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chevvy-yates · 7 months

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[NC_RES]-31102049-EUR-GER scharfenberg_g_portraits_039_1_TA-S_LC.file ///core:_ryder_von_scharfenberg.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

————— ATTENTION: Even everything is packed in, the full size of the 2nd pic and two other ones I won't even try to post here can be viewed over at my Pillowfort on this post. —————

another one under the cut, bc I like it but 'light-wise' doesn't fit to the above set:

I still can't finds words for the beautiful dark aesthetic he wears in especialyl those garment shots. I mean look how great it aligns with his tattoos. I cry in happiness.

#cyberpunk 2077 #oc: ryder von scharfenberg #masc v #male v #original character #cyberpunk oc #cyberpunk photomode #cyberpunk screenshots #virtual photography #thirsty thursday #gay man #gay aesthetic #labeled: dangerous #nsft #his aesthetic is simply the best

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nozunhinged · 6 months

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I finally managed to put my overall thoughts about Playboyy into words and hoooooo boy do I have a lot to say.

I watched the mdl ratings go down, the blatant hate towards the plot, the actors, the scenes, the sex. There was nothing that wasn't torn apart about this series and yet I wasn't phased for a second and I kept wondering why because usually get very passionate about defending the things I love.

And then I realized that this series is the cinematic embodiment of a very lonely path that I've been walking for decades and I am already very, very used to the shame around it.

Sex is not just my special interest, I also had the privilege to grow up with excellent sex education (thanks parents) and on top of that I never struggled with my (pan)sexual identity. Sex plays a significant role in my life. But I learned VERY quickly that I should keep this to myself if I don't want to be ostracized or bullied.

"You're autistic AND you like sex? You like porn? What the fuck is wrong with you??? That's impossible."

And all the comments I read about playboyy are exactly the same just in different fonts. Ew sex. Ew kink. Ew porn. Ew sex work. Sex can't have storytelling, plot, it's just for shock value. We all read it.

And sadly it's a very accurate representation of the role sex plays in our society. Which - ironically - playboyy exactly is about.

Playboyy is a visual collection of all the experiences of lives and people in which sex plays a significant role - even the lack thereof (looking at you zouey and all you lovely aces).

It's a collection of very important social commentary, with all the characters, sets, plots and visuals as a medium. Because this way, the points they make come across even stronger and draw out all the emotions they want us to feel - which is in the rarest cases, pure arousal. Because this is, in fact, storytelling. Even if many don't want to hear it.

Telling stories about sex is so stigmatized and shunned, it only has the tiniest place to exist freely. Just like sex itself. Every sex worker, sex educator, sex therapist, everyone who has a profession that deals with sex will tell you about it. The shame. The misunderstanding. Look at the state of sex work and porn in the world. It tells you everything you need to know.

And it's happening in the middle of the "modern" western society - Yes I'm talking about you, UK and I can't not plug this here:

*btw I am not a sex worker I'm just very passionate about letting people not just live their lives but giving them a CHOICE to do what they want or don't want to do

I existed in this tiny place for decades now and I got really comfortable in my tiny lil corner, but to see a show like this go "mainstream" talking about all the topics that tickle all the knowledge I collected over the years feels so amazing. And I can tell you, all you lil smartass purists, everyone involved in this show doesn't care an inch what you think, just like me. We're used to it, believe me.

I could go on for ages about how carefully all these topics of the show are treated but what I actually want to say is that I find it incredibly ironic that a show that depicts the struggles and stigmas about sex, exactly draws out the reactions and treatments it criticises.

If you don't want to join in on the fun, that's totally fine. I get that it's not for everyone (just like sex, he). But treating it as a piece of trash just because it's a thing you personally find icky is exactly the reason the issues Playboyy talks about exist in the first place. Hence you can thank your stuck-up ass yourself that debauched individuals like me get a gem like this to enjoy.

And the fact that it didn't just find a crew, but also the funding and the mainstream distribution proves that I'm not alone in this.

It's not my lonely little corner anymore and I'm absolutely thriving on that. Cry about it.

#playboyy the series #playboyy #playboyy meta #and no im not using tumblrs mature label for this because i like to love dangerously and want you to read it

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toddtakefive · 4 months

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I thrash around like those inflatable tube men every time I remember that Neil literally just wanted to act, no matter if he had his parents permission or not. Possibly the most harmless way a teenage boy could rebel, and it was successfully twisted into a tale of obsession, and deception, and malicious defiance. So successfully, in fact, that I see some people who watched the movie call it that. It was just acting.

