#tw violence against indigenous peoples | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thethief1996 · 6 months

Text

I can't stop thinking about the news out of Palestine. Israel is sieging al Shifa hospital. Videos of people's limbs being severed off are haunting (graphic video tw). The hospital has ran out of fuel and 39 babies in incubators are fending for their lives by themselves, because Israel has stationed snipers around the hospital and is shooting all medical crew that walks into their sight.

First, the narrative was Israel would never bomb hospitals. Now, the hospitals are Hamas bases. Then, we respect journalists. Now, we have a fucking kill list of journalists because they are Hamas collaborators. First, we are not letting fuel in until the hostages are released. Now, we are not accepting the hostages back because that would stop our ground invasion and let Hamas win. And I could go on about every single lie they're making up. If you look up "Hamas rape" on google, the first link leads to Times of Israel saying Israel has found no forensic evidence of sexual violence, and only one eyewitness testimony out of 3.5k people attending the rave. If you Google "Hamas beheaded babies" the top links say they have no evidence for the claim besides word of mouth from extremist soldiers. Israeli extremists think about the ugliest goriest scene they can make out in their sick heads, tell that to a international journalist and they run away with it like it's gospel.

And children are being killed in the name of these lies. Thousands are being displaced in images that remind me of the pictures of Tantura 75 years ago, with their hands up so the tanks don't shoot them. Amputees are leaving the hospitals in wheelchairs hours after their surgeries because they are being shot at. Elders who survived the Nakba on 48 are having to walk towards Southern Gaza on foot (imagine walking from one end of your city to the other on foot), displaced again. People are cheering for the haunting images of white phosphorus bombs being dropped over Gaza. Gazan workers who were arrested in the West Bank are being thrust back into the bombings wearing numbered labels.

This is not normal. We are seeing the early stages of the settler colonial genocide of an indigenous population. Native leaders who have visited Gaza say its refugee camps look eerily like reservations. We can stop this. For the first time we are able to see wide scale accounts from the hands of the people suffering the genocide, and Israel is so scared of it they have cut all communications in Gaza.

This is our litmus test. I think we have never seen more clearly, with Palestine, Armenia, Congo and Sudan how colonialism has made our world a rotten place to live in.

The South African apartheid collapsed due to boycotts. We have to do everything in our power to stop Israel's hegemony. Even talking to a group of friends about Palestine changes the status quo. There's no world where we can live peacefully if Israel accomplishes their goals.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. You can stop consuming from as many brands as you want, though, and by all means feel free to give a 1 star review to McDonalds, Papa John, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

#free palestine #free gaza #save gaza #gaza under attack

30K notes · View notes

sweet-chimera · 2 months

Text

TW: Call out post, drama

// Damn we were going to keep it quiet and respectful until this point. because like always. Spork, aka Shiloh can't take accountability and Never does anything wrong despite the fact that this is the what? 6th group of people enmass to cut contact with them? Spork we were being quiet about it for YOUR sake. Cause you're a bad person and we wanted to be done with you. But fine. We'll do it your way. We blocked you because you're a toxic person who threatens to harm yourself when we don't comply to you. Not because of a fake wedding rp event. Content and stories under the cut. Long post trigger warning

And because he named dropped us, potentially to potentially insight violence on us. We'll return the favor. We were willing to just soft block and call it a day but then you do this? We knew you were a karen but come on spork. This is low even for you. For those of you that don't know, Spork aka:

patchiesdoodles, decipheringmadness, cxpescxwlsandcrxmes, ifyouwouldloveme, thegreeksknewthescore, fxllen-cne, thxpatriarch, unforgivendivine, AND the-blackened-dove.

Likes to block evade, exhibit controlling tendencies towards their rp partners, leverage marginalization's to groups that he doesn't belong to to white knight and get his way, tone police, sexually harass people mainly on voice call, guilt trip, bully those that speak out against him, use his partners to harass people who block him, vague posts, gives ultimatums, and threaten self harm when he doesn't get his way.

Lets get this out of the way, My experience with spork

I met spork in the muntain june 2023. And it was one of the most grating experience of my life. At every chance they got they spoke over people, talked openly about their sexual trauma when no one has consented to hearing it. And tone policed me, a cambodian/afro indigenous person from baltimore, for using language that was "Offensive to black people." Only to then lay off after yelling at me for a few minutes. When he found out I was black. (Screen shot of me talking to the mod of the muntain afterwards)

I was off put, and upset. That someone who is this complexion

is tone policing me, AN AFRO INDIGENOUS PERSON WHEN I MAKE NO ATTEMPTS TO HIDE IT. IM BLACK.

But seeing as we're a vastly neuro divergent community. I forgave and forgot because it wasn't worth the fight. it didn't stop them from constantly bringing up sexual or traumatic topics. But at the very least. They were upset at me for using AAVE and saying the N word. A SLUR I CAN USE.

But then later down the line. I talked to the muntain mod about introducing my partners to the rp community and to help the transition go smoothly.

I EVEN WENT INTO VOICE CALL AND BEGGED THEM, SPORK SPECIFICALLY. TO BE ON THEIR BEST BEHAVIOUR.

My girlfriend joined on the 30th and my boyfriend joined on the first.

During the first call on the 30th. Spork dominated the conversation and flirted with my girlfriend infront of me upon finding out we were polyamourus. But for the most part was respectful.

On the voice call on the second. They were racist and immflamatory to my boyfriend. Tao. A native mexican man. Spork claims to be indigenous themself but I have no proof of this. But as we all know, Abrahamic religions have decimated the indigenous populations and caused Alot of harm.

On voice call. Spork brings up their LITERAL JESUS CHRIST muse. And talks about their religious trauma. Tao, also talks about his in the form of a joke. "Oh Jesus sure liked to wash feet huh?" A TRUE FACT. NOT THAT BAD. WE ALL HAVE MADE FUN OF IT.

Here comes white knight Spork, yelling at my partner to not make fun of jewish traditions. Its insensitive and blastephemous. Only to then dominate the conversation to talk about their trans jesus muse who openly talks about being abused by god

(Recap of the voice call i had with the mod)

So spork, a white passing person AT BEST, told my darker complexion NATIVE MEXICAN BOYFRIEND. That he shouldn't make jokes about judaism? When spork is a white satanist? And all abrahamic religions not just Catholicism has caused damage to our populations? You didn't even let him say more then that one joke, you didn't even give him 10 seconds to say is name before dominating the conversation again

Sweetie. 1.) Anyone can criticize and make fun of the bible, the torah, or the Quran. 2.) SAYING JESUS WASHED FEET. WHICH IS TRUE. IS NOT AS INFLAMMATORY. As making a gay trans jesus blog AS A ROLEPLAY CHARACTER. To talk about how god abused him.

And these are just my personal experiences with spork.

WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEIR FRIEND POLITELY ASKED TO STOP SHIPPING BUT STILL BE FRIENDS?

