From the article:

The City of Melbourne council and Victorian government remain steadfast in their Australia Day policies despite a swell in support for the national holiday. Victoria will not bring back Melbourne's Australia Day Parade, which was a centrepiece of celebrations up until it was cancelled by former premier Dan Andrews during the Covid period four years ago. Staff working for the state government and City of Melbourne Council will also continue to have the option to shun Australia Day as a holiday by choosing another day to have off. Although the City of Melbourne will host traditional citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day the council confirmed it still opposes January 26 as the date of national celebration. 'The City of Melbourne will host nine citizenship ceremonies in 2025 – including on January 26,' a council spokesperson told the Herald Sun.

It also found 86 per cent of respondents were 'proud to be Australian' while 68 per cent agreed that Australia has 'a history to be proud of'. January 26, which marks the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney's Port Jackson in 1788, has been labelled Invasion Day by those who see it as a date for mourning the colonisation and dispossession of Indigenous Australians. IPA deputy executive Director Daniel Wild said the results demonstrated a shift in the vibe and energy surrounding Australia Day.

'It is clear that mainstream Australians have had a gutful of this attitude and being put upon by the elites,' Mr Wild said. 'The 26th of January is more than just a date, it represents the establishment of modern Australia as a free and fair country.'

For those who don't know. Victoria is a communist backwater state in Australia. It is one the poorest and most uncultured states. It even signed itself up to China's Belt and Road initiative is currently in a mountain of debt. I hate Victoria so much bros. I hope Trump invades Victoria genocides every single soy Victorian there. Fricking cute twinks. Kill all Victorians. Despite making up 20% of Australia's population, Victoria consumes 84% of federal subsidies. That's just how much of shithole Victoria is. Australia would be much richer if we just booted it from the Federation.

Anyway, Soybourne actually are having Aus day celebrations - I just want any excuse to shit on the city that I live in.

The IPA - the Institute of Public Affairs - is a rightoid "think"tank that espouses whatever their donors want to here. When I become dictator, these kinds of people will be liquidated. Lots of people will be liquidated. It is my dream to one day be unburdened by leftoids and rightoids. Every aussie will be an ascended griller. I will install though trackers into the brains of every citizen so that they can only think good, correct thoughts.

I've got the flu, have only slept 3 hours and just want to weird post. Anyway, I'll shut up now.

Let's see how the Redditors are eating up this garbage article:

This will only help dutton in the upcoming election.

Exactly, these traitors need flushing out of the system. Go find another country to disassemble.

Fricking ease up turbo. Most people who don't choose to celebrate the day just want it changed. They don't want to disassemble the country 😂😂.

I would bet 8 out 10 people in this situation are either state actors or passive aggressive Marxists, 2 actually really care...

Below is you:

https://giphy.com/gifs/byYvc9meProt2

Haha, I upmarseyd this.

Mate you're fricking cooked. It's not even hard to understand why indigenous people find it offensive. We literally celebrate the day some other c*nt rocked up in a boat and said "Yeah, I'll take it " Literally the only problem stopping this debate from being easily resolved is the fact that the dumb c*nts started the federated nation of Australia on Jan 1st. So it's a bit fricking hard to celebrate our actual birthday because everyone is hungover.

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Jesus dude, hop off the Pauline punch

We'll be isn't too far off, the people promoting this garbage don't understand the damage their doing and the blow back that comes after it.. some things are better off left alone.

What damage?

When Dutton gets in you and the other down voting clowns should take a look in the mirror and take a bow

What is Dutton going to force people to wear flags as capes at gunpoint? Most if the decline in attendance at Australia far events happened under a Liberal government

Cope

Frick off you do know what Marxist is

Do you?

Karl Marx wrote in the communist manifesto that communism shall be defined as not having Australia day on January 26. Once that is achieved we can have a dictatorship of the proletariat, initiate a cultural revolution and live like George Orwins animal crackers.

The pigs rule, until they're eaten.

What exactly is a "passive aggressive Marxist"?

A Marxist who is aggressive, passively...

Fine. Don't seize the means of production. See if I care.

Calling people that want Australia Day moved (not even gone just moved) traitors is fricking hilarious. What flavour crayon are you eating today?

