#fuck everyone who isn’t in support of Gaza

[thingthatdeserveareblog]

With all the reblogs I’ve been doing for donations for families to leave Gaza, families to get supplies in Gaza, giving doctors medical supplies to help civilians in gaza, and so, so, so many more, you cannot tell me the system isn’t fucked.

The fact that we, many of whom are barely making it through the shit fest that is the American economy, are the ones funding and donating in order to keep these people alive when billionaires, celebrities with millions, pro athletes with millions, and every single rich motherfucker on this planet that could single handedly pay for every donation I have reblogged and every donation I have not reblogged and still afford to love comfortably are not fucking donating a fucking cent is proof that the system is fucked

That’s not even going into the fact that this shouldn’t be fucking happening in the first place and that the us and every other coward country that supports the genocide in Gaza are the ones who are ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands and watching from their little glass boxes as Gaza is glassed and Palestinians run for food or shelter only to get shot in face.

It’s so frustrating not being able to donate to everything I reblog. It’s frustrating that there are people who could meet the goal to these donations without a single repercussion to their quality of life but they won’t . It’s frustrating that so many countries could stop the genocide but they won’t.

So fuck them. They aren’t getting a single cent from me. It’s all going to Palestine. It’s all going to the Congo. It’s all Sudan. It’s going to every person you were too much of a fucking coward not to help. I don’t give a shit about your music or your big game, not when you don’t give a shit about all the people dying in Gaza.

Fuck you and Free Palestine.

[meyhew]

You condone violence against innocent civilians?

i don’t “condone” it but i’m not condemning it in this context because apart from the actual babies and children, there are no “innocent civilians” in israel. the men, the women, the elderly—they’re all settlers and they’re all complicit in the crimes of their government. almost all of them have homes they can flee to outside of israel. they take their sweet time packing up their bags and going to the airport to fly elsewhere. a huge number of the israeli population also holds american citizenship because they are all settlers. they are living on very recently stolen land, in other people’s very recently stolen homes. they have in the past made it a celebration to watch missiles strike palestinian civilians. after facing decades of terror and brutalization, if palestinians are finally striking back violently, i 100% support it. and they have not intentionally targeted civilians i beg u to actually get news from somewhere that isn’t western media twisting the narrative. purposefully killing and torturing civilians is a tactic straight out of israel’s playbook. not palestine’s. everything israel is promising to do in retaliation, it has already done to the people of gaza. it has already killed and abducted women and children on purpose, for years on end. thousands of people jailed indefinitely without cause. countless residents bombed to rubble. where’s the condemnation from everyone for that

and once again, even if a handful of civilians were targeted by hamas, i don’t condemn it. because again: the civilians are fucking settlers. palestinians have been nonviolent in their resistance for a long time and an oppressed group can only be passive for so long before they start to hate their aggressor. all of this is a result of the israeli government terrorizing palestinians for decades and the israeli settlers choosing to be there. who would the israeli government do all this for if there wasn’t a population it was governing? only the children are absolved of that guilt because they haven’t had the choice to be there or move back to wherever the fuck they came from

open up a history book. decolonization is violent. and i will always be on the side of the oppressed, no matter how violently they fight back

[arcofacatboy]

Please read this whole post, there’s no meme or catch to this, I’m not staying quiet on this.

this is the first post I’m making about Neal Shusterman’s recent actions - the second is about AI art usage, but this is so, so much more important.

Neal being complicit in the genocide that is occurring currently in Palestine and Gaza. Neal seems to have just gotten back from a book tour promoting a graphic novel he wrote, called Courage to Dream, which is about the Holocaust. He sent an email to everyone subscribed to his online newsletter.

Neal took this as an opportunity to state that he saw how “both sides” - both Israel and Palestinians - were doing things he did not condone, and that he would be remaining neutral.

Obviously Neal isn’t wrong in some of his wording, but what he’s fundamentally trying to say here is wrong and harmful. It doesn’t take someone who has lived through genocide to recognize that a genocide is happening. Genocide is a complex topic, but not in a “both sides should be shown kindness” way. It is complex in the fact that this has been going on for years, that history is repeating itself, and that people in positions of power are so easily falling for Zionist and colonialist propaganda because of their own bigotry and bias against those living in Palestine. How did you just go on tour promoting a book about the stories of people who were being targeted and killed in a genocide, and your first statement upon returning from that tour is to email all the subscribers of your newsletter that you’re “not qualified” to talk about genocide, and that you’re refusing to support the people being eradicated? Why did you write a book about genocide in the first place if you didn’t think you were qualified to talk about it? How do you write a whole graphic novel detailing the stories of people in what is the most known genocide in modern history and not see that Israel is trying to wipe Palestinians off the map?

Being opposed to genocide isn’t a simplistic opinion. It’s fucking common sense.

[nappingpaperclip]

“People who tell you not to vote Biden are psyops trying to steal left votes” type posts are pro-government propoganda.

Last time y’all spread that bullshit around the blogs getting deleted for being “Russian spies” were black leftists.

NOT EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH YOU IS A PSYOP. Get real!!

Not everyone who criticizes Biden or says they won’t be voting for a genocider and that you shouldn’t either wants you to vote for Trump or not vote!! Third party candidates exist!!! Write ins exist!!! If we actually organized instead of y’all pulling the “lesser evil” bs about a GENOCIDAL RACIST RAPIST OLD MAN we might actually see some fuckin progress!!

Did y’all forget Biden is a rapist?????

Btw is the “left” in the room with us? Where is the left? Where is the progress y’all keep claiming Biden is making?

Last time I checked Biden has not let those kids out of cages, has personally approved more huge pipelines that run through Indigenous lands and speed up climate change, has ex-BlackRock leaders (yknow, the top 10 climate change villains company who also funds most American private prisons as well as funding arms manufacturing companies, who spend millions lobbying politicians on environmental regulations, immigration and drug policy) in his cabinet, increased police and military budget, didn’t codify Roe v Wade, in fact he held it hostage for votes, hasn’t codified gay marriage or trans rights, hasn’t legalized marijuana, hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage, oh and also is DOING GENOCIDE in case y’all forgot or wanna tiptoe around the “some bad policies” y’all always talk about

Did y’all forget about his “nothing will fundamentally change” policy?

Y’all heard that and thought “left”?? Babes he’s a right leaning centrist AT BEST.

There are actually left candidates btw! Ones who care about things like Landback and reparations and free healthcare and education and sustainability! The ones y’all are telling people are throwaway votes/votes for Trump!! (Which isn’t even how the electoral college works btw)

So us telling y’all not to vote for a genocider makes us Russian psyop spies but y’all telling us not to vote for leftist third party candidates doesn’t? K.

Vote for who you want, I don’t give a fuck anymore, BUT DONT TELL HIM HE STILL HAS YOUR UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT WHILE HES COMMITTING GENOCIDE IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT HIM TO STOP

The only way to get a politician to stop doing WAR CRIMES is to tell them you won’t vote for them or give them money or otherwise support them until they stop!

You can fucking lie if you want!!! All we’re asking is for y’all not to publicly announce Genocide Joe still has your unconditional support WHILE HES DOING GENOCIDE

His approval ratings are literally less than Trumps!

He has no one to blame but himself.

If he loses in November, I don’t want to hear y’all bitch and moan and blame black people or disillusioned voters or third party voters or “Russian spies” again like y’all did in 2016, I don’t want to see y’all blame anyone but him, BLAME BIDEN FOR HIS OWN ACTIONS. HE IS A GROWN MAN AND HAS THE MONEY AND POWER TO STOP IT IF HE ACTUALLY WANTED TO.

Y’all keep saying he’s doing his best to stop it, that he’s working behind the scenes, that he’s trying, IF HES TRYING WHY ARE WE STILL SENDING ISRAEL MONEY?

IF HE IS TRYING, WHY DID HE SEND ISRAEL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SMALL PAYMENTS TO AVOID NOTIFYING CONGRESS?

IF HES TRYING WHY HAVE WE NOT SANCTIONED ISRAEL?

IF HES TRYING, WHY HAVE US SOLDIERS BEEN SEEN FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THE IDF?

IF HES TRYING WHY ARE WE SENDING EXPIRED MREs AS AID? EXPIRED FOOD DROPS THAT ARE NOT ENOUGH TO FEED MILLIONS OF STARVING PEOPLE, WITH FAULTY PARACHUTES THAT KILL CHILDREN?

IF HES TRYING, WHY DID WE BUILD A PORT CUTTING THE GAZA STRIP IN HALF, A PORT THAT NETANYAHU SAID WOULD BE USED TO DEPORT PALESTINIANS?

