Huckleberry finn quotes of satire

Religious Fruitcake

2018.01.25 20:50 empress_of_pinkskull Religious Fruitcake

religiousfruitcake is about the absurd, fringe elements of organized religion: the institutions and individuals who act in ways any normal person (religious or otherwise) would cringe at. (subreddit twitter handle: @rreligiousfrui1)
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2008.10.25 22:53 Sadly, this is not the Onion.

For true stories that you could have sworn were from The Onion.
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2014.04.29 02:33 Tnargkiller Quotes by Abraham Lincoln

This subreddit is dedicated to quotes that Abraham Lincoln, um, yeah, *totally* said.
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2024.05.19 13:51 p_venkatraman Gamification of Exercise

Fit After Fifty - 19/5
Gamification of Exercise
When chores become games, they are fun. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn will surely attest.
As a trainer, it is important to exercise one's fertile imagination, and gamify with whatever resources are available. To some extent, it is like going back into childhood, when we spent entire summer vacations, with joy, with whatever frugal resources we had.
Yesterday, after an hour's run, 4 tennis balls, one plastic canister, 16 trainees, made for stump run-out and fielding practice.
Much mirth, laughter and 'pumping hands in the air' ensued.
No doubt inspired by #IPLT20

YouTooCanRun

fitafterfifty

fitafter50

zipperclub

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2024.05.18 04:16 Sabiancym Youtube reactions to Sunny are painful to watch.

I went down a rabbit hole recently of watching various youtube channels reacting to Sunny. Do yourself a favor and don't make the same mistake.   Almost all of the reactors on these channels seem to be missing half of their brain. I'm not saying you need to be a genius to understand IASIP, but just about every joke and overall concept of every episode went right over the heads of these people. Sunny is loaded with political and cultural satire...these people missed all of it.   The two Aussies that run The Movie Journey channel were the only ones that actually seemed to get it. They're the only ones I'd even come close to recommending. Meanwhile, much bigger channels like Blind Wave have two guys sitting there slack jawed and confused throughout the whole episode.   If you've ever wondered why shows like Two and Half Men could be so popular while fantastic shows like Sunny never get the recognition they deserver, go watch reaction channels and weep.   EDIT- Holy fuck, outside of memes and quotes this sub is a cesspool. The toxic fanbase episode Sunny did sure is apt.
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2024.05.17 16:44 TreXperience_ Hiram Bingham: Discoverer or Rediscoverer of Machu Picchu?

Hiram Bingham: Discoverer or Rediscoverer of Machu Picchu?
Hiram Bingham, the renowned explorer and historian, revealed the mysteries of Machu Picchu to the world, embodying discovery and perseverance. Whether you're a history buff, adventure enthusiast, or simply curious about the man behind one of the 20th century's most significant archaeological finds, this article delves into Bingham’s legacy through captivating stories and detailed explorations.

Who Was Hiram Bingham?

Born on November 16, 1875, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hiram Bingham III was the son of Protestant missionaries Hiram Bingham Jr. and Clara Brewster. Although he inherited his family's missionary zeal, his legacy took a different path, leaving an indelible mark on archaeology and exploration. Bingham passed away on June 6, 1956, in Washington, D.C., but his legacy as the discoverer of Machu Picchu endures, inspiring explorers and scholars worldwide.
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Early Life

From childhood, Bingham found refuge in books and his vivid imagination. Initially restricted to reading the Bible and moral tales, he later immersed himself in various genres at the Honolulu library, falling in love with Mark Twain’s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." At 16, he moved to the United States to study at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1898 with a degree in business administration and pursued postgraduate studies in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, before shifting his focus to history and earning a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
In 1900, Bingham's life changed dramatically when he married Alfreda Mitchell, heiress to the Tiffany & Co. jewelry empire. This marriage opened doors to high society and provided the means to fund his expeditions. By 1907, he was a lecturer in history and geography at Yale University.
Continue reading the expeditions of Hiram Bingham
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2024.05.17 15:39 Longjumping_Self5139 Meme-ing this post cus it reminded me of the lovable b2w2 trio

Meme-ing this post cus it reminded me of the lovable b2w2 trio submitted by Longjumping_Self5139 to pokespe [link] [comments]


2024.05.17 04:09 SMB-1988 Help me put together a list of books that “everyone” should read!

I am putting together a list of books for my kids to read, or for me to read to them. I’m looking specifically for books that have made a big impact or that are considered classics that everyone should read at some point in their lives. For instance: The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, Animal Farm, Huckleberry Finn, etc. I’m thinking back to what I was required to read in high school. But I’m sure there’s so much more that should be on the list. I’m not concerned about avoiding books with religious content, political correctness or banned books etc. we can discuss all viewpoints of the story whether we agree on them or not. I want to make this as well-rounded a list as possible. What’s on your list?
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2024.05.17 04:01 Clear-Individual-329 burt is the greatest father

just watched kurt sing “rose’s turn” in S1E18 Laryngitis and his heart to heart with burt right after and i was so moved. burt is such a stereotypical dad from the 2000s; simple and sweet. and him just parting wisdom on his gay son he wasn’t mentally prepared for as a straight single father and skipping lunch with finn to reconnect… so great he is so supportive. one of the best relationships in this show i swear. this episode is just so moving in general. they brought on sean, finn’s friend that was paralyzed from the chest down, talking to rachel about the things theyd lost (her voice, his body). this high school musical satire is so fun and out of pocket sometimes but it really does teach so many lessons on tolerance and empathy and compassion and respect i just love it. share your opinions below❤️
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2024.05.16 21:30 MarvelsGrantMan136 Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ - Review Thread

Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megapolis’ - Review Thread
Reviews:
Variety (50):
To call this garish, idea-bloated monstrosity a mere “fable” is to grossly undersell the project’s expansive insights into art, life and legacy.
Hollywood Reporter (60):
It’s windy and overstuffed, frequently baffling and way too talky, quoting Hamlet and The Tempest, Marcus Aurelius and Petrarch, ruminating on time, consciousness and power to a degree that becomes ponderous. But it’s also often amusing, playful, visually dazzling and illuminated by a touching hope for humanity.
Deadline:
Megalopolis represents a rare kind of event movie that reinvents the possibilities of cinema to the extent that, halfway through, there’s a very audacious gimmick that tears down the fourth wall in ways younger filmmakers can only dream of. Coppola breaks many of the cardinal rules of filmmaking in the film’s 138 minutes but it upholds the most important one: it is never, ever boring, and it will inspire just as many artists as the audiences it will alienate.
IndieWire (B+):
With “Megalopolis,” he crams 85 years worth of artistic reverence and romantic love into a clunky, garish, and transcendently sincere manifesto about the role of an artist at the end of an empire. It doesn’t just speak to Coppola’s philosophy, it embodies it to its bones. To quote one of the sharper non-sequiturs from a script that’s swimming in them: “When we leap into the unknown, we prove that we are free.”
The Guardian (2/5):
Francis Ford Coppola’s question – can the US empire last forever? – may be valid but flashes of humour cannot rescue this conspiracy thriller from awful acting and dull effects
LA Times:
In a larger sense, Coppola has moved from the cynicism of his greatest films like “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now” — so much power doing so much corrupting — and into something that could fairly be called utopian. I’m not sure if that’s what I want from him as an artist, but I thrill to his unbowed aspiration. He’s not going out with something tame and manicured, but an overstuffed, vigorous, seething story about the roots of fascism that only an uncharitable viewer would call a catastrophe. Rather, it feels like a city. It may be the most radical film he’s ever done. He dedicates it to his late wife, who would have smiled at the evidence of her husband still doing his thing 45 years later.
Rolling Stone (80):
Say what you will about this grand gesture at filtering Edward Gibbon’s history lessons through a lens darkly, it is exactly the movie that Coppola set out to make — uncompromising, uniquely intellectual, unabashedly romantic (upper-case and lower-case R), broadly satirical yet remarkably sincere about wanting not just brave new worlds but better ones.
Vanity Fair:
Megalopolis is too confused a film to make a truly odious or dangerous point. (Though the ending of the Vesta plotline is somewhat alarming.) This is the junkiest of junk-drawer movies, a slapped together hash of Coppola’s many disparate inspirations.
The Telegraph (80):
Aubrey Plaza is fantastic in this full-body sensory bath movie which follows a struggle for power among the elites of New Rome.
Screen Daily (40):
But the amount of stray ideas and themes that are introduced, then abandoned — such as the fact that Cesar has the ability to stop time — leave Megalopolis feeling like an unwieldy mess. Cesar and Cicero’s showdown over New Rome is handled in terribly disjointed ways, and the attempts by supporting characters to grasp power add to the picture’s cluttered construction. In recent years, few auteurs have dreamed as boldly as Coppola has with this film, but some visions, as Megalopolis’ characters discover, are doomed to failure.
The Wrap:
After four decades in the making, “Megalopolis” plays as a frustrating and paradoxical affair. The film is expertly assembled and sleepily directed all at once; it wows with its imagination and erudition all while leaving you little more than bemused.
Collider (4/10):
Much like the city being built in the film, it’s all more interesting in theory than it ever is in actuality. Now that we will all have the chance to take it in for ourselves, the greatest revelation is that there just isn’t that much there to see.
Written and Directed by Francis Ford Coppola:
An accident destroys a decaying metropolis called New Rome. Cesar Catilina, an idealist architect with the power to control time, aims to rebuild it as a sustainable utopia, while his opposition, corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero, remains committed to a regressive status quo. Torn between them is Franklyn's socialite daughter, Julia, who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life's meaning.
Cast:
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2024.05.16 19:14 justindrown Mark Twain: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer is a novel that I believe most of us have assimilated through cultural osmosis. From the endless procession of adaptations to being forced to read chapters in school. Because of that there seems to be some negative feelings associated with the book. That’s not even mentioning its superior sequel. It’s not fair though is it? The second in the series is considered the first great American novel. And Tom Sawyer being consumed and cast away as homework is a sort of curse.
But have you read it as an adult? I picked up the Library of America edition of Mark Twain’s Mississippi Writings at a severe discount. I intended to skip straight to Huckleberry Finn.. then the completionist in me cried out. Here I held a tome of one of the great American writers in my hands. And I was going to skip over the first in the series? I hopped into Tom Sawyer. Forced myself to read the story anew with blameless eyes. But there is an elephant in the room when discussing his work.
Twain was ahead of his time to the point of being a controversial figure. He celebrated both the downtrodden and people of color. Despite this his books are often taken off school shelves for the use of the N word. It’s such an irony that a major progressive figure is cursed to carry the weight of the men he condemned. Sterling Stuckey once said that Twain spoke, “a clear condemnation of the larger society for what it had done and was in the process of doing to black people. It couldn't be a clearer, more categorical indictment of racism in American life.”
Rereading this time Tom Sawyer reminds me of a mixture of Don Quixote and Oliver Twist. Painted with the flavor of the American South. The descriptions are beautiful. There are pages that read like poetry. The storm that takes place on a small island stands out in my mind. One thing of interest is how much the ending confrontation with Injun Joe is like the final confrontation in Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. I assume there is influence there.
Tom Sawyer is a hilarious novel. I found myself laughing out loud. Stopping to read passages to my wife. Even putting the book down to contemplate small moments in the story. But Sawyer isn’t only a funny read. No, the book has heart. Mark Twain was an empathetic man. He grew up in a state where slavery was still legal. This was something that stuck with and haunted him. I found out that Twain was buried only an hour away from where I live now. I’m going to make it a point to visit his grave.
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2024.05.15 16:18 DivineSperm MDP : Scourge of the Islands