How did you come to the conclusion that I was referring specifically to people that want Australia Day moved traitors? You are sprinkling false context where it doesn't exist. If you read through my history, I am all for moving the date.

But who then wants to "disassemble" Australia?

Maybe those who have something to gain from it? Usually it is distraction or manipulation for political control, or partitioning votes. There are benefits in keeping people busy fighting amongst themselves, consider it filling a collective cognitive capacity with "noise".

As an Australian I would like the national day to honour the day Australians did something, like Federation (Jan 1), establishment of Australian authority I've parliament and courts (March 3) or perhaps a republic. I think the "traitors" are the ones who celebrate a day British sips carrying British convicts landed here to establish a British penal colony under a British flag

I disagree (regarding who are the traitors), the vast majority of people are celebrating because it is a public holiday celebrating the nation. Most are victims of circumstances and contingent outcomes. This disunity has been poorly handled by politicians who should have fixed this years ago with real action, not subtle sly messaging that only ensures people are distracted from the shocking job they are doing.

As an Australian I don't like holidays on days celebrating the actions of British people. Am I a traitor?

No.

Forcing people to celebrate on January 26…..sounds like the LNP are the communists

No one is forcing anyone to do anything, inaction is the issue.

For those who don't know, Dutton is the leader of the Liberal Party. The Liberals are the hecking based and tradpilled cuckservative party who totally won't sell off the soil under your feet to their mates or foreign actors. (Labor is no better).

Melbourne…

Naarm, if you prefer not to use the name of an English prime minister infamous as a nonce in his own lifetime.

Lot of downmarseys from people who prefer the English nonce.

You're weird

Probably what they said to the guy whose idea it was to name somewhere after an English nonce.

Ngl, that was funny 🤣

FFS, Again: it's not about the DAY it's the DATE. Everyone I know is totally in favour of Australia Day, most people I know just want the date changed. Mr Dutton could actually choose to go down the change the date track, but he doesn't do that, quite deliberately. He just can't recognise or have any empathy as to why the date is so fricking awful.

Whats wrong with the date?

Seriously. ok. I'll give you a clue..... Invasion and dispossession.

Did a bloody good job in just 200 years.

The slogan "Abolish the date" indicates some people want Australia Day itself abolished, rather than rescheduled.

Fricked if I know how you read that into a 3 word definitive statement. Abolish the date. Full stop. Nowhere in there does it mention abolishing Australia Day.

Sorry mate I couldnt find a gaybc or guardian article for you. Its funny how those companies tend not to report on things like this or at best spin in it a way that makes it out to be a good thing. But you already knew that. Tabloids you dont like printing facts you dont like it, doesn't make them untrue.

Such a mature and outstanding contribution

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The guardian and the 'gaybc' as you so intelligently put it don't report on things like this, because it's billionaire-funded culture war BS that has successfully indoctrinated you into feeling enraged about a holiday that means nothing other than a day off for 90% of the population. I'm also extremely concerned that you genuinely believe a shitrag that reads at a primary-school level and literally takes its sources from right-wing think tanks is 'printing facts'. It's printing propaganda. And you have fallen for it.

Hey guys, person from Naarm here. Just want to acknowledge the custodians of this sub, past, present, and emerging on the sub in which we're posting. There is no need to thank us. We're just leading by example so that one day, even those red neck Queenslanders will see the error of their ways and join with us in protest to change the date. Yes we know, support for genocide is growing (as demonstrated by the evil Murdoch empire), but I assure you we will continue the fight alone by holding Invasion Day rallies with the usual "no pride in genocide", "always was, always will be", and the classic "sovereignty was never ceded" until 11:59pm and then do it again until next year on January 26th. Yes, we could protest all year about it, but unfortunately, we don't really want to complete with the pro-Palastinian protesters for the Sunday time slot all year and we also don't really care as long as we virtue signal harder than everyone else in this racist country. Flag burning starts at 5:30, you're welcome to join us.

This post needs gold guilding just for the tone alone, I stopped breathing for several seconds before the laughter orgasm.

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Rule 2 - No trolling.

https://old.reddit.com/r/aussie/comments/1i5blh5/major_city_snubs_australia_day_despite_poll/

Melbourne of course

If China ever invades, I would gladly offer Melbourne as tribute to make them leave.

