In many areas of the world Christian’s are not the majority.
In many areas of the world Christian’s are still persecuted and killed.
Easter should be a day of celebration for Christian’s worldwide. It should not be a day of sorrow. Unfortunately, in what can only be described as a disgusting act of hatred by absolute cowards, today is a day of mourning.
Today is a day where more than 200 died. Because of degenerate animals.
All we can do is try to come together.
All we can do is try to be better.
Regardless of where your faith lies, no decent human would praise this act. No decent person would ignore it.
I can only send my hopes, prayers and wishes.
I urge everyone to do the same, to donate when the time is right and to call out true hatred and bigotry in all it’s forms.
Let all brothers and sisters come together and reject the actions and hatred of these animals.
Happy Easter Sunday to All, do not let the monsters tarnish this day.
“Becca, you have to try eating.” The figure spoke from behind tiny, rounded spectacles. Yet, the girl could barely make out the dark eyes barely hidden behind them. Were it not for the glare off coming from the buzzing fluorescent lights above she might not have noticed them.
The silver spoon and the immaculate white-gloved hand just inches before her face were enough for her cholera-ridden eyes to make out. The growling in her stomach roared and the figure gave out a hearty laugh.
“See? Open up. It’s delicious, I promise.” His voice was softer now, encouraging her. Reassuring her. And whatever was in the spoon lifted her senses up. As her mouth began to open, revealing yellowed and cavity ridden teeth and a foul odor, the urge to turn away from the treat took over. Her head flung to the side and her lips tightened.
No matter how much she wanted it, no matter how good it would taste.. She knew not to eat it. She knew what would happen if she tried.
“Now, now Becca. You have to trust your doctor.” He held the spoon up to her pursed lips, but she didn’t relent.
“Open your mouth.” The man did not relent either.
“OPEN IT!” He shouted, fury filling his once ‘kind’ voice, causing Becca to flinch and begin flailing her one free arm about wildly, smacking the spoon across the white tiled floor and spilling its contents.
“Oh Becca, Becca, Becca.” His voice softened as she just barely made out the frown underneath a thin, gray mustache. “If you keep resisting, I’ll have to have the nice man assist us again.” As the figure walked off to retrieve the spoon she felt a firm grip on her shoulder, digging into her nearly flesh-less frame.
The girl winced in pain and as her left arm jerked in response, the clanging chain snapped it back into position. From her elbow down a white tarp was tightly bound around her skin, with the base locked firmly into a joint in the floor. There was no escaping this. No escape. None.
“Please… I can’t. Please.” Her voice was a ragged whisper. And the only response was a joyous laugh from across the room followed by the heavy steps coming towards her.
“Not with that attitude.” Came the coy reply, followed by the snickering of the others behind her. As the man now came back with the spoon and a bowl in hand he knelt down in front of her. His free hand grabbed her chin and held firm as she tried to pull away.
“Open up.” The demand came once more. Becca shut her eyes and mouth tighter.
The sound of snapping fingers echoed, followed by the crunching of bone as her shoulder was squeezed harder.
A howl of pain came, soon silenced as the contents of the spoon were forced into her mouth. The other gloved hand began to forcefully massage her throat, forcing the contents down. The taste… It was delicious. It was what she needed. And then it was sickening as it hit her stomach. The sudden nausea she felt, just like every other time, returned.
“Hey Doc, she’s going to-” The brute that had just fractured her shoulder tried to warn, just as Becca felt the contents come back up her throat. The contents vile as it came through her mouth as the gloves hand immediately covered her mouth, holding it in place as what little tears could be mustered began to dribble down sunken, pale cheeks.
“Becca, you need to keep it down. You can’t get better if you don’t try.” He said firmly as his grip only tightened at the sight of yellowish goo began to seep past his fingers. “Don’t make me do this.” Becca whimpered and tried to shake her head. The thought of trying to swallow again, the idea of eating, the very idea of what she desperately craved made her convulse and write around through the pain until the doctor pulled his hand back and let Becca’s bile come drooling out.
SMACK
The sound of his tainted, gloved hand colliding with her face filled the room.
“Filthy. Absolutely filthy.” He said examining the glove as he carefully pulled it off his hand, showing off perfectly manicured nails. “Alright Becca, we’ll try again in another hour.” The sigh came as her whistled for his man to follow.
Becca slumped on the floor, gasping for air, as she felt the grip on her shoulder finally let go and her body collapse to the ground.
Through blurred vision she could make out the door they were going towards, watched it open.
“Now, Becca, I want you to think about this. Do you want to get better? Or do you want to keep being hurt?” The doctor said staring at her from the doorway, cloaked in a white lab coat, his bald head glistening.
“Please.”
“Please? Please, what? Please let you try agai-“
“Please, let me see my parents. My brother. Please let me see my family.” She sobbed on the floor. Shaking and trying to tug her arm to freedom.
There was a pause. The only sound the constant buzzing from above.
“I’ve already told you. You killed them. I’m the only family you have left.”
And with that, the doctor and his ‘nurse’ left, the door closing behind them. Leaving Becca to writhe in pain and pity.
I told you.
Her eyes darted towards her covered arm as a familiar numbness came shooting up, covering the pain radiating from her shoulder.
Only I can save you.
Becca sniffled. The voice she’d heard, the whisper in the back of her mind. Now clear. Becca knew she shouldn’t trust it, was still well enough to know what hearing voices meant.
Do you trust me?
Becca gripped her arm left arm, unable to feel it. She listened to the buzzing. Her eyes tried to focus on the door.
“No…” She finally choked out.
Do you trust them?
“I don’t trust them either.”
Then what do you have to lose?
Pt 1 End
(Quick little beginning to a horror story. Let me know what you think and if any would like a Part 2. Have some ideas in mind, but just trying to get a hand into writing.)
I want to be clear, this is written with a heavy bias.
I was only 10 when the Twin Towers were hit and I was a young Palestinian-American growing up in the progressive Bay Area.
I didn’t actually identify much with my faith back then, or really understand it. I believed in Allah, but my mother was also Christian and, to me, I knew we worshiped the same God. I never thought of myself as being different from any other American. Everyone was unique to me. And I believed Allah loved all.
