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i dont like people who are never joyous or whimsical because they fear not being taken seriously. did you know that if youre generally pleasant then people listen when youre being serious because they can tell you mean it. plus its more fun and who doesnt want more fun

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do u guys think my top surgery team would let me request a visit from one of those mini therapy horses that aggressively plays the piano to wake patients from anaesthesia? i dont think any of them are in the area im getting surgery so this is unfortunately hypothetical for now.

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This is especially fascinating to me because yesterday, my 8-year-old and I were just hanging out and he was kinda free-associating, and he happened to reveal that he is absolutely ENRAGED by flat earthers.

Absolutely cannot fucking stand that shit. He saw some video where somebody had drawn the earth as flat and stood a character on it, and he doesn't even know if it was a joke because he ragequit it so fast.

He went off about this for a while and it was just so fascinating?! It's this whole area I didn't even know he knew about, much less had Very Strong Opinions On.

He told me about some video where he watched someone demonstrate a way we knew the earth was round, and he was like, "FINALLY!! PROOF!!!"

I had to tell him that in fact people had proven it some other way at least 2,000 years ago. He was just happy to see some new (or new to him) video evidence of it.

We discussed the fact that we LITERALLY HAVE PICTURES OF THE DAMN THING.

But my favorite part was that he absolutely dragged flat earthers for presumably also thinking that the SUN is a DISC.

(while I was writing this, he came in to say, "Hey dad! We call lions the king of the jungle, but TIGERS are the king of the jungle! LIONS lIve in the SAVANNAH!")

Also, to your coworker's uh... Point? I read him your post and he informed me that there's a video where someone makes a flat Minecraft world and jokes that obviously the EARTH isn't A BLOCK: It's dinosaur-shaped.

And he thinks your username is hilarious.

I suppose that flat earthers shouldn't know what shape the earth is. Because if they believed any of the evidence that it's round, they would end up believing that it's not flat.

On the other hand, why would the earth not be round when the moon and the sun both look round from here? Is it like how the ceiling light can be round, but the room probably isn't?

I might have thought about this longer than your coworker ever has.

my coworker is something worse than a flat earther because she literally cant decide what shape she thinks it is. ive told her to pick a shape, any shape, and shes not able to. how do you argue with someone who doesnt even know what they think

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my slightly warm take is you cant say a queer person looks cishet if you only know them from work/school/anywhere else they are obligated to be on a regular basis. you think im giving this place that much effort?? you think im putting on my best outfit just to do bullshit tasks for 8 hours?? no!!! i dont want to wake up earlier just so a few unobservant people know im gay!! use context clues its not that hard to figure out

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Occasionally when I’m over at my girlfriend's place she’ll ask me to do something like move some unglazed pottery that she doesn’t want to touch because it gives her sensory issues, and it occurred to me today that I’m sort of the neurotypical equivalent of a Shabbos goy.

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Do prisoners actually want/enjoy those penpal programs? Because it seems like such an easy thing to do if it helps them but like with all things prison system related or possibly white savior esq feels I wonder if there's a catch

Ask me about incarceration!

YES.

Oh my god, yes, people are DESPERATE for penpals. Prisoners apply to join those programs and most have years-long waiting lists before they can get matched. These are people who are socially deprived and often feel like no one on the outside even knows they're alive. They need to talk to someone in the "real world" outside of prison.

The big catch is that it's a HUGE commitment - not easy at all. If you become a penpal, you are most likely going to become that person's primary emotional support. If they've got 7 years, you better be ready to do 7 years, keep up with it, and set boundaries for frequency. The absolute worst thing you can do is over-commit, burn yourself out, panic, and ghost them. That happens, and it's devastating.

That said, if you're willing to take that on, you could change or even save someone's life. I'll put more guidance on things to consider if you become a penpal below the cut.

One alternative that's come up in my community, which seems like it was a really low barrier to get started, are card writing events. Before holidays (even things like St. Patrick's day and 4th of July - anything Hallmark has a card for), the group will do a pop-up at a local church. They provide names of incarcerated people who have requested holiday cards, as well as donated greeting cards. They recommend that you write as much as you can - about anything. I once described the scenery on the drive I'd be taking to get home for the holidays, and I bet you anything the recipient read it ten times, because that's how much they crave contact. The nice thing about a program like this is it avoids that long-term commitment. I would love to see more of those crop up around the country.

