#militant action

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Ribu's anti-imperialist feminist discourse would later manifest in its solidarity protests against kisaeng tourism. This sex tourism involved Japanese businessmen traveling to South Korea to partake in the sexual services of young South Korean women who worked at clubs called kisaengs. Ribu's protests against kisaeng tourism represented how the liberation of sex combined with ribu's anti-imperialism and enabled new kinds of transnational feminist solidarity based on a concept of women's sexual exploitation and sexual oppression. From ribu's perspective, this form of tourism represented the reformation of Japanese economic imperialism in Asia. They were not against sex work by Japanese women, but opposed to the continued sexual exploitation of Korean women as a resurgence of the gendered violence of imperialism: Ribu activists hence connected imperialism and sexual oppression of colonized women to the continuing sexual exploitation of Korean women in the 1970s. In this way, they were able to expand the leftist critique of imperialism and, at the same time, point to the fault lines and inadequacies of the left.

In her critique of the left, Tanaka points to its failure to have a theory of the sexes.

Even in movements that are aiming towards human liberation, by not having a theory of struggle that includes the relation between the sexes. the struggle becomes thoroughly masculinist and male-centered (dansei-chushin shugi].

According to ribu activists, this male-centered condition infected not only the theory of the revolution and delimited its horizon, but it created a gendered concept of revolution that privileged masculinist hierarchies within the culture of the left. Ribu activists decried the hypocrisy of the left and what it deemed to be the all-too-frequent egotistical posturing of the "radical men" who "eloquently talked about solidarity, the inter national proletariat and unified will," but did not really consider women part of human liberation. Ribu activists rebelled against Marxist dogma and rejected these gendered hierarchies that valued knowledge of the proper revolutionary theory over lived experience and relationships. Moreover, ribu activists criticized what they experienced as masculinist forms of militancy that privileged participation in street battles with the riot police as the ultimate sign of an authentic revolutionary. While being trained to use weapons, activists like Mori Setsuko questioned whether engaging in such bodily violence was the way to make revolution. Ribu's rejection and criticism of a hierarchy that privileged violent confrontation forewarned of the impending self-destruction within the New Left.

...

News of URA [United Red Army] lynchings, released in 1972, devastated the reputation of the New Left in Japan, and many across the left condemned these actions. This case of internalized violence within the left marked its demise. Although ribu activists were likewise horrified by such violence expressed against comrades, many ribu activists responded in a profoundly radical manner that I have theorized elsewhere as "critical solidarity." Ribu activists had already refused to lionize the tactics of violence; hence, they in no way supported the violent internal actions of the URA. However, rather than simply condemning the URA leaders and comrades as monsters and nonhumans [hi-ningen), they sought to comprehend the root of the problem. They recognized that every person possesses a capacity for violence, but that society prohibits women from expressing their violent potential. In response to the state's gendered criminalization of Nagata as an insurgent and violent woman, ribu activists practiced what I describe as feminist critical solidarity specifically for the women of the URA. Ribu activists went in support to the court hearings and wrote about their experience and critical observations of how URA members were being treated. By visiting the URA women at the detention centers, consequently, ribu activists came under police surveillance. Ribu activists enacted solidarity in ways that were tot politically pragmatic but instead philosophically motivated. Their response involved a capacity for radical self-recognition in the loathsome actions of the other. Activists wrote extensively about Nagata - for example, Tanaka described Nagata in her book Inochi no onna-tachi e [To Women with Spirit] as a kind of "ordinary" woman whom she could have admired, except for the tragedy of the lynching incidents. In 1973, Tanaka wrote a pamphlet titled "Your Short Cut Suits You, Nagata!" in response to the state's gendered criminalization of the URA's female leader, the deliberate publication of such humanizing discourse evinces ribu's efforts to express solidarity with the women who were arguably the most vilified females of their time. Hence, ribu engaged in actions that supported these criminalized others even when the URA'S misguided pursuit of revolution resulted in the unnecessary deaths of their own comrades. Through ribu's critical solidarity with the URA, they modeled the imperative of imperfect radical alliances, opening up a philosophically motivated relationality with abject subjects and a new horizon of counter-hegemonic alliances against the dominant logic of heteropatriarchal capitalist imperialism.

While the harsh criticism of the left was warranted and urgently needed given the deep sedimentation of pervasive forms of sexist practice, it should be noted that, at the outset of the movement, there were various ways in which ribu's intimate relationship with other leftist formations characterized its emergence. At ribu's first public protest, which was part of the October 21 anti-war day, some women carried bamboo poles and wooden staves as they marched in the street, jostling with the police." Ribu did not advocate pacifism; its newspapers regularly printed articles on topics such as "How to Punch a Man." During ribu protests from 1970-2, some ribu activists-as noted, with Yonezu and Mori - still wore helmets that were markers of one's political sect and a common student movement practice."