HMMM. THATS WEIRD. THATS A PRETTY POLITE WAY TO GO ABOUT HAVING A CONVERSATION. BECAUSE CONSENT TAKES TWO PARTIES. WHAT WAS YOUR RESPONSE TO ONE PARTY NOT CONSENTING SO YOU DONT GET YOUR WAY?

OH YEAH.

YOU VAGUE POST ON THE DASH, GUILT TRIP PEOPLE FOR STILL ASSOCIATED WITH VOID (gin-n-chthonic) and get upset when you saw them on your dash because you keep block evading them to see if they were talking about you. YOURE MENTAL HEALTH WAS MESSED UP BECAUSE YOUR FRIEND HAD A POLITE CONVERSATION WITH YOU? ABOUT NOT REAL CHARACTERS? AND YOUR RESPONSE WAS A PUBLIC CALL OUT POST. And then you go around to people like slurk.

Who've you've been codependently abusing for a long time. And try to guilt trip them into blocking void.

Because thats a sound response. AS WELL AS BITCH AND MOAN ABOUT IT IN CALL FOR DAYS. THIS ISN'T EVEN INCLUDING THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A HABIT OF GETTING YOUR FRIENDS AND PARTNERS TO ATTACK AND OSTRICIZE PEOPLE FOR YOU. Remember when jessica was sick with covid. But you wanted an answer so bad. That you sent your boyfriend after her? CAUSE WE DO.

And how you admitted in voice call that you would type from Boogies account to send people things, speak for him. OR ADMITTED THAT ROLEPLAYING IS A SPIRITUAL THING FOR YOU. How these characters are extension of yourself and if they feel pain or rejected you do? So every time someones muse doesn't want to interact with them. YOU A REAL HUMAN BEING FEEL THE PAIN?

cause we do.

SO LETS RECAP. TLDR;

you give ultimatums

guilt trip

block evade

were openly racist to a mexican indigenous man

hit on my girlfriend infront of me

can't read a room socially

send mobs after people

talk about traumatic shit without peoples consent

overly sexual even when we say we're uncomfortable

fly off the handle and go on public tirades when we try to talk to you, then get surprised when no one wants to talk to you and just quietly exits your life

use your loved ones accounts to talk to people who go nc with you

only white knight and virtue signal when its convenient to you

want to control everyones character and insert your muse into everything but when they don't comply you guilt trip, bitch, give ultimatums, or post publicly about not being loved

you weaponize your marginalization as a trans man but are clearly white passing and command alot of social power from your social media presence

sexually harass people around you

and you tone police the people of color around you when we speak up

WE DIDN'T BLOCK YOU OVER A FAKE RP EVENT. WITH FAKE PEOPLE THAT YOU INSIST ARE REAL. WE REFUSE TO BE AROUND YOU BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO GET HELP FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH. WE BEGGED YOU TO. AND YOU GUILT TRIP PEOPLE WITH THREATS OF OSTRICHCIZATION AND SELF HARM.

YOU'RE A BAD PERSON SPORK.

#tw: drama #tw: call out post #call out post #drama #patchiesdoodles

97 notes · View notes

kloud002 · 9 months

Text

the indigenous coding of kurta clan

(tw: genocide)

i find it beautiful how kurapika's eyes turn a bright red whenever he feels strong emotions. how much more if i were to witness the entire kurta clan's eyes do the same altogether in a communal existence and celebration?

with that said, the indigenous coding of the kurta clan is very evident—in their domains, clothing, houses, cultural motifs and objects, form of governance, language, traditional healing practices, connection with nature and animals, and communal way of living.

they also share similar struggles and experiences with many indigenous and colonized peoples from all over the world. being discriminated by people outside their community because of their distinct feature, they're displaced from their original home and forced to occupy a secluded forest.

kurapika's mother recalled that their clan experienced so much discrimination and was hunted for their eyes, although this hasn't happened in many years. but kurapika's father pointed out that this hasn't occurred again only because they're constantly hiding and transferring from one location to another. they also couldn't freely explore outside their area as it would be life-threatening for them.

when kurapika and pairo went to the outside world, they were rejected and driven away when they showed signs of being physically deviant. they're seen as uncivilized savages, even being referred to as "red-eyed monsters" and "agents of the devil." the kurta clan was shunned or killed simply for existing and for being different.

they're alienated—barely perceived as humans. the kurta eyes are even seen as exotic goods and trophies. this mirrors the reality of how indigenous peoples are not only oppressed and persecuted but also viewed as exotic and mere objects for collection, therefore stripping them of their identity, culture, and humanity. the kurta clan was commodified for the same reasons that they're subjected to torment.

the kurta massacre and what transpired after it are both chilling and enraging. the whole clan—young and old, pureblood and not—was murdered when they were found. and they weren't just straight up killed, they're brutally made to feel suffering and immense grief for their loved ones before their lives are taken from them.

there was no justice for the genocide afterwards. just headlines that reported the event throughout the world 6 weeks later, no earlier than that. in the present, the kurta eyes continued to be sold and auctioned, diminished to a mere unique collectible regardless of its bloody history. kurapika knows that no one else can bring justice and conclusion to the deaths of his clan but him. he shall forever carry their collective rage and grief, stopping at nothing until he passes complete judgment to all of his clan's murderers.

something to note as well—it's glaringly obvious that the culprits carry heavy christian imagery and symbolism. so yes, kurapika's conflict with the phantom troupe can be interpreted as the indigenous peoples' struggle against the oppression and violence of government authorities and christianity (or religion, in general).

i have yet to form a solid analysis of the phantom troupe. so much to ponder about. for the kurta clan, this is it for now.

#hxh #kurapika #kurta clan

51 notes · View notes

hhrepresentation · 5 months

Text

Police Brutality in Heartbreak High

***TW: Police Brutality***

In episode 4, "Rack Off," Indigenous character Malakai leaves the club with Amerie. They are drunk and flirting, talking about Amerie's issues with her best friend.

The police outside of the club are urging people to go home, and Malakai wants to stand outside a bit longer and finish his conversation with Amerie. He reassures her that the cops won't harm them, that they're just talking.

One officer proceeds to shove Malakai's shoulder, telling him over and over to "Get going," and "Move!" Malakai is shoved a third time when he tells the officer to "F*ck off, dog."

In the same moment, Malakai is lifted up and slammed down to the concrete by the officer.

In a split second, Amerie is screaming, their friends are filming, and the group rushes to Malakai's aid and the group runs off after him.

He begs his peers not to post the video because nothing will come of it, and that is just how police treat people like him.

This unprovoked act of violence sheds light on the violence faced by Indigenous people in Australia.

Depicting scenes like this in media in a way that sheds light on this relentless violence against marginalized communities is so important because it challenges the hegemonic perceptions of society.

"Counter-tendencies," or messages that go against dominant ideology, challenge preconceived cultural assumptions (Lull, 2013).

This scene that depicts a sweet and charming character experiencing unprovoked violence challenges the dominant belief that police do not treat non-white civilians differently, and that police action is justified because they are protecting the community.

