#recognizing where media comes from the global forces at play the social forces and cultural background that relates | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Django Unchained, Halloween III and Clerks II Are Streaming Free on Plex This Month

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This story is presented by Plex

Streaming is getting expensive. What started as the cheap alternative to let you watch all of your favorite content and cut the cord on your cable subscription has ballooned into an arms race where one must shell out cash to several different providers just to watch their favorite movies or shows. Thankfully, Plex TV is here to entertain you and provide some relief to your wallet.

Plex is a globally available one-stop-shop streaming media service offering thousands of free movies and TV shows and hundreds of free-to-stream live TV channels, from the biggest names in entertainment, including Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Lionsgate, Legendary, AMC, A+E, Crackle, and Reuters. Plex is the only streaming service that lets users manage their personal media alongside a continuously growing library of free third-party entertainment spanning all genres, interests, and mediums including podcasts, music, and more. With a highly customizable interface and smart recommendations based on the media you enjoy, Plex brings its users the best media experience on the planet from any device, anywhere.

Plex releases brand new and beloved titles to its platform monthly and we’ll be here to help you identify the cream of the crop. View Plex TV now for the best free entertainment streaming and check back each month for Den of Geek Critics’ picks!

DEN OF GEEK CRITICS PICKS

Django Unchained

The second of Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist history lessons, Django Unchained is a provocative, post-modern Western film that mixes the widescreen sensibilities of Sergio Leone with Tarantino’s own gonzo impulses to create something hyper-violent, subversively funny, and more than a bit uncomfortable. Jamie Foxx stars as a slave freed by a German bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz. Waltz won an Oscar for his performance as the kind German that takes in the stoic but savvy Django as his partner. Together, they travel the pre-Civil War South, killing slavers and savage men. Eventually, they embark on a more personal mission, as Django intends to free his beloved wife from a sadistic plantation owner played by a scenery-chewing Leonardo DiCaprio. With anachronistic needle-drops, hands-over-eyes horrors, and more blood than a donation bank, Django Unchained is an epic, entertaining revenge fantasy for the ages.

Silver Linings Playbook

From director David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook is a screwball romantic comedy for the modern age. Despite inviting, yet livewire lead performances from Jennifer Lawerence and Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook really shines as an ensemble: Robert DeNiro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker and Anupam Kher bring fully-realized characters to life in just a handful of scenes. Based on Matthew Quick’s novel of the same name, Silver Linings Playbook finds Bradley Cooper as a man who has been released from a psychiatric hospital a bit too soon. He’s frantically trying to prove that he’s bettered himself in an effort to win back his wife, but when he meets the equally unstable and filterless character played by Jennifer Lawerence, unusual sparks fly. Combining the familiar tropes of a sports film with unorthodox romantic leads, Silver Linings Playbook is a crowd-pleasing watch that creates harmony out of dysfunction.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

It never mattered where Anthony Bourdain was going, we just wanted to be along for the ride. We lost the soulful, iconoclastic bad-boy of the culinary world far too soon, but he left behind a treasure trove of rewarding travelogues that tackled culture, social dynamics, and most importantly, food. Whether he was weighing in on a world-famous culinary hotspot or peeling back the curtain on a hole-in-wall gem, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations was always thoughtful, fearless, and never less than authentic. It’s the rare show that is as educational as it is entertaining, hosted by a candid host who knew how to travel, knew where to eat, but most crucially, knew how to connect with people. Reality TV doesn’t get realer than this.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Following the mind-boggling success of the original Halloween, director John Carpenter had a clever idea. Instead of churning out sequels starring Michael Meyers, Halloween would become an anthology series, with each new film telling a spooky tale centered on the October holiday. The concept was inevitably scrapped, but Halloween III: Season of the Witch suggests that maybe Carpenter and co. should have stuck to their guns. Taking inspiration from Invasion of the Body Snatchers and working off a concept that Carpenter described as “witchcraft meets the computer age,” Halloween III: Season of the Witch finds a doctor and the daughter of a toy maker trying to uncover the horrifying truth behind the town of Santa Mara, home to Silver Shamrock, the world’s largest manufacturer of Halloween masks. Intelligent, surprising, and disturbing, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is due for a critical reevaluation that heralds it as one of the most ambitious horror movies of the ‘80s

Clerks II

With the recent announcement that Clerks III has started production, it’s the perfect time to revisit Kevin Smith’s first-sequel to his independent film phenomenon, Clerks. Clerks II picks up with our titular clerks Dante and Randall 10 years after the events of the first film. The Quick Stop has gone up in flames and been replaced with a Mooby’s fast food restaurant. Dante and Randall toil the day away with their sheltered co-worker Elias and too-cool for minimum wage manager Becky. While the film tackles adult male friendships and middle age complacency, it’s main appeal is still sitting around, shooting the shit with your pals and listening to their expletive-filled rants about Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or whatever pop culture fascination that they’re hung up on. Come for the surprisingly poignant story about Dante deciding to leave his friend behind, stay for Jay, Silent Bob, and a donkey.

New on Plex in August – Full List of Titles

Army of One

Dark Tide

Deadfall ��

Deadfall

Django Unchained

Escape from Alcatraz

Feast

Ismael’s Ghost

Kickboxer

Lucky Number Sleven

The Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear

The Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Pulse

Redemption

Seabiscuit

Silver Linings Playbook

Skyfire

Wind River

Still streaming on Plex:

2:22

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

22 Bullets

24 Hours to Live

3rd Rock from the Sun

6 Bullets

99 Homes

A Little Bit of Heaven

A Walk in the Woods

Aeon Flux

After.Life

Afternoon Delight

The Air I Breathe

Alan Partridge

ALF

Alone in the Dark

Amelie

Answer Man

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Arthur and the Invisibles

Battle Royale

Bel Canto

Bernie

Better Watch Out

Black Books

Black Christmas

Black Death

Black Sheep (2006)

Blitz

Blood and Bone

Bobby

Bronson

The Brothers Bloom

The Burning Plain

Cagefighter

Cake

Candy

Cashback

Catch .44

Cell

Chain of Command

Child 44

The Choice

Clerks II

Coherence

The Collector

Congo

Cooties

Cops and Robbers

The Core

The Cotton Club

Critical Condition

Crossing Lines

Croupier

Cube

Cube 2

Cube Zero

Deadfall

The Death and Life of Bobby Z

Death and the Maiden

Death Proof

The Deep Blue Sea

Deep Red

Derailed

The Descent Part 2

Detachment

The Devils’ Rejects

Diary of the Dead

Distorted

District B13

DOA: Dead or Alive

Dragged Across Concrete

Eden Lake

Edison

Europa Resort

Falcon Rising

The Fall

Fido

The Fighting Temptations

Filth

Find Me Guilty

Fire in the Sky

Fire with Fire

Flirting with Disaster

Flowers of War

Flyboys

Force Majeure

Formula 51

Four Lions

Frailty

Frank

Freeway

The Frozen Ground

Getting to Know You

Ghost in the Shell

The Ghost Writer

Ginger Snaps

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

God Bless America

Goon

Goya’s Ghosts

Grand Isle

Grave Encounters

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

Halloween II

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Hannibal Rising

Happythankyoumoreplease

Hard Candy

Hell’s Kitchen

Hester

High Rise

Highlander

Hobo with a Shotgun

The Homesman

The Horseman

The Host

House of 1000 Corpses

House of the Rising Sun

How I Live Now

The Humanity Bureau

The Hunter

I Give it a Year

I Saw the Devil

I See You

I Spit on Your Grave

Ida

If Only

The Illusionist

In Hell

In the Blood

In Too Deep

The Infiltrator

Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

It’s a Boy Girl Thing

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Jo Nesbo’s Headhunters

Joe

John Dies at the End

The Joneses

Juliet, Naked

Just Getting Started

Kevin Hart: Cold as Balls

King of New York

Kinky Boots

The Kite Runner

Knight of Cups

The Last Days on Mars

The Lazarus Project

Leaves of Grass

The Legend of Hercules

Lethal Eviction

The Limey

Lionheart

A Little Bit of Heaven

A Long Way Down

Love Story

Maggie

The Maiden Heist

A Man Called Ove

The Man from Earth

The Man from Nowhere

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

The Matador

Mesrine Killer: Instinct

The Messenger

Middle Men

Midsomer Murders

Misconduct

Miss Potter

Monster

Monsters

Mother

Mr. Church

Murdoch Mysteries

National Lampoon’s Van Wilder

Never Back Down: No Surrender

Noah

The Oxford Murders

The Paperboy

Paycheck

Personal Effects

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Django Unchained, Halloween III and Clerks II Are Streaming Free on Plex This Month appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3CEncLN

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

1 note · View note

rwmhunt · 3 years

Text

Leviticus, Chapter 22

1. Lo, for That I cannot prosecute my thoughts; I needst here cultivate caution- Then put a hold unto my options, That I cannot challenge him. Any source of information, That be of an admixture truth, And of an admixture untruth, is of a danger, Did you know that? Humbly needst I move toward diamonds and gold's Otherwise-useless demarkation on worth; My face must stay its specter in clay, For it is my career; That I can say: It is mine.

2. Thus, to Aaron, gold and diamonds Bringeth ignominy and unwarranted power; Strewth, they are only much use for The rings of your finger; So let alone the past, Which you mark As a messed up place, How then, is this the valid Strategy for the future? Lo, let us divide and game.

3. Increase the paywall; Holy things are ringing in changes; You are the visitor here- I'd like to take the time To consciously consider you so, for We have reached besmircher's cutoff. It's me, mark it; and Either I am a negative nebulae Of unimaginable everything, And you are a little golden bull, Or you are a negative nebulae Of unimaginable everything, And I am a little golden bull;

4. But know that I shall not give you the word For the thought-track down which You might draw the line Of asymetry, such, That you wouldst know How to rend a perfect opposition To go between. And whosoever soweth dead seeds Among young female researchers Hath faileth the épreuve- It shalln’t do for thy running issue, Moreover, those women who are of Quite senior position and are doing it Unto the coercive nature of such a power's New destruction of ability to focus, As unto the camp's commander, With how Peleg begat Reu; Well, it might be enough to get you pregnant, But wait, where am I going with this?

5. Worm touchers, Creepy pressers, Come, come, observers, Keep from that strange creature; Don't be giving unto me None of thy screaming abdabs; I think on you, Pig dressed as a clown, Eructing unto, then drawing forth A near-entire white, plastic fork; And know you not how this came to me- Lo, it came up with a sequence of items that appeared Not unlike balls of meat, Furred, wistfully, in a grey cowl of reactionary mucus; A kind of veil, a barrier, in effect, Penetratable, at any point, But equally real as a barrier, Gainst our otherwise passive environs, Such as be the diffusion of inert thoughts, or spores, murky, and maintaining of a human resource, I liked to thrill it- The direct and immediate livid relationship Between a font of funding and a media event, O, harmless dalliance of the stationary cupboard- You are knowingly walking, As against your will, A wrong into the carpet, Within the tent of meaning.

6. Looking up to see God's face in the moon, Or whatever it was That can't be drawn, And I won't be drawn; His hands he filled with moisture and His own was sent for ablution Into the improvised basin. So denieth all such allegation Through the washing of thy soule, Clean off; so sloughed away, Away with the diminishing liquid.

7. Sundown with the unseen Woman's leverage on the situation- if you should find a way to redress balance, So she gaineth a bit more power in some manner, Then so what? it was no loss. A new deal, And the bill shall embolden survivors.

8. Positions of power shall have of a hard time In recognizing the coercive nature of that power Within an unbridled relationship; Things that die 'Of themselves', Or are yet rent by nature's horn, Are defiled; while I, a malign influence, lie with my soul distracted; Oh lord, but I've been swallowed by narrative, And tried to keep it communal, Inside and outside; As you are.

9. Pit stop- The horror is the fact; The horror it unfolds Through legions of would-bes Without a meter, like me, Who have applied, Will apply, in perpetuity; Just do it, Or die; if then, As I am still.

10. The individual is always Hedging toward A private business model. Attention-seeking shalln't be of sin, no! Tis sensible, keep with a forward optioning- That's why i tell you, Soujerners and servents, Who art sent to the concession to collect me my messages- My tutu is a Fendi, And my codpiece is a Bosch. We live unto a roaring attention economy. But you're not up to it. I've given them a tomato one, And also I gave them a spaghetti- We struggle to attune to where I'm compelled- Ourselves, as groups, who feel of themselves As blunted against their lack in deserved attention, Because it is a powerful, a dangerous feeling.

11. So eat souls As paid for with a priest's money, On escrow, attention Has always been currency Though rendered unimaginable Since the falling-away of the gold-standard, As was borne unto the tent of meaning, Where every page has a piece carved out, To house an advert's grab For égards; No space is secure, For security hath put an advert thither.

12. Jade lock, To knock the donald offline, So unto a stranger, Gone off to scavenge, The framers that frame themselves As refuges for free-expression Shall be rent at the fringes, forcing A redirection, away from my personal kingdom.

13. But should she go prodigal, Whosoever you are, Howeverso you might express thyself, You may now have a crack at a global audience, With incentives and disproportionate benefits Offered unto the most shameless, The demand of each to pay what scarce attention Might be rendered unto others, To get some fraction of this nominally limited resource, As unto yourself alone. Such are these poor weapons, An oversharing, That, essayed to the personal, Stretcheth my nancy stories To breaking.

O Marigold, I was bad At that, in the territories of fandom, As forced to return Unto the track over and again- Such was my leaky comprehension; Only apparent to me in the afterward, And now, I cannot say I am better.

14. Whence, Enroute from the concession Shouldst be eaten of the item Without, thence, So anguished in the relish, Thou giveth a fifth Of the holy thing; So that the leg shall grow A starfish, whole . Then let us bend our dark tubers towards, And look the knot, as in at an eye-

15. What's gold and glitter, But to mock a toom, And maketh of myself A symbolic same, Wrought as an aesthetic echt; Where diplomacy is weak, The aesthetic be yet The sole portal unto The conveyance of meaning; Verily, here, that I keep within The aesthetic of thought Whereby action is always y, You are i, and The antagonist be markated x; Where holy might only Fall down to one's discretion, You should've known That I wouldst be so solid.

