@KashifShah I have a longtime punk gal/punk music background. I also faced neo-nazis in my early punk times & had a local rep for literally punching out nazi guys.
@msquebanh Aye, I picked up on the punk music background - that is another genre that I barely dipped my ears into, but am well aware of the punk boot worshippers.
And hehehe, you rhino-tiger. Fist bump 👊
Perhaps the best actual bigot “WW2 Nazi” (maybe not non-bigot, human rights friendly national socialists), is a sore “WW2 Nazi”: from the litigation or handcuffs on the way to jail or a mental health center.
Germany doesn’t put up with shit at all, specifically by law, last time I checked.
@KashifShah I was boots on ground & basement DIY punk from late 80s to now. I still consider myself punkrock. I never fully assimilated to any colonial or corporate identities. I resisted hard & sometimes physically punished, for my strong stances. I don't regret it. We stand strong for something beyond our mere souls, regardless of how public treats us - or we don't really stand for anything worth true importance.
@msquebanh If I had to assign myself a sub-cultural identity, it would have to be cyberpunk. mirrorshades 🕶️
Then I became a tentative street-preacher, then a tentative academic, and then a conscientious corpo slave, and now, cyberpunk-evolved: cyberpunk muslim.
We have unseen raps guided by the Unseen. There’s 99 Names for Allah, but bitch ain’t one of ‘em.
@KashifShah I don't need multiple identities online or offline. In fact, my thoughts on silliness of alternate names was fully illustrated in multiple court records from past 2 yrs from ppl who believed 'camp name IDs' would shield them from being found by cops & avoiding BS charges. That's more of a newbie mindset. All longtime activist vets don't play into those silly games. We know we can be tracked. We use our knowledge to form other tactics. We don't play into stupid.
@KashifShah It's mostly activist newbies & folks who have never been arrested for activism & never had all their fake identities all revealed in public court records who keep touting the - activists should use 'code names' BS. I'd love to know how many times that shit worked in real court. In my 30+ yrs in activism, that has NEVER worked.
@KashifShah No online or offline username protects you - if cops are hunting you down. It's foolhardy to think your mask or multiple nicknames will stop cops from IDing you. Also - many of us activism veterans WANT to be formally charged & have our day in courts. We got almost all charges dropped because almost all were illegal #RCMP arrests. They were trying to pull #StarlightTours on us. Wish more media reported on that inhumanity.
@msquebanh mehhh, to a great degree you are correct - the full power of a nation-state is practically unstoppable. But operational security is a spectrum.
Having worked in enterprise environments as a software developer, operational security is a sort of stock-in-trade, to some degree or the other.
If you are a Human Rights activist in certain countries, you will likely have nation-state level security like Apple now provides as a feature. Or Ed Snowden level security, etc.
@msquebanh Granted, I have made my peace with death, a couple of times now, though, so that might explain some of my lack of fear.
I just take it for granted that if anyone wanted to harm or kill me, they’d be able to anytime they wanted.
Family definitely has received death threat letters in the past, due to my dad being humbly writing newspaper articles and such. Guilty of being Muslim, and all that jazz.
@KashifShah It is not only me that I think about on these kind of decisions. I think about the rest of my frontliner friends in very remote standoffs with armed corporate mercenaries aka RCMP in Canada. If I'm stupid in my actions, I put the rest at higher risks of brutal RCMP assaults. I won't put my own self above many others.
@KashifShah I just use my personal morals & ethics over any governmental mostly full of shit boards. I don't actually need ANY government entities to tell me right from wrong. Perhaps folks who didn't get much good guidance from their loved ones need to spend more time, learning about humanity.
@KashifShah I am very loud - online & offline about human rights violations. That's a good thing, if you support human rights. It's a living nightmare, if you're a bigot. I go after local bigots & NOT SHY about it. I'm the gal who brought over 500 ppl to surround local RCMP & kept those cowards too scared to leave building for 5 hrs. I don't fuck around with no purpose. I don't let personal fears get in the way either.
@KashifShah I appreciate your support but I'm one of many who need more humans to actually do more than tell us that they care. We need more humans to join as accomplices to fight against ongoing global ecocides & cultural genocides.
@KashifShah Fuck these rules until UN actually enforces them on nations with MULTIPLE human rights violations. Looking straight at US & Canada. I don't need this to treat another human being as a human being. The fact that UNDRIP exists is only evidence on how inequitable society is towards almost everyone who isn't super rich.
@msquebanh US still hasn’t ratified one of the key treaties. And Canada is well known as an ignorer of certain UN standards. Apparently especially when it comes to reporting.
