#you have no say on what religion other people are. you have no say on whether or not theyre practicing that religion Correctly

[jewish-vents]

As a proud Jew and a member of the Iŋalit Iñupiaq people I have never felt as seen as reading a Choctaw Jew's post on here. Christian missionaries hauled my people off of our lands and killed most of us and they didn't even inhabit the land. They didn't even build shit there, they just took it to take it, and I'm supposed to go "ah yes America has no colonizers" and not laugh when these people say "Hebrew is a colonizer language"? Motherfuckers, MY LANGUAGE IS EXTINCT BECAUSE OF YOU! You know who didn't ever try and force a language on anyone? The Ashke Jewish man my great-great grandmother fell for and married. People really expect me to be onboard with their fact-free zero colonialism rewrite of history while my people's lands remain off limits to us, illegal to even visit, the US government holding onto it on the off chance there might be oil there even though they never bothered to even drill for it in over 70 years.

"No other religion acts like this" first of all please read up on Islamic imperialism and get your boot off the neck of my indigenous Middle Eastern brethren and secondly Christian-governed Alaska wouldn't let Native students attend school with "American" children - that is literally how the law phrased it - unless we abandoned our language, our clothes, our songs, our stories, our religion and even traditions as basic as sharing food with poor families in the community. You wanna know how my great-great grandmother met my great-great grandfather? They were both arrested for violating the law and "indoctrinating" children into "Native, anti-European practices" by which I mean THEY WERE BOTH ARRESTED FOR GIVING FOOD TO POOR PEOPLE. They were both arrested by CHRISTIANS!

And people mistake my brown skin for proof of goy status and want to talk shit about how the only good colonizer is a dead colonizer. You're white and you're in ALASKA, you might want to rethink the words coming out of your mouth when most of your ancestors came here to mine gold and get rich and mistreat indigenous people. Even if I accepted the idea that Israel is doing colonialism, which I do not, nobody moved to Israel to get rich and rape indigenous women with impunity to the point where there are words in Inuit languages for gangrape done by white men.

I don't want to hear another thing from a white goy in Alaska about Israel being colonizers when the US bought Alaska from Russia. We were colonized twice for you to get to be here and tell me to my face how colonizers are bad. AND THEN people want to say my Ashke ancestors were colonizers. Fleeing Russia is not colonization, one, and two, WHY DO YOU THINK THEY LEFT?! For fun? What, they heard our weather was nice and wanted to come visit?

I am going to need white goyim to learn US history before they open their mouths.

I'm sorry this is long and I yelled/capslocked but I have had to bite my tongue so many times to not cause a scene because I don't want the university to come up with an excuse not to let me graduate due to poor conduct. It is so tiring. I feel like I'm holding my breath all the time. Graduation is tomorrow. Shabbat shalom.

.

[thatbitchery]

'Power' and 'power hungry' are those words that we have demonized and sacrificed to spread the level down propaganda that's egalitarianism and anti- hierarchy, when power is not only inbuilt meaning we all seek it but extremely important and useful to life.

Power is the ability to influence the outcome, perception and course of events. People that have power are people that have- control or at least influence over lives, theirs or otherwise. Lack of power is the most painful position one can be in- exhibit A your childhood if you had one of those parents. Lack of power power leads to slavery, bring under dictatorship, resentment, self loathing, humiliation, shame, etc. The most painful position you can be in is one where you Lack power over yourself.

Neitzsche (I can never correctly spell his name) insists that power over yourself is the most important form of power, and that a good life is a life spent garnering and exercising power over yourself. Power over yourself is simply- discipline. When your will is stronger than your impulses and urges and wants- when you're disciplined- then you have achieved the highest form of power in existence- which makes this the first point. An easy way to be powerful is to be disciplined.

Power over others, however , is just as important. As social species we are constantly in need of company, in fact isolation is a death- to be at the mercy of others is also a death. Since as a social species we are dependent on each other for survival it is important to have some level of power over others- we are also animals and people will naturally treat you at the lowest level they can- it's important to make this level as high as possible.

So then, some cheap / completely free easy to do ways to be powerful?

