thoughtfulphlox

[thoughtfulphlox]

History is not so much propelled by Great People but social forces. Kinsantami’s singular contributions may have set us ahead by a couple of years, and should be celebrated, but would be impossible without the work of millions of others and a thousand dispersed expertises. If he kept in the caste that a more normal circumstance would afford him, he still would have been remarkable and done inportant things.

Afen Kisantami is not the only genius born into the wrong caste. He’s just the one who managed to get around all the artificial obstacles we put in his way.

How many more Afens are there out there, undiscovered because we never gave them the chance? How many have there been, throughout history, who died without ever reaching their true potential? How much sooner could we have had this, if we had let people do what they’re good at?

[thoughtfulphlox]

“We” have already committed mass murder. History is blood-drenched.

Everyone complaining about ‘but reds!!’ should take a few seconds to think about diplomatic theory.

Given that we’re going to space, it is likely enough we’re going to meet aliens. I presume everyone can agree that we would all prefer this was a peaceful meeting that left everyone feeling like we can come to a further peaceful agreement. We already have enough working against us - space is big, but ultimately we’re all after the same space, and as history testifies that gets very bloody very fast even when everyone involved is the same species and knows each other.

If we come to the aliens with a record of ‘we let people commit and get away with mass murder’ this does not do good things for our chances. Think about it - if you were meeting a new person and trying to make a deal with them, would you feel good about it if you learned that they’d recently murdered one of their tenants and suffered no consequences for it?

And sure you can say 'but reds!’ - but whatever your theological opinions, the aliens won’t be living in our history. Reds look like other Amentans, talk like other Amentans, can pass for other Amentans on the internet, have been having their radio signals end up in space with everyone’s, have been present and a rather vital part of Amentan civilization for centuries. We don’t know enough about what the aliens are like. What if they had a pollution disaster they had to clean up from? Probably their pollution standards are different from ours. 'They’ll go right ahead and slaughter us all, as long as they can tell themselves we were polluted first’ is not a trust- or peace-inspiring thought!

And while I feel for the people of Oyand and Orvara and so on, 'well these people did commit mass murder and don’t think they did anything wrong, but it’s in the past now!’ is also not a trust-inspiring position!

'We do not commit mass murder, period, and anyone who committed mass murder has been sanctioned and not permitted to be present’ is the position that can inspire trust. It’s the position we need to be able to go in with.

Whatever your opinion of cleaning, it is a small price to pay for a greater chance of peace in the universe.

[thoughtfulphlox]

Is limiting space technology sharing to only countries with the same red policies really a good idea? It might be better for reds if the whole planet can go all in on space travel. And what if another country develops the tech independently and creates an anti-red space coalition? I was hoping we could leave this kind of thing behind us.

[thoughtfulphlox]

I... look, of course it was worse because you were purple. I'm not saying that rape happening to greys is even remotely okay, but society oppresses purples so horribly, and this was just another piece of that. It might not have been allowed to happen to you if you were a member of a caste that society valued more. On a systemic level, your suffering is indivisible from the fact that you're purple.

Cool cool cool. If the fact that I was horrifically abused for a year is because purples are oppressed, please explain the fact that my boyfriend at the time was a radical purple activist, and the rhetoric of purple solidarity and pro-purple activism was one of the major things he used to stop me from telling anyone or leaving. 

In other news, fuck you and the podium you’re standing behind. 

[thoughtfulphlox]

As soon as anons start referring to “The Cause,” they forget what was originally meant by it.

This is why purples need to separate from the other castes. If we make a purple society then there won't be pressure to put up with the bad purples in the name of caste solidarity. Because everyone else would be purple too! If the reds can do it then we can do it too since we're like wayyyyy smarter.

funny how when I say “pressure not to damage The Cause and ingrained mistrust of anyone outside my immediate ingroup directly contributed to my abuse,” people immediately flood my inbox with anons about how clearly the central wrong of my abuse was damaging The Cause and the solution is to cling even further to that ingroup.

[thoughtfulphlox]

Your vocabulary is *way* too big for a real purple. You secret yellow.

