#tw cultural genocide

[apostate-in-an-alcove]

Found on Facebook (Moneyless Society)

[intersectionalpraxis]

Why Are Indigenous Women Disappearing Across Canada?

The formation of 'residential schools' in Canada was and remains a cultural genocide. Canada -a current white settler nation -has a responsibility to take accountability for the continued disproportionate amount of violence that Indigenous women face in this country, as Indigenous women are 4 times more likely, compared to the national average in Canada, to be victims of violence.

Since 1980, thousands of Native women have gone missing and have been murdered, and their cases have been either entirely dismissed or under-investigated. I have spoken about this on my page before, and although this short piece by Vice does not delve into the history of the RCMP -there is rampant anti-Indigenous racism in their ranks.

These issues are ongoing and epidemic, and we must always keep raising awareness about and talking about MMIW. This is only one of many videos on some of these issues, but I wanted to share this today.

[womenaremypriority]

Article about gang rape in the DRC.

💔

Please don’t forget about women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the worst places for gang rape in the world right now.

[dreikit-23]

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

[ganondoodle]

didnt want to talk about it but i feel like im actually going insane

anti-queer laws are popping up everywhere, fascism is on the rise in every country around me, including my own which is famous for the atrocities of its past that happened not even 100 years ago and only got this far bc no one thought he'd get through with it

a pandemic that WASNT defeated and is STILL around and endangering everyone yet nigh everyone acts like its a thing of the past

the entire creativity of humanity being stolen and chewed up in a maschine so companies can make an endless shitty new schlock of media to pay even less to even less people and earn more or for some entitled tech bros thinking that all art is is the jpeg on screen deluding themselves into believing they now have a privilege denied to them by the talent-god even tho that god never existed and the only one who denies them the ability to make art is themselves

the climate visibly going haywire and few things are done against it, if at all even

and now i am watching a genocide happen while every piece of media joins into the propaganda of the oppressor, of course i dont think hamas is good, a terror organisation is a terror organisation no matter who they claim to fight for, and i am not defending them, hell no, but why are we being told to cheer on an entire country being wiped out for something a small group did, knowing that wiping palestine from existence has been the goal of israel all this time and this has now given them a good excuse and international support to finish it off?? the war russia started agaisnt ukraine is still ongoing, isnt there also a genocide happenign in armenia? and one against a minority in china as well?? probably even more i havent even heard about..

i didnt know about the details of whats happening to palestine until a few days ago either but now, on top of everything, i feel like im losing it, what even is happening, how am i supposed to just .. go on with my daily life while all of that is going on, not losing your faith into humanity has become a real challenge over these last few years even tho i know its vital to keep it alive bc the pit of thinking its all lost anyway is deep and only makes things worse for everyone

[hasellia]

Okay apologies for hopping on tag trending train but I have an important request.

If you don't know about the history of Aboriginal genocide in Australia, watch this program.

It's a very very hard watch but one that is important.

If you're outside of Australia, make sure to set your VPN to Aus. You may also need to set an acount for SBS but it's free viewing.

I would also recomend most of SBS's docos through NITV, as they're the National Indigenous broadcast station.

A little update on the warnings before I forget. I'm a little pressed for time so this is from my DM's with someone I've shared with.

I just wanted to give a heads up that the show contains footage of a mourning ceremony (with the grievers's permission from what I remember). There is also a segment where stolen remains are returned to their families but there is no appearence of the remains themselves on screen. From what I can tell/remember these scenes are treated with care and gravitas but I don't think I can be the one to say whether they were treated appropriately. Anything on colonialism is a hard watch, but this doco particularly follows on the unglamourised brutality of the frontier wars as well the lack of recognition on the wars from the Australian government/military and from the wider Australian public. That's on me for not disclosing that properly in the post.

[myfandomrealitea]

I wish people understood that anyone remotely smart does not get news from social media posts. If you're mad at someone posting about their blorbos instead of the news ask yourself why you put random online people that you don't know on the same pedistal as verified journalists and what that says about your susceptibility to propaganda. Most people who harass those who are "being silent" usually ignore the vast majority of other world issues anyway. I say all this as someone who isn't privileged and posts both about my fandoms and politics on my blog.

"If you don't acknowledge inequality and bigotry and suffering in every single moment of your life you're a horrible racist bigot that perpetrates genocide!"

Meanwhile the majority of the time "exposure" is the literal only activism these people are doing. I donate and sign petitions and boycott and I can promise you the literal last thing I want to do when I'm in a server about monsterfucking is wave my moral superiority flag and force people to talk about dead children and mass murder. I'm capable of doing both without having to force them to intertwine.