Articulation and eloquence. Jordan Peterson says the most dangerous thing a person can be is to be articulate and eloquent. Why? Because words are the most powerful weapon out there. Everything social happens through words , and it's a social species so do the math. Wars have been declared and ended over and through words. Relationships formed and destroyed. Governments created and disbanded- words. In my religion save for human beings Everything was created by words- its that powerful. The most powerful you can be is articulate. The way you speak- from your surface lexicon to your intonation to the speed you use to your accent- people judge you over this. It influences how people treat you and think of you. It's soft power that's also explosive. Increase your surface lexicon. Get rid of your original accent and get one that people either a) find superior or b) commonplace ie most people have it (fun fact before skin color and origin we assess each other on accent basis and subconsciously decode if we like you or not. Explanation: people in the same tribe have the same accent , so consider eo brothers and safe. Strangers, not so much). Learn to pace your words. Be straightforward and open. Which drives me to point two

Honesty and authenticity. Look , I think you should lie. Manipulate girl boss gatekeep - these require lying at some point- go for it. What's more powerful, though, is to learn to ger what you want by manipulating the truth. You know what they say- the truth will set you free. Here's the problem with lying- we can tell. There are tells and subconsciously cues that your body sends when you lie and we subconsciously detect them and when you're caught in one lie it destroys your credibility all round. It's like a castle of jenga falling apart, everything that was once in harmony just- trips over. Credibility is the backbone of all relationships- you lose that you get isolated. Honesty is such a powerful tool because a) its vulnerable b) it signals confidence c) it builds trust d) the gift of companionship- you meet people that can actually relate e) you don't need to remember too much or always hold up a facade, the truth will set you free f) it's such an idgaf move that makes you seem superior especially if it's something you'd get judged harshly on. Just- be truthful- I've given f ways in which it influences how people treat you. The trick here is to do the mystery thing- keep things to yourself, unlearn your need to overexplain or justify, learn to give vague, short and true answers and when in doubt, cry.

Knowledge is power- what more must I add. Read. Keep up with the economics and government politics. Learn personal finance and build a financial base. Read fiction. Listen to podcasts. Be informed. Know the things that matter, and no that isn't drake X Kendrick Lamar it's things that matter. Get good grades and hold, at the very least, a bachelor's. Watch movies and go to the opera. Subscribe to newsletter. Be informed. Know. Knowledge is power. Join training camps and whatnots. Be skilled and efficient.

Networks. Power is stored in webs and security is in numbers. Exhibit a) try attack someone with a strong fan base see how that goes for you. You want to be powerful? Have friends, and not just friends. Powerful friends. I don't mean a team of CEOs necessarily- loyalty at the top is tricky and unless you're also a CEO that might not be easy- I mean people that can influence the turn of events. Sometimes- like in fandoms- it's simply just, people. Who your networks are made up of is dependent on what you want- as long as you keep in mind security is in numbers. Run up your numbers, ma'am. Forget your introvercy and self isolation methods , leave your house and learn to talk to people and run up your numbers. The most powerful you can be, is to get to a point where a) you have numbers on every level b)you have a cult leader like presence- that people worship you and are willing to die for you. Like most celebrities do. That's security, that's power. If you have a Nicki Minaj level fan base people treat you well because if they don't your fans will tear them apart. & you can get away with anything because they will justify it for you.

Grooming and mannerisms. We- inclusive of you- judge our books by their covers. Before you speak your Grooming and your etiquette speak for you. That's, I'm not explaining this. I know you know.

START HERE

[motherofdogs1010]

A Jedi in Arrakis III (Paul Atreides x Reader)

Summary: While on the run from Empire troops, Jedi padawan Y/N comes to find out that hyper-driving in a compromised craft can have some major setbacks when she discovers not only is on a new planet but a whole new galaxy as well...

Warnings: 18+ only, eventual smut, eventual pinv! sex, current fluff and eventual angst, kissing, simp!Paul, spoilers for Dune 1 and 2, somewhat canon aligned

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus, loves! I'm back and ready to grace you with my works!!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics Banner by @vase-of-lilies

Part I Part II

The Baron was a man of heavy weight and heavy glutton, he liked food and power with women waiting for him. He liked the power that Geidi Prime gave him, but most of all, he liked the power that controlling Spice, no controlling Arrakis gave him.

This is why he felt anger towards the Emperor for forcing his soldiers off-planet and handing his cash cow to the damned soft-hearted Duke Leto and his house.

He hated House Atredies with a passion and he could recall the countless interactions he had with Duke Leto, the heated arguments he had with the man.