16. Or suffer them to bear the enquiry of trespass, Felt as an information glut, Whilst eating of their holy orders, Found relishing within the anguish, And those who want it, Want it as much as they can get it, And there is more access than can be vaunted, For, in an attention economy, one is never not on. Yes, me. O the guilt.

17. Attention is akin to the spirit; That it be vital but conventionally invisible, And thus, think not very much upon it, But unto whom, being unable to share A simple encounter with it, Wouldst soon become an artifice of torture.

18. Tell Aaron et al ensundry, To take up of stock with sarcastic markets, Sarcastic markets and I, impunity; The sacrifice of your own will I hand you freely; or no; T'was never yours to oblate, But sacrifice thy quasi-will, As will thee, Which is mine, against The short hedge, Thus maketh me of a currency exchange.

19. And an haut stud dost thou, unto me, weasels? By your whimsically free-will sacrificing? How charmingly lame. I sense Actors at play, in a very long game Of grooming the disaffected- Call me my boys in- then Send a lie to the long deceiver, To use the ruse, in turn, like poison, For to wish you that which upon may be Enabling unto the benefit of thine enemy.

20. It's no hambone, No hobbling billy- If he tells or interferes I'll fill the well in; its Prophets in stocks and neck-irons time, Else tolerate such increasingly radical agendas Of such gleefully uninhibited platforms as Where followers might laugh At biblical memes and opine such as- 'I'd rather do drama than a play, where, You can't say, really, What you want to say.' Go long, my cowhands, go long.

21. And peace is a sacrifice Of the streaming platform, while Attention has always been currency, Same. Our abilities to pay heed are limited; Not so our abilities to theoretically receive of it; No need to adequately substantiate If you can bamboozle With all the time in the world, Ka-pow-ka, ching-ching, da-da, Badoo-daboo-baday; Trust-modesty, yay, verily. Humility is hard to sustain In an attention economy. I only see me accelerating.

22. Blind, broken, maimed; Cankered, scurvied, wan with the wen, Thus, by my lights, The fault shall be displaced, Be it cleaned or weeping, Tis a no-no, get me another. Such was The schism that fractured the donald, Sent out to extend a tortured metaphor, Became too much of a liability To be held in high office- But if the stranger doesn't come, After all the things I’ve done for him,

23. Well, it's alright for a free-will offering Which you feel compelled to go along with, But it's not good enough for a vow offering As be brought unto online-influencer culture, And it might be enough to get you pregnant But it shan't be enough to stir my interest- I require an extreme case of humility, Whereby a person giveth his all to a presence so completely selfish As to serveth no other purpose. It's me.

24. But the reality is far less complicated than Moses, Hiding his damage behind a veil of linked-up back-channels, Recoiling at what his fellow hardcore moderators attempt to oblate; Too engrossed within the tents to consider anything outwith While hoping the whole doesn’t spin out of control.

25. Corruption is in them, strangers, Bethinks, flooding an affiliated image board So thoroughly that it becometh abomination. Here increaseth the shamelessness of wanton Allegation, terror co-option of a social platform, which struck with the rise of a reality magik-vision, Alike as came unto a mid-80s index of abundance, Shewn running away whilst attempting to make focus On the ever-deterioratingly indistinct Object of the distancing, that It’s only when, at stopping to think about it, That the understand can be ascertained as to quite how rife it is.

26. Here, he left a passing message for Those who might collectively commandeer: Abide by life; that, if, then, I wouldn't be here.

27. Debates about amplification And attention-hijacking form a Siege mentality Of the corrupted Federal Apparatus- For seven days beneath the dam, As then a fire spiralled further Toward a more outlandish means Of unconstitutional civic theatre,

28. Whereby a calfling must be made to last The night and know it's mother As having died before slaughter; So the community Moved in after it went dark, Enjoining, then modulating, then killing off, And now Your complexes are all cooked in, Deeply infringing upon the weirds of others.

29. So must you make sacrifice To your very free will, As to common patriotic causes, Or else be sieged Within the corrupt Federal Apparatus.

30. The fundamental thing is: You cant escape my attention economy; Eat everything now, For nothing shall be saved, And this same day shall be Until tomorrow; when again, it's me.

31. Lo, and you must; it's me, remember? But by now all this blood and all this law Was affecting them, as had long been within their dream, Where they have their own rules, quirks and cultures, Which they ignore at your peril; Where environments play out upon a knife-edge, And attention might simply be a lens Through which to read the events of the moment While running away.

32. Herein, power shall not be trusted To recognize affiliated abuses of power; Yet, check, however, before Redirecting such missives from my personal kingdom, For lo, there shall be nonesuch insubordination, As might mitigate against, for I shall be hallowed; Me me me me, So you;

33. Thus, I lay my notional claim Unto my servant-leadership- as bang, That brought you out of the land, Didn't it? Akhenaten to me. So Leviticus stood at The simply-inflated Size of Capitalism, To whom, hereto, On a bench they'd built Between themselves, Be here, thisway, is addressing- 'Imagine; You have been wrong For a long long time now.'

2 notes · View notes

thinktosee · 3 years

Text

INSTITUTIONAL HATE CRIME – A NARROW DEFINITION OF GENDER AND MORALITY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

Image courtesy Amnestyusa.org

“When he was 16 years old, he came to my room and said he wanted to talk to me. And I said, “Yeah, sure go ahead.”

“Well, I thought you should know that I’m gay,” he told me simply.

I looked at him and all I could think of was, How am I to protect him from discrimination and bullying? Yet all I could manage to say to him at this critical time was, “Well, that’s great. I’m glad you told me. We are your family and we support you.” I reached out and hugged my son.”(1)

- from David’s biography, “Walking in my Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

“It is possible that the law, which is clearsighted in one sense, and blind in another, might in some cases, be too severe.” (2)

- French philosopher, Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Why would a parent, upon discovering that their child is gay, feel a sense of foreboding where it concerned the child’s safety and security? And what and who caused this feeling of fear or foreboding in me?

The ancient law (1871, amended 1938) against homosexuality in Singapore and in many parts of the former British Empire, remains in force to this day. (3) Generations of citizens were and continue to be narrowly socialized to the belief that homosexuality is immoral and that homosexual or same-sex love and marriage deviate from the normative. This law levies an enormous burden onto the LGBTQ community in so far as it enables or activates societal discrimination where none existed before, foments hatred and disdain among the citizenry for same-sex relationships, and upends justice, equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ community.

That was the basis for my fear when David shared with me that he was gay. How does one begin to address an issue which is institutional and systemic in its very foundation? The law is the problem, failing miserably to serve justice, as Montesquieu averred. This is the challenge which the LGBTQ communities throughout the world have been grappling with for centuries. It is a struggle paid in sacrificial blood, many times over. And it will go on, until a time when we acknowledge that diversity and inclusivity are mutually reinforcing. Love does not get filtered at the border because the state or religious institution says it must. It is they who have placed a limit on their love, apparently.

Global Historical Overview of homosexuality

The history of the LGBTQ communities and cultures on our planet is as colourfully and richly elongated and layered as any within the realm of human civilization. Ancient cultures such as “Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman accommodate homosexuality and crossdressing among….its citizens since the earliest recorded times.” (4) Similarly, in “ancient China….same-sex sexual behaviors were well-received and tolerated. Positive descriptions of homosexual behavior, or Nan-Feng as it was called, in historical records and in Chinese literature can be dated back to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).” (5) Pre-European colonial African societies, including in what are present-day Nigeria and Uganda, were relatively inclusive in their approach to same-sex or gender relationships.(6) In the First Nations or pre-settler/colonial American societies, two spirits and multiple genders were universally embraced and accepted. (7)

These societies exhibited a keen sense of spirituality and diversity, of moderation and acceptance of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, which we in this enlightened age may find quite surprising. We should not however. Researchers have, to some degree, attached the adverse change in society’s approach to homosexuality to the onset of European colonialism (16th to 20th centuries) :

“In the age of European exploration and empire-building, Native American, North African and Pacific Islander cultures accepting of “Two-Spirit” people or same-sex love shocked European invaders who objected to any deviation from a limited understanding of “masculine” and “feminine” roles.” (8)

- Prof. Bonny J. Morris

“Transgender histories in the United States, like the broader national histories of which they form a part, originate in colonial contact zones where members of the arriving culture encountered kinds of people it struggled to comprehend.” (9)

- Prof. Susan Stryker

Accompanying these colonial invasions, were European administrative, linguistic, religious, educational, philosophical and juridical systems, beliefs and traditions. This alien cultural web, in most part codified, either through a caste or racially-affected administrative system or via prayer book and canons, or both, had its intended effect of diminishing or worse, eviscerating the native or indigenous culture, including their ancient belief system. Displacement and assimilation of the natives to the new paradigm were achieved through these extreme mechanisms.

To understand the criminalization and persecution of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, it is necessary to appreciate the intent of colonialism – a private cum state economic model (the East India Companies, Hudson Bay Company, etc.) requiring the creation of a unified or standardized, and exclusively hierarchical system of conduct and control, onto a traditional (organized) and diverse society or culture. This is to assure the latter’s coherence to the colonial enterprise through a coercive (violent), and extensive system of natural resource allocation and exploitation. Genocide and slavery were among its most extreme and tragic manifestations. Modern colonialism, depicted by European conquests across the planet, is arguably the first attempt in recent memory, to creating a unitary world – standardization of laws and governing institutions to address the complex administrative challenges inherent in diverse cultures and norms within the European empire. Diversity of cultures, thought and behaviours were among the first victims. The histories of the First Nations’ societies in the Americas and Australia serve as prime and tragic examples. (10), (11) It should also be stressed that European colonialism, in the context of this essay, includes 20th century Soviet and China-style communism, where an alien and totalitarian ideology was coercively employed across the Eastern European and Central and East Asian landmass, to suppress the local or indigenous peoples, their cultures and beliefs, in furtherance of a unitary political, economic and social order. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union were also at the forefront of research into medical and psychotherapeutic or “corrective” procedures for homosexuality.(12)

The history and dignity of the LGBTQ peoples are inextricably linked to the plight of the indigenous communities, as they struggled from the 16th to 20th centuries against European-sourced colonialism. While almost every former European colony is considered an independent state today, the laws against same-sex relations and marriage remain on the statutes in many of these domains. Societal attitudes have no doubt evolved over the years, and consistent with the growing awareness of LGBTQ culture and social justice movements. A factor which appears to be holding the state back is the feeling that society is not ready to accept equal rights for the LGBTQ community. (13) That being the case, what are we doing to prepare society for a future which recognizes and confers equal rights to the LGBTQ community, as we would any other citizen or community? Or as this Time Magazine article headlined :

“Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” (14)

In Singapore’s context, what are we, as a society doing to :

- learn more about LGBTQ rights, discrimination and culture?

- what are the public education system and mass media doing about this?

- why are foreign-owned businesses prevented from sponsoring LGBTQ festivals and gatherings? How does this play out in terms of encouraging or dissuading local businesses to lend their support?

- learn of the discrimination against LGBTQ people in terms of equal access to public housing, employment, marriage and mental health care?

These are just a few questions which society should address constructively.

Years from now, when equal rights for the LGBTQ community have come to pass in most parts of the world, historians will look back and perhaps conclude that the community was subjected to a prolonged and systematic campaign of hate, which was originated and sustained by the state, and in some domains, performed in concert with religious figures/institutions.

“David was gay. He cared deeply about the rights of LGBTQ people everywhere. He attended the annual Pink Dot event since 2013. He felt discrimination in any form, especially through the law, was nothing short of Bullying. This included Singapore’s Penal Code Section 377A, criminalizing all gay persons…..David felt strongly that overcoming discrimination requires an unwavering commitment to free speech. He would never compromise….” (15)

- “Walking In My Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

Sources/References

1. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” p68. Thinktosee Press, 2020

2. Montesquieu. “The Spirit of Laws.” Book IX, Chap 6. Originally published in 1748.

3. Radics, George Baylon. “Section 377a in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality.” p3. National University of Singapore. 2015

4. Wilhelm, Amara Das. “Tritiya-Prakriti : The People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism.” p68. Xlibris Corporation, 2010.

5. Zhang, Yuxin. “China’s misunderstood history of Gay tolerance.” The Diplomat. June 22, 2015

6. Alimi, Bisi. “If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history.” The Guardian. Sep 9, 2015

7. Davis-Young, Katherine. “For Many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past.” The Washington Post. Mar 30, 2019

8. Morris, Bonny J. “History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements.” American Psychological Association

History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements (apa.org)

9. Stryker, Susan. “Transgender History in the United States and the Places that Matter.” A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer History. National Park Service, Dept of the Interior. 2016

10. Holocaust Museum Houston, “Genocide of Indigenous Peoples.”

HMH | Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

11. The Guardian, “The killing times : the massacres of Aboriginal People Australia must confront.” Mar 3, 2019

12. Alexander, Rustam. ”Homosexuality in USSR (1956-1982).” p173. University of Melbourne. 2018

13. Velasquez, Tony. “Keeping it straight. PM says Singapore not ready for gay marriage.” ABS-CBN News, June 27, 2015.

14. Wong, Brian. “Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” Time Magazine, Dec 17, 2020.

15. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” P130. Thinktosee Press, 2020

1 note · View note

path-of-bliss · 3 years

Photo

What is the ‘Path of Bliss’? It is the only walk humans really want to undertake in the final analysis! In Sanskrit it is ‘Ananda Marga’, where ‘ananda’ means bliss and ‘marga’ means path. What is ‘bliss’? In the final analysis (again!), it has to be infinite happiness. This is the fundamental desire of human beings. So we can say ‘there is in the living being a thirst for the infinite’. In reality, we are never satisfied with limited things. They can give us pleasure for a while but not long-term satisfaction. A limited object can only give a limited and temporary happiness. So only infinite happiness will satisfy us.

