#I don't trust those who ask to donate a minor

[oxxjustfrankieandmikuloverxxo]

Hello everyone, I am Fatuma Ali from Gaza. I am here to request for your support to help get my insulin, just an injection for today to save my life please I beg. I was diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes and due to current situation in Gaza I'm unable to get my insulin injection as a result I'm here begging for little financial support to help me purchase insulin for this week. My donation link is attached in the pinned post, I might have sent this ask to you earlier but kindly consider donating and sharing. This is the only option I have at the moment to save my life from going to coma.

[missvioletvillainess]

🇵🇸 Can we talk about the fact that I keep getting asked out by hot dykes at Pro-Palestine protests and it's so affirming and wholesome?? 🇵🇸

Because there's no queer liberation without the liberation of Palestinians. Because there's no freedom from oppression until Palestinians are free from Israeli occupation and if you're actively involved in that, I know you're a safe space. If I see you can create an ounce of discomfort in your life and disrupt it to one small degree to try and create comfort for those less privileged, I know you're someone I can trust.

I need to know you care about making change. I need to know you care not in an abstract, intangible way, but in a very real, disrupting your work schedule, cutting off friends, risking opportunities, put-your-ass-on-the-line, kind of way. If you care about change,you have to be actively involved, talking about it is not enough, it's never enough. It's easy to be woke and speak out about social issues until you actually have to be inconvenienced, unsafe or economically disadvantaged for doing so. Then it's hard. Thats why so many people agree with these political views but so few actually take out the time to get involved. Trust me, I know exactly how hard it is. I did it when I had no job, no home, no visa; I did it when I was triggered, when I was unsafe, when I was overworked and overwhelmed. I have been doing it since the bombing started, and I do it consistently every week.

Personally, I don't think I could be with a partner who isn't involved in activism to some degree. It's been a part of my life for years, and I've only been more radicalised as time goes on. I'm attending 2-3 Pro-Palestine events every week, I can't date you if you have a 🇵🇸 in your bio and that's the full extent of your contribution to the cause. Thank you, but no thank you, I'm going to move on. Palestine isn't the latest war or invasion or conflict, it isn't a sad tragic story for people to donate to out of sympathy, it is a systematic ethnic cleansing and a televised genocide. I don't have capacity to deal with someone who is lukewarm about this.

More importantly, I don't have capacity to to deal with someone who talks about social issues but isn't prepared to disrupt their lives to even a small, inconsequential degree to fight for a cause they believe in. You doesn't have to just support Palestine, you could be supporting Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Congo. You could be supporting ethnic minorities in your community, you could be supporting refugees, abuse survivors, homeless people, trans people, anyone at all, but if you don't show up and get involved in the cause you believe in, if you don't put in the work, if you don't put in the effort; if you can't attend protests, demonstrations, teach ins, seminars, charity events; if you're not fundraising, boycotting, spreading awareness; if you can't give something of yourself to the community you want to support, I really don't know if I can be romantically involved with you.

That's why I think people at the protests have such a strong tight knit community, and that's why some people actually find safety and security in the people they meet and that's why they might want to pursue something romantic with the people they feel comfortable exploring with. It's hard showing up when you're overwhelmed and you're going to be late to work the next day. It's hard showing up when you have to miss your iftars, your hang outs, your social gatherings. It's hard showing up when you're broke and stressed, and it's hard showing up when you're late on assignments and meetings with your supervisor. It's hard as fuck, honestly. But if I see you're doing that, I know I can trust you to a certain degree, at least. I know you have your priorities straight, I know where your morals are aligned, I know where you're going to put your energy, and I want to be part of that.

Lets go to protests together, lets make banners together, lets attend fundraisers and political teach in sessions, let's have a date at an occupied space (actually did that last week) Lets romanticise the activism we do, because it's fucking powerful and we should celebrate it.

The sexiest thing a sapphic can do is be an activist, fucking fight me.

If you're not Pro Palestine, please unfollow. Or let me know, so I can block you. Kthanksbye.