#the pursuit of his own happiness being labeled as dangerous and wrong and disgraceful… no one touch me i need to throw up everywhere and di #like YES i understand the context of the time period and the society he was born into #and YES i know that that’s the POINT because nonconformity (no matter how harmless) was to be squashed as soon as it was found #but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still make my stomach turn in grief and anger for him #neil perry i couldnt have parented you but i could have been a listening ear im so sorry #dps #dead poets society #neil perry

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nothorses · 10 months

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I think these conversations would go better if we conceptualized terms like "homophobia", "transphobia", and "misogyny" not as the "basic" oppression that you start with until you sprinkle intersectionality on top, but rather as names for where more complex experiences overlap.

"Transphobia" is not the "base" we start with and build on with other experiences; it's the place where more specific experiences overlap. It's the middle of the venn diagram where "transmisogyny", "transandrophobia", and "exorsexism"/"nbphobia" all overlap with each other.

It's the thing we all have in common; not the thing that some people get extra special versions of while others do not.

#like i think there's a place for virtually any kind of more specific label #even differentiating the experiences of white people with misogyny for example-#not because there is any kind of white oppression. but because misogyny is shared between everyone experiencing it but there is no 'default #implying that white experiences are the default is weird!! and it could in fact open up room for conversations abt other experiences #to frame them as equally a part of the conversation about misogyny #rather than something fringe and niche that is only relevant sometimes #THAT SAID under the current cultural understanding that'd be a dangerous place to start this kind of shift in language use #but like. understanding this on a fundamental level does make conversations about things like transandrophobia waaay easier y'know?#it's not about whether we're More Oppressed it's just about naming different experiences

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rouge-the-bat · 3 days

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"we cant have bi women calling themselves lesbians, thatll just make predatory men think they can get with lesbians!"

predatory men* already think that regardless of any information out there and have for a very long time. because theyre predatory and dont care about boundaries.

predatory men are also assuming they can get with women who identify as bi or both bi and lesbian. those women will still have the same assumptions thrown at them when they tell predatory guys theyre lesbians. just because they like some men** doesnt mean they like all, they are not any safer than you.

why are you blaming it on bi people and not the predators? you realize youre outright saying associating with bi people is putting you in more danger? dont you realize how fucked up that is?

bi people always have and always will call themselves lesbians. lesbian has always included them, and it was the common perception that lesbian included both mono- and bisexual people until lesbian separatists (aka radfems) used this exact rhetoric to make it seem like bisexual people are a danger to "real TRUE" lesbians for daring to associate with men. they labeled (and continue to label) bi people as traitors that cant be trusted.

tldr; you are being biphobic as hell, spreading radfem rhetoric, and you can kiss my fat bi lesbian ass.

*obviously by "predatory men" i mean men who are predators. im not saying all men are predatory because thats dumb bullshit.

**of course some people also use bi without being attracted to men, but for somewhat-brevitys sake im focusing just on the ones who are here.

#bi lesbian #bi #lesbian #bisexual #i am arospec ace and sex repulsed with very weird and very uncommon attraction #not to mention my attraction generally being fuzzy and confusing #just because the best way for me to label my specific identity doesnt fall neatly into one category #doesnt mean im putting people in danger jfc 🙄#stop attacking your fellow queers just bc theyre the easier target to let out your pain and fear on

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viewpointb · 5 months

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listen. harry brewis isn't exempt to criticism. however I think it's very ironic and telling how much people have been missing the very point of his video on plagiarism and turned his name on a new topic to exploit as of late. when i was trying to look up clips of harry's older videos this came up, and the contents were about the creator clearly being disapointed her line of work (drama youtube) was disregarded as sloppy and something with no effort put into it.

while I do understand her hurt, the thumbnail and title is inherently clickbaiting potential viewers, and her point comes off as a nitpick of a segment harry made out of his own frustration with content mills and how much situations on or between content creators can be so throughly exploited for "commentary" when people don't end up saying anything at all. I think that this is a prime example of the things harry deemed important to criticise. someone who clearly had a point to make about harry's video felt the need to make sure they could milk the shit out of it.

