Never been a fan of swords, and never had cause to use them. I carried one only when in a situation in which it would look odd not to have one, but did most killing with my bare hands. That is not to say I haven’t used one and haven’t talent for it. I have and do, but to be honest, I never understood basket-hilts. Much of the flexibility of handling is lost and since I prefer to turn the blade down and use it for butchering, I never could much find use for them. I wore a clayberg during the Civil War (of England) and afterward, but that was because it was simply common dress for men of estate who saw fit to be in the places I liked to go. To me, it was a sharp accessory and nothing more.

I’m not sure what you mean, but if you are in a good place, then I am pleased to hear it.

Happiness is not a state of being, at least not to my mind. The world is a churning thing that doesn’t care about those of us caught in it. Some things will please you, some will fill you with dismay. I suppose “happiness” is that capacity to  learn how to find the things of value and pursue them. Happiness is that condition that surpasses contentment – which is satisfied with finding a foundation of things and never deviating from them – and yet remains stable and fulfilled.

I am glad, if that is what you’ve found. Happiness is a rare kind of enlightenment.

gothhabiba:

“deathist” sounds like a black metal offshoot

This is when I think the narcissism of small difference comes into play. They become so enamored of their own ideas, the twists and turns that allow them to arrive at a given decision, the identity those nuances of thought provide them, that they completely fail to see they’ve forgotten the original purpose. The purpose is to provide people with the type of help they wish to have and create a baseline of assistance that is effective and flexible. The purpose is not to engage every single person who points out their logical leaps as if that person is a barricade to assistance or progress.

And Deathist sounds like it would make lovely music.

maghrebutch:

As everyone probably knows, being openly LGBT in Algeria is nearly impossible, as it is legally impossible (the fine is between 500 and 10 000 DA and the jail sentence between 2 months to 3 years), and hate crimes against LGBT people aren’t uncommon either. This legal situation and this highly homophobic and transphobic context makes it impossible for people living in Algeria to have any big pride celebration. That’s why we have TenTen.

TenTen (10th of October) is a day that celebrates being both LGBT and Algerian, this is about affirming that we exist and that one part of our identity doesn’t have to deny the other. This is a silent celebration where at 8 pm we light a candle, and (eventually) post its picture on facebook,  as a way to be a bit more visible and eventually break the loneliness that comes with being LGBT and closeted in a country that’s so unsafe and violent.

So today i’d like to raise some awareness about the situation in Algeria, i’d like to remind LGBT Algerians that they are not alone (and that things are slowly changing, be-shwiyya be-shwiyya*), and i‘d like to remind the French of their responsibility in the suffering and death of LGBT Algerians who were expulsed from France and sent back to Algeria*.

To my brothers and sisters in Maghreb in general, i wish you joy, safety and love. insha’allah, things will be ok for all of us ❤

* : For instance, an algerian movie about a trans woman was shown in an Algerian cinema a few years ago, which would have not been possible before. I spoke with the director and he told me that people reacted to it positively, overall. 

* : In the nineties (although this prob happened before and after as well), France would expulsed algerian trans women sex workers, still in their work clothes, knowing damn well that landing in Algeria dressed like that was like a death sentence for them. 

gothhabiba:

I’ve seen a couple of posts like this directed at men but none for white people so I’m going to make one

if you’re talking to a person of colour, about anything but especially about something personal or something regarding race in any way, you need to be asking yourself: “am I making them uncomfortable? do they want to be talking about this, here, now, and with me? am I being voyeuristic? am I being invasive? am I demanding information that they’re not volunteering? am I asking them to dredge up things they don’t want to dredge up?

am I asking them to perform emotional or intellectual labour for me (aka confessing things to them that might cause them emotional hurt & giving them the responsibility of absolving or forgiving me, or asking them to do my thinking for me or to be my personal moral compass, respectively)? would I ask this question of a white person? am I invading their personal space, emotionally or physically? am I disrespecting their boundaries? am I making it awkward or impossible for them to change the subject / end the conversation / leave the room? am I doing a good job of policing myself in this interaction so that they don’t have to?”

edit: white people in the notes have reacted to this as if it is an impossible litany of questions or an unreasonable gauntlet to run or something that would make interacting with people of colour untenable and unduly stressful. if you find yourself thinking this way, ask yourself why it is so hard to gather the central thread of all of this, namely “am I respecting the full humanity of the person I’m speaking to rather than treating them as an emotionless curiosity or thinking of them only in terms of their benefit to me?” ask yourself why being deliberate about treating people of colour like human beings would strain your relationships and conversations with them. understand that all of this is based on historical relationships of people of colour to whiteness as a structure and on personal experience, and is in no way arbitrary or frivolous.

Well said. With tremendous tact and aplomb. I would add that people who take issue with this “impossible gauntlet of questions” ought to ask themselves what gauntlet a person of color is enduring in order to live their every day life. When a person of color feels discriminated against, what series of questions are they asking of themselves. If they encounter an authority, are they wondering if anything they’re about to do is going to lead to their death. People of color endure introspection and gauntlets of questions in a way white people simply do not have to. So any white person who is sensitive to their fellow men and women will ask themselves, “Am I putting myself through that gauntlet of introspection and analysis that people of color endure every day they’re alive, simply because of the color of their skin?”

Beautifully written. Thank you for that.