The Culture War Thread

[benjipwns]

When you say force, I assume you mean government intervention to ensure private companies are employing at least 13% black people. Is this straight across the board or does it take qualifications into account. Say...for engineering. And I assume to do this, some white people would have to lose their jobs by government edict? And if those people who lost their job decided to vote for a politician who offered to reverse the policy, they'd be labeled racist correct?

Kendi's never bothered to outline any of those specifics, few of these people ever do because they aren't actually making real policy or realistic goals they're wishcasting. And in Kendi's case he definitely means the government as I noted above he wants a permanent executive branch department staffed full of Kendi's with UNLIMITED POWER that can just do whatever it wants to force the entire country to match national demographic statistics:

The amendment would make unconstitutional racial inequity over a certain threshold, as well as racist ideas by public officials (with “racist ideas” and “public official” clearly defined). It would establish and permanently fund the Department of Anti-racism (DOA) comprised of formally trained experts on racism and no political appointees. The DOA would be responsible for preclearing all local, state and federal public policies to ensure they won’t yield racial inequity, monitor those policies, investigate private racist policies when racial inequity surfaces, and monitor public officials for expressions of racist ideas. The DOA would be empowered with disciplinary tools to wield over and against policymakers and public officials who do not voluntarily change their racist policy and ideas.

[Potato]

I know this is very culture warish and I should probably be more ashamed than I care to admit, but it is pretty satisfying seeing the anti-Hogwarts/JKR people being shouted down in the comments in places that are not over-run by the lunatic fringe.

[Uncle]

I know this is very culture warish and I should probably be more ashamed than I care to admit, but it is pretty satisfying seeing the anti-Hogwarts/JKR people being shouted down in the comments in places that are not over-run by the lunatic fringe.

the war is being fought by the lunatic extremes

rolling your eyes at those lunatics is officially sanctioned, as long as you don't start screaming about sjws and how trump will save us

[Phoenix Dark]

They really overreached with this and set themselves up to fail. Can't help but think about how we got here though. Not long ago, as the Harry Potter prequel films did meh at the box office, there was a sentiment that JK Rowling's comments had killed the franchise. Never mind that a Harry Potter movie marathon is on television every other week, or that the Harry Potter theme parks were constantly full, or that the brand strength never wavered. It was a perfect example of delusional people trapping themselves within a bubble. Well that shit popped the minute this game was announced and they've been mad ever since. Anyone with a brain could tell this was going to sell like hotcakes whether it was a good game or not. It's exactly what the fanbase and casuals want (unlike the prequel movies).

JK Rowling is close to billionaire. You know who is a billionaire? Elon Musk. You know, the anti-trans guy who owns the social media app these people spend much of their time on when discussing how dangerous this game is. Often while tweeting from their iPhone, created from child labor (slavery). This is not some lazy "but you participate in a society" take either. If buying a game associated with a filthy rich bigot is wrong, why isn't posting on Twitter wrong for the exact reason?

I just don't get why they went with this. You're screaming and harassing people while little kids just want to...you know...play the little kid Harry Potter game. Fucking weirdos man.

[HaughtyFrank]

This relentless focus on Harry Potter and harassing people for merely streaming a videogame makes one think shit can't be so bad in your life when Hogwarts is your main concern. Meanwhile a trans girl just won a Grammy and it's not even a big deal for people

https://twitter.com/kimpetras/status/1622432054486138880

[Phoenix Dark]

It reminds me of when I was a kid and people I knew from church would do these "Stop Britney Spears/Marilyn Manson/Korn/etc" campaigns where you go door to door imploding parents not to buy their albums for their kids. I always remembered the church kids being like yea man we def made a difference. Then a week later you see that Britney Spears sold 500k records. 

Why jump in front of a train you cannot stop. People like Harry Potter. A lot. Making it seem like tens of millions of people are saying "fuck trans people" doesn't strike me as good for them mentally or emotionally but hey, this is the train they decided to jump in front of. And the train won't stop for the rest of the year. This shit is still gonna be selling in the summer and into the holiday season.

[benjipwns]

JK Rowling is close to billionaire. You know who is a billionaire? Elon Musk. You know, the anti-trans guy who owns the social media app these people spend much of their time on when discussing how dangerous this game is. Often while tweeting from their iPhone, created from child labor (slavery). This is not some lazy "but you participate in a society" take either. If buying a game associated with a filthy rich bigot is wrong, why isn't posting on Twitter wrong for the exact reason?

I just don't get why they went with this. You're screaming and harassing people while little kids just want to...you know...play the little kid Harry Potter game. Fucking weirdos man.

We've noted this a couple times in the shitbin thread, HaughtyFrank himself just did actually, they know they can't do anything about any of those things. It makes them feel completely powerless. But bullying you or others in their social circle? That might work, they might be able to establish control over you. Their "trickle down" theory is that then you'll help police others too and eventually everyone will police everyone else into only being moral at all times. But that's just the theoretical justification, in reality what really matters is convincing the more immediate people to do as they say or else they can cast you off until the social group is only "good people" which leads to...

