#it's not cancel culture it's not putting up with your hate speech

[masiy-blooms]

Giant Boyfriend

Slightly Suggestive

After a few months of being lonely, you decided to go on a dating website called “Big bois”. Kind of a weird name but, you then found a guy named “Charlie Dompler”. You checked his bio, you had something in common with him, you like fast food, and hate cancel culture

He was the one.

You Decide to do a blind date with him, and meet up at your houseYou waited for him till 7:30, Charlie texted you he’s up the block

You were so excited to meet your future lover, you were waiting on your balcony, so nervous but excited to meet him

you suddenly saw your drink was shaking slightly, the ground shaking, was it an earthquake…? No…you saw the silhouette of your blind date coming towards your house

He was….gigantic-

when he saw you he had a slight blank expression on his face when he saw you

Charlie: uhh…well this was unexpected

You were embarrassed, and terrified with his size, but for some reason….this you didn’t show fear

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞: 𝐔𝐡𝐡𝐡𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬....

Y/n: Oh nnononono I didn’t know you were gigantic….i just thought you were regular sized

Charlie made a slight chuckle when saw your embarrassed expression but wanted to reassure you

Charlie: 𝐮𝐡𝐡 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨?

Y/n was shy and didn’t want to tell him their height, they would be embarrassed cuz ya know Charlie is giant

Y/n: Well….im….5’3

They said with embarrassment and disappointment in their voice

Charlie: 𝐆𝐞𝐞𝐳 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Charlie said with a slight seductive tone in his voice as he was flirting with you, you blushed when he said that you were a marshmallow compared to his size as he towered over you and your house

Y/n: Well…ummm…you are a perfect example of scary dog privileges

you try to make a comeback with the scary dog privileges thing, Charlie looks at you in a confused manner and tilted his head slightly

Charlie:𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐬? 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲?

y/n got embarrassed-

Y/n:NNONONONONO-! That’s not what I meant what I meant to say was

Y/n wanted to explain something but ended up stuttering in their speech, till they were in defeat

Y/n: UGGHHHHH! F-Fuck me…..

Charlie: *Chuckled* fuck you? Really?

Y/n: NONONONONO ONON! That came out wrong! Shit! Fuck!

y/n was in complete denial and fear of this date going wrong.

Charlie scooped them up in his hand and gave em a lil nuzzle to make em feel better, he saw Y/n was a blushing mess and couldn’t help but laugh

Charlie:𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐡?

y/n: s-shut up….

Charlie then put them in his hoodie pocket to keep em warm and relaxed…his hoodie was nice and cuddly….and for some reason it smelled like saltys

y/n:…..nnnnhhh…so soft

They never felt anything soft and cozy like this, they didn’t care if it smelled like cheeseburgers

Charlie: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?

y/n: yea…so nice….

After two hours of you dating Charlie gave you a kiss and set you down

Charlie: 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐠𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐚

he waved goodbye as his giant footsteps faded away, this was….the best date ever!!

Hope you enjoyed my Story!

[nightswithkookmin]

How is this confusing?

Did they stutter?

They said those images are her personal photos , PERSONAL. That presupposes they are not only REAL PHOTOS but also that she didn't intend to share them with the public. Ergo the invasion of privacy part.

Don't be slow.

But look at how vague they tried to be by not stating explicitly which photos are real and which aren't. Note they didn't comment on the relationship rumor because they have already said that's none of their business. Great PR tactic. I hate it.

I'm relieved in part though because I genuinely was concerned about Tae's privacy and though this doesn't mention him it sends a clearer message than the crap hybe posted. That man has been suffering non stop from the relentless attacks and invasion on his privacy since the end of last year. Do you know how frustrated a man must be to forsake all respectability to threaten homicide on the internet?

Last I checked threat of violence is a crime. But he risked getting charges levelled against him. Risked getting canceled for glorifying violence. And he even threatened to sue too on top of everything💀

To put it into perspective, if any other person made those threats on the internet they would be canceled by woke cancel culture 💀

That's how bad it got for him. Tbat man was pushed to his last limits. His sanity hanging by a thread. That man is bleeding red. He's a Lion made to squeak like a mouse. Do you know how powerless that can make you feel? You just have to stand there and watch everything spin round and round. I'd lose my head and knock someone down on the streets with a truck if I were in his shoes.

I want to leak GHs address to Taehyung not gonna lie

Ill be his escape driver and stand watch for him.

Personally, I think this whole thing have been handled poorly from the start. Ignoring issues won't solve them anymore than ignoring you have herpes will cure you.

And to me my biggest concern was the breach of privacy if any these were true. It's one thing zooming and slowing down on content they've already consented to make public which is not at all what this person is doing here.

And I'm all for free speech and freedom of expression and shipping but how is any of this that? How is any of this right if it's leaving mental scars on the artists on the other end?

Like yea, I'm a hater.

I hate tuktukkers more than anything and this low key makes me giggle like an evil bat

But I kinda hate cis het straight ships and would rather read my Taejin smut in peace so I'm torn.

I get the pictures in the car and the Jeju Island rendezvous. I do. It's nothing at all compromising even though it raises the question how the hell any one got their hands on them.

But nudes??? That's where they lost me.

Miss me with the revenge porn.

That is not only morally wrong, that's a tort too. Crossed several lines with that one. Criminal. You don't give up your fundamental human rights just because you are an idol. This is wrong.

I don't know what both companies keep harping on about false information when yall never set the record straight on anything and have been complacent and do nothing while this 'false' rumor whatecer it is keep spreading, running wild like wild fires.

This is the most complicated scandal in the history of scandals I've ever witnessed. Neither company have a handle on this cos it's truth mixed with a ton of lies.

These malice this, wrong info that are just PR tactics. I understand it but I don't respect it at all. You letting false rumors run wild when if you cared about the truth at all you will be setting the records straight.

And YG waiting for hybe to make a move first before doing anything says just how much powerful Hybe has become in the entertainment industry.

It's interesting seeing them squirm with this curve ball.

I will refrain from sharing any legal perspectives on the matter cos I don't want to give anyone ideas. There's a way YG can win this and there's a way OP can win this. Court is an arena for the battle of legal opinions and whoever makes the most legal sense wins.

Plus it's always one person's rights against another's.

I feel bad for Miss Jennie.

[alltimefail-sims]

Not putting this under a read more, but it is long!

I'm popping in really quick because I feel like it should go without saying that supporting and comforting people who are racists or engaging in racist behavior and microaggressions makes you a racist as well.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, this is an ongoing issue regarding some members in the sims community and their past actions. Here's some background info.

Ignoring the problem won't make the actions which hurt others and the hateful, racist speech you enabled go away. Changing your blog name won't make it go away, putting out a notes app apology (which you later delete) won't make it go away, and filling your blog with "aesthetically pleasing" black sims isn't going to make it go away. Additionally, I want people to understand that someone can't really be sorry for something they don't feel bad for - and when you ignore public outcry and frustrations and allow others to comfort you or defend your past actions, you are not sorry. If someone tells simopeia, for instance, "Don't worry about these people... it's just cancel culture" or "you did nothing wrong" and simopeia does not shut that down... then she's not really sorry. If you're sorry, truly sorry, you would never let anyone say that what you did wasn't wrong - clearly you're just upset people are calling you out for it.

Racists (and all their apologists) have got to take the time and not only admit wrongdoing but also unlearn that shit, too. Really, all white people should take the time and do the work of constantly learning and listening to the voices of POC on topics of racism and inequality simply because it's the right thing to do. Racist ideologies, racial biases, the damaging history behind white "victim" tears, and the concept of privilege are just a few topics to start with and you simply can't expect black people to hold your hand the whole way. You don't get to say "I didn't know better" while people are telling you that you did something wrong and while you were on the internet, on social media, meaning you had access to infinite information/news/resources/and educated perspectives regarding racial injustice at the time. I mean, shit, there's literally trending topics and sections on social justice issues just here on Tumblr alone. It is not any person of color's job to explain their own oppression or societal injustices in general for you, nor is it their job to up and accept your apology at the drop because you "feel so bad" or "regret your actions."