IF HES TRYING WHY DID HE SIGN OFF $14 BILLION FUCKING DOLLARS ON TOP OF THE ANNUAL CONTRACT AND SMALL SECRET PAYMENTS TO GO TOWARDS ISRAELS BOMBS AND GUNS AND FREE HEALTHCARE WHILE IGNORING THE PEOPLE HERE WHO NEED FOOD, HOUSES, AND HEALTHCARE???

DONT MAKE UP RUSSIAN SPIES TO POINT FINGERS AT! IF HE DOESNT WANT TO LOSE HE SHOULDNT DO GENOCIDE

IF GENOCIDE JOE LOSES THE ELECTION FUCKING BLAME HIM FOR DOING A GENOCIDE!!

[a-lad-who-likes-the-color-green]

I was just scrolling through Tiktok and I’ve been seeing all these posts of screenshots of Gaza citizens saying their final goodbyes to the world sharing their stories. It has me in literal fucking tears even as I write this. This shit is happening right now. People are fucking dying and for what? Gaza is going to wiped off the face of the earth. In Palestine, human beings with lives and families and dreams they want to achieve are facing imminent death. They have my support, but I’m just some kid from the west. There’s nothing I can do apart from spread awareness and that’s not even fucking enough.

As someone who is extremely extremely privileged to live somewhere far away from all the wars and death and suffering, my heart goes out to the all Palestinians. I know this post won’t really do shit. I’m just kinda saying what everyone else has been saying which is that I stand with Palestine and fuck imperialism and zionism.

Also to any of the fucking morons out there about to say something like “supporting palestine is antisemitic” or something along those lines, no the fuck it isn’t. I’m anti-imperialist, anti-zionist, anti-colonialist, anti-apartheid

None of those things has to do with the persecution of Jewish people or antisemitism. The Israeli government is the enemy. Not Jewish people ffs.

Anyway free Palestine and Gaza 🇵🇸

[aspiringwarriorlibrarian]

Hello,

Ive been following you for years and I love your blog. In all my years on this website I have never posted, sent an ask or a message, commented or interacted with anyone on this website in any way. However seeing your recent posts about Palestine made me feel like I had to say something.

Just because you support the “weaker” side, it doesn’t make you immune to lies and propaganda.

Please educate yourself before you spread misinformation and/or misleading info.

I am a citizen of Israel. This conflict started when Hamas brutally murdered hundreds of innocent civilians, including elderly and children. They kidnapped over a hundred more. They are known for being a terrorist organisation whose stated goal is to murder jews.

I am terrified. My people are forever scarred. I and everyone I know have lost loved ones in this war. And the fact that people like you in these terrible times choose to focus solely on the suffering of the Palestinians, ignoring and justifying our suffering, speaks volumes.

The bombings you speak of, are a retaliation for the slaughter of October 7th. Israel warns citizens in advance, in order to prevent as many casualties as possible. But we cant just ignore the murder, kidnapping, rape and harm to our people like you do. We have no choice but to defend ourselves.

We have no interest nor desire to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. If we did, we would have already done so. Instead we financially support Palestine, despite the fact they use this money not to better their lives, but to instead attack our civilians.

Beware of misinformation like the accusations against Israel for bombing the hospital in Gaza. That is a straight up lie that was proven false, and the Hamas spread it along with lies about how many people got hurt, in order to convince people like you that they are justified. And its working.

Before you accuse others, maybe check your own biases and think to yourself why a Palestinian life is worth something to you and an Israeli one isn’t.

Can you even imagine what it feels like to go online after such a tragedy for a little relief, only to see people like you calling for my death?

And yes, that is what you’re doing by supporting and encouraging the actions of Hamas. An organisation that cares more about killing innocent civilians like me than protecting its own people.

I hope that if you can’t take the time to properly understand this complicated situation, you will at least stop talking about something that you clearly don’t understand.

You know, I put all of this in a private post initially. I've been largely focused on spreading charity posts, actual concrete things that can be done to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. But clearly, my message has been mixed, so I'll define it right here.

This is just something that seeps into my bones and I had to say it somewhere: the sheer refusal by both sides to admit what they're doing. Oh, we thought that music festival was soldiers....wait no we didn't, it was random Gazan civilians who did it instead, not us, hurt them instead. Oh we are going to wage all out war....no those innocent civilian casaulties weren't us, it was them! (No, the cause of the explosion has not been independently proven. It has, however, been proven that Israel shelled the place three days earlier as a "warning" then called ordering an evacuation shortly before.) Put down an evacuation order so short and so sudden the UN protests that civilians can't possibly get out in time, then bomb one of the convoys. Tell your countrymen the evacuation order was fake so you get more human shields. More rockets! More airstrikes! More "accidents" to the tune of hundreds of civilians dead, and you never have to carry the burden or the blame for any of it. Shoot from far enough away, target enough civilians, makes it easy, makes it fun. The glory of war with none of the guilt and none of the risk! Ain't that a wonderful thing. Ain't that a fucking joke.

I grieve for the innocent Israeli citizens slaughtered because Hamas cowards wanted to kill the defenseless. I grieve for the people in Gaza getting slaughtered because neither side cares if they live or die. The difference between the two is not that one life is worth more than the others. That is morally repugnant and fundamentally absurd. The difference is that Israel is getting aid from many nations, while other nations only give aid to Hamas, not the people of Gaza. They need humanitarian aid, they need someone to speak for them and beg for restraint, which is why I'm primarily reblogging posts that call for humanitarian aid to them and for a ceasefire so they can, at the very least, have the evacuation time they should have been allowed. It is not because their lives are worth more, but because to far too many, their lives are worth less.

I understand your pain and fear, and I am deeply sorry for your loss. I too find those rooting for Hamas or declaring that the victims deserved it for being settlers repugnant. But the people of Gaza did not do this, and if it's a choice between them living and Hamas dying, I will choose their lives every time. I will always choose life. And I refuse to apologize for that. Violence like this is a cycle, revenge and revenge and revenge again because you cannot kill an idea with bombs, only keep destroying until nothing is left to fight over. You cannot stop a cycle by continuing to spin.

[strawberryqueen00]

Hell no we are not letting this OFMD finale distract from that THIS LETTER.

Had a signature from Taika Waititi. I understand the sensitivity here this issue with Taika being Jewish(and that’s not my place as someone that’s Not Jewish or in those regions to condemn him on that perspective’s behalf) but this letter is directly bastardizing the situation.

Now, when there is a major production from a major figure in this platform that did this, is when we can make the most impact. Remember our values, even when those values involve a show that is strengthening the LGBTQ community.

Because this letter tore down the strength of the movement in support of Gaza. There are going to be so many people that saw this letter and take it completely uncritically, unchallenged.

Standing up for our values means sacrificing our interests, holding accountable the things we enjoy.

And also. I don’t want to see ANYONE. Being fucking antisemitic or racist towards Taika here. That is never appropriate and absolutely inexcusable behavior. You should he ashamed if you think that’s okay even after Taika’s actions.

[Text of Letter]

October 23, 2023

Dear President Biden, We are heartened by Friday's release of the two American hostages, Judith Ranaan and her daughter Natalie Ranaan and by today's release of two Israelis, Nurit Cooper and

Yocheved Lifshitz, whose husbands remain in captivity. But our relief is tempered by our overwhelming concern that 220 innocent people,

including 30 children, remain captive by terrorists, threatened with torture and death.

They were taken by Hamas in the savage massacre of October 7, where over 1,400

Israelis were slaughtered - women raped, families burned alive, and infants beheaded. Thank you for your unshakable moral conviction, leadership, and support for the Jewish people, who have been terrorized by Hamas since the group's founding over 35 years ago, and for the Palestinians, who have also been terrorized, oppressed, and victimized

by Hamas for the last 17 years that the group has been governing Gaza. We all want the same thing: Freedom for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace. Freedom from the brutal violence spread by Hamas. And most urgently, in this

moment, freedom for the hostages. We urge everyone to not rest until all hostages are released. No hostage can be left behind. Whether American, Argentinian, Australian, Azerbaijani, Brazilian, British, Canadian, Chilean, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Eritrean, Filipino, French, German, Indian, Israeli, Italian, Kazakh, Mexican, Panamanian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South African, Spanish, Sri Lankan, Thai, Ukrainian,

Uzbekistani or otherwise, we need to bring them home.