The core of Human Rights, until the US ratifies ICESCR, is that each of us, individually, have to constantly hold the UDHR in mind and educate each other about it.
Without UDHR, we only have our own personal moral beliefs to fall back on. And the obvious historical anguish caused by conflict between people.
@KashifShah I'm not against UNDRIP - I'm against lack of actual heavy penalties & enforcement on it. Without actual enforcement - it's literally like taking politician words as good enough. Where did that 'good enough' shit bring us?
@msquebanh Right!! That’s what pisses me off so much, the states signed ICESCR in the 70s and 50 fucking years later, we still haven’t ratified. DNC+GOP=0
@KashifShah Which brings me back to why I think UN declarations & pledges & anything else - without actual penalties & consequences - does shit all to change anything.
@msquebanh Aye, conversated with some legal folls on mastodon and the consensus is that the logical next steps for human rights, in the US, at least, are:
self-effecting human rights treaties,
relevant national legislation in support of human rights,
@KashifShah Nothing changes without actual heavy consequences for nations who violate & keep on violating because there's no real punishments dealt. It's a total farce now. I welcome actual enforcements.
@KashifShah Almost always does. Did you know that the KKK was established in Canada before it became huge in Southern US? Another part of Canada's racism true history that they don't want many folks to learn about or remember.
Wow, no, I did not know that! Mental note made to read about that.
The Southern Poverty Law Center doesn’t track outside the US, as I recall, but having lived through the last vestiges of the old-KKK in the Midwest US, I was aware of this:
@KashifShah I haven't found that kinda myopic attitude in many other Global North countries. Most of us, outside of US, pay attention to other important issues outside of US often. I've had to remind Americans here, multiple times, to not forget that this is not a US specific place to interact & tons of us live outside of USA.
@msquebanh Fair point, perhaps that kind of myopic view is more of a personality trait of … how would you say it … a lot of people with a colonial mindset.
@KashifShah Decolonizing of minds is essential to societal progress. I'll tell you straight up that I had to work on self forgiveness in my early decolonization path. I had NO IDEA how heavily colonial school systems had indoctrinated me until I chose to learn a lot more beyond my formal schooling. I learned a lot by going to many different frontlines - urban & remote.
@KashifShah I had a polluted colonized mind before cleansing it with regular decolonization efforts. It's insidious...the colonial programming. It's why I didn't recognize how mind was colonized for most of my life - until I started investing & committing myself to lifelong decolonization work - on myself & in helping others to decolonize their minds too ✌
@KashifShah Gonna say that I'm one of many #POC folks here who have no issues admitting we lived with colonized mindsets for majority of our lives & how/why we opted to start to decolonize our own minds. It starts with ourselves. If we aren't personally willing to fully commit to decolonization, how do we think others will join us? Those of us who believe in better future are fighting for decolonization. We don't believe true progress happens without decolonization happening too.
@msquebanh ugh, yeah, most commercial social media is pretty reactionary against anything that might trigger people to hurt the bottom line of commercial dollars.
sweet, thanks for that share! i’ll have to see if i can find it in a library somewhere ;)
Did you know that Hitler was inspired by our govts handling of the 'Indian problem'? They built similar crematoriums, mass grave sites & used same brainwashing methods on Indigenous kids here. They also medically experimented on native kids with govt consent but not their parents. Canada needs to do a lot more to rectify injustices - still ongoing.
@msquebanh ugh, no, but I am aware of the similar American inspiration for some of Hitler’s actions. America, also, still has a lot to do.
In my psychology studies, as part of our ethics training, we had to learn about some of the unconscionable things that used to be done to racial minorities, here, in the name of science.
Psychology at least tries to set and follow a golden standard, for conducting ethical human studies, ever since it became part of the scientific awareness.
@KashifShah If I can find the reference, will share it. Hitler actually gave Canada credit for creating such an efficient system of genocide. The genocide of Indigenous ppls in Canada started way before Hitler gained any real powers. He studied our Indian Act while in jail & it sounded amazing to him. People need to learn Canada's been playing fake nice to the global public for too long.
Just like the American colonial song from 1944: “This Land Is Your Land”
“There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me.
The sign was painted, said 'Private Property.'
But on the backside, it didn't say nothing.
This land was made for you and me.”
@msquebanh I know some of how that feels; Islam gets slandered all the time, especially back during post-9/11: even on TV there would be ignorant, Christian preachers broadcasting incitements to discrimination and hatred towards Islam.
@KashifShah@msquebanh Christ lived in the margins, believing that the Law (fundamentalism) kills and the Spirit makes alive, a la 1 Cor 13. Anyone who espouses anything else is NOT a Christian, though sadly Christian and Nationalism have become interchangeable and interconnected in far too many places.
