#IMPROVEMENTS PEOPLE!!!! IMPROVEMENTS!!!!!!!

[dynamicity-keysmash]

I think it's important to understand that the vast majority of voters do not spend much time thinking through their political decisions because it's simply not something that occupies much space in their minds. You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into, and it's extremely difficult to fight feelings with facts.

Now that the Democratic party's inner core is highly-educated cosmopolitan urbanites, it seems to have lost the ability to deal with that reality.

Most people do not feel like trump is a fascist, or that he wants to be a dictator. Most people do not feel like any of Biden's massive legislative/executive accomplishments improved their lives at all. Most people do not feel like Harris's platform would've actually gotten done or helped them. Most people feel like Trump ran a better economy and that it's Democrats' fault that inflation got so bad.

In an individualistic, selfish nation with one of the worst education systems in the industrialized world, a political party cannot win by serving up a charcuterie board of various poll-tested policies that it then tries to explain to people who could not care less and don't understand anyway. It needs to create an overwhelming feeling, a feeling that changes the minds of people who don't give a fuck about anything but themselves and their wallets. Trump found that overwhelming feeling. Through bravado, cruelty, and levity, he created this zeitgeist of blunt, confident grievance that countless prideful people who feel left behind by the economy could grab onto. This feeling inspired people far beyond his cult of enthusiastic fascists and self-identified bigots.

The country chose trump because Trump's brand, vibe, and message inspired compelling emotions in more people, especially in people who have no interest in civic engagement, don't follow the news, and have been given little understanding of government/economics by our failing education system.

This problem wasn't fully apparent in 2022 during the midterms, when more low-propensity voters stayed home and highly-educated, highly-engaged people made up more of the electorate.

[imsobadatnicknames2]

Surprised to see that you as a communist (and a lot of other communists too) seem to like disco elysium so much. doesn't the game make fun of communists a lot?

It does! Quite frequently and gleefully, in fact.

My blanket response to this type of question about most pieces of media would be that, in the words of Big Joel, "I am not a politics robot". My enjoyment of a piece of art is almost entirely orthogonal to how much its implicit or explicit worldview aligns with mine. And I think ultimately that's the way you end up having to approach media if you're a communist who plays videogames at all. Or reads fantasy books. Or watches anime. Or... you get the idea.

But in the case of Disco Elysium specifically I think the read that the game depicts communism just as negatively as all the other ideologies it criticizes is a quite shallow one. Ultimately we're being shown this world through a very communist lens. Like yeah the game has a lot of (usually pretty funny) jokes about firing squads and about "communism is about failure" and about pretentious overeducated college communists who do nothing but read theory and then do some leftist infighting about it, it doesn't shy away from the immoral actions of the revolutionary army, it depicts the dockworkers union as extremely shady and corrupt and basically a crime syndicate (although this depiction is way more nuanced if you actually take the time to dig deeper and talk to people about it), and generally doesn't shy away from pointing at the ugly parts of a variety of communist movements past and present. But, under all of that, the game's understanding of issues like class and poverty and crime and colonialism and imperialism and international conflict is ultimately rooted in a very marxist worldview.

I once saw someone say something along the lines of "everyone in this game talks like a communist regardless of political alignment", and while that's obviously an extremely hyperbolic statement, I do think there's a nugget of truth in it, the clearest example being Joyce Messier. Joyce is an ultraliberal, the furthest thing from a communist you're going to find in the DE universe. And yet, when she talks about the world she does so in very marxist terms, like in her famous "Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself" quote. Like. You'd never catch a real libertarian expressing that idea Like That. And a lot of the more serious, in-depth political discussions in the game are similar.

Plus, ultimately... regardless of how much criticism the game piles on it, of all the ideologies it criticizes, communism is the only one which is not depicted as a completely lost cause. The communist vision quest ends on a quite hopeful note, unlike pretty much any other one, and the Union is ultimately shown as having tons of popular support because they're the only ones who have actually gotten shit done to somewhat improve the lives of the people of Martinaise. I have lots of thoughts about the way Evrart Claire and the Dockworkers union are depicted actually, but for the time being I'm just going to say that the read of "unions are corrupt and union leaders are greedy fat cats who only care about their personal gain", while not exactly lacking in textual support, is likewise an extremely shallow one.