#hbomberguy #as a long term fan it actually bothers me how people will think of harry as “the guy who murders people's reputations”#or only judge his character by this one video #because harry doesn't usually do stuff like this or at least not only stuff like this #this format is very familiar to a lot of his videos #even the ones that seem trivial #harry also talks about dangerous right wing ideologies and videogames and series he cares about #and it feels so desingenious to just label him as this big takedown video essayist who's egotistical and full of himself #yes the guy has flaws and mistakes and some of his older work isn't the most polished. don't get me wrong you are free to criticise him #but not while you are making money off something that seems like a nitpick in retrospect or using a strawman argument

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chevvy-yates · 7 months

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[NC_RES]-31102049-EUR-GER scharfenberg_g_portraits_039_2_TA-S_LC.file ///core:_ryder_von_scharfenberg.file\\\

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⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated. ————— ATTENTION: Even everything is packed in, the full size of the 2nd pic and another one I won't even try to post here can be viewed over at my Pillowfort on this post. —————

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thatonebirdwrites · 2 months

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DEO: Department of Extra-normal Operations

This will be an essay that looks into the ethical problems of the DEO. For the purpose of this essay, I am not concerned about the showrunners reasons for their decisions for how the show presents the DEO. I care only about examining the worldbuilding and stories inherent within the world created. So let's dig into some philosophy and theory. Whee! [Minor spoilers]

To start, this department was first created within the Superman/Supergirl universe in order to analyze alien activities after Superman reveals himself on Earth. It's made in retaliation to the appearance of powerful aliens that those in power deem possible threats. Already, the DEO's beginnings are rooted not in true protection but in stopping and eradicating what those in power deem a threat. It's roots start with dubious ethics.

Let's examine it's history:

It was led by Hank Henshaw, who is vehemently anti-alien. Henshaw is also slated to have ties to Cadmus, which experimented on aliens and attempted several rather horrific and genocidal attacks on aliens. (Note that in Supergirl: Season 2, Kara and Lena thwart Cadmus' activities. Lena Luthor saves the day by modifying an alien killing virus to be harmless to all living creatures. Bits and pieces of the worldbuilding around Cadmus showed that the aliens experimented on came from DEO facilities.)

Henshaw dies when Jeremiah Danvers "kills" him when saving J'onn J'ozz, who then takes Henshaw's place until exposed. He recruits Alex sometime before his exposure (Season 1). After J'onn is exposed in Season 1, Lucy Lane takes control. Then after J'onn helps Supergirl defeat the murderous Kryptonian Non, J'onn received a presidential pardon and was reinstated as director. He kept Henshaw's guise for publicity sake.

The show makes it clear that J'onn choses to be the Director to change the DEO. Yet, what evidence is there that this actually happens?

So that's the basic history.

We have a clandestine agency that has unethical procedures that doesn't change under a new director.

The DEO picks up aliens and throws them in a cell to never be seen or heard from again. This would likely terrorize the alien neighborhoods. This is never truly address in any meaningful manner by the Superfriends or Kara.

In fact, if anything, the show positions the DEO as being Good if Alex, J'onn, or Lucy are in charge (Kara, ironically is not in charge of the DEO at any point). However, the DEO becomes Bad if Lex Luthor or Lauren Haley or the real Hank Henshaw are in charge.

This creates a rather large ethical problem.

First of all, the worldbuilding builds up the argument that certain people are good and certain people are bad. The person we see skirting between those two extremes, and living in a morally grey area the most, is Lena Luhor. For the purposes of this essay, I'll put a pin into Lena's characterization and focus only on the DEO.

Secondly, we are told again and again what Kara/Supergirl's ethics are: justice and truth. Yet when we examine Kara's actions within the context of her DEO Supergirl duties, we are confronted with the following:

She must hide her identity, even from her best friend Lena, and thus deceives regularly. Her reasons for not telling Lena are rooted in the pressure from those at the DEO to not tell Lena but also in Kara's intense fear of loss. However, Kara will demand truth from others despite her hypocritical actions. This doesn't seem to fit solidly in the "good" category.

Her "justice" is defeating criminals. Humans go to the police to eventually have a fair trial. However, aliens are not afforded that same right. Her justice for aliens becomes judge and jury. Since she professes to "not kill," she at least doesn't extend that to executioner. This again doesn't fit solidly in the "good" category.

