For Those Who Are Unaware, The IDF Has Been Literally Hunting Motaz All Week Using Drones And Constantly

For those who are unaware, the IDF has been literally hunting Motaz all week using drones and constantly calling his phone. I guess they've given up on hiring Israeli actors to impersonate Palestinians.

i'm boycotting hybe merch and i think you should too

listen: i'm not going to hold anyone's feet to the fire and say "boycott or else" and i am not going to unfollow or unfriend people, but i have been thinking a lot about this, and then i saw a post on twitter basically outlining everything that i have been mulling over & then some, and it has just been on my mind all day (and tbh for a few days) and i thought that maybe if i put these thoughts out into the world, it might get people thinking.

i also realize that these thoughts would have been better if realized before black friday and current merch drops, but it is what it is. i didn't even know they were doing another merch drop because i do not pay attention.

THE AFOREMENTIONED THOUGHTS; APOLOGIES FOR BEING SCATTERED:

we are witnessing the starbucks boycott working, and although it is yet to be stated whether that is making anyone on the upper level rethink their bullshit, they have been losing billions !!! of dollars.

i think people will be like "but i don't want to hurt BTS as people," and i hear that, but i also do not genuinely think a boycott would. they are literally fucking millionaires, and it is so hard to not get on my "i don't respect millionaires or believe they have the right to exist" soapbox when i do love them so much, but i also don't think they need our money, especially right now. especially because some (if not most) money can't go to them while they are in the military anyway (although i did see something about how the artist collection proceeds still might since it was initially sold before??? idk. still they are fucking millionaires.)

i think that what would be impactful would be for people to stop buying the merch for a while to send a message to hybe that we are not in support of zionists working with BTS. a romantic, faraway dream is for them to drop scooter braun's dumbass all together, but i do not genuinely think hybe or bang pd gives a shit about much beyond money, which is unfortunate. on this note tho, we could organize an email campaign??? i am more than down??? but it would depend on a lot of you participating. (if you're down tho i will type it up right away.)

do i think we need to boycott golden as a whole? no. i mean........i'm not buying the album because i have personally been more or less boycotting merch since the whole angel pt. 1 debacle, but i think that streams are fine bc they hardly bring in money anyway. but i am boycotting the justin timberlake and usher remixes because.......well, sorry but the favs are problematic.

[going to center myself and my feelings quick and i apologize...] i just cannot get through a day without sobbing uncontrollably about what is happening in gaza. and i cannot, in good faith, support zionists or people who work with them. this falls in line with BTS preaching for us to "love yourself, speak yourself." everything they have stated in UN speeches and in many of their lyrics makes me feel like the only thing i can do as a fan is stand up for injustices when i see them, and hybe working with zionists is a huge injustice. and if you disagree.......idk. i cannot sympathize with or understand you; this post is not for you.

i think it is a huge injustice to what BTS instills in people and makes them believe if we sit back while hybe does whatever the fuck they want without caring about the consequences.

(disney is also on the list, by the way, of companies that support israel. if you need illegal links to disney+ bts content, we can figure something out.)

also, i will say that while silence is violence and choosing neutrality is choosing the side of the oppressor, i wonder if the reason none of the guys are speaking out about the conflict has to do with their enlistment (aka something pertaining to matters i do not understand within the korean government) or within the company itself because they work with scooter et al (aka bang telling them to stay quiet.) whatever the reason is, i guess i am choosing the side of wishful thinking right now. i have absolutely no proof for any of these thoughts, but i do see some people angry at BTS for not speaking up, and while i agree that everyone should use their platforms, i am wondering aloud whether there might be a reason for it. this is not me making excuses for anyone, though........i just don't know. i have no idea.

SOME FINAL FINAL THOUGHTS:

at the end of the day, we can only do what we can. if you can only boycott so much, you can only boycott so much. it takes time and effort to radicalize to the point of cutting out so many unnecessary things what we deem as "necessary." but it is possible. your money does make a difference, and wouldn't you want that difference to be good? and if you do have a moment of weakness, it is important to continue to stay the path and do not let guilt make you feel one way or another. we all make mistakes but the important thing is that we try.

ALSO if you want cute merch, support independent artists!!!!!!!!! the BTS army is full of amazing creatives and your money can help them for a little while instead!!!

i might be missing a lot, like i said, my brain is super scattered. but if this resonates or speaks to you or there is more i should consider, please reach out.

re: me taking a break from ao3, i have given it some time to settle and have attempted to dig and the best that i can surmise is that ao3 is more or less neutral/not speaking on the current atrocity, which…may make sense for that kind of organization?

i found some folks who work both for ao3 and for other similarly run organizations (on reddit, mind you) discussing that employees and volunteers are not allowed to post any kind of political position of any sort on their internal work platforms, and since that slack in question is for volunteers, someone posting about Palestine does violate that rule.

i am also aware that people often try to take down ao3, but this didn’t feel like that. i think this is an issue that people are very trigger-happy about being cautious and even outspoken about — myself included. so i suppose once i have content to post there, i will continue to do so. (the current drabble event is going to stick to being tumblr only.) thanks to those of you who followed me over here while i sort things out!!! 💜

girl help i’m having creation ideas above my skill level

sending forehead kisses to all the writers on here whose first language isn’t english!!

seriously, writing is hard in and of itself, but adding the additional burden of doing so in a second/third/fourth language — just to feed those of us who only speak english?? we don’t deserve you, and yet we’re lucky enough to have you anyway 🥹

i see you; i love you; and i thank you from the bottom of my lil monolingual heart 💕✨

💜

My frustrations and anger grows daily, but so does my love. If you are Palestinian, I love you. If you’re from Congo I love you. If you’re from Tigray, Kurdistan, Yemen, Cameroon, Sudan, etc... I love y’all. My love for people has grown, because this world is being controlled by people who don’t care about us so it’s our job to care about one another. Check up on one another, there are humanitarian crisis everywhere, and we’re living in an age where death and genocide is very visible. This is the first time ever we’ve been able to communicate with the victims of genocide so closely. Reach out to people, remind them of how much you love and care about them. I saw a video the other day of an Indonesian flight attendant on bended knee as he expressed to a Palestinian how much he loved him and about his grief for the massacre against his people. This struck me. Yes, grieve. Yes, be angry. But right now what those people need to see the most is our support and our love. That’s the most Important thing. Keep reading and educating hand protesting, but make sure you find someone and tell them you love them. There’s no reason for us to be divided when the forces of power in this world are the forces who harm us and want us to be divided. Wake up and see the bigger picture. The criminalization and dehumanization of the victims of genocide is not misplaced and it’s not just propaganda, it’s islamphobia and racism and so much more at play. Understand that they don’t want you to see Arabs as human, they don’t want you to relate to them and see them as the victims or survivors they are, they don’t want you to relate to them, but if your heart is good and you’re educated, you’ll know that it’s all strategy. We relate to those victims more than anything, more than we do government officials and politicians. Tell them how much you love them, please. Because some of them are going to die without ever knowing or ever seeing, and a lot of people were late to see their pain.