#heartbreak high 2022 #police brutality #aboriginal #malakai mitchell

12 notes · View notes

sappholovell · 6 months

Text

TW: SA, r@pe, and discussions of abuse and violence particularly in romantic relationships

Also spoilers for ACoTar and Shadow and Bone

This is just a tangent that's been on my mind for a while, so take this as me shouting into the void. There's been a few trends in YA literature that have caught my attention, but none as much as "you're a bad person, hence you are a rapist." My best example of this is A Court of Thorns and Roses, or ACoTaR, by Sarah J. Maas. Nearly every character who is a bad person has either sexually assaulted another character or offered to keep a female or underaged character for their followers or minions or some shit. Amarantha, Ianthe, and many of the Illyrian soldiers (who are supposed to be GOOD GUYS, might I add) are like this, and others are just neglectful or abusive to their partners or families (Beron, Tamlin, Kier, and even Eris, to an extent.) Now, stories about SA survivors are always good to tell, but that's not what this is. This is the lazy ability to make a character a rapist in order to make them unlikable, even against their own personality.

This happens in Shadow and Bone as well with the Darkling. Before the fandom gets their pitchforks and starts running, let me finish. Making Genya spy on the king at the age of eleven, knowing that he would sexually abuse her? That is something that the Darkling would do. But astral projecting into Alina's room and pretending to be her boyfriend to get in her pants? His whole thing is trying to make her stronger and more confident so that if (when, in his mind) she chooses to leave Mal and join the Darkling they can rule as equals. She's the Persephone to his Hades, in his mind. He's a horrible person. He's committed genocide, created abominations, and tried to torture some guy while his girlfriend watched in order to steal the girlfriend, all out of a twisted and selfish love for his people and himself. Writing him coercing Alina just feels like a lazy way to make him eviler, and it takes all of the depth from his later character arcs.

In SJM's case, Rhys as an SA survivor comes up, but it isn't a major part of his story arc. His experiences (as well as Mor's, Gwyns, and Nesta's) are only brought up in long, performative rants that are supposed to be empowering but lose purpose after the first six hundred words. And the rapists themselves? I have no idea. They have no personality after that point, except for maybe Amarantha. I thought that it fit Amarantha's personality okay. But seriously, this idea that all men are creepy sex addicts who can't control themselves and hate women unless they are the four conveniently attractive magical men SJM has lined up for us gets old really fast, and it takes all the fun out of the villain. Oh, there's a female rapist too? That's neat. That could open a discussion. What else does she do? What does she want? What are the villains' motivations? She doesn't know, and neither do we. It's power or something. We could have guessed this ourselves. Even Tamlin had to be violent and mentally abusive.

In conclusion, in order to write a good villain please think about the direction you are going to take them in, and give them a personality and backstory as you would any other character before making them do evil things; Make those evil things line up with their motivations and experiences. And please, please, please don't make them ALL rapists and sex offenders if they are a nomadic or indigenous civilization because that comes off as really really racist. Thank you and good night.

#Writing #Shadow and Bone #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #The Darkling #aleksander morozova #TW: SA #amarantha

3 notes · View notes

allwithagrainofsalt · 4 months

Text

So I'm watching Princess Weekes' video about confederate vampires (watch it fr) and I wanna expand upon smth they mention about the explicitly White American Confederate storytelling in,

Drumroll please...

Firefly.

Now first: I LOVE Firefly. It's an incredible show and in fact I think it's a beautiful and inspirational piece of political art in many ways, and I'm gonna talk about that part a little bit at the end. But mainly, why did I hear the comparison and immediately start to have 50 puzzle pieces click? Well. This essay got long, and to be honest idk how much I might be repeating others cuz PW mentioned it due to others talking about it too, but I just kinda took a journey of my own off-the-dome observations based on things I've already read about/know. I hope it's an interesting journey for you too.

TW below the Readmore: discussion of colonial / military violence; discussion of Sexual Assault

We are looking at a world of cowboys in the stars, in which there was a recent Civil War. In fact, we're set in a "real life future," where the majority remaining galactic race stems from the great American Empire. We do get influences of Chinese culture with language and clothing, but remember that Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s - which themselves romanticized the values of independent, libertarian southerners (who massacred Indians and no-good loiterers - we'll talk about that later) - heavily utilized "Oriental" aesthetics and caricatures while dehumanizing the Asian people they were ostensibly in relationship with. After all, Asian Americans were a growing population in the landscape of the Western frontier, often working alongside your storybook railroad workers, gold seekers and, even further east than Pacific coastal industries, working & living alongside cowboys. However, the language of Western-genre films (because of the way it mirrors the language of Confederates) does not respect Asian culture as it is, but rather as a collection of "wisdoms" and aesthetics to pick apart and use the "good parts" of - for use by white people in their white expansion. This idea fits a bit uncomfortably well with Firefly's multiple white characters who are "orientalized" by the camera. Kaylee, Inara, and the Tam siblings fulfill various stereotypes and tropes of Chinese- and other Asian-American diaspora people groups. The show, in this way, offers the "diverse" presence of a Chinese influence... using actors of Italian, Irish, German, and possibly Latine background to fill the roles. This makes the Firefly universe look less of a pacifist future between Western and Asian cultures, and more like a colonized universe where the (white) Western colonialists maintain some practices of those forward-thinking Asians who came before them.

But! You may say! Firefly isn't quite so white as that. What about the POC in the show!? Beyond its treatment of the de/re-Orientalization of a decidedly American/Western future, what about Firefly's real interracial representation, like Zoe Washburne and Shepherd Book? I would argue the inclusion of these unapologetic and kind black activist ideas is part of what begins to bring this show towards something more agreeable, but I also think they are at risk of becoming a bit of an obfuscation of a deeper anti-black racist remnant that remains entrenched in the show's Confederate story influences...

We need to talk about Reavers.