The attacks happened three days before my birthday. I didn’t really understand what my parents were watching on T.V., but I knew my father and mother were heartbroken. I can’t say I remember everything that well being as young as I was. I just remember their sadness most of all. Their confusion on how something so horrific could happen… And then their fear.
At first I thought they were afraid something like this was going to happen to us, but as the days went by I realized they were afraid of what might happen to me and my younger brother, to our family. And I wish I had realized this at the time, but it was my birthday soon. The only real experience I had with death was in video games. And so when the 14th came around my parents didn’t buy me a cake, my ‘friends’ didn’t come over and there were no presents.
The world was chaos, people were angry and my parents told me that we couldn’t celebrate. We couldn’t let people think we were responsible, that we were happy about what happened. That I had to be careful.
To this day I don’t really celebrate my birthday. It reminds me of too much of the hatred that followed. Of having people who called my house even years later to tell me to kill myself, calling me Anthrax A—-, saying they planned to beat it out of me. I remember being jumped regularly and keeping my mouth shut because, deep down, I thought I did deserve it.
It wasn’t until many, many years later that I found myself back from that abyss and had friends who helped me see the value in myself. Shake off the hatred that I thought would drown me and become a functioning member of society. I’ve found a career that I do love where I work with people daily.
9/11 took many lives, took many futures away and defined so many more for those of us the United States.
We’ve all heard the statement made by Ilhan Omar. And as a Muslim it wouldn’t be right to just focus on this. Because there are so many things wrong with what she said.
Ilhan gave a speech in which she tried to say that many Muslims were being defined by the actions of a few. And I can even see the reality in some of her words.
“Some People Did Something”
Had she just clarified this comment, just stated that it was spoken without thought, I’d probably have not felt the need to write about the statement, tweet about it. People can be careless and not mean to offend.
But.
My weekend has been filled with reading some of the most disgusting tweets imaginable. The most absurd defenses. And the double downing of absolute shame and stupidity from Ilhan Omar.
To me I can find forgiveness for others. I can find my way to see the good in someone’s actions. Even those I despise, or think propose absolutely absurd policies.. I can at least make my way to seeing the good intentions behind their flawed actions.
This? No. No, no, no.
Instead of any, even slight, showing of remorse we’ve had wave after wave of progressives, Leftists, Presidential Candidates and, of course, deranged psychos stepping up to run an asinine game of defense, by painting those critical of Omar’s statement as either Racist or Islamophobic.
Hence why I’ve felt the need to consistently state I am a Muslim before speaking on these things!
The #IStandWithIlhan movement, primarily, do not know what they are standing behind. It’s not just that Ilhan has made several callous statements prior to this, it’s that each time she has had the same defenders make the same claims of her critics. Except now it’s escalated. Now criticism of her IS an incitement to violence.
I have two things to say to these people:
Sit
Spin
Ilhan not only hand-waived off 9/11, she also actively lied about CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Stating this organization was founded after 9/11 to help Muslims who were being ostracized. A pretty picture, but no.
CAIR was founded in 1994.
CAIR has ties to Hamas
CAIR has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR believes Islamic Law supersedes the law of the land.
And Omar told Muslims, that felt just like I did, that CAIR was there specifically for them.
Ilhan lied to Muslims, on behalf CAIR. Bringing people ostracized from society to support a group of fundamental Islamists.
It isn’t enough that she keeps associations with outed anti-semites, like Linda Sarsour, that she actively spread anti-semitic tropes of dual loyalties. TWICE.
Ilhan also lied to those she claimed to represent and threw them into the arms of the fundamentalists. Told everyone they were friends, that they only existed for them.
And now people blindly repeat #IStandWithIlhan…
People who have no idea of our culture, our faith or those within who have actively suppressed and inflicted harm on brothers and sisters.
People who say you can’t speak up against her now or you’re ‘inciting violence’.
Allah weeps for the fools.
I won’t stand with Ilhan. I won’t parrot nonsense talking points. I won’t pretend that because someone is a Muslim they are beyond criticism. Especially not a U.S. Congresswoman that has repeatedly made harmful, hurtful and callous statements about American Citizens.
If you stand with Ilhan, please, go seek professional help.
I want to start by stating I am Mixed. My Palestinian father moved to the U.S. seeking new opportunities under the guidance of my uncle and sometime down the road met my White mother. Well this shouldn’t be something unique and really shouldn’t matter much it always feels like it does. Because even now in 2019 it seems as though the mixing of races and cultures has become taboo.
How many times have we heard the term ‘Cultural Appropriation’ thrown around? Growing up this was what I was told was the great mixing pot of America. That we were a nation that was young and our identity was constantly being built upon as new cultures come in. There should never be any shame in doing this as it should be the goal of our society. I ask, how can we come together if we fail to see the things that unite us and instead separate from one another based on our differences?
After watching a video by Ami Horrowitz I admit I left it feeling disheartened.
I’ll summarize the video though: Ami begins by asking students around Columbia University what there thoughts were on having ‘Blacks Only’ graduations and dorms. As someone that studied the Civil War, Jim Crow Laws and of course the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s I’d assumed the students would laugh at the notion. No, they smiled and happily agreed. What was disturbing is that they seemed to happy to have divide people based on racial groups that didn’t allow for any kind of intermingling. There was no malice, just ignorance.
‘Separate But Equal’
Ami proceeds to interview actual black people on the street and they seem to be as shocked as I was. One young man even says “We all graduate together”. It was sad that the students on campus did not agree with this notion. But you know who did?
Chris Balker, a loyal KKK member, thought that this was great. Without all the blacks and minorities then the white students would be able to build up what he called a ‘White Identity’. He fully supported this movement. So how have we come to a point in society where the ‘Progressive’ and ‘Inclusive’ Left is in agreement with the KKK on segregation?
Brown V The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ~ 1954
At one point this was seen as a final nail in the coffin of Jim Crow Laws. In a landmark and unanimous decision by the Supreme Court it found that segregation in public schools was an inherent violation of the 14th Amendment. Separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. Thurgood Marshal who represented Linda Brown’s family at the time would later become the first black man to serve on the Supreme Court.
So how have we turned back the clock to this degree? How have we forgotten the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement? How do we still not see each others as equals? Is this video by Ami just an offshoot of children that do not know any better?
