#this is not to say don't boycott

[lunapwrites]

I am only going to post about this once.

Doing a little cleanup on my about me pages... kinda feel the need to revisit the author-induced HP-verse blowback and renewed fan creator exodus for a moment, just bc I keep seeing... discourse.

For context, in case you're reading this far and are unaware: I am pretty open about being nonbinary probably most accurately agender? still kinda feeling that out, and about being queer in general. So I feel like I have at least a small leg to stand on in this conversation, given the umbrella I fall under.

I understand why other authors and artists feel the right decision for them is to disengage from fandom, or to remove/orphan their body of work. I support them in their choice, and I wish them the best. Likewise, I understand why others may choose to remain, and to continue creating content (subversive or otherwise) that speaks to them and to others who are able to see themselves and their experiences in it. As a member of this camp myself, I salute these people. It's not an easy decision to make to continue in this climate.

I am extremely fortunate in terms of where I'm at in my journey, and where I live and work, and a supportive partner who is cis enough for the both of us lol. I understand that my situation comes with a certain degree of privilege - but that privilege is bought with the sacrifice of my truest self. These online spaces are one of the precious few places I have where I can express those sides of my identity, and my writing is the best place I have to explore them. Characters like Remus and Sirius and Tonks? They're the most familiar to me, and therefore the safest. For me, continuing is the best choice for the sake of my mental health - even with the pressure to quit.

To that end, it... bothers me a bit when I see discourse claiming that people who continue to engage in and create for this fandom are morally deficient. That, by and large, is not the case. Most folks are just out here trying to do the best they can. I don't think that shaming or call-out posts are constructive.

If you are expecting me to post disclaimers or to self-flagellate on every fandom post/fic, you will be disappointed. I will instead continue as I have been and put my limited bandwidth and energy into keeping my queer friends and family housed, fed, and safe. And I will continue to do so without posting about it because frankly I don't have the spoons to advertise every time I do something. (That said, if you're in the US and in need of help, please reach out privately: I probably have resources I can leverage.)

I am a big proponent of doing what you can with what you have and that every little thing counts. Make friends and network. Promote causes. Feed each other. Show up for each other. That's the important part. Like, it's not all big activism and protesting and bold proclamations. Sometimes it's just buying eggs.

Idk. I just feel like we all have better ways to spend our time than all this empty grandstanding. Just go... do something positive. Even if it's just providing emotional support, you know? Everything counts.

[heritageposts]

The Eurovision song contest is facing intense scrunity and accusations of discrimination after it rebuked Swedish-Palestinian pop star Eric Saade for wearing a Palestinian scarf in the opening act of the semi-finals. Saade, whose father is of Palestinian origin, kicked off the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden on Tuesday evening with a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian and Arab male headdress, wrapped around his wrist. [...] In response, the organisers of the contest, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) released a statement saying it "regretted" that Saade wore the scarf. "The Eurovision Song Contest is a live TV show. All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event," it said. [...] Eurovision later posted clips of the performances of the other two opening acts on its social media pages, but did not share Saade’s, prompting social media users to share the performance on their personal pages to show support for the artist.

Waving Palestinian flags, wearing traditional Palestinian garments, or if we're being honest, just being Palestinian, is now officially "too political" for Eurovision.

Literally, all Saade did was wear a keffiyeh around his wrist—while being Palestinian—and that was enough to get a statement from the EBU, and have his opening performance scrubbed from Youtube.

If you're not already boycotting Eurovision this year, then what the fuck is wrong with you?

Below are two statements from Saade. The first one, giving his reason for participating, was posted a few days ago, and the other was in response to the EBU accusing him of 'compromising the non-political nature' of the Genocide Song Contest:

Reminder again to BOYCOTT EUROVISION 🇵🇸

[nando161mando]

You don't say!

[bandzboy]

.......... i beg your pardon?

[kowabungadoodles]

dumping some thoughts in the tags

[rolandkaros]

i've been ruminating a lot on it because i think i'm bad at putting my thoughts into words but i need y'all to understand that while there are absolutely a lot of Not Good Things about the finals being held in saudi arabia for three years...the way people seem to treat is as morally black and white is shortsighted and unhelpful.

realistically the players traveling there will be protected. it may be uncomfortable, it's certainly not ideal, but they will travel there for a few weeks, play their tennis, then leave. there are a lot of women, a lot of queer people who actually live in saudi arabia who cannot just leave, who are actually subjected to laws and social climates...and to me it just seems very disrespectful to that actual lived experience, for everybody to sort of turn their noses up and get on their high horses. of course, if the players wish to opt out, that is their choice, but that is their choice to make. that's their judgement. not ours.

and then, what about a tournament like miami? florida is literally experiencing one of the worst active regressions that i've seen in the us (granted i'm young). things like critical race theory and lgbtq+ ed are being removed from curriculums, rights for trans youth, trans healthcare, etc. are going backwards. abortion rights? gun violence? and yes i know that the laws and climate in saudi arabia are different gravy, i understand that, but my point is, no one would ever DREAM of arguing against hosting a tournament in miami despite all of these issues. and we can extend this to a lot of other tournaments! i mean, all the outrage about fifa hosting a world cup in qatar, but we don't have any of these sentiments about doha? i've seen other people bring up that the finals were hosted in singapore when gay marriage was still illegal there. we've already talked about italy's fascist prime minister. and i could go on and on and on about the war crimes of countries like the us or the uk - is the us not participating actively in genocide right now? where is the standard? if you argue against hosting the finals in saudi arabia for the reason of human rights, to me it seems you have to uphold that standard for the location you do land on. and i can guarantee, you will not find a single country in the world with clean hands.