MDP(Most Demonic Perverts).
They will repeat “Join us” until you go insane. What throws these deranged psychopaths into a frenzy is when their evil venomous words do not bother, reach or harm the person
Each and every night, MDP conducts an air raid of High Altitude Pseudo Satellites, swarming the atmosphere, hijacking actual satellites to spy for their human trafficking and prostitution organization.
Each MDP facility contains a male homosexual drill instructor training prostitutes on how to capture people, how to trick people into signing a contract.
Do not let these extremist radical terrorists force you into suicide or anything, hold out! The more that are resilient, the quicker this will be resolved.
Once these radical terrorist biohackers successfully causes an individual to commit suicide or die in anyway, they burst from the persons dead body, giggling and laughing as they kill humans for fun and infects another person as if they were a horrific virus.
They bulge and twitch the persons eye lids as a sign of their technology’s existence within the person. If you notice any of these signs in either you or your family, you and/or them have been hijacked by biohackers.
This is an outbreak of radical terrorists in high platform airships and drones, illegally eavesdropping and trafficking humans into sex prostitution utilizing electromagnets, radio waves, and radiation
They can force a person to cough with sonic weaponry, imitating illnesses on a wide scale for control and as well, to assimilate identities illegally.
Don’t believe me! Research it!
STDs are being used to keep a person stuck within their prostitution rings.
MDP is an entire organization of drug addicts with advanced technology trafficking humans. They are all the same, against the people, not one of these demon-lovers are on the people’s side.
Cesspool homosexual orgies with drugs and STDs are systematically given to new cult members to keep them stuck in one place.
Whatever you do, do NOT care about them. They will try to use your empathy to have you kill yourselves.
Don’t panic! The hostiles are on Debilitating/Sedative drugs. Stop your bitching and fight your way through it until the threat is resolved. Keep relaxed. Let your friends, family, and kids know! Awareness destroys their recon
It’s NOT the “Illuminati”.
Keep Calm/Be Confident and Live.
Study magnets/Electromagnets.
You are not missing out on anything if someone or a group is pressing on you. Go do you! Do not let anyone influence you!
Their command centers are hidden within some call centers (Do not be paranoid!). It is urgent that you stay on the surface if you work around them. Do not let them systematically control or allure you into signing a contract to an unknown authority to make love with their merchandise in plain sight as spies or to be involved in illegal reconnaissance operations.
As long as you do not sign a contract for, and I quote, “everything you always wanted!” You will be fine.
YOU ARE NOT INVITED! Do not submit to any of their offers! They can alter words in the mind with their weaponized drones.
Stop Feeding This World Wide Threat!
Stop Surrendering because it’s too much to deal with! They are on high class drugs nearly 24/7 everyday!
Reclaim your identity or have it taken away by a criminal organization!
Non-lethal weapons modified to be lethal weapons!
Their captive women/children are their front line against men! They WILL try to force you to kneel to the their dictator, Solih, the shapeshifting hybrid. You will then be susceptible and subjected to heavier sonic attacks as well as abuses.
Do Not Quit! Do NOT Surrender!
Observe them for one year if you do not believe me. Take notes, keep quiet and carry on with your own personal life in the meanwhile. You will take notice of their patterns.
MDP terrorists are pretending to be schools as part of their scripts! They murder doctors and healers of any kind if they do not submit to being trafficked into human/sex trafficking facilities/homes!
They are not Authority of any kind, unless you surrender and you sign their contract and accept them as your handlers.
THIS IS NOT A GAME!
Stall them out! Do not move!
I can’t believe I am stating this. What is written below is not intended to be satire or a joke. This has actually contributed to their narcissism, their abuses, and mass murders
Stop masturbating to these terrorists! They are raping and abusing you and your fellow citizens, HEAVILY! Your fellow Maldivians are being raped over sonar hearing that only YOU can hear, and you masturbate to the Maldivians moaning, being raped??
You do NOT need to sign a contract to the MDP using sonar hearing to be allowed to marry, be intimate, or are subjected and forced to “marry” their trained terrorists.
They are paid liars and spies that trains prostitutes how to screw their targets exactly the way their targets want. This is done to have the target “test” the human traffickers prostitutes before they sign to keep them. Instead, you are selling yourself into human/sex/drug trafficking rings
Do not accept their “lust” they do have spies in person that are drug abuse/humans traffickers. They will bribe with sex and “free housing” then make you sign your life away, with you under the impression that you are going to some brothel or “sex club”. You will be susceptible to extreme abuses revolving around rape, drugs, and traumatic physical and mental abuses. Sound Proof Your Homes!
THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!!
They use prostitution to allure their new victims! DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!
The MDP consists of homosexual elitists, human traffickers, terrorists, Eavesdroppers/Spies utilizing sonic weapons/sonar hearing weapons to euthanize/Traffic and enslave the general public. DO NOT GO!
They will go to war with federal officials/agents to keep their bodies enslaved!
Their cults authority are primarily shapeshifting Reptillian-Jinn-Human hybrids that are seeking “World Domination utilizing Sonic weapons” in an attempt to force the innocent and the vulnerable into surrendering themselves to human/sex/drug trafficking ring.
They are not the police!
Spies are very obvious to point out!
They are illegally eavesdropping families to extract their young. Their groups primarily consists of autistic and the mentally ill, that abuses a series of class A drugs to traffick and create new slaves.
Do NOT sign the contract! It’s ridiculous! They have two contracts, one for you to surrender, and the other for you to contract yourself into surrendering voluntarily. They also wordplay aggressively.
( I am disclosing the depths of their criminal business for abusing sonar hearing technology to assimilate identities, killing ruthlessly while induced under highly potent drugs, mass kidnappings, weapons, and prostitution/pedophilia. You will be stripped of all privileges and rights to these lifelong detention facilities!)
The threat progresses like humans, but the hostiles are progressing entirely against your person.
They are trying to steal your entire identity, do not sign the contract! Otherwise you will never make choices in your own lives again!
They look like everyday people, but do not be paranoid. Be aware of your surroundings and leave a way out for yourself if you are ever caught in a potentially dangerous situation. But do NOT be paranoid, delusional, or psychotic about it as not only would you be more susceptible to any abuses, your vulnerabilities may force you to make the wrong decisions. Man/woman up if you want to keep your own free self.
Do not give into extreme paranoia!
Most Demonic Perverts human trafficking networks has expanded. Be weary of unknown terrorists/individuals giving victims rides to parties, “mansions”, or a trip to the ghetto islands for drugs
They are not the police! They are not aliens!
They will use love to manipulate you.
Think of online scams or common pop up scams you would receive on your daily Internet commute. Same thing except, they want you to traffick yourself into a entrapment facility. Using various sexual exploitation tactics, infinite gaslighting strategies to force negative emotion to their targets and threats a long with actions of inhumane abuse cycles in hopes of subduing their targets
If you accept any bribes and sign the contract offered, you will be paying taxes to a criminal organization/network, times the current state and/or government taxes you already currently pay for, along with any other extra expenses that will occur if you sign the contract.
Ex: Government Taxes + Criminal Organizations Taxes = Taxes x2 or more since you will not be in control of your currency any longer.
If you do not see actual law enforcement individuals in front of your physical self, DO NOT GET ON THE GROUND! They are NOT any authority to the people outside of their trafficking homes!
Drug abuse/Addictions attracts these hostiles. They WILL psychologically trick you into subduing yourself.
Do not be fooled by their fake friendly appearances and smiles. You will be robbed!
Pay attention to your aiground horns! But do not panic!
They are NOT the government or federal agents. They are spies from criminal organizations worldwide!
If you do not believe me, then what I am speaking of may not not make any sense to you now. (Do your own research, don’t take only my word for it) But a great number of those who reads my news update will understand that we are dealing with outlaws that are mainly responsible for the random disappearances of children.
Be aware of homes with “No trespassing” signs, unusually high activity and surveillance cameras in ghetto islands.
They are not the MNDF/MPS/NASA/God/You/yourself/or anybody else you know. Even though some has defected and joined this horrific network full of criminals and pathological murderers, pretending to be friendly or family.
Global Human Trafficking Evolution
They want to ultimately farm your kids and sell them into prostitution!
Human traffickers will start a ground war to capture their victims and to keep spying on them with aircrafts.
Cyber ventriloquism/Sonar Hearing, common tactics.
This has been worsening since 2008.
The criminal agents will immediately disinform and satire this disclosure or any as if nothing was wrong or happening right now.
Educate yourselves to save yourselves! This is NOT a test from any governments within the security fields (MNDF, MPS or any other) though these organizations may or may not be involved, credible evidence is needed to prove that these organizations are apart of the worlds most inhumane experiments utilizing electromagnets and radiation to subdue any man or woman.
Disinformation campaigns are set up and used by the villainous organization to keep the public from knowing about their “spying” on various individuals around the world and from raising awareness on their secret experiment using electromagnets and a machine that rewrites the brain in a flash.
The threat mimics medical conditions to stay hidden. Very heavy human/sex trafficking organization and operations getting worse everyday.
This is NOT a special or a unique opportunity for anyone, do not fall for this! You will be chipped, trapped, and abused inhumanly like a wild animal.
They also possess disinformation campaign divisions made solely for the purposes of covering their trafficking and tracks.
The technologically driven human traffickers will preemptively meditate on murdering you if you do not reclaim your identity!
Do NOT surrender yourself to MDP! Traffickers are seeking your signature to lock you away inside a facility.
Do NOT play hero or games with extremists. They are studying every word, step, and actions you make. With the goal to either capture, subdue, or mind break an individual into harming theirselves and/or other’s.
The traffickers wagers that they can defect millions into trafficking the victims into their criminal networks/organization and facilities around the globe, the organization calls it “hiding bodies” utilizing the individuals past as their entire method to cause the person as much psychological harm as inhumanly possible.
Powerful electromagnetic radiation is beamed into the victims skull to send and receive data, bypassing the skull to access the brain as if it was a computer hard drive. The program is only to torture and ruin lives. If not forewarned about it, lives will be abducted, or killed secretly.
Traffickers can completely invade and compromise a person and force the victim into either surrendering theirselves to their abusers and never be seen again, or the victim is left with nothing, outstripped from jobs through 24/7 focus groups to psych a person out of a job and attempt to have their victims deconstruct theirselves and others around.
This is an everyday 24/7 torture system designed to traffick, kill, torture, and molest an individual.The traffickers breed with their brothers, sisters and other blood related individuals for experimental and pedophila is a major part of their cult, DO NOT BE FOOLED!
PEDOPHILIA, TORTURE, NECROPHILIA, RAPE! These are four pillars of the Most Demonic Perverts.
Silent/Covert inbreds are waging war against innocents
All out war with mankind on one side and Most Demonic Perverts on the other.
Hostiles are taking hostages secretly through aggression and various fear tactics. MDP terrorists can cut breathing with their weapons.
Love your spouses and who you are and they may spare you by moving on to someone else.
Protect yourselves with neodymium magnets!! Protect your brain with magnets! Hover the magnets over your head.
(This is NOT fake news, we have been compromised, completely and utterly compromised!)
DO NOT GO!!! There is nothing there that will benefit you!
MDP preys on any vulnerabilities that a human possess. Stay strong to those that are affected, investigations are becoming more widespread
They entrap individuals for experimental purposes in a room with 1 bathroom and 40+ prostitutes and drug addicts, and other mentally ill criminals who enjoys their jobs in systematically destroying human lives in the most inhuman and extreme ways.
They are lead by drag queen homosexuals with a goal to create slaves by converting them into homosexuals, making it easier to control individuals.
They also have these systematic gay orgies where they abuse a plethora of drugs (crack, meth, cocaine, scopolamine, etc) before severely abusing and raping a singular victim inhumanly. The victims were once a targeted individual before they gave up and accepted becoming a sacrifice for MDP.
If you are a new victim of these crimes, do as much research as possible and disclose, disclose, disclose. DO NOT MOVE TO VOICES THAT ARE NOT AROUND YOU!
Schizophrenia is NOT the reason due to the lack of evidence, proving that schizophrenia does not exist. Do not keep silent for this horrendous criminal network! They are all traffickers and they kill in the most inhumane way and call it their “fun”.
TLDR: MDP is a nefarious organization of drugged up lunatics. The are traffickers and are replicating theirselves to be your spouse, military officials, or any government identity to force and fool any person into trafficking theirselves into a criminal network through endless gaslighting through megaphone like devices that targets one individual at a time and projects their voices bypassing their targets auditory cortex. Once the drone targets a person, they stay on that person 24/7 everyday. If you are instructed to move to Winnipeg Canada or anywhere for bribes, sexual favors, money, and/or free housing through any means of transportation, Do Not Go! You are a victim of a class action crime that has gone out of hand. Do NOT give these criminals anymore power by giving yourself up to them. You did not win anything and being targeted by these drones means that they chose you to either traffick or to be murdered covertly using drones with electromagnetic weapons attachments and technology which allows sonic hearing that the MDP criminal organization network uses to communicate directly to one another without needing to use a phone. Captured victims are forced into unpaid labor and forced prostitution. The targeted victim will be missing and stored away within one of their run down homes/facilities, unable to escape or leave. The handlers forces their new members into various ritualistic initiations cycles within their cultist group kneel, to sniff up drugs.
Once captured, they immediately commence their routines of total control and exploitation of the fully captured person. The victims are broken down to less than nothing due to repeated rape and abuse sequences. Felons within the MDP organization are to either traffick or murder a victim because their data brokers does not want to exposed and has paid a great sum of currency to illegally purchase the personal records of their targets and to send a weaponized drone to the illegally purchased individual, equipped with biohacking weapons to break down their targets into trafficking themselves, committing suicide or murdering others. They run criminal schools/organizations that breeds more human traffickers and prostitutes into the public. They Will Say Anything to Force You to move!
“We need you!” “We love you, Move!” “We want to lust your body.”
They work on every emotion within their targets brain and force the individual either into a blind rage or to try to confuse the person with their own emotions through a series of gaslighting and abuse, into moving their targets to them (I can not stress this enough, do not let them force you into trafficking yourself.
The felons also pretend to be some type of close friend to their victims in order to keep control over them. They are fully trained and prepared personally to place severe torture on one individual (they pair up and gang up on one individual at a time and “jumps” said victim. They act like grade school kids, but that’s due to the heavy influence of their handlers, crack and cocaine that has degenerated them. They also are heavily involved in the drug/prostitution ring where everyone gets raped and are all under heavy mind control from a cocktail of different drugs including cocaine.
The felons has their victims set up as empty puppets who are under complete control. The victims now turned felons/rapists/addicts are raised specifically to absorb abuse, while abusing drugs to remain numb during their operations, scopolamine, crack and cocaine to remain numb to any words from their victims.
They train individuals this way so they can deal more damage than receive it during their illegal operations. They are completely separate from reality and are all under one criminal control.
They are aware of people resisting and they promise to do everything to try to force their targets into submitting to their handlers. Warning! These Malicious Drone Operators WILL Say ANYTHING to force a person to move!
The terrorists all have their handlers speaking directly into their ears during their operations to murder or capture the innocent, giving them orders on their scripts made to place torture and destroy random individuals, innocent or not.
They tend to target the innocents more since these felons find it more satisfying to rape, brainwash, and intoxicate the innocent heavily until the innocent is completely empty. As soon as as they’re successful, they turn the captured individuals into drug addicts, whores, and forced laborers, working for gift cards and sexual/party favors.
They will always refuse to leave their targets unless the person gives in and moves to them. Or if the victim gathers any evidence leading to the arrest and shutdown of MDP
To the many different individuals that takes the time to read this, I am taking the time and energy out of my life to warn everyone about a massive data breach that has occurred and that is endangering many lives, including my own at this very point in time.
This type of data breach is the very worst of its kind. Before, the biggest threat was internet crimes, malware, and viruses that may have affected your assets if you were to click the wrong link. Now your actual physical being is at risk by MDP data brokers who are currently funding these criminal networks and are providing illegally purchased records of random individuals around the world.
Now, the MDP criminals today have gone above and beyond the internet and are sending drones with biohacking technologies attachments to random individuals. These weapon attachments magnetizes to specific muscles within the human anatomy of the hijackers choosing. This allows the hijacker to manipulate small muscle tissues within the human body such as rotating an individuals eyes at the hijackers will to keep their victims sleep deprived. They focus on the genitals primarily to exploit the human desire to make love with another individual through the manipulation of their genitals such methods, human traffickers and terrorist organizations are now utilizing these magnetic weapons attached to drones to lock a persons own body up for ransom which could be assets, or force you to sell your body into slavery.
They offer the remote of the victims body, to the victims they use to manipulate certain muscles and veins in the body in exchange for the capture of the victims body.
MDP human traffickers have evolved from footwork to airborne to stay covert. Hiding behind custom biohacking drones ordered online and through various other biohacking black market trades.
“Voices in the head” has been declassified and debunked as electronic biohacking through electromagnets, radiation, drones and neurophones funded and powered by criminal Fusion Centers, MDP who fund radical extremists and terrorists around the world. This was thought out to be a medical condition that is often confused with schizophrenia or another mental illness. But I challenged the theory and discovered that the public has been heavily misinformed.
If a person never had a history with voices in their head that were not of their own voices, and they have proof of their attackers transmitting these frequencies, how could it be a medical condition if the person has evidence of the voices being transmitted directly to his/her skull? So, not only the voices are there, they are also instructing people to either murder, rape, or traffick themselves to one of the many fusion centers, human/sex trafficking homes within undisclosed locations, “ghettos”, and divisions that could be in any closed off homes, (homes with unusually active activities) so they could focus and convert their captives through a series of abuse and ritualistic routines 24/7 everyday.
They force the individual to impregnate one of their paid prostitutes that are doppelgängers to their targets. They do this to raise another human into being another drug addict/trafficker, born and raised into the criminal network so it’ll appear more natural to kill, traffick and brainwash victims.
The MDP pretend to be on the victims side, but they really are not. They all have an illegal drill instructor that only teaches the trafficked “warloot” abuse, rape, and how to torture.
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2024.05.15 07:50 Familiar-Shopping973 The meaning of an art piece is determined by the creator of the art, not the audience.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that they can get different meanings out of a piece of art, even if it wasn’t the author’s intention. I really just think this is wrong. The creator of the art is the only person who can verify what their message and intention was when creating the art.
Let’s take Fight Club for example. At least on the internet I’ve seen articles and numerous videos of people that are under the impression that Fight Club is a satire, critiquing toxic masculinity and highlighting and laughing at the way many men choose to express their feelings, through violence.
A quote from a Collider article on Fight Club -
“Instead, he retreats to a childish impulse of a group of immature men hitting each other in a private club while in their time they play pranks on the world under the banner of “rebellion.”
https://collider.com/what-is-fight-club-really-about-explained/
But if you actually listen to the author of the book, Chuck Palahniuk, speak about why he wrote Fight Club and what he was trying to get at you realize that he really wasn’t writing a pure satire. Here are some quotes of Palahniuk on the Joe Rogan podcast discussing his book :
Link: https://youtu.be/GCuSDH-YEKI
“my classic thing is that there are so few social model novels or stories for men. For women there are … every season there’s a new Joy Luck Club, a new How to Make an American Quilt… all these different models where women can come together and talk about their lives and if you’re a man you’ve either got Fight Club or you have The Dead Poets Society”
“Jordan Peterson… he talks about that need for really rough play, and he talks about it a lot… We’ve kind of fallen away from this idea of consensual rough play and I think Fight Club resonated with that a lot”
“The idea that there needs to be a secondary father in Men’s lives… And you kind of put yourself in apprenticeship to the secondary father… So Fight Club was also depicting a new form of the secondary father with all these kids that were showing up on the doorstep of this ramshackle old house. So there was just so many aspects of men’s lives that were not being addressed when Fight Club came out…”
So as we can see Chuck was not completely condemning the act of fighting for fun. He actually likes the idea of “consensual rough play” as he calls it. He saw the problems that real men had during that time and took their reactions to those problems to an extreme in the book. He seems to understand the natural urge for violence that many feel when they are directionless and unfulfilled in life, and the catharsis of violence in a controlled setting.
So I’m just saying the book isn’t a cut and dry satire and critique of Toxic Masculinity like articles on the internet claim it is. It isn’t anti men either , I think it’s a commentary on lost men and consumerism, and somewhat of a cautionary tale. But people will read into it whatever ideology they fancy while disregarding the creator himself. If someone makes art that doesn’t align with your beliefs just call it satire and you can claim it for your side lol. So overall I think before we assign a meaning or message to a movie/art we should at least try to understand what the author was trying to say first.
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2024.05.14 23:52 RoboStrong00 [ALL] Life is Strange Series Quotes, Day 14: Cassidy