Unfortunately, it seems segregation and self-segregation are on the rise in the U.S. as was seen in the recent debacle over a discussion of the Savannah, GA mayoral race. An event in which even the press was barred unless Black.
However, the spread seems to have started on college campuses. As said earlier we see a rise in graduation ceremonies that are for Black students only and Black only dorms. It can easily be said, in spite of what you may have heard, that racial tensions in the U.S. are far better than they were in the 60’s.
My parents could marry without issue. I can date my black girlfriend openly and be served in a public restaurant just as any other couple can. No discrimination, no bigotry of our relationship. We are just people, dating. So if racial tensions have decreased, why has segregation begun to flourish?
“Diversity Coordinators”
I will admit, the idea of this position seems to have had merit. Having someone break down cultural barriers between students and promote diversity sounds noble. However, this is not what these positions have become.
The push for increased diversity has instead flipped into a push to see people based solely on the color of their skin.
Instead of helping to diffuse racial tensions, most only inflame the situations further. The insistence of these individuals to see everything through a racial lens has turned a society seeking to go ‘color-blind’ into the opposite. Instead of seeking to help people understand one another, instead of promoting the values of the great mixing pot they focus on what makes people different and then push to be defined solely on those differences.
Now that people do not see each others as equals, but as oppressed and oppressors, they demand safe spaces for the Black students. Spaces which are “Separate, but Equal” as it’s not right to force them to stay with those who have ‘held them down’ historically.
Final Thoughts
Segregation, by law or by choice, needs to end today. It is not acceptable in any society. It was not in the 50’s and it surely has no place nearly 70 years later.
If we do not seek to see each other for our similarities, if we can only ever focus on what divides us and on past sins than there is no way to move forward together as a society. And much like we saw in the 50’s and 60’s following Brown V Board of Education we may see vitriol and hatred from those that prefer to keep people separate, but just as was done in the past society MUST face this hatred head on and move beyond it.
We already know our past and we must not damn ourselves to repeat it.
I’m certain this story needs little introduction. Over one week ago Jussie Smollett was facing down sixteen felony charges after “allegedly” committing a hoax hate crime on himself, with the assistance of two Nigerian brothers that had worked with him on the hit show Empire.
The original story Jussie had been allowed to push through our MSM was an almost unbelievable account of brutal racism on the streets of Chicago. Poor Jussie was out at 2 A.M. on the ‘mean’ streets of Chicago, during a polar vortex, on his way to get some grub at Subway, as any man would. It was then that two white men in ski masks called out to Jussie and when approached, proceeded to beat him, tie a ‘noose’ around his neck and splash him with bleach. They left Jussie almost unrecognizable and with one parting statement: “This is MAGA country!”
Oh look at the brutality. He’ll never look the same way again!
Now, we all know that Chicago is a predominantly ‘Red’ city, with an entirely Republican city council and Mayor and which Trump won handily with nearly 90% of the vote. So the idea that some White MAGA-boys were out roaming the city to track down Jussie specifically is perfectly reasonable. This is Chicago, the heart of MAGA Country after all.
However, itt turned out not to be two racist MAGA-Bros, but instead the Osundairo Bros! Two associates of Jussie that had apparently been paid $3,500 on a check, with a guarantee of $1,500 after the dirty deed had been done. The Osundairo’s, having been arrested when they returned to Chicago, were now ready to testify against Smollet.
The faces of White Nationalism!
Yes, it seemed Jussie had betrayed his many fans. Instead of a ‘brutal’ and ‘vicious’ beat down of a proud, gay, black man that “goes hard on 45”, we had a privileged elite who was seeking to stoke racial tensions in service of getting just a little bit of a bigger cut for his time on Empire. $125k an episode is, as we all know, rather small potatoes. And now that people not only knew he’d faked his own hate crime, but that it was to line up his pockets further? Everyone wanted Jussie to answer for what he’d done, especially the citizens of Chicago who’d all been painted under a racist brush.
And then on March 26, 2019 Jussie was walking out a free man. How? I don’t know! Let’s ask ‘The Most Trusted Name In News’ and their local Doughnut Man, Brian Stelter!
Well.. That wasn’t very telling. Maybe Jussie’s attorney’s can explain what happened and how he could’ve mistaken the Osundairo’s, two men he clearly knew, for some White MAGA-Boys.
… “White Face”
Uh huh. Ok. Well let’s pretend for a moment, small as this chance maybe, that maybe the Osundairo’s didn’t wear white face. Let’s pretend, again just as a pure hypothetical, that Jussie did just pay the two brothers to stage his hate crime. I know, I know, crazy ‘right-wing’ conspiracy.
But let’s just pretend.
Here’s what we know: Kim Foxx the state attorney had apparently been in contact with the family of Smollett and a well connected political operative. Here are their exchanges.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Did Kim Foxx, who had recused herself unofficially(by which I mean not actually), decide to drop the charges on Jussie Smollett after having spoken to Tina Tchen, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama?
Of course not! Foxx, in fact, already had a statement ready in case we simpletons didn’t understand how legal proceedings worked:
“First, the law. There were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain. In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction. For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.”
Well, I see nothing wrong here. Obviously had the cops not been so open with how much evidence they had against him Foxx wouldn’t of had to worry about… people… knowing… of all the evidence against Jussie Smollett. I mean… She did say a variety of reasons, right guys? I’m sure this was just her scratching the ice-berg and our small plebeian minds wouldn’t be able to comprehend the rest.
“Another key factor is that the crime here was a Class 4 felony, the least serious category, which also covers things like falsely pulling a fire alarm in school and “draft card mutilation.” These felonies are routinely resolved, particularly in cases involving suspects with no prior criminal record, long before a case ever nears a courtroom and often without either jail time or monetary penalties. Any prosecutor, law-enforcement leader or elected official not grandstanding or clouded by political expediency understands the purpose of sentencing guidelines.”
Alright. See? Even if she had gone to court there was no actual penalty he would pay. Right? Filing a false police report is more or less a misdemeanor and Jussie is a first time offender so-
Wait what?
My dude, you are making this so hard!
