#everyone tell me about other cultural/religious observations

[aguineapigcouldntdothis]

I do not find it reasonable that the term "ashkenormativity" is frequently used to mean "asheknazi jews, aka the white european ones, are racist, colorist, and even antisemitic against other jews". not only is that an improper definition with loads of information, it fails to recognize that the people who are most likely to perpetuate ashkenormativity are goyim.

for the purpose of this post, I will be going with the definition that ashkenormativity is the belief that ashkenazi people are the default jews, which leads to them getting more respect, opportunities, recognition, etc. goyim, especially in the western world, have likely only been exposed to ashkenazi jews, meaning that they are likely to view them as the blueprint. they are simply drawing conclusions from the available information, which in my eyes is not a huge issue. the true problem arises when they learn about other types of jews and immediately decide that we are "improper". because we don't fit their idea of what a jew looks like, acts like, etc., we are either bad jews or not jewish at all.

it is not the fault of ashkenazim that goyim think this way, and it is not their responsibility to fix it. it is also not their fault that most jews in the western world are ashkenazim. it is absolutely the responsibility of goyim to learn that there are many types of jew and we are still one people.

ashkenazim are less likely to spread ashkenormativity than goyim because they are exposed to other jews more often. they may have different norms than a sephardi, mizrahi, etc. jew would, but they're usually able to recognize that we are all jews with a shared culture. and by usually I mean I can count on 1 hand the number of times an ashki jew genuinely thought they were better than us. 2 hands if we're counting repeated offenses from the same person. I believe that has nothing to do with their heritage and everything to do with them being an asshole. point is, learning by observing other jews is an effective tool to combat prejudices. the more examples you see of a non-ashki jew, the more likely you are to correct yourself when you promote ashkenormativity.

i feel like a fun exercise would be to compare 2 separate interactions ive had with a goy and a ashkenazi jew. both contain examples of ashkenormativity. neither is significantly worse than the other so they are close enough to compare.

interaction with goy:

context is we were talking about jewish traditions and it got to the topic of food. I actually cooked a ton this year i didnt know what I was in for.

me: I won't cook that much this year, but usually id eat a lot of unleavened cakes and rice for passover

goy: i thought you guys ate matzah

me: I mean yeah but we eat other stuff too. im sephardi so I get more options which is fun (this was said as a joke, not judging anyone)

goy: oh so you're not really jewish then?

me: no im still jewish, Im just not ashkenazi and we have some cultural differences

goy: but like you're not jewish religiously, right??

me: I mean im not orthodox but yeah im still a religious jew. i just practice based on my culture its not hard to get

goy: wouldn't it be easier to just do what everyone else does though

me: yeah I just like doing this more it's fun for me

goy: yeah whatever I dont get this im done

interaction with ashki jew:

context is i was at shabbat dinner chilling on a couch and talking to a friend i made

ashki jew: so you know that shul down by (location)

me: the what?

ashki jew: ...the shul??

me: I've never heard that word in my life what is that

ashki jew: its just the synagogue. you've never heard that word before?

me: no i was so confused ive always just called it synagogue. sometimes the old people would call it kal never shul though

ashki jew: ok just like tell me if I confuse you with my yiddish again

I feel as if the differences between these interactions is quite clear. so, I wont go into heavy detail analyzing them. the basic idea is that during the conversation with the goy, I kept explaining myself and they refused to listen. they believed that ashki jews were better than me and that they themselves were also better than me. I was essentially told that I do not know anything about judaism because in their eyes I am not truly a jew. during the conversation with the ashkenazi jew, they explained themselves immediately because we are equals. they know we are both jews and we're more similar than we are different. it surprised them that I didn't know what shul meant, yet they did not use that as an excuse to tear me down.

I truly think people do ashkenazim a disservice by assuming that they are power hungry jews (*cough* antisemitic stereotype *cough*) who will stop at nothing to be better than the sad little sephardim and mizrahim. in reality, most of them, like my lovely friend, are more than willing to learn and share with other jews. the people who are truly hurting us are the goyische antisemites.

this is gonna sound hypocritical because I just made a long ass post about an intracommunity issue, however, can we please just focus the majority of our energy on the actual antisemites who are truly hurting us instead of other jews? this is an important topic that we need to discuss it's just not the most important thing us jews have going on. other jews are my friends and I refuse to be separated from them for the approval of goyim, and I know they will show me that same kindness.

note: I am just not feeling like myself today forgive any weird writing mistakes ill fix them later or maybe not

[insertsyscoursehere]

So um… I don’t see enough people talking about Sophie’s older claim that the Abrahamic God (specifically the Christian version) is a system.

Look, I get it, the whole three people are one person thing? Yes, I get how on the surface that is absolutely a plurality staple. But that’s like… a piss baby understanding of the Trinity.

First of all, not all Christians accept the Trinity in the first place, so if Sophie says the Christian God is a system I’d be asking “which version of the Christian God”.

Certainly not the version of God from the Latter Day Saints, because they believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct beings that are united in purpose known as “the Godhead”. And I’m sorry, despite what everyone says, they consider themselves a Christian creed, even if they are not a sect or denomination but a whole different religious group.

Certainly not the version of God observed by Jehovah’s Witnesses, who reject any divine claim of Christ and believe the Holy Spirit is an extension of God rather than any personified entity.

Certainly not Orthodoxy, which does not say that the Spirit proceeds from the Son.

Certainly not Christian Scientists, or Oneness Pentecostals, or La Luz del Mundo Christians, or Unitarian Universalist Christians (in some cases). None of these have Trinitarian beliefs and they’re all Christian.

But sure, tell me how it is that it’s fine to throw a blanket statement over all of the different flavors of Christianity like they’re all the same.

Maybe a non-religious person with no experience outside of American Christendom should NOT be speaking about religious topics.

If you wanna headcanon that for yourself, feel free to remember that you’re making a headcanon on someone else’s firmly and sincerely held beliefs like it’s an AO3 fic.

God, are you fucking 5? You act like you know better than experts and people who live through those experiences. Making a statement like that only serves to do two things: attract religious people who agree with you, and piss off religious people who don’t.

It’s not about research, it’s not about any sort of cultural delicacy, it’s not about genuine curiosity, it’s about numbers for your army of little keyboard goblins.

And you do the same to other religious groups, so I guess you’re an equal-opportunity employer of callous gestures. What gives you the right to discuss religion like that when you claim none and have no insight into the lives of the pious?

Elementary understanding of the Trinity, get that shit outta my sight.

—Jackalope and Proteus

[witchofthesouls]

Hiii I know that ur busy with a lot of stuff recently but I just wanted to ask some tips as a fellow fanfic writer. I have a hard time doing some world building n I've noticed in your writings that you always managed to put in enough details. It's okay if u don't have the time or energy for my ask. ^^

Have a good day 👍

Oh, thank you!

