Then he says, “I mean, the problem isn’t the gender thing. The problem is four words: she, her, he, and him. We got rid of stewardess and turned it into flight attendant. It doesn’t matter if the flight attendant is a man or woman, so we got rid of it. We just need to get rid of those. I don’t need to know.”

“You don’t need to know… people’s gender?”

“No. I don’t care, I don’t need to know, and I don’t want to remember it.”

Just the other day I was emailed by a relatively new indie journal looking for writers. They made it very clear that they did not pay writers for their work, so I figured I’d probably be passing, but I took a look at their Copyright policy out of curiosity and it was a nightmare. They wanted “non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license and right to use, display, reproduce, distribute, and publish the Work on the internet and on or in any medium” (that’s copy and pasted btw) and that was the first of 10 sections on their Copyright agreement page. Yikes. That’s exactly the type of publishing nightmare you don’t want to be trapped in. 

Most journals will ask for “First North American Rights” or a variation on “First Rights” which operate under the assumption that all right revert back to you and they only have the right to be the first publishers of the work. That is what you need to be looking for because you do want to retain all the rights to your work. 

You want all rights to revert back to you upon publication in case you, say, want to publish it again in the future or use it for a bookmark or post it on your blog, or anything else you might want to do with the writing you worked hard on. Any time a publisher wants more than that, be very suspicious. Anyone who wants to own your work forever and be able to do whatever they want with it without your permission is not to be trusted. Anyone who wants all that and wants you to sign away your right to ever be paid for your work is running a scam.

What if the publisher goes defunct? What if they get bought by another publisher who doesn’t care to promote or publish your work? You still can’t to anything with it, you don’t own it anymore!

For a thorough overview of what you should be aware of regarding your intellectual property and publishing rights, please read through this collection of post [https://kriswrites.com/business-musings/contracts-and-dealbreakers/] by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. 

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REBLOG

I don’t know a lot about US law, I will be honest, but this seems like yet another step towards the fascist dictatorship of Donald Trump.

It’s really tricky, because on the one hand, the Black Lives Matter movement is hugely important and I totally understand and respect their desire to keep their protests peaceful.

habeas corpus is meant to protect detainees by giving them right to report unlawful detention, and protects them against indefinite imprisonment – by suspending this, people can be detained without being given a reason, for however long. many protesters have been held for more than 24 hours; some have been held for up to 36. 

those who have been released from detainment have said that detainees are being held without being given proper amount of water, soap or hand sanitizer, as hand sanitizer dispensers had been removed from holding cells, medical attention, or masks; many cops are not wearing masks. detainees are also being refused phone calls, giving families and lawyers no way to find them. (source, source) 

the reasoning judge james burke gave for this was that, due to COVID, the pace of arraignments has slowed, as COVID has necessitated remote (virtual) hearings. however, multiple attorneys for Legal Aid (an nyc law firm that works specifically in cases where clients have been systemically neglected by the city) said that this was unacceptable, as the nypd has the resources necessary to arraign people faster, and that this was purposeful – due to a history of deliberately delaying arraignments because they “don’t like what they’re doing on the street,” and specifically now as the protests are targeting police brutality. (source, source)

detainees are being kept in cramped holding cells, filled to over capacity. they are being held in an enclosed space, often without masks as they had been taken away from them by police at their time of arrest; they can now be held indefinitely. the risk of infection is staggering. nypd’s assistant deputy commissioner stated, in an attempt to quell this issue, that protesters aren’t social distancing on the street – ignoring the fact that being outside with masks, with the room to social distance (barring instances of the police kettling, which, by the way, happened in the bronx last night) is a far cry from being detained indoors, en masse without immediate access to sanitizer, soap, and masks.

while these arrests include people who are acting violently, they also massively include people who are peacefully protesting past the 8pm curfew (including people sitting on their own front stoops). this is a low-level offense that does not necessitate detainment. in addition, cops are arresting food delivery people for being out past curfew, even though they are considered essential workers; delivery workers are overwhelmingly immigrants and people of color.

the gross misconduct of the nypd continues to escalate, and continues to be upheld by city officials who consider reports of police brutality, from journalists in the middle of these protests, “a different reality” than that seen from city hall. here’s looking at you, de blasio. 

i’m not quite sure what this suspension of habeas corpus does to affect bail funds; but, here are a list of nyc-specific bail funds and organizations:

Bronx Bail Fund (via Venmo)

Brooklyn Bail Fund (note: they are not currently taking funds as their needs have been met.)

