The present U.S. administration wants you to be overwhelmed. They want you to burn out. They want to swamp you with bad news so that you don’t know where to turn or how to fight back, or whether you have the energy to be effective.
A suggestion: for every piece of bad news you reblog, reblog something about resistance. Reblog something about how people are building something, in direct contrast to those who are trying to tear us down. Reblog something that lifts your spirits and reminds you why we fight.
Do not do their work for them. Consciously choose to reblog light as well as the important news of what the administration is up to.
for anyone who doesnt play overwatch, heres essentially whats going on in no particular order
symmetra, someone who’s INDIAN and likely practices HINDUISM if anything at all, was given a CHINESE QIPAO skin and the skin is literally called QIPAO and its still sexualized, bc apparently qipaos and chinese clothing arent constantly sexualized enough
mercy, some WHITE WOMAN, was given a skin based off chinese new year colours, and even worse, a highlight intro where she, a WHITE WOMAN, writes the CHINESE character for good fortune
tracer, a WHITE WOMAN, was given a highlight intro where she does the CHINESE lion dance, the very traditional and culturally important CHINESE lion dance
YELLOW-FACE zenyatta, winston, reinhardt, and roadhog to give them journey to the west themed skins, these four NOT CHINESE characters are given very CHINESE themed character skins
YELLOW-FACE ana’s skin, you know, ana, the dark skinned ARAB MUSLIM WOMAN FROM EGYPT
using CHINESE CULTURE as an ~EXOTIC~ aesthetic for tons of sprays
junkrat, who is NOT chinese, has a voice line where he speaks a CHINESE phrase for good fortune in the new year, and is deckd out in CHINESE fireworks which are actually CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT and used in CHINESE new year festivals for a reason
in short this event is a fucking racist mess
Okay, this has to be one of the most misinformed posts I’ve seen about Overwatch, so sit your ass down as I refute this point by point. (If you need credentials I’m actually Chinese plus I play Overwatch on a regular basis :V)
First of all, Lunar New Year is not a religious celebration. It is just a celebration of the new year on the lunar calendar, as the name might suggest. Religion has nothing to do with this. Also, Symmetra isn’t actually wearing a qipao, it’s just her usual outfit recoloured into the LNY colour palette. Which is a shame, but that’s Blizzard’s only crime in this regard.
Are white people not allowed to speak Chinese? At all? And wear Chinese themed clothing? It’s not even based on racial stereotypes so there’s nothing wrong with Mercy (and everyone else’s outfit). There’s only one Chinese person in the Overwatch cast. Did you really expect them to load everything on just her and ignore everyone else? I, as a Chinese person, would have been really disappointed in that case. (On a side note, I’m kinda sad there aren’t more Korean themed stuff but Blizzard chose to focus on the Chinese aspect of Lunar New Year I guess.)
The lion dance is not a religious dance. It’s a celebratory dance and also one of skill. The lion’s dance isn’t limited to just Chinese performers, people of other cultures can perform it if they are capable of doing it.
Hahahaha, bud have you LOOKED at the skins? None of those four costumes have anything resembling a yellow face.
Please. Go on. Point out the yellow face. Also thematically each of these four characters fit the skins they’ve received. The protagonist of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong, is a monkey. Why not give it to the gorilla? Zhu Bajie is actually a pig. Roadhog is pig themed. This makes sense right??? Sadly I’m not as familiar with the other two main protagonists but I can guarantee if I did the research I’d find nothing wrong.
The sprays as far as I’ve seen have all been respectful and none of them are offensive. Just a bunch of Lunar New Year symbols.
See point above about speaking Chinese. Not to mention, Junkrat says Gong Xi Fa Cai perfectly, it’s not a racist imitation? It’s a well wishing phrase often said during Chinese New Year to wish the recipient prosperity and fortune. What’s wrong with that?
To conclude, Chinese New Year is a celebration that is open for sharing, and Blizzard as far as I’ve seen has been respectful of the event and the Chinese culture. So, OP, shut the fuck up.
Edit: I missed the point about Ana, but that one’s not any terrible either. Just google Chinese masks and you’ll get a ton of pictures of masks that resemble the one Ana wears. No problem here.
Another Chinese person weighing in here. Everything @skycompass said is pretty much on point. Lunar New Year is NOT a religious holiday, even though it is culturally significant. Everyone is welcomed to participate as long as they’re respectful of our traditions, which Blizzard has been.
Adding on to the Journey To The West thing. Zenyatta is casted as “Tang San Zang (唐三藏)”, which is the Buddhist monk who freed the Monkey King from his imprisonment. His character is all about preaching peaceful resolution and the way of zen. Sure sounds like Zenyatta, doesn’t it? That’s because Blizzard has done their research.
