Paranormal Beings Walk Among Us

Now hush and approach with caution: 

My magical practice is based in African Diasporic voodoo, herbology, and root-work. I came to these rituals by studying Black slave rebellions, and unearthing the ways in which enslaved folx used hexes and curses to thwart their masters.

Not entirely successfully, it seems, given the word masters.

I turned to these traditions most open-heartedly in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests circa 2014, when I started to feel hopeless and emotionally drained after regular violent confrontations with the police at demonstrations. By wielding these protective amulets, reciting these incantations, calling upon the Orishas, and working intimately with the plants, stones, roots, and bones of my environment, I began to feel more empowered.

Because when your behaviour is so appalling that you’re repeatedly getting into scuffles with the police, what you need, obviously, isn’t a rethink of your life choices, but a magical amulet.

Quickly, my focus in the Craft moved away from damning hexes against white supremacy to community care work and deep psycho-social-spiritual healing for Black and Brown people in the struggle. As a queer Black woman scientist activist, Queer Magic For The Resistance is what I’m always giving.

The lady sharing her deep, uncanny wisdom is named Iman, a sorceress of sorts, and an affiliate of Queer Magic For The Resistance, a “collective and political affinity group based in Oakland, California.” Because of course it is. Iman, whose “whole world is magical,” describes herself as a “scientist” and “emotional care provider,” a purveyor of roots, herbs and “emotional emergency response.” As when equipping the LARPing sociopaths of Antifa with herbal teas and “healing shields.” For her, she says, “magic is resistance.”

To reality, I’m guessing.

Comments

[H]

Wakanda isn't real.

[Sam]

damning hexes against white supremacy

I'm glad you found a replacement for Everyday Feminism. :-)

[David]

I’m glad you found a replacement for Everyday Feminism.

The general tone, and level of dementedness, is eerily similar.

[David]

Dramatization. May not have happened.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Not entirely successfully, it seems, given the word masters.

Mock if you will, but many a good repose on the veranda was ruined when those hexes and curses caused too much sugar to be added to the mint juleps.

[bobby b]

Count your blessings. Here in the USA, it's probably covered under Obamacare. (If you like your witch-doctor, you can keep your witch-doctor.)

[Atempdog]

[M]y focus in the Craft moved away from damning hexes against white supremacy

But why, when they were working so well?

[M]y whole world is magical.

Well, at least she seems to be having a good time.

[JuliaM]

"Quickly, my focus in the Craft moved away from damning hexes against white supremacy to community care work..."

From what I've seen of most 'community care work', they aren't that dissimilar she needed to...

[Chester Draws]

Not sure why you think Obama started it Bobby. US insurance companies have been paying for woo for a long time.

Many states more or less make it compulsory for them, Obamacare isn't the cause.

[David]

I’m glad you found a replacement for Everyday Feminism.

And note the presentation by the article’s author, a “teacher and political organiser” named Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda. Apparently, there’s no reason to challenge anything being said, no cause for pushing back a little, testing the assumptions. Not even the equivalent of a raised eyebrow. The reader is expected to accept these claims as unremarkable or self-evident, as if they weren’t in any way pretentious or unhinged.

[pst314]

US insurance companies have been paying for woo for a long time.

Oh, is that what "pitching woo" means? :-)

[pst314]

my focus in the Craft moved away from damning hexes

But the many pagans I used to know always insisted that nobody used magic to hex anyone. Surely they couldn't have been lying, could they? /sarcasm

[Ten]

Dramatization. May not have happened.

That's perfect right down to the ballet shoes, that fabulous wrist work, and the nude weightlessness although to be fair something is sticking her to that broom. I knew a chick like that once. Reality disagreed with imagination.

[David]

Oh, and previously:

“As a witch, it is my responsibility to engage in radical politics.”

Because pretending to be a witch and hawking supposedly magic pendulums is “feminist and revolutionary.”

[lemon]

Her skin bleaching program seems to have worked....

https://www.google.com/search?q="Lisa+Hofmann-Kuroda"

[Squires]

What is the sound of one empty can rattling?

[Ted S., Catskill Mtns., NY, USA]

(If you like your witch-doctor, you can keep your witch-doctor.)

Ting, tang, walla walla bing bang.

[Hector Drummond, Vile Novelist]

Let's hope she doesn't find the one ring, the ring to rule them all.

[Ted S., Catskill Mtns., NY, USA]

“As a witch, it is my responsibility to engage in radical politics.”

One could argue we'd be better off if politicians were burned at the stake instead of witches.

[Bill Peschel]

“magic is resistance.”

Watch, the My Little Pony people have lawyers.

[Pogonip]

http://www.businessinsider.com/atlanta-ransomware-attack-consumers-businesses-2018-3

[R. Sherman]

Meh. She's a piker. Why stop with "damning hexes," when you can move directly to throwing lightening at your enemies?