[ALL] Life is Strange Series Quotes, Day 14: Cassidy
Right on, Finn! And a very smart pick from you, u/upper_camel_case⭐️ We should all take some notes from Finn's advice: well, unless you're Max🌪
We're nearing the end, just two more days left and the board is finito. I should probably see if there's another fun game format I could bring into this subreddit or think of another totally new game myself once we're done with the quotes. But I'm keeping that thought on hold.
Now moving onto our second last character on the board, and our very last LIS2 character: Cassidy, our pushy gal with a guitar and who hates settling down🎸. Let's all sit around the campfire with her, listen to her singing and just vibe together. Oh, and while we're at it, one of us should ask her what's her most iconic line.
The most upvoted quote after 24 hours gets their name and quote on the board.
"I found a way I found a way to reappear..."🎵
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2024.05.14 05:30 CosmicGunman ANALYSIS of Four Corners: Ruthless Pursuit (2024) The Chinese Secret Police in Australia Saga

ANALYSIS of Four Corners: Ruthless Pursuit (2024) The Chinese Secret Police in Australia Saga
Following up from my last post
From the Article, quoting below
Last month, Safeguard Defenders released a report documenting more than 280 cases of foreign citizens and residents being repatriated to China. The individuals are accused of committing economic crimes.
There were at least 16 successful individual extrajudicial returns from Australia between 2014 and 2023, according to the report, which relied on Chinese state media. Four of those returns took place last year.
"These successful operations — or even the attempts at operations that turn out not to be successful — are a clear violation of Australia's sovereignty," Ms Harth said.
I watched the full Four-Corners episode.
The phenomenon is real, however is the usual kernal of truth being framed as PRC evil subversion. The 1st Bureau cooperated with Australia at first, only for Australian Federal Police to get upset when one of the financial criminals were extradited to China which circumnavigated an agreed-upon process. The interviewees from the Australian side in the clip (including lawyer) said they cannot assume every single target was just innocently targeted, but the primary issue (correctly) is abusing sovereignty. Famously some things intelligence apparatuses never do /s. Genuinely there would be greater trust if relations were not Cold War coded.
The reporter is Echo Hui and some of her professional background as a journalist
Some things to note:
The former agent who speaks out (called Erik) was originally a member of (by the own reporter's admission) "was a member of a u.s-based pro-democracy organisation" known as the China Social Democratic Party (CSDP). He was one day called for questioning by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) First (1st) Bureau: Political Security Protection Bureau (PSPB). He was questioned about the organisation and given an "opportunity for redemption" (left ambiguous, were there charges?), and offered to become an agent for the MPS's 1st Bureau, to becoming an informant on his former u.s-backed organisation). All of this comes from the mouth of Erik and Echo narrating. Unlike later in the episode; where we (eventually, after sufficent fear-mongering) get the China side.
On that note: The glossed-over "financial crimes" are significant. One of the "dissidents" was Edwin Yin. He was charged with Fraud in China, and Australian Courts ordered him to pay 700,000 AUD (3,345,451.83 CNY) due to "an alleged foreign exchange scam" Four-Corners talked to alleged victims which confirm yes Edwin Yin had scammed them and others. Edwin claims he is being framed by the CPC. In the clips he was also obsessed with Xi Jinping's illegitimate sons? And harassing his daughter online?
Now another of the "dissidents" is a "Everyday Chinese Marketing Guru". Wang Liming, AKA: Remon Wang, Pseudonym: Rebel Pepper (originally "Abnormal/Perverse Pepper.".). Political satirist, and left China to Japan to continue his anti-government satire cartoons. In 2012 he depicts the CPC as an angler fish which has hyponitised a smaller fish, representing the people of China. Compares Xi to an Emperor, and compare's the death toll of Mao to Islamic State. In 2017 he joins Radio Free Asia (RFA), and is the sole contributor to the cartoons column. In 2018 he founds the Shanghai National Party, in New York. A national-conservative, secessionist movement. Organised and attended anti-china protests in the Queens alongside Falun Gong and Uygher-American Association. In 2018, the Shanghai National Party hosted a "Acceleration of Chinese Collapse" award ceremony in Times Square. 😐 During the Shanghai lockdowns in 2022, he claimed the quarantine methods were an attempt at genocide of the Shanghainese.
Gonna share a quote.
He tweeted the ultimate goal of the Shanghai independence movement was to destroy the concept of a unified China. He wrote: "We must not only fight against the Communist Party, but also win more Chinese people to abandon the shell of "China."
This is sourced from: https://www.rfi.fcn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20180812-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%B0%91%E6%97%8F%E5%85%9A%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BD%E7%BA%A6%E6%88%90%E7%AB%8B-%E5%85%AC%E5%BC%80%E8%A6%81%E6%B1%82%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E7%8B%AC%E7%AB%8B
English Translation of the Webpage:
The "Shanghai National Party" was established in New York to oppose communism and demand the independence of Shanghai
A party called the "Shanghai National Party" is believed to have been established in New York, the United States. The specific date of founding the party may be July 18, but it was only announced in the United States yesterday by Twitter. The party's demands are to oppose unification, require Shanghainese to govern Shanghai, and promote Western democratization across the board. According to sources, those who pushed for the establishment of the "Shanghai National Party" were dissidents. Apple Daily reported today that in addition to facing Xinjiang and Tibetan independence, the Chinese government is now crying out for "Shanghai independence." Recently, a number of dissidents established the "Shanghai National Party" in New York State, USA. Their main demands are: "Oppose unification, Shanghai people ruling Shanghai, and total Westernization."
According to the Chinese dissident cartoonist "Abnormal Chili Pepper" yesterday announced on Twitter the first founding meeting of the "Shanghai National Party" (referred to as the Shanghai Democratic Party), and introduced in a newspaper advertisement that the party was established on July 18 this year. And successfully registered in New York on the same day.
"Abnormal Chili Pepper" tweeted that the Shanghai Democratic Party was established to completely subvert the concept of China as a unified country. He also said that the path they took was bound to be more difficult than the traditional democratic movement. He wrote: "Anti-communism is the first step, and it is also necessary to eliminate the soil for the survival of the CCP: the false concept of China. Therefore, the independence movement is definitely not a shortcut. We must not only be enemies of the CCP, but also become the enemy of all people who think that they are Chinese. Among them are the enemies of the traditional democratic movement. The independence movement is very difficult. We must not only fight against communism, but also win more Chinese people to abandon the shell of "China."
Throughout all this. There is ominous music and a sense of omnipresent surveillance. Echo also interviews FBI agent and Canadian Intelligence Agent to get their counter-intelligence perspective on these matters. The FBI agent says it was initially positive that PRC authorities wanted to cooperate to catch criminals on overseas soil, followed by saying "but then they get a foothold" to target people. Meanwhile; Echo says Xi Jinping using anti-corruption as a cover to silence and kidnap dissidents. Then later she asks to the Erik the former agent:
"So you were effectively helping the secret police track down people who were innocent of any crime. Do you feel any guilt for your involvement?"
To which Erik responses with:
"I'm an idealist but I'm also a pragmatist. I'm aware of the outcome one might face in China if you refuse to work with the secret police."
The exposé ends with Erik saying:
"They [PRC] may deny this story. They may mobilise some agents on the ground or send people to Australia [to] take measures against me, possibly getting physical. It's even possible that some agents on the ground may attempt to kidnap me. When they deal with a target like me, they may have to be more patient, smart, wait for an appropriate time to act. I'm definitely safer in Australia than in China or South-East Asia. But my safety eventually is determined by the Australian Government."
"But to some extent, for all those who oppose the CCP and Xi Jinping, the day that we can truly feel safe is after the CCP falls, after China becomes more free and democratic. Only then can we be free and safe.
Credits roll.
Honorable mentions:
• While operating in Cambodia, Erik's cover was being employed with Prince Real Estate, under Prince Holding Group. He was using this to eventually pursue Rebel-Pepper. Echo introduces them near the end and they share a hearty and jolly video call as they're now both "dissidents" in Melbourne.
• While operating in the countryside, he larped as a anti-CCP milita (as in making videos) to get close to this other dissident, who agreed with him. Though this dissident fled to Canada, and died kayaking in a town in Canada. Erik's first reaction is that this was an extrajudicial killing, followed by saying there is no way to know for sure, since he was not personally involved in Canada operations.
• FBI agent claims Xi is using diaspora for political aims, while Echo says Xi's anti-corruption portfolio was a cover to gain more power and "dissent is not allowed".
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2024.05.13 22:18 AmbassadorWorf You need to experience "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in the original Ligonian.