They would be insulted.

Why does a UK news agency give a frick?

With a history of tacitly supporting Hitler and Mussolini, and a current readership of people who like xenophobia but can't spell it, it manages to get almost 9 million unique online visitors from Australian IP addresses, per month. This makes them money.

Fricking poms interfering in our affairs yet again.

JUST IN - CNN: "Obama Bin Laden" pic.twitter.com/adLkJs7pqN

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 8, 2025

In 2023 I was training to run a marathon but then injured my leg and didn't do anything for a month and even after I recovered I got lazy and gave up

one time I was playing Mario Kart and came in 8th place when half the players were CPU

What are some times you have failed races?

ROSS ULBRICHT LOST $12M ON PUMPFUN...

Ross Ulbricht, or someone with access to his wallets, just accidentally nuked the price of a pumpfun coin sent to him while trying to provide liquidity on Raydium.

Because he initialized the liquidity pool at the wrong price, $1.5M of the… pic.twitter.com/kN5BN2mN49

— Arkham (@arkham) January 30, 2025

lmao

As part of my Banlog, I am somewhat inclined to give @BIGBILLYKONGDONG a serious ban for the outrageous boomerphilia on display.

As a work of ironic praise for a 78 year old man's fantasy, it's a solid piece. Truly let us celebrate that we are all collectively engaged in a public arts project to facilitate the transition of boomers out of public life.

It's truly funny that we are all pretending that this old man is a president. That he is mentally capable, and not just lashing out with random whims with other aged decrepit men. The elaborate practical joke we're pulling on our elderly is a riot of laffs.

But:

For me the choice is easy.

People who are using apps have been vocal about how much the experience sucks. Hinge seems especially awful to me with its limited number of photos, lame prompts, limit on likes per day, and keeping your "best" matches behind a pay wall.

Imagine foids don't have enough likes to give it to all top 1% guys and top 0,0001% guys are pay locked.

Frick life of foids is hard.

I want to combine Facebook dating with OkCupid. I think Facebook gives you ample room to write about yourself, and it gives you more than enough photo slots. I love that you can see if you have mutual friends with someone. I'd mix that with the part of OKC where you answer questions and that give you a compatibility percentage. Unfortunately, both of those platforms are very unpopular in my area, so I have to deal with Hinge & Tinder.

Every guy knows that foids don't give shit about it. They will read is if you are absolutely Chad but if you are absolutely Chad you already getting like from her since to foids guys they like are automatically funny

I'm curious about what a better dating app experience would look like to others.

PostWall inc

I agree about filters. Even when you pay to apply the filters, it still shows you people outside of the filters you've set and just highlights the people who match the preferences you've set. To me, something like childfree or monogamous is non-negotiable, so showing me people outside of that is just a waste.

App be like: b-word your filters are so extreme, why not look at this decent guy (that probably won't like your flobs back)

childfree or monogamous is non-negotiable

Why would a successful good looking 34 year old man would want a fat 34 year old sterile foid and be monogamous to her ?

And I know many of you won't question her being fat

https://old.reddit.com/r/PlusSize/comments/1hd0u8n/sometimes_i_think_i_like_plus_size_women_actually/

I've been in "romantic" relationships before where the man I was with wasn't physically attracted to me, and it was really painful to endure.

And we know he was in shape

The problem is, though, that too many of the men I've talked to who say they prefer plus-size women have been awful. They've rushed to talk about s*x

She also don't understand supply and demand curves. There so many fat foids supply and so few demand and such guys are working hard

To make sure all fat chicks get some D

I feel so stupid even asking this, but are there actually decent people out there who are more attracted to a size 16 than a size 6? Because I'm having suuuch a hard time finding someone who likes my body and is also capable of just being kind & normal to me and not scaring me or sexualizing me too much too soon.

Yes there are decent people like 1 such guy for 50 size 16 kwins and if she has green card to share.

https://old.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/1fb6bpa/why_i_stopped_asking_men_on_dates/

When I was single, this was my experience as well. I would always hear men say "We want to be asked out too" but what they don't say is that they only want to be asked out by women they find attractive. Otherwise they will freak out, be upset or get weirded out.