Alright, so Smollett had a DUI. And wasn’t actually a first time offender. I’m starting to think we can’t actually trust Kim Foxx, but it’s not like she’s entirely wrong. Maybe this really is a common occurrence in Chicago. This happens all the time after all. Maybe she’s-
Oh my.
Well… Maybe Jussie really did Hate Crime himself? I’m not an educated and learned man so I ask you readers what you make of all this so-called ‘evidence’? Isn’t it far more likely that at 2 A.M. Jussie just happened upon two white-faced Nigerians that gave him a couple of owies?
Please decide and let me know. I for one don’t know who to believe anymore.
If you can’t trust an overpaid celebrity with powerful political connections, who can you trust?
Recently CBR ran and article: Trolls Want #AnimeGate to be a Thing; It Won’t Be, Author: Reuben Baron. Well now, provocative titles being what they are I suppose I can’t judge too harshly. However, before moving forward I’d like to state that a troll is someone that enters a conversation, makes a provacative statement and does so with the intention of upsetting others and getting an emotional response. Like writing an article targeted at a movement and calling them ‘trolls’ or ‘alt-right. I just had to point that out as Reuben seems to not understand so much in his article that even the title shows it.
All that said this will be a direct response to the claims made in Reuben’s article and his lack of shame in attacking others by using his position as a CBR writer. Please read his full article and give the Ninny his clicks as we all know he’s chasing the rage bait.
Or, you can just read along as I’ve provided his full article, dissected, for me to dig into.
“Look in the comments section on any article about recently disgraced voice actor Vic Mignogna and you’ll see some people go to absurd lengths to defend a man who’s the subject of enough harassment accusations that Rooster Teeth, FUNimation, and many conventions will no longer work with him.”
Right from the start we can see the framing of the narrative. Vic IS guilty. He IS disgraced. There is no need to clarify further. No mention of a lack of actual physical evidence has ever been presented, or that those involved in making said claims also were caught pressuring conventions to remove him. No, it’s just that Vic is obviously guilty. Of what? ‘Harassment’.
“A few are obsessive fans still in disbelief the he could be a harasser. Others, however, don’t really care about Mignogna or even anime so much as they see this issue as another cultural wedge, akin to #Gamergate or #Comicsgate.”
I’m unsure of what to make of this honestly. It seems nobody supporting Vic could actually have an honest reason to do so. You’re either in a small percentage of obsessive fans or you’re seeking to divide others. It cannot be anything other than this, so now Reuben can run rough shot with the rest of his article. This is essentially justifying his own hatred by pointing at ‘others’ and saying they are worse.
“Before the Mignogna scandal, there were other issues trolls have tried to use to provoke an #AnimeGate. There’s been rage about critics giving negative reviews to “un-PC” shows like Goblin Slayer and The Rising of a Shield Hero. There was a fracas over High Guardian Spice, Crunchyroll’s first original series, which is far from release but has nevertheless sparked controversy with a teaser highlighting the show’s mostly female creative staff. There were claims that the English subtitles on Zombie Land Saga “changed” Lily Hoshikawa into a trans girl when the literal Japanese translation is actually more explicit that she’s trans. And that’s all just in the past year.”
Ok, let’s do this by list.
Goblin Slayer and RotSH have been slammed as being ‘anti-PC’ culture. In spite of the fact that they come from Japan which has a different culture to our own. I see Reuben takes no issues with that occurring, but with people criticizing that the shows have been attacked.
There was a fracas over a service which is using funds to promote their own show, run by all white women, instead of improving their service. Many are upset that they refuse to invest in their own site and improve performances that pirated sites being crowdfunded are able to.
I’ll admit I know nothing of this next one as Zombie’s make me want to puke when they aren’t on TWD. Stop ruining Zombies! All jokes aside, the actual criticism has been adding in SJW buzzwords that aren’t there in the original broadcast and the actual examples are older. I’ll give the most well known example of this occurring in Miss Kobayashi Dragon Maid:
Best never to assume gender, even your own!
Original:
Tohru: “what’s with that outfit?”
Lucoa: “everyone was always saying something to me, so I tried toning down the exposure. How is it?”
Tohru: “you should try changing your body next.”
SJW Subs:
Tohru: “what are you wearing that for?”
Lucoa: “oh those pesky patriarchal societal demands were getting on my nerves, so I changed clothes”
Tohru: “give it a week, they’ll be begging you to change back“
This really isn’t a valid point. If subs are specifically being changed to promote an ideology than not calling it out would be the actual problem. Anime is an art that many appreciate when it’s not put through a PC filter. And it is shameful to alter the creator’s works.
“The reality is, the alt-right troll segment of anime fandom has been stirring trouble for much longer.”
Me thinks someone does not know the meaning of the words they are using.
This is just another example of attacking the fans as being ‘others’ worth attacking. For those unaware “Alt-Right” is the re-branding of the Neo-Nazi party by Richard Spencer in order to become more ‘hip’ as most uninitiated folks would at least know to avoid anyone calling themselves a Nazi. The point of the movement is still the same: Massive Federal Govt that promotes laws based on racial identity. Fortunately there is not a push for this within the fandom. There is a push to keep labeling people as ‘Alt-Right’ as a way to just dehumanize and legitimize any criticism said person has.
“Such trolls are absolutely a problem in anime fandom. The harassment many voice actors, critics and fans have faced is inexcusable. Without minimizing the damage they’ve caused, and will continue to cause, there’s reason to be optimistic about the anime community’s ability to stand up to that sort of behavior. Whereas #Gamergate and #Comicsgate, unfortunately, became sustained movements, attempts to launch a similar #AnimeGate have so far failed.”
I really have to ask how many ‘troll’s are there engaging in this behavior? Because I’ve detailed in my last blog the actual doxxing and harassing of fans by those with direct ties to the VA community. Is this more justification of bad behavior? Hard to say. But if all forms of harassment are bad… I encourage Reuben to delete an article that seeks to harass a large portion of the fanbase he clearly has no intentions of actually engaging with.
“That might come as a surprise to some people outside anime circles. After all, 4Chan’s roots as an anime forum has meant there’s long been a connection between alt-right internet trolls and Japanese animation. Commentators have noted how prevalent anime avatars were among Gamergaters, while members of both GG and CG often express skewed Orientalist beliefs about Japanese pop culture being free from the “SJW scourge” of the West. Despite that unfortunate subsection of anime fandom being so vocal, the industry is better prepared to deal with the trolls than comics and gaming were.”