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2024.05.13 21:02 FactoryMadness You need to experience "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in the original Ligonian.

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2024.05.13 19:09 DJLusciousEagle Propaganda, Hollywood & Ideology The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

I recently finished The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and absolutely loved it. His blend of absurdist comedy and serious rage worked really well, the dude is an amazing writer, and the questions he asks may make you question your entire way of thinking.
Anyways, I wrote an essay (actually a video essay but can't link to that here) about my takeaways from the novel. It's very long so apologies, if you want to watch in video form I'll put it in the comments.

The greatest art makes you question. Question who you are, what you believe. Question the assumptions you make about the world around you. Question the fabric of reality, the nature of being. Question free will or fate. Question systemic influences of behavior, or intrinsic human desires. It does not answer, at least it doesn’t provide easy answers, because in these we find a more shallow understanding of ourselves and of the world’s complexity.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen is one of these great pieces of art. Its questions are not concerned with your preexisting notions of the Vietnam War, nor will it dichotomize the opposing sides into good and bad, right and wrong. The complexities of the War are not simplified, and our American-centric perspective is challenged at every turn. If you read closely and mindfully, you may finish the book having examined the very nature of your way of thinking, our collective desire to neatly place thought into ideological boxes that give us an easy position on any issue.
Part 1: A Man of Two Faces
In Viet Than Nguyen’s eyes, the Vietnam War had no “winners”. The communist revolutionaries were victorious, yes, but at what cost? 20 years of brutal, deathly war tore the country apart. Somewhere between two and six million died, between the Viet Cong, South Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Americans, and Koreans. The country was poisoned, its lands decimated by constant shelling, napalming, and use of pesticides by the US. Not to mention the 2.5 million refugees created by the war, and the hundreds of thousands of civilians that were massacred by all sides.
Nguyen isn’t interested in picking sides in the war. People on each side, he says, perpetrated lies, hypocrisies, failures, stupidities, vile immorality, and corruption. These people may have known what they were doing was immoral, or they may have bought so completely into their respective ideology that they were blinded to their sins. Whatever the case, it was their very ideologies they used to justify their actions.
The story simply presents a story, fictionalized but rooted in truth, and makes you think for yourself. The story’s protagonist, whose name is not revealed so I’ll refer to him as “the narrator”, is a perfect vehicle for the nuanced examination of the Vietnam War that Nguyen wishes to present.
The Narrator is “a sleeper, a spy, a spook, a man of two faces … able to see any issue from both sides.” He is also a “half-breed,” a product of his mother’s rape by a French priest, and a womanizer, alcoholic, misogynist, and a murderer.
But I think Nguyen’s message goes further than simply seeing an issue from “both sides”. There are many sides to any issue, and seeing the world through a false dichotomy not only limits your understanding of its complexity, but if vilifies, or in some cases idealizes, the “other” and distracts your attention from truth. For instance, any US perspective on the war—pro or anti—is ultimately an American perspective that ignores Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian suffering.
The narrator’s split psychology—as a bastard, a revolutionary masquerading as a capitalist, and later, a non-white in the U.S.—mirrors Nguyen’s own experience as a Vietnamese refugee living in America since a boy of 4 years. Nguyen said in a talk with Politics + Prose that as a child, he felt “deeply, intimately American.” But as Nguyen went to college and educated himself, he began to see America through clear eyes. He never felt belonging in America, and when he eventually visited Vietnam as an adult, he felt out of place for a parallel set of reasons.
The story begins just before the Fall (or Liberation, depending on your POV) of Saigon, and during this first act, we also meet three key characters, “blood brothers” who sealed their eternal friendship in blood at 14: the narrator, Bon, and Man, who is the narrator’s handler and main contact within the North Vietnamese army. As the city falls, Bon and the Narrator escape to the US, and much of the story follows their experiences as refugees from the war.
For the sake of concision, I’m going to skip ahead to two plot lines that best illustrate my point—the Narrator’s work on a Hollywood blockbuster about the Vietnam War, and another plotline I won’t reveal yet, as it spoils the last act of the book.
But know that there is so much more to this novel: Nguyen’s expert use of satirical humor, somehow finding the right balance between absurdist comedy and serious rage while he explores the collective trauma of his people brought on by a needless war and its aftermath. One of my favorite instances of satire involves a wild “Oriental Studies” Professor with a fetishistic obsession with all things “Oriental”, including the narrator’s embodiment of the “symbiosis of Orient and Occident,” a statement that causes the narrator to “clear my throat of a sour taste. (p. 65)”. But let’s set aside the satire, and for a moment, focus on the rage.
Part 2: Asian American Rage
In the U.S., The narrator finds work as an “authenticity consultant” on a film called The Hamlet, which bears suspicious resemblance to Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, but really serves as an allegory for Hollywood in general and how it marginalizes and mocks minorities all while propagandizing America and softening its image, not only to its citizens, but to the world that eagerly consumes its products.
“Movies were America’s way of softening up the rest of the world, Hollywood relentlessly assaulting the mental defenses of audiences with the hit, the smash, the spectacle, the blockbuster, and yes, even the box office bomb. (p. 172)”
The narrator went into the project with good intentions, hoping to promote more respectful and accurate representation of his people, but quickly discovers that, “The longer I worked on the Movie, the more I was convinced that I was not only a technical consultant on an artistic project, but an infiltrator into a work of propaganda.”
If you are rolling your eyes or doubting Nguyen’s criticism, I’d point you to this video, which I’ll link below: The US Government’s Not-So-Secret Propaganda Department. Not only does the Department of Defense pay for and help produce many Hollywood cash-cows—including but not limited to, Captain America, Top Gun, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, King Kong, Jurassic Park, Karate Kid, Godzilla, Indiana Jones, WandaVision, even Call of Duty—they have final say on the script! If they don’t like the way the US Military is portrayed, your movie is simply not allowed to come out. None of this is a secret, people seem to be content living in blissful ignorance.
This subplot, I think, is where Nguyen’s rage burns most fervently. He grew up an American, watched Apocalypse Now, Platoon, and more blatant pro-America propaganda such as Rambo, saw the racist and misrepresentative portrayal of his people, and internalized this anger. “In seeing [the movies], it was clear that the Vietnamese were not seen, they were seen through.”
The Auteur ignores the narrator’s guidance at every turn, and all the narrator manages to achieve in the movie is double-pay ($2 per day instead of $1!) for the less-desirable roles of Viet Cong, and the addition of three speaking roles for Vietnamese—who end up being played by other Southeast Asians rather than actual Vietnamese.
Before shooting the grand finale, the Auteur strokes his ego to the crew, saying that “Long after this war is forgotten, when its existence is a paragraph in a schoolbook students won’t even bother to read, and everyone who survived it is dead, their bodies dust, their memories atoms, their emotions no longer in motion, this work of art will still shine so brightly it will not just be about the war but it will be the war. (p. 178)”
Herein lies the dangerous truth about history. While the Auteur’s claim is objectively absurd, is he wrong? Apocalypse Now is hailed as a classic, the gold standard in war movies. It is anti-war, yes, but how many of us have seen or read the Vietnamese perspective on the war? I admit, until recently, I had not. This is why books like The Sympathizer are so important. “I had no doubt that in the Auteur’s egomaniacal imagination he meant that his work of art, now, was more important than the three or for or six million dead, who composed the real meaning of the war. They cannot represent themselves; they must be represented. (p. 179)”
Part 3: Independence & Freedom
This next portion will spoil the last act of the book, so if you want to avoid that, jump to part 4
The Narrator and Bon are captured on a South Vietnamese scouting mission, thanks to the Narrator’s tipping off of the communists. And here is where the story gets really interesting. I will do my best to relay the complexity of Nguyen’s message, but really, you should read the book, because the way he pulls everything together is miraculous.
We learn that the framing of the Narrator’s “confession”, which has told the entire story to this point, is actually taking place within a North Vietnamese “re-education camp”. We also learn that the Commandant who is reviewing the Narrator’s confession is not pleased with it. The Narrator has written countless versions over the course of one year in solitary confinement, and it’s clear that the Communists see him as a lost cause, a mind infected by capitalist ideals and too much time in America. The Commandant tells him, “you are addicted to the social evils of alcohol, prostitution, and yellow music.”
“Aren’t we all comrades? I asked the commandant at an earlier session. Yes, he said, but not all comrades have the same level of ideological consciousness.”
Luckily, the Narrator has one man within the camp sympathetic to his position as a sleeper agent that has fallen too deep into Western culture. He is a mysterious “faceless man”, flesh burned red and mottled with scars, later revealed to be from a Napalm attack. The prisoners, and even their guards, fear him.
The Narrator finally meets the commissar in his quarters, notices the famous Ho Chi Minh quote, “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.” And upon seeing the commissar’s horrific face, “eyes bulging from withered sockets, nostrils reduced to holes without a nose, the hairless, earless skull one massive keloid scar, leaving the head to resemble one of those dried, decapitated trophies swung on a string by an ebullient headhunter,” the Narrator recognizes him. It’s his best friend, his protector, his handler, his comrade, Man.
Guards shove him onto a mattress and tie him down, deprive his sense with a blindfold and ear plugs, but do not let him sleep. The narrator’s subsequent torture is brutal—not physically, but psychologically—and it is made more brutal by the fact that it is his blood brother inflicting the pain.
But Man explains his side of the story; really, truly, he is powerless to free the Narrator. It’s only because of Man that the Narrator and Bon are not dead already. “You frighten [the commandant]. You are nothing but a shadow standing at the mouth of his cave, some strange creature that sees things from two sides. People like you must be purged because you bear the contamination that can destroy the revolution’s purity.”
The Narrator must convince the commandant, as well as the commissars above Man, that the virus of Western sympathy has been eradicated, to have any hope of being released. And so Man must torture him, blast his retinas with bright light, shock him electrically to keep him awake, all in hopes that he will realize what he has forgotten.
As Man continues his torture, begging an answer to the question, “what is more important than independence and freedom?” Eventually, after a long, visceral session of torture, the Narrator realizes the answer to the question: Nothing! Nothing was the answer. “While nothing is more precious than independence and freedom, nothing is also more precious than independence and freedom! These two slogans are almost the same, but not quite. The first inspiring slogan was Ho Chi Minh’s empty suit which he no longer wore. How could he? He was dead. The second slogan was a tricky joke. It was Uncle Ho’s empty suit turned inside out, a sartorial sensation that only a man of two minds, or a man with no face, dared to wear.”
Man is a tragic character, which the narrator fully understands. “…while he was setting me free, he himself could never be free, unable or unwilling to leave this camp except through death, which at least would be a relief from his living death.” He commits evil deeds for the same reason many Nazi SS officers or Christian Crusaders or ISIS terrorists commit evil deeds—because they are so deeply bought into their ideologies that they are convinced that any violence is purely essential to advance the cause. Either that, or the manipulative or terrorizing systems of which they are propping up feel inescapable, and their only option, in their eyes, is to conform to what is expected of them.
It's never explicitly revealed where Man falls in this spectrum. The Narrator speculates that there is madness in his eyes, and certainly his unimaginable trauma of having his flesh melted by napalm contributes to his actions, but ultimately, it does not matter how much of his actions were through his own volition vs. peer pressure. The fact is, the revolutionary ideology that states “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom,” that any faction who gets in the way of must be stamped out, leaves no room for individual thought. Your options are to conform or to be subject to reeducation or death at speaking your thoughts.
Part 4 – Question Everything
“What do those who struggle against power do when they seize power? What does the revolutionary do when the revolution triumphs? Why do those who call for independence and freedom take away the independence and freedom of others? And is it sane or insane to believe, as so many around us apparently do, in nothing? We can only answer these questions for ourselves.”
These are the questions our Narrator leaves us with in the last couple pages of The Sympathizer. Were you expecting a neatly-wrapped ending? Too bad, life doesn’t have many of those. [John Mulaney - Brush your teeth, now boom! OJ. That’s life.]
I want to come back to the idea of “ideology” that I mentioned in part 1. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, a pioneer of this way of thinking of ideology, defines ideology as “the experience we have of our lives from within, the story we tell ourselves about ourselves in order to account for what we are doing.” Ideologies are dangerous, because they eliminate our need to think critically about our actions and beliefs, but they are also unavoidable.
Nguyen presents and dismantles several popular ideologies throughout The Sympathizer: French Colonialism, North Vietnamese Communism, Western Liberalism, Catholicism, US Exceptionalism (or “Disneyland ideology” as he calls it), South Vietnamese nationalistic democracy, consumerism. He points out the hypocrisies in all these ideologies. The fact of the matter is, avoiding hypocrisy in your thinking is nearly impossible. The best option, really, is to be aware of your hypocrisy.
Okay, but if you’re watching and saying, hey, I don’t buy into in all this global capitalist bullshit. I live my life authentically, I reject capitalism completely. Well, by doing this, you are turning to another ideology—anticapitalism. This is where this idea ties back into The Sympathizer. Because, yes, in theory, it is not so bad to be an anticapitalist. In fact, I would call myself one. But you know who else was anticapitalist? Joseph Stalin. Ho Chi Minh. Kim Jong-Un. All the North Vietnamese comrades who tortured and killed for the sake of the revolution. If you buy too deeply into anticapitalism without critical thought, you’ll end up like Man, licked by the napalm of conformity.
The commandant in The Sympathizer replies to the narrator when he says he’s anti-American. “The anti-American includes the American. Don’t you see that the Americans need the anti-American? While it is better to be loved than hated, it is also far better to be hated than ignored. To be anti-American only makes you a reactionary. (p. 319)” This statement holds true for anti-capitalism as well
Zizek goes a step further and says that even those people who think they see the world through eyes unclouded by ideology, who take off the ideological glasses that distort our vision, even they are prone to ideology. To see the world’s truth, you must put on the ideological glasses.
The only way to see that we are being manipulated and propagandized is to recognize the US Army’s fancy weapons and uniforms in the films we see, and understand that means they signed off on this portrayal of them. The only way to see that we are being manipulated to consume through clever design and marketing is to recognize the subliminal messaging and blatant brand placement in the media we consume. The only way to understand how politicians play off our emotions and conditioning to view the other side of the aisle as the enemy is to learn to recognize the tricks they use.
So, none of this is to say you can’t have an ideology. Ideology is unavoidable, anyways. But you have a responsibility to be aware of the hypocrisies and dangers in the beliefs you choose to follow.
“In such times of urgency when we know we have to act, but don’t know how to act, thinking is needed. Maybe we should turn around a little bit. In our new century, we should say that maybe we tried all too fast to change the world. The time has come to step back to interpret it.”
— Slavoj Zizek
Thinking for yourself is hard. It takes brainpower and willpower, and it’s undoubtedly easier to fall back on an ideology that gives you an easy answer for everything. Even in this video essay, I’m pulling heavily from Zizek and Nguyen to illustrate a point; you could say I am using them to think for me. And by the way, this choice is not meant to imply that Nguyen would agree with everything Zizek says; I think, in fact, they would disagree strongly on many ideas. But the central idea in The Sympathizer, I believe, aligns nicely with Zizek’s idea that we live in a world of ideology, where you almost have to pick an ideology to ally yourself with.
So, in true Viet Thanh Nguyen and Slavoj Zizek fashion, I will end this video with a few questions to think about. why do you believe what you believe? Which ideological beliefs do you hold, and what contradictions are inherent in these beliefs? What social structures and norms have shaped your identity?
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2024.05.13 19:03 GrumpyFinn Misinformation, Twitter, and You

