AND NONE FOR NONSENSE, BYE

If you didn’t know, now you know.

#SAYHERNAME: 

Is Your Dating Preference Racist? 

Literally saying ‘I’m mixed’ made their social value go up. 

I don’t ever want to hear another fucking person talk about ‘preference’

dear anon,

I can see why you might think this given these kinds of complexions:

are the ones we see for the most important/main characters of Fire Nation descent

but don’t let the paleness fool you, especially when Airbenders and Earthbenders can be just as pale

every cultural detail we observe for the Fire Nation departs from an Asian or non-white point of origin

and let me clarify that by saying:

every cultural detail we observe within the Avatar universe departs from an Asian or non-white point of origin.

are there twentieth-century “Western” influences such as jazz and art deco in Korra, yes definitely, but they are translated through the Asian or Northern American Indian culture that grounds the fictional universe and has grounded the fictional universe since its inception

anyway, while the Earth Kingdom more obviously represents China, with a mix of Korean and Mongolian cultures, the Fire Nation seems to be a more ambiguous mix

most people leap to say the Fire Nation represents Japanese culture, and in a way it most certainly does, but there’s more to it

Though you can chose fashion, cuisine, musical instruments, calligraphy, or any other number of material cultures as examples, I think architecture best illustrates the kind of cultural influence that went into the crafting of this fictional culture…

so you have obviously Japanese architecture:

The Fire Sage Temple on The Crescent Island, for instance

or both the old and new Fire Nation Royal Palaces:

the stacked look of the different floors, the ornamentation at the corners…it recalls Japanese temple architecture from several different periods

the nobility seem to build their mansions in a similar style, as we see with Master Piandao:

as you can see with this second example, Piandao has a Japanese style garden, complete with a Fire Nation-stylized torii gate, a bamboo forest, a rock garden, etcetera

yet that’s not where things end! The Fire Nation has several ancient cultures embedded within the mainstream Japanese-inspired culture of the larger islands

akin to Japan, it is an archipelago

again, akin to Japan, there are many peoples and cultures inhabiting the different islands

for instance, the older Fire Sage style seems more akin to South East Asian architecture, perhaps inspired by the pagoda of Thailand or Burma:

it’s no mistake the statue in the background there resembles a Buddha which Thai and Burmese practitioners of Buddhism cover with small leaves of real gold

diversity in the Fire Nation doesn’t end here, however!

remember the Sun Warriors? The first Firebenders to live in peace with nature and the Dragons? The ones who first learned the forms of Firebending from the Dragons?

their people and garb and architecture were inspired by ancient Southern Native American cultures, such as the Aztec or Maya

Obviously, whichever Fire Nation culture you observe, and from whichever perspective you approach it, you will see that there is nothing “white” or “European” about the Fire Nation cultures!

You will find this for every culture introduced in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Again, every point of departure for the cultural influence in this universe is non-white.

While the process of modernization that took place in order to make The Legend of Korra recognizably analogous to the ‘20’s culture of our world - which was dominated by Western, global, hegemonic popular culture - certainly incorporates a fair share of Western cultural practices, these practices are steeped within the pervasive Asian/non-white cultural background established in the original series. Hence, we hear jazz licks and upbeat swing articulated on erhu and other East Asian instruments, we see skyscrapers topped with temple-style architecture and Satomobiles with windows that appear like Japanese shoji.

one last bit: it’s important to recall that with the origin story of Avatar Wan we discover all human cultures in this world derived from the same place:

though there were dozens of Lion Turtles, each guarding a different people with different customs, this foundation could not be more evidently Asian in its mythos

all Avatar cultures developed from this starting point, the human world carried atop the shell of a giant turtle, the World Turtle or Cosmic Turtle which is a myth in India, China, and certain Native North American Indian cultures.

in short, this show did its homework too many times to count. oh and none of the cultural influence is white.

Make.

No.

Young Thug and His Crew Were Surrounded by a SWAT Team in Pittsburgh

Local police and a SWAT team rushed them with guns in hand. The incident went down following Young Thug’s performance at Summer Jam at the Southside Event Center.

Authorities were initially called in because a member of security reported seeing a member of Thug’s crew “swinging” a gun. The members of Young Thug’s crew that were armed provided valid paperwork for their firearms, and the incident was later diffused.

This is what a real, qualified OBGYN will tell you about what women feel when they get an abortion

Link to Twitter

Link to French Revolution

Now here’s the tough part….I know, I know.

This…is a link.

see it? You got that okay? Now, imagine that spectral hand is urging you…to CLICK THAT LINK. I swear, and I know this sounds silly but…when you do that, your internet browser will open up an article for you to read. It’s written by Sheldon Creek doing a series on the volumes of The Image of the Black in Western Art, and it’s all about this painting:

And if this is getting to be too much for you, here’s an excerpt from this “article” I am asking you to consider reading:

The sketch most likely dates to the middle period of the artist’s career, which coincided with the advent of a new phase in the post-revolutionary history of France. In 1830 the monarchy was restored after Napoleon was overthrown. The new leader, Louis-Philippe, sought to balance the grudges still nursed by partisans of the old regime, the republic, and the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. As a major part of his ideological reorientation of the state, Louis-Philippe decided to memorialize the history of French military exploits with a grand gallery of paintings to be set up in the former royal palace of Versailles. Vernet’s sketch may have some connection with this project. The sitter’s uniform dates to the initial period of the French Revolution, a time nearly 40 years earlier than the date of the sketch itself.

Ok, you got that?

You know what’s really cool? This guy^^^ might have been a relative of Alexandre Dumas, you know, the french guy? The one who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers? You know? One of the most famous French authors of the 19th century?

THIS GUY?

This Black Frenchman?

Now, here’s another thing; Les Miserables is ACTUALLY set sometimes around the 1830s. After the French Revolution. People are always kinda glossing over that. So one might ask, why show resources tagged with “French Revolution”, when *pushes up glasses*, blah blah blah, *wags finger pedantically* something something BLAH?”

You want to know what my supposed reasoning is for Black people to have “come along”?

Try: “they were already there and had been for quite some time.”

As in, “quite literally for CENTURIES PREVIOUS”

OH HEY look this is from c. 1250

Warning: Pokemon GO is a Death Sentence if you are a Black Man.

Omari Akil wrote an article warning Black people not to play Pokemon Go. The story went viral and broke the Internet. He wrote that  if he keeps playing this game, it could literally kill him. He met visibly disturbed white women on their way to the bus stop, and many warned faces staring at him.

“Honestly, I wish this was a joke post or a satire of some sort. It isn’t. Something needs to change…like yesterday.”