It reminds me of when I was a kid and people I knew from church would do these "Stop Britney Spears/Marilyn Manson/Korn/etc" campaigns where you go door to door imploding parents not to buy their albums for their kids. I always remembered the church kids being like yea man we def made a difference. Then a week later you see that Britney Spears sold 500k records. 

Why jump in front of a train you cannot stop. People like Harry Potter. A lot. Making it seem like tens of millions of people are saying "fuck trans people" doesn't strike me as good for them mentally or emotionally but hey, this is the train they decided to jump in front of. And the train won't stop for the rest of the year. This shit is still gonna be selling in the summer and into the holiday season.

Now you're the underdog fighting against the great overwhelming evil that's consuming everyone. You're bravely resisting it, trying to save people from it. Your failure to save their souls justifies not only your own good morals but helps make clear just how many are falling into sin justifying your efforts to fight against it.

They want to expose everyone else's moral failings (I won't speculate as to why) but unfortunately most people are moral so they have to desperately invent new moral failings constantly. If they reduce the scope of what are good morals or realize their fight is meaningless or never achieving anything then the crusade would end and then they would have nothing at all.

In the case of Harry Potter specifically many of them have a story about how they were once were sinners, they owned all the books and movies and merchandise, but now they have awoken to their sinful ways and deliberately changed their morals along with happily telling you how they destroyed all those evil things as part of their transition to being saved.

[james]

I don't know a single person buying the Harry Potter game but it might be because I associate with stable adults

[benjipwns]

I don't know a single person buying the Harry Potter game but it might be because I associate with stable adults

Since when?

[Polident Hive]

Loose but sparked off a certain avatar, the lead up and response to Avatar 2 becoming the third or fourth biggest movie ever should be a wake up call for those who purport to speak for The People. It keeps happening. They limit their worldview to other similarly insular individuals and extrapolate to 8 billion people.

[Himu]

Been saying this since 2016 or so.



And this is topical.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

2016 you say.

[Uncle]

JK Rowling is close to billionaire. You know who is a billionaire? Elon Musk. You know, the anti-trans guy who owns the social media app these people spend much of their time on when discussing how dangerous this game is. Often while tweeting from their iPhone, created from child labor (slavery). This is not some lazy "but you participate in a society" take either. If buying a game associated with a filthy rich bigot is wrong, why isn't posting on Twitter wrong for the exact reason?

I just don't get why they went with this. You're screaming and harassing people while little kids just want to...you know...play the little kid Harry Potter game. Fucking weirdos man.

We've noted this a couple times in the shitbin thread, HaughtyFrank himself just did actually, they know they can't do anything about any of those things. It makes them feel completely powerless. But bullying you or others in their social circle? That might work, they might be able to establish control over you. Their "trickle down" theory is that then you'll help police others too and eventually everyone will police everyone else into only being moral at all times. But that's just the theoretical justification, in reality what really matters is convincing the more immediate people to do as they say or else they can cast you off until the social group is only "good people" which leads to...

It reminds me of when I was a kid and people I knew from church would do these "Stop Britney Spears/Marilyn Manson/Korn/etc" campaigns where you go door to door imploding parents not to buy their albums for their kids. I always remembered the church kids being like yea man we def made a difference. Then a week later you see that Britney Spears sold 500k records. 

Why jump in front of a train you cannot stop. People like Harry Potter. A lot. Making it seem like tens of millions of people are saying "fuck trans people" doesn't strike me as good for them mentally or emotionally but hey, this is the train they decided to jump in front of. And the train won't stop for the rest of the year. This shit is still gonna be selling in the summer and into the holiday season.

Now you're the underdog fighting against the great overwhelming evil that's consuming everyone. You're bravely resisting it, trying to save people from it. Your failure to save their souls justifies not only your own good morals but helps make clear just how many are falling into sin justifying your efforts to fight against it.

They want to expose everyone else's moral failings (I won't speculate as to why) but unfortunately most people are moral so they have to desperately invent new moral failings constantly. If they reduce the scope of what are good morals or realize their fight is meaningless or never achieving anything then the crusade would end and then they would have nothing at all.

In the case of Harry Potter specifically many of them have a story about how they were once were sinners, they owned all the books and movies and merchandise, but now they have awoken to their sinful ways and deliberately changed their morals along with happily telling you how they destroyed all those evil things as part of their transition to being saved.

[Phoenix Dark]

Asian people are arguably the most racist people on the planet, I'm not gonna be lectured on alleged anti-Asian racism from black people when the VAST majority of Asian hate crimes and offenses were committed by white people. And yet the Asian community (online at least) deliberately decided to focus on black offenses. Suck my dick.