- Setsu Shigematsu, “'68 and the Japanese Women’s Liberation Movement,” in Gavin Walker, ed., The Red Years: Theory, Politics and Aesthetics in the Japanese ‘68. London and New York: Verso, 2020. p. 89-90, 91-92

[tips-from-a-tech-worker]

How do I improve my workplace?

I don't think a single person has worked for more than 10 minutes and has thought "This is literally perfect. I want this 'til retirement."

There is always something that can be improved at work, even if it is incredibly minor. There are always micro-managing bosses, there's always broken equipment that never gets replaced or fixed, and there's always someone who has to bring in their own equipment because the office stock has run out.

And you won't be the only one who has these issues. No doubt everyone else is also thinking the same thing.

So how do we resolve this? Well luckily for us, we have a wealth of historical events that we can look into and find some great examples!

Of course, all of the following examples are most effective when coordinated with your co-workers. So make sure you've had a few one-on-one chats, got to know who you can trust, and get organised!

Be aware, your boss or manager will not take kindly to these actions, so be prepared to fight against pushback.

1. Slow down!

Productivity is all that matters to your boss. As long as "line go up" at the end of the day, they'll continue as always. The only way to grab their attention is to threaten that.

Slowdowns (or go-slows) are a very direct way of affecting that all-important line. Suddenly the boss is faced with an issue: "Line go down. :(".

The slowdown is a great way of showing just how much effort workers normally put in. Just how much they actually produce. And just how much is threatened when they take the gas off ever so slightly.

2. Good work, kid!

Sometimes affecting productivity will have unwanted negative effects. Doctors often worry that their patients' well-being would be affected, even temporarily. Bus drivers might be concerned that they'd be getting other people in trouble with their bosses by stopping service. Luckily, there is a way around it.

When you don't want to affect productivity, but still want to frighten the boss, hit them in the wallet. The Good Work Strike is a type of direct action where workers will continue to carry out their job but at a greater expense to the boss. Bus drivers might let people on for free, doctors or hospital administrators might not process medical bills, and extra admin work might not be carried out in favour of meeting the needs of a customer.

Quite often this means a better all-round service, as the worker is more focused on their work, rather than the "bullshit" work around the edges.

3. Complying... Maliciously!

How many times has your work been slowed down by needless reporting, strange and confusing rules, and bizarre workplace practices that the new manager has decided to implement? And how many times have you just ignored them, because you know that they make your job unworkable?

Well lucky for you, this can be used to your advantage...

Working to the rule (Work to Rule) is just that: following every single rule and regulation to the T, regardless of how long it takes. Suddenly, productivity goes down, and the boss starts to panic!

4. Sorry boss, I'm not feeling too well today...

Some industries in the UK, mostly public sector roles, are legally prevented from striking. This presents an issue when trying to figure out what to do to threaten the bosses' productivity or income. If you can't do that, then they can just ignore you. But there is a way around this.

The Sick-In is an action where several employees all report as sick on a given day. Sometimes, even the idea of a sick-in is enough to get results. And even a workplace all calling in to check how much sick leave they have left has done the trick.

Be aware that this can go south fairly quickly if someone decides to snitch beforehand. Find people you can trust!

5. Just Do It™

Historically, the best way to get something done is to do it yourself, bosses be damned. Organise with co-workers and pull something together without waiting for the boss to issue decrees from above.

To give an example, in San Fransisco, there was a coffee house with an owner who was incredibly poor at managing money (but he managed to get paid pretty consistently interestingly enough). Workers there would be paid weeks and sometimes months late.

The workers there took it into their own hands and began to pay themselves directly from the cash registers, leaving receipts to document where the money had gone.

Immediately there was an uproar from the owner, but the pay slips would arrive on time after that.

If something should be happening that isn't... Just do it!

6. Not just a Foo Fighters song...

I'll preface this with the following: these tactics are almost guaranteed to get you fired. Additionally, you might potentially piss off a load of co-workers as well. This should probably only be applied when tactically necessary.

You've tried everything. You're currently on strike, and the boss has brought in a load of scab workers. What's left?

As an aside, Monkey Wrenching refers to techniques used to sabotage, incapacitate, or destroy machinery or tools used for production.

In a railroad strike in 1886, scabs turned up to work to suddenly find that there was a load of equipment missing. Crucial small pieces of trains were missing, and couldn't run without them. Suddenly, the scabs were faced with the fact that there wasn't much they could do here and had to sit on their hands.