Which is why he felt happy when the Emperor proposed the slaying of House Atreides, the slaughtering of those damned fools.

"There is a rumor floating around", one of his advisors said, "of a girl from not of this galaxy that the Duke has taken in, someone with some extraordinary abilities. The Emperor wants her alive, especially since the na-Duke is said to be quite taken with the girl."

The Baron grumbled as the sound of the Sardaukar's throaty chanting filled his ears.

It was another hot day on Arrakis, the dry heat of the planet making Y/N wonder why Paul and other members of House Atreides were wearing all-black. Y/N had been offered a loose, beige dress that she wore with a scarf covering that concealed her head and neck from the harshness of the sun that came down on the planet.

"Tell me more about Arrakis", she said to Paul as he led her outside. "I feel like we've only ever talked about our home planets."

"Everything I learned is from the archives", Paul began as she noticed a place of worship ahead of them. "The people who inhabit the planet call themselves Fremen, they're the only ones to ever to successfully live here. The sandstorms here are brutal, they ravage and destroy anything that crosses them... maybe not a sandworm, but anything yes."

Paul spoke in a gentle yet enthusiastic voice that made her stomach flop around and she felt her ears begin to get hot. She was embarrassed at the way he was stirring feelings, forbidden feelings in her as they walked along the compound.

"They value water here the most and the Spice they are constantly exposed to gives them blue eyes. Not much is known about them since they prefer to remain to remain remote."

"And you said Spice is what is needed to travel?" she said, Paul nodded.

"We rely a lot on Spice, which is why it is so unheard of that you traveled here without Spice", Paul clarified. "The Emperor gave my father control of this planet to find peace with the Fremen People but before, House Harkonnen controlled it."

Y/N saw inside the temple many people praying; religion wasn't something uncommon back home, there were so many from the Mandolorians to the Sith but she had never really seen such worship before.

"What are they praying to?" she asked, gesturing to the people.

"To Shai-Hulud", Paul said as a warm breeze came by, "it is also a Fremen custom to spit at one's feet with how they value water."

"We greet and say goodbye by saying 'may the force be with you'", she said with a small grin.

She missed home despite the intrigue this galaxy brought, although she wondered how much was about the galaxy than it was her interest and growing intrigue with Paul.

🪐

Jedi law dictated that love or any form of romantic feelings were forbidden yet Y/N could recall a conversation she had with Anakin about the law.

"It's an odd law", Anakin had said, "love is the strongest form of the Force yet it can also be your weakness."

Y/N wondered about it as she walked the halls of the compound; Paul had been pulled away by his mother, Lady Jessica as she said that the Reverend Mother was wishing to speak to Paul. It gave her time to contemplate on her growing feelings for Paul with BB following behind, letting out a little chirp every so often.

Lady Jessica had been pleasant to her, the woman reminding her of some of the older Jedi Masters with her way of speech and stance, but Y/N had managed to piece together that it had to be from strict upbringings and belief of the Bene Gesserit.

"Ah, F/N", a familiar voice called out to her and turning around, she saw it was the Duke, himself.

"Oh, Duke Leto", she said, "how nice it is to see you. Thought you'd be caught up doing Duke stuff."

Duke Leto chuckled as he said, "I'm on my way to find Lady Jessica."

"She took Paul to meet with some Reverend woman?" Y/N said with a questioning tone.

Leto sucked in a breath and nodded, Y/N wondered just how this Bene Gesserit ideology worked. It was nothing she had ever seen before back home and seeing the way the Bene Gesserit sisters carried themselves intimidated her just a bit by how their eyes singularly focused on you as if they were truly trying to dissect you right down to your core.

She just hoped that she wasn't about to fall into their cross hairs.

Another night came to Arrakis with cool air and a beautiful night sky that always kept reminding her of Tatoonie as BB charged in the corner. Her hair was down again and she was in another loose muslin nightgown to help with the heat of the planet; she had the doors closed along with the windows as she sat in her room, watching a hologram archival documentary on the planet.

The Duke was pleasant to talk to, he was knowledgeable and kind, and for some reason reminded her of Obi-Wan.

A knock, a familiar knock echoed in her room and she tried to suppress a smile as she knew it was Paul.

Walking to the door, it slid open to reveal the young na-Duke but she could see something was troubling his mind a bit as she greeted him in.

"Something troubling you, Paul?"

Paul looked at her as they sat on the small sofa that was in the room.

