#and there aren't really a lot of us left | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nellasbookplanet · 1 month

Text

I think one of the scariest parts of capitalism is how it encourages a sort of moral apathy. Sure a lot of powerful people do bigoted things because they are, in fact, hateful bigots. But a lot of them might vote for and back right-wingers not because they personally hate minorities or want the world to burn but because the right-wingers will give them tax cuts and remove regulations and hey, thats just good business! Social media don’t put radical alt-righters on vulnerable people's timelines because the people running the site believe in those ideals and want to radicalize people, but because it triggers engagement, makes you stay logged on longer and makes them more money. They don’t ban queer people and adult content because they give a shit but because said content might scare off advertisers; advertisers are scared off not because they give a shit but because they want to appeal to as many people as possible to make more money. And there’s the reverse of this, too: when they see that it’s more profitable to be diverse and inclusive, that’s the content they push, not because they give a shit, but because it makes more money.

Big corporations aren't alone in this, either. Drama channels and the like don't arise because the people running them personally hate everyone they go after and try to get cancelled; a lot of the time, they just see that this sort of content gets the views and the money. And because they do bigoted things not out of political reasons but for economical ones, they convince themself it’s somehow neutral. Smart, even! Just good business. The world and its people are a tool for them to use and throw away as they see fit, and the fact that so many of the world's most powerful people think like this is terrifying.

#not saying that there aren’t plenty of cases where powerful people and corporations are in fact bigoted #and do heinous things specifically to be bigoted #the point is that a lot of people use money and business as an excuse to not give a shit about other people #and then think it makes them smarter and better bc they aren't sentimental or whatever #and then of course a lot of them start to actually believe the bullshit they’re selling almost as a self defense mechanism #bc if the left keeps coming after them for their 'smart business desicions' the right must be correct! perfect logic! I'm going to scream!!#there really is something to be said for how we make our desicions based on emotions and personality first #and then pick and ideology to plaster on top after #rambles

9 notes · View notes

yuseirra · 4 months

Text

This may sound a bit random, but my little brother is one of the kindest souls I know in my life. I'm very happy to have him so I give him a hug every now and then when I feel a bit down.

I've never seen that boy swear even once in my life and I consider him to be wiser than me in some aspects. I'm glad I have someone I can believe and trust in close range. It gives me hope in more ways than one reminding me that people like him exist and they are-or should be- the norm. I hope he lives long without being too sad.. He's grown enough to give me some life advice lol and it's actually good too :) and he's a better cook than I am. That I respect bc I don't like cooking myself o<-<

and of course, the people around me are very nice to me too. I get excited when I realize of it, the small blessings of life, I have many of it when I think about it. I have to remember that. I am thankful. My brother really, he's a good kid. I wish more people could be as kind as he is.. then people wouldn't hurt anyone, would they. So I wrote an appreciation post, although he'll probably never see it. I used to bring him up sometimes when I used twitter :) I have to remember about the good stuff. That doesn't mean I should brush away and pretend all the bad stuff doesn't exist, but the good's what makes me want to continue, I have to remember about those things the most

hope you all have good days!!

#with a lot of stuff going around lately..there's something about the ugliness you see that really captures your eye and cruMBLES YOU #those things don't go away that easy and you aren't the same once you see them which is sad.. you can never go back once you encounter them #the ugly stuff.. the cruel stuff..you grow used to seeing it and I've actually seen many slurs that left me in utter shock at first #I was like..how can they say that? How can people be that horrible? mhm the internet is not a dreamland indeed #but I'm happy I met you all and I hope I can be who I am and what I want to be #I really hope people will be kind #wouldn't that be great and I KNOW that can happen

9 notes · View notes

seaseren · 4 months

Text

...Yeah after Yotsuyu Chiaki, IC, is gonna need a bit of a fucking break. That whole situation fucks them up in a variety of ways