Anyway, this Chinese person is going back to playing Overwatch and trying to get myself that NON-SEXUALIZED Chinese outfit for the Chinese character, Mei. 😉
Yet another Chinese person here… I LOVE just about everything with this update. Everything @skycompass and @cannedebonbon said above I fully agree, there’s nothing about this update I find offensive. I could write a very long novel of a reply to this, but I feel it unnecessary as most of what truly needs to be said I feel has been said and I’d just be adding fire to the unnecessary flames possible. But I will say this.
For anyone who fears how offensive this update is, Overwatch is a big game in China. The first country anyone thinks of when they think of the lunar new year. If you truly think it is offensive, look for major backlash from the Chinese overwatch community. Look for it, but I highly doubt you will find much if any at all. If the players from the country a lot of these skins and such are inspired from aren’t freaking out in a negative way, neither should you.
And lastly for anyone who feels there’s a problem with Mercy writing a Chinese Character, or Junkrat speaking Chinese is some kind of problem… you need to get out more. Like I’m a recent college grad, and you know what I met a lot of? Chinese language majors and minors, you know what almost all of them were? White. I met so many white people who spoke better Chinese then me, and can write the characters really well. The subjects of Mercy and Junkrat’s writing and speech is something I could see any one of those people doing, it’s not just restricted to Chinese people. And about those fireworks, OP’s argument that they are “
CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT and used in CHINESE new year festivals for a reason
“ calm yourself friend. Fireworks are fireworks. Sure the Chinese love them but like damn… they’re fireworks. If Junkrat went and visited China he could probably get his hands on all those fireworks, To my knowledge there’s now law keeping those specific kind of fireworks out of white peoples hands.
I just feel the need to point out that that the OP is Chinese themself, and they have a right to be find depictions of Chinese culture offensive if they find it offensive.
People should always take time to look at people’s about pages before replying to things.
“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” – Martin Luther King Jr
Do not talk about an obviously disabled person in front of them as if they can’t hear or understand you.
Do not talk to a disabled person’s companion instead of them.
Ask permission before touching people, or their wheelchairs/other equipment. Even if you want to help.
Ask disabled people about their lives and really listen to their answers. (Within reason. Asking people personal questions about their sex lives, for example, is rude unless you are very close to them and they’ve communicated they’re OK with that).
Listen to what they say whether they are speaking, writing, typing, using text to speech, using a letterboard, using PECS, gesturing, using sign language, or using any other form of communication. People who cannot speak can still communicate.
Stand up for people you see getting bullied.
Understand that disabled people don’t just need friends, they can be friends, too.
Every public place does not need to have loud, blaring music and TVs with flashing screens.
If you blog, put bright, flashing images that can trigger seizures under a cut so that people with seizures can avoid looking at them.
If a job can possibly be done without a person driving, don’t require candidates to drive/have a driver’s license, and don’t interview candidates and then reject them because they don’t drive.
When talking to someone who has trouble speaking or stutters, and takes a long time to speak, wait for them to answer. Don’t keep repeating the question or pressuring them. Yes, if you’re like me and your mind is going really fast and you forget what people are saying if they take too long, it can be hard to be patient. Do it anyway.
If you are talking to a deaf person, make it easier for them to lip-read by facing towards them while looking at them, and not covering your mouth with your hands.
If you are talking to someone with hearing impairment or auditory processing disorder, it is more helpful to slow down or rephrase what you’re saying than to just speak more loudly.
Some disabled people have difficulty understanding nonliteral language such as metaphors and idioms (e.g., “a stitch in time saves nine”). If you’re talking to someone like this, try explaining what you mean by these figures of speech, or just not using them.
Recognize that failure to make eye contact does not mean someone is lying to you. It may be uncomfortable for them.
Recognize that unwillingness to go out to loud, crowded bars does not mean someone isn’t interested in socializing with you.
If people have difficulty spelling, or using the appropriate jargon/terminology for your social group, do not assume they’re stupid. You may need to paraphrase some “jargon” for them.
Recognize that a person can need time alone and it doesn’t mean they don’t like you or want to be with you. It’s just something they need so they can function at their best.
If a person does not recognize you, do not assume they don’t care about you. They may be face-blind.
If a person does not remember your birthday (or other major names, numbers, or dates) do not assume they don’t care about you. They may simply have a bad memory.
Understand that a disabled person’s talents, however esoteric, are real, not unimportant “splinter skills.”