🇵🇸 Dykes for Palestine

[destinyc1020]

Also, I forgot to add to that long rant vent, but Tom is in Boston rn with Z as she's filming the drama and some fans get mad at him being there, but that's also a sacrifice most male actors who are in demand wouldn't do that. If he was like most, he'd be filming a project rn or isolating himself to prep for Nolan.

Z and Rob have been filming in Boston, and literally yesterday, Tom was at Boston College writing a donation check through the brothers' trust to their disabled students department. It hurts not to be so parasocial, but when I see him do generous acts like these, it warms my heart, and I get so confused sometimes cause those fans see him as a villain.

Z also came to support him in his play, and fans forget that also, like she's not in demand. Most actors wouldn't do that.

Not shaming those who do, but relationships take a lot of time and at times sacrifice, especially when you are in demand careerwise and they do it gracefully. It's not easy. That's why most male actors have flings or unserious relationships, like Leo lol.

Okay end of rant,

✌🏾💓

Also, I forgot to add to that long rant vent, but Tom is in Boston rn with Z as she's filming the drama and some fans get mad at him being there,

Giiiiirrrrrl anybody who's actually mad that a man is going to support his fiancée gf while filming her work while he's free from work himself has some real issues that they need to work out lol. 😅

Like why on earth is what someone is doing in their OWN relationship bothering you so much? 🥴 Go worry about your own life and relationship!

Maybe Zendaya asked him to be there with her? It's pretty clear that they move in tandem with each other these days, and maybe they've realized that this works for them so that they don't go through another breakup. Like you said, dating an actor is tough work. It's a lot. Not everyone can be successful with it because it's challenging. That's why the Hollywood couple success rate is so LOW.

but that's also a sacrifice most male actors who are in demand wouldn't do that. If he was like most, he'd be filming a project rn or isolating himself to prep for Nolan.

Yea, it's definitely a sacrifice!

Idk if I'd say that "most male actors" wouldn't do this. I've known of other male actors who visit their gfs on location.

Keep in mind too though that Tom and Z are in more of a position to do stuff like this now because of the years of being on Disney and Marvel's payroll. In the beginning stages of their relationship they weren't spending weeks with each other on set either coz they were both hustling and busy. They made time for each other on set, but it wasn't months.

You don't remember all the times we would know when Tom was leaving LA to go back home? Yea, Tom would visit Z's sets from time to time, but they weren't spending months.

Their relationship has changed.

Z and Rob have been filming in Boston, and literally yesterday, Tom was at Boston College writing a donation check through the brothers' trust to their disabled students department. It hurts not to be so parasocial, but when I see him do generous acts like these, it warms my heart, and I get so confused sometimes cause those fans see him as a villain.

That was so sweet!!! 🥰

I agree with you, it's very frustrating seeing people hating on Tom when he's such a sweet guy and a good person 😔, but unfortunately that's what comes with massive (or even slight) fame. I've come to accept that not everyone is going to like my faves, and that's OKAY! The fandom isn't for people like them anyway. We don't want any haters in Tom's fandom in the first place! 😅

I personally haven't been on-line much, so I haven't seen backlash about Tom being in this Nolan film. I've mainly been seeing nothing but great stuff! 😃 Even on Twitter I see most people being EXCITED! 😁

I don't care about what naysayers say. I really don't. Most of them are the minority anyway. Why pay attention to a small vocal minority in the first place?

Not shaming those who do, but relationships take a lot of time and at times sacrifice, especially when you are in demand careerwise and they do it gracefully. It's not easy. That's why most male actors have flings or unserious relationships, like Leo lol.

