Astral Cats

Like, not to be an anarcho-communist on main 

but i’m so tired of hearing liberals talk about how “can’t we just have one day to breathe” literally every single time anyone criticizes B*den or H*rris. Y’all wanted “one day” during the entirety of the election process, then election day, and the days following, and now inauguration, and probably for the next four years 

because it’s so much easier for y’all to ask for more time to enjoy yourselves vs actually acknowledging that Tr*mp was a symptom of a system working exactly as it was designed to and that B*den isn’t going to fix everything for you if you ask him to, pretty please with a cherry on top, and then doing shit beyond pushing people to vote as if that’s the be all end all of activism 

so, no. you can’t have “one day.” you’ve had too many days. and we’ve lost too many people. 

I am begging people to understand what activist burnout is and why shit like this is so harmful. “Can’t we just have one day to breathe” isn’t privileged people flippantly asking for it to be over already so they can just go back to their daily lives, it’s the natural result of people seeing horrible things every hour of the day for years until they physically, mentally, and emotionally can’t stand it any more. “You’ve had too many days” no, we’ve had none, because every time there’s been a win there’s been people clamoring to say “Don’t you dare rest, don’t you dare celebrate, it’s not over”, to make people feel guilty for feeling anything but despair, for taking the smallest bit of time to not hurt, for doing anything but constantly reminding themselves of how awful the world is and how they have to fix it all before they can rest.

Guilt does not motivate. Shame does not motivate. They make the guilter feel better by establishing their moral superiority, but they only wear people down even faster. You have to let people rest. You have to celebrate small victories. You have to tune out and take a break sometimes. Because if you keep pushing everyone to be 100% all the time and treat things like rest and recuperation as something hedonistic and selfish (”enjoying yourselves”) rather than essential to the work of activism, you’re going to burn out. It is not selfish, it is necessary. 

In prime of example of “two things can be true”, I’m gonna break out a choir metaphor.

You know those impossibly long sections of held note? Nobody holds the note the whole time. The whole group works together to sustain the note, with individuals dropping out for a breath when they need it. The overall momentum is sustained, with breaks on an individual level.

We cannot rest, but you can. And should. On a person to person basis, breaks are essential to keep up momentum.

So no, we cannot have one day. We cannot let up the pressure in this seemingly sisyphean effort. But yes, please allow yourself whatever rest you need to make your effort effective. Sustained, systemic effort will make a change over time.

Take a breath, celebrate our wins, rest when you need to, so that you can hold the note while someone else breathes.

rest when you need to, so that you can hold the note while someone else breathes.

Listen, I know that not everyone has read Asunder, so consider this a psa. Also, it’s a bit spoilery, so read with caution.

Anders didn’t start the mage/templar war. And neither did Fiona.

The person who started the mage/templar war was Lord Seeker Lambert.

It’s well known that the mages were holding a conclave. Under Chantry law they have every right to do so, though of course being prisoners in the Circles makes them dependent on the good will of the Divine and the Templars, so actually holding a conclave is easier said than done.

Inquisition gives off the impression that the mages held their conclave and cast their vote, and then the war began.

That isn’t…actually what happened.

The mages had their conclave, they were fighting/discussing among themselves. Fiona famously says “Fuck the Divine”, and while all of this is going on, Templars have been leaving the room, supposedly to inform Lord Seeker Lambert of what was happening.

Fiona puts forth the motion to seperate, and Lord Seeker Lambert storms in and declares treason.

And then the Templars slaughter the mages.

What caused the mage rebellion, in the end, was exactly what Anders had been fighting to bring to light: violent oppression, and the slaughter of innocents.

#when people in inquisition talk about a vote that barely passed#this scene is not the vote#the vote happens later#after they’ve had to run for their lives#when they’re hiding in old ruins with the templars closing in#the choice is between surrendering in the hopes that maybe if they beg enough they won’t ALL be made tranquil#or else fighting for their lives#THAT was the vote [via @carabas]

Out of curiosity, did Anders’ actions (and Meredith’s actions) lead to the conclave being held?

It was part of it but not really, no. Paramond and Cole played as much, if not more, of a part in the rebellion than Anders and Meredith. There was actually a major assassination attempt against the Divine early on in Asunder that had equal impact to the shit that happened in Kirkwall as far as the suspicion and pressure put on mages. 

Anders didn’t really accomplish shit and Meredith was kinda swept under the rug. 

Sorry, but that very last sentence is not true. 

The threat of Kirkwall is part of every major decision that led to the mage rebellion in Asunder. It’s the justification for pretty extreme crackdowns all over Thedas, as well as fearful reactions to those crackdowns. (Pharamond’s research is another part. Cole’s mistakes are another. Leliana’s actions, Fiona’s decision to call the vote, etc.) 

Anders lit a big, flashy flame under a cold war.  

The original point stands: Anders didn’t directly start the mage/templar war anywhere but Kirkwall. It took other mistakes to spread it further. 

But his actions did have heavy influence. 

Leliana at the war table like