#i'm too lazy to make more than one post and i choose violence

[distort-opia]

This might sound silly and i know bruce is bisexual and all but from a queer standpoint, the scene where he proposes to selina feels a lot like compulsory heterosexuality. "I love you. I HAVE to love you."

And considering the timeline, joker was HIDDEN INSIDE BRUCE'S BASEMENT my god the implications, the metaphor....

Yeah, the whole thing is... [clears throat] very interesting. These two panels, which happen relatively close in time, put it into perspective:

Batman (2016) #32 // Dark Days: The Casting

However, to be entirely honest, I don't think Bruce proposing to Selina, and that whole arc... can be boiled down to just compulsory heterosexuality. It's more complicated than that. Bruce is doing this after interacting with the Batman of Flashpoint, his own father, who begs him to try and be happy. And Bruce's idea of happiness, very much inspired by Thomas', is settling down with a woman and having a family. Gaining peace.

Tom King is the one who wrote the wedding arc, and the whole thing is permeated by this... typically masculine, American idealization of women as this isle of peace that a tortured man yearns for, but can never fully choose. I'm sure there's names for this trope or stereotype, but I'm too lazy to look this up. Think Michael Mann movies, think James Bond movies, think stories about criminals and agents and soldiers leading a dark violent life aspiring to put down arms, and the whole dream being entangled with a woman. A female character who usually isn't fleshed out beyond the representation of leaving a life of violence behind, having a nice wife and nice children in a nice house with a nice white picket fence. Tbh it's not surprising to me that King ended up writing Bruce and Selina with these undertones, because of King's infamous background with the CIA before he became a comic book writer.

And thing is, I don't think it's inaccurate to portray Bruce this way. Bruce has lead a long life of violence, and he wants to want to stop. He wishes it didn't define him as much as it does, he wishes there was another path for him-- and this wish drives his attempt to settle down with Selina. "I have to love you" is less about "you're a woman and I should marry a woman", it's more about "if I love you I am more of a human being, and I need that." Yes, it's compulsory heterosexuality too, in the sense that Bruce is drawing from the heteronormative idea that happiness can only be achieved through normality, and normality = wife and retirement. But it's also a sad, desperate attempt at salvaging himself through Selina, whom he does love... but the things he loves about her are less about her, and more about himself. In the end, his own subconscious acknowledges all of it, during the Knightmares arc:

Batman (2016) #69

[sigh] It's all quite sad. And I've said it in a different post, but this is partly why -- in a seemingly paradoxical way -- a relationship with Joker has the potential to work. "You can't love anyone but the Vow, but the Bat," Selina (a figment of his own mind) tells Bruce. And Joker is part of the Vow. In many ways, over the decades, Joker has become the endgame of the Vow, the incarnation of all the things the Bat is supposed to defeat. It's fucked up and makes me want to chew on glass, but the Bat could allow loving Joker, because loving Joker would be a part of the Mission.

Anyway, I went on a bit of an unncessary tangent, but yeah! I do agree, Anon. So many implications.

[chericherilvr]

Non-violent communication

What will this post talk about?

☆ How I learned NVC

☆ What is NVC (non-violent communication)

☆ What is violent communication

☆ Steps to NVC

☆ Strategy to deal with things

☆ How it helped me

What are my sources? Why NVC? Why now?

Recently I joined a course for personal development on young people (ages 18-23) On our last class we talked about Non-violent communication.

And I wanted to use the opportunity to talk about what is it so more people can benefit from it :)

I don't want this to be really theory based, so I will be giving practical examples on how you can also implement this in your life,,

So, what is NVC?

Non-violent communication is based on human feelings and needs

The purpose is to create empathy for ourselves and others in order to cooperate with our needs and feelings, all in a non violent way

However, this creates the further question: What is violence, specifically when communicating?

Sure, "you're an idiot" and/or insulting people is violent. But did you know you can be violent in many different ways?

Judgement. Judgement comes from the belief that things are this or that, good or bad, right or wrong. some examples are:

"You did this wrong"

"That kind of people are evil"

"These people don't deserve that"

When we label people "X is so lazy" we create a distance between us

Comparisons. Comparing people, or ourselves, to others. When comparing something you're also making a judgement based statement in which something is "worse" than the other thing.