[David]

A “damning hex” seems somewhere below cutting look and barbed riposte in terms of the likelihood of inflicting some physical effect.

Like trying to change the course of history by organising your tea towels.

[Mike]

Dramatization. May not have happened.

That's great. Where's it from?

[David]

That’s great. Where’s it from?

It’s from here.

Caution: boobies.

[Mike]

Thanks, David.

[Steve E]

Iman is a straight-up pusher. One of the things on offer are various tinctures.

tinc·ture
ˈtiNG(k)(t)SHər/
noun
noun: tincture; plural noun: tinctures

1. a medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.

A drug dissolved in alcohol. That explains a lot.

[David]

Thanks, David.

It occurs to me that, for some of you, the “Caution: boobies” warning may not have had a massively deterrent effect.

[Turk Turkleton]

Who's up for some woke art?

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

Who's up for some woke art?

Skipping over the whole question of how her upper-middle class "Asian" half was more oppressed than her Jewish half, nothing says "invisible" quite like pimping your own sex tape. However, I'll give you a seriously Woke™ performance art protest.

[Atempdog]

Who's up for some woke art?

And here I thought we'd seen the last of mattress girl. Still a victim, only now of her Asian heritage. Wants they/them pronouns.

[DrD]

Does she have anything for a rash?

[MC]

But the many pagans I used to know always insisted that nobody used magic to hex anyone. Surely they couldn't have been lying, could they?

How will we ever know?

Caution: boobies.

Marvellous. This is the sort of witchcraft I can get behind.

[Chester Draws]

"Her skin bleaching program seems to have worked...."

Lemon, I think Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda is the author, rather than one of the witches. She's "mixed race", but like mattress girl it seems to be half White and half Japanese, so it's not obvious why she isn't (((privileged))).

She writes important stuff like this: https://wearyourvoicemag.com/identities/race/non-black-asian-americans-we-need-to-stop-appropriating-aave

[Trevor]

US insurance companies have been paying for woo for a long time.

Here in the UK, our allegedly cash-starved NHS has eventually reached the conclusion that giving people sugar pills containing practically no active ingredients might not be the best use of its resources.

[PiperPaul]

"non-black-asian-americans"

How many black Asian Americans are there?

[Trevor]

The way I occupy spaces which have historically excluded people of my identities is a queer act of resistance, and almost every person that surrounds me in loving community is likewise queer-identified, gender-fluid, or a vocal LGBTQIA+ ally.

It can't be normal - or healthy - for anyone to think, much less speak or write, in this way. I wonder what a scan of her Broca's area would reveal - a lacuna, a lesion, a lump of chewing gum?

[Darleen]

as a ... scientist ...

Um. No.

[David]

It can’t be normal - or healthy - for anyone to think… in this way

And yet it’s the approved contortion, a sign of woke status, on any number of campuses. And as we’ve seen countless times, most recently here, “social justice” often amounts to little more than a series of self-flattering incantations that bear little, if any, relationship to reality or logic. So for some, fantasies of “magical practice” may not be that much of a leap. The thinking, such as it is, seems remarkably similar.

It’s telling, I think, that in terms of unrealism, narcissism and neurotic tics, Wear Your Voice and Everyday Feminism are so eerily similar. Both are the products of people who’ve been severely educated, at considerable expense. And having spent a small fortune on a statusful education, and having wrapped themselves in the furs of “social justice,” they’ve arrived at the same absurd mental cul-de-sac.

[ Edited. ]

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

How many black Asian Americans are there?

Outside of Tiger Woods, our GIs did get around quite a bit and not a few brought home Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other wives of the East Asian variety.

[Darleen]

Who's up for some woke art?

In reading the HuffPo piece, I noted several things. First, it is jarring - in a hiccup kind of way - to read the "they/them" pronouns when referring to a singular, identifiable person. It's a weird, distracting tic. The virtue signaling, or submission, of the author to Emma's conceit on this comes off as cloying.

Second, while the orbs themselves are interesting & a little weird, I don't seem them as art. Decorative pieces, maybe - but 'art'? No, not when one has to go into detail explanations of what each represents.

Third, and that's why this is such epic fail of Emma's desperation to remain in the public eye. She is making a personal statement, a vanity showing. Still not art.

[MC]

The way I occupy spaces which have historically excluded people of my identities is a queer act of resistance

I suspect to the unwitting observer, this occupation appears to be much like the way confused whales occupy beaches.

[Darleen]

Hey, "gender" is SO over!

When you have the $$$$ to shop there, of course.

[Daniel Ream]

From the article:

WYV: What inspired you to create Queer Magic for the Resistance? Under what conditions did it come about, and what role did you envision it playing within other types of resistance work?

