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autistic-ben-tennyson · 3 days

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On a meta level, this kind of applies to how most people see Anakin vs Vader. Anakin is someone people just hated whereas OT Vader was the villain you love to hate which is a bit different. Many hated how PT Anakin acted like an unhinged serial killer compared to the calm and iconic character of OT Vader. They felt like distinct characters but now that we have newer content like TCW, Rebels, R1 and the Obi Wan series that bridge the gap between Anakin and Vader, it makes Vader less fun to watch as a villain and more someone you just want to throw hands with, especially when we see him murder more children, refuse attempts from Obi Wan and Ahsoka to save him and act straight up sadistic to Reva. Say what you want about Disney, I don’t like the company at all, but they have done a good job at showing how depraved and monstrous Vader was compared to the OT.

I think what I'm starting to realize is that Darth Vader is redeemable.

Anakin Skywalker is not.

Darth Vader, the guy we're introduced to in the Original Trilogy, who we don't really know anything about, who Obi-Wan remembers fondly even as we know he's gone bad, who ISN'T associated with the end of the Jedi. Erase all the context of what we now know about Anakin Skywalker, his relationships with the Jedi, his actions on Tatooine, the way he treats Padme, his relationships with the clones, his relationship with Ahsoka, all of that. Erase it all.

All we have is Darth Vader. A guy whose worst acts are honestly relatively small and who is almost always up against a bigger villain. It's Tarkin who technically orders the destruction of Alderaan. And Tarkin dies at the end. By ESB, we start seeing the Empire and Vader's relationship to Luke is revealed, someone we love, someone we want the best for. So when you get to ROTJ and Luke says he might still have good in him, minutes before we meet the Emperor himself in person, it's not that hard to believe him. It's not that hard to believe that one last act of kindness is all it takes to absolve him.

Put everything else aside, JUST looking at the Original Trilogy, Vader's.... not THAT bad. His redemption works fine.

But Anakin Skywalker? Anakin Skywalker's been killing babies since he was 19 years old and never stopped. Anakin Skywalker betrayed 10,000 people who considered him family overnight. Anakin Skywalker betrayed several million good men into being brainwashed and turned into betrayers themselves. Anakin Skywalker betrayed the Republic he served, and the wife he did it all for.

You don't come back from that. You just don't.

Darth Vader without Anakin Skywalker's story was redeemable.

NOTHING Darth Vader ever does in the original trilogy is at the level of what we see Anakin Skywalker do over the course of the prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars show. Nothing. Nothing comes close except Alderaan and that's nowhere near as personal or direct as what he does to the Jedi and the Clones. It's also not a betrayal of any kind.

Anakin Skywalker's not redeemable. What he did can't be undone or fixed. There's no amends he can make because the people he'd need to make amends TO are all dead. Because of him. There's nothing left to BE redeemed.

And most of us CAN'T divorce Darth Vader from Anakin Skywalker anymore, you're not really meant to. They usually WANT you to remember Anakin Skywalker when they bring in Darth Vader to stories these days. Which makes that last moment of ROTJ just feel... so unearned now. So frustrating. Because the more we get to see, the more we're forced to remember everything Anakin Skywalker's done over the course of his life, the less his redemption works. Because the more we see, the more atrocities are revealed. More massacres, more murders, more planets and people eradicated from the galaxy forever. At what point does it become impossible to truly be redeemed for everything you've done? At what point is it impossible to ACTUALLY go back?

And it doesn't matter which version of the force ghost you get, either. If it's the older version, then Anakin gets to present himself as if he'd never done those things. If it's the younger version, then Anakin gets to present himself ONLY before he did some of his worst acts (although he's still a baby killer, let's not forget, so that's... suspect). Either way, the things he's done get to be forgotten. They no longer matter. Those people he killed, the people he betrayed, who will never be the same as they were. The galaxy he helped bring to its knees over and over again, that will take decades AT LEAST to recover from what he did to it, can't forget. But he gets to. He gets to forget.

And I don't find that very satisfying anymore.

#anakin #darth vader #star wars #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 3 days

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Terfs/radfems/Harry Potter fans, stay away from my Suzume posts. That goes for any fandom I post about, this is your only warning. This was written after a Harry Potter Stan liked my post and I found that their likes included all sorts of Terf shit.