In one of my previous jobs, my manager had asked me to add a surcharge to a charity donation tool we were creating. There was nothing in the specification about the surcharge, and the money would be sent directly to his business account. There were only a couple of developers who knew the system well. And what a shame, our laptops would suddenly begin to bluescreen. A small drop of water here, a magnet placed too close to a hard drive there, these unforeseen events delayed the project enough that it was never taken up.

Wrapping things up

These are a few tools that workers can use to prove to their boss that he needs them more than they need him. Of course, it should go without saying, these tactics can and will get you in hot water. Discretion is advised.

Additionally, these tactics can only be effectively employed with help from your fellow workers. A single worker carrying this out will only ever be crushed. Sure, sabotage feels great, but at best it only really resolves one bad day, at worst it's adventurism. A collective of workers carrying this out can absolutely scare a boss onto the straight and narrow. It also leads to more permanent changes in the workplace - and sometimes across the whole industry!

This is also not an exhaustive list of everything you can do, only some of the more militant actions. Sometimes you will be lucky enough to have a boss that doesn't immediately reach for the chopping block. Tactics should be applied where and when they are necessary.

Notice as well that I didn't specifically talk about strikes. Strikes are GREAT. But once they've been employed, there isn't much room to escalate (legally) should the bosses refuse to back down. Of course, if needs must, strike away, but it's not the only tool in our arsenal.

As always, stay safe, and remember you're stronger together than you are alone.

Stay safe and solidarity, fellow workers! xox

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

I’m sorry but you can’t cry “human rights violation!!!!” when you are actively carrying out a campaign of genocide.

[b-a-n-d-e-r]

from the river to the sea

[autistic-katara]

u ever see a mildly iffy post and look at the comments and just think “wow, everyone here is so fucking unpleasant in their own special way”

[beyond-far-horizons]

Hey hon, for the ask: 2,4,18,20,27 and 29? 😊

Hey hon, sorry it took so long to answer this - it's been a difficult week.

Right FYI for folks reading this - I'm not tagging it and I'm not getting into a debate esp re the first answer given that it's an emotive topic. With that said - let's begin!

2) Thoughts on veg@nism?

I have mixed feelings that are hard to articulate esp on here and given how fraught the topic is, is why I'm hesitant to answer the question. In short, I have a huge deal of respect for veg@ns but I'd struggle to be one. I do want to try to bring in more of it when I can, mainly because I find the industrialisation of food/farming so repellent. I hate the idea of animals suffering so I try when I can to avoid meat or to get things that are well sourced. My feelings on this subject have changed and developed across the years and it's complex so I think it's always worth thinking about. For example, although I hate the thought of killing something for food, I don't necessarily think that it's wrong. What I think is wrong is lack of compassion. Animals should be treated with respect, care and not as a product without feelings. I respect Indigenous communities for example that don't sentimentalise animals but respect and care for them and the world as part of a whole with themselves as a part of it. I also admit that I love meat and some of my favourite foods are dairy. Food is one of the few pleasures in my life so I don't want to be dictated to or guilt-tripped about that especially by people who haven't thought the topic through and just want to evangelise and gatekeep others (however understandable and worthy the cause.)

Also there's the tension with the fact that veg@n products aren't always environmentally friendly - mass deforestation for mono-crops like soya (although this happens for cattle grazing too) and toxic plastic for leather. There's another Indigenous perspective (I'm thinking of certain Plant Shamans in the Amazon for example) that view plants as having their own souls and awareness and if you think that sounds weird there are scientific studies revealing the sensitivity and intelligence of plants (look into rhizome forests for example.) Movements like Animism, Post-Animism, Post-Humanism incorporate the Non and More-than Human worlds and this includes plant-life. Are we and animals more important than them? How did we decide that just because we can't see their pain? Or is that just anthropomorphising them? It's another perspective for sure.

I don't think there's any easy answers but thinking in that way is the main reason I decided to get a forest burial if I can, instead of getting cremated. If I take from the earth as part of the circle of life well I should give back and there's no better way I think than to become a tree and give back when I die (yep this post just got weird lol, but seriously this is what I'm talking about - circle of life!) This way I get to be something that I adored in life - a blossom tree - as well as a whole eco-system supporting lichen, insects, birds, people etc. And I think that is pretty awesome. But that doesn't get round the central dilemma so I'm still working on it and doing the best I can in difficult times.

4)Mythical Creature you believe/think is real?