Yea, like I said, it's not easy! It's not easy dating even out here for us regular folks. 😒

Also, if male actors or Leo want to have flings or unserious relationships due to work obligations, then that's fine?? 🤷🏾‍♀️ What people choose to do in their own romantic life isn't my business. I don't really care. All I care about is if you're a good actor and I like you as a person. How you spend your personal time with your significant other is your business lol. 😆

Keep in mind too that a lot of these women they're dating know the deal and are fine with it. They just want a handsome man on their arms while they either build their own careers or get money or gifts out of the relationship. Not every woman out here is looking for marriage, a white picket fence, and 2.5 kids lol 😆

Some women are just out here having fun dating these famous handsome guys, and that's okay too! 😄🤷🏾‍♀️

[2346khith]

Verry importantly pleas lisent to me .I am nurse Reham from Gaza 🍉. Help us by participating. I do charitable work in light of the genocide, in addition to children and reviewing their minor wounds. Try to re-share me on your page so you can collect donations and get out of the war. You are our hope. Kika is very grateful to you. I lost my brother and I do not want to lose anyone else in the legal situation. I also lost some of my colleagues and friends. I live in a state of depression, which made us live inside a small tent under the shadow of hostility and suffering that I am in now. please Donate 10$\ 20$ enough the change my life Please it will save my family from death❤️🙏🏼🇵🇸 Verified by : @90-ghost @soon-palestine https://gofund.me/a08653d7

For those who see this please, visit their blog and reblog their blog’s posts so they  get more attention and if you have the money to spare please donate.

Also I apologize, but I do not have the ability to donate to you. Trust me if I had the ability I would but I don't and I can't. I have no bank account or credit card to transfer money to and no job to gain any money. Every time I ask my parents to help they shut me down so this is the only way to help you. Please forgive me.

[littlejowo]

Won't Get Along List (not exactly a DNI list, just people I'll usually block, people who probably won't enjoy my account, etc)

Will block on-sight:

Bigots of any kind

Harmful paraphiles and their supporters/allies (namely the "big 3")

"AAMs," pedo-bait accounts, minors who post or interact with nsfw, "icky kiddo" accounts, etc

Proana, thinspo, beanblr, cutblr, obsceneblr or any other self-harm, gore, and/or eating disorder blogs

ANY KIND of queer exclusionist

People who won't use people's neopronouns or their it/its pronouns

Right-wingers, centrists, libertarians, etc

Anyone who identifies with or supports transrace, transplural, transabled, etc (BIID IS NOT THE SAME)

"Radqueers" (NOT THE SAME AS RADINCLUS; Radqueers believe things like pedophilia and cultural appropriation are queer. Radinclus welcome, NOT radqueer)

Sysmeds and "endo-neutrals"

Aggressive anti-ship people

Pro-cop, ALM, etc

Supporters/Deniers of the genocide of Palestinians

People who use the genocide in Palestine as an excuse to be antisemitic (a government is not its people. Do NOT harm Jewish people based on the actions of the IDF)

Art reposters/thieves, tracers, etc. (even if you credit the art, if you repost without PERMISSION from the artists I hate you personally)

Poppyblr (and any variants of this) and its supporters

People who support/create sexual RPF of minors, or RPF of adults who have NOT given clear consent

People who create and/or support NFTs, cryptocurrency, or generative-AI content (art, writing, voice, ANY gen-ai. THIS INCLUDES CHARACTER.AI AND SIMILAR CHAT BOT USERS)

You use slurs against others without their consent, even if you can reclaim it yourself

You probably won't like me if the below applies to you, but you can still interact at your discretion. I will take no issue with you personally

MCYT fans (extreme fans, stans, etc will likely be blocked though)

You run a "(media) critical" blog or frequently post things related to that

You identify as anti-ship or are generally uncomfortable with dark themes/ships/etc in fiction

Christian or Catholic

You use the tme/tma labels (A LOT of false assumptions come with those labels, which often exclude intersex, nonbinary, and GNC people from the discussion, and don't take intersectionality into account)

You participate in discourse frequently via reblogs/posts

You have BIID (I support you, but if you identify as transabled, you may not be comfortable here)

You are against the informed use of any drug or other substance, whether medical or recreational

You are against the personal reclamation of any slur

RPF enjoyers/creators

You (as a stranger) ask for donations towards any issue from me and have NOT been vetted by someone I trust, or otherwise request money from me if we aren't friends/mutuals

[mywitchcultblr]

PSA for all new users

Alright so i saw some new users who came from Twitter, Instagram and TikTok and they post as if Tumblr is the same with those platform. No, buddy hey hey my brother in Akatosh, this platform is quite different than Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

New account? You can't just post an edited picture of your number #234 lunch and expected to get a lot of likes like in Instagram. Unless you already a part of a niche/fandom and has following, trust me... Nobody will care ( or very little )

GET INTO A NICHE/FANDOM, Tumblr is a very fandom dominated platform and it's less general like Twitter or Instagram, get yourself into a group or two, maybe you can make your blog about LGBT issues? Dragon Age? TES? Fallout?