I approach world building as world/lore expanding or tweaking. The bones are there. You're just shaping the muscles to direct them, and you can pull from a lot of other experiences or influences to guide the process.

Example with Transformers Prime. Canon-wise, the position of Prime is deeply tied to religious and cultural aspects of Cybertron, and the Matrix itself came from Prima's (the first Prime) own weapon: the Star Saber. I like thinking of the implications since it was never stated to what happened to Prima. Perhaps he's a ghost trapped inside the Matrix to guide all the other bearers because he's the only one with the big picture or focus vast enough to keep the goal in mind.

Then there's the "Uncrion-is-Earth" subplot. Since Unicron is the Unmaker and Lord of Chaos, then it raises a lot of questions about Earth's role. Since I like fantasy and magic, it's an easy delve into "Hey, what if magic and legends were actually real at one point?" and it gives me more work into thinking about humanity's role with other magical peoples, especially with all the lore in regards to animal brides, divine intervention, and worship. I know there's a general consensus that humans are boring, but how do the others perceive us? What do seafolk, like Selkies and Mers, warn their children about the two-legged land dwellers? Why are fey and humans so fascinated by each other?

Or, there's the deeper delve into popular tropes and doing your own twist. I like the fandom agreement that "Seekers are like birds of prey," so I just expanded it by incorporating more of the sexual dimorphism (i.e., larger, drab females and smaller, colorful males) and other behavioral traits (i.e., mating dances, courtship and threat displays, aproaches to raising chicks), which then leads to more thoughts on how all that can influence Vos' culture and how the rest of Cybertron perceives them because they're not driven by those instincts. Because there's a common fandom trope that Vos and Praxus are deeply entwined with each other, or Praxus came from Vos, there's additional layers on their relationship as well as thoughts how Praxus functions and their own relations with other city-states.

Because it's a lot of detail and it's easy to dump too much on people, I like writing from a character's perspective because it's simpler to tie in things from their own observations as well as their own biases. Either as an outsider or an insider.

Like in my story with "this earth i rise from," each segment is told from the perspective of others towards the cyber!June and cyber!kids. I explored a bit of Cybertronian language with Optimus, grief and biological quirks and tells with Ratchet, and Fowler's own tidbits between the Cybertronians and the ex-humans as everyone is trying to get used to the new reality where June and kids cannot go back to their old lives and need to make it work.

When it comes down to it, a lot of my own world building came from what I wanted to read. To go really deep, you can take real-life references to build upon it. My thoughts about the Thirteen Primes came stemmed from the mythologies of the ancient world and Medieval Europe. Prima is the equivalent of the "king of the gods," how each sibling has a specific role or domain associated with them, and the possibility of sentient Primal Artifacts that decide the worthiness of wielders.

[softmatzohtruther]

There's something I've been thinking about, and since this is my personal blog, I figured I'd write it out and maybe share it -- maybe I'll get to the end of this post and close it without saving, maybe I'll tuck it away into my drafts. I don't know yet.

I am ethnically Jewish, but I wasn't raised in the culture. My family situation is complicated, due to divorces, remarriages, and relocations, but I usually just tell people that I'm patrilineal, raised secular, and that I'm reconnecting with the community, with a potential conversion in my near future. After nearly 10 years of independent study and hanging around with other Jewish people both online and offline, and then moving into a city that has a large Jewish community, I decided this year to take a more earnest stride into Jewish communal and religious life.

This started with me signing up for social events around the High Holidays, and that's how I found myself in the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on the evening of Yom Kippur. I'd been to the museum a few years before for a film festival, so I had seen some of the things they had on display, but I've not yet actually toured the building. This time I was there for an event being held in one of the empty conference rooms, meeting with a friend to have a pre-fast dinner before sundown and then joining in group prayer. It was an emotional evening for me for many reasons, particularly because it was my first time observing the holiday in the ritual sense, and that it seemed like an appropriate time to meditate on the nature of the new life that I'm trying to live. But it was also a memorable evening for me for another reason.

If you ever find yourself in Philadelphia, you can visit this museum yourself. Admission is free. On the ground floor, there is a piece on display across from the elevator, and I noticed it there as I was leaving the event. At first, I thought it was misplaced, because the display is a chair, and a cup of tea.

These items were donated by the Congregation of Beth Israel, a reform synagogue in Colleyville Texas. It was a somber sight for me on that night in September. I had only really heard a vague overview of what had happened there barely two years ago -- if you read the Wikipedia article linked above, you will notice it happened in January of 2022. And I remember that the one thought that crossed my mind as I stood in front of that chair is that when you enter a history museum, you expect to see things that are old, maybe from the 40s or something. And you will. But you'll also see the chair a rabbi threw at a man who was holding his synagogue hostage in 2022. Because this part of our history is still ongoing.

Read this part of the article:

A livestream of the synagogue's services on its Facebook page streamed the ongoing situation, including the forceful taking of hostages. In the livestream, Akram could be heard speaking to authorities, who attempted to negotiate with him. At one point, Akram claimed (apparently falsely) to have a bomb. The livestream also streamed Akram saying that he had flown to the city where Siddiqui was imprisoned with the intent of taking hostages. He also said that he chose to take hostages in a synagogue because the U.S. "only cares about Jewish lives" and because "Jews control the world. Jews control the media. Jews control the banks."

And that has been in the back of my mind constantly since a group of people in this city decided to protest outside of a fucking falafel restaurant chanting "we charge you with genocide." It's this idea that Jews are responsible for the acts of every other Jew, and on top of that, Jews are responsible for everyone else, too, when convenient. Like a sort of universal scapegoat. It makes me furious, of course, but mostly it just makes me sad.

I have zero regrets about throwing my lot in with this side of my family, my heritage, my history... but it is unbelievably heavy at times. Still, I feel like I have to carry it. Stronger people than me have died for it, but I will do what I have to do. I do have hope for the future, and more broadly speaking I have hope for the world, too.

מיר וועלן זיי איבערלעבן. עם ישראל חי

[seventhdoctor]

Third Eyes, Dragon Surgery, and Other Past Life Worldbuilding

Need is kind of a mix of my GX past-life headcanons and theories with a few what-ifs thrown in, and unfortunately Yubel's singular focus communicates less about the setting and its details than I'd like. The Dragoning in Chapter 3 (which I'm about to post right now) is...intentionally very vaguely described, given that Yubel is not able to or focused on observing their own transformation, but I thought I'd add more details about it (and compile some other worldbuilding bits) here in case anyone was curious.

Topics include: Yubel's family, the microaggression Yubel totally failed to notice in Chapter 2 of Need, the significance of Yubel's gem, and of course what's involved in Becoming Dragon.

Obvious disclaimer: This should go without saying, but this post is a mix of personal headcanon and lore conceived specifically for this one fic. I'm not saying any of this is actual canon to 2004-2008 anime Yugioh GX. Please don't mischaracterize this post as saying things about canon.