Joss Whedon admitted that Reavers were influenced by the role Native Americans played in traditional Westerns. "Every story needs a monster," he said in an interview. "In the stories of the old west it was the Apaches." It's pretty clear how the Reavers, who rape, murder, skin and cannibalize those of the "civilized world" are constructed from the specific racism against Black and Indigenous groups in America. Depictions of cannibals and savages in media have always been constructed to dehumanize those on the outskirts - whether it's the Apache threat Whedon mentions from the Wild West, or indigenous tribes of Africa or South America in any media, or the "terrifying" blackfaced "black" characters in Birth of a Nation, the horror trope of "uncivilized bands of roving lunatics who self-mutilate and can't communicate with their words" is pretty inseparable from its own racist origins. For centuries Europeans have been making "demons" out of pagans and indigenous people for their battle tactics or necropolitics, while simultaneously working hard to entrench our own atrocities in "necessities of the time." For one example, think of the fear associated with "headhunter" displays versus the still-controversial but more civilized-presenting "harsh peacekeeping" of public hangings. What is the difference between these practices besides a different eagernesses to contextualize the practice? I don't argue in favor of punitive violence for cultural purposes here, but it's important not to lose the contextualization of these tropes' origins in the social messaging of popular media. And in fact, the Reavers show an interesting way that the criminalization of Black and Indigenous Americans ties closely to the way we talk about the incarcerated and the mentally ill. I'm frankly not much more satisfied by the Reavers being an embodiment of "space madness" than I would be if they were straight up just Native Americans, or runaways from enslavement. American culture is great at coming up with "madnesses" which are really just the pushback to dehumanizing and unjust regimes. I'm not saying that the logic of the show would allow Reavers to receive constructive community-based mental health support involving free medicine and good therapy. But in a show that claims to be in favor of the marginalized and their voice for power, it's weird that this doesn't come up, right? Do the monsters in our media need to be irredeemable to work as narrative tropes? I would argue, once again, the inclusion of this Western and frankly genocidal trope (and if you think the Reavers are NOT a genocidal story trope, let me know what paths the narrative offers as a solution besides killing them immediately and indiscriminately when given the chance.) works to build a world-feel that's less "for the people" and more "for the justified, downtrodden warriors who know right from wrong," which is a very confederate line of thought.

Although Firefly highlights some literal black voices in their main cast, the plotline of the show is much the same as a confederate apologist story. Some people are more worthy of life than others in this tale - others who are too animistic and uncivilized; or who are simply left behind by the inevitable march of the white, righteous underdog ideologies. And these bold, brave rebels from the Civil War which recently happened are still around, just waiting to reassert their power and their independent desires from the empire. The Confederacy of the US was a white, ethno-nationalist and fascist state, admittedly so by their own politicians. It provided ideological groundwork for Nazi Germany and preceded much of the pseudoscience of phrenology. The Confederate position was based on white supremacy nearly entirely, and argued for the most racist version of a "globalist" idea possible. As evidence, here's some of the Cornerstone Address presented by Alexander Stephens, the "vice president" of the Confederacy: "Many governments have been founded upon the principle of subordination and serfdom of certain classes of the same race; such were and are in violation of the laws of nature. Our system commits no such violation of nature's laws. With us, all of the white race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of the law. Not so with the negro. Subordination is his place. He, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our system." But confederate stories and ideas have maintained a long-standing and unyielding influence, as after they lost the Civil War, the ideology of the Confederacy underwent a serious PR rebranding. Rather than "anti-American" racists, they became the noble fighters of a lost cause. They became the "defenders of heritage," and they became the mythologized ancestor of any white people who wanted to claim them. The Civil War "rebels" were painted as noble Southern men and women who, in a political landscape of the South becoming red states and the bible belt, were mythologized as Southern Belles and nobly humble plantation owners who loved Good Black people... just not the "mentally ill" ones who did things like run away or fight bondage.

(By the way, Alexander Stephens had some things to say about mental illness too (same link again)- I'm tying this back to my point about "mentally ill Reavers" being less of a far-cry than you might think from Confederate thinking: "Our new government [the Confederacy] is founded upon [this] idea; its corner-stone rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition. ... Many who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well that this truth was not generally admitted, even within their day. ... Those at the North, who still cling to these errors [of racial equality], with a zeal above knowledge, we justly denominate [call them] fanatics. All fanaticism springs from an aberration of the mind from a defect in reasoning. It is a species of insanity. One of the most striking characteristics of insanity, in many instances, is forming correct conclusions from fancied or erroneous premises; so with the antislavery fanatics. Their conclusions are right if their premises were. They assume that the negro is equal, and hence conclude that he is entitled to equal privileges and rights with the white man. ... [I] told [a gentleman from one of the northern states in the House of Representatives] that it was he, and those acting with him, who were warring against a principle. They were attempting to make things equal which the Creator had made unequal." It's worth wondering what makes us, as viewers, accept that Reavers are inherently incurable of the mental illness which makes them monsters. Of course this trope could be used in a critical way - but we can see the real-language example here which should make us question what kind of reading to take from media which only addresses the single solution of wiping a True Evil demographic from existence.)

So I hope you see the influences now, how Firefly follows Confederate and White Supremacist storylines. It's of course worth talking about though, the ways it can be read as a radical story as well. The cast includes an empowered revolutionary black woman, a black spiritual elder who advocates for pacifism in resistence, a sex worker who consistently values and stands up for herself and her line of work explicitly, a working woman who struggles with misogyny, and a rich man disgracing himself from society to save his mentally ill younger sister who was facing violent abuse at the hands of the state. These are people who orient themselves for one reason or another in at least some form of opposition to the oppressive and violent power of the government, which once again, is an analogous state to the United States. Of course, the difficulty of the anti-governmental Confederate narrative is that anti-governmental sentiment can have incredibly valid origins. If you are facing discrimination you should indeed oppose the oppressive force that monitors and abuses all its citizens in one way or another. But for God's sake, that opposition should come from a perspective of eliminating discrimination for all. Not a perspective like Jayne Cobb's - the explicitly violent and self-serving voice which, through the show and movie, metaphorically pulls our disaffected protagonist, Malcolm Reynolds, toward the direction of his more cynical, militaristic and even fascist internalized values. Firefly wants to simultaneously make a diverse revolutionary text, but also misses the opportunities it presents itself to say something more meaningful through its own medium. We could've addressed the harm of Jayne's willingness to grant "humanity" ONLY to the people he deems as something like family - or who he feels have properly convinced him that they're worth saving. He is the perfect embodiment of the right-wing, misogynist, white-supremacist ideology at the center of Confederate thinking. He's a Nazi who has been pulled into collaborating with real marginalized people through his relationship with Mal. And there's some level of that which could be an interesting story about deradicalization. In fact in some ways I believe the show could be open to some kind of that interpretation, given the almost-betrayal that Jayne goes back against due to his dedication to Mal. But unfortunatly I'd also say that in the execution of the show I got a different perception, which is back to the whole Confederate thesis...

Instead of a fascist who we could watch be deradicalized by his fellow crew, Jayne ends up doing marginal good only ever out of respect for Mal. I would argue in this way, their relationship mirrors the romanticized mythology of the Civil War being a "war between brothers" due to split households in border states. This narrative clearly holds more respect for the Confederacy than continuing to rightfully call the ideology the abhorrent thing that it is, and it is clear that the same ideology rears its head deep into our legal systems through the treatment of oppressed groups to this day. In ways, the influence of pro-Confederate radicals AFTER the war worked to legitimize bigotry of all kinds in a truly unprecedented way in America. If we have to respect the opinions of the Confederates because they were our "brothers" and not our ideological enemies, then who will we feel more and more comfortable throwing by the wayside - them or the people we work together to shamefully dehumanize? Through this contextual lens, with a vision of Mal as a "decent cowboy" compared to Jayne's more blatantly intolerant cowboy persona, it seems glaring that Jayne's bigoted views are just more intense outward versions of similar prejudices to those Mal feels, but by comparing the two characters to one another Mal would of course begin to look more forgivable despite his relative centrism and lack of care for the marginalized beyond his immediate group. Neither Mal nor anyone, for the narrative's sake, ever really, constructively pulls Jayne aside to actually lay down meaningful expectations of respect. And our rebel storylines of outgroup justice in the future should not accept this lack of accountability! By doing so, we leave no room for the revolutionary need for the Paradox of Tolerance...

