Fandom-Random

Yeah, so my country’s leaders have decided to double-down on the anti-immigration rhetoric that they shamefully manipulated then rode to get them into power. You know, because that worked so well for Brexit. Let’s keep pushing that classic. One of the first things our newish PM, Rishi Sunak (note: a son of immigrants), did was to announce that they were going to be cracking down on the “small boats” - i.e. the ones that desperate people use to reach these shores. Pretty despicable, right? Don’t worry, our “anti-woke” Tory Party in charge has barely got started.

You may already have heard about the plan headed up by Suella Braverman (another child of immigrants), UK Home Secretary (reinstated after being fired for being a security risk) to deport “illegal immigrants” to Rwanda, an expensive (and apparently illegal) notion that hasn’t really got off the ground yet, and you might be thinking: there’s no lower they can sink. Hold onto your life jackets.

The Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, decided that the lobbies of the children's asylum centres were too welcoming, with their colourful, cheerful murals of famous cartoon characters, so ordered the walls to be painted grey; like a dull, battleship grey.

Then it was revealed that the asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants who were currently being housed in hotels (rather than, you know, having their applications to live here properly processed so they could earn money, house themselves, and contribute to society) were costing us too much money. So, you’re going to process them? Oh, no, you’re going to put them on a barge.

But not just any barge… the Bibby Stockholm is special. It’s been the place to house folk temporarily for a few decades now, in various parts of Europe, including homeless folk and asylum seekers in Germany and the Netherlands, plus oil rig and off-shore windfarm construction workers, and is currently moored off the Dorset Coast in the south of England. It’s designed to house about 200 people. It’s been retrofitted to fit 500. Yes, you read that right. And not by enlarging so much as putting bunk-beds in. I’m sure that won’t make anyone feel like they’re being housed in a floating prison… It’s got, you know, a multi-faith prayer room and a gym and catering and medical facilities. And inhabitants will get day release. And 24 hour security.

So it’s safe, right? It’s got extra fire escapes now and… no? No. It’s been assessed and there are some severe worries about how fire safe it is (when professionals start using the term “death trap”, it does tend to make one think, you know?), and how 500 people in there are likely to not be able to get out in case of a fire. Also that any outbreak of disease is likely to spread like wildfire. Ironically. But it’s not like you’re going to put people at risk like that, huh? Oh, and there’s a lot of standing water in the system because it’s not been inhabited or sorted out for a good long while, so you’re going to check for things like mould and legionella bacteria, right?

Wait, you’ve asked for legionella tests but you’re going to start putting people on the thing anyway, before the results come in? That’s… bold.

And… wait, you’ve now put a man on board who has tuberculosis? And you’re threatening people who don’t comply with being put on board that they’ll get no benefits? Even though they’ve been advised that they’re allowed to refuse to go, legally? But the Tory Deputy Chairman went on record to tell people who didn’t want to go that they could, and I quote, “Fuck off back to France.” So that's okay then. Problem solved.

And now you’ve found legionella in the water on the barge. Oh, three days ago? Uh, haha, that seems odd. So… you’re evacuating, right? Well, look; there’s a bar you’ve finally managed to clear. It’s somewhere in Hades, but sure… Have a gold star.

I’m sure there’s something I’ve missed, but that’s the crux of it. I’m not saying, you know, death camps, but, if anything, I might well be saying… death camps…

Come on Tumblr, don’t be fucking cowards

NEED!

Twitter OP is the one making them, by the way.

Oh hey, new post-apocalyptic dystopia setting just dropped.

Leona's post is here.

Her YT video is here.

ao3 is facing a ddos attack from an overseas right-wing anonymous group because it contains "degeneracy and disgusting things like LGBT and NSFW".

they're not the only right-wing group that is attacking fanfiction sites because of queer & nsfw content. the Heritage foundation, the US right wing think tank that writes laws for republicans, wrote an article about how "big tech turns kids trans" in which they're advocating for the Kid's Online Safety Act to pass because it will give state attorney generals power to sue websites for "potentially harmful content towards minors". in this article they point out websites like wattpad, tumblr, tiktok, twitter as sites that GOP attorney generals can and will target for censorship if this bill passes. all places where fandom, that's mostly queer, hangs out.

if you think this bill has no chance of passing because of all the red flags it poses, think again. it currently has 38 cosponsors in the senate, and is being pushed by the democrats as a "protecting the children!!" type bill.

there are left-aligned orgs in congress rn lobbying for this bill to pass. july is extremely decisive, because if KOSA goes through to markup it'll be bundled with the Earn It act, Restrict, and all the other bad internet bills and passed as a package, completely censoring the internet forever.

if you want to learn more about the bill, go here. also sign the open letter against it here

it's ESSENTIAL that you call your members of congress, specifically Maria Cantwell (you can call from out of state) and tell them DO NOT PASS KOSA. this site here connects you to your members of congress and gives you a short simple script to read off of! super easy and doesn't take much out of your day! please do this now!!