@KashifShah@msquebanh The devil in the details on that one, especially the method of 'fulfillment' - is it by unconditional love a la Corinthians or is it more the fundy / nationalist John 3:16 us and them attitude?
John 3:16 Nothing else but the free love of the Father, is the beginning of our salvation, and Christ is he in whom our righteousness and salvation is resident: and faith is the instrument or mean whereby we apprehend it, and life everlasting is that which is set before us to apprehend.”
Deserved of more boosting. I remember seeing Ku Klux Klan painted on a building in a small Canadian prairie city. Little wonder the Indigenous population was wiped out in many areas.
:mastodon:
Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Site of Canada
@soc_i_ety@msquebanh KKK spray painted on the back of a barn in rural Indiana near a campsite on a university kayaking trip. Tons of fun for me and POC..
The kayaking guide was awesome with good camp humor though, so we all made the best of it.
@soc_i_ety@KashifShah I like kayaking more because it's easier for me to maneuver & control on ocean waters - I do mainly sea kayaking. I can paddle longer distances solo or with a friend in a kayak. I'm unable to paddle for too long in a canoe. I like both watercraft ways of water transport though. Canoes have more cargo space for longer trips with friends.
@msquebanh@soc_i_ety I think very similarly. My back can’t quite handle canoeing for long distances, or perhaps I just haven’t learned the right technique yet.
But with a 14’ kayak, you barely have to expend any energy to keep moving. A proper sea kayak must be pretty awesome to paddle! Or a tandem, that’d be something else
What type of paddle do you use for your sea kayaking? i’ve wanted to try using a Greenland paddle on the small-to-medium-sized lakes that we have around here.
I've done longer canoeing trips before but only in one w/custom seat that one of my ex's built for me & it had a backrest built in - much more comfortable for long trips.
The flow style of kayak paddling doesn't strain my body as much as classic canoe style of paddling.
@KashifShah@soc_i_ety Do you have any adaptive recreational organizations in your area? Those are helpful to contact as local adaptive resource & they often have events/opportunities for folks with disabilities to participate in.
@msquebanh@soc_i_ety The likelihood of there being adaptive recreational organizations here is extremely low :(
Spanning nearly 2.5k square miles, we have a whole whopping 350k people. The main city is 3rd largest in IN and has only 100k people - not much in the way of economic diversity, here.
There used to be one or maybe two small groups of shopkeepers/enthusiasts that occasionally had events, but I haven't yet looked into it since I moved back to the region a year or two ago.
@KashifShah@soc_i_ety I'll ask some of my CanAm para athletes & coaches contacts about any resources closer to you. They work in both countries with adaptive sports & recreation.
@msquebanh@soc_i_ety Cool, that is much appreciated, thanks! Would be pretty awesome if there were some sort of physical therapists that specialized in rehabilitation using kayaks :D
@KashifShah@soc_i_ety The other local lead I'd take is contacting local or state colleges & universities about their adaptive sports/recreational programs & resources. Most should have a department for this & they tend to be very helpful - even if you're not a student.
@msquebanh@soc_i_ety hmm, good to know. my alma mater had a pretty big sports program, so I might try to reach out to them. I think they used to provide an alumni discount, heh.
@KashifShah@soc_i_ety I participate in a few different adaptive sports & recreation through OneAbility here - they work with our local colleges & universities & event/training space is provided by the schools.
@KashifShah@soc_i_ety It couldn't hurt. Thing is - most of these organizations are underfunded & don't have extra funds to advertise. I hunted down many resources to find local adaptive programs & opportunities that I could join.
We have to take personal initiatives to make good things happen for ourselves - especially when we have any disabilities because we currently live in a mainly ableist society. Gyms & regular sports orgs - don't advertise to us - they ignore us.
@msquebanh@soc_i_ety > "We have to take personal initiatives to make good things happen for ourselves"
That's the truth!
I get easily freaked out when I am around people, but with adaptive assistance, I can slowly build up my resilience.
The university gym had free personal trainers for students, so that was cool. After some weeks/months, I got to the point of being able to use the indoor track when it was mostly empty :D
@KashifShah Best wishes! I'm opting to invest time/efforts into localized efforts. I believe in helping where you're at, first & still keep supporting related causes elsewhere. Charity begins at home. I ask everyone to ask themselves - What am I doing this week/month, to help my own community? What more can I do to assist the marginalized folks in my community more? Can I spearhead a local environmental cleanup, with my community? I always start with local aid, first.
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