#polite bigotry

[360degreesasthecrowflies]

It just doesn't seem like Harry's ever picked up on the idea that there are perfectly pleasant, charming, likable people who can turn out to be deeply problematic underneath, and not because they're being possessed by Evil Itself. Even people who like him and are nice to him. Rowling hints at this kind of understanding when she has other characters describe young Tom Riddle, but when she actually shows him as a child, it's like she can't bear to have readers think for a moment that he might not be the most evil ill-begotten bastard who ever lived. We were supposed to be impressed with Dumbledore for seeing through Riddle when we first heard about him in CoS, but then Rowling felt the need to beat us over the head with his undisguised nastiness, presumably so that slower readers could feel as smart and superior as Dumbledore. Or maybe she was just afraid Riddle would acquire fangirls, which she seems to have taken it upon herself to reeducate. I wouldn't be surprised if she thinks it her public duty. In a mature, realistic story, Harry would feel uneasy about Hagrid and the Weasley's polite bigotry and truly wonder if his prejudice against Slytherins didn't make him a bigot himself. He would have learned that Evil is not a snake-faced monster, but something that exists in him and people he loves, who are otherwise decent and normal.

more Harry Potter meta via DeathToCapsLock’s chapter discussions of Goblet of Fire

[charlesoberonn]

Deadbeat dad whose children want nothing to do with him tells nation's step-parents that their families don't count

[anxious-lorf]

I didn't think anything could be more confusing than "Why do they call it oven..."

and then my co-worker said "I disagree, but nobody deserves to be harassed over it" when referring to the queer community. And I'm just standing there, trying to process the implications of that.

Best case scenario is that the dude was trying to say he was a straight ally, but even that still leaves the unfortunate connotation of queerness being something you can "disagree" with (ex: an opinion, a choice, etc) rather than it simply being the way some people are built. He would have to hold that view in order for the statement to make sense in his head. Otherwise, what are you disagreeing with? Our existence??

If that's the case (which would be the worst possible yet sadly still realistic way this sentence could be interpreted) then that would imply this person thinks queer people should not exist at all. There's unfortunately a lot of big organizations and institutions that hold this belief, and will go to varying lengths to achieve a world in which queerness is bullied into submission (and not in a fun, sexy way). But the majority of them seem perfectly fine with the idea of opening harassing members of the queer community. My co-worker (allegedly) disproves of that, but would be in favor of their end goals, if my interpretation of his statement is correct. Personally, that seems like an odd line to draw.

Believing and taking action to eliminate a fair percentage of the population's sexual and gender identities, violent or otherwise? Perfectly acceptable. But outwardly expressing that you detest the way said population is through nasty words? That, apparently, crosses the line.

The whole thing comes across as "yes I hate you and everything you stand for and would absolutely wipe you from the face of the earth if I could, but I'd like to be polite about it". And I hate that. How can you think you're in the right for wanting at best, cultural and historical erasure, and at worst, literal genocide?

Being nice isn't the same as being good, and actions speak much louder than your nice words ever could.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the more you try and unpack this, the more problematic it becomes. And the more confused I am about how bigots are able to believe that it's both moral and just to want to make queer people cease their existence.

[politijohn]

Source

[iamnmbr3]

Kamala Harris: *is biracial*

GOP:

Vote Blue all the way down the ballot to keep these fascist bigots out of office.

[neuroticboyfriend]

hey uh i don't think USamerican food (ex: all our candy, chips, fast food, etc.) is unhealthy because it's a nation filled with gross fat people ridden with diabetes... hear me out... maybe it's because this god forsaken country is effectively the birthplace of capitalism and they will put anything and everything in our food if it means we keep buying it. especially if we have no other options.

all the added salt and sugar is because they know people will keep going for it - they're also simple ingredients that are easy for them to procure (thanks to centuries of slave, and otherwise unethical, labor). all the harmful dyes is because they've been relentlessly marketing to us in such a way that they make out natural food to be dirty and inferior. all the "fat free!" food came about because of fatphobia... you do need fats in your diet, just in balance.

it's all because they (capitalist class) don't give a flying fuck about anyone if it means they can make money. of course we aren't nearly the only country where capitalism takes away peoples reasonable access to a balanced diet, and the USA does get slack on a lot of things for a lot of very good reasons. but... maybe that shouldn't fall on the oppressed people living here? especially not based on bigoted misconceptions? there are no conditions on not being a bigotted asshole to someone. not facing bigotry isn't supposed to be a privilege. and it doesn't have to be an acutely life-or-death bigotry to matter.

addendum: also whether a food is "unhealthy" is heavily subjective and reliant on the individuals health needs at the time. sometimes people really need that salty as fuck pack of potato chips... like a disabled person with electrolyte issues! or a poor person who hasn't had enough to eat!

tl;dr if you keep going on about how disgusting americans are because of our food, you're just fatphobic and ableist.

[kiragecko]

The Husband is reading Feet of Clay to nq (our eldest) and me. I last read it over a decade ago. What's hitting me this time is how Pratchett likes hammering his point home through multiple channels.

