lovewritteninthestrands

[lovewritteninthestrands]

observation: among a certain subset of tumblr users, the term “blorbo” has become unchic, but the concept it describes is still important; and so it has been replaced with “The Character”

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making a collection

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penny polendina if rwby’s writers and character designers weren’t majorly slacking with her >:(

done for the lovely @lark-lomond. read her amazing “penny lives” fic, refusing to starve, here! (make sure to read the tags because there is a majorly toxic yuri subplot lol)

[lovewritteninthestrands]

I am once again asking...

...that you read the book Freedom Farmers, by Monica M. White, about the history and ethos of agriculture as a form of resistance in the black community, from the first slave gardens in the south, up through the the work of George Washington Carver and the early days of the Tuskegee Institute, through the collective farming and ownership efforts of organizations like the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and individuals like Fannie Lou Hamer, to modern community farming efforts in Detroit.

I've been mildly obsessed with this book for years now and have reread it several times, but I started another read through yesterday after an unexpected conversation in a train station. I met a man from Kenya who has lived in the US since 1990, and we got to talking about the state of the country. He told me that when he was growing up, every time there was a transfer of power it felt like everything was reset. Like every system, ever piece of infrastructure, had to be built again from the ground up. That you had to spend years working to make sure you could get clean water to come out of a tap, and then power would change hands once again, and it would all fall down. He talked about how amazing it's been to live in a country where that transfer of power is almost mechanistic, that it may change policy at a high level, but that it never stops the water from coming out of the faucet, and what an incredible privilege that is. And he told me that this is the first time since he got here, that he's not sure how much longer he can trust that water.

It's one thing to know, academically, that your life and livelihood is supported by countless unseen systems, and that you are incredibly lucky to be able to so blindly rely on things like clean water and consistent power and safe food in the grocery store. It's another to hear someone who's lived somewhere without that tell you they see it's downfall on the horizon. I haven't stopped thinking about that conversation, and I don't want to. After a while of mulling it over, I started reading this book again, because it feels so god damned relevant.

We all process what we hear and read and learn through the filter of our own lived experience, so please be gracious when I say that while reading through this book I can't help but apply many of it's concepts to the trans community, and the lessons we should take from it. This book is not a guide on how to start a tranny commune, and it would be offensive to treat it as such. But, while it is a historical account of black experience and black resistance and how agriculture can be interwoven with those concepts, it is still also an education in how an oppressed people can find power by taking control of the most fundamental aspects of their lives not as individuals, but as a community.

So, it is worth reading twofold. Reason one is that it shines a light on a part of black history, or more specifically on a history of a part of the black community, that is often overlooked and left out of the conversation. Education on the post-reconstruction era and the civil rights movement has a tendency to leave out rural black communities and the ways they both resisted against oppression and supported civil rights, even while sometimes being left behind by the larger movement. Education on the contributions of black scientists and teachers to the development of new agricultural practices and food staples in the south and more generally across the country, and the way rural black communities compensated for how the government left them behind. In a demonstration of my personal ignorance, while I knew George Washington Carver was much more then the peanut butter guy the american education system portrays him as, I was blindsided by the extent of his accomplishments, both as a brilliant scientist and as a public servant and practical science communicator. The fact that I, as someone who has spent most of my life embroiled in independent agriculture advocacy and food justice, and who thought of myself as very well educated on the subject, was unaware of so much of what this book covers, was actually deeply infuriating, and has caused me to re-frame much of how I think and talk about the subject. It is an education well worth receiving.

The second reason it's worth reading is what we can take from it, the lessons that can be learned from all the various acts, organizations, and movements of resistance that it covers. The value in building networks of support outside the system. The value in building community security from the literal ground up, with food security as a core tenet. The value in communal independence from the system of oppression, and how that translates into the foundation of a broader movement.

