tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60568566263866219242024-03-18T02:48:15.176-07:00SciFiMagpieScience fiction, urban fantasy, horror. Writing, reviews, queerness. Observations from the nest.Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.comBlogger311125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-61169162256529537022023-12-21T23:24:00.000-08:002023-12-21T23:24:29.077-08:00Why Haven't I Posted Since July? <p> Well - to be honest, I've been too busy!</p><p> a) writing the Prairie Weather trilogy, which is now finished and on submission to publishers - wish me luck! It's 155K, and if you want to beta-read it, pick your favourite social media and contact me. </p><p><br />and b) - finally, finally, finishing Monsters and Fools, the sequel to the Underlighters. That's right, that sequel. Yes, it really did take ten years. I'm also 13K into The Foundling City, the final book in the trilogy, and given the outline, I'm expecting to be finished that book some time in 2024. </p><p>c) We're preparing for our first child (River, due in early March!) and I have no idea what that will do to my writing or publishing schedule. <br /><br /></p><p>d) I haven't been writing many essays for a while, but I HAVE been posting lots of snippets and updates over on my Tumblr! Tumblr is definitely my most active platform, and it's unquestionably one of the best ways to contact me these days, as well as the best way to find out what I'm working on. </p><p>So, yeah! Hit me up over there, or possibly on Facebook. I may get back to writing essays in the new year as well, but I plan to spend a bunch of time actually reading political theory, which may also result in a lot more essays and thinkpieces. We'll see! </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A writer and professional freelance editor, Michelle Browne lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, knitting, jewelry-making, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: *<a href="http://scifimagpie.com/" style="color: #4412ff; text-decoration-line: none;">Website</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; 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text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-54853967636705062222023-07-28T00:42:00.000-07:002023-07-28T00:42:27.119-07:00Back on Ash Tree Lane: Revisiting House of Leaves<p><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkS2BztWABNfxz2dAIaby-XrtbjzxRW4t6ceRtGXADC-dfMYch0EeX7p39jer9SzBjBvmPxQb-Ec4pWpujZQpWSpl2dkjOT3g75PE6rUtVXc_kuw8hMv_QA06xYUidcKBQFarW7c1X9J92plCLAcAhg8lILEATTrJC_ySzN3ypNrz-_S178hCKYRFCBU/s747/house%20of%20leaves%20fanart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="747" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkS2BztWABNfxz2dAIaby-XrtbjzxRW4t6ceRtGXADC-dfMYch0EeX7p39jer9SzBjBvmPxQb-Ec4pWpujZQpWSpl2dkjOT3g75PE6rUtVXc_kuw8hMv_QA06xYUidcKBQFarW7c1X9J92plCLAcAhg8lILEATTrJC_ySzN3ypNrz-_S178hCKYRFCBU/s320/house%20of%20leaves%20fanart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Art by Michelle Browne, 2023. Yep, I'm back on my bullshit.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>An abbreviated version of this appears as a review for the book on my Amazon and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3301336.Michelle_Browne">Goodreads</a> accounts, but I realised I had more to say. <p></p><p>Beware, because </p><p>SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS </p><p>for this 23-year-old book (jeez) abound.</p><p> I first read House of Leaves years and years ago, and then some friends suggested reading it for a book club this year. Naturally, I figured it was a good time for a revisit; it's probably been fifteen years or more since I picked it up. Maybe closer to twenty. (Jeez, I'm old.) <br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Vibe Check</h4><p>As much as parts of the book do genuinely deliver a dizzying thrill ride, the beginning of the book actually didn't quite hold up for me. But I have to admit, this is a book you have to binge - try to read it in long sessions. Also there's a ton of content warnings for this book - child abuse, sexual assault mentions, sexual harassment, mental illness, animal harm and death, infanticide, attempted child murder...plus some good, old-fashioned gore and body horror. Lots of horrible, excellent, spooky stuff, and it's generally treated with some respect. </p><p>Once you start to "get" the book, the labyrinthine page formatting and the distracting footnotes - they're there for vibes most of the time, and to instill a sense of authenticity and realism - it's amazing. </p><p>Is this book the most accessible thing I've ever read? Probably not. I don't even know how it is from a disability perspective - I'm not even sure how you'd make an audiobook that captures the vibe. (Maybe with lots of sound effects and clever editing tricks? Actually, if that exists somewhere, someone send it to me.)</p><p>And yet, the overall story, about the mental health issues of Johnny Truant, and the possibility of the entire thing being his invention? Or the invention of his mental health? And the subtle nested story meta-structure thing - is really sad and really cool. There's something very visceral about this sad, sad guy's lonely wandering and search for answers. </p><p>A lot of people are tempted to skim Johnny's segments for some reason, but if at all possible, don't do that. Johnny's mother's institutionalization when he was young, his persistent struggles with poverty, mental health issues, substance use, and intimacy, as well as possible ADHD (just to take a few wild guesses), and the death of his "godlike" pilot father and the subsequent abusive monstrousness of his stepfather Raymond, are all essential parts of the narrative. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Some griping</h4><p>Yeah, it's at least borderline "dick lit," i.e. a book about man-pain bordering on the fetishistic (i.e., your <i>On the Road</i>, most Hemingway books, <i>Crime and Punishment,</i> <i>Catch-22, Fight Club, </i>plenty of other literary fiction titles - those are just some I've read that fit the bill). But this is "dick lit" that actually shares something scared, vulnerable, and alone, and shows the holes in toxic masculinity - as well as the dangers of mythologizing male figures in one's life. </p><p>The creepy Oedipal stuff with Johnny's mother, as revealed in her letters from the mental institution, and the meta-fictional portrayal of Karen, as well as all the hookup girls, definitely fit too well into that Madonna/whore dichotomy. And it's worth saying that the book is extremely white and quite straight - for someone in LA, Johnny never seems to even encounter a queer person or drag queen/king, and homosexuality is only mentioned in a context of denigrating Will Navidson's masculinity, and questioning the fidelity of his wife, Karen. Even the book metatextually commentating on the mother/whore dichotomy, and having Johnny speculate on the inner lives of his hookups, does not succeed in fishing the book out of basic sexism. </p><p>I can only speculate about ableism a little bit, but the character Reston felt like pretty good representation, and the mental health stuff - well, at least for me, it <i>worked. </i>The visceral horror of developing a family member's mental illness and recapitulating the cycle of trauma? Compulsive lying or avoidance of personal history to hide the horrors within? Yeah, I get it. Not all representation has to be Perfect (TM), and the institutionalization horror of his mother probably has some problems to unpack with it, but the cloying and suffocating nature of her attachment, as well as her desperate hunger for connection with the outside world, also shone through. </p><p>I'll be honest - this is also a book that benefits from skimreading certain sections. I'm just not sure all the physics stuff actually adds to the narrative. I'm not a crunchy enough scientist to take value from it, personally. A lot of people hate Johnny, who is definitely not a Good Person, but I felt sympathetic towards the scrappy young man. I'm surprised Tumblr isn't all over <span style="color: #2b00fe;">House</span> of Leaves, because he has "scrungly" disaster vibes for sure. (And possibly, considering how much he idolizes his friend Lude, a hint of coded bisexuality? For a book with a central focus on Greek mythology, it's agonizingly straight.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The good stuff</h4><p>My favourite sections are definitely the actual explorations of the <span style="color: #2b00fe;">house</span>. It's no surprise that these are the segments that have resonated the most in pop culture - fans of the SCP (Secure, Contain, Protect) universe and HP Lovecraft have almost certainly run into the main concepts of this book already. </p><p>I guess I'm a sucker for a good gothic novel, because there is something decidedly gothic about this one - it's a <span style="color: #2b00fe;">House</span>, and it's Spooky, and it's about a Family and their mental illnesses. But in this case, the <span style="color: #2b00fe;">house </span>is something that travels with Johnny, not just the physical location on Ash Tree Lane. The problems with the <span style="color: #2b00fe;">house </span>for the Navidsons are all part of the baggage they carry with them. </p><p>I've been sitting with the whole structural thing about the <span style="color: red;"><strike>Minotaur,</strike></span> Theseus, Minos, and the whole stepson/stepfather hate thing, for a bit. There's this thematic element about Johnny being emotionally and mentally ill, and his mother being ill as well - that does seem like an intentional parallel? But there's also a thing about Zampano as Daedalus and a father figure, and Johnny as Icarus, soaring too high on his father's creation, only to be killed by it.</p><p>Is the entire thing an elaborate delusion? Is Zampano real? Who is this mysterious genius, this Daedalus-like figure whose invention - the book - ensnares and entraps Johnny, our humble Icarus and <strike><span style="color: red;">Minotaur</span></strike>? We certainly don't get answers, but he appears to be lonely, remote, and ripe for idealization. </p><p>Is the Navidson Record meant to be real, or all Johnny's invention? The "editor" character is particularly interesting, especially because at no point do they clarify the reality or unreality of the manuscript.</p><p>When, throughout his extended mental breakdown, did Johnny possibly have time to pen this missive? It certainly seems possible that he was doing little else. But when was it accepted and submitted to a publishing company? The book definitely wants to give the vibe of just "appearing" in print. It's very "done" nowadays, but at the time, it was particularly revolutionary. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Why does <i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">House</span> of Leaves</i> still work?</h4><p>Well - in my opinion, HoL commits to the gothic and keeps you invested, but it also goes deep into the mental health issues that make up the backbone of both cosmic horror and the gothic novel. </p><p>This, then, is probably why military takes on Lovecraftian fiction and the SCPs all kind of suck. I've watched a couple of Youtube videos and listened to a few Actual Play podcasts of Call of Cthulhu games with a Delta Green focus (that's a special forces take on Call of Cthulhu), and all of them just left me absolutely cold. (Maybe other people will enjoy these <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@EvanRoyalty">live-action takes on SCPs</a> more than I did.) In addition to the fact that I'm just not much into jingoism, and I'm kinda critical of that whole carceral-state structure and the military industrial complex, conservative politics really don't work with cosmic horror or gothic novels. </p><p>Sure, military elements can work great - in <i>Lovecraft's Monsters, </i>there's a rather good take on the story of Innsmouth that involves a military intervention - but it's also inherently critical of the role of said military. I do have some fondness for the Warhammer 40K universe as well, but that's also morally complex. </p><p></p><blockquote>Any kind of military apologia in the face of cosmic horror just absolutely sucks the scare factor right out of stuff. It's too objective and impersonal, when it should be intimate and invasive. And above all - really good horror must come from empathy. </blockquote><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">If you crave more</h4><p>T Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon's <i>What Moves the Dead, </i>the HP Lovecraft stories "The Color Out of Space" and "Dreams in the Witch House" as well as the Shirley Jackson book <i>We Have Always Lived in the Castle </i>are pretty excellent classic read-alikes; I haven't read Grady Hendrix's <i>How to Sell a Haunted House </i>yet, but I loved <i>Horrorstor, </i>and that's another decent read-alike for building-based horror. The <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3008">"Endless Ikea" SCP</a> is available on Youtube in multiple reading formats, as well as videos, and of course, there's always the <a href="https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3008">original version on the website. </a></p><p>The podcasts <i>Welcome to Night Vale, </i>TANIS, and the <i>Rusty Quill Archives </i>also all offer some good horror content if you want to savour the visceral fear of something breathing down your neck, too!</p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A writer and professional freelance editor, Michelle Browne lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, knitting, jewelry-making, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: *<a href="http://scifimagpie.com/" style="color: #4412ff; text-decoration-line: none;">Website</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; 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-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">OG Blog</a>* <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-43122788112220513032023-07-13T17:17:00.001-07:002023-07-13T17:17:04.814-07:00Oops, I accidentally a whole book. Is that bad? <p> <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Forgive that absolute blast from the past of a title. (For those going, "huh?", it's an obscure, out-of-date meme. Don't worry about it.) </span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">But - yeah. One of many reasons this blog has been immensely quiet over the last few months, apart from that book bundle including <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHXRZ8NP">The Meaning Wars,</a> </i>is that I've been completely obsessed with a new project, called <i>Prairie Weather. </i></span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Back in university, I had a short story column in <i>The Meliorist, </i>the U of L's school paper, and I wrote a series of one-off shorts with loosely connected characters. I'd always toyed with the idea of writing a whole novel about these interconnected characters - and well, for some reason, around October of last year, I just got up and did it. </span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">So now the connected stories of a group of university students trying to deal with friendship, romance, and all the resulting drama has become not one book, but <i>two - </i>or three, depending on whether I go indie with this or get picked up for trad pub (traditional publishing). It's set in 2011, right here in Lethbridge, and it's a love letter to the city and the university - both of which are beautiful, and underutilized as settings. If you like feminism, queer love, heartbreak, stabbings, and bomb threats, you'll probably be into this book. </span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, I'm actually going to try and send out some queries for <i>Prairie Weather, </i>and see if I can get it traditionally published. That's a thing I haven't really done before, and it might go <i>absolutely nowhere, </i>but I thought I'd take a shot at it. At worst, I get to improve my query-writing skills, mess around with Querytracker, sorta learn how to write a synopsis, and that sort of useful thing. </span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">I was also going through my blog archives and stats, and I noticed a <i>huge surge </i>in traffic last month. So, thank you for the views! I didn't realise just how <i>much </i>I used to write on here. </span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">But unfortunately, Blogger is a pretty dead platform, and all the cool kids are on Substack and Patreon these days. So while I do plan to continue posting over here, if I don't get anywhere with <i>Prairie Weather, </i>I'm going to try serialising that publication on Ream, Substack, and Patreon. We'll see if I get any traction. In the meantime, if any of y'all somehow know an agent who's hunting for contemporary fiction or literary fiction, hit me up!</span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">And <i>yes, </i>I am still planning to try and get <i>Monsters and Fools </i>out this year. It's at about 63 of roughly 80k, give or take. There's a few big plot twists left to write, and then this dark sequel to <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Underlighters-Nightmare-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B00EURY83Y?">The Underlighters</a> </i>will finally, finally be ready to release into the world. The sequel is more of a dystopian, noire-toned piece, and will focus on what happens when activism fails in the face of a conspiracy...</span></p><p><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">If you thought it was dark before? It's only going to get darker. </span></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A writer and professional freelance editor, Michelle Browne lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. She is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's manuscripts, knitting, jewelry-making, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: *<a href="http://scifimagpie.com/" style="color: #4412ff;">Website</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); 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-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">OG Blog</a>* <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-45738297575557665052023-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:002023-05-05T08:36:06.494-07:00 It's almost over - 18 books for 20 bucks! <p><br /></p><p aria-label="Paragraph block" aria-multiline="true" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block is-multi-selected wp-block-paragraph rich-text" data-block="f6be2eeb-08de-4a47-979e-ef469de1a0b2" data-custom-placeholder="true" data-empty="false" data-title="Paragraph" data-type="core/paragraph" id="block-f6be2eeb-08de-4a47-979e-ef469de1a0b2" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: 28px; min-width: 1px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px 20px 0.938rem; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0">Hey, everyone! </p><p aria-label="Paragraph block" aria-multiline="true" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block is-multi-selected wp-block-paragraph rich-text" data-block="a0fcdb0f-c966-4f94-9402-7c0be62f8332" data-custom-placeholder="true" data-empty="false" data-title="Paragraph" data-type="core/paragraph" id="block-a0fcdb0f-c966-4f94-9402-7c0be62f8332" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: 28px; min-width: 1px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px 20px 0.938rem; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0">If you didn't hear about the Storybundle I'm in, it's not too late to snag my book and works by Kevin J Anderson and Scott Coatsworth for cheap! </p><div aria-label="Block: Image Set" class="block-editor-block-list__block wp-block jT4kI is-multi-selected wp-block-tumblr-image-set block-editor-block-list__layout" data-block="429ce0c2-4d5b-4cbe-98d1-324a4e27a188" data-is-drop-zone="true" data-title="Image Set" data-type="tumblr/image-set" id="block-429ce0c2-4d5b-4cbe-98d1-324a4e27a188" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; display: grid; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; gap: 4px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px; transition-duration: 0.15s; transition-property: background-color, padding; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0"><div aria-label="Block: Image Set Row" class="block-editor-block-list__block wp-block SKvEP wp-block-tumblr-image-set-row block-editor-block-list__layout" data-block="83ce3361-dba1-47e3-b325-a2f2d3a496b4" data-is-drop-zone="true" data-title="Image Set Row" data-type="tumblr/image-set-row" id="block-83ce3361-dba1-47e3-b325-a2f2d3a496b4" role="document" style="border: none; display: grid; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; gap: 4px; grid-auto-flow: column; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition-duration: 0.15s; transition-property: padding; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0"><div style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figure aria-label="Block: Image" class="block-editor-block-list__block wp-block jXLPk wp-block-tumblr-image" data-block="562c9736-4d8a-467f-b1cc-c4a911687d2e" data-title="Image" data-type="tumblr/image" id="block-562c9736-4d8a-467f-b1cc-c4a911687d2e" role="document" style="border: none; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 540px;" tabindex="0"><div class="NKSrb" style="align-items: center; border: none; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="kBNGg" role="presentation" style="align-items: center; border: none; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; justify-content: center; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 540px;"><img alt="Image" class="mpTcw" draggable="false" loading="lazy" sizes="540" srcset="https://64.media.tumblr.com/2042c139eb397ea3c27747012833ae5c/36317d7e0936446c-d3/s540x810/cc1313d5293647ec9f3a8391855f06497b513bd5.png 