So how do we achieve it - this infinite happiness? By expanding our awareness to infinity; transforming our limited experience of the individual to a cosmic experience of boundless, infinite happiness, perfect peace and contentment - bliss. Why is it ‘cosmic’. Well try to imagine in your mind, or rather try to focus in your mind, on the very idea of the infinite. Think about the infinite, and think hard! Is it possible? It is apparently possible, otherwise we’d never have even come up with the suggestion of doing this in the first place. But is it possible by intellectual endeavour alone? Not really, because when you focus on the infinite, something deeper comes up and this is an intuitive realm that one starts to realise. One wants to use something different to the intellectual mind to understand what is infinite. You want to use your intuition! So, on the Path of Bliss (Ananda Marga) you want something systematic that allows you to develop your intuition. It is good to have a selection of techniques and practices that can lead to a total experience of infinite peace and happiness. This result can be called ‘self-realization’. When you want this as part of your flow of life, then life becomes an ideological flow. You then have an ideology (a set of ideas) and way of life: a systematic and scientific process to satisfy all human needs, be they physical, mental and spiritual. After all, you want to make use of all these levels of existence in your quest - in any case, nature basically forces you to do so. Your whole set of practices start ranging from techniques for personal hygiene to yoga postures, intellectual inspiration to keep you going, social service so you see really what people need in the world or parts of it, and meditation (which is your intuitional practices). All this just aims is to raise your condition as a human being, not only individually and but also collectively, in all spheres of human existence: individual, as well as social, economic, and cultural. It’s just what you want: a total response to the deepest desires and aspirations. And to spread your feelings, your understandings, these days you also want some social media - well many human beings have reached the stage where they feel and want to be part of a global network - socially, but also there are concerns they want to be involved in, be it environmental, economic liberation, animal liberation, and even prevention of cruelty to plants.

Practically, if you are on the Path of Bliss your philosophy becomes universalistic. It's a perspective that embraces everything and everyone, acknowledging the play and drama of one limitless Supreme Consciousness in relation to this universe. Also, acknowledging that all people on Earth, all beings on Earth, all beings in the universe, are part of a cosmic family (and that no-one should be neglected). But you can’t really get to spacey, because life requires and recognizes that a balance is needed between the spiritual, mental and physical aspects of existence. That’s also why you continue with a set of practices that has physical, mental and spiritual components. You need to be grounded as well as elevated. At the end of the day, the Path of Bliss (Ananda Marga) has as its objective "self-realization and welfare of the universe"!

1 note · View note

thehouseofjohndeaf · 4 years

Text

How did this happen?

(photo cred)

The global pandemic has shed a light on some misconceptions regarding individualism and anti-authority. The line between anti-authority and anti-science has been blurred during a major public health crisis putting health officials and medical experts in the driver’s seat. This has led to major outcries against stay-at-home advisories, the closing of non-essential businesses, and mask mandates. The groups of people who are against the public health regulations are primarily right-wing, and are viewing these precautions as government overreach, despite the fact that the republicans have current control of the federal government. The current president has found ways to pawn off responsibility to the governors of individual states, and we see the outcry mostly coming from those living in blue states. These are primarily Americans who are part of a spectrum of right leaning politics, and identify as conservative, libertarian, alt-right, and republican. Despite all these identities and beliefs there is also a heavy anti-authoritarian and anti-government overtone to these outcries. How is this? How have right leaning individuals started believing they are the real anti-establishment counterculture, holding a firm belief that the left are the true authoritarians?

First, this starts with one of the biggest misconceptions in America; most people believe the liberals are the left. This is not true. Liberals are the center. The US does not currently have a left-wing party. Instead we have a centrist party that houses both the center and the left, this causes both and left and center to constantly lean further right.

The graph above, from Quartz Media, shows where the 2020 democratic candidates fall on the political spectrum as opposed to the incumbent republican president. The DNC continues to be a right-wing organization while being only slightly left of the republican party. The final two democratic candidates during the 2020 primaries were on opposite sides of the spectrum of the democratic party, a centrist and a leftist. The same thing that happened in 2016. The DNC ultimately gave the nomination to the centrist, because they are a centrist organization.

This next graph shows how the US major party candidates of 2020 compare to political parties in the UK. As we can see, the conservative right-wing of the UK is in line with the sitting republican US president, the centrist liberal democrats of the UK align with the majority of the US democratic candidates, and the UK’s leftist labour party is even further left than the left leaning outliers of the US democrats.

This misconception that the left is liberal in the US has led us to believe that our current definitions of right and left have a chasm of differences between them, when they are in fact all in the same wheelhouse. The republicans appear authoritarian yet successful because they are unapologetically right-wing and will stir the pot and make a lot of noise to get their way, whereas the democrats appear authoritarian yet incompetent because they are centrists who would more often rather keep the peace with a steady-as-she-goes approach than stir up actual progressive change. Democrats will pretend to be leftist, inciting progressive change, all while bombing innocents overseas and allowing their own citizens’ water to be poisoned. Republicans will explain to you why they all deserved it. It’s the same song played on a different instrument.

Since the left are the outliers, they are viewed as radicals whose ideas would never work in the western world. This has gone so far as to target anyone who identifies with politics left of center as the “alt-left”. And yet, every other major western nation has some degree of socialism working for the people in the form of state funded healthcare programs, prison reform, welfare, child tax benefits, pension systems, social housing, and public education. The US even embraces some of these things, we just refuse to call it socialism or fund it properly, we refuse to allow the right and center to be tainted by the left.

It seems a relatively simple explanation for certain groups of people to be outraged by public health officials making drastic changes to our daily lives; the effects on their income, social and mental health, as well as the economy. The question is, how is this viewed as anti-authoritarian if the outcry is both in support of the current political party with the most government control and yet also against government overreach enacted by these same people?

For the older generations and those who consume media in a traditional sense, it appears a healthy diet of Fox News and an overall distrust of the “liberal” or “mainstream” media would lead to mass misinformation and a skewed sense of reality. For the younger generations who grew up on the internet, a diet of reactionary propaganda and alt-right message boards will lead them down a rabbit hole of misinformation. Both have a distrust for “liberal” media and have a skewed concept that the liberal media is a leftist organization with an agenda to dismantle their freedoms. Ultimately, this is one way we may arrive at the concept that liberals, who are really centrists but we think they’re leftists, are trying to implement an authoritarian regime of socialist communism, when in reality the liberals have a more middle-of-the-road approach to reactionary thought, which causes conservatives and other right-wing theorists to distrust any form of organized press while they congregate online and adopt conspiracy theories to help them untie the mental knots they tied for themselves in the first place. Really, the only way for new age conservatives to believe the lies they’re churning out is for there to be some conspiracy at the center, because their views cannot coexist with reality.

But still, how did we get here? How did we brew a force of pro-conservative anti-establishment?

There was a lot of angst in the post-9/11 world for our youth, as a counterculture emerged against the Iraq War and government oversight including the patriot act and the NSA. Anarchist thought gave birth to post-anarchism, as anarchism coexisted in a technologically advanced world. How do we grapple with the concepts of individual freedom and collective living when we’re tethered to companies to provide products that keep us connected and informed? Even prior to this, most anti-authority groups understood liberalism and conservatism to be of the same breed. In 2002 Against Me! released the album Reinventing Axl Rose, Laura Jane Grace sings, “Baby, I’m an anarchist, you’re a spineless liberal…” a song referencing the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle. If one had the misconception that liberalism is leftist, they may interpret this lyric incorrectly. If liberal is left, then liberalism is more attune with socialism, meaning right-wing and libertarian thought would be opposite liberalism, and ultimately one might come to the conclusion that anarchism is more aligned with right leaning politics than left leaning politics. This person would then continue on to believe that the conservatives, the alt-right, libertarians, and republicans were the faces of anti-authority as part of their fringe groups.

It appears that millennials who grew up in a post-punk era, were clinging to the anti-establishment messages of the early 2000s during a Bush presidency. They were eventually thrust into an Obama presidency of “progressive change” as some were just entering high school and beginning to pay attention to the world around them, while others were out on their own for the first time in their lives attending college, and the oldest of the generation were first entering the workforce. This “progressive change” led to a lot of real social changes, what reactionaries call “PC culture”, and what the rest of us just recognize as time moving forward at a steady pace. Nonetheless, the Obama presidency was rather anticlimactic. While the liberals patted themselves on the back and slept peacefully to the social changes, the working poor and minorities saw little-to-no benefit, and the conservatives stewed in their rage as a smug charismatic black man was in charge of their beloved homeland. Eventually, in the height of the Obama years the housing market crash brought libertarians, socialists, and anarchists together in the national movement, Occupy Wall Street.

The problem that eventually erupted was a disdain for liberalism, critically noted as neoliberalism. While the left has been critical of liberalism and conservatism alike, the right used their view of liberalism as a leftist ideology to create a division at a time when everyone was coming together to recognize the stark inequalities of our current capitalist system, famously uniting us all as the 99%. This tactic allowed libertarianism to be recognized as the opposite of authoritarianism, however a right-wing libertarian will likely have complete faith that the free market and corporations will do the most good over the individual workers. We then wind up back at square one, with the corporations as the voices of authority. When we become dependent on their products, or they come to as close to a monopoly as possible, the working class begins to lose their freedoms. During the pandemic we’re witnessing this happen as huge corporations like Walmart and Target are open for business and able to adhere to public health and safety guidelines, whereas small businesses cannot remain open because they don’t have the proper space for social distancing or the funds for the required PPE. The outcries against this have not been against Walmart or Target for hoarding their wealth and becoming some of the only stores able to sell clothes, books, electronics, toys and other nonessentials. The outcry has been against public health officials for putting safety guidelines into practice in response to the virus.

A socialist response to this issue would have been for the government to provide PPE to small businesses so that they may remain open. What we have is a libertarian response of letting the bigger fish eat the smaller fish, and the working class are footing the bill. The current administration has put the majority of the power for economic recovery into the hands of corporations and the wealthiest individuals. This is what is hurting the working class. Yet the outrage has been against the public health officials who have put forth social distancing guidelines, stay-at-home advisories, and mask mandates. None of these things are the reason for the economic turmoil we are experiencing, it’s the current administration's hands-off approach and ignoring small businesses.

The funds for small business loans were given directly to the banks to distribute to their communities. Problems with this tactic were immediately recognizable. The banks were more likely to offer loans to the businesses who already had accounts with them, and were more likely to award loans to a business they felt would easily pay back this loan. Franchises were also recognized as single entities and rather than the corporations bail out their own chains, individual franchise owners were dependent on government funded bank managed loans. This is how the right and center handle social issues, they give money to the already wealthy and ask them to provide a service to those in need, allowing very little relief to reach those who need it most.

So no, being anti-science in the midst of a global pandemic is not rebellion, nor is it remotely anti-authority. It is playing directly into the hands of the elite. If you’re protesting government overreach and the sitting president encourages the protests with messages like “LIBERATE MICHIGAN”, it’s quite obvious the government approves of your actions. If you’re protesting government overreach while wearing merchandise you purchased from the sitting president, and holding signs in support of him, that irony is so palpable, it’s concerning that so many people cannot see it.

#coronavirus

2 notes · View notes

almukhtar121035 · 4 years

Text

assignment 2

ID:121035

Number of words :1245

Date:31/5/2020

cource code :26

Name of the course :Issue of mass communication

an introduction :

In this spring semester of college 2020, I studied with media students media issues in English with Dr. Sonia Nelson

I will talk about this assignment in particular about this subject and about the topics that I studied during this semester from its inception until the end of it during our studies on campus and then we completed distance studies at home. I will talk about this material extensively and in detail

I will link the topics of Templar to each other and talk about them

At the beginning of this assignment, I will talk about the lectures on the model, then I will talk about the topics of Tumblr, and then I will talk about the interconnectedness between them and my benefit from the material

The first lecture talks about critical thinking.

Critical thinking is a process that challenges an individual to use it

Reflection, reasonable, and rational thinking to collect, interpret, and evaluate information in order to extract judgment.

In order to demonstrate critical thinking, students need to develop skills in: interpretation, analysis, logic, and assessment

The importance of critical thinking at the university:

In general, students who develop critical thinking skills are more able to achieve better scores, becoming less dependent on teachers, textbooks, and knowledge creation.

The second lecture talks about understanding the media.

It is an attempt to gain a critical understanding of the media by asking embarrassing (difficult and stubborn) questions.

The challenge is to engage critically with the everyday media world in which we live, such as asking questions about the media

in politics.

The media provides a forum for discussion and a set of channels for policy-making, interest groups, and government agents with the means of advertising and influencing , The media is the main channel for cultural representation and expression, and the primary source of identity pictures.

By asking important questions, we can gain new insights into a completely familiar world.

The third lecture talks about the media: the agent of transformation and social changes

At the macro level, the media is an important factor in transformation and social change.

The media played and continues to play an important role in transforming societies from traditional to modern and from modern to post-modern.

Targets and drives: Targets constitute information processing tasks by defining what is filtered and what is being ignored.

• The more aware you are of your goals, the more able you will be to direct the search for information - however, if your focus is poor (not familiar with certain goals and your engine power is low), then you will default to media control.

In the fourth lecture, we spoke about combating cleansing and misinformation

Media and Information Outreach Concept 121 (MIL) to understand news as a way to uncover "information disruption" in clear and sub-emotional messages.

MIL is increasingly an essential life skill - it is necessary to know what is involved in shaping one's identity and how one can navigate the haze of information and avoid the mines hidden in the haze.

The MIL program informs our consumption, production, discovery, evaluation, and sharing of information, and our understanding of ourselves and others in the information society.

The first part of the fifth lecture talks about media culture

(Methods, questions and evaluation of information

Evaluation information)

Information is now available in many forms for this reason. It is very important for students to know the appropriate ways to evaluate information and improve media literacy.

• Media literacy provides the tools necessary to recognize that "where" and "how" choices are made.

• This awareness can help the student to develop from a negative vessel to an active reactor that breaks down the packaged message and examines its contents and design.

The second part of the fifth lecture talks about agencies and responsibilities.

Attention to the impact of the media on individuals and society.

The hypothesis that media representation is not just a mirror of society but rather rather very selective and structured images.

Historically, the vast majority of psychological research on the media has been related to television.

• Recently, there has been an increase in research in response to concerns about the effects of violent video games and exposure to the Internet.

from studying

• The paper begins with a review of psychological theories that attempt to explain how exposure to television may lead to changes in values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

The sixth lecture talks about the history of the media, the power of the media.

