#native country asks

[rapha-reads]

For the native country asks: 11, 12, 22~

(Thank you for providing me for a quick break in between essay writing! Love you)

11. favourite native writer/poet?

Oh boy. Do you have 4 hours? My favourite poem is "Il pleure dans mon cœur/ Comme il pleut sur la ville", but I appreciate more Paul Eluard's poems ("Sur mes refuges détruits / Sur mes phares écroulés / Sur les murs de mon ennui / J’écris ton nom / [...] Liberté").

In terms of narrative/prose writers... Oof. I have a BA in French Literature, AND I've been living mostly in libraries and bookshops since I was 5. So, um. I love French literature. The master writer of French kids of the 2000s is the regretted Pierre Bottero with his series "Ewilan" (a must read). Lately, as I am deep in essay writing about culture and stuff, I've been reading some Malraux, especially his 1966 speech that you can find here and that is absolutely amazing. Big fan of Alexandre Dumas and Théophile Gautier in the 19th century, Fred Vargas and Nancy Huston in the 21st, Eric Orsenna and Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt in the 20th... Don't have time to go in-depth too much right now, but anyone, do feel free to send me asks about French literature!

12. what do you think about English translations of your favourite native prose/poem?

Ooooh, bad, bad. I generally prefer original versions of what I'm reading, and if I don't know the language, I'm very careful to look up what bilingual people say about the translation. Some time ago, in one of my literature class, we were talking about a French text, I don't remember which one, and the prof showed us the original text and then a translation (in Spanish), and oooow, the translation completely lost the point of the text, none of the lyricality of it had been transposed. (I am a snob when it comes to languages and literatures, I am well aware of that) Other than that, I don't read translated French writings in English, so I don't have anything else to say.

22. what makes you proud about your country? what makes you ashamed?

*snorts in French* Let's start with ashamed because oh boy have you been following French news lately? Macron is an asshole, the gouvernement is full of idiots, thieves, criminals and racist pieces of shits, society still has a problem with its colonial past (hello racism, hello xenophobia), and it's paradoxically very proud of its culture while being almost illiterate, the pretentiousness of French people, the hypocrisy...

But it's also a beautiful country that has made and still makes amazing creations, has a long history of humanism and intellectualism, a history of hospitality and fiery defence of its people and its values (without any irony and knowing well how horrible it was, I would have loved to live through the Révolution in 1789). Good food, good bread, good pâtisserie. Excellent literature and music. Beautiful landscapes. I hate France as much as I love it, but I would not go back to live there even if you pay me.

Send me another not-US ask and I'll do the Moroccan version!

[salvadorbonaparte]

Would you mind sharing your views on backpacking? 👀

Take all of this with a grain of salt because I'm mostly just bothered by backpacking content on Instagram.

I think the concept is fine. I'd actually like to do some backpacking some time.

But backpacking content, as well as most overland* content, always has a really weird vibe. It almost feels like cosplaying poverty if you know what I mean??

It's almost always young people from the so called "West" and almost always they're somewhere in South or Southeast Asia. The most popular backpacking destinations I'm seeing at the moment are Bali (exclusively that part of Indonesia for some reason), Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The algorithm has recently also started showing me content from Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.

Since flights to these destinations are usually quite expensive, and many of these people stay abroad long enough that they might need a visa and that accommodation and food would also add up, it can be safely assumed these people have a certain amount of financial stability. Some of them are full time influencers too.

And while travelling with a backpack instead of a suitcase makes sense, and while you want to have an "authentic" experience, the vibe on those videos is often sooooo weird.

They're always like "I just spent 45h standing in a cramped bus without AC because it was only $1. I'm sleeping on the floor of this abandoned building that costs me $4 a night. I only carry 2 t-shirts with me, can't find a laundromat and I'm travelling for 3 months. Yesterday I got scammed and got food poisoning."

And I'm like why are you doing this? Is it really more "authentic" just because it's a foreign country? You can find the same uncomfortable situations and people who live like that all the time in your home country, but when you're abroad it's cool and authentic and #humbling #eatpraylove. Meanwhile there's also people in that same country you're backpacking through who, like, have a comparable standard of living you're used to. Your holiday doesn't have to be luxury resorts but it also doesn't have to be absolutely god awful.