You do not get to be mad when people don't like you because of that, and you just have to accept that you will always be associated with that behavior for many. It's a consequence, but one you brought upon yourself.

"Then why be sorry? Why try to do better if people won't just forgive me?" Because the goal in educating yourself about racial injustice is not so you can feel better about yourself or be liked or forgiven by others, it's so you don't continue to contribute to systems which oppress people who aren't white. The key point in this kind of apology is to understand that you aren't apologizing for you, you're apologizing because that is what you owe to people you have wronged regardless if they choose to forgive you or not.

And I've seen all the complaints and the asinine anons so let me be very clear: this isn't drama, this is a very real problem that black simmers don't have the luxury to ignore. They don't owe silence, forgiveness, complacency, or niceties to anyone who makes an active choice to make simblr (and the world in general) an unwelcoming place.

All that being said, if you are racist, an apologist and front-line defender for racists, or simply don't see why these things matter... this is not the space for you, and I won't be sorry about that. Please see yourself out, no exit announcement necessary.

[the-rainbow-lesbian]

what you said about being impossible to just even co-exist in the same (mostly, but also irl) online spaces as the pronouns in bio crowd if you are ever slightly vocal about your beliefs is so true and yet usually its even worse and more obsessive. you dont even have to say anything, just be neutral to someone who is. i've seen entire friend groups turn on longtime friends because someone didnt hate random women they deemed terfy, people going through entire follow lists and coordinating character assassinations and threats because someone who wasn't even close to them interacted with someone with a twitter or tiktok profile they combed to find out is a radfem or radaligned, even if the girls themselves hadn't said anything remotely on the topic and had been entirely accomodating to their pronoun circus, getting uninvited to stuff because an uwu trans woman who is gonna be there is uncomfy with you there (mostly because they couldn't get with the girl and almost all having been creepy "pre"transition). it's cult shit, you either alienate yourself from everyone who is not in on the circlejerk or get alienated from friends, events, fandoms and entire organizations that are not made by other women who've been ran off aswell and they still have the nerve to claim that this is the echo chamber. that we chose to not listen to anyone else just because we did and but we just didn't agree with their own beliefs who they leave unquestioned and unchallenged. being near those people when you are not in on the delusion is a time bomb to at best get ghosted and at worst get put on blast for more delusional strangers to dogpile you.

you’re so right and thank you for saying it. like I come from a culture dominated by religious beliefs and I’ve seen what it does to freedom of speech and just personal liberty in general, I’ve seen people go to jail for tweets and what they believe in, it leads to people keeping secrets, hiding their identity and becoming two faced because it is necessary to survive, now the situation with gender stuff isn’t exactly identical but we might be heading there, no one expected dumb teenagers talking about their gender identity on tumblr to blow up to what we have right now, like jesus fucking christ

you don’t ever want to live in a society where you can’t have your opinions and beliefs because you are afraid a cowardly mob is going to rob you of your livelihood, that is not healthy or progressive it’s orwellian, and it could easily turn on the people who participate in this mob mentality if they find themselves on the wrong end of the stick. like I still can’t forget when a bunch of homophobic bi women review bombed a gay man’s book with one stars because he expressed frustrations with the fetishization of gay men by women, in the end his book got canceled and his publisher dropped him, now he relapsed and he is religious and calling himself ex-gay. whether you agree with him or not you just don’t fucking do that, it’s not like he was a nazi or expressing genuinely dangerous beliefs, what happened to just yelling at someone and blocking them then moving on with your life? or when an elderly disabled lesbian was deplatformed from speaking at a woman’s event because a bunch of nobodies decided she was a “terf” with absolutely no proof of her supposed transphobia, she is a lesbian and that was all the “proof” they needed

[mediamonarchy]

https://mediamonarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/20240719_MorningMonarchy.mp3 Download MP3 Trumpomania, cancel culture double cross and Asterix + this day in history w/gunning for hits and our song of the day by The Rifles on your #MorningMonarchy for July 19, 2024. Notes/Links: #NewWorldNextWeek: Are you Not Entertained? Trump Shooter, Veep Announcement, Boho Grove ’24 https://corbettreport.com/nwnw562/ Shooting Near RNC in Milwaukee, One Person Reported Shot by Police; One person is reported to have been shot by police in an area near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. https://archive.is/cRYF5 Ohio officers shoot, kill man near RNC venue in Milwaukee https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-shooting-police-near-rnc/61614074 Looks like someone shorted Trump stock & Truth Social the day before the assassination https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Article/365583-2024-07-18-looks-like-someone-shorted-trump-stock-truth-social-the-day.htm Many Streams and Sales for 50 Cent Classic & New Tom McDonald Single Following Assassination Attempt on Former President Donald Trump https://archive.is/PcxvU Trump Site Launches Limited-Edition Assassination Attempt Sneakers https://archive.is/Nb7yi Video: Improvised stand-up right after Trump Shot #standupcomedy #standup #trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkmGO7k6If8 Video: 🇺🇸 Hulk Hogan Rips His Shirt on The RNC Stage (Audio) https://x.com/nikc26263/status/1814112499035156805 Biden experiencing ‘mild upper respiratory symptoms’ related to Covid, WH doctor says; Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a letter made public Thursday that the president does not have a fever and his vital signs are normal. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-experiencing-mild-upper-respiratory-symptoms-related-covid-wh-do-rcna162556 Jack Black Cancels Tenacious D Tour After Being “Blindsided” by Partner Kyle Gass’ Trump Comment; Gass said “don’t miss Trump next time” during a performance in Australia, sparking outrage. He has since apologized and has been dropped by his agent. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/jack-black-cancels-tenacious-d-world-tour-kyle-gass-trump-comment-1235949644/ Jack Black puts Tenacious D ‘on hold’ and cancels tour after bandmate’s Trump shooting comment; Actor and rock musician says ‘I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence’ after Kyle Gass joked about assassination attempt; Analysis: Tenacious D’s Trump shocker upends a career of perfectly judged musical comedy https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/jul/16/jack-black-puts-tenacious-d-on-hold-after-bandmates-trump-shooting-comment Video: Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass makes joke about Trump shooting on stage during show (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqoKGHugNE ‘I was drunk’: Ingrid Andress responds to criticism of national anthem performance https://archive.is/KZPxY Video: Ingrid Andress sings the worst national anthem ever at the Home Run Derby 2024 (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-bMbmQv0Y Jacques Brel – “Il Peut Pleuvoir” (Vinyl // Audio) https://www.discogs.com/release/3773005-Jacques-Brel-Ne-Me-Quitte-Pas // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNrKcBxgyIE Former Fox News Host Lou Dobbs Dies at Age 78 https://archive.is/ihg7p Video: Lou Dobbs, Veteran News Anchor and Political Commentator, Dies at 78 (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIG9MQ3KrHI Bob Newhart, sitcom pioneer and beloved ‘Elf’ actor, dies at 94; Newhart approached comedy with economic precision, honing his craft by watching other comedians and seeing what they did well — especially his idol, Jack Benny. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/bob-newhart-everyman-comic-elevated-sitcom-art-form-dies-94-rcna41588 Video: Remembering Bob Newhart (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y20GRNjXDC0 The Drums – “Saddest Summer” (Audio) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZUe6VorOo Will JJ Wetherholt go No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft? ‘I’m just excited to learn and grow my gam...

[niconiconwo]

How bad is the culture war stuff that drove you from the left?

The biggest thing that has me hard nopeing is BRIDGE, essentially a DEI evangelicalism that wants to force DEI culture on everyone. Not just your typical woke shit either, it's absolutely cult level re-education or get unpersoned.