Our understanding of the media should be placed in a historical context.

Estimating the history of the media allows us to reflect not only on changes and developments in media technologies.

The second part of the sixth lecture talks about how to help yourself increase your understanding of the media.

You need to develop a control strategy

About the process of influence currently dominated by the media.

Boost your personal focus:

- You must be clear about your goals.

Once you clearly understand what your goals are, you need to analyze your driving energy to achieve your goals.

The seventh lecture talks about marking.

Theory of Signs - David Shulman

Poster theory (also referred to as societal reaction theory) analyzes how social groups create and apply definitions of deviant behavior.

The second part of the seventh lecture talks about the second bias

Liberal bias

Sometimes liberal bias reflects a conscious choice by the reporter or editor. Sometimes it stems from laziness.

In the last part of the seventh lecture he talks about bias in the media

My party_constructive

• For citizens and consumers of information (who are one on the same day), it is important to develop the skill of detecting bias.

In the eighth lecture we talked about here comes the newest

The old model is replaced ...

New tools and communication platforms that have changed the world we live in.

In the second part of the eighth lecture we talked about misleading coronavCOVID-1

Social media was forced to take a more active stance against media misinformation during COVID-19

Lecture 9 We talked about cartooning as an information medium

Visual novels, such as comics and cartoons, are becoming increasingly popular as a tool for science education and communication.

The first part of the tenth lecture talks about challenges for the media

• The media is undergoing a profound transformation

• Technology driven

Social Change

• A consumer of segmented media

The last lecture talks about the spread of information - interconnected

The interconnected nature of our society and globalized economy, and the continuous spread of information on many media platforms, quickly transformed a public health event - the Coruna virus into a global political, economic, psychological and social crisis of legendary proportions.

Templar topics

The doctor assigned us several assignments that we make on the Tumblr program on a weekly basis, among which is a video that we designed and sent via e-mail and Tumblr. These topics are as follows:

Disinformation

Cognitive strategies in media

Communication used in War

Selfie and narcissism - fame online

Hate Speech

THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN HEALTH EDUCATION

COMICS IN THE TIME OF COVID_19

Competition between media and social networks for ads.

Discussing two hypotheses

Perspectives about media ethics challenges

Conclusion :

I benefited a lot from this article and learned many things about various media issues

Writing in the English language improved and my understanding, comprehension, analysis and critical thinking skills developed with me

In conclusion, all thanks and appreciation to Dr. Sonia Nelson

#MASS2620_20 #Spring20 #SQURTV

1 note · View note

worldfashionaddict-blog · 4 years

Text

• Fashion:

Is a stylish and famous term for a specific time period, specifically in cosmetics, attire, , way of life, decorations, footwear , and hairdo, while, an example oftentimes implies a very certain elegant idiom, while it's organized with a period that is shorter than a season.. Design which is an unquestionable and industry-supported enunciation for the most part connected to seasons and assortments. It’s also a term that continues running for many seasons, and is considerably linked with social outgrowth and social signs, class, images and culture, fashion recommends "the most popular direction, the most updated variations.” It's somewhat sketch the social and common structure that “Dress pattern as a social evidence in specific period. Fashion also refers to the method in which objects are made; to style something is to make it in a special shape. Most usually, fashion is defined as the widespread pattern of dress or attitude at any given period, with the strong inclusion that fashion is described by change.

• Fashion Industry:

The idea of universal fashion is an outcome of the forward age. In middle of 19th decade, attires were handmade. A high quality materials, house-based or when it requested from dressmaker tailors. By the beginning of the 20th horn, and through the grow of modern progressions, for instance, the sewing tool, and improvement from the processing plants, the extension concerning retail outlets, and last the developing of globally private organization, for illustration; retail series outfits had gradually come to be a widespread delivery in criterion sizes and fixed expenses. The Fashion sector involves four Stages:

1- The Manufacturing of crude materials, essentially fibers and leathers

2- The Manufacturing of style products by architects, makers, temporary laborers… etc.

3- Retail Deals.

4- Different Types of Marketing and Promotion.

• Fashion Styles:

1- Formal Clothes:

What to dress to the office, particularly in gatherings and activities? May be a major predicament. Formal clothes at the office is the fashion that direct this fragment. This involve formal dark suit or and coordinating tie for men, skirts, shirts and pants for women and convenient dresses. You will not be able to exclude this area of design and fashion in the event that you need to sparkle in your office.

2- Business Outfits:

A lightweight jacket and a suitable trouser with a formal seize shirt and an elective tie is the most usually seen as work casual for men. Sports sweaters are also utilized in a more casual theme. For women, skirts or pants with certain blouses with a appropriate jacket constitute career casual.

3- Formal Dress Code:

It is the formal attire for women and men with precise specifications coats with tails, formal suits. Ladies dressed charming parties’ dresses and cocktail gowns.

4- Sports Clothes:

For the time being sports clothing is utilized as a substitute for informal wear. Previously, athletes used to appear with sports wears , but now with the emerge of famous people taking the trend, everybody is being shown in their best sports clothes, even in the absence of without exercising a five minutes workout. Tight-fitting pants, polo shirts, yoga trousers, sports crop-top and bras, are all the materials if you want to go ahead with this trend.

5- Casual Chic Fashion:

This is a stylish pattern with clothes selected especially in black, white, and neutral colors. The total look is very elegant. In this style one object you would miss is excessively much color you could say, definitely no glowing colors but only elegance.

• Fashion Tips and Trends

1- Adjust Proportions: Clearly, you need to appear off what you're glad of—toned arms or a thin midriff. It's the downplaying of less admired parts that's dubious. One strategy? Include inverse volume, like wearing wide-leg pants to counterbalanced a heavier upper half that's wearing something fitted.

2- Dress patterns in an age-suitable way. Chances are, there's a grown-up form of the fashion du jour. Take edit tops: To maintain a strategic distance from uncovering skin, match a shirt that hits at the navel with a high-waisted skirt. "It provides you a relative look ," guarantees architect Rebecca Minkoff: "You never need to appear like you're awkward along with your age and attempting to see more youthful,"

4- Don’t be too parallel. Pursue to dress up with colors that boost each other another rather than "look alike" in the classic sense. For a simple hack, says Minkoff, "See the basic color gear. Colors that are adverse to each other on the circle complement each other.” Varying your accessories, in both composition and color, is another thing to do.

5- Everybody ought to possess a classic white shirt. Select a white, instead of ivory, “But since white has the opportunity to create your teeth appear yellow in contrast, consider putting a strong lipstick with a blue connotation, like fuchsia, so teeth show up brighter,”

6- Jewelry ought to complement your highlights. Earrings can complement your face look. For example, tall earrings present your face look slender, if it’s on the circuit side, jewelry styler Lizzie Fortunato says. On the other hand, an oblong face, little, thick earrings, like large studs, will receive focus outward, and your face will not read quite as tight.

• Factors affecting Fashion Trends:

Vogue patterns are impacted by little factors incorporating technology, films, famous people, imaginative examinations, economic, social, politics, in addition to creativity and innovation. Looking at these variables is recognized as PESTEL factors. Fashion predictors can utilize this data to assist determine a development for a certain form. Fashion modality updates on daily basis; it cannot stay unchanged.

1- Technological Forces:

Innovation undertake an enormous job in considerable fragments of the current community. Innovative influences are progressing gradually obvious in the vogue sector. Recent developments are molding, creating current and future model. Technology, such as, wearable innovation as become a significant pattern in style.

The fashion sector is now recognizing how 3D printing has impacted architects that have been intensively designing three dimensional samples. As the innovation evolve, The Three-Dimensional printers will be transformed to be more and more ready to architects and buyers, that could form the design business completely.

2- Social Influences:

Style connects to socio-cultural conditions of a surrounding. While the person is related with inclination for a class of music, news or writing, it has been merged in regular existence. Fashion is not only a refined beauty values; however It’s a mean used by artists, designers, celebrities and much more to set up a total climate and communicate their views completely among music video.

3- Economic Factors:

Nowadays customer are heading to be extra careful around utilization, seeking out for fair sufficient and superior, more tough choices. Individuals have too ended up more cognizant of the affect their ordinary employment has on the environment and society, and these activities are regularly characterized as a move towards feasible design.

4- Consumer’s Needs

Shoppers have distinctive necessaries and requests that need to be suitable. People’s needs alter as often as possible. A vital calculate to require into thought when considering client’s needs is the crucial socioeconomics of the consumers. Wages, gender, age and indeed the career wil offer assistance to the company that gets the wants of their customers.

Frequently customers have to be informed what they need. Design and Fashion enterprises got to make their investigations to guarantee they define the needs of their customer’s prior solving problems. And the best method for doing so, is by creating a market research.

Learning the requirements of the shoppers will increment the deals and revenues of design and fashion sector. Through observing and studying the clients’ needs as the requirements of customer might be obtained, offering assistance on design trademark and to know the patterns of customers that are prepared for. For illustration, a lady who is pregnant might be seeking out for infant strollers, motherhood dress, and diapers. Her needs would contrast significantly from a lady with children.

5- Fashion Marketing:

Is the procedure of controlling the stream of goods from the first picking of layouts to be created to the display of products to retail clients, with the objective of increasing the company’s sales transactions and profitability. Effective marketing for fashion depends on realizing customer's needs and desires through responding with proper products.

• Media and Fashion:

When it comes to fashion, media plays a critical part. For occurrence, an imperative portion of fashion is news coverage. Publication evaluate, rules, and commentary can be found on TV and in magazines, daily papers, design and on websites considering fashion blogs, social systems.

By the current time, YouTube and blogging and recordings ended up with a main access to diffusing patterns and design advice, making the internet the place where to participate each one fashion on an online site or social media channels. Through these media access, worldwide viewers and watchers can learn around fashion, making it exceptionally available.

Additionally to fashion news coverage, another media stage that's critical in mold industry is promotion. Advertising give data to gatherings of people and advance the deals of items and administrations. Design industry employs promotions to pull in buyers and advance its items to create deals. 10 years back, when innovation was still immature, promotions intensely depended

on magazines, radio, announcements, and newspapers. For the time being, there are more different ways in promotions such as TV ads, electronic based advertisements utilizing websites, recordings, and posts in social media stages. The Fashion and design sector has been the topic of various movies and TV appears, including Project Runway show and the dramatization arrangement of the serial Ugly Betty. Particular vogue trademarks have included at films, not single as product positioning chances, but as recommended issues that have hence driven for patterns in styles and fashion.

Video's Recordings mutually been exceptionally valuable at advancing the design field. Typically apparent not as it were through TV appears straightforwardly spotlighting the design industry, but moreover motion pictures, occasions and music recordings which exhibit design explanations advance particular brands through item placements.

• Public Relations, Social Media and Fashion:

The audience relations of a fashion industry includes being in contact with the enterprise gatherings of people and making solid connections with them, presenting out to media, also start sending letters that venture good pictures on the company. Social media occupy a critical part in modern fashion and its public relations; empowering specialists to arrive to a wide extent of shoppers via different channels.

Establishing a trademark mindfulness and validity may be a critical suggestion for a great overall relations. In a few situations, large publicity is created for recent collections for stylers prior releasing it to the market, as a result for the massive presentation created by professionals.

The content of the online networks, like photo, video sharing channels, podcasts, blogs, have taken to be progressively imperative to design public relations.

The conjecture nature of those stages permits specialists communicate, participate with the open to genuine period, and specify their messages and brands to the requested people. Through blog stages; Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress, influencers developed a master design analyst, forming brands and having an incredible effect for which one is on trend

Ladies within vogue and design audience relations field, have obtained strong supporters for their online social channels, through giving a character and a backwards the view at the companies they do their jobs in.

Online Social Networking is changing the track professionals provide letters, since they are interested in media, building relationships with their customers. Public Relations professionals should give compelling interaction at all stages, participate the fashion to the public in a field where it’s socially associated through electronic buying. Shoppers have the ability to particpate their purchases on their online social platforms (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), and on the off chance that specialists provide brand ‘communications efficiently and match the desires of its audience, Word of Mouth (WOM) reputation would be created and possibly give a wide access for the designers and the products.

• What to wear in Jordan?

When choosing what to wear in Jordan it’s critical to understand the culture and traditions of the nation together with the items of common sense of the clothing. What you wear in Jordan too depends on what you are going to and what you arrange to do.

- Jordanian Culture:

Comparing to near countries, Jordan is completely relaxed when it’s connected with fashion and clothing. The dress symbol in the country are still believed that it’s strict when comparing it to many western countries. Jordan may be an exceptionally devout nation and the larger part of citizens here are Muslim. Individuals in Jordan respect the appearances and have a variety of desires when it comes to clothing.

- Fashion’s Trends in Jordan:

The tradition of women covering their heads with a turbine is right now getting to be more prevalent in Jordan. Ordinary Jordanian dress is for the most part traditionalist, especially for ladies. There are essentially three patterns of clothing for ladies in Jordan. Westernized ladies dress in advanced Western dress. Exceptionally devout ladies wear an item called the libis Shari or jilbab, with higher length, long-sleeve, and usually a hair tied with a scarf. Stores catering to devout ladies are popular in Jordan. Ladies from other Muslim nations shop in Jordan for libis Shari clothing.

• Fashion Bloggers in Jordan:

The below are some fashionistas in Jordan:

1- Ayah Barqawi:

Ayah Barqawi pitch the Hijab appearance, her blog shares all her mode of fashion advice, on her Instagram page, which support a noted and superfine topics, is a job of art itself.

2- Bana Abu Jaber:

Bana Abu Jaber, entitled as the Fashion Blogger of the Year 2017 in Living Well’s, she’ll spark the ideal costume for every event. Just go down by her Instagram account and entertain her excited looks.

3- Rania Omaish:

She has a passion for travel and fashion. To meet her designs, art, travel, and style from her view, follow her Instagram and blog.

4- Haya Awad:

Sharing a lot of her best design and fashion looks on daily basis, travel experiences and her promotions. Haya Awad is the most attractive fashion blogger on Instagram. She is also a designer, and you can buy from her blog directly via her Instagram account.

* photos below are from world fashion addict account

1 note · View note

donveinot · 3 years

Text

What Can I Do?