Sincerely,

[Text of the names presented. This isn’t all of them, just the copy of this with Taika’s name on it)

Jessica Biel

Jessica Elbaum

Jessica Seinfeld

Jill Littman

Jimmy Carr

Jody Gerson

Joe Hipps

Joe Quinn

Joe Russo

Joe Tippett

Joel Fields

Joey King

John Landgraf

John Slattery

Jon Bernthal

Jon Glickman

Jon Hamm

Jon Harmon Feldman

Jon Liebman

Jon Watts

Jon Weinbach

Jonathan Baruch

Jonathan Groff

Jonathan Marc Sherman

Jonathan Ross

Jonathan Steinberg

Jonathan Tisch

Jonathan Tropper

Jordan Peele

Josh Brolin

Josh Charles

Josh Dallas

Josh Goldstine

Josh Greenstein

Josh Grode

Josh Singer

Judd Apatow

Judge Judy Sheindlin

Julia Fox

Julia Garner

Julia Lester

Julianna Margulies

Julie Greenwald

Julie Rudd

Julie Singer

Juliette Lewis

Jullian Morris

Justin Theroux

Justin Timberlake

KJ Steinberg

Karen Pollock

Karlie Kloss

Katy Perry

Kelley Lynch

Kevin Kane

Kevin Zegers

Kirsten Dunst

Kitao Sakurai

Kristen Schaal

Kristin Chenoweth

Lana Del Rey

Laura Benanti

Laura Dern

Laura Pradelska

Lauren Schuker Blum

Laurence Mark

Laurie David

Lea Michele

Lee Eisenberg

Leo Pearlman

Leslie Siebert

Liev Schreiber

Limor Gott

Lina Esco

Liz Garbus

Lizanne Rosenstein

Lizzie Tisch

Lorraine Schwartz

Lynn Harris

Lyor Cohen

Madonna

Mandana Dayani

Mara Buxbaum

Marc Webb

Marco Perego

Maria Dizzia

Mark Feuerstein

Mark Foster

Mark Scheinberg

Mark Shedletsky

Martin Short

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Mary McCormack

Mathew Rosengart

Matt Geller

Matt Lucas

Matt Miller

Matthew Bronfman

Matthew Hiltzik

Matthew Weiner

Matti Leshem

Max Mutchnik

Maya Lasry

Meaghan Oppenheimer

Melissa Zukerman

Melissa rudderman

Michael Aloni

Michael Ellenberg

Michael Green

Michael Rapino

Neil Blair

Neil Druckmann

Neil Paris

Nicola Peltz

Nicole Avant

Nina Jacobson

Noa Kirel

Noa Tishby

Noah Oppenheim

Noah Schnapp

Noreena Hertz

Octavia Spencer

Odeya Rush

Olivia Wilde

Oran Zegman

Orlando Bloom

Pasha Kovalev

Pattie LuPone

Patty Jenkins

Paul Haas

Paul Pflug

Paul & Julie Rudd

Peter Baynham

Peter Traugott

Rachel Douglas

Rachel Riley

Rafi Marmor

Ram Bergman

Raphael Margulies

Rebecca Angelo

Rebecca Mall

Regina Spektor

Reinaldo Marcus Green

Rich Statter

Richard Jenkins

Richard Kind

Rick Hoffman

Rick Rosen

Rita Ora

Rob Rinder

Robert Newman

Roger Birnbaum

Roger Green

Rosie O’Donnell

Ross Duffer

Ryan Feldman

Sacha Baron Cohen

Sam Levinson

Sam Trammell

Sara Berman

Sara Foster

Sarah Baker

Sarah Bremner

Sarah Cooper

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Treem

Scott Braun

Scott Braun

Scott Neustadter

Scott Tenley

Sean Combs

Sean Levy

Seth Meyers

Seth Oster

Shannon Watts

Shari Redstone

Sharon Jackson

Sharon Stone

Shauna Perlman

Shawn Levy

Sheila Nevins

Shira Haas

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Simon Tikhman

Skylar Astin

Stacey Snider

Stephen Fry

Steve Agee

Steve Rifkind

Sting & Trudie Styler

Susanna Felleman

Susie Arons

Taika Waititi

Thomas Kail

Tiffany Haddish

Todd Lieberman

Todd Moscowitz

Todd Waldman

Tom Freston

Tom Werner

Tomer Capone

Tracy Ann Oberman

Trudie Styler

Tyler Henry

Tyler James Williams

Tyler Perry

Vanessa Bayer

Veronica Grazer

Veronica Smiley

Whitney Wolfe Herd

Will Ferrell

Will Graham

Yamanieka Saunders

Yariv Milchan

Ynon Kreiz

Zack Snyder

Zoe Saldana

[makethatelevenrings]

You know, as someone who is Muslim I know and do educate myself about what going on there.

If you support Palestin, you support murder of innocent people, you support rape, you support cutting head of children and babies and pregnant women and torture. They didn't care if they were thai, american, german, and so many more all around the world they just kill. But Everyone think they know, but they don't. And while they did it all, they still get food in Gaza because of Israel. They are trying to protect the innocent in gaza and tell them to go south. We know the Israeli care about human life, while in Palestin, they believe in death and death of others so they can get 72 virgins in paradise. If you support them, you support terrorists like what happend in 9/11 and if they keep that way it will happend again.

So please educate yourself.

What do you think will happend if the will get Israel? They want power. They will come to you next. That why the countries who are democratic are with Israel.

If you want you can looke for videos where they came to their houses, the safe place and killed them while looking in theirs eye and so much more.

Also did you know they are homophobic. They killed also dogs and cats. Also, you can look for a video. And that what you support.

Do you hear yourself? Do you genuinely think this is a rational, critical thought process? Like, you have got to be peddling some kind of backwash propaganda.

1. WOW the Islamophobia is off the fucking CHARTS.

2. I could die in America going to the bowling alley, the grocery store, or to school.

3. STOP USING THE HOMOPHOBIA ARGUMENT OH MY GOD it’s so pathetic! You’re attempting to moralize an argument that’s not working! I could die in America for being gay!

4. I have seen photos of babies with their entrails outside of their bodies. I have seen photos of bodies with heads blown to tatters. I have seen children saying farewell to their mothers corpses. Show me proof of what you say you’ve seen. Show me something that isn’t an Israel source. Show me where the IDF admitted they cannot corroborate their claim that babies were beheaded. Show me the numerous news sites that rescinded their statement of the babies and women. Show me something that isn’t AI-created or a propaganda filled think piece from the Times of Israel.

5. AGAIN ISLAMOPHOBIA

it’s giving this:

[gravedigginbbydoll]

I don’t know why the fuck I need to say this, because media is a thing. And you have google.

Unfollow the fuck out of me if you’re a Zionist, a Zionist apologist, or pro Israel.

Idgaf.

Isra*l is committing a GENOCIDE. A goddamn GENOCIDE.

Palestine has been a country since BEFORE 1948. I have goddamn friends who’s parents can never see their homeland because it’s now occupied Israeli territory. They can never visit family. They CANT EVEN VISIT.

It sickens me to see people who believe due to their suffering they have a right to mistreat others.

And I don’t give a shit if you think this doesn’t concern you, or whatever.

The blood of THOUSANDS is on the US government for weaponizing and militarizing Israel. It’s on Israel for not only Palestinians, but for the people AROUND THE WORLD that they have financially supported the genocide and oppression of.

I will not sit idly by while the country who SUPPORTED THE FACIST DICTATORSHIP of my mothers home country GENOCIDES Palestinians.

And whether or not you realize it, this is on going.

Colonization isn’t a thing of the past, it continues.

And honestly I’m tired of people pretending it’s something to ignore.

Especially in this fandom.

Y’all rally against the TINIEST things. I’ve seen hate for Eduardo and Argyle, hate for Lucas and Caleb, nothing but fucking arguing and bullying surrounding minor things like the book or even just someone’s writing style.

I’m not shaming people, I’m just tired of people turning a blind eye to others spreading harmful shit and being zionists.

Please educate yourself.

And it’s land back for everyone. From the river to the sea.

End apartheid.

(If you want to know ways to help, look into sending esims to Gaza or spreading awareness, along with emailing and calling representatives. Right now donations can’t be taken for good use bc the Israeli army is blocking aid.)

(And no, the duffers won’t ever get my money, I’m either not watching or pirating.)

[canichangemyblogname]

It’s so wild the way media is trying to draw contrast between today’s student protests and the anti-apartheid protests of the 80s and anti-war protests and civil rights protests of the 60s. The protests of the 60s had a “concrete and actionable message with designated leaders” whereas today the protests have no demands and no uniform message and no organizers. The protests of the 80s worked because their cause enjoyed wide consensus among the public, whereas no one agrees with the protests today.

And all of this is wildly ahistorical.

Divestment is a concrete demand. The protests have (student) organizers. There has never been one SINGLE leader for any movement; this isn’t a fucking dictatorship. The protests all have the same message, and students have displayed amazing discipline with not engaging with bad faith agitators. No social rights movement has ever initially enjoyed wide support and consensus among the public, but the majority of the American public does not agree with the bombing of Gaza and is sympathetic to the Palestinian people. Boycotting is widely viewed as a legitimate and peaceful means of economic protest, despite political attempts to portray economic protest as violent.