Once you get following on those niches and establish yourself, you can expand to other niches and groups ( this is just advice if you want to get optimum following and exposure, you can reblog or post anything )

Likes is very nice, but reblog have a greater impact on a post. From my observation, per 1 reblog there will be 4 more notes from that reblog

IF YOU ARE A NEW ACCOUNT please please put some effort on your blog aesthetic and don't use the default profile picture or people will think you are a bot

I SWEAR TO GOD, please don't type like this: S3X or D34TH or K1LL ( unless you are in Homestuck fandom ) typing like that on unironic post will make it harder for people to read and understand what you meant to say, especially if they already have difficulty reading context or they have dyslexia. I'm not sure how other autistic people feels, but I'm autistic and the 'S3X D34TH' kind of post gives me a headache.

THIS IS NOT TWITTER OR TIKTOK nobody will ban you or temporary ban you for saying 'MOTHER FUCKING CUNT FUCKING DIE' or 'FUCKING DIPSHIT' so you don't have to censor yourself, instead of typing D34ATH, if you are really uncomfortable with the subject, it'll be better for you to censor it like this: D*ath

Don't get discouraged if your post get 10 notes or something like that, Tumblr has a much smaller user base than other platforms ( and it's kinda dying ) also everyone have their own niche/fandom

Tumblr is more like a personal public diary to post your unhinged thoughts or hanging out with fandoms, not a place to be an influencer or whatever. You wouldn't get a brand deal for being famous on Tumblr *laugh* also, people wouldn't care if you make an advertisement post promoting huge brands like Hello fresh or whatever ( in fact, it's more likely that you'll lose followers)

Post about brand or business that most Tumblr users like? Post promoting cute stuff like plushies, keychain and sticker ( Tumblr also more friendly to small or indie business, Tumblr really don't like huge shitty companies, if coca cola try to promote something here they'll get clowned) Tumblr users also likes LGBT/POC/minorities owned business

Be careful with blogs asking for donations, sadly, a lot of them are scammers ( not all of them, but you know *shrug* ). Please check the blog throughly and DM the OP if you want to donate.

New blog? Don't left your blog empty or with barely any post. Reblog a lot of stuff so people wouldn't think you are a bot

Don't use the same posting style like on Instagram and Twitter, don't use a lot of dots for a long post, use read more.

Don't put tags on your post, put them on the appropriate place! This is not Instagram, writing the list of tags wouldn't do anything

Lastly, if you are a conservative blog, you are more likely to get your blog pixelated LMAO

[trutimeline]

idislikecispeople, The Most Infamous Dyscourse Blogger: Part 1.0, Rumors

idislikecispeople, also known as many names throughout her time on Tumblr (such as Adele, Kat, Mami, Samantha and Sayaka), was a former Tumblr blogger who became infamous for coining the term "tucute", among many other controversial things she has posted on her blogs. This was supposed to be one, very long masterpost about her, but Tumblr's post editor is a bitch and won't let me do that.

In this post, I'll be debunking or confirming rumors commonly spread about idislikecispeople. The rest of my posts about her will each be dedicated to a specific controversial belief she held or situations she got into. For simplicity's sake, I'll be referring to idislikecispeople as Kat for the rest of this post and future ones.

Rumors

Kat Coined the Terms "Truscum" and "Tucute"

Verdict: Partially True

Kat coined the term tucute, but she did not coin the terms truscum or transmedicalist.

Here's a screenshot of Kat's original definition of a tucute:

Transcript:

What is Tucute?

What does tucute mean?