[Cauliflower Of Love]

arguably is doing alot of work in that muddle of words

[james]

GirlfriendReviews | Hogwarts Legacy[GirlfriendReviews] Chat harasses streamer for playing the new Hogwarts Legacy game to the point where his girlfriend starts crying
https://www.reddit.com/r/LivestreamFail/comments/10vi4zq/girlfriendreviews_chat_harasses_streamer_for/


I havent viewed the video, is it worth being exposed to twitch for the lols?

[james]

Most reviewers are giving it a 9 3/4 depending on the platform.

[BIONIC]

Most reviewers are giving it a 9 3/4 depending on the platform.

 

[Himu]

Asian people are arguably the most racist people on the planet, I'm not gonna be lectured on alleged anti-Asian racism from black people when the VAST majority of Asian hate crimes and offenses were committed by white people. And yet the Asian community (online at least) deliberately decided to focus on black offenses. Suck my dick.

The point is calling out racism black people do and acting like black people are perfect or not capable of racism because of our history. All it does it shoulder responsibility and infantilizes black people. "Asians can be racist therefore I shouldn't care" isn't a real solution.

[Phoenix Dark]

Asian people are arguably the most racist people on the planet, I'm not gonna be lectured on alleged anti-Asian racism from black people when the VAST majority of Asian hate crimes and offenses were committed by white people. And yet the Asian community (online at least) deliberately decided to focus on black offenses. Suck my dick.

The point is calling out racism black people do and acting like black people are perfect or not capable of racism because of our history. All it does it shoulder responsibility and infantilizes black people. "Asians can be racist therefore I shouldn't care" isn't a real solution.

I agree with that sentiment but I'm not acknowledging anti-asian racism from black people when there is no evidence that it's a problem. VS the actual evidence we have of massive increases in white anti-asian racism/attacks being ignored to put black attacks on a pedestal.

[Nintex]

This relentless focus on Harry Potter and harassing people for merely streaming a videogame makes one think shit can't be so bad in your life when Hogwarts is your main concern. Meanwhile a trans girl just won a Grammy and it's not even a big deal for people

https://twitter.com/kimpetras/status/1622432054486138880

They are allergic to positivity because they will no longer be able to play the victim.

This is why they keep moving goalposts to ever more unachievable goals.

[HaughtyFrank]

The whole Hogwarts situation just reinforces that most people simply don't give a shit about the culture war in either direction and that it's actually way over presented on the internet.
One really has to wonder who those websites, that decided to not cover the game out of protest, even represent. You certainly get the impression that small clique of people would really like to shape the entire industry and then throws a tantrum if it doesn't happen

[Phoenix Dark]

The whole Hogwarts situation just reinforces that most people simply don't give a shit about the culture war in either direction and that it's actually way over presented on the internet.
One really has to wonder who those websites, that decided to not cover the game out of protest, even represent. You certainly get the impression that small clique of people would really like to shape the entire industry and then throws a tantrum if it doesn't happen

I feel like the midterms also showed that. The average person has never met a trans person, doesn't spend time thinking about them positively or negatively, and couldn't care less about the books in their kid's school library.

I saw a trans person at Dominos a couple weeks ago, the cashier (pink hair). I was almost excited like wow, I live in one of the most liberal cities in America and finally found one. She gave me my pizza, I said thank you very much and she didn't say you're welcome. 

[Cauliflower Of Love]

they knew you posted on the bore

[Cauliflower Of Love]

also what kind of pizza

[Phoenix Dark]

also what kind of pizza

They have $8 large one topping pizza deals nearly every day. My topping

spoiler (click to show/hide)

green olives

[close]

[Tuckers Law]

Great topping, haters can btfo

[Phoenix Dark]

https://twitter.com/hasanthehun/status/1623408588088832000
 

[Cauliflower Of Love]

 

[Potato]

Kalamata olives are the only worthy olive. Everything else is trash.

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/TheSunnahGuy/status/1622547155675238400

[Himu]

https://compactmag.com/article/woke-ism-is-winding-down

Bless.

This is also why started to use the f-word again. I just stopped caring what people think or what's considered incorrect politically. Especially when we all grew up saying it.

[Potato]

There is definitely more push back in less terminally online spaces. I think the Twatter takeover is definitely allowing for greater push back in mainstream spaces too.

[Himu]

https://www.thefp.com/p/i-thought-i-was-saving-trans-kids?r=7xe38&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

God please bless this woman and defend children from trans ideology. Amiin.

[Potato]

https://www.thefp.com/p/i-thought-i-was-saving-trans-kids?r=7xe38&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

God please bless this woman and defend children from trans ideology. Amiin.

That's pretty horrific.

Sounds like there's going to be some big revelation of medical malpractice in a similar vein to the opioid crisis in a few years.