Uh…Huh… The leaps in logic here are fascinating. It seems as though Reuben is really under the impression that fandoms are being taken over by the Neo-Nazi party in order to ‘troll the SJWs’. Ok. As to his next point Japanese pop-culture isn’t very progressive at all. Their culture is actually quite oppressive as we’ve recently seen them debating steralizing trans-persons. Something I have not seen anyone jumping up in the fandom to praise. Although in fairness this is likely something the ‘alt-right’ would approve of so… ‘IS JAPAN REALLY ALT RIGHT???’ Just another trash article Reuben can work on next. No need to thank me for the clicks.
“GG and CG are, in large part, a response to increased diversity in spaces that previously catered predominantly to straight white men.”
Saying that first line tells me that this person has absolutely no understanding of comic books. I fell in love with Marvel because of their positions on social issues actually. That and the amazing art and stories. X-Men was written as an allegory to the civil rights movement, Spider-Man broke all norms and went against the CCA to bring awareness to drug use and addiction and Monica Rambeau was the first black, female leader to the Avengers in 1987 after taking over for Wasp who led the Avengers starting in 1982 and had her own story-line drawing awareness to domestic abuse.
Side Note: Any ‘Woke’ Progressives fawning over Brie Larson as Captain Marvel really need to understand the first female Captain Marvel WAS a black woman who deserved to be the first female Captain Marvel on screen. You aren’t progressive or you would have demanded Rambeau over wet blanket Danvers. Just saying.
I think we should remind everyone who the real leader was.
I will never understand where the thought process comes in for games as I’m a casual gamer, but I grew up as a poor Arab kid with my dad struggling to buy us used copies of Pokemon Blue, Sonic the Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot… But ok, maybe there was some push to make games only for straight white men. I mean why not add this onto the pile? It’s not like we’re ever going to prove any of the claims or anything.
“Anime fandom in the United States, by contrast, has been incredibly diverse for a long time.”
Remember how in SAO the female lead was pushed off to the side and was later turned into a sexual display while being molested and needing her ‘boyfriend/digital husband’ to save her from the bad man? Anime is far less progressive than comics ever were. Anime just focused on telling stories and avoiding these issues altogether since they are not things openly discussed in Japan. Horikawa only changed his direction after receiving backlash from American fans where his show is exceptionally popular… In spite of what I just said.
“Maybe in the era of VHS fansubs you could stereotype American otaku as guys watching Urutsukidoji in their basement, but most of North American anime fandom as we know it today can be traced to the Toonami boom.”
Oh thank Allah, finally a true statement. Toonami did bring most of us into the fold in North America.
“The classic Toonami lineup featured Sailor Moon, a proudly feminine series that attracted many girls to anime, and Dragon Ball Z, which developed a large following among people of color. In terms of gender, there long has been more anime and manga aimed at women than Western cartoons and comics, with some surveys showing anime/manga fandom leaning female as a whole. LGBTQ representation in anime can often be problematic, but that so much of it exists at all has long attracted LGBTQ devotees. Those who would want anime fandom to be the domain of only straight white men simply have no ground to stand on.”
Ok? The fact that you think anyone ever wanted that is the issue. My white friends and not-white friends all love Dragon Ball Z, all practiced going Super Saiyan together and all had soar throats from screaming for hours with one of us actually getting light headed and passing out. Anime, like comics and games, seem to be about escapism from our reality.
“The #Gamergate and #Comicsgate campaigns are heavily based on trying to punish the targets of their harassment.”
Really? I seem to remember it being about women who slept around with ‘journalists’ who then promoted their games. Comicsgate is about writers not producing stories, but instead enforcing SJW narratives and the absolute plummeting in sales. I praised the progressive pushes Marvel made in the past because they meant something. Making Ice-Man gay now is just pandering and, actually, a little insulting.
“When trolling reaches critical mass, it’s important for companies to stand up against the those involved.”
That’s exactly why I’m writing this. Standing up to a massive troll.
“Ignoring them can merely embolden the trolls, and kowtowing to their demands is the worst possible move. Unfortunately, far too many gaming companies stayed silent about #Gamergate, and even today companies like THQ Nordic do AMAs on GG hub site 8Chan. While many creatives stood up to #Comicsgate, some targets of harassment, notably Chelsea Cain and Chuck Wendig, lost jobs under questionable circumstances.”
I mean, comics are just failing drastically, but they continue the SJW push so… “Get Woke, Go Broke”
“Fortunately, the major anime licensing companies in the United States appear to be resisting the trolls. Crunchyroll is still supporting High Guardian Spice; FUNimation isn’t rehiring Vic Mignogna. Would-be #Animegaters might try to point to KamehaCon reinviting Mignogna as a victory, but it seems KamehaCon’s issues were more about contracts more than about fan backlash.”
#VicKicksBack #IStandWithVic
KamehaCon, AnimeMatsuri, HawaiiCon, BubbaFest, Fantasy Soft… All of whom the SJW crowd has been attacking relentlessly for not dropping Vic. And given that KamehaCon received predominantly positive responses to bringing Vic back it’s clear what the fans actually want. No?
“Many other voice actors are withdrawing from the event in protest.”
Because they said they would if they didn’t drop Vic. Vic is invited back, and they start to drop. Obviously there is no correlation.
“For all the positive things this article has said about Crunchyroll, FUNimation and other companies, the bottom line is they’re in the business of making of money rather than taking moral stands. If Crunchyroll were truly committed to a so-called “SJW agenda,” it probably wouldn’t have co-funded Goblin Slayer, with its gratuitous sexual-assault scene in the first episode, or The Rising of a Shield Hero, with its bizarrely positive attitude toward slavery.”
It’s rising of THE, not A. Show the hero some respect.
Agreed. But that’s really not what Reuben wants. He’s praising comic companies when they ‘take a stand’ and wind up losing money for it. Also, I haven’t watched Goblin Slayer because I don’t do great with excessive blood. Though with RotSH I don’t believe it actively promotes any sort of positive attitude towards slavery. It seems more of a morally grey take on the world the show exists in which seems to be the point of a lot of the show. But, you know, my people still have to sell their children into ‘servitude’ so it’s not like I’m speaking from any sort of understanding on the subject.