I'm a white girl from a mostly white small town in the pacific northwest. I can't personally speak to the experience of anyone this book discusses, and I'm stuck straining it all through a heavy filter of my limited experience. But I feel pretty confident in saying that, for anyone interested in community building, in learning more about overlooked black history, in small-scale agriculture, in sharing food as a form of praxis, or in fortifying your community against whatever is to come in the next few years, this is worth reading.

I found this book because my local book store had a little corner of their agriculture/gardening/cookbooks section labeled "Food Justice". It's a term i was familiar with, and when i thought of it, my first thought was always "Food Deserts", places where disadvantaged communities, often black communities specifically, lacked access to healthy food because, for systemic reasons, no grocery stores existed there. The first book i opened was written by a white woman, and was about her hobby farm. The next book by a white man, about his restaurant. I ended up taking every book down off that shelf one by one, and slowly realized that not a single voice represented there was black. I went home and looked up books on food justice by black authors, and this was one of the only results I found. I'm glad I did, I think it's one of the most important books I've read. But near the beginning of the book, Professor White points out that when you see news stories about the gardeners and farmers and grocers who are "saving Detroit", a city that is 77% black, the faces in those stories are white. Given how I found this book, it struck a cord, and it's stayed with me ever since.

So, yeah. If these topics interest you, if they're at all relevant to your life, please give it a read. And if anyone else has read it and wants to support (or critique) my recommendation here, please comment with it. I'd love to hear more analysis of this book, especially from people better educated on these topics, or with more relevant life experience then me.

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Gaza is starving and Marah and her family suffer! Please help them continue to survive through this horrific livestreamed genocide. Marah and Mahmoud are feeling the pressure of bearing responsibility for keeping their family fed and optimistic, but there is so little food left in Gaza, and a bag of flour costs hundreds of US dollars.

I am hosting this campaign!! Thank you and love u :)

@mahrahpalestine @freepaleatine955 for vetting proof !!

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object of affection

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Please help my friends Marah and Mahmoud and their lovely family! They are starving and desperately in need of help!

I am hosting this campaign !! The money you have all helped raise for this family has kept them alive through this nightmare - please continue to share and donate if you can!

@mahrahpalestine@palestinian95 this campaign is vetted, please check marah's blog(s) out!

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i know we joke about cis artists having the weirdest sense of anatomy, but also even when the anatomy is fine, no one seems to want to draw women doing normal things

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This is John Cusack, one of the famous people who not only consistently defended Gaza, but also put his money where his mouth was and donated to the children and civilians of Gaza. John donated and helped raise funds to save children at risk and their lives filled with hunger, death, and siege, which require treatment.

You can donate here. Let's join hands to bring peace. Gaza, which has endured more than 77 years of brutal occupation, deliberate killings, and the imprisonment of innocent Palestinians, could not bear all of this. He felt for us from the bottom of his heart, but Palestine and Gaza will remain steadfast because of you who donate and share. Thank you to all those who participated, and thank you to the Tumblr users. Donate and do not hesitate🍂

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I had another hunger attack tonight. Suddenly, you feel as if your stomach wall is stuck together, and you feel a bitter taste in your throat as if the stomach acid has reached your mouth. You'll start to get a severe headache or a feeling of emptiness surrounding your brain.

I don't know how to describe it... When you try to stand up, you feel dizzy and unsteady. You quickly try to support yourself with something and close your eyes for a while, and the blood then tries to reach your brain again.

You have some time to go out and look for anything, no matter how simple, to put in your body and reach your stomach, so that the body is given a temporary and false indication that your body has started eating, thus breaking the hunger attack for a while and you remain waiting for the next hunger attack.

Some people manage to overcome this, falling on the streets or in their tents.

Over time, our bodies begin to digest themselves, and muscle mass disappears, leaving us severely emaciated.

Donate here 👈

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When gas disappears… we invent fire.

In Gaza, where war stole everything from us — even our gas cylinders — we refused to freeze or give up.

With nothing but scrap metal, old car oil, and computer fans, people here built handmade burners to cook, boil water, and survive.