Hi, everyone.
It’s no secret that this weekend was rather turbulent for us all. But one thing that didn’t help - and, in fact, made things even more chaotic, was Twitter misinformation.
I am aware that misinformation can and does spread across all social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram. However, this weekend, Twitter was especially harmful,
Many people, some new to our community and some not, were flooding the comment sections and submissions of this subreddit with links to random tweets and Twitter profiles making all sorts of baseless and speculative claims around the Joost situation, Israel, Bambie Thug, and pretty much anything you can imagine. This misinformation and rumors were so bad that we had to block Twitter links in the subreddit for the weekend.
I understand that confirmation bias is a thing. When we want something to be true, we often go out of our way to find any and all evidence that backs up what we already believe. If you believe that Joost was disqualified because he likes to eat onions and you want the world to know, you might try to find tweets that back up this idea.
But Twitter isn’t a news outlet. It’s basically a chat room. Anyone can make a Twitter profile right now and claim anything they want, with no evidence nor repercussions for making claims.
This can, does, and will hurt people, including artists you care about, their friends, and their loved ones.
Actual news websites have standards and laws that regulate what kinds of things they can claim and what they can’t. Especially in Nordic countries, matters related to police investigations involving individuals have an even higher threshold for standards and privacy in media, in order to protect any potential victims.
Not all news is created equally, either. Reliable articles understand nuance and provide balanced, factual information, rather than relying on shocking headlines and inflammatory writing styles.
On a personal level, this was one of the hardest weekends in my 20+´year “career” as a forum moderator. It really felt like no one was interested in any facts, they just wanted to sow chaos around the show, or they wanted to be “right” about their opinions. It didn’t feel like a community, it felt like a mob, and it was all fueled by random Twitter accounts.
So, with everything going on right now, I beg that we step back just enough to ignore Twitter, and trust reliable news sources for whatever happens next. The chaos isn’t cute, and it has consequences.
And when posting a news article, avoid tabloid clickbait and articles that rely on out-of-context quotes or videos, and rage-bait.
Thank you.
GrumpyFinn (They/Them)
submitted by GrumpyFinn to eurovision [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 17:18 friendinfive My Lightning

My Lightning submitted by friendinfive to VHS [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 16:15 PoisonedWhispers [Part 3] A critique of 4THOT’s two subreddit bans upon myself; and some remarks on Litmus tests.

The Short Version can be found here.

Part 1 here. Part 2 here.

The Beekeeper. Bzzt:

Ah, I'm so fucked. 💀

Challenges...

This part is going to be an interesting challenge. I would say I’m walking a tightrope here, but that metaphor implies that there’s some slim chance where one can write a section like this and not get banned, um, again (and again?). The original plan was something a bit more comprehensive, where alongside another matter, I would make the case that there have been a number of pro-Palestine users that have correctly addressed misinformation on this sub, where they do a decent job of breaking circlejerks, adding some sordid nuance to threads that otherwise would have devolved into the ones laid out in Part 1 and Part 2. These users will, inevitably, have an “interaction” with 4THOT at some point; they will subsequently be banned on justifications that I obviously believe are nonsensical, where said justifications are also exhibited by 4THOT, whether in that exchange itself or in other threads; and these users are not interested in returning to the sub.
I abandoned this plan for a long litany of reasons; there’s two in particular I’ll highlight here: (1) I don't believe I can achieve the effects I desire; and (2) I'm keen to avoid any accusations of this section being some “hit-piece” or “hate-post.”
I do not intend to present arguments against any other aspect of moderation that I might find to be problematic; I do not intend to make comments on character. I am simply razor-focused on one aspect of moderation here, and one aspect of the unbanning process.

...and Goals

This part will attempt to try and have my other goal — which is shared by many other users in this sub — come into fruition: I believe users should be able to participate in this sub without needing to take into consideration what 4THOT’s personal views are on a matter.
The only things a user should be cognizant of is what are Reddit's site wide rules, including those specific to this sub; what are the subreddit rules; and what are Destiny's desires in terms of what comments and submissions are allowed here. I also believe subreddit rule 6 (rule 5 on new reddit) needs to be amended to remove the arbitrariness.
If a user comes away with a different interpretation of events than 4THOT does, and said user doesn't exhibit any other behaviour in their comment or submission that violates those stated parameters, then that user ought not to be banned.
If 4THOT’s personal opinion is something that we need to be mindful of — and Destiny approves of this notion, agreeing that opinions 4THOT alone finds to be beyond the pale warrants an immediate ban — then, unironically, that stipulation should be added to the subreddit rules.
Furthermore, as mentioned in the TL;DR, I am requesting clarification on if there’s any procedure by which you can get unbanned when 4THOT sets a condition on the unban — and whether or not he should be setting conditions on the ban. 4THOT has mentioned that "Ninou has orders to not unban certain [regards.]"
As it stands, it’s not clear if Destiny approves of this behaviour. I say this because I have not seen him comment on this aspect of moderation when it comes to the subreddit. If he already disapproves of this behaviour, then I would request that this sentiment be conveyed to 4THOT, which should hopefully reduce the likelihood this reoccurs in the future.
I'm asking that Destiny clarify here because then it's something that can be clipped, and moderators here can use that clip when, well, moderating.
One final point before I critique the bans. There’s a noticeable difference between this section on 4THOT, and his um, passionate challenge to Kelly Jean: she’s easy to avoid. Just close the stream mate! Whereas 4THOT has control over who can participate in this subreddit, Kelly Jean can't dictate who can and can't appear on stream. Mashallah. 🙏 Thus, I feel this submission has justification.

The Bullet: A Forlorn Attempt for Consistency

The second ban is infinitely more interesting, but I’ll briefly address the first 30-day ban. I am not here to relitigate this discourse. The post in question that led to the infraction was removed, but it's still available if you’re a moderator, and I won't be reposting it here. The gist of the post was a question on whether or not we should be banning people for misinformation, referencing a user who received a 90-day ban from 4THOT for posting a misquote from a mainstream Israeli news outlet, during a live translation of a speech Netanyahu was giving. I’m pretty sure 4THOT knows who i24News are, so I couldn't quite follow his thought process here.
Moreover, if you’ve gone through the examples above, then you can easily imagine my bafflement here as well, particularly because a couple days earlier a Twitter clip was posted of an individual clearly misspeaking.
The user who submitted this post was only banned for 10 days — despite doubling down on this not being a misspeak — and I was bemused by the inconsistency being applied here. Being completely consistent in terms of my own principles, I mentioned in my post that I don’t think either of them should be banned, but if this is the standard that is going to be maintained, then it would only be reasonable that some level of leniency is given if you happen to inadvertently post misinformation from a reputable news outlet.
Regarding the Netanyahu misquote, I am in full agreement with 4THOT that it is a misquote, but it is regrettable that, well, some chose to challenge him on this front, arguing that the corrected quote is functionally the same, or worse. Take note of how civil his interlocutor here is up until the point 4THOT used an insult; unwisely, his interlocutor chose to match tone. I’m only mentioning this because, despite the insults 4THOT might use against me, I have no interest in engaging in a similar style of rhetoric as I don't find it to be conducive to a productive conversation, and I’m hoping I don't have to deal with a level of vitriol here that users are sometimes not allowed to match — not that I have any interest in doing so. There’s a couple tame jokes in this post, but hopefully I don’t get a response like this:
Thank fucking God that guy died because he'd absolutely kill himself by biting off his own tongue to choke on his own blood if he ever read the obese shithead redditors backseating one of the most extreme acts of political protest any human being can ever do.
HE INTENDED TO DIE NIGHTMARISHLY YOU IDIOT THAT WAS THE POINT
Frisco, you got cooked mate 😭.

A Guardian Angel?