[bbygirl-obi]

Hello, I just wanted to say I appreciate your detailed and thoughtful response to my reply. I do think I accidentally fell into an ongoing discourse I'm not really familiar with so I'm taking responsibility for that miscommunication/misunderstanding on my part. I in no way ever meant to imply, nor do I believe, that the genocide on the Jedi is anything other than a tragedy. Even if people have faults that never justifies violence. I'm very sorry that was not clear. I don't identify as an anti and I am chill with the Jedi. Lots of things you wrote about are reasons I like the Jedi and SW in general.

Since it seems I've caused harm I don't really see value in me trying to "defend" where I was coming from but I might be wrong, I'm not sure. The interpersonal relationship section of DBT has always been the hardest for me to grasp and I think that's really showing right now. So, sincere apologies again for my miscommunication.

(This ask is in reference to this post)

Hi, thank you so much for reaching out! I was a bit heated when writing that response, so kudos to you for not getting defensive and for hearing me out. I do really appreciate it. I'd love to help you understand a bit more why this hit me so hard, especially since this was unintentional on your part. There are three things that I think are important to understand here. I'll talk about them below.

1. There's kind of always been a worrying amount of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism that's baked into big parts of the Star Wars fandom. It's unfortunate, but it's there. Many of the women and/or PoC characters/actors have experienced awful slews of online hate throughout the course of the franchise, specifically for being women and/or PoC. Ahsoka, Reva, Rey, Finn, Rose... the list goes on and on. There are also communities of fascists or incels who use the Empire as inspiration porn. These groups do not make up the entirety of this fandom, but they are a very loud part of it. AND their influence extends beyond their circles into the rest of the fandom, in the form of things that other people with privilege do not always register as bigotry.

2. Star Wars is unfortunately one of those fandoms where a lot of the discourse tends to step on the toes of real-life cultures. As I mentioned, the Jedi are based heavily off of Buddhist culture (George Lucas has been very explicit about this), and the targeted genocide is very similar to the real world's Holocaust. The rise of the Empire is pretty directly based off of the rise of Nazi Germany, to the point of the Empire's aesthetic being based off of the Nazis and Palpatine's rise to power directly paralleling Hitler's. Because the real-life connections are both significant and explicit, Star Wars intersects with the real world a lot more than other fictional or sci fi franchises do. There's a greater burden on members of fandom to investigate things before speaking on them as a result.

3. There are a lot of fandom misconceptions about the Jedi, including that they stole children, that they erased cultures, and that they were emotional, unfeeling people with no relationships. There are also a lot of sentiments that the Jedi were at fault for, or deserved, what happened to them (either because it was "balance" or because they created the man who genocided them). Some people arrive at these conclusions because of the racism mentioned in #1 intersecting with the non-white cultural influences mentioned in #2. Some people arrive at these conclusions because they see it elsewhere in fandom (from group #1), and don't recognize the dogwhistles because they aren't familiar with the cultures being trodden upon.

So when someone says the kinds of things you said in your post:

Jedi children are "stolen from their homes and raised devoid of their culture and families"

All Jedi initiation "traumatizes their subjects"

"Attachments are human relationships and…are integral to mental health"

All Jedi "have absolutely nowhere to turn to for comfort"

"The Jedi order is more akin to a cult"

The Jedi "sterilize" and "manipulate" DBT and force their practices upon their members as "the one true way to live"

The Jedi are "about eradicating big emotions"

Their "goal [is] indoctrinating the children they stole"

"Anakin is the direct product of their failure"

Sure, the first thing that jumps out is the misinformation. But since almost everything you're critiquing about the Jedi is something that also exists in Buddhism, you are simultaneously deriding Buddhism as something that is detrimental to mental health, that provides no support network to anyone, that is sterile and emotionless, and that is a form of indoctrination.

The paternalistic idea that Buddhists were victims of backwards, harmful cults, and needed to be "saved" from their own culture by white people, is both old and insidious. These are things that have been said about Buddhism with the intention of painting it as stupid and even harmful, so that white people could justify oppressing both Buddhism as a religion and the PoC cultures who originated and practiced it. This is still used today as a justifier for modern-day forms of racism, but it's also been used for centuries as a justification for the colonization of entire countries.