#suzume no tojimari #suzume #anti terf #anti gender critical #transphobia tw #anti harry potter #pottersofthefuture

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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me at first: idk I don't really like Harumi

me after writing an 8.9k word fic so far exploring her character: okay I kinda really like Harumi

#harumi #ninjago #ninjago harumi #lego ninjago

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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Love how zionists treat all Arabic people like one homogenous group with the same culture and history, not only so they can deny Palestinian indigeneity and claim they are the "real colonizers", but pin all cases of anti Jewish persecution in the entire middle east/muslim world from the middle ages to modern nations today to Palestinians.

#from the river to the sea palestine will be free #Free Palestine #free gaza

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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I’m calling you a troll because you are the one who decided to make a fool of yourself on my post highlighting the similarities between two of my favorite characters and shows. “It’s just a kids show” falls apart when said show decided to tackle more mature subject matter such UAF often did. There are many people here who are salty over how the female characters like Julie and Kai were written and how they’re demonized by the sexist fandom and they’re allowed to expect more from the writers because we know they can do better.

@magigalxx

Big fan of that cartoon teenage protagonist who’s full of chaotic energy, arguably has adhd, is debatably catholic, is both smart and a dumbass at times, had to learn to rein in their irresponsible behavior that was hurting others and was a big fan of what they would end up becoming. They can be selfish and irresponsible but are also very devoted to self sacrifice to the point it’s unhealthy. Their show suffered because the studio kept meddling in it. They got a badass custom jacket after the timeskip as a sign of their maturity. They died at one point only to be resurrected and went through so much trauma at a young age that they often avoid talking about. Deep down they question if they are truly worthy of their gifts but ultimately pull through their insecurities.

Their older brother figure is a former antagonist who had a rough childhood with terrible father figures and subsets of the fandom love shipping them (no hate to those who do). They defeated an eldritch abomination that was the head of a religious cult and were arguably a god at one point. They are very idealistic and willing to give second chances but are not blind to those who are beyond redemption and need to be stopped.

#ben 10 #Ben 10 d #ben 10 discourse #the owl house

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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Oh goody, another anti woke troll who acts like the only reason characters like Luz are for lgbt rep. If anything, I like her because she’s a character first and Bi second. Pointing out sexist writing in a show that I enjoy does not hurt anyone or make someone a “tumblr idiot” because we do enjoy the concept and character of Ben 10 and just felt the writing could have been better, especially as a show that claimed to be about walking in the perspectives of another being but often fell flat in its portrayal of female or characters of color.

#ben 10 #the owl house #ben 10 discourse

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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I used to like him and had an edgy Dudebro phase, thinking he was the best, bashing the Jedi, Mace, Obi Wan and Rey. Then I started to see how toxic this is, not to mention the racism from Stanakins towards Mace and the Tuskens plus the sexism towards Padme and Rey. I started to see how unhinged these Anakin stans who justify him murdering children are by checking out pro Jedi tumblr and r/saltierthankrayt. Seeing how his apologists act and being a POC and seeing how his actions mirror real white supremacists has caused me to despise him.

Yoda and Mace have been my favorite characters since childhood, and I never quite forgave him for killing the latter and choking Padme. Granted, I was 12 and had zero romantic understanding or media literacy but I thought it was fucked up how he killed kids and a Queen married him?? Anger issues with a bad haircut??? With 'kind and compassionate' Padme??? Like his actor is attractive but Anakin gives off school shooter vibes imo. I like Obi wan too, but kinda like you like the really ugly old cat who gets into the trash but is genuinely sweet and pettable.

Anyway, my reasons for hating him are probably really petty and not as coherent from yours, but I really do appreciate the quality analysis.

I don't think those are petty reasons at all (well, the bad haircut thing might be a little petty lol).

In all seriousness, you don't NEED essays to explain why you don't like a character. I'm someone who kind-of ENJOYS overthinking my media and writing down my thoughts, it helps me sometimes to be able to really figure out why I feel the way I do about storylines and characters. Sometimes it leads me to love a thing even more, sometimes it doesn't. But nobody NEEDS long coherent essays detailing why they simply don't like a character. Not every character is going to appeal to everyone and that's just how it works.

