Char
@teaandcharcoal.bsky.social
Ray | He/they | 30s | Writer and Museum Gremlin.
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Char
@teaandcharcoal.bsky.social
· Mar 22
Not "it's all joever," not "it's going to be fine," but a secret third thing ("all that was built by human hands can be rebuilt").
Reposted by Char
"This is not my normal spot but I'll remember where I put it"
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 AM
"This is not my normal spot but I'll remember where I put it"
Reposted by Char
Just in case you thought this was about trans athletes. This was solely about creating a fascist and racist gender bureaucracy over what constitutes being feminine enough to be considered a woman.
They're targeting cis women who may be intersex and banning them from sport.
They're targeting cis women who may be intersex and banning them from sport.
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Just in case you thought this was about trans athletes. This was solely about creating a fascist and racist gender bureaucracy over what constitutes being feminine enough to be considered a woman.
They're targeting cis women who may be intersex and banning them from sport.
They're targeting cis women who may be intersex and banning them from sport.
Reposted by Char
Mamdani is a threat not because he is a special unicorn, but because his success is replicable.
THAT is why the establishment loathes and fears him.
(that and deepbaked Islamophobia)
THAT is why the establishment loathes and fears him.
(that and deepbaked Islamophobia)
November 11, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Mamdani is a threat not because he is a special unicorn, but because his success is replicable.
THAT is why the establishment loathes and fears him.
(that and deepbaked Islamophobia)
THAT is why the establishment loathes and fears him.
(that and deepbaked Islamophobia)
Reposted by Char
tbh, the US supreme court not budging on gay marriage is great, but also this happening while codifying anti-abortion and anti-trans laws is either strategic in the face of opposition or an example of the project of homonationalist integration, at a time where fascist parties have cis LGB leaders
November 11, 2025 at 2:20 AM
tbh, the US supreme court not budging on gay marriage is great, but also this happening while codifying anti-abortion and anti-trans laws is either strategic in the face of opposition or an example of the project of homonationalist integration, at a time where fascist parties have cis LGB leaders
Reposted by Char
im just some woman on the internet but imo its probably bad to base your economy almost entirely on a gambling ring where rich (ie extremely, willfully stupid) people bet on what stuff is worth until the round finally ends bc some of their checks start bouncing
November 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
im just some woman on the internet but imo its probably bad to base your economy almost entirely on a gambling ring where rich (ie extremely, willfully stupid) people bet on what stuff is worth until the round finally ends bc some of their checks start bouncing
Reposted by Char
1. This is stolen land. We have no moral right to exclude anyone.
2. "Illegal immigration" is a product of 20th century racism; your forebears came "legally" because there was no such thing as "illegal immigration" then.
3. Open borders are good. Borders are racist and colonial violence.
2. "Illegal immigration" is a product of 20th century racism; your forebears came "legally" because there was no such thing as "illegal immigration" then.
3. Open borders are good. Borders are racist and colonial violence.
November 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
1. This is stolen land. We have no moral right to exclude anyone.
2. "Illegal immigration" is a product of 20th century racism; your forebears came "legally" because there was no such thing as "illegal immigration" then.
3. Open borders are good. Borders are racist and colonial violence.
2. "Illegal immigration" is a product of 20th century racism; your forebears came "legally" because there was no such thing as "illegal immigration" then.
3. Open borders are good. Borders are racist and colonial violence.
Reposted by Char
This app is not good for my mental health but it's really just because being this informed will make anyone want to lose their fucking mind.
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This app is not good for my mental health but it's really just because being this informed will make anyone want to lose their fucking mind.
Every federal holiday should be observed on the nearest monday or friday, send tweet.
The fuck type of shit is Work Monday Get Tuesday Off Work The Rest Of The Week what kinda week is this
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Every federal holiday should be observed on the nearest monday or friday, send tweet.
Reposted by Char
Finally some good news!
November 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Finally some good news!
I question #2, and assume a large contingency is in on it until proven otherwise, but the other 3 points are salient.
It's very dem to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but it's possible the republicans have reached the point they refuse to take any deals or reopen the house.
It's very dem to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but it's possible the republicans have reached the point they refuse to take any deals or reopen the house.