Yubel's family

Yubel is the youngest of five children, born to the Ruby Kingdom's royal librarian (Yubel's father) and a religious scholar from the Cobalt Lands (Yubel's mother). From oldest to youngest, their siblings are: Liese, Aenor and Ansoald (twins), Erneis, and of course Yubel themself.

Nearly everyone in the family is an academic of some kind. Yubel and Liese are the family jocks, although they still make an effort for their studies thanks to their upraising.

Cobalt And Ruby

The Cobalt Lands aren't that close to the Ruby Kingdom, so it's not that often that in the Ruby Kingdom's capital see a lot of people from there. And while Yubel and their siblings were born in the Ruby Kingdom, they still adopted customs and culture their mother passed on to them.

And sometimes, it's obvious when someone comes from a foreign culture.

(This is Liese! In my head she ends up looking a lot like Lyn/Lyndis Fireemblem as she gets older so I made a screenshot edit - thanks to Silver from the No One in Yugioh is Straight server, who helped with the colors.)

In this fic, wearing a gemstone on your forehead is a tradition from a religion most strongly associated with the Cobalt Lands. That Yubel's family goes around wearing them is a bit like wearing bindi or a hijab IRL - it indicates influences of a foreign culture, and a thing that certain people do for religious reasons (and you're kind of an asshole if you give people shit for it).

Yubel, Liese, and the rest of their family being immigrants and first-gen immigrants aside from their father is something that Yubel doesn't pay that much mind but it is something that others are aware of. On the whole nobody's outright hostile about it, but it lead to occasional misconceptions! Chapter 2 of Need includes the equivalent of Odila telling a kid born in Illinois "Hey, let me explain Christmas, do you have that in Taiwan?" Yubel totally fails to recognize the faux pas while accidentally calling it out, but Liese is aware and tries to rescue the situation.

Liese herself is often misinterpreted as wearing a ruby as a show of Ruby Kingdom patriotism, because hey she's a knight of the kingdom and the king certainly wears rubies. Rubies have a different meaning in Cobalt culture, but obviously most people in the Ruby Kingdom miss the nuance.

(The king and Judai wear gemstones prominently, but they're always placed on a crown, or on wristbands, always part of larger accessories - unlike how Yubel and Liese wear theirs.)

Third Eyes

Yubel explains a little bit about the significance of gemstone third eyes in Chapter 1. Different gemstones have different meanings (that don't correlate with modern-day Western gemstone symbolism, so don't go expecting that). Choosing your own gemstone is a personal milestone and a way to represent something meaningful to you - goals, memories, ideals, things like that.

Liese chooses ruby (virtue) for herself because she wants to be an honorable knight and leader. Yubel chooses spinel (vigilance) because they want to watch over the people they love to keep them safe. But of course, they won't be wearing that spinel forever...

But there's a little more to the tradition than that.

The king describes the history of the gentle darkness and the Light of Destruction to Yubel briefly but informatively, and the way I interpret that for this fic is that they're old tales that the king is confirming as truth.

The Ruby Kingdom here has the most concrete records for those old tales, and some way or another anticipated that the gentle darkness would find its holder - which turned out to be Judai. Outside of the highest administration, though, the gentle darkness is mostly forgotten or considered obscure.

The Cobalt Lands don't have the historical records that the Ruby Kingdom, but their religion and culture have a lot of old concepts and symbolism that originate from the gentle darkness and other old forces. And this includes - you guessed it - the tradition of third eyes!

The Dragoning

In even older times, third eyes were a very literal thing and involved implanting a philosopher's stone inside yourself as a process of enlightenment. Yeah, we're back to alchemy, this is Yugioh GX the cardgames and alchemy symbolism anime.

Fic lore aside, it's actual alchemical symbolism that the rebis - half male and half female, a concept that informs Yubel's design - is the end result of the magnum opus, the process to create a philosopher's stone. The philosopher's stone is sometimes characterized as red in color (famously so in Fullmetal Alchemist), and - isn't it interesting how the main element of red in Yubel's design is the eye that persists through each of their forms?

The Cobalt Lands preserved the cultural meaning of the third eye through the wearing of gemstones, a much safer and more accessible practice than a long, involved, and generally life-threatening process that was extremely time- and resource-intensive. This also allowed them to develop symbolism for different gemstones, evolving into the traditions Yubel and Liese observe.

The Ruby Kingdom preserved the actual (and very dangerous!) procedure for developing a philosopher's stone and implanting it, and eventually would use this knowledge to create the perfect defender from a young knight.

...With an experimental dose of dragon essence, of course.

In this fic, Yubel's transformation is achieved through embedding a philosopher's stone within their body - which becomes their new, more literal third eye and the focus of their powers. But there's also a new element thrown in, to further transcend them beyond human into something eternal - an immortal guardian spirit, able to call upon otherworldly power to protect the gentle darkness' chosen bearer from the forces of light.

(Also dragons have their own alchemic symbolism based on some research, but I'm not confident in saying too much because I've been having trouble finding sources that look wholly reliable. On the off-chance someone more knowledgeable is reading, hit me up please.)

Did anyone tell Yubel this part was experimental? No. Would they have cared? Probably not.

In the king's defense, he and his alchemists wouldn't have done the procedure if they weren't pretty sure it was going to work out. Someone as dedicated to Judai as Yubel, human or not, isn't a resource to risk carelessly.

That said, was it all above board to pull out ancient rituals and convince a kid to become a dragon for the sake of protecting the chosen one, without telling the chosen one until too late? Probably not, but we can only guess that he thought the end justified the means.

[rabbitkissed]

Hey, are you bored? Do you like history? Anthropology? I wanna tell you about something curious that happened in my country. I am from Lima, Perú. I want tell you about what this two pictures have in common (i am sorry for my english in advance)

Let's start with the first one: This one is a beautiful baroque religious painting called The lady Of Belen, painted anonymously in Cusco in XVIII. This painting had a purpose (apart from being a beautiful piece of art) and it stars with the arrival of the Spanish to Perú on ~colonization times~. As you know, those fuckers hated the local folklore and wanted to turn everyone catholic. The millenarian peruvian culture is very colorful and cheery, its motivs are always about nature, the sun and the ground, they worshipped the hills (we call them cerros) but most importantly La Pachamama, which is basically The Earth, because it's the sacred place where we live and it feed us with rich yummy food <3 (it's not just that but that's for another post)

So the colonizers invaded Cusco, they brought all their religion and their catholic churches and they wanted to turn everyone catholic. My people was very resilient and they kept doing their business. The spanish, sick of their efforts to turn everyone into christianity, had one of the earliest marketing ideas and they decided to create catholic imagery where the virgin Mary would be depicted using a cape that would make her have a cone-like shape that symbolized a hill (or cerro)

Examples:

Did it work? Of course! With the help of enormous church buildings and, you know, the atrocities.

