Month: March 2022

amymja: ♪ Bound fast unto our fate ♪ ♪ One path, one burden great ♪ ♪ Yet ever do our aching souls point Heavensward ♪

March 5, 2022 /

amymja:

♪

Bound fast unto our fate

♪

♪

One path, one burden great

♪

♪

Yet ever do our aching souls point Heavensward

♪

tevruden:Tevruden as giant vampire bat-monster is just such a good look for him Art by GIUMS1 on twitter.

March 4, 2022 /

tevruden:

Tevruden as giant vampire bat-monster is just such a good look for him 

Art by GIUMS1 on twitter.

tevruden:Good morning everyone, today I give you one (1) dragoon, from donutsteele@twitter Tomorrow, who knows?

March 3, 2022 /

tevruden:

Good morning everyone, today I give you one (1) dragoon, from donutsteele@twitter

Tomorrow, who knows?

feranelia:papasmoke:shintox: weaponizedhorse: Also why are we punishing the Russian citizens for the actions of the government We’re not punishing the citizens, we’re punishing the government systems they use to make those payments so the citizens are more likely to take

March 3, 2022 /

feranelia:

papasmoke:

shintox:

weaponizedhorse:

Also why are we punishing the Russian citizens for the actions of the government

We’re not punishing the citizens, we’re punishing the government systems they use to make those payments so the citizens are more likely to take action like protest against their government instead of just saying “not my problem”

Thrusting millions of people into poverty through economic strangulation is in fact targeting its citizens. It is delusional, calloused, and dangerous to suggest otherwise. It also almost always does not work. The US stealing 3.5 billion in Afghan assets and sanctioning Afghanistan hasn’t led to the people rising up and overthrowing the Taliban. It’s led to millions more people being plunged into poverty to the point that thousands of parents are having to sell their own organs to keep their children fed. Even if you think that the end result IS a popular uprising that result is reached through intentional mass emmiseration.

Giving into Putin’s demands not only lets him win and signals he can do whatever he wishes in Europe but also puts other countries into danger and strips Ukraine of it’s independent decisions about their own country. It’s not an option, nor does UKRAINE want it. You should not let your hate for US make you give in to Russia instead.

Ukraine is an obsession to Putin, this isn’t just about NATO or US. Putin considers Ukraine a fellow sibling country of Russia, and he’s scared that the democratic rise in Ukraine will then spread to Russia and thus plunge Putin down. NATO is partly just an excuse, like the “nazis in power”. Putin is scared over his own position and wants to eliminate what he sees as a dangerous democratic uprising before it gets to him. He won’t stop until he’s gotten Ukraine under his thumb.

And so Putin is obsessed with Ukraine, wants his name down in history books next to Stalin at whatever price. I know, the russian people are not to blame for it, it’s wrong they have to suffer. But we’re out of options that doesn’t include escalating war or giving up. We are already targeting the rich people there too, hoping they’d pressure Putin to give up, targeting their businesses and money sources. That might not work either. What else are we to do? Just shake finger at Russia? Nuke the country? Silently look other way? What? There IS NO good way out of war, that’d not result in innocent casualties, not when the war has been started by a delusional dictator.

I feel like this whole argument isn’t taking into account WHY Russians can’t do these things. Russians can’t pay for all of that because a number of Russian banks have been cut off from SWIFT which is a system that sets up financial transactions internationally.  

Yes cutting Russia’s access to SWIFT means that the Russian people can’t pay for Netflix, but it also means that the Russian Government suddenly has a lot less options to conduct the financial transactions they can use to prolong this invasion.


Like yes it sucks a lot that this hurts a lot of ordinary people, but well, people are inexorably tied with the government of the country in which they live.

It’s also SUPER interesting that this discussion is being framed as “Russian people can’t use Netflix or Spotify” and not “the US and EU are systematically reducing  Russia’s ability to financially maintain this invasion.”

March 3, 2022 /

amarvelousplace-atempsideblog:

greyhairedgeekgirl:

tubaterry:

Saw an op-ed that was on the surface a complaint about kids not wanting to take on family heirlooms but read like an elegy to dying traditions. The hardest part was the anxiety without recognizing that they didn’t pave the way for the decisions they assumed their kids would make.

(This is written entirely within the dominant white/western culture – about traditions that have neglectful stewardship rather than those actively suppressed)

The anxiety makes sense. You’re seeing, too late to do anything about it, that there’s no foundation – no space – for the traditions you expected to pass on. Your kids _can’t_ take your mom’s fine china. So now instead of enjoying what you have you worry about its future.

I see a pattern in these op-eds though – a pattern in what’s left unsaid. There were responsibilities tied to these traditions. You collectively assumed they _would_ be passed along. So collectively, what did you do to ensure those traditions _could_ be passed along?

Op-eds never speak for everyone, but it’s worth acknowledging the pattern in what speech is deemed worth sharing widely.  And in this particular pattern, there’s an answer: that answer looks like “nothing.”

You want the china passed down but your kids have no room in their rentals. You want grandkids but your kids don’t have the financial stability. You want that cross-country RV neverending road trip but you’ve had decades of wanting lower taxes more than you wanted infrastructure.

The bleak outlook for traditions is a direct result of the unmaintained foundations for them.
The second best time is always now – if it’s important enough to op-ed about, what are you willing to change to get it back? What will you give up or re-prioritize?