“Martin Luther Jr. would cancel protests if he did not believe the message would be perfect.”

MLK wrote the Letter From Birmingham Jail from— well— fucking Jail. He was jailed for what he believed. He was a “criminal” for how he protested. He was not concerned with this arbitrary respectability politics or perfectionism like everyone insists he was. He was DEEPLY unpopular and routinely maligned. White people were NEVER going to like the message he was preaching. His message was never going to be “good enough.” It was always going to be the wrong time and the wrong means. “Not now and not that way.” Then white people quite literally killed MLK because they hated the message he spread.

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."

[disco-cola]

also just read that apparently mossad now publicly wrote they assumed a „Hamas terrorist“ was traveling with the convoy and that it also were Hamas who shot a rocket sideways hitting it even though one of the photos clearly shows the car having a gaping hole on its roof (also still obviously showing remains of the wck-logo it had on that roof) like I can’t believe there’s still people out there who buy into that bullshit and haven’t realized that any criticism Israel rightfully gets they deflect by either pulling the antisemitism card (isn’t it literally antisemitic to assume it’s JEWS IN GENERAL who are capable of doing such awful crimes?! bc that’s what they’re basically implying with that, they are pulling EVERYONE into this like speak for yourselves?!) and/or blaming it on Hamas. the first attack on al-ahli hospital on oct 17 - nah it was Hamas themselves. also funny how israel went from denying having attacked 1 hospital to openly destroying nearly all of them - but hey it’s because Hamas is under them! oh you don’t think it’s right we kill so many civilians and that 70% of the victims are children and women? but Hamas is using them as shields! The repeated attacks on jabalia refugee camp? it’s a stronghold of Hamas. First those hamas centers were in the north, causing over 1 million people to get displaced into a tiny corner of the strip, and then the army kept getting closer and circling them in by claiming oh no now they are in khan younis. and suddenly hamas centers are in rafah too, the very place they expelled over half the population to? And oh what a coincidence that just one day after the ICJ ruling they suddenly found out UNRWA is linked to hamas and Oct 7? oh and Al Jazeera is supporting Hamas too don’t trust them! And don’t forget the israeli mom and daughter who were hostages who gave accounts of their times in captivity that didn’t fit the israeli narrative - nah they have been brainwashed by Hamas and don’t know what they are saying and channel 12 who aired that interview has to be boycotted. And South Africa is also the quote „mouthpiece for hamas“ for even daring to take them to court in the first place. Ah and don’t forget on December 15 when 3 israeli hostages waving white flags were shot by IDF, that was consequentially hamas‘s fault as well. Hamas hamas hamas i am so sick of it. Like if you still haven’t realized and dismantled that pattern of blame-shifting and gaslighting and keep repeating that „hamas“ talking point in response to whatever has been done to gaza, there is no hope for you. You really just suck and are a bad person. Fucking listen to yourself. I am still losing followers once in a while for my gaza reposts on ig. Fuck them too. And I swear to god if I ever catch one of those liberal „lifestyle leftist“ scum who still after everything repeated that both sides narrative ever talk about palestine in the next few years without addressing their own silence and complicity when it happened, I will throw hands. You weren’t there when we needed you, now stay the fuck away. It also blows my mind how many people just rather retreat into silence even after supporting Israel first instead of coming forward and admitting „I was wrong“ or „I have changed my mind“ and asking for new sources to follow or anything like that. There is absolutely no shame in that and it’s so much better than saying nothing at all. They really be milking their white western privilege and I now more than ever realize that „liberals“ and some disgraceful leftists were just closet fascists in disguise who didn’t get triggered by a rainbow flag (speaking of… how can you even be pro-Palestine when you’re lgbtq+? Don’t you know that Hamas would throw you off a roof?) Dude I’m sorry for ranting but my blood is boiling for real, I am so mad at Israel and all its supporters and those who rather stay comfortably numb in their privileged little bubble and the entire world for letting this happen

[joe-moi]

I also don’t think anyone on the cast besides mbb is that close to Noah? Like I don’t even think they hang outside of filming especially since they’ve gotten older. I don’t think they’ll shun him out of the group but I don’t think they were as close to begin with either so I do think it’s just more of a work friends thing now.

also I hate ro say this but not many celebs have voiced support either. Like even big names such as Tom Holland, Zendaya, Harry styles, Taylor swift, etc. And I do think every celeb needs to be held accountable but imo it isn’t fair that the public isn’t holding bigger names a listers accountable but they’re willing to hold b/c listers or celebs who don’t have an established career yet.

Mmmm yeah I’m not sure who’s close to who on ST but I do know that obviously they all grew up together. This doesn’t mean they all have the same views though. 

Tbh this is a very difficult subject because we have to take into consideration that the arts industry (specifically the business side) is very very pro-Israel. Which means speaking out isn’t that easy for people to do, especially if they’re ambitious. I should point out that at the moment - the media and government have a very different view on the atrocities of Gaza then what is actually commonly thought by communities and we have to remember that these celebs are a part of the media so I can only think they’ve been cautioned on not saying anything pro-palestine for fear of being put out of work.

And I know it’s really easy to say “I would stand up and use my voice even if I lost my job” but actually you need to take a second to look at the consequences of that. 

I’m pro-palestine all the way. I believe in a free and democratic state of Palestine and I’ve been very vocal about this in work. Unfortunately, this has actually lead to HR conversations which has scared the shit out of me tbh. It’s horrible and uncomfortable and it makes my anxiety fucking soar. So I’m gunna have to pull back on voicing this IN WORK. But that doesn’t mean I need to pull back in my personal time.

In my opinion some of these stars not speaking out about being pro-Israel is giving me hope. Is it enough? No, of course not. Ideally I’d love everyone I admire to speak out against Israel being a terrorist state. But that’s just not how our shitty society works at the moment. 

Also.. I do think there’s something to be said about relying on what we call celebrities to be the leading voice in political debates. At the end of the day anyones view should be made via better informed avenues - books, essays, common sense (I’m happy to share some really good recommendations if needed). We have to remember that while we admire these people they’re literally just artists.

[permian-tropos]

essay which eventually makes an argument about which fandom discourse is good political praxis and which is ungood

I know it’s crass to connect inane fandom crap to real world atrocities so to be just minimally crass: recent real world atrocities have indeed made me think of inane fandom crap I’ve seen, but then I wondered what the right way to discuss the parallels even is. Stories resemble reality and things fans say diegetically about fiction (like, the thing we all do where we phrase it like it’s real) can resemble things people say about reality. Diegetic opinions can resemble shitty real world opinions. And we argue constantly about what to do about it.

I’m feeling fucking pissed about some real world opinions, but I don’t think dumb Star Wars fandom arguments technically cause the real world opinions I’m super fucking pissed about, the way people think they do. So this isn’t about that. (spoilers it eventually is about that but I’ll say it’s not for now)

I want to argue that discourse should be about examining every diegetic opinion that feels possible. Everything from baseless nonsense, to things you agree with, to things you are comfortable agreeing to disagree about, to opinions canon tries to slip by unquestioned, like, “there’s nothing to be done about the fact that Coruscant has billions of poor people buried underground like a wealth inequality layer cake”. 

I’m reframing the inflammatory “your diegetic opinions describe your real world ones” or the moral panicky “your diegetic opinions will become your real ones”: The more possible it feels that you’d find fans with the diegetic opinion, the more valid your society/culture treats the real-world counterpart.

So I’m angry, because our society treats horrible opinions about state violence now being applied to the recent Gaza massacre as valid, and it has treated them as valid for a long time, and it’s reflected in some diegetic opinions on the Jakku massacre. Opinions which I now am extra disgusted by. But the people with those opinions might not have the same bad opinions about the real world; it doesn’t work like that. I want the discourse to stop focusing on that.

The ease with which people could, if not justify, minimize, the awfulness of Kylo killing of the Jakku villagers, shows some culturally non-taboo things to say about state violence (“they were fighting back, the villagers were protecting the Resistance/were armed by them, maybe they weren’t a threat in that moment but they clearly would have threatened the Order if they’d had the means, and the Resistance was wrong to use them as a shield”) and its actors (”Kylo didn’t really want to do it, he had to prove he was tough in front of Phasma, he’s desensitized to this because everyone in the Order does it”).

Diegetic opinion: What Kylo did was not excusable. It was completely brutal and unnecessary. The villagers had been disarmed, Kylo killed not just the men combatants but the women noncombatants and children too, and the villagers fought back in the first place because the Order was imposing entirely illegitimate authority. Kylo did not have the right to use military force to get a map to find a man who was hiding because didn’t want to fight, to enact personal revenge because that man held a weapon over his head for a hot second. What would that even be, a cosmically strained stand-your-ground defense? Anyway it was definitely an evil thing to do. 