The one thing we must not tolerate is intolerance.

Oh and P.S., one last thing: Upon an internet search about the paradox of tolerance I learned that Bill Maher has a famous quote about it, and idk the specifics but seeing that dang centrist asshole liberal made me want to clarify that the argument itself could tie very well into stuff like Islamophobic talking points, since the US defends a lot of its military landgrabs as "defending liberal ideals" due to conflating all Muslims with extremist groups. So I just felt the need to add that being "intolerant of intolerance" is NOT equivalent to dehumanizing groups based on stereotypes of them being "more prone to violence" or other dogwhistles like that. I would imagine that comes through, but it's also just worth making explicit. Even me, in this essay, seeing a character who falls into many of the plot points of a Confederate heroism storyline and is a white man - I'm not intolerant OF those things. In the episodes where Mal successfully subverts those ideologies he's mirroring on screen, by interacting with the world differently because he has learned to humanize an increasingly large group of people, I cheer for him! However, I remain intolerant of the intolerance Mal continues to show by virtue of his failure to hold others and himself accountable to the paradox of tolerance, and lets abuse goes unchecked for longer than he, as a man with power and a growing communal mindset, COULD put to rest.

#media analysis #firefly #white supremacy #orientalism #historical #history lesson #critical theory #philosophy #revolutionary #racism #leftism

2 notes · View notes

demonbanisher · 2 years

Text

More cowboy AU for y’all today @wolfstarmicrofic

TW: for mild discussions of internalized transphobia and homophobia, and discussions of historical violence and on-going racism against Indigenous peoples

Nomad

“The truth about stories is that’s all we are.” - Thomas King

“Did you know the Indigenous people to this area were nomadic?” Remus asked, they had gone out on their camping trip and were laying next to their dwindling campfire watching the stars. Remus was right. There were so many more out here like salt spilt on black granite. “And then we killed as many of them as we could and took their land from them. Put up borders where there weren’t any and gave them the worst places to live.”

“I can’t say I know much about them,” Sirius said. “Any time my family talked about people who were different from us, it was just to say how awful they were.”

“Some people around here think that way. There’s protests sometimes or a group of advocates will damage someone’s barn or feed stores and then people get angry. I never quite understood why they felt their anger was justified but the Indigenous people’s wasn’t. I mean we took everything from them. Told them everything they ever believed was wrong. They didn’t think about gender the way that we did. I wondered if we’d listened to them, if we learned from them, how things would be different today.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“James. His family lives out on the reserve, but he’s good with horses and there’s enough places in town that won’t hire rez kids so he wound up here. Told my dad he’d break our toughest stallion in a week or he could send him packing.”

“And?��

“He did it in four days. He’s the gentlest thing now. Honestly, James is half the reasons our horses stay alive as long as they do. He understands them in a way that we can’t.” Remus sighed and stuffed his hands into the bag of trail mix, throwing another handful into his mouth. “The world is all just stories, isn’t it? It’s just a matter of whose stories get told.”

“And what about your story?” Sirius asked, twisting onto his side so he could look at Remus.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who would want to listen.”

“I do,” Sirius said, and he took a leap as he reached out to wrap his fingers gently around Remus’s, his heart hammering in his chest.

“We can’t have this,” Remus whispered, but didn’t move his hand from Sirius’s.

“And who told you that story?”

“I can’t remember anymore,” Remus said as he closed his eyes. “It feels like something I’ve always known, like a fairytale so familiar to me that I know how it’s going to end.”

“Maybe we can write a new story,” Sirius said, rolling onto his back and turning his eyes skyward again.

Remus was quiet for awhile next to him. The coals of the fire popped and hissed as it died out and the darkness crept closer to them. Every once in a while Sirius would squeeze his hand to let him know that he was still there. That he wasn’t alone.

Eventually, Remus turned to face him and Sirius did the same. “Were you scared when you left home?”

Sirius moved a little closer so he could see him better. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Remus nodded.

“I’m always scared. But I woke up one day and realized I couldn’t spend the rest of my life letting someone write my story for me. Stealing that car, running away, it felt like the first real thing I’d done in years. The first thing I’d actually done that wasn’t chosen for me. All the sudden I wasn’t fictional anymore.”

Remus studied his face closely before reaching out a hand to cup the side of Sirius’s face.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asked.

“Becoming real.”

“And what’s the first real thing you want to do?”

“I want to look at the stars,” Remus said and then he leaned forward and kissed him.

#wolfstarmicrofic #wolfstar cowboys au #t4t wolfstar

20 notes · View notes

aspenforest732 · 4 months

Text

Mortem ad Wrens Chapter 17: For the Freedom of Those Our Nation Denies

Summary:

tw: scars, trafficking mention, gang involvement, domestic violence shelter, abuse mention, unhoused, spousal abuse mention, muzzle adjacent device Stain from afar and rescue race

Notes:

Me: Akira’s never had a stable adult in their life, have they Akira: there’s the gang! Me: eeeeh ‘text’ JSL Text thoughts

As they geared up for the third day’s evening patrol, Akira kept trying to adjust their capture weapon, something causing it to sit askew. After a moment of trying to undo a lump, they directed it to unravel and saw a small lizard napping in it. Grinning, Akira took a picture of it and sent it to their class group chat and Lizzaro once Taishiro happily gave them her number. Akira scooped the lizard off the scarf, being careful to detangle its tiny claws, and set it on their now-empty costume case.

An hour into patrol, everyone’s phone sounded an alarm as Hosu was attacked. Akira blanched and quickly texted the class group chat, “Those in or going to Hosu, stay safe. Don’t do anything illegal.”

Shoto liked their message, but they weren’t expecting Ida to see it for a while. It’s the thought that counts, right?

“Any friends in Hosu?” Taishiro asked gently.

‘Mini Ingenium’s interning there, and it looks like Shoto is heading there with Endeavor,’

“We’re too far out to send people, but the backup evening team will be ready to deploy if they need more people that badly.”

Akira nodded and put their phone away, hoping their classmates would follow protocol for once. Mortis helped a cat down from a tree, letting the poor thing ride in their capture scarf as they carefully climbed back down. Fat Gum discretely took a picture, chuckling at Mortis’ half-hearted glare that was tempered by the cat nuzzling under against the mottled scar across their throat.

“Nejire is also responding in Hosu with Ryukyu,” Suneater said as the group quietly patrolled. Even Fat Gum only tried to lighten the mood a couple times, keeping an eye on the HN for updates.

