Tja.

this glib summary makes it sound like this is obvious. but the rise of the far right in recent years is in significant part due to the failure of hte mainstream reformist left to understand this rudimentary point of politics and choosing to retreat on the welfare state, on immigration, on trans rights, therefore leaving the agenda to be set by the far right. so actually it's kind of like sun tzu writing about how you need to make sure to pack food for your army. someone needs to write down the basics

doesn't help ofc when you have people arguing publicly that persuading people isn't what politics is for and the only role of politics is to passively absorb public opinion

I love that thing when people get a little bit tongue-tied and garble what they’re trying to say so they make a little “blegh” 👅 noise and start over. verbal reset button. hitting the top of the tv to unscramble the signal

drives me nuts when ppl act like its somehow feminist to be a huge asshole to people because 'men are allowed to behave that way,' or whatever. ok. well i dont think men should be treating people like that either. and if they talk to me like you are talking to me, i will judge and avoid them as well.

I'm really glad you added this especially since it has moved beyond my immediate friend sphere -- SO many ppl do not understand how unconscious social bias works. And do not think that they could possibly have any. It's actually something you have to actively work to keep in mind ALL of the time. Its not like, one and done. Every time you're reacting to someone, its important to reflect on what that reaction is and why, and what factors are contributing to it. Its important to note who gets socially punished for what behaviors and who doesn't!

but if I were to say that I don’t think vampires inherently and universally represent queerness and that if that’s the only way you engage with any story containing a vampire then a lot of very important messages are going to go straight over your head? i would be killed to death.

ESPECIALLY an issue when vampires very explicitly represent fear of outsider immigrant non-white invaders! Dracula can absolutely be read with a queer lens but we cannot let our desire for ~spooky gay stuff~ blind us to the very real xenophobia, antisemitism, and orientalism present in a LOT of the foundational media in vampire history! nor the racism present in modern vampire stories!!!

Ich mag ja an der DB, wie es uns alle gleich macht. Man sollte meinen, ein ICE Ticket zwischen den Wichtigen Städten Dieses Landes würde einen irgendwie pünktlich und mit Würde befördern, aber nein. Ein Armani-Anzug schützt vor Ungeplantem Gleiswechselkurzstreckensprint nicht.

forget age gaps or differences in rank or whatever the most potently dangerous power dynamic in any relationship is "people like you more than me"

genuinely nothing is more corrosive to love, respect, or trust than the insecurity of forever being second and last in line. of always being the plus one but never invited; always tolerated on their behalf but never wanted on your own. of knowing that nobody's jealousy or admiration is about you at all, only your place at their side. you tell them that you feel like you only exist when you're with them, and they laugh, charmed, but it isn't a figure of speech. it's not enough that they love you best if everyone else loves them better.

I can't watch a television show until a demon possesses me and compels me to do it

If you’re pining you need to stop and pick a different tree. You know, spruce it up a little

I’m still proud of this post. It’s evergreen

When we choose to avoid history because it's Problematic or Says Bad Things, we are choosing to divorce ourselves from understanding how we came from that time to this one, which makes it even more likely for the cycle to repeat, with no one but a few people with shelves of old books aware that it's happened before.

also like do you think your unproblematic fave of today is going to be that tomorrow? that social mores and what's reasonable or even progressive won't change?

your strengths are harder to see than your weaknesses because the problems you're good at solving don't appear as problems, because you're so good at handling them before they become problems... unlike the relatively rare problem that becomes a crisis, which demands undue attention. it's sort of like a reverse survivorship bias. the problems that become noticed as problems, the moments where you notice your capacity has a gap, are only the ones that aren't cut off at the pass by your strength and capability, before they become problems. so if all you focus on is problems then all you'll see is your weaknesses. which isn't accurate

Im CRYING WTF