“It’s kind of hilarious, then, to see the trolls defend these “un-PC” shows and denounce Crunchyroll as “SJWs” in the same breath. If they’re supporting these shows through any legal means, Crunchyroll makes money. If they only pirate these shows, Crunchyroll either makes money anyway, proving the trolls don’t matter, or they lose money and decide to fund fewer shows like these.”
As with many things in life, two things can be the same at once. Many ‘Woke’ individuals often seek to profit off what they do. Check out Jim Jefferies and his recent outing as a blatant Islamophobe in spite of publicly supporting the religion. Crunchyroll does seek profits first, but they are run by SJWs. The kind that are smart enough not to kill off golden geese in the name of ‘progress’. I’m sure in Reuben’s world this would be a daily occurrence.
“Alt-right anime fans will often assert the medium is “free” from the influence of American “SJW” politics. That’s how you get people deluding themselves into thinking that Zombie Land Saga‘s subtitlers “forced” trans representation into the show as some nefarious plot. There’s a fraction of truth to their claims that American politics don’t hold significant influence on anime. But what would-be AnimeGaters don’t realize is that their own stances are also American politics, and that their effect on the industry is negligible.”
We still have not established what makes fans support massive government takeover and racial based laws, but Reuben continues with the hate label.
“Furthermore, they completely ignore that social-justice politics do exist in Japan, and have long been a force in anime. No American left-leaning complaints about anime are anywhere near as harsh as what Hayao Miyazaki has long said about his own industry. In as much as Japanese creators are concerned about international audiences, their goals are usually to try to make their shows more inclusive to certain groups (for example, see how Sword Art Online author Reki Kawahara has listened to criticism from international fans about his female characters, and has worked to improve). There are some anime staff, like Kazuyoshi Yaginuma, who relish the alt-right’s adoration, but bigotry is not good business, and as a result, the director isn’t finding work.
The entire progressive/SJW movement is part of Western culture almost exclusively. Japan is actively talking about sterilizing transpeople, they are excessively racist to even non-native Japanese and they have strict social customs that you can be ostracized quite easily for not following.
That said this is not always the case. JoJo’s has always been proof enough of this for me. However, Japan is a staunchly conservative society that is too conservative for most people that are used to the freedoms of the West.
I am confused though. Earlier we went from Anime being the most progressive of the three fandoms that have dealt with similar controversies, to now it being something that only some in Japan actively call out while others peddle ‘alt-right’ material.
“Yes, this is an optimistic outlook at the future of anime fandom, and it’s perfectly understandable why some are more pessimistic. The online culture wars and harassment campaigns of the past five years have been exhausting, and just because an #AnimeGate hasn’t blown up in that time doesn’t mean it couldn’t yet happen. Still, that it hasn’t is plenty of reason to maintain hope.”
Optimistic outlook? The majority of this article is just attacking people that disagree with Reuben on political or social issues, grouping them up into categories that are outright insulting and then patting him/herself on the back for ‘having a positive outlook’. Way to fail, my dude.
Strong words? I don’t want to mislead anyone with my article. This is not a down the middle, unbiased and objective take on the actions that have occurred within the anime community over the past month. This is instead a compilation of events and the asinine measures taken by leadership within #KickVic to silence those they disagree with and manipulate a gullible following. I will also make it clear that by their own account they should not be trusted.
As things have gotten rather out of hand lately and we’ve only escalated with both claims and the absurd nature of said claims, I think it’s important to go back to the very start of the foundation of #KickVic
What Are Those Allegations?
Vic Mignogna, open Christian, is a homophobe. He refuses to sign ‘Yaoi'(Male on Male) fan art and is openly rude and/or hostile to members of the LGBTQIARS+-? community.
Vic Mignogna has sexually assaulted con-goers, including minors, for years openly and in private.
Vic Migogna fans complain they were groped while underaged
Vic Migogna is a meanie hair-puller
Vic Migogna has a legion of trolls that act out his secret wills over social media
Oh my, how embarassing…
As seen above when we actually attempt to scrutinize claims we usually find the opposite is true. In spite of several claims of Vic’s open disdain we can see here that he actually speaks quite positively to those who are not straight. Almost as if the only rational for him being a bigot is him being an open Christian… Rather bigoted mindset I must say. However, the nonsense continues.
Kaylyn Saucedo, the woman who originally conspired the #KickVic movement originally stated three separate encounters with Vic Migogna and him acting inappropriately, spreading the hashtag through social media. However, in spite of being the original driving force behind removing Vic from his life she later revealed that she never actually did have these encounters. Instead she was speaking ‘on behalf of others’, but by now the damage was done. Kaylyn whipped up a frenzy and grifted gullible, good people into believing that there was indeed a rapist attending conventions.
I will not be sharing photos for this, obvious reasons, but we know that images of Vic with minors were being circulated by ‘fans’ who he had touched inappropriately. However, in a shocking statement one of the girl’s in the photos came forward to demand their name be removed from the crusade of stupidity against Vic. It was revealed leaders pushing the #KickVic were not only fabricating their own stories, but the stories of ‘victims’. As of now I believe people can understand why #KickVic should never have been trusted or given credence. In fact, it appears that at best we are taking the words of some ‘minors at the time’ who feel they were too obsessed with Vic and don’t like how they used to idolized him. i.e. He’s a creeper that should know what they were thinking and that makes him the bad man they say he is… LOGIC!
Now I admit, my last two points are rather facetious, but we cannot say they are untrue either. In the case of mister meanie the hairpuller we were told of constant examples of Vic grabbing women by the hair and yanking them in front of others… While we are still waiting for non photo-shopped evidence of any kind we did learn of one instance. One photo from role reversal shot, between Vic Mignogna and Wendy Powell, in a scene from Full Metal Alchemist which they provided the voices of Edward Elrich and Envy. As for the last… I mean if you believe that you’re only proving the NPC Meme to be an actual thing. And we’re not the NPCs my friend.
