#thank fuck I don't have any disabilities that limit my mobility

[tommyoliverblogs]

It's nice to see you posting more! Izumi looks sooo good in any style you throw her in.

Secondly, and obviously feel free to ignore this part, but are you still with Digi and the PCP gang? I actually found out about you through them, though I've fallen off that wagon a long time ago.

Please don't take this as like "omg, are you associating with ~The Bad People~??" because I know people can change over time. Last I heard about Digi they just started transitioning and it seemed like a change for the better. As an older trans woman myself I know what kind of revelations that journey can bring.

Anyway, also because of my found trans-ness, I fell real hard off PCP. Tbh, I mostly just listened because the group dynamic was fun but each person separately was... Kinda problematic in certain ways that really threw me off. Still, I hope they're all doing well.

Anyroad, it's nice to see your work on here again, and I hope you're doing well, too. Last I heard was possibly about a crippling back injury and van life or something? Shit sounded fucking rough. I really hope things are turning up for you! If thoughts and prayers and positive vibes or whatever actually did anything I'd be sending them your way. I'm not a superstitious woman though, so I hope a kind message will do!

Yo! Thanks for the kind words!

The PCP changed a lot over the last two years. Most everyone left, currently it's just Gib and Ben. I stopped appearing on the show mostly because I ran out of time, but Nate got tired of the show and left, then there was a huge public fallout between Trixie (formerly Digi) and Ben, which kinda changed the vibe of the show permanently. I'm working with Saberspark on some writing and researching for his channel, while working on the 3D stuff you see here.

As for my back, I ended up needed surgery. Helped but my mobility is still pretty limited. Working on getting disability but most doctors I've talked to have said I don't have a chance at getting it until I turn 40 and take it to court 🙃

[bottlewoman]

My city has the worst fucking transit system

I hate it with a fiery passion and I want who ever redesigned the routes to die from excessively stubbed toes.

[linguisticparadox]

@bronweathanharthad I'm answering this as a new post because tumblr's ask-answering format is shit on mobile

So for Sam (presumably Gamgee :3):

Headcanon A:  realistic

Sam is autistic, or at least has some form of learning disability. He's once described as having a "slow but shrewd mind." And he's canonically clumsy, and super into Elves. Like. Come on.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Man how can I improve on actual canon? Sam is the most wholesomely funny character I've ever seen in my life.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Ok I know we all love the Gaffer and we love that Sam loves the Gaffer but...I mean I wouldn't go so far as to say he's abusive...but he really seems to have fucked up Sam's sense of self-worth with all the "nowt but a ninnyhammer" talk. I guess it came from a place of "tough love", like the Gaffer was like "Okay Sam you are not exactly bright and you were born into the working class so I need to make sure you do okay in life and that means getting in good with the Bagginses."

Which is probably a big part of what made Sam so fiercely protective and lbr fiercely servile towards Frodo. The movies glossed over the latter and that I think has affected the wider fanon interpretations (possibly for the better tbh), but in the book we have stuff like Sam begging to wait on Frodo at the feast in Rivendell. But also, Tolkien said in one letter that Sam was "deep-down very conceited" but this was transformed by his love for Frodo.

So it's like...I think the Gaffer got it ingrained in Sam that "all you're good for is to serve your betters" so Sam was like "fuck yeah I'm gonna serve the SHIT out of Mr. Frodo, I'm gonna be the best servant EVER" but then fortunately Frodo (like Bilbo before him) was a genuinely good person (remember when Sam fell asleep on watch I think and Frodo told him not to think of any of his Gaffer's hard names?) and so it became less "I'm gonna be the best servant because I'm awesome and so my dad will be proud of me" and more "I'm gonna be the best servant because Mr. Frodo is wonderful and deserves to be cared for and protected."

Uh this got a little off-track but basically I don't think Sam's relationship with the Gaffer was all that healthy and it gave him kind of a Complex and thank Eru for Frodo honestly.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

My own headcanon for FrodoxSam is that over the course of the Quest they grow into a qpr, probably by the time of the beautiful little "I love him whether or no" scene, because I get a vibe from Sam there that's like "Idk what exactly I'm feeling rn but it's definitely some kind of love and that's good enough for me." Also I hc Frodo as aroace, for a lot of different reasons including but not limited to "it's a free country and I wanna see the a-spec side of me in a hero I love." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But I also think it's more than reasonable to think Sam had a huge hero-worship blush-inducing ridiculous crush on Frodo at the beginning of the book, before they got closer during the Quest and their feelings for each other shifted and synced up into qpr territory. Merry (I think?) says something like "Sam would jump down a dragon's throat to save you, Frodo, if he didn't trip over his own feet," and that's when they're still in the Shire (and that goes well beyond just being a good servant honestly, whatever excuse Sam himself might give)!