Tucute is basically just the opposite of truscum, it’s a term and community for trans, nonbinary, and/or non-cis individuals created to separate anti-truscum from truscum and to serve as a safe place from truscum and from cis people, where they believe that being trans requires dysphoria, we do not,where they think that being trans is a medical condition, we do not,and where they deny numerous gender identities on the basis that it “discredits the trans community” we do not.

What are the prerequisites to be a part of the tucute community?

You have to be trans, nonbinary, and/or non-cis in general

You have to accept all pronouns and gender identities

You haveto believe that dysphoria is not necessary to be trans

You have to dislike truscum

You cannot side with truscum or believe in their ideology

You cannot misgender anyone no matter how mad they make you

You cannot be an ableist whatsoever

Did you invent the tucute community? Why?

I indeed did coin the tucute term and community and anyone who says otherwise are creeps who are trying to steal it from me and redefine it for their own nefarious doings. I started this community so anti-truscum could separate themselves from truscum and cis people who are a part of the truscum community, it serves as a safe space from both truscum and cis people.

I’m cis, can I be tucute if I believe in your movement and want to help?

No, you can’t be tucute if you’re cis, you can only be a tucute ally, and you need to be sure to never speak for or over a trans person.

I see a lot of tucuties being just as harmful as truscum, what will you do about it?

There isn’t much I can do to them other than ask them to stop aligning with the tucute community, and of course, that doesn’t mean they will. Also be noted that truscum and cis people will pretend to be tucute just to tarnish the name of the tucute community, so tread lightly, you might be talking to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Spread the word, use the tag #tucute and join the army today!

[A digital drawing of Sayaka Miki from Puella Magi Madoka Magica in her magical girl form, with a banner underneath her reading "Tucute 4 U!"]

(source) (source)

Kat Was a Cisgender Woman Who Lied About Being a Transgender Woman

Verdict: False

This rumor primarily comes from a post on Kat's oldest known Tumblr blog, chromaghost, where she claims that she wasn't MTF and only tagged a selfie as such because she thought that transgender people were "cool".

Transcript:

Anonymous asked: are you a mtf? i seen it tagged on one of your photos.

No lol. I wanted to post it to the tag because transgender people are cool :3

(source) (source) (source)

However, Kat addressed this post and made it clear she very much was a transgender woman multiple times on her later blogs. This claim can also be confirmed with nude photos Kat posted online, which I don't feel comfortable spreading, so you'll just have to trust me on that one. I also don't feel comfortable directly encouraging you to go and dig up those nudes, as most of her nude photos were either taken when she was a minor, spread without her consent and/or were uploaded because people pressured her into posting nudes to "prove" she was a transgender woman.

Transcript:

Anonymous asked: you bound with ace bandage in one of your selfies. i don't know what to think about you anymore. according to some people you're a 27 year old cis woman scamming us, but you say you're a 22 year old trans woman. i want to trust you but i don't know if i can. i'm sorry.

Rest assured I’m not 27 years old lol. What you’re referring to is a less than graceful ~art piece~ we did (”Playing a Boy” or something) on deviantART when we were 16/17 (?) and really ill-informed. I ask you to not take that as how I stand currently – as I have learned so much more since, and I have a penis and I was designated male at birth because of it (feel free to purchase a passcode to our nsfw blog to see for yourself). At the time we were developing breast tissue but still had to appear as a ‘boy.’ Don’t bind with Ace bandages, kids, it can damage your rib cage, something we didn’t know at the time.

(source) (source)

Transcript:

[A picture of two prescriptions, estradiol and spironolactone, both prescribed to Adele Sheffield.]

grandtran still gonna think I photoshopped it or what

(source)

Transcript:

Anonymous asked: In other words, you aren't gonna cough up the pics because you know you can't fake that shit because you're actually cis. Cool. BTW why do you keep changing your story about the blog, and if the blog was run by you when you were in denial about being trans because of self hate, why were the pics tagged mtf and you were constantly saying trans people were cool?