[read-marx-and-lenin]

Are you a Tankie?? Do you think the USSR was a good nation? Do you maybe even defend Stalin somewhat, not just Lenin? Do you support Mao or ''commuist" nations in the modern age like China or North Korea? I think Commuism is a good ideology, but anytime it's been attempted alongside a government, it's been used as an excuse to control and oppress people. I think it can only work feasibly under anarchy because a government will never release control of its citizens.

I used to be an anarchist myself. I'm not going to say there's some magic phrase that will convince you to become a "tankie" like me, but I will say that if you haven't read some of the core works by Marx, Engels, or Lenin, you should give them a try sometime. "State and Revolution" especially. There is no magic "abolish the state" button that can be pressed to do away with all authority in one stroke. The material conditions must be changed first before the state can disappear.

I would also recommend checking out Pat Sloan's "Soviet Democracy", and pretty much anything by Anna Louise Strong but especially The Soviets Expected It, The Stalin Era, and In North Korea. On the subject of North Korea, you should also watch the democracy "Loyal Citizens of Pyongyang in Seoul".

There is a lot of propaganda surrounding actually existing socialism in the West, and it is important to separate truth from fiction. People do not fight in revolutions only to turn around and accept new oppressors. Every currently existing socialist state is democratic, and that includes the DPRK. Democratic does not mean ideal, but it does mean that people have a say in who is running the government. Even more than that, in every existing socialist state the people have the right to recall elected officials at any time, something which is not guaranteed in most bourgeois democracies, including the US.

Can you imagine members of the ruling party meeting with the people directly on a regular basis to discuss and debate the issues that matter most to the people in the US or any other bourgeois democracy? Can you imagine government officials whose top priority is the material welfare of the most disadvantaged citizens? You look at government meetings in China, in Cuba, in Vietnam, in Laos, and in North Korea, and that is what you see time and time again. That is the crux of politics in these countries, the material conditions of the people and how to improve them. They are dictatorships of the proletariat and thus the proletariat are the class for which the state exists to benefit.

Finally, you should read the 1986 paper "Capitalism, socialism, and the physical quality of life" by Cereseto & Waitzkin. While it is nearly 40 years old, it used World Bank data (clearly not a source biased in favor of communism) to demonstrate how on average socialist economies outperformed capitalist ones at similar levels of economic development in terms of actual material conditions for the average citizen. Being 40 years old, it also has the advantage of comparing data at a time when the number of socialist nations was at its highest. If you want to see more recent examinations that take a similar approach, you should read any papers by the economist Jason Hickel, but especially his 2016 paper "The true extent of global poverty and hunger", where he demonstrates that capitalism has by and large failed to improve material conditions outside the imperial core, and that the only nations that buck the trend in the developing world are the ones who have rejected neoliberal economic policy, most notably China, whose socialist economy has been responsible for the vast majority of people lifted out of poverty in the last decades.

[solvicrafts]

This is a hard truth that a lot of people don't want to hear, that there needs to be a balance between holding men accountable for their behavior, pointing out injustices that they benefit from, and at the same time encouraging them to learn and grow.

And this goes for any group of people, really, but especially so for young men right now.

I was saying this shit back before the 2016 election and really pissed off a lot of people for daring to argue that we should encourage our allies instead of shaming and alienating them.

"Yes, absolutely, people should support our civil rights because it's the right thing to do, but a lot of people genuinely do not know how much of the world is structured to prop them up at the cost of bringing others down."

I'm going to say something possibly really, really controversial here, especially in the wake of THIS election:

Most people are capable of being empathetic, understanding, and logical, but if you are going to engage with them then you have to have the maturity to commit to reaching them.

At one of the places I worked previously, there was this security guard who worked a few nights at the end of the week who was honestly one of my best friends there. He was a well-educated, very devout Christian man around my father's age, and he was black. For context, I am a young Irish-American liberal Hellenic Polytheist.

We actually got along far better with each other than I did with all of the hippie woo neopagan people I knew there, and he with the Christians there. And that's because we were not only both well educated within our belief systems, we were also really good at meeting in the middle and extending social grace and understanding to each other. We found that our core principles were perfectly aligned, we just didn't always arrive to our conclusions in the same exact ways.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, he was reluctant to get vaccinated, and when we talked about it I was the one person who got through to him. And he told me so. He told me outright, after he got vaccinated, that it was my voice that changed his mind.