Thus, by examining Kara/Supergirl's actions, we see a disconnect with what the show claims is "good:" truth and justice. Yet, there is no true justice for the aliens fought and captured; their rights are rescinded (if they had any at all).

This is why the show must tell us who is "good" and who is "bad," because people's actions do not fit the show's claims of what "goodness" is versus what "badness" is. Thus the worldbuilding ends up defining Kara's actions as always "good" even if those actions cause harm to those around her.

[Side note: This isn't to say that Kara is "bad." It is to say that the binary within the show's worldbuilding lacks nuance for the complexity within Kara's understanding of the world and how she acts within that understanding. This binary simply cannot allow for such a complex examination as there is no room for it.

Because of this binary, the show actually butchers Kara's character to make her past "not good" actions as somehow "right" and "good" in the end. We see this with how Kara's harmful actions toward Lena (the lying, duplicity, deception etc) is turned into "I did just one mistake" when it wasn't one mistake. It was years of harm, but because the show paints Kara as "good," Kara is not allowed growth.

This binary of good versus bad is already nonsensical in the worldbuilding since Lena Luthor's very existence throws this entire frame out the window. Her actions, always with the intention to do the least harm and try to improve the world, don't fit neatly into the binary. The story often punishes her for this. (She breaks the binary too much I suppose.)

Yet when other people's actions fail to fit neatly into the binary, the show whispers: "Hush, don't look or think, believe us when we say this person is good and this person is bad.']

To reiterate: It's okay to capture aliens and disappear them without any right to trial If the Superfriends are doing it. This good/bad definition collapses ethics into meaningless words since the activities and procedures of both the "good" people and "bad" people don't differ in terms of impact on alien communities. This lack of differentiation is why we must be told who is good. Otherwise, how would we know?

To dig a little deeper, in Season 4, when Kara is on the most wanted list, she learns very little about the true plight of aliens. During this time, the DEO becomes "bad" under the control of Lauren Haley. Lena Luthor and Alex Danvers, who are both working with the DEO still, also work against the DEO but only to clear Kara's name. So justice is done for Kara's sake but not for the other impacted alien communities.

Once Kara's reputation is restored and she's no longer deemed an "enemy of the state," Kara returns to working with the DEO, as it is now labeled as "good" again because Alex is back in charge.

Ironically, the only person in Kara's friendgroup that questions the DEO is Lena Luthor. (Who in Season 5 will have her 'villain arc' only to be redeemed to the good side again at the end of Season 5. She's the only character, who is labeled a villain at one point, that is allowed true redemption.)

We learn very little about what alien communities actually think about the DEO and about Supergirl in particular. The most we get is the Children of Liberty plot line of Season 4; however, this plot line doesn't ever give us a solid viewpoint from impacted alien communities. Instead, we are confronted with:

We are told what alien communities are like and how lacking in rights they are. Very little of this is shown directly outside of "criminal aliens." Or the brief glimpses within Manchester's arc. However, Manchester is viewed as 'in need of redemption' despite having very real grievances with the state of things. The show then tells us that Manchester is 'bad' and the 'good' J'onn and friends must stop him.

The second time we see alien daily lives is Nia's return to her hometown, which is attacked by supercharged humans. This blended town of aliens and humans serve as an outlier. Nia actually admits that the town is unique and not representative to most aliens' experiences. So again, we don't see a direct experience of alien life in National City or other major cities.

Aliens either have significant powers that humans can justifiably find scary or they are human-like with little to no powers. Both are treated the same for the sake of the Children of Liberty plot line, which serves as an immigrant allegory. @fazedlight and @sideguitars did excellent analysis on this and the problems of these allegories based on the worldbuilding and story itself. (Note: thank you to fazedlight for finding the post in question! Click here o read their analysis.)

This makes it easier for the show to pretend that the DEO is "good" when the Superfriends are in charge. Since we don't meet alien families harmed by the DEO's actions, we never truly get an alternate perspective. Even Lena Luthor's critique of DEO is spat upon by the story, where her alien friends fail to truly counter her valid points. Instead, it's presented in the good/bad binary, which erases all nuance and ethical considerations.