A few thoughts
1: basically every democrat outside the senate opposed this
2: it seems like most dems *in* the senate opposed it too (jury's out on who exactly)
3: this was the first vote, not the last
4: the house will have to come into session to pass this and that'll probably be a shitshow
1: basically every democrat outside the senate opposed this
2: it seems like most dems *in* the senate opposed it too (jury's out on who exactly)
3: this was the first vote, not the last
4: the house will have to come into session to pass this and that'll probably be a shitshow
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 AM
I question #2, and assume a large contingency is in on it until proven otherwise, but the other 3 points are salient.
It's very dem to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but it's possible the republicans have reached the point they refuse to take any deals or reopen the house.
It's very dem to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but it's possible the republicans have reached the point they refuse to take any deals or reopen the house.
Reposted by Char
👇 THIS has totally backfired. I'm not sure which Senator did what now, but it makes me want to see the entire Dem caucus primary'd. I don't trust a single damned one of them
Important to understand this. There's a reasonable chance that your Dem Senator who voted against it and is acting mad now was in on the play. It's the same reason why they scheduled the surrender for AFTER the election this week. They didn't want people pissed at Dems right before an election.
The caucus meeting was just to orchestrate who would fall on the sword but not be up for a vote in 2026.
November 10, 2025 at 2:42 AM
👇 THIS has totally backfired. I'm not sure which Senator did what now, but it makes me want to see the entire Dem caucus primary'd. I don't trust a single damned one of them
Reposted by Char
Every few weeks we gotta make posts like this”call your dem reps to tell them to not vote to allow Lord Killdude to shove people into a volcano” and then the dem reps go “we’ve made an amazing deal where Lord Killdude can have his volcano so long as he promises not to shove people into it”
November 10, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Every few weeks we gotta make posts like this”call your dem reps to tell them to not vote to allow Lord Killdude to shove people into a volcano” and then the dem reps go “we’ve made an amazing deal where Lord Killdude can have his volcano so long as he promises not to shove people into it”
Reposted by Char
Unfortunately not a novel concept in the so-called "developed" world; one of the biggest reasons Canada turns away immigrants is "projected burden on public healthcare" :/
Trump administration directs the State Dept to deny visas to immigrants with conditions such as diabetes, obesity & cardiovascular disease. www.latimes.com/california/s... wow the is is some vile lawless eugenics.
Imagine refusing to reunite families on this basis! Expect immediate injunction—but 🤮😱
Imagine refusing to reunite families on this basis! Expect immediate injunction—but 🤮😱
Trump adds new reasons to deny visas to immigrants: obesity and other health issues
The White House has directed visa officers to consider common health ailments, including obesity and diabetes, when deciding if immigrants can enter the U.S. The legality is questionable, experts say.
www.latimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Unfortunately not a novel concept in the so-called "developed" world; one of the biggest reasons Canada turns away immigrants is "projected burden on public healthcare" :/
Reposted by Char
Why take this deal, at this exact moment? The shutdown is backfiring on Trump; he's getting booed at football games; his party's losing elections; he's losing legal fights on SNAP and firing of Federal workers. Why *help* him, right now, unless you get something in return?
Is this the explanation?
Is this the explanation?
I think the reason that chuck Schumer is folding is because the air traffic crisis is the first part of this that might actually effect him and his rich donors so he's folding after even a fraction of the suffering so many of the American people have felt this month
November 10, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Why take this deal, at this exact moment? The shutdown is backfiring on Trump; he's getting booed at football games; his party's losing elections; he's losing legal fights on SNAP and firing of Federal workers. Why *help* him, right now, unless you get something in return?
Is this the explanation?
Is this the explanation?
Reposted by Char
more and more people are saying...
i’m just so fucking tired of living through crisis after crisis and feeling like we have to beg for and negotiate with our own representatives to address the crises seriously. they shouldn’t have to be disciplined by the base into mustering an appropriate response to a fucking coup!
November 9, 2025 at 11:58 PM
more and more people are saying...
Reposted by Char
Double follow up on this. It's very possible that with the shutdown, your calls may still go to Voicemail without staffers to man the phones, but you should nonetheless make them *anyway*.
The sheer volume of calls could be enough to scare the Dems off from this disastrous "negotiation".
The sheer volume of calls could be enough to scare the Dems off from this disastrous "negotiation".
Following up on this. This remains a ‘cave is minutes or hours away’ situation. If you want to impact how this plays out you need to contact senators literally now. I want to add additional points of context. What I’m relaying is what I’ve picked up from highly reliable sources.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Double follow up on this. It's very possible that with the shutdown, your calls may still go to Voicemail without staffers to man the phones, but you should nonetheless make them *anyway*.