And those opinions aren’t super radical so they’re treated by society as valid too. As people have pointed out, though, when “war crime good” and “war crime bad” are treated as equally valid, it actually favors war crimes. People have to waste time justifying not doing war crimes. War crimes can be done before facing the court of public opinion, and then the noise of the debate can go on until the next war crime happens. And the same is true of “racism good”/”racism bad” and so on. 

But okay now I want to make an even more complicated-ass point about villain stanning. The more prevalent the garbage stan opinion is, the more support it gives to the overarching stan opinion: “this villain is a normal person”.

Cause I think there are three strains of fan apologia:

1) I forgive it because it’d be excusable in real life (not always wrong! but with the Jakku massacre it does indicate offensively crap politics) 

2) I forgive it because it’s not real and enjoying the thing doesn’t significantly affect my moral judgement or anyone else’s (basically always valid when true)

And the one that intrigues me, 

3) I forgive it not because it’d be excusable in real life but because a normal person could excuse it

If you’re excusing actions the narrative doesn’t present as wrong, the person you’re imagining as normal isn’t the character but the writer. Or, using Death of the Author, some hypothetical authorial intent -- but only if it’s possible to conceive of a writer with this intent. And it’s only palatable when the projected (if not actual) author is a decent person. Their opinions might be bad but it’s from a failing of society, not the individual. This is what so many of us use for the HanLeia kiss in ESB to avoid hating Han for what would count as sexual assault IRL, or to avoid deeply loathing the writers or the movie. 

Also if you project opinions onto a narrative that either aren’t there or aren’t provably intentional or explicit, and construct the hypothetical authorial intent behind it and find it unforgivably abnormal, and then decide the actual writer must be as well, that’s called Rian Johnson Retire Bitching. 

Imagining the writer as normal is one way we can forgive fictional bad behavior, if we think the writer intended it to be excusable. If we think they might not, we can turn to another version -- the character excuses their own behavior, and under certain circumstances we believe a normal person could make those excuses, so the character can be normal (we empathize with normal people, we want them to redeem themselves).

Type 3 stanning arguments about the actors of state violence (eg. what people argue the bottom line of Ben Solo’s moral capacity is), show that we think decent people can be actors in state violence. With the justifications people make, Kylo Ren could technically be a “normal” person because “normal” people can be convinced of all these justifications. And you know what, I’d say that’s true. Nearly every human is born with a healthy ability to develop good morals, so societies where tons of people condone or excuse atrocities do not have abnormally evil people. They have abnormally evil culture.

But the more people repeat the justifications as valid, the more it shows that Kylo is normal. Kylo has a lot of fans, and if enough of them express these diegetic beliefs, it’s sort of evident that “normal” people can have them. The part where I think fiction does end up maybe affecting reality is that diegetic opinions are treated as more potent if the real-world counterparts are good ones. And it’s moral purists and antis and ~discoursers~ that keep encouraging this perspective. 

So the antis give the stans a reason to present their diegetic opinions with real world opinions. Or to defend them without talking about real world opinions. To show that lots of people can have this opinion. Normal people. Good people, decent people. People who, even if they don’t have all the right morals, could have them in a healthy society. But they’re not really clarifying that these aren’t the right morals. Even people in the kylux fandom slipped into this from time to time despite a big push to make “we know they’re evil” the motto.

It’s tempting to use a more potent argument. Push the fandom Overton Window. “Kylo killed those villagers and it was evil but I can imagine him justifying it in ways that show he’s capable of good, and I want to see him become good” is just not as potent as “it was a wartime execution and if the stormtroopers are people maybe the villagers are also bad for killing them” when it comes to making people more sympathetic towards Kylo. 

Thanks to the anti framework of “your faves must be unproblematic” (nice work folks :/) and thanks to people who care too much about their problematic faves and don’t pay attention to the real world, diegetic opinions can end up implicitly encouraging people to push real world opinions for the sake of protecting Your Misunderstood Cinnamon Woobie who you’re very emotionally invested in but doesn’t actually exist, and that is kind of how I’m seeing fandom team up with bad politics when it doesn’t need to. Your Evil Woobie Boi can represent something good for you and you can express this and enjoy yourself. I have an evil woobie boi. He’s a great creative outlet. I absolutely stan the institution of loving villains. 

Which means we have to a) get rid of the purity wank framework and b) prioritize getting good opinions through ongoing interrogation of the real world and not expecting that we can indirectly absorb wokeness through media crafted to convey only the right messages. 

To ensure that people absorb those messages you have to get them to take all messages in media as correct. If your idea of media criticism is, when you get down to it, “criticize the things I think are wrong until they’re all gone and then make fiction tell people the right way to think”, your logical end goal is a society completely uncritical of media. A benevolent dictatorship of woke fiction. Forgive me if I don’t find that so reassuring. 

And you know what? Because so many normal people (like me, before I discoursed myself) toy with this dystopic underlying ideology, our society clearly treats the idea of a benevolent media dictatorship as valid. 

A creepy realization, but look how we got there with the “what opinions feel normal?” method. That’s why I think this model of discourse is one that actually gets us somewhere.

[voxvulgi]

What's the deal with Gag Gadot?

Under the cut for negativity (and politics-ish???):

Okay so this is probably going to sound personal, and I could say it’s personal as a disclaimer, but??? It isn’t???

I guess a lot of people who openly hated her were called anti-Semitic, and really, a lot of them probably were. But this literally has nothing to do with her being Jewish??? Like, maybe it does for a ton of haters out there, but that’s not the case for me. I’m not even mad she served in the IDF?? Because she was obligated to do so, you know? But I hate this woman with a burning passion because she supports their cause openly, AKA she’s a Zionist. If you don’t know what a Zionist is, that’s a “person who believes in the development and protection of Israel”. Now, why am I mad about this? I’m mad about this because Israel only developed by driving out my ancestors and their neighbours from their homeland. I’m mad because they took down homes and mistreated – to put it lightly – Palestinian citizens until Palestine shrank into the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and a few smaller cities you don’t even know the name of. I’m mad because Israel continues to cut the water supply and launch attacks on Palestinian territories, and members of the IDF continue to hurt and inconvenience unsuspecting Palestinians for little to no reason. I’m mad because this is supposed to be a “two-state solution”, but all they’re doing is fucking us over, ethnically cleansing the land, and painting us as the bad guys. And when we fight back, we’re te.ror--r.is...ts???? Thanks.

And let’s be real, I probably wouldn’t have hated her this much if she wasn’t cast as Wonder Woman. Because now, she gets to be every girl and every feminist’s hero despite the fact that she’s racist and supports ethnic cleansing of my homeland. And now Wonder Woman is a hero to everyone but me. And I hate that.

[d2kvirus]

Dickheads of the Month: June 2018

As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of June 2018 to make sure that they are never forgotten.

It somehow didn’t occur to Isabel Oakeshott that, when she has seen evidence of collusion between Arron Banks of Leave.EU and the Kremlin, the correct course of action is to report this to the relevant bodies immediately - not withhold the information for a year thinking it would make her look really, really important when she reveals this information in her next book - a book which may well have been released after the after the Electoral Commission’s investigations into Banks’ activities - which also happens to obliterate her defence of not knowing how important the information was if she was holding it off for her next book, so her haranguing of Carole Cadwalladr when Cadwalladr suggested these links now looks a whole lot more unpleasant as Oakeshott knew Cadwalladr was correct but had to maintain her pro-Leave psychosis anyway

Satan’s personal cheerleader Ann Coulter outdid everyone on the right not named Alex Jones by claiming, on national television no less, that every single child see crying as they were torn away from their parents to be locked in cages were actors and their tears weren’t real - which not only comes across as sociopathic with her smears, but the fact she’s cribbing InfoWars’ usual gamibit means she’s not even being original

Architect of Britain’s economy tanking Boris Johnson responded to legitimate worries of British businesses that Britait will hit them hard with the comforting response of “fuck business” - which shows that Johnson is still doing a fine job of justifying how we send £141k a year to pay his salary when it could literally be spent on anything else, let alone taking responsibility for him being the person responsible for this complete mess

In a blatant attempt to pull the wool over the license fee payers’ eyes, the BBC reported how the proposed £20bn funding increase for the NHS would be paid for by a tax increase - pretending that they didn’t report just 48 hours previously that the cost would be comfortably paid by this mythical “Brexit dividend” that they were banging on about at the time in spite of the fact people with the most basic understanding of economics or mathematics (as well as MPs on both sides of the aisle) calling this a complete fabrication used to try and dupe the taxpayer