[Uncle]

that says the same thing as similar whistleblower reports coming out of the UK, that "first it was boys, then suddenly a massive number of teen girls out of nowhere"

which, first of all I assume that's why the whistleblowing is happening - give the boys whatever, yeah hormones are cool, we want to encourage shrinking the patriarchy and promoting the female experience, but the second you're a woman being forced to help women destroy themselves, now it's personal and heartbreaking

secondly...what I find interesting is that these female-to-males are not represented anywhere online

I believe they exist, but they aren't ever the ones loudly complaining about anything, hogwarts and other harmful media, hardly a peep from ftms

what is it that links all these people and drives them to behave similarly, whether complaining or staying silent/invisible?

[Uncle]

Other girls were disturbed by the effects of testosterone on their clitoris, which enlarges and grows into what looks like a microphallus, or a tiny penis. I counseled one patient whose enlarged clitoris now extended below her vulva, and it chafed and rubbed painfully in her jeans. I advised her to get the kind of compression undergarments worn by biological men who dress to pass as female. At the end of the call I thought to myself, “Wow, we hurt this kid.”

 

YOU ARE ON THESE HORMONES BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE A MALE, YOU FEEL INTENSE DYSPHORIA FOR LACK OF A PENIS, AND NOW YOU'RE DISTURBED THAT YOU'RE GROWING ONE??

[Nintex]

The autistic kids are victims of autistic trans activists and big pharma. A truely sad situation.

It never made any sense anyway. I had girls in class, who liked to do 'boy' things like play soccer and fight.
In most cases those girls wanted to do boy things because they had an older brother or something. They never had any interest in changing their gender and they eventually moved on to do other things.
I imagine that if something like that happened today they would immediately be introduced to the wonders of gender transition.

[Himu]

that says the same thing as similar whistleblower reports coming out of the UK, that "first it was boys, then suddenly a massive number of teen girls out of nowhere"

which, first of all I assume that's why the whistleblowing is happening - give the boys whatever, yeah hormones are cool, we want to encourage shrinking the patriarchy and promoting the female experience, but the second you're a woman being forced to help women destroy themselves, now it's personal and heartbreaking

secondly...what I find interesting is that these female-to-males are not represented anywhere online

I believe they exist, but they aren't ever the ones loudly complaining about anything, hogwarts and other harmful media, hardly a peep from ftms

what is it that links all these people and drives them to behave similarly, whether complaining or staying silent/invisible?

No it's more like the trans man thing is becoming lopsided and overrepresented. As said, it was a small population of boys. It is not a small population of girls that are going into gender therapy. It's lesbians, it's straight tom boys;etc.

[D3RANG3D]

[benjipwns]

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has been fined $40,000 for using "derogatory and disparaging language" after Thursday's win over the Chicago Bulls, the NBA announced Friday.

Thomas was interviewed by TNT on the court alongside new teammate Spencer Dinwiddie following the Nets' 116-105 victory. Two days earlier, Dinwiddie had joked with the media in the wake of the Kyrie Irving trade with the Dallas Mavericks that while the Nets might not have acquired the most talented players in the deal -- which included Dorian Finney-Smith going to Brooklyn -- they did get the "best-looking."

"And the Nets needed some help in that department," Dinwiddie said.

Asked by TNT about Dinwiddie's comment, Thomas said postgame Thursday night: "We already had good-looking guys, no homo."

[Transhuman]

secondly...what I find interesting is that these female-to-males are not represented anywhere online

I believe they exist, but they aren't ever the ones loudly complaining about anything, hogwarts and other harmful media, hardly a peep from ftms

That's because guys are chill

[Potato]

https://www.pcgamer.com/players-are-modding-hogwarts-legacy-to-make-their-characters-paler/

Headline: Players are modding Hogwarts Legacy to make their characters paler

Actual mod name: Paler and Darker Skins for Player Character

 

[benjipwns]

https://twitter.com/aubrey_huff/status/1622798524533604352

edit: Oh, the massive "more context" doesn't embed thanks to The Bire's high quality fact checking technology that keeps Twitter disinformation off the forum.

[D3RANG3D]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[HardcoreRetro]

what is it that links all these people and drives them to behave similarly, whether complaining or staying silent/invisible?

They're most likely lonely men finding a place of belonging in these communities. Women are generally less assertive than men, which is why you see the MTF community way more than the FTM one.

I think I'm not supposed to say this since it makes me a genocidal maniac.

[Transhuman]

And a sexist too.

[benjipwns]

Some more books I saw at the library y'all need to read:

In this brilliant introduction to trans politics, journalist Shon Faye gives an incisive overview of systemic transphobia and argues that the struggle for trans rights is necessary to any struggle for social justice.

So often, Faye argues, trans people are understood as a “side issue,” the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized debate which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals a simple fact: that we are having the wrong conversation, a conversation in which trans people themselves are reduced to a talking point and denied a meaningful voice.

With skill, rigor, and heart, Faye uncovers the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In this compellingly readable study, she explores issues of class, family, housing, healthcare, sex work, the prison system, and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities. What she finds, ultimately, is that when we fight for trans liberation, we fight for a better world for us all.

