more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl
– hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves – they also like to collect pins and brooches – we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased – common questions include: – “not even water?” (referring to fasting) – hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) – “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) – “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) – “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)
– “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) – people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead – long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up – hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing – that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) – henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun – henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing – henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings – there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet – five daily prayers – most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively – muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran – there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book – muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience – don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously – Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) – Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) – Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework – In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)
– Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” – Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) – when i say we use them casually, i really mean it – teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah – our version of “amen” is “ameen” – muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi – the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”
As a Muslim this post is so very important and it makes me so happy that it gives the small facts and details that one might be unaware of or confused about.
Six out of ten South American countries are currently controlled by the right wing. Let that sink in. Six out of ten. Fascists are having the time of their lives, and what’s happening in Brazil comes to validate their hate speech, homophobia, racism and misogyny. Six out of ten South American presidents think violence is the answer to all the problems we have over here. Violence in the form of dictatorships.
In case you didn’t know: we have a history with military dictatorships over here, and ALL of us are still living under their repercussions. People were kidnapped, tortured and killed just for opposing these regimes, and their families still don’t have the chance to give them a proper burial. And entire countries are being ruled with constitutions made under these periods.
It’s fucking scary, because this whole thing is coming back. But this is why it’s important to get involved and actually do something if we’re against what’s happening right now. Get informed. Find out ways you can help in your communities. And RESIST. I know it feels horrible, but you are not alone. The rest of the continent is with you. And we won’t let them win.
It’s important to note that every single one of those dictatorships we still haven’t recovered from yet, were engineered/supported by the United States.
Yes. It all started when Latin America started promoting developing policies connected to the left wing. The US got really scared with the Cuban Revolution and its repercussions, so they started to financiate a few military groups.
The US even gave chilean economy students scholarships at the Chicago University in the 50s and 60s, just so they would learn everything about Milton Friedman’s neoliberalism. Those students, then known as the “chicago boys”, went back to Chile and helped to build an economical plan for their countries dictatorship, ruled by Pinochet.
Although we have more evidences about it happening in Chile, it happened in all of South America. Most countries were under a violent dictatorship for around 20 years.
vote for the one most likely to remove a republican.
it’s that simple.
Vote them out.
Vote for the candidate that sees every person as a human being.
not if they can’t win, buddy. i’m serious. LISTEN. VOTE OUT THE REPUBLICANS. EVEN IF THAT MEANS VOTING IN SOME REGULAR ASSHOLES.
if the candidate who sees every person as a human being is green party, then you vote for the democrat who sees every person as a stepping stone, because unless we get rid of the republican who sees every person as a target a lot of us are going to goddamn die. people are dying already. like, not to guilt you, but if we don’t get a democratic majority in the house and senate ASAP we’re screwed.
it doesn’t fucking matter if you voted for Jesus Actual Christ if he was running on a penny ante party ticket. we need you to vote for Joe Slick Bastard Democrat instead, because there is no such thing as a green party majority in the senate, do you understand? there will not be a green party speaker of the house. green party will not get to put up supreme court nominees.
if you vote for the Good People instead of the democrats, we’re gonna end up back in this toilet bowl again, only deeper this time because the republicans will take it as a mandate to do whatever they want.
take a deep breath, put on rubber gloves, and touch the poop. don’t be precious.
In the primary you vote for the best candidate. In the general you vote for the person who can remove the Republican. You have your chance to do both.
In the primary you vote for the best candidate. In the general you vote for the person who can remove the Republican.
I read on another post “this is about setting the difficulty of our boss battle for the next two years” and that is absolutely true. You’re not voting for someone you agree with, you’re not voting for someone who is perfect or great or even good.
You are voting for the person who is a) going to get elected and b) is easiest to fight for what you need. Until we move the needle, the best we can expect is ‘the best of all enemies’ and not ‘an ally’.
We did this in Canada.
And guess what?
IT FUCKING WORKED.
We don’t have an awesome government, and it’s not the Prime Minister I would have liked or thought was the best or the party I would have normally voted for. The Stop Harper movement got him out, it defeated the Conservative Government resoundingly, and while it’s not ideal, it’s a far cry better and easier to work with than what we had before. It wasn’t the man who was described as ‘Stalinistic’ by his OWN party members.
This is called Tactical Voting here in the UK and I have been doing it my entire adult life (because our voting system here is stupid in its own special way) but the thing is, @aperskicketylemon is right, it works. It doesn’t give you the MP from heaven, much less the government from heaven, but it can upset the government from hell, remove them from office or undermine their parliamnetary majority enogh to stifle the worst of their impulses. It WORKS.
I’ve seen several posts circulating today about racism in multiple fandoms. The arguments and counterpoints I’ve seen are not unexpected. For background: I am writing instructor and I devote a significant portion of my classes to discussions of media representation. Why? Because I realized I was doing everything that these posts talk about: Ignoring characters of color, sidelining them for white villains or sidekicks with far less screen time, ignoring women of color entirely, etc. And all the while, like so many of you, I said, “I’m not racist.” I had in-universe explanations for why I liked this ‘ship over that one, this character more than that. I could defend and explain everything.
