then it fell apart like a sand castle in the tide.

It’s never explained how the villain can do this, but yay for family solidarity and Uncle Luke’s teachings even if it doesn’t work.

She thought of a soft camp mattress under her, just dried out, nice and warm. And her smart camping blanket. It knew when she was cold and it knew to warm up. It knew to snuggle down around her to keep out the wind. It liked to get wet sometimes—it liked to swim. Then it lay flat on the ground, because it did not have any feet. And it wriggled and shook until its fur was dry and warm and Jaina could wrap it around her shoulders and go to sleep. When she was little she even liked to sleep with it at home.

Awww.....

The blade of Lord Hethrir’s lightsaber could only be activated by the use of the Force. Hethrir would not accept anyone into his inner circles who could not complete the circuit and generate the blade.

This is.... not as useful as you think it is, Hethrir.

“Why, I can virtually feel my intelligence circuits exploding beneath the assault.” “Your intelligence sounds normal to me,” Luke said.

SASSMASTER.

Hethrir had built his private receiving chamber from the finest wood of all the old Empire. Body-wood, they called it. It resembled the flesh of the people who had inhabited the forest, before the Emperor claimed the world. To his most favored officers he had dispensed the right to exploit certain resources. Hethrir’s reward had been the license to export body-wood. Lord Hethrir had begun his fortune from the license. But he used the wood profligately for himself as well. The walls and floor and ceiling of the chamber glowed with it.

The surface of the polished body-wood was the palest pink. Scarlet streaks shot through it, gleaming with light, like cut and polished precious stones. Tigris always thought the wood looked alive, and indeed it was said that the body-wood trees sustained a certain intelligence. It was said that they cried, when Hethrir cut them down. Tigris almost believed that they cried. He knew their wood bled. He had the task, the honor, of cleaning up the scarlet rivulets before they pooled on the floor and stained it.

CREEPY.

She imagined the molecules of air all around her. She imagined one molecule. She imagined it moving, faster and faster. She felt the molecule respond.

Hethrir’s power did not react. She knew it was around her, she could feel its attention off in the distance. But it did not notice the tiny motion she created. She added another molecule, another, doubling and redoubling the number she affected. Soon a small handful of air vibrated with her energy. Its warmth took the chill from her cell.

The swirl of air glowed red, then yellow, spreading light into the corners of Jaina’s cell.

Size matters not, y’all.

"Of course thou didst comprehend the connection between the ego-flux and the universal backlight, but I wonder if thou didst make the conceptual leap to the synergy of intellectual realization and quantum crystallization?”

“I am embarrassed to admit that I had not,” Xaverri said, “though now that thou hast shown me the path, I can see that the interaction is completely inevitable.”

WARU, you complete bullshitter.

Jaina knew Jacen had asked the myrmins to climb up the stage. One of the Proctors leaped to his feet with a shout. He thought he just had sand in his pants. Then the sand bit him. The other Proctors started jumping up and yelling and scratching. And stamping, stamping on the myrmins. “Oh!” Jaina whispered. “Oh—poor myrmins, thank you, myrmins.” Some of them were running away now, disappearing into cracks and hiding. But some of them were being killed.

“We’re sorry, myrmins,” she said, sincerely, the way Chewbacca spoke to insects he sometimes killed, even if he never meant to, when he harvested forest honey. She risked another glance across the hall at Jacen. Stricken, he started to cry. He cried when Chewbacca apologized to the forest insects, too. But this time it was his fault that the myrmins were being hurt. Suddenly the myrmins all disappeared. Jaina felt the flare of Jacen’s abilities, whisking the little creatures out of danger.

Aww...

Maybe I could tame her,” Jacen said. “And we could ride her away!” Jaina had no idea how Jacen knew it was a Mistress Dragon and not a Mister Dragon. But he was always right about this sort of stuff....