Now, what does the second image has to do this this? First, the second image I showed you is a lottery publicity, do you observe the vibrant colors and really the cool typography they're using?? Well, in the 70's (don't know if you know) my country started suffering a political conflict that lasted almost 22 years (ending in 1992) radical groups literally killed people for their political believes. It happened everywhere. In those times, Lima, the capital of Perú was (is, if you ask me) very centralized, the country "progress" was only visible or heard of in Lima, other provinces (you could say states) of Perú were forgotten. These cities were poor, forgotten by the government and also lived the brutality of multiples terrorist attacks. Many Death and many Destruction.

So, forgotten by the government and with that constant fear of death, the town people started to migrate to Lima, thousands of families left their land.

And guess where they started to live? HILLS. Lima is full of them!! And they were empty, these hills did not have the basic necessities housing needs (like running water or draining systems) because Lima is a desert but my people are fighters and they stayed. All the hills were filled with new houses.

This photograph show the early stage:

This photograph is how the hills look now:

Migrant people brought their vivid colors with them <3 they are know to be hardworking, also started to make their own parties with their music and their food. Although the culture kept that characteristic essence, eventually it got mixed with other ones that also were present in Lima and the most popular mix is what we call Cultura Chicha.

The Chicha culture, which was more notable in the music, was a huge success. It was so relevant it had (IS very relevant, because it is still very much popular) a lot of awarded singers and bands. The most legendary of them all was a singer called Chacalón, even the UNESCO gave him a prize for a song that is considered an hymn for the people who migrated. He was also given a legendary phrase that says "Cuando Chacalón canta, los cerros bajan" which literally means "When Chacalón sings, the hills come down" meaning that when he sings, all the people that live in the hills come down to hear him. Isn't that very cool??

Going back to the lottery propaganda: This Chicha parties are massive and, to promote them, Chicha poster designers also use vibrant colors and funky typography and it works! If you visit the streets of Lima is very likely you can see at least a wall filled with them!!

The most rich and successful marketing companies (the lottery one from the beginning) noticed this and tried to imitate the Chicha colors and typography to get the attention of the huge migrant demographic in Lima. Does it work? Apparently yes because they keep using them.

To conclude, isn't it amazing how these colors and designs have passed and survived too much history?? And they're still here. Apart from being used by corporations, you cannot take Chicha culture from its people and I think that is beautiful <3 thank you for your attention!! Have great day and try a peruvian dish called Papa a la Huacaina if you ever step foot in a peruvian restaurant, you will not regret it, it's *chefs kiss*

[jasper-pagan-witch]

As far as book recs, what books are the least "suspicious"-looking title-wise, like in a won't weird your family out too much way?

This is an interesting question because I'm objectively the least weird person in my immediate family as far as books go. But I'll give this a shot! I'm gonna avoid books with "witch" in the title, but honestly, I have no idea how wary your family may be of books.

The Farmer's Almanac of the year: Once you get past the advertisements, there's a lot of practical growing advice and a surprising amount of magic-related stuff. Well, astronomy/astrology-related stuff, but still. I started using these as of earlier this year and have both the 2022 and 2023 editions. Jasper Category: Regional/Personal Practices.

Roots, Branches & Spirits by H Byron Ballard: My first introduction to the concept of folk magic was this wonderful book on Appalachian folk magic. It inspired me to look a lot more local and eventually led to me finding the Ozark Magic series by Brandon Weston. I'm not sure if it's particularly telling to the casual observer, but it's a fascinating look at someone's personal journey into their local magical tradition. Jasper Category: Regional/Personal Practices.

Badass Ancestors by Patti Wigington: I've gone over this book before, but if you're trying to learn about ancestor work (or even just your ancestors), it has some valuable resources and ideas of where you can look. It's useful enough that it's made it into my reference stacks. Jasper Category: Miscellaneous.

Willow and Sage Homemade Bath and Body: More of a magazine than a book, my May/June/July 2022 edition is a very practical guide for making all kinds of products. I look forward to actually trying out the recipes. It's not magic by any means, but it's helpful. Jasper Category: Miscellaneous.

Pretty much any mythology or history book: We all have those periods of time that we go absolutely batshit over mythology and history, right? Right? Yeah. This is also where my copies of the Homeric Hymns, the King James Bible, and others are located. Jasper Category: History, Religion, and Mythology.

Do I Have To Wear Black? by Mortellus: Likewise, this is an in-depth look at the various religious funerary and mourning practices, especially in modern contexts, brought to us by someone who actually works in that field. Jasper Category: History, Religion, and Mythology.

Regional ghost stories: I happen to have several Missouri-based or Mississippi River-based books on ghosts. These help take a look at folklore, history, and how things evolve and change over time, as well as how they stay in the public consciousness. Jasper Category: History, Religion, and Mythology.

Regional farming/planting guides: Similarly, I'm in Missouri, so a good number of my gardening guides are either about planting indoors, planting edible plants, or planting things that work great here in Missouri. Jasper Category: Gardening and Plants.

Historically- or locally-significant books of folktales, poetry, and fiction: We've got Edgar Allen Poe's complete works, we've got the Brothers Grimm, we have five great Greek tragedies in one book, we've got Horrible Phobias Lovecraft's works (may he rest in the racist squallor box and may he spin in his grave over everyone wanting to kiss his monsters), we've got Dante, we've got the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, we have "Jasper ran out of money but keeps trying to wipe out the book store's shelves of any significantly-old book with a new or fancy cover EVEN IF THEY ALREADY OWN IT." We've got the range. These are great for summoning up specific feelings or memories, for coming up with chants, for pop culture magic, for everything! And if anyone asks, you're just a fan of the classics! Jasper Category: Old Shit.

Unfortunately, most of my beginner-focused books, my tarot books, my spellbooks, and my correspondence-based books are a lot less low-key.

I hope this gives you a few ideas! I'm sorry if this isn't particularly helpful, I'm just not in a place where I have to be worried about people seeing that I practice magic. I mean, I have 62 tarot and oracle decks lined up on my shelves, it would be foolish of my family to NOT notice.

~Jasper

[moonlitfirefly]

It seems that everything that could possibly be said about the Barbie movie has been said. I recently saw it and decided to share five things I learned from it.

1. It's not all about me

There were some men who were not happy because they felt that the Barbie movie cast a bad light upon them. I personally did not feel this way, but everyone has a right to feel what they feel. But here's the thing, in my view, the movie was about Barbie and by extension, the struggles and hardships around what it really means to be a woman outside the confusing, contradictory and unrealistic expectations of society, particularly male culture. To investigate this idea further one could read, The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. But I learned it's not all about me... as a man. It's okay for there to be a Barbie movie, it's okay for women to give voice to their journey and struggle to fully be themselves. Though I didn't feel the film was man-hating, it's wasn't the job of the Barbie movie to coddle men and not offend them. If men are this upset by it, go make a Ken movie to tell the story of the difficulties of being a man.