Racism is not who you are. It is what you do. And here’s a fact: All white people do racist things. We’ve been trained to, taught to. It’s in our culture, all around us. If you’re white, our culture has allowed most racism to be entirely invisible to us. Racism isn’t just yelled slurs and burning crosses. Often, racism is simply *not caring* about people who aren’t white. Racism is an inability to empathize with or care about the story of someone who is not white.
IF YOU’RE FEELING DEFENSIVE, PLEASE KEEP READING. I beg you. That’s exactly the feeling we have to push through. I’m going to give you a brief list of actions we can take. And I know these are important because I have to do them, all the time. Because the poison is in me, too.
If you truly believe in equality and want to be a better person, then here’s what we, as white fans, have to do:
1. BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE. It absolutely sucks to realize you may have hurt someone, or that you might be wrong. Realizing you’ve done something racist is a stomach-churning reality check. Have the courage to face it. Don’t run from it.
2. INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR WAYS YOU’RE NOT RACIST, LOOK FOR WAYS THAT YOU *ARE*. It’s comforting and tempting to itemize the ways in which we’re open-minded. See #1 again. Don’t let yourself be comfortable. Instead, look for what you do and ways you contribute to fandom racism. Maybe it’s reblogging or creating gif sets that leave out main characters of color. Maybe it’s forgetting to include them in your fanfiction, even when they would rightfully be there. Maybe it’s reducing them to stereotypes or caretakers for white characters. Maybe it’s ‘shipping the white leads with anyone but the POC around them. Maybe it’s accusing POC fans of “starting drama” when they discuss racism. Look at your actions and be honest with yourself.
3. PUT IN THE EFFORT TO FALL IN LOVE WITH POC CHARACTERS. Here’s the thing: It’s easy for us to fall in love with white male heroes and villains. It’s what we’ve been training for all our lives, with every movie, television show, and book we’ve ever enjoyed. Media *encourages* us to love white men. So yes, falling in love with a character of color will be harder, and it probably won’t “just happen.” So, truly look at Finn and Poe, at Cassian Andor and Bodhi. Truly look at Luke Garroway and Magnus Bane, at Luke Cage, at Iris West and James Olsen, at Michonne. Seek out ways to connect with their feelings and their stories. Look at them as full-hearted, three-dimensional human beings. Force yourself to become obsessed with them. If you do this, I would be absolutely shocked if you don’t fall in love with one of them.
4. LISTEN TO POC FANS. Yes, even if they’re angry and call you names. For my research, I spend a lot of time on blogs that talk about hating white people, hating white fans, hating white feminists. The language is furious and vitriolic. So what? They have every right to be angry. Instead of judging their anger, LISTEN to it. Try to be better. Don’t say “not all white fans,” or “not all white people.” Instead, try to be a better white person. Be a better white fan. Be a white fan who is brave enough to look at themselves and truly be an ally. Do not silence POC fans. I promise you: Listen, and you’ll realize they’re not overreacting.
5. REMEMBER THAT “ALLY” IS A VERB. Our thoughts count for nothing. It’s our actions that speak for us. Maybe you’ve read all this and you still want to insist that you’re not racist. Okay. But your actions might be. Challenge the stereotypes that exist in your head, learn to identify them as stereotypes and be willing to hold yourself and other white fans accountable.
6. REPEAT STEPS 1-5 FOREVER. We cannot cure our internalized white supremacy in a weekend. This is a forever gig. But it’s one of the most worthwhile tasks you can ever give yourself. Want to feel like you’re changing the world? Here’s where it starts.
Inevitably there’s more to add to this list. I’m always learning, but I thought it might be useful to share a few of these steps I’ve learned along the way. I love fandom. I believe profoundly in the transformative power of fanfiction, fan creations, and the friendships forged through our shared love of media.
I believe we can become BETTER PEOPLE through fandom. But it will not happen without our willingness to be transformed.
I would like to add that it’s not enough to reblog posts that make you seem like a good ally… Read that point about being uncomfortable over and over again because it seems like a lot of you forget this. It seems like the problem is allies thinking it’s enough to discuss racism when it’s comfortable, but the second the discussion forces people to look in the mirror then the conversation takes an ugly turn.
I see this a lot… Allies thinking they’re doing a good job when all they’re doing is calling out people for behaviours that don’t force them to confront realities about themselves. It’s always an external discussion. And that’s not enough. You need to take time for yourself and try really hard to work on unlearning harmful behaviours. In fandom this is hard to do. Especially when the conversation is making you confront things about media/characters/ships that you love. It’s important to acknowledge things when we’re pointing them out. It’s not good enough to reblog posts about race in fandom when you’re still refusing to do some introspection.
Rebellions are built on hope 