totem654

[totem654]

So far in LA an Australian news reporter has been shot in the leg by a rubber bullet, a British reporter has been shot by a sponge bullet and sent to the hospital for emergency surgery. A NY Post reporter has been shot in the head with a rubber bullet and went to the hospital for a large bruise on his forehead, whiplash and neck pain, and CNN reporters were handcuffed and escorted away being told to not come back or they will be arrested BECAUSE they are reporters.

It seems like all reporters there to give the real story are being targeted by police/ICE/military in LA.

[totem654]

anyway you should always remember that all those foreigners you see dying on the news are just as real people as you are who have just as much interiority as you do. there is nothing about you that makes you more important and it is by pure chance that you are not in their position. in fact, this holds for all of history. every person, no matter the horror of the fate that befell them, had just as much interiority as you do. i feel like some people haven't fully internalized this.

[totem654]

gaytorade-fucker-69 are you actually a communist? If so, why?

If you wanna get technical, I suppose the best label would be libertarian socialist (term used by Noam Chomsky) or libertarian Marxist (term used by Yanis Varoufakis) rather than communist, since communist is such a broad term. (Of course this could change as I read more theory and come to understand concepts better, but so far I’ve been pretty consistently in with the libertarians)

As for the “why are you a communist”, it’s essentially because I recognise that the economic system we live under (capitalism) is not only inherently exploitative and authoritarian, but also responsible for the systemic prevalence of essentially every social ill that our society contains (racism, queerphobia, misogyny, pollution, loneliness, war, colonialism, etc. etc.) as well as being cause and continuing driving factor of the current greatest threats to the survival of humanity as a species, climate change and nuclear weapons.

This realisation that capitalism is not only the cause of essentially every systemic evil that plagues humanity, but also that if it is allowed to run its course, that it will destroy humanity itself, led me to the conclusion that the replacement of capitalism with a better economic system is the only proper end goal of any force for change in society that seeks to make humanity freer or to save humanity from the consequences of our own economic system.

And this, naturally, let me to socialism, an economic system where resources and the means of production are owned and managed in common, either by the community at large or by the workers who actually help produce with the means of production.

[totem654]

Dandelions have a symbiotic relationship with little kids who make wishes

[totem654]

[totem654]

i know we're all sick of self-care being a marketing tactic now, but i don't think a lot of us have any other concept of self-care beyond what companies have tried to sell us, so i thought i'd share my favorite self-care hand out

brought to you by how mad i just got at a Target ad

[totem654]

oh also? An absolutely freaky thing I'm seeing yt leftists do?

STOP TRYING TO TRACK DOWN PROTESTORS THAT DO 'BADASS STUFF'. STOP POSTING ABOUT IT ONLINE.

PEOPLE FUCKING DIE.

AND IT'S USUALLY SOMEONE MELANATED.

THE GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING YOU FUCKING DUMBASS.

y'all are so stuck on egoistic heroism that every time someone does something 'sick' at a protest you wanna turn them in to the next celebrity to have a parasocial relationship with and then they go missing.

Tf is wrong w y'all.

[totem654]

reminder that "allies welcome" was once secret code for "those not out yet can still participate without putting themselves at risk", and for those who aren't out yet to comfortably exist in these spaces you have to let allies exist in those spaces too.

[totem654]

so much of being an ok person is just 1) not panicking, 2) not taking things personally, and 3) not letting the vindictive gargoyle that lives in your head tell you what to do. this sucks because brains love doing those things

[totem654]

when i say most crime would not exist without capitalism, i don't just mean from a financial aspect. i mean that the system of capitalism breeds a society that is constantly harming itself.

capitalism is an inherently individualistic system, in that everyone's success and survival hinges entirely on their individual labour without outside support. we are all in constant competition with each other. you need to make more money than others to succeed, to be better to get jobs and promotions, and success in capitalism necessitates the failure of others. this has devastating impacts to how we interact with each other. i genuinely believe that this approach is the root of the thinking that leads to many violent crimes, as well as crimes where people are simply taking what they want even if it's not needed. the system teaches you not to care about your fellow man, and these crimes are unfortunately the conclusion to that line of thinking.

there's also the fact that capitalism does not allow for outside support which would prevent people from committing crimes. rehab, therapy, hospitalization, are all expensive. even with free healthcare, you lose time that is needed if you want to make money, since most people can't take enough time away from work or feel unable to. outside support of any kind is also seen as a failure, not of the system, but of the individual. it's seen as leeching resources, because everything costs money and even the bare essentials must be earned through labour. this leads people to spiral further into poverty and mental illness, and some end up committing crimes because of it.

a community-focused, somewhat collectivist approach would prevent most crimes. it's no longer individual, but rather a communal effort that requires everyone to help each other. people feel supported, simply because they're involved in their community and working together to achieve something. no competition, no material possessions to gain to prove your worth. everyone is valuable, simply because they exist. if you hurt someone, you hurt yourself. people have an incentive to help out. the community is strong when everyone within it is strong, so you all help each other when needed to maintain that stability.

i think humans are inherently community based creatures, and capitalism goes against our basic instincts. we want to help each other, but under capitalism, we are frequently unable to or barred from doing so. we shouldn't be competing with each other for resources.

of course capitalism breeds crime. it's what it's designed for.