My experience as well. That look of disgust they get that an average woman like myself dare think they be interested, or even I dare be attracted to them lol. I've asked out plenty of men in my early 20s and pretty regularly rejected-gives you thick skin. But unfortunately socially, we are not at a place where women have equal footing when doing the approaching. Now I don't approach-if he's interested he'll approach me.

I actually were approached by shit tons of fat foids and it always surprised me like I always looked at them and was thinking (wow she is a foot smaller than me and weight more than me, why is she even approaching me ? We look like cartoon troop of tall and skinny person and fat and short)

Especially this

Fun fact: David Bowie did not, in fact, have heterochromia from birth. One of his irises was permanently dilated, giving the impression that it was a different color, due to an injury suffered as a teenager during a fight with his friend and 1960's bandmate George Underwood over a girl. The band was called "Davie Jones and the King Bees" and George was the lead guitarist. He was also a Beta orbiter around some chick and he, stupidly, introduced her to the band's singer David Jones (Bowie's real name- he had to change it so as not to be confused with Davy Jones from the Monkees). That very night Diamond Dave fricked this girl very loudly in the room above where George was sleeping. George, who has assumed that nice girls didn't do such things, seethed all night and punched David when he came downstairs the next day.

There's a lesson here for all of us.

_{David Bowie- surprisingly heterosexual}

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-01-15/24154

I had a gut feeling that they would beat the Chiefs down but I let the idea of Chiefs invincibility cloud my mind.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck in the future I will trust my gut more on these kinds of things.

Rake the leaves

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1cg0ine/loblaws_boycott_planned_for_may_across_canada/

Into a pile

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskCanada/comments/1i6ypc8/askcanada_i_am_going_to_address_all_the_boycott/

The Canadian shot at the start of Fallout 1 was probably a vicious war criminal they caught administrating "Canadian healthcare" to a camp full of undesirables

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskCanada/comments/1i21rt9/what_can_average_canadians_do_prepost_trump/

And then burn them

https://old.reddit.com/r/Anticonsumption/comments/1i6hycy/american_companies/

https://old.reddit.com/r/ThunderBay/comments/1i3z1zo/us_tariffs_boycott_list/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6m7iz/threequarters_77_of_canadians_want_an_immediate/

https://old.reddit.com/r/FluentInFinance/comments/1i4xk8w/as_an_american_yes_this_is_exactly_what_is/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6le8d/if_trump_tariffs_canada_trudeau_backs/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6l0ni/trump_mentioned_manifest_destiny_in_his_inaugural/

Bonus one

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/1i41csq/why_do_a_lot_of_liberals_embrace_east_asia_so/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6v4ya/alberta_premier_danielle_smith_lays_blame_on/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6tn9z/trump_pushes_for_early_renegotiation_of_us_trade/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6v4ya/alberta_premier_danielle_smith_lays_blame_on/

Canadians deserve to die

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskCanada/comments/1i6k8u0/yes_we_do_not_have_the_best_administration_have/

https://old.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/1i6k337/5_things_to_know_if_canada_hits_back_against/

!latinx

traverse390 asks:

Are we at risk of censorship of LGBTQ+/adult material re: U.S. 2025 federal policies?

The short answer to your question is yes. Of course, there is a risk of increased censorship of LGBQT+ and "adult material" in 2025 and beyond for those of you living in the United States.

The worrying trend of banning books in schools and public libraries across the United States will worsen before it gets better. The Comic Book Journal reported in September that:

"The American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, which tracks book challenges and bans around the U.S., recorded that 378 different graphic novels were threatened with bans or challenges in 2023, with a total of 1,020 total censorship attempts. In the last three years, the numbers have seen a huge jump – 2023's total censorship attempts are twenty times what they were just three years ago in 2020."

In March last year, The Guardian reported on the recent American Libraries Association report covering all of 2023's known book bans. Amongst other things, the report detailed "Seventeen states [that] saw attempts to ban more than 100 books: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin."

Why is the banning of books so prevalent across American public schools and libraries?

Sadly! The banning of books and the occasional outright burning of them has been a regular occurrence throughout American history. Despite its relatively young age as a country, the USA has been banning books pretty much from the get-go. Think about it this way. The first white Europeans arrived in the country and settled in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 and these same "Founders" banned their first book in 1637.