And of course there's also the factor of adrenaline and stepping out of your comfort zone but with these videos it seems like they're almost glamorising having an awful time in an "exotic" country because that's what it's supposed to be like? I guess?

Idk I feel like I should get the opinion of someone living in one of those backpacking hotspots to make sure I'm not just getting annoyed at nothing but I think the vibe is off.

*overland content as in "travelling from XY to YZ without flying - Day 420" type videos. They're often interesting and I follow some of those people and I actually have some ideas for cool overland or long distance train trips but some of the accounts also have a weird vibe. Most of the ones I saw were men and they're like hitchhiking through some desert somewhere and I'm like oh this would feel so unsafe to me as someone perceived female. And obviously they also make lots of content where you know they have lots money because they've been travelling for several months but it has that same fake low budget backpacker vibe.

I hope this makes sense. I'm not sure it does.

[i-looove-dillydallying]

Does anyone have any good Dutch music recs? I only know Froukje and Rosa van Bommel atm

[sergeantpixie]

"all your ribs are still your own" sounds interesting!

Thank you, dear anon!

Titled after Ribs by The Crane Wives, It is deanlena, and it's my little self-indulgent "Save Jessica Moore" fic!

Jess goes to NOLA to visit her cousin who's friends with Elena. She is attacked by a demon there and rescued by Elena. The demon reveals Sam's connection to the incident, and Elena clarifies a few things about the supernatural world. Elena and Dean kind of have a FWB thing going on, since NOLA is monster-central. Jess makes the decision to stay in NOLA and break up with Sam. After Sam's friend dies of demonic possession, he goes back to hunting. 5 years later they all meet again in the NOLA airport.

excerpt:

Elena stares into the skull's hollow eye sockets and Dean realizes uneasily that she is face-to-skull with an exact copy of her own cranium. A chill runs up his spine as he contemplates the horror of this moment. Beneath the skin, bone, and sinew of the beautiful woman in front of him sits the very same skull she holds in her hands. "What are you going to do with her?" he asks. "She could've been me," she answers. "I don't know where to find her family anymore, but I'm her family, too. So, I'll take her home. I'll bury her with my family."

ask me about my WIPs!

@randomestfandoms

[your--isgayrights]

hi i'm stalking your orv posts and i saw u say that orv has colorism issues? can you expound on that because when i was reading the novel i think i missed that bit

Ah, so with the novel it's actually not much of a problem, but the thing is that the webtoon adaptation and official art has a tendency to make the protags whiter than paper and the webtoon in particular, when I was posting about this more, had so far like only given villains darker skin tones. This honestly happens all the time in east asian media, but the reason I'm particularly peeved about it with ORV is that I distinctly remembered Yoo Joonghyuk being described as both the most beautiful man in the world and also a man with tan skin and black eyes, which felt really important to me personally bc I grew up Asian American and had to unlearn those things being equated w/ ugliness/plainness by both colorism and racism lmao.

[snekdood]

this is partially a critique on my part but even more of a critique on other online leftists' part since i notice a complete lack of attempts at putting oneself in others shoes- it shouldn't quite literally take learning you have x minority ethnicity in you to have sympathy and understanding for them.

[pyreshe]

like this was partially inspired by a tiktok about the t.wilight franchise, but I do think a LOT about watsonian vs doyalist analysis and how it applies to characters of color and female characters in an unfair way and t.wilight and the fandom it spawned is a really good example of that in the wild.

in general, fandom is more fair to white male characters, more willing to excuse their actions and flaws, that's always been true. they are more willing to play with a doyalist assumption that the character does actually have a rich inner life and morals that align where they want them too that the author simply wasn't able to expand upon that. they can look at white male characters and decide they just need to be "saved" from a bad narrative. it's part of why u see the unnamed (white) male background character who has maybe a single line being turned into a 3d character by fans. (don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily a bad thing to expand on a character with little screen time, but it IS if you ignore or devalue characters of color and female characters who contributed a lot more to the plot in favor of them)

but characters of color and female characters are often locked into watsonian analysis; the brown character is written as violent and predatory because that's just how he is- the author's racism is glossed over. meanwhile, the female character who was not written as having a rich inner world or at least not one expanded upon in the canon- she clearly doesn't have that. so on and so forth. fandom is not as forgiving of these characters; their flaws and misdeeds exist because they themselves are wrong - not because of an authors numerous and not even subtle biases.