#ffxiv #Chiaki Fujimori #being manipulated and used! suicide by wol!#on an intellectual level they know why Hien hates Yostuyu. They know they should probably hate her more. But they really sympathize with he #their stories aren't the same obv but in many ways Chiaki felt abandoned by Doma as well #a lot of stormblood is them trying to come to terms with their feelings for their homeland while trying to save it #and at the end of the day- there is no one left there who knows them.#they had something of a hero crush on Hien. but this whole situation soured them a bit on him #(but I like that this has brought ideas of 'being known' to their mind. good setup for shb)

2 notes · View notes

creepykuroneko · 1 year

Text

Whenever I see asian, brown, and/or black Americans reinforcing, supporting, and upholding racism, colonization, imperialism, colorism, and any other belief system that not only harms them directly but other non-white communities as well and they still want to claim that they themselves are POC and face discrimination I feel bitter disgust towards them.

#yeah I know the oppression Olympics aren't real #everyone has their own problems #but the way so many Asian Americans contribute to colonization of the USA #refuse to admit they are guilty of anti-black racism and won't even acknowledge the Native American genocide really upsets me #then of course there's the colorism that every single Community is guilty of #don't even need to explain that one #the fact that my fellow brown people are also guilty of anti-black racism is upsetting as I feel we should be allies #and let's be honest there are black Republicans out there #whether it be through self-hatred or combination of multiple factors a lot of black people don't want to see other black people succeed #plus I've seen my share of black people on the Internet Posting pictures of themselves in red face for Halloween or #talking about how if Pocahontas was real she would be a black woman #fucken really?#plus many middle class and higher Asian Americans and African Americans don't want to acknowledge who's stolen land theyre living on #i 100% agree African-American should receive reparations from the US government #but I see people talking about how they deserve to have a plot of land and that makes me uneasy #of course there was that whole Asian American vs African American violence during the covid shutdowns #white supremacist love to see anyone who is not white tear each other down because it makes their job easier #I know we have our history between all of us that has left scars that never healed #I just find it so sad that we as a whole are still tearing each other down instead of trying to do better #I don't know how to properly explain this without going into a long ass historic rant #plus I don't want to #no energy #just wanted to get some thoughts out of my head

13 notes · View notes

citrus-blade · 5 months

Note

I have completed the 5.5 hour drive and am now freeeeeeeee (ignores final due tomorrow at midnight)

What the longest/furthest you’ve driven?

YEEEES!

Ehhh... When I was a child we used to drive to italy over night and drove like 11 hours...? But I was a child then and slept most of the time lol

With my friends I think it was like 5 hours. 2 1/2 hours to drive to a convention in the morning and the other 2 1/2 hours back in the evening. And the same the next day cause hotel were expensive af lol

#ask #citrus talks #mistythedritten #I love car rides #but I hate the highway #here in germany there are no tempo limits on most highways so some people drive like its a race #and with like those big trucks it's really creepy #I like it on sundays cause then most of those trucks aren't allowed to drive unless they transport meat or something that can get bad #Also some people come from abroad JUST to drive on the highways without a tempo limit and yeah. Creepy af #A lot of people don't use their blinkers (?) and just change lanes without a warning so yeaaah....#I do feel comfortable when we ride on the left lane cause this is the slowest. Hate the right one

2 notes · View notes

unproduciblesmackdown · 2 years

Text

speaking of your coming of age movie that never happens & your narrative non-narratives, shoutout to the arcs that’d be supposedly “worse” lmfao like posts about people-pleasers being like “i’m in my villain era” when it’s just consciously prioritizing themselves at all / noting when boundaries for their own wellbeing are being trampled, and the like. wherein i’m like, well i like talking to people i suppose, i can do the hours of monologue at a wall for one mode, got chatterbox mode, funny guy theatrical mode, etc, but in actuality also, i do not like talking to people lmao. the “yeah, that’s me” movie ending with another voiceover while upbeat music plays & you’re cheerfully walking along in 0.75x speed through some picturesque arena filled with socializing people like =) putting on headphones, turning up the volume, ignoring everyone, dodging people according to the berth one wants to maintain,

