trophy husband to be

-There is no such thing as a "Semitic people", and if there was, only Jews would be considered "Semitic people", since "antisemitism" was coined specifically as an alternative to the word Judenhasse, which means "Jew-hatred", and specifically to refer to Jews. If "Semites" was a legitimate identity, the only "Semites" would be Jews. People from the Levant who are not Jewish are not "Semitic", and are still very much capable of being antisemitic. In linguistic sense, "Semitic" only refers to a language family, not a cultural identity.

-"Goy" is not a slur. It means "nation", it's literally a word that means "non-Jewish person."

-Only Jews get to define what is and isn't antisemitic. If Jews are saying that something is antisemitic, listen to them.

-Jews are not White People Lite. There are Jews of every skin colour, and even light-skinned Jews can still be subject to racialized antisemitism. Listen to Jews when they say they experience racialized antisemitism.

-Judaism isn't just a religion. It's an ethnoreligion, a tribe, and a peoplehood. There are non-religious Jews. There are atheist Jews. And all Jews experience antisemitism.

-Judaism is a closed practice. Yes, we allow conversion, but it is a long and difficult process, and we do not allow prosletizing. It's like a locked gate where getting the key is extremely difficult.

-Judaism is not Christianity-Lite. Judaism came first, it is an ancient identity and peoplehood independent from Christianity. Christianity appropriated and butchered elements of Judaism.

-There are Jews of every sexuality and gender identity, and we have a long history of gender diversity and non-heteronormative sexuality. Include LGBTQ Jews in your activism.

-The Holocaust isn't your metaphor or comparison tool.

-Antisemitism has been around for thousands of years and it's still extremely prevalent and rising today.

-The Jewish community is a diverse, multi-faceted community. There are so many ways to be Jewish and so many ways to express one's Jewish identity. No two Jews are the same, but we are united by our shared history, heritage, and identity.

Do you actually know what being intersex is? Do you understand that your binaries are used only to oppress us?

I see this comment fairly often. And probably somewhere around 99 times out of 100, the person saying it is a Culturally Christian Atheist who is trying to say that they view the Christian concepts of “belief in a higher power” and “faith in and submission to a specific deity” as abhorrent…

But what is actually communicated to non-Christians includes:

“I think that all other religions are just reskinned versions of Christianity with a different name plate on the Christ Figure.”

And:

“I hate your culture for no other reasons than displaced trauma and lack of education on my part.”

And I’ve recently been seeing this comment repeatedly on my “Missionaries Are Inherently Xenophobic” post, and basically just auto-blocking the people making the statement.

Because it’s so ignorant. It ties into the Christian worldview that “Culture” and “Religion” are two distinct things that are almost modular, in that you can swap out the “Religion” module with any other and have no effects on the Culture. (9 times out of 10, these types also insist that Culturally Christian holidays are also secular…)

So, sure. Let’s take this statement and run with it, just to demonstrate what it actually says to those of us who aren’t Christian.

~~~

I hate all religions equally.

So, yes, I do hate Judaism just as much as I hate Christianity. Nevermind that means I’m in ideological agreement with Nazis, I hate this ethnoreligion which has never done me personal harm, and has been persecuted for thousands of years. To me, Judaism is Just A Religion, and I don’t understand, and don’t WANT to understand that it is also a persecuted minority whose culture gets routinely outlawed by people like me. Since I don’t understand that, seeing a visibly Jewish person on the street with their modest garb and hearing their foreign language, I am revolted. I hate Judaism, and I hate JEWS, just as much as I hate every other religion, equally.

So, yes, I hate Sikhism just as much as I hate Christianity. Nevermind that I’ve almost certainly never met a Sikh, and I don’t know that they don’t seek converts, so they’re also an ethnic group, the mere fact that they have a Religion that comes with that ethnic group means that I hate them. Their religious beliefs with which they’re raised as part of their culture–honesty, equality, fidelity, standing up to oppression–are Evil because it’s a religion, and need to be wiped out. Seeing a Sikh man, with his Religious turban and beard, as they give out free food to everyone in need at a Langar… well, it fills me with disgust and rage, and I wish to rid the world of this Religious Practice, observed by people who are different than me. I hate Sikhism and I hate Sikhs, just as much as I hate every other religion, equally.

So, yes, I hate Shintoism just as much as I hate Christianity. Nevermind that my understanding of Shintoism is almost certainly bastardized by my Western conceptions, their beliefs in venerating nature and respecting their ancestors are Religious and therefore Evil, and need to be wiped out. Seeing a Shintoist leave an offering to the Kami, engaging in ritual cleanliness, and marking major life events with solemnity fills me with disgust and rage. I hate Shintoism and I hate Shintoists, just as much as I hate every other religion, equally.

So, yes, I hate the Druze faith just as much as I hate Christianity. Nevermind that they are a small ethnic group who are prohibited from proselytism from their founding; I don’t care. To me, they’re Just Another Abrahamic Religion and I Hate Abrahamic Religions, even if there are so few of them. They have a Religion, and I Hate All Religions Equally.

So, yes, I hate the many and myriad beliefs of the First Nations, just as much as I hate Christianity. Nevermind that they were persecuted and marginalized by Christianity, which tried to wipe out their beliefs, way of life, and identities, I hate their Religions, even if those religions are tied to their ways of life. Nevermind that the residential schools, which had the stated goal of “Kill the Indian in the Child,” have mass graves of children. I refuse to recognize that this puts me in ideological agreement with Christian missionaries. After all, I Hate All Religions Equally, and if mass graves of children is the price to pay for a world with one fewer Religion in it, then so be it.

realize that you don't really see him as a man, or :

accept that you can be attracted to a man

Viktor Lyapkalo Artwork: 'Blowing bubbles' & 'Evening' Painted 9 years apart.

Another day, another doggy you can’t pet. Meet the dhole (Cuon alpinus). Found widely across parts of Asia from India to China to Indonesia, this social canid typically lives in groups of up to 12 individuals. Sometimes it even socializes with other groups of dholes to form “super packs” of more than 30 members! Teamwork enables these hunters to take down prey ten times their size. And unlike many other species of canid, dholes allow their pups to feed first on kills. Their diet includes pigs, deer, and buffalo.

you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.

first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.

now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:

in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.

and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.

and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.

it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:

• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.

• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.

• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.

• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.

• journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.

• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.

and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.

what i'm asking:

if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.

if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.

india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.

we can still save her. but only loudly.

Doing a final project in my stats class, we have to pick a subject and collect data on it. We need at least 100 data points, and I figured this blog is big enough that a poll on here could get to that pretty easily!

Doing my project on if it’s more likely to be born in certain months :]