I kinda think that world-defining assumptions are always gonna break without maintenance. So rather than getting mad at whoever’s next for not carrying on the norms we didn’t do upkeep on, when it’s my turn, I hope I’m introspective enough to help instead of externalize & blame.

This.

The bleak outlook for traditions is a direct result of the unmaintained
foundations for them.
The second best time is always now – if it’s important enough to op-ed
about, what are you willing to change to get it back? What will you give
up or re-prioritize?

I follow a Facebook group of “Memories of …” for my hometown – a rustbelt community that has gone from a thriving hub of industry to a much-less-thriving place.

The group is a collective lament.   Decades-old pictures of well-kept churches.  Aerial shots of the main intersection downtown, lined with big cars.    Scanned advertisemetns from local stores featuring pictures of their interiors.   These alternate with the drumbeat of news:  the Catholic diocese is closing churches.  Selling them.   Tearing them down.   STores downtown are closing.   The traffic light has been replaced with a four-way-stop.

“That’s the church my parents were married in!”
“How could they tear down that beautiful building.  Such memories!”
“All the businesses are closing.  It must be the taxes.”
”They’ve sold the old lodge downtown.”
“They’re not opening the skating rink this year.  We always used to go.”

And sometimes I chime in. 

“Do you attend that church?  Do you give? Or do you just want the building to look pretty for you? “
“Do you volunteer at that park?  Why not?”
“Did you vote for that recreation bond issue?”
“Are you a member of that Lodge? Why not?”
“Do you shop downtown?   Or did you start shopping at Walmart and Amazon to save a few bucks?”

If you feel something is worth preserving, why do you not participate in its preservation?  

Community is not a spectator sport. 

Community is not a spectator sport

This goes for stuff on the internet too.

Yes, I mean things like tumblr.

Nobody wanted to actually pay for the stuff we used, or just host it on our own, which is how we get things like Facebook, Twitter, and Google using the data we give them willingly to get payment from advertisers.

March 3, 2022 /

amarvelousplace-atempsideblog:

greyhairedgeekgirl:

tubaterry:

Saw an op-ed that was on the surface a complaint about kids not wanting to take on family heirlooms but read like an elegy to dying traditions. The hardest part was the anxiety without recognizing that they didn’t pave the way for the decisions they assumed their kids would make.

(This is written entirely within the dominant white/western culture – about traditions that have neglectful stewardship rather than those actively suppressed)

The anxiety makes sense. You’re seeing, too late to do anything about it, that there’s no foundation – no space – for the traditions you expected to pass on. Your kids _can’t_ take your mom’s fine china. So now instead of enjoying what you have you worry about its future.

I see a pattern in these op-eds though – a pattern in what’s left unsaid. There were responsibilities tied to these traditions. You collectively assumed they _would_ be passed along. So collectively, what did you do to ensure those traditions _could_ be passed along?

Op-eds never speak for everyone, but it’s worth acknowledging the pattern in what speech is deemed worth sharing widely.  And in this particular pattern, there’s an answer: that answer looks like “nothing.”

You want the china passed down but your kids have no room in their rentals. You want grandkids but your kids don’t have the financial stability. You want that cross-country RV neverending road trip but you’ve had decades of wanting lower taxes more than you wanted infrastructure.

The bleak outlook for traditions is a direct result of the unmaintained foundations for them.
The second best time is always now – if it’s important enough to op-ed about, what are you willing to change to get it back? What will you give up or re-prioritize?

I kinda think that world-defining assumptions are always gonna break without maintenance. So rather than getting mad at whoever’s next for not carrying on the norms we didn’t do upkeep on, when it’s my turn, I hope I’m introspective enough to help instead of externalize & blame.

This.

The bleak outlook for traditions is a direct result of the unmaintained
foundations for them.
The second best time is always now – if it’s important enough to op-ed
about, what are you willing to change to get it back? What will you give
up or re-prioritize?

I follow a Facebook group of “Memories of …” for my hometown – a rustbelt community that has gone from a thriving hub of industry to a much-less-thriving place.

The group is a collective lament.   Decades-old pictures of well-kept churches.  Aerial shots of the main intersection downtown, lined with big cars.    Scanned advertisemetns from local stores featuring pictures of their interiors.   These alternate with the drumbeat of news:  the Catholic diocese is closing churches.  Selling them.   Tearing them down.   STores downtown are closing.   The traffic light has been replaced with a four-way-stop.

“That’s the church my parents were married in!”
“How could they tear down that beautiful building.  Such memories!”
“All the businesses are closing.  It must be the taxes.”
”They’ve sold the old lodge downtown.”
“They’re not opening the skating rink this year.  We always used to go.”

And sometimes I chime in. 

“Do you attend that church?  Do you give? Or do you just want the building to look pretty for you? “
“Do you volunteer at that park?  Why not?”
“Did you vote for that recreation bond issue?”
“Are you a member of that Lodge? Why not?”
“Do you shop downtown?   Or did you start shopping at Walmart and Amazon to save a few bucks?”

If you feel something is worth preserving, why do you not participate in its preservation?  

Community is not a spectator sport. 

Community is not a spectator sport

This goes for stuff on the internet too.

Yes, I mean things like tumblr.

Nobody wanted to actually pay for the stuff we used, or just host it on our own, which is how we get things like Facebook, Twitter, and Google using the data we give them willingly to get payment from advertisers.