A prison penpal will most likely, at some point, ask you for money. Financially supporting someone in prison is a lot - incarceration is disgustingly expensive - and you will have some complicated emotions about your level of comfort on the outside compared to theirs, what you're able to give, what you want to give, if you're being taken advantage of, etc. You have to set boundaries with them and yourself before you begin - decide on a number that you're willing to give, and stick to it.

You also have to set relationship boundaries, especially if you're a woman writing to a straight man. Again, these are socially deprived people. Not being allowed to interact with any women for years at a time does not cultivate appropriate behavior. They're lonely, and you will seem like the Only Woman In The World, and that tends to lead to some feelings that can be uncomfortable for the penpal.

You also have to think about your return address in terms of boundaries. Most people in prison will get out someday, and they will likely have very few connections or resources on the outside. Unless you're willing to have this person show up at your house asking for somewhere to live, you might need to go through a program that lets you use its address or get a PO box. You'll probably feel conflicted and gross about that, too, but again, supporting a whole grown person is probably more than you're looking to sign up for when you become a penpal.

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idk how long this will last, but every time it’s the 7th again, I remember that day and what it was like seeing those images in real time, but even more than that I remember all the mutuals on my dash, people I considered friends, celebrating it and being so excited about it. I remember the very first post I saw from a longtime mutual saying “glory to the resistance” and “death to the colonizers” before I even knew what was going on. I remember the mutual who said she hoped everyone who was posting that it was a tragedy would burn in hell. this was before we even knew the extent of the deaths or the atrocities carried out. I remember my staunch feminist anti-rape mutual laughing at the photo of Naama Levy. I remember the kind, thoughtful mutual posting that she hoped Israel was obliterated. every 7th it comes back to me, the terror of that, the hurt and shock of it so deep that I didn’t even cry until the next day. and then how I had to start blocking people, suddenly realizing they’d cheer if that was me, their friend, if I’d been in a different land. if that was my broken body in the back of a truck.

it was like being an episode of the Twilight Zone, where you think you’re surrounded by a compassionate and likeminded community only to have them rip their faces off and reveal an eldritch cruelty lurking beneath. to have people you loved chase you out of town with pitchforks alight. to suddenly understand our ancestors and some measure of their fear and sorrow as their neighbors violently turned on them too, for centuries.

it’s something I can’t shake and maybe I never will. not only the loss of comfort, but the surreality of that horror, the scales falling from my eyes as I truly saw the world.

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idk how long this will last, but every time it’s the 7th again, I remember that day and what it was like seeing those images in real time, but even more than that I remember all the mutuals on my dash, people I considered friends, celebrating it and being so excited about it. I remember the very first post I saw from a longtime mutual saying “glory to the resistance” and “death to the colonizers” before I even knew what was going on. I remember the mutual who said she hoped everyone who was posting that it was a tragedy would burn in hell. this was before we even knew the extent of the deaths or the atrocities carried out. I remember my staunch feminist anti-rape mutual laughing at the photo of Naama Levy. I remember the kind, thoughtful mutual posting that she hoped Israel was obliterated. every 7th it comes back to me, the terror of that, the hurt and shock of it so deep that I didn’t even cry until the next day. and then how I had to start blocking people, suddenly realizing they’d cheer if that was me, their friend, if I’d been in a different land. if that was my broken body in the back of a truck.

it was like being an episode of the Twilight Zone, where you think you’re surrounded by a compassionate and likeminded community only to have them rip their faces off and reveal an eldritch cruelty lurking beneath. to have people you loved chase you out of town with pitchforks alight. to suddenly understand our ancestors and some measure of their fear and sorrow as their neighbors violently turned on them too, for centuries.

it’s something I can’t shake and maybe I never will. not only the loss of comfort, but the surreality of that horror, the scales falling from my eyes as I truly saw the world.

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The best compliments and insults are both just describing the person. Just describe whatever you can clearly observe about them. The distinction of whether that's an insult or a compliment is whether you're saying it with a pleasant tone, or if you're saying that like it's a bad thing.

