Last night, I got an anonymous post from someone who I thought had given up on convincing me to help them stir up trouble, or support them in their trouble, or-- honestly I'm not sure what they thought they were doing, but their post read like a list of warning signs for "If he does this, this, and that, run for the hills, you probably won't get out of this relationship alive."
Eventually, after I made it clear that I was not buying what the anon was selling (look, you send me nine paragraphs of trying to convince me to help you tear down another woman, and I'm not going to be nice to you, not even right out of the gate, sorry not sorry as the kids these days say), I got a nice little explosion wherein the anon informed me that they're glad Trump won because he's a Real American, that they're glad my 'bitch queen' Hillary lost, compared President Obama to a false god and thus, me to a worshiper of false gods (that gets you sent to Hell, doesn't it?), and called me a couple of names that were, frankly, a step down from the delicate implication of breaking an Old Testament commandment.
I was shaky when I made last night's post, and I said some stuff that was funny in my head, but I think it was 'funny in my head' in more of an adrenaline-crash 'oh my god did they seriously end what could've been a threat to my life by calling me a little monkey?' way than actually being funny. So, having had some time to think-- and re-read, and a long comment to answer, here's what I actually want to say to anyone still reading or following this blog:
When you start researching the Middle Ages-- and definitely when you start researching Vikings-- you learn pretty quickly that there are two kinds of hobbyist Medievalists.
There are the people who want to know what things were like in as much nitty-gritty detail as possible, especially as might pertain to whatever special area of history tickles their fancy. What sort of seams were on a houpelande? How heavy was a hauberk? Just how much smaller was a Medieval ox than a modern steer? Why didn't Saxons eat chicken eggs if they ate chickens? What was the Danelaw? If we don't actually know what apron dresses looked like, why do all the reenactors wear them the same way? Were there any black people in Medieval England?
Then there are the people who find the Middle Ages fascinating because they haven't, and don't intend to, learn about it beyond Victorian revisionism of the period. They want to keep reading about Europe, before the Age of Sail, before the purchase of the first African slave or acceptance of the first brownish refugee, when the whole continent was white people. The men were white, and they were strong Christian white men who kept their families in line with a firm hand. The women were white and silent (if they knew what was good for them). The children were white and obedient. The kings were white, and the good kings were tall, good-looking men who kicked Saracen ass for the glory of Christendom, while the bad kings were short, misshapen men who murdered little children or overtaxed therich barons good free men of England, and always got their comeuppance in the end.
And it can be hard to know who's who. The second group sounds a lot like the first when you're talking about types of shoes or the worst jobs in a Medieval castle. And the second type often thinks that, because the first type is just as interested in the trappings of the Middle Ages as they are, the first type is just as white supremacist, too.
This can get particularly troublesome lately, because the incoming American presidential administration pretty much shares those views of a totally white, totally Christian, totally heterosexual utopia enforced by violence and the fear of violence.
I am a white person; I have white nonsense to unlearn (I'm working on it, it's a process). I'm also mentally ill, queer, and a cis woman.
This blog is a zero-tolerance zone for white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, fascists, and supporters of such. Anyone who stands for Donald Trump stands for putting my life* in legalized jeopardy, and is cordially invited to fuck right off my blog and unfollow me forever. I will not welcome debate on this topic. I will not agree to disagree. On ne passe pas.
Anonymous comments are currently screened, but still allowed. OpenID is still allowed, and Dreamwidth (although not busy) is free to join just in case some asshat ruins both anonymous commenting and OpenID for everyone. Disruptive comments will be frozen or deleted at my sole discretion.
*And the lives of a shitload of other Americans who happen to be a little browner or a little queerer or a little less Christian than the rest, but if I can't make them care about what happens to me through the content I've made, then I can't make them care about people they don't know, unfortunately.
99% of this blog will always be Sims related, history-related, or state-of-the-Hat posts explaining stuff that's affecting my ability to Sim or history or Sim History. Sorry for the disruption. Unless you're a white supremacist or white-supremacist-adjacent, in which case I'm not sorry about anything and I hope you step on a Lego. In bare feet, in the middle of the night, while you have a full bladder.