#i mean in person i like to be somewhere Parallel to other ppl; but there By Myself technically lol #i also am down for / enjoy spontaneous fleeting interactions w/randos but ofc only the actually good ones; which can sure be rare #and naturally Online interactions have a lot more flexibility than [not having that option] but even then.#like on just one point: being in a ''fandom'' like no thanks at all ever lol even when it comes to relatively niche things #j'etadore quantent being Just Me Posting To Myself. i absolutely do not want to talk to anybody about winston billions.#posts are scrolls i've nailed to a door to be perused if someone wants. take it or leave it; i've given it & left #meanwhile Not In Person chats aren't even enough lol like; need more Delay than a live chat; also too much to say just like irl anyways #gotta be down for short essays at w/e weird pacing & inadvertent caginess abt what ig other ppl would find matter of factly easy to share #i.e. like What Are You Doing? type ye olde facebook status prompt material. well that's a secret / weird / not entertaining enough isn't it #not like i think oh scoff i Should be popular likable & beloved lmfao like no ofc i Know i'm not gonna come off like that. l'autistique.#to be thusly is to be generally considered unlikable / disliked. i probably don't like interacting w/an nt rando too much either.#& w/the power of [adhd] it's like yeah sure i can be the chatty Fun But Annoying person lmfao But. rather than really being begrudgingly #tolerated until ppl are just more used to you / forgive the annoyances it's like no it's just the Annoying part lol beyond that it's like #well you're also somehow still too weird & quiet so worst of both worlds right. And ofc i have Other Traits aren't just for everyone.#some classic easy to embrace shit like bit of a hothead; argumentative; opinionated; stubborn; spontaneous; a hater; cagey....lmao #much of that For Fun but the [autistic Friendly] social cues don't get read that way. plus i Can be unfriendly too ofc lmao. get outta here #like a friend group seems charming & adorably heartwarming in theory until it's like oh god but drawing on all relevant experiences?? No #the third or fourth or nth wheel falling behind on the narrow sidewalk / talked over / finding a chair on the end & ppl dont notice ur here #lowering expectations even for exchanges that Do happen. ppl can enjoy the novelty of a lengthy exchange for like; a day #on the other side of that if what's initiated is like; Brief General messages i'm like oh god lmfao now Eye can't keep up w/this style #beyond that spontaneous shit is like oh god masking. oh god double empathy misinterpretations & being treated horribly b/c of it.#Recognizing & Respecting my actual experiences rather than hypothetical ideals like no i'm Not failing by Not putting myself in more damn #situations lmfao....if i stumble into good ones then great lol. sure have done that & i don't discount the Value therein at all #just sure like [points to the wisdom of e.g. autistic ppl talking abt having to be lonely but at the gain of looking out for / appreciating #themself] like Being ''Unlikable'' or having friends(tm) but not Really / the treatment is shit / you're having to mask a ton anyways...#sure can recall experiences like idk. ppl ''being nice'' & whether on purpose or not it's like actually I'm In Hell I'm In Hell lmfao #and then even if it's not on purpose it's like ah i can't actually talk to them abt it & that's not a great endorsement for the dynamic huh #or just noting like i'm duly accepted to be on the sidelines but what am i doing wrong lmao sweating How To Earn proper Normal participation #lot of anxiety & blaming oneself & it turns out like nah can't excise the Fault of autistic / adhd / cpstdness & you're fine actually #that was ye olde times more so but it's gradual & still fairly recent being like Oh Right. more accurate ideas re: Talking To Ppl At All....

16 notes · View notes

faultsofyouth · 1 year

Text

one thing about me is that I do not like to watch that much TV anymore

#If im left alone I hardly ever put something on the TV #maybe two or three times a week #I used to watch it every day all the time and I would have it on even when I wasn't in the room or watching it at all #I was like that for years #Didn't want to experience even a moment of quiet or nothingness #Now I just sit in the living room in the low light and get really high and think my thoughts and text my loved ones #No sound but my cat and the fan and occasionally the washer & dryer #My thoughts aren't being guided by made up stuff #I get to make up my own thoughts which are funny as hell and I really can focus way better when things are quiet #I still like a lot of TV shows and sick movies but I'm not constantly in the mood to have the TV on anymore #I mean. It even fucks with my lighting man. I gotta maintain that low light level. that's the key to happiness for real #my posts