I love Obi-Wan and there's a LOT of people out there who hate him for one reason or another or who just are more neutral on him and find him overrated, and that's fine. I happen to really like Trace and Rafa Martez and apparently that's a minority opinion. I think that Cikatro Vizago is one of the better characters in Rebels, and certainly the one with the best redemption arc on that show, and I KNOW I'm likely the only one who thinks that way.

And of course, if you've been around this blog long enough, you know there's tons of characters that I DISLIKE that a lot of people really adore. They just aren't for me. Sometimes I do feel like the characters are badly written and I have no qualms with explaining why I think so, but that was never required. The characters don't have to be badly written for me to dislike them, and I never owe anyone an explanation for why a character doesn't work for me. Neither do you.

#star wars #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #tw school shooting #tw shooting mention

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 4 days

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On the Neturei Karta: Contextualizing criticism of an ultra-religious group

TL;DR: The Neturei Karta is a far-right ultra-orthodox religious Jewish group that is politically and religiously opposed to Zionism and is pro-Palestine. They believe in a strict interpretation of the Torah and are extremely socially conservative. They see Israel as dangerous for both Jews and Palestinians. Like most religious adherents to Abrahamic religions, they believe in end times where a messianic figure will come. Like most people who hold these beliefs, these long-term messianic beliefs are not central to their religion and do not impact their allyship or activism in any meaningful way (think 1000s of years hence, like Jesus returning in Islam, or in Christianity outside of groups who think this is immanent/connected to modern Israel).

Additionally, most orthodox Jews, including ultra-orthodox Jews, are pro-Israel or at least are not pro-Palestine. Most “non-Zionist ultra orthodox Jews” including the Satmar do not support Palestine.

Note: This summary is about anti Zionist ultra Orthodox Jewish groups in the USA. I don't know about all such groups in Jerusalem, but I do know NK has a presence there. I am not arguing that NK are progressive. They are not, but neither are many others across the world who support Palestine. Read this post and make up your own mind.

This post does not go into great detail about all the different types of Judaism or all the different streams of Zionism. Some info will inevitably be left out. I recommend learning more history yourself; the first few chapters of The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine are a great start. Avoid Zionist publications like Jewish Virtual Library.

I highly recommend this interview that Palestinian-ally activist Miko Peled does with NK Rabbi David Feldman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSd_eZ5qcbo&t=32s

Miko is an excellent narrator, and this is one of his best yet.

Brief history of the NK

The Neturei Karta is an ultra-orthodox Jewish group that opposes the state of Israel and actively works against it and supports Palestine. This is different from non-Zionist ultra orthodox Jews who disagree with Israel from a religious perspective, but are still willing to support it politically. The NK believe only the Messiah can establish a Jewish state in Palestine (as an eschatological belief; not a political one), but they do not believe in an enforced Jewish majority at any time.

Their website, NKUSA.org is best accessed through the Wayback Machine, as many of their pages are currently under construction: https://web.archive.org/web/20090228203457/http://www.nkusa.org/aboutus/index.cfm

Instructions for those unfamiliar with the Wayback Machine: https://help.archive.org/help/using-the-wayback-machine/

Summary of NK beliefs re: Zionism

The Neturei Karta believe that no Jewish state should exist in Palestine without the coming of the Messiah. They believe this so strongly that they actively oppose the state’s existence and engage in Palestine solidarity work.

The Neturei Karta also argue that no ultra-orthodox Jew believes in religious Zionism, often citing the lack of Israeli flags in ultra orthodox neighborhoods. This neglects the many ultra-orthodox Jews who support Israeli politically but not religiously.

Such still-politically-Zionist Jews will refer to the state of Israel as “Eretz Yisroel” rather than “Israel” thus acknowledging the land but not the political state’s significance. They will engage in pro-Israel politics, but do not see the Nakba (1948) or Naksa (1967) as religious events. This does not mean that everyone who uses the phrase “eretz yisroel” is secretly a Zionist.

See Yated’s website: this is an ultra-orthodox publication that heavily supports Israel even if they do not believe the state is religiously legitimate. However, politically they are Zionist as in they support Israel.