“My god, this book couldn’t be more timely here in the USA. I hope that all of my trans family come to understand from this book that no matter how hard others try to make us an issue, we are first and always people, individuals, and brave ones at that.”
– Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw

“Writing with astonishing patience, clarity, and ethical force, Shon Faye has gifted us an essential primer for our times. The Transgender Issue calls us into a much-needed solidarity, and makes the project of constructing and inhabiting a more free and just world for everyone feel urgent, possible, and exhilarating.”
– Maggie Nelson, author of On Freedom

“Shon Faye has written a book that models clarity in its writing and its moral vision... One learns here how to distinguish between arguments that merit a response and those which should be refused because they are either cruel or stupid. This is a monumental work and utterly convincing - crystal clear in its understanding of how the world should be.”
– Judith Butler

“A powerful new call for trans liberation.”
– Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker

“Shon Faye makes a compelling case that transgender issues are inexorably linked with other social justice causes. The result is a bold and pragmatic guide for challenging societal transphobia comprehensively and intersectionally.”
– Julia Serano, author of Sexed Up

“A clear, intelligent, experience-based explanation of why the scapegoating of trans people must stop, while enthusiastically encouraging more trans people to join feminist, anti-racist movements for economic and social change.”
– Sarah Schulman

In case you're wondering what you, as an ally, can do, the first sentence of the conclusion chapter:

There can be no trans liberation under capitalism.

From the activist who coined the term comes a primer on intersectional environmentalism for the next generation of activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable change.

The Intersectional Environmentalist examines the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and promotes awareness of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people — especially those most often unheard. Written by Leah Thomas, a prominent voice in the field and the activist who coined the term "Intersectional Environmentalism," this book is simultaneously a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all, and a pledge to work towards the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet.

Thomas shows how not only are Black, Indigenous and people of color unequally and unfairly impacted by environmental injustices, but she argues that the fight for the planet lies in tandem to the fight for civil rights; and in fact, that one cannot exist without the other. An essential read, this book addresses the most pressing issues that the people and our planet face, examines and dismantles privilege, and looks to the future as the voice of a movement that will define a generation.

"The founder of Intersectional Environmentalist is building toward a greener, more equitable future by advocating for both sustainability and social justice while spotlighting communities that have been underrepresented in the space... She's aiming to set the movement on the right path with her new book, The Intersectional Environmentalist."—instyle.com
"Too often, environmentalist proposals and platforms appear willing to sacrifice people — usually the most vulnerable — in exchange for saving the planet. Leah Thomas’ The Intersectional Environmentalist aims to fix this problem, offering philosophical defenses for protecting those affected most by climate change, as well as strategies young activists can use to turn theory into practice."—Bustle.com
"Vital"—The Revelator
"An overarching yet detailed introduction to intersectional environmentalism...Thomas's work is essential brain food..."—Condé Nast Traveler
"Read this book and save the planet."—Soho House
"An essential read, this book gives voice to a movement that will define a generation."—Yale Climate Connections
"[The Intersectional Environmentalist] shares data in an accessible, compelling, and engaging manner, and explores a variety of topics, including ableism, veganism, green energy, representation and more. It’s dense, but not overwhelming, and it also provides a “tool kit” and a supplementary reading list, to help you expand your knowledge once you finish this book. The Intersectional Environmentalist is at once a call to action, a guide to galvanize change, and a way to empower all people towards the betterment of the planet."—She Does the City
"The Intersectional Environmentalist is a useful start for anyone looking to get involved with or understand more about environmental justice, and who wants to learn about it through a framework that ensures the most vulnerable are centered."—Shondaland

AS WE dive into what intersectionality means, it’s important to note that this theory stems from the thoughts, experiences, and emotional labor of Black women. It may evolve and take shape in different ways past its original intent, as with environmentalism, but this theory, defined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, is rooted in the duality of her experience as both Black and a woman. Any advancement or more broad adoption of intersectional theory should start with the fact that it was bred from the Black experience and was developed as a tool to help Black women feel seen, heard, and validated in their everyday lives. This theory reflects their experiences as they grappled with those two marginalized identities and faced double, interlocking oppressions and judgment. As Malcolm X said in a 1962 speech,

The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman.

The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman.

The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.1

Black women deserve both protection and appreciation. So as we continue to explore and dive deeper into intersectionality and intersectional environmentalism in this chapter, hold space for Black women. Protect and respect their theories and their profound resiliency; know that even in their struggle, Black women have given their knowledge to us to grow and advance society. It is an immense privilege to create space for and hold a piece of their magic and legacies every time the word “intersectionality” is said or written down—so don’t use it lightly and please don’t dilute its origins.