As a Brit I have a weird hope that the Loch Ness monster is real because I loved learning about it as a kid and it's too awesome to think that a prehistoric monster still lives in the modern age. I think the folkloric White Hart (Arthurian/British symbol of Kingship/Sovereignty) is real in terms of the Universe throwing up symbols sometimes. There was a really bad omen for my country in recent years when one was shot running through Manchester and that tells you everything you need to know about our government and current state of the country even if it was allegedly for health and safety reasons.

18) Your Boba/Tea order?

I'm ashamed to say I've never tried these. Sorry but they just look weird. As a English Breakfast tea-drinking cliché I don't trust cold tea or weird balls that look like rabbit droppings. Hehe sorry. I should give it go sometime. If we are talking actual tea then what we Brits call 'Builders tea' aka black tea with a little milk and one sweetener x 3 a day. Can't function without it.

20) Favourite Disney Princess Movie?

Ooh, good question! I love the Golden Age - Little Mermaid (I pretended to be Ariel as a kid for ages, drew her, had a whole toy cave set and dolls etc), Aladdin(first movie I saw in the cinema, had posters, toys etc) and Beauty and the Beast. Special shout out to Hunchback of Notredame as well even though that's not a Princess movie, it's awesome and I love Esmeralda. However the prize has to go to B & B. I was and still am obsessed with that movie, I think I can still recite it line for line. My friend and I spent one sleepover casting our school year group as the cast in our heads and then singing (badly) all the songs on a walk. I also have Belle's colouring (can't claim I look exactly like her, can I?) and more importantly can do a mean impression of many of the characters esp the Narrator and the bookstore owner (minor characters for the win!) Did I mention I was obsessed?

27) What’s your favourite or go-to outfit?

Difficult one...I'm (again) living out of a suitcase and carrying more weight than I want to so I don't have all the clothing options I'd like rn. Ideal world my favourite piece of clothing is this little black dress I have that you can wear for the office or for a night out - it makes me look great and I used to match it with different accessories including this beautiful pink and gold belt. Both are in storage now cos mama's too chubby to fit them! At present it's my chunky white grandma cardigan over black trousers with a different colour top and jewellery - pastels or vivids like bright red.

29) Preferred pasta noodle?

The phrasing of this question upsets me - is it fave pasta or fave noodle? I know them as two different things. So I'll cheat and answer for both! Haha.

Fave pasta...I...don't really have one. I like all of them - twists, shells, linguine (my internet is playing up so I can't check all the italian names.)

Favourite noodle - love a lot of them but Naruto and I share a love for ramen so ramen noodles!!

Thanks and hope that wasn't too much information overload!

[queerbauten]

How about you STOP THE GENOCIDE INSTEAD

[guavagyal]

my biggest issue with the American liberals & leftists is that they think we should be peaceful towards our opposition. meanwhile, said opposition fantasizes about dropping us from helicopters & lining us against a wall. in short, there needs to be more armed leftists bc treating conservatives & the far-right as Care Bear villains will not end for the US left.

[conatic]

Des militants propalestiniens bloquent le parking du Carrefour de la rue Saint-Gilles à Liège pour protester contre le soutien de la chaîne française à Israël

https://www.sudinfo.be/id867002/article/2024-08-10/des-militants-propalestiniens-bloquent-le-parking-du-carrefour-de-la-rue-saint

Source : sudinfo

[soon-palestine]

“Target Israel and we will target you,” the senators tell Khan, adding that they will “sanction your employees and associates, and bar you and your families from the United States.”

Rather ominously, the letter concludes: “You have been warned.” In a statement to Zeteo, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said, “It is fine to express opposition to a possible judicial action, but it is absolutely wrong to interfere in a judicial matter by threatening judicial officers, their family members and their employees with retribution. This thuggery is something befitting the mafia, not U.S. senators.”

While neither Israel nor the United States are members of the ICC, the Palestinian territories were admitted with the status of a member state in April 2015. Khan, a British lawyer, was appointed as the ICC’s chief prosecutor in February 2021, a week after the court had already decided, by majority, that its territorial jurisdiction extended to “Gaza and the West Bank.”

In the wake of the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Khan announced that the court had jurisdiction over any potential war crimes committed both by Hamas militants in Israel and by Israeli forces in Gaza. The ICC, per the Rome Statute of 2002, can charge individuals with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide – and recent reports suggest Israeli officials increasingly believe that the ICC is preparing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other senior cabinet and military officials.

On Friday, The Hague-based office of the chief prosecutor published an unprecedented statement on Twitter, calling for an end to threats of retaliation against the ICC and attempts to “impede” and “intimidate” its officials. The statement added that such threats could “constitute an offence against the administration of justice” under the Rome Statute. 