Photo by Christine Roy on Unsplash It’s a question that frequently comes up when faced with the looming reality of our changing world. Understandably so: Whether we’re encountering the Great Reset Agenda of the World Economic Forum, recognizing the influence of the interfaith movement, or watching the cultural great leap backwards take place before our eyes, we desire to act – what can I do? Often this question is couched in a sense of despair. It’s like witnessing an unstoppable train-wreck in slow motion, but the momentum has suddenly increased just as we’ve realized the gravity of the situation, and now we’re frozen in place by its magnitude. Something else is often in play, a strained hope that somehow, someone, somewhere will put a stop to it; to right this topsy-turvy world. Now you could – and you should – voice your concerns to elected officials. In a nation where the government is “from the people, by the people and for the people,”((Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address”)) that is part of your spiritual and civic responsibility. It is their job to hear and respond. You could – and you should – take some prudent personal measures, like shoring up one’s finances and shedding consumer debt. You should invest in personal relationships, in building up networks of trust. Other responses crop up, but in this article, we will tackle five short points, taking a slightly different approach than what’s often expected when we encounter the question, what can I do? 1) Understand your own worldview, and then take the time to understand theirs. No matter what is going on in culture in any given time period, believers in Jesus Christ must know what they believe, and why. The Apostle Paul’s letters consistently reinforced theological truths, instructing the early church in matters of doctrine while challenging them to remain in the faith. Furthermore, Paul’s instructions weren’t given in a vacuum; early believers faced mounting religious, political, and cultural pressures. His messages to those churches are as important today as ever. Like those believers, we too must understand the truths of God and how this shapes our worldview. We should also grasp the nature of competing worldviews, being willing to juxtapose those claims against the truth of scripture. Paul did, as exemplified in Acts 17:16-33. With the above in mind, it’s important to consider the ninth of the Ten Commandments: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16) What is a false witness? It is a person who stands up and swears before others that something untrue is true. Unfortunately, in our world of sound bites and social media, it can be hard to distinguish fact from sensationalism and fiction from well-intended messages. Nevertheless, before we throw our voices into the mix, we should exercise due diligence to ensure the accuracy of what we’re communicating – both in terms of the Christian message and what others are saying. Then, by understanding all viewpoints – yours and theirs, to the best of your ability – you position yourself with an informed opinion and an accurate context for truth. You become a truth teller, guarding against falling to slander, even unintentionally. But recognize this: before endeavoring to seriously understand a competing worldview, know your own line-in-the-sand lest you end up compromising it. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8) 2) Inform yourself and your circle of influence, without resorting to hyperbole as the facts are sensational enough – do this with honesty and respect, so that you can become a trusted source. Quality, Christian-based resources are available to help you understand the questions and concerns of our age – Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc and Forcing Change are two examples. Then, as you study and seek knowledge, pay attention to what’s around you, carefully applying a Biblical lens while gaining an increased awareness. Soon you’ll notice how prevalent competing messages are, from what’s posted on your grocery store bulletin board to content on social media. Moreover, you’ll begin to understand how so many of our political and social changes are outgrowths of competing worldviews. For some of us, the next step is to find source material that demonstrates the intentionality of cultural changes. For example, when discussing the Great Reset of the World Economic Forum, you’ve taken the time to watch some of their videos and have read selected WEF articles. In doing this you’ve also gained insight into their language, discovering that word meanings and definitions are not always as they seem, that many social, environmental, and political concepts and nuances are either redefined or placed within a new narrative. Like anything else, there is a learning curve. Nevertheless, you’ve gleaned the overall picture, compared and contrasted worldviews and their potential outcomes, and can speak with some measure of knowledge. Not only can you “tell” but you can “show,” and this takes away the slippery slope of second-hand sensationalism. Then when you talk to others, including those who support that opposing worldview, you can use “their own words.” Thus equipped, hopefully, you’ll find yourself talking with them and not at them. In some respects, this was the approach Paul used in Acts 17; he employed their own lingo and leveraged their philosophy so as to reason with them about who the “Unknown God” is. Paul was able to discern an opportunity within an opposing culture and pursued this in a respectful manner. His approach is a good reminder: don’t let your validity be lost in your delivery. In doing the above, we have to understand who the real enemy is – “principalities and powers” – and represent ourselves as truth-tellers, ambassadors for Jesus Christ,((2 Corinthians 5:20)) as we engage in worldview conversations. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 4:12) So, who’s in your circle of influence? Anyone you are in front of, anyone you rub shoulders with. While we mainly stay within our own social circles, we ultimately influence everywhere we go. So, when out and about, consider who it is you’ll be in front of. And like Paul, look for those opportunities to speak truth. 3) Encourage your Pastor to stick with the truth of Scripture, for churches are not immune from these pressures. In fact, churches and seminaries have become vocal promoters of spiritual fads, counter-worldviews, and the political religion that we can build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Encourage your Pastor to stand on God’s Word, testing trends and cultural shifts – including those coming from inside denominations – against the standard that does not change. And as we’re writing this in 2021, we are acutely aware that Covid has exposed rifts within the Christian community while adding extra political challenges – from church shutdowns to others standing against lockdowns. We need to be discerning while recognizing that worldviews are in tension, and for some, this will be and has been costly. Encourage your Pastor to stand as a watchman, one who not only warns against coming dangers but calls people to be spiritually ready as we enter perilous days, the birth pangs. Likewise, you too are to be watchful. Indeed, this is a serious calling. Let us not be as those found in Isaiah 56:10, His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 4) Don't be scared of the world – concerned, yes – but don't let it drive you into fear. Don't let the fear of Man overshadow what's really important, the fear of God. Crisis creates fear, and when fear is used against us, we naturally want to protect ourselves. Hence, when a “solution” to a crisis – real or perceived – is presented as the way forward, as “salvation,” we welcome the reprieve, even if it’s something we would (or should!) rationally abhor. The Great Reset as presented by the World Economic Forum fits this bill, presenting a range of collectivist approaches in dealing with global fears. 2 Timothy 1:7 implied that if we fear, it robs us, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. And Proverbs 29:25 reminds us that “the fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Let us put fear in its proper place. 5) Recognize world agendas like that presented by the WEF, or the Parliament of World’s Religions or the United Nations, for what they really are; an alternative salvation message – by uniting to save the Earth we redeem ourselves and can therefore usher an age of peace and prosperity. This is an unmistakable messianic impulse. Will doing or adopting any of the above stop the world from moving in the direction it's going? No. But that's ultimately not your job – your task is to be responsible, to be salt and living in grace, wherever you are. If your work is in the realm of high-power politics and finance, great, that’s your front line. If it’s in journalism and research, welcome to the club. If it’s as an educator or pastor or teacher… whether you’re involved in business or a trade or health care or a homemaker... the list goes on. Wherever your feet are, that’s where your mission field is, to be truth tellers – to your family, neighbors, and church – and even to your elected officials. Our world is changing. The Great Reset is just another point of evidence. If God told us this was going to happen – that people and nations would seek their own way (2 Timothy 3:13, Psalm 2) – be assured that He also has a plan: It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. (Psalm 118:8)Ω

Carl Teichrib is the author of Game of Gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-Enchantment, and excerpts can be read at Game of Gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-Enchantmenthis research reports and articles can be found at Game of Gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-Enchantment Forcing Change Co-author Audrey Vanderkley is the administrator at Remnant Online Fellowship, which exists to connect people to relevant Christian resources on Bible prophecy and worldview issues © 2021, Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc All rights reserved. Excerpts and links may be used if full and clear credit is given with specific direction to the original content. Read the full article

0 notes

laceyspencer · 3 years

Text

Ethnoconvenience: A Cousin of Colorism and Colorblindness and a Behavior of Tolerance and Exclusion-Juniper Publishers

Introduction

Racial discrimination continues to be a problem in the United States (U.S.) and globally. Despite great progress over several generations, this pervasive problem exists in U.S. communities and organizations and affects the way that people interact in public as well as the way organizations are designed, developed, and operated. Despite efforts to progress beyond them, there continue to be issues related to race, color, and culture and they have a significant effect on social and economic disparities and prevent equity and inclusion. Government administrators, politicians, academics, community leaders, and organizational executives have worked to improve diversity programs and policies and have created standards and policies designed to minimize or exterminate marginalization. These efforts have increased hiring of people of color globally and have prompted the addition of language of tolerance into many organizational policies and handbooks.

Unfortunately, many do not understand the implications and ramifications of attitudes, language, and behaviors of tolerance which, although designed to prevent bigotry and prejudice, act as contributors to diversity and exclusion rather than inclusion and equity. There are numerous behaviors that fall into this category of tolerance, including one that we introduce that, although related to the others, separates itself. This attitude and behavior is termed ethnoconvenience, and it can promote, preserve, and perpetuate inequality and exclusion in organizations, communities, and society. The purpose of this article is to define, describe, and exemplify ethnoconvenience and discuss how it is related to the other behaviors and attitudes of tolerance, and to further explain the role that it plays in the perpetuation of racial inequality and exclusion in organizations, communities, and in society in general.

Racism, Inequality, Diversity, Inclusion, and Multiculturalism

The United States is a nation with a history of being strongly preoccupied with differences, and thus diversity has very much been a matter of identity in the country [1]. Our national construct in the U.S. is one that has been defined as a continuum from a dominant versus subordinated culture towards multiculturalism, equity, and inclusion [2]. Moving towards a healthy construction desires the inclusion of subordinated groups, including categories of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship status, religion, and ability, and the intersection of these categories [2].

Unfortunately, we are not, as a nation, nor as a people globally, nearing the terminal end of that continuum. Racism has deep, and often horrific roots in the history of the U.S. and the national population, and racism and inequality have long been and continue to be a pervasive social problem in our society, in communities, and in organizations, including occupational settings. It is no secret that the dominant culture in a society, a community, or an organization molds individuals, their attitudes, their beliefs, their values, and their behaviors [3]. In the U.S., the predominant culture of white dominance [2] has shaped the government, laws, social groups, organizations, and the individuals within the population for generations [4]. Certainly, many organizations have figured out the economic, legal, and social benefits of and reasons to diversify the workforce. These organizations have begun to understand that they need to draw the best talent to remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing global market and that this talent comes from different demographics in the global population [4-7].

Nevertheless, we still dwell in a racially divided and dominance-driven nation, and this is mimicked in organizations. We must candidly and honestly drive discourse and dialogue and strive not simply for tolerance, which is a byproduct of the raciallydriven culture of dominance, but instead for racial equality, as well as equity in the workplace. James Baldwin stated that the future, and dealing with discrimination and diversity in the future, is our responsibility because we are our only hope [8]. Therefore, it is critical that we address the different language, practices, pathways, and behaviors that continue to perpetuate racism, bigotry, and the dominant-subordinated culture that exists in our society. The word subordinated instead of subordinate is used here because it is a condition that is forced upon the group by a majority or dominant group historically empowered to do so [2].

We posit that a behavior, attitude, or practice, which we call ethnoconvenience, is a distinct, though related, attitude and behavior of tolerance [4,7], as will be discussed throughout the manuscript, and thus is a significant contributor to inequality, inequity, discrimination, and delegitimization, and is a barrier to equality, inclusion, and multiculturalism.

Go to

Discussion

Ethnoconvenience – An Introduction

Within the problems and continual issues of prejudice and racism in the U.S., one of the biggest purposes for and results from bigotry is delegitimization, which is the categorization of groups into negative social extremes that drive exclusion from the dominant society’s definition of human norms and values [9]. Whether purposefully established and instigated, or accidental, delegitimization occurs in society at the national, community, and organization levels.

There are numerous stages in Huntley, Moore & Pierce’s [2] continuum, representing the journey from racial inequality to equity and inclusion, where delegitimization is clearly identifiable. This continuum is a brilliant map of the U.S. social system undergoing transformation, providing a better and more transparent understanding of race dynamics. Combined with the continuum, Huntley’s, Moore’s & Pierce’s [2] Journey of Race, Color, and Culture explores the complex dynamics in the U.S. and illuminates who we are, as individuals, and how we behave in the context of these dynamics.

Although many are aware of the numerous methods by which delegitimization occurs, and the ways in which racism rears its ugly head, including stereotyping, white privilege, white liberalism, colorblindness, credentializing, and tokenization, among other behaviors associated with the supremacy-driven concept of tolerance, one concept closely related to but separate from these behaviors and attitudes is generally missed in the discussion altogether. This behavior, although sometimes muted in comparison, is no less damaging or problematic in the dynamics of interactions that deal with the problems of racial inequality, inequity, prejudice, and exclusion.

Ethnoconvenience is a close cousin of colorblindness, sameness, colorism, tokenization, and stereotyping, all attitudes and behaviors of tolerance rather than equality and multiculturalism. In short, ethnoconvenience includes the identification and categorization of individuals, and application of values, thoughts, beliefs, and affiliations onto those individuals, based on appearance and assumption. It is, in practice, a way of categorizing someone because it is convenient to an argument, proof of a point being made, or action. Ethnoconvenience, left unattended, affords the perpetrator the ability to proceed with thoughts, behaviors, or treatment towards others with little effort or difficulty, and without alarm of inherent bias or racial privilege. In order to thoroughly understand ethnoconvenience, it is first vital to explore the different related attitudes, practices, and behaviors of tolerance.

Attitudes, Behaviors, and Language of Tolerance

Tolerance is a term often used to define acceptance, and is commonly referred to in educational, corporate, and government agency policies and procedures in reference to ensuring inclusive environments that are free of racism and bigotry. Nevertheless, the use of the term tolerance, with reference to the social constructs of race, identity, and societal race relations, is one that delays or halts progress towards equity and multiculturalism, and may, on the subconscious level, promote exclusion and continued bigotry [7].

Today, arguably a revived era of pseudo-normalized racial and ethnic upheaval that is both a cause for and a product of police brutality, bigoted demonstrations, riots, politicians’ racist remarks, defacement of cultural landmarks, disparate treatment in commercial establishments, and inhumane detention practices, among others, it is not uncommon to hear subject matter experts, reporters, politicians, and media pundits call for sensitivity training and increased tolerance in the general population or in organizations.

