If you genuinely, truly, absolutely, cannot bring yourself to vote for the president of the united states, please just show up for elections anyway and vote for your congresspeople and local representatives.

Please.

Just.

If you cannot bring yourself to vote for the president because he's so disgusting of a candidate you morally cannot bring yourself to cross that line, then PLEASE vote for your congresspeople and local representatives who can block, defend, or present new bills, actions, acts, etc.

These are the people who can actually confirm or deny or impede horrendous acts when they happen.

Like. This is the bare minimum. If you cannot vote for the President, please just still vote for someone.

Change doesn't happen if you don't vote for the people willing to enact change.

The "smaller" elections often have the biggest impact on your actual life. Everything starts local and works its way outward, not the other way around. Every time a judge lets a cop off the hook for killing an unarmed person? You can vote those judges out. Those anti-queer laws in your home state? You can vote out the governor. Hate seeing your taxes raised for the sake of more cops while the schools and the roads go to shit? You can vote on those tax bills. "Blue" states aren't safer just because of who they vote for as president. It's because they voted for better governors, better judges, better laws.

You gotta do it, because fuckhead old conservatives are doing it. They've got bad ideas and they're willing to make them your problem. Your single vote might not count for much in the presidential election, but it absolutely has an impact on who is in charge in your particular town.

I'm not convinced it's in the interest of effective communication to refer to US-aligned rich nations as "the Imperial Core" but I do have to concede it sounds fucking awesome

anyway perhaps we could rename the Global South to something equally bitchin' like the Outlands or the Dark Zone or (perhaps more of a stretch) the Galactic Rim

tbh i thought the core was just the US

I think, okay in a Cold War analogy, the difference between the USA and (Canada/Australia/NZ/Japan/Western Europe) would be analogous to the difference between USSR and the European Communist Bloc? Whereas the periphery-periphery is more like the USA's South American sphere of influence, and that would be analogous to Communist Nicaragua or what have you. (Not sure if Cuba was quite peripheral enough, at least when they were getting Soviet funding? I mean, they were pretty pampered for a Caribbean satellite state, hence why their military was known as Latin America's best during the Cold War.)

Really you would think 'woops! Accidentally made my obvious fascist analogues a bunch of physically deformed substance abusing perverts and gender nonconforming decadent schemers who are simultaneously pathetic and contemptible and a sinister and shadowy conspiracy threatening everything that's good and righteous' would be a pretty easy mistake to avoid, and yet

Related but distinct to the also incredibly common 'woops! I accidentally made my analogue for fascism an endless horde of literally inhuman alien Others who want nothing more than to overwhelm and destroy the heroes culture and civilization, savage and brutish or uniform and robotic but in either case totally devoid of individuality except for a few cartoonishly malevolent, larger-than-life leaders.'

@fierceawakening

That second one sounds like what Inglourious Basterds was exploring. Note how the Nazis in that movie are diverse (with distinct regional accents), individualized, and cultured, while the Basterds are presented as bloodthirsty monoethnic invaders against whom the Nazis feel they must defend their homes. I think the point is to analyze how media frames good guys and bad guys; I suspect Tarantino might've also been looking at the way that post-9/11 action media depicts terrorists and justifies even the most heinous violence to stop them, especially since hawks at the time were quick to liken terrorists to Nazis and the war on terror to Allied heroism. It would also explain why so many viewers came away thinking the intended angle was either the Basterds as uncomplicated heroes or "maybe the Nazis weren't so bad after all."

On one hand I'm not sure whether Tarantino is the director I trust to handle this topic, especially given his general political incorrectness; I've been wanting to rewatch that movie, but my goyische ass isn't really the one to give a definitive take on the ethics of it. On the other hand QT's political incorrectness is kind of a double-edged sword here; if any director could pull off a movie like that, he'd be a good candidate for it.

Also tagging @morlock-holmes and @echofromtheabyss here

Buddy, when racist cunts illegally prevented me from registering to vote by just refusing to accept my papers, I PROMISE YOU shitty guilt trip memes about my inability to vote made everything worse.

You know what ACTUALLY helped?

More than every passive aggressive shit for brains on this website telling me I deserve to me racially harassed for not giving Democrats my soul?

A fucking email from a fucking HERBS AND SPICES STORE that unlike you wretched cunts ACTUALLY HAD VOTER REGISTRATION HELPLINES IN IT.

Every time one of you godforsaken freaks tells me to 'get out and vote' like its cutely trivial and didn't take months of desperate phone calls just to register (IF my registration even WORKED THIS TIME).