[totem654]

i think one of the most important things you learn about making connections with others is that a significant portion of the time people just do not know theyre doing what theyre doing

[totem654]

What "Land Back" means:

In my tribe we believe medicine belongs to everyone and I want you to be well.

In my tribe we believe every hungry person is entitled to food and I want you to be fed.

In my tribe we believe trans and two spirit people are sacred and I want you to be safe.

In my tribe we believe that human beings are here to care for the land and keep it healthy and I want you to have clean water to drink.

In my tribe we believe in caring for and venerating elders and I want care for you as you grow old.

In my tribe we believe that children should be cared for by the community and I want your children to grow up loved and supported.

In my tribe we wear really cool earrings and you should totally buy some. Eeeeeeeee

Land Back isn't about revenge. It's an act of love.

[totem654]

I absolutely adore how ATLA deals with disabilities.

I know we all love to talk about how great of a disability rep Toph is, but we should really be talking more about Teo (the boy in a wheelchair the gaang meets in the Northern Air Temple)

Teo, just like Toph, has his disability be both something that hinders him in some way, but also something that gives him an advantage/ different view on some points - in Teo's case, him being the only one with "an airbender spirit".

But there's something that Teo has that Toph doesn't, and that is a properly supportive father.

Teo has a dad who went above and beyond to give him not a "cure", but accommodations, which was what he truly needed. There's nothing wrong with the fact that he can't walk, nothing to be "cured". No one even brings up the possibility of him walking again, no one asks about it because it was not relevant at all. He is disabled and has proper accommodations and a great support system, and a very good life!

Teo is such an amazing disability rep because the fact that he needs mobility aids is not viewed as an inconvenience or a bother - his dad, and literally everyone around him, are more than willing to accommodate his needs, it's not even a question. And that's how it should be for every disability, in and out of fiction.

[totem654]

As a trans woman, girls, sometimes y'all need to shut up and listen to trans men. They also face a lot of discrimination in various areas that we don't.

Likewise, trans men, sometimes y'all need to shut up and listen to trans women. We face a lot of discrimination that you don't.

Both need to 100% listen to non-binary and intersex people. The amount of hatred I've seen from trans men and trans women toward enbies and intersex people is staggering. I'm really starting to see what all the jokes about the average tumblr user's reading comprehension are about. Some of y'all cannot see past your own identity and the discrimination you face.

Little secret, cishets don't like *any* of us. All of us should be free to speak on our own experiences of discrimination *without* the other groups dismissing, belittling and patronising us. We are all degenerates in the eyes of society and the only way we survive is by listening to eachother and caring for eachother as a collective.

Nobody else in the trans or intersex community is your enemy. We all have bad apples, but broadly we are all in this together and I really don't see why trans women can't understand that trans men face discrimination and I really don't get why trans men can't do the same.

Why are you tearing into your closest allies like this? Why are you reducing the chances that any of us survive? Accept that sometimes, you aren't the affected party and own up when you make mistakes.

[totem654]

really everyone you love has something miserably wrong with them or an obvious flaw that won't ever be fixed but like it's up to you what kind of person you can and cannot deal with. someone in my family has anger issues which I can handle and diffuse with no problem, but a person who can't tolerate yelling could not be close to him. another person I know is very anxious & needs constant reassurance and she gets along famously with gentler and more straightforward people than myself, but I can't handle being second guessed all the time. someone who is loosey goosey with their morals wouldn't bother me, but a person with a profound sense of justice makes me feel afraid of getting on their bad side. none of these traits actually make someone a bad person & just because there are personalities I can't handle doesnt mean I'M a bad person either. litany against callout posts for stupid shit and simple incompatibilities we all have to live on this earth together & need to learn how to deal with each other

[totem654]

did you know public libraries are free and beautiful

[totem654]

happy juneteenth but dont forget that prisoners are legally allowed to be subject to slave labor and also black people are disproportionately arrested and subjected to that legality. happy juneteenth but slavery still lives in america. america is still dependant on slave labor.