-

This is a book about respectability politics, discrimination, and privilege. The golems are the A-plot, loosely standing in for trafficked people/undocumented immigrants. (They also share some similarities to disabled experiences.)

But the book has SO MANY subplots, all sending the same message!

-

Cheri is constantly kicking down - trying to figure out how to survive as a dwarf in a human-centric city, while badmouthing the undead. It has echoes both of assimilated immigrants turning on newer, less acceptable ones AND 'normal' gays trying to distance themselves from the 'weird' queers.

The key to Vetinari's poisoning is recognizing the classist forces acting on the palace servants/the residents of Cockbill Street. How their desire to stay respectable holds them down, keeps them hungry and meek. How a healthy powerful man can survive, but a poor baby and old woman are vulnerable. And we see how they kick down as well - tormenting William Scuggins, who seems to have been either mentally disabled or mentally ill, for entertainment.

And the royal plot is contrasted with Vimes' mutterings about how the common people suffered under royalty but are still attracted to it. How they seem to WANT someone above them. Sure, some people might suffer, but nobody thinks it will be THEM, so it's fine.

-

Reading it again makes it almost unbelievable that people were trying to suggest Pratchett would be anti-trans. Right after Cheri comes out, Angua takes her to an undead bar, where it's repeatedly mentioned that people who "can't pass" can "be themself." When she chooses her new name, Angua thinks about how most people wouldn't have associated that name with someone with a full beard, but now they're going to have to. It's not subtle.

(There's also a woman with dementia there, in one of the books examples of how NOT to kick down. Pratchett doesn't DIRECTLY focus on disability this book, but there are a lot of little moments. (All the golems use AAC!))

-

I don't know. I'm just struck by how intersectionalist Pratchett's politics were. How this story can have 4 very different plots going on at the same time, but all of them have the same message.

He was a really great writer.

[thequeeranachronism]

All bigotry is inherently linked I look at racist Jews, antisemitic black people, transphobic lesbians and see only people furthering white supremacy. You see it in how te/rfs and sw/erfs side with a fascist like Matt Walsh over their own communities. There is no way to only be oppressive towards one group. White supremacists will shoot you in the back the minute they’re done with you. Each minorities’ struggles are linked and we can’t separate them. No one is free until we are all free

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[shalom-iamcominghome]

People findinging out that antisemitism does, in fact, victimize people

[vepaluiron]

Sylvanas Windrunner, Ranger-General of the Blood Elves of Quel'thalas

vereesa -- sylvanas roleswap au??? i kept seeing banshee queen vereesa in that one time rift timeline and had sudden brainrot over it, so now this exists!

[reasonandempathy]

Elon Musk outright stating he became a right-wing loser because he has a trans child.

And of course it's tied into his weird fetishistic and eugenicist natalism and him wanting to have a Legacy.

[roadside-oddity]

There is a Rampant and Vicious Cycle in the Online Left That Needs to Be Addressed

Every leftist needs to understand that not every proclaimed leftist is a safe person or one that is acting in good faith. Many people in this sphere --even if they are minorities themselves-- are Abusers. Let me be clear: they are Abusers REGARDLESS of --NOT because of-- them being a minority. Despite this, many of them have weaponized their standing as a minority in order to get away with their behavior and achieve what they see as some form of power and control over others. Let me be clear. I am referring to those that:

Manipulate and lie about pressing situations (especially when it's to harm another person or demographic)

Excessively use idpol to either elevate themselves to holier than thou levels ("listen to ___ people but only when it's something I agree with, which just so happens to devolve from constructive change to making others grovel and plead forgiveness endlessly before me") or belittle others (ie their skin color, gender, queerness, disability, neurodivergence, religion, age, etc.) in order to discount their point or not treat them as equal human beings; yes, even if their skin tone is white or if they are men, abuse does not have to be backed up by systemic issues in order to be abusive or at the very least harmful (sidenote: this does not apply to people talking about their experiences as a minority that is otherwise not experienced or understood by others, the issue I'm pointing out is when it's twisted to cover everything not directly tied to their identity and proclaim themselves as the only ones allowed to be the voice of reason, therefore shutting up everyone else and to avoid any constructive criticism or discussion)

Act on rage and at times even trauma to bring forth harmful ideals (ex: truly hating every person of a demographic, wishing for a genocide, making actual death or rape threats towards someone or a group, conversion, etc)(sidenote: I'm not discounting those that have trauma and even have harmful thoughts, just please seek help and understand that it is not healthy nor sustainable to paint or alter reality to be in line with what trauma makes you believe)

Actively try to get others they don't agree with to either permanently leave the internet or commit suicide and even celebrate when either happens

Excessively test others on their "purity" on unachievable standards to the detriment of everyone and Leftism as a whole (purity culture is fueled by christian culture in order to disguise doomerism, accepting defeat when change is not possible, of which is the very thing that will kill leftism)

Infight over weird made up issues (remember how divide and conquer is a war strategy? To split hairs and discount others for non-issues is to do the work of conservatives and nazis for them)

Shut down people or discussions over minor slights such as using an incorrect word/phrasing or any numerous perceived mistakes (example I've seen here: berating a person with schizophrenia (or a trans person or any other minority) for using a derogatory term for themselves when they're talking about how everyone else is speaking over them and not listening), ignoring the hypocrisy or not taking into account any number of mundane causes such as non-native english speakers, generational gaps, being in the process of learning (either recovering from harmful beliefs or simple ignorance), using those terms to prove a point (such as that example I mentioned above), neurodivergence, etc.