No, wait!” Jaina snatched it back. “Don’t throw it.” She opened up the lens and caught the light and flashed it on the ground in front of the dragon. “Isn’t she pretty?” Jacen said. When the dragon opened her eyes, she saw the concentrated point of light from Jaina’s lens. She snorted and lowered her head. Jaina gave the multitool to Jacen. He was better with critters than she was. He wiggled the light near the dragon’s front paws. The dragon put her paw on the place where the light was. Then she had to put her other paw on top of her first paw, and still the light was not covered. She pulled her first paw out from under her second paw and lost her balance. She rolled completely over, snortling and wriggling. Then she jumped up and looked around for the light. Jacen moved it around for her to chase. She jumped forward after it, shaking the ground when she landed, raising great sprays of sand. Jaina laughed with delight. By now all the other children had gathered behind Jaina and Jacen to watch the dragon play. Jacen danced the light before the dragon, who gallumphed after it, pouncing to try to catch it. Jacen skipped the light up the cliffside that projected beyond the fence. The dragon scratched the rock with her front feet, ripping loose bits of stone. She roared joyously. She lashed her tail.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Solo twins.

Anakin plopped himself down on the seat beside Tigris. “Bad mans, Tigis,” he said solemnly.

Baby Anakin is always right about this stuff.

#star wars #star wars legends #the crystal star #vonda n. mcintyre #fanfic musings #eu fuckery

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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What Is An Example Of Republicanism

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-is-an-example-of-republicanism/

What Is An Example Of Republicanism

The Founding Fathers And The Republic

What is a republic?

When the Founding Fathers were brainstorming the kind of government they wanted for America, they studied the histories of other nations to determine what worked and what didnt. Of particular interest to them was the Roman Republics government, which had been around a full 2,000 years before the American revolution. The Founding Fathers decided that a republican government was the best possible government for America.

The decision to create a republic was largely influenced by the ideas that the Roman Republic incorporated into its rule. The most attractive principles to which the Founding Fathers were drawn include:

Government power is held by the people.

The people elect the leaders they want representing them and, in doing so, invest their power in their representatives.

The representatives are tasked with helping every citizen in the country they serve, not a select few.

Some of the ideals that guided the Founding Fathers choice for a republic included:

Fairness The Founders believed that the elected representatives should create fair laws and, if they did not, they could be easily replaced by other representatives who would.

Common Welfare The laws that those representatives created would benefit everyone in the country, rather than one person in particular, or even a select few.

Freedom and Prosperity The Founders liked the idea of their people being afforded the freedom to live prosperous lives.

What Is Republicanism In Simple Terms

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic with an emphasis on liberty and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. More broadly, it refers to a political system that protects liberty, especially by incorporating a rule of law that cannot be arbitrarily ignored by the government.

What Is A Republican Government

The government of Rome was called a republican government. The Founders read that republican government was one in which:

The power of government is held by the people.

The people give power to leaders they elect to represent them and serve their interests.

The representatives are responsible for helping all the people in the country, not just a few people.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Won In Tuesday’s Election

Opiniondemocrats Challenged Electoral College Votes First And Set The Precedent For This Mess

There is no way to justify continuing the false designation of radical rightists as conservatives and people willing to end the republic as Republicans. The dozen-plus elected members of the Republican Party in the Senate and the more than a hundred in the House who announced that they would vote to overturn various states electoral slates Wednesday should not, despite their nominal party membership, be referred to as conservatives or Republicans.

All who fail to condemn President Donald Trumps phone call threatening and pressuring state officials in Georgia and who do not forcefully disassociate themselves from his reported musings about declaring martial law to remain in power show themselves to be opposed to conserving our republic.

Todays Republicans plainly are not deserving of the inheritance of Lincolns party or its name.

The unconscionable effort to keep Trump in office despite the stated will of the people is tantamount to throwing democracy and the American republic into the dustbin of history. Republicans do not wish to end the republic in which they serve or else they are Republicans in Name Only. Conservatives who do not wish to conserve the very foundation of the American experiment our democratic republic is no kind of conservative their intellectual predecessors would recognize.