I don't like financial services pushing this shit either. On a related note is all the places that now police you off-site which should be absolutely illegal but is postured as a safety and inclusion thing. A person's behavior or speech off platform should have zero bearing on their access as long as they comply with platform rules and TOS. This part is the twitter cancel mob mentality being appeased. Numerous sites are like that now, ones I've noticed that are bigger are places like Medium and other creative spaces. I'd be fine with general bans on anything too spicy or outright hateful, but controversial speech isn't hateful and being banned off a site for something unrelated on a separate platform is bullshit.

I've never liked tokenism and always opposed affirmative action as a racist ideology. Now it's being championed as the highest morality you can act upon. Likewise is this push towards equity thing taking root in mainstream; I can agree with the idea that if you have any kind of job there is a minimum living standard you should expect to have accessible to you but I strongly disagree to the idea that the minimum effort should guarantee you a middle class or greater lifestyle. UBI is a great idea, telling employers they have to pay their cashiers enough to afford a suburban mortgage, a car, and put their kids through school is laughable. You want a high flying life, you need to do the work that gets you there. Equitable Outcome is ridiculous.

Next on the sheet is that thing the FHFA did punishing people who actually played by the stupid credit rules to get half-way decent rates in order to subsidise sub-prime loan fees (this point is debated but it's most sensible conclusion; the other one is that actual discrimination for the sake of discrimination is happening). I think the credit system is atrocious personally, so it's even more insulting that people who suck it up and play by the book honestly are paying higher fees than those who fucked around like asshats. And of course it has been done in the name of "equitable access". Why should honest folks who did everything right, especially poors who climbed up the hard way, have to pay more in fees?

This one is not new but has gotten worse, particularly in tech and more specifically in open-source development, codes of conduct that favor radical social policy over code-is-code. People being pushed out of the space purely because they disagree on political or social beliefs, just voicing dissent is enough to get you permanently blacklisted. I find tolerance to be a fine rubric myself, however this goes beyond tolerance. When you begin enforcing inclusion politics, you lose that nice "we're here to make good code" vibe purely to sate certain spastics that want to usurp power from others.

I don't want to longpost more than that, but I could probably go on. The worst part is this isn't all just some fifth column shit, it's originating out of big academia and mega-corpos as some gambit that is incredibly shady. A lot of it is smaller corpos trying to get those free DEI grant bucks, and investor class folks trying to twist the narrative to turn us all into own nothing little slaves even more than we have been. "The work", as they call it, will be your life and will follow you out of the office and you will be obligated to do "the work" forever and everywhere or risk being unpersoned and ruined. It's like a turbo woke 1984. Don't say the bad words, don't think the bad thoughts, don't feel the bad emotions. I'm not some libertarian cuck or aut-rite spastic, but god damn this shit freaks even me out.

[sincerely-krp]

Again, don't cancel these idols. They work hard. They are put in the spotlight 24/7. However. Hold them accountable. They're pretty boy, but they're not dense. They have to learn, have to know better. // so. i agree with your statement partially. but also like.. i hate how kpop stans always feel the need to police idols, "hold them accountable", and teach them—it almost veers on the other side of infantilization when it comes to this discussion. they're adults. they can choose to watch/engage in any fictional media they choose to. obviously, cases like cultural appropriation/homophobia/racism/misogyny are different—since those can come from a place of unawareness from living in a country as homogenous/conservative as sk and those things should be taught. and yes, i think they made a mistake in bringing up MiA to fans, and it's a messy situation. but it's also like.. all these idols are being dragged for MAYBE 15 seconds of speech or a sliver of a photograph within hours and hours of live content, thousands of photos from literal years of idol activity. in my perspective, i find MiA gross, i wouldn't ever watch it, but i'm also loathe to judge idols for watching media with darker themes. because it's fiction. there are actual serious offenses out there, and watching a dark anime is not one of them, imo.

what this convo really comes back to is the debate on engaging in "dead dove" themes and the culture of purity esp in the west — and whether engaging in dark media means that you agree with the content (which. is something i don't agree with, clearly). it's a debate that's gone as far back as fandom culture has existed on the internet (if not longer), so i don't expect krpers to unilaterally come up with a conclusion/agreement in a day or two.

realistically, knowing the krp space, this whole situation will die down within a year (if not a month, lbr), and people will go back to rping as soobin, taeyong, woozi, etc. if you feel uncomfortable with a face, i understand with not wanting to write them or with them. but that's a personal choice, and choosing not to engage with them doesn't make you morally more superior than someone who's also thought about the situation and came to their own decision (and vice versa.. choosing to keep writing any of these faces doesn't make you morally superior either). but like. at the end of the day. this is rp. and it's also fiction. smut rp and/or gen rp in particular is also frowned upon by most people outside the rp space, so what gives us the grounds to judge these idols?

・❥・

[wolint]

FRESH MANNA

CANCEL CULTURE

Colossians 2:13-15

Cancel culture has become society’s newest and most wielded weapon, especially social media. Cancel culture is removing support for public figures in response to their objectionable behaviour or opinions.

When the masses, certain groups, political parties, or influencer dislikes someone, an idea, an opinion, or a system, they raise their voice to get that person, group or idea cancelled.

Our societies are now operating under the full steam of Isaiah 5:20 as Nations and influencers have and continue to invert God’s standard of right and wrong by silencing, condemning, and cancelling anyone whose views are contrary to theirs, especially biblical views.

Cancel culture is the modern social attitude that controversial speech or behaviour must be punished through public shaming, silencing, boycotting, firing, bankrupting, de-platforming, and many more. The result is that the offender’s influence, presence, and/or reputation is “cancelled out.”

So many in society have gone as far as cancelling the bible, prayer, morality, truth and God, unfortunately, including the church- the so-called clergy are in collision with the world to overturn God’s standard and cancel what they deem offensive.

The word of God is meant to offend the sinner and an offence to the flesh of man according to John 6:61-62, as it confronts our affections and our sins. People can and are increasingly becoming offended by the truth because they want to do things “their way” or the “devil’s way”. And because the word of God is offending their demons, they chose to “try” and cancel God, His word and standard.

But according to our text, before there was ever cancel culture, Christ defeated and cancelled the enemy, even making a public disgrace of him, yet, it’s what was done to him that man is now doing to each other.

Criticism on social media is not cancel culture unless it tries to cancel its subject. You are at risk of cancellation, if your critics are calling for you to be de-platformed or fired or put out of business because of your views, opinion, ideas, beliefs, even thoughts and sadly, especially for your faith (Christian beliefs).

As Believers, we are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness according to 1 Timothy 6:11 amid cancel culture and must use our words wisely.

Cancel culture seeks to expose and hold those in the public eye accountable for wrongs that they have done, both past and present, which is not a bad thing in a way if it’s left to such things, unfortunately, we have imported that culture to try and cancel the one thing and person that can make a difference in life and society. God! The Bible tells Christians to seek justice and that we should judge both poor and great alike. However, cancel culture has a reputation for being harsh and merciless – something the Bible gives clear warnings against.

Should Christians support cancel culture? Not according to Proverbs 18:13 “If one answers before he hears, it is his folly and shame. And Ephesians 4:15 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” If we join the bandwagon of cancel culture, we are no longer walking in love.

Christ cancelled everything the enemy holds against us and disarmed their powers to release us into a Christ-against-culture approach and stop us from engaging with the fallen world but rather to reconcile with our call to be salt and light in our culture according to Matthew 5:13–16.

Let them cancel you, if need be, remember that David said “Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me” in Psalm 25:19. This was the experience of a man after God’s heart. If he faced “violent hatred,” we should expect the same, and keep asking for God’s protection as we share His word.

PRAYER: I pray for a Christ-transforming cultural approach that seeks to change minds, lives, and society and shall not be shaken by cancel culture in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

Women of light international prayer ministries.

