One of his books was my first experience reading virulent jew hatred, describing someone like me as disgusting based on what I am. I was a young teen and he's made my blood boil ever since. His work has been commonly edited to remove his gross garbage nowadays, but both in his writing and personal life he was gross. Here's a post going over a bit of it.
People can say "it was normal for the time" all they want but it doesn't mean I have to accept him being hoisted up as a literary gay icon.
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Starting to think that decades of media in which the Scrappy Young Protagonist single-handedly defeats the evil empire just by winning a physical fight against the dread emperor has done real damage to people's perception of oppressive systems of power
It's not the media. It's the inability of a lot of people to tell fiction from reality, or even admit to the possibility that the latter is more complex than the former.
I hope all the reform voters feel fucking embarrassed and full of shame seeing all of the candidates they voted for resigning because they didn't actually want to do this job. You voted for someone who just wanted to shit on immigrants and migrants and queer people and people of colour and women and didn't actually plan ahead to what they would actually do in power. You fell for their lies. Feel fucking bad about it.
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The ubiquity of “vetted” as a scam buzzword and people falling for it, I think, reveals a lot about the relationship certain people have between words & concepts in their heads.
What do I mean by that? Well, to begin with, something being “vetted” doesn’t really mean anything in-and-of-itself. It just means it’s “been checked & approved”. But checked how and approved by whom, and why does their approval hold weight?
“Vetting” is a process, and it is only as good as that process is rigorous and the people who are engaging in that process are not only trustworthy but qualified.
A drug being vetted by the (pre-gutted) FDA is very different from a drug being vetted by RFK Jr., right? One has credentialed people with good track records doing the provably rigorous process of science & showing their work, while the other is just a guy who is well known & says things.
What does this have to do with the relationship between words and concepts in people’s heads?
Well, there are a lot of people who see “vetted!” and that word alone shortcuts whatever is supposedly “vetted” past ever needing to be checked. They don’t ask questions about the vetting process. They don’t ask for the credentials of the vetter. They probably don’t even have any idea what they should be looking for in a rigorous vetting process or vetter.
it’s essentially just seeing a sticker that says “APPROVED BY ME!” on it and saying “that’s good enough for me!”
This isn’t unique to this kind of scam, and it isn’t even new. Snake oil salesmen and con artists have been doing this sort of thing for forever. It’s what the “con” in “con artist” means: “confidence”. They gain your confidence, present themselves as an authority or your pal, your buddy, and then they take you for everything you’re worth.
It’s why Chiropractic & Scientology present themselves with the language of religion and science; it’s why chiropractic calls their four-year degree a “Doctorate”; it’s why your employer encourages you to think of the company as a “family”.
Because they know they can bank on a certain kind of person hearing the word, be it “doctor” or “family” or “vetted”, and shortcutting any critical thinking, without ever asking whether the concept is actually being fulfilled.
Did that “doctor” actually study for a decade in medical school and residency? Is this company actually motivated by keeping me safe and loved like a family would be, or do they want me to feel loved to so I feel obligated to serve their bottom line? Who is this vetter, why are they qualified to vet this, and what is their vetting process?
You gotta ask these questions or you’re gonna get got, man.
London police sought to minimize any early exposure of the exhibition’s exact location, out of concern that attempts could be made to organi
* * *
London police ordered the removal of the Nova exhibit’s main sign and kept its location secret ahead of the opening over fears of antisemiti
Security is tight in London ahead of the official opening of the Nova exhibit, after the main sign displayed near the site was removed at the request of London police over concerns about antisemitic incidents, public disturbances and security threats surrounding the venue.
According to sources familiar with the matter, police sought to limit early exposure of the exhibit’s exact location out of concern that extremist groups could organize protests or attempt to disrupt the opening before visitors arrive. The sign is expected to be reinstalled on the exhibit’s official opening day later this week. The location of the exhibit remains undisclosed and has not yet been formally announced to the public.