I've discussed the genocide aspect in my other post, but I'll just reiterate that the sentiment "the Jedi are not to blame for their genocide" cannot coexist with the sentiment "Anakin, the perpetrator of said genocide, is the direct product of the Jedi." The idea from your tags that the Jedi "killed" Anakin is also a tricky one, since the idea that Anakin's death was Vader's creation is a popular fandom trope turned canon with the "you didn't kill Anakin Skywalker, I did" line in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and to say the Jedi killed Anakin is therefore to say the Jedi created Vader, their genocider.

I guess part of me also wonders why, even if it is true (I think it isn't, but people can and do disagree), it's relevant to bring up under the type of post I made. Take the example of a school shooting. People have died, children have died, a member of their community has betrayed them, and the community is hurt and grieving. Let's say someone makes a post celebrating the community, celebrating how kind and supportive they are to one another. And let's say someone decides to comment below that post saying that the other kids in the school were mean to the shooter. Even if it were true, I hope this example helps illustrate how (1) it comes across as excusing the shooter's actions, and how (2) that sentiment is just so incredibly tone-deaf and victim-blamey. That's kind of how it feels to have someone comment these misinformed things (of racist origin, even if they are not of conscious racist intent) below a post that I made celebrating the practices of a culture that was genocided. It's neither the time nor the place.

And remember what I said in point #3, about how people arrive at these conclusions one of two ways? When I read stuff like this, it's really hard to tell which of the two groups a person falls into. It's hard to tell if the coded racism is simply going unnoticed, or if it's there intentionally. But it's there, regardless. And in my experience, the hidden or unintentional racism can be the most dangerous, because people will often get defensive and gaslight the hell out of you when you try to call it out. Thanks for not doing that, but you're unfortunately the minority.

So when people say these things, I usually have to assume that they are not a safe person. Because like I said: Whether or not the racism was deliberate, it was still there. You might have not originated these ideas, but you were willing to accept them without investigating further, to adopt them as your own, and to spread them further online. I think there's something to unpack there for you. Some great next steps would include doing research into the following topics:

The nuclear family and how it ties to white supremacy and homophobia (this gives context for the institutional aversion to the Jedi's form of community; you can find an article by a Black man about this here)

The American Jewish Committee's resources on identifying subtle or hidden forms of anti-Semitism (this gives context to how seemingly innocuous statements can have very problematic histories; you can find it here)

The phenomenon of "Holocaust Distortion" (a real-life example of how harmful it is to distort facts to place greater blame on the victims of genocide; you can find an article from the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance about it here)

The history of Buddhist groups suffering religious persecution (this gives context for ways in which the religion has been deliberately misrepresented for the purpose of harming Buddhists; Wikipedia is a great place to start, here's an introductory link)

The colonization and oppression of countries with large Buddhist populations (this gives context for the global racism I mentioned; look into the countries of Japan, Cambodia, China, India, Vietnam, etc.)

Though there can also be room for excitement, not just depressing homework, because it seems there's a lot of great stuff about the Jedi (and Buddhism) that you didn't know about, and now you get to learn all about it!

[ohsalome]

[pluralcultureis]

/tw, genocide mention. Also kinda ranty.

Plural culture is being told that wanting to avoid talking about/looking at stuff about the genocide in gaza and palestine (for serious mental health reasons btw) is horrible and selfish and you should “just look at it” because “they have it worse”.

I know they do, I’m sorry about that, but there is nothing I can do, I don’t know what they want from us! It’s causing severe depression and anxiety for both myself and my system, why are we not allowed to avoid stuff that makes it worse?

-❇️

.

[gay-jewish-bucky]

People who advocate that religion should be 18+ only and that it's "abuse" to raise children, especially children from marginalized and ethnoreligious groups, in their family's culture and traditions really need learn about Residential Schools and listen to the stories of survivors and their communities. And yes, there are still survivors, the last one closed in 1996. It hasn't even been 30 years.

You are repackaging and advocating the same system with the same logic and same end goals: eradication of diverse cultures and beliefs that you feel are inferior to your superior, Eurocentric, fundamentalist and absolutist way of thinking because you have the Truth™️ so the ends justify the means.

Genocide in all of its forms, including cultural, is never benevolent. If you think there is ever an instance where it is justifiable YOU are on the wrong side of history.

[intersectionalpraxis]

I love it when celebrities say they're going to "quit" the industry because they can't handle justified criticism lol like bye don't let the door hit you on the way out (sorry not sorry) -maybe also take some of your terrible celeb friends with you, Lizzo.