Yeah I’m not gonna do something for y’all and get nothing in return except more doubt from you, you see how one sided that kind of request is? Also its technically considered sexual harassment, just because its on the internet, you’re a coward (whats your username btw?), and you think I’m cis and you want me to prove time and time again to you that I’m dmab doesn’t justify sexually soliciting someone when they’re not comfortable in being solicited – for free no less.

At first I genuinely had no memory of that blog, it was only active for all of 2 months and for some reason I moved onto a new email and new tumblr, and I haven’t the foggiest why. As for the whole “me claiming to not be ~mtf~” I don’t have any memories from that time, I can only assume it was a lot of dysphoria fueled self-hatred and wanting to be seen/pass as a cis girl lesbian.

If you’re really gonna solicit nudes from a trans woman (a second time) as they do sex work to try and stay on their feet without offering anything in return just so your transmisogynistic ass can get off to trying to tell me my dick is fake isn’t classy at all. I perish the thought of what you’re parents would think of this behavior from you. But yeah, feel free to send some money to my paypal so I can get the gender markers on my records changed because that’s gonna cost a lot apparently, and I’ll definitely send you the dick pics you want. :)

(source) (source) (source)

Transcript:

[A picture of a a hospital bracelet on Kat's wrist. The patient's name is Adele Sheffield and her sex is labeled as "M".]

(source)

Kat Lied About Having Diabetes To Get Money From Tumblr Users

Verdict: False

This doesn't need much commentary from me, just view the screenshots below.

Transcript:

To the people who keep harping on me buying a $15 video game for my mental health 7 MONTHS ago “with my donation money,” well, here you go, some proof, links and screenshots provided

So for everyone spreading misinformation about me spending $15 on a video game for my mental health, here’s a full list of reasons why there is no way, shape, or form I spent my paypal money on it:

Yes, I spent $15 of my own money after selling one of my possessions, not denying it:

[A screenshot of a Tumblr post by Kat where she shows off a copy of Fall Out: New Vegas, marked with a price of $14.99. The date of the post is marked as July 21, 2014 at 06:28.39 PM.]

Be sure to look at the date, July 21st, 2014 6:28 PM. Now lets look at my first donation post asking for help:

[A screenshot of a Tumblr post by Kat where she asks for donations to be able to afford insulin because she has no insurance. The date of the post is marked as July 20, 2014 at 08:14.00 PM.]

Hmm, one day before the purchase of said game, July 20th 2014 at 8:14 PM. Now, I’ve never heard of a video game store — much less a non-chain video game store accepting payment for video games in the form of virtual Amazon gift cards, have you? Oh, but you’re gonna say, “well you bought the game with your paypal donations anyway!” Well, here’s exhibit C:

[Another screenshot of a separate post made by Kat where she is also asking for donations to be able to afford insulin. The date of the post is marked as July 23, 2014 at 12:27.46 PM.]

Again, looking at the date of this posting which is the original donations post, you can see it was posted on July 23rd, 2014 at 12:27 PM, a full 2 days after I had bought the game. Now, if there’s no way for me to use Amazon gift cards for a real life video game store, then how can I go back in time a minimum of 2 full days to give past me $15 to buy said game, hm? This isn’t even accounting for the fact that I didn’t even have my own bank account associated with it until over a week later, and it surely doesn’t account for the fact that it takes up to 5 days to transfer from paypal to your bank account. All the dates are linked to the original unedited posts so you can see for yourself, and for added measure my first deposit was on August 14th, 2014:

[A screenshot of a deposit made by Kat. The date is marked as 08/14/14.]

Oh but yeah, anti-sjs, truscum, and the like took damniwishidthoughtofabettername’s postthey used to gaslight us with misinformation and you all bought it. Tell me how I could misuse donations that I could not use outside of Amazon and money I didn’t even start receiving until a full two days later, let alone the fact that there’s no way I could have transferred said money and used it two days prior as of the date of the paypal donations post.

I hope some of y’all could reblog this and get the word out, I’m sick and tired of people buying into that misinformation that person did solely to gaslight me as a means to try and disrupt my donations drive.