The decision to remove the sign was made as part of an extensive security operation led by London police in coordination with security officials and the exhibit’s production team. Counterterrorism officers are working closely with organizers and preparing for a range of scenarios, from terror threats and hostile attacks to attempts to disrupt the event through demonstrations, riots or other extreme protest activity.
As part of the security preparations, police are expected to deploy both uniformed and undercover officers around the exhibit site and nearby access points, alongside technological measures designed to identify threats in real time and prevent harm to visitors.
The exhibit, which has drawn international attention and is expected to attract thousands of visitors, will be presented in London under an unusually high level of security compared with other cultural events and exhibitions in the city. The heightened measures come amid tensions surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks and concerns over extreme protest activity targeting the exhibit.
This 'feels like our boy is coming home for six weeks', say Lisa and Michael Marlowe, whose son Jake was murdered at the music festival mass
Recreating the aftermath of the Nova festival massacre with real wreckage from Israel has brought in 600,000 people around the world. Now it
Asaf Schlezinger was working as a paramedic at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. The 57-year-old father of two was in charge of medical operations at the open-air event near kibbutz Re’im, three miles from the Israel-Gaza border. When Hamas began its rampage, killing 413 people at the festival and wounding many more, Schlezinger remained on site, treating the wounded under heavy fire. Witnesses later reported that he saved many lives before he was shot and killed.
This week an immersive exhibition commemorating the festival opens in London. It is titled 06:29AM — The Moment Music Stood Still, referring to the time the music stopped as terrorists unleashed their carnage on more than 3,000 young people from around the world who had gathered on a holiday weekend to dance.
Recreating the site in the aftermath of the atrocity in vivid detail, the exhibition features actual staging, scorched vehicles, bullet-riddled structures and tents, as well as thousands of personal items discarded in the chaos.
The exhibition arrives in the UK at an increasingly febrile time for British Jews. Last week, the Duke of Sussex expressed concerns that the wider conflict in the Middle East had become “dangerously conflated” with British communities, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Sarah Mullally spoke out against the “horrifying increase in antisemitic violence” in the UK, urging Christians to show solidarity through action not just words.
Last week, an independent Israeli investigation published harrowing details of “systematic, widespread” sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during the attacks.
Drawing on 430 filmed interviews with survivors and witnesses, more than 10,000 photographs and videos filmed by attackers, and official records and material from attack sites, the 300-page report concluded that rapes, sexual assault and sexual torture were intended “to maximize pain and suffering”. Witnesses quoted in the report describe hearing and seeing violent gang rapes at the Nova festival.
At the exhibition, there is a picture wall commemorating those killed that day, phone footage filmed by witnesses and in-person testimonies from survivors, returned hostages and bereaved families.
Asaf Schlezinger’s 31-year-old daughter, Nitzan, is one of the many bereaved family members who has dedicated her life to telling the story of Nova.
“The first time I saw the exhibition, it was a year and a half after October 7,” says Schlezinger, who lives in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. “It’s a very immersive experience, so it was a shock. At the same time I was working with survivors and other bereaved family members, so it was a powerful thing to deal with the trauma together.”
Beyond the personal act of commemorating her father, Schlezinger wants to make sure the world bears witness.
“It’s a way to make sure that the people we lost are remembered as human beings. Every person who died had a personality, dreams, a whole life cut short for no reason.”
The exhibition has already been to ten cities worldwide including Tel Aviv, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles, and drawn more than 600,000 visitors. At the LA exhibition, 21-year-old Stanford University student Taryn Thomas, who had led Pro-Palestinian rallies on campus after October 7, experienced an awakening. She was one of a group of 40 non-Jewish students invited to visit by the organisers.
In a speech last year, which went viral on Instagram, Thomas said: “After October 7, social media flattened a century of history into two opposing hashtags. Students supporting the Palestinian cause became a litmus test for activists like myself. In my progressive circles, my questions about the slaughtered civilians and hostages were met with whataboutisms and slogans such as ‘resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied’.