In What Ways Does The Declaration Of Independence Reflect Principles Of Classical Republicanism

In what ways does it reflect principles of classical republicanism? The Declaration of Independence reflects John Lockes social contract by withdrawing their obligation to obey the monarchy, by grouping colonists to change leadership because they believed the monarchy failed to protect their rights.

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Classical Republicanism And Natural Rights

Classical republicanism promoted the natural rights philosophy, which is echoed in the Declaration of Independence. Natural rights are those rights that are not dependent on, nor can they be changed by, manmade laws, cultural customs, or the beliefs of any culture or government. These rights include such things as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Other natural rights include the right to protect oneself from physical harm, the right to worship as one chooses, the right to express oneself, among others.

The reason why classical republicanism is so prevalent in the Declaration of Independence is because of the colonists recognition of the fact that they wanted their government to be vastly different from that of the British parliament. They believed that they were following their civic duty by separating from Britain for the purposes of preserving the common good.

What Is Civic Virtue

When you work to help others and promote the common welfare, you are showing civic virtue. The Founders thought civic virtue was important for a republican government. People with civic virtue are interested in having the government help all the people.

The Founders thought it was necessary to teach children the importance of helping others. Young people learned about civic virtue in their homes, schools, and churches. Adults also heard about civic virtue from their religious and political leaders.

The Founders thought a republican government would work in our country. They believed most of the people had civic virtue. They thought the people would select leaders who would work for the common welfare.

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On Types Of Republicanism

The academic literature on republicanism, in my experience, largely assumes one major distinction between kinds of republicanism. As I did not do conduct a major literature review just recently on the issue, I may have missed something, but it seems safe to say that the distinction I am getting onto is well established. That is the distinction between Roman and Athenian republicanism, with the two big names in the field, Philip Pettit and Hannah Arendt lined up on either side.

There are other distinctions between Pettit and Arendt, in the ways they;approach political thouht but I will leave those aside here. In terms of general political thought, Pettit has a more individualised and reductive approach to rights, while Arendt refers to a lived experience of the political side of humanity.;Pettit’s ‘Romanism’ is indeed a claim to avoid the supposed denial of individuality and the right to be free from the political sphere, apparently inherent in ‘Athenianism’. Arendt’s ‘Athenianism’ is a claim to deal with the role that politics has in the life of humanity, which can never just be ‘social’, so lacking the competition for power in a public space. There are ways we might try to equate those with differences in political position with regard to issues other than pure political structures, but I do ;not believes that those really work out and that is again something I leave aside.

Posted by Barry Stocker on 20 October 2014 at 20:39 |Permalink

Which Republican President Inspired The Teddy Bear

What is Republicanism in the United States?, Explain Republicanism in the United States

Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican U.S. president from 1901 to 1909, inspired the teddy bear when he refused to shoot a tied-up bear on a hunting trip. The story reached toy maker Morris Michtom, who decided to make stuffed bears as a dedication to Roosevelt. The name comes from Roosevelts nickname, Teddy.

Republican Party, byname Grand Old Party , in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the Democratic Party. During the 19th century the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the countrys new territories and, ultimately, for slaverys complete abolition. During the 20th and 21st centuries the party came to be associated with laissez-fairecapitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies. The party acquired the acronym GOP, widely understood as Grand Old Party, in the 1870s. The partys official logo, the elephant, is derived from a cartoon by Thomas Nast and also dates from the 1870s.

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Definition Of Republican Government

Republicanism Government;is a system of government in which the supreme power in the state rests in the people and their elected representatives. Republicanism is a form of representative government.

The concept is derived from the word republic. Republicanism is a form of government in which the head of state is an elected president and not a hereditary ruler. It therefore refers to a system of government in which sovereign power is widely vested in the people either directly or through their elected representatives.

In short a republician government may be defined as a form of government in which the Head of State is elected for a fixed term of office.