However, the language and attitude of tolerance in these pleas, as well as those commonly seen in human resources (HR) policies and corporate diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices, are examples of the perpetuation of this dominant-subordinated behavior, where the mass population is the one that “tolerates” the existence and practices of the “others,” the people of color (PoC). Tolerance is a topic of race and power in society, in conjunction with other identities and forms of discrimination [10], although it does not always appear blatant or may not even be recognized by the perpetrators, remaining purposefully or conditionally hidden in their unconscious states, even as a positive instead of negative social element [7].

Although many corporations and other organizations have taken to increasing and improving corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs regarding D&I, many of the policies still tend to result in attitudes and language that, even on subconscious levels, result in behaviors and practices of dominance and subjugation in organizations, providing advantages based on pre-established, long-lasting, habitual and historic cultural artifacts of inequality, including attitudes and common statements that foster or perpetuate exclusion and marginalize or delegitimize PoC, exemplified in (Table 1) [7]. As human beings, and particularly those in leadership and other positions of influence in society, we must recognize the effects of the tolerance practices of colorblindness, sameness, tokenization, colorism, stereotyping, white centrism, model minority status, and ethnoconvenience— practices that perpetuate diversity and exclusion instead of promoting diversity and inclusion. Practices that have been normalized in the greater society in the U.S.

Colorblindness

A commonly heard response regarding racism is “I don’t even see color.” While some believe that this is a commendable statement or outlook, it is instead a contributor to the problem of racial inequality. Being colorblind is not a solution for racism. Being colorblind means that there’s a failure to identify and recognize the person in question, thus ignoring or rejecting their selves and all those traits and experiences that make them who they are. By stating that one is colorblind, it is implying that PoC are invisible to them, and this is a failure to recognize one’s cultures, rites, rituals, upbringing, and experiences [2,4].

Colorblindness ignores cultural differences instead of honoring them and allows people to ignore the history of white cultural dominance and the experiences of PoC in dealing with this subjugation throughout history. Although people that make these statements may even believe that they are attempting to treat everyone equally, the reality is that it perpetuates the dominantsubordinated culture [2,7]. Colorblindness is one attitude and behavior of tolerance and it exhibits a message of ignorance to cultural differences, and even if unintentionally, it compares PoC to white people norms, implying that PoC are tolerable rather than equal [7].

Sameness

Sameness, closely tied to colorblindness, is another behavior of tolerance. It is not uncommon for people to make race-associated statements that imply that “we are all the same underneath.” Not only is this biologically implausible, it immortalizes privileged and bigoted thinking and behavior. Even people that have been intimately involved in the struggle against bigotry and racism have used these types of statements, probably with the best intentions, but with a subconscious frame of privilege.

In a recent best-selling biographical novel [11], for example, although we cannot presume what thoughts and ideas escaped the author’s mind at the time of writing, there is a quote that states that “we are all the same.” As explained, this language is problematic for D&I scholars, applied behavioral scientists, and social science practitioners who focus on D&I. Like colorblindness, sameness is a concept that perpetuates the dominant-subordinated culture [2,4]. In the context of the statement that “you’re no different than I, we are all the same,” sameness practically means whiteness because it positions PoC in white cultural norms, as though they are tolerable now that they have reached the level of white standards and have been proclaimed to be “the same.” It discounts the cultural differences and discards experiences with racial injustice and bigotry [2], delegitimizing the struggle. Thus, statements and attitudes like these ignore the uniqueness of our race-based differences, instead discarding the differences we have in upbringing, life experience, rites, and rituals for a proclamation that “you are as good as I am” [7].

Colorism

Colorism is a persistent problem for PoC in the U.S., and globally, although it is much less focused on in race discourse. In general terms, colorism, which is also sometimes referred to as skin color stratification, is a means by which prejudice occurs not solely based on race and ethnicity, but also on skin color and tone, and other allelic features. In many aspects, this behavior privileges lighter skinned PoC over those with darker skin and has been shown to sometimes cause disparities among people of the same racial background in terms of income, education, housing, employment, and organizational positionality [12]. Historically, the social construct of racism has permitted the dominant culture to not only unequally treat PoC based on race, but also on skin color and darkness, furthermore, creating tension within and between communities of PoC [12]. This behavior has not only perpetuated white privilege and racial bigotry against PoC, but it has sabotaged unity and solidarity between inter- and intra-PoC groups, like the effects of the social construct of model minorities.

Some research shows that PoC with lighter skin have, as a result of white supremacy and white centrism, enjoyed some level of clear advantage when it comes to economics, employment, and educational disparities, marginalizing individuals with darker skin and limiting opportunity. However, the data also shows evidence of a disparity regarding ethnic authenticity, recognition, and legitimacy, on the contrary being granted to individuals with darker skin, marginalizing and delegitimizing lighter skinned individuals and minimizing their experiences and cultural identities. This practice of colorism is directly related to and part of the larger problem of systematic and systemic racism, both in the U.S. and globally [12], and is a creation of white supremacy and the racist culture in U.S. history.

Although this racist phenomenon against PoC has occurred throughout generations in the U.S., it has somehow gone undetected in the legal and policy infrastructure. In the U.S., colorism is often ignored in the courts as a type or kind of discrimination [13] because although the law includes color as a basis for prohibited discrimination, it has generally been interpreted to mean the same thing as race [14], not including hue, tone, hair color, hair texture, and eye color, among other features.

Colorism expands bigotry from the dominant to the subordinated, turning people of color against one another as a result of skin shade, and based on a eurocentric, white idea of beauty and acceptability. Under generations of exposure to this behavior, Black, Asian, and Latino/a people, among others, have had some of their experiences trivialized and their opportunities minimized.

Hidden or Implicit Bias

Hidden or implicit biases are automatic, unconscious or subconscious preferences for or against a group or individual. Although implicit biases are not always negative, these preferences act to form the basis for related behaviors – stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice. Thus, hidden or implicit biases can feed the racially-based disparity in communities and in organizations [15].

These implicit biases affect people’s actions and decisions in an unconscious or subconscious manner, with the perpetrators often unaware of their privilege or any intention of control [2], and white privilege often precludes people from recognizing and understanding these hidden biases [16]. Even upon limited recognition of these biases, individuals may still be hesitant to admit that they hold them, often due to personal fragility regarding being viewed in a negative manner [17]. As an outcome, these biases lead to a detachment between intentions and actions, as well as to the inability to address how the biases impact interactions with others in organizations, communities, and societies [7]. Implicit biases can cause people, including group, organizational, or community leaders, to believe that they are being inclusive and accepting of diverse people, diverse thought, and cultures through their policies and practices of tolerance when, in fact, these policies, practices, attitudes, and behaviors of tolerance are exclusionary and prejudiced [7].

white privilege

white privilege is another relevant factor in the inequitable and disparate practice of tolerance. It is defined as unearned advantage gained for no other reason besides being white in a white-dominant and homophile civilization. This is a strong example of institutional power in a racially stratified society that goes largely unacknowledged to many within that society. white privilege is a crux to this dominant-subjugated culture that has historically had and continues to employ a power-over instead of a power-with relationship about PoC. This privilege has a confirmed effect of forced societal dominance [18], putting PoC in subordinated and unequal statures [2] relative to white society. white privilege is commonly accompanied by resistance and denial from those that benefit from it – even unconscious denial of social favor and the advantages that come with it. The resistance of people to consciously acknowledge this is evidence of how, intentionally or not, power, privilege, and comfort have come to non-PoC, and it benefits them to hold on to it [2].

Tokenization

With the practice of privilege and implicit bias in place, tokenization is seeded as a relevant behavior and practice, exhibited also as a behavior and attitude of tolerance. This behavior occurs or is displayed when individuals from a PoC group are given honorary status within the white group. It is not uncommon to hear from people, when confronted with some act of racism or bigotry, that “I’m not racist, one of my best friends is Black,” or a similar statement. Having a friend or an acquaintance that is Black, Jewish, Mexican, Chinese, or disabled does not only not automatically clear someone from being bigoted against those racial, ethnic, or other groups, it displays a level of ignorance and privilege, and can be argued to be an exhibit of the individual’s prejudice.

Often, tokenization exists because a person from a different demographic is allowed into the societal circles of the dominant group within the dominant-subjugated culture, at least superficially, because they present themselves in a way that is acceptable to or tolerated by that dominant group, despite their differences [2,7]. In short, this attitude and behavior consists of granting honorary status to select individuals from an out-group into the in-group based on acceptability to and adoption of the ingroup’s social norms, although it often comes with the expectation that those tokenized individuals put on airs [7].

Tokenization is often used as a multi-faceted approach to benefit the in-group or individuals in the in-group. It allows the members of that group to set aside their guilt and feel good about their selves for accepting someone Black, Latino/a, Jewish, or Asian, for example, into their group. At the same time, justifications are often made for these “honorary” members. Announcing that “they’re different,” of course describing difference from others in the out-group rather than honoring the differences from those in the in-group. Plus, this tolerance often comes with additional expectations of not only falling in line but exhibiting loyalty by using the honorary status in order to keep those in the subordinated group “in their places [2].”

Tokenization does, by means of definition, exhibit acceptance. However, this is not an inherent acceptance based on equity, and can be termed modern-day acceptance, meaning that the individual is accepted into the mould and is given a title of equal dependent on the evaluation against dominant-driven, pre-determined standards, in this case, white standards [7]. This modern-day acceptance means that the vision of equality and justice is based on white-centric standards rather than being inherently equal based on humanity. This, of course, is not equality and equity, but rather a faux acceptance and an attitude of tolerance, preserving the power-over model and historic dominant-subordinated culture.

Stereotyping

Stereotypes and prejudice are influenced by both individual self as well as social motives, the perceiver’s focus of attention, group membership, and the configuration of stimulus cues. Individual characteristics of members of groups have shown to influence the extent to which stereotypes and prejudice are activated, and the extent to which they are automatic [19]. Effectually, the study of stereotypes is the study of many aspects of social psychology, including group membership, intergroup relations, and group dynamics, as well as neurobiology and neuropsychology. However, from a fundamental perspective, stereotyping requires an understanding of human nature, particularly relevant to neurocognitive fundamentals [20]. Psychologists have shown the relationship between both neurocognitive and social dynamics that participate in the formation of stereotyping. Stereotypes are beliefs, regardless of accuracy or truth, about another group in terms of personality, attributions, or behaviors. They are often based on prejudicial thoughts and beliefs, and often create negative attitudes toward those groups – attitudes that express negative affective or emotional reactions [9,21].

It is through a lack of knowledge or understanding that prejudicial stereotypes often form, and it is often through experiences with an individuals or small samples that stereotypes are generated and inaccurately applied to entire groups. Unfortunately, these stereotypes can lead to learned reactions and behaviors that are unjustified, such as disparity and inequity in law enforcement and judicial action, employment interviews, workplace promotions, banking decisions, property rental, and educational opportunities, among others.

Go to

Behaviors and Human Factors Contributing to Ethnoconvenience

Visual Assumption

People are quick to make visual assumptions or to deduce conclusions based on what they see immediately in front of them. They often act based on these visual experiences or the visual evidence before them. Although what they see may be true to them, these so-called truths are directly based on their personal experience and social construct, depending heavily on culture, upbringing, training, experience, socialization, politics, and other factors. But these assumptions and so-called truths are often not evidence-based, and are even decided upon very simplistic, rudimentary observational behavior.

Amy Herman [22] explains in Visual Intelligence how individuals often make decisions based on assumptions that they believe are evidence-driven because it, whatever it may be, is occurring or has occurred directly in front of their eyes. However, Herman explains that most people may observe, but do not truly see what it is that stands before them. They make assumptions and deductions without getting a deeper look at and understanding of scenarios that transpire right in front of them. These assumptions are often inaccurate, wrong, and potentially damaging to investigations, interactions, relationships, organizations, or communities. Such is also sometimes the case regarding people. People are often perceived solely based on visual assumption, without a deeply rooted knowledge or understanding of their background, both physical and social. This type of behavior often contributes to stereotyping and serves as a base for ethnoconvenience.

Inattentional Blindness

As fore-mentioned, Herman [22] discusses the idea of visual intelligence not as a means of exploring more than what people see, but rather to take a deeper dive into what is right in front of them, to analyze the scenario from every angle, and to pull new or more detailed meaning from it, thus better observing their situations and finding, describing, and defining the fine data [22,23], and not making assumptions and deductions that are emotion- rather than evidence-based. Very often, people see the scenario or surroundings that are right in front of them, but do not see or interpret the details in the scenario or the picture.

This inability to truly see what is directly in front of them is termed inattentional or unintentional blindness. This inattentional blindness phenomenon suggests that when focus is placed exclusively on a specific part of a concept, behavior, or image, the other details tend to fade into the background, regardless of whether they are in plain view [22], and decisions are made based solely on what one sees or perceives, regardless if it is real. Furthermore, most people do not believe that they experience inattentional blindness because they lack the awareness of it and they lack, as fore-mentioned, the personal useof- self-as-instrument skills to recognize this [22,23]. Combined, visual assumption and inattentional blindness create a lattice for stereotyping and ethnoconvenience.

Go to

Ethnoconvenience: Cousin to Colorblindness and Colorism

The practice and language of identifying someone based solely on thoughts, beliefs, ideals, perception, interpretation, and visual appearance, and to make assumptions regarding beliefs and acceptable behavior based on those characterizations is what we define as ethnoconvenience, because in a multitude of ways, it enables the perpetrator to view the individual however it is convenient for him or her, making assumptions based on the selfmisplaced internal conveniences.

In short, ethnoconvenience can be interpreted as the perceiver’s cognitive laziness in the management of potential complex reality or data. The practice of ethnoconvenience ignores data that is either unavailable, unseen, unknown, or uncomfortable and instead makes determinations, definitions, and decisions based solely on assumptions that are in fact based on personal experiences, beliefs, or ideas. These beliefs and ideas may originate from the fore-mentioned behaviors of tolerance, including white privilege and implicit bias, as well as the related colorblindness, sameness, colorism, and stereotyping. Based on these biases and beliefs, individuals often commit ethnoconvenient behaviors and categorizations as a result of the integration of visual assumption and inattentional blindness. Ethnoconvenience can take many shapes and forms, and they are all related yet slightly separate or different from the other attitudes and behaviors of tolerance. Multiple examples are provided in the following text, but this is not an all exhaustive list or exhibit.