[ladythatsmyskull]

If you can't adapt to the evolution of society into a better, more respectful world and still be entertaining and funny then it's time for you to walk into the tar pit like all the other dead-ends, John.

[sokkastyles]

In your last post you talked a lot about how Zuko respects Iroh. Could you give some examples of that? Because I'm feeling like Zuko doesn't really respect anyone, he (understandably) has an ego and thinks he's above everyone, even if he's working on

It is such a shame that Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) was cancelled after two episodes.

Lol, now that I've got that out of my system, I'm gonna assume you aren't just a troll and treat this like you actually want a serious answer, because it gives me an opportunity to meta about Zuko and Iroh's relationship.

I would say that the Zuko we are introduced to has a pretty big ego, yeah, and thinks he's above everyone else. He's incredibly disrespectful to most everyone he meets, including his long-suffering uncle. When I started the show I knew through cultural osmosis that Zuko would get redeemed, and from the first episode I was like "alright, I'm ready to see how the show is gonna make me like this asshole." I especially did have a negative reaction to the way he treats Iroh in the beginning, because Iroh is one of the first characters I loved. I also was sympathetic to Iroh because I'm an adult, and an adult who works with kids. If any of my students said to me some of the stuff that Zuko says to Iroh I'd be like, yeah, okay, detention for you young man.

It's also pretty clear from early on though that Zuko's ego comes from a deep insecurity and low self-esteem. That doesn't make the things he does any better, and yes he is incredibly disrespectful to Iroh, especially when Iroh contradicts him about his mission. That's also related to his deep insecurity and trauma surrounding his father, of course, because Zuko needs to believe that he can win back his father's acceptance to cope with what his father did to him, but that doesn't excuse it.

He says some incredibly nasty things to Iroh. In the first episode we see him respond angrily when Iroh won't teach him more advanced firebending, and Zuko responds, as he does several times, by trying to imitate his father's brand of coercion and intimidation. Iroh is like, not impressed, and he puts up with a lot of crap from Zuko but he also doesn't let it get to him because he's a responsible adult and he wants to support Zuko in the way he can. Which also means telling him off sometimes because dude.

Zuko thinks Iroh is lazy and a failure, and resents the fact that Iroh is keeping him from what he says he is "more than ready" for, and tries to bully Iroh when he doesn't get his way, but then we see in the third episode, "The Southern Air Temple," Zuko's fight with Zhao. We see that for all Zuko's complaining about Iroh's teaching, he does what Iroh taught him to do, he sticks to his basics, and he wins. Iroh says that Zuko is honorable and we see that Zuko appreciates Iroh's support. It's also implied by the way Zhao mentions humiliating Zuko in front of his uncle that Zuko wants Iroh to be proud of him, that it's obvious to Zhao how close they are.

Another example of the show letting us know that Zuko cares more about his uncle than he lets on is when he threatens to leave Iroh behind in "Winter Solstice" but then comes back for him to find him gone, and goes out of his way to search for him, even setting aside his hunt for Aang. Zuko fights the earthbenders to save Iroh and Iroh compliments his form, to which Zuko says Iroh taught him well. This episode does a lot to develop Zuko as a character and his relationship with Iroh because not only do we see that Zuko cares for his uncle, but that, contrary to his rudeness and dismissiveness in episode one, Zuko does respect Iroh as a teacher and a bender.

There's a lot of examples like this where Zuko says one thing but does another, because Zuko is a character who, at the beginning of the story, carries a lot of cognitive dissonance and guards his real feelings about things. His relationship with Iroh is an example. This isn't very surprising because it's pretty common in child psychology. Especially with kids who have been abused, they will rebel against an authority figure and push back in any way they can to see if they can find a breaking point. Iroh's endlessly patient and supportive but solid and firm presence is something Zuko is not used to and doesn't know how to deal with. But it's very clear that Zuko relies on Iroh as a father and mentor, even when Zuko doesn't realize it yet.

"The Avatar State" in another episode that shows how much Zuko relies on Iroh. At the beginning of the episode Zuko is sitting apart and it's implied that he's not happy with Iroh relaxing and getting a massage, but Zuko also opens up to Iroh about his feelings about his father. Zuko also is dismissive and rude to Iroh again in this episode, criticizing Iroh for collecting shells and also insulting Iroh when Iroh contradicts him about going with Azula, but then Zuko is happy when Iroh goes with him to Azula's ship, and we get that flash of the image of Ozai with his hand on Zuko's shoulder. This tells us that Zuko sees Iroh as the kind of mentor figure that he wishes his father were, even if, again, Zuko doesn't quite realize this yet. There are many other examples like this where Zuko is frustrated by not getting Iroh's approval on something because he wants Iroh to be proud of him. Like when he steals the teapot and gives it to Iroh and Iroh is not interested in stolen items. Zuko's clearly hurt by not having Iroh's approval, which is a big part of why he left Iroh, and Iroh knows that Zuko is struggling to find himself but also still needs his support.

Then you have "Bitter Work," the lightning bending, and Zuko's look of total admiration when Iroh is bending lightning and teaching Zuko a move that he invented himself. Like I said before, it's clear that Zuko respects Iroh as a powerful bender. This is also echoed in that scene in the book two finale when Iroh is about to breathe fire and Zuko has this look of "wow my uncle is going to beat you so bad this is going to be great!"

There's also a lot of little stuff in the Ba Sing Se arc that show that Zuko respects Iroh and values him as a mentor figure. He lets Iroh do his hair for his date with Jin! It looks terrible! Zuko has no idea how to behave on a date so he's like um, uncle said to give you this coupon! Look how smart my uncle is! Of course the culmination of that arc is Zuko's fever and his awakening which gives him a renewed respect for Iroh, and he actually makes an effort to show Iroh how much he values him. He still betrays Iroh in Ba Sing Se but it's not the "I hate you and you smell!" thing that the play portrays it as. One of the reasons Zuko was so confused there was because he felt like his uncle was telling him contradictory things, and he couldn't reconcile his uncle's wisdom with what he'd been taught to believe by Ozai.

But it's finally losing Iroh as that pillar of support that makes Zuko truly realize how much he does value his uncle. It still takes him a while to get there, and he again pushes back against Iroh when Iroh won't talk to him in prison and blames him for his own internal turmoil. But when he does finally get there, it's such a slap in the face to Ozai that Zuko on the Day of Black Sun tells him to his face that Iroh is his real father, that Zuko is going to fall to his knees and beg for Iroh's forgiveness, because Zuko has realized that Iroh is the one who really deserves his respect. Not only does Zuko tell Ozai that he, in fact, did not teach him anything about respect, but the respect Ozai tried to get from his son through cruelty and control is something Zuko will freely give to Iroh.

Then Zuko spends the next several episodes constantly talking about how great Iroh is, how much he misses him, how good he is at making tea and telling jokes, how wise he is, and what an ass he, Zuko, had been to him. He follows Iroh's advice and humbles himself because Iroh always said he didn't think things through enough, he works hard to make himself into someone his uncle would be proud of. Then when he does meet Iroh again he asks for forgiveness, but he says that even if Iroh won't forgive him he would try to make it up to him. He's completely humbled himself and it's so satisfying because it's the fulfilment of their relationship arc, and you can feel the love and respect that these two characters have for each other. And it's directly meant to contrast with what Ozai said about respect, because Ozai is full of shit.

And then Zuko just like automatically assumes that Iroh will be the Fire Lord and Iroh's like "Zuko did you forget that you are the crown prince?" And Zuko, bless his heart, is like "but I made so many mistakes."

I'm sorry, but if you're gonna keep arguing that Zuko, at this point, still "thinks he's above everyone else" then you are just being willfully obtuse.