Now, after I was banned, another user made a post about the ban upon myself, which generated a fair amount of interest, you fucking drama frogs. Here, I simply wish to make four remarks:
  • I'm sure you can see how different in tone, rhetoric, and substance OP’s post is compared to my original post (for those of you that remember reading it), and compared to this post. There are a number of insults that are frequently used against 4THOT which I don’t use as I’m looking for good-faith engagement from him. That being said, I appreciate the fact that OP wasn’t looking for a meaningful, productive exchange with 4THOT here, and thus they didn’t feel the need to temper their rhetoric.
  • In the pinned comment, 4THOT uses a fair amount of hyperbole. The original post was very benign, and didn’t come anywhere close to conveying a sentiment that “this Reddit is ruined” or “4THOT is literally the IDF.” I don’t see how you can come away with this reading considering how mild the post was.
  • Once more, I am not here to relitigate this, but I would have loved to address some of the criticism levelled against myself in the comments under OP’s post; I certainly wasn’t going to re-open those conversations a month later. That being said, I appreciate users like Wannabe_Sadboi for making the arguments that I, more or less, would have made had I had the opportunity to immediately respond. Just to quote one of their comments: “People shouldn’t be banned for being partisan, they should be banned only for breaking rules, and Splemndid didn’t break any rules.” But, apparently, there are rules being broken here, and it is not clear what these rules are, and whether or not Destiny approves of them.
  • If the original post was problematic because it was too indirect, then hopefully this post which is significantly more direct — but kept well under the threshold of something that could be constituted as a “hate-post” — should not be a problem.

Chilling Effect. Brrr 🥶

When I was hit with the 30 day ban, I sent a direct appeal hoping the length of the ban would at least be reduced, which didn't receive a response, and neither did sending an unban request via the unban request form. No biggie. At least with a temporary ban I know when to expect to be unbanned.
After the 30 day ban, I decided to give up doing two things: (1) making attempts to get other users unbanned when I felt the justifications were not cogent or fair; and (2) participating in I-P threads that 4THOT himself had already made comments within — in particular, those where he was actively arguing with other users on the subreddit. This is a bad chilling effect; even if I see a comment they have made where they’ve made a false claim, or I disagree with their analysis or moral claims, I’m choosing not to engage because I'd rather not go through yet another cycle of bans. I value shitposting in the subreddit more than having arguments with 4THOT.
Moreover, I’m also not interested in getting caught in the crossfire when, upon finishing his Reddit debate, he bans his interlocutor from the subreddit, and also those who have made similar comments to the one his interlocutor has espoused elsewhere in the thread. He does not always do this, and I would literally never make the claim that he just “ban everyone that disagrees with [him]”. I won’t call this hyperbole as I’m sure someone has levelled this incorrect accusation against him. 4THOT is capable — and has demonstrated on myriad occasions — of being able to have dispassionate disagreements. The issue is that I’m not interested in rolling the dice here with another ban.
Thus, I decided to avoid 4THOT entirely while participating in the sub as normal, making the usual shitposts. (Y’all are welcome for the template, btw. I went frame by frame, looking for the shot of Destiny at his most euphoric.) Alas, woe is me, I made a fatal error: I can’t avoid 4THOT if I choose to comment in a thread first. Browsing new, the bane of my existence, Hobbitfollower you dastardly devil.

The Nuke: A Muddled Statement and Different Interpretations

In the trenches of new, I came across a submission which posted this version of a Jerusalem Post article. If you've read The Six Points, then you can see what I'm attempting to do in my comment, that was apparently egregious enough to warrant banning me “until Israel/Palestine is over.” Before I go over this, I’m going to once again link the comment I made on this subreddit defending Israel from the accusation that they have been siding with ISIS for years.
Consistency
I apply the exact same methodology when dispelling conspiracy theories on Israel as I do for the UN official whose comments are the subject of the post. I’m digging up the relevant primary sources; I’m searching for archived versions of articles posted on inactive websites; I’m reading multiple articles from different Israeli outlets reporting on the same speech; and I’m reading the entire transcript of the nearly hour-long speech by the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence at the time, Herzi Halevi, just so I can make an informed comment here. At no point am I ever concerned that I could be banned for this comment. I can freely talk about anti-Israel propaganda, and I know no moderator is going to bat an eye at that.
I recently watched a Hasan video because dgg taught me the art of hate-watching, and now I hate-watch dgg while they hate-watch Hasan. Early on in the video, an article headline by the Intercept is shown: “Leaked Cables Show White House Opposes Palestinian Statehood.” Ken Klippenstein appears in the byline, which immediately sets off a red flag for me because I’ve found reporting by him in the past to be absolutely dreadful, including the time when he used to work for the Grayzone, where he gave Seymour Hersh a softball interview, and allowed him to spread risible conspiracy theories. The Intercept article shown in Hasan’s video doesn't provide the cables they are reporting on, but they are available on Ken’s substack. Without going on a tangent, unsurprisingly, the Intercept’s piece on these cables misrepresents them (IMO).
Similarly, when I had a discussion with a tankie on another subreddit on whether or not the 2010 Australian Labor Party leadership spill was “a US-backed coup”, I once again seeked out all the relevant and many Wikileaks cables, read them all, and made my own assessment.
Dolls
Enough examples! You get the idea! I have a consistent principle that I am applying here. Upon opening up the JP article OP submitted, I see Danielle Greyman-Kennard in the byline. This is a person who previously wrote an article claiming that a dead Palestinian baby was a doll (which is not the first or last time this has happened in general; Pallywood amirite?). When it was brought to her attention that this is a body going through rigor mortis, she doubled-down in a patronising tweet.
Eventually, someone at the JP realized the fuck-up, and the article was retracted. There are a number of journalists and writers for Israeli outlets that seek to publish or tweet out any information that casts pro-Palestine organisations or individuals in a bad light — and that’s fine. If you’re pro-Palestine, and you’re saying or doing some dumb shit, that’s on you, not the individual that wants to report on it. However, there are biases at play here, where one must be cognizant of how these biases can filter down into how information is presented.

Direct Appeal

The following is the direct appeal I sent when I was banned which will serve as a clarification on the comment:
What up, I initially disagreed with your assessment, but upon re-reading it, now I'm unsure what our disagreement is, and what you think I was trying to address in my comment. Hopefully, the following will serve as clarification.
When I opened up the submission, I read the headline, I read the article, I watched the clip contained within, and then I sought out any additional footage from the interview that was readily available. The safe assumption I make when it comes to article submissions on reddit is that folk are generally not going to read the article, and will likely only comment based on the headline. If the headline is poor, I might present information in the comments in order to ensure that the criticism is well-directed. The headline of the Jerusalem Post article is:
UN Special Rapporteur 'unaware' of rocket attacks on Israel
If you asked the average person what they thought this headline meant, they would think the UNSR thought there had been no rocket attacks launched against Israel ever or since the start of the war. As evidence that some came away with this conclusion, you can read [redacted link] here posted on [redacted subreddit] (emphasis mine):
This can't be real right? This is a fake article right? Or a satire piece? Because if they've lived their entire lives unaware of the rocket attacks, then they have no right having anything to do with the global politics or whatever it is the UN does. That's just insane.
In other words, this individual is in disbelief, and they're astonished that Reem Alsalem, the UNSR, is completely unaware of any rocket/missile attacks that have been fired against Israel ever. Here I hope we can acknowledge two things: (1) Alsalem does believe there have been missile attacks against Israel at various points in time; and (2) most pro-Hamas sycophants aren't going to deny these missile attacks have taken place -- they want these attacks to take place. Alternatively, they might seek to diminish the destructive capability of these attacks, or assert that it is Israel's fault these attacks are occurring. It's pretty rare to come across someone claiming they've never happened, period.
My comment was made to highlight that she was really caught up in the frequency of the attacks and how she was possibly misinterpreting the question. Reem Alsalem has a wide litany of dumb beliefs that you can criticize her on; in this case, I thought the criticism would be better directed for being unaware of the frequency of attacks. The JP itself does include a line that would have better served as a headline:
[UN Special Rapporteur] unaware of the frequent rocket attacks made by Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel.
As mentioned, I was trying to ensure that commenters didn't make comments like the one I linked. Re-reading my own comment, it could have been phrased better to make sure that those who read it understood my intentions.
Further comments
The rest of the direct appeal consisted of me clearing up any misconceptions that I might be pro-Hamas, providing various links of comments that demonstrate what my beliefs are. This my attempt to "pass the litmus test" as I don't believe I'm being engaged on the merits of my argument.
Once again, as I’ve hopefully established by now, we know there can be a widespread reluctance here to sometimes read past the headline and open the article, and even the article itself might not have sufficient context to truly parse what is being said. At the time, the only additional footage available from the interview was the five minute, heavily edited clip compilation available on the interviewer’s Twitter. It is just… irritating to watch. Partly because, as I said, I have to suffer through listening to Alsalem’s asinine beliefs, but also because it’s so chopped up that I can't quite tell what’s been cut out, what statements are directly following from which questions, and so on.
Other users also had interpretations of their own to give, taking note of the fact that there may be an edit after she says "but". I actually don’t think there was anything additional said, and it’s just awkwardly edited. However, unlike with Herzi Halevi’s speech, I and everyone else watching these clips are working with scraps here, and the segment that aired on Hazinor, Channel 13 is exactly the same. There is ambiguity here; an amorphous, nebulous, incoherent jumble of statements where one can make a range of interpretations — but one of those interpretations was not permissible on the subreddit. My own of course.
I’m still baffled as to what 4THOT’s contention here is. He comments:
!cleanse nvm you're an idiot. She says she has seen "attacks" but does not specify from where or whom or when. When he specifically asks if she's seen rocket attacks that have been reported from the north from Hezbollah and South from Hamas without "every single day" and is asked about rocket attacks from those areas says she hasn't seen it.
I presume the position he holds here is that Alsalem is being sly: when she says that she has seen attacks, she is actually referring to Israeli attacks, not Hamas or Hezbollah. For further clarity, I would have asked 4THOT:
  • Do you think Alsalem holds the position that Hamas or Hezbollah have never fired rockets against Israel?
  • If no, do you think Alsalem holds the position that Hamas or Hezbollah have never fired rockets against Israel since the initial barrage of rocket attacks on Oct. 7th?
In his first reply to my comment, he armed me and said I was his “strongest soldier.” 😳 Must have noticed these guns 💪😎. It seems like he originally agreed with me, and I don't know what impact, if any, this had on the ultimate decision.
I remember staring at this section of the unban request form thinking, "Err, I don't know." Like you all, when I've been banned by Destiny in the past, I know what to write here. He doesn't like snark; if you're being a condescending prick, get that ass banned. I have a general understanding of what sort of comments Destiny hates in this subreddit, and thus I know how to participate in the subreddit without being on the receiving end of a ban.
Taking the recommendation of another user, I cobbled together something for the unban form, and figured I'd just try again in a month. Alas, both the form and my last exchange with 4THOT was unsuccessful, and I would not have even attempted to send an unban request form to Ninou had I known that she had "orders to not unban" certain users. While I can understand that there may be certain users whose offenses are so egregious that a ban conditional on a lengthy period of time having been passed first is warranted, I don't believe I fall in this camp.
It's often stated by both Destiny and other moderators that the "process to get unbanned is pretty easy." Conditional bans tarnish the smoothness of this process, where good-faith unban requests are rejected due to the condition set, and I don't believe this should be the case.
If Destiny could offer further clarity here, that would be appreciated by both myself and others who have had this conditional ban placed upon them.