I did not do that by shaming him over all of the people he might kill if he caught COVID and spread it. I did not do that by attacking his intellect or scientific literacy. I did not do that by threatening his financial security and pointing out that companies are letting people go for not getting vaccinated.

I did it by acknowledging his beliefs and concerns (especially as an older black man, given this country's history), and agreeing that he absolutely has valid reasons to feel the way he does, but by letting him know that my position on this subject was one of caring about his well-being above all else and letting him know when I got vaccinated and where, and how the process went for me.

Look, shaming CAN be effective in some limited scenarios, and I've done that, too. I've shamed quite a few people on public transit for refusing to let disabled elderly people sit. I am very much guilty of telling a woman that her imaginary friend does not need a seat of their own so that a guy who fell over getting on the bus could actually sit the fuck down.

But when it comes to bigger picture social issues, it's so much better to try to reach people and establish dialogue FIRST. And I know that that is asking a lot. For many of us, it goes against our very instincts.

At the local farmer's market last week, I had a man come up to me in a MAGA hat and I was absolutely braced for a fight. Instead, he eagerly showed me pictures on his phone of the garden he was cultivating. He was almost GIDDY about his plants, about the wildflowers and the pollinators and the fruit and the trees. That man was reachable. He was not there to attack me for being a queer woman. He was there to bond over how cool plants are and had no idea what he was really signing up for.

It's so much easier to condemn people broadly as monsters, and I know it feels much more satisfying and rewarding in the moment. I've done it, too. I was downright obnoxious about it when I was younger. But this is not the kind of behavior that leads to long-term societal growth.

The more we cut off and alienate people, the easier it is for them to fall prey to indoctrination. Exposure and social engagement is our biggest weapon against bigotry and THAT is a major reason as to why the Republican party wants to destroy public education.

I have had an immense uphill battle with some of my closest male friends in trying to keep them from falling down the alt-right pipeline. It's been a nearly two decade endeavor in a few cases, but I have seen those men in my life gradually improve and become well-rounded, empathetic, and educated men.

I guess what I'm saying here is, if you have a man (or ANYONE for that matter!) in your life who is showing early warning signs and/or you believe is susceptible to the MAGA movement, please think about what I've said. It's so much harder to approach them from a place of understanding than of anger and I get that, but at the end of the day, one of those is going to be much more effective at changing their viewpoint.

Lastly, if you find yourself in a situation where you are trying to engage with someone who thinks very differently than you do, here are a few tips and some examples:

1. Acknowledge their viewpoint.

"I understand where you're coming from"

"I think I see why you think/feel this way"

Or even just asking, "I don't really understand, can you explain how you arrived to this conclusion/viewpoint/opinion, etc.?"

2. Offer them an olive branch.

"I see what you're saying, and actually, I think you will find that our opinions aren't too different from each other's."

"You have a point about this, and if I could just build off of that, here is where I am coming from."

3. Address their concerns

"Yeah, you're right, our taxes are already way too high, but if we didn't have to raise them at all and could, instead, take a hard look at how they are already being spent?"

"Wolf reintroduction absolutely could be a problem for farmers if it's handled poorly, and you're right that city people don't understand that as intimately as you do, but what if I told you there's a way we could work this out to your benefit, too?"

4. Thank them for listening! (even if they didn't magically change their opinion right away, you never know)

"I'm glad we had this talk, thank you for hearing what I had to say."

5. Reassure them that you listened, too! (even if YOU didn't change your mind)

"I can't say you've changed my mind, but you've given me something to think about."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[shaadowmilkcookie]

Let’s take another stab at it. I think I’m getting somewhere!

[thatladyingreen]

Important nuance going on in the notes!!!

Also, if you want a trans politician to love on right now, I'm always delighted to mention Danica Roem!

She's a delight, a true civil servant, and part of a metal band. Danica is a fucking LEGEND, and reading about her and her work will make you smile, I guarantee 🥰🥰

Photo credits to Julian Vankim/Metro Weekly

“omg yay the first trans member of congress!!!” please be fuckin serious

[fangirlinginleatherboots]

It has been YEARS since I made this post but people keep misunderstanding one of my points and I'm tired of being incorrectly percieved.

