The Birth Of Unions Through The Black Gaze

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when you like something, it goes into your own personal folder. and chances are good that, even if it’s public, no one will see it.

likes do not get shared to the dashboard, where others can actually see and have the opportunity to engage.

liking a creation only really benefits you, and not the creator or the rest of the tumblr community!

likes are great for bookmarking, saving posts with the intent of a later reblog, engaging with certain posts that don’t need to be shared (ie. personal posts), posts that you are not comfortable sharing, and prepping a queue.

REBLOGGING is the best way to support a content creator!

reblogs boost attention and engagement. it actually allows for that content to be shared with others. which, really, is what tumblr is all about!

tldr; reblogs > likes. please don’t take content creators for granted. this site would be nothing without them!

Sometimes you’re just an introverted loser who sits alone in your room with a cup of tea and a book, has fantasies about morally grey fictional characters, is severely touch starved with a completely fucked up sleep schedule and slowly declining mental health.

Tezcatlipoca, or "One Leg".

NO. 1

Tezcatlipoca is the god of the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, conflict, and providence. When depicted, he usually wore a talisman with a disk worn as a chest pectoral. While depicted with black and yellow stripes painted across his face, he is usually shown with his left foot replaced with an obsidian mirror, bone, or snake, as it was lost to the sea monster Cipactli in the mythos. In the Aztec religion, he was the central deity. In Aztec or Mesoamerican folklore, he and other gods could shapeshift, and he was no different as his counterpart was the illusive but powerful jaguar, which is why he is known as the jaguar god.

NO. 2

This figure is extremely popular, and worshipped by the Mayan and Olmec communities. His name in the Mesoamerican language means ‘Smoking Mirror.’ This deity has numerous epithets which allude to different characteristics, like Ipalnemoani ("He by Whom We Live"), Necoc Yaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"), and Tioque Nahuaque (‘Lord of the Near and the Night’), etc. His power to omnipresence was more a connection that extended far beyond obsidian since ritual bloodletting and human sacrifice were conducted with obsidian. Apart from being a creator god, he was also a trickster and ruled over the modern Aztec pantheon.

NO. 3

Tezcatlipoca, according to Aztec mythology, was born to the primordial creator deities Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, and had four siblings; one of whom, Quetzalcoatl, the god of the wind, patron of priests, and inventor of calendars and books; he was known as the Serpent Feathered god. The brothers feuded as much as they worked together, working towards the same goal but sometimes in opposition towards each other. After being born, this deity spent over 600 years for his youngest brother Huitzilopochtli to grow flesh before Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, together, made the world. Before the world was made, the only thing that was technically alive were a few gods, a massive ocean and the sea monster, Cipactli, which Tezcatlipoca successfully lured away and killed by using his foot as bait. Both brothers were able to create the world on the sea monster’s body.

Gender and Religion

    NO.1

In order to understand the system of race, class and gender in America, we have to look at England’s role in their systems of class. ‘During this time period, the emergence of a consumer-oriented corporate order undermined the coherence of the Victorian gender system; rising gender consciousness among black women turned the ideology of ‘women’s sphere’ into a disrupted terrain of racial and struggle class; while women’s devotional practices became a site of gender contestation within American Catholic culture. Each of these developments has given impetus to new studies. Historians of conservative evangelicalism have complicated the heretofore easy equation of ‘Protestantism’ with ‘women’s sphere’ by delineating the different understandings of women’s role within early twentieth-century Protestantism; Progress across racial lines has been initiated by several important literary and historical studies that reveal how the separate spheres ideology served the interests of the white middle class by camouflaging racial and economic differences.’’

 NO. 2

Since the early 1980’s, advances in the study of gender in American history have come primarily through an unmasking of the assumptions of earlier studies; Others have laid bare the earlier scholarship’s assumption’s to universal gender definitions that do not take into account differences in women’s roles based on race, class, or region. Additionally, several historians have begun to explore the influence of gender relations on the lives of men. As a result, we are beginning to get a picture of gender in the American history that goes beyond the ‘women’s sphere’ experience of white, middle-class, northeastern women.