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Domestically, ribu was born through the contradictions of the radical political formations of the '68 era, including the anti-Vietnam War, New Left, and student movements. Many ribu activists had experienced the radicalism of the student movements and sectarian struggles of the New Left. As defectors from existing leftist movements, ribu activists were conversant and in critical dialogue with the ongoing struggles such as those of the Sanrizuka, Shibokusa, Zainichi, and Buraku liberation activists, the politics of occupied Okinawa, and other movements including immigration, labor rights, and pollution. Following other radical movements of Japan's '68, horizontal relationality was privileged in reaction to the rigid hierarchies of the established left and many New Left sects. The movement involved a decentralized network of autonomous ribu groups that organized across the nation, from Hokkaido to Ayashi; with no formal leader, its leading activists were Japanese women in their twenties and early thirties.

Ribu's birth was traumatic and exhilarating. Having experienced a spectrum of sexist treatment and sexualized violence while organizing with leftist men, from verbal abuse to sexual assault and rape, ribu activists revolted against the myriad ways that sexism and misogyny were endemic across leftist culture. Women typically supported male leadership through domestic labor, by cleaning, cooking, and other housekeeping duties. There were instances when young women activists were referred to as public toilets [benjos] and assaulted and raped by leftist male activists. In some cases, the rape of the women of rival leftist sects became part of the New Left's tactics of uchi geba [internal violence or conflict]. In 1968, Oguma Eiji describes such incidents of sexual violence. Ribu activists spoke, wrote, and testified about their experiences of sexism, assault, and rape at the hands of leftist male activists. Given such forms of sexual violence that were hidden, too often, in the shadows of Japan's 1968, how did ribu women respond?

Never before in the records of Japanese history had ink sprayed such rage-filled declarations of revolt against Japanese heteropatriarchy and sexist men. The slogans of the movement, like the "liberation of sex and the "liberation from the toilet" [benjo kara no kaiho], unleashed an unprecedented flurry of militant feminist denunciations. With minikomi (alternative media] titles such as Onna no hangyaku [Woman's Mutiny] and art evoking images of vaginas with spikes, ribu activists raised a political banner that had never been so explicit and bold in its declaration of sexual oppression and sexual discrimination.

Ribu activists reacted to the counterculture movement of the 1960s and the sexual revolution. Some of its earliest activists, such as Yonezu Tomoko, criticized the "free love" espoused by male activists even while they emphasized the importance of politicizing sex. Along with her student comrade Mori Setsuko, Yonezu named their cell "Thought Group SEX," and painted "SEX" on their helmets the first time they disrupted a campus event at Tama Arts University in Tokyo. Sex and sexuality emerged as key concepts in ribu's manifestos for human liberation. The politicization of sex was a revolt against the sexism in mainstream society and the Japanese left. Heralding the importance of liberating sex also distinguished ribu from former Japanese women's liberation movements, Tanaka Mitsu, a leading activist and theorist of the movement, harshly criticized previous women's movements, saying that the "hysterical unattractiveness" of those "scrawny women" was due to their having to become like men. The brazen and contemptuous tone of their manifestos was a stark departure from past political speech about women's liberation.

This emphasis on sexual liberation evinced ribu's affinity with US radical feminist movements that also exploded in 1970." Ribu activists recognized their shared conditions when they heard news of women's liberation movements emerging in the United States. Information about these movements flowed into Japan via news and alternative media, as documented by Masami Saitō. Japan's largest newspapers, the Yomiuri and Asahi Shimbun, printed photos of thousands of women protesters in the streets of New York City for the August 26, 1970, Women's Strike. Anti-war posters with defaced US flags decorated the walls of ribu communes and organizing centers." Activists from the United States and Europe visited ribu centers." This cross-border exchange among activists also characterized the internationalist spirit of '68 and a common desire for liberation.

Like so many others around the world, ribu activists were also inspired by the Black Power movement and attempted to follow its lead. This passage from a ribu pamphlet evinces how ribu activists were emboldened by Black Power struggles - as were radical feminists in the United States - and drew new lines of departure and separation from the leftist men with whom they had been organizing.

By calling white cops "pigs," Blacks struggling in America began to constitute their own identity by confirming their distance from white- centered society in their daily lives. This being the beginning of the process to constitute their subjectivity, whom then should women be calling the pigs?... First, we have to strike these so-called male revolutionaries whose consciousness is desensitized to their own form of existence. We have to realize that if we don't strike our most familiar and direct oppressors, we can never "overthrow Japanese imperialism"... Those men who possess such facile thoughts as, "Since we are fighting side by side, we are of the same-mind," are the pigs among us."

