Courting Antisemitism

courting antisemitism

so i recently decided to take a look at the latest stonetoss comics (probably because i love suffering). and while i was expecting some content on the israel palestine conflict, what i did not expect was how... standard it seemed. well, most of it at least, but i'll get to that in a second.

for context, if you don't know what stonetoss is, it's a (poorly drawn) webcomic known for having radical alt-right views - meaning it's incredibly racist, homophobic, transphobic, islamophobic, antisemitic. all that fun stuff.

so while i was expecting to see bad stuff, one of the first things i saw on the topic of israel was this:

terrible art aside, this comic is making a point that i usually see in left wing circles: that israel is pinkwashing genocide.

curious if there was more like this, i kept looking, and the comic right before that one was this:

again, this makes points that i usually see in left wing circles. that american healthcare is crazy expensive, that canada tells poor people to commit suicide, and that israel is bombing hospitals.

why does stonetoss, this well known alt-right nutjob, now seem to be bringing up left-wing talking points?

curious, i kept going deeper:

well this is... odd. clearly, stonetoss is trying to say that israel is on another level of bad, even worse than russia, iran, and north korea. i can possibly see someone on the left making the argument that the russian invasion of ukraine isn't as bad as what israel is doing in gaza, or that at least north korea isn't invading any other countries, but... iran??? the country that has a police force designed to enforce religious law, and gets away with murdering women who do not properly cover their hair? the country that props up paramilitary groups in countries all over the middle east, including lebanon, yemen, and yes, palestine?? that's completely ridiculous

but, given how much more israel is in the news nowadays than any of these other countries, i could see why someone would buy this

and now, we're starting to get to the crux of what stonetoss is trying to do. when someone sees this, they might be inclined to agree with it. they might begin to think that israel is the worst country on the planet

and that might not seem so bad at first. but the more you hate israel, especially irrationally, the more you feel allowed to dehumanize those who support it. the more you might be willing to agree with this comic, which came out two days prior to the one above

this comic says that jews, as a whole have no desire to exist with other people. it is blatantly antisemitic

i'm sure you could imagine some young leftist who sees the comics above this one and thinks, "this guy makes some good points". and then, when they get to this one, they might realize that this is antisemitism

or, they may not.

and that would start them down the road to becoming an antisemite.

this is what stonetoss and other alt-right nutjobs are hoping to achieve. to take left wing fury at israel, and direct it at jews.

we saw it with those neo-nazis at the palestine rally, and we're seeing it again here.

and if you've found yourself agreeing with what stonetoss has said so far, i would like you to see the last comic stonetoss put out before october 7th:

this horrifically racist comic is in reference to an environmental activist who was murdered by a black man in early october. this blatantly racist garbage is the kind of stuff stonetoss usually puts out.

but as soon as october 7th happened? these were his next two comics:

stonetoss completely changed the comic's tone as soon as the current crisis started. why?

to get as many people as possible to get on board with hating jews.

and i know many of you might be thinking that "well, everyone knows that stonetoss is racist garbage. nobody is going to fall for this"

except, as we saw with the neo-nazis at the rally for palestine, it's not always that obvious who the antisemites are and who is just rallying for peace. they are often a lot better at disguising it than stonetoss is.

AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AWARE OF THAT

EVERYONE, no matter HOW much experience you have, can fall victim to propoganda. EVERYONE needs to be aware of what people around them are saying, and able to pick out hateful rhetoric, because even the stuff that is just kind of toeing the line of what's hateful is still putting your foot in the door

be cautious, everyone. and stomp out hate where you see it.

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A Republican elector in Texas, Chris Suprun, wrote in The New York Times that he will not vote for Trump: “Fifteen years ago, I swore an oath to defend my country and Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. On December 19, I will do it again.”

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There are plenty of reasons for the Electoral College to reject Trump, beyond the fact that he lost the popular vote by a landslide. Trump is assembling a cabinet of billionaires, bigots, and bullies who will help him loot the country, make inequality worse, and attack people of color. He’s turning the presidency into a vehicle for his own personal profit at our expense. Let’s be clear: It won’t be easy to convince at least 37 electors to reject Trump. Electors are party loyalists who rarely vote against the candidate who won their state. And the Republican National Committee is putting intense pressure on Republican electors to stand by Trump. But we have to step up and fight to defend our rights, our democracy, and our communities. That’s why we have to urge electors to do the right thing, even if the chances of success aren’t great. Will you help? YES, I will join an Electoral College protest in my state capitol on Monday, December 19. No, I can’t participate, but I will write my legislator and urge them to support the National Popular Vote plan to require electors in future years to choose the winner of the nationwide popular vote. Or, I will chip in $3 or more to help DFA organize to stop Trump – and ensure that the next president is elected by popular vote. Thank you for standing up for our democracy.

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xiah-ception

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How does the #Tokyo2020 #Olympics track contribute to athletes’ performances? I worked with Jess Wade on this graphic which takes a look at the materials science of the track: https://ift.tt/3rZbmH6 https://ift.tt/3fEZPIi

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xiah-ception

4 years ago

Fushiguro and Ryomen Sukuna

Diving into the mythology surrounding Fushiguro’s shikigami Makora. Disclaimer first: I am no expert, just a humble myth buff.

This is the hand seal (mudra) Fushiguro make to call forward his domain expansion. This mudra is associated with deity Bhaisajyaguru (薬師如来). Bhaisajyaguru is Buddha of healing from Mahayana Buddhism and known also as Yakushi Nyorai in Japan. Yakushi Nyorai has been known to release disease and pain from sick people. The believe of Yakushi Nyorai is the first to develop in Japan after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan.

Yakushi Nyorai is also the Buddha at the center of the Twelve Heavenly Generals (十二神将 read as Juuni shinshou) legends. Originally, the Twelve Heavenly Generals are yaksha or devils who were converted to Buddhism because of Yakushi Nyorai’s teaching. They are then tasked to protect Bhaisajyaguru and his followers.

So it is not actually surprising that one of Fushiguro’s shikigami is based on one of the Heavenly Generals.

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xiah-ception

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