There is nothing wrong with thick line art. I LOVE chunky line art!!!!

BUT if you want to improve your anatomy, you should try to sketch and ink thinner. It lets you fit in more detail without using style as a crutch.

STYLE is great! But this is about improving technical skills. If you use thick lines, you miss a lot of anatomical detail, especially working traditionally where you can't zoom out.

things i did that forced me to be a better artist:

used a reference for everything

thinner line art (you think thats thin? go thinner….)

sketch, then do a cleaner sketch, THEN start finalizing

THUMBNAILS

color research, picking a set palette or light/dark for each work

you like that pose? redo it one more time

USE A DAMN REFERENCE

do not rely on stylization as an excuse for anatomy

draw the goddamn background you coward

just draw the hand- a bad hand is better than a hidden hand

the rule of thirds WORKS

take a considerable break between sketch and lines/paint

know that art takes longer as you get better at it

draw the seams on clothes

stop aiming for accuracy and focus on fluidity and motion, accuracy will come with practice of those two concepts

just…do the chiaroscuro. just DO IT. no excuses it always works

stop making excuses, make yourself an art schedule/set weekly(or daily) art goals and just DO IT.

[arueshalaetablebuildingsociety]

This list is only symptomatic. It fails to determine and treat root causes, which would be better listed as:

- Recognize that Neoliberalism has two entire tools and one of those tools is bribing a rich person to do something. The other tool is bombing the everloving fuck out of a South American town because Nestle wants to steal all of their water and ransom it back to them (assuming they don't just sell it to white people thousands of miles away instead), and they can't do that if the town has a reliable source of cheap water.

- Fix material conditions driving people across every demographic to a desperate and unempathetic "them or me" mode of living.

- Curb the ability of ANY one person or group of people to amass and control that much wealth and power.

- Hold political parties to the same standards we hold toothpaste brands; if a political party loses a crucial election against the worst person imaginable, that is a failure of the party for refusing to offer a better candidate rather than a failure of the voters.

- Dissolve the majority of "economics" as any sort of empirical model; like any system with outsized reliance on a single, arbitrary, derived number, calculations based on GDP can be easily poisoned so material conditions for the majority of people worsen but GDP improves.

- Reform education to remove the whitewashing of history that creates a false impression of "the arc of history". History is like every other system: it doesn't arc upwards unless people make it. This WILL mean talking about exactly the sort of things that make Neoliberals uncomfortable, like the Battle of Blair Mountain, or the Tuskegee Experiments, or how France invaded Rwanda to prop up the Hutu Power government, or how the German Liberal government ended Nuclear Power for Coal and LNG fossil fuels while also still claiming to be a leader in the fight against Climate Change.

- End, once and for all, the idea that anyone succeeds off of individual merit as even a majority factor. Elon Musk did not become the wealthiest man in the world by working hard and Tesla proves it: it was Trump's reelection that has saved Tesla, not any qualities present in Musk. Tesla was hemorrhaging money because Musk was using it as a pack animal to hold all the debt he was getting from running Twitter into the ground. Elon Musk became the wealthiest man in the world by inheriting the emeralds his dad forced slaves to mine at gunpoint, and using that to sue to be named a founder of SpaceX and prevent the real founders from ever taking credit, thus ensuring he would have a constant lifeline from the US DoD because SpaceX is an aerospace company and is "critical infrastructure" despite proving less efficient than NASA in every aspect.

You will never have a Liberal Andrew Tate; Andrew Tate is so seductive to angry young men because he doesn't pretend the problems affecting them don't exist but instead falsifies a cause for them to project their anger onto. Why can't Liberals address the actual problems affecting these young men? Because Neoliberalism as a model doesn't allow for those problems to exist, because it's a flawed model. GDP is going up, therefore there can't be any issues affecting these young men even though there quite objectively are. These are problems you can't bribe a rich person to fix. And while you can bomb the everloving fuck out of the young men, that doesn't really affect the root problem, does it?