I think people are slowly getting better about this sort of thing? I hope? but. not fast enough.

[onepiece-polls]

Oh, I'd submit Jerma for Doflamingo so hard, you have no idea.

I wish he was an actor so I could lmao

I honestly don't know him, but if you think he could act, that'd be good enough for me. But then again, someone already submitted him, so you don't have to anymore, unless you want to provide some additional propaganda (but you could do that on the poll as well, once it's out.)

Some general rules (gonna add this to the main post in a sec)

'Actor' doesn't have to have acting jobs on their name already, but you must be convinced they are able to act out the character convincingly, so acting jobs help.

Actors must be speaking English well enough for the job (accents are fine, they don't have to be native speakers).

If you've submitted anyone who doesn't follow these rules, please message me! Especially the English part is hard for me to find out sometimes, but if they've never played in anything English spoken, I'm inclined to think they don't speak English well enough. I set this rule to make it more realistic they could be cast in the actual live action.

[rapha-reads]

4,5,11,18 ❤️

Hi Carrie! So nice to see you :D

4. favourite dish specific for your country?

My favourite Moroccan dish, and favourite dish in general, is called marshoush in Moroccan Arabic, but it's commonly known as rfissa. It's made of chicken and meloui, Moroccan crepes, with fenugreek seeds and spices. A delice.

5. favourite song in your native language?

One of the most famous Amazigh (Berber) artist is the legendary Idir, and I would recommend all of his songs. But I'm also very fond of a Moroccan band called Saghru Band, from a little village in the Middle Atlas. The leader of the group, who died, is rumoured to have been assassinated because his songs and speeches were too political. I recommend:

Yell-is N Medden, a beautiful, beautiful love song

Tabrat i Obama, "a letter to Obama", a very politically charged song

Riru, Roru, Reru, a traditional lullaby.

11. favourite native writer/poet?

My father, if he ever decides to clean up his 25 year old manuscript and send it to a publisher. I've read it, I've read the beginning of the sequel that he started during the lockdown, it's a beautiful, very poetic narration on his (our) village, his memories growing up, the disappearance of an entire way of living. I really hope he gets to publish it one day. But in the meantime...

Baba doesn't really like Tahar Ben-Jelloun, so I won't say that (but he's got some good books). The two big names of Moroccan literature, and the ones I've read the most, are Driss Chraïbi and Mohamed Choukri. They're excellent writers, I definitely recommend looking them up and seeing if they've been translated into your language.

18. do you speak with a dialect of your native language?

Excellent question, yes, I do! So, my native language is not Arabic (that's my third language), but tamazight, commonly known as Berber, tho berber is actually a slur coming from "barbarians". Tamazight exists in a variety of dialects all across North Africa. The most well known is Kabyle, which is located in Algeria. My dialect, in the Middle Atlas in Morocco, is tachelhit, or Chleuh, or chilha (if you look it up, the maps will tell you that it's spoken only in the south of Morocco, but the maps are wrong). If you're fluent in one dialect of Tamazight, you can generally understand all the other dialects, what changes are pronunciations and some words, like any other dialect. I am sadly not fluent (biggest shame of my life, that), so I can barely understand my own dialect (my family would scoff and say that I can talk and understand perfectly fine).

Thank you so much for the questions, they were really good!

Send me a not-from-the-US ask, and maybe I'll talk about France, maybe about Morocco

[unhonestlymirror]

I didn't expect to see "about 85% of all white people are Rh positive" in my lecture. ://

[landinrris]

that’s actually so spooky bc my lab partners name is Taylor and she came into a lab one day in a McLaren t shirt

(but she doesn’t really watch f1, so she’s not a hater of any of them. and I like all of drivers so I wouldn’t be talking bad about any of them)

lmaooo the way this gave me a heart attack for a sec. Like oh no, I've finally been found 👀😂

I unfortunately do watch it too much even though I should either stop that or go on an anti-anxiety medication 💀

[bandedbulbussnarfblat]

I made a post the other day that mentioned IEPs. So I wanted to make a post as someone who was worked for the american school system, and explain IEPs versus 504s. I double checked by looking online just to make sure I wasn't spreading misinformation. (Or just the way my severely underfunded county did things, bc they cut corners) And I found this site above that gives a great break down. It offers a pdf with a chart that compares the two. There is a video that explains it as well. There's also video, a podcast, and the transcription available here . That link also has a few links to other resources.