“[Inside] I was confronted with the truth no social media post had captured. October 7 wasn’t a headline, it was a human catastrophe. The victims weren’t just numbers, they were people my age, dancing one moment, fleeing for their lives the next. In that moment, I stepped out of political dogma and into human grief and empathy.”
While she finishes her studies, Thomas now works with the Nova Foundation to raise awareness and encourage dialogue.
“The exhibition truly opened my eyes to how I knew nothing,” she says. “It wasn’t just my ignorance but my arrogance. It exposed that I knew all of the state of Israel’s sins but I didn’t know anything about a single victim and I was shocked about how much I didn’t know.
“What struck me the most was seeing the victim’s last words, the text messages saying, ‘I love you’ and the videos where you see them dancing, not knowing that within the next hour they’re going to be killed or running for their lives. It was pure bliss — before havoc came in.”
Having believed “adamantly” that details about the events of October 7 were “propaganda”, she hopes that those who are similarly sceptical or even indifferent go and see the exhibition for themselves. “All the exhibition asked me to do was look. There is no propaganda in the last words of a dying girl.”
Ofir Amir, 43, was one of the organisers of the Nova festival, and now this exhibition. He was shot in both legs trying to flee.
“There’s so much hate and antisemitism and lies on social media,” he tells The Sunday Times from Tel Aviv. “What happened on October 7 did not only happen to the Israelis. It happened to every Jew around the world. And it happened to everyone who shares our values.”
Nitzan Schlezinger thinks that her father would have been embarrassed by all the fuss. “He would have said, ‘I did what I had to do, you don’t have to make a whole thing about it.’” Her hope is that the message of the exhibition will reach beyond the Jewish community.
“I want to encourage them to bring their work friends, people who aren’t the obvious type of person that would come. It’s hard, because seeing the exhibition is not easy. But I hope that they will remember at least one story and pass it forward. When people hear the actual stories, it’s easier to connect and begin to understand what happened there.”
Nitzan Schlezinger as a child with her father, Asaf Schlezinger, and a boy on a playground merry-go-round.
The exhibition may viscerally recreate the horrors of October 7 but the organisers, survivors and bereaved families also hope it will remind people that the festival began as a place of joy. Amid the sorrow and the scenes of devastation depicted, there is a celebration of community and a sign in lights that reads: “We will dance again.”
Some things about this post since getting quite a few notes:
1. If you see this post, highly recommend taking it as an opportunity to set a timer for 15 minutes and switch over to ACTIVITY YOU ENJOY. if after those 15 minutes, you want to go back to scrolling, that's okay!
2. Huge shout out to this popping up in my notifs often, bc I do go back to activity.
3. I think there are times where scrolling is fine. Right now, for example, I'm being connected to a machine for two hours to donate plasma and platelets. Yes this is a brag but it is also a time where scrolling is one of the few things I can do. (Though I will probably also read or watch something on phone lol)
“irish americans aren’t irish” “italian americans aren’t italian” what the fuck else are they and why do you think you’re allowed to gatekeep a fucking ethnicity?
europeans will act like their concept of ethnicity is the only concept of ethnicity and throw a fit when euro-americans feel attached to their heritage. yes they’re americans first and foremost but idk how to tell you that “american” is not an ethnicity. euro-americans have european heritage and acting like they don’t because it pisses you off is fucking childish and eurocentric af.
Ich glaube, es ist hauptsächlich die Sprachbarriere und die Identifikation über Anteile der Verwandtschaft. Außerdem haben sich die Kulturen inzwischen anders entwickelt, auch wenn es minimal erscheint.