Half an hour later, Mortis’ phone vibrated. They immediately paused with a roll halfway to their mouth and pulled it out. ‘Deku’s caught up in something, and it looks like mini Ingenium is at the same location.’

Fat Gum sent out a Hero Network alert with what little information they had, two interns either separated from their mentors or with injured mentors in an alleyway. Mortis quickly messaged the group that the alert had been sent to the Hero Network and pinged Shoto in case he hadn’t seen it yet.

The trio waited tensely by the sushi shop as Endeavor and Manual added themselves as responders along with a few of the flame hero’s sidekicks. The minutes ticked by until it was marked as resolved with no casualties but two students moderately injured, one pro and one student severely injured, and Stain severely injured in custody.

Akira sighed in relief and frustration, ‘I’d bet my savings mini Ingenium got there first, and Deku swooped in to help. He wouldn’t have targeted Manual, so Native is probably the injured pro.’

“Native? What makes you say that?” Fat Gum asked.

‘There is a list compiled by people with similar ideologies to Stain of people who need to be taken down in some way. Native is on there for racism, multiple counts of assault, and helping to cover up crimes against indigenous people.’ At Fat Gum’s confusion, Mortis gave their theory on why Ingenium was attacked and not killed.

The three went back to a quiet but tense patrol as it seemed everyone was waiting on news from Hosu. Towards the end of their shift, Fat Gum took the group a little off their patrol route and smiled at Akira’s confused head tilt. “On Wednesdays, I like to check on the battered spouse and community shelters. No matter how much we promote education and therapy for abuse, there are a few who slip through the cracks.”

‘And the community shelters?’ Mortis asked. ‘Are they just a nicer term for unhoused shelters?’

Suneater smiled slightly, “No, anyone from the community or who ends up here can have a place to stay with warm meals, education, and a counselor. The shelters have an emergency foster license they can employ at their discretion, and since we implemented those, we’ve found runaways or abuse victims are more likely to reach out when something’s wrong.”

Fat Gum let one of the intake people take them on a tour of the battered spouse shelter. As they spoke with some of the staff in each wing, a few residents would occasionally approach who had an issue with services. Some were also curious about Akira as his newest, albeit temporary, addition to the agency.

As the tour was wrapping up in the birthing person ward, Akira hesitantly asked, ‘Do you have any protections in place for spouses of pro heroes or villains?’

“Why yes, we have a Tinker on staff who has a support license to help protect the building against most quirk-based attacks. We also have evacuation plans in case the facility is attacked.”

The community shelter left Mortis wishing they had something like it in Musutafu. While the warehouses were protected, a place where you could continue education, not have to worry about your next meal, and start saving money would have made a world of difference when Mortis arrived. They found themself easily talking with the kids, encouraging their dreams and letting them share their interests. The adults still made them a little wary, visually and subtly verbally checking the kids for abuse, but they all seemed to be thriving as best they could in the circumstances.

Eventually heading back to the agency, Mortis signed, ‘Thank you. If U.A. wasn’t so far away, I would wish I stopped here instead of going to Musutafu.’

A few days later, Mortis slipped into base, giving an exhausted smile to Au as they made their way to the back. Most people were making deliveries or deals or sleeping, so Mortis took silent steps until they were just outside Boss’ door, knocking for the first time in ages.

“Mortis, good to have you back. How was the internship?”

‘Good, Fat Gum updated my nutrition plan, and I’m working on a new skill. Unclear yet whether it’ll help on this side of my life, but we’ll see. Also, Fat Gum and Sun Eater are aware of my situation and are willing to help with and recruit for Plan A.’

“Unexpected but noted. Are they aware of us?”

‘Not by name, but they are aware I’m in a gang. With how quickly Fat Gum figured out my bio family, I doubt it’ll take him long to find out which gang I’m in if he decides to look into it.’

“Will they be a problem?” Boss groaned.

‘No, they work with gangs in Esuha, albeit with a tighter leash.’ Akira took a steadying breath, script set in their head. ‘I want to go on security duty. The new nutrition plan is going to take two and a half times what I’m currently making off deliveries. I know we’re still down people since the USJ incident, and I can be the shadow cloak or overwatch. I can intercept Eraser Head and draw off other heroes-’

“Done. Just stay out of the line of fire unless the muscle gives you the signal.”

Akira grinned, ‘Thanks, Boss. If everything goes well for once, you’ll be looking for someone new around October. Also, I’m gonna need to use the kitchen for a couple hours once a week.’

The next day in class, everyone was sharing their internships, and Akira resisted rolling their eyes at the trio saying Endeavor saved them. Riiight, definitely not a cover story. Bakugo seemed pretty happy in his own way with Mirko’s internship, and Kaminari seemed hyped for the alternate way of thinking Present Mic worked on with them. Akira was surprised by his admission of thinking Stain was cool, at least for his drive, and they carefully scanned the room for agreement, only to find disdain towards Kaminari and concern towards Ida. Shinso looked a little disappointed but mostly an emotion Akira couldn’t quite place.

Shinso’s capture scarf was now comfortably settled around his neck, and Akira grinned at the aesthetic choice. ‘Some hell course, huh? You look even more like Eraser now,’ they teased. Shinso just looked smug and nuzzled the fabric, drawing a laugh out of Akira and Koda.

Tokoyami was brooding more than usual, so Akira doodled a few stick figure Hawks getting doused in water and other pranks they’d heard of during homeroom. After passing it to Tokoyami during the break, Akira grinned at his small smile.

As the group made their way to Gym Gamma for rescue training, Akira kept glancing at Shinso’s new addition to his costume. Catching their eye, Akira signed, ‘Are you really okay with that?’

Shinso’s hands ghosted over their half mask as understanding sparked in his eyes. ‘It’s the most effective way to help advance my quirk, and Loud Cockatoo worked with me on the design and structure to avoid triggering. I need a lot of practice with the settings and with mimicking inflections, but yeah. I’m okay.’

Akira nodded hesitantly, worry still gnawing at the back of their mind over the muzzle-like contraption.

After Midoriya’s surprising demonstration of control, Akira went in the second rescue group for heroics with Jiro, Tokoyami, Shoto, and Shinso. Akira immediately heard the sharp tinkling of Shoto’s ice and warped onto the nearest building, surveying the terrain a moment before darting across the pipes. They could just make out Shinso in the distance using their capture weapon and Tokoyami using Dark Shadow’s hover to assist with larger jumps over top. Without an easy way to the canopy, Akira almost felt bad for Jiro being restricted to the ground.

Tokoyami, Akira, and Shoto were neck and neck, steps sure and quirks propelling them forward. Just as the twinkling stopped and Shoto activated his left side to propel the last few meters, Akira tapped All Might on the shoulder as they made their clone lose its footing. They winced as Tokoyami dove to catch them, only to dispel it with the force.

As the others caught up, Shoto bewildered, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow glared at Akira. “Don’t scare us like that! Give a warning next time.”