The Lessons Of Civic Republicanism

Thomas Jefferson is known as the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the articulator of the separation of church and state. These high profile accomplishments tend to overshadow his other important contributions. For example, Civic Republicanism is a Jeffersonian notion that deserves our contemporary attention.;

Civic Republicanism centers on two interrelated ideas, civic responsibility and community. Civic responsibility refers to the sense of responsibility that we have toward one another, and for one anothers well being. It is the practice of placing the common good above our individual self-interest. We do this willingly because, in communities, we get to know one another and, in turn, feel connected to the people around us. Our neighbors, religious leaders, teachers, and store owners are all part of this network of common bonds we call community. In other words, we learn not to be narcissists because we have learned the benefits of mutual dependence and mutual responsibility. ;

While Civic Republicanism is a good idea, its not one that seems to inform contemporary America. As populations become more segregated based on race and more stratified by economic class, traditional notions of community have disappeared.

Well, what has happened to them? What has robbed of us this tradition?;

Today, however, as inequality has raised the stakes and undermined traditional notions of community, self-interest has come to rule day.;

Recommended Reading: What Color Ties Do Republicans Wear

Republicanism And Fundamental Rights

The foregoing discussion should not be construed as implying a necessary correlation between, on the one hand, liberalism and democracy, and, on the other, communitarianism and authoritarianism. Some versions of communitarianism approach a pure, popular democracy more closely than do some versions of liberalism, which would expressly renounce pure democracy. If a society is to be governed by a principle of collective welfare, and if notions of collective welfare are to be ascertained by consensus, then majority rule provides sufficient justification for deciding which acts should be penalized. No additional justification, with reference to the specific harm that would be caused by penalized acts, would be required. If the majority wishes to penalize gambling, alcohol consumption, flag burning, contraception, or homosexuality, then it may do so with no greater notion of harm than the sentiment that individuals and society would be better off without such things.

Ordinary right Putative harm caused by exercise of right Exercise of right may be penalized without special justification Exercise of right may not be penalized without special justification

Wilfried Nippel, in, 2015

The British Empire And The Commonwealth Of Nations

In some countries of the British Empire, later the Commonwealth of Nations, republicanism has taken a variety of forms.

In Barbados, the government gave the promise of a referendum on becoming a republic in August 2008, but it was postponed due to the change of government in the 2008 election. A plan to becoming a republic was still in place in September 2020, according to the current PM, with a target date of late 2021.

In South Africa, republicanism in the 1960s was identified with the supporters of apartheid, who resented British interference in their treatment of the country’s black population.

In Australia, the debate between republicans and monarchists is still active, and republicanism draws support from across the political spectrum. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was a leading proponent of an Australian republic prior to joining the centre-right Liberal Party, and led the pro-republic campaign during the failed 1999 Australian republic referendum. After becoming Prime Minister in 2015, he confirmed he still supports a republic, but stated that the issue should wait until after the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The centre-left Labor Party officially supports the abolition of the monarchy and another referendum on the issue.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are In The United States

Republican As Party Name

In 1792â93 Jefferson and Madison created a new “Democratic-Republican party” in order to promote their version of the doctrine. They wanted to suggest that Hamilton’s version was illegitimate. According to Federalist Noah Webster, a political activist bitter at the defeat of the Federalist party in the White House and Congress, the choice of the name “Democratic-Republican” was “a powerful instrument in the process of making proselytes to the party. … The influence of names on the mass of mankind, was never more distinctly exhibited, than in the increase of the democratic party in the United States. The popularity of the denomination of the Republican Party, was more than a match for the popularity of Washington’s character and services, and contributed to overthrow his administration.” The party, which historians later called the Democratic-Republican Party, split into separate factions in the 1820s, one of which became the Democratic Party. After 1832, the Democrats were opposed by another faction that named themselves “Whigs” after the Patriots of the 1770s who started the American Revolution. Both of these parties proclaimed their devotion to republicanism in the era of the Second Party System.