Unofficial spokesman for the FBPE mob Eddie Marsan decided the best response to somebody having the temerity to suggest that acting as if Britait is the only notable thing to happen in British politics since 2010 and that nothing else matters at the voting booth by calling the person with such foolish ideas a “stupid, over privileged, hipster socialist” - and that’s a direct quote

Lover of all the creatures on God’s green earth (except women, homosexuals, the poor, the elderly, and animals at the receiving end of bloodsports) Christopher Chote proved himself to be a master of the political world by blocking a debate into making upskirt photography illegal - which would have at least won him a few friends with The Sun, given their habit of publishing upskirt photos taken of random female celebrities without their knowledge or consent

Having dragged himself back into the limelight by paying the dessicated husk of UKIP’s £30, Milo Yiannopoulos rapidly reminded everyone what an irresponsible dickhead when telling a journalist “I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight” - and two days later, after somebody did just that in Maryland, the best he could come up with to defend what he said were how his words were something something twisted by the leftist agenda - rather than sounding remarkably like the threats that Brandon Griesemer sent to CNN back in January, the only difference being that Griesemer didn’t attempt a pathetic backtrack of “B-b-b-but I didn’t mean it, you leftist scum” when called out on it

So either Melania Trump is so brainless that it doesn’t occur to her that wearing a jacket bearing the slogan “I don’t really care” when going to visit one of her husband’s concentration camps for Mexican children could be seen as either grossly insensitive or outright antagonistic, or she knew exactly what she was doing which means that Ivanka isn’t the only one of the Trump women who the phrase “feckless cunt” applies to 

Tommy Robinson fanboy Jason Collins attempted to raise support for his boneheaded messiah by tweeting a photo purportedly showing the massive turnout for the Free Tommy protest in London - only for anyone capable of noticing landmarks to point out it was a photo from Liverpool taken in 2005 for their Champions League winners parade.  But apart from being the wrong city, the wrong decade and completely out of contest it proves...oh what’s the fucking point?

In response to the Argentine football team cancelling a friendly against Jerusalem in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza, Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman harrumphed about how "We will not yield before a pack of anti-Semitic terrorist supporters" - which is less a statement and more a high-scoring game of Zionist bingo

Britain’s answer to Ted Nugent Morrissey claimed that he was cancelling his entire tour because something something left-wing agenda, as opposed to the more commonly-accepted reason for him cancelling his tour (which is hardly unique, as he;s cancelled over 100 concerts since 2012) being related to lack of ticket sales due to tickets being priced at £75, which is double what several bands playing the same venues are charging

In response to Jimmy Durmaz conceding a last minute free kick that led to Germany winning the match in the last second, Sweden fans responded by racially abusing Durmaz on social media while sending death threats to him and his family

On a similar note, Columbia fans sent Carlos Sanchez’s death threats after his handball led to Columbia conceding a penalty and him being red carded - which, considering what happened to Andres Escobar after his own goal in the 1994 World Cup, is the sort of thing that shouldn’t be thrown around lightly

Completing the trifecta of football fans, fans from various African countries were quick to accuse the VAR system used in the World Cup of racism after Senegal failed to win a penalty after VAR rightly adjudged that the tackle from Columbia’s Davinson Sanchez (who also happens to be black, but that’s not important right now...) was fair.  Among the conspiratorial nonsense was a damning indictment of both these vocal idiots’ knowledge of geography or their memory spans

After literally years of horror stories predicting Russian fans committing acts of hooliganism and drowning matches under a tsunami of racist chants at their World Cup, it has to be pointed out that the most notable act of racism in the first two weeks of the tournament is Alan Sugar’s tweet about the Senegal team

Obnoxious host of Singled Out (no, not Jenny McCarthy, the other one) Chris Hardwick responded to accusations of being an abusive and controlling boyfriend by saying that Chloe Dykstra cheated on him, which not only failed to dismiss the accusations but also imply that Dykstra cheating on him meant it was perfectly okay for him to be an abusive and controlling boyfriend

Z-Pack spokesperson Chris Amann very kindly allowed his own incompetence to become a part of the legal record with his nuisance lawsuit against CM Punk & Colt Cabana which saw him attempt to claim loss of earnings and damage to his reputation in spite his remaining in the employ of WWE to this day, failing to even prove that Punk named him in the podcast in reference to what he was suing for, and hiring a lawyer who managed to submit the wrong evidence to trial on several occasions.  Suffice it to say Amann did not win - but he did draw attention to the fact he had an affair with a WWE employee...

Somehow it occurred to neither Chris Grayling nor the BBC that the chaos inflicted by Govia Thameslink on people using their Northern franchise was not unique, as those using their Southern franchise have suffered the exact same problems on a much larger scale but somehow this minor detail continued to be overlooked again and again and again

According to Priti Patel it is not acceptable to see rogue behaviour from government ministers.  Just a reminder: last year Priti Patel was sacked from the government for claiming to be on holiday when she was actually holding covert meetings with several Israeli officials, meetings she had not informed the government nor the Foreign Office about

It’s interesting that left-wing blogs such as Squawkbox, The Canary, Evolve Politics and Another Angry Voice all received micro donations of between 1p and 10p due to members of the FBPE mob and the usual Tory and UKIP trolls operating under the belief that donating so little money would cost the blogs money, when all they were actually doing was giving PayPal free money while giving those blogs plenty of free material - not just the story of people deludedly thinking they could bankrupt them with donations of a few pennies, but also how the supposedly left-wing FPBE mob are just as keen to silence opposing viewpoints as followers of Farage and Rees-Mogg 

In a remarkable lack of awareness, Butch Hartman stated that he loves anime but suggested that all animators should practise other art styles - which not only came across as remarkably condescending to a vast number of animators, but seemed oblivious to the fact that every single show he created uses the exact same art style 

For some reason Real Madrid thought the best way to prepare for Spain’s World Cup campaign would be to announce they had signed Spain coach Julen Lopetegui as their new manager just three days before Spain’s opening match.  The RFEF agreed that it was such a good idea that they promptly sacked Lopetegui the day after Real Madrid announced his signing - which of course drew the usual conspiratorial bollocks from Florentino Perez, who decided to play the victim rather than consider the concept that maybe not announcing Lopetegui as their coach on the eve of the World Cup might be a bloody stupid thing to do

So having torpedoed her comeback with a bunch of racist tweets, what has Roseanne Barr done since?  Attempt to blame it on being under the effects of Ambien and, when that failed to convince anyone who checked her post history, came up with some mealy-mouthed waffling saying that her tweet that compared  Valerie Jarrett to an ape was actually about anti-semitism, convincing precisely nobody

While promoting the forgettable fluff that is Ocean’s 8 Sandra Bullock stated that any and all criticism from male film critics could be ignored as the film is not for them.  Let me put this into perspective: when noted misogynist crackpot Sam Peckinpah never tried that line to dismiss any negative reviews from female reviewers such as Pauline Kael, yet Sandra Bullock attempts such obvious gatekeeping, this is the sort of things that people who believe that GamerGate was their Woodstock will pounce on

Special mention to both Nike and Adidas for their kit designs for the World Cup, where the two companies appear to be in a competition to take what should be a series of straightforward kits to design and instead decide to be “creative” and create something ugly

And finally, because of course it is, there’s the the only person who ever took advice about prison reform from Kim Kardashian Donald Trump - although he amazingly didn’t flip-flop on that decision like a petulant child, as opposed to a child he ripped away from their parents and locked inside a cage

[cwnerd12]

Men Into Beasts

“Men Into Beasts” Jack video conferences with King Warner. Warner, “You can’t just pull your manufacturing out of Ammon!” Jack, “Yeeeeaaaah, I can, actually.” Warner, “How the hell is CrossGen going to continue to make money, then?” Jack, “This was never, ever about money. I’m a fucking prince, I have money! Honestly, the only thing that’s keeping me from setting fire to this whole trash heap is that the rank-and-file employees of CrossGen don’t deserve that. But, now that I own CrossGen instead of my my terrorist-supporting, tax-evading uncle, Moab, Aram, Edom, and Jericho have all declared that they’re willing to re-negotiate their contracts. There’s going to be a lot of changes made in the future, of course, but, CrossGen will continue to show a profit, especially once I bring operations back into Gilboa. By the way, where is William?” Reveal William sitting in a corner of Warner’s office, out of Jack’s sight, listening in. Warner, “I haven’t seen him.” Jack, “Figures. The coward.” William scowls with indignation. Jack goes on, “Anyway, I have other meetings to get to. If you need anything else, Warner, we’ll see if we can schedule something. Bye!” The video ends. William, “I guarantee you, this is all Rose’s doing. There’s no way in hell Jack is smart enough to have done this all on his own.” Warner, “Rule number one of running an army, William, is know your enemy, and never underestimate him.” William, “I do know Jack. He has no self-esteem, and there’s nothing he won’t do for a scrap of validation.” Warner, “He seemed pretty confident just now. You know, the extradition warrants from both Gilboa and Moab are still standing. Now that CrossGen is out of Ammon, I have no real reason to keep you here.” William, “You wouldn’t!” Warner, “You’re right, I wouldn’t. As long as I don’t have a real reason to send you back. I advise you to watch your back.” William, “I don’t want to, but I can still go to Gath. Fortunately for you, in Gath, they wouldn’t know luxury if it fucked them in the ass. So I’d rather stay here.” Warner, “Make sure you pay your taxes, then.”