"Your way of believing is so simple yet so understandable", Paul breathed, "my mother was supposed to birth a girl, it's how it's been for eons with the Bene Gesserit."

"Why?" she frowned.

"I think... it's so they could eventually get their Kwisatz Haderach", Paul voiced, Y/N frowned. "It's their Messiah, a male heir that possesses the abilities of the Bene Gesserit."

"And you think it's you?"

"I hope it's not me."

She remembered Paul's earlier explanations of the abilities of the Bene Gesserit sisters and their use of something he called 'the Voice', which reminded her of the way the Force could be used to manipulate weak minds.

Paul was quiet for a moment before he scooted closer to her and she felt her breath get caught a bit in her throat as she stared at him.

"I have these... visions", Paul said, staring into her eyes. "I dream of things that I'm never too sure of and for months, I dreamed of a girl... I dreamed of you."

Y/N felt heat rushing through her as the sound of the hologram documentary rang quietly in the room.

"And ever since you've arrived, it's felt like I've been living a dream... a dream that I never want to wake up from."

And before she knew it, she felt Paul's lips against hers in a soft, gentle kiss and her heart raced as she felt a surge of electricity go through her...

So many thoughts were running through her mind in that quick moment and maybe it was the instant connection she had felt towards Paul, maybe it was some odd corruption from the Sith side of the Force that made her entangle her fingers through his dark, curly hair and push her body against his lithe frame.

But all she knew at the moment was that Paul felt like home.

TAGLIST

@cloudlst

@khlaeesihavilliard

@colors-for-the-world-please

@senhoritaapple

@dark1paradise

[rainbowtransform]

The steps are echoing around him. It feels like his house, too big without his father in it and too quiet without the booming laugher of others echoing.

He has to keep going, Fabian thinks. The others are behind him, but only his steps echo there is no others.

He wants to speak. He needs to. The quiet is surrounding him, only his breathing and the steps he’s taking and the blood roaring in his ears.

And they are right there, aren’t they? The people that make his house feel like a home again. They are behind him and they’re staring at him.

They can’t speak, either.

Or can they?

There has to be laughter, he thinks. He needs to have them again. Fabian can’t live without them. He needs to see them again, and so he keeps going.

What if they’re lying, comes a thought, unbidden. What if no one is behind you? There is no breathing.

“Are you there?” Fabian asks. It stops him in his tracks. There is light somewhere but Fabian doesn’t focus on it. “Guys?”

There is no response and Fabian’s heart is thumping and his mind is spinning and he’s stopped walking. Nobody is answering him and they always answer him. Why aren’t they answering him?

If they were there, they’d answer him.

So—

Kristen isn’t looking back. She holds her staff to her chest, and squeezes her eyes shut. She wants to pray, but it won’t work.

Cassandra was frantic when her connection began frazzling. She was already reaching to pluck them all out of whereever they were before it was cut off completely and now Kristen is alone.

Her friends are behind her.

Kristen won’t look back.

She’s read this myth when she was studying new religions. She knows it like the back of her hand and she refuses to look behind her and doom them all.

Kristen knows this. If she wants them to get out, she can’t lose focus. And she won’t.

She is Saint Kristen Applebees, Head Priestess of Cassandra, goddess of doubt and this is her god’s entire deal.

She can doubt their existence, and she will. Just until they get to the light and all pass through. And then she will spend her nights holding their warm, breathing bodies and checking pulses and casting heals on them.

She will ask Cassandra to grant her more spells for them.

She will ask Cassandra anything for them.

There’s a noise behind her, someone tripping on a rock and—

Gorgug is walking. He doesn’t remember how long he has been walking, but he knows it’s been a while. He closes his eyes, and remembers “It’s Gorgug, Keep Going,” and he keeps walking.

He talks. He talks about how he will take them home, how he will protect them in the night when they fall asleep. He talks about what he had for breakfast (he had nothing, they don’t need to know that) and he talks about how their parents are doing.

He tells them that their parents have torn apart the entire world, chewed through armies, and burned oceans for them.

He tells them that he’s sorry that he didn’t come sooner, but he wasn’t brave enough. He tells them how he spent weeks searching for where they’d went exactly in order to find them.

Gorgug tells them that he will get them out. He makes promises. He asks them to talk to him.

To say something.

His throat is dry and it feels clogged. There are tear tracks on his face, and he doesn’t wipe them away. The drops fall onto the ground and he falls to his knees.