Children, who make their observations in an utterly deadpan voice as neutral remarks, are capable of obliviously roasting people because they haven't noticed this.

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i really wish the narrative was less "___ is bad because the nazis did it" and more "the nazis were bad because they did ___"

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can you talk about some small and big things that people can do to be better allies to Jews right now?

Thanks for asking! That alone puts you ahead of a lot of people who’ve gone quiet or gotten weird.

Small things:

Check in on your Jewish friends. Not to make it about you, not to ask them to explain things. Just a thinking of you or you crossed my mind and I hope you're hanging in.

If you're in progressive spaces, watch for the silencing. Are Jews being interrupted, sidelined, or interrogated more than others? Are Jewish speakers only invited when something antisemitic happens? Are they being required to perform the right sort of Jewishness or the right position on Israel's right to exist? Slap that shit down

Learn the basics of Jewish history outside of crisis. Jewishness is more than trauma. It's culture, language, ritual, music, food, texts. You can’t be an ally if all you see is a wound.

Medium things:

Push back when antisemitism shows up in your circles, even when it’s subtle, coded, or disguised with cause-language. You don't have to give a lecture. "Hey, that's not okay" or "That framing feels off" is much more than we're used to seeing. Ask if they'd say the same thing if a different tribal identity was involved. Underline the hypocrisy.

Don't use Jewish pain as a rhetorical prop. If you're quoting statistics about Jew hatred, make sure you're also listening to actual Jews.

Get comfortable holding space for complexity. If you care about human rights, you can care about Palestinians and Israelis without erasing either one.

Big things:

Make space for Jewish voices even when it's not convenient, appreciated, or applauded. Invite Jews into coalitions, panels, projects, not just as the antisemitism rep, and not just Jews who are willing to be tokens and condemn Israel's right to exist.

Show up when no one else is looking. That means speaking out before things get uglier. That means backing Jewish colleagues and classmates even when it's awkward and uncomfortable.

Let go of the idea that being a good ally means being perfect. A good ally is present, accountable, and willing to grow. (Seems like you're at least most of the way there, Anon.)

You don't need to do everything.

You just need to start somewhere and keep showing up.

Again, thanks for asking. I hope others will share their answers, too.

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They started negotiating to help the hostages?!?

Why would they show their ass like that? Just pretend you didn't know what hostages were! It's your only cover story!

Are we not going to talk about how it took the Red Cross 670 days to start negotiating helping the hostages???

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IT’S OFFICIAL!!!

I’m out of the mikveh with my hair now dry and my soul with its tribe!

I did end up crying a couple times but that’s no surprise for me lol. I feel like my emotions have been on a roller coaster today and it was a long commute to the mikveh so I’m ready to just chill out, but I never want to forget today! I started this conversion over four years ago and it has been so wonderful and worth it, and it was just the beginning of what I hope is a long journey of Jewish learning, community, spirituality, and LIFE!

One of the members of the court even said “It’s good to see you again! It’s been a long time since Sinai!” which I didn’t even start crying about until just now. He said it with humor but it was one of the most validating things I’ve heard since I started this process.

I also finally got to put on the necklace my friend sent as a gift for completing conversion. I’ll have to extend the chain because it’s more like a choker on me lol but I never want to take it off after that!

Hope everyone is safe and eats well! (I got myself celebratory ice cream after lol)

L’CHAIM!!!!!

I’M JEWISH, BABYYYYY!!!!!

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🥺🥹

IDK IF ITS BEEN DONE BEFORE BUT I JUST THOUGHT OF A DUMB JEWISH MEME ESPECIALLY FOR GERIM!!!!

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Haaretz hides abuse and starvation of 800 crocodiles at abandoned West Bank farm, doesn't mind animal death and cannibalism

I am so, so fucking tired of their clickbait.

First of all:

It was abandoned?

Someone abandoned at least 250 crocodiles?

Second of all:

There was a fucking crocodile farm in the West Bank?

What... the fuck??

Third:

"Didn't tell owner"

Bro. You JUST SAID it was abandoned. Where WAS the owner??

Fourth:

Israel may have buried those crocodiles, but Haaretz really buried the lede.

The article says there were MORE THAN 800 crocs at this farm, which had been closed for over twenty years.

