an important thing to know when practicing witchcraft is that, frankly, some things are off limits to you, and for good reason. a great example of this would be smudging, but also dreamcatchers. i’m tackling this issue as a white woman with a Cheyenne mentor, so please know that while i’m using an Indigenous perspective, i’m not Indigenous myself.
dreamcatchers in particular have a difficult history. they were never used in traditional Indigenous religions, but were a bastardization of many Indigenous symbols and religious artifacts; however, Indigenous peoples were not allowed to practice their religion until the 1970s in America. this is huge to note. we stole, profited off of, and criminalized their religions.
there is an entire law called the Indian Arts & Crafts Act for a fucking reason. white folx have stolen, marginalized, and fetishized Indigenous artifacts. this includes dreamcatchers, war bonnets, feathers, and yes, smudging.
smudging refers to a specific, ritualized practice passed down through Indigenous cultures. you are free to smoke cleanse, but you are not smudging unless you’ve been taught by an Indigenous elder.
it is racist to appropriate items never meant for our consumption in your quest for spirituality. it is racist to appropriate items never meant for our consumption in your quest for selling spirituality. it is racist to appropriate items never meant for our consumption in your quest for looking spiritual.
this is just the tip of the iceberg. if you have specific questions, let me know and i’ll add. i just wanted to write a little more than tumblr’s comments would let me.
stop the phrase “tattle-tale”. stop indirectly telling kids that if they speak up about someone that’s bothering them, they’re doing something bad. stop contributing to the culture of abuse.
seriously though this NEEDS to stop. my mother. a grownass woman of 59. had to ask me over and over again if I was sure it wasn’t ethically dubious for her to go to her employer and report harassment and terror tactics from a coworker because she didn’t “want to be a tattler.” stop teaching kids not to be “tattle-tales” because they will not grow out of it.
This this this.
I hope this is okay to add but in addition to the above it can create immediate and dangerous problems for children, with other children.
When I was six years old, one of my first grade classmates bullied me relentlessly for a long time. When I tried to tell the teacher that he wouldn’t stop touching me, she told me that I was being a tattle-tale and disrupting the class. So he got worse and worse. Before I knew it, he was telling me that I had to let him destroy my school supplies because his daddy told him that women have to obey the word of men. The bullying culminated in him and his friend waiting until the teacher and all the other kids left at the end of the day, cornering me at my desk, then threatening to bring his dad’s gun to school and shoot me if I didn’t stop wearing my favorite boots.
I didn’t tell the teacher because that would have been ‘tattling’. I didn’t tell my parents until they asked why I was upset that night. I wound up talking to the principal with my dad, and the principal was shocked that I had been too scared to report a shooting threat.
I know that a lot of people might think a kid would definitely report something like that, but I didn’t. A lot of kids don’t. Please, please give kids the chance to tell you if something is wrong, don’t brush them off, make sure they know that they can come to you for help. Don’t make them think they’re a burden or a ‘tattle-tale’.
And you might think, “Oh, well kids should know the difference between tattling and getting help, they should know when something is important and when it’s not. They should know better.”. They don’t. A 3 year old does not know he doesn’t need to cry when he wanted the blue jelly bean or if the thing he’s trying to do doesn’t work, those things are important to him and he is expressing himself in the only way he has ever known and it is your job to teach him how to manage his emotions, not internalize them because they “aren’t important”.
Little kids don’t know what’s important and what’s not. As they get older they learn, but if you just tell them to quit complaining and deal with shit, that’s what they’ll do until it’s bigger shit that does matter and now it’s your fault that your kid feels like he/she can’t express themselves when frustrated or scared or angry or whatever. You might think “Well, he’s 5 now, he should know.” Just, inherently? By osmosis? Did you even hold a child-rearing book against his head to increase the chances of successful osmosis? NO? Then I’m guessing you didn’t teach him that his feelings are valid but there are appropriate and effective responses, and which those are.
Also: Stop bullying your fucking kids into being bullies. “Man up” and “Deal with it” are not appropriate parenting techniques. You just told your kid that his/her problem doesn’t matter and they should just cram it deep down and stop bothering you with their emotions.
Yeah, you’re old as fuck and your kid’s problem seems stupid and asinine, but your kid isn’t old as fuck and that problem is new and they don’t know what to do about it. Don’t be a dick.
This shit seriously pisses me off, I remember when I was younger I told my parents that my brother broke my nose and I got grounded for ‘snitching’
Lately I’ve been doing this thing where when men give me shit at my job, I choose to instead speak to their wives/girlfriends/female counterpart. I had a dude today try to yell at me and I ignored him and instead spoke in a very level voice to his wife instead. He literally stomped his feet like a fucking toddler and said “stop ignoring me! I’m talking!” And his wife said “George, please use a quieter voice. You’re embarrassing me.”
You are a genius and I’m using this
Lol I learned it from my mom. She does this all the time and eventually the guy either sulks off somewhere or adjusts his behaviour and THEN she’ll address him. I did this with my friends puppies when I was training them and it works the same tbh
Sorry to interrupt your fun scrolling, but if you could read this, I would be greatly thankful.