The sheer volume of calls could be enough to scare the Dems off from this disastrous "negotiation".
The sheer volume of calls could be enough to scare the Dems off from this disastrous "negotiation".
Reposted by Char
Apropos of theonion.com/democrats-si...
Democrats Sick Of Being Blamed For Cowardice On Issues They Actually Just Don’t Care About
WASHINGTON—Having thus far caved on eliminating the filibuster, advancing an adequate climate change agenda, and protecting voting rights, congressional Democrats told reporters Wednesday they were si...
theonion.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Apropos of theonion.com/democrats-si...
Reposted by Char
If you don’t derive any benefit from the act of writing, no pleasure or catharsis or satisfaction, why are you doing it? This isn’t meant to be an aggressive question, I’m not demanding an answer, but it’s a thing you may want to ask yourself. Life is short and you could do something else?
Sometimes I wonder if our many years of jokes about writers hating writing and doing anything but writing, etc, have convinced people that the writing part is the hurdle and the goal is just to have a thing in hand. But I am here to tell you: the writing is the best part. The act is the thing.
November 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
If you don’t derive any benefit from the act of writing, no pleasure or catharsis or satisfaction, why are you doing it? This isn’t meant to be an aggressive question, I’m not demanding an answer, but it’s a thing you may want to ask yourself. Life is short and you could do something else?
Reposted by Char
I think a number of press outlets badly want there to be a groundswell of anti-trans feeling, because the ownership/senior editorial of those papers have absolutely cooked their own brains on transphobia. It seems to be largely an elite psychosis!
the harris campaign said the “they/them” ad didn’t sway the election.
one of the trump campaign’s top strategists this week said trans rights isn’t in the top five issues for swing voters.
when will the press stop talking about us like we’re a liability and start looking itself in the mirror
one of the trump campaign’s top strategists this week said trans rights isn’t in the top five issues for swing voters.
when will the press stop talking about us like we’re a liability and start looking itself in the mirror
November 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I think a number of press outlets badly want there to be a groundswell of anti-trans feeling, because the ownership/senior editorial of those papers have absolutely cooked their own brains on transphobia. It seems to be largely an elite psychosis!
Reposted by Char
Chinese century clinched. Case closed
November 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Chinese century clinched. Case closed
Reposted by Char
I think I did it wrong
November 9, 2025 at 6:25 AM
I think I did it wrong
One of the reasons I love second world fiction so much is it gives way more room for Grade-A Fantasy Bullshit (tm): there are random talking cats? Of course. Sometimes people grow antlers? Fuck yeah they do. Now tell me your twee oaths. Bonus points if you explain their textile industry somewhere.
November 9, 2025 at 5:45 AM
One of the reasons I love second world fiction so much is it gives way more room for Grade-A Fantasy Bullshit (tm): there are random talking cats? Of course. Sometimes people grow antlers? Fuck yeah they do. Now tell me your twee oaths. Bonus points if you explain their textile industry somewhere.
Reposted by Char
Sometimes protagonists aren't able to fix the world. Sometimes they're not even able to see the problems with it. Sometimes they're just trying to survive. Sometimes they're even part of the problem.
The writer isn't the society and the writer isn't the protagonist.
The writer isn't the society and the writer isn't the protagonist.
November 9, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Sometimes protagonists aren't able to fix the world. Sometimes they're not even able to see the problems with it. Sometimes they're just trying to survive. Sometimes they're even part of the problem.
The writer isn't the society and the writer isn't the protagonist.
The writer isn't the society and the writer isn't the protagonist.
Reposted by Char
This is actually the original definition of emotional labor, as defined by Arlie Hochschild, the sociologist who coined the term. It refers to the labor of performing emotions in order to do your job. It is not enough to just do your job, you have to put on a performance
There is something really wrong with people who need workers to be not just competent, but slavishly fake-happy. "Slavishly" used on purpose, bc that's where this grotesquerie comes from.
"Store employees are now required to smile if they are within 10 feet of a shopper.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
They also must make eye contact with and wave to or greet the customer.
If they’re within four feet, the employee should ask how the customer’s day is going or if they need help."
🙄 Won't stop the boycott, y'all.
November 9, 2025 at 12:23 AM
This is actually the original definition of emotional labor, as defined by Arlie Hochschild, the sociologist who coined the term. It refers to the labor of performing emotions in order to do your job. It is not enough to just do your job, you have to put on a performance