Glossary

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Jews believe in the divine origin of the Torah, given to Moses at Sinai. They are more strict about dietary laws, laws of family purity, and laws of the sabbath than more liberal or progressive Jews (such as Conservative/Masorti, Reform, Reconstructionist, etc.--all beyond the scope of this post)

Ultra Orthodox/haredi (very broad strokes)

Orthodox Jews who believe in a strict interpretation of the Torah and are more insulated from the larger world, including the Jewish world. They often dress differently and are even stricter about dietary laws, and are more socially conservative than the Modern Orthodox (women often don’t attend synagogue, adhere to very strict rules of modesty, arranged marriages, etc.)

Within the ultra orthodox world, there are hasidic (charismatic, such as Satmar or Chabad, usually following a dynasty, often from Eastern Europe) and non-hasidic groups (everyone else, including haredi sephardim and the Neturei Karta.) The Neturei Karta are not hasidic.

Many ultra-orthodox groups, including the Neturei Karta, would be considered high-demand religious groups (cults). Given how strict they are, I don’t think this is an unfair characterization. I note this because liberal zionists use the NK’s religious stringencies as a means of discrediting their allyship to Palestine. Bad faith, but still worth noting.

Political Zionism:

This is the belief that Jews should establish a Jewish-majority state in Palestine. Popularized by Herzl’s Der Judenstaadt. Plenty of Zionists support Israel without it being a pillar of religious belief for them, but:

Religious Zionism:

This is the belief that the modern nation state of Israel is part of the fulfillment of religious prophecy (you find both Jews and Christians believing this). There are plenty of ultra-orthodox religious Zionists, although ultra-orthodox non-zionists/anti-zionists will claim that these groups should not call themselves “ultra-orthodox.”

Non-Zionist: 2 definitions in the Orthodox world

Ultra-orthodox Jews may describe themselves as not Zionist to other religious Jews to differentiate themselves from religious Zionists. They may still support Israel, just not as a part of their religious faith, or they may oppose it but not be pro-Palestine (see the Satmar Hasidim.) You will probably not run into this on Tumblr or in progressive/pro-Palestine spaces--please don’t use this as an excuse to make anti-Zionist Jews “prove themselves”--you won’t run into these people on Tumblr or at pro-Palestine actions. “Non-zionist” may mean “anti-zionist in all but name” in non-orthodox Jewish spaces.

When I speak about ultra-orthodox religious Jews describing themselves as not Zionist in religious Jewish spaces, this refers only to their interactions with other Jews. If you are not Jewish and someone describes themselves as anti-Zionist to you, you should assume it means they are pro-Palestine unless they make it clear they believe otherwise.

The Satmar (religiously but not politically anti zionist ultra-orthodox hasidic Jews) formally denounced the NK in 1967 (note: the NK were never Satmar, nor were they hasidic at all–this is simply a religiously antizionist sect distancing themselves from those who are both religiously and politically antizionist.)

https://x.com/HQSatmar/status/1744693660787040553

Some orthodox Jews are genuinely politically anti-Zionist. Examples include Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, the Neturei Karta, and plenty of individuals although not many institutions.

More info on ultra-orthodox Jews and zionism at this Pew Research page (I don’t think Pew is great at surveying American Jews, but this particular page on haredim in Israel is interesting): https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/08/views-of-the-jewish-state-and-the-diaspora/

This article: https://forward.com/opinion/411615/think-all-orthodox-jews-are-zionists-think-again/

To any Jew, especially someone who knows the orthodox world, there are many over-simplifications here. The purpose of this post is to talk about the Neturei Karta, so I’m glossing over a lot of the intricacies. You’re welcome to fight about “Is Chabad Ultra-Orthodox” in the comments.

Issues of social conservatism (homophobia, misogyny, etc.)

Neturei Karta’s social conservatism

As with virtually all ultra-orthodox Jews, the Neturei Karta are extremely socially conservative. They believe that men and women have distinct roles (thus you never see any women with the NK at protests) and that homosexuality is evil. Women are required to raise children, cannot become rabbis, and have to dress extremely modestly. If you’ve ever seen the documentary “Trembling Before God,” a documentary on LGBT orthodox Jews, the rabbis at the beginning protesting against homosexuality are the Neturei Karta. Again, no women present.

I should note that the Neturei Karta are no more conservative than other ultra-orthodox Jews (and the Modern Orthodox Jewish world has been moving rightward for decades). But many liberal Jews will defend orthodox Judaism, even when it comes to denying children basic education and healthcare. You see this on Tumblr constantly. Orthodox Jews do terrible things and are defended by other Jews because “they’re more visible” and (some) Jews are convinced that any public criticism of orthodoxy will harm Judaism as a whole by making very damaging parts of it look bad.