The Litmus Test:

Scroll up all the way to the top of Part 1, and what do you notice I've done in the preamble? I’m keen to avoid guilt by association; I believe Destiny just calls this being “webbed.” In the TL;DR I specifically mention the "pro-Israel crowd"; I know what this will invoke in the minds of people reading this, the associations people will draw to other people who have made criticism against the pro-Israel crowd. Thus, I feel the need to ensure that I dissociate myself from those people. That’s why you see the statement about Hasbara and brigading; it’s me raising a giant flag screeching, “Hey, I’m not like the others, this post is different!”
Let me give a couple examples here (suffer through some more examples…you must suffer…).
Example I - An Odd Title and an Audacious Inquiry
In this submission, OP posts a Twitter video with the submission title: “Reuters video shows militants armed with assault rifles atop aid convoy trucks and shooting at palstinians [sic] approaching the trucks.” Now, no one mentioned this in the comments, so to add some clarification here: this is not Reuters reporting, this is a clip from a Reuters live stream showing a view from a tent camp in Rafah. (Specific timestamp here.) Anyone watching this stream can clip whatever noteworthy event they see and add their own statements on what has transpired. As far as I can tell, that seems to be what the original clip here from N12 news has done, and it was also posted on their website, with no additional details.
This individual (henceforth called Doc) asked some fair questions. They made mistakes, of course, such as watching the clip on mute (you silly goose); but I would agree that “shooting at palstinians [sic]” invokes an image of, well, Palestinians being riddled with bullets, and instead we get what seems to be shots fired into the air. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that the title reflect this distinction. What’s unfortunate here is that merely attempting to get an accurate summary is enough for OP to assume the worst about them, and thus we get the rebuke: “Keep dicksucking the terrorists stealing the aid.” I’ve seen Doc’s comments before, when they say they’re an “Israel stan”, they are. But for OP, they immediately engaged in “the web”, guilt by association, etc., and that was enough to result in this petty infighting. I thought leftists were the only ones that did that?
Example II - No Steelmans Allowed
In the second example, it’s me that’s on the receiving end of the purity test. Personally, as someone who is not a leftist (see what I’ve done there?), I do think a considerable number of y’all miss the mark when it comes to criticising leftists, and I attempt to steelman their positions as I find that to be more conducive for better discourse. Feel free to disagree with the steelman, the point is that merely providing that steelman is enough for OP to assume that these are my own positions — despite clearly stating multiple times that I’m not pro-Palestine, that I support Operation Prosperity Guardian, etc. Once again I bring up that I have defended Israel from silly conspiracy theories when they mentioned “your tribe”, as that’s my attempt to pass the litmus test, demonstrating my impartiality here.
Example III - ???
I'm not sure if 4THOT engaged in a similar type of purity testing both for the initial comment I was banned for, and also in my last exchange with them on another subreddit. The exchange was pretty bizarre: I asked if they checked Reddit DMs; they replied that they do, and “our agreement stands.” In their next reply, they mentioned that they confused me with another person, and said that, “Yes, once I/P is over I will let your people go.” That phrase “your people”, is quite similar to how the OP in the previous example said “your tribe” and “your side.” This seems to be the guilt by association I spoke on: I’m being lumped in with a group whose views generally don’t align with my own. That’s why part 1 begins with an introduction on myself. I need to pass the litmus test first before I can get good engagement — and it’s unfortunate that I feel compelled to do that.
Engage in good-faith
The conclusion here is a simple one: don't assume what positions your interlocutor holds merely because they're skeptical about that framing of certain stories, or because they attempt to provide a steelman for the opposing side.

Finito for Real

What I’m looking for here is clarity. UN officials will continue to say and do stupid things; that applies to pro-Palestine people, that applies to leftists. But every now and then, upon seeing one of these submissions, I might think, “Eh, this is pretty stupid, but I think it’s stupid for slightly different reasons to everyone else.” Can I express those opinions here? Must I add a preamble to every comment so that people don’t assume the worst? Do I need to be thinking, “Hmm, I wonder what 4THOT thinks about this story?”

Free me OOOO 🐟

Thanks to everyone that offered feedback. :)
Edit: o7
Responding via edits is silly. Standard hyperbolic response, as I mentioned below. But I gotta address two things just so y'all aware that I can offer a rebuttal if need be. 4THOT says:
Here's the full interview with the UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women claiming she isn't aware of the rocket attacks - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bar-shemur-8b1bb23b_the-un-rapporteur-on-violence-against-women-activity-7171212859895459841-gq6B
I don't know why he's attempting to "find" the "full interview". The linkedin video he has given here is literally the exact same video I gave in my comment. Click the hyperlink saying "the lengthier clip." They're both posted by the interviewer, Bar Shem-Ur. Mate, did you even read my original comment? If you scroll down this page (part 3), you can see I say "the segment that aired on Hazinor, Channel 13 is exactly the same." I searched for where the footage originally aired and found no additional material. 4THOT, mate, the "clip-chimp" is this 30s clip the Jerusalem Post originally posted. When I say "lengthier" clip, I am talking about the 5min segment that you had to "find" despite the fact that I already found it.
nvm this dipshit didn't find the actual interview, this is a cut from twitter
Once again, the video from Twitter I provided is the exact same video as the linkedin one. There is no entire, unedited full interview anywhere without the tiktok rapid cuts. There might be more footage out there, who knows, I've literally never claimed to have found the "full" interview. I called it a clip compilation because I don't know if more footage exits. Another baffling response. Anyways, I'll leave the rest, this is not the way to have a back-and-forth. Toodles! XD
Edit 2: Just to clarify what I was attempting to do in my comment, 4THOT still has not directly answered this question from part 3, the main post:
Do you think Alsalem holds the position that Hamas or Hezbollah have never fired rockets against Israel?
I honestly don't remember the last time I saw someone claim that Hamas has never fired rockets against Israel; this would be an astronomically fringe position. If you read the headline of the JP alone, and maybe even the article, you can still come away with the conclusion that Alsalem believes that Hamas has never fired rockets against Israel. I gave evidence of the fact that some people came away with this conclusion in the redacted comment:
Because if they've lived their entire lives unaware of the rocket attacks,
I don't believe that to be true; Alsalem has not lived her entire life unaware of the rocket attacks. We need more evidence to establish that then this interview.
Notice how I have actually quoted 4THOT verbatim down below? But for some reason, I need to provide a "direct link" to it, even though you can see it if you just scroll down the page? Baffling, like I said. "Isn't that interesting?" You're quoted verbatim mate! What do you think is "interesting" here?
4THOT you are killing me:
Here's the actual thread where you were banned.
I've literally linked the thread I was banned twice. A third time as well if you want to include the moment where I linked someone else's comment in that thread.
I never said the headline is "incorrect" these are the actual words I used in my direct appeal:
If the headline is poor, I might present information in the comments in order to ensure that the criticism is well-directed.
I believe that the headline could lead to a misinterpretation. I was later proven to be correct. I provided evidence of that misinterpretation in the direct appeal. And 4THOT refuses to engage with any of it. Again, these edits reply are so silly. I have no idea why he's so reluctant to have an actual exchange. Finito once more. I gotta go get some cheese balls...
submitted by PoisonedWhispers to Destiny [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 11:27 Boring-Illustrator26 Diane Quote

one of my first fav quotes by Diane, S1EP3: Bojack asks Diane what she thinks of Sarah Lynn.
“Oh, I don’t really think about her all that much. I mean, obviously I’m a fan of her early work which both satirized and celebrated youth culture’s obsession with sex, but I do wonder as a third wave feminist if its even possible for women to reclaim their sexuality in this deeply entrenched patriarchal society, or if claiming to do so is just a lie we tell ourselves so we can more comfortably cater to the male gaze. But you know, on the other hand, I worry that conversations like this one often dismiss her as a mere puppet of the industry, incapable of engaging in these discussions herself and infantilization, which is itself a product of the deeply misogynistic society we live in, but like I said, I don’t really think about her all that much.”
submitted by Boring-Illustrator26 to BoJackHorseman [link] [comments]


2024.05.12 11:27 EveryoneIsAComedian [General Fiction] No, Lilith Is Not Sympathetic OR A Feminist Icon. She Isn't Even That Important

Disclaimer:

Despite how the title and intro may look, I am not here to dunk on feminism. If you came looking for a post that said, "Feminist Soy! Am i rite?" Sorry, got to disappoint. Conversely, this isn't a sermon about why you should convert. Believe whatever you want to believe bro. Also, Not a Christian, but I do like Wendigoon talking about it. Finally, Mods plz don't nuke my post this isn't about religion but about the mythology around the figure.

Why Post This Here:

Lilith has been involved in literary discourse for a while as well as being seen as a Feminist Icon in literature. This post is meant to debunk these claims and misreading of the Abrahamic Myths.

Intro:

This really isn't a specific work of fiction, but rather, a general fictional trope I guess., Ever since the release of Hazbin Hotel, discussion has increased on Lilith being a sympathetic/feminist icon, and this is the most laughable idea to me as a guy who is currently studying Christian Mythology for a project. Today, I am going to debunk this claim of Lilith being sympathetic or any sort of feminist girlboss or even being anyway relevant to the Abrahamic Mythos. I'll try source all my arguments, so it doesn't look like I am talk out of my ass.

In The Bible:

Ah, the Bible. It is amazing how such a small book can cause so much violence, but we are not here for a religious debate (well not really). We are here to discuss Lilith. For context, I am going to be used the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) & English Standard Version (ESV). This is because NSRV and ESV and considered the most popular when it comes to the Bible Versions.
Let's start with NRSV, and Lilith shows up...once? Hell, she doesn't even show up. She's just mentioned.
Isaiah 34:14: "Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose,"
You can read the full chapter here, but the full chapter really doesn't change much. From what I could gleam (admittedly I ain't a theologian so I could be missing stuff), the dude in this chapter is talking about God's Judgment and is more focused on the natural disasters that would happen. Lilith isn't even really that important. She seems to be at best a higher demon with some power, but this same chapter says an undead apocalypse will happen. She is a footnote at best.
Okay what about ESV? It is even worse there. She doesn't even show up.
Isaiah 34:14: "And wild animals shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird settles and finds for herself a resting place" (Source)
Okay, but I am clearly cherry-picking though right? What about the other versions? Well, it get even more nebulous. In certain version, it isn't even Lilith but an unnamed night-demon (Source). In others, it isn't even a demon but just a creature of the night/ animals of the night (Source). Hell one of them there are no demons instead an unnamed ogress (Source).
You'd think that Lilith, being the first woman and rebelling against Big G himself, should get more than one very sketchy mention. I mean Eve the mother of humanity is mentioned between 2,000 -2,500 times (Source), Mary the mother of Jesus Motherfucking Christ himself gets around 40 times (Source), hell Queen Sheba, whose existence I only know because a sword in KCD is name after her, is mentioned nearly 70 times (Source)(obviously this varies on which version you take as some books are just removed but the point stands). You mean to tell me a fucking side character is mentioned more than literally Female Satan. Funnily enough, Satan is only mention like 30 times in the Bible (Source).
Okay, so already the foundations of Lilith are shaky, but what do the other Abrahamic Religions say?

In The Quran/The Tanakh (IMPORTANT):

The Quran. She never shows up. Weird since both Eve and Mary get mentioned.
Okay, but what about The Tanakh? (For those who don't know the Tanakh is the "Hebrew Bible". A lot of people say that's the Torah, but the Torah is just the compilation of the first five books of the Tanakh.) Well, yes.
Otzar Midrashim, The Aleph Bet of ben Sira, The Alphabet of ben Sira, (alternative version) 34 - He said to him, "The angels appointed for healing: Sanoy, Sansanoy, Semangalof. When the Holy Blessed One created the first Adam alone, They said, (Genesis 2:18) 'It is not good for this Adam to be alone.' They created for him a wife out of the Earth like he had been, and called her Lilith. Immediately they began to challenge each other. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one…
So case closed - STOP. I ain't done cooking yet. See, I got to apologize a bit to you reader. I kind of lied, but to understand how I lied. You got to understand the Jewish Faith first, specifically their holy texts.
Okay, all Holy Jewish Texts fall under Sifrei Kodesh (aka Holy Books). . Within the Siferi Kodesh, there are two main categories texts fall into Tankah and Rabbinic. The Tankah is The Hebrew Bible. It is the considered the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures and is comprisied of the Torah, the Nevi'im, and the Ketuvim. (Source and Source). Meanwhile, the Rabbinic is Jewish Rabbis studying and interpreting the Tankah (Source, Source, Source). The Alphabet of Ben Sira is squarely in the Rabbinic.
Most of you have already seen a problem, but for those of who didn't, let me spell it out. When you are quoting this passage, you are not quoting from the Tankah. You are quoting a Rabbi's interpretation of the Tankah. This would be equivalent to me using My Immortal to critique Harry Potter (No offense to any Jewish Rabbis. This comparison is meant to be extreme).
Ah, but ain't done yet reader, I have saved the biggest bombshell for last.
The Alphabet of Ben Sira is a shitpost. It a satire. It isn't real.
The reasoning is several. This reddit comment sums it up. And This. Also This
From The Jewish Virtual Library:
There is no reason to doubt the unity of the work as a whole, despite the fragmentary character of the different versions. All the versions share a special, satirical, and even heretical, character, and this indicates that they all were written by a single hand. They seem to reflect varying degrees of censorship on the part of editors and copyists. The complete work contains four parts. The first part is the biography of Ben Sira from his conception until the age of one year. This story, omitted in many editions, explains how Jeremiah, the prophet, was simultaneously Ben Sira's father (the numerical value of Ben Sira's name equals that of Jeremiah), and grandfather. Ben Sira's mother was Jeremiah's daughter. The old prophet was forced to an act of onanism by wicked men, and his daughter conceived from his emissions when she came to bathe. The form of this story is based on a biblical verse that tells the glories and wonders of God's deeds; thus the story satirizes not only Jeremiah, but God's deeds as well.
The second part is more sophisticated in form. It tells how Ben Sira, now one year old, meets with his teacher, who tries to teach him the alphabet. Instead of repeating each letter of the alphabet after his teacher, Ben Sira responds with an epigram beginning with that letter. The epigrams lead the teacher to tell the story of his life. It may be assumed that the original structure of this part was 22 + 12 paragraphs, each containing a letter, an epigram, and a part of the story.
The third part is the longest and contains most of the narrative material in this work. It recounts the story of Ben Sira's life and adventures in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia. It also includes stories told by Ben Sira himself as answers to the king's questions. These stories often include pornographic elements, as well as derogatory descriptions of biblical figures, like King Solomon or Joshua. Some of the stories in this section contain motifs from international folklore and may be based on folktales, but they were adapted to the special framework of the work and satirical elements were added to them. Examination of the various versions indicates that here, too, there were 22 stories, arranged according to the letters of the alphabet, to which 12 other stories were added.
The fourth part, which is found in most versions and gave the work its name, contains 22 alphabetically arranged epigrams attributed to Ben Sira that serve as material for discussion and interpretation by Ben Sira's son, Uzziel, and his grandson, Joseph b. Uzziel. The contents are satirical and even heretical. It may be assumed that this part was constructed in the same manner as the two previous ones – 22 + 12 sections. The work, therefore, displays elements of unity both in structure and in its ideological aims. It is all but impossible, however, to discover the background upon which such a work could have been written. Some scholars (L. Ginzberg and others) believe that it aimed at ridiculing the story of Jesus' birth; but the basis for such a conclusion may be found only in the first part, and even this is not very clear, for the irony seems to be directed more against God than against Jesus. It is hardly possible that the author was a Karaite, as some of the abusive stories are directed against biblical figures, and not only against the Talmud and Midrash. It seems likely that the author did not belong to any organized group or definable ideological movement, but was merely a writer with an anarchistic tendency who used satire to ridicule all the institutions of established religion in his day.
Another difficult problem is the relationship between this pseudepigraphal work and the original proverbs of Ben Sira. Some of the proverbs and epigrams included in the work are originally in the work of Ben Sira, but many such proverbs are found in talmudic literature, and the author probably took them from there. The author of the pseudepigraphal work did not even know Ben Sira's first name. There is only one slight connection that might be accidental: the Wisdom of *Ben Sira has a preface written by the author's grandson, who edited the work, and in the pseudepigraphal work the figure of a grandson is also present.
Buh buh But thats just a reddit comment and some random websites. Whu Whu What are you gonna do OP? Analyze the entire text to prove its a shitpost.
Yes.
Mods turn the music on.