The first book ever to be banned in the United States was New English Canaan by Thomas Morton, who established an early colony in Massachusetts where settlers and native people co-existed fairly harmoniously. Morton espoused a more pragmatic approach to colonization with the land's original inhabitants. This was seen as a threat by the Puritan settlers, and Morton was subsequently twice exiled back to England, where he wrote New English Canaan. He was not a white savior of any kind. He was a fur trader and businessman, and most of the book describes the "opportunities" the New World presented to entrepreneurial readers. Nonetheless, his pragmatic views on peaceful co-existence with native people were seen as a threat to the fabric of the new society the Puritans were attempting to build, and he was punished for it.

It is the fear that certain types of ideas, practices, and beliefs can "undermine" the cultural fabric of America that drives book bans. So! It comes as no surprise that graphic novels that depict "non-traditional" romantic and erotic relationships and/or characters who are non-conformist to the hetero-dominant culture will be targeted by censorious organizations and individuals.

While I wish to focus specifically on the type of material that matters to you in your question, I would like to remind everyone that it isn't just LGBTQ+ material that is being banned. Far from it…

The most recent high-profile case of statewide book banning, including comics and manga, happened last year in Tennessee when the state legislature brought in the HB843 mandate. Books in school libraries must be suitable for the age and maturity levels of the students. Some of the types of content deemed inappropriate for school-age children include any type of nudity, "descriptions or depictions of sexual excitement," excessive violence, and of course, LGBTQ-related subjects.

ANN reported on the mandate at the time that includes the first eight volumes of Assassination Classroom, Jujutsu Kaisen, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (volumes 1 and 3), all of Attack on Titan, and Akira, which really pisses me off. Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha is also on the banned books list in Tennessee, which is a perennial favorite of many younger readers. It contains some sexually suggestive moments, and some of the key characters, including the protagonist, possess an element of what one could argue is gender fluidity, but it is incredibly subtle, and I am genuinely surprised it made it onto this list.

The depiction of LGBTQ characters in manga is not uncommon, and so you have every right to worry about whether more works could be banned in the future. Manga like Sailor Moon, Claudine, Hunter X Hunter, and Rose of Versailles vary in their depictions of same-s*x couples and/or openly trans characters. Some depictions are more overt, others are more subtle, coded even. Some are serious and core to the story. Other characters provide light relief. Nonetheless! They exist and they are featured in some of the most popular and important works of the past forty years, which I find surprising because Japan is also a socially conservative country. For these works and for these characters to exist, and be known and popular with readers is remarkable and a testament to the fact that the majority don't have major issues with depictions of "alternative lifestyles" in literature, contrary to what much of the media and some politicians tell us.

ScreenRant reported in November that Richmond County School District in North Carolina recently banned (pending a review) Unico: Awakening Volume 1, the new reimaging of Osama Tezuka's classic manga by Samuel Sattin and illustrator, Gurihiru following a complaint from a "concerned parent." The parent's six-year-old son purchased a copy of the manga at a local Scholastic Book Fair, and she was "shocked to discover depictions of animal cruelty (I hope they never read Tezuka's Buddha Volume 1. That poor bunny!) and gun violence".

The book ban movement in the USA over recent years has most definitely grown, and as The Guardian reports it is "particularly prevalent in Republican-led states, as religious-political activism gains strength," but the canceling, boycotting, and banning of pop culture in your country is something that unfortunately is a "both sides" issue, and it cuts to the bone of your First Amendment rights. The more organized book banners know this, and while many of us may wonder whether your federal law-makers might seek to increase the scope of these bans, it isn't necessary to achieve the ultimate goal of reducing access to what they may consider to be "dangerous" and/or "unsuitable" reading material for children and young adults. The market will ultimately decide what reading material you can have access to, and unfortunately, book banners know this.

The Unico manga is a case in point. School libraries never used to hold graphic novels or manga in them. Public libraries barely did either. Unico is a flagship manga title for Scholastic's Graphix imprint, which is dedicated to publishing creator-owned graphic novels for early, middle-grade, and young adult readers. Graphix launched in 2005 with Jeff Smith's epic series, BONE #1: Out From Boneville. This imprint came about in part because of the huge shift in boy's reading habits starting in the late 90s. This is when I, as a 15-year-old, first discovered "edgier" books like Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and The Killing Joke in my local library.