   Matt Ballew
5.0 out of 5 stars Leah Thomas et al. are brilliant
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2022
Verified Purchase
I'm a social and environmental psychologist teaching at Chapman (Assistant Professor), where Leah Thomas got her degree from, and I am so excited to discuss intersectional environmentalism in my environmental justice class in a few weeks. Leah Thomas and crew are brilliant. I am in love with this book and framework. As a white gay/queer environmentalist who fights for all human rights, I finally feel like I have a framework for defining my own identity, and educating about what the (intersectional) environmentalist identity is. For instance, building off Susan's Clayton's definition of "environmental identity," the environmentalist identity is articulating the intersections of all issues/causes where the intersection becomes one with your identity and you actively love and protect all diverse forms of life. Coming from the academic world, we absolutely need to hear voices from younger generations of scholars and practitioners. By advocating for this *necessary* reconceptualization of environmentalism, which has historically been influenced by privileged groups dominating the discourse (e.g., liberal white cis/straight men), environmental educators can make a huge impact, not just on environmental/social issues, but particularly supporting younger generations to find and raise their voices. Thank you Leah Thomas and team! I so hope I can connect with you in the future.

Join the fight for racially marginalized people with this pocket-sized guide filled with practical insights from one of the leading voices of the movement for equality and founder of the @officialmillennialblack Instagram.

As the tragic murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement has demonstrated, not being racist is not enough. To fulfill the American ideal, to ensure that all people are equal, you must be actively anti-racist.

In this essential guide, Sophie Williams, goes beyond her popular Instagram @officialmillennialblack, providing sharp, simple, and insightful steps anyone can take to be a better ally in the fight against racism. While the book’s focus is on race, it also touches on  sexism, classism, ableism, oppression, and white supremacy.

Written in her iconic Instagram style, this pocket-sized guide is a crucial starting point for every anti-racist ally, covering complex topics at the heart of anti-racist principles. Whether you are just finding your voice, have made a start but aren’t sure what to do next, or want a fresh viewpoint, Anti-Racist Ally introduces and explains the language of change and shows you how to challenge the system, beginning with yourself. Sophie reminds you that this is a learning process, which means facing difficult truths, becoming uncomfortable, and working through the embarrassment and discomfort.

The fight for justice isn’t easy there aren’t any shortcuts or quick wins. But together, anti-racist allies can use their power to truly change the world and lives.

[Pissy F Benny]

If trans justice is justice 4 all why do trans 'activists' seemingly try their hardest to make people dislike them and some are even weirdly bigoted against cis people

[Nintex]

Written in her iconic Instagram style

[Uncle]

https://compactmag.com/article/a-black-professor-trapped-in-anti-racist-hell

it's hard not to copy paste the entire article

Students at Telluride experienced two styles of learning next to each other, but also two different cultures. From the initial “transformative-justice” workshop, students learned to snap their fingers when they agreed with what a classmate was saying. This practice immediately entered the seminar and was weaponized. One student would try out a controversial (or just unusual) view. Silence. Then another student would repeat a piece of anti-racist dogma, and the room would be filled with the click-clack of snapping fingers.

During the first week of the 2014 iteration of the seminar, focused on slavery, a Chinese-American student pointed to a moment in our text where white slave owners were providing food for the enslaved and suggested this showed there were two sides to the issue of slavery. Before I formulated a way to turn his intervention into a stepping-stone toward more sophisticated discussion, two students spoke up with other evidence from the text suggesting that slavery is a moral abomination unworthy of “both sides” discussion. By the end of the seminar, the initial student, who seemed like he might have a wavering moral compass, expressed a newfound commitment to justice.

In the 2022 anti-racism workshops, the non-black students learned that they needed to center black voices—and to shut up. Keisha reported that this was particularly difficult for the Asian-American students, but they were working on it. (Eventually, two of the Asian-American students would be expelled from the program for reasons that, Keisha said, couldn’t be shared with me.) The effects on the seminar were quick and dramatic. During the first week, participation was as you would expect: There were two or three shy students who only spoke in partner or small-group work, two or three outspoken students, and the rest in the middle. One of the black students was outspoken, one was in the middle, and one was shy. By the second week of the seminar, the two white students were effectively silent. Two of the Asian-American students remained active (the ones who would soon be expelled), but the vast majority of interventions were from the three black students. The two queer students, one Asian and one white, were entirely silent. The black students certainly had interesting things to say and important connections to make with their experiences and those of their family members, but a seminar succeeds when multiple perspectives clash into each other, grapple with each other, and develop—and that became impossible.

In their “transformative-justice” workshop, my students learned to name “harms.” This language, and the framework it expresses, come out of the prison-abolition movement. Instead of matching crimes with punishments, abolitionists encourage us to think about harms and how they can be made right, often through inviting a broader community to discern the impact of harms, the reasons they came about, and paths forward. In the language of the anti-racism workshop, a harm becomes anything that makes you feel not quite right. For a 17-year-old at a highly selective, all-expenses-paid summer program, newly empowered with the language of harm, there are relatively few sites at which to use this framework. My seminar became the site at which to try out—and weaponize—this language.