I'm going add a quick summary of the most important details below regarding IEPs vs 504s. I'm also to going to add a link for parents/guardians who either don't speak/have limited English. (Unfortunately the pdf is in English, but you could probably put it through a one of online translators and the gist of what it saying.)

Most important differences between an IEP and a 504:

IEP: Is always written. Includes related services and specially designed instruction.

Generally much more in depth.

Requires any changes made to the IEP are given to parents/guardians in writing before the IEP team meets and makes any changes. You are automatically part of your child's IEP team. You have to right to attend these meetings. They will send a letter, by snail mail, telling you of a time and date they would like to meet. (If your kid has a good teacher, they will call and try to find a date that works for you. If not, you can contact the school and request a different day. Most schools are willing to be accommodating.)

Written consent from parents/guardians is required before evaluation and before the IEP is put into affect. HOWEVER, the student has to fall under one the 13 disability categories.

Typically includes modifications of the what the student is expected to know and learn. (For example, if the student has an intellectual disability, their learning goals will be established by the IEP team.)

This doesn't mean the student will not be presented with general education grade level concepts, just that they will be modified to meet the student's capability.

IEPs have annual goals that are measurable. These goals are made by the IEP team, including parents/guardians. (Aka, there is a lot of progress monitoring.)

Usually teachers will send out a progress report every two weeks. However, most teachers send out less formal methods of progress monitoring weekly or daily. Sometimes it's just a chart in a file folder where the teacher will jot a note of anything that the student was doing well with, or anything the were struggling on. Sometimes it's their complete work for the week sent home, excluding anything the teacher is keeping for records.

An IEP team has to include at least one gen ed teacher, one special education teacher (special education is usually called EC these days) a school psychologist/specialist, a district representative, and the parent/guardian of the student.

An IEP team is required to meet at least once a year, and the student is reevaluated at least once every three years. (Typically they are reevaluated and deemed still in need of an IEP. Though there are cases when students (mostly in high school) have received enough support that they no longer feel the need an IEP)

An IEP is a legal agreement. You have the right to sue the hell out of the school system if they fail to meet it.

504s:

Doesn't include specially designed instruction. Is meant to help student remain in general education.

Doesn't have to be a written document. (Though typically most schools do write documents. Bc otherwise they would not be able to keep track of what students need, bc there are so many).

Usually provides accomadations/assistive technology, but not related services of modifications. (Though sometimes these are also provided, especially if a student fails to qualify for an IEP, but still needs services and/or modifications)

Requires a student have a disability that impacts their education

Much easier to obtain than an IEP bc less requirements

No specific set of rules of who is on the student's plan team. Generally includes the parents/guardians, the student's general education teacher, (in the event the student has multiple teachers, the teacher will probably be their 'homeroom' teacher, and/or the teacher(s) of whatever subject/area your student is struggling in) and someone from administration, such as the principal or assistant/vice principal. Hopefully also someone from EC who has been trained to teach students with exceptional needs.

Parent/guardian consent is needed to evaluate the child, but this consent does not have to be written. (Many schools will still send some sort of consent form, bc the school system believes in documenting everything.)

The school has to tell you of any big changes to the plan, but they do not require your consent before starting them. Generally you'll be sent a letter of those changes in the mail. (If your students team is good at their job, they'll contact you before. Like, the teacher will call and say we are planning on starting x thing on y date, or email you if that's your preferred method of contact.)

504s don't track annual progress or create annual goals. (Though usually teachers will keep their own form of progress monitoring, bc a student with a 504 could be reevaluated and found they meet the criteria of an IEP. For that reason, many schools treat 504s as if they IEPs. Some schools suck though.)

For parents/guardians with limited or no English language known.

Most importantly, if you have a language barrier, your school must provide a competent translator/interpreter. They should NOT expect your child to work as translator for you.