( Original post behind the cut, I'm owning my adrenaline-fueled crappy wording. )
Eventually, after I made it clear that I was not buying what the anon was selling (look, you send me nine paragraphs of trying to convince me to help you tear down another woman, and I'm not going to be nice to you, not even right out of the gate, sorry not sorry as the kids these days say), I got a nice little explosion wherein the anon informed me that they're glad Trump won because he's a Real American, that they're glad my 'bitch queen' Hillary lost, compared President Obama to a false god and thus, me to a worshiper of false gods (that gets you sent to Hell, doesn't it?), and called me a couple of names that were, frankly, a step down from the delicate implication of breaking an Old Testament commandment.
I was shaky when I made last night's post, and I said some stuff that was funny in my head, but I think it was 'funny in my head' in more of an adrenaline-crash 'oh my god did they seriously end what could've been a threat to my life by calling me a little monkey?' way than actually being funny. So, having had some time to think-- and re-read, and a long comment to answer, here's what I actually want to say to anyone still reading or following this blog:
When you start researching the Middle Ages-- and definitely when you start researching Vikings-- you learn pretty quickly that there are two kinds of hobbyist Medievalists.
There are the people who want to know what things were like in as much nitty-gritty detail as possible, especially as might pertain to whatever special area of history tickles their fancy. What sort of seams were on a houpelande? How heavy was a hauberk? Just how much smaller was a Medieval ox than a modern steer? Why didn't Saxons eat chicken eggs if they ate chickens? What was the Danelaw? If we don't actually know what apron dresses looked like, why do all the reenactors wear them the same way? Were there any black people in Medieval England?
Then there are the people who find the Middle Ages fascinating because they haven't, and don't intend to, learn about it beyond Victorian revisionism of the period. They want to keep reading about Europe, before the Age of Sail, before the purchase of the first African slave or acceptance of the first brownish refugee, when the whole continent was white people. The men were white, and they were strong Christian white men who kept their families in line with a firm hand. The women were white and silent (if they knew what was good for them). The children were white and obedient. The kings were white, and the good kings were tall, good-looking men who kicked Saracen ass for the glory of Christendom, while the bad kings were short, misshapen men who murdered little children or overtaxed the
And it can be hard to know who's who. The second group sounds a lot like the first when you're talking about types of shoes or the worst jobs in a Medieval castle. And the second type often thinks that, because the first type is just as interested in the trappings of the Middle Ages as they are, the first type is just as white supremacist, too.
This can get particularly troublesome lately, because the incoming American presidential administration pretty much shares those views of a totally white, totally Christian, totally heterosexual utopia enforced by violence and the fear of violence.
I am a white person; I have white nonsense to unlearn (I'm working on it, it's a process). I'm also mentally ill, queer, and a cis woman.
This blog is a zero-tolerance zone for white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, fascists, and supporters of such. Anyone who stands for Donald Trump stands for putting my life* in legalized jeopardy, and is cordially invited to fuck right off my blog and unfollow me forever. I will not welcome debate on this topic. I will not agree to disagree. On ne passe pas.
Anonymous comments are currently screened, but still allowed. OpenID is still allowed, and Dreamwidth (although not busy) is free to join just in case some asshat ruins both anonymous commenting and OpenID for everyone. Disruptive comments will be frozen or deleted at my sole discretion.
*And the lives of a shitload of other Americans who happen to be a little browner or a little queerer or a little less Christian than the rest, but if I can't make them care about what happens to me through the content I've made, then I can't make them care about people they don't know, unfortunately.
99% of this blog will always be Sims related, history-related, or state-of-the-Hat posts explaining stuff that's affecting my ability to Sim or history or Sim History. Sorry for the disruption. Unless you're a white supremacist or white-supremacist-adjacent, in which case I'm not sorry about anything and I hope you step on a Lego. In bare feet, in the middle of the night, while you have a full bladder.
( Original post behind the cut, I'm owning my adrenaline-fueled crappy wording. )