Für manche erscheint es auch so, dass Amerikaner sich über uns lustig machen. Ich kann jetzt nicht über Iren sprechen, aber zum Beispiel wenn ich über Oktoberfeste in Amerika höre fühlt sich das wie eine Parodie auf Deutschland an. Vor allem da ich durchaus in amerikanischen Filmen und Serien solche schon gesehen habe, manchmal bösartigen, manchmal nur lustig. Da fällt es einem schon schwer, zu glauben, dass es ehrliche Identifikation mit uns ist.
Look in theory I know Europeans will use literally any excuse to be racist against people who don’t share their exact ethnicity. But in practice it still hit me like a shit ton of bricks to see the argument “The fifteen million members of the German American diaspora aren’t really German because of Oktoberfest”
That's a very bad faith reading of what was said. It's talking about how Americans treat European cultures as the theme park version in extremely insulting manners, and, in that case, lose a degree of connection with German culture as they assimilate into American culture (to say nothing of St Patrick's Day and how the stereotype of Drunk Irish is propagated). And as part of that, Europeans are treated as stereotypes by Americans in general, so there's a degree of irritation that comes back to that. It's not an "excuse to be racist", it's basically saying, "No, the people back here in Europe kinda feel a bit angry when we're treated like props/fantasy beings by Americans, even if they're related to us, and here are a bunch of examples of how that treatment expresses itself."
Look I have no real skin in the game as someone who doesn't have any strong European roots (Ashkenazi roots don't count, my ancestors weren't considered to be citizens of the places they were forced to live and then were ultimately driven out to North America and countries then part of the British Empire) even though I do deeply admire European history and even learned German in high school (much to the surprise and horror of my very generationally-traumatized Orthodox Jewish friends and family), but I will say that while I understand Europeans feeling insulted by American stereotyping of various European cultures:
-That stereotyping is often done by people who aren't actually descended from that ethnicity/nationality. Take St. Patrick's Day, for example. It's a big deal in many US cities, but most of the people who really make a big deal of it aren't actually Irish. The people who actually identify as Irish Americans will usually just go to Mass (if they're Catholic), maybe have a drink or a gathering with family. Likewise, the people making an almost mockery of Oktoberfest largely are not German Americans themselves. Americans who strongly identify as Irish or German or Scottish or Polish or Italian or what-have-you are largely not the ones embaressing themselves and perpetuating stereotypes.
-Sometimes, what is deemed as inauthentic expression of language and culture on the part of diaspora groups is actually natural continuations of language and cultures that are not part of "normative" culture in their European home countries. Take Italian-Americans, for example. Italian Americans get a lot of flack for their supposed bastardization of Italian culture and language, but Italian Americans are largely descended from Southern Italians, especially Sicilians. They are not descended from the same people and cultures in Northern or Central Italy. It's ridiculous to compare a Sicilian diaspora to say, Roman language and culture. Southern Italians immigrated to the US because of discrimination and poverty and violence in their homeland. Sometimes (not always), European derision of European American diaspora groups is just a repetition of the same ethnic and religious disputes that led those diaspora groups to become diasporas in the first place. Which I believe is what the OP was referring to. Just like there is no singular European culture, there also is no singular Italian, German, Polish, Irish, etc. culture. The national borders of the various European countries that exist today are quite recent. Europe is a collection of unique and diverse ethnic groups, languages, and cultures, and just as it's wrong for Americans to treat Italy like a single monoculture, it's also wrong for, for example, Romans to act like Sicilians aren't real Italians.
-I also see Europeans complain about seeming American "culturelessness" or the melting pot. I see complaints that American patriotism is always racist and is always an expression of American exceptionalism (which, not to go off on a tangent, but it's quite rich to see Europeans moral grandstand about American racist given the way that Romani people are still treated, the antisemitism, the ethnic clashes between people just a border over, not to mention the fact that American racism is a direct descendant of exported European racism and colonialism), and if there's such an issue with American self-identity, then if anything, Americans embracing their immigration stories and their heritage would be a good thing! It's actually vitally important for Americans to know where they come from, because all Americans that are not Indigineous Americans came from somewhere else, whether in bondage or through immigration (and immigration was often out of a sense of desperation).