And there is a lot of times where the translator isn't available that teachers will ask a bilingual staff member to translate for them. How you feel about that is up to you. A lot of parents don't mind in my area, bc we are severely understaffed when it comes to translators, and they want a quick response. If it's something you absolutely don't want, be sure to tell the school. You don't have to do so verbally; send a letter in your language stating your wishes. The school will find someone to interpret it. Keep a back-up copy for yourself.

Just as a general rule to all parents/guardians, keep documentation of everything the school sends you. You never know when you may need it.

[tetsunabouquet]

I just read an article about the native Americans from the New York area calling us for reperations and an apology with an art exhibition involved, etc. Personally, whilst I do get wanting to know what happened to the Native Americans that were transported to the colonies, most of their remarks are downright stupid. Like, in a statement about the issue, they called themselves Indian. My god, how can they claim they want to pass down their culture, when they don't even understand their culture! Native Americans AREN'T Indians, that was a misconception by Colombus who was travelling to India and mistook Native Americans for Indians. That's basic history! Recently, human footprints have been found in America that are 23.000 years old, even before that discovery most researchers thought that the Native American arrival to the American continent was at least 15.000 years ago. Now, why knowing when Native Americans settled on the American continent is important, has to do with a group called the Proto Indo-Europeans, who were the ancestors to Europeans but also people like Indians and Persians. The latter groups were the first to seperate from the Proto Indo-Europeans and settle in Asia. It's why some Persians like Aria Shahghasemi are white passing, it's because his ethnic group was formed through racial intermingling with the ancestors of Europe and people from the Asian continent. The earliest notion of Proto Indo-Europeans is over 8000 years ago. Native American settlement predates Proto-Indo European culture by thousands of years! So it's literally impossible for them to be Indian and Colombus did not accidentally guess their ethnic origins right. He was so wrong, just like the Native Americans involved with that exhibition. I'm Dutch, but I literally know the origins of their culture better then they do! And it's not like this information is hard to research, anyone with internet access can educate themselves. And then I am not even talking about how pretty much every single of their current problems shouldn't be blamed on us, but the USA. They have been independent from us for over 200 years and whilst there was a New York region where ethnically Dutch did try to maintain Dutch culture and the language, they had all assimilated during the 1910s and there no longer is a Dutch area in New York for over a century by now. I had a god grandfather, he was the stepfather of my mom's ex. He was a Dutch man from New Jersey. He did not have any connection to his roots, which is why he unofficially adopted me as his granddaughter in the first place! He loved that his son had came home with a Dutch woman and when they broke up and my mom got pregnant with my dad who abandoned her at 6 months pregnant, he saw a chance to maintain a fatherly relationship with my mom and have a grandchild that he shares his cultural roots with. He had forgotten about most of the language because there is no Dutch community anymore and he enjoyed re-kindling that connection with me. So how are the current problems in any way, shape or form, linked to the Dutch? Anything like how this man says he wasn't allowed to practice his native cultural rituals and speak his language in the 1970s, were things the US had the power to change, not us. How can we as a foreign nation change US legislations?! Their yapping about our cultural relationships throughout the past 400 years, when our government hasn't been involved in 244 years and any Dutch community in the US being non-existent for over a century is bizarre. Our international relationship in the modern age is practically non-existent. Take your people's problems to the people who can actually improve your living conditions which is your own government in the US. Our culture should share the slave registers, but blaming any legistlation of the 20th century on our nation is absurd when we haven't had anything to say about this region in 244 years.

[mariamlovesyou]

bisan's live video on her 2nd acc is piercing my heart

she started off expressing (in arabic) how sick she is of the constant sharing, photographing, capturing, having to speak english and how she wants to speak in her native tongue instead.

she explained that the leaflets that were dropped again are ordering evacuation to rafah so they are forced into the sinai, and how impossible it is for over 2 million people to go to an area that's only 151 square km, so many have no choice but to stay in khan younis. they are trapped and have no international passports. rafah is the southernmost point of palestine after khan younis and she said - this part in english - "after rafah there is no more palestine. if we are forced into rafah there is no more palestine."

someone asked her if she has eaten and whether they have any food, her response was no, not at all; one loaf of bread has to be divided between everyone in her tent.

