(first tiger jumps in) *laughing* Vanya, what is this? Van’ … Van’, get out of the boot, Van’. (second tiger approaches) Mishka … let’s go. Mish, let’s go. Mishka! Mish, let’s go. Come on, sit. Sit. (third tiger comes in) Bonya, you too are here! Ok let’s go guys. Let’s go! *starts singing* x
Just Russian Things
Big cat stuff can often be sketchy even if the content looks cute, so I clicked on the source for the video and this guy apparently runs a sanctuary for rescue tigers and other big cats near Moscow. His YouTube bio is in Russian, but here’s what it says according to Google Translate:
So you can feel happy knowing that these big dumb cats are loved and being looked after.
I’m pretending all the time to be, kinder, stronger, funnier, more sociable than I am. I guess we’re all like that but it just feels so inadequate.
What’s the difference?
I know it sounds flippant but… certain things are fundamentally performative. And other things are so close as makes no difference.
Kindness is performative. Actions are kind, and people are kind by performing those actions. You can’t “pretend” to be kinder than you are, you can only perform kindness or not perform kindness, and choosing to perform kindness is always worthwhile, no matter how much you may second-guess your motivations.
Strength is so many things. It takes strength to pretend a strength you don’t feel. And the way to achieve strength is to exercise it, so long as you do it in enough moderation to not strain or break anything. Being able to affect strength when necessary while being able to put it down again when that in turn is necessary is healthy. Everyone starts weight training with the littlest weights. It’s not fake or pretending to do what you gotta do in any given situation.
Funniness lives in the interlocutor, not in the speaker. It doesn’t matter how funny you think you are (or think you are pretending to be) - that’s not how it’s measured. At what point are you “pretending” to be a musician if the music still gets made? And often what it’s tempting to describe in first person as “pretending” is more accurately described in the third person as “practicing” - which is of course the way you cause things to Be.
Sociability is also performative. Pretending to be sociable is just…being sociable, despite a disinclination towards it. It’s making an effort towards something you value. So long as the effort is not so great that it backfires into resentment, there’s no practical difference.
Qualities or activities or whatever are no less worthy because you have to actively choose to perform them. If anything, the worthiness lies in the act of choosing. It’s not “pretending” - it’s agency.
tl;dr: ain’t nothing wrong with “fake it till you make it.” A plastic spoon* holds just as much soup as a “real” one
* I keep wanting to talk about semantic domains! Artifacts are defined by their utility, whereas living things are defined by their identity. So plastic forks are still forks, but plastic flowers aren’t flowers. So there’s two pep-talk messages to take away from this: (1) for certain things, the distinction between “fake” and “real” isn’t a relevant one so long as they still get the job done, and (2) the purpose of a living thing is to be the thing that it is. The idea of a “useless person” is as semantically nonsensical as the idea of “pretend kindness” (or fake cutlery).
I love this post. It illustrates what I think is maybe the key difference between a developing self-identity and a formed self-identity, which is, like…confidence? If you are BEING kind, consistently, if you are prioritizing that over your own comfort or fatigue or even, occasionally, your emotional inclination (because OH MY GOD FUCK THIS GUY, I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE–uuughhh, but no, I’m not gonna lash out at him, that won’t accomplish anything, and besides, he’s probably had a bad day, he’s under a lot of stress, I don’t have to be an asshole about this…), guess what? That makes you kind. That is literally what kindness is. Same for patience, same for strength, same for all of this stuff. You got it. You’re doing it. You’re not faking anything. Stop second-guessing yourself and cutting yourself down. Give yourself enough credit to look at your actions and confidently assert to yourself that you are no longer just making things up as you go.
There has been some credible proof that some folks are having their houses demo’d outside of the 45-day timer, and others are getting the “Auto demolition Canceled” notice repeatedly even if they have recently stepped foot into their houses.
We are not currently certain if this bug is affecting all datacenters ( JP data centers are currently suspended for auto-demo anyway) and folks in the Balmung Housing Alerts! discord are trying to gather more information about it. I would step inside your personal / FC houses anyway just to be certain!
when I was 11, my (black) neighbor witnessed my house being broken into. she called the police to report the crime. I came home from school and the robber was still inside. I personally watched as a man I didnt know walked out of my home with our stuff.
the police didnt show up for 3 days.
when they did, they told us there was nothing the could do because we “staged the house”. they claimed we hid our tv’s and valuables to make it look like more was actually stolen. they never asked for a description, never visited the neighbor who saw the break-in, anf as they left, they told us that stolen property is almost never recovered and we should “buy more and get on with [our] lives”.
…
when I was 23, I was dog-sitting for a (white) friend. her neighbor called the police and said there was a strange black man in her yard.
the police showed up in 5 minutes.
6 units, 12 officers, stormed the back yard as I was running around with the dog. some came through the house and I know for a fact that the front door was locked. they damaged around $5000 worth of property, took her dog to the pound, and me to jail.
my friend had to cut her trip short and drive 4 hours back to get me from jail and explain to police in person that she knew me. because “that could be anybody on the phone”. the neighbor was with her when she came. we had met several times before. she was neither embarrassed nor apologetic.
moral of the story?
too many of us have lived this. too many of us didn’t survive.
Wait your friends neighbor knew who you were and still called the cops on you ?
she knew exactly who I was AND why I was there. she’s a racist old bitch and was mad that my friend didn’t ask her to watch her puppy.
a lot of the people reblogging this are only focusing on one part so let me clarify… these 2 stories are examples of how racism shapes the way we (black people) view cops and how white people use them as tools for their personal agendas.
that old cunt was RACIST above all. fuck the dog. she would have used any excuse to put my life in danger for simply existing.
throughout my life, my home has been broken into, vandalized, and nearly burned down. when we needed the police, they offered little more than insults, accusations, and threats. the police have been called on me (whether alone or part of a group) 8 times in my life. and each time could have been the moment I died.
Chrysu's blog for keeping track of stuff. Mostly fandom, but I put whatever I feel on here really. I really gotta properly format this layout soon lol...
Cis, she/her.
Humble Opstopus, 23.
Chinese/Germanic-American halfling.
Mizuho Fatestruck on Balmung in FFXIV.
First Mate of Captain Kitt's shipping fleet. ART BLOG HERE.
You can try to message me in 日本語 or 简体中文, I'll do my best to respond. My 繁体中文 game is even weaker though, and I have to parse with a dictionary for both types of 中文 either way because my reading is so bad LOL.
Current primary fandoms include: Osomatsu-san, Undertale, Steven Universe
Regularly appearing fandoms include: Miraculous Ladybug, Bomberman, Splatoon, Oban Star Racers, most things from Trigger, Hetalia, Homestuck, and more.
Most of my fandoms are animated. All or them are ridiculous.
If you want me to take a crack at translating something, just submit it and I will consider it. No guarantees though!