Akira smirked sheepishly, ‘If I warned you, you could’ve pulled ahead. I’ve been working on continued motion.’

Shinso lit up as they arrived. “You actually got it? That’s great!” But it wasn’t Shinso’s voice. It almost sounded like Tokoyami, but something was distinctly off.

‘That… I see what you’re going for, but you need a little more edge and intone.’

“How long have you been standing here?” All Might asked, handing the sash to Akira.

‘About 30 seconds before I tapped you. I’m still working on clone control.’ Akira signed as Anii interpreted, although they could tell All Might was starting to catch more of their signs in the moment.

Anii added to Akira, ‘You did good, kid.’

Jiro finally jogged up, looking pissed. “Of course, I got paired with aerial people. Who won?”

“I’m not aerial,” Shoto looked mildly confused.

“Yeah, but you might as well be with your ice,” Jiro snapped.

‘To answer your question, I won.’

Jiro scowled and stalked back to the class as the other four shrugged and made their way back, too.

“Are your clones new?” Shoto asked.

‘No, but how they work is. Fat Gum and Sun Eater helped me figure out how to direct them during my internship. Fine motor control and number of clones is still an issue, but that’ll come with time.’

Notes:

What’s the purpose of the lizard? None, I just thought it’d be cute. It’ll probably make an appearance in that collection of short stories. I used a random number generator to get the second rescue group based on the seating chart and immediately got three of the four members of Mad Banquet XD Also here's the first fanart I did of Akira! Technically they'd have their yellow contacts in, but I wanted to draw their cool eyes. Akira helping cat Next week things start heating up :D

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

0 notes

housewife-castiel · 3 years

Text

Wayward Sisters is so so good (and absolutely should have gotten picked up) but between this episode and the episode prior to it, I loathe the way Kaia is treated. In episode 9, she's kidnapped by angels and talks about how she won't be saved because she isn't a rich, white and blonde woman. The Winchesters then save her from the angels but then she's kidnapped at gunpoint by them so they can use her to rescue their mom (who's ironically that same type of woman that Kaia was saying typically get saved). In Wayward Sisters, she helps to try and get the Winchesters out of the Bad Place. And like this is annoying because one, she owes the Winchesters nothing (in fact she owes them less than nothing seeing as they kidnapped her) and two, why wouldn't she tell Jody about the Winchesters kidnapping her. Like they're strangers to her, she has no reason to protect them. Then she's killed off solely for Claire's woman pain. This annoys me for three reasons, one being we don't need more stories with POC being fridged to advance the story of white protags (we also don't need anymore white saviour stories either), two, why is Claire the only one who's feeling guilty about Kaia? Claire wasn't even the one who roped her into this (the Winchesters did and it wasn't even to save the world, which would have still been horrible and unacceptable but in this case Kaia lost her life for their selfishness). Like it's so stupid Claire's being burdened and traumatized for a situation that she didn't create. Finally, Claire already wants to hunt, they had no reason to kill Kaia (again it was done solely for shock value and for white angst). Everything with Kaia was gross but the episode could have been salvageable if it ended with Kaia being welcomed into a loving home with Jody, Donna, Claire, Patience and Alex.

I know people gush over Bobo because of Despair but y'all need to call him out for how racist and messy 13x09 and 13x10 are because I know if buckleming wrote those episodes, y'all would never want them to write for the show again (heck y'all didn't want them after the racist truck episode which is racist and gross but no where near the levels that 13x09 and 13x10 were)

#supernatural treats poc horribly #but this is by far the worst situation yet #spn critical #tw violence #tw violence against indigenous peoples #tw racism

32 notes · View notes

ohmotherwhatsthat · 2 years

Quote

“They continued their presence as best they could,” Ruth insisted. “It was so important to them that they broke the law repeatedly to return. They made every effort humanly possible to stay in contact, and got slaughtered for their trouble. Then they stopped coming.”

The White Earth (Andrew McGahan)

#The White Earth #Andrew McGahan #Millie reads things #Quotes #tw violence #tw death #tw racism #tw colonialism #tw violence against indigenous peoples

0 notes

vonvalium · 3 years

Text

I know a lot of yall are posting about the residential school in Canada, and whereas I'm very glad yall are educating yourself and spreading information about the crimes Canada has inflicted on First Nations People, please. Please. Please tag that shit.

I'm 20 years old and my siblings and I are the first generation in our family to not be put in a residential school. I've lost a lot of family and have had a lot of trauma caused by the horrific acts against indigenous folks that took place in those schools. Constantly seeing trauma and violence against my people is exhausting and painful. Especially in relation to the death of indigenous children.

Please put content warnings. Please tag (violence against native americans, residential schools, indigenous suffering, etc). Thank you.

#sigh #k.txt #tw child death #content warning #trigger warning #tw violence against native americans #tw violence against indigenous people

19 notes · View notes

messoamerica · 7 years

Photo

‘Uncontacted’ Amazon Tribe Members Are Reported Killed in Brazil

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — They were members of an uncontacted tribe gathering eggs along the river in a remote part of the Amazon. Then, it appears, they had the bad luck of running into gold miners.

Now, federal prosecutors in Brazil have opened an investigation into the reported massacre of about 10 members of the tribe, the latest evidence that threats to endangered indigenous groups are on the rise in the country.

The Brazilian agency on indigenous affairs, Funai, said it had lodged a complaint with the prosecutor’s office in the state of Amazonas after the gold miners went to a bar in a near the border with Colombia, and bragged about the killings. They brandished a hand-carved paddle that they said had come from the tribe, the agency said.

“It was crude bar talk,” said Leila Silvia Burger Sotto-Maior, Funai’s coordinator for uncontacted and recently contacted tribes. “They even bragged about cutting up the bodies and throwing them in the river.”

The miners, she said, claimed that “they had to kill them or be killed.”

Survival International, a global indigenous rights group, warned that given the small sizes of the uncontacted Amazon tribes, this latest episode could mean that a significant percentage of a remote ethnic group was wiped out.

“If the investigation confirms the reports, it will be yet another genocidal massacre resulting directly from the Brazilian government’s failure to protect isolated tribes — something that is guaranteed in the Constitution,” said Sarah Shenker, a senior campaigner with the rights group.

With land disputes on the rise in many remote areas of Brazil, indigenous groups, rural workers and land activists have all been targeted by violence. More than 50 people had been killed as of the end of July, compared with 61 in all of 2016, according to the Land Pastoral Commission.

Activists worry that the country’s indigenous groups — and especially the uncontacted tribes — are the most vulnerable when it comes to land disputes.

“When their land is protected, they thrive,” said Ms. Shenker, the rights campaigner. “When their land is invaded, they can be wiped out.”

#indigenous rights #brazil #tw murder #indigenous #sao paulo #indigenous abuse #news #indigenous brazil #funai #indigenous peoples #land rights #uncontacted tribes #uncontacted peoples #genocide #violence against indigenous people #Brazil

27 notes · View notes

tiesthatbind-tf · 3 years

Note

I have two new questions: Wouldn't Onyx Prime be African because of Eukaris more closely related to African traditions? And what would your version of Cyclonus look like and what ethnicity he would be?