the video kept freezing because of how bad the internet service is in gaza right now so i lost bits and pieces, but at some point an older woman joined the live, a journalist outside of the country. it's unclear whether they knew each other previously, but a lot of warmth was exchanged. the woman got tears out of bisan when she told her "dont listen to people who tell you to be strong, i don't want you to be strong, i want you to be you. if you are sad i want to know, if you are happy i want to know." she explained that she tried entering rafah but the occupation refuses to let any foreign journalists in anymore.

after the woman left, bisan talked about her life before october. she said her life was beautiful and fruitful and any source of strife was solely on israeli hands; namely her inability to travel or pursue placements for her education outside of palestine. other than that she had nothing to complain about. if im able to watch the video after it ends, i will add any pieces i missed

[majorpublicintersection]

something about the way that the day that Jesus was betrayed and killed is called Good Friday

Language difference moment! Here it is named Viernes Santo (Holy Friday), still I do think it's a very interesting thing to think about. In a way it is Good in the catholic sense of that it is right what it's meant to happen: he's supposed to die this day. He's supposed to grieve and be grieved Still can't help but to think holy friday fits best ... sanctity often means directly suffering for god and humanity

[ketchuppee]

During the 2008 recession, my aunt lost her job. Her, her partner, and my three cousins moved across the country to stay with us while they got back on their feet. My house turned from a family of four to a family of nine overnight, complete with three dogs and five cats between us.

It took a few years for them to get a place of their own, but after a few rentals and apartments, they now own a split level ranch in a town nearby. I’ve lost track of how many coworkers and friends have stayed with them when they were in a tight spot. A mother and son getting out of an abusive relationship, a divorcee trying to stay local for his kids while they work out a custody agreement, you name it. My aunt and uncle knew first hand what that kindness meant, and always find space for someone who needed it, the way my parents had for them.

That same aunt and uncle visited me in [redacted] city last year. They are prolific drinkers, so we spent most of the day bar hopping. As we wandered the city, any time we passed a homeless person, my uncle would pull out a fresh cigarette and ask them if they had a light. Regardless of if they had a lighter on hand or not, he offered them a few bucks in exchange, which he explained to me after was because he felt it would be easier for them to accept in exchange for a service, no matter how small.

I work for a company that produces a lot of fabric waste. Every few weeks, I bring two big black trash bags full of discarded material over to a woman who works down the hall. She distributes them to local churches, quilting clubs, and teachers who can use them for crafts. She’s currently in the process of working with our building to set up a recycling program for the smaller pieces of fabric that are harder to find use for.

One of my best friends gives monthly donations to four or five local organizations. She’s fortunate enough to have a tech job that gives her a good salary, and she knows that a recurring donation is more valuable to a non-profit because they can rely on that money month after month, and can plan ways to stretch that dollar for maximum impact. One of those organizations is a native plant trust, and once she’s out of her apartment complex and in a home with a yard, she has plans to convert it into a haven of local flora.

My partner works for a company that is working to help regulate crypto and hold the current bad actors in the space accountable for their actions. We unfortunately live in a time where technology develops far too fast for bureaucracy to keep up with, but just because people use a technology for ill gain doesn’t mean the technology itself is bad. The blockchain is something that she finds fascinating and powerful, and she is using her degree and her expertise to turn it into a tool for good.

I knew someone who always had a bag of treats in their purse, on the odd chance they came across a stray cat or dog, they had something to offer them.

I follow artists who post about every local election they know of, because they know their platform gives them more reach than the average person, and that they can leverage that platform to encourage people to vote in elections that get less attention, but in many ways have more impact on the direction our country is going to go.

All of this to say, there’s more than one way to do good in the world. Social media leads us to believe that the loudest, the most vocal, the most prolific poster is the most virtuous, but they are only a piece of the puzzle. (And if virtue for virtues sake is your end goal, you’ve already lost, but that’s a different post). Community is built of people leveraging their privileges to help those without them. We need people doing all of those things and more, because no individual can or should do all of it. You would be stretched too thin, your efforts valiant, but less effective in your ambition.

None of this is to encourage inaction. Identify your unique strengths, skills, and privileges, and put them to use. Determine what causes are important to you, and commit to doing what you can to help them. Collective action is how change is made, but don’t forget that we need diversity in actions taken.