1672w" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 253px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px; position: relative; transition-duration: 0.15s; transition-property: object-position, -o-object-position; vertical-align: bottom; width: 540px;" /></div></div><button aria-label="Remove" class="TRX6J IiOwk" style="align-items: center; border-color: initial; border-radius: 100%; border-style: none; border-width: initial; cursor: pointer; display: flex; font: inherit; height: 28px; justify-content: space-evenly; margin: 0px; padding: 2px 0px 0px; position: absolute; right: 7px; top: 12px; user-select: none; width: 28px;"><span class="EvhBA" style="border: none; color: inherit; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="-1"><svg height="12" role="presentation" width="12" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><use href="#managed-icon__close-medium"></use></svg></span></button><div class="FQrHS" style="align-items: center; border: none; bottom: 10px; display: flex; font-family: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; font-weight: inherit; left: 10px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline;"><button aria-label="Add link attribution for image" class="TRX6J cDFmL" style="border-color: initial; border-radius: 100%; border-style: none; border-width: initial; cursor: pointer; font: inherit; height: 28px; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; padding: 6px 0px 0px; user-select: none; width: 28px;"><span class="EvhBA" style="border: none; color: inherit; display: block; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="-1"><svg height="16" role="presentation" style="--icon-color-primary: RGB(var(--white));" width="16" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><use href="#managed-icon__posts-link-alt"></use></svg></span></button></div></figure></div></div></div><p aria-label="Paragraph block" aria-multiline="true" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block is-multi-selected wp-block-paragraph rich-text" data-block="bddcbb3b-bccf-4920-9eac-29d106a6548f" data-custom-placeholder="true" data-empty="false" data-title="Paragraph" data-type="core/paragraph" id="block-bddcbb3b-bccf-4920-9eac-29d106a6548f" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: 28px; min-width: 1px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px 20px 0.938rem; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0">Get it now before it's gone - there's less than 20 hours to go! </p><p aria-label="Paragraph block" aria-multiline="true" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block is-multi-selected wp-block-paragraph rich-text" data-block="bddcbb3b-bccf-4920-9eac-29d106a6548f" data-custom-placeholder="true" data-empty="false" data-title="Paragraph" data-type="core/paragraph" id="block-bddcbb3b-bccf-4920-9eac-29d106a6548f" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: 28px; min-width: 1px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px 20px 0.938rem; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0">(Yes, I know this is my first post in months - we moved homes recently and I've been busy with work. Ooooops. Check out my Tumblr for more regular updates!) </p><p aria-label="Empty block; start writing or type forward slash to choose a block" aria-multiline="true" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block is-multi-selected wp-block-paragraph rich-text" data-block="f0a739d5-0daf-41c6-a520-2ee7ac28526e" data-custom-placeholder="true" data-empty="true" data-title="Paragraph" data-type="core/paragraph" id="block-f0a739d5-0daf-41c6-a520-2ee7ac28526e" role="document" style="background-color: white; border: none; font-family: Favorit, "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; min-height: 28px; min-width: 1px; outline: 2px solid RGB(var(--blue)); padding: 0px 20px 0.938rem; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; word-break: break-word;" tabindex="0"></p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-33782585820714488832023-01-02T17:09:00.001-08:002023-01-14T18:54:29.866-08:00for you page :) I'm slightly above average at a handful of things<div>Not good enough for brilliance but </div><div>Too good to ignore</div><div>In an era where skills must be monetized </div><div>But the effort of monetizing work is a hidden burden </div><div>Lurking behind a hill, blotting out a sunset</div><div>I'm coming to hate my art</div><div><br /></div><div>I can string bright glowing glass and sparkling stones </div><div>With iridescent shells to make a necklace </div><div>It's not good enough</div><div>I can knit fluffy soothing yarn or soft chenille or </div><div>Perky daring colorful novelty fibers into</div><div>Improbably cosy sweaters </div><div>It's not good enough</div><div>I weave descriptions and worlds from dust </div><div>And imagined shadows into aching glory</div><div>It's not good enough</div><div>I can sing trembling lines of poetry and melody</div><div>from silence and stillness into colour</div><div>It's not good enough</div><div><br /></div><div>To survive under capitalism </div><div>What happened to the starry future skies </div><div>We used to dream up,</div><div>With mechanized wonders and lives of leisure </div><div>And brilliant new attractions and follies</div><div>Everything is either popular, for rich people, or carefully faked</div><div><br /></div><div>I hate my art because</div><div>I'm not famous on tiktok</div><div>Because at some point art has started to feel like</div><div>Palliative care for the soul </div><div><br /></div><div>And regardless of skill </div><div>I'm too ugly to go viral </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">A writer and professional freelance editor, Michelle
Browne lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. She
is currently working on the next books in her series, other people's
manuscripts, knitting, jewelry-making, and drinking as much tea as humanly
possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: *<a href="http://scifimagpie.com">Website</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Mailing list</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://magpieediting.com/" href="http://magpieediting.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Magpie Editing</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> * <a href="https://wandering.shop/@scifimagpie">Mastodon</a> *<a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://medium.com/@SciFiMagpie" href="https://medium.com/@SciFiMagpie" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Medium</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div><div> </div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-82289549969307953442022-12-19T07:43:00.001-08:002022-12-19T07:43:00.154-08:00i sent u my verse, pls respond<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">laying out a
tender organ</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">between
unskillful fingers; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">hands
shaking as I offered up a blurry picture of <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">something
intimate, naked, vaguely expressed— <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
immediately wished I’d played it off as a joke <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">instead I feel
the creeping slinking regret <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">the cold
drops of sweaty fear in the hollow of my back <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">because I
revealed something private <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in public <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">have I made
a terrible mistake <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and i i i i i
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">cannot take
it back because the internet is forever <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">i am not
afraid of being naked in public<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">that’s a
nightmare i’ve had many times over <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">but i am
afraid of being naked on the internet<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">perhaps i
wish i could re-coil these tender delicate organs <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">back into
the cavern of my hideous yellow roiling belly, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">beneath
layers of flesh <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">hide them
beneath the layers of obscenity <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">this is just
to say that if u saw my poem <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">i cannot
tell whether i want u to respond<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">or not to
respond <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">but i know
enough to be ashamed <o:p></o:p></span></p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-88554222777685294462022-12-12T18:18:00.002-08:002022-12-12T18:18:22.997-08:00Migraine static gender<p> Migraines lead to strange dreams </p><p>I slept and dreamed of strange monstrosities, hideous creatures</p><p>tangled in the arms of conventional beauties </p><p><br /></p><p>my gender is something like a magpie, something like an omen </p><p>but though I have no tusks or claws </p><p>I slouch, my belly hangs low, I am hirstute</p><p><br /></p><p>Tangles of dark curling hair fall to my shoulders </p><p>or float above my head</p><p><br /></p><p>If you asked me to embrace a monster, </p><p>my arms would be open wide </p><p><br /></p><p>if you called me a beauty </p><p>I would hide my face in shame </p><p>at the lie.</p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-83749308513566774692022-11-18T22:57:00.003-08:002022-11-18T22:57:47.574-08:00So, I Forgot to Mention - My Book is Out! <p> This is a short one, because I just got back home from the book launch at <a href="https://analogbooks.net/">Analog Books </a>here in Lethbridge - a fantastic independent bookstore that everyone should check out. </p><p>It was small, just myself and a few friends, but the bookstore was open a bit late tonight and I did a little reading for people! I also served up this <a href="https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/15857/easy-pineapple-cake/">delicious pineapple cake,</a> in a vegan version (we used an egg substitute). </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivkinCdKZYFYAvolbJSrb3Nly6eUN4lWSBeS66Ln8q7gfNPIOiMQGxJymBIajrpDe8cQ4bbx9QT6LR2qXm4kiF422Nd0pzdrwDssTFaGWPEpEAW7IUFlQkCFJK9cGbMSXDOLwkjUYwsCTjMU3YqsviRoJ7X8PhCf5tfq5qQ4BWR78-A9mYOfhfCoQf" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivkinCdKZYFYAvolbJSrb3Nly6eUN4lWSBeS66Ln8q7gfNPIOiMQGxJymBIajrpDe8cQ4bbx9QT6LR2qXm4kiF422Nd0pzdrwDssTFaGWPEpEAW7IUFlQkCFJK9cGbMSXDOLwkjUYwsCTjMU3YqsviRoJ7X8PhCf5tfq5qQ4BWR78-A9mYOfhfCoQf" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Photo by<a href="https://www.allrecipes.com/cook/4111804"> Liza Fleischmann.</a> My dumb ass forgot to take a picture.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />But you're not just here for the (virtual) pineapple cake and apple cider - you're here for the book. </p><p>As mentioned, The Meaning Wars Omnibus is finally out - not only in ebook form, but also as a paperback and a hardcover! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Wars-Complete-Omnibus-Queer-ebook/dp/B0BHXRZ8NP"><img border="0" data-original-height="3136" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjqiENJqWz28h-zMF-ZGG5yDQzBYRy-hDGbcKoSfaAVc1DBVnIz1xLXwLd1JdDeJy4Ql9TUyMenApPCasKqKO0HKgX9rRLgS1Wx8L5lKaj0LXMzJ6LHAlmViZ03CW1qcvxEgmfhLkgKxWFeZjba2iKEmn2CqqHntMSGIha3tytnG9ygvXkhDF6c2d/s320/the_meaning_war_omnibus_mpbrowne%20FRONT%20ONLY.jpg" width="220" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It's exclusively on Amazon right now, for KDP and promotion reasons, but I may change that if people speak up. (Amazon really likes to lock authors down with exclusivity, sadly.) </p><p>I'm so proud of how this turned out, and <a href="https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~014adc71a470778e3d">Kateryna Kyselova</a> did a bang-up job on the cover! <a href="https://www.authorclfoster.com/phoenix-quill-formatting">Christy Foster</a> was of tremendous help on the formatting. You couldn't go wrong by hiring either of them. </p><p>I have a few blog articles on the backburner, but my biggest priority right now is actually my NaNoWriMo project - <i>Monsters and Fools. </i>That's right - it's taken ten years, but I'm planning to release the long, long-awaited sequel to <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EURY83Y">The Underlighters</a> </i>in spring! </p><p>Look, it took a long time to figure out the plot...but I finally got it done. Stay tuned to this space for more updates on what I'm doing - when I get time for 'em, that is. This has been one crazy year so far...</p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-18683747241978316832022-10-05T10:45:00.001-07:002022-10-05T10:45:20.691-07:00The End of an Era<p>Releasing soon, it's the final book in the Meaning Wars series - A Jade's Trick! </p><p>I've been hard at work on this, and I'm so excited to be this close to the finish line. </p><p>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;">Outgunned. Outmanned. Outnumbered.</span></p><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700 !important;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />But out of luck? Not yet...</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Crystal has left her abusive husband, and Sarah and her crew have successfully rescued rebel leader Patience Ngouabi. As Patience and Sarah connect, they begin to see a life beyond their struggles in the rebellion. Now this queer found-family crew just has to fight the tyrannical Human Conglomerate into submission. But fighting an interstellar empire is going to take more than big guns. They need funding and allies. Could a renegade - but unionized - group of pirates be their unlikely saviours? A sinister, shadowy political figure back on Ganymede may also be willing to help - and that means going right back to danger's heart.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Fans of Ruthanna Emrys' </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">A Half Built Garde</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">n and Becky Chambers' </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">Wayfarers</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> series will enjoy this emotional, high-risk finale to the </span><span class="a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important;">Meaning Wars </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">series."</span><div><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGRjGUAoouZQhqxq9sgCTR_u9OHbu3JleirGH_6ewkTN01rI6qpFM-OoNqaXH0omixOmIM8ae2Nc4NqPJacUyyKHwzif1zSKbEWJrY7tpDQ45XnGaqWr-w3COQD9zlJQFuc58ZslHKMvVxUDWminPM5O3kpE8slr25vDfx8OR1xuc78VVAL0b9gE2/s1280/AJADESTRICKpreview.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGRjGUAoouZQhqxq9sgCTR_u9OHbu3JleirGH_6ewkTN01rI6qpFM-OoNqaXH0omixOmIM8ae2Nc4NqPJacUyyKHwzif1zSKbEWJrY7tpDQ45XnGaqWr-w3COQD9zlJQFuc58ZslHKMvVxUDWminPM5O3kpE8slr25vDfx8OR1xuc78VVAL0b9gE2/w250-h400/AJADESTRICKpreview.png" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BHF5QZYM/ ">Preorder here!</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It'll be out soon, but help me get those preorder numbers up by grabbing your copy now! Around the same time, I'll also be releasing an omnibus collecting all five books, which will be available in hardcover (a first!) as well as paperback. </p><p>I hope you'll all enjoy seeing the destinies of these characters play out as much as I've enjoyed writing them. Coming to the end of a book series is always bittersweet, but I'm so proud of these characters and how far they've gone. </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div><div><br style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;" /></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-70099085118161569582022-08-25T14:34:00.000-07:002022-08-25T14:34:03.593-07:00In Celebration of the Mary Sue <div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLt8AtKRFMDgLAzlYpyz5Yq5zwIQ45N8C72L0WQtMk9UkSV99i3Wk6ghsuEPIDWmd3rYZA-0tZrEyLlEdfI_jOW1tFLWXNUYTLLzu_fhcd3bJ9DMoqNX_styExv_VfF7lQCUbcEn6Qs04Uj4uNfOsJV30Wj4jDUrftgC0rzDSjsNiUY6F0iCDBK2Um" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="471" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLt8AtKRFMDgLAzlYpyz5Yq5zwIQ45N8C72L0WQtMk9UkSV99i3Wk6ghsuEPIDWmd3rYZA-0tZrEyLlEdfI_jOW1tFLWXNUYTLLzu_fhcd3bJ9DMoqNX_styExv_VfF7lQCUbcEn6Qs04Uj4uNfOsJV30Wj4jDUrftgC0rzDSjsNiUY6F0iCDBK2Um" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://muc.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Sue?file=Mary_Sue_and_realistic_character.jpeg">Source. </a>Complete with jealous unicorn. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /></div>When the ninth Star Wars movie came out, <i>Rise of Skywalker, </i>a particular term from writing communities online started to become ubiquitous. Horribly, it made its way around the internet's Manosphere, as particularly oafish chuds keen for low-hanging fruit reached for this easy prize. More happily, a backlash to the liberal and overused weaponised term became circulated, and we've now hit the saturation point of the wave where the term "Mary Sue" has fallen out of the limelight. <div><br /></div><div>When you hear the term "Mary Sue," which <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/these-women-coined-term-mary-sue-180972182/">or</a><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/these-women-coined-term-mary-sue-180972182/">iginated in Star Trek fan zines</a> to call out a particular type of wish-fulfillment writing, you might have a variety of ideas. Some of them might be vague assocations - "isn't that a thing from that movie?" - or, if you're an Extremely Online person like myself, you might break out in compulsive shuddering and hives at the mere utterance of the phrase. </div><div><br /></div><div>But now that people have broken down the inherent sexism in the concept of the Mary Sue, to the extent that its creators have renounced its creation, we may have hit a point where we can just consider the Sue in isolation - and not only offer ways to accept and write around the wish-fulfillment character, but appreciate her for what she is: an often goofy fantasy that may help people process their powerlessness in real life and real trauma, offer escape from the weight of reality, or both. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who is Mary Sue? </h4><div><br /></div><div>For an overview of this long-spanning trend and a glimpse of this essay's inspiration, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMBEK-PPOsI">this video is absolutely mandatory.</a> For those who don't like Youtube, or just don't want to stop reading, the Sue is a personification of a criticism of a couple of writing problems. They're often conflated together, but they should actually be teased apart - despite how often they co-occur. A Sue is, </div><div><span face=""Google Sans", arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 28px;"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""Google Sans", arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 28px;">Mar·y Sue</span></div><div class="ABgcGb vmod" jsname="p0q1Sd" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></div><div class="vmod"><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><div class="lW8rQd" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; color: #202124; display: flex; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><div class="YrbPuc vdBwhd pgRvse" style="color: #70757a; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; min-height: 20px; padding-top: 4px;"><i>noun</i></div><div class="xpdxpnd" data-mh="22" data-mhc="1" jsname="jUIvqc" style="max-height: 22px; overflow: hidden; transition: max-height 0.3s ease 0s;"><span class="kqEaA" style="color: #70757a; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">noun</span>: <span class="kqEaA z8gr9e" style="color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Mary Sue</b></span>; <span class="kqEaA" style="color: #70757a; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">plural noun</span>: <span class="kqEaA z8gr9e" style="color: #4d5156; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Mary Sues</b></span></div></div><ol class="eQJLDd" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;"><li jsname="gskXhf" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="vmod"><div class="thODed" style="padding-top: 8px;"><div class="LTKOO sY7ric" data-topic="" jsname="cJAsRb" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="margin-left: 20px;"><div class="LTKOO sY7ric" style="line-height: 16px; margin-left: -20px;"><div data-dobid="dfn" style="display: inline;">(originally in fan fiction) a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses.</div><div class="vmod"><div class="ubHt5c" style="color: #70757a;">"she was not a ‘strong woman’ so much as an insufferable Mary Sue"</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></li></ol><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #70757a;"><br /></span></div>Even the Oxford Dictionary's definition showcases the inherent special-case pleading and sexism applied to Sues. The original argument against Sues went thusly: </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">1) Sues are badly written (inherently) because they </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">2) Warp the plot, setting, and characters' actions around themselves; </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">3) Have an unrealistic number of positive traits,</div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">4) A corresponding deficit of actual negative traits (with the exception of tropey or common flaws that may or may not be actual flaws, such as "being too beloved") </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">5) Get too much focus and attention in the story, </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">6) Don't have to pay the price for their successes,</div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">And 7), which often goes unspoken, "have wish fulfillment girl cooties all over them in some indefinably repulsive way." </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Now, I went through my own "anti-Sue" phase as a teenager and young adult; I used the Mary Sue Litmus to "make sure characters were balanced and well-written" as much as anyone. But now that I'm old, tired, and much more experienced as a writer, my perspective on this has changed drastically. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">And part of the reason for that is simply that I watched a show with an honest-to-god Mary Sue character, and it was great fun. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">The Chilling Adventures of Mary Sue </h4><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Netflix's <i>Riverdale </i>and <i>Sabrina </i>have both had their moments, but despite being an avid fan of <i>Sabrina, the Teenage Witch </i>back in its Melissa Joan Hart era (when <i>Disney Adventure Magazine </i>advised copying her look by wearing an "earthy choker", a phrase that confuses me to this day) I had held off on watching either series. For one thing, the <i>Archie </i>comics series' lack of character development in its original form struck me as a type of perpetual purgatory worthy of <i>The Good Place' s </i>original demon pits. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">(As always, I'm late to the party, but <i>Russian Doll </i>and <i>The Good Place </i>are every bit as good as people have been saying they were. Give them a watch, or a rewatch, for some delectable afterlife paperwork tropes, fascinating philosophy, and heartfelt existentialism.) </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Being sick with COVID, as I mentioned in my last post, made this an ideal opportunity to catch up on some TV. I was in for quite a surprise with <i>Sabrina. </i></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><i><br /></i></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">The magically-talented girlboss skips and bounces over third and fourth-wave feminist issues while literally and figuratively battling the patriarchy, showcasing phenomenal cosmic powers, being an absolute Chosen One to whom others are attracted or obsessed over, and is generally compassionate, friendly, serious, clever, and a great leader. She's also small, conventionally attractive, and the focus on attention for universe-bending powers. And here's the thing - she's great fun, and the show is great fun. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who's afraid of Mary Sue? </h4><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Because the show takes itself just seriously enough and has just enough campy fun in the mix, it works like a Long Island Iced Tea - an easy-drinking alchemical mix of delight. Seeing the way the show worked perfectly fine, however, got me thinking about the ways in which Sabrina was a Sue - and it was perfectly fine. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">In turn, I reflected on my own D&D campaigns and writing, and considered how my players had made their own super cool wish fulfillment characters not only bearable, but actually fun to play with. Now, the rules for writing with others and writing solo are a bit different, but there is some overlap. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Because the term is so stigmatized, it may be more comfortable for readers to hear about the negative instances first, before we ease into how Sues can be worked with and even weaponized for good in the plot. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Bad Sues </h4><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Of course, everyone online or who plays tabletop games has some kind of a story about that one bad player whose self-insert character absolutely destroyed the game, or a DM/GM (Dungeon or Game Master) whose NPC (Non-Player Character) was just the most obnoxious piece of crap ever to grace the wet-erase maps. These people are real, and they exist in many spaces - but the problem with them is generally not what they're creating, but how they interact with others. We tend to project that negativity from the experience onto their writing, but the real sin was just being selfish and a bad sport. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">In two different roleplay groups, I had players who wanted to portray similar roles - the stone-cold, stoic badass who takes epic kill shots and gets to be at the centre of the plot arc. One of these players was bad with consent and paying attention to fellow players, and ultimately ended up getting the boot from that group. The other player, however, remains a good friend to this day, and actually did get the kill shot on the Big Bad Evil Guy of that adventure because she a) was and is always well-mannered to other players, b) put the work in to make her badass character get better, and c) went with the fun twists that the DM threw at her, rather than resisting them or bickering. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fixing Mary Sue </h4><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Let's get this one out of the way - the problem with Mary Sues is not actually their existence, but their contextual existence with others. Balance is a bit of a myth when protagonists are involved - and something that, as many other writers have noted, never becomes a concern or comes into play when male characters are protagonists - but when working with an ensemble cast, making sure that existing characters either a) get their moment or b) have a really good reason for <i>not </i>getting their moment, is vitally important. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">There's a wonderful <i>Star Trek: TNG </i>episode called "Disaster" in which Deanna Troi gets to be leader for a day, while Captain Picard is stuck in an elevator with a cadre of children. It's surprisingly heartwarming and adorable - partly because for once, Troi is taken seriously and permitted to be useful and competent. However, the way Picard is removed is absolutely excellent, and very much recommendable if one wanted ways to neutralize other main characters: a common ailment + their greatest weakness = an existing MC out of commission. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">In a roleplay game, making sure that every player character gets some kind of moment during the game, whether it be an acting or emotional beat, a cool fight move, a clever problem-solving section, or even just a great assist for another friend, is a great way to create a sense of symmetry. Symmetry is better than balance, because all too often, "balance" becomes a reason to throw a wet blanket on fun, exciting, over-the-top moments - when the real solution is not a wet blanket, but consequences. <br /><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Does Mary Sue have every type of elemental bending power without being an Avatar? Cool; make her a fugitive, and send horrible politicians and scientists after her, trying to weaponize her strengths. Is she an orphan? Have a situation come up where her family connections backfire on her or the lack thereof creates some kind of disadvantage. This turns the sometimes overstuffed backpack of traits and tropes that Sues tend to lug around into a handy-dandy kit of tools for storytellers to use. As long as there are consequences for characters' actions or advantages, the audience will feel the illusion of balance, and a sense of symmetry will be created. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Embrace the Sue</h4><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Ultimately, Mary Sue is the daughter of Joy and Enthusiasm, and the problem isn't her rainbow Converse or fairy wings or super duper magic powers - it's cases of bad manners. And while some might consider it unmannerly to be tacky, which the Sue often arguably is, I would counterpoint that part of writing and creative activities is inherently about fantasy. The smallness of someone's imagination should not be the boundary of other people's creations. </div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf"><br /></div><div class="vmod" data-topic="" jsname="r5Nvmf">Watching a bunch of one's friends get to play out the ideal versions of their best selves isn't a buzzkill - it's actually fantastic and delightful. Ultimately, that's what a Mary Sue can be and can offer: a chance to glimpse our ideal selves and our fantasies, and sometimes, to pursue that in our real lives. </div></div><div>, </div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-7122972559152002392022-08-13T00:19:00.002-07:002022-08-13T00:19:10.107-07:00Apex Published Me! <p> I've currently got COVID - it doesn't look serious so far, but it's certainly annoying, and I'm homebound. However, I thought you all might enjoy having a look at this. </p><p><a href="https://apex-magazine.com/nonfiction/stabilized-love-triangles-tips-on-writing-ot3s-from-a-real-polyamorist/">My article on polyamory and OT3s</a></p><p>I'm hoping to get more articles out this year (I know, again) so stay tuned to this space for more writing advice, media thoughts, and the occasional bit of personal stuff. </p><p class="pw-post-body-paragraph sb sc rf lc b sd se hu sf sg sh hy si sj sk sl sm sn so sp sq sr ss st su sv kc jn" data-selectable-paragraph="" id="c2be" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; word-break: break-word;">***<br /><br />Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her spouses and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.<br /><br />Find her all over the internet: * <a href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/">OG Blog</a> * <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na">Mailing list</a> * <a href="http://magpieediting.com/">Magpie Editing</a> * <a href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie">Amazon</a> * <a href="https://medium.com/@SciFiMagpie">Medium</a> * <a href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie">Twitter</a> * <a href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/">Instagram</a> * <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie.">Facebook</a> * <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie">Tumblr</a> * <a href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing">Paypal.me</a> * <a href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie">Ko-fi</a></p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-44510708261918043842022-06-17T12:30:00.004-07:002022-06-17T12:30:49.526-07:00I'm Getting Married!<p> ...And that's where I've been. The last six months have been hectic because of it. However, you can look forward to an article that mentions my marriage in July's edition of <i>Apex</i>. Keep your eyes peeled! </p><p>Although this isn't a wedding blog, and although I try to take a light touch with mentioning personal things, I wanted to take some time to talk about what I'm putting together and how it's happening. Because my wife-to-be is in a sensitive field, I will keep photos of her out of this post. </p><p>Some of you may have read "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Underlighters-Nightmare-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B00EURY83Y">The Underlighters</a>" or "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Browne/e/B00BGWZRCW">The Loved, The Lost, The Dreaming,</a>" which features an alternate ending for the storyline of the same book. A central feature of that tale is the triad romance between Janelle, Una, and Nathu. Polyamory, the practice (and orientation) of having multiple romantic or significant relationships, is also going to be a theme that I explore in all of my series in other ways. When I wrote that book nearly a decade ago, I didn't expect that I'd find myself in a similar relationship some day, but to my great joy and surprise, that's the case. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who, what, when? </h4><p>My long-time male partner Andrey (aka Disarcade) has been mentioned a few times. Some years ago, when we moved from Calgary to Lethbridge, we made a friend, whom I'll call Starling. Our friendship continued through Dungeons and Dragons and art, and when the pandemic hit, we were close enough that we decided to share a small bubble, with a couple of other people. </p><p>The pandemic meant that we spent a lot of time together, and only grew closer. There was a personal incident with my family that she was very supportive through, and that was an immense help. As the dream of home ownership was offered to us and then snatched away, talking to her made us all realise how well our life plans dovetailed. </p><p>Between the time and the converging goals, love had rich soil, and sent down its roots. It's been an exhilarating, sometimes challenging ride, but I couldn't be happier that in January, when I asked her to be my wife, and marry us both, she said yes.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">But marriage is between two people, isn't it?</h4><p>Although plural marriages are not legally recognized - mostly due to the stigma surrounding polygamous marriages, which are different and often based in oppressive religious structures - we're having a handfasting ceremony to recognize our connection to each other. </p><p>The blo<a href="https://www.morethantwo.com/">g More Than Two</a> has some great resources and information about what polyamory is and how it works, but for those not acquainted, it's a type of non-normative relationship structure that can take many forms - including non-monogamy, relationship anarchy, and many other shapes. In our triad, all of us have relationships with each other and together, but that's not the only way to love, either. It's also not the same as swinging, which is generally about sexual interactions, but not emotional ones. </p><p>Although polyamory is seen as non-normative (and is not just a lifestyle, but is an orientation which is discriminated against, meaning that it's on the LGBTQ+ spectrum), polyplatonic relationships are very normal - most people have more than a single friend or even best friend. Anyone wondering "how that works" on a basic level should consider how they can feel affection for multiple family members or friends. It's a good reference point for the similarities. And just as caring about one friend usually doesn't reduce your affection for another - unless there's a problem in the other relationship - loving two or more people doesn't mean loving each person any less. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What comes next?</h4><p>I might diverge from my usual pop culture, politics, and writing technique content to mention some of the creative stuff; let me know if you readers would be interested in an article about how we put together an unusual outdoor summer wedding for under $5000. </p><p>We've been DIYing up a storm - and if I was cleverer, I'd have posted a bunch of tutorials and progress shots on here - but preparations are almost ready. I've had a very messy release schedule for a long time now, but my mental health has been improving, and I'd like to put out more articles. I'm hoping to get some more published articles out as well, with places like <i>Apex </i>and even possibly other magazines. </p><p>But for the next couple of days, until the solstice and the ceremony, my biggest focus is going to be on finishing up some final details, making food for guests, and cleaning the apartment! You would not believe the amount of glitter my fiancée produces. Seriously, there's so much glitter stuck in the carpet, on the couch, the dresses...</p><p>Oh, and book 5 is still coming along, too. I have an author event at Analog Books on August 30th here in Lethbridge, AB, so if you're a local, come out and see me that night! I'll have copies of the books mentioned here, and will be reading excerpts from those and my upcoming work, the fifth book in the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BD6DJR8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i7">Meaning Wars saga</a>, the grand finale. When that's done, an omnibus paperback edition will be released, containing the whole series. </p><p>Yeah, that's a lot. It's ambitious. But if my girlfriend, and soon-to-be wife, has taught me anything, it's that it's worth living life adventurously. </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Mailing list</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://magpieediting.com/" href="http://magpieediting.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Magpie Editing</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 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font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Medium</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div><div><br /></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-68850682425547575952022-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:002022-03-25T13:34:21.326-07:00I Wrote About The Future; Then It Happened<p> So, you might have noticed a bit of a lack of blog posts over the winter. Well, this time it's not (just) depression eating me alive. I made a thing - two things, actually. </p><p>Consider this a soft reboot, and a perfectly good starting point in the series. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BD6DJR8?" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BD6DJR8?" target="_blank">Book 3</a>, <i>The Meaning Wars,</i> follows two characters: Sarah, the weary Behavioural Criminal arrested for associating with dissidents, and Crystal, a wormhole engineer dissatisfied with her marriage and the safe, boring jobs she's been taking. Linked by friendship and their Martian origins, the two women fight ongoing trauma to reclaim their senses of self. </p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Poes-Outlaws-Meaning-Wars-Book-ebook/dp/B09C8DSTXM">Book 4, </a><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Poes-Outlaws-Meaning-Wars-Book-ebook/dp/B09C8DSTXM">Poe's Outlaws</a>, </i>finds Crystal and Sarah pursuing intersecting paths. Sarah has become a smuggler, wrapped up in a rescue mission to save a revolutionary leader (who happens to be her inspiration and her crush). Crystal is taking a much-needed vacation, but an old flame, the one who got away, is about to throw her life right back into chaos. The only way out? Friendship, teamwork, and possibly, a revolution. It's a beach episode featuring queer love, aliens, and derring-do.</p><p>I'm working on book 5, <i>A Jade's Trick.</i> I'm past the halfway point, but for a few months, I got completely stuck. Part of it was debating on the tone for the ending. War threatens, and I had no idea how to resolve the conflict. Should I choose something idealistic, where the corrective safeguards of the system work, or something drastic and grim, a more realistic vision of power dynamics? I couldn't choose, and it felt like a very abstract question. </p><p>Then war came to Ukraine, and I got a tiny taste of what it might be like to stand in Crystal's boots. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Apocalypse Turducken </h4><p>Being in the late? portion of a pandemic, as very hurried politicians insist we are, and having that pandemic overlap with the disruptive attack on the American election (followed recently by a halfassed attempt to do the same here in Canada, with the farcical embarrassment of the trucker protests) [links], I wasn't exactly expecting more calamities. But the universe isn't really into following scripts or plot arcs or anything sensible like that - no, those are human constructs meant to carve chaos into coherence. I wasn't counting on a paranoid, ruthless dictator deciding that the lull after the second pandemic Olympics was the perfect time for his colonial power-grab. </p><p>And I really wasn't prepared for the war to affect me personally. In addition to the fact that my male partner is Ukrainian, a very dear friend is a Kievan native. She has been displaced by the conflict, and she and her mother are scrabbling to make ends meet in a different city. Hopefully, this displacement won't be permanent. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzR3q6VVoaPwFxdrabssqZAHe7AVsoe-LCJ0pFtnJXobJMQJoA3T2jyybx6uJDUu5roV8o4L2LJHpOyUQ7ky20cpuUJrfB51MovqX2x7x6TuitBuTd19x5lQUn2qN9reOzEwzE_nsV1i_m4xwVg2rSzUvVK08kMRs_dNWypEiwSPTjmBNfl0DKuPI0/s816/275744118_564719804590348_3489271644701793517_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzR3q6VVoaPwFxdrabssqZAHe7AVsoe-LCJ0pFtnJXobJMQJoA3T2jyybx6uJDUu5roV8o4L2LJHpOyUQ7ky20cpuUJrfB51MovqX2x7x6TuitBuTd19x5lQUn2qN9reOzEwzE_nsV1i_m4xwVg2rSzUvVK08kMRs_dNWypEiwSPTjmBNfl0DKuPI0/s320/275744118_564719804590348_3489271644701793517_n.png" width="238" /></a></div><p></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/ukraine-make-art-not-war?qid=5c9e2d70d9f79df129bd7246abef5c72">We've set up a fundraiser</a> to help her and her mom while these events are going on. This is a fundraiser to help her and her mom not only get a tablet for her to work on as a graphic designer (her laptop is in Kyiv...), but also to help them get by for the next while. Her mother's job at the library is kind of out of commission right now, and it's possible that they'll have to emigrate elsewhere for safety. </p><p>Before this whole war thing got started, I also knitted her a sweater inspired by Yoongi of BTS's famous - and expensive - designer yellow sweater. <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/katyas-sunflower-sweater">Proceeds from the sale of the pattern</a> will also be going directly to Katya, to help with resettlement costs. There is a chance that we're going to have to help her migrate to Canada, so anything you can give will be greatly valued. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/katyas-sunflower-sweater" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7x7sysnlIVlBJjdlT_0GpLFiIbGmYSv7G7bNQR-_e5hhp8rAY1ZKtUByot7hctll0aQIcPfJvjlL8LYnVCm0x06ZCKhJNJTM0IK5Gw3_lZi01QBm-ptnwAzL5wpO14W5v0xLLfIostcdUICD7ZmorPM4bFCRCsKcrAuivJ5UEQmj1f-OflMVAVh6Z/s320/276968579_1618417185208716_6956417460140231665_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Thank you all for reading my work and checking out these fundraisers. If you can't give, please share this article on social media. </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">OG Blog</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Mailing list</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://magpieediting.com/" href="http://magpieediting.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Magpie Editing</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" href="http://amazon.com/author/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://medium.com/@SciFiMagpie" href="https://medium.com/@SciFiMagpie" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Medium</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" href="https://twitter.com/SciFiMagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" href="https://www.instagram.com/scifimagpie/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." href="http://www.facebook.com/SciFiMagpie." rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" href="https://paypal.me/MagpieEditing" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" href="https://ko-fi.com/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div><br />Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-87661457397964993272022-02-22T21:39:00.001-08:002022-02-22T21:39:22.870-08:00Sin and Virtue: The Internet's Secret Code<p> Okay, so not long ago, I put out a post (written in November, actually...) about the internet getting meaner. Since then, I've been wracking my brain about why it's happening. </p><p>Then I developed a theory that made it all snap into place. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkxZVMNpyYEHWv_JkpNj6kB59LFwdlRpeeFT-KtTkVLceuVC-aAfdylGhP3wgMcoTo-mJPbjVhBl5Coin9tCx9d-g_CGukME6NdADd9fsTwTBWpIj0FdbBl6OqPyC3KL03ZlUL7HmUbHT5gnUdxXHGel6fVuniTjDeOyHQ3jY4QOe3ctvVQpQLn3Bz=s381" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="381" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkxZVMNpyYEHWv_JkpNj6kB59LFwdlRpeeFT-KtTkVLceuVC-aAfdylGhP3wgMcoTo-mJPbjVhBl5Coin9tCx9d-g_CGukME6NdADd9fsTwTBWpIj0FdbBl6OqPyC3KL03ZlUL7HmUbHT5gnUdxXHGel6fVuniTjDeOyHQ3jY4QOe3ctvVQpQLn3Bz=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />Art by Michelle Browne.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">What makes someone end up as the main character on Twitter for a particular day? </h4><p>It might be a subculture issue - for example, tabletop roleplay game (TTRPG) Twitter is pretty mad at Critical Role right now because their opening credits feature arguably colonialist imagery/fantasies, and <a href="https://twitter.com/EvilCleverDog/status/1493521426711732224">some have argued that </a>its Marquet setting is supporting/pushing orientalism. (Orientalism is the term for the Western artistic fascination with "The East," conflating a whole mess of cultures that include everything from Anatolians and Turks to Egyptians and Iranians, all the way to to Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese cultural elements, and more.) </p><p>I can't really debate this argument because I'm not a SWANA (South-West Asian and/or North African) or SEA (South-East Asian) person, but I would say that there's only so much any particular work of media can do to unpack the entire legacy of colonialism. Change is always going to be incremental; even revolutions leave a lot of paperwork in their wake. </p><p>However, there is something interesting about a good-faith effort being taken as cynical, false, and ill-willed. It's not the first time I've watched something like that happen, either -<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/22/tech/twitter-algorithm-political-rhetoric/index.html"> particularly on Twitter,</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1452959444384501763?lang=en">which thrives on anger,</a> <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/facebook-and-twitter-algorithms-incentivize-people-to-get-enraged-walter-isaacson-145710378.html">because its algorithm says it has to.</a></p><p>So - just posting on Twitter to vent or be angry is kind of inherently dangerous on that basis alone - it's more likely that you might go viral just when you're vulnerable. Add in a mixture of people interacting in bad faith, and the recipe for conflict is already spicy. But what about people who see themselves as inherently just, or fighting for the right cause? Surely we've all been that person, who signal-boosted a conflict because it seemed important, or weighed in with their two cents. Sometimes, or frequently, the target of that ire may be a person or group with whom we usually would agree - except for this time, or a few other times, of course...</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">But why would we treat each other badly? </h4><p>To survive in a system hostile to our existence, many marginalized people have to learn the art of reading subtext. People with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and those who have survived trauma and/or abuse also tend to be members of marginalized groups - and reading the subtle tells of people acting abusively tends to train in hypersensitivity. Unfortunately, that hypersensitivity and the rampant lack of mental health care and resources means that many marginalised people are extremely jumpy, even around each other. The casual abuses of the world around us trains us to default to paranoid readings of the words and writing of mainstream culture. After all, being openly homophobic/queerphobic, openly racist, or openly discriminatory in other ways is punished socially, or at least awkward - but passive-aggression or more subtle jabs abound. Not noticing these things can be harmful to us, so unfortunately, we tend to default to paranoid readings of situations - even when creators, content makers, or other internet strangers are acting in good faith. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Good intentions, bad chemistry</h4><p>Speaking of abusive or discriminatory environments, it's also true that a lot of leftists in North America have come from culturally Christian backgrounds. Even if we've moved away from that lifestyle and religion, the logic and classification system remains in our minds - the moral hierarchy of goodness and badness, of evil and moral rightness. And unfortunately, that system is pretty lopsided and badly balanced. After all, we're talking about the system of beliefs wherein - particularly for evangelical Christianity - anal sex is about on par with sexual assault; robbery with being overly proud of yourself; and murder, on par with masturbation. <br /><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">"Wait, that's not right!" </h4><p></p><p>Well - that's a complex topic, but t<a href="https://www.gcu.edu/blog/theology-ministry/all-sin-equal-gods-view">echnically, they're all sins. </a>Sure, some admit that not all sins are equally bad -<a href="https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2020/is-all-sin-the-same-to-god"> but they're all considered sinful. </a> There's more to it than that, sure, but from a lay-Christian perspective, the sin thing is persistent. We are all sinners before God, and ultimately, only He can forgive us - so the rhetoric goes. </p><p>Now substitute in "problematic" for the word "sinful." Suddenly, certain behavioural patterns make an uncomfortable amount of sense. There is also no God-figure or representational stand-in, such as a priest or pastor, to act as a forgiver or mediator of transgressions for those of us in the social justice sphere. There is the crowd - whose reactions are cherry-picked by the algorithm to show their worst side - and that's about it. Thus, we may turn to the crowd in hopes of forgiveness, but without leaders (or even a belief in leadership), that just results in a wall of diverse opinions. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">So what comes next? Do we need secular forgiveness-priests?</h4><p>I'm not saying we need leaders or arbiters of forgiveness, because that's inherently a system of power that seems both ineffective and dangerous, but it's worth being conscious of our roots so that we can understand the flaws in our own rhetoric and belief structures. </p><p>And hey, it's a lot easier to be less suspicious of others when we understand the flaws and dangers of our own perspectives - and the way our mental health issues and backgrounds colour our perspective. Slowing down and giving others the benefit of the doubt takes time, practice, and discipline - but once the habit is created, life becomes so much more relaxing. </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;"></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-89643291253244534572022-02-15T19:18:00.000-08:002022-02-15T19:18:42.534-08:00Is the Internet Getting Meaner? <p> <span face="Roboto, Noto, sans-serif" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm going to dispense a bunch of advice that I wish both I had heard when I was younger and on the internet, and that I think younguns on the internet could benefit from hearing. </span></p><span face="Roboto, Noto, sans-serif" style="color: #030303;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; clear: both; font-size: 14px; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C7aWz8q_IM4" width="320" youtube-src-id="C7aWz8q_IM4"></iframe></div><br />
</span>The way people talk about very minor celebrities and critique their every action would absolutely destroy any normal person. Before you write anything online, consider - has someone else already said? Did they maybe say it better? Are you actually adding to a conversation? Yeah, those are a lot of questions to think about. <div><br /></div><div>But especially white people like myself, and especially young people who may not have learned the full weight of empathy and emotional maturity, need to think before we post. So, take it from an older millennial - you're going to make big mistakes that you regret, you're not always going to say the right thing, and god help you if you blow up enough to make an income at the entertainment industry. <div><br /></div><div>Accept that microcelebrities and celebrities are going to be problematic or just do things that you don't like - and make room to just not like something without having to justify it on a moral basis. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and learn the difference between personal nitpicks, like "I don't like the way she pauses between sentences, or the way they're incredibly cringey" and actual issues, like, "okay, that was racist, that's not okay." Of course, there's overlap here - fandoms can be incredibly fragile about critiques of their faves - but delivery does mtter.</div><div><br /></div><div>And finally - learn to complain and mock people in private, rather than on forums. Every time we post something on Twitter rather than complaining about it in private, we're putting it out there for the world to read. And that has a different effect than bitching in private to friends. <span face="Roboto, Noto, sans-serif" style="color: #030303;"><br /></span><div style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div>Because if you don't? You're going to betray any principles you have of being empathetic. and even if you don't care about the celebrity's feelings, your fellow fans will still read what you say. And it might make them feel terrible about themselves, especially if they're dorky, or they snort when they laugh, or idk, they overshared something recently. So - try to hold others only to the standard you hold yourself to, and for both yourself and others, learn the value of grace and forgiveness. Not everything is really worth throwing someone in the trash bin over. <br /><br />It's so easy to spend way too much energy on critiquing youtubers or any other mildly public figure when we actually have real, serious problems to focus on - like holding cops and politicians accountable, and climate change. And yes, someone can care about two things at once - but can you care about ten at once? <div><br /></div><div>So don't fall for the easy trap of wanting to fix or mock something small and stupid. Our anger should be directed at the wealthy class, definitely, but celebrities are just the scapegoats of the rich. Spend your energy and rage on organizing, not merely griping. </div><div><br /></div><div>Should I follow my own advice? Absolutely. Are we all still in a pandemic, which makes it kind of hard to protest? Yeah. But let's spend our energy annoying the people who really, really deserve it.<div><br /> <div style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OPxktlHjKEU" width="320" youtube-src-id="OPxktlHjKEU"></iframe></div><br /></div><div style="background: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: Roboto, Noto, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div></div></div></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-64797197781131566122021-11-02T08:18:00.003-07:002021-11-02T08:18:00.164-07:00The Elusinian Mystery Cult<p>This article's title comes from the worshippers Demeter, Persephone, and Hades, a secretive Hellenic religious group who formed an understanding of the year's cycle from the actions of the gods. Hades (with Zeus' permission, allegedly) kidnapped Demeter and Zeus' daughter Persephone, brought her to the Underworld, and made her his equally-powerful queen and wife, there to reign over the riches of Earth and the multitudes of the dead. Her mother Demeter was unaware of the plan, and mourned her daughter's disappearance. The earth and harvest goddess allowed nothing to grow or bloom while she mourned, and unfortunately, humanity began to suffer and die. </p><p>That meant no sacrifices - which was a big problem for the gods of Olympus. Eventually, Demeter solved the case of her missing daughter - and approached the culprit. But Hades, lovelorn for his new queen, could not bear to lose her forever. A famished Persephone accepted a handful of pomegranate seeds during her sojourn below the ground, and in doing so, bound herself to the underworld forever. This left Persephone torn between two people she loved, both longing for her in seemingly incompatible ways.</p><p>Zeus, seen as the rule-maker and judge of his divine family, settled that Persephone would remain with Hades for a quarter, third, or half of the year (accounts vary), and spend the rest above ground, with her mother. Demeter was content with this, but each year, when her daughter left to spend time with her husband, Demeter returned to mourning and would not allow the natural world to flourish.</p><p> Behold: I am not dead, I rise again - though not in spring, as might be expected, but in winter, a time when my mind is sometimes more fruitful and active than in the warm, exciting seasons. </p><p>It's been a second plague year, and as if that weren't enough to deal with, my personal life has been - well - full of ups and downs. I've spent most of the year hunkered over my computer, working on publishing and releasing actual books, working on my mental health to actually improve the damned thing, and trying to get in quality time with friends. The delight of a new relationship has also occupied many happy hours. Unfortunately, all of that has been on the background of a major personal upheaval within my family - and the long and short of it is, it annihilated my blog posting scheduled hopes.</p><p>But, as the snow and cold return in autumn, so too did I return to my creative projects - but also to Alexandre Dumas' <i>The Count of Monte Cristo. </i>Long-time readers of the blog and followers of my own media will be aware that I adore this book, and have read it several times - but after a nasty mental health breakdown a few years ago, I developed the common malady of reading anxiety. However, my male partner suggested recently that I take up a familiar and beloved book. On a whim, I indulged him, and found myself immediately captivated and delighted by the Robin Buss translation that I had not touched in many years. In a few words, then, if my writing voice is pretentious as hell, you can blame the best 19th century Black author I've read. </p><p>But of course, my thirst for endless cultural analysis and commentary remains unabated, and so, in the dark of the night, I found my way to a video in my queue that was potentially thematically resonant for an upcoming <i>Call of Cthulhu 7th edition </i>game I plan to run for my local TTRPG (tabletop roleplay game) group. Inspired by the imminent game and the turn of my thoughts lately, my next posts will be about a moral panic video about Dark Academia, but also about the intriguing quandary of villain narratives. I also want to write (or more accurately, finish) a series of posts I've made about various writing techniques, including the applicability and utility of writing for and playing in TTRPG games to writing fiction. </p><p>This November, I will also be continuing revisions on the coauthored romance novel I helped write last year, as well as trying to finish book 5 (and possibly 6?) of The Meaning Wars series. If that sounds like a lot, it probably is, so we'll see how far I get. I'm not setting especially hard deadlines, but I'd like to have the writing series out throughout the winter, book 5 out by December (or January), and Book 6, out in February or so. That means the anthology of <i>The Meaning Wars </i>won't be out by December 1st, as I'd hoped - but you can still grab the two most recent books, which are currently Kindle exclusives! (It's for marketing reasons, not borne out of any love for BezosMart.)</p><p>The books are a soft reboot of the series, so you can read from the very start, or you can pick up things from book 3 onward! They're about 40K apiece, or about 100-odd pages in paperback equivalency. </p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.01); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">They’re queer, anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist space opera tales - and the second book is a beach episode. </span></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Wars-Michelle-Browne-ebook/dp/B09BD6DJR8/">The Meaning Wars</a> - book 3 of The Meaning Wars </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">On the way to a new wormhole-building gig, Crystal and her husband Jai fight over the future of their family. But the safe haven of their base is paradise compared to Pluto. Recovering from her imprisonment, Sarah and her cousin Toby try to scrape their lives back together and stay out of trouble on the icy planetoid. Rebel leader Patience Ngouabi's actions have triggered a growing insurrection on the colony planet of Indus, and the shock waves have reached even the Solar system's worlds. Both Crystal and Sarah will have to decide between uneasy peace and constant danger - if they get to choose at all.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Content advisory: this book contains references to abuse, sexual scenes, torture, and mental health issues. Reader discretion is advised.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Wars-Michelle-Browne-ebook/dp/B09BD6DJR8/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgw55Jti-hmEY3zM5_CcvJnJyZybo9nDymQnOCvN132HOb-6myAKwE2ZQUyuGFfDAywxrzvLJ_wj6XDotrb5X3A3IBs9bgrDxDq0qGXSsCmrpapVvTlTMYTJwIE4MvtHY4Gk7jwgARz_A/" width="160" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><u>Poe's Outlaws </u>- book 4 of The Meaning Wars</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Leaving her abusive husband, Crystal finds herself desperately in need of a vacation. She heads off to Nirvana, a resort planet far from the Solar System. Craving company - and wanting to save an old friend from the Human Conglomerate's unjust judiciary system - she invites Sarah, her cousin Toby, and Sarah's mentor Paulo to join her at the resort. Paulo calls on a former partner, but his arrival - and the job he offers - throw Crystal and Sarah's new lives into chaos. Temptation and a stunning revelation bewilder Crystal. Meanwhile, Sarah decides on a risky rescue mission that puts her ideals to the test. It's time to put up or shut up - because a revolutionary icon needs their help.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcQg80UQzLF_wSRBUZ2oW4lNCsdXF4Ie2YUVvmuZZsVCmwjYcWO_qxiXfPhDw7De5akMAHhwUA9lLeboXGRcJEb2fqWJm55JuXozM0xllXKSNSZ1HdndiYLk_IcpWq48ohi1KqTA4i6w/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcQg80UQzLF_wSRBUZ2oW4lNCsdXF4Ie2YUVvmuZZsVCmwjYcWO_qxiXfPhDw7De5akMAHhwUA9lLeboXGRcJEb2fqWJm55JuXozM0xllXKSNSZ1HdndiYLk_IcpWq48ohi1KqTA4i6w/" width="150" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If you're glad I'm back, and you want to support me, then grab my books, hit me up on social media, or reply to this post. How are you handling the second year of COVID? Were there things you hoped to do, and didn't, or hoped to do, and did? Any plans for year 3? Your questions, comments, and contact are a huge motivation for me, so I'd love to know what my community - tiny, but very treasured - is up to.</p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><p></p><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partners-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">OG Blog</a> * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" href="https://tinyurl.com/y4gac6na" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-56568462229036391312021-05-17T15:39:00.001-07:002021-05-17T15:39:00.258-07:00Changing Words is Hard<p> Using the right words is not especially easy. I should know; I help people do that for a living. I also try to make words do things to say stuff and express my feelings. </p><p>Content warning: I allude to slurs in this piece, citing a couple of them, and also discuss ableism.