“Please,” he begs. “Please say something. I’m—I can’t. I can’t do this alone.”

It feels like the Nightmare Forest, all alone. It feels like Orc Heaven, with all the flames for miles and with the gleaming eyes of the guidance counselor next to him.

Someone thumps behind to him, someone to their knees and—

Adaine takes another breath of air. There is nothing between her and the goal. It is her, her family, and the gleam of the sun high above her.

She climbs the steps, hearing nothing behind her. Riz would chide her for being stupid and thinking they’re not behind her.

Wherever she’d go, they’d follow. They proved it multiple times. So she knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are there.

They are always there.

Except that she can’t see the sparkle of gold hair beads in the sun. There is no bass thrumming steadily through her walk, no spark of a lighter to light another’s cigarette. There’s no tapping of a staff against the floor, not even a glimpse of a Mage Hand reaching out to snatch something from someone else.

Except, her friends aren’t there.

Her breathing becomes more panicked, her throat is closing up. She needs to see, she needs to—

They are behind him. Riz knows this for a fact, because he made sure they would be. He’d made the deal, had woven the contract himself and given it to the entity.

He had sneered at him, laughing and laughing before agreeing. Riz had a glimpse of his friends lining up behind him before he turned around and started walking.

They are behind him, and Riz will get them out because they are his best friends and he won’t leave them to this place.

The steps are hard. They’re one of the hardest things he’s ever done, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut and restrain himself from doing anything when he heard that one of them had fallen.

The others help them up, though, and Riz keeps going. He doesn’t ask them if they are alright. If he speaks to them, then he will falter and he can’t.

The sun is just above them, and he can taste the air. It’s almost sweet.

The doorway looms overhead, huge in the overwhelming silence but Riz can’t dwell on it. His watch feels cold on his skin, his father’s panicking voice is one of the things Riz can’t think about.

So he doesn’t.

The air tastes like victory, and Riz grins at the entrance, his watch beeping with his father’s screaming before—

Fig is thrumming her bass, the sound slowly moving through the place.

This is different than the Hell she’s used to. There is no flames, just emptyness and shells of something floating around.

Ankarna is silent, in Fig’s head. She hasn’t said a word since Fig made a deal and she thinks that her goddess is upset with her but—

But these are her friends. These are someone who has stuck by her, through and through and she loves them just as much as she loves Ankarna.

She can’t leave them.

So she keeps going, humming a lullaby she can’t quite remember. Her grandmother sang it to her when she lived with them and used to tuck Fig into bed.

Fig keeps playing. She wonders if drums would go good with the lullaby.

Nobody joins in. There is nothing except her own bass.

She doesn’t speak.

She doesn’t need to.

She just sings and plays, and hopes beyond hope that they are following her music. That they are following her.

She knows they are behind her. Knows it in the marrow of her bones, in the heart of her bass, in the echoes around her.

They are behind her.

They are always behind her.

Where is Fabian’s footsteps, and the rustle of his battle sheet?

Where is Gorgug’s tinker noises, or the heavy swing of his axe on his back?

Where is Adaine’s rustling jacket? Boggy’s croaking?

Where is Kristen’s tapping, her laugh?

Where is Riz’s shuffling papers or the tapping of his wristwatch?

Where are they?

The music stops and before she can even think better—

They look back.

[bumblingbabooshka]

B'Elanna, Neelix, Tuvok and Chakotay needed to star in an episode where they just talked about their different beliefs and approaches to spirituality/religion. Paired off and all together. I need to gain more insight. I need characterization and I need it to be messy.

[verdantmeadows]

Having to live in a world where your religion/spirituality is only seen as a weird cringe online thing that no one actually realizes is a spiritual belief and thinks is just "identifying with a character" or making jokes about it sucks and if you try to talk about it people just call it discourse or say you're not letting people have fun (and their fun is making fun of a spiritual belief or misunderstanding the belief because of just how many people co-opted our terms). I just wish I'd be able to say I'm otherkin(d) and alterhuman and people to take it seriously and not think I'm any more or less delusional than they'd think of any other religious person, as well as for it to not be misunderstood. I don't mind if people don't know what it means, but I really hate how people just think it's like, a Tumblr/Twitter/TikTok thing where people relate to a character or bash people for stuff and getting into discourse or doing dangerous stuff. I don't know how to word all this well but...yeah. Just thinking about it. Because of how it's been conflated online, even if you try to explain, people don't understand that yes, it's a genuine spiritual movement, and no, people aren't just having fun, they co-opted religious/spiritual terms which is just as serious and important as with any religious/spirituality. People will say, well, language changes and words change, but you wouldn't say that about terms from other religions or spiritualities being used wrong or improperly.