2 notes · View notes

pussy-ache · 27 days

Text

i mean really

#sometimes i think ... like oh maybe it was simply a case of me caring for her more than she cared for me #that seems to keep happening to me #but no #that phone call proved that i wasn't crazy or imagining it or being too forward or forcing anything #she's just entirely afraid of commitment and wants her cake and to eat it too #and it's like fine ... i don't even have THAT much of an issue with her polyamory #i think the issue is she sucks at communication #she wanted to make things more serious with me but only in theory. in reality she knew she would not be able to commit to me #and instead of Literally Just Saying That so i could bow out gracefully #she decided to string me along with promises instead #which really fucks with the head like she had me thinking i was imagining some parts of what we had in terms of how deep it was #and i don't use ''gaslighting'' lightly so i won't but i'd say she came pretty close to it #i was fine with her polyamory at first because it wasn't serious.#she then pushed me towards becoming more serious with her using empty promises #i'm glad she finally fucking admitted it. i just wanted her to say it. cuz i know we both know it's true #but i'm the type of person who is not actually going to say it for you to let you off the hook #i kept her on that hook for like a fucking year now. you want me to answer texts but can't answer to your past behavior? no.#you're not going to pick & choose which parts of me are worthwhile and which aren't. i won't let you.#and she knew that which is why she just kept lying to me AND herself about her nonexistent emotional maturity #she played me SPECIFICALLY because she knew i knew my own worth at that time #and she knew if she was honest i would have left a solid 6-8 months sooner than i did #and they all saw how she acted at that party. they know exactly how that shit blew up in her face and i fucking laughed and i'd do it again #i do not walk away from people or cut people off without very solid very specific reasons #the universe took care of it for me. we're barely friends now and that's fine with me in a lot of ways #go grow some more. develop a clearer understanding of yourself. your needs and your wants. and how to differentiate between them.#and leave me tf out of it #like i don't even have any interest in being her friend or in her life lmao

0 notes

vraska-theunseen · 3 months

Text

auauaugh i can't even imagine how im going to get through sophomore year 😭 i don't even know how i'm going to get through this semester i always feel like i'm scrambling. even though i can tell im making way better progress compared to last semester like i'm learning things quicker im getting more done i have experience to build on instead of doing 10 fitups of shitty t joints im doing 3 or 4 and that's because (even if my teacher has to come in my booth to show me how to do it) with each bead slowly i remember how i've welded before and understand how i'm supposed to do it but that's still so much time im still behind compared to where my teacher said we should be and i don't understand how everyone else is understanding and doing everything faster than i am 😭

#alex talks #week after spring break is going to be entirely taken up by one project my teacher said it might even take us two weeks and we have like 8 #weeks of school total left and not even halfway through our projects so far and like i said i am still behind on those projects #that aren't even halfway through. every time i have to weld something i have to do it 3 or 4 times before i remember how welding works and #how to watch under the hood for what i'm supposed to be looking at to know where i'm supposed to be pointing and how fast i'm supposed to be #moving and therefore how to correct when im not doing that and with this stupid week long project we get one chance on each joint #i really like oxyacetylene i think i could get really good at that and it's actually fun bc with welding w a hood it's so dark &it's hard to #adjust and once you're running a bead that's it you're running it you're in there i have to remember everything but with oxyacetylene it #moves slow it's a way lighter shade i can see it i can pause in a bead and go back and fix things smooth them out #but people don't even use oxyacetylene welding anymore for like actual jobs bc it's so inefficient we're just doing it to practice for tig #i mean people still use oxyacetylene cutting and brazing which i haven't learned yet and probably very specific scenarios maybe like #idk very small seams or more artistic things people use it but not a lot out in the industry i mean #i had a nightmare last night where i was oxyacetylene welding a pipe i still have to weld and i blew a hole in it and it just kept getting #bigger and bigger and the metal rolled away from itself in a way that metal doesn't do and i couldn't control it and then i rolled the #puddle until it covered the blown hole mostly (not how anything works) but it was still charred and misshapen and ruined. so anyway

1 note · View note

loveindefinitely · 4 months

Text

task force 141 with a controversially young civilian girlfriend.