  For the past twenty years of this apparent lifetime, Protestant mainline has given way to a religious studies interest in the social and cultural history of outsiders. Concurrently, an older Protestant consensus narrative has come to be seen as one of several stories that, together seek to account for the American religious past. Further inquiries have questioned the usefulness of both liberal and evangelical labels in accounting for the deep racial, economic and theological divisions of late nineteenth century among the more than 150 Protestant denominations, not to speak of the rapidly growing population of Catholics with their own substantial differences of nationality, theology and social class. As historians have started to study seriously the deep diversities in American culture, gender has emerged as an important analytic category for re-imagining America’s religious past.

NO. 3

    As recently as 1985, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese complained that historians of religion and gender have too often simply added ‘religion to an almost finished picture rather than exploring ways in which religion might refine and even radically revise the picture.’ Within the past decade, however recent developments both within and without the field of American religious history have begun to coalesce and suggest the contours of promising new departures, and most of this new work focuses on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Climate Change Conspiracy

  NO. 1

Climate Change is a widely talked about subject since the late 19th century. It is the rise of the average temperature on Earth’s climate system, and while there have been past periods of global warming, the rate it is going on right now is at an unprecedented level. But many conspiracy theorists believe that climate change must be a hoax, or has been invented for financial and ideological reasons.  Human influence is obviously the largest contributor due to climate change or global warming, but ‘’allegations have been made that scientists and institutions involved in global warming research are part of a global scientific conspiracy or engaged in a manipulative hoax. 

 Climate change denial ‘is a latecomer to neoliberal anti-environmentalism, it is now become the countermovement’s pivotal issue in battles against environmental regulations. Neoliberals hold that the issue provides license for wholesale intervention everywhere. Anti-environmentalism has been, from the start, a keystone of neoliberal anti regulatory politics.’’  Many politicians, celebrities, and magazines have stated that climate change is a hoax, scam or elaborate conspiracy, and this is dangerous because it convinces the public that climate change is a hoax as well; especially because the more power a person has the more convincing they become.

NO. 2

Donald Trump, in 2012, has stated that,  "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." Really? Climate change is not a scam created by a neighboring country, it is something real that affects everyone on the planet. ‘’The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that ‘human influence on climate has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century. These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of major nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing. Impacts include the extinction or relocation of many species as their ecosystems change, most immediately in coral reefs, mountains, and the Arctic.’’

   Unfortunately, economic stability will always be the reason for ignoring or abusing the environment. Conspirators and those who deny climate change will also see it as changing the jobs they’ve taken, the lives they’ve led, and the politicians they’ve followed, not to mention that getting the American public to understand and care about climate change is a challenge, even with the many conspiracies out there. ‘’Reeling from conservative attacks over liberal bias, ‘mainstream media’, seeking ‘editorial balance,’ often grant parity to ‘climate skeptic’ news releases and policy papers, from right-wing think tanks and their bought experts and pundits, with peer-reviewed science. Having increased leverage in recessions and periods of economic insecurity, many Americans are receptive to conservative views--that regulating fuel efficiency, and thereby vehicle size weight, increases energy prices and taxes ‘kills jobs,’ violates freedom of choice and threatens overall liberty.’’

NO. 3

    The way the media frames climate change doesn’t help inform people either on how to safely combat climate change, where every frame somehow includes a doomsday scenario, so much that it disempowers how people will react, and respond. Tropical storms, rising oceans, heat waves, reduction of snow and ice, and high carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will only increase if we choose to do nothing and believe that the science is wrong. When Hurricane Irma hit Houston, it showed real life consequences to climate change--as ocean temperatures increase, more hurricanes will become more severe and catastrophic. But those who reported and interviewed people, mainly conservatives who deny or deflect climate change is in the wrong for even presenting that to their audience. ‘’Those supplying the media with information--scientists, politicians, and NGO’s--share some of the blame. The way they media frame climate change will affect how audiences respond. Challenges include making stories more relevant to audiences, raising the profile of adaption and the perspectives of the poor, and reporting on ways to address climate change that brings additional benefits.’’

   Conspiracies have the ability to be fun, cause drama, and bring people together---they can also bring disarray and be wildly inaccurate. They can also be dangerous to the general public for fueling theories over science; climate change is real, and whether these theorists believe it or not, is based on whether or not human influence. We have the power to change the way the world has become.