Oh, I think there's definitely some roleplaying going on here.

[Sam Duncan]

“a purveyor of roots, herbs and 'emotional emergency response.'”

My name is John Wellington Wells,
I'm a dealer in magic and spells,
In blessings and curses
And ever-filled purses,
In prophecies, witches, and knells.
If you want a proud foe to "make tracks" –
If you'd melt a rich uncle in wax –
You've but to look in
On the resident Djinn,
Number seventy, Simmery Axe!

- W.S. Gilbert, The Sorceror.

[lotocoti]

Does she have anything for a rash?

Depends.
Did you notice the rash after engaging in a spot of root-work?

[bobby b]

"Many states more or less make it compulsory for them, Obamacare isn't the cause."

Obamacare explicitly outlawed many bare-bones medical policies that did not cover chiropractic, homeopathic, acupuncture, or other alternative forms of treatment. Prior to O-care, I was able to buy policies that covered traditional med only, cheaply.

With the passage of O-care, I could only choose among policies that provided such coverage (because it was more inclusive to include all of these industries that had lobbied heavily for such provisions, and provided much support to the O-care proponents.) Chiros and homeopaths had been pushing this "it's discriminatory" argument for years, trying to get the insurance companies to consider them to be as valid as traditional medical treatment, and they finally got their way through O-care.

[Hopp Singg]

So her damning hexes are less powerful than a microaggression? They seem to have had less effect.

[David]

So her damning hexes are less powerful than a microaggression?

Yes, an imaginary ability has had zero effect on an imaginary phenomenon.

[pst314]

Yes, an imaginary ability has had zero effect on an imaginary phenomenon.

It does, however, have a non-zero effect on the character of the practitioner.

[lotocoti]

It's a trap!
The attendant piece of clickbait 6 Medicines To Protect Our Communities From Police alleges
Eucalyptus is definitely useful in keeping informers and snitches away.
In reality, Eucalyptus leaves are traditionally used to summon informers and snitches.

[MC]

Calling this collection of delusion 'wearyourvoicemag' is at least valid.

Identity=opinion is their thing after all.

[MC]

This one's a beauty too:

https://wearyourvoicemag.com/identities/race/white-people-chinese-medicine

When I was a little girl, my mother would feed me candies between sips of Kam Wo tea to coax me into drinking the bitter medicine. My pópó would rub my forehead tenderly with Tiger Balm when I had a headache. Of course, we did use Western medicine—such as birth control and immunizations—but only when absolutely necessary.

I'm sure they'd probably use Western Trauma Surgery too, but only when absolutely necessary...

My dentist is Chinese, but UK-qualified. I must remember to berate him next time I am in the chair.

[Chester Draws]

I don't doubt that Bobby, but it started before and continued after as well.

Many state politicians have caved in, so as little as I like Obama or Obamacare, it's not like Trump will do anything different.

Ohio just permitted acupuncture. That's not as a result of Obama.

[Jonathan]

Seen at the #MarchForOurLives:

http://twitter.com/HarmlessYardDog/status/977681007267729408

These chuckleheads claim to be intelligent and well educated, yet confuse fantasy with reality on a regular basis.

[Spiny Norman]

Jonathan,

I saw this snark on Twitter yesterday:

[Daniel Ream]

yet confuse fantasy with reality on a regular basis.

I used to say that as horribly written as the Harry Potter books were, they at least got an entire generation of kids reading, and not just reading, but reading giant thick books, and fantasy at that.

I've changed my mind. Every one under thirty should have been forced to play American football as a child. With tackling.

[Pogonip]

If you can berate your dentist while he has his hand in there tickling your tonsils, post the video!

[Hal]

These chuckleheads claim to be intelligent and well educated, yet confuse fantasy with reality on a regular basis.

[Bruce]

Bring back national service.

[Jonathan]

More geniuses (genii?) from the #Marchforourlives:

https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/977993535487004672

Q: "What is an assault weapon?"

A: "It's like a gun, like you can buy it really easily."

Farewell America.

[Sam Duncan]

“Every one under thirty should have been forced to play American football as a child. With tackling.”

In the snow. [Shudders at all-too-vivid memories of “Rugby practice”]

Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes isn't impressed. Of course, Sky News, following British laws on media impartiality, has to insinuate that he's nuts by leaving in all his typos (funny how some mass-shooting survivors are more equal than others, isn't it?), but:

"Did your French gun control stop a single person from dying at the Bataclan? If anyone can answer yes, I'd like to hear it, because I don't think so."

Did British gun control laws stop a single person from dying at Hungerford or Dunblane? Did Norwegian gun control laws stop Anders Breivik from perpetrating the worst mass shooting in history?