Not letting others talk about their experiences of oppression when those experiences don't match theirs, instead opting to call those people bigoted for contrived reasons

A rejection of nuance, intersectionalism, and even reality to better suit their goals (ex: claiming that every trans man benefits from the patriarchy and can never experience misogyny)

Misuse of therapy speak and terminology in order to water down those terms and render them near meaningless so they can weaponize them under the pretense of their original use (ex: gaslighting), or to cut off any need to connect or sympathize with other human beings and instead speak to them like a PR message (refer to this video by Zena and Poppy for reference)

They never speak on true leftist/progressive ideals or positive change, they only engage in destructive discourse or any behavior listed above

Making baseless dangerous accusations towards someone they don't like. Before you go harr harr you're doing that, I'm not calling out any specific person and am merely listing dangerous behaviors I've seen people here act out. What I am referring to are when someone casually calls someone specific a predator (or whatever else) with absolutely zero proof and expecting everyone to believe them no questions asked. This has been shown to ruin people's lives

Any other similar behaviors not included in this list (as well as classic logical fallacies), but what I've mentioned above should paint you a good picture

Every example I've pointed out were REAL EVENTS I've seen from people that proclaim themselves as leftists or even just progressive, and sometimes are even minorities themselves (some even infight against their own communities using the behaviors listed above, often out of internalized bigotry)(an example of a real event that happened here recently were when several people were making rape threats towards a trans man by the username of @a-faggot-with-opinions). To be blunt, I'm pointing out exclusionism in practically every form, asexual discourse, transandrophobia, TERFs/radfems, TEHMs, tankies, "cornbreadtube", nationalists and ethnonationalists, and all else I don't have the terminology for For many of the people that fall under that bullet list I would hesitate to even refer to them as leftist or progressive, as they never seem to actually show they act on it or even believe in it, only making an appearance in those communities for their own destructive personal gain; hell, often times they have ideals that directly go against what those communities stand for! Examples include TERFs with white supremacist beliefs, transandrophobes that are misogynistic, ethnonationalists that are antisemitic, puritans that are ableist, the list goes on forever. Once you know what to look for, you can see the hidden or overt bigotry behind their false "progressive" statements

No one is infallible No one is better than everyone else You are not immune to propaganda No one is immune from behaving abusively

These people are dangerous, whether they actually qualify as abusers --as I've been referring to them as such for brevity and impact-- or are people that are engaging in hurtful or fully abusive behavior (use this paragraph as a disclaimer, I of course can't know if someone is an abuser in real life unless there is documented evidence of such). Regardless, they are hurting the left and are letting the right win

If you see any of these behaviors either 1) take caution if you're unsure, 2) block them, or 3) if you have the fortitude, call them out. Either way, use your best judgement and think for yourself (or discuss with good faith leftists if you're uncertain). And remember, often times (albeit not always) they are actually fully aware of their disgusting behavior and are choosing to act maliciously, not ignorantly.

Stay safe, log off, do what you can to support your local community and leftism as a whole, don't let these people distract from the real issues at hand. Have empathy, if you don't have empathy then act in compassion, if you don't or refuse to do either please do not engage in politics. Misanthropy has no place in matters concerning humanity.

And remember: we have to stand together in unity so we can create a better future for all

[mywitchcultblr]

This is not the time to belittle twitter users who wanted to move into Tumblr, with Elon musk finally owning Twitter that app will be very hostile towards minorities. I'm not joking this is not the time to make fun of people who wanted safe space from hate and bigotry. We don't have to be smug about "Tumblr user better than Twitter"

Edit: well the respond is pretty negative but to answer all reblog and notes

I'm far more drenched in Tumblr culture first and foremost, I think I made twitter on 2019 but never been active there not until a few months ago and I always been more active on Tumblr and I only have twitter to look for nsfw art, the amount of uncensored, horrific racial slurs and other slurs + public disturbing threats towards people like LGBT people that I have seen on Twitter have greatly increased to a staggering degree, yes a lot of twitter users are garbage but there are decent folks too whom safety will be even more threatened. Especially trans people

I understand people are weary of twitter users with their horrible takes and less than stellar behaviors but the point of this post is "alright there are decent people on Twitter who might want to use Tumblr because twitter is getting worse it's fine if they wanted to be here and let's be nice to each other."

Edit: Welp getting a lot of disturbing hate and serious harassment from this post, I edited it and putting things I got under cut to prevent triggering people so suddenly but if anyone wanting to see

I'm going to step back a bit because I got Doxxing threats involving my sibling... I can't do it... I can understand differing opinions but don't send me threatening ask or dm

Please be kind to each other

[charliejaneanders]

Another reason to call and email your reps. They need to hear from us now that trans rights are not a bargaining chip.