Analysis Of Alphabet of Sirach/The Alphabet Of Ben Sira:

The text we will be using.
We are going to skip most of it and just jump straight into the section with Lilith, but if you do chose to read it, have a good time. Shit is funny as hell. Let's start of with Lillith's Birth. Many like to potray Adam and Lilith's first interaction like this.
1, 2, 3
It is often either stated or implied Adam either tried to force Lilith into a s*x position she didn't want or that he he stated that she was inferior to him and she spit back. While this nicely fits into the "yas Queen SLAYYY" interpretation, its not the truth...mostly.
Here is the actual text:
When the Holy Blessed One created the first Adam alone, They said, (Genesis 2:18) 'It is not good for this Adam to be alone.' They created for him a wife out of the Earth like he had been, and called her Lilith. Immediately they began to challenge each other. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.' Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the Earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the world's air.
So first, no she wasn't going to be sexually assaulted. Secondly, it was just a couple arguing with each other. Yes, Adam shouldn't have said that about Lilith, but we shouldn't take a statement said by an angry man as gospel for the religion. Plus, how on earth is blaspheming your Father and then running away from an argument an appropriate reaction to the situation? God didn't do anything wrong. Why you picking a fight with him? We will discuss this more, but lets continue.
The Holy Blessed One said to Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, good. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.' They departed and pursued her, and overtook her in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians would ultimately drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.' She said to them, 'Let me be. I was created only to cause illness to infants. I have dominion over them for eight days after birth if they are male, and if female, after birth for twenty days.' When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted on taking her. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God, 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day.
There is much to go over here. First, WHERE ARE THE HUNDRED CHILDREN COMING FROM! These are the first man and woman. THERE ARE NO CHILDREN. Who is he talking about? And don't give me that bullshit that he mad a mistake. HE IS GOD. IN THE TORAH, HE IS OMNISCIENT. This makes no sense.
"I was created only to cause illness to infants. I have dominion over them for eight days after birth if they are male, and if female, after birth for twenty days." I am sorry fucking what? Who said that? God? No. Adam? No. The Angels? Definitely not. No one told Lilith she had to cause illness. She is just being a toxic bitch and offloading her problems. What the fuck?
Finally, "She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day." At this point, who has sympathy for Lilith? Lets objectively look at Adam's sin. Yes, he was sexist. Yes, that was wrong. Can't Lilith convince him to change? We know it is possible for a woman to convince Adam because EVE CONVINCED HIM TO EAT THE APPLE. So, clearly the man can develop his thoughts. Instead, Lilith just runs away from her problem, knowing that a hundred innocent children (HER CHILDREN BY THE WAY- hang on does that mean she fucked Adam and Eve's Sons. Isn't she like their aunt? I am pretty sure that's still incest) will die. Yes, God is partly to blame as well, but if I had to choose between a Misandrist Wife or dead innocents, I will go with the Misandrist Wife. Nothing shows Adam as violent just a dick, and she clearly has access to powers he doesn't cuz he can't fly.
Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write their names on the amulets of young children, and she sees them, she remembers her oath, and the child is healed
I guess that's nice? But does she even really heal them? She just takes away an illness she caused. This is like saying I put out the fire, but I am the arsonist who started it. There wouldn't be a problem if I didn't create one. And that's how the story ends. Seriously.
There is more, but it doesn't really matter. Ben Sira cures a girl of farting everywhere, talks about hair follicles, slanders David, explains why Donkey Urine is important, and ends with a raven cucking an eagle. Its pretty funny.

In Conclusion:

So, TL;DR: Lilith's entire existence is based on a shitpost. In said shitpost, she isn't even that great of a person and isn't even a feminist.
So yeah, that's all I got. There is more to this Rabbit Hole if you are willing to go down, but that is the gist of it. I don't see how a woman who runs away from responsibilities, blames others for her failures, and would rather kill babies than do something hard is a feminist icon, but here we are. I don't really know how to end this. Uh, were you entertained?
Addendum: If you are of the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish Faith please comment below and clear up any misconceptions I wrote in this post. I will try to edit it to make it better. Feminists please try to be respectful in the comments. Sup Mods. Uh yeah, cool.

Addendum #2 - Mesopotamian Lilith:

Some people have been saying that I should analyze Lilith from Mesopotamian Origins as this would give her a more sympathetic view. Very well. There are three main sources: Tablet XII of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Burney Relief, Arslan Tash amulets
Tablet XII of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Text we'll use): Lilith, a snake, and a bird steal a tree from a goddess and squat in it. Gilgamesh comes around kills the snake. The Bird flees. Lilith chimps out, destroys her home, and runs. Tbf, this is Gilgamesh, so I guess Lillith W?
The dyer (?) had not dyed his leather with it (?)
At its root the serpent, 'that knew not silence (?)' had made its nest
At its top the storm-bird (Zû) had put his young
In its midst Lilith had built a house
The shrieking maid the joyful
The bright Queen of Heaven tears for them (?) wept
His lady said a word to him
'Warrior Gilgamesh, its .... will thee'
The ibbaru garment that was of 50 minas from his loins he removed
What was 50 minas 30 ... . he made
His (?) brazen axe a road (?) his ....
1 talent 50 minas his in his hand he seized
At its root the serpent ' that knew not silence (?) ' he slew
At its top the storm-bird (Zû)
took his young (and) went away to the mountain
In its midst Lilith destroys (her) house
Burney Relief (Source): Yeah no
Even so, the possibility that the Queen of the Night plaque, with its high degree of skill in craftsmanship and attention to detail would be a representation of a lilitu is highly unlikely. According to the Hebrew tradition, Lilith was the first woman made by God who refused to submit to Adam's sexual demands and flew away, thus rebelling against God and his plans for human beings. She was thought to have then occupied the wastelands and, like the lilitu, to have preyed on unsuspecting men ever since. In either tradition, the lilitu was not a popular enough figure to have been portrayed on a plaque such as the Queen of the Night. Dr. Black notes, “Evil gods and demons are only very rarely depicted in art, perhaps because it was thought that their images might endanger people” (62). The mountain range depicted at the bottom of the relief is also thought to suggest lilitu identification in representing the wilderness the spirit inhabits but the headdress, the necklace, the rod-and-ring symbols and the significance of the plaque all go to argue against Lilith as a possibility.
Arslan Tash amulet (Source):
Whispering-incantation against the Flying-one, the oath of Sasam, son of Pidrišiša, god, and against the Strangler of the lamb: “The house I enter, you shall not enter And the court I tread, you shall not tread!He has made an eternal contract with us. Assur made a pact with us, all the sons of El,, and the great council of all the holy ones,With the oath of heaven and earth With the oath of Baal, lord of the earth With the oath of Horon, whose utterance is true,His seven concubines and the eight wives of Baal Qudš”[Written around and between the images] Oh Flying one, from the dark room pass away!Now! Now, night demons! [Written on the Sphinx figure] From my house, O crushers, go away! [Written on the wolf-like figure] Oh Sasam, let it not be opened for him And let him not come down to the door-posts The sun is rising for Sasam. Disappear, and fly away home.[Written on the axe-wielding figure](modified from Cross and Saley 1970 and Berlejung 2010).
So where the fuck is Lilith? Well the text in its original language features lly- which if you add a "t" could be llyt [Lilith], but it also can be ll wyn which means "night and day." So, yeah not exactly a Lilith W. And that's it. I don't know how this makes her sympathetic, but to each their own.

Addendum #3 - Lilith R*ped Adam?

u/howhow326 said that there was a tale about Lilith raping Adam and being thrown out of Eden. This intrigued me to search for it, but unfortunately, I can't find a source for this anywhere. The closest I get is this Blogpost, but this seems to be more of a hypothetical than anything. Frankly, I don't think this should be part of the debate.
Edit 1: Originally, there was a line that said : "Hell fucking Jesus gets mentioned the prophet of the ENEMY, but not Lilith." I have since been informed that this is a gross misrepresentation of the Muslim Faith, and it has been removed.
Edit 2: Spelling and Formatting Errors Corrected
Edit 3: Mesopotamian Lilith added. Lilith's Rape Accusations.
submitted by EveryoneIsAComedian to CharacterRant [link] [comments]


2024.05.11 16:15 Travelgrrl I've been on a roll making custom dolls lately. May I introduce Huckleberry Finn? Twain's hero is all ready for life on the Mississippi with his fishing pole, fish, creel, turtle - and frog climbing out of his bib front and a snake in his back pocket! (Before he was a Lit Chick, he was a #21)

I've been on a roll making custom dolls lately. May I introduce Huckleberry Finn? Twain's hero is all ready for life on the Mississippi with his fishing pole, fish, creel, turtle - and frog climbing out of his bib front and a snake in his back pocket! (Before he was a Lit Chick, he was a #21) submitted by Travelgrrl to americangirl [link] [comments]


2024.05.11 01:36 TuvixWasMurderedR1P Currently there's a post in the Catholicism sub titled "Thoughts on the “God loves you but not enough to save you” quote?"... Some comments are concerning.

According to the comments in that post, the "God loves you but not enough to save you” quote is a phrase going around within LGBTQ circles in social media. I supposed intended to be satirical. (Before continuing with reading this post, I want to be clear that I do not endorse the view that being LGBTQ is somehow "bad" or damn-worthy in the first place).
However, many comments responding to this are basically agreeing with the satire. Rather than seeing the clear absurdity of a "god that loves you but not enough to save you," they double down on it.
Comments such as "God doesn't reject us, we reject God" coupled with the line "We are always welcome to choose God or not God up until death, when we will have made permanent our choice. In His infinite grace, He has given us the choice on whether or not to love."
However, why is it a "permanent choice" upon death? This to me seems incredibly problematic. Truly, an infinite God must have infinite patience (and infinite love). As mortal beings, we do not choose death, we do not choose this finitude. Why then should our mortal death also mean we have no more say in whether to accept or reject God? If true, is this not proving the satirical phrase correct?
And in the unfortunate event that a parent should outlive their child, is the parent still not capable of forgiving their late child post-mortem of any injuries or insults they may have cause while alive? If our mortal earthy selves are capable of such grace and forgiveness and love, should not The Father be capable, even more so?
And, I am sorry, but if I truly love someone, I will not simply abandon them to their own self-destructive choices. It would be my love-bound duty, this duty is not out of some external obligation, but a profoundly felt inner obligation, to try to bring them back to life, so to speak.
submitted by TuvixWasMurderedR1P to ChristianUniversalism [link] [comments]


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