David, Abby, and Asher meet with Gerald in the palace. David, “With William Cross removed from CrossGen, you have no reason to keep us here.” Gerald, “You aren’t going anywhere, Shepherd.” David, “Sir, I thought you wanted to see Silas overthrown.” Gerald, “Oh, believe me, I do, but now, I’m going to be the one who does it, not you.” Abby, “If you let us go, David will be much more willing to cooperate with Gath once he’s king! Not only could there be long-lasting peace, there could be a real partnership between our nations, one that’s beneficial to both of us!” Gerald, “And the only reason that you aren’t currently sitting in a prison camp north of the arctic circle is because I’m using you as a bargaining chip against Jack Benjamin to keep CrossGen here in Gath. Don’t worry, though. I’ll let you go, eventually, but only when there’s no more Gilboa for you to return to, or be king of.” David, “This is absurd! How many people have to die for your petty grievances against Silas? This is your last opportunity for real and lasting peace!” Gerald, “The only way to ensure peace between Gath and Gilboa is for one to no longer exist.” Abby, “And you think Gilboans are just going to accept Gath’s rule? Sir, you saw what happened when Silas tried to give you the Borderlands. You’ve seen what we’ve done to our own wretched king. What makes you think that Gilboa will just happily sit back and accept a foreign despot as its leader?” Gerald looks at David, “I know you’re tired of fighting. I know you never wanted to be a leader, and the war you’ve been waging is starting to get to you. The guards posted outside your apartment door report your voice sounding panicked during thunderstorms. I know you’ve been seeing a therapist who works with veterans.” David, “None of that means I’m ready to give up.” Gerald, “You have a breaking point, Shepherd. All men do. Silas is past his, and you’re very close to yours. All I have to do is find your final weakness. I know you have a worst fear. Something you pray never happens. I suggest you give up before that fear is ever realized.”

David talks to Joel and Shay over facetime. Shay, “We’re hiding out near the border. It’ll be no problem for me to lead in a team of Queens, take out your guards, get you out of there quick.” David, “They’ll see you coming. Gerald’s pretty intent on keeping me here. You can send a team, but it’ll be a big fucking mess and cost a lot of lives. I don’t want that.” Shay, “Well what the fuck do you want us to do, then, David? We can’t just leave you there and wait until Gerald takes over Gilboa” David, “I don’t know! There’s a way out, I know there is, I just have to figure it out!” Joel, “Don’t be losing your nerve, David.” David, “I’m not!” Joel, “Sometimes you just have to do something ugly.” David, “Can you just give me some time?” Shay, “We will, but if you can’t figure something out, we’re coming to get you, got it?” David, “If I see an opportunity, I’ll take it.” Shay, “Message us if something happens.” David, “Okay. Bye.” Shay, “Bye.”

In her palace apartment, Michelle serves Jack up a bowl full of mac ’n’ cheese, “Hope you don’t mind it’s just stuff from a box. Cooking is still on my to-learn list.” Jack, “That’s the best kind.” Michelle extends her arm, and her sleeve rises to expose a bandage on her bicep. Jack, “You get a new tat?” Michelle looks down, “Yeah. It’s a portrait of Seth. It turns out beautifully. I’d love to show it to Helen. I’ve been asking around, trying to figure out where she is.” Jack, “Do you thinks he’s even still alive?” Michelle, “She is. I don’t think Silas would just kill Seth’s mother. I think she had something to do with the scar on his cheek, but with school and studying, I don’t have enough time to do a proper investigation.” Michelle sits down and they both eat. Jack, “I think we might be able to leave soon.” Michelle, “What?” Jack, “Today Monique told me that Shay and Joel are cooking up some kind of plan to get David, Abby, and Asher out of Gath. She said once they’re back in Gilboa, it’ll be our turn to escape.” Michelle, quietly, “I’m not sure if I want to go with you.” Jack, “What? Don’t you want to be with Abby?” Michelle, “I do! I really fucking do! I just- I’m not even through my first semester!” Jack, “What was your plan when you signed up?” Michelle, “To get Silas to stop treating me like a little girl.” Jack, “Probably should have thought things through a little bit more.” Michelle, “I’ve always wanted to do this, you know that! Look, in the big picture of the AFG, I’m not an officer like you are. I’m just a medic, and there are other medics. I feel like I can do so much more once I’m an actual doctor.” Jack, “All right. I guess that’s understandable.” He raises his middle finger at her, “What bones am I holding up?” Michelle, exasperated, “Jack!” Jack, “I want to see what you’re learning.” Michelle, “The distal, middle, and proximal phalanges of the third finger.” Jack grins, “Okay. I’m going to assume that’s the right answer.” Michelle, “It is.” Jack, “I guess you are learning something.” Michelle, “This is something I’ve been thinking about. As much as I want to be with Abby, and helping the fight, I just can’t ignore the gut feeling that this is where I belong.” Jack, “I get it. Anyway, before we can go anywhere, David has to get out of Gath. I have no idea when that’s going to happen.” Michelle, “I hope it happens soon. Honestly… I don’t think the fighting is going to last much longer. With Silas wandering around at night, muttering about Kathleen… he’s in no shape to lead. Honestly, how much longer can he hold out?” Jack, “Mom wants him to leave the throne before it’s too late and he loses his shit permanently.” Michelle, “Are you serious?” Jack nods, “Yeah. I told her up front, me getting ownership of CrossGen meant I could go fight again. She still helped me take over.” Michelle shakes her head in disbelief, “Maybe I won’t have to choose between school and the AFG, then.” Jack, “Can you imagine being that lucky?”

Run-down synagogue in Gaza, Asher teaches shul, his guard, Theo watching over him. Abby cuts a piece of cake from the snack table, with her guard, Max, watching. David talks to Dr. Othman in the back of the pews. Othman, “Look, I’m glad to help you, but I have a strict rule about not meeting with patients outside of regular office hours unless it’s an absolute emergency.” David, “This isn’t about therapy. I talked to Gerald, he knows I’m seeing you.” Othman, “I see a lot of patients.” David, “I’ll bet I’m the only one with a guard who follows him into a synagogue.” He glances over at Adrian, the guard sitting across the aisle from them. David, “Agreeing to treat me may have put you in danger.” Othman, “I knew it would be a risk. Rabbi Levinson said so when he asked me. I may have retired from the army, but I’m still a soldier. I’m willing to do the right thing, even if it’s dangerous.” David, “Okay, good. Stop me if this gets too far into therapy territory, but, you really have been helping me. I’ve actually been eating and sleeping.” Othman, “Thrilled to hear it.” David, “Actually, I’m gonna go grab some cake. Enjoy the sermon.” David goes over to the snack table and slices himself a piece of cake. Suddenly, there’s a loud BOOM outside, causing everyone to jump. Adrian heads outside. With no one on him, David slips the knife into his pocket. Adrian rushes back in, and Theo and Max rush up to him. Adrian, “Everyone stay calm, and stay inside! A building down the street just blew up, I don’t know what happened!” Theo, “We have to go help, man!” David speaks up, “I know how to help!” Adrian, “Oh, no, I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight!” Theo, “We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Adrian goes over to David and grabs him. Asher, “Hey, what are you doing?” Adrian, “I’m putting you three where you can’t get in trouble!” He pushes David into a small back room. Theo and Max push Asher and Abby in after him.” Adrian, “You’re staying here! Theo and Max, you go help, I’ll keep guard.” Theo and Max rush off. Adrian turns around and shuts the door. David, “What happened? Was it a bomb?” Adrian, “How the fuck should I know?” He starts to turn around, but David lunges for him, and stabs the cake knife into his throat. Abby suppresses a scream, “David, what the fuck?!” David, “Only got one guard, lots of chaos, perfect opportunity to get the fuck out of Gath.” He kneels down and cuts his ankle monitor off. He looks up at Abby, “Come on, lemme get yours.” Abby goes over, and David cuts off her monitor. Asher follows, “Do you have an actual plan here?” David, “I’ll just go hotwire a car. We can get close to the border, we may have to hike our way across it, but we can message Shay and Joel and have someone meet us.” He cuts off Asher’s monitor. Asher, “That sounds way too simple.” David, “You got a better plan?” The door opens behind them. David grabs Adrian’s gun and points it at the door. Dr. Othman stands there, staring down at the scene. David, “Can we borrow your car?” Cut to: In the parking lot, Othman leads David, Asher, and Abby towards his car. Othman, “I was going to tell you that you were handling the explosion very well, but now I’m not so sure.” David, “Sorry to disappoint you.” Othman, “They’re going to be expecting the three of you to be together, so it may be wise for two of you to hide in the trunk. David’s the most recognizable, and Abby’s the smallest, so it should probably be you two.” He opens the trunk of his car. Abby climbs in, and David follows, “I’m not squishing you, am I?” Abby, “Fuckin’ cozy.” Othman, “You good in there?” David pulls his phone out, “As good as we can be. I’ll message Joel and Shay.” Othman slams the trunk door shut. He turns to Asher, “You should probably take the kippah off. They’re gonna be looking for a rabbi.” Asher takes his kippah off and gets into the car.