But these liberal Zionist Jews will never defend the Neturei Karta. Their criticisms of homophobia and misogyny in this particular orthodox group are done in bad faith when they insist (for example) that women and LGBT people are perfectly fine within orthodox spaces. This is false.

TL;DR: Social conservatism is huge in orthodox Judaism. The Neturei Karta are not unique in this.

US Muslim social conservatism

I should note here that most US Muslims and Muslim institutions are socially conservative. (In a similar way to Jewish anti-zionism, there are some smaller openly pro-LGBT Muslim communities, but they are not supported by the larger US Muslim establishment.) Before the Bush era, most American Muslims and Arab Americans were staunch Republicans, supporting free markets and opposing LGBT rights, including LGBT-inclusive curricula in schools: https://newrepublic.com/article/168180/growing-religious-alliance-ban-lgbtq-books

To any liberals reading this in shock, here’s a post detailing how Palestinian American Imam Omar Suleiman is homophobic: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1f7Do7gZei/

Many US and Canadian Muslim leaders can be found alongside conservative Christians protesting against LGBT education in schools, drag queen storytimes, and trans healthcare. Most recently, many Muslim leaders signed a homophobic/transphobic statement “Islam and the LGBT Question: Reframing the Narrative” earlier in 2023: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs9lFR0AcG_/?igsh=bnJubGVodDAxczJz

This is similar to the Nashville Statement against homosexuality from many Christian leaders, or the Torah Declaration on Homosexuality in favor of conversion therapy from Jewish leaders. Muslims are not uniquely homophobic, but it’s important that progressives are aware of anti-LGBT prejudice in Jewish and Muslim communities in order to be good allies to queer Jews and Muslims. Omar Suleiman and the NK are not uniquely homophobic–they are emblematic of institutional prejudice within their respective religious communities. Homophobia/transphobia are not an excuse for genocide.

TL;DR for this section: Supporting Palestine does not make someone socially progressive.

Why aren't there more liberal Jewish anti Zionist rabbis speaking at pro Palestine rallies? Why give the microphone to the NK?

Many rallies do have anti Zionist progressive Jews speak. But they are usually lay people who do not represent Jewish religious groups. They may be independent, or from JVP or other similar groups (IJV Canada, etc), which will show up to pro Palestine actions even if they don't have a speaking slot. More notes on JVP here: https://bringmemyrocks.tumblr.com/post/736264435582238720/i-will-gladly-say-free-palestine-from-the-river-to

It's basically impossible to become a progressive Jewish rabbi as an anti-Zionist. All non-orthodox rabbinical schools that follow the traditional ordination process (5 years of education culminating with ordination, rather than an in-service further education program for those already serving as rabbis) require the candidate to be at least politically pro-Israel if not religious Zionist. All such programs require students to spend a year studying in Israel (generally in Jerusalem, although plenty of Orthodox institutions include a year of study in illegal settlements like Gush Etzion, Bat Ayin, etc.) If an anti-Zionist wants to become a rabbi outside of the NK or other ultra-orthodox institutions, they need to be willing to spend that year in Israel and hold their tongue re: Zionism until they are ordained. That's why so many liberal anti-Zionist rabbis have stories of leaving Zionism–they couldn't have been ordained if they'd left Zionism beforehand.

There are several synagogues in the USA that are friendly to anti-Zionist progressive Jews. However, these synagogues are not usually openly anti Zionist (with a few exceptions) and thus can/do still rely on mainstream Jewish sources of funding, whether individuals or their local JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council). Synagogue councils can also threaten rabbis who speak out and can easily get them fired. Synagogue boards/councils/membership have the authority to fire the rabbi–the rabbi does not own the synagogue. I know several anti Zionist Jewish rabbis with largely anti-Zionist congregations who would still lose everything if they spoke at a pro Palestine rally. Rabbis in this position tend to speak at candlelight vigils rather than at rallies where people are chanting “intifada” (although their congregants often do!) A lot of it comes down to keeping the community in existence *or* letting the world know how anti Zionist they are.

