Eleven-pipers-piping - This Is Just Stuff I Like And Whatnot

If your life was a fanfiction, what tags would be used?

Sometimes I think about my life through the lens of the past.

How many things do I suffer though because of the greed of European “explorers” and American imperialism.

I leave the ‘āina. I leave my ‘ohana. I leave my heart. And I suffer at a job I hate. And I spent years wearing a fakey costume and smiling for tourists and pretending I felt anything other than empty.

I colonized myself. Made myself palatable for tourists. Made myself palatable for tips and a paycheck. And I ate popcorn for dinner bc that’s what we could afford and I spent my extra money making sure my siblings didn’t feel the crushing weight of poverty. And every extra cent was spent trying to save them from how I felt.

Humiliated. Colonized. A joke.

And now I live on the mainland because we cannot afford to live on sacred land. Because haoles move there for paradise, and they kill us as they buy up beautiful houses and pave the road for resorts. Our land. Our ‘āina. And I’m now a walking attraction. And I can do the hula style smile and I can make my eyes shine like diamonds. And people ask me if I picked coconuts from trees and I think about my elders who live in concrete apartments and I miss my grandfather and his warm smile. And I never know if I will see them again.

I used to stare at the statue of Kamehameha. His arm stretched out in a loving greeting. His other hand holding a spear to defend his people. But he leads with the hand. He leads with aloha.

Because that’s what we do. It is what we are born to do. We are born to aloha. To love. To compassion. Even now, even after everything, all I want to do is be kind.

And it’s terrible. But sometimes I just wish he had lead with the spear.

Concerning Violence. Dir. Göran Olsson. 2014

Forgotten By History

Female firefighters at Pearl Harbor (1941).

Donna Tobias - the first woman to graduate from the US Navy’s Deep Sea Diving School in 1975.

Brave women of the Red Cross hitting the beach at Normandy.

Dottie Kamenshek was called the best player in women’s baseball and was once recruited to play for a men’s professional team.

Kate Warne - Private Detective. Born in New York City, almost nothing is known of her prior to 1856 when, as a young widow, she answered an employment advertisement placed by Alan Pinkerton. She was one of four new agents the Pinkerton Detective Agency hired that year and proved to be a natural, taking to undercover work easily. She had taken part in embezzlement and railroad security cases when in 1861 the Pinkertons developed the first lead about an anti-Lincoln conspiracy.

Catherine Leroy, female photographer in Vietnam.

The three women pictured in this incredible photograph from 1885 – Anandibai Joshi of India, Keiko Okami of Japan, and Sabat Islambouli of Syria – each became the first licensed female doctors in their respective countries. The three were students at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania; one of the only places in the world at the time where women could study medicine.

Female Samurai Warrior - Onno-Bugeisha - Female warrior belonging to the Japanese upper class. Many women engaged in battle, commonly alongside samurai men. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honour in times of war.

One of the most feared of all London street gangs from the late 1880’s was a group of female toughs known as the Clockwork Oranges. They woulde later inspire Anthony burgess’ most notorious novel. Their main Rivals were the All-female “the Forty Elephants” gang.

Maureen Dunlop de Popp, Pioneering female pilot who flew Spitfires during Second World War. She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in 1942 and became one of a small group of female pilots who were trained to fly 38 types of aircraft.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston marathon. After realizing that a woman was running, race organizer Jock Semple went after Switzer shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.” However, Switzer’s boyfriend and other male runners provided a protective shield during the entire marathon. The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines, and Kathrine later won the NYC marathon with a time of 3:07:29.

again, israeli soldiers have invaded and launched brutal attacks against muslims worshipping inside the al-aqsa mosque - injuring children, women, and elderly with live bullets, tear gas, and grenades at innocent civilians worshipping in peace

every single ramadan this happens. every single year.

for those who aren’t muslim, please understand the significance of the timing and location. the al-aqsa mosque is one of the most holy sites in islam, and it’s currently ramadan, the holiest month of the year. it is intentional.

and this isn’t even getting into how many innocents have been killed since ramadan began, including children, elderly, and a disabled widow who supported her six children, now orphaned

i pray for a day when our holiest sites are respected and protected, and i pray for a day when the oppressed can spend their holiest days in peace and safety. i pray for an end to the occupation and it’s evil.

just because its true doesnt mean you should say it

Therapist: So, tell me about yourself. Why have you decided to go to therapy?

Tim: oh well it was all Bruce's idea. He's really good at picking up on when I'm feeling off. He absolutely insisted I talk to someone and after arguing with him for a bit, I relented.

Therapist: sounds like he really cares about you

Tim: yeah. You think as the good middle, unproblematic child I'd get overlooked, but he doesn't let anything slip by him

Flashback:

Tim [sighing]: sometimes i feel numb inside and nothing brings me joy. Everything i do just makes things worse

Batman, sitting at batcomputer: mhm

Tim [leaning dramatically over the back of a chair]: the days all blur together and i wonder if there's even a point to living. Why bother?

Batman: mhm

Tim [standing directly behind Bruce]: if i disappeared would you even miss me?

Batman: mhm yeah sound great Tim

Tim [resting his head on Bruce's shoulder]: this is a cry for help. I'm very depressed.

Batman: mhm

Jason: oh hey guys! Just dropping by before I go to kill the Penguin

Batman [whirling around]: wHAT?? YOU BETTER NOT-

Tim: oh for fucks sake

this kid’s post and his replies to people’s questions are so pure I’m sobbing

Hey, its Australia day! Aka the day a bunch of English arrived in Australia and began two centuries worth of genocide and cultural erasure.

In honour of Australia day, do you wanna help some indigenous people reclaim rightful ownership of their unceded lands?

The Watermelon Woman (1996) dir. Cheryl Dunye