The article -- because it's Haaretz, which has correctly discovered it can get FAR more attention through ragebait about Israel than through... any other topic on earth, really -- starts with a whole series of claims and accusations from the owner of the farm.

He says the place was home to 800 crocodiles, and that they were all killed. According to the Civil Administration, 262 crocodiles were put down, while the rest had died recently due to poor conditions at the farm.

The farm owner's statements are given equal or greater weight to the statements from the Israeli government, and both sides are just left there... with the farm owner's side both opening and closing the article.

It's framed to imply that the farm owner is probably telling the truth, basically. The problem is, both sides are making actual provable statements. And Haaretz doesn't ask for, much less offer, any proof.

The greater problem is, governments are bureaucracies, and bureaucracies have to create paper trails.

Which means the proof is right there for the asking - and Haaretz doesn't care.

It might or might not be possible to get the farm owner to prove that "nobody was ever scratched by these animals." Or that he "made sure it was fenced."

But he should be able to give SOME kind of proof that he made sure "the animals received proper treatment."

Haaretz should at LEAST be asking him, "What did they eat? How much space did they have to roam? Did a vet ever take care of them? Is there a way to contact that vet?"

Instead, the way it drops the bombshell that the other 538 crocodiles had recently died from their poor living conditions is by leaving the math to the reader, and immediately going back to the farm owner's story.

When the Israeli government says:

Veterinary reports stated that the animals were being kept in harsh conditions that amount to animal abuse, without adequate access to food, which drove them to cannibalistic behavior;

Fencing infrastructure had deteriorated and fallen into ruin;

It repeatedly paid several hundred thousand shekels to re-fence the farm;

This "resulted in a number of incidents when crocodiles escaped into nearby communities and nature reserves, posing an actual threat to life and limb."

The Civil Administration had contacted the farm owner about fencing and caring for the animals, but was answered with a lack of cooperation;

ALL of this is stuff it should easily be able to prove.

And if this is all true, it means that the farm owner ABUSED AND KILLED 538 CROCODILES THROUGH NEGLECT, and was in the process of killing 262 more.

Haaretz should have the veterinary reports. It should be checking the veterinary reports to see what condition the other 262 crocodiles were in.

Because if this many of them died and the living ones were eating their bodies, which is what is implied here, it's very likely the living ones were in BAD condition.

Haaretz should be asking whether they were put down because they couldn't be saved, or what.

Especially since, in lieu of doing this research, it's just sort of relying on the reader assuming that everyone in any part of the Israeli government is just brutal killers. Which is incredibly sloppy and irresponsible "journalism."

It should ask for the attempts to contact the owner, and the response from him.

It should ask to see the contracts for re-fencing.

It should be asking for a LOT more detail about the CANNIBALISTIC CROCODILES ROAMING LOCAL COMMUNITIES?

Ngl, if anything might beat outrage porn clickbait, that would be it. PLEASE dish about how many times crocodiles escaped into nearby communities or nature reserves, and what happened next.

At least it would take my mind off how they were being treated.

The thing that makes me the angriest, the reason I'm posting this, is really that first bullet point.

HAARETZ WAS TOLD THAT 800 CROCODILES WERE BEING ABUSED UNDER HARSH CONDITIONS. STARVED INTO CANNIBALISTIC BEHAVIOR. AND THAT ⅔ OF THEM HAD ALREADY DIED.

And its response was not to see if the veterinary report said the other crocodiles were in such bad condition that they needed to be put down, for instance. Its response was not to condemn animal cruelty.

Its response was not even to address the fascinating image of how there was a sort of crocodile zoo in the West Bank; what it was like before it closed; and/or how the local fauna dealt with suddenly meeting wandering crocodiles.

It responded only by lowkey condemning Israel for putting down the remaining crocs, wIThout eVEN tellINg ThE abseNTEe oWnER nEgLEctiNG thEm!

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The best compliments and insults are both just describing the person. Just describe whatever you can clearly observe about them. The distinction of whether that's an insult or a compliment is whether you're saying it with a pleasant tone, or if you're saying that like it's a bad thing.

Children, who make their observations in an utterly deadpan voice as neutral remarks, are capable of obliviously roasting people because they haven't noticed this.

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