#return to source

[semanticsoul]

Cornel West

One ought to be suspicious of all forms of authority. One ought to be suspicious of all forms of obedience that require a certain kind of blind submission to authority.

[etawardana]

The Traditional African Way of Life

[…] the traditional African way of life was holistic; that is, every aspect of life intertwined. As John Mbiti puts it, 'There is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and non-religious, between the spiritual and material areas of life.' As a result of this, in embracing Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Islam (which seems better able to coexist with aspects of tradition), many Africans did then and do now reject, not just traditional religion, but every aspect of traditional life. This has created a situation today where many Africans, whether on the continent or in the Diaspore, feel ignorant of their culture and their elders, traditionally the teachers, at a loss to shine any meaningful light on it.

Source: Araba Ofori-Acquah, in Return to Source: Unlock the Power of African-Centered Wellness.

[start-with-words]

FORAY (noun) - a brief but spirited attempt to become involved in a new activity or sphere.

With this intentional assault on African practices and beliefs, it's no wonder that many Black people today might feel a sense of fear or shame around even thinking about exploring African wellness and spirituality. […] As a Christian, you might feel that any kind of foray into African traditional practices makes you a defector. As an atheist, you might dismiss African practices as supernatural. But as an African, it is your birthright to access the knowledge and healing practices left for you by your Ancestors, without fear or guilt.

Source: Araba Ofori-Acquah, in Return to Source: Unlock the Power of African-Centered Wellness.

[captainhancock727]

Oscuro - Return To Source

[doitbuckley]

you would think 911 is one of the easiest shows on earth to comprehend and then you see what people are saying about the characters on the internet and you’re like damn this network procedural is beating people’s asses

[mint-fixates]

There's this weird take I've seen floating around on TikTok that Bill doesn't actually care about his family/dimension or Stanford at all; that we're supposed to take everything in TBOB as non-canon basically because he's lying to garner sympathy from reader to make a deal with them. I'm all for having your own interpretations of media, but I just don't think this idea that Bill is a completely heartless unfeeling creature is supported by canon at all. In fact, it kind of feels like the opposite of the point of the book.

Like, yeah, most things Bill says should be taken with a grain of salt because he lies a lot, but he's not actually a very good liar? It's usually pretty easy to clock when he's full of it. But okay, even if we assume every word Bill says while trying to recruit the reader is a lie, there are three major things that this doesn't account for.

Bill is not the only source in the book. The lost Journal 3 pages were written by Stanford, we only know about the interdimensional Taco Bell incident because of an included police transcript, etc.

Even once he's lost any chance of making a deal with the reader to escape, Bill is having a complete breakdown and mentions all the people he so totally doesn't miss for real you guys. Why bother with reverse psychology double-lying for sympathy once his shot at getting the reader on his side is already gone?

Trying to garner the reader's sympathy makes sense to a certain extent, but why go out of his way to make himself look pathetic? Does revealing that he got drunk and cried over his ex in a fast-food drive-through really help his cause if that cause is to convince the reader he's still a powerful being capable of starting the apocalypse again so they can rule with him?

And that's all without even mentioning that, as previously stated, I think the entire point of the book is missed if we're interpreting Bill as having no genuine feelings or attachments. The book ends with Stanford healing from his past by being open about what he went through with his family and accepting their help, while Bill insists he doesn't need anyone and refuses to heal, actively making himself worse in the process. The clear theme imo is that accepting your past and accepting help from people who love you is essential to healing, while denying those things just makes everything worse. If Bill doesn't actually care about his family, his dimension, Stanford, or anything/anyone else, he has no trauma to heal from or regrets to learn from that he's refusing to accept and deal with, and the entire meaning of the book is made moot.

[vagabond-umlaut]

gojo: we should get married you: but we've been dating for less than a month gojo: and i think i have shown incredible restraint waiting this long

[chdarling]

ok pray for me, I’ve decided I’m finally emotionally ready* to reread TLE2 for the first time in full since I finished writing it. Depending on how fun/painful of an experience this ends up being, I may or may not spam this space with commentary. You’ve been warned. 🫣

*debatable, but I’m doing it anyway.

[alchemistmelody]

[noodles-and-tea]

Purrlock Holmes……

[etawardana]

The True Mission of Colonialism

Colonialism was put forward as a mission to 'civilise' Africans and 'develop' the continent. Democracy, Christianity and Western education were some of the tools used. As these powers were fully aware, Africans already had fully functioning political systems, spiritual systems and education systems. They were not coming to teach us anything we didn't know but rather to usurp what was already established--all to further their economic and imperial interests. In other words, the true mission of colonialism was to destroy Africans' belief systems in order to break their spirit and their self-confidence, leading to submission. After that, resources would be ripe for the picking.

Source: Araba Ofori-Acquah, in Return to Source: Unlock the Power of African-Centered Wellness.

[start-with-words]

ATROCITY (noun) - an extremely wicked or cruel act, typically one involving physical violence or injury.

This idea of a largely unexplored mass of land filled with strange people served to erase centuries of African history pre-slavery, an atrocity that has stayed with us even to this day.

Source: Araba Ofori-Acquah, in Return to Source: Unlock the Power of African-Centered Wellness.

[patroclusbro]

Rogue (Doctor Who, 2024) + Text Posts (1/?)

The Balcony Scene

Bonus:

[incorrecthanleia]

han: you’re the only dude i know who enjoys milk as a refreshment

luke: man, so what?

han: you’re an interesting critter bro

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Eddie being shown hugging Ravi rather than buck in this scene has me up in my feels actually.

Especially in combination with the conversation about Eddie being in the army and having been to a lot of funerals like this.

Because Ravi is a physical embodiment of bucks abandonment issues and Buck is watching on when the hug happens but not when the army stuff is talked about and that’s significant. It’s Eddie embracing bucks fear of abandonment when he’s feeling abandoned by his pseudo father and trying to live up to his last words - that the others are going to need him. So Eddie embracing Ravi is Eddie embracing Buck - having bucks back as he always has done and which we get a further representation of when they are carrying the coffin.

[totallycorrectsailormoonquotes]

I don’t hold out much hope for Usagi. She has many excellent qualities, but thinking is not one of them.

Rei