-> mentions of large age-gaps, referenced sexual content, alcohol use. afab!fem!reader. minor dubcon (everyone's drunk.)

thinking that you're studying in uni. working on the side to try and afford rent and, if you're lucky, some noodles every other night. you don't really get seen compared to your friends, who go out clubbing and spend their spare time on dating apps.

one time, your friend drags you to a bar. not usually your scene, considering its clientele is more for tradies, and military-type men. not like the stuck-up blue collar boys at your uni.

cue you getting drunk off your ass, barely even standing, when you bump into one johhny mactavish.

he holds your elbows, your chest crashing into his. gentle with it, too -- kind and sweet and grounding.

"y'alright, lass?" he asks, a small smirk on his face, eyes darting across your frame greedily. he, in all fairness, looks nearly as drunk as you. he stumbles a little with your weight.

you giggle, tilting your head to look at him. say something stupid like, "you don't look like a student."

his brows raise, his dimples deepen. "aye, very smart, hen."

you preen with the compliment, a cheesy grin stuck to your face. you make no move to stand up and leave. you think your friend just left with a guy anyways.

johnny moves you, muscled arm around your waist as he takes you to a booth.

three other men sit in it, only one looking somewhere in a ten-year age bracket to you. they're all impossibly large, filling out the space with ease. your stomach swoops, but you easily blame the alcohol.

manoeuvring you so you sit in his lap, johnny's hand is a comforting weight on your waist. he huffs a laugh.

"didn't realise we were goin' for jailbait, soap," the youngest one chimes, dark features shining in the pub's dim light. his eyes trail your frame silkily.

you can't stop the roll of your eyes -- your inhibitions have made you senseless. "'m not, 'm completely," you drag out the syllables, "legal."

a hand on your thigh makes you jolt, and when you look over, a blonde man with a black medical mask raises an unimpressed brow. "got a problem, kid?"

you shoot him a weak glare. "not a kid. weirdo."

the arm around your waist tightens, as does the weirdo's hand encompassing your thigh.

"not scared of anythin', are you darl'?" the final man in the booth asks, hands folded together where they rest at the table. he looks at least double your age, and that simple fact along with his drawling words has your core tightening.

"what's there to be scared of?" you ask, stupidly. your head tilts to the side, unknowingly moving to rest on johnny's shoulder. he doesn't comment.

"miss bein' young and drunk," gaz sighs, hand softly gripping the gin sat on the table in front of him.

"you look young," your brows furrow, not understanding. how old could he really be, to act so nostalgic of your current predicament? "how old are you guys?"

it's an embarrassing question -- makes you feel like a child all over again. but your interest is quickly peaking, and your need for answers overpowers your need for decorum.

johnny's the one to answer, his lips brushing your ear as he whispers.

"gaz, the pretty one over there, he's twenty-eight," he murmurs, heat stirring low in your gut as you nod mindlessly, meeting gaz's eyes.

johnny stokes his thumb over the skin of your hip, and you curl into him further -- stranger be damned.

"i'm thirty," he hums, and god, he sounds so fucking sensual you're about to melt into his arms. if you aren't already.

"the guy in the mask?" said man's hand tightens impossibly against your skin, fingers just shy of grazing your aching pussy, "he's thirty-seven. got a lot of experience, aye?"

you shudder.

"what about you?" you end up voicing, shyly meeting the last man's gaze. he takes a slow sip of his whiskey.

he leans back into the cushion, eyeing you carefully.

"forty-three."

your thighs squeeze together, and fuck, if that's not a turn-on. no matter how unsafe you should feel, surrounded by four military-grade, older men, it only manages to have you wet beyond belief.

all you can manage is one question.

"take me home?"

7K notes · View notes

bravesaboteur · 2 months

Text

The more I think about it, the more Laios and Falin's different perceptions of their parents are a case of "same parents, different childhood".