Republicanism In The United States

Edit

Republicanism in the United States is a set of ideas that guides the government and politics. These ideas have shaped the government, and the way people in the United States think about politics, since the American Revolution.

The American Revolution, the , the Constitution , and even the Gettysburg Address were based on ideas from American republicanism.

“Republicanism” comes from the word “republic.” However, they are not the same thing. A republic is a type of government . Republicanism is an ideology set of beliefs that people in a republic have about what is most important to them.

Don’t Miss: Did Any Republicans Own Slaves In 1860

What Counts As Arbitrary Power

A second major difficulty in developing the republican idea offreedom lies in giving precise meaning to the notion of arbitrariness.According to what criteria are we to consider power arbitrary? Notsimply when its exercise is random or unpredictable. This view wouldundermine the whole point of the republican conception of politicalliberty. As discussed above, with long experience a slave is betterable to predict his masters behavior, and so it appears lessrandom to him, but the slave doesnot enjoy greater freedom by that fact alone. Just because one isbetter able to cope with arbitrary power, it does not follow thatones domination is any less.

Discretionary is much closer to the relevant meaningof arbitrary, but it is not quite right either. Discretionary powermight be delegated to a public agency with a view to advancing certainpolicy goals or endsas for example Congress has delegateddiscretionary authority to the Federal Reservebut we would notwant to say that this reduces our freedom . For reasons explained inthe fourth section of this entry, contemporary civic republicans mustbe able to offer an account of non-arbitrary, yet discretionaryauthority.

Democracy’s Discontent: America In Search Of A Public Philosophy

RwandaâCAR Cooperation is an example of what Africa can achieve through unity

In this book, Sandel contrasts the tradition of civic republicanism with that of procedural liberalism in the US political history. The presentation is organized as the intertwining of philosophical and mostly historical analyses. Philosophically, based on LLJ, Sandel continuous his criticism of liberalism and argues for the idea of civic republicanism with the sense of multiply situated selves. Historically, Sandel shows, while both procedural liberalism and civic republicanism used to be present throughout American politics, American political discourse, in the recent decades, has become dominated by procedural liberalism, and has steadily crowded out the republican understandings of citizenship, which is important for self-government.

Sandel reminds us that the American Revolution was originally aspiring to generate a new community of common good. By separating from England, Americans attempt to stave off corruption and to realize republican ideals, to renew the moral spirit that suited Americans to republican government . Unfortunately, in the years following independence, leading politicians and writers started to worry the corruption of the public spirit by the rampant pursuit of luxury and self-interest. Nowadays, most of American practices and institutions have thoroughly embodied the philosophy of procedural liberalism. Despite its philosophical problem, it has offered the public philosophy by which Americans live.

T. O’Hagan, in, 2001

Recommended Reading: Did Republicans Riot After Obama Was Elected

Zombie Brains Are A Thing

There is life after death if you’re a pig…sorta. Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Recently at the Yale School of Medicine, researchers received 32 dead pig brains from a nearby slaughterhouse. No, it wasn’t some Mafia-style intimidation tactic. They’d placed the order in the hopes of giving the brains a physiological resurrection.

The researchers connected the brains to an artificial perfusion system called BrainEx. It pumped a solution through them that mimicked blood flow, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the inert tissues.

This system revitalized the brains and kept some of their cells “alive” for as long as 36 hours postmortem. The cells consumed and metabolized sugars. The brains’ immune systems even kicked back in. And some samples were even able to carry electrical signals.

Because the researchers weren’t aiming for Animal Farm with Zombies, they included chemicals in the solution that prevented neural activity representative of consciousness from taking place.

Their actual goal was to design a technology that will help us study the brain and its cellular functions longer and more thoroughly. With it, we may be able to develop new treatments for brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions.

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statetalks · 3 years

Text

What Is An Example Of Republicanism

The Founding Fathers And The Republic

What is a republic?

Government power is held by the people.

