That O'Neill Guy

I know it’s easier to be like ~boo hooo the world is so evil and there’s nothing I can dooo~ but it’s statistically and experientially understood, just by fucking 3rd grade logic, that a bigot will be less amenable towards the subject of their bigotry.

Bigots don’t just ~not like~ minorities- they don’t think we’re human. It’s not about whether they agree with you or not in the moment. Like, pause.

Understand this:

Calls to action for white people to oppose bigotry are calls for white people to position themselves as opposition. THEY ARE NOT CALLS FOR ~SUCCESSFUL DEBATE~

Do not think you are expected nor are you likely to just go around arguing with bigots and they’ll go ‘I agree with you because you’re white!’. 

Your job is to be sandpaper.

Every time they open their mouths to make a bigoted joke, or a bigoted remark, or post their shitty bigoted opinion online, you grate against them.

Your job is to make it hard to be a bigot or a fascist. Your job is to ostracize them. Your job is to speak over them the way they love to speak over minorities. Your job is to make it difficult, lonely, annoying, stressful and unwelcome to be a bigot.

When you are white and silent, You are making it easy. You are just letting it happen.

When minorities speak up for themselves, they are in danger, and the bigot just writes off our arguments as the chattering of ‘lessers’.

You, white people, whether you think so or not, are their peers.

Specifically those of you who look and talk like, to an outside observation, your average white american.

Bigots think you all think like them, but are too scared to say it. That, or you’re too much of a coward to stop them.

YOUR JOB IS TO PUSH BACK AND PROVE THEM WRONG.

YOUR JOB IS TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THEIR OWN COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

You are supposed to support victims of bigotry because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s YOUR truth. Even if no one in your family agrees, doing the right thing is just plain human decency and honesty.

Now, to speak to your unique situation, a consideration that I think a lot of people haven’t had the chance to make:

  Speaking out in defense of your father’s chosen victims is one thing. Speaking out in support of said victims is another. If it seems like fighting your dad on this rallies his Bigot Backup Crew, consider this question: How often do you speak openly in praise, favor and support of minorities? 

Another: Do you respond to your father with questions? Or do you make accusations? Ask him why he says that. Not even as if you’re hurt or upset. In fact… Listen. I am a person who would risk bodily harm to use a sharp tongue, so fair warning please make this consideration of your own will bc I don’t know you or your father but I will say this approach can hurt egos and thus it could cause extra tension.

1. Ask your father why he says the things he says. Ask flatly. Not defensively. Not emotionally. Not because you don’t care, but because he is clearly, in this situation your inferior. He is not smarter or wiser, in his bigotry he has shown his opinions to be dull and disappointing. Ask him as if you don’t care what his answer is- the ball may end up in your court, leading him to defensively support his argument. It doesn’t matter what he says here unless it’s an apology. Whatever he says, if its negative, just judge him silently. But repeat this.

2. Remind your father of his fear. If he is a bigot he is afraid. He is small and scared. He will not admit this, and does not want it brought up. He will fight the idea. But it will weaken him, because he will feel the lack of respect. To him, ‘respect’ (being feared) and power are huge parts of his identity. Small comments like ‘what are you afraid of?’ and ‘why are you threatened all the time?’ will upset his stance. Be patient.

3. Comment openly in praise of minorities. Little things. Big things. Not even for his sake, but for the sake of expressing your support. Defense isn’t everything. Let him know where your heart lies.

Bleach ED 2

I don’t believe that it’s not difficult to live in Cuba…that much is obvious enough. What I don’t believe is that the difficulties are entirely the fault of the “authoritarianism” or socialism of the Cuban government. It’s also worth noting that even the World Food Programme of the United Nations has on its own website that “over the last 50 years, comprehensive social protection programmes have largely eradicated poverty and hunger.” 

One of the problems they face is trying to replace the Soviet Union, who represented “80 percent of Cuba’s international trade…Cuba’s principal supplier of oil, food, machinery, spare parts, chemicals and other vital materials.” Cuba has historically relied on sugar as its main export throughout its history, and the Soviet relationship was especially beneficial during that era bc the Soviet Union was paying a guaranteed above-market price to Cuba for sugar in exchange for the items listed. 