It's perfectly understandable for Europeans to be irritated by Americans who make mockeries of European cultures, but as with many things, there very much is nuance.
“irish americans aren’t irish” “italian americans aren’t italian” what the fuck else are they and why do you think you’re allowed to gatekeep a fucking ethnicity?
europeans will act like their concept of ethnicity is the only concept of ethnicity and throw a fit when euro-americans feel attached to their heritage. yes they’re americans first and foremost but idk how to tell you that “american” is not an ethnicity. euro-americans have european heritage and acting like they don’t because it pisses you off is fucking childish and eurocentric af.
Ich glaube, es ist hauptsächlich die Sprachbarriere und die Identifikation über Anteile der Verwandtschaft. Außerdem haben sich die Kulturen inzwischen anders entwickelt, auch wenn es minimal erscheint.
Für manche erscheint es auch so, dass Amerikaner sich über uns lustig machen. Ich kann jetzt nicht über Iren sprechen, aber zum Beispiel wenn ich über Oktoberfeste in Amerika höre fühlt sich das wie eine Parodie auf Deutschland an. Vor allem da ich durchaus in amerikanischen Filmen und Serien solche schon gesehen habe, manchmal bösartigen, manchmal nur lustig. Da fällt es einem schon schwer, zu glauben, dass es ehrliche Identifikation mit uns ist.
Look in theory I know Europeans will use literally any excuse to be racist against people who don’t share their exact ethnicity. But in practice it still hit me like a shit ton of bricks to see the argument “The fifteen million members of the German American diaspora aren’t really German because of Oktoberfest”
That's a very bad faith reading of what was said. It's talking about how Americans treat European cultures as the theme park version in extremely insulting manners, and, in that case, lose a degree of connection with German culture as they assimilate into American culture (to say nothing of St Patrick's Day and how the stereotype of Drunk Irish is propagated). And as part of that, Europeans are treated as stereotypes by Americans in general, so there's a degree of irritation that comes back to that. It's not an "excuse to be racist", it's basically saying, "No, the people back here in Europe kinda feel a bit angry when we're treated like props/fantasy beings by Americans, even if they're related to us, and here are a bunch of examples of how that treatment expresses itself."
Sue me, I humorously paraphrased what I felt was the most egregious talking point because I didn’t feel like running through every single fallacy I found in the full response. But if you want it, here’s my full breakdown:
“Außerdem haben sich die Kulturen inzwischen anders entwickelt, auch wenn es minimal erscheint. / The cultures have evolved differently, even if it appears minimal.”
I think this is a wild thing for a German to say. Yes, certainly, German Americans have evolved a separate culture from Bavarians, but Bavarians also have a separate culture from Berliners and Westphalians and Holsteiners. The idea of a unified German identity is only about 150 years old, and an actually unified German nation in is current form isn’t even 40 years old. Germans have been evolving differently from each other in minimal and not-so-minimal ways for centuries. The country already has a huge amount of sub-cultural diversity, even predating a West/East divide that can be seen in every data-driven map of the nation and can literally be seen from space. What’s the issue with accepting the German-American diaspora?
“Für manche erscheint es auch so, dass Amerikaner sich über uns lustig machen. Wenn ich über Oktoberfeste in Amerika höre fühlt sich das wie eine Parodie auf Deutschland an. Da fällt es einem schon schwer, zu glauben, dass es ehrliche Identifikation mit uns ist. / For many of us, it seems like Americans are making fun of us. When I hear about American Oktoberfests, it feels like a parody of Germany. It’s difficult, then, to believe that they’re actually identifying with us.”
The above is a paraphrase of the second paragraph, which is in its entirely the Oktoberfest point. And oh, G-d, there are so many things wrong with this, mostly to do with the hasty generalization and slippery slope fallacies. Not all German Americans participate in Oktoberfest. Some German Americans participate in it because, despite being a parody, it’s the semblance of actual cultural connection they can get— it’s not like your average American can spend much of their free time in Europe. Some German nationals participate in it because they believe the parody is in good jest and they want to be in on the fun. And none of that actually, substantively prevents German-Americans from being able to connect to their German heritage.