The people elect the leaders they want representing them and, in doing so, invest their power in their representatives.

The representatives are tasked with helping every citizen in the country they serve, not a select few.

Some of the ideals that guided the Founding Fathers choice for a republic included:

Fairness The Founders believed that the elected representatives should create fair laws and, if they did not, they could be easily replaced by other representatives who would.

Common Welfare The laws that those representatives created would benefit everyone in the country, rather than one person in particular, or even a select few.

Freedom and Prosperity The Founders liked the idea of their people being afforded the freedom to live prosperous lives.

What Is Republicanism In Simple Terms

What Is A Republican Government

The government of Rome was called a republican government. The Founders read that republican government was one in which:

The power of government is held by the people.

The people give power to leaders they elect to represent them and serve their interests.

The representatives are responsible for helping all the people in the country, not just a few people.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans Won In Tuesday’s Election

Opiniondemocrats Challenged Electoral College Votes First And Set The Precedent For This Mess

Todays Republicans plainly are not deserving of the inheritance of Lincolns party or its name.

In What Ways Does The Declaration Of Independence Reflect Principles Of Classical Republicanism

You May Like: What Is The Lapel Pin Republicans Are Wearing

Classical Republicanism And Natural Rights

What Is Civic Virtue

Don’t Miss: Why Do Republicans Hate John Mccain

On Types Of Republicanism

Posted by Barry Stocker on 20 October 2014 at 20:39 |Permalink

Which Republican President Inspired The Teddy Bear

What is Republicanism in the United States?, Explain Republicanism in the United States

You May Like: Who Are Democrats And Republicans In Us

Definition Of Republican Government

Republicanism Government;is a system of government in which the supreme power in the state rests in the people and their elected representatives. Republicanism is a form of representative government.

In short a republician government may be defined as a form of government in which the Head of State is elected for a fixed term of office.

The Lessons Of Civic Republicanism

Well, what has happened to them? What has robbed of us this tradition?;

Today, however, as inequality has raised the stakes and undermined traditional notions of community, self-interest has come to rule day.;

Recommended Reading: What Color Ties Do Republicans Wear

Republicanism And Fundamental Rights

Ordinary right Putative harm caused by exercise of right Exercise of right may be penalized without special justification Exercise of right may not be penalized without special justification

Wilfried Nippel, in, 2015

The British Empire And The Commonwealth Of Nations

In some countries of the British Empire, later the Commonwealth of Nations, republicanism has taken a variety of forms.

In South Africa, republicanism in the 1960s was identified with the supporters of apartheid, who resented British interference in their treatment of the country’s black population.

Also Check: How Many Republicans Are In The United States

Republican As Party Name

Republicanism In The United States

Edit

The American Revolution, the , the Constitution , and even the Gettysburg Address were based on ideas from American republicanism.

Don’t Miss: Did Any Republicans Own Slaves In 1860

What Counts As Arbitrary Power

Democracy’s Discontent: America In Search Of A Public Philosophy

RwandaâCAR Cooperation is an example of what Africa can achieve through unity

T. O’Hagan, in, 2001

Recommended Reading: Did Republicans Riot After Obama Was Elected

Zombie Brains Are A Thing

There is life after death if you’re a pig…sorta. Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

The researchers connected the brains to an artificial perfusion system called BrainEx. It pumped a solution through them that mimicked blood flow, bringing oxygen and nutrients to the inert tissues.

Because the researchers weren’t aiming for Animal Farm with Zombies, they included chemicals in the solution that prevented neural activity representative of consciousness from taking place.

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-is-an-example-of-republicanism/

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ruminativerabbi · 4 years

Text

Purim 2021

There are lots of different ways to “read” the Megillah.