Now, I’m usually a very calm, happy person who sees the bright side of everything. I’m very hard to anger. But this has me pretty heated.
So here are my thoughts on the matter of toxic fanbases, and the people who leave a fandom and turn away from a series they love because of the toxic people within the fanbase.
Warning for any kiddos or trigger happy morons who are looking to report the tiniest little attack on their precious egos: There will be swearing.
I’ve been a little hyper-attentive at the hate and toxicity within fandoms and fanbases these days. Though I highly doubt this will stop people from being total asshats, I still want to make my opinion known. As, of course, people like to do these days. Usually in the form of hate filled speeches with death threats, but luckily you won’t find much of that here.
What baffles me is why people take these fiction worlds, with fictional characters, so seriously. Seriously enough to send death threats to people and overall being terrible to other because they don’t ship the same characters you do. It’s amazing how people can take something so great and use it as a means to be an immoral human being,
I find it funny how people let other people’s fight ruin their own person experience. Here, I’ll use a little comparison.
Say you enter a really good food place. You love the food there. It’s amazing, well made, tastes like home, etc. But then, people around you start to argue over which part of the food is best, what side it goes best with, etc.
Now tell me, are you going to let their opinions change your opinion on the food you love? If you don’t want to hear their arguments, put on some music and enjoy the food you love. Don’t let other people define your food or your love for that food. The food being the series.
If people try to rope you into shit, say something alone the lines of “No thanks, I want to enjoy the series in peace.” And move on. If they harass you? Block them. Easy.
Let’s answer a few statements I’ve seen people use to justify their actions:
“But these characters affect the children and people!”
Um, yeah? That’s what they’re supposed to do. Fictional characters are made to set examples for us real people. What is right, what is wrong, life lessons we would personally not have been able to learn with our own lives, humor, sorrow, anger, and happiness. Sometimes people look to the series for something they are missing in their day to day life. Don’t be a rusty toe rag and ruin the series for that person because they don’t like the same character as you.
“They ship something that is totally immoral and damaging! We can’t let their opinions affect the series!”
Let the person ship whatever they damn well want, people. Just because they ship something toxic doesn’t mean the characters within the direct series will be affected. It’s not like they’ll hack into the creator’s database and directly damage the series by writing in their damaging fantasies. Even then, the ship might not even be as bad as you think. People could just be blowing it out of proportion because they’re brains are too small. Other people’s opinions shouldn’t affect yours. If you like it, you like it. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. If you don’t give a rat’s ass, you don’t give a rat’s ass.
“But this person is harassing other people. That gives us the right to harass them back!”
Hell no, it doesn’t. I don’t care how bad this person may be. I don’t care if they’re threatening to kill you or screaming at you in CAPS. Block. Report. Ignore. Easy as that. That person will either learn their lesson and stop, or they’ll hit rock bottom and we can watch as they dive into darkness and destroy themselves.
“They stole my idea! I’m just getting back at them for stealing my idea!”
First of all, you are just as bad as them, for the same reasons as they answer above. Someone stole an idea? Well, first, contact them and see if they did it on purpose. Their response to your accusation (a polite once, asking if they were aware you kind of patented the idea first) should say a lot. If they apologize and take it out/change it to something more original, then good on them. You successfully avoided becoming an asshole. If they freak out and say you stole their idea, then block, report, get friends to help you report (NOT HARRASS) the sucker, and move on.
“They are clearly reading the entire series wrong. I tried to explain that this is how it is, but they don’t listen! Ugh!”
First of all, shut your mouth and realize that you are not the series Guru. People interpret things differently. Your interpretation is not the Holy Prophecy that foretells everything within the series. You could be wrong. You could be right. The person seeing the series differently could be right. They could be wrong. You never know until you see the outcome within the series. Maybe, instead of fighting over who is right, maybe people can take their heads out of their asses and hear the other person out. Even if they don’t agree with that other person’s theory. You don’t have to. Just respect that people believe things differently.
“So pedophilia is okay? huh??? crack?? you smoke it?????”
I did not say that Pedophilia is okay. It’s far from okay. Just because someone ships something that is pedophilia, does not make it a good ship, nor does it justify it.
If someone ships something pedophilic, there is no reason to make a big deal out of it. If you don’t like it, don’t look at their ship. Block them if you feel the need to. When enough people block them (and at most, politely tell them that they think their ship is wrong), then they’ll hopefully learn their lesson and stop and keep their weird fantasies to themselves. There you go, problem solved.
And if you’re worried that children will see it, then get this: it’s not your problem. Children who aren’t old enough to know that Pedophilia is wrong shouldn’t be on the internet anyways. Even if they are, then it’s up to their parents to tell them off and say it’s wrong.
If you have any more statements for me to answer, please send them. I’ll happily answer.
My point is, just shut up and enjoy the series, people. Whether it be Wings of Fire, Voltron, Rick and Morty, Steven Universe, etc. Not everyone is going to agree with your little theory or ship. Don’t blow that shit out of proportion and make a scene. If you don’t want the fanbase to drive you away and ruin your series, then don’t be a part of the toxic part of the fandom. Ignore it and block toxic people. There’s no reason this should be as big as a problem as it is.