Not to mention the fact that Zuko's crowning moment as Fire Lord is him giving a speech about how he wants to serve others, to heal the world, and even the applause and praise that he, in the beginning, wanted from others is something he doesn't accept. He tells everyone that Aang is the real hero. And Aang is a hero but like, Zuko is a hero, too, by showing heroic qualities like being selfless and humble and caring towards others. And then his last scene is not him as Fire Lord, but serving tea to everyone dressed in Earth Kingdom clothes.

And who does he serve tea to first? Uncle.

[stormblessed95]

There are many LGBTQ armies on here. I am one. You are part of the community yourself, I believe. I know you probably don't want this anywhere near your blog because what this person is doing smells like a pile of burning rat guts. I know this person is sick and they are are probably loving the attention they are getting from us (hypocritical of me to say that I know). I know that this is just one troubled person. But they represent many more who think the same way. Today they are in the Jikook tag accusing Jm of SA and violence against Jk (and others) because of the hickey. THE 'EVIDENCE' IS THE HICKEY. When SA and violence are brought into the hickey conversation it is time for everyone aligned with this person to take a good look at themselves.

At what point is 'free speech' and 'being against cancel culture' a deflection against being held accountable for doing something dangerous? At what point is something a homophobic attack?

This is a violent and dangerous level of homophobia this person is putting on the table. It presents something that Jk was speaking about affectionately (his hickey) as him being SAed by an evil sexual predator. This is not the first time this kind of language has been used on their blog. The words they used today were 'sexual assault' 'violence' 'dirty' and 'disgusting'.

This is the kind of homophobia that gets people killed. I am dead serious. Don't sleep on this one. It is framing intimate contact between consenting adults of the same gender as sexual violence when it obviously is not.

Gay people don't need to be out here getting told we are dangerous if we show affection.

Gay people don't need to be out here being called abusers for doing close and intimate things with the people we love.

If anyone thinks it's cute to defend what this asshole is saying as 'freedom of speech', then you are contributing to a broader system of hate and homophobia that makes the world unsafe for people like us. I am old enough to remember Mathew Shepherd. Please look him up anyone who doesn't know.

Us getting mad about it is what this person wants. But I think it could also be a good example for people to take away about how dog whistling works and how it escalates. This individual's blog and that idiotic twt thread they posted is full of homophobic and mysogystic dog whistle attacks. And sometimes it is just plain accusations. And yeah, it would be good if we just starved them out of attention because clearly they have no conscience and are very disturbed. But it is important to know this is bigger than 'anti' behavior. Accusing a public figure of SA when we all saw the footage and can clearly read the tone and context, is an example of how lies and hysterical language can be used to put forth falsehoods. And if society wasn't already brimming with homophobia, both on micro and macro levels, EVERYONE would be able to see how wrong it is. All I can say is these trolls must have a very sad existence.

And that's that on that as far as I am concerned.

I'm assuming this is in regards to this blog sent from this ask:

I TRULY hope no one took this as me saying pretend it doesn't exist. When I say don't give them attention I mean, don't send them asks even to try to prove them wrong or to tell them off. They don't care. Don't comment on their stuff. Don't call them names, even though it is deserved. They don't care and they thrive off that attention and "angering" people.

What I mean is absolutely cancel the fvck out of them. Report them daily. Report them to Bighit and Hybe for slander and defamation. They deserve to be blacklisted and sued. This website has a tutorial up for step by step instructions on how to report an account or a person to BHM/Hybe:

I agree with absolutely everything you have said here. This is an ignore and not give what them the satisfaction of seeing you pissed off, but don't ignore what they are saying and please take action against it type of thing. People like this are vile.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequence. There is a difference.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made transphobic remarks against Illinois’ Democratic Rep. Marie Newman’s transgender daughter Thursday — and it's not the first time she's made Newman's child a target.

“(Newman’s) so-called daughter is a trans, biological adult son, approximately close to the same age as my two, very much biological real girls – daughters,” Greene, R-Ga., said Thursday at a fundraiser for another GOP congresswoman, according to WBEZ Chicago.

Greene's controversial rhetoric and behavior have landed her in hot water before. In February, she was stripped of all her House committee assignments due to incendiary posts on social media. Republicans called the move a result of "cancel culture." Greene added Thursday that she’s taken to calling Newman “Newperson,” “‘cause she doesn’t believe in gender.”

“I don’t want to offend her, so I changed her name from Newman to Newperson…She is very confused,” Greene said. “As a matter of fact, so is her son.” Pat Mullane, a spokesperson for Newman, declined to comment on Greene's remarks and said the office is "basically trying to ignore her."

In response to USA TODAY's request for comment, Greene said that Newman "attacked her first" and reiterated her assertion that Newman's transgender daughter should not be allowed to share restroom facilities with cisgender girls because of her sex assigned at birth. "As a woman, we don’t want men in our bathrooms or in our sports. Period," Greene said through a spokesperson. "I will keep telling the story of Marie Newperson’s (sic) attack on me and no, I won’t back down when the media attempts to smear me for it."

Greene’s remarks are a continuation of a feud between herself and Newman that started in February. In a February House floor speech regarding the Equality Act, legislation protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans, Newman said the act was important for transgender people like her daughter. 

Newman then placed a transgender pride flag outside her office and shared a video of her putting it up, saying she wanted Greene to see it. Newman and Greene’s congressional offices are across the hall from each other. Shortly after, Greene tweeted a video of Newman’s speech, denying Newman’s daughter’s gender identity. “Your biological son does NOT belong in my daughters’ bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams,” Greene said. Greene responded to Newman’s video later that evening by creating a similar video of herself posting a sign, which reads: "There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE. Trust The Science!"

The clash between the two congresswomen drew ire on social media, and members of Congress from both parties stood up for Newman and her daughter. “This is sad and I’m sorry this happened. Rep. Newmans daughter is transgender, and this video and tweet represents the hate and fame driven politics of self-promotion at all evil costs,” Illinois Republican Rep. Kinzinger tweeted in response to Greene’s video.

“Protections & rights for transgender folks is literally a life or death issue,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., also tweeted. “To have a congressperson deny their existence & deny their need for rights is cruel and should not be what government is about.”

The Thursday fundraiser in downstate Illinois was held for freshman Republican Rep. Mary Miller. “(Miller) needs your help,” Greene said Thursday. “We aren’t the popular girls in Washington.” Like Greene, Miller has been criticized for inflammatory language. The Illinois Republican cited Adolf Hitler in a Washington speech in January. After criticism from her Republican colleagues, she apologized for the remarks. 

Greene did not hold back Thursday on using the kind of language that has raised her profile nationally. In her speech, she called the COVID-19 pandemic “the great Chinese pandemic” and Muslim members of Congress and their allies “the jihad squad,”.

While running for office, videos of Greene surfaced in which she expressed racist and Islamophobic views, suggesting that Muslims should not hold office and that Black people are "slaves to the Democratic Party." The Georgia representative has also compared mask mandates to the Holocaust and the Democratic Party to Nazis. 

[potteresque-ire]

More ask answer about Word of Honour (山河令, WoH) and the so-called “Dangai 101 phenomenon” under the cut ~ with all the M/M relationships shown on screen, does it mean improved acceptance / safety for the c-queer community?

Due to its length (sorry!), I’ve divided the answer into 3 parts: 1) Background 2) Excerpts from the op-eds 3) Thoughts This post is PART 3 💚. As usual, please consider the opinions expressed as your local friendly fandomer sharing what they’ve learned, and should, in no ways, be viewed as necessarily true. :)

(TW: homophobic, hateful speech quoted)

Here are the key points I’ve picked up from these op-eds:

* The state believes Danmei can turn young people queer. * The state also believes Dangai dramas can turn young men “feminine” to suit the taste of Dangai’s young, largely female audience. * The state views queerness in both sexes, and androgynous beauty in men as negative traits. * The state is wary of Danmei and Dangai’s popularity and wishes to contain them as subcultures. * The state is particularly annoyed by how the Dangai dramas have achieved their popularity with CP-focused promotions and marketing tactics, in which the actors are involved and blur the line between fictional and real-life suggestions of queerness.