COVID Bail Out NYC

NYC Liberty Fund

Share widely: National guard and MPD sweeping our residential street. Shooting paint canisters at us on our own front porch. Yelling “light em up” #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #JusticeForGeorge #BlackLivesMatter

“Light em up” he says, as though this is some round of paintball he’s savoring. Like he’s a soldier on the front line. This is a pathetic little man itching to use his shiny toy on the first helpless victim he can. How dare a civilian record him? Why should the law apply to him? Get back inside and mind your place, or we’ll shoot!

Mobs of angry white people, protesting for their right to [checks notes] get a haircut—in the middle of a pandemic—yelled at cops, shoved them, threw things at them, and were nowhere near being respectful or peaceful, but for some reason, police officers didn’t mace them, didn’t shoot rubber bullets at them, didn’t tear gas them, and didn’t kneel on their necks and choke them to death. Qwhite interesting how differently white people are treated even when they disrespect the police and even when they riot over things like [checks notes again] their sports team losing or hell, even winning a game.

Because someone had to talk about it.

The supernatural world is a white one. Period.

Even the people killed in the cold open are most often white people. 

Don't get me wrong, white people are extremely talented actors/directors/casters. I absolutely loved each individual performance and I respect the show. That's not where this meta is going. 

My arguments are..... Why is no character of color close enough to the boys to be considered family? Why are most characters of color monsters? This show has had the rare gift of longevity and now that it's almost over, we can see what they've done with it. And it's pretty garish. 

Supernatural is a world where verrrrrrrrry few people of color have lived in for 15 years....... that's weird. 

The boys are national travelers, they're constantly working in America, driving from American state to American state. I know people of color are minorities, but we're not mystical creatures that only come out of the shadows during an eclipse. We're your coworker, we're your neighbor, we're your friend, we're your lover, we're your teacher, we're your classmate, your cousin, your teammate, we're alive and we're here. In America. Shocker, I know. What American has looked around their place of employment or school and only seen white people? Most don't because the country has been built using enslaved immigrant labor, and after people of color were granted civil rights we didn't just leave the land we helped create. By then, it was all we knew for generations. Why would we go? So we're here. Hey. Y'all dragged us to this party, we helped make it popping, and now don't ignore us the whole night and pretend we aren't here.

Speaking of popping, how about we talk about a character who was so good that the mere mention of his name still gets us heated.

Kevin Tran. 

Six seasons passed before we were blessed with Kevin Tran. 

Kevin is consistently enslaved, tortured, and killed for shock value. It's almost comical how bad his life has gotten since he met the Winchesters. They even brought him back in season 15 just to make it even worse for him. But, I'll tell you what. He's one good character. He is divinely touched, he adores his mother, he works hard to complete personal goals, and he's a hilarious millennial. Plus, he sassed Jack the Ripper. He's a legend. He's Kevin freaking Solo. What's not to love? To repay him for his iconic involvement, the writers gave him a very generic Asian name, drowned him in family/academic/musical stereotypes, and he existed to be in service of others against his will in a way not dissimilar to cosmic slavery. He wasn't even released in death (when he was murdered to serve someone else's agenda). His constantly changing endgame includes haunting the bunker, chaining his ghost to his mother, and ultimately being damned by Chuck, freed from Hell, and doomed to wander the earth to become the next thing the boys would feel compelled to kill. 

We waited over six seasons for him. 