</p><p>Sometimes those feelings are angry, contemptuous, dismissive, or that sort of thing. It's useful to have ways to belittle or express aggression towards people - say, for political reasons, or to express helplessness, fear; there's a constellation of reasons to embrace both negative emotions and negative communication. </p><p>When that happens, it's easy to reach for words like "idiot," "moron," "stupid," and other things. But the origins of these words and their deployment in modern speech is often against people with disabilities - or those perceived as inferior. In the same way as calling someone "blind" to express that they're actually being stubborn, making a bad decision, or deliberately ignoring something is actually inaccurate, it also demeans people with visual impairments. </p><p>There's been a popular push to stop using slurs - first and most easily, of course, is the n word (with or without a hard r on the end; if you don't know which word "the n word" is, you're probably beyond my help). The word "retard" and "faggot" are also falling out of use, and have been for the better part of a decade, for good reason. The latter and the n word are used rarely and in acts of reclamation by particular communities - but that's a different matter, and not one that requires policing - least of all, by a white woman, even a queer one. </p><p>The type of language I'm talking about encompasses more than the most infamous slurs, though - it includes more ordinary words, which can easily pass unnoticed for those unaffected by particular traumas.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Why bother?</h4><p>This probably sounds like needless nitpicking - I'll be honest, I've had that exact thought in the past - but t<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-biolinguistic-turn/201702/how-the-language-we-speak-affects-the-way-we-think#:~:text=Languages%20do%20not%20limit%20our,specific%20aspects%20of%20the%20world.&text=So%2C%20different%20languages%20focus%20the,environment%E2%80%94either%20physical%20or%20cultural.">he way we use words and language</a> <a href="https://www.gofluent.com/blog/how-language-affects-the-way-we-think/">shapes the way we think</a>. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01631/full">More educated people than myself</a> <a href="https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/alternatives-to-oppressive-language/">have talked about this at length.</a></p><p>Although I have sometimes grumbled about this very topic, it ultimately aligns with my principles to avoid ableism and try to reshape my language. One can have a bit of emotional attachment to words - the sharp slap and sting of particular insults and curse words is very pleasing and useful. But what are humans if not innovators? It's one of our primary advantages as a species.</p><p>Sometimes it's also useful to reach backwards and time and see if there's anything to offer - generations of teachers have made use of this particular list to engage students' attention, and frankly, it works pretty darn well. Some of these do definitely fall in the "derogatory language" pile, insulting perceived intelligence and whatnot, but a lot of them are pretty darn fun, satisfying, and useful. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImmUm9cSJEgAvew4OqHNPa3axp1ed9F6vAZkZndKRX-t8FijRfSOg9x5A4s2j0dB3P1KQBvORQ5JUoF5-pboEngrLyrTZNMVFGXPU56OP68q9DtePfSMcEUmfoYqyJPnFwy5HVAQd6QU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="563" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgImmUm9cSJEgAvew4OqHNPa3axp1ed9F6vAZkZndKRX-t8FijRfSOg9x5A4s2j0dB3P1KQBvORQ5JUoF5-pboEngrLyrTZNMVFGXPU56OP68q9DtePfSMcEUmfoYqyJPnFwy5HVAQd6QU/w400-h281/image.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who cares about this? </h4><p></p><p><a href="https://www.autistichoya.com/p/ableist-words-and-terms-to-avoid.html">A lot of people, </a><a href="http://web.augsburg.edu/english/writinglab/Avoiding_Ableist_Language.pdf">actually. </a>I'm <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/disability-language-work_l_5f85d522c5b681f7da1c3839">far from the first person</a> <a href="https://gracelapointe.medium.com/finding-alternatives-to-ableist-language-627f86808103">to talk about it,</a> but I thought bringing my own perspective to things - and being honest about my own limitations in adopting better language - might benefit some people. I've peppered references and links throughout my essay, as usual, but a quick search of ableist language on Google will reveal millions of hits and articles. A lot of people care about this.</p><p>The fact of the matter is, existing with a marginalization or multiple marginalizations makes the world feel like a hurricane of gravel. One gets inured to the storm, but that doesn't mean one's tolerance for pain is endless or infinite. And if we can reduce that careless pain for others - and refine the precision of our own language, expressing more in the process - is there really a downside? Sure, there's some inconveniences, and it's not always comfortable to examine our own internalized prejudices, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs. Yes, it's more work. Yes, it's uncomfortable. But not watching friends' shoulders tense up after a casually-deployed slur is rewarding.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMB_I9j5qZQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="MMB_I9j5qZQ"></iframe></div><br /><h4>Is this censorship?</h4><p>In a word, no, but let me explain why. First of all, the process of censorship refers to government or organizationally-sanctioned or rejected terminology. In addition to the fact that different groups will reject and accept particular terminology - for instance, conservative groups tend to avoid queer-affirming language when they discuss things like anti-trans legislation - the intent here is to provide tools for anger that do not cause additional harm. </p><p>There is a strong difference between internally rejecting the use of something and being forced to do so by an external body or power. Choosing the words we use is very different from being told we can't use particular words. </p><p>Interestingly, none of the sources or sites or people I've talked to about this issue were against swearing; neither did they express a refusal to tolerate emotional anger or angry expressions. </p><p>To provide yet another comparison, it's a bit like using a focused attack rather than an area-of-effect attack in Dungeons and Dragons - to quote a common internet witticism, "an arrow may have your name on it, but a fireball is addressed 'to whom it may concern.'" Why use a fireball, and risk the chance of friendly fire damage, when we can precisely target our opponent or the source of our frustrations? </p><p>I certainly can't think of a good reason to casually inflict harm on people I care about, and if I can insult someone just a little better, it's going to be more satisfying. </p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div><p><br /></p>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-36186978648539391652021-05-11T18:01:00.001-07:002021-05-12T08:06:41.189-07:00During Disasters, Life Can Still Crash <p>I have not been okay lately. </p><p>In late March, a dear friend's husband passed away. In April, I almost had the chance to acquire a home - something rare for Millennials and even many Gen Xs - but due to family reasons, it fell through. Then friends' pets kept passing away or getting very ill. As mentioned a few times here, I have thanatophobia, a rather unpleasant phobia of death. In addition to being pretty empathetic and caring about my friends, this was all rather hard. My co-author and dear friend's Greater Swiss Mountain Dog also died rather suddenly, and despite our locational differences, it was rather hard. </p><p>Normally, I like to present a clever conclusion or a flourish of words, a solution or suggestion that might benefit people both individually and at large. I'm not sure I have one of those today. Despite the fact that vaccines are rolling out in rich countries, my own included - I got my first shot of Pfizer yesterday - this pandemic is not going to be over any time soon. In addition to personal struggles, the world is in the middle of a very prominent and unavoidable crisis. </p><p>Instead of trying to fix it, something beyond my power, all I can say is that it is time to learn how to accept things being not okay. It's not just the serenity prayer bit about accepting what you can't fix, changing what you can, and knowing the difference. It's about understanding the scale of this situation, and also the value in merely enduring and surviving. In order to do both of those, I know that I personally have to adjust how I talk, as well as what I say.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What's wrong with me</h4><p><br /></p><p>It's not just about diagnoses or individual situations; it's about the way life continues on after a situation ends, or changes. Just because the initial situation of harm is over doesn't mean that the after-effects vanish instantly. </p><p>After talking to local friends and online friends, I can say this - making room to just not be okay is extremely important and valuable. Furthermore, though, not trying to perform happiness or okayness or tranquility is extremely important. It's so easy to just shove those feelings in a box or hide them from others or just not talk or be present when one is in a bad place. I don't just mean this in a cute, self-care-y kind of way; I mean it in the "getting by day-to-day" way. Personal and international ongoing crises are persisting, and they will persist after the pandemic - and the culture I've grown up in is particularly ill-equipped to handle that. So I find myself trying to make a better way, and sometimes grappling with direct lacks and absences in my frame of reference.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Do words really matter for therapy? </h4><div>Although we can't change the pandemic directly, there are unhealthy, dangerous, and unhelpful thoughts that we can challenge. After all, one can talk about society and culture - but we <i>are </i>also part of society and culture, and what we change in ourselves is a gift we can offer to others. Being able to destroy social constructs we've internalized, and which are harming us, is useful. </div><div><br /></div><div>A friend of my counterpointed, "but shouldn't we just say 'fuck society' and get on with our lives?" </div><div><br /></div><div>The problem with that is that we carry society with us. There's so many little tiny things and rules that I picked up to survive, and I know other people have learned the same. So if I can build forge tweezers from the stuff in my soul - I'm gonna hand them to someone else when I'm done. Sometimes you gotta pry ideas out of yourself like the head of a tick lodged in skin.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a good side, though - I am not alone, and neither are you. Humanity's greatest gift and weapon is our requirement for others. We are social animals, and although Rousseau and many others saw other people as our chains, chains can also be used to pull something out, not just hold it down. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some chains must be broken. Others can be forged. The work does not end, but new works can still begin. </div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-3352865869206370642021-03-17T13:29:00.001-07:002021-05-11T17:36:02.530-07:00Love Me Like You Hate Me<p> Saddle up, kids, because the Magpie is mad about a video on the internet again. Content warnings apply for discussions of sexual assault, consent, queer stuff, and a whole plethora of different types of prejudice and phobias.</p><p>As readers of my articles and general members of my social sphere may know already, I'm a big proponent of sex work advocacy. I find the area interesting, it's sometimes ethically fraught and complex, and it's one in which a lot of marginalized oppressions and issues dovetail together. There's a ton of societal prejudice involved as well. So when I see discussions about sex work - which are related to issues of drug decriminalisation, police abolition and reform, and prison abolition and reform as well - I perk up. </p><p>This time, however, I was about to be very disappointed.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WSlfhXSC7hU" width="320" youtube-src-id="WSlfhXSC7hU"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Don't trust the character witnesses</h4><div><br /></div><div> Let's start by talking about two of the figures alluded to in the video. There was a controversy surrounding much-maligned influencer Belle Delphine's use of bondage and a gag in a photoshoot that appeared on her Twitter. Personally, many of Belle Delphine's "scandalous" activities don't bother me in the least. They're one of the best things about her. I agree that she's hilarious and clever - <a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/belle-delphine-controversies/">but stealing other sex workers' nudes</a> is absolutely not okay. in addition to just being theft of someone else's hard work, it's a huge violation of privacy. </div><div><br /></div><div>That being said, people subscribing to her who complained about sexual photo content featuring a kink are absolutely baffling. They have the option to unfollow her, and not consent to things. If someone is explicitly a sexually-focused adult content creator, being upset when they stray outside certain norms seems stupifyingly naive and entitled. Content warnings aren't a bad practice - but when a certain type of content is a normal part of someone's output, it seems disingenuous to be shocked. After all, this is not just another Disney starlet turned provocateuse we're talking about - it's someone who explicitly makes, well, explicit content. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Hot girls want respect </h4><div><br /></div><div>In relation to the sex industry, erotic content, and the like, discussions of the nature of sex work and its inherent morality in the context of exploitative systems often crop up. However, these discussions usually occur about sex workers rather than with them - a prime example being <i>Hot Girls Wanted.</i></div><div><div> <span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span>Actual sex workers HATED <i>Hot Girls Wanted</i> because the production mistreated the same people it was trying to "save". <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/142274/netflixs-hot-girls-wanted-demeans-women-wants-empower">It doxxed sex workers</a> and <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/05/adult-performers-say-netflixs-hot-girls-wanted-docuseries-exploits-their-images-without-consent.html">included a ton of footage without their consent.</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxev5/inside-a-massive-anti-trafficking-charitys-blundering-overseas-missions">Do not trust people in the rescue industry </a>or who talk about "human trafficking" in hushed tones, but focus on the 13% of sex trafficking rather than the other agricultural and domestic labour trafficking that comprises the majority of the market. Jones particularly shaped the narrative to fit that kind of "sex is empowerment, but uh-oh, girls are over their heads" perspective that anti-sex work rescue organizations tend to push. It's condescending and disrespectful to the adult people participating.</div><div> </div><div><div><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span>'m not saying that there aren't nuances to this, but the fact remains that the majority of people actually abused in sex work tend to be people of colour, often trans or queer youths, or those with disabilities or mental and physical health issues - or a combination of the above. And even then, what we should be doing is not "registering" or "legalizing" sex work - which tends to involve barriers for the very poorest people trying to survive on it - but should be decriminalizing it and providing access to health clinics and other resources.</div><div> <span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span>Now, with that said, let's talk about the broader issue of consent and perceived exploitation - especially in reference to the video's comment section. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Talking first matters</h4><div><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" face="Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></div><div>The fact that people don't know the difference between BDSM and abuse is really disturbing. BDSM is not abuse because by definition, consent is involved. Abuse happens without consent. If someone wants something, and asks for it, that's so drastically different from a guy choking a girl without asking. (Note that the video references only straight-facing or female-male interactions, ignoring the long history of association between queerness and kink; something that I'll get to in a second.) Broadly, the lack of understanding of female, afab, and other genders' roles in their own pleasure is kind of disturbing. And after all, someone doesn't need to know about BDSM to treat a woman badly. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.98); border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span>Of course it's absurd to penalise people for enjoying "vanilla" sex - that shouldn't be insulted either. We can have both acceptance of kink and non-heterosexual or unconventional sex, while leaving plenty of room for "normal" sex. The fact that all of this is a shifting target, that "normalcy" changes anyway, should not be ignored either. But as usual, people are a lot madder at some teenage girls on Tiktok for normalizing something than they are at men for exploiting miscommunications or not saying things in the first place. And besides - it's not like Tiktok invented mainstream kink.<br /><div><div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Fifty Shades of Are You Kidding</h4></div><div><br /></div><div>The fact that the video blatantly ignores or forgets the existence of the hyper-marketed <i>Fifty Shades </i>series, which - for all its many, many faults - mainstreamed the concept of pornography for women, especially kinky pornography, is stupifying. I realise the creator is 22, but even if she somehow didn't know that the international series existed, it would be hard to search BDSM without the series cropping up somewhere in the Google results. </div><div><br /></div><div> It's certainly frustrating to see people blame young girls and women simultaneously for their ignorance and for role-modelling bad behaviour. But this begs the question - at what point are people allowed to stop being treated as potential role models? That can stifle self-expression. <br /></div><div><br />There's also a subtler problem, not mentioned in the video but discussed in the comments - the fact that kink isn't just a thing played with by straight or straight-facing couples. Kink and BDSM have deep roots in the LGBTQ+ community. </div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Acceptable queerness</h4><br />The comments on the video mention the relationship between kink and Pride events as well, with many readers expressing disgust or discomfort with "children seeing that sort of thing." Others countered that Pride wasn't about catering to straight people's families. All of this, however, avoids a brass tacks discussion: what specific kinks and displays were people finding offensive? </div><div><br /></div><div>People alluded to seeing leashes and bondage harnesses, and mentioned nudity - but full-on nudity would indecent exposure anyway. As radical a position as I often take, I'm fine with saying that people should cover their genitals in public. That seems like a pretty reasonable stance. </div><div><br /></div><div>I checked in with other friends who've seen a few Prides over the years, and they mentioned that the worst they've seen were a few leather daddies - men in chaps, harnesses, and that sort of thing; maybe bottoms that were too tight. I've seen some rope harnesses here and there, but never actual nudity at parades. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the thing. Online adverts, movies, side banners, game ads particularly - any of these display women in sexually provocative gear on a regular basis. But because it's catered towards a straight male gaze, it passes without comment. I have never had a problem with sexual advertising, but I do have a big problem with the double standard for queer folks and non-gender conforming presentations. Things that wouldn't draw a second glance if a hot blonde woman wore them, when transposed onto other bodies, are suddenly shocking and appalling and not fit for children.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is also interesting that of the people who've been caught <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2711112/It-weirdest-day-Police-respond-woman-purple-nightgown-spotted-walking-naked-man-fours-leash-rural-road.html">performing non-normative</a> <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/dominatrix-photographed-leading-man-chain-22873953">kink acts in</a> <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-couple-hit-with-curfew-violation-fine-after-wife-walks-husband-on-a-leash-1.5262178">public</a>, all of them were straight or straight-facing couples. Queer couples aren't even allowed to get married in every country, meaning that they're usually deprived of marriage-locked social system benefits, including things like seeing one's partner at the hospital during a health emergency. Marriage isn't just a cutesy conformist luxury - it represents an access to certain rights. Because LGBTQ+ couples are tolerated in many countries, but only just, and persecuted or criminalised in many others, it's perhaps unsurprising that all of the people inflicting their kinks on the public outside of Pride events are overwhelmingly straight-facing or straight and white. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">What's the takeaway? </h4><div><br /></div><div><div>Lecturing the person getting choked unexpectedly for not talking about what they're into is victim-blaming. There is no way to be a good enough person to avoid aggression. The problem is the person performing that aggression in the first place. </div><div><br /></div><div>And once again - why are we policing women, or afab people and queers, rather than demanding that men be the ones to learn how to talk about kink? Why are guys not getting consent <i>before</i> they choke someone?</div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-62032392682435625072021-03-08T02:26:00.002-08:002021-03-08T02:26:58.130-08:00The Secret of Evil <p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I'd been sitting on this concept for a while, and then I found myself relaxing on Youtube one night, watching a film reviewer's analyses - and I was jolted from my comfortable mood and into a flurry of expository frothing. </span></p><p>Possible content warning for talk about cults, general acts of violence, the dark side of humanity, cops, abuse - you get the idea.</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BhIL4myyNAY" width="320" youtube-src-id="BhIL4myyNAY"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p>Now, I think Ryan Hollinger does a great job of analysing this giving the constraints of his expertise and knowledge. I generally love his channel, and would recommend it. However, the underlying concept of this movie bothered me so greatly that, well - here we are. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">What is evil?</h4><p>For our purposes, "evil" refers to socially unacceptable, transgressive acts that cause harm to others. Examples include violent acts, sexual assault, murder, theft, fraud, lying - you get it. </p><p>Now, as long as humanity has been living in groups, squatting near our little fires, we've quarreled and bickered and occasionally wronged or harmed each other - sometimes, more severely than at others. The call to understand both our own dark impulses and bad decisions and to understand those taken by others appears to be pretty universal. Narratives and folkloric tales about evil, good, punishment, and morality appear in every single human civilization and culture, from small subsistence clans and tribes to our modern era. </p><p>I have a strong interest in cults, extremist groups, new religious movements, and that kind of thing. I've always wondered how "evil" came to be. It was a while before I understood that evil is a verb, not an actual force in the world. </p><p>But writers - especially in Hollywood, but in the general creative sphere as well - don't all have degrees in the human condition. And while that's fine, what is not fine is the way that evil is portrayed and continues to be portrayed. Not to mention the fact that criminality is often portrayed as "evil," regardless of whether or not the criminal actions harmed anyone (i.e. an expired license plate vs a speeding ticket vs an assault charge). </p><p>Now, fun, lighter-hearted portrayals of evil aren't really the issue here - I'm talking more about the serious portrayals, where a movie or story is really trying to Say Something. The silly portrayals of things, however, are rooted in the more serious stuff - so let's talk about what we see as evil.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">There's no such thing as "born evil" </h4><p>Take a minute with it. If you already know that, and are going, "yeah, duh," then let me explain the whole "evil" thing in the context of murderers. I'm so tired of these bad, stupid true crime narratives about someone who just "wakes up and does bad things". They allow us to ignore the massive preponderance of people who a) commit crimes for survival purposes, b) the misunderstandings of how mental health issues and neurodivergence works (i.e. "evil autistic" etcetera), and c) socio-economic factors, not to mention d) the cycle of abuse. That's not even including e) cultural dehumanization of others caused by privilege - such as with wealth, perceived moral authority, or racist or gender-based ideas, to name but a few. </p><p>Let me run through those again with examples. Now, I'm not saying these are actually all "causes of evil," but they're various examples of causes of harmful acts, that some people might label - fairly or unfairly - as evil. Some of these groups and people are especially vulnerable to maltreatment, and especially innocent of what they're accused of, but culturally, we don't usually act like that's the case.</p><p>a) survival criminality - doing something bad for either good reasons or personal safety. Example: stealing a TV to pay for a child's school fees; stealing to pay for drugs in the case of an addiction </p><p>b) mental health issues and neurodivergence - people who experience impaired empathy and/or struggle to conform to societal cultural norms. Example: an autistic child slapping a caregiver during a meltdown, because they feel angry and/or threatened.</p><p>c) socio-economic factors - poverty is often criminalised, and some people - in Canada, that includes Indigenous, Metis, and First Nations people, and Black, African, and Caribbean Canadians in particular - are disproportionately accused of and suspected of crimes. This can lead to being forced into the prison system, loss of opportunities, prejudice, and murder. If you've heard the phrase "school to prison pipeline" regarding the way Black people are treated, you'll know what I'm talking about. (If you don't, look it up; it's very important. Also horrifying.) Example: a store manager points at a Black child for acting "suspicious," assuming the child has stolen a candy bar. (Depending on the portrayal, either the child will be implied to be "evil" or the store owner will be "evil".) </p><p>d) the cycle of abuse. Abuse survivors who don't deal with their experiences in some way go on to abuse others. Example: a man who is assaulted by his uncle may later go on to assault his daughter's friend in her teen years. Alternately, an abused child may go on to abuse her spouse in adulthood.</p><p>e) cultural dehumanization of others caused by privilege - such as with wealth, perceived moral authority, or racist or gender-based ideas, to name but a few. The trope of the Evil Rich Executive from the 80s is a good example. See also, President of the US #45 for abundant and horrifying examples of dehumanizing and abusing others. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Does evil even exist? </h4><p>I mean, colloquially, sure. As a primeval force? No. Even <a href="https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/serial-killers-who-came-from-good-homes">companies that profit from true crime content</a> will, with some bashfulness, admit that a significant majority of the "terrifying killers" they love to portray are just severely abused people who've ended up lashing out in the worst possible ways. In the exceptionally rare cases where multiple murderers aren't actually abused in childhood and/or suffering severe adverse effects, there's often neurological damage involved. </p><p>However, as you can see from this brief analysis, it's pretty clear that evil is more of a verb than a state of being. Someone's actions can be evil, but defining a person as "evil" assigns a certain kind of evaluation that is both dehumanizing and oddly absolving. I won't dive into the depths of Christian theology about evil right now - but even in games like <i>Dungeons and Dragons</i>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2020/06/25/why-dungeons--dragons-removal-of-evil-races-is-a-golden-storytelling-opportunity/?sh=16d03b8039da">confronting the question of "evil races" </a>(yikes) has required some updates and changes. And frankly, that's a good thing. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">How do we write about bad things and evil, then? </h4><p>Don't take this essay as the vituperative howling of an inveterate killjoy. Rather, it's a plea for authors to realise that the old stories we've been telling are not only dusty and boring from overuse, they're deeply inaccurate. The real world's cues are so much more interesting and fertile, and trying to tell the same old mortality tales that have already been explored - without adding to them - is both artistically annoying and actually pretty harmful. </p><p>All of these things can still make for incredible, nuanced, interesting, gripping stories...but NoOoooooo, Hollywood still loves, "but what if just pure evil?" At this point, the thought experiment side of it is no longer a good argument. It's become the predominant understanding of how crime, especially murderers, work - and that's really, really bad.</p><p>We learn about the world from the narratives we take in - whether that's pursuing true crime tales late into the night or listening to harrowing tales of social justice and fights against societal forces, or even just watching a fun, dumb horror movie. Luckily, there's a lot of wonderful work that's been coming out that does take these nuanced, complicated stories into account - to list some podcasts I love<i>, <a href="https://howwerollpodcast.com/">How We Roll</a>, <a href="https://www.dandrpodcast.com/">Dungeons and Randomness</a>, <a href="http://oneshotpodcast.com/tag/skyjacks/">Campaign: Skyjacks,</a> T<a href="https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/adventure-zone/">he Adventure Zone,</a> </i>and <a href="https://critrole.com/podcast/" style="font-style: italic;">Critical Role</a> all tend to feature plenty of nuance in the "evil" characters, as well as in the "good" ones.</p><p>So ask yourself - who are the heroes in this tale, and in the world? Who do you instinctively take the side of when you see a real-world conflict? Although we all pride ourselves on being able to tell the differences between facts and fiction, our construction of the world comes from stories - and that means we have to be honest about who we label "the bad guys," and why.</p><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-50228522521543742672021-03-01T17:12:00.000-08:002021-03-01T17:12:14.080-08:00Why Stupid Little Things Matter<p> If you've been on the internet for a few minutes, or a few years, it's quite easy to notice that sometimes - or, actually, often - people who purportedly agree with each other can have quite unpleasant dust-ups. Why does that happen so often in political discussions? </p><p><b>Content warning for talk about sexual assault and graphic, frank language in this one. </b></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkeflQMCIKl83Y-M8NAwOrYbgxJYQ_XoPS8t_YcQ_mhxjbTmST3tCbDZKUvr93xnA2gguK8BY0Z2vHoBxzvVzs_CYnWLEZ4TrpRn-98PsBuv2U3dB7j53gV6ghGOxKb2_tIw_pMffNUI/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="617" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkeflQMCIKl83Y-M8NAwOrYbgxJYQ_XoPS8t_YcQ_mhxjbTmST3tCbDZKUvr93xnA2gguK8BY0Z2vHoBxzvVzs_CYnWLEZ4TrpRn-98PsBuv2U3dB7j53gV6ghGOxKb2_tIw_pMffNUI/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://bit.ly/3qURjIC">Source. </a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><br />I was talking to a few friends about this regarding an article, when - to everyone's surprise - one person declared that she didn't think the clothes were appropriate, actually. <div><br /></div><div>There was some consternation, so I thought I'd step in and do my best to sort out the misunderstanding. In the process, it occurred to me that it's a useful lesson for fellow discoursers and debaters in general. </div><div><br /></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Why teen girls (and people) should wear whatever they want without consequences</h4><br />It's rather important to question the knee-jerk impulse to say, "cover yourself" to a woman. Quite frankly, we should run our society well enough that people can walk down the street naked without someone saying they're "asking for it." <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/133/5/e1226.short">Prevention and self-defense certainly help,</a> but they're treating the symptoms, not the cause.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because - if you will pardon the reducto ad absurdum - it's not that hard to end up naked on accident in public. And the problem is not a sexual display of any sort, but rather, of predatory behaviour.<br />I shall use an allegory (which does not map perfectly for human beings, but hear me out). Blaming the hare for being too plump and delicious entirely alleviates the dog's role in catching the damned thing. And the solution is not to plug every rabbit-hole, but rather, for the hound to exercise discipline and restraint. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Note that this example is deployed in response to the prevailing imagery of Men at Large as predators, and Women at Large as prey. Even setting aside the binary casting it enforces, it's not at all accurate, but it's certainly invoked a lot. My use here is intended to be subversive of that trope, not affirming.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWGnBSIG4ugvbwujVEong5-Kde9UHBUFsLOEu4rVtotIX2EyPUFn1hfOP71d9g8AkopFABGph1GtAKjZuAiXNUi2f3NlEMwqHjj-AsyFfwC-CXqwC4LABsBtpmzGaSsQjpU0x2p0NUtw/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="609" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWGnBSIG4ugvbwujVEong5-Kde9UHBUFsLOEu4rVtotIX2EyPUFn1hfOP71d9g8AkopFABGph1GtAKjZuAiXNUi2f3NlEMwqHjj-AsyFfwC-CXqwC4LABsBtpmzGaSsQjpU0x2p0NUtw/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">But isn't she "asking for it"?</h4><div><br />The issue is not "asking for it," but of people hearing a request from silence - as when someone is merely existing in their presence. "Asking for it" ought only to be a thing when one is, genuinely, asking for it. And I assure you, if it's power-play and dominance that people crave satisfaction in, there are rather healthier and more consensual ways to attain it. If one wishes to be distracted by lace, I can think of any number of places to do so. But if lace alone in the mere proximity of a breast is enough to "enormously distract" a teacher's assistant, they need to either masturbate more or less, and either way, it's not the teenager's problem.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the reason to protect people wearing sexy clothes - or nothing at all, or anything - is that these so-called "safer" activities provide no actual harm-reduction, and place the responsibility on victims. When, as shown in rather a lot of circumstances, that <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2004.tb01299.x">doesn't particularly reduce instances of violence.</a> So it not only says - as someone graphically put it - "rape the other girl," it also circumscribes freedom and actions, to no real benefit, while also effectively condoning predatory actions by making room for them. T<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0886260503251070">he way to reduce incidents of sexual assault is to talk about and debunk rape myths.</a> <br /><br /><a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a19158567/what-is-rape/">Actually preventing sexual assault is hard </a>- <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/6/15/8783171/rape-study-nejm">but the responsibility keeps falling on women (and non-cis-men in general).</a> Despite their increased risk of exploitation and assault, due to societal prejudices, trans people and people of colour experience assault at much higher rates. But people are so often much more willing to modify the behaviour of everyone except perpetrators. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, that plays into a whole <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/05/a-man-raped-me-another-tried-to-they-were-not-animals-they-were-men">mythos of men-as-predators, </a>semi-feral creatures enslaved to their impulses; some sort of wild thing that Women have to Tame, entreat, or otherwise cajole into civilization. It benefits no one and harms everyone - but it lurks beneath the skin of this "cover yourself" rhetoric, breathing and panting and refusing to die. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">So how's this relate to discourse?</h4><div><br /></div><div>Well, most of the time, stating outright that "all men are predators" is distasteful even for conservative crowds. Some morally-bankrupt mouthpieces are happy to proclaim things like that - but as Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon revealed about the Black Civil Rights movement in the States, it was far easier to make ideas palatable by presenting them softly, in avoidant language. Even though they basically effected the same changes. </div><div><br /></div><div>Don't get the idea that I'm some sort of saint of discourse and philosophical discussion; I have that inner conservative, that knee-jerk reaction to things, just like anyone else. So to deal with those apparent contradictions between my reaction and my stated values, I try to figure out where they're coming from. And then I ask, 'wait, do I actually have to think this?" </div><div><br /></div><div>Because that's the beauty of it - if we like, we can decide to not do something, even though we've been told it's important. And anything that makes us happier, freer, and safer, is definitely good. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, that subtextual language of hints and implications utilized by conservatism (and politics in general) tends to foment confusion and conflict when those values are questioned. Thus, saying, "I don't like this," about any leftist or liberal idea, can result in quite a dust-up - because normally, soft implications are used to support particular ideas at large, the sort of ideas that can't politely be stated in public or private conversations. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's why people don't have much room for disagreement on the topic, I think - only, most of us don't necessarily pick apart every bit of the clockwork to figure out how it all clicks together. Emotions move faster than thoughts, and fingers are faster than lips. An implication that suggests a major moral disconnection can be very upsetting, and reduce the sense of tranquility and safety in a group. And of course, it's much harder to organize, both offline and online, when people aren't sure they can trust each other.</div><div><br /></div><div>I usually defuse situations by restating common values, then explaining what I, or we, are hearing from the disagreeing party - and clarifying to see if that's the meaning they intended. Using passive-voice language can be terrifically helpful, because it removes blame by reducing personalization. In a work of fiction, that's boring, but in a discussion verging on an argument, it can be friendship-saving. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, sometimes the call comes from inside the house. How do we reconcile conflicts in our beliefs? </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">How to survive disagreement - with yourself</h4><div><br />Remembering that opinions are not sacred or sacrosanct is rather important; at least in the West, it's often invoked as an argument ender - "it's just my opinion." Nobody's questioning your right to your opinion, but having an opinion doesn't mean anyone's obligated to agree with it. But it's important to question what, and why, we're defending something. Does it actually benefit us? </div><div><br />"I don't like it for myself" is one thing, and even "I don't like it on you" is another; both are fine, but "I think it's bad and therefore this is fair" has implications. It might not seem terribly important, but right-wing politicians rely on this sort of sentiment when they're pushing through anti-abortion and anti-birth control access bills. "Young, slutty girls" are a famous, easy target. And talking about "young, slutty girls" is substantially more acceptable than the corollary - an idea that men are rapacious, sexually-starved monsters. It's dehumanizing on both sides, and of course, it's just not true. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/9/23/6831641/domestic-violence-sexual-assault-nfl-violence-against-women">And there are better ways.</a><br /><br />So ultimately, "I don't like it, but I respect her choice to just exist in it" is an important distinction to make. Choice feminism is sort of tricky, because we all Live in A Society, of course. You certainly don't have to wear that combo! But we have to stick together and let anyone who wants to wear a thing, wear it unmolested - because the alternative is reinforcing that big, ugly brick wall of rape culture. </div><div><br /></div><div>And those ideas harm our bodies, our minds, and even our spirits. I honestly believe that humans are pretty good, and over all, tend towards altruism - and something that harms each other less will only benefit all of us, especially since the thing we're giving up sucks. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What do you think? How do you reduce conflict between factions who mostly agree with each other? </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div><br />Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-82390500590946768782021-02-09T01:12:00.000-08:002021-02-09T01:12:30.910-08:00I'm Like Other Girls<p> So, people who remember the 90s and early 2000s, or even the early 10s, might remember the recurring cultural fixation on being "unlike other girls." A Youtuber I particularly enjoy just put out an excellent video essay on the topic, and it covers a really interesting angle that isn't necessarily being talked about much. </p><p>A quick note about gender to preface things - some of the people who look like "other girls" are either transgender or non-gender conforming, and the issue of gender for trans people, especially re: gender performance for both personal reasons and survival reasons, is really complicated. I don't experience dysphoria for my presented or physical gender, but I wanted to mention that when I say "women" and "men," I am primarily talking about cis people - but I am aware trans people can also experience periods of trying desperately to conform while hiding their inner selves/real gender. (The real gender is the one by which someone identifies, just to be clear; also, genders and the expression/performance thereof can shift over time.)