For leftist women to be calling leftist male revolutionaries pigs constituted a kind of declaration of war against sexism in their midst and their newfound enemy-sexist leftist men. When women of the left began to identify this intimate enemy, this moment of dis-identification with Japanese leftist men constituted a decisive epistemic break. Their conflict with sexist male comrades forced these women to recognize that they had to redefine their relationship to the revolution from the specificity of their own subject position."

- Setsu Shigematsu, "'68 and the Japanese Women's Liberation Movement," in Gavin Walker, ed., The Red Years: Theory, Politics and Aesthetics in the Japanese ‘68. London and New York: Verso, 2020. p. 79-82

[tips-from-a-tech-worker]

Tips for organisers - Avoid "mass begging"

At times, protests can be fun, empowering, and driving... At worst, they can be depressing and incredibly disempowering.

They also tend to "preach to the converted", and fail to engage an audience that isn't already on board.

"Protest hopping" can be a trap. They don't actually build any sort of power in the long run. There are plenty more direct actions you can do instead! See my previous post...

This isn't to say "never protest ever". But more to establish that it should definitely not be a primary focus - or a secondary one for that matter!

[halalchampagnesocialist]

How to spot Liberal Zionist Propaganda 101

This post is by no means exhaustive at all. There are many Liberal Zionist talking points but these are just some of the most common ones. While on the surface they seem a little naive and hopeful at best, they are very much harmful. If you claim to be an ally to Palestinians, this post is primarily for you!

For starters, liberal Zionists will often try to both-sides the issue of Palestine, talk about how it's complicated, they'll claim that the conflict hurts both Israelis and Palestinians, how the only way forward is one where Jews and Arabs "just need to get along," amongst other things. They also often like to centre themselves, even when acknowledging Palestinians as the victims of Israel or this "conflict." From time to time, they also like to engage in tokenising certain Palestinians whose views tend to more or less align with theirs. Here are some common arguments you may hear from them:

1. Any form of justifying Israel's existence or claiming that the only solution is two states

It does not really need to be said why justifying Israel's existence is harmful but justifying its continued existence also means legitimising Israel's land theft, its expulsions of Palestinians, and its ongoing harm to Palestinians and other populations. Reducing any sorts of “solutions” into a binary is unhelpful. Needless to say, a 2ss would not even address any legitimate concerns Palestinian have, such as the right of return, and would only legitimise Israel’s colonialism. Talking about a two-state solution also implies that the root of the conflict lies in Palestinians not having their own state rather than being an occupied people. It is very much also possible to construct a paradigm where Jews and Palestinians both live together on the same land as equal citizens that doesn't involve two separate states, much less an ethnostate.

2. Security for Israel could only come through peace

This is a similar talking point to the one above. Not only does it centre Israeli safety and security above Palestinian liberation but it mistakenly assumes that once Israel makes peace with Palestinians, it'll achieve security. The reality, however, is that Israel's imagined security has quite often come at the expense of peace. In fact, "peace" has just acted as nothing more than a smoke-screen for Israel to carry out its expansionist policies, particularly in the West Bank. When liberal Zionists talk about peace juxtaposed with Israeli security, they're talking about attaining a negative peace rather than a positive one.

3. Israelis are not their government.

This point does nothing to actually help Palestinians. It is also an incredibly tone-deaf thing to say when Israel has targeted many Palestinian civilians by having alleged proximity to Hamas, such as being family members of militants or leaders (inc. children!), civil servants in a Hamas-led government, or even any male above the age of 15 they consider to be a potential combatant! It also deliberately erases Israeli civilians' support of and culpability in Israel's actions towards Palestinians.

4. Netanyahu and/or the Israeli right are the source of conflict.

While it is true that things have gotten inadvertently worse under Israel's various right-wing governments, they are not the source of conflict, but rather a product of extremist nationalism and Jewish supremacy perpetuated by the system. Both the 1967 occupations and settlements were undertaken under centre-left governments in Israel, and Israeli policy under non-right wing governments has been just as harmful towards Palestinians and has paved the way for where we are today. Blaming Netanyahu just also obscures the violent nature of Israel's military occupation over Palestinians which long precede him coming into power.

5. Netanyahu and Hamas are two sides of the same coin

I don't think I've seen any allies give validity to this claim but it's an extremely reductionist claim and is sort of similar to the one above. Groups like Hamas are merely a response to the Israeli occupation while Netanyahu is a byproduct of it. While some Israelis may see Hamas or their actions as an "obstacle to peace," Israel's actions and policies long pre-date Hamas and how Israel is currently responding to Hamas is no different to how Israel has engaged with Palestinian militant groups in the past, regardless of political affiliations or political goals. It is also important to note that Hamas has agreed to the establishment of a state along 1967 borders while Netanyahu aims to prolong the occupation and empower the settler movement (some of whom are part of his coalition government) as much as possible.

