Hellloo! First Of All Thanks For Liking My Post, Second, Can You Please Do A Headcanon Of Sanada Shunpei,

“why does that character have to be queer?”

why not?

“why does that character have to be trans?”

why not?

“why does that character have to be a poc?”

why not?

Important! 🐀🐀🐀

Alright, so I don’t usually involve myself in discourse, but this one made me want to say something. I’d appreciate if this gets reblogged.

The word rat is not a racial slur towards Asians. Please stop telling people it is, especially if you’re not Asian yourself.

As an Asian myself, I’m telling you it is not an actual thing, and I’ve asked my Asian friends and my own parents, all of varying nationalities within Asia, and more specifically, East Asia, the area said to contain the people who should be offended by this word. None of us have ever seen it as a racial slur. If someone calls me a rat, I will assume I’ve just been called it because I’m seen as a sly, scheming bastard or something of the like, not that I’ve been called it because I’m Asian.

I have seen the historical arguments for this, the propaganda, all that. I showed that to my friends, my parents. It makes no difference to us. Rat was a general insult used towards a lot of groups back then, not just Asians, and it’s not a thing we Asians register as being offensive slur-wise. It’s just generally not a fun thing to call a person if you’re purposely being mean. Nothing to do with race, so don’t make it out to be, because it isn’t.

For more about the history, please refer to this very well-worded post that I strongly recommend you reading, exploring where White Knighting topics, blowing them out of proportion and lack of consideration for the actual groups in mind is causing problems, and the screenshot below, taken from this reddit post, which also sums it up quite nicely.

So there’s that. And there are those who might go, “But you’re normalising casual racism! :(”, and I really don’t know what to tell you, buddy. You can’t tell us what we should be offended by, because you’re not us. And vice versa.

Basically, please remember that the whole way that something even becomes considered a slur is if the group actually feels offended by the term in the first place.

The group. Not just one or two people, or someone who isn’t from the group but feels some sort of Entitled Righteousness about trying to ‘stand up’ for the group. The group.

If the group doesn’t find it offensive, then please stop saying it is and saying we are offended by it! By doing this, you’re just talking over Asians’ voices, putting words in our mouths, and shutting us up just like whoever started this did! ;-;

Please stop spreading misinformation. We’re fine. So if you see someone call a character a rat, don’t mind it in the slightest. Thank you so much.

My other inspirations for wording this post:

[Sources: here and here if you wish to like and reblog them. Do not harass.]

Please do boost this. Y’all can add on, but please don’t clown! I reserve the right to block if I feel you’re messing around and looking for a fight. Also fellow Asians who have never heard of this mess, feel free to express confusion in the replies. I felt the same way.

And to my friend on Discord who brought this to my attention, this isn’t to you, I promise. I don’t hate you. You’re okay. This is just to the people who told you the wrong things, and the people who need to hear it. You probably just believed it when you heard it and were passing on the message, and I appreciate that you were trying to be respectful to Asians, but I just wanted to address this and clear it up.

Thank you again 🐀❤️

reblog and make a wish! this was removed from tumbrl due to “violating one or more of Tumblr’s Community Guidelines”, but since my wish came true the first time, I’m putting it back. :)

Remember to support the artists you love, likes don’t spread their work….

Deviantart || Twitter || Patreon || Webcomic

@equizona It's okay! I hate when that happens, too. Take the time you need to finish it, I’m not in a hurry.

@sirimirihiro okay so tumblr is mean to me, and when I tried answering it just deleted over half of my work for your ask? I dont know why but it made me sad, but it might take a while for me to get it out-

all i want to do is write that one fic that takes people’s breath away and kinda lingers in the back of their minds. i want to write something that makes people want to make art and play with my versions of characters or in the universe i created. i want to be able to create worlds that feel real enough to walk into and write lines that stick with people until they forget where exactly they heard it because it lives in their bones now.

As I’m sure most of y’all have heard, there was a huge explosion in Beirut today. The cause is suspected to be over 2,700 tons of Ammonium Nitrate. For reference, the Oklahoma City bombers used 2 tons and destroyed a building and damaged 100+ others.

Please donate to the Leabanese Red Cross and/or the Go Fund Me!

☞A Message To Non-Black Authors ☜

Do you find yourself using slang in your fics? Or using the BLM movement as plots in your writing or art?

Please, as a black woman who’s kept quiet for way too long, STOP.

Why You Shouldn’t Abuse AAVE In Your Writing

When you overuse AAVE in your writing (using it flippantly or without credit to its actual meaning), you’re contributing to the devaluing of the black experience. And, to be honest, when a lot of you use it in your writing it sounds very awkward or is often misused. 

What is AAVE?

“AAVE is an acronym for African American Vernacular English. Other terms for it in academia are African American Varieties of English, African American English (AAE), Black English (BE) and Black English Vernacular (BEV). [EDIT: since I wrote this post in 2014, a new term has gained a lot of traction with academics: African American Language (AAL), as in the Oxford Handbook of African American Language edited by Sonja Lanehart (2015), or the Corpus of Regional African American Language (CORAAL). I now use either AAE or AAL exclusively, unless I’m specifically talking about an informal, vernacular variety, however “AAVE” has gained traction in social media just as AAL replaced it among academics]

In popular culture, it is largely misunderstood, and thought of as “bad English,” “ebonics” (originally coined in 1973 by someone with good intentions, from “ebony” and “phonics,” but now starting to become a slur), “ghetto talk” (definitely a slur), and the “blaccent” (a portmanteau word of “black” and “accent”) that NPR seems to like using.” (Languagejones.com)

It is explained more here as well: https://waltdisneyconfessionsrage.tumblr.com/post/116538346824/mod-post-some-basic-things-about-aave

What’s The Big Deal?