What do I think of, concerning the acceptance and/or safety of … everything, with the above opinions given by the state media about Dangai?

* For c-queers, I don’t think things are different from before—these op-eds didn’t change the big picture for me. The op-eds taking traditional BL characterisation for Dangai / Danmei means the state’s intended focus of the genres is not its queerness; this is not unexpected, as the established review system is supposed to have removed the show’s queer elements, and to characterise those elements as queer would be a critique against the NRTA.

 While unpleasant, the veiled, antagonistic view towards non-traditional gender expressions and homosexuality isn’t new: the state has long believed popular culture can turn its young male audience “feminine”; the NRTA directive that bans homosexual content from visual media already makes clear its stance that homosexuality is, while not criminal, something that is Not Good in its eyes.

A (very) good thing that can be said, I think, is that none of the op-eds explicitly disapprove of the queer elements, the things that got away from being censored—of which there were, arguably, many in WoH. While Article O2a noted such “playing edge ball” (note the articles use this term to avoid mentioning “queer”), the comment right after was neutral / positive (“provide their audience with room for imagination”). Article O3, meanwhile, acknowledged that Dangai can be imitated by introducing suggestive atmosphere between male characters in their plot layout, thereby admitting that suggestive atmosphere between male characters in their plot layout is a defining trait of Dangai—and it didn’t say anything bad about it; the criticism was only for non-Dangai playacting Dangai.

This signals, to me at least, that Dangai can continue to be the cover for queer relationships to reach its audience for now — which is, perhaps, the best case scenario for continued queer representation on TV, given the current sociopolitical climate.

* For Danmei / Dangai, I’d also venture to say the genres are safe. Upcoming Dangais may need to undergo stricter / further reviews (if the rumours surrounding Immortality 皓衣行 are to be believed), and whether they can still achieve explosive popularity after such reviews remains a question; the genres themselves, however, will likely survive. 

Article O1 was a very positive, very enthusiastic review of WoH; its determined focus on the show’s aesthetics (as TU’s review) signals to me that the state approved of the genre’s take on aesthetics—which, again, also includes the aesthetics of a world cleansed of its real problems, which also aligns with the NRTA’s directive on TV / web dramas to focus on the positives of life in the country (Previously translated in this post: D12: … They [Pie note: the dramas] cannot place too strong an emphasis on social conflicts, must showcase the beautiful lives of the commoners.). Article O2b was very critical at places, but actually tried to sever Danmei  / Dangai from its major complaint, argued that the attention-grabbing gimmicks path was taken * instead of * aspiring to positively, proactively guide and display Danmei culture, therefore positioning Danmei on the “good side”.  While Danmei was named a (bad) influence for potentially turning youths queer (and predator, by the cartoon) in Article O2a, no mention was made of eliminating the genre both in the same Article or its editorial (Article O2b). The focus was placed, instead, on the subculture’s “containment”, and how it has been broken for “Rot Culture” to reach mainstream. The implied solution to Danmei’s “bad influence”, therefore, was to re-contain rather than eliminate.

[Logically, of course, this makes little sense. Blaming Danmei on turning youths queer is already confusing correlation and causation—youths may be drawn to Danmei because they are queer, rather than Danmei turning them queer. Re-containment, meanwhile, suggests that the state, which isn’t a fan of gays, is okay with Danmei turning kids gay… as long as there aren’t a lot of kids.

However, I’m hoping to tease out what the state may do, not whether the state is logically sound.]

Article O3 had the harshest wording on Danmei—“the canon and the Rot Culture behind it still hides large amounts of pornographic, violent content…”; “this vulgar custom of “playing edge ball” as a means to tempt, to lead the audience into indulging in fantasies [Pie note: sexual fantasies implied by the idiom 想入非非] have spread from visual media production…” . Still, no word on axing the genre, only containment.

* For CP culture, specifically, actor-character based CPs that are promoted with the dramas: while I don’t see it on the chopping board yet, these op-eds are, I believe, warnings for those in charge of the promotion and marketing of the upcoming Dangai dramas to tread carefully. I find the reach of these warnings difficult to predict still, because these warnings can be genuine—as in, the government truly believes the CP-focused promotion and marketing tactics are morally objectionable—or they can be more for show, in that the true reason behind the warnings is that CP-focused promotions, which also put a heavy focus on in-drama candies, make the NRTA / censorship board look like a joke and the government had to put up some objections to save face. 

In all cases, companies will likely need to talk to the government to nail down its stance. Whether to heed the warnings afterwards, tone down or eliminate the CP-focused promotions will require a thorough risk-benefit analysis. After all, CP culture appears to sits at the heart of the money-making machinery of Dangai dramas. The expenditure of fans is mainly to support their favourite actors and see their interactions, and money is, ultimately, what Dangai 101 is about.

Finally, for the sake of completion ~ how likely did these op-eds reflect the actual opinions of the state? Here are the sources of the articles:

Article O1: 上觀新聞, which is under Liberation Daily 解放日報,  the official daily newspaper of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

Article O2: 半月談 Banyue Tan, a state-controlled biweekly magazine published by the Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of China.

Article O3: 光明日報 Enlightenment Daily, a newspaper associated with Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (中共中央機關報).

None of them are of the calibre of People’s Daily (official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party). However, they’re all very well-respected state-sponsored sources. Banyue Tan does require an asterisk  ~ while affiliated with the Xinhua News Agency, the massive influence of which has earned it its nickname “the world's biggest propaganda agency”, Banyue Tan‘s authority on this particular issue of Danmei/Dangai has been somewhat undermined by a … strange (?) trivia to end this super long piece: the magazine has also been caught in the controversy surrounding 227. Due to its pro-TU, pro-Gg stance, antis have insisted there are Gg fans within its writer’s ranks, who have used the state-sponsored publication for their private, support-Gg purposes. To this day, the argument is ongoing—with the criticism of Danmei in Article O2 sparking another round of “discussion” due to its previous approval of TU—and the lead anti is a well-known international politics professor and CCP (Chinese Communist Party) mouthpiece named Shen Yi (沈逸), whose claim to fame was the US government cancelling his visa and denying him entry due to suspected espionage …

[Banyue Tan was not the only state-sponsored publication caught in 227′s cross-fire. This is one of the reasons why some political watchers have suspected 227 to have a political component, that some form of political power struggle was happening in the post-227 chaos and disguised as the fan war.

While the truth may never be revealed, one thing is for certain ~ fan wars are about the worst things fans can do for their favourite idols, by lending space for such veiled conflicts to happen, by lending the names of their idols / their idols’ fans to the actually warring parties who may not wish to reveal who they are.]

[Okay okay, I will shut up now :) ].

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 <-- YOU ARE HERE

[musings-and-overanalyses]

The Limitations of the Free Speech discourse (Part II)

Last post was about how the underlying motivations and values are quite different for different people when it comes to the purpose of free speech - individual liberty or good for society. These two positions are not opposites with no overlap, in fact many times they are in agreement, but they differ enough times for the free speech vs cancel culture/ political correctness debates to crop up every day on media.

But let's go down to basics. What is right to free speech? The common understanding is that it's the right to voice your opinions and ideas without being put behind the bars or executed for it. This, however, is quite broad and vague and only talks about the government interference with the speech. Private entities can have their own rules. Plus there are already legal exceptions put in place for hate speech, false advertising, doctor-patient confidentiality, perjury, defamation etc. So already we can see that free speech is not some absolute truth of the world. How each of these exceptions are interpreted is however subjective and depends on the government ideology. How well each of these laws are enforced is also another issue out of scope of this post.