Nope! Because I'm not using the extremely convoluted history IDW has for the characters/world before the main story. Onyx here is not Shockwave in disguise, he's much closer to the Aligned/Fun Publications version of the character. Eukaris exists but it's sort of a central homeland state created specifically for Beast Men where all variants of them would receive equal treatment (This is due to the fact that even in places where some of them were well-accepted, others were not, as an example Bird-style beast men being revered in Japan as 'Tengu', while fox-style beastmen were always pegged as tricksters and bear-style Beastmen were outright demonised outside of Ainu culture).

Beast Men in Ties That Bind are also not associated with a single culture or people.

There's actually a whole page dedicated to the explanation for Beast Men and Eukaris in this AU, I'll include it under a cut since it's long (TW for mentions of Human Trafficking and general dehumanization).

I haven't as of yet decided anything on Cyclonus!

BEAST MEN

A new subset of humanity which occurred during the Quintesson Invasion, Beast Men (Homo Bestia) were the product of genetic experimentations on humans and animals alike by Quintesson scientists in the early days of the invasion.

The exact nature or reason behind these grotesque experiments have yet to be fully understood but from what little has been translated from salvaged texts, it is believed that they were conducted to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of earth’s indigenous lifeforms and to create a robust ‘working animal’ for strip-mining and slave labour purposes by combining traits between them.However much of the early experimentation yielded less than satisfactory results; The Beast Men despite their enhanced strength were often wilder in nature and even more defiant than standard humans, with some unable to adapt to their heightened senses causing them to lash out at all stimuli.

Many were terminated as failed experiments while others were kept incarcerated as stock to continue Quintesson research to fine-tune the process.However, many still managed to escape through concerted combined efforts between themselves or were liberated by rebels later on between 1930 and 1945. They took part in the Second Quintesson War under the leadership of Owais Naseem, one of the thirteen heroes of the war and a Horse-Man (Centaur).

The most populous subset of Beast Men comprises of Canids, which make up 20% of their entire demographic due to their purported usefulness as huntsmen, guardsmen and even ‘pets’ to the Quintessons.This is followed by felid (15%), ruminant (15%), avian (10%), rodentia (10%), oceanic (10%) and others (17%).The rarest type of Beast Men are Insectoid (3%). They usually feel a strong affinity for nature and most commonly reside in South America, Africa, Asia and their established ‘homeland’ of Eukaris. They are least found (outside of government-commissioned Cold Constructs) in the USA, France and the UK.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF BEAST MEN

Beast Men are classified into three categories according to a worldwide government census, mostly based on the level of visible mutation.

Class A (‘Humanoid’) Accounts for 15% of Beast Men.

Mutations are recessive/subtle, mostly centered around eyes, ears. Occasionally will sport claws.

Due to their mostly human appearance, they are better accepted by society with some reaching fame due to their perceived safe but ‘exotic’ looks.

Little to no limitations on personal rights. Mixed marriages with standard humans are allowed but heavily frowned upon due to presiding fear that, as they are still carriers of the animal gene, their mutations will pass down and could become more dominant in their children.

Little to no animal instincts.

Class B (‘Mix’) The most common class accounting for 50% of all Beast Men.

General public perception tends to vary from mild distaste to full on disdain.

Their physiology tends to be animal-like wrapped around a human frame. Anatomy remains mostly human (eg: Having paws or claws, but relegated to human-size and shaped hands or feet).

Allowances made for public transport/spaces with conditions.

Mixed marriages with standard humans banned in most countries.

Overlaps can occur with Class C.

Mild animal instincts.

Class C (‘Feral’) Accounts for 30% of Beast Men.

The class facing heaviest persecution due to their completely non-human appearance. Human traffickers have been documented selling them to hunting parties and reserves.

Full animal traits, including major to full coverage of fur/feathers/scales, tails, teeth, digitigrade legs, etc. Will occasionally sport ‘distorted’ anatomy (like elongated arms for flight or running on all fours) or missing anatomy altogether (legs for snake-men) to better support animal physiology.

Not allowed in public transport and spaces unless clearly designated.

Mixed marriages with standard humans banned in most countries.

Strong animal instincts, however level of intelligence/emotional empathy remains the same as standard humans.

Class D (‘Shifters’) The rarest class, accounts for 5% of Beast Men

Are an offshoot of Class B and C individuals who have the ability to fully shapeshift into animals.

The phenomenon is still being studied.

BEAST MEN IN SOCIETY

Despite their role in helping to win the war, the relationship between Beast Men and modern society is shaky, with a majority of them suffering some form of discrimination from governments and people unwilling to make concessions for them in modern living and personal engagements.

Like Cold Constructs, many of them are seen as second-class citizens who find it hard to rent property due to landlords who insist on a ‘no animals’ rule being applied to them (thus pushing most of them into redlined districts and neighborhoods). Most forms of public transport also bar them entry due to the ‘hassle’ that accommodating all subsets of them would invoke.

More so, the ‘non-domestic’ variants of them are often seen as dangerous or unpredictable due to their enhanced sensitivity to stimuli which would otherwise not affect a ‘normal’ person (and there have been cases of people deliberately overloading their senses to force them to react in a violent manner), and this limits the job market for them as well.

Metropolitan cities, particularly in western countries, place heavy restrictions on their movements in public; Establishments and businesses are allowed to refuse them service or bar them entry if they are seen to be a threat or if the facilities are (often deliberately) not built to accommodate them.

Violence against them is a regular occurrence despite laws being passed to combat the issue and most Beast-Men will only go out in public with a chaperone or in groups for protection from harassment.

Worse yet are the cases of illegal hunting of Beast Men, whether for game or their body parts, which sees a steady demand in the black market.

However, the case isn’t the same in all countries; In many areas of Africa and Asia, certain subsets of Beast Men are mostly accepted as members of modern society.

Snake-Men are a welcomed group in Thailand due to their resemblance to mythical Naga, while Tiger-Men are seen as protectors and a symbol of courage in Malaysia.

Bird-Men receive adulation in most South and South-East Asian countries due to their resemblance to the Garuda, while the same can be said for Japan which sees them as Tengu.

Lion, Leopard and Panther-Men find similar acceptance in African nations, which sees Lion-Men in particular to have been royalty in a past life.

Scotland stands out among western nations due to its granting of full-class citizen status to Wolf-men, affectionately known as ‘Wulvers’, particularly in the Shetland Islands which in turn sees a high population of them compared to other European nations.

That said, as not all Beast Men subsets are accepted to the same level even in countries that accept certain types, a Beast Men-centric state that levies the same rights and acceptance for all subsets, Eukaris, was established in 2004 via extensive terraforming on Queen Maud Land in Antartica.

#inbox #tw human trafficking #tw human rights violations #long post

36 notes · View notes