Whenever someone asks Laios about his and Falin's family, he comments on how they treated Falin but never comments about how how their childhood affected him - in fact, he kind of glosses over it. It's Falin that everyone is rallying to save, it's Falin that's Marcille's friend, it's Falin that everyone has a positive opinion of - he's just the weirdo brother that gets to share some of her light sometimes. He's the one who's only tolerated when he's useful in a dungeon. Falin's treatment is a large part of the reason that he left, but it's the symptom of a larger issue.

When we see Laios' thoughts of his parents in his nightmares, it's all about the expectations that he's supposed to live up to: the expectation to stop being "childish", the expectation to get married (to who his parents picked) and have children, the expectation to take over from his father as the village chief, the expectation to adapt to something that he isn't able to be in the way that people want him to. And these are all things that he has had to be told in some way: he had to be told that Shuro didn't like him, he had to be told that told that the gold-peelers were taking advantage of him - these aren't thoughts that just appeared on their own, these are all failures that someone has explicitly pointed out to him and they haunt him. Some of the things he considers his biggest failures are his failure to provide for and protect Falin and those have very tangible examples he can point to.

We get a glimpse of what happens when he fails to live up to his father's expectations when Falin is born. He expects a certain reaction from Laios and when he fails to give that reaction he physically puts him down, dismisses him, and underestimates how much he understands.

And that's something that's shown to be a bit of a sore point for him - people thinking that he doesn't understand something because he doesn't express himself like people expect. The few times we see him snap at people are because people think he isn't understanding something because he isn't reacting "normally".

On Falin's side, the expectations seem to be a lot different - she's the younger one, for one, she's a girl, and she was so young when the fallout from her having magic happened. She too had an arranged engagement, but that was broken off when she was sent away to magic school and since then, their parents only seem to be passively involved in her life. She's mostly been freed of the expectations that their parents had for her in her village - she won't be coming back after all. She understands why they sent her away, she wasn't completely oblivious to the villagers treatment of her and it was, arguably, for the best so she is at peace with what their relationship is for now. But she still wants to go to her hometown and see for herself with adult eyes because she has never really had the space to do that.

I don't think their parents are inherently evil people - the truth is probably somewhere between Laios and Falin's version of the story, Laios' side tinged by too much cynicism and Falin's by too much naivete.

It just strikes me that when he tried to provide the "normal" way he failed, but given the space to do something similar to what people expected of him, but in his own way, he succeeded. He isn't perfect but his efforts are ultimately fruitful and he is able to carve out a place for himself, Falin, and others who had been ostracized like them to call home.

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #dunmeshi analysis #laios touden #falin touden #i have a lot of touden feelings #i'm not letting mama and papa touden off the hook that easy #dunmeshi spoilers

6K notes · View notes

dravidious · 8 months

Note

You're cool

I just played a game of sealed where my opponent played 2 rares and then finished me off with a fucking planeswalker. Why are there rares in limited. Getting away from rare-spam is the entire reason why I play limited.

I then went on ranked and styled on an opponent who had like 80% of their spells be random rare/mythic bullshit so that was some good catharsis

#asks #i was playing my Oni-Cult Anvil deck #it's a pretty aggressive deck and the titular anvil gradually drains life #and they played a fucking Phyrexian Arena #a card that makes you lose 1 life every turn #eventually their board became too thick to attack through but they had 7 life left so i just stalled them out lol #i really wish they would just stop putting such a massive power difference between cards #why print a bunch of shitty commons if no one is going to play them?#“oh it's for limited” THEN WHY PRINT A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT RARES IF THEY OBLITERATE LIMITED?!#i think it would be fine if constructed was only a lot more powerful than limited instead of being super fucking ultra more powerful #and if you really want limited and constructed to be completely different formats with basically no overlap in effective card pools #then why use the same sets for both?#just have limited sets where the rares aren't bullshit #and have constructed sets where EVERYTHING is bullshit #and then i'll play constructed with the limited sets because i like lower power levels :)

0 notes

beatrice-otter · 23 days

Note

I’ll be honest, when one party’s aiding and abetting the genocide and the other’s outright gonna kill all my friends, I don’t really care if the fascists “win”. They’ve won already.