What a monster…! (I mean Envy)
MeepyGal, Io9 & Rial Accusations
This is where the meat of the arguments for #KickVic seem to come from. And while I know MeepyGal deleted her video, I think it shows why even with actual footage there needs to be critical thinking involved, but YellowFlash2 has an excellent video below to see why it’s important to question all claims made.
Never trust an SJW to tell the truth.
Now that we’ve had a chance to refresh on why taking an SJW at their word is pure folly, let’s move forward. The Io9 article stated that there were 25~ voice actresses who had previously worked with Vic and given testimonies, seemingly backing up the claims of Rial… Or did they?
Stories about Mignogna have been circulating online for over a decade, including through the Tumblr blog Dear Vic Meggnogna, but the latest round of accusations started surfacing around mid-January of this year. io9 spoke with more than 25 voice actors, cosplayers, industry professionals, convention employees, and former fans about their experiences with Mignogna. Many of them asked not to be named in fear of retaliation from Mignogna or his fanbase. These, along with the testimonials circulating online, paint a picture of a 56-year-old man who aggressively hugs, grabs, touches, kisses, and propositions women—often without asking for their consent. It happens at panels, in autograph lines, at private events, and behind closed doors. His behavior has become so known in the anime and comic convention communities that it’s more than an open secret.
Now, I know that seems rather damning, and I think that’s the point. And while I could simply start going through each story told, point of similarities and explain why the damn timelines aren’t able to be proven/disproven, or point of that Vic’s actual statement was edited to paint him in a terrible light… And then of course be labeled a ‘victim shamer’ or other such nonsense I think we can just take the words above to show how these stories are used to ‘paint the picture’ of a creeper, but can easily just be dismantled with a modest level of critical thinking and this: “It happens at panels, in authograph lines, at private events”
Ok – Put up your shut up #KickVic. Moving on!
Rial has to be mentioned as the woman who brought validity to this march of madness. And by her own words she not once, but twice, was manipulated into an unwanted sexual encounter with Vic Mignogna. As someone who has had family members assaulted I want to make it clear that given she has already parroted the claims of #KickVic prior to her statements of what happened with her… Things just don’t add up.
For years Rial not only knew he was a deviant, but then also was his friend, but then also was assaulted, but then also forgave him, but then also went back and was assaulted again, but then also decided not to say anything, but then also changed her mind later. Ok. If you want to follow that nonsense wagon as it goes off the tracks of sanity, by all means I say. But it’s not ‘victim shaming’ to point out the absurdity in her own recollection of events.
But more importantly, there was a serious push by not only Rial, but the entire #KickVic movement to judge Vic over social media, several times admitting that they did not need to judge him in a court of law. As stated by their leaders and guppies openly: Innocent until proven guilty ONLY matters in a court of law.
Threats & Disdain Against the Fans
Before this really began to boil over, many were confused. UnrealEnt, who introduced me to this controversy via his Youtube channel had a very middle of the road approach. And like him I think the antics against the fandom really turned my opinions. As more people began to question the absurd nature of the claims and the lack of any coroborating evidence that wasn’t photo-shopped or in some way altered, we saw rather bizzare and absurd reactions from staff of Funimation.
If you did not ‘believe the victims’ then you must be a troll, a rabid Viccer seeking to spread ‘wrong thunkery’ and harassment against women/WAAHMEN. And to repeat, this was not coming from fans of Rial(who are you people?), but from the staff themselves.
When you are unironically shouting “I’m reporting you to the Department of Homeland Security”… you’ve lost the plot folks. And for any who believe that this was just the case of things getting too heated and that there is respect for the fandom.. Nope: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/FUNimation-Reviews-E381678.htm
Let me qualify the above reviews in case you are skeptical. These are written from former employees, but often times the reviews are left after people leave the company and will likely be biased. However, the reviews you should reference are before Feb 2019 in order to get as best an untainted look at what Funimation actually thinks about it’s fandom.
Funimation: Let’s Fake a Swat – TWICE!
Because if the fans don’t actually harass us, we can’t keep claiming itOh well, busted looks like we’re done here!Oh good, more double downing
Need I say more? Ok! Why is someone at Funimation, a person that worked on the investigation which.. somehow eventually culminated in Vic’s removal taking to social media with a fake Swat claim. Why were staff at Funi then jumping all over this nothing-burger, and then doubling down on this absolute tomfoolery? Fortunately Beta-Goku can no longer disappoint the young-me who once idolized seeing you go Super-Saiyan and crushing Freiza. No. Somehow you are less of a man to me than an 82 year-old Japanese woman, long may Nozawa reign.
Well this jackassery was quickly debunked and BetaKu slunk off from Twitter in abject shame and failure equally as fast, I believe it highlights that even the staff at Funimation have been willingly to push outright lies and nonsense in order to attack fans who supported Vic.
Betrayal of those who idolized you is somewhere on the level of knifing ‘friends’ in the back.
Direct Attacks On Youtubers Covering Events
Nick Rekeita, professional ‘lawsplainer’, has done tremendous work in defending not only Vic, but also in defending the fandom and explaining to us simple-folk who pay tribute to him daily(apparently) what legal troubles/ramifications all involved could face. His absolute destruction of Shane Holmberg was originally what I wanted to focus the bulk of my article on.
You see, I believe Shane was sent in as the unofficial mouthpiece of #KickVic and the Funimation staff supportive of it. Rekeita was gaining traction and Shane was supposed to shut it down. Afterall, Nick was just a shitty, lawsplaining, grifter, blackface, conman that didn’t actually know the law. Easy work right?
Perhaps. Maybe all of this was true. Unfortunately they picked a greaseball larded up on perpetual slim and dishonesty. Rather than go into further details on this abject failure and give him anymore time I think it’s important as a society to just acknowledge why it’s bad when shame eats too much stupidity: You crap out a Shane.
At this point Nick had proven to not only know the law surrounding these events and conventions far better than someone actually working with conventions, he’s also cause ShameShane to publicly state that he’d get Vic a Convention appearance… only for the fat oaf to rescind said offer due to ‘trolls’.
“Where is the attack, why all the backstory!!?”