(source) (source) (source) (source) (source) (source) (source)

Transcript:

[A selfie of Kat holding up a vial of Novolin to the camera.]

Hey anon, I don’t feel comfy giving you my receipts (because doxxing is a thing) but here you go, a selfie with my most recent insulin purchase. 👽

(source) (source) (source) (source) (source) (source) (source)

Transcript:

Anonymous asked: Getting desperate for money again I see. How is your fake diabetes lately. I bet your blood sugar is like 800 this time and you're still able to be alive somehow.

You got me, I’m ~totally faking~

[A selfie of Kat. In the background several items used by diabetics are seen such as insulin syringes, glucose tablets, a blood sugar tester and test strips.]

[A picture that gives us a closer look at the background of the previous selfie.]

[A selfie of Kat holding up two vials, one of Lantus and the other of Humalog.]

Gee, must be one dedicated faker, right? To have hundreds of dollars of insulin equipment and insulin itself. Hmmm… Insulin syringes, glucose tablets, a blood sugar tester and test strips.. oh and insulin, hmmmm….

Oh and because you didn’t learn from last time you don’t die instantly when your blood sugar goes over 600 lol, something anyone who studies endocrinology can tell you, and I would know, being a diabetic, having to be hospitalized numerous times for ketoacidosis where the blood sugar has been too high for too long. Things you clearly do not know and you’re just jumping on the disableist bandwagon. I have an idea of who you are anyway, just doing this for future reference.

(source)

[takebackthedream]

Why Teachers Don't Trust Betsy DeVos, And Neither Should You by Jeff Bryant

The nation’s largest organization representing classroom teachers, the three million-member National Education Association, is getting plenty of guff over its decision to stonewall U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

The NEA’s latest rejection note to the secretary came from the organization’s charismatic and blunt-spoken president Lily Eskelsen Garcia who, in an interview with Education Week, said about DeVos, “There is no reason to trust this woman.”

Garcia’s remarks closely follow a keynote address she gave at the NEA’s annual gathering of delegates in which she proclaimed, “I will not allow the National Education Association to be used by Donald Trump or by Betsy DeVos… I do not trust their motives… There will be no photo op.”

The minute DeVos became the nomination, the NEA joined the broad, bipartisan coalition opposing her. And since DeVos took office, the teacher’s group has declared, “There will be no relationship with Betsy DeVos.”

The NEA’s staunch opposition to DeVos, and Garcia’s blunt statement of non-cooperation, have stirred the ire of those accustomed to the club-like chumminess of the education policy establishment in the nation’s capital.

“Refusing to talk to somebody is something I expect more of middle schoolers than of the leadership of organizations,” Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute told the education reporter for New Republic.

That article, and others, have noted that public school supporters, including the NEA and the other national teachers’ association, the American Federation of Teachers, have differed on how to relate to DeVos.

But does Garcia’s contention that DeVos is simply not to be trusted have any validity?

Objective sources have no trouble arguing that President Donald Trump is not to be trusted. It’s become commonplace to express strong doubts about almost anything Trump says, including about the gravest of matters. Even the former director of the FBI couldn’t trust the man.

So if it’s reasonable to argue that the nation’s president is not to be trusted, why is it somehow untoward to say the same of a secretary serving under his regime?

There are, in fact, numerous concerns that cast doubt on DeVos’s trustworthiness.

Dark Money Past

First, it’s almost impossible to separate DeVos and her service in the education department from her past in dark money politics.

Jane Meyer notes, in her book Dark Money, that when Betsy Prince, the education secretary’s maiden name, married into the DeVos family, it brought together two of Michigan’s most politically powerful families.

“Betsy DeVos, who eventually became the chairwoman of Michigan’s Republican Party, was said to be every bit as politically ambitious as her husband, if not more so,” Meyer notes, a reference to Dick DeVos who, along with Betsy, was a major donor on the Koch Brother “list” of “philanthropist, bent on using billions of dollars from their private foundations to alter the direction of American politics.”

Meyer highlights remarks DeVos made in a now infamous op-ed for The Hill in which she wrote,

I have decided, however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying influence. Now I simply concede the point. They are right. We do expect some things in return. We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy… We expect a return on our investment.