You know who would be delighted to hear that? Trump and Putin. The US far right and the Russian government have poured lots of time, effort, and money over the last decade+ into convincing US leftists and liberals that things are hopeless, there's no point in even trying to make things better, and the Democrats and Republicans are functionally interchangeable. They do this because one of the easiest ways for them to win is if the left gives up and stops trying. Every person on the left they can convince to give up in despair brings them closer to complete control. Defeatism on the left actively supports victory on the right.

I think your statement is wrong on a number of levels, both factual and emotional. It comes from not understanding what the actual options are for the US government and the President specifically, either at home or abroad. And it will allow actual fascism to flourish and make the world far worse than it is now.

On an emotional level, the way to address this is to stop doomscrolling. Stop focusing on the worst things happening in the world. Don't ignore them! but don't let them consume you. Start looking for the things that are going well. Find places in your community that you can get involved in making things better. Even if it's only on a small scale like volunteering in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, it will help you realize that you aren't helpless, that there are things that can be done to make the world a better place. Stay informed about things on a local, national, and international level, but limit how much time and attention you give to things that depress you that you can't affect. Instead of sitting there thinking about all the ways the world sucks and how awful things are, look for things you can do that are productive, and then do them. You'll feel better and you will have made your corner of the world a little better. And you will be a lot less likely to unintentionally fall into the despair, nihilism, and passivity that the fascists want you to be consumed by.

Always remember that the worlds problems are not resting solely on your shoulders, or solely on America's shoulders, and neither is the hope of fixing them. Everyone has things that we can do to make the world a better place, but there are also things that are beyond our control. We can control what we do; we cannot control what others do. We can and should try to make the world a better place, but focusing on the things we can't change has no positive benefits. Focusing on things we can't change accomplishes two things: it makes you feel bad, and it stops you from doing the things you actually can do to make things better. Neither of these things is good for you or anyone else. Look for things you can do and do them. Keep informed on the things you can't change, but don't focus on them.

On a factual level, let's look at "aiding and abetting genocide," shall we?

First, it's important to remember that the US President is not the God-Emperor Of The World. The US government has limits to what it can and can't do in other countries, and both legally and practically. If the US wants to intervene in a problem in another country, there are a variety of things we can do that boil down to basically four categories. It's a lot more complex than this in practice, of course, but in general here are the categories of things we can do:

Send in the troops. Invade, either by ourselves or as part of a NATO or UN operation. (Or maybe just send in a CIA wetworks team to assassinate the head of state.) I hope you can see the moral problems with this option, and also, we've done this a shitton of times over the course of the 20th Century and pretty much every time we've done it, we've made an already awful situation worse. On a moral level, it's pretty bad, and on a practical level, it's worse. Sure, we could stop the immediate problem, but what then? Consider Afghanistan and Iraq. We got rid of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, and everything went to shit, we spent twenty years occupying Afghanistan with pretty much nothing to show for it. (The Taliban is back in control of Afghanistan.) Things were worse when we left than when we arrived. So this option is pretty much off the table (or should be).

Diplomatic pressure. Now, the thing is, they're a sovereign nation, they don't have to listen to us if they don't want to. We have a lot of things we can leverage--including financial aid--but the only way to force them to do what we want is to invade and conquer, and that only works temporarily. Since we can't force, we have to persuade. This requires us to maintain our existing relationship with the country in question, and possibly strengthen it, because that relationship is what we're leveraging to try and influence them to do what we want them to do. If we do not maintain our relationship, they have no reason to listen to us.

Cut ties and go home. Break off any existing relationship and support, loudly proclaim that they're awful and doing awful things and we wash our hands of the whole situation. This keeps our own hands lily-white and pure, but it also means we have zero leverage to work on any kind of a diplomatic solution. They have no reason to listen to us or care about what we think. We can pat ourselves on the back for doing the right thing, but we destroy our own ability to influence anything. Not just now, but also in the future. Let's say the current crisis ends, and then ten years later there's another crisis. If we want to have any effect then, we would have to start from square one to start building a relationship. Cutting ties would be great for making Americans feel better about ourselves, and there are times when it's the only option, but it should be a last resort. If there is any hope of being able to influence things for the better this will destroy it at least temporarily.