Too much or too little responsibility. Things like "I was late because of X" are denial of responsibility. While things like "I have to do X" Take too much responsibility. Changing the last one with "choosing to" rather than "have to" can help us a lot. With the first one, although I don't have a clear answer, just remember that it's something out of your control.

Making demands. this is NOT asking for help. Asking for something can be a demand if the other person feels like they'll be punished if they don't do it. Or telling the other person that they MUST do something.

These were some examples that came up in my class, but I'm sure there are more. These examples aren't meant to make you feel bad about yourself. Here it's a zone without judgement, even for ourselves. They're just to bring awareness to how we communicate.

What are the steps towards NVC? pt1

I'm separating this point in different ones as I want to talk about things in between

For starters everything starts at knowing what actually is empathy.

Empathy vs sympathy

We watched this video regarding empathy vs sympathy, which I'll talk about the things I took out, but feel free to watch the video for full understanding.

Empathy is bringing no judgment when talking with someone, or ourselves. It's listening, trying to understand.

The thing is, you can't ever truly understand someone, it's impossible. What I personally do is try to relate (in my head) the feeling they're explaining to me to something I went through in which I experienced the same feeling. This brings me close and makes me connect with the person.

And, when not knowing what to say, telling them/ourselves "I might not know what to say or fully understand you. But I am here, for you."

Sympathy on the other hand is trying to be 'nice' bringing unsolicited solutions, saying that it will get better, or saying that other people have it worse.

Sympathy creates a distance between you and the person you're trying to be "empathetic" with.

My advice, aside from the technique I'll talk about later is, when talking to people, ask them what they need. Sometimes they want advice, others they want a hug and a great listener

What are the steps towards NVC? pt2

I figured the best way to explain this is by giving you the same exercise that we did in class.

NVC is based on four things: Observation. Feeling. Need. Demand/action. I'll explain them later don't worry, the exercise we'll do will be based on these four things as well

This exercise helps me whenever I'm in a situation in which I don't see clearly or I'm stressing over. Also regarding other people.

Things you'll need:

A piece of paper

A pen/pencil

1. First draw two lines on the paper making it so there's four boxes on the paper, four spaces you can write on.

On the top left box write on top: Observation

On the top right write: Feeling

On the bottom left write: Needs

And on the bottom right write: Demand/action

2. Now let's think of a situation in which we want to work through. I'll be using a random example. The non-processed example is:

I come home to a disaster. I find plates broken on the floor, and utensils, and what is that? Fu- My favorite mug is broken on the floor. I want to cry. My roommate then comes and tells me she did it. Why can't anything work in my favour?

3. The first step is "observation" we gotta strip away all the judgement and get to the facts. Write down on the first box what is the fact of the problem.

There are broken plates, utensils, and my favourite mug broken on the floor

That's a fact, that's the neutral reality. This makes us see the problem for what it is, not how we felt on the moment.

4. Now we sit on that statement and we think, how does that make me feel? Where do I feel it in my body?

Sad. Rage. Grief. I feel a tightness in my chest.

5. What are the needs that come from the problem and help the feelings?

I need a connection (the mug I loved)

I need to cry (I am sad)

I need peace (I need the space to be clean and organized)

I need peace (today was stressful)

6. Now it's time to think of an action. This action is made to fulfill the need. And it has to be something you know will work. Or something you haven't tried yet. It's of no use to say "I'm going to use a schedule" if you know for a fact it won't help you or cover your needs.

I am going to allow myself to cry. (I need to cry)

I'm going to make a drawing for my broken cup, and get a new one (grief; need of connection)

I'm going to try out to watch a new movie and rest in the sofa (I need peace)

Extra thing. That process works for ourselves, but what about the roommate? How can we communicate non-violently how we felt and the situation?