Plenty of Oktoberfests, including the one in my city, are run by local German heritage groups and completely devoid of parodies. I promise you that if you compare photos of my city’s Oktoberfest against, you know, Munich’s, the actual German Oktoberfest is gonna look a lot more like a tasteless parody. And let’s not pretend that not a single German from another cultural region goes to play dress up in Bavaria when September rolls around.
I think there are genuine concerns expressed in the original reply— there is a language barrier. Plenty of German Americans do only get exposure to American media, which does not always portray Germans in a positive light. But those are issues that also affect every other diaspora population in the world. That’s what a diaspora population is. Jews and a whole continent of native Africans and hundreds of indigenous groups around the world are usually able to look past those things and encourage good-faith attempts to reconnect with one’s culture and heritage.
It is completely understandable on its face to look at American Oktoberfest and feel as though German culture is being mischaracterized and flattened out into a stereotype. That’s not my issue here. My issue with that response is that it, in turn, uses a singular event to mischaracterize millions of German Americans and flatten them out into a stereotype. Which ranges somewhere between not being very sporting and being actively xenophobic.
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Any marginalized person on tumblr: yeah so that’s been my experience as a marginalized person
Five hundred people who can’t read: ummm OP don’t you know that there are OTHER people who are MORE oppressed and marginalized than you? Suspicious that you didn’t even mention that — I will now consider you one of their oppressors.
I have grown to realize a lot of you severely underestimate just how much antiblackness we have to swallow for the sake of our personal peace and our livelihoods. I'm not saying that to be mean or to make you go into a guilt spiral- that would be a useless reaction anyway- but I do want you to consider it. That what you believe to be peace is not just because it "is".
"Well if it was important why didn't anyone say it sooner?" "if it was important, why didn't they say it was racist?" peer, a good 75-80% of what I might say to the white and/or nonblack people that offend me directly goes swallowed for the sake of my paychecks and running water, or God forbid to avoid a bullet. Or if I'm online (where that number shrinks significantly), to be left the fuck alone 🤣
Y'all are very used to not having to hear that feedback bc we've been forcibly socialized into accepting that you won't take it well and often have the power to make it not worth our while to speak. Retaliation is common. That's why it's perturbing to folks when Black people DO speak up. Interrupts the status quo 😅
i wish there was a way to say "you're right, but this is really ineffective and even counterproductive messaging to anyone who doesn't already agree with you" without sounding like an asshole
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The tumblr experience is having politics that make the most left leaning progressive you know irl blush and then logging on here and getting called a bootlicker fascist because you said that you dont think we should make the reign of terror happen again
Me irl: the problem isnt taxes, youre thinking too small. The problem is that the federal government isnt taxing the right people the right amount. Theyre taking all our extra cash in our measly little wealth bracket and letting the billionaires hang on to more money than they can ever spend in a lifetime. The only way anybody gets a single billion is either through exploitation or inheriting it from someone else who did the exploitation, nobody who has that kind of money earned it legitimately. Not only do we need to strip that back into social safety nets for those of us theyre bleeding dry instead, but they need to establish hard laws and regulations to prevent that kind of exploitation from happening in the first place!
My coworkers: man, youre a real red-card commie, aren’t you? You gonna start telling us to vote NDP and that healtcare isnt a scam too? Jesus christ go give someone else your goddamn revolution pamphlets, lenin.
Me on tumblr: while i appreciate the animosity towards billionaires, i dont think literally dragging a guillotine into the streets and beheading people as a public spectacle is going to actually solve the problems inherent in the system considering the french already tried that and it didnt work out well for them. Also i dont think anybody has the right to decide who lives and who dies, im pretty anti death penalt-