This recent ban, "pending review," of Unico is noteworthy because Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a major supplier of books to school libraries. They have a better understanding of what is and isn't acceptable when it comes to age-appropriate literature for school-age children than almost any other publisher. Censorship is a slippery slope, and what one parent may find unacceptable for their six-year-old to read is not necessarily the same as another parent who also monitors what content their kids are consuming. I wanted to use Unico as an example of censorship that isn't driven by an organization, and which doesn't seem politically or religiously motivated.

America's moral majority has been at war with comics as a corrupting influence since the early 1950s and what is now commonly referred to as the "Moral Panic," which was a reaction by the press, religious groups, and politicians against what many considered to be the gradual decline in standards of decency and morality in the media and the arts. Especially film-making and comic books. This moral panic also coincided with a rise in reporting around juvenile delinquency. Senate hearings were held, and miles of column inches were printed, resulting in the voluntary implementation of the Comics Code Authority, which was a self-policing and self-censoring program committed to by all of the major comics magazine publishers at the time. Unbelievably, "The Code" continued well into the 2000s with the final holdouts, DC and Bongo Comics, discontinuing their carrying of the unmistakable CCA badge on every comic cover they printed.

What concerns me is that with your country's rightwards political momentum when it comes to issues of identity and culture, alongside its anti-globalization economic policies, increasing downward pressure on manga and comics publishing will impact readers well beyond the USA's borders. If America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. Less than 21% of comics, manga, and graphic novels are currently printed within the USA. If aggressive tariffs are brought in against the majority of America's major international trading partners, including China, where 24% of domestic publishers print their books, the price of the average tankoban is likely to increase considerably. This will mean lower print sales. Combine this with potentially more states banning more manga, and it isn't out of the question that some books may be discontinued and others not printed at all. And sorry, Canadians, Aussies, and Brits, but if fewer books are published in the USA, that means fewer titles for you, too.

I abhor the idea that a book can be dangerous, and I find it ridiculous to believe that a comic or a book can fundamentally change the reader's sexual or gender identity. I've read a lot of books in my lifetime, and none of them caused me to become a straight, cis-hetero male. I am just one, and that identity has, in all likelihood, influenced what types of comics, books, novels, etc. I like to read, as well as what types of movies, series, animation, etc. I like to watch the types of video games I like to play. I feel seen all day long by the culture I inhabit. Erasing what little pop culture is available that recognizes those of us who are not part of "the norm" seems unnecessarily cruel to me.

Based on the strength of some of the aforementioned LGBTQ-friendly manga brands, it could be commercially damaging for some of the biggest names in manga publishing, too. I believe that a change is coming, and it may well impact the print publishing of manga and comics in a significant way. With English-language digital manga and comic sales barely representing 20% of all graphic novel sales currently, perhaps these changes will signal a significant increase in digital manga sales.

References:

Deb Aoki report re: impact of tariffs on manga imports… "In The Comics Journal, Gina Gagliano explains how new tariffs will likely affect comics/manga publishing in 2025 (spoiler: it's not good for readers or publishers)."

"What will potential tariffs mean for comic publishers in 2025? "We'll likely have less customers." - The Comics Journal

"The state of comics and censorship during Banned Books Week" - The Comics Journal, September 2024 [Source: The Comic Book Journal "The state of comics and censorship during Banned Books Week", Gina Gagliana, September 23, 2024

"Books bans in US schools and libraries surged to record highs in 2023 - Though the list is broad, many of the 4,240 books were targeted because they related to issues of LGBTQ+ communities or race " - The Guardian, March 14, 2024

Choice quotes from the forums:

Well, censorship of adult or controversial content is already happening.Whether it's Japan doing this to itself or due to social changes around the world.

This is absolutely drop dead terrifying.

The focus on library bans seems geared toward the all-ages LGBTQ+ side of the question, but don't forget that the same forces are pushing for blanket criminalization of pornography. There are already multiple states that companies releasing adult manga/anime won't ship to.

Mod note: don't conflate libertarianism with LGBT. This is your only warning.

