Freedom Of Speech Naturally Implies Freedom From Repercussions For Your Speech.

Freedom of Speech naturally implies Freedom from repercussions for your speech.

How could anyone be free to speak when your speech would result in tangible consequences like violence, or loss of livelihood?

Would a gay man have freedom of speech, if his speech about gay rights were met with physical and financial consequences?

Freedom of Speech must have Freedom from Repercussions.

Thought I’d try something different. I made a cartoon infographic addressing a common myth about the Bible. Curious what people think. Is this something you’d like to see more of or should I just focus on the jokey stuff? As always, feel free to share.

Issat motherfucking starched pants walking around like J Edgar Hoover on a tuesday afternoon?

The trouble with public art installations is that even among those that don’t strive to be inoffensively bland, too many of them are designed to be cute or inspiring or edgy or otherwise provoke a specific, well-defined emotion. What we need is more public art whose intended reaction is “what in the goddamn…?”

The devil's greatest trick is tricking humans into believing they could tell good from evil without God's moral compass.

people be saying how having low/no empathy doesnt make you evil (which thats true, it doesnt. nor does it make you a bad person at all really) but what if i AM evil?? not because i have low empathy but like. just in general

The coins in John Wick are a monetized form of favors.

As Berrada says in John Wick 3, the word 'assassin' refers to 'men who have faith.' A favor, to some degree, is a transaction of faith. Whether a favor is repaid is a matter of faith.

The coins in John Wick thus represent the trade of favors. One to one. Perform a service for someone under the table, you get coins for that service, favors which one could then cash for other services down the line.

The coins as favors could be seen through the Wick films. In John Wick 1, John has a whole case full of coins and is consequently one of the most respected people under the table. The coins represent the store of favors and is indicative of the goodwill John has with people under the table.

In John Wick 2, John loses most of his coins and has to dip into his stash. John, at this state, still has goodwill. But assassins do not hesitate to target John when the contract is put out on him. Which shows that John has lost favor to some degree.

In John Wick 3, John has been excommunicated and is devoid of favours. John has to therefore burn bridges, by using his crucifix and marker with sofia, to survive. Otherwise, John is unable to access the services available under the table once John is excommunicado. At this point, John has little to no coins left.

Furthermore, the theme of owing and being owed favors is quite prevalent in John Wick 2 and 3. It is John's debts that get him dragged into Santino's affairs, and it is debts that force him on the run from the table until John decides to go against the table.

The coins are, therefore, not monetary in value. Instead they are the way people monetize the idea of faith under the table.

Why would an ex-First Sword of Braavos take on a gig as a weapon trainer for the daughter of a Westerosi Lord ? Isn't it a great step down from his previous position ? What was he even doing in KL anyway ? When Westerosi nobility look for weapons instructors, they usually go for kngihts, not old bravos.

This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten this question, but I looked and couldn’t find a post where I’d answered it before, so I might as well. 

Syrio took the job precisely because he’s the ex-First Sword. The old Sea Lord died, there was an election, and the new man wanted his own First Sword instead of Syrio, so Syrio needs to find a new job. 

And the problem with being a bravo in Braavos is that there are a lot of bravos looking for work, so competition is fierce and underemployment is rampant (hence why so many bravos run protection rackets or resort to mugging or begging with menaces). We don’t know whether the Sea Lord died of natural causes or whether Syrio left in disgrace because the Sea Lord died on his watch, but it could well have been the case either way that he found it difficult to find employment in the city, because it’s not the best branding. 

Alternatively, one of the ways you get work as an ambitious bravo looking to make your name is to kill a bravo with an established name, like say Syrio Forel. Now, the First Sword doesn’t run, but Syrio Forel might have grown weary of killing hot-headed young men and decided to move to somewhere that wasn’t something he had to deal with on a regular basis.

As for why King’s Landing? It’s a big city near to Braavos that doesn’t have a culture of bravos, as most of the Free Cities do (remember, water dancers are from Braavos, but not all bravos are water dancers). And while the nobility might not hire him for their sons, King’s Landing has a thriving merchant community (and not a small number of foreign merchants) who might want their sons to learn the blade even if they’re unlikely to become knights.

Also….he could also be an actual dancing master. A lot of swordmasters taught dance as well - footwork, balance, timing, etc. are critical to fencing so a lot of the skills carry over, the training rooms are essentially identical so if custom flags in one area you make up the difference in the other.