But no one being "cancelled" is being put behind the bars, or at least the cancellation has little to do with any legal action. So, surely free speech is alive and well, right? Riiiiight?

* Nervous chuckle *

Here is where we come to why we think freedom of speech is important and the flaws in our understanding of it and the implications of those flaws.

We tried monarchy for a very long time, but after multiple wars waged by a bunch of inbred idiots, most people were like hey maybe absolute power in the hands on one individual is not great. Consequently, democracy became the new "it" form of government. But it is only useful as long as the populace stays well informed to make informed decisions through their votes, and also have the power to hold those in power accountable. Hence free speech is not only important for the press to inform the citizens of the state of affairs, it's also important for the citizens in turn to voice their interests.

But notice that for this system to work you need to prioritise two concepts simultaneously- right to free speech and right to information. These two are like the archetype of twins in mythology, closely related albeit distinct from each other. Kill one and you kill the other. So in spirit it is the flow of information that is supposed to be free from interference.

So when many broadcasters (individuals or companies with a large following) complain about getting "cancelled" by being de-platformed, they are not talking about their right to free speech, instead they are talking about their right to reach an audience (and thus have that free flow of information). Before you scoff at this idea, keep in mind things like net neutrality hinge on the same arguments.

Now whether a speaker is muffled while trying to speak or their audience are made to wear earmuffs or a soundproof wall is erected between the two, the effect is the same and goes against the spirit of free speech.

But when we don't understand this, we fall into shallow interpretations of the meaning and point of free speech. And we fail to see how speech has in many senses never been free in many covert and sinister ways even in modern history even in liberal democracies. For eg. anything that challenges the status quo has always been treated with hostility or ridicule (if they even managed to be featured anywhere in the first place). For decades no one could criticise capitalism on national TV without being mocked or accused of being a communist.

There are other serious limitations in the way we commonly understand free speech. I have seen relatively liberal celebrities saying we should counter free speech with free speech and change people's minds that way, but the way social media (where people increasingly spend their time, get their news, have discussions and go for entertainment) works is by curating an echo chamber for the user isolating them from voices outside. The "good" or "factual" free speech will probably not even appear on the screen of the user who's already consumed a bit too much of the "bad" free speech.

The free flow of information doesn't exist and has never existed and that's a problem (even more so when misinformation can travel so fast). So, yea I agree when a bunch of comedians (intentional or otherwise) say free speech is under attack, except I am talking about govt/ corporate propaganda, attack on net neutrality, the self censorship of the press to avoid backlash or even the recent cancellation of CN shows from HBO Max. I am NOT whining about having to use the goddamn pronouns.

[nightswithkookmin]

Goldy I never thought I would reach out to any Jikook blog but after your last post I have to. I am an east asian american and trans. I have never spoken on this issue, commented or posted about this. I am a Jikook supporter but sometimes Jikook supporting blogs don't feel like the friendliest place. I want to thank you for changing my opinion on that. It is an insult to BTS to say Jikook don't know they seem gay or that they don't know what gay looks like. It is an insult to fans like me to say it would be OK to do the things they do if they were cisgendered straight men. I personally saw a few people say or dance around this and they got intimidated by big blogs for it. I would never name names because I beleive in free speech and the right of people to express themselves, as long as it isn't hate speech. Supporting lgbt people and making sure they don't feel endangered is MORE IMPORTANT THAN STANNING A KPOP BAND and I say this as a 4 year long bts and Jikook stan. So many people don't want to touch this issue and I understand why.

But thank you for supporting ACTUAL lgbt people as well as bts and showing stubborn people that BTS mean gay rights when they say gay rights.

I don't know why but this Ask made me cry...

I've been reading it over and over for the past two days and each time I feel humbled by it. Thanks so much for sharing this with me.

I think the era of the obsessed 'kids' and '13 year old shippers' in this space is coming to an end. I think it's time for a more nuanced mature conversation on what it means to ship and stan our faves in today's sociopolitical climate.

Let's intellectualize shipping and use it as a vehicle for social change not just pleasure. Sabotaging political hashtags is a start. Trending and donating to BLM is equally important. Fighting for gay rights and recognition is the next step and a natural progression from here- and about damn time!

Gone are the days where celebrities and idols were immune to accountability and personal responsibility. We live in a world where everyone is required to be converstant in and sensitive to social issues. Awareness is woven into our collective consciousness and for some of us we cannot divorce that from our pleasure receptors.

Hate to quote my pastor but, 'As a kid, I spoke, thought and reasoned like a kid. As I grew up, chilee darling, I put my ghetto ways aside. You feel me?' Lol. Yea, my pastor hood like that. Lol.

The fact of the matter is, BTS has a higher mature demographics now. Majority of us grew with them, if not past them. They are not seventeen anymore, Jin is almost thirty, the youngest in the group is past twenty three and majority of their fanbase are breaching Young Adult well into Adulthood and beyond.

We simply cannot view them with the same lens anymore. If we did, we would be infantilizing them if not enabling them.

We ought to be able to have certain conversations that reflect our age, hearts, backgrounds, experience, values and beliefs.

We can't sit behind our television sets and smart phone screens in this day and age and assume BTS sat through a performance like this and did not for a second think about what it meant, why the crowd cheered at certain moments or even understand the impact, message and intent behind it- especially not when Halsey, an openly bisexual woman and advocate for LGBTG rights is an acquaintance of thiers.

I don't know how a fraction of this fandom can assume BTS would have a collaboration of this nature and not know anything about the gay rights discourse or what queer baiting is or not consider how their actions may or may not be contributing to the marginalization of persons as these- to not have agency and personal responsibility or empathy.

JK cannot stan a gay artist such as Troye Sivan and divorce his music from his sexuality because it flows from it. Not when Troye has openly spoken about the struggles he went through as a closeted gay man, coming out and how that affected his mental health.

JK knows what gay is, he is aware of the struggles queer people face on a daily. His decision to cover, license and recommend songs by this artist is a deliberate act coming from a place of being informed on the matter.

Jimin knows. RM knows. Suga knows.

BTS cannot prepare a speech like this while oblivious to the plight of the LGBTQ plus community. I refuse to believe that simply because it's not true. Anyone who says otherwise is a scammer. Lol.

And I think they are intelligent enough to have cognisance of the fact majority of the world view certain aspects of their home culture as problematic and non-progressive and that this same world is watching them and what they do in this space matters.

They are part of the conversation. And it's in their interest to present themselves as queer a queer friendly band and company by distinctifying themselves from these 'traditional' Kpop bands.

I believe they know that being woke gives them a competitive advantage as MCs and advocates for the youth in today's world.

I believe they are aware certain things in their 'fan service culture' doesn't fly in the space they compete in and want to compete in. They are competing and rubbing shoulders with top LGBTQ plus advocates, sharing seats with them at awards, standing next to them- they best to look sharp.

It's obtuse for anyone to fall on the 'culture' rhetoric to excuse certain behaviors of their idols when actual queer people from and within that same culture fight against it.

Most S. koreans I know and have come across complain about their 'culture' and some even harbor strong resentments against this whole fanservice culture.

Holland, an openly gay Idol from South Korea, has equally spoken out against the 'fan service' culture prevalent within Kpop on several occasions and laments how it depoliticizes queerness and affects actual queer people within S.K.

And isn't it funny that the same conservative Christian population who strongly oppose homosexuality in S.K often lead online campaigns against Jikook for 'promoting homosexuality' because of certain fanservice and skinship they do?

If skinship is normal and fanservice is culture, why does conservative S.K keep pushing back against it? It's their culture uno?! Lmho.

Queer south Koreans and conservative Christians hate fanservice culture and yet here we are using their culture to defend it as if it's all black and white. Lmho.

Did they or did they not see South Korean's reactions to this performance by Jikook? The mixed feelings most had about it?