People are out there stomping on toxic pools and dumping scum on themselves and then complaining about the scum they dumped on themselves. It’s easy to just turn away and not go into the pools and enjoy the scenery. If someone pulls you into the pool, get out and clean yourself off and block that person from being able to drag you in again. Make your own little oasis area away from the scum.
In short:
Stop being little dramatic little shits (unless you’re not, then good on you and I’m proud of you for not being an atrocious human being) and just enjoy the series and what it has to offer without being horrible to each other.
Thank you for reading through my lecture. I hope you have a great day, and don’t send death threats to people.
Edit: Added a thing to the questions section. Also, Anon, I don’t smoke crack. It’ll kill my already fucked up lungs, and I quite like breathing.
I did not say that Pedophilia is okay. It’s far from okay. Just because someone ships something that is pedophilia, does not make it a good ship, nor does it justify it.
If someone ships something pedophilic, there is no reason to make a big deal out of it. If you don’t like it, don’t look at their ship. Block them if you feel the need to. When enough people block them (and at most, politely tell them that they think their ship is wrong), then they’ll hopefully learn their lesson and stop and keep their weird fantasies to themselves. There you go, problem solved.
And if you’re worried that children will see it, then get this: it’s not your problem. Children who aren’t old enough to know that Pedophilia is wrong shouldn’t be on the internet anyways. Even if they are, then it’s up to their parents to tell them off and say it’s wrong.
Bringing this back for a certain person I know that I feel needs to see this.
Beautiful big almond eye, realistic and full of expression as she gazes gently at you. Elbowed antennae and delicately segmented legs and body. Gorgeous pearlescent sheen like she is glowing. This ant moisturizes. This ant is round and huggable. This ant is a star. 11/10.
Beautifully detailed, lifelike pose but with an unexpected neck and odd antennae, perhaps scared straight. Her eyes suggest she has seen things. Her expression confirms she has seen too much. She is haunted and I want to know more. 7/10.
Floppy antenna, pointy muppet face, oddly posed legs. What is she? She has no waist. May be she is some kind of bee in disguise? I find her unsettling. 3/10.
This ant has an unexplained, double-jointed thorax, and no evidence of a waist. Her four-footed pose suggests that she a centaur rather than an ant. Centaur ants would be cool. I’m not sure what was intended here. 2/10.
Good first impression, kind of bland in the details. This ant has no particular waist to speak of, floppy rather than elbowed antennae, and an inexpressive face. Her color scheme is soft and hazy. I like the sharp angles of her stylishly sophisticated legs. This ant may not know quite were she is going, but she knows how she is getting there. 6/10.
Were you even trying. 0/10
Gasp! This ant is elegant. This ant has a beautiful tapered thorax, a segmented abdomen, alert, elbowed antennae, and a light-footed pose. This ant’s face suggests curiosity and a desire to explore the world. This ant inspires me. I want to be like her. 10/10
3-legged, waistless centaur-ant with strange, limp antennae and a beak. I don’t know what this is? It kind of reminds me of a Hork-Bajir. 1/10, not an ant.
This ant… makes me sad. All of her legs are broken. The MS Paint art style and gradient abuse convey distress. She has a duck beak. Despite this, her expression suggests perseverance and determined cheerfulness. I want this ant to have a better life. I am rooting for her. 3/10
This ant is a bold and challenging mixture of photorealism and caricature. She is broad and low-built and seems very sturdy. She looks like she would help you move. This ant is a dependable friend. 9/10
A picture of an ant from a children’s book. She is wearing little boots. This ant is wrong in every way, and yet I can’t stay mad at her. 7/10
An interesting, top-down view of an ant; her legs are positioned with slightly jarring symmetry. Nevertheless, her overall impression is that of a graceful, stylized design, like a pictograph. She is suitable for adorning fine garments and jewelry or perhaps gracing the walls of a tiny ant church. I like this minimalist ant. 8/10.
This is a termite. -10/10
why are these all marked as “she”? don’t female ants have wings??? why bother adding the pronoun???
Alates (male and female reproductives) have wings. The queens shed their wings after they mate. The males die. The daughter workers do not have wings. If you see an ant without wings, it’s a she.
And honestly—why bother panicking about things being called “she”? It’s not like I need a reason to gender a bug. I do it all the time. It’s fun. It’s humanizing. They don’t care.
I’m calling this spider she right now. 🕷️ her name is delanie. she’s a lesbian.
It doesn’t make us go crazy. We just don’t understand the why. No one has ever satisfactorily explained why bagged milk is better than milk in jugs.
There is no literal reason since the jugs we use are just as cheap as bags and with a bag you need to put it into something as soon as it’s opened because otherwise you’re crying over spilt milk
I don’t understand why y’all use jugs though. They’re so impractical.
No they’re not. You have a self contained stand able container.
With a bag you have one floppy boi
We have holders for that. There’s no real difference.
Wouldn’t it be crazy if there was a way you could hold milk without grabbing a separate holder? Some sort of solid plastic or cardboard container, that would be so cool.
Welcome to Chaos 