And he was EVERYTHING. 

Immeditaly a fan favorite. We all cried when he died. And Osric Chau did a STELLAR fucking job despite Jared and Jensen doing racist fake Asian accents in the season 8 gag reel like it's all good. (What y'all thought I forgot) Here's the proof at "3:40".

https://youtu.be/7fx0D7-kp-g

Why haven't we cast any more Asian actors/actresses for character arcs? They're amazingly talented, incredible, and gorgeous people. Their work is just as compelling as their white counterparts. Supernatural wouldn't get cancelled if they had hired many more. But they didn't. Why?

Why do Middle Eastern actors STILL only get offered roles as killer gods and monsters? Why were there only two Native roles written in 15 years and why we're they both one off characters who suffered for being Native. The Native's character's existence is then "explained" by one white character who walked into their space and stayed there so that the Winchesters had a connection to the case?

Why can I count the black actors that recieved a character arc that spanned more than four episodes (on a show with over 300+ episodes) ON ONE HAND? Black actors have the most roles earned by people of color on Supernatural to begin with. That number shouldn't be this low.

Casting decisions like this creates a world within the show. The Wonderful Universe of Supernatural.  A place full of monsters and hunters and magic and justice and fate and badassery. Oof. Who wouldn't want to live there, swinging machetes with the Winchesters?

Apparently, not people of color. Because where are they?

While supporting this show for 15ish years, people of color have been continuously told through these casting decisions that they don't belong in the Supernatural world. I can see racism living large on the WB/CW in 2005-2012 because it was the norm. We were used to watching shows with a completely white lead cast while they made fun of POC, queer people, and the neurodivergent BECAUSE THATS ALL THAT WAS OUT THERE.

Nowadays, as we walk into a new decade in 2020, we are learning to open our hearts and correct the mistakes of the past by doing many things including... ceasing racist activity. 

Casting directors are now removing the unspoken ban against hiring actors of color. It's been proven that the "multicultural shows/movies aren't lucrative" angle Hollywood has been pushing since film was invented  is a total crock of shit. Hollywood just didn't want to pay us or look at us. Hollywood wanted to create "perfect" fantasy worlds where white people had all the speaking parts and everyone else nodded, smiled, and carried their bags. But that doesn't reflect the real world or the real people watching their content. So, this has to change as soon as possible.

The fact that very little change has happened in the casting/hiring room on Supernatural is telling. Over the last decade the Internet blossomed with empathy for the first time. There was an American social justice boom and a broadening world view. We we're all learning to become more inclusive people TOGETHER. But, apparently Supernatural didn't get the memo and that tells you a lot about the people running the show.

Stop hoping the best for one second and honestly admit that There Is Intention Here. Casting is a long, arduous process supervised by an entire team. That casting team is usually comprised of white people -- because they have systematically held that role since film's inception. Let's just say they tend to feel more emotionally connected to actors who look like them, which in turn hires more white actors and lands more POC headshots in the trashcan. I'm not knocking them for having empathy for someone who reminds them of their little cousin. But, to pretend there is not a racially charged element there is just ignorance. Because the entire playbill shouldn't have one skin tone.

Now, I'm not pouting and begging and whining, but jesus. The government shouldn't have to force you through Affirmative Action to look at a person of color's application and consider them for employment. I don't know why one would prefer a prodominantly white workplace for any reason other than they like the "aesthetic" or because they believe "white people do better work". If you feel forced to include POC in your space, you're racist, bud.

We should all have an equal shot because we have equal talent. We have had several actors of color on Supernatural that have Broadway lead levels of talent on their resume. You're telling me they had to die in four episodes when this show aired for an eternity in TV years with infinite possibilities, meanwhile we recycle Crowley's and Lucifer's tired basic plot over and over until we've beaten the dead horse to dust?