Tzedek Chicago is the exception because of the amount of money they were able to raise–they still don't have their own building, and need to pay for spaces they use. Outside of a tiny pop-up minyan that can fit in someone’s house, saying of a community “this community should be willing to lose everything” isn't reasonable–they would have to shutter completely if they were 100% anti Zionist, not to mention the attacks the rabbis and congregants would get--Tzedek Chicago keeps its online services very secure to keep congregants safe.

Notes on Jewish eschatology and bad faith arguments:

With the exception of religious zionism (see people trying to build the third temple right now), Judaism as a religion is not overly concerned with eschatology (the end of the world). Jews may pray for the coming of the Messiah, but the religion itself is not overly concerned with the Messiah and the end times.

The Neturei Karta, as with many orthodox groups that don’t adhere to religious zionism, believe that when the Messiah comes, he will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Some believe this to be on the same site as Al-Aqsa; some do not. The Neturei Karta believe that the land of Israel (biblically, eretz yisroel) will at some point become governed by Judaism with a third temple built, although they emphasize that Palestinians will stay in the land and everyone will live together peacefully. Again, this is eschatology. It’s not unusual for it to be vague, especially in the Jewish tradition, and nobody is preparing for it immediately.

I was actually inspired to make this post because someone posted this Vashti Magazine article "Neturei Karta are not your Allies" as a gotcha, even though the interview itself clearly shows that the Neturei Karta support Palestine even into their end-times prophecies…I’m not surprised most of the interview wasn’t published. If you look at what the rabbi said versus what the writer claims he said, it’s not even a bad interview. The writer herself notes that these prophecies are vague--I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she doesn’t know that much about religious Judaism. A lot of secular Jews are unfamiliar with those who believe in the Torah’s divine origins. This includes activists who support Palestine.

I regard this as a bad faith accusation because this has no bearing on current events. It is no different from Christians or Muslims who believe someday the entire world will be Christian/Muslim. I’m usually the last person to cry Christian-normativity, but plenty of religious people have end-times beliefs that have very little impact on their theology or their politics. This is not analogous to John Hagee the Christian Zionist with his end-times beliefs.

The Palestinian activists and allies I’ve spoken to about this agree with this. One was asked during a Q and A that I attended “what do you think about the Neturei Karta’s belief that in the end times the third temple will be rebuilt?” He responded “we’ll deal with that when the Jewish Messiah comes.” Because it’s an end-times prophecy that they believe they have no control over, not a political position that impacts their allyship. And anyone who isn’t a religious Jew doesn’t believe it will ever happen anyway.

It also bears mentioning that most people who bring up this particular point are themselves liberal Zionists trying to paint anti-Zionist orthodox Jews as actually worse allies to Palestinians than liberal Zionists because of vague beliefs they hold that will never crystalize (unless you are an orthodox Jew yourself). Vashti Magazine’s use of the phrase “Israel-Palestine” leads me to believe this is their motive as well. Thus my accusation of bad faith, particularly when the NK has shown up for Palestine protests for decades.

Accusations of Holocaust denial

The Neturei Karta has met with some less than Jew-friendly individuals throughout their history in the hopes that this will help curb worldwide antisemitism. This gets thrown around a lot by liberal zionists intent on making themselves look better. In 2006, some members of the Neturei Karta met with Iranian president Ahmedenijad. This meeting is often used to accuse them of Holocaust denial, even though the rabbi in question, Dovid Weiss, specifically named the Holocaust re: reasons he doesn’t support Israel.

"The Zionists use the Holocaust issue to their benefit. We, Jews who perished in the Holocaust, do not use it to advance our interests. We stress that there are hundreds of thousands Jews around the world who identify with our opposition to the Zionist ideology and who feel that Zionism is not Jewish, but a political agenda."

The same is true for their attendance at the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust; they strongly believe the Holocaust happened and made sure all attendees were aware. There were Holocaust deniers in attendance, but this conference was not a “Holocaust denial conference” although I’m not going to defend it. One could argue that these particular Neturei Karta members should not have attended such a conference, but they never engaged in Holocaust denial and actively fought against it. Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20070328235234/https://www.nkusa.org/activities/speeches/2006iran-weissspeech.cfm

If you’ve ever heard the Neturei Karta speak, you’d know they don’t deny the Holocaust. They bring it up constantly.

If you don’t like all of the Neturei Karta’s positions, that’s fine. This post is not supposed to make you like them, but rather to explain and contextualize things you may have heard about them.