I should also remind everyone that during the whole sexual harassment breaking story just a short while ago; Lizzo went on her notes app and posted something officially on Instagram saying people were trying to defame her character -when all she did was deflect and make herself seem innocent. So this doesn't surprise me. I used to absolutely love Lizzo. Everything she represented was beyond a breath of fresh air in an industry that overwhelmingly never spotlights Black, Brown, Indigenous, Fat, and/or Queer women overall.

But this is not it. Her, and for all celebrities like her -are equally complicit whether silent or vocal about their stances about any major issue going on in this world.

I also know she's probably going to come back with a single 'stronger than ever,' and I just...

[folklorespring]

Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine

russians use scorched earth tactics: first, a certain territory is bombarded with artillery, guided aerial bombs, all living things are burned, and then they can enter this territory.

[autismmydearwatson]

The worst kinds of non-religious people are the ones who degrade Christianity for having the exact same traits MANY religions share. It's disgusting, close-minded, privileged, and complete erasure.

"The Bible is fiction" by that logic so is the Tanakh. The Torah, the story of Moses freeing his people from slavery using the wonders of G-d. The Neviyim.

That "sky daddy" you mock is the same God worshipped by Jewish ppl, Zoroastrians, and Muslims, as well as Christians.

MANY religions have sacred texts. Hinduism, the OLDEST SURVIVING RELIGION (recorded), worships multiple gods that form the many faces of greater more powerful Gods. Is that primitive? Does it shock you?

Indigenous religions know many spirits that they believe make up the forces of humanity and nature. The Navajo Holy Ones. The Australian aboriginal Dreaming.

These are their LIVES. Muslims are killed for their beliefs, while some misuse them for tyranny.

The Christians beat the culture out of the Native Americans, and now they're treated like antique humans. Ancient Central American religions paid their gods in the blood of PoWs, and now they're all dead.

Ever since Constantine hallucinated that magic cross in the sky and made Christianity mainstream, the holiness has been dying out. Crosses, SACRED SYMBOLS, are bought and worn by Goths, and Rroma culture is appropriated for the "aesthetic". They mashed Yule (a sacred pagan day to celebrate Midwinter) and Christmas (celebrating the day a refugee family bore the Son of God in a barn) into a capitalism holiday. The Bible and the hijab is twisted toward hateful causes, and now the hijab is the symbol of oppression when it was meant to show respect.

Christians in the age of Rome were hunted, chained up for gladiatorial sport, and blamed for terrorism. Now they have fallen, and have done the SAME THING TO OTHER CULTURES. it was the belief of the poor and oppressed, now its been stolen by hatred and entitlement. Homophobia, xenophobia, racism, hypocrisy, the Rich. Christianity isn't white, european, nice, clean, priveleged, pearl-clutching colonialism. It's about kindness, sympathizing with the oppressed, valuing mothers, raising your voice against injustice, and driving out the rich from holy spaces.

Muslims aren't terrorists. Jews aren't greedy. Buddhists aren't weak. Native Americans aren't primitive. While Christians are often fools, God isnt.

All religion means something. Memory, justice, spirituality. These are people's LIVES.

you hate religion? All religions? All of them are fiction? Maybe to you. But not everyone thinks we're meant to be alone in our lives.

THAT is humanity. Believing whatever takes so that we don't have to be alone. It doesn't matter if a people is the majority. They are people, culture. I don't give jack shit what you say about the assholes in my religion, but mocking the most basic framework of human spirituality is despicable and needlessly spiteful. You are shallow and have a narrow, spiteful view of humanity.

Treat religion with respect, or you'll risk repeating history.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Indigenous northerners who were housed in private boarding homes to attend public schools in the latter half of the 20th century could soon be eligible to receive thousands of dollars in compensation.

The Canadian government and lawyers for survivors reached an agreement-in-principle last month to settle a multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuit over the operation of boarding homes for Indigenous students attending public schools between 1951 and 1992.

David Klein is a managing partner with Klein Lawyers, the Toronto-based counsel handling the class action. In an interview with CBC News, he said many of those children experienced abuse and a loss of identity.

"The children were not only displaced from their families, they were displaced from their community, their language and their culture," he said.

The federally-run program saw an estimated 40,000 Indigenous youth placed in non-Indigenous boarding homes across Canada, including in the North.

That number comes from thousands of archival documents provided to the class action's legal team by Canada as part of litigation.

In the N.W.T. (which also included Nunavut at the time), Klein said one document from 1961 shows around 70 children were placed in boarding homes that year. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Uh… sorry about your boyfriend. He was bitten by a spider… yeah, we had to amputate his leg… But we also taught him how to swim and fight to the death; he’s a pro at it!