[quietprocrastination]

Hey so, like, not to be super critical of a piece of media that has a lot of toxic tropes and messages in it but like. I Do Not like Nesta's whole power character arc like

Gains power from a cauldron when after she's drowned (awesome, literally a witch they couldn't drown)

2. Visibly intimidates others (lol Rhysand)

3. Gets a cool mentorship (friendship) with another magical and feared character (Amren)

Okay at this stage you have a Cool Character, what now?

She's depressed and not paying attention to her powers. Fair! She literally just survived a war.

Oh wait her old mentor now suddenly thinks she's a waste despite saying previously to give Nesta time (hm, weird, okay).

They now don't want her to learn more about her powers (too threatening) give her a sword to solve her problems!

She is now handed over to an abusive asshole, while in a vulnerable state, to learn something new. (The asshole is Cassian btw.)

They fuck (?????? Romance ?????????)

Brief interlude to introduce the very evil and very promising evil prince who's like. Hey your powers are cool we could kick ass together.

Hm, no. Power of the Sword. (Is this a phallic thing that dick makes everything better??????)

??????? She now wants to become a mother ???????? Anyways the powers are gone and she is no longer a threat! No longer on equal standing! She's broken in, she is now acceptable :)

Anyways I find it really weird that it goes from potential female friendship with Amren to being shoved under the training (and by extension authority) of her male "romance" partner.

I think Sarah J Maas has an unhealthy thing with women only gaining validation through male approval and training. Like. Why can't they learn from other women? Her power now depends on Cassian (kinda like how Feyre's power depends on Rhysand, how Rhysand gave Morrigan her position, etc. etc.)

Also why does all power have to be physical. Boring.

[oatbugs]

oh my god ! haha . anyway a bit buzzed perhaps. anyway here's what happened on the date

[sainamoonshine]

Buckwild hearing non-catholics talk about The Locked Tomb and pointing at various things like « ah, this is a reference to the quaint catholic ritual of (completely normal-ass thing I thought everyone else did) »

Like wdym you guys don’t do communion in your churches??? You DON’T worship Mary?? The pope isn’t your top guy? Whu— what do y’all even DO during mass????

[moredifferentthanusual]

Hey people of tumblr I have an idea of a way to help support Gaza. This one's especially for people living in Christian areas with a lot of mainstream acceptance of israel. It's only a few days until Christmas and as for all Gazans, things are incredibly desperate for the small population of Christian Gazans. In particular here are some articles talking about fears all Christians in Gaza will be dead soon.

So how about we call up our local churches and ask what they're doing to help the people of Palestine?

The articles I've linked come from a variety of backgrounds. Some predate oct 7th. All focus on the plight of Christians in Palestine. Take your pick for what source you think will speak to your audience.

I want you to find a church that is ignoring the genocide or even praying for israel and then point out it's not just people being murdered. It's their people being murdered. Contact your local church like "Hey I'm Name, I'm not really a member of any church these days but it's Christmas and I really want to do something to help people in Palestine. I was wondering if you have something planned over Christmas? Maybe a prayer meeting or a protest or something idk 🥺" Then if you recieve any pushback switch to "oh but I'm just sooooo worried about our fellow Christians unable to celebrate Christmas".

It's a great place to ease people into caring about genocide who normally wouldn't. And if you convince a priest they might tell their whole congregation about how this christmas they have to show up for persecuted christians in jesus' birthplace. Worth a try?

[snekdood]

im not gonna act like its as severe as hindutvas make it out to be but if you deny hinduphobia exists you're just a dumbass i think

[persimmontartkisses]

Me, in a conversation: What's going on in Gaza is genocide and objectively abhorrent.

Them: Well, ya know the Palestinians *random bullshit justifications for the slaughter of thousands of innocent people*

Me:

[deansmom]

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the way people are responding to what's going on in Gaza right now. And listen, ex political science major here - I do know why. I understand the political implications, the complex chokehold a certain country has on the western countries and why that is. Intellectually, I'm fully aware of why we're in the place that we're in. Why the rhetoric is what it is.

