Reblog If You Support Asexuals And Aren’t A COWARD

George Floyd - change.org

George Floyd - amnesty.org

George Floyd - colorofchange.org

Get The Officers Charged

Charge All Four Officers

Breonna Taylor - moveon.org

Breonna Taylor - colorofchange.org

Breonna Taylor - justiceforbreonna.org

Breonna Taylor - change.org

Breonna Taylor - thepetitionsite.com

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 2

Ahmaud Arbery - change.org 3

Justice for Oluwatoyin Salau

Pass The Georgia Hate Crime Bill

Defund MPD

Life Sentence For Police Brutality

Regis Korchinski - change.org

Tete Gulley - change.org

Tony McDade - change.org

Tony McDade - actionnetwork.org

Tony McDade - thepetitionsite.com

Joao Pedro - change.org

Julius Jones - change.org

Belly Mujinga - change.org

Willie Simmons - change.org

Hands Up Act - change.org

National Action Against Police Brutality

Kyjuanzi Harris - change.org

Alejandro Vargas Martinez - change.org

Censorship Of Police Brutality In France

Sean Reed - change.org

Sean Reed - change.org 2

Kendrick Johnson - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org

Tamir Rice - change.org 2

Fire Racist Criminal From The NYPD

Jamee Johnson - organizefor.org

Darius Stewart - change.org

Darius Stewart - moveon.org

Abolish Prison Labor

Free Siyanda - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org

Chrystul Kizer - change.org 2

Andile Mchunu (Bobo) - change.org

Eric Riddick - change.org

Amiya Braxton - change.org

Emerald Black - change.org

Elijah Nichols - change.org

Zinedine Karabo Gioia - change.org

Angel Bumpass - change.org

Sheku Bayoh - change.org

Angel DeCarlo - change.org

Sandra Bland - change.org

Sherrie Walker - change.org

Darrien Hunt - change.org

Cornelius Fredericks - change.org

Elijah McClain - change.org

James Scurlock - change.org

Darren Rainey- change.org

http://www.pb-resources.com/

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Do something!

IT IS VERY REAL!! ALWAYS BE AWARE.

Don’t take them off when you immediately see it. Wait until you get to a different destination bc they’re trying to distract you by getting it off then abducting you. Same thing goes if you find something on your windshield, it’s a distraction so they have time to get you.    

Reblogging because it need to be heard and it’s important.

Why continuing to support Ateez might actually be important/helpful for preventing cultural appropriation in the future

I would like to preface this by saying that I am a person of colour but I am not black. I can and do empathise with black Atiny though I also acknowledge that I cannot fully understand how this affects them. Pain and hurt is always valid and the black community have suffered in ways most of us have not. 

At the same time, I am really sick and tired of ‘cancel culture’ and the lack of nuance when discussing issues such as cultural appropriation. They prevent us from having useful discussions and facilitating change. So let’s break down this issue:

The problem: In a promotional photo for their next comeback, Kim Hongjoong, the leader of Ateez, was styled with cornrows. This is a case of cultural appropriation. 

The response: Fans emailed KQ Entertainment asking for this hairstyle to be changed and KQ responded saying a) this was not done with conscious effort to appropriate/insult another culture, but that they did it to fit with the concept, b) they cannot re-make any of the content that has been completed for album promotions, c) they will ensure that Hongjoong will not wear this hairstyle during album promotions and d) they will apply what they have learned to future comebacks and ensure that this will not happen again. 

Reasons why KQ Entertainment was in the wrong:

Entertainment companies need to start putting resources into educating themselves and their artists. All you need is one (1) person who’s job it is to go over concept ideas. I don’t understand why RESEARCH INTO CONCEPT IDEAS AND THEIR ORIGINS isn’t an industry standard to begin with.  It’s like when you’re writing a fictional story - you DO RESEARCH INTO STORY ELEMENTS. That should be a standard part of creating a ‘concept’ or styling any artist - where does this idea come from? is it COPYING or PLAGIARISING anyone? is it CULTURAL APPROPRIATION? 