During our discussion of incarceration, an Asian-American student cited federal inmate demographics: About 60 percent of those incarcerated are white. The black students said they were harmed. They had learned, in one of their workshops, that objective facts are a tool of white supremacy. Outside of the seminar, I was told, the black students had to devote a great deal of time to making right the harm that was inflicted on them by hearing prison statistics that were not about blacks. A few days later, the Asian-American student was expelled from the program. Similarly, after a week focused on the horrific violence, death, and dispossession inflicted on Native Americans, Keisha reported to me that the black students and their allies were harmed because we hadn’t focused sufficiently on anti-blackness. When I tried to explain that we had four weeks focused on anti-blackness coming soon, as indicated on the syllabus, she said the harm was urgent; it needed to be addressed immediately.

In a recent book, John McWhorter asserts that anti-racism is a new religion. It was an idea I quickly dismissed. Last summer, I found anti-racism to be a perversion of religion: I found a cult. From Wild Wild Country to the Nxivm shows to Scientology exposés, the features of cults have become familiar in popular culture. There is sleep deprivation. Ties to the outside world are severed. The sense of time collapses, with everything cult-related feeling extremely urgent. Participants are emotionally battered. In this weakened state, participants learn about and cling to dogmatic beliefs. Any outsider becomes a threat.

The dozen participants in this summer program were spending almost every hour of every day together, I was almost the only outsider they were encountering, and I was marked as a threat.

The fourth week of the seminar examined theories of anti-blackness. It should have been predictable that the seminar would blow up during that week: Since the first days of the seminar, Keisha had been talking about how anti-blackness is qualitatively worse than every other system of oppression, so it made sense she would want us to be stuck on that week, unable to move forward—leaving anti-blackness as the course’s climax, and nadir. It happened that on the last day of the anti-blackness week, I had invited the students over to my home, where we would talk for a couple hours about the reading (a selection from Frank Wilderson’s Afropessimism) and then share a meal. By this time, the students’ faces were perpetually sullen—at least when Keisha was in the room. Occasionally, in one-on-one meetings, I could still kid around with them, or hear them chat among themselves about the mundane details of teenage life.

As I was beginning the seminar, sitting on the grass in my backyard, Keisha interrupted: “I think you should start with a lecture offering context for this reading and telling us the main points.” I reminded the class of the seminar format, of the reasons for it, and of the snippets of pedagogical theory we had read and discussed together, exploring the value of the seminar. Keisha insisted: I needed to give a lecture—immediately. Eventually, I acceded. We had a productive couple hours discussing Wilderson’s evocative text, and then I pointed out to students, “All the things I said in the initial lecture, I would have said during the course of the seminar. Each day, I try to insert the relevant background information and emphasize key points in short interventions so that the seminar can be guided by your questions. There are two dozen lectures I could give about Wilderson, each putting this text in a different light, but I want to share with you the information you want, in dialogue with the insights that you bring.”

To use the idiom du jour, my comment was triggering to Keisha. She launched into a long speech about how I was ignoring the demands of a black woman, and how I had made the space unsafe for black students. She then announced that she would take the students back to their house without eating the lunch I had waiting for them.

It was clear to me the situation was getting out of control, and after the students left my house, I reached out to the Telluride Association to share my concerns. They promised to investigate. Late Sunday night, I was informed the students were too exhausted to have class on Monday. Tuesday morning, no one was in the seminar room. I waited 10 minutes, and Keisha entered. She said the students had something to say to me. Ten more minutes of waiting in silence. Then all nine remaining students entered, each carrying a piece of paper. One by one they read a paragraph. Out of their mouths came everything Keisha had said to me during the “urgent” meetings she had with me after classes when students had allegedly been harmed. The students had all of the dogma of anti-racism, but no actual racism to call out in their world, and Keisha had channeled all of the students’ desire to combat racism at me.

They alleged: I had used racist language. I had misgendered Brittney Griner. I had repeatedly confused the names of two black students. My body language harmed them. I hadn’t corrected facts that were harmful to hear when the (now-purged) students introduced them in class. I invited them to think about the reasoning of both sides of an argument, when only one side was correct. The students ended with a demand: In light of all the harms they had suffered, they could only continue in the class if I abandoned the seminar format and instead lectured each day about anti-blackness, correcting any of them who questioned orthodoxy. The only critical perspectives they were receiving during the summer, they claimed, were from Keisha. A white girl—the one with all the snails—punctuated their point: “Keisha speaks for me: She says everything I think better than I ever could.”

Because Telluride wanted to respect the democratic self-governance of the student community, the leadership didn’t feel comfortable intervening. If the environment was too toxic to continue, I could suspend the seminar, offering a couple meetings where I would act as a “guest speaker,” setting aside any pretense of continuing with the seminar format.

I emailed the students and Keisha with this decision, and with an offer to read and respond to any written work the students produced—and I never heard back. No one sent written work. None indicated a desire to attend a meeting where I would be a “guest speaker.” The students had almost two weeks left. With the seminar canceled, did they go home? Did they tell their parents? Did Keisha lecture to them all day? I don’t know. I had extricated myself from the abusive relationship, but nine students remained captive. Belief in democracy had authorized abuse, and there was no way out.