2. It's all about me

I couldn't watch the Barbie movie as a casual observer. It forced me to own the ways I have been complicit in perpetuating harmful patriarchy. Doing so consciously or unconsciously, the harmful consequences are the same. My religious conditioning programmed me with an untrue, flawed, inadequate, and harmful view of women. I have documented this before. For example, here are at least several ways religion corrupted my view of women:

Women brought sin and death into the world

Women are to blame for the fall of the human race

Women are inferior to men physically, mentally and spiritually

Women were intended to be subservient to men

Women are not capable of exercising authority and leadership

A godly woman is a silent, submissive, and domestic woman

Women are responsible for the sexual temptations and transgressions of men

Women are weak, emotional, and irrational

Women are expected by God to stay in demeaning, damaging, destructive, or abusive relationships

Women should deny and repress themselves in order to serve and satisfy others

Women who act assertively and defiantly, enforce personal boundaries, or express anger are ungodly

The Barbie movie pressed upon my heart a deep sorrow for any belief, mindset, attitude or action that perpetuated a damaging view of women, or placed unfair limitations and expectations about them. The world (men and women) have suffered greatly as a result of preventing women from actualizing their fullest potentialities and possibilities.

I discovered in the movie that I was completely ignorant about Barbie the doll. The Barbie doll represented all the possibilities of what it could mean to be a woman. As early as 1965 there was an astronaut and space scientist Barbie. Barbie has been a teacher, veterinarian, member of the armed forces, business executive, doctor, police officer, computer engineer, architect, paleontologist, judge, etc. The Barbie doll line has evolved over the years to be culturally diverse, body image diverse, has included women with disabilities, and been inclusive all around.

It was men who sexualized and objectified Barbie. Yes, the original Barbie was petite, shapely, and had long legs. This was partly so the doll could be played with easily - for example, the long legs so that Barbie could be walked around in play. The Barbie creator (Ruth Handler) was not intending for Barbie to be sexualized. Look people (men) Barbie was a fickin doll. Women have breasts and may be shapely in other ways. So. Get over it. There's nothing wrong with that. That doesn't mean a shapely woman (or doll) was created to be a sex object. Religion has historically required women to cover up their body so as not to tempt mean. Maybe men instead should address the root issues that cause them to objectify women.

3. And then there was Allan

There has been a lot of discussion about who Allan was meant to represent in the Barbie movie. The Allan doll was named after the son-in-law of Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. The first Allan doll was released in 1964. He was marketed as Ken's friend. In the Barbie movie, who Allan represented to me is someone who doesn't fit in... someone who is always on the outside looking in, someone who no one takes the time to really get to know, someone who doesn't feel they belong, someone for whom the labels and categories don't make sense, someone that is hardly noticed, someone who wants to be accepted, celebrated, desired and loved for who they are, someone who is likely to befriend the marginalized, victimized and oppressed because they can relate. The Allan character in the Barbie movie deeply touched my heart, and I could relate to this character in many ways. It's that feeling that you weren't really made for this world and there is no place where you truly seem to fit. I always have my radar up for Allans. I consider it to be one of the greatest gifts in life to express to a Allan how special, worthy, and loved they are.

4. It's not easy being Ken

In my view, the Barbie film also depicted how difficult it is to be a Ken. Some of the key questions for men I got from the movie are:

What does being a man mean, once the traditional patriarchal scripts are torn apart?

What would it mean as men to heal our broken mindsets, attitudes, beliefs and relationship with women?

What would it mean to not be threatened by women or competing against women, but to see women as our allies and cultivate mutually empowering relationships?

Where or what is our true source of worth and identity as men?

What would it mean to grieve and heal from the confusion, hurt, dysfunction and loss of how we once did manhood and masculinity?

5. Take my hands. Close your eyes. Now feel.

I don't think I can ever forget the ending of the Barbie movie. There Barbie was - wanting to give up all the scripts, and the pressures to be perfect, all the denials, pretense, inauthenticities, filters, and fake smiles of her made-up Barbie world. She asked Ruth what she needed to do to say goodbye to Barbie world and be human in the real world. She was told to close her eyes and feel... to feel it all... to feel what it really meant to be human.

The deal with being human is that there is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. You don't know what will kill you first, the beauty of the world or the sorrow of it. The sorrows don't prevent the joys, and the joys don't spare you of the sorrows. Look, it's not easy for anyone to leave Barbie world and be real. But after seeing and feeling all of it, Barbie said, "Yes." What is that "yes"? It's the "yes" of truly being present for it all. Being all there.

Maybe what I learned most from the Barbie movie is the need to say "yes" to being human and lived human experience... all of it. Maybe that means learning how to say "yes" to the joys and sorrows of your own life, and saying "yes" to the process of healing and becoming more whole inside. Maybe it's also men and women saying "yes" to each other - "yes" I am sorry if I hurt you, "yes" I want to start over and learn what it means to truly accept, love and be there for each other.

I love my daughter more than anything else in this world. I am so proud of the woman she has become and is becoming each day. There are so many good, beautiful, extraordinary and brilliant parts of her. The deepest wish in my heart is for her genuine happiness. The Barbie movie invited me to carry that wish in my heart for every woman.

"Yes."

Jim Palmer

Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/k8MJacHSEecSvShr/?mibextid=WC7FNe

[sluckythewizard]

EVERYONE GGET BAAACK IM ABT TO RAMBLE ABOUT FINN TIDESTRIDER. SPOILERS FOR EEVERYTHINGGGG ALL UP TO EP 113 YOU GOTTA RUN!! YOU GOTTA RUN AWAYYYY!!!!

ITS FASCINATING to speak to someone who has lived 80 years. almost every conversation involves me asking about a story of theirs, places theyve been, things theyve done. i feel like ive seen so much in only 20 something years of life, imagine that 4 times over?

all those stories, to have each and every one of them written down i feel like would be a beautiful thing. record keeping, storing that experience in an edible form, preserved for the future generations to study and cherish. imagine how many stories could be collected from not just 80 years of life, but 200? maybe more? imagine?

i LOVE characters that live to observe and document, keeping all their findings and knowledge and memories in tomes and records. i have several ocs that are functionally immortal, owning vast libraries holding all the knowledge of their lives. one of them is a man losing his memory, who has all his most vital memories tattooed onto his arms, so he will never forget what matters. FINN TIDESTRIDER. A MAGICIAN? WIZARD? SCIENTIST MAYBE. RESEARCHER ABSOLUTELY. CHRONICLER. LIBRARIAN. I HAD NO REAL STRUCTURE IN MIND FOR THIS POST. WHICH IS WHY ITLL SHOCK YA WHEN I BRING UP:

SEXUAL REPRESSION UNDER A CORRUPT RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION. MORMONISM AND SOME OTHER JESUS CENTERED RELIGIONS WILL TELL YOU THAT YOUR BODY IS A SACRED THING. MASTURBATION IS EVIL, IT CORRUPTS YOUR BODY, WHICH SHOULD BE SAVED FOR MARRIAGE. CELIBACY PRESERVES YOUR BODY, FOR YOUR ONE AND ONLY LIFE PARTNER. SEX IS NOT AN ACTIVITY, IT IS SACRED, RESERVED ONLY FOR PROCREATION.

i dont know if the undersea is Perfectly comparable to religions like that, but it is certainly a culture that upholds a very 'the elders are always right and must be followed'. polygamy is punishable by death, releasing spawn is a natural step after marriage, etc etc, i wouldnt be surprised to find that the undersea has a crazy Purity Culture thing going on. to live your whole long life down there, where so much is forbidden, and finally breaking into the surface world to explore the unknown, who knew your own body would be part of that 'unknown'?

in that episode, in the uh. Book. he says 'his first man was a (shiphand)' or whatever idk i dont feel like relistening. but HIS FIRST MAN!! ur telling me Finn Sexguy Tidestrider wasnt banging dudes down in the undersea?? maybe hes just talkin about his first Human but whateeverrrr. is homophobia a thing in the undersea?? i guess itll be a while before we know.

EITHER WAY. to break free from an oppressive climate and finally having the chance to be sexually free. to finally be familiar with your own body and the bodies of others, to LEARN so much about what makes you and others tick, to experience a unique form of intimacy with another. while having sex is not a VITAL experience, to have the freedom and choice to explore that IS SO IMPORTANT...

sex isnt a disgusting thing, its not wrong and its not naughty its not sinful its not gross. but sex also is not sacred, its not a big important thing, its not vital. sex is JUST an activity. a fun thing to do with ur homies or someone youre close to. there are dangers of course, which is why KNOWLEDGE about it is such an important thing. ohhh my god i constantly have a huge ramble locked n loaded about sexual education but ill GET INTO THAT ANOTHER TIME.

TLDR i reaally like finn tidestrider because TO ME, he is not just a wacky funny old sex-having wizard. hes a man who lived a looong fuckin time under a religious climate that discouraged sexual exploration, and after he left, got to spend decades and decades of being FREE to explore. in MY heart.

i get like, haha funny old man yaoi, the shock of the old guy havin sloppy gay fuck sex, but yknow. i dont expect it but it would be neat i think if this sorta thing would ever be taken seriously and explored.

THE TIDESTRIDERS FASCINATE ME. for finn to say YES i LOVE having SEX all the TIME; and for gill to say NO i am NOT interested in sex EVER.. those are BOTH forms of sexual freedom. its the choice!! THE CHOICE!!!!

[biarritzzz]

what's your opinion about ex-muslims?

Do you expect me to be lenient here? If so, you'll be sorely disappointed.

I'm so over the whole "well if they're integrated and reject their death cult, that's fine" because that is never the case. I know apostasy is punished by death in islam (tells you a lot doesn't it) but renouncing their religion doesn't change the fact that their solidarity will always lie with the culture they grew up in and the ethnic group they belong to.

Muslims can't ever be trusted, including those so-called ex-muslims.

It's well known muslims practice taqiya anyway: a dissimulation or denial of their religious beliefs. In other words: they'll swear up and down they're 'moderate' (lol, no such thing in islam) or that they've abandoned their religious beliefs as a way to reassure clueless westerners and then when there's enough of them, they'll start demanding adjustments to their faith until they feel confident enough and then drop the mask to reveal their true colors and establish their global caliphate.

That goal is part and parcel of their murderous ideology. It's been that way since the 7th century. Anyone who denies it is 1) a lying muslim (taqiya) or 2) or a bleeding heart westerner who will soon have their back against a wall.

You can think that I'm paranoid but I have actual experience living alongside these people (being forced to, more like) and listening to them, catching them in a lie, observing their behavior, their violence and their intolerance.

So, no. I don't trust ex-muslims. I don't think these people are legit and if they are, human nature is so unchangeable that they still want their own ethnic group to take over and run the show.

Which goes against Europeans (the indigenous peoples of Europe, not that this fact ever seems to matter)' survival and desire to live in peace on their own land.

Fundamentally it all boils down to one thing: Europe to Europeans. Everyone else: fuck off.

[wolgraugorimilir]

I need to put my thoughts in order.

I had a very long, and ultimately very good, but nonetheless frustrating conversation with a friend about history. They knew quite a bit more about the last 400 years in Europe than I do and they wanted to tell me about what they knew.

Which was fun. But the theme of the conversation ultimately bent around hopelessness and the nature of humanity.

They wanted to talk about terrible things that people had done. Royal families. Fascism. Individual people who were responsible for terrifying inhuman depravity. And.

And they knew ~so much~ about the human capacity for violence and terror that I struggled to defend my conviction that ~mostly we just want things to be better for ourselves.~

I’m very interested in ancient history. And archeology. I’m subscribed to the antiquities journal which I’ve been tearing up for the last few months.

Mostly archeology news looks like this:

“A cemetery in a highland Tajik village was discovered to observe Islamic burial customs - carbon dated to c. 800s CE -”

Or

“A tomb in Armenia was discovered with an image of a procession of gods - dated to the 870s BCE based on carbon dating and a reference to Assurnasirpal II - figures identified as belonging to the local religion are depicted besides other figures from the Assyrian religious tradition”

BORING SHIT, RIGHT?? But the synthesis of a lot of boring information can let people make better judgements of what the past was like. And in these boring cases we don’t see much violence.

That village of medieval Tajiks seems to have adopted Islamic burial customs without terrifying bloody conflict. - there would have been evidence for this by way of damaged skeletons. - They seem to have been attracted by the wisdom of traveling Muslims, and they were willing to bring new information into their worldview.

And those Assyrian-Armenian artists were simply interested in the fashions and prestige associated with Assyrian courtly culture, and they wanted to depict their local gods belonging to that tradition.

AND ALMOST EVERY NEW ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY IS LIKE THIS.

Humble. Peaceful. Curious.

29 times out of 30, the material evidence for human activity is, like, a campfire. Or art. Or houses where there are toys and shoes.

But on the internet, that’s not interesting like violence.

My friend listens to podcasts that are about violence in history. Pretty much exclusively it seems.

And most people who are interested in history are similarly attracted to ~the craziest things that have happened~ because of course they are!! It’s more fun!! Ancient stories of heroism and war were popular for the same reason!! Everyone likes a good horror story to pull out from and shiver and say “gosh I can’t believe people ever lived like that”

But.

But there is so so much information on the internet.

You can immerse yourself in oceans of historic violence forever.

And when you do that. It seems like that’s what’s usual. Even though it’s not.