Colorblindness affects more than just knowing what color something is. To a colorblind person, colors that they can’t see will look the same if they have the same degree of lightness/darkness. That means that to a red-green colorblind person, a red rose on a green background will blend in instead of contrast starkly, and the Chicago CTA El map will be difficult to understand. Understand that something that stands out to you and seems obvious may literally not be visible to a colorblind person.
Accept stimming.
Don’t tell them “but you look so normal.” But, if they accomplish something you know they were working really hard to do, it’s great to compliment them on it.
Understand that a person can be working incredibly hard to do something and may still not perform as well as you’d like them to, as well as the average person would, or as well as the situation demands.
If someone has a major medical problem, disability, or chronic illness, then just eating some special healthy diet or exercising more isn’t going to cure it. It might help, it might hurt, it might do nothing, but they’ve probably heard it before, and it’s none of your business in any case.
A person with OCD knows that checking or counting or whatever compulsion they perform won’t really prevent disaster from happening, it’s just a compulsion. That doesn’t stop them from feeling the need to do it anyway. A person with anxiety may know at least some of their fears are irrational or unlikely to occur. That doesn’t stop them from feeling anxious. A person with trichotillomania may know it hurts them to pull out their hair or pick at their skin, but they have trouble stopping themselves anyway. A depressed person may know they would feel better if they got out of their house and talked to people, but that doesn’t make them feel any more up to doing those things. A person who hallucinates may know the hallucinations aren’t real, but that doesn’t make them go away or feel less upsetting. You see the pattern? You can’t cure people with mental illnesses by telling them they’re being irrational or hurting themselves. If it were that easy, they’d have cured themselves already.
Do not tell a person with ADHD or mental illness that they should not be taking medication. This is a personal decision. Furthermore, since medications have wide-ranging effects on people’s bodies and minds and often unpleasant side effects, most people taking medications have thought through the issue, done a cost-benefit analysis, and decided that the ability to function better is worth it. Their decision should be respected.
A disabled person with intellectual disability who has the academic or IQ abilities of, say, a seven year old does not actually have the mind of a seven year old. They have different life experiences, needs, stages of life, bodies, and so on.
If a disabled person is having a meltdown, they are not angry, they are terrified. They’re not throwing a tantrum or being aggressive, they have gone into fight or flight. The best thing you can do is remain calm yourself and help them calm down. It may help to keep your distance, keep your voice low and calm, let them retreat to a safe place if they know to do that, or remind them to do so if they don’t. Reasoning with them won’t work well because they’re unlikely to be able to hear and understand you. The worst thing you can do is start yelling yourself, threatening them, be violent to them, cut off their escape route, or get right up in their personal space.
Other ideas? Please reblog and add more. The more the merrier.
Do. Not. Touch. The. Service. Animal.
No, I don’t care how cute the dog is. Don’t touch them.
Don’t talk to the dog more than you talk to the person.
Don’t try to sneak a pet in after the owner has expressly said not to. You’re not subtle. We fucking see you.
In addition to not telling people on medications to go off of them, recognize that there are many reasons people choose to not pursue certain treatments. If they do the cost/benefit analysis and decide it is not worth it to take something, their decision should also be respected.
Understand and accept the difficult reality that some things are not currently treatable, and if someone tells you that they have tried every treatment don’t fight with them about it.
Humans are a communal species that have banded together and cared for their sick, disabled, and elderly since before we were ever modern man. Resources were shared even as skills specialized.
Capitalism isn’t natural. A community should not have members dying of starvation or exposure while there is an abundance of resources. That isn’t how it works. That isn’t how it’s supposed to work.
Richard Spencer being an antisemitic fuck just hours before getting punched in the face on camera
mmmm the good ol’ “Jews Are Too Shady And Disloyal And Cannot Be Full Citizens” trope, truly a Classic Nazi™ move
Reminder that regardless of what Jews look like, white supremacists will always consider us foreign Semites.
…..chuck schumer was born in NY. we’re saying the tweet is making use of an antisemitic trope? sorry, my brain is fuzzy, i don’t want to misunderstand this
The idea is that because Chuck Schumer is Jewish, he is representing a “foreign nation” (Jews) who aren’t truly American (despite citizenship). The antisemitic trope is an old one claiming that Jews are disloyal outsiders and cannot be trusted not to serve their own interests first. This argument has been used to justify stripping Jews of citizenship (especially after the creation of Israel) on numerous occasions in the past. It’s especially pervasive in white supremacist ideology that views Jewish people as infiltrators of the white race.
Kirkwall Was Totally Built On a Hellmouth 