We turned trash into life. We turned despair into invention. This is how we fight for existence every single day.

We don't just survive — we create.🔥🛠️💔

Reblog. Raise awareness. Let the world see our resilience.

As for me… I’m Kareman, a mother in Gaza.

I’m doing my best to protect and care for my son, Hammoud, in the middle of this war.

Thanks to a kind friend’s donation, I was able to bring a little light into my child’s life — food, warmth, and a smile.

The photo below is my son smiling next to the food we managed to buy.

That smile is a rare treasure in the middle of fear, displacement, and hunger.😭🫶❤️

If you’re reading this, please… don’t let this be the last smile I see on his face.🙏

Support us — donation link is in my bio.

My campaing vetted by/ @90-ghost here

@gaza-evacuation-funds here (6)

Donate here

Or through PayPal

Your kindness makes hope possible.

From a mother who is still trying

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Save our life !!❤️🥹

Hello again, I am Ahmed Mazen Hammad from Gaza, I live in war, fear and destruction, we have been living for almost a year now and we do not know how long, we have been displaced from our home more than 9 times,

every time I was displaced to another place I prayed that this would be the last, but then came the idea of ​​​​forced exit to search for safety where there is no safety, we got very tired and our bodies were exhausted, we no longer had the energy to continue, we lived hunger, thirst, cold and all the difficult conditions that humans cannot imagine,

We never imagined that a day would come when we would live all this, I lost my family and my childhood home, even my friends are no longer around, I was left alone!! I search for salvation from death, I fear death and I fear it and I fear losing my father, the idea is terrifying to leave your dreams and ambitions and the life you planned and depart from this world, we do not deny death but we do not want to live it now,

I had a beautiful life, suddenly I do not know how I lost my life, we live in a tent that can only accommodate 3 people, made of nylon that no human can bear, just standing in it for more than two minutes during the day is enough to melt you, in addition to insects, diseases and lack of privacy, imagine all this!! Can you live??

In addition, my father has a very serious illness, he had a stroke, liver disease and other things that I lost, and I also lost my mother a month ago. My father needs care due to chronic diseases and lack of treatment, and his condition is getting worse, and I am the only one who takes care of her, so I am really afraid of losing and I do not want to lose, because I lost a big part of my family, my home, my work and my entire previous life.

Look at my father 💔 Our life is very painful I fear losing my father and living alone

Things here are more difficult than you imagined, reality is painful 💔

We wake up every day to the smell of death, I have been surrounded by tanks and helicopters more than 4 times, each time I do not know how to survive? It seems that my death has not come yet

I do not want to die!! 🥺

Please help me save my life and get out of here, life is impossible

Your donation will save my life, it is the only way, hand in hand we can achieve the goal please

My father faced death and surgeries because of the diseases he committed. Please I cannot live without my father. He has been my refuge after the death of my mother. Please donate to me so that I can provide for my father’s needs so that he can stay by my side.🙏🏻

You will not be the reason for my father's death or anything bad to happen. Please donate to save my father. If every person who donates will help me provide for my father's needs and provide him with the necessary medicine.

Share my campaign 🙏

Donate to me please 🍉

Thank you all 🍉🇵🇸

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Hi all! Recently, Marah @mahrahpalestine has not only had her previous blog terminated, but her family has been unable to transfer money from GFM. This has been happening with quite a few Palestinian campaigns lately. I will now be hosting their family's campaign on Chuffed, which is openly pro-Palestine!

Please support this campaign! Thank you!!

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Now joy is spreading among the Palestinian people and everyone is happy about this. A prisoner exchange deal will be announced and the war will stop.