"All the people of color who interviewed and auditioned must have all fell short against their white counterparts during the process." What? That makes no sense. White people do wonderful work, but so does everyone else. We didn't ALL bomb our interview except for a handful of people. This doesn't add up. Why doesn't it? A cast and crew that looks like that tells us that we're not good enough to pay, we were never good enough to work with, and the world they created for Supernatural is not for us. It's TV for white people to enjoy. IN THIS DAY AND AGE THATS FUCKING NUTS.

Supernatural lived cavalier with no expiration date in sight for over 13 years. In all that time, they couldn't see any LASTING talent in Hispanic/Asian/Native/Black/Middle Eastern people? Look at Bollywood, look at Telemundo, look at K-Dramas, look at B.E.T. and tell me to my face that no one on those shows has enough talent to be on Supernatural and live to be a reoccurring character. Because Supernatural HAD THE SPACE for them, they just refused to give it up. If they can't see how wrong this is, then they must struggle to see people of color as capable, as trustworthy, as hardworking, and as talented as they are. Which is their problem. Not ours. 

I say all of this because, today, my heart sang. 

Misha recently did a plug for his cook book on TV Guide and he HUGGED A YOUNG BLACK WOMAN who was working beside him as an equal and a friend

Now, he's hugged black people like this before obviously. Misha loves all people regardless of race and so do the boys. His charity work helps people from all walks of life judgement free and he's a Huge inspiration. No shade there at all. I'M NOT CALLING OUR BOYS RACIST.

I used to have a Tumblr dedicated to them in 2010-2017, so I've done my time. I've seen most everything in the fandom. I took a two year break for work and then got back into it for the final season.

It has been forever since I've seen Misha or the boys openly show love and affection to anyone who looks like me that didn't pay them to do so (i.e. fan conventions that they're paid to attend, meet ups with the casts of actually diverse CW shows that forced them to mingle, and a podcast with Aisha Tyler that was actually really amazing).

Yes, yes, Misha slow danced for two seconds in the season 14 gag reel with Gigi Jackman, and it was adorable, but that wasn't THIS. 

They were so adorable.

I'm on mobile so my Tumblr isn't doing what it should, but please take the time to look at it!!!! Tell me your heart didn't grow three sizes. So pure! They're connecting. They're talking. They're working and eating together. They're treating each other like friends not just someone they have to stand next to with a fake smile once in a blue moon. I can't stress enough how little I've seen this happen -- how LITTLE I've seen J2M interact with people of color like this in their day to day life. My little fangirl heart exploded when I saw this. 

This was just a short book plug on youtube, but watching him interact with her, I felt for the first time like I might actually belong in the same room as them. Like I could walk in and crack a joke and a smile and they'd smile back. That they wouldn't make me feel othered -- as if I belonged to a group of people him and J2 couldn't see themselves being affectionately close to simply because of the way I look. I'm not saying they give that energy off. They don't. but I'm just saying... I see so little of this that just seeing this video triggered how much of an outsider I felt like in the fandom because I'm black.

Much of that blame falls back on the casting team and the Powers That Be. J2M works a lot, I know that. Their coworkers are their best friends. So, in turn, cutting POC from the show keeps POC from interacting with the cast. It keeps POC out of the crew. It keeps POC out of the world of Supernatural. This paints Supernatural as a world where people of color are rarely friends and definitely not family. 

Now, I'm not saying that black people had no good human representation. Not at all. But let's look at it. Shall we?

Cassie: was great for an episode! She was incredibly gorgeous, responsible, educated, and headstrong. I mean her plot centered around her suffering because of her blackness and using Dean for a nostalgia bang, but....well... her plot centered around her suffering because of her blackness and using Dean for a nostalgia bang. That's her story. During this time there was an EXTREME amount of colorism in the casting room, which means only lightskinned actresses were considered for the role of a character with lines. This was one of four black roles this season, and many of them REQUIRED the actress to be lightskinned/biracial. Many talented dark actresses were removed from the casting room. I'm not saying Megalyn didn't do a wonderful job, but I am saying other actresses were not allowed to compete for this role due to the amount of melanin in their skin.