1. Communicate the facts.

"There are broken plates and mugs on the floor" instead of "The floor is a mess" or "You broke my favorite mug"

2. Ask how they feel

(roommate) "I know, I was cleaning when the cabinet broke down. I cut myself and I just came back from putting on a bandaid. I'm sorry I broke your cup"

3. Find a solution that fits both of your needs

(roommate +) (me -)

- Thanks for apologizing, right now I need to lay down, process what happened, and maybe cry a bit. + I can clean up the plates

- Actually can you hug me and can we talk for a while? It's been a stressful day and I need connection with someone

+ I would love to, do you mind if I clean up quickly before tho? I need the space to be clean before I can concentrate

- Sure, thank you

Since this is a long post, I'm going to stop right here. Overall I hope I could help with the start of your journey towards non-violent communication ♡♡

Sena's out ᰔ

[cherokeegal1975]

Article below is what I wrote on my post on DeviantART for this game idea that I very much know isn't going to happen. I thought it might if I could find the right game developer that would be willing to work with me, but I quickly discovered that game developers do not like outside ideas, especially unsolicited ones. I can't do it myself partly because I can't afford the classes or the resources needed to get it done...and I'd probably need a team, which I'll never get. Also, I look at myself and realize that even though I'd enjoy games and probably do well in them, I write stories okay, but I don't have it in me to create challenges, different outcomes or puzzles. I'm not talented that way. Even so, it was a fun idea to think about. I look forward to putting this artwork into my art journal when I can afford to get it made.

    I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's a stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since out grown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is a enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did down play the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game when ever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.

[rdbrainz]

tbh i don’t remember posting these on here and i’m pretty sure i didn’t in any case you just have to look at my art because i’m proud of myself  i think most of these are uhhh... about two years old now?? man it’s been so long

[peachu11]

My experience in the healthcare field.

I just wanted to make a PERSONAL vent post about the healthcare world and the struggles that were never communicated to me prior to me choosing this profession. I feel like these are important issues that need to be discussed not only for those already in the profession but those thinking of committing the time, money, sweat, and tears into their education to become a healthcare worker.

I am a patient care technician for a hospital and I'm in nursing school. No one in my immediate family is in the healthcare field.

1. Applying to nursing school.

It took me a few years to get the best "resume" needed to be accepted into a nursing school. You will jump through a million hoops just to be accepted. I'm average when it comes to science and terrible at math so I struggled more than others. Nursing school requirements are ridiculous with their science GPA, GPA, HESI, TEAS, interviews, essays, and personality tests just to even be considered against the hundreds of others applying for that same limited space available. Universities are worse than community colleges but don't think for a second that community colleges are easy to get into either. It's like the difference between falling out a second story window and a third story window... it's gonna hurt either way. I had family that told me I was selfish and lazy for failing to get into a school when they really didn't understand how difficult it is. There will be people out there calling you selfish and lazy when you are IN nursing school and you can't work and do school at the same time. They will never understand the struggle.

2. TV shows are unrealistic.

Everyone knows TV is fake but for some reason you always get Those people in your class that think it's glamorous to be an ICU, ER, trauma nurse. It's not. You can't do those jobs for the Good Feels of being a good person. It's not even about compassion. You can't be compassionate in those situations or you will break. You have to be firm and fight for your patient all while being emotionally traumatized over and over again. Having to do a code on a post-CABG patient who has already coded 3 times in ICU is not glamorous and exciting. I'm sorry but no. Watching TV shows about hospitals will be awful now too. Extremely unrealistic when it comes to equipment and certain medical interventions (obviously it's for the Drama) and certain scenes just get your anxiety up when you see them in similar situations you have been in that bring up that latent emotional trauma.

3. Sexual harassment and physical violence.

You will absolutely get patients who feel it is okay to hurt you and sexually harass you. When you have to do a job where patients only wear a gown, for some reason some patients associate nakedness with sex so they perceive the work you're doing as sexual advances and not health management or medical interventions. I can assure you I am not wiping their butts so they can think I'm sexy. I'm wiping their butts because they can't and I have to worry about skin integrity. Some just take the opportunity that's given and sexually harass you like if you have to do a surgery prep and shave their groin so they think "what the hell, they're already close to my genitals, might as well try and get them to touch it". They will think it's okay to grab you anywhere they want and to ask you on dates. Call those losers out on their bad behavior. If they try to hurt you, call security and book it. There is a ton of training associated with self-defense in the medical field. Just know when you start your journey to be a nurse, I guarantee you that you will be assaulted in some way, shape, or form.

