Quietly Thinking Aloud

Bless you

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:23:02 -0400

Same to you, buddy!

Do you always wear a hat?

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:22:37 -0400

Sometimes I wear two!

Ready for WisCon! See my face? I’m enthused.

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:11:11 -0400

Ready for WisCon! See my face? I’m enthused.

mattbellamysfolds: “if i’m a person of color, i’m allowed to hate white people!!!!’ “if i’m gay,...

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:46:52 -0400

mattbellamysfolds:

“if i’m a person of color, i’m allowed to hate white people!!!!’

“if i’m gay, i’m allowed to hate straight people!!!!”

“if i’m a woman, i’m allowed to hate men!!!”

“if i’m trans*, i’m allowed to hate cis people!!!”

The problem with this post—one of the problems with this post—is what we might call the logic of allowance. In point of fact, the reverse of those statements is true across the board.

White people are allowed to hate people of color, and we do, with wide-reaching results. Straight people are allowed to hate gay people, and they do, with wide-reaching results. Men are allowed to hate women, and they do, with wide-reaching results. Cis people are allowed to hate trans* people, and they do, with wide-reaching resutlts. These hatreds are allowed, encouraged, supported, and upheld on systemic and personal levels.

The “reverse hatreds” being cited with such gleeful derision (this is hateful post, by the way… whether you agree with its sentiments or not, this post mocks people and kicks them when they’re down and I’m very disappointed to see a blog that I don’t think of as hateful reblogging it) aren’t actually allowed. They aren’t tolerated. They are slapped down. Just observe on Tumblr how a person of color who is not suitably deferential to white people… and this is a moving goalpost, often an invisible goalpost that is erected on the fly specifically to pounce on and victimize a particular blogger… observe how they get treated. Observe the reaction to trans* people who don’t bow to cis sensibilities.

And some might say “WELL WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU SAY THINGS LIKE DIE CIS SCUM OR DEMAND WHITE PEOPLE EXPLAIN WHY THEY’RE FOLLOWING YOU”, but here’s the thing: those things are reactions. And I’m sure the person who made this post and everyone who co-signs it would say “well, those reactions are just as bad as the actions they’re a response to”.

First of all, they’re not, on any level. You might believe in your heart of hearts that they’re not good, but there’s a severe imbalance of power and a resulting imbalance in effect. If a tractor trailer hauling several tons of cargo has a head-on collision with a smart car… well, we could say that they both hit each other. But that descriptor tells us nothing about the aftermath.

Or to use a better example: a pedestrian gets struck in the crosswalk by a car. Might the pedestrian have looked both ways or exercised more care to avoid the accident? Yes, possibly. But the impact of the car on the pedestrian matters more than the impact of the pedestrian on the car, a fact which is actually recognized by law.

Second… if they’re just as bad, well, then why do so many ~*good progressives*~ expend so much time and energy addressing only half of the problem? You can believe that two wrongs don’t make a right, but by addressing the second wrong, you’re implying that one wrong is just hunky-dory. And the wrong you seek to redress says a lot about the actual values that guide your hand.

You could say hate isn’t a Christian value. How about recognizing when someone is in pain and giving them balm? Is that a Christian value? Is it a Christian value to see a scream of rage and frustration and blame the person who gave vent to it?

Jesus might as well have said “I was powerless and you did not empower me, I was defenseless and you did not protect me, I was marginalized, and you did not center me.” when he spoke of physical hunger and thirst.

The hatred society directs at “the least among us” is lethal; the hatred reflected back is an embarrassing reminder of the cloud of hostility and threats society forces them to live under. That’s why we’re so uncomfortable with the latter, even as we blithely accept all but the most blatant and egregious examples of the former, and try to rationalize away or deny what we can’t ignore.

strugglingtobeheard: girljanitor: canikon-bokeh: fuckyeahphone...

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:28:29 -0400

strugglingtobeheard:

girljanitor:

canikon-bokeh:

fuckyeahphonesexoperators:

realist4hire:

Damn… Just… Damn…

Rocko is my phone sex idol. I want to make a listing where all I say is “oh baby oh baby oh baby” in an Australian accent.

wtf how were these cartoons allowed? lol

seriously, when i think back on it, i don’t even know. I should watch them again and see if it holds up.

Lol sweet. Wut? I looooved rocko but never remembered this being his job. Plus how often you get portrayals of guy sex workers?

It was part of a montage of different jobs he tried, if I recall. They implied he quit after Mrs. Bighead dialed in and they recognized each other’s voices.

Blog Post: Thursday, May 23rd

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:12 -0400

Blog Post: Thursday, May 23rd:

The Daily Report

WISKHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

I’m not there yet, I’m writing this post from my gate at the airport. I had to go online (using my phone, not the airport wifi) to make an update on the new MU chapter to reflect that the building naming rights have been purchased and thought I would make a quick status post while I’m here.

Not much to report. Travel got off to a rough start with the taxi service but has gone well since then. Remember when I said the bump to Tales of MU traffic was subsiding but slower than I’d expected? It’s bounced back up, and I’m not seeing anything standing out in the referral links. Don’t know what that’s about. People who bookmarked it for later? People who checked it out and liked what they saw but didn’t have time to go through it? Actually, people suddenly having more spare time might have something to do with it, as we’re reaching the end of school years.

The State of the Me

Underslept, underfed, and underway.

Plans For Today

Cornish pasties for lunch, Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. Dining in downtown Madison!

comments

"You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:58:28 -0400

“You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for you own pleasure.”

- John Berger Ways of Seeing (via spartanbitch)

This is super fucking relevant.

And why self portraits (selfies) are often such an act of self preservation and resistance.

