On this day in 1911, the Japanese government executed twelve anarchists, including radical journalists Kanno Sugako and Kōtoku Shūsui (shown), as part of a widespread crackdown on left-wing activism. Among those executed were Uchiyama Gudō, a Buddhist priest and socialist who spoke out against the Meiji government for its imperialism and advocated for conscripted soldiers to desert en masse.
The pretext for this crackdown was the "High Treason Incident", a plot to assassinate the Emperor of Japan. The incident began when police searched the room of Miyashita Takichi, a young lumbermill employee, and found materials which could be used to construct bombs, concluding that there was a broader conspiracy to harm the imperial family.
On the basis of this plot, the Japanese government rounded up leftist activists from all over the country. 24 of the 26 defendants actually brought to trial were sentenced to death, despite the evidence against nearly all of them being circumstantial.
Among those executed anarcha-feminist journalist Kanno Sugako (some sources say she was executed on January 25th). At the age of 29, Kanno became the first woman with the status of political prisoner to be executed in the history of modern Japan.
Prior to his execution, Kōtoku Shūsui etched this message on the wall of his cell: "How has it come about that I have committed this grave crime? Today my trial is hidden from outside observers and I have even less liberty than previously to speak about these events. Perhaps in 100 years someone will speak out about them on my behalf."
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
- 📀 Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube
- 💖 Come talk in the New Weekly Queer thread
- 🔥 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread
- 🐱👤 Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread
reminders:
- 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
- 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
yo i need some advice...
heavy shit like death, grief, loss, mortality
how do you "be there for someone" who has lost a loved one? also how do you be there for someone when they're having like major health issues? i feel like im a pretty good/supportive friend for squishier shit like relationship troubles or general ennui/existential angst, because being a good listener, showing that you can relate/that these experiences are universal, and offering light touches of guidance where appropriate work well in this context. but idk, for more concrete struggles or bigger losses i kind of flail. i had a friend through work who lost someone close to them, giving them space to talk about the person and what they meant to them seemed appreciated.but my other friend is currently experiencing two separate losses and is also struggling with some health stuff and they're more private/less expressive abt emotional stuff so idk how to approach it. idk, maybe im overthinking it and giving myself too big of a role in my head for problems that are a lot bigger than me. and also you can only help someone out if they want you in that role maybe? idk i just feel useless sometimes when it comes to certain shit
I dunno if I have anything helpful to say but I have lived through similar circumstances (both loss of people close to me and trying to be there for someone on their death bed). It's one of the worst feelings in the world to sit beside someone in pain and not be able to help them or take a piece of their burden. I was lucky enough to be able to visit them almost every day, and I think just being there as a friend is the best you can do sometimes. Even just sitting there watching Netflix together, picking them up a favorite snack on the way, and just being there to chat, listen to them complain, or whatever other kind of support they need.
I don't know the specifics of your friends ailment, but just reaching out and being there for them is the best you can do sometimes. I guess the same applies to how to support grieving friends, even if they don't want to talk about the loss itself just being there for them can be very helpful. I really appreciated my friends who just reached out to me regularly, even when I was shit at replying and isolating myself
Anyway, hopefully I said something kind of helpful somewhere in there. I hope you and your friend are doing better soon
appreciate that comrade!
spoiler
thankfully as far as we know the health issues are chronic and my friend isn't on their deathbed but they have a (tragically young) family member on their way out and recently lost another older (but very close) fam member all concurrent with these heavily quality of life impacting issues so its just a rough confluence of shit and i wish i could help out more.and ofc very sorry to hear about the loved one you lost, its good that you made a point of being there with them though throughout that process
Being present with them is very underrated. If they don't want to share that's okay, it's still better than being alone for weeks.