I have feelings about how powerful evil people can shape the world in their image and the rest of us are just supposed to suffer through it

I just never want to hear about “cancel culture” again They were complaining about it “going to far” when the actual issue was IG didn’t go far enough And making it go where it needed meant they stopped be prioritized

I’m gonna not hold your hand because I’m tired A lot of these people believe people weaker than them with less connections need to be abused And even some of the good guys think victims are for content There’s a reason we focus on VICTIM CENTERED RESULTS and justice

I can't stress enough how much I agree with this. We need these kinds of stories, too.

We must all have ways to hold, release, some of the devastation and fury in these times of terror and rage. When we do, we may have more capacity for useful action. Because we must take action. But we must have capacity. Some words, and some resources:

You don’t realize HOW depressed you were until you realize how depressed you were. The realization is both astounding and sobering.

You're supposed to want to look up words you don't know the meaning of. It's all a part of learning.

yeah and more generally to the just-world fallacy, the cognitive bias toward believing that people get what they deserve and deserve what they get. it's fucking insidious

This notion spreads far beyond the wellness industry - it goes back to America's puritan roots, to the plague that is Prosperity Gospel. It's enmeshed with the thinking that the well off & successful are morally and spiritually superior to the impoverished & suffering; the fascist gospel of wealth.

As someone who represents victims of domestic violence, the parallels between it and authoritarianism never ceases to amaze.

and guess who's in prisons, largely Black, brown, poor, and mentally ill people. who'd have fucking thought

another one is prisons in general, by the way. we never gave that shit up

one of the earliest components of the eugenics movement in america was preventing mentally ill people *from immigrating or marrying.* one of the places where forced sterilization is still par for course today is in ICE detention centers. this is OUR legacy

White USians are making SO MANY comparisons of this moment to Nazis and the Holocaust, without once mentioning that the Nazis modeled their genocidal programs on the USA's genocidal programs against indigenous Brown ppl and enslaved Black ppl.

Whiteness is about pretending that evil is good and wrong is right.

Just like me and I am also just here for the French fries. 🍟 🪶

THIS. I keep saying the cycle of abuse is getting shorter and shorter.

As a gender studies scholar, I am glad that so many ppl keep pointing out the significance of gender (& specifically, white evangelical masculinity) to all these various strands of violence and hatred. EVERYTHING IS GENDER & RACE.

Once again gender studies comes into play - most dangerous time for an abused spouse is when they are trying to leave.

I always think of all the things we could accomplish if we weren't being effectively drained by people without conscience. The places we could explore with joy. The art we could make. Instead we have to constantly fight off leeches who think water & sunlight should be paid for.

It's depressing. There are so many things we could be doing instead of all this awfulness. The fact that so many people really believe we have to earn the right to be alive and pay someone else for it is just...yeah.

it drives them insane. it makes them go crazy. they cannot handle a society of free women who stand ready to oppose them. it makes them freak the fuck out. all they want to do is violence but violence especially against women.

Oh, "historically women-coded jobs" ... you mean beer brewer, computer programmer, codebreaker... like those?

someone asked on insta what “be brave enough to be kind” means and why i say it on my podcast and at screenings being kind is always a vulnerability - it exposes your belly. love puts us in harm’s way always. we gotta find the courage to risk being hurt. or else i don’t know what the point is.

Wednesday is TRANSPHOBES ARE TRASH DAY! Congratulations to those who celebrate this wonderful day. Also, every other day is also Transphobes are Trash Day, I forgot to mention that.

let's make this houseostasis a homeostasis

It's never seemed more shallow and fanciful, the myth that our participation in WWII drew from some kind of deep-rooted American opposition to fascist ideals.

I was thinking the other day how weird it is to me that apparently people are supposed to smell different based on gender.

The wellness industry also ties in with fascist aesthetics. Fit, able-bodied (white) people. Ironically, the America Big Wellness is helping to create is more likely to shorten lifespans as vaccine access and health insurance are stripped away and polluters deregulated. It’s really a death cult.

The idea that health equals virtue is extremely dangerous. Who doesn’t like natural foods and clean water? But the idea that if you’re fat or sick or disabled, it’s your fault is dehumanizing and wrong. We’re all only ever one serious illness or accident away from disability. And life is random.

There's a misguided belief that so long as the system is crafted well enough the output of the system will always be just, and libs want to believe we have that system. The problem is there is no system that can be conceived by man that cannot also be corrupted by man.

I would like good news at some point please

This is hard because I'm chronically ill and my overall capacity is below average. Seeing other people do so much more hurts, but I have to be strict with myself both with rest and with other interests. I'm so grateful for the people who have energy.

This. Joy is important. Living is important. You can and should do both, because our brains and emotions need time to recharge. It's also a way to build community, something they'd rather we not have.

Food, music and jokes are the backbone of survival

Same reason there are so many Jewish comedians too. Yiddish is an amazing language for complaints and dark humor

There's a reason why Black people can make a joke at any time about anything. We've been surviving white people for hundreds of years now. Black joy is in spite of that. Above that. Beyond that. You're a full human even if the world wants you to be only fear and nothingness. Eat. Laugh. Fight.

you absolutely CANNOT surround yourself with the horrors constantly. You just cannot. you have to find the joys and normalcy or else that shit will eat you alive.

Do what you can WHILE you still can. Fight the good fight, but don't forget to take care of yourself, too. Read that book. Take that walk. Play that game. Go to that concert. Watch that movie. There may come a time when we won't be able to do these things any more. Don't let go of them now.

spite AND joy you gotta have both

You know that joke about going for a mental health walk even when you really don’t want to? Angry eagle and all that? That. Whatever makes you a tad happier, do it. Even if you grumble about it.

"During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon, and we danced all night. The dance kept us in the fight because it was the dance we were fighting for."

This is important. And is why I’ve made a point of helping organize a monthly potluck social for one of my local activist groups - so that we’re actually gathering to do something fun regularly.

These words from Lisa Bonchek Adams live on my studio wall for a reason. The most important word here is "persevere." “Find a bit of beauty in the world today. Share it. If you can’t find it, create it. Some days this may be hard to do. Persevere.”

rest is rebellion. kindness and community are rebellion. if you need to log off, pretend things arent happening for a few hours, ENJOY something like a meal or a walk. thats VITAL. Thats fighting back and tbh fuck anyone who says you need to doomscroll & panic 24/7. thats what the regime wants

the one thing in history that repeats over and over is that community is the thing thats gotten people through these things in the past whether its borrowing/trading/giving necessities providing levity or emotional support giving us a purpose or thing to protect it cant all be protest and anger

Folks need to get this through their head. Wanting others to feel as bad or fearful as you are simply because they're having a moment of joy isn't "spreading awareness". It's misery wanting company. You don't have to be devoid of any kind of happiness to comprehend the severity of current events.

For the benefit of anyone new:age verification is surveillance tech that will take your data, leak it, tie your online activity to every keystroke you make. Look at America and see how that works out..( they target people using online data- much from schools) Also tech can be safe if regulated

This position is as ‘feminist’ as a policy prohibiting women from wearing pants. Which is to say: not feminist at all.

When they say that civil servants shouldn’t “wear fetish clothing in the workplace”, what they mean is that certain types of clothes are For Men and certain types of clothes are For Women and that they should get to decide which people are allowed to wear which clothes.