[lovewritteninthestrands]

A few moments ago, gofundme deleted our donation campaign, from which transfers had been previously stopped. Unfortunately, a few moments ago, the news came to me like a thunderbolt, as there were approximately 35,000 euros on it. Unfortunately, they were deleted. I had built great hope on them so that I could continue to live, me and my family, but in the end, they were deleted. I am really very, very, very sad and tired. All my effort that I suffered for a while has gone. I launched another campaign to collect donations for me and my family, and we collected approximately 32,000, but donations have decreased very significantly in the recent period, and I do not know the reason. Today, I am here to ask you to support me in my ordeal. This matter is really very, very difficult, so do not leave me alone. Your support for me makes it much easier, so please donate to me here.

Everyone who donated to my old campaign will receive their donation within 3 to 7 days, so if you donated to our old campaign, please donate to this campaign. Here is the link.

This is the donation link to our new campaign. Every bit of help means a lot to me. Let's make up for our loss, please.

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My Journey Escaping the War in Gaza

My name is Musab. I never imagined I’d be sharing my story like this, but life in Gaza has become unbearable. I’m one of the survivors of the war here, and in a moment, I lost everything — my home, my safety, and my community. 🏚️💔

I’m a father to three young daughters: twin girls, Alaa and Lama, who are 4 years old, and my eldest, Lina, who is 6. 👧👧👧 Lama had to undergo surgery after being injured in an airstrike — she now has metal plates in her arm. We don't even have bread to eat, and when we do find it, the prices are impossibly high. 🍞❌💸

The war has turned Gaza into rubble. Everything is destroyed. No safety. No stability. No hope. 🕊️💣🏚️ Food and clean water have become luxuries. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and medicine is nearly nonexistent. 🚫💊🚑

I am also injured — my shoulder was severely damaged, and I had surgery, but I still need a second operation. The pain is constant, but the greatest pain is seeing my children hungry and afraid. 🤕❤️‍🩹😢

Escaping Gaza is my only hope, but I can’t do it alone. The cost of evacuation is overwhelming, and I simply can’t afford it. I write to you now with hope that my words will reach a compassionate heart. 🙏🌍

I’m not asking for much — just a chance at life for me and my children. A chance to escape fear and destruction, and to begin again in a safe place. Every donation, no matter how small, can make a huge difference. And if you can’t donate, please share my story. It may reach someone who can help. 🕊️💖📢

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Verified by: @gazavetters #520

Donate here:

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Today I want to thank each and everyone who is donating, supporting, reblogging, reposting, boosting and contributing to the wellbeing of lgbtiq folks who are stuck in the refugee camp right now. You are literally saving innocent souls from suffering and starving 🙏🏾🙏🏾

It is very difficult to be a queer refugee and living in a refugee camp at the moment. There is no food, nor water. Services like healthcare and medical assistance have been suspended. For people living with HIV, it is a catastrophe!

We Need more voices out there to try and alter these series of unfortunate events and unimaginable dire situation 😞😔🥺

A Special thanks to everyone who is doing everything you can to assist and support us.

Please we still urgently requesting more of your support and donation to assist us during this horrific situation as we're in another battle of unfolding a fight for survival in the face of dwindling food rations , chronic water shortages and deteriorating living conditions in the refugee camp 😔😞😔has the world has turned a blind eye and now the lgbtiq refugees are in critical crisis condition as for too long the suffering of certain group especially lgbtiq folks was dismissed by those who believed their struggles were exaggerated 😔😞😞

As the sun sets over the dusty kakuma refugee camp , the chants continue , the people of kakuma have now spoken as the world must decide wether to listen .

This story captures the urgency and gravity of the situation while highlighting how starvation has become a universal crisis affecting not only lgbtiq individuals but all refugees in East Africa Refugee Camps due to cut off funds from USAID and WFP 😞😔

Please try to consider our situation as lgbtiq refugees and spare anything even if it's little to take part inorder to save innocent brave lgbtiq souls suffering and stucked in East Africa Refugee Camps 🙏🏾🙏🏾 just know that your donation is worthy however much it's little it can make asense and areal impact on lives of starving lgbtiq folks 🙏🏾🙏🏾

#The Aluta continue

https://gofund.me/6930e2d7

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