So even if Frodo is aroace and even if their relationship ended up as a qpr I do think Sam is bi or pan (even leaving aside alterous attraction). Idk about split-attraction model specifics like demiromantic or asexual but Sam is definitely into women (Rosie mostly) and into men (unless Frodo's nb which is a hc I toy with sometimes, but regardless Sam's into multiple genders).

Ofc if Sam and Frodo are romantically (and/or sexually) involved then I quite like the idea of poly Frodo/Sam/Rosie, with or without anything going on between Frodo and Rosie. Sam/Rosie is too adorable and pure to write off as a cover-up and Sam has 2 hands.

Of course the main reason this all falls under Unrealistic is because I have no idea how Tolkien would have felt about all this Queer Nonsense. Given he was a Catholic I'm not too hopeful for a more positive reaction than "wow well that sure is a theory and you have every right to it even though it's not what I was really going for." I've heard he apparently knew queer people and thought highly of some queer literature, but there's a difference between that and actually writing queer characters or accepting queer interpretations of your own characters.

I'm actually really curious what might come out over the years, as Tolkien's immediate relatives die off and his writings are left in the hands of more distant relatives and scholars. God knows Christopher Tolkien seems to have been keen on publishing and thoroughly analyzing every scrap of his father's writing, but who knows what he might have held back, or what his father might have hidden away from him (eg extra chapters with lots of smooches)? So, I'm hopeful, but not really expecting too much.

[bootycallreverie]

"Please can we not make her mayor?"

I woke up today to this fascinating question regarding Cllr. Ana Bailão’s votes to uphold systemic oppression within the Toronto Police. “Please can we not make her mayor?”

It was a deceptively complex question that got me thinking of some of the fundamentals of activism, social change and politics, that I wanted to unpack this question bit by bit.

I’ve cut it into five sections: PLEASE, CAN, WE, NOT MAKE HER, MAYOR.

///

1. PLEASE

I assume this softens the meaning of the phrase - “I want her out of politics” is pretty harsh – especially in the context of a man publicly critiquing a woman. Yet it shows us something important – we are implying we need permission to participate in politics.

Why are we asking for permission? And to whom is this appeal directed? Last time I checked, I don’t need permission to do most things in life, including participating in the political process. Our US-based friends did not ask for permission when they recently revolted against their governments; they did it even though they faced police brutality, neo-Nazi paramilitaries, psychological warfare, a global pandemic and more.

The “please” comes out of the respectability politics that makes “Ontario” as a political entity so curious. “Please don’t gut our healthcare!” is not coming from a position of strength. (Anyway, it’s much easier for progressives to walk back overzealousness in the name of justice than it is for people to walk back bigotry.)

To best challenge power, we must never apologize for having ambitious convictions. We need to champion big ideas, even if they’re ahead of the curve. Two months ago, police reform would have been considered impossible in America. And they were right, it was impossible...under the existing model. So they changed the model.

Change – especially lasting change – comes from the grassroots, so while it’s not a bad thing to support progressive political candidates, parties and organizations, it is *significantly* more important to support issues-based activists and organizations (i.e. if you give $10 monthly to the NDP, why not also give $10 to your favourite advocacy group?). Issues-based groups are formed to challenge one specific cog of power at a time and can therefore deliver deep, fundamental and long-lasting impacts. (Plus…this is a great way for potential candidates to gain some experience; get those ppl knocking on doors now and they’ll do much better in 2022.)

2. CAN

If we are asking “do we, as a community, have the capacity to elect someone better?” The answer to this is yes, but if we’re instead asking “will someone within the existing structure please FINALLY get off their ass and challenge her?” then we might ask ourselves why this hasn’t already happened. The civic left has largely allowed Cllr. Bailão (and, to a lesser extent, Mayor Wonderbread, who is merely a pathetic, respectable version of Rob Ford) to go unchallenged because she’s been deemed impossible to beat, but by not challenging her, the civic left has allowed her career to continue essentially unfettered because they don’t want to spend resources on a race they’re unlikely to win. If only there were some other downtown districts where a new, young generation of activists can start to build their careers…except the seats available are full with straight white boy progressives.

Why does the civic left protect Gord Perks, Joe Cressy and Mike Layton? Like…honestly…I just don't see what the big deal about Joe Cressy is. He bumped Ausma Malik out of the 2018 election instead of doing the right thing and making way for a supremely talented racialized woman like I'd hope someone committed to true justice would. There is even a movement in the democratic party to ask white men to not run in safe seats. [This paragraph and the next have been edited for tone, thank you to Colin Burns for encouraging me to rethink my words and my misdirected anger, my frustration naturally lies with Cllr. Bailāo's behaviour.]