#neturei karta #free palestine

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 5 days

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I actually have the opposite problem with Ben 10. Ben overshadows the other characters like the plumbers helpers or Julie who could have used more development. I especially hated the harem element that started in UA and was made worse in OV where almost every female character became just another love interest.

#ben 10 #the owl house #ben tennyson #luz noceda

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autistic-ben-tennyson · 5 days

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Not much is known about her but in one of the few, if not the only interview that she ever did, here's all the interesting information and trivia on Meagan Smith, the voice of Gwen Tennyson in the original Ben 10 series. Let's see how this goes:

• The reason why she isn't as prolific as other actresses is because she prefers to not be out in the open and instead have a private life to herself but would love it if there was somehow a Ben 10 con where fans could gather and she'd be there in a heartbeat.

• She admits that she isn't a fan of Omniverse, just flat-out saying that "as far as I'm concerned, Ben 10: Omniverse isn't canon in my book. It should've ended at Ultimate".

• She also voiced her dissatisfaction with how Destroy All Aliens and its short Road Trip Rumble turned out, saying that the only reason she came back was because she loved voicing Gwen and jumped at the chance to reprise the role but thought that the scripts were "poor" and took issue with the mean-spirited tones, handling of characters and adding nothing to the series overall. Smith did however give praise to the animation.

• On a much more positive note, she did praise both Alien Force AND Ultimate Alien for how they handled and developed Gwen and said that Ashley Johnson did an "awesome job" in the role. The only issue she has is the Anodite retcon, thinking Gwen should've been a sorceress since her learning magic is made less special now but overall, was more than satisfied with the portrayal of Gwen.

• Her favorite movies in no particular order are The Nightmare Before Christmas, Crimson Peak, Ghostbusters, ParaNorman and The Wild Bunch.

• Her favorite TV shows however in no particular order as well are Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Family Matters and Seinfeld.

• On how she viewed Gwen prior to the events of the Original Series, she said that her character was "the exact opposite of Ben in every way but not in a good way at all. She was a mean, obnoxious and just plain snobbish brat who didn't have many friends and never helped people. In fact, Gwen WAS a bully who picked on others because they weren't as smart as her. The summer road trip is what changed her into a better, stronger and definitely more caring person with a stronger relationship to her cousin and that eventually evolved into her full maturity into a good person all around who used her powers for good and to help others in Alien Force and even Ultimate Alien".

• She actually pitched to Man Of Action an idea she had for a potential What If episode for the show for its fourth and final season that was "if Gwen never went on the summer trip, went up against Charmcaster and learned the hard way her behavior and actions have consequences". But it didn't go nowhere to her disappointment.

• She has expressed interest and a want for screenwriting and revealed she has written a screenplay for a horror comedy about vampires dealing with voodoo priests in New Orleans.

• She revealed as well that she actually has an idea for an entire Gwen Tennyson spin-off series that she says acts as a true reboot to the show:

"It's three seasons with about 25 episodes each that tell a complete story with a clear beginning, middle and end is how I picture exactly beat-for-beat. The first season would be a new take on the original show with Gwen having to stay the whole summer with a close family friend, Sandra (Ben's mom), and her actions end up leading Charmcaster to them. The second season would be another new take this time on Alien Force and it would follow a now teenage Gwen, a more mature Sandra and Charmcaster having to team up against a new threat that would affect them in different ways. The third season would be a take on Ultimate Alien with the three of them coming full-circle while they deal with with newfound fame in their lives.

Here, Gwen isn't a Tennyson and instead her last name would be either another pun-type or something slightly irregular like 'Avery', 'Sommers' or 'Goldenthal', Sandra is a witch who put her magic to rest so she could have a normal life and Charmcaster starts off as a deadly and dangerous witch who tracks down other witches like her and girls who have magical auras to collect their powers and eventually turns into a morally grey anti-hero who leans towards the villainous side but has a code.

I don't want to give anything else away as I think I could actually do it depending on what happens in the future. But what I will say is I'm hoping that I can cross-over other media potentially with the show in its third and final season since it would make sense since just like Ben in Ultimate Alien, they're outed now and are celebrities".

#ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #meagan smith #gwen tennyson #Gwen #gwendolyn tennyson #ben 10 uaf

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