i want to be clear i am not arguing that hosting the finals in saudi arabia is a good thing, especially for three years, especially because it's definitely going there because of money, and not for any of the "good" reasons i think some people want us to believe about "improving the region" (which is very weirdly white savior-esque anyway). i don't really have an official "conclusion" to this discussion.

what i am arguing is that i think a lot of the protests against saudi arabiahosting the finals are more an example of implicit anti-arab bias and islamophobia, rather than genuine discussion. key word implicit: i don't think most people are purposefully trying to be anti-arab/islamophobic. or at least, i'd like to believe nobody is. but i also think, particularly in the west, there is already so much of this xenophobic sentiment ingrained. and this is why i think it's really really REALLY important to check ourselves when we talk about it instead of just jumping straight to the human rights conversation without a second thought.

i'll say it plainly: i don't think the finals should be held in saudi arabia. but for me, it has more to do with sportswashing, with the dangers of the way money is thrown around in sports, and because i think it's more evidence that the wta doesn't care about player welfare but rather about making a profit (what else is new). human rights are absolutely a concern of mine, but how is it fair to hold saudi arabia to a standard that we don't seem to care about for literally anybody else?

literally look at the us's ugly ugly history, past and present, and tell me why we deserve to host a tennis tournament.

[mobiused]

what are your opinions on the yeojin mcdonalds thing?

Umm I think it's really awkward and everyones handling it stupidly. Tell yeojin and ctd that she should stop eating mcdonalds if she cares about palestinian lives yes. Demand an apology if you want yes. Verbally abuse her no. Immature of her to close comments without addressing the controversy yes. Is her disordered eating relevant whatsoever? No. Pretend that Korea is some isolated land full of idiots who know nothing about global politics no. Pretend that Korea is on par with the US regarding info about boycotts and the palestinian genocide no. But at the end of the day Yeojin has access to the internet, she's undoubtedly seen the complaints, all it takes is a little sorry won't happen again. But everyone is being so weird about it. Like its always all about nuance really.

I'm just thinking of the time Yeojin reacted badly when she got called out for her disordered eating the first time, then took some time away and apologised sincerely. Hoping this will happen again because I have faith she's that type of person. Though understandable if people aren't wanting to forgive her over this.

[thegirlwholivesin-delusion]

I really need some best friends and friends who are activists like me.

The lack of interest of people in changing the world around them pains me.

If you are a teen activist/do care about the world we live in and want to change it even if it's a little bit please interact with this post ;-;

[sagaschan]

...The LoR chinese localization team still hasn't been paid? Every day's a new horror story, huh

[swarnpert]

if i go to pride this year and i see people selling fucking harry potter merch i'm gonna flip my fucking lid

[nasirsagron]

Peak fake activism is Eurovision fans acting as if watching Eurovision and not voting for Israel is something revolutionary

[phantomsf0rever]

you guys are all pirating x-men 97 right? right? you guys are still boycotting disney right? right guys?

[slyandthefamilybook]

@raventropy this 1000000%. so many Americans act like they're gonna be the ones to solve the conflict. they talk about boycotts and voting and calling for a ceasefire because it gives them something to do. they can't stand the idea that people far away without American ideals can figure things out for themselves.

because at the end of the day, boycotts won't significantly hurt Israel's economy. calling for ceasefire is all well and good but it's up to Bibi and Hamas to actually listen (which they've proven they won't). Voting for Biden isn't gonna solve things. Not voting for Biden isn't gonna solve things. Nothing is going to wrap this up in a neat little bow. If you're not supporting Israeli and Palestinian leftists on the ground, if you're not supporting Bundists and kibbutzniks, and the Labor Party, and the judicial reform protests, and the Palestinians fighting Hamas, and healthcare workers in Gaza then there's only so much you can really do

[bandzboy]

the way this is a response to one of the members being injured after being overworked for MONTHS and going on an extended encore tour that truly did not need to happen is CRAZY... enhypen are genuinely doing just fine they have a lot of fans internationally and a lot of people support their music it's their stupid company that wants to make us believe that they are on the brink of flopping when that's not the case at all and you people fall for it that you sound like a company ceo with this talk about "market competition" like you don't care about the group you supposedly love YOU TRULY DON'T. it doesn't even matter if it was "with their consent" when you don't exactly know that anyways but even if it was, it was because they were pressured to accept having to do inhumane schedules and having comebacks and going on tour right after for years atp. i am so mad you people don't deserve the groups that you supposedly stan and love and care about the "caring" and the "loving" is all a farse

[dykegirlfriend]

everytime a political social issue and a need for vocal support arises i get reminded of how much of pop culture fandom spaces are so predominantly privileged white it always morals over idols before someone actually chooses morals over idols and god forbid you as a minority express your dislike about the tone deafness suddenly you're public enemy no 1

[whorejolras]

am i the only one who thinks celebrating pride month in the middle of an ongoing genocide is a bit................... 😒