a reminder all of us (including myself) could use

maturity in fandom space is understanding that people will have their own characterization and interpretation of the fictional characters you love, sometimes you will see their opinions on your favorite fictional characters that you don’t agree with or outright believe is wrong, but instead of getting into an argument with them or insulting them, you choose to scroll past things you don’t like and mind your own business. it’s all play pretend anyway. I promise you it won’t affect your life in any way, shape or form if a random stranger doesn’t sympathize with a misunderstood villain you love (and I say this as a villain lover who loves and sympathizes with so many misunderstood villains)

let’s keep fandom a kinder and less toxic space.

throwback to when my friends and I made a chart to track how we were doing throughout the semester that could only be properly expressed in french

Reminder that badinternetbills.com makes it easy to both email / call with prewritten scripts ! This is more than KOSA , there are 18 bills all about age verification , censorship && going into digital ID ! They also want to reform / repeal Section 230 which protects our anonymity , freedom of speech && expression online !! We must stop this ! Be loud , annoying , spam !!

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I don’t know how people don’t get, at this point, that there is nothing anyone can do, ever to deserve genocide. Nothing.

If you think Palestinians - or even just everyone in Gaza - from the eldest senior down to the youngest child, deserves to die or otherwise be collectively punished for the acts of Hamas on Oct. 7th, you are part of the problem.

If you think Israelis - or more widely all Jewish people - from the eldest senior down to the youngest child, deserves to die or otherwise be collectively punished for what the modern state Israel has done to Palestinians, you are part of the problem.

Palestinians and Jewish people alike are indigenous to the Levant. So are the Samaritans and the Druze and the Bedouins and more. All of them deserves dignity, respect, and self determination in their homeland. If you (especially if you do not belong to one of the aforementioned groups) cannot do your best to work towards a decolonial future where this can be true, you are part of the problem.

Here are some ways you can help:

1. Contact your representatives condemning governmental support of the genocide in Gaza. If you’re in the US, you can use 5calls.org to do this easily.
2. Donate to verified aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Anera, or the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), as just a few examples.
3. Stomp out antisemitism in pro-Palestine spaces. Learn what antisemitic tropes and canards are (here is a list on wikipedia that you can use as a starter) so you can recognize said antisemitism, including within yourself. Learn to criticize the stare of Israel without being an antisemite and how to actually be antizionist without being antisemitic** - and listen to Jewish folks if they tell you you’re falling short. Emphasize Jewish humanity. Know that Palestinian and Jewish safety are not mutually exclusive and make that VERY clear.
4. Participate in boycotts without participating in harassment. Remember that targeted boycotts are most effective
5. Combat islamophobia and racism against Arabs wherever you see it. Emphasize the humanity of the Palestinian people and refuse to make them out as “noble savages” (a longstanding racist trope)

**I think it’s also possible to recognize the very nuanced things zionism can mean to Jewish people while also acknowledging the very real harm that has come about from political zionism (and specifically kahanism, which I recommend looking up in greater detail than the wikipedia article I linked) and what that means for Palestinians - namely that the people who have displaced them and their families have called themselves zionists (to paraphrase from a post by a Palestinian blogger that I can no longer find).

Especially if you are neither Jewish nor Palestinian, you have a fundamental obligation to approach that discussion with compassion. People's lives are more important than your feelings, and that includes your sense of righteous anger.

A quick addition: if you believe and claim there are no civilians in either Palestine or the modern state of Israel, this is genocidal rhetoric, and you are part of the problem.

Another quick addition: if you believe attacking Jews in diaspora (yes, even if they’re zionists) or Palestinians in diaspora (yes, even if you hate their politics) is an appropriate response to these atrocities, you are part of the problem.

If you believe the way to a better future is the expulsion of either Jewish folks or Palestinians from the Levant, that’s ethnic cleansing, and guess what, you are also part of the problem.

To those worried about KOSA…

Above is an official petition to bring awareness to the KOSA bill!

Kosa is a censorship and surveillance bill that targets the information you see online and the verification that goes into the websites and apps you enter. It will give our government leverage to what we see online.

TLDR, anything that does not fit their views will be targeted and likely attacked or taken down. Tumblr. AO3. Any website like the ones mentioned will have a higher chance of being censored because they contain LGBTQ+ material and other content that this administration does not like.

While the bill may come across as one to make the internet “safer” for children, it does not. It will by zero means protect kids— it only makes it worse. Especially for those in stricter households. Search histories. WiFi bills. All those shenanigans.

