Hold Thy Anger Close AU: Page 2

A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman

Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.

Let's start with the first visual we get:

UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic.

Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:

THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.

This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.

Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.

The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more. *Edit to add, the first part of this lyric is in reference to the Black Liberation Song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to everyone who mentioned that.

THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do. *Edit to add: they also all piled out of a clown car. The US flag in a clown car? Brilliant.

The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."

TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.

STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...

DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.

NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.

SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.

ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...

"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.

So what does Kendrick say?

IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.

40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.

NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes.

TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!

GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

URGENT MUTUAL AID REQUEST!

I am Wafa, a mother of 5 in Gaza. We’ve been displaced over 7 times, most recently from Rafah after its invasion. Now, we live in a tent in Khan Yunis where we witness bombings and massacres every day. Extreme temperatures, famine, malnutrition, water pollution, and bug infestations infected my children with hepatitis and painful skin conditions.

With no possible source of income, we need your donations to afford food, medicine and clean water to survive. Additionally, we need €5000 per person to evacuate Gaza and rebuild our lives. If you can’t donate, please share one of our videos on @wafa.family.gaza with the gofundme link. Every institution and politician has let us down. You are our only hope—the donation link is in our bio <3Or donate to me if you can please 🙏

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URGENT MUTUAL AID REQUEST! I am Wafa, a mother of 5 in Gaza. We’ve been displaced ove… Amir Ayyad needs your support for Help Us Build a

More Cult Of The Lab HeadCannons!

_ NARINDER_

Goes by He/They/It

He’s a bi-disaster, canonically  

Before everything, he, Shamura, and Leshy were close. He was playful and patient and kind and liked to bother Heket a lot. 

His scythe was a gift from Kalamar and he adored it. 

One day though, Shamura got the prophecy, and that set Narinders anger in motion, destroying his love for his siblings 

Photosensitive and cannot handle bright things. The void was the hell of hell 

Narinder's attacks on his family were calculated and directed at what they loved most

He attacked Shamuras mind because he knew they loved to read and plan various things, Heket loved to sing so what better to take from her than her voice. Kalamar loved to listen to his follower's voices when they praised him but now he can’t hear and Leshy loved to find and collect shiny things to make art with so it’s best to take his eyes

Nari wasn't unaffected by this of course, throughout the years during his imprisonment, it drove him further off the edge and made him mad with anger, and made him even more manipulative and sadistic. 

On his first day in imprisonment, he told his cult to kill anyone that wasn't part of the Red Crowns faith. 

When that didn’t work he forced his sibling's undead followers to try and kill them after 200 years. 

And when that didn’t work he sat and cried. 

About 300 years into his imprisonment he started tasking people with his crown to make cults in his name and kill any of his sibling's followers

400 years in, he met Ratuu and Forunas. He loved Fornaus like no other and wanted to give her a wonderful gift. The gift being her sons. 

When Forunas gave birth he gave her a blessing to live forever healthy so she could see them again and took the twins after 6 years. While he cursed Ratuu with immortality to rot slowly for failing him and his sons. 

Clingy 

He loved and cared for his boys and took them under his wing, teaching them various spells, and curses and helped them perfect their physical abilities. He helped them channel their inner divine power and blood. But just like with his siblings, his anger from being trapped and them dying clouded his mind and slowly eclipsed his love for them. It turned to something warm and soft, but bitter and thin as time went on. It caused him to put them through inexcusable pain in the name of their survival. 

After the Lamb kicked his ass, he was forced to think about what he’s done and wishes he could take it all back. 

He never told Foranus what happened to her kits and he has yet to confront her. 

He does miss her company and still loves her. His fear of her hating him stops him from saying anything though. 

Aym was always his favorite. 

Every time he thinks about Baal or sees him, it causes a shock of pain in him. How did he not see his oldest hating him so much…?

He wants to reconcile with the boys. 

He has trouble lifting things after chains were wrapped around his arms for years. The Lamb usually helps him. 

No one is left. We are all going to die. They killed his parents, his wife, his children, his siblings... (and they will kill him). This is the reality of every Palestinian. Time is up. Protest. Say no to racism. Don't just watch — you can make a difference. To the world: You are not powerless.

To Tumblr users, to the trans community, to designers — all of you: Take to the streets and protest. Boycott companies supporting the aggression. Share the truth; do not stay silent.

Donate to trusted organizations that support the Palestinian people. Stand for justice and humanity.

You are watching, and someone else is watching at the same time. Join us.

✅️vetted by, @/90-ghost, & @/el-shab-hussein &@/gazavetters

Hello. I'm sorry about the radio silence. This happened, and I recently had to step away for family and personal reasons. I am feeling a lot better now and the family is alright, so I think I'm ready to be back

Our dreams have been destroyed, and we have nothing left...😞

🫂You're our last hope in this life🫂

I'm Lama from Gaza, I'm 24 years old, and my husband is Mohammad... We got married in 2022 in a house full of love and happiness. Our house was beautiful, we chose everything in it carefully... We were waiting for the end of the day to go there after a tiring day of work, but the occupation did not leave us. 😔😭💔

This house was bombed with all hatred. Here we are after the genocide. We have nothing... We lost our house, our work, and our car.😭😞

We were displaced to Rafah in a tent that could not accommodate 5 people, and after the displacement from Rafah, we were displaced to Mawasi Khan Yunis again. It was a very difficult period... but now we are in Mawasi Khan Yunis in a tent that does not protect us from the cold of winter or the heat of summer.😞😭

This is our tent, its floor is made of cardboard, as you can see, and I suffer from severe eczema due to the pollution of the air and the materials used, and the medicine is very expensive.😭💔

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Help us and donate to us. You are our last hope and the lifeline of this life. 🫂🙏

We need you...Donate to us and save what is left of us.😞🙏🙏

Link campaign ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️

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Donate to Helping Lama & Mohammed to evacuate from Gaza, organized by Mohammed alresh

I’m Lama Hourani, 24 years old, administrative assistant from Khan Youn… Mohammed alresh needs your support for Helping Lama & Mohammed to

✅️Vetted✅️

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Lama is indeed vetted by association through @ayoosh-gaza (vet). I asked her and she confirmed that she knows Lama's husband. Proof under cu

@gazavetters

Hey, wait! Please stop scrolling for a sec!

Please bear with me and read to the end! I promise it'll be worth it.

My name is Nexys, and I am queer and disabled. For years I have been striving to create the most tight-knit safe space (that's ACTUALLY safe) on the internet, using content creation as common ground. And we're really starting to take off!

But I need your help. Please reblog this post so that I may meet new people and make new friends! My community has been lifechanging, both to myself and to the people within it. I really feel like my Twitch, YouTube, and Discord communities have been making a difference in the lives of some of the most disadvantaged and marginalized people in the LGBT and neurodiverse communities.

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Un-Withered Bonnie and Spring Bonnie are up next. I wanted them to be somewhat similar to each other since they did exist at the same time right? Idk maybe they were cousins or something but yeah!

I wanted to give Bonnie that old animatronic sort of look with the plastic face and half-lidded eyes, roast cheeks and permanent smile. I wanted to do that with Spring as well but make him more of an actual suit. Might redesign them in the future