So, yes, KQ Entertainment made a grave mistake. Furthermore, their blunder is just the latest in a LONGGGG series of cultural appropriation and racism in K-pop. On top of that, this is a racially-sensitive time. 

I did initially wonder why Hongjoong, who is an activist for multiple platforms and is very aware of how carefully they must navigate different cultures, didn’t point out that cornrows were not appropriate (esp since San said the members were very involved in this comeback). However, we have to remember that Hongjoong exists outside that culture, lives in a country/works in an industry that is notoriously racist/colourist, and would have seen other groups use that hairstyle (esp for Summer comeback - KoKoBop and Boom ring any bells?). I didn’t fully understand the problem with non-black people wearing cornrows (i just thought it was distasteful, fake and try-hard) until someone pointed out how every aspect of blackness has been stereotyped and criminalized. This is NOT something that most people are taught. 

Reasons why people need to FUCKING SETTLE DOWN:

KQ Entertainment’s swift response to their fans was INCREDIBLE. Let me ask all you kpop multis: what did SM do in response to Kai’s dreadlocks and Chenle’s cornrows? There was no explicit apology. There was no attempt to explain themselves. There was no promise to change their behaviour in the future.

KQ Entertainment has shown that they are open to change and education. They have taken action in response to people calling them out. They have apologised for their actions and explained why changes to completed promotional changes cannot be made. 

And now people are complaining that KQ haven’t done enough, sending death threats to Hongjoong and generally spreading a disgusting amount of hate. 

Listen, regardless of how large an entertainment company is, it is highly unlikely that any of them would change promotional material that has already been completed this close to a comeback date. The money and time that requires is ridiculous. It would require pushing back the comeback date. A small company like KQ, whose world tour was recently CANCELLED, cannot afford to do that. And you may criticise them for choosing money over a ‘more important issue’ but let’s discuss how significant this issue is and the best way to facilitate change. 

So we all agree that this is cultural appropriation and that cultural appropriation is bad. We also all agree that KQ has apologised and agreed to make feasible changes. Our response should be to welcome those changes. 

If people just keep criticising the company and ‘cancelling’ them for their choices, then it becomes clear to the WHOLE INDUSTRY that trying to change things and negotiate with fans becomes pointless. They’re going to lose support regardless of what they do. This ‘all-or-nothing’ response is ridiculous. 

Sensationalism and social media have made it really difficult to have a conversation that doesn’t involve two extremes at opposite ends of a spectrum. In reality, most issues should be viewed on a spectrum, in shades of grey. Responding with aggression and hate, labeling a company and their artists as racist because they’ve appropriated one aspect of a culture and publicly shaming them doesn’t help. 

Anti-racism doesn’t mean being an “anti-fan”. EFFECTIVE anti-racism means calling out racists acts (which we’ve done), asking for change (done) and drawing attention to positive behaviours and alternative and reinforce these (WHICH WE ARE NOT DOING).

We have to give KQ Entertainment CONSTRUCTIVE criticism in response to their changes in order for them to recognise that THEY ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. 

Complications: The Harper Bazaar photo shoot - Hongjoong’s hair is styled in braids/cornrows for that photo shoot. It suggests that he was going to have that hairstyle for the majority of their promotions. However, these are still part of promotional material had been completed prior to the teaser photo being dropped. KQ Entertainment truly did not have the time to change it. 

Yes, it looks bad. Yes, KQ Entertainment fucked up. But unless we continue to support Ateez and give them constructive criticism that they can REALISTICALLY APPLY, change will not occur. This is a first step. WE have given Ateez and KQ the opportunity to set a NEW PRECEDENT for the industry. WE have given Ateez and KQ to set a NEW STANDARD.

They can ONLY do this if WE continue to support them and give them a chance to SUCCEED. 

(P.S. - if you’re sending hate to Hongjoong [and there HAVE been death threats] you are cruel and mean as well as implicit in preventing his education)

:3

Reblog if you love Taeyong

If you live in Alabama and you have a trans child age 19 or younger and they're receiving hormone therapy, get THE FUCK out now.