If you are an adult, this will still affect you. Certain websites will ask for verification that will be used in long term data management and storage.

That means your face!! That means your SSN! Things we DON’T WANT SHARED!!

To give you some hope, this is the fourth time this bill has been brought up. Last year, it was brought to the senate, but was struck down by the House Republicans. To be completely honest, this will likely happen again. It will be struck down once more. Next year, it is probable that KOSA will be brought back up. As per usual.

That being said, we can still fight!

Call your representatives!! They work for US! They follow the majority vote!! Annoy the hell out of them!!!

You can find scripts for what to say online. Sign some petitions. Other internet bills were also introduced and resurfaced surrounding AI usage. Take a gander at some of those hideous creatures in your free time…

There will not be an official decision for a while. If you are worried, get some rest or feel free to ask some questions.

And…

Stop KOSA!! It does NOT protect kids! You can help EVERYONE in this fight! It doesn’t matter if you are a minor or over 18. You can make a change!

i don’t post often but this is Extremely important! Moots and anyone else who sees this and lives in the US Please call your lawmakers and committee members to keep them from pushing KOSA and 18 other anti internet and age verification bills AND repealing section 230.

Section 230 is what keeps the internet alive. Because it prevents companies from being liable from what their users post, websites will not be able to keep up with billions of users posting and will either mass censor Everything (probably using ai) or just shut everything down and nobody will be able to post or comment.

bills like KOSA and the SCREEN Act are all just ways for the government to force censorship on topics like LGBTQ+ and mass surveillance BUT WE STILL HAVE TIME but we have to make as much noise as we can Right Now!

contract your representatives! make your opposing of these bills known and spread the awareness on this! calling is the most effective way to do this but emailing also does help!

i’m going to link rescoures to help here:

FIRST: badinternetbills. more information and lists out all the bills involved, fill out a form that automatically emails your representative and automatically puts you through to make calls to representatives and with a script you can follow if need be.

SECOND: another way of calling and script for emailing! plus even more information.

THIRD: carrd with additional resources, two petitions, a survey. other organizations, a way for non americans to help and a way to keep track of the bill!

ALT

just as an update, i went through the full committee hearing that was today, and kosa/any other of the 19-bills were NOT talked about!

along with that, there seems to be no other scheduled talks around them this week (12-19). of course, they could pop up, so please check on the house and energy committee calendar regularly (as it would pop up there). even with this, go call, go fax them, go email them, keep making your voices heard!

please remember to take care of yourselves! yes, fighting this is important, but please do not sacrifice your mental health.

I’ve been very busy but I have to post real quick over here. Idk how many American followers I have, but if I do have any, I’d urge you guys to push back against some things they’re trying to push through in Congress.

They’re trying to push through KOSA (Kids Online Safety Act) and a few other bills under the guise of protecting children, but it’s really a bid to have users upload their government IDs just to use social media, apps, Spotify, etc and make individuals easier to track online and keep tabs on. The government would be able to heavily censor content on apps that they do not like. They’ve tried it before, and currently it’s passed in the senate and is being reviewed by a full committee in the House of Representatives. Calling representatives made a big difference last time it was considered.

They’re also trying to repeal Section 230, which protects users and social media platforms from being viewed as publishers. If that’s repealed, essentially the internet would be unusable. There would be mass censorship. Public comments sections would be largely disabled on big platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, etc. Even Amazon reviews could be impacted. YouTubers and streamers would be affected and heavily censored. Even fan content could be blocked if companies don’t like them. Meaning, the fanart and fanfics we enjoy could be largely prohibited.

All this could eventually impact how social media apps are available to those in other countries as well.

If you have time, sign these petitions and/or call your reps.

I usually don’t get political, but these are things that could impact everyone heavily.

This site offers a brief overview of Section 230, which essentially allows free speech on the internet, and the opportunity to sign their petition and a script to call your representatives for anyone living in the US.

There are a lot of bills trying to be passed that will endanger our privacy and safety, but if Section 230 is repealed, you can pretty much kiss the internet as it is goodbye.

To find out more about the other bills and what you can do to fight back without it feeling overwhelming and impossible, please visit https://www.badinternetbills.com/ to learn more. They link to sites like the one above and help educate on which bills do what, as well as provide a call script for you to call your representative if you’re lowkey stressed/terrified of talking to people on the phone.

These people are fighting back as much as they can, so please lend your support in whatever small way you can, even if it’s just signing a few petitions (though obviously calling your rep is still the strongest showing).