At least not for most of the students. But the three students who had left (two expelled and one who had visa problems) individually reached out to me. They wanted to do the readings. They wanted to write papers. They wanted to meet virtually and continue the seminar. So we continued: a seminar in exile, reading the classics of black thought: C.L.R. James, Charles Chesnutt, Harriet Jacobs, James and Grace Lee Boggs—believers in democracy, fugitives from democracy.

[benjipwns]

I know that guy is guilty just from the fact he doesn't capitalize Black and instead spreads anti-Blackness throughout his writing.

[benjipwns]

 

[Potato]

That's enough American stupidity for one day...

[HaughtyFrank]

This feels like the practical example of the article Uncle posted. People are equipped with the language to fight oppression but then target it at someone completely random, thinking they're fighting the righteous fight.
The weird thing is that, unlike in the article, these people have plenty of better targets they could direct their anger at instead of a random woman who asked people to not smoke.

[benjipwns]

That's enough American stupidity for one day...

Reading this as a challenge for me to start looking at Aussie Twitter more often.

[Uncle]

I know that guy is guilty just from the fact he doesn't capitalize Black and instead spreads anti-Blackness throughout his writing.

mother fucker I actually noticed this while reading it

[Himu]

that says the same thing as similar whistleblower reports coming out of the UK, that "first it was boys, then suddenly a massive number of teen girls out of nowhere"

which, first of all I assume that's why the whistleblowing is happening - give the boys whatever, yeah hormones are cool, we want to encourage shrinking the patriarchy and promoting the female experience, but the second you're a woman being forced to help women destroy themselves, now it's personal and heartbreaking

secondly...what I find interesting is that these female-to-males are not represented anywhere online

I believe they exist, but they aren't ever the ones loudly complaining about anything, hogwarts and other harmful media, hardly a peep from ftms

what is it that links all these people and drives them to behave similarly, whether complaining or staying silent/invisible?

This is wrong and many of the most radical trans are ftms and non binaries who tend to overwhelmingly be AFABS.
 You just aren't in their spaces. In fact you're judging it off of the sites like Reset which lol to begin with. Look at the books Benji posted earlier. All or almost all are made by AFABS that are either queer or radical feminists with radical ideology. Why? Because being FTM many are introduced to radical feminism before transition. Ftms have legitimate power, they just push it through different avenues and that's mostly in activist spaces. They wield it more sharply. Look at BLM org. Its leaders are queer black women.

You're pretty ignorant of actual LGBTQ spaces and you're basing it off of a bunch of internet communities that don't represent the community at large.

The idea AFABS are quiet and just stuff does not stick to reality. They just go after different fish. A lot of their ideology comes from outright destroying the gender binary because that's what their feminist literature taught them to do. FTMs tend to be wayyyy more radical. It's not uncommon for a woman to be introduced to rad fem ideology and then transition into a man.

Take this book I read for journalism grad school. Who is written by? A trans man.

https://www.amazon.com/View-Somewhere-Undoing-Journalistic-Objectivity-ebook/dp/B07XYG1Q81/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=3QVS75TEBNWG4&keywords=the+view+from+somewhere&qid=1676183498&sprefix=the+view+from+somew%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1

Trans men are among the forefront and very vocal. You just aren't in a place to find them. Trans men aren't mostly interested in reeeeing about shit on a forum like RE. They're more into actual community organization and destroying gender norms. If you think queer women and by extension non binary AFABS and FTMs don't have power you aren't looking.

[benjipwns]

Ftms have legitimate power, they just push it through different avenues and that's mostly in activist spaces. They wield it more sharply. Look at BLM org. Its leaders are queer black women.

You're pretty ignorant of actual LGBTQ spaces and you're basing it off of a bunch of internet communities that don't represent the community at large.

The idea AFABS are quiet and just stuff does not stick to reality. They just go after different fish.

I just wish there was some way we could understand why FTM/AFABs and MTF/AMABs go about their activism in different ways online but I can't see any independent variable to even use as a starting point, there's literally not a single piece of information I could look at and begin developing any logically sound theory about these differences between the two groups.

[Himu]

In the past, MTF activism was really quiet. Often it'd be conflated with gay men. Take Paris Is Burning. It's a film/doc with many people within the drag community but at least three are legit trans. This was made in the 80's. In the past it was about stealth and living quietly and not talking about it, shutting the fuck up and moving on with your life. It's not always the case but generally FTMs pass better than MTF so they can live their lives and not be forced into an "other". But this also allows them more access to power because they're seen as less weird. Women listen to FTMs about how hard it is to be a man, for instance, but not actual men.

This is more about activism in trans spaces changing in the last ten years. As radical feminism, queerdom, and trans become even more intertwined the FTMs gain even more power. It's gotten to the point where there's almost no line of separation between queer and radfem. They consume and follow the same stuff.