4. Emotional trauma.

Unless you're a rock, you will be emotionally traumatized to some degree and only people who also work in the medical field will be able to understand your traumas. You'll have people you know tell you "people die but you have to get over it" and let me tell you it is one of the hardest things to see someone who just passed let alone clean them for visitors. It's hard to see people actively dying. You never forget their faces and the sounds and smells. You never forget the things that happened to their body as a result of diseases or trauma. Even when you don't see the bodies but you know they have no options left and they're so tired from the chemo or dialysis. It's worse when you have to do CPR and they're fragile to begin with. I haven't had to do CPR and I want to keep it that way. You swap stories with coworkers and watch them cry because that one memory was too painful. Horror stories that involved painful decisions to be made. Patients who don't want to give up the fight but you know they lost the war. This isn't fun and this isn't something someone can do for a long time if your hospital is in a place where you get some pretty bad cases. Rural hospitals aren't as bad because they care flight all their trauma out but you do see more amputations from farm equipment and stuff. Also, this trauma is not just A Nurse's Trauma. Any staff that works with these patients will be traumatized. EMT, nurses, doctors, techs, secretaries, social workers, and even the custodians will witness the same traumatic experience to varying degrees.

5. Nurses eat their young.

Nursing school already sucks but you will also get those nurses at clinical sites that hate you for being a student. They couldn't be bothered to deal with you and will actively try to not get you or if they do, will leave you behind. Not all nurses are bad but most will have no problem being a jerk to you.

6. Your license is precious.

Hospitals and coworkers will push you as far as they can. You will have an unsafe patient load or float you to units you're not too good at but expect you to do the same work. You can't float a L&D nurse to ER and expect the same work (just an example, not calling anyone out). Giving a nurse too many patients is dangerous to the patients. It's a free for all out there and absolutely no one will have your back when the going gets tough so you constantly have to protect yourself. You can call safe harbor or join a union. You can do things but it doesn't always work. Hospitals (and especially nursing homes) will ALWAYS understaff and push the people they do have to their limits.

7. Your back will never be the same.

I will never forget my first week of hospital tech work. It hurt to even let the bed sheet touch my toes. You will hurt. Working a 12hr shift lifting people and equipment will wear you out. When I work the floor, I walk about 6+ miles a shift. This is manual labor. You will get home and pass out and wake up hurting so bad you can't stand straight. Unless you're Super Fit, you will struggle. Wear good shoes that fit well. Get shoe inserts. Get compression socks. Wear comfortable scrubs. Wear a bra that can hold your Ladies well during a workout. Don't be afraid to tell your charge nurse "hey, between that one patient falling on top of me and that other that took 5 of us to get back in bed... I think I hurt myself." Report any work injuries.

I might add more later. These were just the things that were on my mind bugging me today. Again, these are all my PERSONAL FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES. Not everyone's experiences will be the same.

[aikoyumi89]

My F*cking Assh*le Dad

This is probably stupid to anyone who read it (heck I doubt anyone will read it besides me in probably 10 years later) but I still gonna write my feelings out because I don't want to hold it anymore.

So my piece of sh*t " dad " ( I don't even want to call him my dad so I probably gonna call him Ass-face) is probably one of the worst parents in where I live ( I know probably there are more situations worser than me but let me have my moments even for a tiny bit ) that ass-face is always think that he is number 1 , everyone should obey every order of him because he f*cking earn money. When he come back from work all he ever do is sit around play with his phone , laptop or the Ipad ( I not really complain about that - everyone need breaks after work ) but that doesn't mean he can give himself premisson to be lazy in the house and do nothing at all. My mother and my sister also earn money to help this family as well so don't be a f*cking lazy ass and at least do some work (such as : help mother to carry the food dishes when we about to eat and finish , clean the house , take out the trash , etc. ) but nooooooo he give himself to watch us do the work because he f*cking earn money . I'm so f*cking " irritates " ( I don't know if I write that word correctly but if not then what I meant is annoyed ) . And also he smokes everyone - the trait that I HATE MOST in a person , because not only it is bad for your own health but also it affects the people surround you and the smells is ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. If you don't give half a f*ck about your own damn health and want to die soon than please by all means keep smoking I sincerely hope you will die soon from smoking too much and I will not pay a single dollars for your health problems if you will DEFINITELY encounter in the ( near future ) . But let your soon-to-be future of you slide what I displeased that in all the places you could have f*cking smoked ass-face the place that you choose is the bathroom slash toliet . I get that you don't give a f*ck for your health but I f*cking do ok ???? I don't want to smell that f*cking cigarette near me or in the bathroom I have told you about a hundred time but you f*cking brain must have problems because you keep going in there to smoke . I don't want to die because of your faults ass-face , I would accept my death to be something that not related to cigarettes thank you very much .