It’s hard to believe anyone uttering such a strongly expressed intent to reap the rewards of political donations would suddenly have a change of heart once in office.

Indeed, news of DeVos and her family donating to Republicans associated with the Trump administration  continues to leak out.

As Politico reports, DeVos and her extended family contributed “at least $22,500 to one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees for the judge’s campaign for a state Supreme Court seat” in Michigan. The donations occurred before DeVos was nominated, but the gifts show the tight circle of money and influence DeVos inhabits with the Trump administration.

More recently, in the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District which pitted Republican Karen Handel against Democrat Jon Osoff in the most expensive House race in U.S. history, members of the DeVos family donated at least $27,000 to Handel, according to The Hill.

Evasiveness in Answering Questions

DeVos, in fact, continues to evidence all the symptoms of being someone who is less than straight forward in her dealings with others.

DeVos has “mastered the art of the non-answer,” education journalist Valerie Strauss writes on her blog at the Washington Post.

“Sometimes, for example, she offers a response that deliberately doesn’t answer the precise question,” Strauss writes. More frequently, she diverts the subject of the question to “her favorite education topic, giving parents choices other than their neighborhood traditional public school.”

At other times, DeVos simply seems to have no grasp of what the subject of the question was about, as she most famously exhibited in her confirmation hearing when she couldn’t answer questions about federally guaranteed rights of special education students in schools and about whether standardized testing should be used to assess student growth or subject area proficiency.

A Penchant for Secrecy

When DeVos isn’t having difficulty answering straightforward questions, she is operating in what appears to be a cone of silence.

Rights organizations have accused DeVos and the department she heads of giving Congress “the silent treatment” on how the rights of transgender students will be upheld, since the Trump administration rescinded federal guidance that was provided by the Obama administration.

Advocates for religious minorities have noticed DeVos has been shockingly silent on whether she will press for a federal voucher plan that would send federal money to private schools that discriminate against students on the basis of religion.

News organizations covering higher education have reported on recent lapses in public comment coming from DeVos about the department’s decision to delay and renegotiate Obama-era regulations of for-profit colleges.

Last month, Democratic senators concerned with recent actions taken by DeVos’s department regarding civil rights investigations and a decision to de-emphasize individual complaints of discrimination sent DeVos a letter calling attention to their concerns. To date, the senators have received no reply.

A significant reason the NEA expressed its lack of trust in DeVos is due to her non-response to questions the organization posed to her when she took office.

“If DeVos doesn’t answer the union by September 1,” reports Education Week, “it will call for her resignation, according to the motion, passed at the union’s annual convention here.

Fittingly, when the EdWeek reporter asked for Education Department’s comment on the NEA’s resolution, “DeVos’s spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond.”

A Cloak of Cronyism

While DeVos gives the silent treatment to news organizations, public officials, rights advocates, and educators, she maintains an open-door policy for those prone to agree with her.

DeVos has angered Democratic officials over her willingness to meet in private with Republican lawmakers who support her agenda for charter schools and vouchers.

Recently, her calendar included a closed-door meeting with the Pacific Research Institute that promotes school choice and has a history of getting financial support from the Koch Brothers to turn back air pollution regulations.

In her travels around the country, she still makes time to meet with influential Republican party donors.

Her reputation for cronyism isn’t at all helped by brother Eric, who still operates his mercenary business, and has his own secret meetings with the likes of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and White House operative Steven Bannon.

DeVos, in the meantime, invested between $100,000 and $250,000 in a defense contracting firm owned by her son-in-law that could potentially benefit from Prince’s back door negotiations.

Among her and her husband’s other investments, is a $5 million – $25 million stake in a company that markets a bogus method of training people’s brains to cure them of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety, stress, depression, poor sleep, memory loss, and migraines.

Nothing to be concerned with here … move along.

So there are good reasons why educators such as Lilly Eskelsen Garcia and her NEA brothers and sisters shouldn’t trust Betsy Devos. And you shouldn’t either.