One example of ethnoconvenience includes the basic categorization of an individual’s race or ethnicity simply based on their physical feature appearance, including skin color, hair color, hair texture, eye shape and size, nose shape and size, among other features. For instance, assuming someone is of white race or ethnicity because of their skin color, and either avoiding the possibility or ignoring the knowledge that the individual is Jewish, is an example of ethnoconvenience. A similar example is assuming that a Black individual is racially white due to the outward appearance of light skin tone, blonde hair, and green eyes. Although this is ethnoconveniencing, this is the simplest form. People make determinations based on observation, and it is not always easy to identify the race or ethnicity based on physical features. Many people could make this mistake, and it is often human nature to do so.

On the other hand, knowing that someone is Black, Jewish, Native American, or other background and ignoring that information because of their outward appearance is not as simple, and is a blatant act of either white-centric tolerance or intolerance. This is the second type or example of ethnoconvenience. This is either ignoring the race, ethnicity, or culture that you know exists, or ignoring what is observable. For instance, identifying an outwardly appearing Orthodox Jew as White, despite facial features and cultural dress, or failing to identify someone who is Black Hispanic as such, paying attention only to the black skin color and ignoring the Latino/a race and culture of the individual. A different example of this, though more difficult to identify, is the assumption that family members are not related because of skin color differences, such as making the assumption that a darker skinned Black woman is a nanny or a babysitter when she is caring for a lighter skinned or white skinned child, ignoring the possibility or even the likelihood that she is the child’s mother.

A third type of ethnoconvenience involves ignoring or devaluing an individual’s race, ethnicity, or culture because of existing data. For instance, knowing that someone has distant Apache or Navajo ancestry, but dismissing or denying that tie because it is distant or low percentage. A similar example has to do with the knowledge and understanding that an individual is Jewish but ignoring or dismissing the genetic-racial and ethnic heritage information and categorizing ethnic Jewry solely as religious, and the individual based on skin color. Often, this is done for convenient purposes in a debate or to attempt to prove a point, and thus, the perpetrator conveniently ignores or dismisses ethnic or cultural belonging for political or other gain, such as arguments regarding indigeneity to a land or region.

The next example of ethnoconvenience is closely related to colorism and stereotyping and may, but should not, be confused with colorism. As fore-mentioned, peer-reviewed study data has shown disparities between lighter and darker skinned individuals of different races. The data has shown that some lighter skinned individuals may have experienced economic, educational, or employment advantages over PoC with darker skin, and that some darker skinned individuals may have experience more acceptance and been credited with a higher level of ethnic authenticity and legitimacy than their lighter counterparts [12,14]. Although these study data may be true, the white-centric assumption regarding these experiences is not colorism, but rather ethnoconvenience. In other words, the assumption that someone of lighter skin has had an easier experience or has not experienced discrimination at the same or at any level is ethnoconvenience.

A further and related type of ethnoconvenience also having to do with colorism and stereotyping has to do with applying an assumption of appearance on an entire race, ethnicity, or culture. While stereotyping generally has to do with applying experience, observation, or knowledge of personality, attributions, or behaviors of an individual to an entire group, ethnoconvenience has to do with applying what one believes of an entire group, regarding appearance, to every individual. An example would be to assume that all Mexican people are Hispanic, or all Jews are white, ignoring the diversity of the ethnic Jewish diaspora, such as African, Latino/a, Sephardic, or Mizrahi Jewry, or that there are Native American Mexicans that do not have Hispanic origins.

The above is not an exhaustive list and does not constitute every type or example of ethnoconvenience, but rather provides some examples. It is evident from these examples that these are usually related to visual assumption and inattentional bias, as well as with colorblindness, colorism, stereotyping, and implicit bias, and as such, they are examples of attitudes or behaviors of tolerance that can create intolerant environments. Ethnoconvenience can lead to numerous social ramifications and can affect victims of its practice in numerous ways.

Ignoring an individual’s ethnicity, race, culture, and identity can leave those individuals feeling misidentified, misunderstood, and insulted, and the ethnoconvenient acts of purposefully dismissing an individual’s race, ethnicity, or culture can create a negative, dispute-like, clashing relationship. Additionally, the failure to identify and the blatant mis-categorization of individuals can leave them feeling marginalized and delegitimized. People are proud of their heritage, culture, and background, and strongly identify with their races, ethnicities, and cultures as major definitions of their selves [24].

Ethnic pride and belonging are two main parts of ethnic identity, so it is not unlikely that separating or questioning people’s identity from their present beings can affect feelings of pride and belonging and cause problems for the individuals, and for the group or organization that they belong to or interact in. These practices and behaviors of ethnoconvenience, whether blatant, inattentional, or implicit, can thus serve as tools of deculturalization. Furthermore, mistaking, avoiding, ignoring, or dismissing people’s races, ethnicities, and cultures can place them into different identity groups, and potentially into the whitecentric dominant group in the dominant-subjugated culture—a group to which they do not belong or did not extensively experience through life, thus creating unwanted tokenization or forced social assimilation.

Ultimately, ethnoconvenience places an incorrect, false, or incomplete identity on PoC as a result of assumptions made under implicit bias and white privilege for convenient personal, group, organizational, or political agendas, among others. This results in identifying people incorrectly, often as white, and either misplacing or minimizing their experiences, their individualities, their identities, and their struggles. It is understandable how ethnoconveniencing people and misidentifying them as white, model minority, or dominant-belonging serves to delegitimize their identities and their struggles in national dominantsubjugated environments. Altogether, these behaviors can have a social and psychological effects on individuals and create feelings of denigration, like other types of racist or racially-driven behaviors do.

Go to

Conclusion

Racism has been a pervasive problem over the course of history in the United States. Even with great progress over generations, there continue to be issues related to race, color, and culture and a continuing disparity regarding equity and inclusion based on race and ethnicity across the nation, in communities and in organizations. Despite the progress made, the dominantsubjugated culture is perpetuated, and as a result as well as a cause for perpetuation, certain attitudes, language, and behaviors termed as tolerance, masqueraded as positive movement towards equity, inclusion, and multiculturalism, are attitudes and behaviors that preserve, promote, and propagate inequality and exclusion. Among them is the attitude and behavior of ethnoconvenience.

This manuscript defines the practice and behavior of ethnoconvenience and exhibits how it is closely related to and how it accompanies white privilege, hidden bias, colorblindness, sameness, colorism, stereotyping, and tokenization, among others, as an attitude, language, and behavior of tolerance, where tolerance is a term of racially-driven exclusion. The article provides examples of ethnoconvenience and identifies the effects that ethnoconvenience has on individuals that experience it, including insult, conflict, denigration, deculturalization, and delegitimization.

Go to

Disclaimer Statement

This manuscript was not funded or sponsored by the Academy of Interdisciplinary Health Science Leaders (AIHSL), Changineering Global (CG), NTL Institute (NTL), Cabrini University, or The George Washington University (GWU). The positions, statements, interpretations, and professional opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors alone, and do not represent the stances, findings, opinions, or positions of AIHSL, Cabrini University, GWU, CG, or NTL.

https://juniperpublishers.com/asm/ASM.MS.ID.555596.php

For More Articles in Annals of Social Sciences & Management studies

Please Click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/asm/index.php For More Open Access Journals In Juniper Publishers

Please Click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/index.php

To know More about our Juniper Publishers linkedin

Please Click on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/juniper-publishers

#Juniper Publishers #open access journals #Social Sciences #Ethnoconvenience #Tolerance #Diversity

0 notes

myfriendpokey · 7 years

Text

futures market

(ed. note: stephen died while writing this, may his sinful heart now rest in peace)

I think that every work implies an audience, i think that projected audience will be perpetually dreamlike and strange since it's drawn not from human consciousness but from a form of same which has been distorted through embodiment in alien material. Refracted by some "medium" and then existing as a transferable, reproducible object and living an object life separable from the human circumstances by which it was produced. And I think that when we evaluate a work part of what we evaluate is this audience and the prospect of belonging to it, the possibility of a community with those assumptions and those values. The saying "give people what they want" always confuses me in this context because surely part of what they want is the possibility of wanting something else, of being a person who wants something else. Advertisements famously sell not just a product but also the prospect of being the kind of person who likes that product. Even the most conservative works pull a bait and switch in this regards in that part of what they suggest is the prospect of being a person who already knows what they want, of having character and qualities that persist in time rather than being a shapeless blob of experiences.

Avant-garde work could be said to be that which prioritises the formation of new audiences, or the possibility of forming new audiences, above any actual qualities which those audiences would have. It draws on the utopian aspect of creating new social structures, new communities, where whatever form they ultimately end up taking the fact that they can be made at all is in some way a celebration of agency and the possibility of new futures. But the other side of things is that even as the appeal of these imaginary communities comes partly from their distance from our real ones, they're also evaluated on the basis of their feasibility - their power comes not just from a list of bloodless alternities but from possessing a transformative quality, the real possibility of enactment which is used to make demands on the contemporary. Not just a future but one already germinating in the present. And though I like and respect a lot of these works it's also hard, for this reason, not to feel a little uneasy about them - because the imagery of an imminent, transfigurative break from the present has been so co-opted as a way to conceal the fundamental limitations and eerie inertia of capitalism that I think it's hard for anything drawing on that tradition to escape lending credibility to it, even when its interests are directly opposed. 20+ years of an increasingly threadbare neoliberal consensus in the face of problems which grow more and more obvious mean the notion of an unexpected, miraculous shift in the causal order grows more and more central, from the vague sense that someone will invent, like, a moss or something which will stop global warming in the nick of time to the idea that the same clumsy, stupid videogames we've been bonking against invisible walls in for decades now will any minute now transmogrify into the effortless freefloating virtual lucid dreams of legend. And in fact videogames provide a constant running example of just how profitably this perception can be managed - - from a medium which from inception built upon a certain futuristic quality coming both from the historically new level of consumer access to computer technology and from decades of science-fiction representations of same, and which leveraged that into a perennial suggestion that the bright new day was always just around the corner - that by playing videogames now you were securing a kind of early-investor bragging rights to the media singularity to come. If there's anything historically new about videogames it's the extent to which the very suggestion of potential developments to be had later on was finally recognised as more profitable than any intrinsic qualities of the form itself.

And I think all this raises some problems when we think about avant-garde and experimental videogames, not just because in replicating some of the assumptions of the industry they risk being assimilated by it - you can't game-design your way out of late capitalism, there are no final aesthetic solutions to economic problems etc - but because by repeating those assumptions they risk being judged by the standard of contribution to this same monolithic vidcon future, and then discarded accordingly when "the future" changes according to stockholder diktats. I mean that when you see these works as yet more expressions of "the medium" it's harder for them to survive when that status is taken away again, and that at this point it's difficult to conceive of a future of videogames that doesn't in some way just flow back into the orthodox one still being sold.

Why does this matter. I think the videogame market will crash again because that's what markets do, and when it does I believe it'll be blamed on small engines, on unity and rpgmaker, on asset-flipping and joke simulators and walking games and political games rather than e.g. the incessant boom-bust cycles of capitalism or the fact that the particular interactive media singularity that videogames have invested so much image, money and energy into identifying themselves with looks more and more dated and less likely to happen. I think there'll be more gamergate bullshit from people who invested in the stupid, stupid videogame dream and got told by youtube millionaires that it was being undermined from within by sjw fifth columnists making pug dating games. I think that just as places like YouTube have shown a willingness to quietly cut down on who's able to make money through their service places like Steam will do the same thing, particularly after already raising the prospect of exponentially increasing the cost of using the store for small developers already. I think middlebrow columnists at the Atlantic will cash checks saying well, a lot of those games weren't pushing the medium forward anyway, and that the whole thing will end up being recast as a morality tale about an overcrowded, overdiverse market, and that a lot of valuable work people are doing now will be just wiped from the record in the same way as a lot of pre-2007 indie games were, or flash games, or interactive CD-ROMs, or whatever the fuck.

I think that when this happens experimental games or avant garde games or alternative games will be seen less as possible alternatives to the mainstream tradition than as offshoots of it which got pruned, and I'm not sure how much help they will really be to anyone trying to figure out ways to make these things without getting pulled into the endless churning blood rotor of existing videogame culture.

I've written before that the game scenes which interest and excite me most are things like FNAF fangames, Undertale fangames, Unity horror games, RPG Maker games, hyperspecific utility pieces like the Prosperity Path orbs, less for any particular aesthetic or design qualities than for them being videogames which manage to escape some of the awful binary of Producer/Consumer and the ideas of "importance" which evolve later to help justify that perverse dynamic. Like what does it mean to experience a game if it's just part of a big stack of almost interchangeable things and anyway you're only absently going through it when searching for more stuff to steal for your own interchangeable thing. Which is healthier and more interesting than "art". But I think part of it too is the sense of having a specific audience to bounce against, even if it's just of people looking to take your Secret Of Mana midis, and the way that the concreteness of that audience helps defuse the kind of creeping tendency towards cultural speculation that comes with the belief in a big medium-wide payout somewhere down the line that'd justify the time and energies of everyone involved. I don't think it's enough to say people should make an effort to criticise games for what they are as opposed to what they might be, or whatever, insofar as that's even possible. I think being able to appreciate what they are is dependent on recognizing that they have an audience which is similarly settled, similarly "just there". And I think working towards constructing that kind of space would mean, yes, a sort of concession of "the future" to the stockholders of industry, renouncing the right to eventually reap that dread crop. But in the process being able to better engage with the present and all the disparite forces and strands within it who have similarly been lopped off that grand narrative, or were never part of it to begin with, and navigate all the ambiguities and potentials of that space. I think the future of videogames is the same kind of desperate, self-willed dream as those years worth of Twitter shares, for a company which has never actually been profitable, or the horrible locked-down image of infinity that sees new Rocket Racoon movies coming out every year til 2099, I think those dreams are ones that emerge and grow stronger as the actual basis for them either materially or affectively grows ever more decrepit, I think however overwhelming they get they can only really be strangled in the present.