6. Israel is not a settler-colonial state.

While it is indisputable that Jews have historical connections to Palestine, that doesn’t automatically make you Indigenous or negate Israeli settler-colonialism. Colonialism in particular describes a relationship of exploitation. There are many cases of this, but we most clearly see this in the West Bank where Israel exploits natural resources on occupied Palestinian territory for its own political and economic gains. In terms of settler-colonialism, it is widely known that Israel expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to make way for Jewish refugees and migrants to the new state of Israel, and is still actively facilitating Jewish migration to Israel today while denying Palestinians their right of return.

7. (X) doesn't help Palestinians.

It is not up to anyone to determine whether certain tactics or strategies are helpful or not. This point only seeks to discredit pro-Palestine organising. Only Palestinians get to decide what is actually helpful for the cause or not.

8. Any sort of Hamas-blaming.

On the surface it may seem like there’s nothing wrong with this, but this point is often harmful and usually lends itself to right-wing talking points because its objective is to deflect blame away from Israel. Certain arguments blaming Hamas also aim to minimise Palestinian suffering perpetuated by Israel. It also paints Israeli violence as retaliatory to Palestinian violence which only obfuscates Israel’s (and by extension, the US’) role in its state military apparatus and the differing power dynamics between Israelis and Palestinians. In other contexts, this point seeks to also legitimise certain opposition, such as the Palestinian Authority. Hamas-blaming also tends to sometimes lead to racist diatribes about Palestinians and their culture.

9. Al-Jazeera is not a credible news source.

Al Jazeera is a news source like any other. It has varying editorial policies and therefore will have equally good reporting on certain issues while having terrible reporting on others. The difference is that Al-Jazeera's news on Palestine is credible because it comes directly from their Palestinian reporters on the ground and first-hand eyewitness accounts. Western news sources are no more or less credible than al-Jazeera. Compare this to CNN, NYT, and any other Western news sources where Palestinian voices are often entirely missing from the narrative.

10. Overemphasis of antisemitism on the left

Antisemitism is a real issue and has the potential to fester in left circles if not directly addressed head on. Combatting antisemitism is extremely important, however, it is not an issue exclusive to the left. There is also a double standard in that no one expects Zionists to call out Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Certain accusations of "antisemitism" also seek to distract from what's going on in Palestine by making it about Jewish comfort and feelings. Combatting antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab racism etc is always important as the basis of good politics.

Last but not least, be wary of native collaborators or any sort of normalisers! They are Palestinians or Arabs who try very hard to appeal to Western liberal consensus and can end up perpetuating a lot of harm to the cause and/or other activists. You will know them when you see them.

[ldknightshade]

morality: a character creation guide

creating and understanding your oc’s personal moral code! no, i cannot tell you whether they’re gonna come out good or bad or grey; that part is up to you.

anyway, let’s rock.

i. politics

politics are a good way to indicate things your character values, especially when it comes to large-scale concepts such as government, community, and humanity as a whole.

say what you will about either image; i’d argue for the unintiated, the right image is a good introduction to some lesser discussed ideologies… some of which your oc may or may not fall under.

either way, taking a good look at your character’s values on the economic + social side of things is a good place to start, as politics are something that, well… we all have ‘em, you can’t avoid ‘em.

clearly, this will have to be adjusted for settings that utilize other schools of thought (such as fantasy + historical fiction and the divine right of kings), but again, economic/social scale plotting will be a good start for most.

ii. religion + philosophy

is your oc religious? do they believe in a form of higher power? do they follow some sort of philosophy?

are they devout? yes, this applies to non-religious theist and atheist characters as well; in the former’s case… is their belief in a higher power something that guides many of their actions or is their belief in a higher power something that only informs a few of their actions? for the atheists; do they militant anti-theists who believe atheism is the only way and that religion is harmful? or do they not care about religion, so long as it’s thrust upon them?

for the religious: what is your oc’s relationship with the higher power in question? are they very progressive by their religion’s standards or more orthodox? how well informed of their own religion are they?

does your oc follow a particular school of philosophical thought? how does that interact with their religious identification?

iii. values

by taking their political stance and their religious + philosophical stance, you have a fairly good grasp on the things your character values.

is there anything they value - due to backstory, or what they do, or what they love - that isn’t explained by political stance and religious and/or philosophical identification? some big players here will likely be your oc’s culture and past.

of everything you’ve determined they value, what do they value the most?