Let's also consider the start of the Supergirl career. Kara is captured by the DEO 12 years after her initial appearance on Earth. However, prior to this moment, we had learned that Kara had nearly been taken by the government -- specifically Henshaw's control of the DEO. Jeremiah Danvers agrees to work for the government in exchange for Kara's freedom from being a government asset.

However, her saving Alex's flight puts her in the crosshairs of DEO, and eventually she is captured. Upon which she learns J'onn is in charge (not the original Henshaw), and J'onn's goals are revealed. He allows Kara to fight her first alien fights as Supergirl. Here we see that J'onn's methods have not actually changed anything about the DEO. The alien fight results in that alien being captured. Supergirl/Kara never hears what happens to the alien she fought and captured. No thought is given to the rights of that alien or if a fair trial will be given. Instead, we are told the alien is a "criminal' as if that somehow justifies the brutal treatment.

After Alex reveals she's an agent with the DEO, Kara fully trusts the agency.

So Jeremiah gave up his life to make sure Kara wasn't being used by the government, only for Kara later on working for the DEO, which is part of the government. Thus Kara ends up used by the government after all. The irony here.

Kara's blind spot here is:

she's privileged. A white-passing, human-passing alien. It's easier for her to hide as a human and not be clocked as an alien. Also, she's white, so less likely to deal with the complications of racism. The most she has to deal with is sexism and the DEO's procedures. This means she doesn't experience the worst the DEO and the systems that uphold it dish out to aliens.

Kara hasn't really interacted with aliens outside her friend group. She's relatively sheltered since coming to Earth due to Kal placing her with the Danvers and having to hide herself. She has no real knowledge of how aliens survive on Earth. This means she has nothing in which to compare the DEO's claims.

She blindly trusts Alex when it comes to DEO.

We don't see Kara questioning what happens to aliens until Season 3 (if it happens in season 1, I apologize as that season is a bit hazy for me). Here Psi saves Kara's life during a perilous mission. Kara then asks about her accommodations and finds out she has no window in her cell. She then demands Psi be given a cell with a window.

However, notice who Kara takes with her on that Season 3 mission: LiveWire (human but due to an accident became Livewire, so she's not an alien but a meta-human) and Psi (who is labeled a meta-human). So the two incarcerated people that Kara chooses are meta-humans and not actual aliens.

So again, we never see Kara interact with aliens outside her friend group unless she is interrogating them. Once the DEO is done with interrogations and the case "closed," those aliens disappear into these windowless cells. Which, need I remind that solitary confinement is labeled as torture for a reason?

Yet that is where aliens that are dubbed "too dangerous" end up by those with power. No rights given; left trapped in solitary confinement with (likely) no windows to never see the light of day again. Of course, because we are told the "good" people do this, it is thus "okay," despite it not differing in methodology with what the "bad" people did.

2. DEO's procedures don't match law. This is especially true when alien amnesty is put into law.

DEO changes NOTHING about their procedures after alien amnesty is put into law. This means that although aliens now have a legal right to a trial, the DEO does not provide this for them. No captured alien is given this right.

This means the DEO doesn't operate within the law.

So if the DEO can disregard laws if they so desire, then what is to stop them from terrorizing any citizen regardless of whether that citizen or alien or human?

What exactly is the ethics of the DEO?

Is the ethics dependent on who is in charge? But if one compares the tenure of the directors: Henshaw, J'onn, Lucy, Alex, Lauren, and Lex -- we see no difference in how the DEO acts.

They all target aliens and give them no rights. The aliens vanish into the cells never to be seen again. This includes some meta-aliens.

Some will claim that while the Superfriends are in charge only criminal aliens are thrown into solitary cells with no hope of release.

But that begs the question: Why do the Superfriends get to be judge and jury and/or executioner? What makes their decisions good but Lauren Haley's or Lex's or the original Hank Henshaw's decisions bad?

Why do the Superfriends get to decide that criminals get no right to a fair trial? Why do they not interrogate what is causing the criminal behaviors in order to change the conditions to avoid aliens resorting to "criminality" as defined by them?

In the end, it does not matter why an alien or meta-human engages in what the state has deemed "criminal" behavior; the methods used in capture and the end result is the same regardless.

The families of captured aliens see the same results regardless of whether "good" people or "bad" people are in charge of the DEO.