If you, like me, are struggling with registration or poll access, try contacting your STATE board of elections.

Request that they send you TWO copies of their registration guidelines. Collect any documents listed in them.

Then, contact your LOCAL board. Tell them you would like to register IN PERSON IF POSSIBLE.

Bring your documents and the two copies of the guideline AND a working cell phone.

If you get ANY trouble AT ALL tell the local person you will call the state board to confirm their registration requirements. Be polite, but do not leave. Put the phone on speaker.

Most of the time, the local person who is doing Actual Serious Federal And State Crimes will give up at that point. If not, the person at the state board will generally outrank and overrule the local one.

Make a note of the names of both the local and state official.

Then, and this is the most important part:

CONFIRM YOUR REGISTRATION WAS FILED.

It may take a day or two for your registration to appear.

Unfortunately, if it's been a week, you're going to have to repeat the process.

Take the names you noted previously, and contact the state board again. Report that these people denied you registration on this day, in spite of you providing these documents, then list all the required papers you collected.

The person at the state SHOULD be able to direct you from there, but the process varies hugely by state.

Good luck to you all.

ETA: I was able to vote eventually, BTW. It took far more work than it should have. Physical injuries were sustained. But I did get to vote!!

— Jim Jordan’s curious rise: A tale of how Christian nationalism consumed the GOP

Following the links: “the composition of self-identified evangelical conservatives is also shifting. In 2008, 10.6% of politically conservative evangelicals attended church seldom or never. In 2019, that had more than doubled to 21.3%. Just a decade ago, one in five attended yearly or less – and now it’s over a third.”

@headspace-hotel

Screenshot of a short ap news article on the subject for context/sourcing.

ah, the ol fascist "service guarantees citizenship" routine.

"oh, young people have a tendency to not be nationalistic? let's make it harder for them to effect changes to make the political landscape more to their liking by removing one of the most fundamental actions they can do" (not that most of them even vote, not that they feel represented by anyone in the running, not that things aren't rigged with gerrymandering and the electoral college and lobbying and and and and)

full of rage

The best way to get more representation for yourself:

1) in the immediate future, vote Democrat. Maybe you like them, maybe you don’t, but they’re not the ones trying to take away your voting rights and that’s where we’ve got to start.

2) start learning about local civics. Mayor, school board, treasury. That kind of stuff.

3) start working with grassroots campaigns. If the GOP has a stranglehold on your area you may have to start these yourself. Don’t despair.

4) DON’T DESPAIR. You can feel discouraged from time to time. This is an ultra-marathon, not a 20-meter sprint, and sometimes it will feel like you’re shoveling shit from a sitting position. But DO NOT DESPAIR. Tell despair to go fuck itself. Despair is the enemy of progress. Despair is what the GOP wants you to feel, and fuck them.

5) Be a pain in the ass to your reps. Write a letter every week. Know what’s on the legislative docket. Call, write, take up their time using your voice. That is literally their job, to listen and represent you. (Don’t be mean to the person on the phone, that’s just an intern who wants to make a difference as much as you do.) Buy a book of stamps and aim to use so many you have to replace it once a month. Yes, even now snail mail is best, especially because it’s gotten so rare it catches the eye.

6) Find campaigns that are closest to your voting values and volunteer for them. Remember: ultra-marathon. You are trying to meet people and make connections and get closer to the finish line. This will move you in that direction.

7) RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICE.

8) ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICE.

9) RINSE AND REPEAT.

Your vote is a mighty weapon. If it wasn’t, they wouldn’t fight so hard to take it away.

You've got to join the IWW

I'm not saying you should be a guns blazing organizer

1. The best organizers are lowkey up to the last second

2. If you're afraid, if you're tired, there is a bare minimum option

Sign up, get looped in with your local, pay your dues into the branch and get a free training.

Now you've got one job, you need to get your coworkers worries and their contact info.

Sues got a bad back and needs more breaks n others do. Sammy takes three buses to work each day and can't have last minute schedule changes. Saul frankly checked out from the world years ago, but you built up some rapport.

And you have their phone numbers/emails

You've at this point risked bubkis more than you would otherwise, and have been paying into your branches relief funds all this time (6 to 33 dollars a month sliding scale, Upstate NY has additional options for itinerant workers and those in crisis)

The day things get intolerable. Management change, lay offs, sexual harassment or assault from management, twelve hour days, or just one issue too many

You have a much better chance of running a safe and effective campaign than if you did nothing and have better odds of weathering the crisis that went too far for you to take.