So today that happens again, I found him smoking in the bathroom ( if you are wondering why did he smoke in the bathroom it is because our house is small we aren't really rich enough to buy big houses ) even though I sicked to the guts to say it everytime but it was late I was about to brush my teeth and I don't want to smell it while I brush my teeth but that f*cking ass-face just have to do it . He told me that he smoked outside and only went into the bathroom to throw the cigarettes, I don't understand why can't he threw the cigarettes somewhere else why must it be THE BATHROOM . I got angry and say the " curse word " and he got angry told me that if I ever say that word ever again he will beat me . Honestly I can't give half a sh*t because I sick of the way if that ass-face cannot have what he wants he either drags mother in to the conversation ( like why don't you say anything , etc.) which that make him look like a f*cking bitch or he will say " I will use violence " .

I really wish my parents ( especially that ass-face ) would hear my own opinions more than force their will's on me . I am not prefect - I never was ... never am .... and never will be . They need to accept me and I will accept them as they are . I can't give them respect if all they do is ignore my feelings .

P/s : For those strangers that read this ... it may look stupid to you because this is just a really small issue but I need to release it or else I will go crazy with the thinking and don't get me wrong I would kill to share this with someone else but ... I think no one will genuinely care to even listen to me ... I kinda like a loner haha 😅 I actually want to share this with my brother #Q but whenever I text him he say that he forgot to reply to me (example : in the picture ) he tag me in a post where basically that when someone didn't reply immediately that means they are busy so cannot reply but there are also say that it means the message not really important that need reply right away . I think that not true ( the message not important one not the busy one ) I get that you might be busy at that moment but when you have the chance you should reply immediately- the person who send the text send it in the beginning for a reason maybe it's just a photo or a meme but when they send a message they often expect a reply- making people wait isn't a really nice gesture. Even though your answer maybe simply like a emoji or a like that show that you read the message not ignoring it . Sigh .... I am f*cking sad right now .

[thestraggletag]

Hi sorry to bother you, but I'm a bit confused. I know Burnie is that guy everyone loved during the election and that his attempt to become the nominee split the Dem party, and I realize it's pretty messed up that he's the opening speaker at a thing focused on women, but was there anything else he's done that's made you dislike him so strongly? I've only heard good things about him, so I've been mostly neutral, but is there anything people aren't talking about that sheds new light on him?

Most of my problems with Bernie are more to do with his following (the Bernie Bros) than with him. Now people might think this unfair (why is he to blame for what people who like him do, is he expected to somehow control his followers???) but I don’t, mostly because Bernie made little to NO attempt at curtailing the people who were viciously attacking Hillary in his name. He benefited from both the Republican establishment and his own followers spreading lies and dirty attacks on Hillary and did very little to stop it. That way he came out as “the guy who is running a clean campaign” because he was not directly getting down and dirty and at the same time making sure his rival WAS getting slammed, at no cost to him or his reputation (the same way, Hillary has been criticised NOT because she or her entourage started the birther rumour about Obama but because she didn’t do enough to shut it down at the time, benefiting from it during her first primaries against Obama, so Hillary pays the price for this, but somehow we can’t hold Bernie to the same standards).

On a personal level (meaning what BERNIE has done, not what he has cleverly allowed others to do) I resent that Bernie didn’t bring his A-game after primaries to back Hillary and try to take the republicans down. He did the OPPOSITE, and by the time he came around to it the deed was fucking done (he refuses to acknowledge this, however). 