</p><p>So, with that note out of the way, kindly consider the latest iteration of feminine cannibalism.</p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bO4IPgv8PII" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Where it comes from </h4><div><br /></div><div>It seems as though a lot of the people who talk about this are baffled about the causes of this hate. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNCWW80WTPY&t=1179s">A millennial who remembers the brief period of modern society</a> before the internet can confirm that it was very possible to be bullied for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nL-kgbbcBA&t=1030s">failing to conform to societal beauty standards</a> - something that was particularly common in the 90s and 2000s. </div><div><br /></div><div>The thing is - it wasn't so much the actual "popular girls" who were nasty. It was mostly their seconds-in-command or the girls who wanted to be them. The invisible middle-layer of girls who were neither social outcasts nor truly universally liked. In the brutal hierarchical world of junior high (and sometimes high school), clawing for attention, especially from guys, is a vicious game. </div><div><br /></div><div>The thing is, parents also made some of these comparisons. Something absolutely burned into my mind is the moment in the Muppet Cinderella, featuring Brandy, when her aunt says, "you look like a girl from one of those rap videos!" in a dismayed and scolding tone - and the character's uncle comments, "you look like a girl from one of those rap videos" in a significantly warmer tone, while looking his niece (!) up and down. It was a tiny moment, but I can still recite those two lines of dialogue from memory roughly sixteen years later...and that says a lot. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Authors, we need to knock it off</h4><div><br /></div><div>Being that I'm not only a writer, but that I also edit in the industry, I can absolutely confirm that a ton of romance books written for adults and by adults still have this internalized misogyny - including books by queer men. A lot of people are starting to unpack this deep-seated and knee-jerk hate, which is pretty great, but quite a few people still don't - and it sucks. A nemesis who may be promiscuous, blonde, shallow, vicious, or all of the above crops up quite often. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNCWW80WTPY&t=1179s">Romance movies</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/badromancepod?lang=en">are so, so bad for this</a> - and what shocked me was that most of those terrible romantic comedies I saw growing up were written, directed, and produced by men, especially men who sneered at the whole format. So...basically, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ernest-cline-poetry-nerd-porn-auteur_n_5aabc7e5e4b0c33361afce93?ri18n=true">men were presenting a "cool girl"</a> and saying that she was better than other women. And as Aonso and some of the other creators linked in this essay put it, we wonder why women hate each other and themselves.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">When it changed for me </h4><div><br /></div><div>Two things happened when I was a teenager that made an important crack in my understanding of other women - first of all, I started to be attracted to girls. It's possible to hate people you're attracted to; look at incels, for example. Hell, that term was coined by a bi woman and was used by her and other queer people who felt undateable, and were trying to fix themselves so they could find love. (As usual, the worst kind of men invent nothing, and make what they steal, worse.) </div><div><br /></div><div>The other thing was - after a terribly unpleasant stint in private school in eleventh grade, which was a terrible five-month period, I returned to public school - but I started to dress the way I had always secretly wanted to. That meant (sigh) the boy-jeans that fit me under sarongs, long circle skirts with embroidery, peasant shirts, and that kind of thing. I had always loved clothing like that, and a brief stint of wearing a uniform made me decide firmly that I was going to wear the clothes I loved, damn it. </div><div><br /></div><div>And somehow, people not only thought that was cool - but they liked me and were friendly. It helped that the high school had a reputation for being nerdy and academic, but it was still an inner-city school, which made for a diverse population. And here's the twist - not only did I not get bullied, I had a great year and a half there, and I even friendly relationships with some popular girls. Finding out that pretty girls, even actual teen models, could be fun, smart, and sweet changed everything. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had a bad period with my counselling faculty in university as well, which sparked a nearly fatal depression - but that didn't make me hate all other women. The thing is, "nerdy" and "unconventional" girls can be just as vicious and mean as the "popular" ones - and to my later surprise, men can be every bit as petty and vicious and underhanded. I've seen it in professional communities, both my own and in the medical and business worlds, and I've even seen this kind of backbiting in queer communities. So why does it keep happening?</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">The core of the problem </h4><div><br /></div><div><div>In psychological terms, it appears that most girls and plenty of women (and men) seem to not only view others based on their external interests - but as Aonso puts it, they assume that other people aren't as genuine about their interests, and are either "faking it" or doing it for "clout" or "attention". The thing is - a lack of theory of mind, understanding that other people have their own inner worlds, combined with a presumption of an external locus of control (i.e. letting the world's judgements determine what's important to you and what you should do), perfectly describe the things we assume about other women. But - it's easily disproven by talking to these "other girls". One of the greatest revelations of my life was discovering just how many "dumb" girls were pretending to be stupid just to avoid intimidating men and others. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>A fundamental lack of empathy for "other girls" is the justification for hating them. In the earlier decades, bullying definitely was an issue, but it doesn't fully explain why this hatred for the "other girl" is so deeply encoded. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Combined with the mournful loneliness of societal prejudices experienced for failing to conform, as well as social rejection, plenty of "not like other girls" girls/people turn inward and try to find something about themselves to like. Being unlike one's tormentors is generally the first thing to notice - and accepting one's differences, especially if they result in being othered, can be comforting. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>However, just because it's a coping mechanism doesn't mean it's healthy. Destructive social dynamics are the price of being a member of a social species. The only way to deal with it is fighting the internalized social protocols of Western culture (i.e. don't talk about what's Important to you, don't say things that will make waves, even if they're really nice compliments; be innocuous but not too boring, etc). The patriarchial standards based in the most toxic core of North American culture, especially WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) and whiteness culture, are killing all of us. But they don't have to, because we are already more than what we've been taught to be.</div><div><br /></div><div><h4>What I think now</h4><div><br /></div><div>In addition to this, a memorable social psychology class of mine focused on the ways that "alternative" people - which, I suppose, includes yours truly - still conform to dress codes within their own subcultures. When one considers an "alternative" girl next to, say, a sports team, of course she looks different. But stick that girl on tiktok and look under the right hashtags, and it's easy to see more visual similarities between clothing styles of alternative people. So - those "other girls" just need to band together and enjoy each other's company and similarities, and with the internet, that's possible like never before.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, other girls? They're great! Finding out that first of all, pretty girls aren't actually vicious monsters out to destroy relationships and friendships, was wonderful. There are a lot of other people who adore reading, writing, talking about social justice issues and politics, tabletop RPGs, knitting, moody folk and rock music, true crime of the cult and con artist variety, history, shiny rocks, magic, making jewelry, baking and cooking, fashion, drawing, tea, and learning languages (to cite most of the interests I can think of at this exact moment). Not only that, I've learned to present my interests more appealingly in conversation, so they're more approachable and so I can hit the highlights for people who are interested but less knowledgeable. Discovering the joy of shared interests and the skill of sharing my interests has made my adulthood a rich and socially satisfying period, and I can only hope others can attain this level of warmth, friendship, and support.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next time that little nasty whisper rears its head, or next time some guy mentions that a woman is "not like other girls" - ask, "what's wrong with other girls?" Embracing the shadow-side of other-girlness, and learning how to do makeup, dress provocatively, and appreciate one's own sexuality (or lack thereof) will not magically turn a woman into a brainless zombie or a soul-sucking, seductive vampire. If anything, we should explore these societally-shamed tropes, and appreciate the diversity of people who both identify under and branch out from the feminine gender. We have barely even begun to create societal roles for nonbinary people, but trans and nonbinary folks are also bringing forth a lot of creativity and wonderful content. Masculinity and femininity should be umbrellas, not cages - but self-hatred has never unlocked a cage from within. </div><div><br /></div></div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #efefef; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-2963628148777126352021-01-29T08:09:00.001-08:002021-01-29T08:09:03.620-08:00Marx's Loophole<p> So, I mentioned in a <a href="https://scifimagpie.medium.com/the-horseshoes-penumbra-bb243efe1911">previous article</a> that I've been agonizing over leftist infighting issues for - well - a few years now. Despite the sharp tone of my previous posts and some others, it should be noted that I don't hate modern communists - in fact, I generally agree with a lot of their aims (with the exception of the small number of dictator apologists). I am, however, significantly more comfortable around people who talk about democratic socialism and who generally aren't demanding a one-party state, because of my previously stated vehement opposition to totalitarianism. </p><p>But today, I want to take a stab at a greatly revered dead old white male theorist's basic ideas. This is another article I've been considering for some time, but I'm going to endeavour to make it less lengthy and meandering than my last release. (Especially because I'm not entirely sure most of my readers are here for extended musings on political theory from an admitted non-expert.) </p><p>In a nutshell, then, Marxism doesn't work and is incomplete, and we on the left need to stop making everything try to fit its exact circumscriptions. </p><p>There are two relatively simple reasons why I would put this relatively obvious theory forward, and they both come down to the scientific fact that we are social animals. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Money represents attention; both represent power</h4><p>In<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-5914.2010.00458.x"> other social species</a>, such as chickens, chimpanzees, bonobos, or dolphins, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/dominance-hierarchy">hierarchies naturally develop.</a> Before I learned about more of the basic concepts of anarchism, I thought it was devoted to resisting hierarchies under all circumstances, which struck me as innately ridiculous. How could one organize and get anything done without some kind of chain of command? Then I found out that the point was destroying unjust and entrenched hierarchies, which made more sense - but is still a tricky proposition.</p><p>The thing is, as anyone who's spent five minutes on the leftist internet will tell you, those hierarchies will recapitulate themselves, even without monetary incentives. Memes and art are shared freely, as is fanfiction, and that certainly supports the idea that resources are being artificially restricted from the public by the actions of the wealthy and their corporations - but the people who produce these things and the algorithms that promote and share them are not created equal. Unjust hierarchies are not only bone-deep, but are inevitably recycled, even when they're reversed. Attention is a form of currency and exchange because it represents power; money also represents power. But trying to remove power from human society and interactions is like trying to run a battery without electricity. </p><p>The most we can do is try to redistribute power as equitably as possible, while working intentionally to compensate for historical and present-day injustices. I don't believe there will ever be an end point, because new injustices will happen as the world progresses - but trying to compensate for them brings improvements, and a better world. The alternative is to just try and embrace the inequality, which is pretty much the thesis of fascism - and if you haven't gotten the idea from my other articles, fascism is bad. Not only that, it's fundamentally unsustainable and precarious. Even if it didn't lead to suffering and injustice, it wouldn't work. But communism as depicted in Marx's writings doesn't exactly work either, because of this whole power and imbalance thing I keep talking about.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The fight for justice will never end</h4><p>It is vitally important, even required, resist and break down unjust hierarchies, even the most entrenched. As stated previously, I don't support attempting this with violence, but resisting and protesting fascists is also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4G7asMHqZ4">a form of societal self-defense</a>. Being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqXjGocf-Es&t=4s">present at white supremacist rallies discourages them</a>, because fascism is fundamentally a belief requiring cowardice. </p><p>Unfortunately, despite their many flaws, democracies are the best system we've come up with for self-determination thus far. It seems like fascism is, rather than a one-time event, cyclical. One thing that Star Wars (I know, shut up, hear me out) represents well is that democracies are always going to be susceptible to fascism and predatory conservatism. But the alternative is totalitarianism, and that, we must fight. As Benjamin Franklin put it, "A republic, gentlemen - if you can keep it." <br /><br />There is no "one last person to take resources from and then we can yeet into the beautiful future" stage. There is no socialist paradise. It's like the stuff in the New Testament about building the Kingdom of God on earth, and which leftist christians understand as being "hey not being a dick is a continuous process." There will be no messianic Revolution where All the Bad People Die and the Rest of Us get to live in Egalitarian Heaven. <br /><br />(I'm not Christian, but I do really like ex-Christian and leftist Christian media; it's been good for my spiritual health.)<br /><br />Can we <i>have</i> a beautiful future? I don't know, but we can certainly try to make now better. The healthier our democracies and systems become, the more resilient they'll be to the next wave of fascist or conservative backlashes. </p><p>Humanity will never be able to stop trying to balance altruism and self-interest. Even if we damage the planet to the point that we struggle to inhabit it, I very much doubt that we'll actually go extinct. However, if we refuse the temptation to discard the tools at hand, and use our cracked, damaged systems to their fullest extent, we stand more than a snowball's chance in hell of conquering our worst instincts and remedying historical and present atrocities. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nxqi-vJRvBJmVdn_oVCzzxv5tX0jetmZIunpT6Z1eAsowtq27S-r4lJDFVerPwNocfdIcVRhA2miaI8-7s7Inpys54H2njCRS5T2c5Lbb1a5iv_kDyhCqS1-eHCIRdfW6jwnFSHpAnY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="188" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2nxqi-vJRvBJmVdn_oVCzzxv5tX0jetmZIunpT6Z1eAsowtq27S-r4lJDFVerPwNocfdIcVRhA2miaI8-7s7Inpys54H2njCRS5T2c5Lbb1a5iv_kDyhCqS1-eHCIRdfW6jwnFSHpAnY/" width="168" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alan-C-Martin/e/B00FHN21CA/">Source. </a><br /><br />And yes, I know she's called "Tank Girl," and that modern-day dictator apologists are known as "tankies," but the point still stands.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><p></p><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div><div><br style="background-color: #efefef; font-family: Arvo; font-size: 14.3px;" /></div><p></p><div><br /></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-82544506925735888552021-01-22T03:15:00.001-08:002021-01-22T03:15:17.991-08:00The Horseshoe's Penumbra<div>People who've read <i>The Meaning Wars </i>series might recall that in book 2, <i>The Stolen: Two Short Stories, </i>the novella "Wordthieves" depicts a society that has some of the trappings of leftist and liberal groups - meditation, organic food, yoga, vegetarianism, basic housing and healthcare - yet behaves like Christian extremists. To wit, they exert behavioural control over members, demand obedience and a lack of questioning, </div><div><br /></div><div>Part of my goal with this was to vent frustration at the controlling behaviour and culture present in the Health Sciences faculty I was studying in, under a now (thankfully) deposed Department Head. The other purpose of the depiction was to criticize an unsettling behaviour I noticed - the way the trappings of the left and liberals (yoga, vegetarianism, Buddhist iconography, incense, crystals, etcetera) sometimes came with behaviour that matched oppressive philosophical standards from the right - name, Christian Evangelical-style refusal to countenance criticism. In other words, people could get real defensive about their spirituality and lifestyles, and be strangely hostile to science in ways that I normally encountered at the hands of casual Christian extremists (aka members of the Canadian Bible belt). I figured it was because changing one's external beliefs doesn't unteach the behavioural standards of the restrictive religious culture. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">What's the difference between a leftist and a liberal, anyway?</h4><div><br /></div><div>It would be easier to define this answer if it wasn't for the vicious and contemptuous purity-testing present among segments of the left. The broad left is fractious, rowdy, and often disagrees with itself to the point of self-parody. Never mind extreme standards of orthodoxy; merely forging an orthodoxy from the heterodoxy can be difficult at best. Certain stances, like the idea of universal healthcare, education, childcare, and reproductive rights access are popular; however, the manner in which these things can be accomplished is often an issue of great debate. The uplifting of voices of marginalized groups is held as important; exactly who gets to speak when, and who is most correct or most important in a given circumstance, is often the kind of debate topic that ruins friendships. (This is not a joke; I've seen it happen, and it's a lot less funny when it happens to you.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Some seek to reference historical applications of the term. During the Cold War, being "liberal" and "conservative" meant supporting capitalism over communism. The links between "economic freedom" and personal control/totalitarianism were forged in iron - even though the totalitarian governments self-proclaimed as communist were no more "communist" than buffalo wings are derived from bison. It's impossible to ignore history, the way neo-liberalism in the 80s meant doing your own thing and making money as a goal, trying to accrue power despite the cost - yet also being a global citizen, open to new experiences, and boldly expressing self-determination. <br /><br />Trying to map the old standards onto the modern ones badly ignores how much things have changed in the last forty-odd years. A common insult in certain parts of Twitter (and now Discord instead of Facebook, I assume) is to call someone a "liberal," which basically implies that said person is capitulating to the State, to false prophets, </div><div>or isn't radical enough. It's supposed to be a reference to neo-liberalism of the 80s - but in context, it often makes little sense when held up against that criteria. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Use a better word, please</h4><div><br /></div><div><h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">I'd also like to talk about something related - the infamous, often contested Centre. Here's the thing - when I pop my head out of the leftist stronghold spaces I tend to prefer online, and talk to people who are less inclined to, say, anarchism, or at least radical restructuring, I've noticed that I keep not meeting any centrists. People who hold some sort of bland, mythical centrist stance don't actually exist. "But Nancy Pelosi and Justin Trudeau!" some might cry. Improper commitment to progressive ideas does not equate to actually believing in some kind of weird lukewarm centre. Outside of politics, "centrists" or divided voters tend to have a mixture of viewpoints that pull them in different directions. Some leftists consider reaching out to the centre useless, but experts on cults and conversion suggest that outreach - as much as it can be exhausting - is better than waiting for the far right to do the reaching out, as we saw <a href="https://maximumfun.org/episodes/oh-no-ross-and-carrie/ross-and-carrie-meet-joe-ondrak-unmasking-q-edition/">with QAnon, </a>which successfully radicalized former Obama voters. </span><br style="font-weight: 400;" /></h4><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMTBodgD8DbvmIuvdOqOZq2-fTgYlQcjPRQfVn7PXdL0-dkdejnRdAom4MtJTq0BV7X9cljjONfwFmWSJmSjHl6n2yh4_t2RN7ojF1ie1QwQ9EPFGg6ILKOqQGC-j1uYdytF2QN9OgeY/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="330" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMTBodgD8DbvmIuvdOqOZq2-fTgYlQcjPRQfVn7PXdL0-dkdejnRdAom4MtJTq0BV7X9cljjONfwFmWSJmSjHl6n2yh4_t2RN7ojF1ie1QwQ9EPFGg6ILKOqQGC-j1uYdytF2QN9OgeY/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_and_sickle">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><h4>We're not so different, you and I...</h4><div><br /></div><div>However, it's worth considering who the left would prefer to ally with - the "centrists" or the most extreme radicals. </div><div><br /></div><div>Leftist Twitter, Facebook, and other circles have some morally questionable corners; that's not surprising in any group, but can still be upsetting. The embrace of Stalinism and Maoism by young Americans, even queer ones, is baffling in some ways. The calls for violence crop up repeatedly - as do praise for gun culture and self-defense. I've voiced discomfort with leftist retaliatory battle cries before. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nowadays, frankly, I'm far more comfortable with saying "eat the rich!" and "all cops are bastards" because I understand more about how entrenched oppression works. Shaming cops and trying to unnerve the very wealthy are a little different from actually organizing, say, a raid on Jeff Bezo's private compound. There, I draw the line. I've whimpered in the past about fears of the left taking on the extreme right's tactics because "we're better and won't be corrupted" - but what actually happens is just that the extreme right gains new members. </div><div>Here's why I wouldn't recommend the latter category. I've spent a few years now trying to research and keep an eye on extremist leftist groups - the tiny, tiny number of people who believe that Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro and<a href="https://twunroll.com/article/1275932865595760641"> the Kims of North Korea</a> have been wronged by history. While it's undeniable that t<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/12/23/the-cia-says-russia-hacked-the-u-s-election-here-are-6-things-to-learn-from-cold-war-attempts-to-change-regimes/">he CIA undermined socialist democracies</a> in South America and Europe, and one can say that sure, some of these revolutionary leaders had good ideas, the totalitarian regimes that eventually came to power should not be apologized for. The fact that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/opinions/churchill-racist-great-white-men-view-toye-opinion/index.html">Churchill was a racist </a>does not excuse the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_and_antisemitism">anti-Semitism</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_history_in_Russia#LGBT_history_under_Stalin:_1933%E2%80%931953">homophobia</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Holodomor">Ukrainian genocide </a>caused by Joseph Stalin. </div><div><br /></div><div>For a long time, I've tried to figure out how to write an article saying both that this small group of people is pretty much insignificant online, and that they should be watched carefully in case their beliefs leach into the wider left. I noticed that wandering through a series of Leftbook pages - fan pages that support far, far left beliefs - there was a surprising amount of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateCommunism/comments/66w0ua/to_all_how_much_do_the_stalin_and_mao_apologists/">apologia for the dictators mentioned above</a>, as well as gun adoration and what looked an awful lot like vague calls to violence. </div><div><br /></div><div>Trying to question individual leftists about these things resulted in a sort of foot-dragging annoyance in the responses. "So are you willing to actually launch a raid on a billionaire's compound?" I demanded. "And if so, what about the possibility of them using their employees as human shields?" As one might imagine, the replies to that were often vague and hostile. </div><div><br /></div><div>I tried to reconcile this violent streak in the dustiest corners of the leftist movement with the broad goals of electoral reform, voter enfranchisement, and the policy issues I've mentioned elsewhere. Granted, the system is in bad shape, but is the alternative violent insurrection? </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">If yes, you might be a fascist</h4><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://scifimagpie.medium.com/horseshoe-theory-is-not-enough-a580b9ba18f">It was seeing a former leftist</a> advocating for the Capitol Hill terrorists that made everything crystal clear. I'd run across the concept of<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fascism"> "red fascism"</a> previously. The fact that totalitarian governments calling themselves "communist" hunted for "fascists," with secret police when necessary, does not mean those regimes were not, in fact,<a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/voline-red-fascism"> still totalitarian or fascist.</a> But it still shocked me to see an avowed anti-fascist referring to terrorists as family, and proclaiming that any actions to the contrary were "neo-liberal capitulation." </div><div><br /></div><div>The dramatic irony of defending the fascists they have professed to hate, simply because the FBI is more fascist, gave me a lot to laugh at. Thinking about it for a while wiped the smile right off my face. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">The big mistake</h4></div><div><br /></div><div>People - previously including myself - tend to think that the left and the right curve towards each other with these behaviours, but what it really represents is a sort of snapping-off point. The actual values espoused by leftism and liberalism broadly speaking - personal self-determination, protection of rights of others - experience some conflict with the values of capitalism and conservatism. These definitions of words shift, of course - many people talk about liberalism and neo-liberalism interchangeably, even though that's deeply confusing and inaccurate (please stop, Twitter). There was a time when conservative governments actually did things like conserve air, water, and national parks. </div><div><br /></div><div>But at the present moment, when leftists start having things in common with the alt-right, I would contend that they are no longer leftists. In attempting to weld the horseshoe's diverging branches together, one of them has snapped off and gotten stuck to the other. </div><div><br /></div><div>Violent insurrection and overthrow of a government is incompatible with advocating for a peaceful society. Yes, the system is messed up, but trying to accelerate change with a militaristic coup - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring">if it works at all</a> - will not produce the kind of world we want. </div><div><br /></div><div>This article is too long, but it could still be longer. Suffice to say, most of the "radical left" is not represented by qualms expressed in this article. But a very, very, very small number of people are unwilling to deal with anything less than instantaneous change - and those people may think they're holding leftist ideals, but they've lost the plot. </div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of the day, all we can do is call out these violent mutterings within our own ranks. Fascism is fascism, even if some of the people calling for it seem - at first - to be calling for the correct sorts of changes. There's a reason Hitler used the term "national socialist" for his party, and it's because smuggling right-wing ideas in with a left-wing package works pretty well. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unless, of course, as soon as you notice what they're up to, you kick the fascists out.</div><div><p class="graf graf--p" name="02ba">Have you run into these people? Do you have a counterargument you’d like to make? Hit me up in the comments below. </p></div><div><div class="graf graf--p" name="c2be" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="170a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.</div><div class="graf graf--p" name="35da" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-top: 15px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Find her all over the internet: * <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" data-href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" href="https://scifimagpie.blogspot.com/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; 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background-image: linear-gradient(rgba(68, 68, 68, 0) 50%, rgba(68, 68, 68, 0.25) 0px); background-position: 0px 1.15em; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-size: 1em 2px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.15em; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></div></div><div><br /></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6056856626386621924.post-69706188627529321792021-01-18T08:05:00.001-08:002021-01-18T08:05:31.819-08:00Horseshoe Theory is Not Enough<p> I was crawling through my Discord and Facebook threads about politics and chatting with friends when a buddy shared a screenshot of a tweet that made my jaw drop. (Discord is a social chatting platform similar to old IRC chats, but with a nicer interface; if you don't know what Facebook and Twitter are, I would like to know the location of your rock, and exactly how many other blind salamanders live under it, because it should probably be protected by UNESCO.) </p><p>Anyway, there's a content producer called Peter Coffin. They create video essays on Youtube, and since I tend to watch my fair share of "Leftube"/"Breadtube"/educational and witty videos about current events and philosophical topics, I've come across their work. They're very aggressively against "horseshoe theory," which is the idea that the extreme left and the extreme right bend around to being similar to each other. This makes it seem as though the center/centrism is the most rational perspective and belief - obviously, I personally disagree with that. </p><p>(All screenshots were taken on January 15th, around 12 AM, by myself.) </p><div>The tweets I've screenshotted here are, to put it colloquially, cursed as fuck. Proceed with caution (and some type of memory-scrubbing agent, especially for that Pence tweet).<p>However, the way this political theorist has spoken about Gamergate has been - to put it mildly - a warning sign. Gamergaters launched targeted harassment at game designers Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu, among others, citing their role in...somehow prejudicing the industry against white men? "It's about ethics in games journalism" became a rallying cry - but any amount of examination made that ostensible excuse fall apart like a dessicated wasp nest. </p><p>To reiterate: they (Peter Coffin) are sympathizing with people who created an entire narrative structure to validate their anger at BIPoC, women (+), and LGBTQ people for both wanting to be represented in games and designing their own games and stories. </p><p>If nothing else, more art makes art better. Straight people, white people, and especially men actually benefit from these stories existing, because it will lead to more nuances and better stories being told for them, too. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAuUGOIdPSJYEY7SXssz_aQq5ERQQAzpJ46KQf8xeKK1bD04VtQFJokiY_YUsAwNoFQKlmJWsUJJiZAM8HyecR4Zr8bDof8brM0P1w7-p0f9spycpFd898yIPgM0B7bci1vV6xYyIQ4I/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="847" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAuUGOIdPSJYEY7SXssz_aQq5ERQQAzpJ46KQf8xeKK1bD04VtQFJokiY_YUsAwNoFQKlmJWsUJJiZAM8HyecR4Zr8bDof8brM0P1w7-p0f9spycpFd898yIPgM0B7bci1vV6xYyIQ4I/" width="320" /></a></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Gamergate, QAnon, and MAGA</h4><p>Unfortunately, when people equate a desire for representation with hate, and when they also ignore power structures, we get things like the violence against Black Lives Matter protestors. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/08/anti-feminism-gateway-far-right/595642/">These movements share very similar ethics and values</a>. In fact, the pickup artist community and the "manosphere," as well as the incel movements, have all been linked to the alt-right. These communities <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/07/349052/the-manosphere-is-getting-more-toxic-as-angry-men-join-the-incels/">directly feed into each other</a> and stoke violent hatred. </p><p>And why wouldn't they? Defensive, angry people hearing that their way of life is Bad, Actually are going to group together. <a href="https://gen.medium.com/dont-argue-with-your-conservative-relatives-mobilize-your-liberal-ones-instead-1ece0f324ba3">Unfortunately, arguing </a>with these people online tends to push them further into their bubbles. Discussion etiquette is in a dire state, but some arguments are also too stupid to be countenanced. Instead, <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/building-bridges/2019/11/12/deradicalization-in-the-deep-south">de-radicalization </a><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/stop-domestic-terrorism-shut-down-its-leader/617640/">therapies and approaches are more effective. </a></p><p>Trying to debate a cultist doesn't work. I've tried. Unfortunately, understanding how the violent kind of radicalization and cults work has given me insight into something unpleasant. The left doesn't become like the right - rather, the alt-right tends to use the trappings of the left, and sometimes, converts us. Two groups of people who distrust the government, albeit for drastically different reasons, can come together over that link. The same thing happens with<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTfhYyTuT44"> flat Earthers - some believe in a dome, and some believe in a weird ice-wall thing,</a> but they're basically just united by their opposition, rather than a core set of principles. </p><p>And when people get so focused on one element of inequality that it blots out their understanding of all others - for instance, class reductionists like Coffin, who think that capitalism and clout culture are the only explanation for every problem - their logic tends to disintegrate.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdtT7uB0NnMrvBUcJg4vTFUtpVyQguVuUVDad37g80K_eJK_oQ4de5FE8k5DoVI0mhP41E7_uT0VUCCccyNvcZKke_YHN-LbpPAJt4AORRrS58Be1Fodb_0DCELbsxUMt_twcSe_rnn0/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="810" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdtT7uB0NnMrvBUcJg4vTFUtpVyQguVuUVDad37g80K_eJK_oQ4de5FE8k5DoVI0mhP41E7_uT0VUCCccyNvcZKke_YHN-LbpPAJt4AORRrS58Be1Fodb_0DCELbsxUMt_twcSe_rnn0/" width="320" /></a>]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIxTAgduDvF61UP7pm7ADXnB_JKczkTLFeElAj_bgokIxbVKdMa8ylflFSwpie5cfUY9gPa8nmN5xaCbRKOJ2hwkSJb0gqdTn_s9PZbpHHlgV7f2iim7W5K8nufpnqd1Tmnn2saIwvDg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="792" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeIxTAgduDvF61UP7pm7ADXnB_JKczkTLFeElAj_bgokIxbVKdMa8ylflFSwpie5cfUY9gPa8nmN5xaCbRKOJ2hwkSJb0gqdTn_s9PZbpHHlgV7f2iim7W5K8nufpnqd1Tmnn2saIwvDg/" width="279" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FF0lIvCSyQ1cMzbMsHJU7psJQSHiN9tjy_d0WlhrRbT6VJb_AquOeFmkiZl1zoTPgoVIclvZSQBzizlXKX6sQ5YPgVupxb5Lg74mUVutmZaWd4ix23KtKPezUk3QbjpwebsjfIKzrXo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="756" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FF0lIvCSyQ1cMzbMsHJU7psJQSHiN9tjy_d0WlhrRbT6VJb_AquOeFmkiZl1zoTPgoVIclvZSQBzizlXKX6sQ5YPgVupxb5Lg74mUVutmZaWd4ix23KtKPezUk3QbjpwebsjfIKzrXo/" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">But empathy? </h4><div><br /></div><div>Here's the thing. Empathy with the people on the other side is actually important. I speak in harsh terms about white supremacists because we can't excuse their behaviour, but understanding their anger and fear is important. Hell, even understanding why rich, powerful people probably don't want to hand over their comforts and resources helps. <br /><br />But as much as the institutions punishing the protestors suck, and as much as they've been used against the oppressed, it doesn't mean that we should sympathize with people who believed the election was fraudulent because their candidate didn't win. My Canadian representatives and my preferred American candidates haven't won every single election, but the correct response to that state is to protest or strike and use democratic means when possible. Even setting aside the absolutely awful, stupid things Trump and his movement stand for, vicious and abusive tantrums are unacceptable. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sympathizing with people choosing to attempt the murder of others is bad, actually. Seeing this perspective voiced by someone who has been so<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATFyBRhCQvw"> adamant about the fact that horseshoe theory is fake</a> is painfully ironic. </div></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">What can we learn from Peter's screwups? </h4><div><br />There's plenty to laugh at and cringe at here. The most important thing to take away from all this is approaching all of our ideas with caution and <a href="https://www.earwolf.com/episode/the-thinking-behind-conspiracy-theories-with-rob-brotherton/">awareness of our biases</a>. Empathy and pragmatism have to go hand-in-hand. Finally, if we try to make everything fit a single pattern, all we'll do is draw a red-string conspiracy board, and strangle ourselves. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="_2m1qj" style="background-color: #efefef; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); font-family: var(--font-family); font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 15px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: var(--post-padding); padding-right: var(--post-padding); padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line; width: 540px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">***</p></div><div class="_2m1qj" style="background-color: #efefef; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); font-family: var(--font-family); font-size: 1rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.5; margin: 15px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: var(--post-padding); padding-right: var(--post-padding); padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-line; width: 540px; word-break: break-word;"><p style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their two cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.
Find her all over the internet: * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fscifimagpie.blogspot.com%2F&t=OTI3ZWY4ZTBlZjZlMzQxZDU0ZGM2NWY0ODBkNzAzNzAzYzkwYjU2NyxmMTJmZWE2YWYwNDkwMmZiZTUwMzhmMWJmY2MzZDMzNDEyYmYyMjMy&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">OG Blog</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2Fy4gac6na&t=NzZmZjQ2MGJlNjJhYWY0NjZhZjk1NGU0OWY4MjYxNjA1OTA3NWE3MCxlNWE0ZjI0YjM5ZTBmM2U0ZWIxNTAxYjMwMTNiYzUwOGY4MzkwN2Iz&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; 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font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Amazon</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40SciFiMagpie&t=MzEwNTZmNTY1ODA4NmMxYWI5Y2MwN2ZhZmIyZjEyYjZkMjhjYzcwNyxiNDc0MzJiYTVlMzM4M2Q1OWMyZmJlM2Q4NTQwZmQ3MjNhNjAxYzM2&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Medium</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSciFiMagpie&t=YWFjZmMwZjc5ZGVlMzg0NDMwOWNlNDYyMjliODJiYmVhYmRiMjNlMSw0MjIxMDFmOWQwYjIxYTRiNzA2NjA2ZTVlMzgyNzU4ODE3Y2NkN2Mw&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fscifimagpie%2F&t=Nzk0NzhmZTkxODE4NTZjZjljZDQ3NzM2NWFmYmNmNDZmZDYyYjdkNiw2MWE5MjU1M2FmNGI5ODlmMjBhNDZhMzc5ODdmM2NhMjYwMzFlYTJh&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Instagram</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSciFiMagpie.&t=Y2I3MGQwNWU4YWEzM2VlYmQ1NDE3ZjBiODE4OGJhN2FmYmFhZmM2Myw4M2FkMTRjYmJjZjVjMmIyNDRmYjBkZWNhZGY1ZmFmYjZkY2U2ZjJi&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> * <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/scifimagpie" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Tumblr</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fpaypal.me%2FMagpieEditing&t=NDVmYzQyOTBhNjBhOTRlZmYwNWYyZmZhMDVhMmMwYjlkN2ViYzE3MCwyYjBjNzQ1YjU0ZWQxYTdhZmMxMDBjMTcxZTEzOGI5NjUwMDlkNGEy&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Paypal.me</a> * <a href="https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Fscifimagpie&t=Yjc5ODgwMmMwMTA3ODAyNTVmMDA0NzMxZTA4ZTBlYTkwM2VmYjQzNyxkZGMxMTA0Y2Q5ODU2OWViZmNkYThiOGY1ZWM2NDg5ZmY1OTYzNjky&ts=1609882548" rel="noopener" style="border: none; color: #727272; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ko-fi</a></p></div></div>Michelle Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10561217699860189278noreply@blogger.com0