But.

They told them to evacuate, and then bombed the evacuation routes that they told them to use. They've all but said they want this to be a g*nocide. There are at least 45 generations of Palestinians that have been wiped out this week. At least 600 children have died.

They're restricting access to power to not just civilians, but hospitals. There is no clean water left in Gaza.

They're restricting access to power so that the people who live there cannot document what is happening to them. They're using chemical weapons with no regard for the innocent people who might get caught in the crossfire. I mean for fuck's sake, half of those 2.2 million people who live there are children under the age of fifteen because the life expectancy for that area is fucking 30 years old. It is internationally known as the worlds largest open air prison.

T*rrorism is wrong. Killing civilians is wrong. But this is a completely disproportionate and inappropriate response to what happened. And frankly, it just seems like they've been waiting for an excuse to do this.

My brain is having a hard time understanding the cognitive dissonance that allows people to post pictures of Gaza and Palestinian children with the caption "pray for [blank]” and then delete it when they find out what/who the pictures are actually of. Like... why are they different? How can you claim to be inclusive, to support things like BLM, but do this?

Again, I understand politically why and how we ended up here. I understand why people in power are hesitant to openly denounce these actions. I can even understand why and how Jewish people can be in support of this. Generations of (let's call it what it is) propaganda is going to be hard to unlearn. They've spent their whole lives being told that they're the enemy. The government talks about Palestinians like they're animals and not real, tangible humans.

Two things can be true at once: I can love my Jewish friends and family and grieve for the people who lost someone to a terrorist attack, while also acknowledging that this is wrong. And I don’t want to be silent about this. Especially not when I’ve seen multiple videos from people in Gaza begging for the rest of the world to not let them be forgotten, and to not take our eyes off of this. They’re not asking for help because they know it won’t come. They’re just asking us to bare witness to them, and that we don’t let history forget them.

So, to those of you who are staying off of social media this weekend in an effort to avoid the coverage of this event: don’t. Avoid the graphic videos and pictures, but don’t do them the disservice of burying your head in the sand. They’re not even asking for help. They just want to be seen.

[monachopism]

being jewish with zero affiliation to israel and rather a generational line of activists for palestine is a hard line to walk and sometimes i wish i could just fall off

[eenochian]

“headcanoning farah as wlw is disrespectful because she’s muslim”

my. my guy. queer people exist in every group. queer muslims very much exist.

“ok but it’s a sin in islam”

WHY ARE WE SUDDENLY JUSTIFYING HOMOPHOBIA WITH RELIGION⁉️⁉️ it’s wrong for a christian to use religion to justify their bigotry, so WHY is it okay to use islam or any other religion to do the same?? i know that i’m comparing the world’s most oppressive religion (christianity) to a religion that’s oppressed, but like… allowing one group to essentially “get a pass” opens the door for EVERY group to get one.

what was even weirder is that the person who made the post about it wasn’t even muslim 😭 they said they looked it up which i believe, but then they had an actual wlw muslim in their comments telling them it wasn’t a big deal— and THEY LITERALLY TOLD THE COMMENTER THAT IT WAS STILL DISRESPECTFUL?? AND OTHER NON-MUSLIMS WERE GOING “grr but it’s a sin >:(” LIKE?? HELLO?? WHY are people not even included in the group talking over ACTUAL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP???

i care very deeply about respecting people’s beliefs and faiths. but once that belief starts to harm others, my respect is withdrawn. the golden rule is that your rights end where another person’s begin. i remember seeing posts from years ago about queer muslims. they’ve always reminded me of queer christians – the vast majority of their faiths hate them, but they do still exist. and it’s possible to be progressive while also being devoted to your faith. i’ve met so many religious folks that are allies and supportive of queer people, so seeing posts like this crop up and gain popularity is just… disheartening. it feels like we’re going backwards after finally making some progress.

[anteomnia]

I DUNNO MAN.

NOT SUPPORTING GENOCIDE SEEMS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME.

LIKE . IF A FRIEND SAID THEY DIDN’T CARE OR DIDN’T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT 20,000 AND COUNTING PEOPLE DYING AND MAJORITY OF THEM BEING KIDS IS KIND OF END OF FRIENDSHIP MATERIAL.

IT BETTER NOT BE JUST ME!