While alien amnesty is in law, the DEO, who is under Superfriend control at the time, does not alter their procedures to give the aliens they capture any rights. We never see the aliens or meta-humans captured ever given a fair trial. Nor do we see any programs to reform "criminals" or give them any chance at parole or redemption.

The only method for dealing with aliens and meta-humans uses a carceral prison system that is based in solitary confinement torture. Even the interrogation procedures used have elements of torture to them. In fact, many of the "interrogation" procedures use leading questions to entrap and force a confession under duress. None of these methods are conducive toward reform or fixing a system that deprives those captured of all rights.

Alternate systems for dealing with criminals are never explored. We never see transformative or restorative justice utilized. Both systems would require extensive dialogue with the communities harmed by the "criminals," and if there is one thing the DEO fail at consistently is dialogue with the impacted communities. Instead, their approach is top down, where their ideas of what is right and best is pushed down upon the communities they claim to serve.

Part of this lies with the fact the Superfriends can't engage in dialogue as long as they adhere to the oppressive methodology and practices of the DEO. Reform has failed to alter the ethical violations within the DEO. Alex Vidale wrote an excellent book called The End of Policing, which digs into the attempted reforms for police and how they have consistently failed. Vidale writes:

“At root, they [reformers] fail to appreciate that the basic nature of the law and the police, since its earliest origins, is to be a tool for managing inequality and maintaining the status quo. Police reforms that fail to directly address this reality are doomed to reproduce it.”

The DEO at its root was created to manage the inequality inherent between human rights and the lack of any rights for aliens. It was also created to control aliens and maintain a human status quo. The Superfriends attempt at reform fails to address this reality, and thus were doomed to repeat it.

Vidale continues:

“Police argue that residents in high-crime communities often demand police action. What is left out is that these communities also ask for better schools, parks, libraries, and jobs, but these services are rarely provided.”

Services to better the conditions of so-called "high-crime" communities are not shown to be rendered in the Supergirl world, while the Superfriends are in control of the DEO. It is not more policing that is needed, but more services which do not get provided for most of the show's story and worldbuilding. Thus, the communities that struggle with survival, who often must resort to "illegal" or "criminal" ways end up with only punitive measures that continue the cycle.

It's only in Season 6 when the Superfriends are no longer with the DEO that we start to see them engage in dialogue with the community in general (Kelly's arcs in particular touch on this for the lower income area that she tries to help, which is shown to be a mixture of nonwhite humans and some aliens).

If J'onn and others truly are seeking to reform the DEO, then that requires them to be in dialogue with the affected communities and to put forth new procedures that provide rights to those impacted. This is never done.

3. The DEO suffers no consequences for its actions.

The "Bad things" that happen under the "Bad" directors -- original Henshaw, Lauren Haley, Lex -- aren't ever addressed. Nothing really changes; instead the "Good" guys get back in control and things continue.

Was any reparations made for those harmed by the bad actors? Are the families impacted ever given compensation? We see some aliens rescued from Cadmus in Season 2 and Lex's Power Plant in Season 4, but what of the families of those murdered by Lex and Henshaw? The show fails to address this.

Instead, we are told that the "good" people are now in charge again and only "criminals" are being taken and incarcerated with no rights.

The concept of "criminality" depends entirely on who is in a position of power to dictate what constitutes "criminal" acts. One of the biggest problems with "criminality" as a concept is that it fails to interrogate the why these behaviors happen. What led to the "criminal act?" Are the people engaging in the act just "bad" people?

Often when basic needs are not being met, people may engage in acts of desperation to meet those needs. These actions may fall under what that society deems as "criminal." However, if the people's needs were met, then they wouldn't need to engage in desperate acts to meet their needs.

Another reason for "criminal" behavior stems from people who lack rights in a society. The oppressed will often fight against their oppressors using a mixture of methods (sometimes nonviolent, sometimes violent) in order to win their rights and transform society for the better. Until they win that fight, their actions are labeled as "criminal" by those in power.

Some rarer individuals may engage in acts of harm because they enjoy it such as Lex. However, this is actually very rare. Property crime and burglary is far, far more common. Yet, even those engaging in horrific violent crimes are still afforded a fair trial. Something aliens in the Supergirl universe are never given.