Henricksen: was dope! Super badass FBI Director. Smart, calculated, and determined. And a snack. I mean, yeah, he was seen as an enemy up until the episode he died... and later became a ghost who's endgame was being chained to Lilith for the express purpose of killing the boys before disappearing forever, so he was clearly his face was never supposed to be trusted. And... oh. Okay. That's literally it. I love how he treated our main characters while he was on air. Really put a great taste in your mouth.

Tasha Banes and her twins Max & Alicia: They we're perfectly written characters. I have no issues with their plot, they were treated humanely and all had a chance to show themselves as real people separate from their blackness. They were FRIENDS NOT FOES. These three are good witch characters that struggled openly with their moral compass when separated from the people they love. Wow! Interesting, funny, they will make you laugh they will make you cry. I love them. Yes, they killed off Tasha and Alicia pretty quick but at least Max is alive and they were GRIEVED. I give them an A for that.

But, same issue as Cassie. To be on Supernatural as often as they were, the characters had to be biracial. Many black actors and actresses were again excluded from Supernatural's casting room. They were our representation, and they were a few shades darker than the white guy sitting down next to him. Chances are, that was the intention. I'm not saying Kendrick and Kara didn't do a great job, I'm reminding you that they had very little competition for the role because SPN was literally only hiring lightskins. I love them IRL as much as on screen. Kendrick is actually WOKE AF on social media. Please follow him.

Rufus: was incredible! Grumpy, adorable, fussy, old hunter. He was amazing, he kicked ass, his character arc had nothing to do with his blackness at all. But, remember he was Bobby's BEST friend! Not SAM & DEAN'S best friend. They just use his cabin. But to Bobby, he was truly a GREAT friend! He was tustworthy, hard working, and fought like a warrior. Until, of course he died -- in a completely preventable way FOR the Winchesters/Bobby to close a hunt. Bobby did grieve him on screen though, which further pressed that Rufus was an actual person who really really meant something to Bobby. Their Weekend at Bobby's and Safe House episodes also allowed Steven Williams to deliver iconic lines like "You gotta help me hide a body" and "It's officially none of your damn business ma'am". Bobby's grief humanized the both of them and noted that in SPN he could have a lifelong friendship with a black man that was near and dear to his heart. The boys however... struggled to care about Rufus unless it effected Bobby's ability to help them in his work.

Sadly, in the afterlife, Rufus finally gained the power to become a Magical Negro™ who's true endgame purpose was revealed: to help Bobby escape a reaper even though Rufus.. himself.. couldn't escape.. death. He was a mental projection I guess we weren't clear on it. But he definitely had Magical Negro™ tendencies until Safe House in season 11 which was honestly great but it didn't contain endgame material because it was a flashback. His official last lines were dedicated to helping Bobby while he died which is when the Magical Negro™ moment stuck the landing and ended his character arc.  

Look at that beautiful melanin though 🥰 Supernatural needs more of him. Iconic character overall. Thank you, Steven.

Missouri Mosely: was the mother the boys deserved, but never got because she only got 1 1/2 episodes. It's problematic that she was so maternal to Sam and Dean for so many reasons that I don't want to get into right now. Sadly, she was scripted as a Magical Negro™ for the Winchesters in season 1. Then, she showed up one more time in season 14 to hug Dean and die. Unfortunately, Missouri passed the Magical Negro™ gene to her granddaughter. Still, that woman was PURE gold. She will be missed by some of us even though she was barely grieved on screen.

I must note that Loretta Divine is aN ABSOLUTE LEGEND in black Hollywood and has been acting for over 50 years. Why was her role so tiny? She has starred on BROADWAY consistently since 1975. She is a profound actress with a beautiful voice and an insanely impressive resume. I consider Loretta Divine's appearance in Supernatural as a CELEBRITY CAMEO and they wasted so much talent by limiting her like this -- sorry, I'm getting heated. 