And this is how ALMOST EVERYONE seems to engage with history!!! To such an extant that whenever I suggest that humanity is not inherently depraved, and maybe we’re not doomed to maul ourselves into oblivion forever, most people are wholly dismissive, armed with a thousand case-studies in our worst behavior.

And it frustrates me so much !!!!! What on earth should I say? Should I explain how excited it makes me to see pictures of makeup from ancient Egypt? Plumbing in Chalcolithic Harappan cities? Animal-shaped Incan toys with wheels that look so cute and so fun for little kids to play with?

Almost everyone I know is trying to build a better life for their people. And it really seems like that’s what almost all of us have been trying to do for tens of thousands of years.

We just do it quietly, and I wish more people knew that. It’s hard enough out here.

[infernalwitxhcraft]

Let's Talk - Creating Your Own Wheel of the Year

In this first edition of Let's Talk, I want to begin a discussion on the wheel of the year. Please keep in mind, as I often try to remind others, that this is how I feel in my personal practice. You do not have to agree or do the same thing. I'm offering food for thought in this post.

Let me preface this by saying that the wheel of the year is a wiccan made concept, created by Gerald Gardner. Although he claims the wheel is ancient and took inspiration from celebrations of the old, in reality it's a relatively new concept. And as someone who isn't wiccan but feeling like I was a bad witch for not celebrating it when I was much younger, many of the traditions from the wheel stuck. Because everyone else took part in celebrating the sabbats, I did too. I wanted to partake in what other witch friends and mentors were doing. Sure, the mythology never resonated behind the stories of what happens on so-and-so day and I made that clear to everyone back then. But I liked the overall atmosphere and feel of it. The unity. The coming together to celebrate, well, the earth. Not to sound new age-y, for the love of the gods.

But the issue here is also that we are not farmers anymore, if we want to consider the actial *real* celebrations that took place historically, and ignore the whole Gardner creation for a second. The festivals were created to honor these kinds of cycles and are claimed to trace back to certain traditions that link back to old times. Whether this is true or not isn't easy to verify, as far as what actually was being celebrated and how it was done goes. Plenty of great historians are working on it though (I recommend keeping up with their research). Back then, however, farming was the way of sustaining life and most families partook in it.

Another issue that I have with the wheel is that it's a mash-up of different celebrations from Europe. Gardner makes it seem as if everyone did these, no matter where they were located when that wasn't the case. It seems a little disrespectful. Not to mention, we all come from different cultural backgrounds. I sure as hell can tell you my austronesian tribe wasn't dancing around a maypole or leaving candles in the window for a goddess to symbolize the winter ending. Yes, we did have our celebrations and festivities. But they were very different, as one can imagine. It's a little weird for me to have the mastermind behind this big religious movement feel that everyone should follow these sabbats and esbats that may or may not have existed, not considering other cultures exist. Why does, at times, it feel that Wicca was only created for those of European descent? I mean, Gardner did partake in cultural appropriation, but when I had studied Wicca to understand it better, it really did feel as though only white people were intended to follow it. Interesting subject for another time, I suppose. If you are wiccan, by the way, please do not take it as that I am ripping on you or your practice.

When I look at these things, I have to think about how it relates to me and my practice. I made my own wheel to not only deepen my practice, but to do things that made sense to my beliefs. There are many non-wiccans that do this by the way, if this is your first time hearing this concept! Some witches add or take sabbats away. Some decide not to follow the wheel at all. Some celebrate on different days, when the changes of the seasons happen depending on their particular climate. I'm an astronomy nerd, so I find following the planetary alignment to resonate with me on the solstices and equinoxes. Plus, I don't live in a climate that has varying seasons. It's known as: hot, hotter, stupid hot, and warm over here!

For me, I do like celebrating the other days. Some, such as Lammas, I just observe. I do find it to be a fertile time for doing abudance rituals however. Imbolc I also don't celebrate, but find it to be a day that is excellent for spirit communication. These also tend to match up with demonolatry rites - such as Beltane being linked with the Rite of Leviathan or the First Rite to Lucifer being linked to the Spring Equinox (aka Ostara on the wheel of the year). I love Samhain and will never stop celebrating it! I'm big on ancestral veneration in my practice after all, and I follow it up with All Soul's Day since that is a part of my own culture.

Some of the holidays I added in, outside of the sabbats, esbats, and demonolatry rites, are because they are of importance to me. Why not celebrate them and make it personal? I do rituals on them anyways! I do at least one tribal harvest festival celebration a year, to make sure abundance comes to my people and to appease the ancestors, for example.

Something else I take into account is my local climate, when the seasons *sort of* shift, and the seasons regarding produce and harvesting. Even hurricane season plays it's role. I find this adds depth to my celebrations and keeps me closer to the area I reside in. It might be something to add into your annual calender as dates to pay attention to.

Oh and wait, as a reminder, get this: want to forget the wheel of the year altogether? You can! You 110% do not have to celebrate anything. How cool is that?!

Don't let people push it on you. You do you, boo. If you do decide to celebrate some or all of it or create one that is entirely your own, I hope you have fun with it!

If you have anything you'd like to discuss regarding this topic, please do add your opinions to it!

[friendofhayley]

Friendofhayley's Top Books of 2022 Pt. 4 Non-Fiction

This Book Rec is on Non-Fiction books. It includes 4 books. Let’s go!!

Becoming by Michelle Obama | Memoir

This memoir follows Michelle from childhood until 2018. Her voice, her sweet family members, and the tidbits of secrets of what happened behind the White House's closed doors were the highlights of the book. Also, her strength, while the media tried to tear her to pieces for being a strong black woman in power, was really amazing to read. So many parts of the book must have hurt to write and relive, but I'm so glad I was able to glimpse all of these moments

"It was one thing to get yourself out of a stuck place, I realized. It was another thing entirely to try and get the place itself unstuck."

Untamed by Glennon Doyle | Memoir, Self-Help

I've never read Doyle's earlier works, but they were apparently about how to strengthen your marriage. And then before this book, she came out as a lesbian and divorced her husband -- talk about a career move. This book really feels like a homage to stop giving fucks for anyone other than yourself and those you love. It made me laugh and think about my life, and also cheer whenever she talked about her current partner. Definitely recommend to lesbians or those who want to learn how to put themselves before anything else. (Or anyone with religious trauma).

"And my way of life is to dare to imagine the truest, most beautiful life, family, and world—and to then conjure up the courage to make real what I have imagined."

Them: Adventures With Extremists by Jon Ronson | Non-Fiction

Jon Ronson, a Jewish journalist, hangs out and observes different extremists from different cultures and countries in a pre-9/11 world, and interviews their "enemies". This book might not be for everyone, but I think everyone should try to read it. Before social media, there were already bubbles of different groups getting terrified of "them" and dehumanizing the other until they are the boogeyman. The reason I read this book was that my parents are extremists (who would make some people in this book cringe) and I just wished I could know why they see the world that way. It's kind of funny that Leftist and Alt-Right people both believe the government don't care about us and that corporations are controlling things in a scary way. The only difference is the foundation of the Alt-Right argument is based on racism and intolerance. It makes you think.