Anyone in the Northeast United States hit us up on our site or email [email protected] to get directed to your nearest branch. All other workers worldwide there are IWW or CNT unions almost everywhere and we can help you track one down.

If you are not ready to join our UK branches have put together a written guide https://iww.org.uk/resource/one-to-one-conversations-the-basics/ and our twin cities branch has put together a very helpful and bluntly honest reading we have all new members read https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/twin-cities-iww-weakening-the-dam

You can also reach us by mail at PO Box 77 Altamont NY 12009

Request free stickers if you have a NY, VT, or Western Mass address

DM me for discounted CD's of labor songs in English, Yiddish and Spanish, or to pick up 4 dollar press stamps to support our North American publications

Order CD's at https://jamesconnollyupstatenyiww.bandcamp.com/album/rebel-tongues-living-tongues

We also have an audio version of Weakening the Dam available now. https://soundcloud.com/user-860760625/sets/weakening-the-dam-audio?si=2d2c6125e51c47729c60478b094925e9&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This is not related to my blog, but it's personally important. Please read it.

It breaks my heart to know that I'm so unwelcome in my own country. So far I've wanted to leave for an opportunity at a better life, because it's becoming impossible to be well off financially here. But now I want to leave out of fear for my safety. This enables homophobic and transphobic attacks.

I'm out publicly, people know of my identity. I live in a small town inna bigoted country, it was dangerous enough already to come out like this. But now? Now that the aggressive people see that the government is with them? Now I'm truly terrified. I can only hope I will be lucky enough not to be targeted, but I know many, many others will become victims. This is not okay.

It just adds insult to injury that they do this during pride month of all times.

I've already started saving up to move away from here, so if you wish to donate and help me get the money faster, my paypal is linked here.

Thank you all for reading this.

Update: they added to the law. Starting now, books or papers contianing any LGBTQ+ content can only be sold in individual, opaque packaging, that hides the contents of said books and papers. They also cannot be put on display in any store.

This is getting worse and worse.

This is a two years old post and this bullshit is still ongoing. Ron de Santis gets some of his worst ideas from the Hungarian government

and Orban is never too far from some Republican ears

This law was based on the Russian law

This shit spreads like cancer if no one does anything to stop it.

SINCE WHEN IS HARRY FUCKING POTTER PRO-LGBTQ+

Yeah.

Yeah, the stereotype about "rotten eggs" seems to be that repressed trans men are radfems while repressed trans women are more overtly right-wing, but honestly I've also seen a number of radfemmy "dudes" who make me want to take them by the shoulders and reassure them that they have, uh, Options if they hate being male so much. On the flip side I've encountered a few antifeminist "women" who turned out to be transmasc; incidentally one of the aforementioned Male Allies™ (okay not a radfem ally per se, but a trad who pals around with them on Tumblr) proposed a feMRA to trans man pipeline, and to be fair it's not like he got that idea from nowhere.

So, while we're all trying to fight one of the other terrible "think of the children" bills trying to ram its way through Congress, KOSA, we should also be talking about The EARN IT Act.

Long story short, it's basically yet another surveilance bill using a "protect the children" bill, as a hideous meat-suit, putting restrictions on sites that'll make them even more vicious towards NSFW content, creating a climate where using a VPN might be a crime, and they'll be creating a federal committee to decide how best to spy on us!

Long story long, well, the Linktree is right here.

Beyond the stuff in the Linktree, I urge you to directly contact your congresspeoples and tell them to kill this bill, especially if they're on the Judiciary Committee, which is currently marking up this bill.

The members of the committee are:

So yeah, do what you can, even if it's just boosting this terrible, terrible danger we need to thwart.

And, I will add, as with my previous KOSA poster, this poster is officially, for the sake of spreading it, under a CC0 license.

Feel free to spread it, remix it, add links to the bottom, edit it to be about the other bad internet bills they’re pushing, use it as a meme format, do what you will but for gods’ sake get the word out!

...And yes, for the record I was thinking of the Judas Priest song when I came up with the tagline for this one.

Reblogging because this is not a drill, EARN IT (and the similarly terrible STOP CSAM Act) is on the Senate's schedule, and they are preparing it for discussion and a vote.

If you have not called your senators, call them as soon as possible.

So, while we're all trying to fight one of the other terrible "think of the children" bills trying to ram its way through Congress, KOSA, we should also be talking about The EARN IT Act.

Long story short, it's basically yet another surveilance bill using a "protect the children" bill, as a hideous meat-suit, putting restrictions on sites that'll make them even more vicious towards NSFW content, creating a climate where using a VPN might be a crime, and they'll be creating a federal committee to decide how best to spy on us!