(via sexxxisbeautiful)

selfies as politics, hell yeah.

(via tankmonster)

#it’s okay to follow creepshots but when a celebrity’s nudes are leaked she’s a slut #it’s perfectly normal to watch objectifying porn but when a woman decides to film herself having sex she’s a whore #it’s alright for you to harass women on the street but when they approach you first it’s arrogance #it’s cool for you to fantasize about a woman who’s out of your league but when a woman you deem unattractive likes you you’re disgusted #no don’t worry you can make female bodies public property but when they discuss your masturbation habits you can be offended

(via laralaralara)

THE HASH TAGS. EVERYONE MUST READ THIS.

(via splendorman666)

~3 hours until I see Master Jack. ~9 hours until Fancy Date Night.

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:56:55 -0400

~3 hours until I see Master Jack.

~9 hours until Fancy Date Night.

zoomine: Casa Caracol is the most unique house on Isla Mujeres,...

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:55:30 -0400

zoomine:

Casa Caracol is the most unique house on Isla Mujeres, and one of the most artistic home in the world. It consists of two houses: The Baby Shell and The Shell House.

Look at this stuff. Isn’t it neat?

Photo

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:55:20 -0400

queenfattyoftherollpalace: sonic-hip-attack: aussied: urserlic...

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:09:42 -0400

queenfattyoftherollpalace:

sonic-hip-attack:

aussied:

urserlicious:

minmo:

so as a social experiment im going to unleash this hot hunk of meat upon my sim town to wreak his manchild wrath

his name is broni friendzoni (it’s italian)

omfg broni friendzoni

I legitimately laughed at this for like ten minutes before hitting reblog

BRONI FRIENDZONI

*ugly cackling*

Tumblr Essay Assignment

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:09:07 -0400

marchoftigers:

Name one group of oppressed people who were able to end mass genocide and institutional ans systemic oppression by being nice.

show your work

misumipyon: dollylust: termsofenragement: I moved my arms and...

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:10:40 -0400

misumipyon:

dollylust:

termsofenragement:

I moved my arms and they blew out the sleeves.

I look awesome.

oh

my god

Puella Magi Madoka Muscular

Only a few hours until I leave for the airport, a few more hours until I’m underway, and a few...

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:06:44 -0400

Only a few hours until I leave for the airport, a few more hours until I’m underway, and a few more hours after that until I see Master Jack.

foxliterary: Happy launch day to Seanan McGuire’s new Amazon...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:32:19 -0400

foxliterary:

Happy launch day to Seanan McGuire’s new Amazon Kindle Serial, Indexing!

***

“Never underestimate the power of a good story.”

Good advice…especially when a story can kill you.

For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected—perhaps infected is a better word—by memetic incursion: where narratives the rest of the world considers fairy tales become reality, often with disastrous results.

A motley team struggling with their own unfolding narratives, they are tasked with identifying potential outbreaks using the Aarne-Thompson Index and making sure the story doesn’t reach “ever after”… because if it does, someone is usually dead, broken—or worse. When you’re dealing with fairy tales in the real world, it doesn’t matter if you’re Cinderella, Snow White, or the Wicked Queen: no one gets a happy ending.

Indexing is bestselling author Seanan McGuire’s new urban fantasy where everything you thought you knew about fairy tales gets turned on its head.

***

(Or as I like to describe it, Indexing is Grimm and Once Upon a Time crossed with Criminal Minds.) Go here to buy it now!

pyraxis replied to your post: I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my… (Plus the fact that...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:28:42 -0400

pyraxis replied to your post: I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my…

(Plus the fact that “time travel” into the future is possible if you have a relativistic spacecraft…)

Yeah, but I don’t think it’s overly generous to assume that the characters involved don’t have access to relativistic space travel.

mumblingsage replied to your post: I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my… Probably the...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:26:24 -0400

mumblingsage replied to your post: I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my…

Probably the logic is the past already happens and ‘exists’ but the future hasn’t solidified yet

I can follow that logic, but that would require there to be a single moment that is the “present”, always moving forward in time, and the barrier to time travel wouldn’t be forward or backwards but “before the present” and “after the present”.

This episode has a person in the “future” that another character came from reaching back into the past (the “present” of the show) to grab that character and bring him back to the future, and this is what’s supposed to be impossible. The future he’d be traveling to isn’t unformed, she’s standing in it.

I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my housemates are watching it on Netflix. Apparently,...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:17:01 -0400

I’ve never watched Charmed but some of my housemates are watching it on Netflix. Apparently, in the Charmed universe, it’s possible to send someone backward in time but trying to send someone forward in time is harder and believed to be impossible.

Have these people ever, you know, seen time? I mean, have they ever lived in a universe where time happens? Even if time travel is technically impossible under the rules of your phlebotinum, sending someone into the future should be easy. You’ve got suspended animation, you’ve got putting people into pocket dimensions, you’ve got spells that expire at set times or conditions? You have time travel into the future.

ericainchoate: Some days i think fatphobes are just...

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:57:29 -0400

ericainchoate:

Some days i think fatphobes are just jelly.

Beach bodies.

colorado-wannabe: So in English class we had to draw a scene from The Great Gatsby. After the...

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:49:46 -0400

colorado-wannabe:

So in English class we had to draw a scene from The Great Gatsby. After the drawings were done the teacher was showing them to the class, and one drawing was a pic of Gatsby reaching towards at the green light, but in the drawing Gatsby didn’t have hands. So my teacher starts saying something like how this picture has hidden meaning and portrays the helplessness Gatsby feels, and the kid next to me just casually says “I can’t draw hands.”