“Young people are seeing this big task before them,” explained Ali, “trying to combat economic global corporatization. And a lot of them have read David Icke and thought, ‘Hey! He’s on our side. I’m looking for answers and he seems to have them.’ And we’ve made them feel stupid, like they’ve done something bad by getting sucked in.” Ali paused. “And now they’re saying to us, ‘Don’t tell me I’m stupid!’ What we should have said to them was, ‘You’re not stupid. We understand why you thought he was OK.’ But we didn’t. And now they think we think they’re stupid.”

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde | Essays, Speeches

This is a collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde ranging from topics of black feminism, black power, lesbian life, eroticism in real life, and more. It was incredible to read speeches in which she called out people there on their biases and bigotry. This collection should (and in some parts is) be considered a classic.

"That we not hide behind the mockeries of separations that have been imposed upon us and which so often we accept as our own. For instance, “I can’t possibly teach Black women’s writing — their experience is so different from mine.” Yet how many years have you spent teaching Plato and Shakespeare and Proust? Or another, “She’s a white woman and what could she possibly have to say to me?” Or, “She’s a lesbian, what would my husband say, or my chairman?” Or again, “This woman writes of her sons and I have no children.” And all the other endless ways in which we rob ourselves of ourselves and each other."

[doctor-looneys-remedy]

Purity, Racism and so on

I listened to the podcast "Pure White" which is about the modern Christian Purity culture and the tenets it has, and the history of those tenets dating back to the idea of white women being pure and non-white women being less so. Its an interesting topic for me having been in the environment that I was in as a kid and what I experienced and observed in my school and in churches. I don't know that I believe every sentence of the podcast, but I won't deny that there is a lot of value in the discussion.

One of the statements Dr Moslener makes that hit me really hard is that the far religious right and White Christian Nationalism isn't so much a death cult, as it is an innocence cult.

It makes sense.

White people must be innocent of any wrongdoing and never made to feel even a tiny-winy bit bad about racial injustices or systems that were used against others. I mean, they weren't Specifically Labeled as Racist, so how could they ever wever ever be so? How could it rain when the weather man called for sunshine?

White women, especially, must always be innocent at all times, even if they busted into the damn capital, broke windows, and were part of a group that threatened the life of the VP.

Children must not only be innocent but ignorant and somehow also girls should marry at 18 and yet also know next to nothing about sex and simultaneously rebuff anyone's attempts to be sexual with them and also also be aware enough to be whatever the current definition of modest is. Be a blank little idiot, but be OUR blank little idiot.

[At this point, given what I have seen, heard and experienced in this life, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the fever dream of some to control their children's voting habits after their death as part of their Last Will and Testament. ]

And Trumpy Wumpy, well... of course he is the MOST EVER INNOCENT of all, even as he grifts off the very Bible they swear they believe in.

But its fully in line with the gaslighting that many of us see growing up that is just all too damn common in the evangelical world. A world where men are always somehow given a pass by the glazed, bedazzled eyes of women that are happy to throw everyone else under the bus as long as they maintain credibility as a Good Christian Woman.

Listen to me when I say this, because it needs to be said and understood:

There is not a white kid alive who has not been going home from a family reunion and mom didn't say, "oh, your Uncle didn't really mean that!!" about that racist or sexist thing that Uncle Bob absolutely really did mean. After all, Uncle Bob is a good guy at heart. He helped replace your water heater last November. This easily slides into the way the right wing women treat Donald Trump, because the thinking pattern is already so well-worn it seems like common sense. If he said the horrible thing, even if he DID the horrible thing, well... he didn't REALLY MEAN it. Not really. I mean, he's just being a bit of a rascal at the reunion telling a joke about Mexicans. He's just being a regular guy when he grabs that waitress' skirt. He's really a good dude at the end of the day, who likes his college football and trucks and once in a while a beer or two. After all, he Goes To Church.

(he probably owned that porn stash we found in the woods behind his house. But he blames the porn industry for existing rather than himself for buying it. But at the same time it isn't really wrong because God Gave Men Desires (tm).)

Here's my question: Why the desperation for deep and permanent unquestioned innocence? Why do you need it so very badly? Why haven't you questioned the script in your head that makes you driven toward it? Why haven't you questioned the foundational notions you have built this reaction on?

[105nt]

Start the Week - Emma Donoghue

My thousandth post. I’ve got to get a life!

There’s a great interview with Emma Donoghue by Adam Rutherford in Start the Week this week. I liked it so much I started making a transcript of the main bits relating to The Wonder. I’ll post it in stages - this is the first of four. All typos and errors are mine.

About the fasting girl phenomenon:

AR: Emma, could you explain what a fasting girl is?

ED: Sure, it was a rare but oddly repeating phenomenon. You get them from about the sixteenth century right through to the twentieth, some of them explicitly religious - Catholic or Protestant, some apparently secular. But every now and then a girl or young woman would have it said of her - she would hit the headlines - for apparently being able to live without food. So it's a recurrent cultural fantasy, and the one in my novel and then film The Wonder is a fictional one set in Ireland after The Famine, because I thought that was a context that I was very familiar with and gave a very interesting political context to the story of one particular eleven year old refusing food. So, you know, it's going to remind people nowadays immediately of eating disorders and that, from the 1870's, was an interpretation that was offered, but equally many other interpretations were offered of these cases.

One thing that I found so interesting about them was that these girls were kind of like blank pages on which everyone projected their theories. The doctor in the film - played by Toby Jones - he's got these wacky interpretations about maybe she's living off magnetism or smell or maybe she's a reptilian constitution, and these are all plucked from the newspapers of the 19th century. I didn't have to make any of them up.

AR: Oh, that's fascinating to hear, because there is - again approaching as a scientist - there is a very funny moment where he suggests that she may be sustaining herself through photosynthesis and I did actually laugh out loud at that moment. You ... mention the media - you've mentioned the unholy alliance between the medical and media establishments: this is 19th century rural Ireland and yet part of the set up for the story is a writer from The Telegraph going out there to tell this story, but he's very sceptical, isn't he?

ED: Yes, indeed. To me it was crucial to blame everyone, you know, to blame the medical establishment, blame the media and blame all the other forms of power. In one of the cases that inspired me, Sarah Jacob in Wales, the newspapers actually funded this official watch, to high medical standards, meaning that the child was unable to get away with the trick she'd been using. So the girl in that case starved to death while everybody was watching. So I think - as with every scientist who's aware that by setting up the  experiment they may be affecting the behaviour of the mice, I'm sure all of us are aware that what we choose to write about and how we choose to study it, has an effect on the thing we study as well - our hands are not clean.

AR: That's exactly right - the observer effect is a huge phenomenon in science ...