Also, I mentioned that if the book ban goes beyond anime/manga, is that going to escalate to targeting Asian-American/AAPI communities. I asked because a few days ago, I read an article from KQED (a local PBS in San Francisco) about the local Japanese-American communities are going to protect undocumented immigrants and come to the defense of the larger immigrants communities due to their experience of the Japanese internment during WWII. So that is my biggest worries as a anime/manga fan, if Japanese-Americans are building a big resistance toward Trump's treatment to the immigrant communities and the wider AAPI communities, is this going to lead to Trump and MAGA attacking not only the Japanese-American communities, will the MAGA/Trumper dare go after anime/manga and the fandom as an act of retaliation, is that going to lead to more manga ban in the school and public libraries? Is that going to lead to the FCC going after companies like Crunchyroll, Netflix, and other streaming companies that stream and license anime, what about manga publishers like Viz Media, Kodansha USA, etc...

The only thing really saving us from censorship and the other crazy things that these Christo-fascists want to do are the judges and courts blocking the orders and lawsuits being made and present right now which will only increase as time goes on at this pace and will be an astronomical amount.

literally not a single judge will defend queer cartoon kiddie porn sweetie

As a straight person, I feel like the opposite has been in effect on Reddit for a few years now. Unless you're towing water for Left leaning causes, you'll get downmarseyd or your comment will be deleted by a mod. If platforms would stop censoring opposing viewpoints, that would be great. This applies to both Left (Reddit) and Right (X) dominated platforms.

chud whining about chuds being censored on reddit in unrelated topic award

america “joking” about invading canada is kind of like if a man and a woman were alone on a yacht and he joked about raping her

— zinnia (village retard) (@zinniaa_3) February 5, 2025

They have broken the law. https://t.co/KupH9lTOv9

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025

So suffuse with rage at Elon's Heated G*mer Moment is the British Government that even Starmer has 'hit out' at the Nazi c*nt in one of his latest 'uwu notice me elon' press releases

Starmer hits out by saying he would "not be happy" if somebody in his Government did it, and wouldn't confirm he was talking specifically about Musk, instead giving an evasive 'well if the cap fits...' response.

Here's one of his senior MPs unambiguously praising a man who killed sixty million people

Too scared to call out Trump's buddy in case Trump gets upset and hits us with tariffs. Truly spineless.

Frick, now even Starmer is part of Musk's gang of acolytes? How far up does this go?

'hit us with tarriffs' neighbor we don't even export anything, personally I hope he hits us with nuclear missiles

Musk-san please

Musk is a fricking nazi.

He does nazi shit, like the salute, he supports the AfD, he's seemingly paying for Tommy "But please call me Robinson as the poors won't like me with a double-barreled surname and I can't grift off 'em" Yaxley-Lennon, anti-Woke-but-not-satirically, disingenuous, lying, grifting, obsequious little narcissist.

Anyone defending Musk with "It was a heart gesture" or "He has Autism!" is talking unmitigated, willfully ignorant, racist apologist, bollocks and they fricking know it.

CRASH OUT ALERT

let me get this straight neighbor, Musk was secretly a devoted national socialist, kept this fact so well-hidden that nobody even had an inkling until he came out in support of the 1st amendment (a known nazi amendment), and in the years since then he expertly manouevered himself into a tenuous position of mediocre state power, just to throw it all away at the end by getting up on stage and throwing his best Roman?

Anyone denying it was a nazi salute is blind or wilfully ignorant

report this man for antisemitism

This is so stupid. It wasn't a salute. Why are we even wasting time on this when the economy is in tatters?

It absolutely was though

do you think we could maybe have some quality of life or-

no we HAVE to obsess over the literal hand gestures of a foreign billionaire for some reason

ARMED POLICE THERE'S AN UNLICENSED THOUGHT ON THIS PROPERTY

recovered edgelords and others that almost fell down the rightoid pipeline, how did you escape it? Im curious

— ·ᛚᛐⲁ𝚌𝚑𝚒·ᛚᛐ𝚘𝚛𝚒· (@MachiToons) January 28, 2025

i actually talked and listened to girls

— space cadet🐝 (@neurodivergentastronaut) January 29, 2025

Funnily enough I joined the army and it changed my views on everything, now I’m a non-binary hoe

— GEHRMY (@Gehrman1987) January 29, 2025

'transed by the military' kinda goes hard as a backstory i wont lie....