There's quite a few scenes where the aliens fought by Supergirl are engaging in robberies/burglaries or other property crimes. Those that seek to violently mass murder is actually rarer, and often the big villain of the season. At no point does anyone in the show reckon with the reasons someone may choose to engage in "criminal" behavior. Instead, all "criminals" are painted as "bad" regardless.

J'onn professes to be "reforming" the DEO to stop its reign of terror among alien communities. Yet, the most crucial components in changing an oppressive system? We don't really see him utilize them until Season 4, but by then the DEO is in the hands of Alex, who continues the procedures put into place by J'onn,

Paulo Freire writes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed concerning the "radical" as in the person seeking to end an oppressive system:

"The radical, committed to [human] liberation, does not become the prisoner of a 'circle of certainty' within which reality is also imprisoned. On the contrary, the more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them."

J'onn recognizes that the DEO's methods are wrong and unethical. When he takes over and poses as Henshaw, he wishes to transform the system. Except, this is where he fails, because he justifies his changes by claiming that now the DEO only locks away forever criminal aliens.

No thought is given as to why these aliens are making these decisions. What pushed them to rob a store? What pushed them to attack? Did they feel like they had no other choice? Was there no opportunities other than to rob for what they needed? Or to fight against a system that they deem is harming them and their communities?

These questions are not analyzed at all by J'onn or the Superfriends. They do not listen to those most impacted by the DEO. The only time we see J'onn seem to listen is when he is trying to work with Manchester in Season 4, but that results in Manchester being presented as bad in the end, while J'onn is shown to be good. Where he tried to redeem Manchester.

Yet Manchester had valid points about the treatment of aliens. His methodology in fighting back against what he saw as oppressive system is problematic, but he listens far more than Kara and the Superfriends to those being harmed by the systems that created the DEO.

So J'onn and the other Superfriends are failing to engage in dialogue with those harmed by the DEO. They fail to unveil what is truly horrifying with the DEO: incarcerating aliens in solitary confinement with no fair trial and no hope of ever seeing the light of day again.

The justification that because they are "criminals" this is somehow okay erases all the contributing factors that may make up the circumstances that lead to the "criminal" behavior. Nothing is truly done to remedy the situations that may drive someone to what the state labels as "criminal" behavior. It also unveils a horrible truth. Any alien (or meta-human or even human) can be marked an "enemy of the state" and thus a "criminal," where all rights they had prior be rescinded. We see this happen to Supergirl in Season 4. The only reason she isn't locked away in a cell with no windows is because Alex and Lena don't allow it. Unlike most aliens the DEO fights to find and capture, Kara has people fighting for her. But what about every other alien? Who is actually fighting for them?

J'onn's attempt to reform the DEO falls into the biggest trap for all radical liberators: it is all too easy to become complicit with the system at be and justify this than it is to actually change it from within.

As Paulo Freire puts so succinctly:

“Oppression is domesticating. The gravest obstacle to the achievement of liberation is that oppressive reality absorbs those within it, and thereby acts to submerge human beings' consciousness.”

Thus the DEO fails to be reformed. It's reign of terror in alien communities is not truly diminished. Nor does those fighting to "reform" the DEO engage in any dialogue with those communities to determine their needs or ways to improve conditions to decrease the need to resort to "criminal" activities.

In the end, the DEO stays an oppressive, clandestine agency that has no transparency, answers to apparently no one, takes away the rights of those they catch, and disregards laws as they please.

What the Superfriends have failed to learn and understand is that oppression cannot be defeated by reforming the system that causes the oppression. In other words, liberation cannot be achieved be reform alone.

This is why the destruction of the DEO in Season 6 is perhaps the best result at least within the rules of the Supergirl world. The Superfriends could not reform it from the inside, and by trying to do so, they ended up complicit to a harmful system. As long as they were tied to the DEO, the Superfriends would never be able to live out justice and uplift the rights of aliens and humans alike.

ADDENDUM: However, the Superfriends decision to go full vigilante is a whole other can of worms. They do attempt to be transparent in their actions for the communities they serve, but is there a way for people to hold them accountable? That isn't fully addressed. However, that would require a full essay, and this essay is only about the DEO.