David, still in the trunk, talks to Shay over FaceTime, “I dunno how far we’ve gone, but we’re headed toward the border.” Shay, “Where the fuck are you?” David, “In the trunk of my therapist’s car. Abby’s with me.” Abby, “W’sup?” Shay, “Tell me about the explosion. It wasn’t the Amalekites, was it?” David, “I don’t know.” Shay, “A building that just happens to be down the street from you just happens to blow up which just happens to give you a getaway opportunity. That’s not a coincidence.” David, “Yeah, well, whatever the hell it is, you need to send someone to meet us.” Shay, “Will do. See you soon.” David ends the call.

Up in the front, Asher spots a road block, “Oh, fuck.” Othman, “Don’t worry. I got a plan. Give me the gun.” Asher hands him the gun, and he sticks it in his waistband. They pull up, and Othman rolls down the front window. A soldier asks, “You got ID?” Othman reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and shows the soldier his driver’s license. Asher pretends to search his pockets, “Oh, shit, I must have left my wallet at home. Didn’t know there’d be checkpoints today.” The soldier looks at him, “Can you both step out of the vehicle, please?” Othman remains very calm and does as he’s told. Asher struggles not to panic. The soldiers searches the car, “Do you have anything in your trunk?” Othman, “Yes, I do, actually.” Asher looks at him panic fully setting in. Othman goes to the trunk and opens it. David and Abby look up, terrified. Othman gestures for Abby to stay put, and says, “It’s time to get out, David.” Slowly, David gets out of the trunk. The soldier points his gun at him, “Put your hands where I can see them!” David raises his hands. Two other soldiers come up. Othman pushes David down, pulls the gun out from behind him, and shoots the main soldier. He ducks and knocks the other over, and then shoots the second one, and then the one he knocked over. David jumps to his feet. Othman, “Get back in!” David squeezes back in the trunk, and Othman slams the door shut. He and Asher both get back into the car, and speed away. Othman whoops, “Just like the good old days!” Asher, “What the fuck?!” Othman, “I may be retired, but I’m still a soldier!” Asher looks at him in horror and confusion.

Rose, done up in an elegant nightgown and robe, sits down on the sofa in the living area, and calls out, “Silas!” Silas enters. He sees Rose looking beautiful, and his eyebrows raise in interest, “Yes?” Rose pats the seat next to her, “Come sit with me.” Silas sits down, “You look radiant tonight.” Rose seductively puts her hand on his shoulder, “I’ve had this dream, Silas, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.” Silas, “Go on.” Rose, “It’s a cabin, up in the mountains. Far away from everyone else. No business. No responsibilities. Just you and me. Together. Happy.” Silas smiles sadly, “It’s a beautiful dream.” Rose, “It’s not just a dream,” she picks up a tablet, and pulls up a picture of a beautiful cabin in the middle of lush pine woods. Rose, “I bought it yesterday. There’s a good stream for fishing near by. Plenty of land for hunting. It’s the only building for miles. There’s even a small garden where you can grow tomatoes in the summertime. You deserve it. You deserve a good long rest, Silas.” Silas, “I can’t just take off in the middle of two wars.” Rose, “Perhaps its time you let Jack take over.” Silas, “Jack? I can’t let him take over!” Rose, “You’ve seen what he’s grown into. He’s a smart, capable leader! He’s strong like you are! He’ll be a good king!” Silas, “He’ll be king for five minutes and then hand the crown over to Shepherd.” Rose, quietly, “Perhaps that’s for the best, Silas.” Silas looks at her like she just uttered a vulgar insult. Rose goes on, “You wander around at night, muttering about Kathleen. You haven’t given yourself time to properly mourn for Seth.” Silas, “Seth has nothing to do with how I behave as king.” Rose, “Seth has everything to do with you as king! You never gave yourself the time to mourn for Kathleen, and look at what happened!” Silas, “I became king!” Rose, “Your children never knew she existed, and you were never happy! I know it still hurts you!” Silas, “I can’t give up!” Rose, “It’s not giving up! It’s doing the right thing!” Silas, “Even my fucking wife has turned against me!” Rose, weeping, “I’m not against you! I love you so, so much!” Silas, “Then why are you telling me all this?!” Rose, “You’re old, Silas! We’re old! You’ve worked so hard, done so much! It’s time to let it all go! You deserve peace!” Silas, “I can’t!” Rose, “Yes, you can!” Silas, “Giving the crown over means I’ve failed! I can’t fail! My father was a failure, and I am not my father!” Rose, “Please, Silas, please. While you still have the chance.” Silas breathes heavily, tears form in his eyes, “I can’t, Rose. I just can’t.” Rose, “I know this is what you want.” Silas, “I do want it. All I’ve ever wanted was a happy, peaceful life, to make you happy, to make my children happy. But I’m a king, and a king makes sacrifices.” Rose puts her face in her hands and weeps. Silas, quietly, “Maybe when the war is over.”

Gerald sits, surrounded by his advisors. One looks at his phone, “Shepherd just made a social media post, confirming that he, Hatch, and Levinson are back in Gilboa.” Gerald is non-plussed, “He had to have been the one who set the bomb off, then. Damnit, he’s smart.” Another advisor, “Sir, this was a suicide bombing, targeting civilians, two things Shepherd has sharply disavowed. I believe this was the work of the Amalekites.” Gerald, “They’re Gilboa’s problem, not ours!” Advisor 2, “The Amalekites aren’t bound by national identity. They’ve attacked Aram in the past. They could very well turn and attack Gath.” Gerald, “It doesn’t matter. It’s time to end the war once and for all. It’s time for the final invasion of Gilboa. Prepare the army. I want to attack within twenty-four hours.”

David sits in a border safehouse, having dinner with the rest of the AFG leadership, “God, I swear, even the food in Gath somehow is depressing. I am so glad to be out of there. I can’t wait to be back with Jack again. Do we have a plan in mind for getting him out of Shiloh?” Shay, “It’ll be tricky, but with Monique in the palace, we can do it.” David, “Good. If we’re lucky, maybe we can actually get Silas while we’re at it.” Joel, “Hey, where’s the doctor you came with? He’s gotta be starving, too. Besides, we gotta thank him. If we had medals, we’d have to give him one.” David, “I have a mental list of everyone who’s done something to deserve a medal. He’s definitely going on it.” Joel, “Where is he, though?” David, “I dunno.” Shay, “Go find him. I want him to tell me about how he got those three Phils.” David, “Okay, but he’s ex-Phil, so you can’t say that around him.” Shay, “Got it.” David gets up and goes looking for Othman. He finds him sitting quietly by himself on a bed. David, “Hey, we’ve got some really good food, if you’re hungry, and Shay and Joel want to thank you.” Othman looks at David, sad and quiet, “I killed three of my fellow soldiers today.” David, “I- I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to say to that.” Othman shakes his head, “It’s alright. That’s war. I loved being a soldier. I loved the rush of battle. When I left the army, I couldn’t be happy, because nothing compared to the thrill of a fight. I got help, I put my life back together, I even became a therapist to help my fellow soldiers. And as soon as I got a whiff of the old action, look what it did to me. I took an oath to protect Gath and its citizens. Today, I shattered it in the most profane way possible.” David, “I’m sorry.” Othman, “That’s war. It turns men into beasts.” David, “I’m doing everything I can to end it soon.” Othman, “It’s not enough.”

William walks through his Ammon home, wearing a robe, holding a high ball, looking exhausted. He sits down in his comfy chair, but then jumps and looks over in shock at the space next to him. Amal stands there, pointing a gun at him and smiling wickedly, “Hi, William. I heard you want to be king.”