Santa Muerte

NO. 1

A skeletal figure dressed in robes or dressed in the virgin’s shroud, Santa Muerte is both the Grim Reap-ress and the Angel of Mercy. She is the personification of death, and her full title, Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte as she is well known as, brings an ambiguous and malleable identity that is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees, as her following, especially in 21st century is being celebrated all over South America, but especially Mexico City to the United States and Canada.

NO. 2

Even though Christian missionaries and leaders condemned the religion, Santa Muerte ‘‘offers hope to a society threatened with hopelessness. In the colorful barrios of Mexican culture, the figure of Death is ubiquitous. With the lure and dangers of narco-culture, the violence among competing youth gangs, the haunting realities of an economy in collapse, and the gravel fight to survive in a Tepito marketplace; Mexicans face the reality of death on a daily basis. Santa Muerte, the image of death, protects them from uncertainties in their everyday lives. When Death is the only guarantee, it seems like Death is the only one to be trusted.’’ The worship of Santa Muerte began in the mid-20th century and was clandestine until the 1990s, were most prayers and other rites have been performed traditionally at home. Now in the 21st century, worship has become a more public thing. Santa Muerte has a male counterpart in the U.S, called the skeletal folk saints San La Muerte of Paraguay and Rey Pascual of Guatemala.

NO. 3

So, what caused the worship of Santa Muerte to become a massive, worldwide following? Drug violence, for one, and loss of faith in Christianity. ‘‘Former Mexican president Felipe Calderon’s declaration of war on the cartels in 2006 was received with praise by North American politicians, as in their view, it seemed that the Mexican government was finally taking a strong stand against the cartels and that there would be a swift resolution to the social problems associated with drug trafficking. This open war declared on the cartels resulted in an escalation of drug violence and forced several dramatic changes in the safety of Mexico and its already chaotic social scene. Military personnel, paramilitary groups, and the cartels have been fighting for control of the country and have created a state of panic in the border towns and beyond. The panic and violence in the north have begun to gradually make it’s way south and reach areas that were once ‘safe’. According to the BBC from 2006 to 2012, more than 50,000 individuals have died from drug-related violence. Amidst the drug-related instability, the once strong and influential Mexican Catholic Church has been losing credibility, support, and members. The loss of faith in the Catholic Church could be caused by many factors: general pessimism, individuals searching for other forms of faith, and the result of the church’s support for governing political parties.’’

NO. 4

Who is Santa Muerte? Anthropologists and historians J. Katia Perdigon Castaneda and R. Andrew Chestnut agree that the veneration of Santa Muerte is a combination of Catholic imagery and rituals from Meso-American pre-Hispanic gods and rituals. There is a common list of names for the goddess, such as Mi Nina, (My little girl), La Nina Bonita (the Pretty Girl), La Madrina (the Godmother), and Mi Amor (My Love)—adoring names that tighten the relationship between devotee and saint. There are darker allegations like Senora de la Sombras (Lady of the Shadows) or La Negra (the Black Lady). There is also La Hermana Blanca (The White Sister) and Hermana de la Luz (Sister of the Light). She is celebrated on the Day of the Dead, November 1st and 2nd. better known as Dia De los Muertos.

https://www.change.org/p/department-of-land-and-natural-resources-protect-pololu-valley

I saw this on Tiktok and thought it needed to be passed on. Pololū Valley is sacred land currently at risk of being developed into yet another "scenic tourist attraction" for profit. Activists like @/melemaikalanimakalapua on Tiktok are fighting to have this petition seen by as many people as possible in order to prevent the senseless destruction of this land.

Note that the petition says not to donate to change.org--donations to change.org do NOT protect Pololū Valley.