The state of Alabama has just made it a felony to give trans children ages 19 or younger hormone therapy or affirmation surgery.

Trans Lives Matter and stay safe.

cbsnews.com

Alabama Senate votes to make hormone therapy and surgery for trans youth a felony

Health care professionals who attempt to provide gender-affirming care could face up to 10 years in prison.

-fae

We owe it all to them.

“When I say, “abolish the police,” I’m usually asked what I would have us replace them with. My answer is always full social, economic, and political equality, but that’s not what’s actually being asked. What people mean is “who is going to protect us?” Who protects us now? If you’re white and well-off, perhaps the police protect you. The rest of us, not so much. What use do I have for an institution that routinely kills people who look like me, and make it so I’m afraid to walk out of my home? My honest answer is that I don’t know what a world without police looks like. I only know there will be less dead black people. I know that a world without police is a world with one less institution dedicated to the maintenance of white supremacy and inequality. It’s a world worth imagining.”

— Mychal Denzel Smith, Abolish the Police. Instead, Let’s Have Full Social, Economic, and Political Equality. (via abolitionjournal)

This made me happy

What happens once you kill yourself? Because I'm ready to go.

You wanna know what happens once you kill yourself? Your mother comes home from work and finds her baby dead and she screams and runs over to you and tries to get you to wake up but you won’t and she keeps screaming and shaking you and her tears are dripping onto your face and your dad hears all the screaming and runs into the room and he can’t even speak because the child that he loved and the child that he watched grow up is gone forever and finally your little sister runs into the room to see what all the fuss is about and she sees you dead. The person she looked up to and loved. The person she bragged about to  her friends, the person she wanted to be just like when she grew up, the person that made her feel safe. But she’s never really going to get to grow up and smile and laugh and love because she’ll always be consumed with this feeling of missing you. And now there’s something missing from your family and they can barely look at each other anymore because everything reminds them of you but you’re gone and hurts more than anything. and you think that your mom never cared because she was always busy and yelling at you to finish your homework and clean your room and forgot to say I love you sometimes but really, she loved you more than anything and she doesn’t leave the house anymore, she can’t even get out of bed and she’s getting thinner and thinner because it’s too hard to eat. Your father had to quit his job and he doesn’t sleep anymore, every time he closes his eyes he sees his baby dead, and the image never goes away no matter how much alcohol he drinks. And at school your best friend sees that your seat is empty and she gets this sick feeling in her stomach and that’s when she hears the announcement. You killed yourself. And suddenly she’s screaming and crying in the middle of class and no one even bothers comforting because they’re all  busy sitting there staring at your empty seat with tears dripping down their cheeks and all she wants is for you to hug her and tell her it’s gonna be okay like you always did, but this time, you’re not there to do it, everything is dark now that you’re gone and her grades are slipping, she barely goes to school anymore and she ended up in hospital after taking too many pills because she wanted to see you again. the girls who used to make fun of the way you dressed feel their throats get tight, they don’t talk to each other anymore, they don’t talk to anyone, they’re all in therapy trying so hard not to blame themselves but nothing works. and your teacher who always gave you a hard time stares blankly at the wall, she quits her job a few days later. And then your boyfriend hears the news and he can’t breathe, he still calls you a lot just to hear your voice and he talks to you on facebook but you never message him back, he can’t fall in love again because every girl he meets reminds him of you, he’s never going to get over you, he loved you and he cries himself to sleep every night, hating himself and slicing his skin because he couldn’t save you and he’s never going to hold you in his arms or hear you laugh again. Now everyone who knew you, whether they were a big part of your life or someone you passed in the hallway a few times a week, they carry this aching feeling around inside them because you’re gone, and they miss you, and they don’t know why you left but it must’ve been their fault and they should’ve stopped you and they should’ve told you they loved you more and that feeling is never going to go away. And so you killed yourself

but you killed everyone else around you too. 

source