NieR.Friend's Page

and apparently, when she straight-faced, lifted her glass of chardonnay to her ear and swirled it, she baffled the other winery-goers so much that they all instinctively did exactly the same thing. that sort of crowd-think, that you aren’t quite sure what’s right but you’ll be damned if you’re mistaken for the plebian that you are

but watching that was enough for my mom to lose her composure, laugh so hard she cried, and spill the entire glass all over herself, in the process getting kicked out of the winery

The.

FUCK!?

but metroid is also about learning to do trick jumps from random animals who celebrate when you get it right, and about saving them even as the planet shudders under your feet

and metroid is about lowering your gun when you meet the last of a species who's only just hatched, and gently holding out your hand

and metroid is about accidentally calling the name of someone you care about, who you thought you'd lost, and finding out they've been with you the whole time

and about a little scribble of a child with their parents tucked into the corner of a grand mural

and about the gifts left behind by others because they may be gone before they get to meet you, but that won't stop them from helping you

warning for racism, ableism, misogyny and general shittiness

Prince Philip is a museum piece – a living, breathing, mobile, jolly good fellow, smiling, handsome, charming great-grandpa who happily walks about, uttering obscenities while his entourage try to cover up for his “indiscretions.” But these are not “indiscretions” or “gaffes.” He means what he says and he says what he means. He is the living memory of an entire history of imperial hubris now being actively repressed to offer a more liberal, tolerant, cosmopolitan character for the British and, by extension, “the European.”

it's not just that he's wildly, flagrantly bigoted and utterly unapologetic. It's not even just that he's one of the most famous people in the world, continuing to platform these kinds of egregiously damaging, even dangerous, sentiments. It's everything he stands for. It's what he represents.

He says it out loud, and in doing so, makes it that much easier for the more cunning kinds of killers to fly under the radar and get away with acts of aggression that might otherwise be recognized as such. He says it out loud, and in some ways, that's a blessing.

but no amount of "barbarous truth" can negate the fact that the bigots who push the boundaries do so on purpose, to make it easier for the subtler racists and more patient oppressors that come after them. If we're used to hearing world leaders say things like "Oh yes, there's a lot of orphanges in Romania - they must breed them," how much harder will it be to name and recognize the racism of your employer when they say they just don't think you're ready for that promotion, but be sure to ask again next year?

If a prince can say it out loud, a teacher will mutter it to the students in the classroom. One more famous director will incorporate it into one more award-winning film. A politician will think it, and sign off on another pointless war.

warning for racism, ableism, misogyny and general shittiness

Prince Philip is a museum piece – a living, breathing, mobile, jolly good fellow, smiling, handsome, charming great-grandpa who happily walks about, uttering obscenities while his entourage try to cover up for his “indiscretions.” But these are not “indiscretions” or “gaffes.” He means what he says and he says what he means. He is the living memory of an entire history of imperial hubris now being actively repressed to offer a more liberal, tolerant, cosmopolitan character for the British and, by extension, “the European.”

it's not just that he's wildly, flagrantly bigoted and utterly unapologetic. It's not even just that he's one of the most famous people in the world, continuing to platform these kinds of egregiously damaging, even dangerous, sentiments. It's everything he stands for. It's what he represents.

He says it out loud, and in doing so, makes it that much easier for the more cunning kinds of killers to fly under the radar and get away with acts of aggression that might otherwise be recognized as such. He says it out loud, and in some ways, that's a blessing.

but no amount of "barbarous truth" can negate the fact that the bigots who push the boundaries do so on purpose, to make it easier for the subtler racists and more patient oppressors that come after them. If we're used to hearing world leaders say things like "Oh yes, there's a lot of orphanges in Romania - they must breed them," how much harder will it be to name and recognize the racism of your employer when they say they just don't think you're ready for that promotion, but be sure to ask again next year?

If a prince can say it out loud, a teacher will mutter it to the students in the classroom. One more famous director will incorporate it into one more award-winning film. A politician will think it, and sign off on another pointless war.

Walkable communities advocate: Here's a plan for a walkable community in which only public transit will be permitted – no personal vehicles of any kind will be allowed.

Disability advocate: What about access for physically disabled people? If your options are public transit or the sidewalk and literally nothing else, any disabled person whose needs aren't fully served 100% of the time by your favoured public transit framework is fucked, and there's no such thing as a perfect public transit framework.

Walkable communities advocate, whose brain shut down the moment they heard the word "disabled" and didn't process anything past that point: Oh, you silly cripple, the term "walkable community" doesn't mean you're only allowed to walk! How quaint.

This isn't a criticism of the idea of walkable communities in general. It's a criticism of the particular attitude toward walkable community planning which treats getting the number of privately operated vehicles all the way down to zero as a teleological goal. If that's not something you're in favour of, this ain't about you.

I am, myself, physically disabled in a way that prevents me from driving but rarely hinders my ability to walk long distances. Every car on the roads vanishing in a puff of smoke one day would be hugely convenient for me. That doesn't mean I'd actually want that to happen; it ain't always about me.