The simplest, I suppose, would be to take it at face value as an historical account of the series of events that led to Purim becoming a universally observed Jewish holiday. Reading it this way would suppose that the personalities mentioned—and not just the major ones but even the minor characters who appear just once or twice in the story—were all real people and that they all played the specific roles the story assigns to them in the drama. This approach founders a bit on the fact that there are no traces of any of them other than King Achashveirosh (assuming he is correctly to be identified with Xerxes I) in any extra-biblical document, including any of the fairly voluminous works that chronicle Persian history during the period the story appears to be set. (For an excellent essay by Mitchell First on the question of whether Achashveirosh can reasonably be identified as Xerxes I, click here.) Still, that’s hardly proof-positive that none of them existed: lots of real people don’t make it into the history books! (But how many queens are in that category? Maybe that’s the more pertinent question to ask!)

Fortunately, there is no lack of alternate approaches.

Focusing on Queen Vashti’s principled refusal to degrade herself in public merely because her husband ordered her to and also on Queen Esther’s willingness to risk her own life for the sake of saving her people, it would be easy to read the Megillah as a feminist story intended to remind its audience that women—for all they are so often overlooked in ancient works of history—could and did play important roles at crucial junctures. But the Megillah could also be read as a work of proto-Zionism, one intended to drive home the point that, even in the very best of times, Jews living outside Israel are subject to the arbitrary anti-Semitism both of petulant foes like Haman and of naïve enablers like King Achashveirosh. And the book could also easily be read as a critique of the whole monarchic system of governance, one in which a drunken dunce like Achashverosh can be manipulated easily by wily advisers like Haman who are pursuing deeply personal agendas.

All of the above would be interesting to explore in more depth, but I would like to use this space this week to write about yet another approach to the Megillah, one inspired partially by last month’s assault on the Capitol and partially by the sense, dramatically heightened by those events, that there are elements out here whom we don’t know and haven’t ever met…but who nonetheless wish us harm.

As all regular reader of Megillat Esther know, the ninth chapter is the big one, the chapter in which all plot lines converge to produce a satisfying dénouement fully worthy of annual celebration. Indeed, it is the only chapter that actually takes place during the month of Adar, the month of Purim. (Almost all the action up to that point—including Haman’s casting of lots, King Achashveirosh’s order that Haman parade Mordecai through the streets to honor him for his good deed, both of the banquets that Esther prepares for Haman and Mordechai, and the fabulous scene in which Haman flings himself as Esther’s feet and knocks her over just as King Achashveirosh comes back into the room, only to end up sentenced to death and finally impaled on the execution post he had had prepared for Mordechai—all of that takes place almost a full year earlier during the previous Pesach. Then came the wrangling over how to stop the pogrom that led to an official edict promulgated on 23 Sivan, exactly two months later, that granted the Jews permission to defend themselves against their enemies.) And now, as chapter nine begins, almost a full year has passed and the big day is finally here.

That ninth chapter is one we all read far too quickly through, and particularly if we want to read it the way I would like to propose today. But let’s start with that edict of 23 Sivan, the one executed in the first places because King Achashveirosh, the supreme ruler of an entire empire, lacked the legal authority to rescind one of his own edicts merely because the original copy was stamped with the mark of his signet ring. The whole idea that an absolute monarch can’t countermand one of his own edicts is idiotic and, indeed, the notion that an edict promulgated in the king’s name and sealed with his seal cannot be withdrawn is not known from any other Persian documents from the era. (It also directly contradicts the passage at the end of chapter one that says that the specific way to make an edict not rescindable is for it formally to be “written up among the laws of the Persians and the Medes.”) So we’re being challenged to read with our eyes wide open. And what the new edict says is, to say the least, startling. First, there is to be defense:

Jewish men in every city of the kingdom are formally granted permission to organize local militias with the express purpose of defending the Jewish population by endeavoring to destroy, exterminate, and annihilate the thugs of every people and ethnicity who were planning such ill for them, their children and their wives, and then by plundering all their foes’ possessions.

And then there is to be offense as well:

Over and above the right to defend themselves, the Jews in every province over which King Achashveirosh rules are also to be permitted, albeit only on one single day, to wit the thirteenth day of the twelfth month called Adar, to advance forcefully against their enemies and to seek revenge for the degree to which these foes had embraced the awful plot hatched against the Jews by wicked Haman.