Pfft. Purples have always known three-syllable words. Go outside and actually talk to one. Or better yet, stay away and keep your green-fed opinions to yourself.

[thoughtfulphlox]

I do not need to see such things, but if you need to send them to someone, yoy may send them to me.

tumblr. please stop recommending me posts about purple pride! and purple excellence! and purple magic!. I am sure there are lots of people who want to see them but I am not one of those people. 

[thoughtfulphlox]

Hilarious to watch Maniten politicians arguing about what to do with government positions for administration on reds. The ULP has switched between “abolish them” and “de-caste them” at least four times, and membets of their own faction keep forgetting which position they’re supposed to believe.

[thoughtfulphlox]

When they speak of sweet / My dear, they mean you. / When they say you are lovely, / It's true. / On this site there are none / Who approach your bright sun. / You light each day lambent anew.

Isn’t that the sweetest thing I’ve ever read!  Thank you, anon.

[thoughtfulphlox]

Like a dream that correlates your thoughts that day into a random imitation of meaning, this site continues to barely correspond to the world.

so i keep seeing all these posts and i’m wondering something? is the caste-color correspondence just way stronger in other countries? like, i saw a post the other day saying that it was some huge statement if you had red soap in an ad, and another post saying purples shouldn’t wear blue unless they’re really arrogant, and another one saying that some zoo was being problematic for only having green elephants

and none of those seem like statements to me? no one here is going to think it’s weird if i walk around in a cute pink wrap! are other countries just really different or something? maybe it’s a language thing?

[thoughtfulphlox]

That’s a good outlook!

Which would you like best: magically waking up as a purple, a grey, or an orange? Which would you like worst?

Goodness, what an amusing little thought experiment.

I should suppose, given it’s numerous nature, I would be able to find find some pursuit within the bounds of purple.

There are, undoubtedly, a plethora of jobs available to the purple caste.

[Including fashion, she doesn’t think.

She doesn’t think about how she would devote her days to sketching designs, creating patterns, selecting cut and color. She doesn’t think about how the fabric would feel in her hands, how it would feel as she stitched it together, how it would feel when she finished.

She doesn’t think about how it would feel to see others wearing the clothing she created.

She doesn’t think about how it would feel to wear her own, and be praised for it.

Gumdrop doesn’t think about it.]

On the other hand, I would consider orange and grey to have their own particular advantages and disadvantages as well.

[She would be a successful orange, she knew. She excelled at several applicable skills: directing people, organizing groups, anticipating their needs. And there were very few grey careers she could preform at all, but–

She wouldn’t be able to make them, but she could wear them. She knew, already, how to stand, how to walk, how to pose. She knew how to make clothing look good.

She doesn’t think about being a model.]

Ultimately, I’m afraid I can’t really bring myself to entertain such strong opinions for such a fantastical scenario. I understand that many are fond of these sort of young adult’s science fiction fancies, but I’m afraid I’ve never been much for the genre, myself.

In real life, I am yellow. And I do so like being myself best.

[thoughtfulphlox]

Shall thy thoughts flower? Shall thine enlightenment bloom? Shalt thou grow thy ken, as groweth that for which thou art named? O thou thoughtfulplox-- amaranthine is thy crown.

I— I think this is a compliment? Thank you? You might want to check your translation settings. It’s coming out as poetry.

[thoughtfulphlox]

Maybe they want it out of three, or seven. Prime numbers are the best for this sort of application.

The more I know, the less I know. We didn’t thread the needle of disaster for the past 15 years just to come to this, did we?

[thoughtfulphlox]

what is your opinion on bears

Is this a meme? Do you want this out of five? Hello?

[thoughtfulphlox]

Which would you like best: magically waking up as a yellow, a green, or a blue? Which would you like worst?

Just practically, wouldn’t everyone prefer to be a blue if they couldn’t be their actual caste?

[thoughtfulphlox]

ugh, there are all these people on peanutmatch with like 3 inches of roots hanging out and it’s gross

people really need to learn to take care of themselves before they go on dating sites, it’s seriously disrespectful to the people you’re talking to

[thoughtfulphlox]

I haven’t been sane for a long time