Work in Progress

Fucking heinous.

WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING AUSTRALIA’S FIRST TERRORIST ATTACK

First of all it was not an ISIS flag. Not every black flag with Arabic on it is. 7 News wrongly claimed the flag was in a tweet which has now been deleted.

Secondly, stop perpetuating Abbott’s Islamopobic scare campaign. Let’s not forget that this isn’t Australia’s first terror attack. The first one was carried out by ASIO themselves, and used as justification for expanding their powers and budget, as well as the formation of the AFP. 

Not a single one of them has been carried out by Muslims. In fact, it’s statistically more likely to be a racist who hates Muslims rather than an actual Muslim. There is however, a long list of 'terror plots' targeting Muslims, each providing and excuse for another extension of racist and repressive ‘anti-terror’ laws.

LIVE ABC COVERAGE

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH IS THE WORST SOURCE OF INFORMATION, WHOM ARE CURRENTLY SPREADING FEAR THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA WITH AN EARLY 2PM NEWSPAPER PRINT FULL OF INCORRECT AND UNCONFIRMED INFORMATION. THIS IS NOT NEEDED AT THIS TIME WHEN NOTHING IS CLEAR AND THE SITUATION IS STILL DEVELOPING.

this incident is NOT a confirmed terrorist attack AND IT IS NOT CONFIRMED TO BE IS MILITANT / ISIS RELATED the number of hostages in the building is NOT confirmed and is currently undisclosed

ITS IS IMPORTANT PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ARE NOT LABELLING THIS INCIDENT AS A TERRORIST ATTACK WHEN THERE IS NO CREDIBLE SOURCE TO CONFIRM THIS

STATE AND FEDERAL POLICE, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND THE PRIME MINISTER HAVE NOT LABELLED THIS AS A TERRORIST ATTACK, AND IT IS STILL UNCONFIRMED TO BE POLITICALLY RELATED

PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSION BASED ON INFORMATION FROM YAHOO OR THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, WHO EARLIER TODAY CLAIMED ON TWITTER THE FLAG IN THIS PICTURE IS ISIS RELATED, WHICH WAS INCORRECT AND THE TWEET HAS RECENTLY BEEN DELETED..

THIS IS NOT THE CASE, THE MESSAGE ON THIS FLAG IS PURELY A RELIGIOUS STATEMENT AND TESTAMENT OF FAITH

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD ALSO TWEETED INCORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLOSURE OF AIR SPACE AROUND MARTIN PLACE ON TWITTER, FOR WHICH THEY LATER APOLOGISED

COMMERCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A CREDIBLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON THE UNFOLDING EVENTS IN THE SYDNEY CBD

RECENT ARRESTS AND RAIDS CANNOT BE CONFIRMED TO BE RELATED TO THE INCIDENT IN MARTIN PLACE, NOR CAN THE CLOSURE OF THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE UNDER UNCONFIRMED CIRCUMSTANCES

related links:

statement from Prime Minister Tony Abbott (x)

LIVE traffic and road closure updates for people currently in the sydney cbd (x)

most recent update:

“A new interactive billboard in South Korea is as powerful as it is ingenious. The ad features two silhouettes: one is an adult man holding a raised bottle who looks like he’s about to attack the other smaller silhouette of a cowering child. 

The brilliance of the ad lies in the fact there’s a large space between the man and the child, which is where you come in. The billboard encourages onlookers to step in and stop the man from hitting the child. And once you step in between them, your image is projected on the larger screen, appearing as if you are saving the day. 

A superhero logo then pops up with the words, “Report to become a hero for children.” The text at the top of the billboard reads, “Child abuse, you can prevent it.” I can’t think of a better way to encourage people to become involved in the fight against child abuse. “

Source!

Wow, thanks for the early morning racism. That was fun.

(Also, a lot of people - including myself - want Pedro Pascal as Dr. Strange AND HE ISN’T FUCKING MIDDLE EASTERN, YOU ASSHAT. CASUAL RACISM FRIDAY, APPARENTLY.)