— ·ᛚᛐⲁ𝚌𝚑𝚒·ᛚᛐ𝚘𝚛𝚒· (@MachiToons) January 29, 2025

i watched filthyfrank, idubbbz, pewdiepie, etc and never fell down any sort of right pipeline, which is weird cause ive seen a lot of ppl say theyre like “babys first right content”

— skibidi potty no egg 🍋🎰 (@honkedspleen) January 29, 2025

filthyfrank is one of those great satirical characters imo
too many dumbfricks laughed -with- this intentionally vile creature than -at- him like intended, which is why...

— ·ᛚᛐⲁ𝚌𝚑𝚒·ᛚᛐ𝚘𝚛𝚒· (@MachiToons) January 29, 2025

amazing friendship with trans man

— Zariah (@Zariahcat) January 28, 2025

Lmao imagine getting radicalized by Ben Shapiro tho:

My high school biology teacher explained how s*x and gender are different and I was like “oh that makes sense”

— Kasey 🚬🦈 (@sodastoque) January 29, 2025

my high school biology teacher once said "i have nothing against gays but i find it unnatural" (germany, btw)
lucky you lol

— ·ᛚᛐⲁ𝚌𝚑𝚒·ᛚᛐ𝚘𝚛𝚒· (@MachiToons) January 29, 2025

High school biology education is so often really failing the students. We need biology teachers to at least make one class to talk purely about how almost nothing is binary and about how beautifully messy biology is 😔

— Seviel (@Sumeru_Sevi) January 30, 2025

Thought everyone was joking, one day realized not everyone was

— Bored_FritzYT (@BoredFritz) January 29, 2025

You're a sp00k enabler. Should have fallen down the rightoid pipeline. You love sp00ks and you ought not to. Sp00ks don't like you - the rightoids are a bulwark against said sp00ks. Sp00ks will not show you the same respect you show them. Sp00ks will do sp00k things

— Orange_DYE (@OrangeDYE2) January 30, 2025

I'm actively fighting against falling down the pipeline so I occasionally say things that some people might find "edgy".

It's mainly because I tend to lean to the economic right, but for social issues I support progressivism.

— SpaceWalker (@SpaceWalkerReal) January 29, 2025

i think that a country that has to pay taxes and calls itself the "richest on earth" should also get something in return for said wealth, things that benefit everyone, like a functional public transport system and medicine, things declared as "radical, socialist" in the US

— ·ᛚᛐⲁ𝚌𝚑𝚒·ᛚᛐ𝚘𝚛𝚒· (@MachiToons) January 29, 2025

I started working full-time and didn't have enough time to watch hours and hours of youtube essays. So I just slowly drifted away from that ideology. I'm so glad I got out before TikTok was a thing because I know I would be cooked

— Culti (@CultiZk) January 29, 2025

I escaped it by going to college. Leaving my small town and actually experiencing life and other people from different backgrounds, I understood that empathy is better than being making edgy jokes. Getting to meet other people who are different from you teaches so much

— Sycamore’s Source (@sycamoressource) January 30, 2025

In high school the only kids who were kind to me were queer kids. So I started sitting at their table. I had already been repressing my own trans side for years and being around them let me break free and be more of myself.

— FemboyFishing🏳️‍⚧️🎣 (@FemboyYt) January 29, 2025

https://x.com/hontologies/status/1884807384805060618

I fell down the Anti-SJW pipeline cause of a bunch of YouTubers. I climbed out of after I found myself disagreeing with them more and more and hearing them just get meaner and more extreme over time until eventually I just kinda went "why tf am I watching this?"

— Zestful Maple (He, Him) 🏳️‍🌈 (@ZestfulM) January 29, 2025

I was very anti-woke starting in like 2013, 2014. It seemed illiberal, unfair, and anti-meritocratic. I never went full Trump but I certainly was anti-left.

I think some combination of AI progress, the political pendulum swinging, and a better understanding of how power is…

— noah (@nkreu113r) January 30, 2025

started seeing my mom differently in the eyes of mgtow and it hit me like a truck that i’m following something sinister

— str_br (@Teller038) January 29, 2025

!nonchuds