Long story long, well, the Linktree is right here.

Beyond the stuff in the Linktree, I urge you to directly contact your congresspeoples and tell them to kill this bill, especially if they're on the Judiciary Committee, which is currently marking up this bill.

The members of the committee are:

So yeah, do what you can, even if it's just boosting this terrible, terrible danger we need to thwart.

And, I will add, as with my previous KOSA poster, this poster is officially, for the sake of spreading it, under a CC0 license.

Feel free to spread it, remix it, add links to the bottom, edit it to be about the other bad internet bills they’re pushing, use it as a meme format, do what you will but for gods’ sake get the word out!

...And yes, for the record I was thinking of the Judas Priest song when I came up with the tagline for this one.

philosopher stones in Fullmetal Alchemist are an allegory for capital

You think? I saw them more as like a war or state accumulating power thing, but I haven't rewatched brotherhood since highschool

Getting Involved Masterpost

I’ve been compiling links to resources and organizations that are doing important work to support the most vulnerable people during this pandemic. If you’ve been feeling helpless to fight all the awful things that are happening, here’s some ways you can help. Do what you are able to - donating, volunteering, protesting, joining a union, contacting your government representatives, and simply spreading information are all good actions to take right now.

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief - resources for getting involved in mutual aid efforts. https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/collective-care/

Mutual Aid Hub - map for locating mutual aid resources and groups in your area that you can donate to or get involved in. https://www.mutualaidhub.org/

Never Again Action - organization fighting against ICE detention centers. https://www.neveragainaction.com/

Feeding America - all food banks are in desperate need of support right now, donate or find your local food banks here. https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

Black and Pink - organization for prison abolition and support for incarcerated ppl who are LGBT/HIV+. https://www.blackandpink.org

Movimiento Cosecha - organization for undocumented immigrants, in need of donations. https://www.lahuelga.com/

Indigenous Mutual Aid Directory - resource for indigenous-led mutual aid groups. https://www.indigenousmutualaid.org/

Covid-19 Resources for Undocumented Immigrants - google doc spreadsheet of resources for uncoumented immigrants. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18p9OSlLpSYanIoUC-gEbhVbRMYVUfw4wyrixa9ekGdc/htmlview?fbclid=IwAR0euDbk5OiWd7EgBPKUPm01wCjCb-Z8-KiZK4EBlR53J0VNpVvQYTJy4eY&sle=true#gid=0

COVID-19 Sex Worker Harm Reduction Resources (U.S. Based) - google doc of resources for sex workers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GpmUbu7UDCKtbnsBwImFLQtXzHLlZ6FYPY_NjJvyiFs/edit

It’s Going Down - information, news, current actions, and resources about anti-capitalism and mutual aid. https://itsgoingdown.org/

Detention Watch Network - coalition against ICE detention camps. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/covid-19

Amnesty International - campaign to end human rights abuses. https://www.amnesty.org/

Food Not Bombs - organization providing food and supplies to people in need. http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site

General Strike 2020 - information about the general strike that is being organized in many places on May 1st, as well as other labor and rent strikes. https://www.genstrike.org/may-day-guide/

IWW - International Workers Union https://iww.org/

ResistBot - service that makes it easy to contact your representatives (USA) about important issues. https://resist.bot

Please reblog this, and if anyone has more links to share, please add on!

Autonomous Tenants Union Network - organizes renters to resist evictions, rent hikes, neglectful and predatory landlords, etc https://atun-rsia.org/

Cooperative Gardens Commission - connecting people to grow food and build food sovereignty https://coopgardens.com/

Wisconsin has an incredibly important Supreme Court election coming up! If you’d like to help support voter turnout by writing letters to voters, you can sign up at Vote Forward! You can participate in a political or non-political letter-writing campaign, and adopt as few as 5 voters, or as many as you want!

Barbarian civics class

".... so our system of governmemt is what's called pseudo-communal theocratic despotism. Write that down, that's on the test. Our neighbors to the south, Khethia, live under the futile system."

"Teacher, don't you mean the feudal system?"

"I do not."

"Now class, does anyone remember from our last lesson what is best in life?"

"I know you mentioned crushing your enemies and seeing them driven before you. I wanna say there was something else?"

"Yes, correct." The teacher waits for more students to raise their hands. "Yes, Conan?"

"To hear the lamentation of their kinfolk?"

"Very good! Well, 'lamentation of their women' is the traditional formulation, but 'kinfolk' is more gender neutral."