Cut ties and impose sanctions. Break off any existing relationship and support, loudly proclaim that they're awful and doing awful things, but also use the might of the American economy to isolate and punish them. We've done this a lot over the 20th Century, too, and it has never actually resulted in the country in question buckling down and toeing the line we want them to. What happens is the sanctioned country has an economic shock (how long it lasts and how bad it gets depends on a lot of factors) and then pulls themselves back together economically, except this time they're more self-sufficient and less reliant on international trade and financial networks. They tell themselves that America is evil and the cause of all their problems, and so not only do they not listen to us, they actively hate us. And they have fewer international relationships, so fewer reasons to care about what the international community thinks about them. So they're most likely to double down on whatever it is they're doing that we don't like. This one is completely counterproductive and utterly stupid. It's great for making Americans feel better about ourselves, but if we actually care about being able to use our influence for good (or, at least, to mitigate evil) this option shoots us in the foot. It encourages other nations to do the very thing we're trying to stop them from doing.

So, with those four options in mind, both option one (invasion/assassination) and option four (sanctions) are off the table for being immoral and counterproductive. That leaves "breaking our relationship and going home" and "using diplomatic pressure" as our only two viable options.

Biden has chosen option two, diplomatic pressure. Yes, he and our government have continued financial support for Israel ... but with strings attached. They have put limits on it that have never been put on any US foreign aid before. They have taken legal steps to lay the groundwork to target Israeli settlers (i.e. Israeli citizens who confiscate Palestinian homes and businesses). We've been hearing reports for months that Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister, and a far-right-wing demagogue) hates Biden's guts, because Biden is pressuring him to stop the genocide and work towards peace. Biden is maintaining the relationship, and he's using that relationship to try and influence things to curb the violence and pave the way for a just peace settlement of some sort. Biden has also mentioned the possibility of a two state solution where Palestine becomes its own completely separate country. That's huge, because up until this point the US position has always been that Israel is the only possible legitimate nation in that territory. If Biden stopped US support for Israel, it wouldn't force Israel to stop what it's doing ... but it would let them ignore us. It would remove any leverage or influence we might have.

Biden's hands aren't clean. But the only way for them to be clean would be to also give up any chance of influencing the situation or working to protect Palestinians now or in the future. Only time will tell if it works, but I personally would rather have someone who tried and failed than someone who didn't even try. You might disagree about whether this is the right course of action, and there's a lot of room for honest disagreement about the issue (there's a lot of nuances that I'm glossing over or ignoring). But please do acknowledge that Biden isn't supporting Israel because he supports genocide; he's doing it so that he can continue to maintain diplomatic pressure on Israel to stop the violence.

Which brings us back to "aiding and abetting genocide." Trump is not like Biden. Trump is good friends with Netanyahu and backs Israel to the hilt. Trump thinks that all Arabs are terrorists (and all Muslims are terrorists) and genuinely believes the world would be a better place with them dead. Biden is continuing to support Israel, but using that support as influence to get them to stop or slow down. Trump would be using that influence to encourage them.

And those are the two choices. Someone who is trying to curb the genocide, and someone who actively supports it.

I really hope you can see the significant and substantial difference between those two positions.

But let's say that you're right and Biden's policy towards Israel and Palestine is every bit as bad as Trump's would be. If there was nothing to choose between them on foreign policy grounds, there would still be a shitton to choose between them on domestic policy grounds. You admit that the right wants to kill your friends, and yet you don't seem to think that stopping them from killing your friends might be a good thing to do.

"We can't save Palestinians, so we might as well let Republicans destroy the rights, lives, and futures of LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color, people with disabilities, poor people, non-Christians, and anyone else they don't like." "We can't save Palestinians, so why bother to try to save the people we might actually be able to save." "We can't save Palestinians right now, so there's no point in trying to build up a longer-term political bloc that might drag US politics to the left over the long run."

Do you get why there's a problem with that line of thought?

#us politics

2K notes · View notes