#I know it's CW who failed to ever think about these topics #I wanted to get philosophical about this #if I had more energy I'd give the good/bad problem further depth as it deserves more examination than I gave #The simplification of ethics to good/bad based on who the show labels as 'good' and 'bad' is a bastardization of ethics #I love me some paulo freire #trying to reform a corrupt system from within runs the danger of becoming part of that system #Liberation cannot be achieved by reform alone #I wrote this mostly as an exercise in examining worldbuilding within a liberatory framework #I'm solidly in the DEO cannot be redeemed or reformed camp and needs to be completely taken down #A new method for dealing with dangerous aliens that respect their rights is needed #Restorative or transformative justice is my jam

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missingkanghansailom · 10 months

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I died. Please tell me all these scene will be there in series . Gmmtv i beg you

#ไม่ต้องเป็นแฟนก็ได้MV ( thai title meaning you don't have to be my boyfriend)

#DangerousRomance

#perth tanapon #perthchimon #chimon wachirawit #dangerous romance #dangerous romance the series #chimonac #perthppe #kanghansailom #herewithyou #youdonthavetobemyboyfriend #this song lyrics are exactly what you tell someone you dont know if they want to label relationship or you dont want to loose them

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furiousgoldfish · 1 year

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There's been a 'there's no good or evil, we're all complex human beings' sentiment going around, and I want to talk about it.

In a neutral, compatible-with-human-life, and non dangerous environment, this would be just a bland neutral statement, don't make humans something they're not, don't use extreme words for actions, see nuance in everything, etc. And in that case I wouldn't have a problem with it. But, when it starts being thrown in the face of victims of abuse, it's no longer neutral or bland, it's policing victim's tone and words when they're trying to express their own experience of trauma.

In a world without abuse, there would be no need to label some people evil, or make them irredeemable. Those who think we live in that world are sadly misinformed. Listening to the community of traumatized people, it becomes obvious that there are individuals who are not only evil, but trying to reach the extreme of it. If you tried to hold yourself together while listening to some of the stories, you couldn't. Because they're speaking about the inhumane, about torturing infants and babies, about isolating and brainwashing of preschool children to the point where they develop dissociative disorders, torturing and sabotaging kids and teenagers for decades until these people are psychologically wounded to the point where they can no longer exist without being in constant terror.

Once abuse reaches the point where the victim is trapped in trauma, re-living it over and over again and wishing they weren't alive to feel it, then evil is the only word we can use for this. There is no humanity, no nuance or complexity about it. It is evil. It is unforgivable. There is no redemption, no forgiveness and no words extreme enough for it. It's monstrous and unforgivable.

And the thing is, most of that abuse doesn't even stop. When you're talking to the community of the traumatized, a big part of them is still being subjected to this abuse. They're forced to listen to orders under a threat of torture, death and abandonment, they're forced to endure humiliation and dehumanization daily, without ability to defend themselves, because they would only be putting themselves in worse danger. Hope of escape is so slim that most are not even hoping to survive the ordeal. A lot of them doesn't believe they can escape, because the hope of that itself has been taken away from them. Most of these people are struggling daily with the suicidal thoughts because the pain is too much to handle, worse than annihilation would be.

If you come to a place where people are struggling for their life against the abusers, and your first concern is to correct the terms they're using and tone-police them, I don't have any trust in your intentions. You're aligning yourself with the abuser at this point, because it's exactly what the abuser wants; for the victims to be shut down, to be policed about their words, to be silenced, to be told to minimize and humanize the abusive actions, to see 'nuance' in their torturers. To not trust their own instinct about what the abusers are.

Anyone hearing about the abuse should have it in their priority to stop the abuse and to aid the victims. What abusers are being called doesn't even matter. Victims are allowed to use any term they want, they can invent new terms. They can say absolutely anything for the rest of their life and it won't even be enough. The aftermath of abuse is destructive to the point where victims will have a big chunk of their life torn apart with it, spent only re-living the torture and feeling the pain of it over and over again. Doing that to someone is nothing short of evil.

#tone policing #victim shaming #labeling abusers evil #psychological abuse #mention of torture #tw mention of torture #emotional abuse #brainwashing #escape sabotage #dangerous abusers #evil abusers

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killjoynest · 1 year

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you are not a real witchfucker the Witch doesnt even recognise your mask youve never had a level 3 death you dont even post on wednesdays youll never pull that old woman

#couldnt figure out if itd be fun ier to label one as older zonerunners or dr d. or tommy. anyways #witchfucker wednesday #danger days

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