I also resent that his campaign played up the DNC scandal way too much (not absolving the DNC here at all, but this is not a post about them). Sanders was a non-democrat who was using the Democratic Party to try to get a nomination for president because he KNEW he didn’t stand a chance as an Independent but he saw it wrong that democrats weren’t 100% behind him, and if there was anything outright illegal about what they did he was quick to make it seem like it was directly organised by Hillary and not simply the DNC choosing their long-term part member over him (this is, roughly, the very same DNC who once upon a time stood back while Obama won the primaries, so we really can’t say this was all just about them wanting Hillary to win, and no one is accusing them of favouritism during THOSE elections, for some reason). He also made a point to always remind people he wasn’t a Democrat, because people associate the Democratic and Republican Parties with the establishment and Bernie was cultivating his anti-establishment image (like Trump, and unlike Trump Bernie has been in the senate for years, so his “not-the-establishment” get out of jail free card was to remind people he wasn’t a democrat), yet somehow he was APPALLED that the DNC didn’t bend over backwards for him (a lot of the criticisms towards the DNC are not about doing something illegal but about not making too much effort towards Bernie’s campaign).

There’s also the fact that I think Bernie has accomplished very little. Not accusing him of being lazy, mostly I’m saying he is inefficient. He lacks the ability to open dialogue and try to meet people in the middle or somehow rope them to his side. His “all or nothing” speeches are cute, but hopelessly unrealistic. You gotta have someone that promises AND delivers, someone who at least can tell you HOW they plan to go about making their promises a reality. Hillary had that in spades, Bernie didn’t, and somehow that was seen as a negative for Hillary. Bernie likes to remain pure, but that gets you nowhere. Nevermind that some of the campaign promises were just flat-out unrealistic and he knew it. 

Nowadays Bernie is back to being more pragmatic, like campaigning for pro-life Democrat Mello, and is somehow managing to come across as a victim because no one can understand that politics are about pragmatism and about not agreeing on every issue and yet still managing to work together. THE SAME THING HE INDIRECTLY CRITICISED HILLARY OVER, MOSTLY BECAUSE SHE DOES THIS SO WELL. He’s literally having his cake and eating it too. This, obviously, wouldn’t be a criticism if Bernie hadn’t first built his campaign image of a candidate untouched by the evils of politics who stayed true to himself in spite of pressure to conform to the evils of Washington. Hillary herself says it well:

“It was beyond frustrating that Bernie acted as if he had a monopoly on political purity and that he had set himself up as the sole arbiter of what it meant to be progressive, despite giving short shrift to important issues such as immigration, reproductive rights, racial justice, and gun safety. I believed we could and should fight both for more equal economic opportunities and greater social justice. They go hand in hand, and it’s wrong to sacrifice the latter in the name of the former.”

Hillary is more progressive than people give her credit for and Bernie is more pragmatic, but HE is the one that managed to carefully craft the image of himself as a Political Unicorn, so pure and rare, and in turn painted Hillary as the corrupt political-savvy witch, a friend of Wall Street (yet he was clever enough not to point out Obama’s Wall Street donours, for example, because he KNEW Obama was loved by the people he was trying to get to vote for him).

His stance on gun control is laughable, and though he is obviously entitled to his opinion he cultivated this idea of being super progressive... while not really. Not for women, not for people who suffer from gun violence. He claimed to represent the progressives of the US but he doesn’t. He’s a man with a lot of progressive ideas, though, I’ll give him that. Well, progressive for Americans, obvious for the rest of the world.

It comes down to an image issue, for me, and to the fact that Bernie benefited from other people doing the dirty work and did nothing to curtail this. In some ways he low-key encouraged it, a subtle word here, a refusal to condemn there, turning a blind eye at times and throwing faint criticism when all else failed.

Hillary has MANY faults. SO many. But she was miles better than Bernie Sanders as a candidate and she would have made a MUCH better president. 

[cherokeegal1975]

Dragoness and Mare Video Game Idea

I know I already posted this, but I thought it would be fun to give a more detailed explanation of my idea. I don't have any hopes of anyone actually taking interest in it as far as actually creating it, but I'd welcome your thoughts on it instead. As for myself, I have a strong interest in video games, but I don't have the knowledge or resources to create one myself. Don't have the money to buy them either. I learn about them from watching play throughs on YouTube. I'm also well aware that game developers do not like outside ideas. It was a fun thing to do at the time. Anyway, here's my concept and the little article I wrote about it on DeviantART below:

   I created a fake game play screen shot.  I can take credit for the horse and the dragon, both the full characters and the heads, but nothing else.  The rest I found online and made use of them like stickers.  I did add the text though.  Call me lazy if you will, but I just wanted to focus on drawing my characters and sharing my concept.  The game itself will never be made, I don't even know how to do such a thing, much less have the funds to buy the programs to make them.   The closest I can come is do a kind of writing game where I say "This thing is happening, if you choose to go left, click the #1 link, if you choose to go right choose the #2 link and keep reading."  I don't see myself doing that anytime soon...if at all.  It's an idea though.     Both the horse and the dragon are based on small plastic toys that I had as a child.  The drawings look a lot better than the original toys I lost so long ago.  Anyway, the basic game idea is that it's a story based, open world, lots of side quests, puzzles, useful collectibles, possibly a bit of a sandbox thing going on in it, with more than one possible ending.  Both animals can talk, both have abilities that compliment the other.  The main focus will be on content and though it doesn't have to be G-rated, it should not be focused mainly on violence or sexual themes.     So what do you think?  I know this isn't the most action packed scene in a game I've ever seen, but use your imagination, this is only one set in a huge world map.  I haven't thought too much on the story plot or anything, only the basic concepts of what I've learned from watching game playthroughs on YouTube.  I gradually learned what kinds of games I like and this one has everything I find fun and appealing in a video game...or so I imagine.     So, tell me what you think of my idea.  I really want to know.

    Update:   (This a journal entry from a few weeks ago, I've already figured out their names and I only added this on to help fill in some detail just in case someone actually wants to take my idea seriously...which I still know is about zero.) I know why a game developer wouldn't want to take my ideas and collaborate with me, they got too many of their own already and want nothing to do with outside help.  It's a shame too, I've got some good ones and just occurred to me that my pink dragon (I can't figure out a name and Rosie won't do because I've got a cat named Rosie here and I don't like to have more than one animal named the same thing even though my dragon isn't real.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Her name was Pink-yellow-blue, but that's the stupid name my child self came up with and I've long since outgrown it.) might make a great avatar for a roll playing game in an open world kind of game.   Her abilities are human speech and intelligence, omnivorous, fire breathing, excellent senses of sight, smell and hearing. Very good at digging, powerful jumps, her tail is as prehensile as a monkey's so she can carry objects with it or help her to hang on to things like tree branches.  Her scales make her tough and fire resistant, excellent climbing capabilities, a really good swimmer and her fore feet work like hands.  She can also stand up and walk for short distances on her hind legs so she can use those hands.  She's the size of a large dog, so that means she can go into smaller places the bigger species of dragons can't.  Her only disadvantage is her lack of wings since her kind never had them in the first place.  Also, males have two small horns on their noses and her kind comes in all colors and patterns, so if they show up in the game, no two would look alike.  Her best friend is a black horse with four white socks, a white mark that starts on her forehead and runs all the way down her nose, a white mane and a white tail and silver eyes, who is just a sweet an intelligent horse in spite of her unusual coloring.  (Haven't drawn the horse yet, but I will.  I had almost forgotten that horse.  It's gone too, lost it long before I lost the dragon).  My character's home environment is an enchanted forest full of giant sentient trees that can change themselves to make hollows in their bases the dragons can use as homes.  The trees can also create mischief for the unwary traveler who disrespects them by shifting positions in such a way that the movement is never seen.  This movement can create false paths and get people hopelessly lost if they aren't careful.  This tendency can also aid my character in finding places if she asks them nicely to help her and most likely they will because their relationship with the tree dragons is a friendly one.   Maybe one of the game goals is to have my dragon go on an adventure to rescue her horse friend?  The game could have puzzles included as well as helpful companions that could come along as the game progresses.  I would like the game to have the best graphics.  I did downplay the details on my dragon a bit because I wanted to hurry up and finish her.  I've been doing a lot of dragons lately and I've gotten tired of drawing more scales than I can count.  So, I just did contours instead and only suggested that she's a scaled dragon.  She's got little lizard like scales except for the ones on her underside and I would love it if that would show up in the game whenever the camera got close enough to see them.   Well, anyway, I am aware that my chances of collaborating a gamer are slim to none, I'm still willing to try to put the suggestion out there just in case someone would take me up on my idea.  This dragon would do great as an avatar.  Not sure of the full plot, but those details could be worked out later by the developer. Also, I think the game controls should have the option to be made to work with a mouse so people on a tight budget don't have to buy a game controller so they can play the game on a laptop.