AYA

everyday i feel more and more like this

are you defending (in this instance) Irish Catholics as a proxy to give yourself grace, to lump yourself in with "the good ones?"

what you're actually doing is absolving yourself of action and self-reflection. that discomfort you feel about white people perpetrating racism is asking you to do something to bring your actions into alignment with your values. instead, you're discarding this feeling by doing some feel-good mental gymnastics to ensure that there is a narrative that gives you an escape hatch, an assurance that there are good white people in the world (ones with whom you identify).

instead, let your discomfort guide you to do something real because if you're not actively standing up against fascism and its children, you're laying down to get stepped on. here are some real things to do:

donate to support the people who have been attacked, displaced and traumatized in racist attacks in Belfast:

don't have money to spare? find local organizers, join them, triage immediate needs in your community, then play the long game to move the Overton Window towards inclusive values. i do not want to hear any wailing about how nothing you do matters, no one will do anything, etcetera, etcetera; these are more mental gymnastics that allow you to give yourself permission to to do nothing

don't have time, money, or energy to spare? go to your local library and pick up a book to educate yourself and build empathy:

no access to a library? do the internal work and pick apart your own internal biases about race (i'll give a starter question for reflection: why did you feel compelled to respond to a post about violence against Black people and immigrant communities by centering white people?)

hi, everyone. the situation at home has gotten progressively worse, with my father turning physically abusive and breaking my nose a few weeks ago. Me and my gf need help to leave the house and rent a small place for ourselves, as well as pay for our meds and hrt. We are kind of in a desperate situation right now, and any amount would really help us.

p*yp*l: [email protected]

But still use good ol' tumblr.com in full English. Still taking the time to explain global policy to the ignorant Americans. Making a PSA because a bunch of Americans got under your skin. Refrences literally the whole rest of the world as "non-Americans".

same thing with authors like khaled hosseini. their works show one perspective, a perspective in a sea of different experiences, one that conveniently paints western imperialist agendas in a positive light and even more conveniently becomes the only narrative ever published for western audiences

"There are only three real men in this world, Amir," he'd say. He'd count them off on his fingers: America the brash savior, Britain, and Israel. "The rest of them--" he used to wave his hand and make a phht sound "--they're like gossiping old women."