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arwyn

@arwynsays.bsky.social

410 followers 310 following 2.6K posts

i make yarn, things with yarn, and opinionated declamations. read the alt text and wear a mask.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · Aug 11

using a very broad definition of beautiful here. i don't mean pretty, or pleasing, or not-ugly. i mean beautiful in the way pain, hurt, survival, death, existentialism, doubt, the inherent absurd contradictions of humanity can be beautiful.

but also i mean pretty. that works too.

arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · Aug 11

we are increasingly surrounded by agendas needing to convince us that reality doesn't matter, that our senses & experience & memory & history don't matter. that how we measure & feel & what we love don't matter.

making refutes that. art proves that a lie. make something beautiful. something real.

arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 1h

i mean i say "they" as though this is not also me. I'm grateful for everyone on here and offline who have helped me with achievable next steps, so i have in turn been able to spread them.

arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 1h

see, i assume that if i don't understand it then you're talking in lawyer-speak, and if i wait, you will eventually explain it in the newsletter i pay for, and if i STILL don't understand it, i have dozens of resources and the whole of the internet to try to interpret. (or i could... ask. politely.)

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 2h

In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to save his sister’s starving son

He serves 19 years in jail & emerges the hero

The villain? The cop who’s determined to pit him back in jail

For the crime of not wanting someone to starve

Telling this story for absolutely no reason at all.

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Democracy Dies in Dorkness @lizamazel.bsky.social · 18h

which is, more than anything, why the massive protests are so important. Feeling alone, helpless & gaslit is a LOT of the ambient trauma.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 2h

in my own very small circles, they are *desperate* for actions that allow them to continue protecting their families AND help in literally any way to counter the horrors. people putting one foot in front of the other can do incredible things, if we put an accessible next step in front of them.

Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 20h

A lot of people are pretty freaked out by the current political state of affairs and carrying on because they don't know what else to do, except out one foot in front of the other.

And I think a lot of Very Online folks mistake that for "normie" indifference

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 2h

legit i don't remember the story but i remember being really existentially terrified at this page.

arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 2h

frog was off protesting ICE

Frog and Toad Bot @frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 3h

Toad looked around.

He saw that Frog was not there.

“I AM ALL ALONE!” screamed Toad.

Toad suddenly realizes that Frog is not on the sled with him.

From "Down the Hill"
In *Frog and Toad All Year*

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L @depressedbiologist.myatproto.social · 8h

Yup! I was able to 3D print some for free at my local library. I used this file I've seen shared around: www.printables.com/model/417238...

Loudest Emergency Whistle by ThreeD-Michael | Download free STL model | Printables.com

www.printables.com

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Michele Lee Bernstein @pdxknitterati.bsky.social · 8h

Portland Frog Hat, inspired by the Portland Frog. FREE pattern on my website: pdxknitterati.com/pdxknitterat...
🧶 I knit this yesterday in front of the ICE facility, peacefully protesting with other knitters and painters.
#knitting #froghat #craftivism #artifa #frogtifa #peacefulprotest

Flat view of frog hat (bags discontinued)

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 9h

the "trad wife" performance is a living neoclassical statue, stripped of color and humanity, a human-shaped nonperson kept for nazi aesthetics & labor that looks unlabored.

the tragedy is they are real persons underneath, trying to be small enough, bland enough, stone enough to be allowed to stay.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 9h

the nazi adoration of "neoclassical" (bland, obvious, misinterpreted, literally whitewashed) art, art they falsely believe supports their narrative of the world, is why making art, real art, ugly, colorful, vibrant, imperfect, living, expressive art is so important and so powerful.

Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 11h

Look. These are Nazi talking points. That's not NICE to say, but it's true, and it makes me sick.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Stephen Miller: "The scandal is how Democrats & the left scarred the landscape of our country w/grotesque so-called modern art that celebrates ugliness ... very importantly, President Trump is making sure it's in the neo-classical design around which our nation's architecture has long been directed"

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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 11h

Look. These are Nazi talking points. That's not NICE to say, but it's true, and it makes me sick.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

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Councilor Candace Avalos @counciloravalos.bsky.social · 12h

Did you know District 1 has the highest percentage of immigrants and refugees in the entire city of Portland? With increased ICE activity in our area, now is the time for our East Portland community to learn how to recognize, report, and record ICE activity on our streets.

Migra Watch, ICE Watch. Saturday, Oct. 25, 11 - 1 PM. RSVP: tinyurl.com/mwgresham10-25. Location shared after registration. Learn how to: Safely and accurately identify and respond to potential ICE activity in your neighborhood. Get plugged into PIRC's rapid response network. No experience needed. Show up, skill up, plug in.

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 11h

"Come, Mr. Frodo!’ he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can
carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he’ll go."

🐄📏👖🩳 @clflngthjnshrts.bsky.social · 11h

Yeah the Hobbits big virtue is that they're indomitable. They aren't wise or clever or strong, but that turns out to be less important than the will to pick up and carry your friend to the end of the world

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 11h

Shit they're going to make me reread lord of the rings aren't they.

Of the original Fellowship the one character who falls is the one who felt the constant pressure to do "great" things and succumbed.

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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 1d

I fucking hate Nazis, which includes hating their actions, philosophy, culture, regalia, and fucking stylistic choices.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect anyone I vote for to feel the same.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 1d

👀

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John Breen @acab.dad · 1d

That’s one of the big benefits of obscene wealth. You can make decisions that lose you money for years in order to consolidate power and shape the world in your favor

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 1d

I used to teach a college level 'community organizing' class many years ago. After a class one day, a student came to me and said "it's so much work to organize. I thought change just happened." I think of that student often.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 1d

stop it, i ALREADY wished i could vote for this guy!

nyc, you better do this right.

(universal baby baskets and home visits are *incredibly* good bang for the buck investments in infant and maternal health, like holy shit this could be amaaaazing)

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

Each NYC Baby Basket will also include a resource guide of information on the City’s newborn home visiting program, breastfeeding, post-partum depression and more.

These are critical resources for combating postpartum maternal mortality and increasing trust in government as well.

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jadehawk "FREE ŁINK" @jadehawk.bsky.social · 1d

cult-researchers have been warning ppl about this for a long time. a CORE aspect of researching any extreme ideology is strict protocols for making sure it doesn't infect you. human brains are ridiculously susceptible to just accepting as true everything they hear often enough

Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 1d

No one should EVER monitor Nazi space without a strong support network that can check them regularly and watch for signs that the propaganda is taking hold, and address that reality promptly.

Without a rock solid accountability network, it is playing with fire.

Soyweiser @soyweiser.bsky.social · 1d

This is I think also one of the reasons you (you as in a regular person) shouldn't got into nazi places to try and 'debate' them (or worse, to hang out and check the vibe. I know somebody who radicalized a lot after doing that to neo-nazi metal concerts (not the only reason he radicalized)).

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wombat Clay @wombatclay.bsky.social · 1d

And if amusing ambiguity makes you smile... today is Mole day. But where some of my calendars point to 6:02 10/23 (or more or less the avogadro constant, aka, a mole) others point to fuzzy critters (a mole)

So maybe pull out Wind in the Willows and a chemistry kit and see what happens?

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 1d

and as Molly said, also still have candy. bread AND roses.

Molly Shah @mommunism.bsky.social · 1d

If you’re in the US it may be a good thing to do if you can afford it to have a small food pantry on your porch on Halloween for families of Trick or Treaters- SNAP benefits not existing in November will mainly impact children ❤️

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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 2d

I understand it emotionally, when I decide I like something or have decided to support something, it's hard to give that up/realize I was wrong. But it's an adolescent perspective to be unwilling let go the idea of something when confronted with the reality of it.

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arwyn @arwynsays.bsky.social · 2d

thank you for reporting for those of us who couldn't make it.