One of those items also included pesticides. Since Cuba relies on imports for food, and it had just lost its primary importer, it didn’t have the money to purchase pesticides that were usually used on its sugar crops. So it was forced to develop organic farming techniques such as “integrated pest management, crop rotation, composting…soil conservation…worm composting and biopesticides.” Those innovations, along with a de-emphasis on sugar to an emphasis on tourism to bring in much needed revenue, are what kept Cubans from completely starving. 

Thankfully, the Venezuelan government after the Bolivarian Revolution of 1999 helped to replace the Soviet Union by once again offering subsidized oil in exchange for Cuban technical workers (primarily doctors but also coaches & teachers). However, the Venezuelan economic crisis once again put a strain on the Cuban economy as Venezuela was forced to export less oil and engage in less trade.

This is a problem when it comes to food bc Cuba imports between 60-80% of its food, and for that you need money obviously. But as one response “to this dependency, officials are promoting small, local farms as one way – perhaps the only way – for the country to finally start feeding itself. Although it has happened gradually, the shift to smaller, often organic farming marks a radical change from the monocrop sugarcane economy that ruled Cuba for a century. Small-scale farming is receiving the blessing of once-skeptical agricultural officials who set food priorities.”

Interestingly, tourism, while overall good for the economy, also puts a strain on the food supply. “Tourists imposed a tremendous increase in food and food quality demand for an island with a population of only 11 million inhabitants and a poor agricultural structure. That additional demand drove up the cost of food, making it less available to the estimated 80 percent of the population who do not have access to private jobs or remittances from abroad.”

Another solution would be to lift the U.S. embargo. Currently, “although the US embargo theoretically allows sales of food and medicine to the island, it also includes restrictions on credit and shipping that make such trade prohibitively complicated and expensive.” Meaning that it would be so much easier and cheaper to import food & medicine/medical supplies from the U.S. if it was allowed to buy it on credit instead of being forced to pay for imports in cash (that it does not have a lot of). Other countries like Brazil, Vietnam, & China allow Cuba to buy on credit, but the transportation costs are so high (bc they’re far away) that it’s kind of ridiculous that it has to do that when the U.S. is literally right there. Not to mention that U.S. businesses that don’t sell food or medicine are restricted from investing in Cuba, which is kind of a double-edged sword, but repealing the embargo would still bring in much-needed cash.

Hi, thanks for the question! 

The painting you’re referring to is the famous Tang dynasty hand scroll by Zhou Fang, “Court Ladies Wearing Flowered Headdresses/簪花仕女图”. This scroll depicts five palace ladies and a maidservant amusing themselves in a garden.  

The court ladies’ hairstyle is called Gao Ji/高髻 (High Ji), also known as E Ji/峨髻 (Lofty Ji). “Ji/髻” refers to any hairstyle involving pulling hair on top of the head. Gao Ji was a popular hairstyle among Chinese women during the Tang dynasty. As its names indicate, it refers to a relatively high and full updo, decorated with hair ornaments. Tang culture celebrated fullness and glamour, and that aesthetic extended to hair as well. Tang women believed the higher the hair, the better, with some using wigs to achieve the desired look - it was not uncommon for the updo to reach over one foot in height. Gao Ji was beloved by all classes of women during the Tang dynasty.

Gao Ji came in several different varieties. The specific one you’re referring to, with the peony pinned to the top, is called Zan Hua Gao Ji/簪花高髻 (Flowered High Ji). This style involved a Gao Ji embellished with huge peony or lotus blossoms, as well as gold hair ornaments.The practice of wearing flowers expressed women’s admiration for the beauty of the blossoms, but also symbolized the fleeting nature of youth.Zan Hua Gao Ji was especially popular among aristocratic women during the Tang dynasty.

Here are two modern depictions of the hairstyle:

Regarding the court ladies’ outfits - the relatively low neckline and nearly floor-length sleeves of the gowns, and the wide gauze scarves worn as stoles or draped across the arms, are all characteristic of the high court fashion of the Tang dynasty. I also addressed the same question in my reply to you here, so please check it out.

Hope this helps!

Wholesome content

This is what happens when you impulse buy pets without doing any research

[Image description: White rectangles filled with text overlaid on a photo of the Capitol Crawl that took place on March 12, 1990. The photo shows a blonde eight-year-old named Jennifer Keelan, who has cerebral palsy, walking on hands and knees as she leads a group of physically disabled people in crawling and walking up the stone steps leading to the austere white Capitol building in Washington, D.C.