1. There are A LOT of really fucking talented actors of colour who both HAVE CARRIED and COULD CARRY movies like this if given the chance. It’s the same bullshit we get when people whine, OH WELL WOMEN CAN’T CARRY SUPERHERO MOVIES. Oh shut the fuck up. When you a) get a shitty, misogynistic script and b) get a lackluster budget with little marketing support, are you REALLY surprised that it doesn’t succeed? This is the problem. People assume that these movies get the same type of support that movie led by white men do, and they don’t. Just take a look at causal-racist!Ridley Scott. He can’t get money for a movie with Mohammed so-and-so. CLASSY.

Someone should go tell Will Smith and Denzel Washington that their movies don’t bring in any money.

2. Marvel is a strong franchise. They just made a movie where two of the main characters are a digitally animated talking racoon and tree. This isn’t some indie film where you’re begging for money and have to build a base out of nothing and it’s a risk not having a “big name” (ALSO, SORRY, CHRIS PRATT WAS NOT A BIG NAME BEFORE GOTG). You could stick a Marvel logo on a two hour film about otter turds and it would make $100M its opening weekend. This was an opportunity for Marvel to cast a POC in a role where, unless they change the backstory A LOT, is really fucking troubling for a white guy to play. AKA IT’S GONNA BE SUPER FUCKING RACIST. So that’s fun to look forward to.

3. I always get the impression from Marvel that they are just being dragged kicking and screaming into diversity. It never feels genuine, especially when they talk about it. It comes across as them throwing consolation gifts at us in hopes that we won’t call them on the fact that on the whole, they’re fucking over women and POCs.

Every time I see the Marvel “Phase” shit, this is what it looks like to me:

WHITE DUDEWHITE DUDEA LOT OF WHITE DUDES AND A WOMANTWO WHITE DUDES FIGHTING OVER A THIRD WHITE DUDEENSEMBLE WITH WHITE DUDES, A WOMAN AND A POCWHITE DUDEPOCWHITE DUDESWOMANWHITE DUDEWHITE DUDEWHITE DUDES WITH A WOMAN IF THEY DON’T KILL HER OFFWHITE DUDES WITH A WOMAN IF THEY DON’T KILL HER OFFWHITE DUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDES!

No one’s arguing that there are no POCs in Marvel, but this WELL AT LEAST THEY GET TO BE IN THE MOVIES is such bullshit. That’s like saying, well at least Rosa got to ride the bus. How people are represented in these movies matters. Marvel brings out the POCs when the main white dude needs back-up, and brings out the women when the main white dude needs romantic tension/a love interest. Rhodey and Sam? CHECK. Pepper, Jane, Peggy, Sharon? CHECK. Natasha is the only one who doesn’t fit the mold, but she only gets story time while helping progress someone else’s story. Are these great characters? Yeah. But they often exist to further the main white dude’s story.

I’d also like to point out that basically if you’re a POC, you either get to be Black or you get to be a POC VILLAIN (hi Sitwell & Abu Bakaar). Yinsen was the only exception, but yay, he got shot in the chest for Tony. I can’t think of a single Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Malaysian etc) character of substance in the movies.

I don’t mind Benedict Cumberbatch. I don’t love him, but I feel about him the way I feel about pumpkin spice shit: I don’t understand the appeal, but I don’t question its existence most days. People who are bitching and whining about people being mean to Cumberbatch are missing the point. IT’S NOT ABOUT HIM AS AN ACTOR. I don’t give two left tits about Cumberbatch. It’s the fact that Marvel is PARADE OF THE WHITE BOYS O’ THE MOMENT with POCs and women thrown at us occasionally like sacrificial lambs so we don’t call Marvel out on their bullshit.

Also, one last message from me to you:

Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride

This one always hits me hard. How many times a day do I check myself automatically - do I look okay, do I smell okay, do I sound smart enough, do I sound too smart, am I being too bold. Even when no one is watching.

If you’re reading this, here’s your reminder that it doesn’t matter what men think of you, not even the men who have planted their own unreasonable standards inside your head. You can stop checking yourself.