The thing about Those White People Baby Names is the way they so poetically express the tension between individuality and rigid conformity. These parents all want to name their child something unique, because they value the concept of uniqueness, yet simultaneously they abhor it in practice… ergo, 30 different spelling variations on the most normative possible names. This homogeneity-masquerading-as-diversity is inseparable from capitalist consumer culture and in fact is directly analogous to the experience of walking into a grocery store and being asked to “choose” between 50 varieties of toothpaste with the same exact ingredients, 12 brands of laundry detergent, etc.
Yes, I’m logging off for the 17th, and I’ll log back on whenever I feel like coming back on (maybe this weekend, maybe whenever).
Here’s hoping it’s not as bad as we fear. Tumblr’s new policy is going to put a serious damper on free expression - but even if they block some of our images, we still have our words. Keep speaking, every one.
jk rowling told me personally that hedwig was the duolingo owl the whole time. anytime she’s not actively delivering a message to harry, she’s threatening people everywhere to make sure they do their german lesson. this is never mentioned because it’s not relevant to harry’s journey