So that’s pretty clear. And what happens the next spring is precisely what the text says will happen. On the thirteenth of Adar, the day Haman had planned to annihilate the Jews of Persia, the Jews rise up against their enemies. In Shushan alone, five hundred foes are killed. Then, after receiving royal dispensation to keep at it for one extra day, another three hundred are killed. In the rest of the empire, things go just as swimmingly: on the thirteenth day of Adar alone, a full 75,000 are killed, bringing the two-day total to 75,800 dead sonim. We are clearly meant to understand that there are no Jewish losses at all. Nor was this at all unexpected: at the end of the previous chapter, the Megillah notes that there was such anxiety afoot among those who had planned to attack the Jews that some pathetically attempted to disguise themselves as Jews so as not to be subject to their would-be victims’ wrath.

And now we get to the question that will challenge thoughtful readers. The enemy is completely demoralized, the fight clearly completely out of them. They don’t put up any resistance; the major plot detail that the permission granted them to go on the attack and to attempt to annihilate the Jewish population has not been withdrawn seems totally to be forgotten. Like most bullies, I suppose, they fold easily when facing real opposition. And this appears to have been the case despite the fact that the Jews were surely a tiny minority group in an enormous sea of Gentiles. Surely, they could have taken the Jews on even despite the permission granted the latter to fight back…or at least they could have tried. But they seem to have totally forgotten about their might, about the potential in their numbers, and about the full legality of their pending Aktion against the Jewish population. It feels, at least plausibly, that there is no real danger to the Jews of the realm on that fateful day: they go on the offensive and annihilate foes fully cowed into submission by the mere possibility of their would-be victims fighting back. How else could there have been no Jewish casualties at all?

And so we come to pathetic truth behind the narrative. The Jews could have defended themselves anyway. (Why couldn’t they have? Was fighting off your would-be murderer illegal in Old Persia?) The mob of anti-Semites retains its right to go on the offensive. So, really, nothing has changed at all. Except—this is the pathetic part—that a Gentile king (and, at that, a drunken oaf like Achashveirosh) told the Jews they could stand up for themselves. Which they could have anyway…but didn’t. Or wouldn’t have. Until someone formally gave them permission.

We feel safe, we American Jews. We trust the police, have faith in our government, feel secure enough (most of the time) to look past the occasional anti-Semitic remark by a member of Congress. We buy homes with twenty- or thirty-year mortgages because we expect to be living in them decades in the future. And we haven’t fled to Israel for the same reason. I know all the above because I feel that way myself! And then suddenly there are organized anti-Semites marching through the streets of downtown Charlottesville. A comedian we all thought of as super-hip and wholly benign tells an overtly anti-Semitic joke on television and only we seem to notice. The Capitol is overrun by insurrectionists, some of whom are openly displaying anti-Semitic slogans and symbols…and no one seems quite sure what to do about it. Are racist slogans on t-shirts protected by the First Amendment? Suddenly, the answer to that question seems to determine whom you ask for an answer.

The Megillah could not be clearer in its message that it is neither cogent nor effective solely to respond to anti-Semitism by reacting to it ex post facto. The Bible’s solution—that we go on the attack and annihilate our would-be annihilators before they have a chance to do the same to us—is obviously not something any normal citizen, Jewish or not, would countenance. But the lessons the Megillah teaches in this regards remains pertinent and timely. No one needs permission to stand up for his or her rights. The pathetic image of Persian Jewry finding the strength to oppose its own annihilation only when the government formally permits them to do so is meant to be both embarrassing and chastening. Helping bigots to divest themselves of their bigotry before anyone gets hurt is an excellent plan. But the Megillah teaches that that can only be undertaken successfully by people possessed of confidence, self-reliance, and unwavering certainty in their own right to exist and to flourish.

#Purim

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