iv. “the line”

everyone draws it somewhere. we all have a line we won’t cross, no matter the lengths we go for what we believe is a noble cause. where does your character draw it? how far will they go for something they truly believe is a noble cause? as discussed in part iii of my tips for morally grey characters,

would they lie? cheat? steal? manipulate? maim? what about commit acts of vandalism? arson? would they kill?

but even when we have a line, sometimes we make exceptions for a variety of reasons. additionally, there are limits to some of the lengths we’d go to.

find your character’s line, their limits and their exceptions.

v. objectivism/relativism

objectivism, as defined by the merriam-webster dictionary, is “an ethical theory that moral good is objectively real or that moral precepts are objectively valid.”

relativism, as defined by the merriam-webster dictionary, is “a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them.”

what take on morality, as a concept, does your character have? is morality objective? is morality subjective?

we could really delve deep into this one, but this post is long enough that i don’t think we need to get into philosophical rambling… so this is a good starting point.

either way, exploring morality as a concept and how your character views it will allow for better application of their personal moral code.

vi. application

so, now you know what they believe and have a deep understanding of your character’s moral code, all that’s left is to apply it and understand how it informs their actions while taking their personality into account.

and interesting thing to note is that we are all hypocrites; you don’t have to do this, but it might be fun to play around with the concept of their moral code and add a little bit of hypocrisy to their actions as a treat.

either way, how do your character’s various beliefs interact? how does it make them interact with the world? with others? with their friends, family, and community? with their government? with their employment? with their studies? with the earth and environment itself?

in conclusion:

there’s a lot of things that inform one’s moral compass and i will never be able to touch on them all; however, this should hopefully serve as at least a basic guide.

[tiredguyswag]

one of those masterposts for Sudan 🇸🇩

Disclaimer: I am not Sudanese, and am in no way an expert on the ongoing crisis. Corrections, if any, are welcome.

LAST UPDATED: 26th April 2024 [Please try to reblog the original post as much as possible]

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So what's going on in Sudan? Sudan was under the rule of the military dictator Omar Al-Bashir for thirty years. He came to power through a military coup in June 1989. His rule saw extreme economic decline, repression, and conflict. In the December of 2018, a democratic revolution began that eventually overthrew the dictatorship on April 11, 2019, and saw the beginning of a military rule by militant parties SAF (Sudanese Armed Forces) and RSF (Rapid Support Forces). This unrest is, of course, funded by western governments.

On the 15th of April, 2023, fighting broke out in Khartoum between the SAF and RSF. Clashes spread across the nation of Sudan, and the civilian populace is still caught in the middle. According to UN officials, Sudan is in “one of the worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history."

There is an ongoing war in Sudan, and it's getting worse. There is a health crisis along with the humanitarian crisis as well: around 2/3rds of the population do not have access to healthcare services. Around 15-20 millions suffer from hunger. There are 70 non-operational healthcare facilities in conflict zones. Thousands killed, millions displaced, and a dramatic increase in sexual violence and rape cases.

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Links for Learning Resources:

Hadhreen: Hadhreen started as an initiative by a small group of Sudanese youth in 2015. Since its inception it continued to work in a variety of sectors, most notably Emergency response, health, and in supporting vulnerable groups.

Talk About Sudan: Learn more about what's happening in Sudan and actions you can take. Also has donation links for those who are able.

Keep Eyes On Sudan: A website run by Sudanese diaspora to amplify the calls of the Sudanese people. Has donation links, actions you can take, upcoming protests and events, resources, FAQs, etc.

#SudanSyllabus.docx: An extensive and well-sourced document, providing English language resources about Sudanese history. It's really long and has got lots of links to books, articles, and more. Curated by Razan Idris.

Human Rights Watch

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Donation Links:

List of verified charities providing humanitiarian assistance in Sudan

Help Sudan Tarada Initiative: The aim is to deliver emergency basic needs, food and medicine. Funds will be transferred directly to local charities and organization who are managing those shelters to make sure that the funds are well received and is spent on the needs specified.

One Million Sustainable Pads Campaign: Fundraiser to help provide women in IDPs camps with reusable pads

Zubeyda Adam and family (Sudan)

Our home bombarded and destroyed

Help my family escape Sudan's war

Save a transperson in african Refugee camp from starvation [Unsure about the legibility of this one since its not from the person themself, but if someone can verify this for me that would be great]

Hope For Sudan

Darfur Women Action

Doctors Without Borders

Fill A Heart: Financial Assistance to Sudanese Hospitals

Hometax: Sudan Relief

Cairo Sudan Aid

Amal For Women

Sudan Solidarity Collective

Sadagaat

UNICEF

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These are all the links I have so far. Please spread awareness about Sudan! Let me know if there are any links I should add to the post and I will update it.