Gord Perks verged into alt-left territory last year as a free-speech absolutist and consequently an apologist for bigotry when he should have defended trans folk. He even shared his disappointing thoughts publicly (yup, he did, they’re still up, don’t @ me on this one, you’ll regret it: http://gordperks.ca/toronto-public-library-chief-librarians-decision/) so considering who he seems to be, we can do better after 14 years? (TL;DR – there’s need for renewal in a lot of parts of our movements, and the labour movement is no exception.)

Mike Layton is a lovely man with his heart in the right place. I’ve volunteered for him and would gladly do it again. It therefore pains me to recognize that his last name is more than a name. I’m happy for everything he (and his team) has contributed in a rapidly changing district. My concern is that lefties can’t afford to support dynasties in the same way that liberals and conservatives can, especially in downtown districts where our odds of winning are good and where we ought to be supporting talented Black, Trans, Indigenous, disAbled and economically-disadvantaged candidates that are already on the front lines of social change. (This list is illustrative, not exhaustive.) By the time of the next election, Mike Layton will have been there for 12 years. Perhaps it’s time for him to open an opportunity for others.

3. WE

Who is “we”? Is it people in this district? Is it people in Toronto? Is it progressives? Whoever can identify this “we” and mobilize them will have the best shot of defeating her. This is the “coalition” people describe as needed to win election. Of course, this includes whoever’s running for office and their team. That organizing work needs to start right now if there’s going to be any chance of a lefty winning this seat in 2022. (If you think she isn’t already considering her council seat successor, remember that her old boss was Mario Silva, who was *coincidentally* Davenport’s City Councillor and MP for a combined 16 years.)

4. NOT MAKE HER

This is maybe the biggest hurdle to get over since “NOT ANA BAILAO” is not an option on the ballot. Considering there are no formal (lol) parties or slates on council, her name recognition is her biggest electoral asset, so a keep-it-safe campaign won’t work. Plus her public image is fairly non-toxic, so as pissed off as we all are, most people won’t be swayed by a STOP BAILAO campaign from the left (the trope of the conservative woman can be very powerful – thanks Maggie – so expect her campaign to lean pretty typically right).

When we say “Cllr. Bailão should not be Mayor” we rob ourselves of the ability to say “I think this person would make a great mayor” or “these are the some of the values I want in a mayor.” – and I don’t mean just of the City Council types. (At this point, Josh Marlow is the other councilor to watch.)

I hate hearing “why can’t we have AOC or Jacinta Arden or Anne Hidalgo or Ilhan Omar?” They didn’t come out of thin air. We already have those people here, we just haven’t elevated them to where they can make a difference and this is why. (Also, lefties, let’s seriously push for term limits and ranked ballots…especially the term limits, most ppl out there love the idea, it costs zero dollars and ensures districts have a healthy amount of turnover.)

5. MAYOR

Toronto City Council is a “weak mayor” system. The Mayor need council approval for pretty much everything important. The Mayor will find success or failure on how well he can build a team of reliable allies on council. It’s something thing Mayor Wonderbread does too well: his allies don’t offer a lot of different views. A hypothetical Mayor Bailão would probably do similar.

So then how rigid should a politician be? Are they supposed to be trustees, where we trust them to do what’s best for us and we have a check-in every 4 years? Or are they supposed to be conduits of public opinion with little regard for context? Or is a councillor meant to reflect the demographics of their district, even though they can only truly embody one set of lived experiences as an individual? Or perhaps, in the case of Cllr. Bailão, someone not dedicated to steering the ship but merely running the engine, not caring where it sails even though we've seen icebergs on the horizon? We’ve grown up in a SimCity generation where we think the mayor can make whatever they want happen. As great as that might sound sometimes, in a democracy, accountability matters. But it must come with a recognition that SimCity mayors don't fear the wrath of the voters.

///

I want to recognize that a 10% reallocation is fucking pathetic and still Toronto council couldn’t do it…but at least we know where we stand, and with whom.

We often look at politics as a sport or a soap opera, and it feels great when your team scores points or your favourite character delivers a knockout performance. Even I was like “dang girl” when Nancy Pelosi defiantly ripped up the President’s speech. I was also touched by Jagmeet Singh’s touching display of emotion the day after he was ejected from the House of Commons for calling out bigotry. But that’s not politics, that’s a long running TV drama series, so as disappointed as I am in what happened, I’m not gonna yell at her in the street because White Man Raging is not a great look these days…or ever.

So let’s not make this about my neighbour, Cllr. Ana Bailão. Let’s make it about the system of oppression she has willingly chosen to uphold and tearing that motherfucker down piece by piece.