#thefennecwolf

Ugh, seriously, I feel like this show is just….this show has gone into dangerous territory and it’s not going to ever deal with it/ address it in a manner that is actually pointing out how sick it is.

I am glad you think so too.

Not a bother at all.  Really good question because of the weight of the word ‘survivor’ in real world communities.  I try to avoid assigning it to people—real or fictional—because it’s a word that carries with it a political identity, and therefore should be a personal choice.

However, in terms of the slippery slope you pointed out: I think that if you’re going to use a single word to describe Regina, it should not be a word that focuses on her traumas.  ‘Survivor’ holds within it the implication that there has been trauma which was survived.  And while there’s danger of erasure, I think there’s more violence in reducing a woman to her traumas than there is in aiming for a more comprehensive view of her.

(Another hesitation I have with ‘survivor’ is that it’s vaguely stagnant.  ’Survive’ doesn’t necessitate anything beyond enduring violence.  ‘Survivor’ seems incredibly simplistic for people who take the violence they face and use it as a transformative force.) 

As for ‘overcomer’—I’ve actually never seen this word used in noun form like this.  I suppose it’s a more blatant form of ‘resilient’ with a stronger focus on adversity/challenges.  I hesitate to use it because it still strikes me as compressing a person to their oppressions.  My sense of ‘resilient’ is that it contains both the implication of adversity as well as mental dexterity and resourcefulness—but perhaps that’s just my reading, and for others it’s equally limiting.

What does rakas mean?

Yeah, sure! I know what you mean, it’s definitely a mixture of emotions. The word ‘bittersweet’ comes to mind. It’s nice to be heard, but it’d be even nicer if no one ever had to ask for such simple courtesies in the first place. They should’ve been given freely, of their own will.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it went. But now that they’ve been made aware of the problem, they’re trying to do better. I’m just not sure what more they can do…? I mean, I don’t understand what we’re asking for if every effort they make is only seen as a carrot. Even if they directly addressed each individual issue and apologized, there’d still be this feeling that they’re only doing any of it because we’ve made them.

I feel like, because of the mistakes they made in the past, anything they do from now on, however wonderful it may be, will always have a hint of bitterness to it. We know how hard we had to work for something that others got without any effort at all. We know what they put us through before listening to our pleas for better treatment.

For me, this is where letting go comes into play. I’m disappointed it went down like this, but I can’t ask them to change the past. I can only move forward. Personally, I feel they’ve shown they’re going to try to do better by us, so I’m going to give them a chance.

WELL HELLO, FRIEND. <3