Patience: If Wayward sisters was picked up, this may have been remedied. But it wasnt. So, this is Patience. She ruined her relationship with her father and tanked her scholastic future to help the Winchesters twice. And in doing so, she became a......... Guess what? (I said "Magical Negro™" several times, which may have made you uncomfortable. Don't think Magical Negros™ are a thing? Here is a video essay on the trope that has existed in film for generations, but was only first named by Spike Lee forty years ago and two light hearted sketches about the awful racist film trope from Key & Peele  and another from Astronomy Club because we tend to laugh to keep from crying. It is really disgusting and tragic that black people are reduced to stereotypes like this in film) 

This list goes on and on, stereotype after stereotype, punitive character after punitive character, until we get Billie. 🙏

We suffered through terrible black supernatural villians since Supernatural's start. From evil sociopathic Gordon, to the satan worshipping Uriel, to the apocalypse-happy Raphael black villains on this show have been incredibly shitty with little to no backstory giving them a reason to be as crazy as they are. They died so that they could be struck down to serve the white maverick plot that the formula of Supernatural thrives off of.

We even had AU!Michael (who was dreamy AF ❤️ and WOKE AF 👏 on social media. please follow him too). But he was still just as apocalypse-happy as Raphael, if not more so because he was incredibly ambitious. He wasn't afraid to torture Sam and Dean's son and mother though, so we LITERALLY CANNOT LIKE HIM. Then of course we replaced him with Jensen because of s5 literary symmetry and all that. I have no qualms about that one piece of good writing. But still. We lost my boy Christian. Who also has a long resume much like Loretta Divine and lots of lead stage experience and movie experience before Supernatural.

But Billie. Billie was everything. 

Billie was the Holy Grail. The one reoccurring character of color who is still alive, triumphed over death when Castiel stabbed her in the back, and who's endgame does NOT spell Magical Negro™ in any way. She has helped the Winchesters, but not because she wanted to serve their cause. She has her own moral code that, her own set of cosmic subjects, she NEVER bends to pressure, she is all-knowing, she is powerful in her own right and works for herself and the balance of the universe. And that's so inspiring. She is dark skinned and natural haired and her face is BEAT TO THE GODS. She's not a love interest or an enemy. She's HER OWN CHARACTER.

I mean, she's definitely not human and not anybody's friend either. But I'll take it. 

In conclusion, it's honestly too late to consider Supernatural to be a place where people of all colors are treated with an equal amount of jobs, tenderness, and humanity. But.... every once and a while, Misha, the Winchesters, J2, and millions of other people take the time out of their day to hug a person of color and treat them with love and friendship. 

Knowing that it's happening at all, makes me not feel so alone. 

It would be a shame if the protesters noted that plainclothes cops can be identified a number of ways, such as wearing steel-toed boots; an armband or wristband of a particular color; driving white, black, or dark blue cars with concealed lights; or having the outline of cuffs visible in the back pocket or the bumps of an armor vest’s shoulder straps under their shirt.

It would be a shame if the protesters began making their signs out of inch-thick plywood to stop rubber bullets, forming a tight shield wall to prevent police from singling out and mobbing individual protesters. It would be a shame if the people behind the shield wall held up umbrellas so that tear gas canisters fired over the heads of the front line will be bounced away. It would be a shame if protesters began constructing improvised armor vests out of duct tape, hardback books, and ceramic tiles.

It would be a shame if protesters started wearing safety glasses, hard hats, respirators, and gardening gloves, all of which can be found at the same hardware stores as the plywood. It would be a shame if they started using traffic cones (the kind without the hole in the top) upside-down buckets, or other improvised lids to contain tear gas by placing them over the canisters.

It would be a shame if protesters learned that police scanners are legal to own in the US, allowing them to learn where police are moving and what routes they intend to take. It would be a shame if they discovered that these scanners can be used to send as well as receive, allowing them to flood the scanner frequencies with noise.