As they say... no futur-what! what are you doing in my house! no-aieee!! (manuscript abruptly cuts off)

#vgames

75 notes · View notes

dippedanddripped · 4 years

Link

At a passing glance, it would appear that hip-hop has been defanged when it’s needed most. This is the most intense political era in living memory, and instead of rousing, politicized music from the genre that revolutionized rousing, political music, we’re mostly still getting more of the same hedonistic club bangers. Escapism is one thing… but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Beginning life within the celebratory escapism of The Bronx’s block parties, its move away from frivolous, crowd-pleasing wordplay gave way to something groundbreaking. Looking past the throngs of revelers to their broader surroundings, hip-hop became a vehicle for rappers to articulate discontent towards the entrapping tactics and disparities that ravaged their communities.

So for every exercise in elation, you had a stark but danceable piece of political commentary, such as Grandmaster Flash’s iconic journey through urban squalor on “The Message.” And in times where systemic discrimination reared its head most acutely, hip-hop responded in kind, providing a prescient and educational soundtrack. At the height of their powers, Public Enemy’s Chuck D enlightened NME on the pivotal purpose that hip-hop serves in broadening otherwise shuttered minds: “It’s a college course in black life,” he remarked in 1988, “as a matter of fact, it’s a whole damn degree you can earn.” Speaking just months before full-scale rioting engulfed Miami after police shot and killed 23-year-old Clement Lloyd, the commonality between the unrest of 31 years prior and today epitomizes why hip-hop’s sermons on injustice are still integral to the curriculum.

Yet in a time where activism is at a sustained height, what’s seen as the genre’s mainstream feels increasingly estranged from the struggles that necessitated its creation.

As calls for police reform reached a fever pitch, Nicki Minaj and Tekashi 6ix9ine’s “TROLLZ” was breaking YouTube’s record for most views of a hip-hop video in a single day. While Nicki has insisted that a “portion” of the proceeds will be allocated to The Bail Project, the track itself exists in its own gaudy vacuum. A microcosm of much of what Spotify re-designated as “Pop Rap” within their 2019 “Wrapped” findings, it plays up to all the clout-oriented egotism and excess that’s besieged the chart’s upper-reaches. To many casual listeners, these traits seem like prerequisites for that coveted Billboard success, dispensed without nuance or the faintest desire to surpass the one-dimensional.

Often miscast as a generational divide, the real crux of the matter is that some artists are content within the safety net of banality, while those who believe in hip-hop’s mobilizing power recognize the need for dissenting voices. Here, in the latter, we find the blossoming future of “political rap,” unbeholden to typecasting and producing engaging, 360-degree dispatches from Black life.

Although she was specifically discussing women in hip-hop, Chicago’s Noname captured the mood of the age when she declared that rappers “need to exist in multitudes.” Exemplified within her own 2018 magnum opus Room 25, a gripping track such as “Blaxploitation” neatly coexisted with a wide array of topics, biting humor, and slick demonstrations of lyrical prowess. Granted further autonomy by the online sphere, Noname’s assessment has set the tone for a new norm where rappers don’t need to sideline or fully focus on their conscious side to reach their audience.

Idealistic as it may sound, this state-of-play has been vividly illustrated by music made in both the preceding months and immediate aftermath of the callous murder of George Floyd. Proving that not only is hip-hop still intrinsically linked to its activistic roots, but also that this spirit is kept alive without rescinding artistic identity.

Run the Jewels stand out as a defining example of this trait. Driven in equal parts by cartoonish violence and stirring social commentary, they thrive on their duality. Not above sonic bombast or puerile humor, EL-P’s willingness to rhyme about “a cat shitting on my carpet” while “[Killer] Mike’s shooting a poodle” encapsulates the aura of fun and camaraderie that’s helped make them such a riveting duo. By the same token, their new album Run the Jewels 4’s unflinching portrayals of an ill-governed world on “Walking in the Snow,” “Ju$t,” or “A Few Words for the Firing Squad” anointed the project as a soundtrack to global revolt. Operating in every terrain they see fit, RTJ are a prime example of the modern, multi-faceted approach. As opposed to being a wafer-thin caricature, they juggle the whimsical and socio-political profundity with similar poise.

A product of both artistic vision and vigilance, the group’s instinctual tie to civil disobedience was summarized by Killer Mike as he explained, “In my mind, things are never not happening.”

Much like Noname’s call for eclecticism, the Atlanta veteran believes that it would be impossible for social insights to be absent from his work, invoking the old adage that “if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.”

Released days after George Floyd’s passing, Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist’s Alfredo wasn’t earmarked for incisive commentary on police brutality. Yet in the same vein as RTJ, both Freddie’s first-hand encounters with prejudice and his cognizance of today’s fractious climate ensured it naturally came to the fore. While “Gangsta’ Gibbs” may have routinely quashed Tupac comparisons, he’d turn prophetic on the stunning “Scottie Beam,” proclaiming “the revolution is the genocide. Yeah, my execution might be televised.”

Speaking to Billboard after its release, Freddie discussed both the cultural osmosis that led to this poignant bar and its immediate adoption as political sloganeering. “It’s crazy I’ve been seeing people with ‘my execution might be televised’ signs at protests, but I didn’t really think about that when I was making Alfredo. I made that record before George Floyd. So it was no problem to make that song because I breathe that shit.”

Reaching communities where his calm contemplation is recognizable, as well as others in which which this tenuous grip on mortality is unthinkable, the fact that Freddie is as perceptive as he is entertaining means that by existing in more than one sphere, he, like RTJ, can infiltrate both dismissive and receptive minds.

Just as Freddie’s contemplative bar felt candid and spontaneous, hip-hop’s power to convey the realities which form the hardened exterior made Conway the Machine’s “Frontlines” register as an extension of his pre-existing catalogue. Responding to the latest atrocities in real-time, Griselda’s lieutenant struck an innately human note, declaring “just ‘cause he from the ghetto, that don’t mean he sellin’ crack/ He drivin’ home from work, you pull him over ‘cause he Black.”

Where Buffalo’s premier boom-bap crew normally trade in luxury brands and clandestine enterprise, Conway proved that, in the same vein as Freddie and Mike, the usual myth-making recedes to the background when it’s time to stand up and be counted. Encouragingly, he’s far from the only one.

Debunking the notion that hip-hop’s youth are blissfully ignorant, Lil Baby threw his fans a curveball with new track “The Bigger Picture.” Practically broadcast live from Atlanta’s demonstrations, everything from its powerful title to its track length that exceeds anything on his recent album to his description of how “they shootin’ protesters with these rubber bullets, they regular people I know that they feel it,” proves that when push comes to shove, hip-hop should always use its platform for something more, regardless of who it alienates. And in Lil Baby’s case, it also painted the chart-topping artist in a more multitudinous light than ever before.

By refusing to pigeonhole themselves as political, non-political, or anything in between, hip-hop’s solidarity with the change in the air wields more power than ever. Holding court as popular music’s leading force, the genre, when used purposefully, has the capacity to be the most far reaching anti-racist weapon available. And at a time where discrimination emits from the highest corridors of power, rappers confronting systemic hatred with a broad lens or as crisis response disseminates the message with more impact than books or social media campaigns ever could.

As a result, everyone from RTJ to Lil Baby and countless others have exemplified a new era where defiance is woven into the fabric of their artistry. While the world actively combats intolerance, hip-hop’s finest are doing their part by dutifully informing audiences that anyone can listen, just don’t expect to be pandered to.

#run the jewels #freddie gibbs #conway #westside conway #noname #public enemy #music blog #poltical hiphop

0 notes

armeniaitn · 4 years

Text

Armenia extends hand to Lebanon after deadly explosion

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/culture/armenia-extends-hand-to-lebanon-after-deadly-explosion-44266-05-08-2020/

Armenia extends hand to Lebanon after deadly explosion

YEREVAN—The Armenian government is mobilizing to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Lebanon less than a day after a massive explosion devastated large parts of central Beirut. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a telephone conversation with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday morning to offer condolences to the families of the victims and discuss the scope of the assistance.

For his part, President Armen Sarkissian has also been in contact with the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I who is based in Antelias—a northern borough of Beirut—in order to assess the situation and determine how to provide tailored assistance to the country’s substantial and influential Armenian community. Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan also spoke with Aram I and said Artsakh is ready to receive 150 Lebanese-Armenian families.

His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia surveying the damage at the Armenian Catholicosate in Antelias (Photo: Cilicia TV)

The explosion was reportedly caused by a large stockpile of 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate catching fire in a warehouse in the port of Beirut. The historic Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud which lies less than three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the city’s major cargo terminal has been heavily damaged by the blast. According to reports, one of the main Armenian cathedrals has suffered major damage, and photos uploaded to social media sites depict devastation on some of the neighborhood’s main commercial thoroughfares.

Residents of Achrafieh cleaning up (Photo: Yeghia Tashjian)

Additionally, the heavily-Armenian populated areas of Achrafieh and Nor Hadjin were scenes of widespread destruction, while Mar Kikhail–which lies directly adjacent to the port itself–was reportedly “snuffed out” by the blast. “These four Armenian districts suffered heavy damage, with some buildings having all their windows shattered, and other buildings being completely destroyed,” said Yeghia Tashjian, a Beirut-based policy analyst and Armenian Weekly contributor. The number of Armenian dead has been estimated at 11, with at least 250 injuries according to Lebanese parliamentarian and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee Lebanon member Hagop Pakradouni. Among the casualties is prominent Lebanese-Armenian politician Nazar Najarian who had recently returned to the city from Montreal to take up the post of secretary-general of Lebanon’s prominent Maronite-dominated Kataeb (Falange) Party.

High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan announced in a statement that he had spent most of Tuesday night consulting with Armenian community leaders on the ground in Beirut to assess the situation and determine a course of action to assist the city’s sizable Armenian population. Sinanyan’s office says the community’s most urgent needs include medication for chronically ill patients, food and water and financial aid for rebuilding homes, shops, schools, churches and community centers. The statement also mentioned efforts to streamline the repatriation process to Armenia, as well as psychological support.

Just hours before the explosion, the Diaspora Ministry and the Repat Armenia Foundation welcomed a group of 90 repatriates from Lebanon to help them settle into a new life in Armenia. “No one would imagine that two hours later…” read a post on Repat Armenia’s Instagram page. The explosion is expected to accelerate the rate of repatriation with many in Armenia calling on the government to further facilitate the application process for ethnic-Armenians.

View this post on Instagram

Just a few hours ago, before the catastrophe in #beirut, our Integration Manager @dzovagsogh together with the @diasporahighcommissioneroffice welcomed 90 repatriates to #armenia. On August 4th of 2020 they embarked on a new journey in their homeland leaving behind the life in #Lebanon. No one would imagine, that two hours later….😥 Our deepest condolences to the victims and quick recovery wishes to those who were injured or affected by the massive explosion in Beirut. Our community in #Beirut, we keep messaging, emailing and calling you to see how are you and how we can help. Please, mark yourself safe and stay in touch with us. We are available 24/7. Emails: [email protected], [email protected]. Whatsapp: +374 43778434 Message us on our social media (FB, Instagram, Linkedin) We also hope that the Government of Armenia 🇦🇲 will provide a prompt humanitarian assistance to people of Lebanon, including Armenian community as well as send a group of doctors who can help saving as many lives as possible. Stay strong, stay safe! Our thoughts and prayers are with you! 🇱🇧#lebanonstrong

A post shared by Repat Armenia (@repatarmenia) on Aug 4, 2020 at 2:57pm PDT

Armenian churches, community centers, schools and businesses dot the skyline of Beirut’s eastern neighborhoods—a lasting reminder of the city’s importance to Lebanon’s 150 thousand-strong Armenian community. Armenians of Beirut—most of whom are descendants of refugees from the 1915 Genocide—have made important contributions to Lebanon’s social, commercial and political life. Due to Lebanon’s sectarian constitution, Armenians hold some seven seats in the Lebanese Parliament, while many have held important cabinet positions. At least one Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, is of Armenian descent.

While the Lebanese Civil War forced many to relocate to France, Canada and the United States, Beirut remains an important cultural hub for Armenian Diaspora life and a major publishing center for Western Armenian publications. Many Beirut-born Armenians have chosen to repatriate to Armenia, bringing with them unique tropes of Western Armenian culture, business acumen and Lebanese cuisine, which is now ubiquitous across the Armenian capital.

Lebanese Armenians have also played a very prominent role in the traditionally warm relations between their respective countries. Lebanon was among the first countries in the world—and the first Arab nation—to recognize the Armenian Genocide in 2000. Armenia, in turn, sent humanitarian aid to Beirut once before, during the 2006 invasion of the country by Israel. At the time, Armenia hosted almost one thousand mainly-ethnic Armenian refugees who were evacuated from the beleaguered city to escape daily aerial bombings. Since then, a 32-man strong Armenian peacekeeping detachment has been stationed in Lebanon as part of the UN-led mission. According to the Defense Ministry, however, none of them were injured by the blast, and they continue to fulfill their duty.

The latest shipment of humanitarian assistance will reportedly include medicine, medical equipment, food and other supplies. The explosion in Beirut comes in the wake of the worst economic crisis in Lebanon since the 1975-2000 Civil War which devastated much of the country. In addition, the Lebanese people have been dealing with a political crisis since the dissolution of the previous government in 2019 in the wake of mass demonstrations over entrenched corruption and gross mismanagement. To make matters worse, the country’s resources have already been stretched thin due to the influx of refugees from the raging civil war in neighboring Syria and the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. Just days before the explosion, the humanitarian organization Save the Children estimated that half a million children are hungry in Beirut alone. As much as 60-percent of Lebanon’s population might drop below the poverty line as this latest crisis adds to chronic stagflation. The explosion at the city’s main port will also likely disrupt the importation of vital food supplies to the country where basic staples are already increasingly scarce on shelves.

Armenia’s pledge for humanitarian assistance succeeds similar offers from France, the Gulf countries, Turkey, the European Union and the United States among others.

Raffi Elliott

Columnist & Armenia Correspondent

Raffi Elliott is a Canadian-Armenian political risk analyst and journalist based in Yerevan, Armenia. As correspondent and columnist for the Armenian Weekly, he covers socioeconomic, political, business and diplomatic issues in Armenia, with occasional thoughts on culture and urbanism.