Men can nibble on men's ear but God forbid they toss them in the air and catch em💀

South Koreans are not a monolith. Their culture is nuanced like any culture. It's not static and not clear cut black and white either.

It's one thing to respect other's culture, it's another to perpetuate it in ignorance. Perpetuating their culture and being religious about it does not allow for the dynamism inherent in their culture.

Troye Sivan talked about how he'd stop in the middle of his concerts and performances upon seeing the hyper fangirls in the front row and then think to himself, 'I know they know I'm gay, so why are they still here...'

And this was before he came out.

Jikook know we know they are queer or that we think of them as queer. When Jimin talks about 'those that love me for me' he knows exactly what he is talking about or rather who he is talking to- it's not these hets I'm afraid.

Troye also talked about being privileged because he lived in a rather queer friendly neighborhood where everyone is gay and so he'd always felt safe coming out.

Isn't that what JK is doing?

Now this is a person who's without a doubt had a lot of influence on JK in his early formative years as an Idol right down to his decision to move into a much queer friendly neighborhood of Itaewon.

They know we know. Jikook is gay.

Thankfully, there are reports of a rising number of LGBTQ plus in South Korea, a lot of allies, a lot of queer folks coming out and a lot of companies opening up to working with gay idols and aspiring idols.

It's such a relief but a lot of work still needs to be done and I stand with them on behalf of Jikook and any queer folk in SK.

My sister is helping me reach out to an LGBTQ plus advocate from Seoul for an interview for my blog. If everything goes well, I'd love for her to share her thoughts on queer passing, queer baiting and fan service within Kpop and how that affects LGBTQ youth in South K.

It's a conversation I'm really passionate about and interested in.

I love me some ships, but I also love me some queer advocacy and human rights uno? Lol.

Thing is, I may quit BTS one day, but I can never quit being me. Being human. Always put the human first is my motto.

Oh and I hear people are plotting to cancel me? Chilee. Y'all do that but:

Let it echo.

Signed,

GOLDY

[blee-bloop-im-a-bee]

a scuffed scuffed podcast summary/liveblogging?

(mostly focused on dream, quotes might be off but its the general gist, timestamps not exact to second lol)

- Praise and congratulations all around for Sapnap and Punz’s valorant skills 

- Dream: “well I woke up this morning and I found out I was a racist soo..” (context: Someone asked Jack how he felt about the Queen being racist and he replied that doesn’t really know anything about that and that he didn’t really care)

- They didn’t get into it though, Train said he was never going to get into Dream’s drama on this podcast (which he remarks is because it gives him anxiety, but I appreciate him for doing it nonetheless)

- on Tubbo joining in: Train confirming he would need a different cast because he’s concerned about Tubbo’s audience (& parents) and wants to set up another podcast properly where it would be more appropriate for them, to which Dream comments is respectable.  

- Dream mentioned geoguessr

- after Train’s weird (/lh) intro for dream 1:22:00---

     Dream: “You didn’t mention--oh nevermind it’s fine” 

     (Me, wondering if he was talking about his drama still)

     Train: “OH YEAH, AND ONE OF THE FATTEST C**** IN  HISTORY”

     Dream laughing and going “you didn’t mention it, you mentioned it for everyone else..” 

- Ludwig on having to limit his subs: yeah I’ve had to limit them but I found that some people have still managed to get around that

     “I don’t think anybody would try to get around that”- Dream

- They talked about the david dobrik drama, I didn’t care so much for the topic so I spaced out but Dream put in some thoughts about someone’s apology it seemed like he wasn’t on board with it (sorry I wasn’t paying attention)

- Dream, was that you that mentioned jenna marbles? (1:41:35) crumbs of my favorite ccs colliding??

- Dream: acknowledging the difficulty of females coming forward to speak out against creators for fear of being lashed out at by the fanbase (1:42:00)

- Abdou: Do you think big creators actually don’t realize the power they have?          Will: I think it’s more that they start forgetting that their fanbase are still real people... (neat food for thought, they were still talking in the context of david dobrik but because they were also mentioning how he achieved fame at a young age, i couldn’t help but think about dream)---- dream said nothing during this part

- topic on among us, Dream chiming in at 1:51:00 (spaced out didn’t listen)

- spaced out more, dream’s face reveal went trending on twitter apparently just cause of an earlier mixup when punz’s face showed up in the box where dream’s name was 

- in the background, dream was also on his private twt to reassure a fan commenting on how moe brought up dream’s fans negatively (i remember moe bringing us up but i didn’t catch the context)

- ~2:10:00 ish?? Youtube talk, dream didn’t say much :(

- Dream once again declaring that Ludwig will definitely keep streaming until the end of the month and that he’ll make sure of it

- Ludwig saying Dweam

- Ludwig not leaving until he heard Dream say goodbye which dream claims he did, and that Ludwig couldn’t pick and choose his goodbyes. Ludwig threatened to ban Dream’s alt to which Dream was like “NO no no don’t i want to be able to read your chat”

- Dream, loudly: “I have never had sushi” (not unprompted, they were talking about sushi, but I just liked how he said it-- he used the voice)

- Dream lore: He had walmart sushi. He got roasted for it (deserved)

- Talking about cancel culture:: ~~2:53:00        2:57:30 Dream brings up his drama and summarizes it but does agree that if he those videos about him been true, he should be cancelled (I think that was his gist?)

      Train’s point is that there is too many people who are quick to cancel, but when they are wrong, do nothing to make things right ie. Johnny Depp situation

      Moe acknowledging that theres a culture of bandwagoning on hating on popular creators

       3:01:00 Will bringing together all the points & mentioning Kacey and kpop stans bringing up the time they bought out trumps speech tickets- and hopes that all of the stans (kpop, minecraft) continue to have this passion when they turn 18 to affect the ballots

- Train talking about weebs and about to go a buck fifty, dream and karl were warning him to “be careful” lmao (i think train said something about how its always the ones with anime pfps saying the weirdest shit)

- I wonder what dream is doing while they’re all talking about manga/comics- I’m waiting for him to come in and say: I have never watched anime in that voice he didn’t end up saying this

Dream: “Gorillas are really strong..” King kong vs. Godzilla convo

Dream saying something about spiderman, then Train calling spiderman a pussy and like wtf man I was starting to think you were alright, and then talking over dream?? unforgiveable. /j

-oop they’re going back into cancel culture when Train reads out a tweet: ~3:34:00     I can’t summarize this, this is a little too deep for my sleepy brain, but I feel like train is talking about how quick to judge people are almost being ready to jump the gun just to cancel someone thinking that that person wanted to cancel him, but Dream is pointing out that both sides don’t really understand each other and that person probably wasn’t trying to cancel Train. Jack also spoke up to help clarify to which you could hear Dream agreeing.

     Dream acknowledges that there is a need for creators to make an effort to understand discussion that goes around and to be respectful at the same time, admitting that he’s reacted in anger in the past and disregarded discussions. 

     ^ There were a lot of points made, and I didn’t get all of dream’s responses. It was interesting conversation because we have Train being honest and venting his frustrations about cancel culture which I can sympathize with.  Dream (and Jack) spoke up a lot during the whole thing to try to shift Train’s point of view and the things he said were really admirable 

     Dream brings up the thing that happened with charlie a while back and said he dm’d charlie about that misunderstanding as dream puts it- and says that they are good now and saying something along the lines of open communication being so important

- Someone: “the only thing that matters is that my wife doesn’t cancel me.”      Dream: “that’s really sweet”  <- no u

-  “Would you let your kids watch on Twitch” Dream: As long as you’re aware and know about Twitch and Youtube, and as long as you teach your kids internet safety it should be fine

- Dream, on Train saying he hopes everyone will still be friends with him after this: “I actually hate you now” (in a joking tone). Dream wants to play among us with Train.     Dream, prompted to say one nice thing about Train and also the last words he said on the podcast: “An attractive motherfucker.”