in a not too distant future

I'm talkin white people selling rattles and dream catchers, white people banging First Nations style drums, white people teaching talking stick workshops, that kinda shit

So what do you do when you see this crap? How do you show your disapproval in a way that makes them give a shit?

I'll tell you what I do. The point is to show them that appropriating Indigenous cultures will lose them customers.

When I see fakey Native art I say something like "Oh wow, you make dreamcatchers! What nation are you from?" (Use tribe in the states)

I used to ask point blank if they were Native, but I'd nearly always get some Cherokee great grandmother bullshit, or even "I'm not sure, I could have some Native in me!"

Most of the time they don't know what I'm talking about, because they're not Native and don't know that this is a very normal thing to ask when meeting another Native.

When they ask me what I mean I say "I mean your tribe, which First Nation are you from?"

This is the point where they sheepishly mumble that they are not First Nations.

I let my face fall and say something like "Oh. That's disappointing" or "Wow. Unfortunate."

I let it get awkward. And then I leave, shaking my head in disapproval.

You may feel like you need to educate them on cultural appropriation but here's the thing: it's 2025. They know. Brenda the middle class reiki shaman is FULLY aware that her smudge fans are stolen culture. She doesn't care. The only way to make them care is to hit them where it hurts: the wallet.

Make them think that you would have purchased what they are selling if it was AUTHENTIC.

If you wanna go the extra mile send an email to the organizers, in your best white people voice, and tell them that you are disappointed that they are facilitating culture theft.

Civil society was normal / healing until Gamergate, Trump, and/or COVID happened. Older opportunists may blame the defeat of Al Gore and the rise of neoliberalism in the 80s. The tragic event(s) they blame for all modern woes depends on their kind of opportunism.

Before the tragic event(s), young men (these types have a particular fixation on young, white, cishet men as the drivers of history) and people broadly held liberal positions and attitudes in social life, regarding treatment of women and marginalized groups.

After the tragic event(s), these people broadly took a significant reactionary turn

The cause of this is because The Left insufficiently courted these young men -> into voting for leftists

Therefore, the Left must direct all their resources toward the Real drivers of history: young men - regardless of class

This is done by focusing on spaces where these men already are and by using language that they gravitate towards. Clearly the lack of slur usage and the obsession with "being respectful to marginalized groups" is a huge barrier. Also, you can't be too radical or honest about your positions because you'll scare them off. The Left has become too woke and men are shy creatures, easily frightened by "they/them" pronouns, and if you don't treat them delicately - boom! They become raging fascists.

Once The Left has engaged in this delicate balancing act, these young men will vote! And they will continue voting for Leftists as long as they delicately balance and conceal their principles and goals, without any other political movement winning them over by throwing around a ton of money, which, as we all know, is unlikely to happen.

Or: better yet, they will join parties and organizations, and leftist power can be built sustainably.

Naturally, these parties and organizations have to be democratic (democracy is super important and an end in and of itself), so these men with questionable and inconsistent beliefs can now dictate the party line. Historically, being super accepting of all beliefs into your tent has always worked out super well 👍

Despite permissive internal democracy and the party / organization's success being entirely dependent on electoral success and not straying too far out of the state-approved overton window, the project will remain totally principled and dedicated to the opportunist's preferred Leftism

“I was going to get my masters degree but then it was 2020, so yeah”

“I was cast in a play and then it was 2020”

"Why'd you graduate at 23?"

Summer sees both a drop off in donations and, at least for our trauma center, a spike in traumas. Trauma centers across the US are in danger of running out of blood for our trauma patients TODAY, which is very scary but, unlike much of the other scary national news coming across our screens these days, is something you can help fix immediately and directly.

Guidelines and other information can be found here:

In most states, 16-17 year olds can donate with a guardian's permission. There are also updated requirements for certain people- so if you've been ineligible in the past you may be eligible now