This language has long been stigmatized and misused. 

“We have a long cultural history of assuming that whatever black people in America do is defective. Couple this with what seems to be a natural predilection toward thinking that however other people talk is wrong, and you’ve got a recipe for social and linguistic stigma. For instance, in 1996 the Oakland school board took the sensible step of trying to use AAVE as a bridge to teach AAVE-speaking children how to speak and write Standard American English. They also took the less sensible step of declaring AAVE a completely different language. This was wildly misrepresented in the media, leading to a storm of racist, self-congratulatory “ain’t ain’t a word” pedantry from both white people and older middle-class black people who do not speak the dialect.”  (Languagejones.com)

You can’t use our slang then ignore our issues.

Why You Shouldn’t Misuse It (Or Use It At All)

The issue of appropriation of Black cultural expression has been brought to light in recent years. More people have come to understand why a non-Black person wearing cornrows or dreadlocks is problematic, or why blackface and verbalizing the ‘N-word’ in songs is harmful. Appropriation causes harm when it perpetuates stereotypes, turns culture into a commodity, and uses historical traditions as a trend, while the originating group continues to experience discrimination for the very same thing.

Language can act in a similar manner.  Within any culture, language is the basis for communicating ideas, and plays a role in shaping people’s sense of community. Yet, in North American pop culture, Black Vernacular English (BVE) is often used by non-Black people for social capital. Due to its social influence, BVE is often misused out of context in an attempt to be relevant, relatable, or for credibility. (Feminuity.org)

This article sums it up very nicely: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/black-slang-white-people-ruined_n_55ccda07e4b064d5910ac8b3

Key Points

The politics of black slang are tricky. Black slang and AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) have long been considered inferior to so-called “standard” English, and the black people who use it seen as uneducated or unintelligent (forcing many to master the art of code-switching). So when suddenly words and phrases that have strong ties to the black community are adopted and warped by non-black people, it can cause some of us to feel indignant, even insulted.”

“…we live in a society that loves black culture — but doesn’t like black people all too much — and what might look like acceptance is just downright thievery.”

“Listen. The idea here isn’t necessarily to say that white people shouldn’t use certain black slang (although by now we should all be clear on the N-word debate)… But the issue is how the etymology of these words gets lost in the sauce… As a general rule, if you have to ask whether or not it’s OK to use a word, if there’s any hesitation, then don’t. But also, we should all be aware of where these words come from and what they mean without attributing arbitrary definitions to them.”

Please Stop Using BLM In Your Writing (or art for that matter) 

You drawing characters in BLM merch or supporting BLM is not a problem. 

However, when you draw or write about them protesting or rioting or looting, that is a genuine problem. Would you do that in response to the Hong Kong Protests? Would you draw characters protesting against the Terror Bill? Would you draw them with Native peoples trying to advocate for the return of their land? Or, hey, even in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s?

No. Then what makes the Black Lives Matter movement so different?

Is it the fact that this hits so close to home you can’t process it by any other means than fictional?

What about seeing bnha characters rioting is supposed to feel inspiring? What about reading headcanons on how characters would quit their jobs as cops and protect me from tear gas is supposed to be comforting? These people aren’t real. But this issue is, and it’s serious, and it’s not something trendy or excusable to be filtered through a fictional lens. THIS IS REAL. THIS IS HAPPENING. 

Take a look at this post to see 

A friend on Discord couldn’t have said it better:

Our culture is not for your entertainment. The Black Lives Matter movement is a real, pressing issue. Please, spread information and support your fellow black authors and artists.

FAQ

Does this mean I have to stop using slang/reaction images?

No! Be cautious of how you use it. One article states asking yourself these questions when it comes to AAVE:

Is it being commercialized for financial gain?

Is the usage performative or tokenizing?

Are you in proximity to the culture that originated the terms?

Are you using the language to “level up” or earn yourself credibility?

No one is policing you on saying popular slang, but you need to stay educated on the source of these words and how the overproduction 

Do I need to feel guilty or apologize for saying/doing these things?

Of course not! I promise, no one wants an apology or for you to sit around and feel guilty. Educate yourselves. Stay vigilant. That’s all I ask. This is not an attack or me shaming you by any means.

What if I’m black and condone this?

I sincerely ask you to look inside yourself and ask why this genuinely makes you happy. Are you doing it for some sort of validation? Fictional characters aren’t real. When your life is on the line, they aren’t going to magically come save you. When we let things like this get romanticized, it makes it easier to view this situation from a distance rather than how bad it really is and how close to home it’s hitting. 

How can I help and/or support the BLM Movement now?

Support black writers and artists!

Be sympathetic towards our issues!

KEEP POSTING ABOUT BLACK LIVES MATTER. USE YOUR PLATFORM. SILENCE IS MOST DEFINITELY VIOLENCE.

This blog contains MANY resources to educate yourself and be active: https://how2helprightnow.tumblr.com/?og=1

Thank you for reading! 

Please reblog this if fanfiction has been beneficial to your mental health.