Well, through this Nick and others were being criticized as grifter’s taking advantage of what the fans wanted. After this? Serious efforts were made to deplatform Nick. His twitter was suspended back to back and multiple complaints were made against him, including an ethics violation. His work address was posted publicly as #KickVic continued to deride him publicly over social media as if attempting to bait him and get him banned from the platform.
And age old tactic of the Ninny Brigade, rather than debate openly the points being made they work in the shadows to have you removed. And it’s important to note these games are being played heavily by the next two who have used their social media following as both a tool and a weapon.
Basic Bitches Chasing Clout – Prove Me Wrong
Now you might say, ‘what a mysoginicstic asshole’, fine. Prove me wrong. Show me anything Renfamous and Dominque Sky have actually done to actually help women. Rather than showing us women can do it, can be strong and have actual ideas to bring to the table they spend their days on social media REEEEEEEEEEing out at others that have accomplishments. They inserted themselves into the middle of intense drama, pushed the movement as they coddled up to the staff at Funimation and fed into a narcissistic mire of piss and vain arrogance.
And maybe you’re thinking that I’m ascribing ill intent to people, for Dominque Sky I’ll reference to her asinine twitter fued with a Youtuber named ItSen, who we all know is a good boy and the revelations of her doxxing people over FaceBook.
Photos
Ren needs no introduction for many, but I’ll explain my first interaction with her instead. You see I made some joke about their REEEEing and was immediately responded to having tagged both ImSupergirl(Twitter redacted for safety) and Ren. I thought perhaps she was upset given how quickly I was notified of a response, less than a single minute. But no, she was asking to know who the other person in the tweet was as they had her blocked. I was curious to know more, but chose to leave her comment alone and not get involved. Roughly thirty minutes later I received more notifications. Someone had come into the tweet to tell her what was up, and for her to respond: “Must be some shitty Youtuber”
Then why contact a man with five-ish followers at the time in order to track down someone who has you on block? Why have your minion search the conversation out? If this is something you honestly don’t care about from some person you don’t even know. I don’t know, I just found the entire interaction absolutely comical and a good display of how authoritarian narcissism works on social media. Had my language been more foul I’m certain I’d not of been able to continue engaging others so with a few questions that were never answered I’d left it alone.
UPDATE: Ren and her followers engaging in targeted harassment of Wrong Thunkers
He’ll never betray Ren-sama
It’s become clear that these two have leveraged their own followings to engage in attacks on fans supportive of Vic and if questioned will deflect to it being justified as striking back on trolls.
At War With the Cons
While the side-show PensaCon engaged in was funny and absurd to some degree… It did shit all over the narrative that this was about fans and keeping them safe. After all, when you state you will arrest those in support of Vic and remove others who did not come down strongly on either side, ala Geeks & Gamers… At this point you’re removing fans for not coming down and siding with Monica Rial. Why do this? Why not leave the fans out of it regardless of what they think?
It’s not about bringing people together, it’s about building a ‘safe space’ and removing the wrong thunkers.
Fortunately only PensaCon seemed to take this attitude. Others broke from Vic in silence; and those that did not soon faced the wrath of the SJW minions seeming to parrot PensaCons stance. Vic and his support must be removed wherever it may fester.
Now, this is where our story has some good news. As of only last week KamehaCon has invited Vic Mignogna back! I do not want to continue to put them into any bad lights and would hope all attend KamehaCon 2019 without any further disturbances.
However, recent happenings show that this decision will not be respected by #KickVic as they’ve continued to work on removing him in spite of him being an original attendee and having the majority of fans praise the decision.
It’s been revealed Christ Sabat and Monica Rial has been engaged in working to remove Vic from appearances by refusing to attend if conventions did not break their contracts with Vic. Proof? As soon as Vic was brought back Monica Rial broke off from the convention and is instead attempting to host an offsite signing which will be ‘Free for KamehaCon ticket holders’.
The war with conventions is not a war of rabid trolls demanding Vic be brought back. It’s been a war of bad-faith arguments and outright lies, in coordination with actual threats by Funimation staff to subvert the will of the fandom and remove Vic entirely.
And the Ninny Brigade then uses these cancellations as ‘proof’ that others share their safety concerns.
Final Words?
I want it to be clear, this is barely scratching the surface of what has been going down for the past month. I could not cover AnimeMatsuri, HawaiiCon, a bomb threat, Doxing or the systematic dismissal of fans by those they respected simply for not siding against Vic.
I can understand why people have fallen where they have. As someone whose had very young members of their family assaulted I took great measure in who to put my trust in, but I can only say that even by the stories KickVic has been pushing on us it means that the heroes we grew up listening to have actively been hiding a rapist and a pedophile from the public for years in order to profit off of his con appearances.
I know I’ve tossed major shade on massive players here, but even I believe that these Ninny Crusaders are simply the product of asinine virtue signaling and not the kind of trash that would hide that for years and participate in the abuse of children.
UPDATE: Given the severity of these recent updates I realized I should include these. It gives you a much better idea of some of the worst of the #KickVic that’s still going on today. HINT: Don’t be like these Ninny’s
“It’s only ok to bully when we do it. Also, kick Vic from Life” – Glad you’re gone! Come back when you’re not advocating for people’s deaths and I’m sure you’ll be treated like not a terrible person.
“These kids attacked me, so I’ma go attack these kids” – This isn’t targeted harassment. Targeted is constantly naming the kids to your followers and telling people that they are being mean to you. We both know what’s going to happen next.
I mean, I guess it’s not like you engage in Doxing…
“I can’t be near men! They may pretend to be my friend, manipulate me up into their room, pull me hair, assault me and then do it again in a few years. BUT I WILL GO WHERE THERE ARE BOMB THREATS!” – Flawless Thunkery.
“My brother was only caught with child porn. Vic was ACCUSED of actually touching one. WORSE!” – This logic is astounding. No apologies, just go fuck yourself and pity me.
Welcome to my blog and thank you for giving it a read. This is a space for me to organize my thoughts and write up articles on events which I believe are important. As of now it’ll be a writing exercise so please forgive any typos or grammatical errors. I have varied interests, but will do my best to be as precise with my points and hopefully be somewhat entertaining.
Also, as my main goal here is to practice writing I’ll happily except any advice on spoofing up the rest of the layout. Probably shouldn’t start by asking for help, but it’s not a major priority for now.