I hope that by spreading this to tumblr, I can help it reach more people. Please sign this and reblog it if you can!

https://www.change.org/p/department-of-land-and-natural-resources-protect-pololu-valley

The Labyrinth

Labyrinths from mythology are described more as mental quests, a challenge of the mind for the hero to overcome. Labyrinths are a deadly loss of misdirection, physically and mentally. The most famous story is the creation of the labyrinth, created by Daedalus, the greatest inventor and master craftsmen in all of Athens, Greece, for King Minos of Crete to conceal his monstrous son, the Minotaur, a creature half-man, and half bull. Theseus, the son of Zeus, was sentenced as a sacrifice for the Minotaur but was helped by King Minos’ daughter Ariadne, who gave him a pure thread to retrace his steps and slay the monster.

Several films, poems, and books talk about labyrinths and then some. Labyrinths are seen as grand symbols, as human beings have been fascinated with them since the beginning of time. The journey of the maze is the main character having to dive into a physical as well as mental underworld of sorts. ‘‘ ‘Labis’ is the Greek term for the double-headed ax. The earliest images of labyrinths. Their passageways like ripples or echoes radiating from the form of a double-headed ax; The acquisition of language, the mind-body problem, the question of meaning, of free will, consciousness. And the nature of that innate faculty of the ethical. Robert Morris says, ‘‘ideals, the admirable, right and wrong, the good, logic, principles. All connected in any given form of life. But maybe down deeper things are simpler.’’

Every corner of the world covers the symbolism of the linear one-way labyrinth as a pathway towards the center, towards salvation, God, and the tree of life. Trees play an important role, as they are connected to the labyrinth, they too are connected to the symbols of life, in Christianity and paganism. It is the archetype of the human experience and self idealization and leads us down a quest where the only way is through, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. The labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness, combining the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. It represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. ‘‘They [Labyrinths] have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. They have been found in ancient Crete, Egypt, and Etruscan; they have been inscribed on Neolithic tombs. They are a call to the center, a worship structure where the eternal beloved waits to be encountered. The labyrinth has always been associated with unity with God and conversation with the divine, with spirituality, worship, and the sacred mystery. Long ago, Christians were expected to travel to the holy land at least once during their lives. But as travel was often both difficult and dangerous, labyrinths were designed as alternative pilgrimages. If travel was out of the question, spiritual merit could be gained by walking a labyrinth.’’

This genocide is not just Netanyahu’s creation. This genocide is a state-funded terrorist machine propping up American imperialism and Israeli ethnosupremacy saturated by religious imperialism.

The Banning of Books

NO. 1

Books are intellectual properties that are increasingly challenged and criticized for their particular contents on race, sexuality, class, and gender, even fiction! Books aren’t just educational tools but forms of shaping individual experiences and values, and to be able to share the public is an essential part of our democratic society. The opposition claims that parents of young children have the right to keep their minds free and innocent of what is ‘controversial.’ A list of the books banned during this year is here if you wish to check it out.

NO. 2

Freedom of expression is one of our fundamental rights. Banning or censoring books violates individual rights, but how will children learn to express those individual ideas and thoughts if we suppress diverse perspectives? How will society move forward and evolve if we continue to shelter and limit knowledge? From Precocious Knowledge: Using Banned Books to Engage in a Youth Lens’, ‘‘The quest to protect the imagined innocence of ‘the young and inexperienced’ has endured and is today bolstered by differing organizations—Attempts to control language have a long history with youth; The implicit fear seems to be less about what language might do to teens and more about what teens might do with language. Obscenities can be used to wield power over adults or at least unsettle them. When we balk at a text because of its use of profanity, a racial slur, a homophobic remark, or any other language that might be deemed objectionable, we should consider if we are protecting our students or ourselves from feeling uncomfortable. Language that can be at times unnerving often feels reveals charged topics that demand messy and uneasy conversations.’’

NO. 3

In conclusion, this censorship is not only damaging our intellectual growth but another form of suppressing diverse perspectives, in turn trying to make a return to puritan society. Banning books is going to have the opposite reaction conservative politicians, groups, and parents are hoping for—instead of protecting young minds, it will only narrow their understanding of the world and deprive them of valuable opportunities for critical thinking. And no, I am not liberal, nor am I conservative (republican or democrat.) I am a citizen deeply concerned about the vast changes happening extremely quickly to limit and oppress the free flow of information, ideas, and expression. Children learn by example, and they express more than you give them credit for. They deserve the right to learn and explore freely.