And if you're only fixing the symptoms and not the causes, that's called palliative care. It doesn't mean the patient will get better, just that they will die in slightly less pain.

things we need to address:

gen z men getting pulled into alt-right pipelines through andrew tate, joe rogan, elon musk, jordan peterson etc

the gullibility and stupidity of half the country voting against our collective best interests

the broad effect social media has on public and common good

lazy minds and lack of empathy

outside-country interference (trump and elon’s connections to russia and the amount of bots from other countries spreading misinformation)

the long-term effects of AI and rampant disinformation

[insanegibberish]

I wish all Liberals who've spent this entire campaign insulting leftists and telling them they weren't wanted a very are YOU happy now?

You had room in your tent for Dick Cheney, but not for people who wanted police reform and opposed genocide.

Who would have thought spending a year telling people to fuck off would mean that they fuck off?

The writing has been on the wall for the Dems since last November. You ignored it, refused to change and screamed But Trump at everyone who tried to reach out and improve things.

This is on you.

But mostly it's on the obscene number of people who voted trump back into office.

People should not have to abandon their principles for an election. A society that faces extinction every four years is not functional.

America was already dead, you need to see that.

[3liza]

the ACLU has recently, as in the past few years, spent a shitload of that donation money on defending actual Nazis in court. and in fact have been doing this for the duration of their existence. they are not a progressive political organization, they are an organization based in defending (their own definition of) "free speech and civil liberties", which in their estimation as an organization includes everyone and everything, including hate speech. i actually think they're correct that this is the sterile lab conditions definition of "free speech", i just don't agree with them, and I doubt very much the target of this blazed post will either, that dumping contributor money into raising legals defences for people who want to kill us is a good use of the $5 you sent them, nor does it objectively improve society

Two things to prop up right now:

The ACLU - They’ll do their best to make sure this dumpster fire doesn’t turn into a wildfire.

The Trevor Project - They’ll be fielding a lot of calls, texts, and chats in the next few days and beyond.

And, if you need something, try Finch. It’s the best self-care app I’ve ever used.

[dejaruhe]

I mean yeah and I'm very pro-scientist but I agree with Alan Alda that all scientists should be forced to take improv classes so they can also figure out how to explain things to the proverbial layperson in "normal" words. I was raised by scientists and have always been surrounded by them and it's not a stretch to call some of them elitist assholes who use words that some people don't understand as a way to delineate status.

The whole “scientists use big words on purpose to be exclusive” is such a bunch of anti-intellectual bullshit. Specific and concise language exists for a reason; you need the right words to convey the right meaning, and explaining stuff right is a hugely important part of science. Cultures that live around loads of snow have loads of words to describe different types of snow; cultures that live in deserts have loads of words to describe different types of sand. Complex language is needed for complex meaning.

[amynchan]

Diaphragm, diaphragm, diaphragm.

Dude, I was in an acting class once, and the teacher gave us all a paired scene to act for our final. I loved mine; I got to go absolutely unhinged, and I adored doing so. XDDD

But there were several girls in our class who were given scenes that involved screaming, and the most we got was a whimper and a quiet "don't," which didn't fit the scene.

Y'all. I wanted to gather every one of those girls and lead them through the choir exercise I went through to improve breathing for projection, and then tell them very explicitly that on the stage, your role is to scream. If you're on that stage, the world is waiting with bated breath to hear your voice, and everyone--even those in the back--wanna hear what you're saying in this scene. I wanted to take their hands, look them in the eye, and tell them that there is someone in this world who wants to hear them rip the loudest, shrillest, most death-inducing and bloodcurdling scream that ever existed on this planet.

There is a role for every situation. In the audience, your role is to quietly watch and follow the story. If you're on the stage, your role is to project so that those polite audience members can get the show they paid for. If you're a student, the role is to learn in the best way you know how. If you're a teacher, the role is to teach, which can sometimes involve being dynamic to keep the lesson rolling.

And if you are a barista. My friend. My role model. My person who has situated themselves in this bustling place with coffee and people and the constant thrum of chatter and machinery and orders.

Your role is to engage your core, take a deep breath, and demand that the world hear you for one damned moment as you yell out the name on that cup, even if it's "ARNOLD" or "DARK LORD FLUFFYPANTS!" It's the least they could do for you while you're on that stage.

your loudest barista should shout out the names. do not give this task to your quietest barista who breathes out the names like morning dew gracing the leaves

[186-3]

eh...

i think it's more that everyone knows that things are bad right now and they're all blaming it on their current leaders, whoever they may happen to be

that's why trump won - because america blames the democrats for the world sucking. and that's why:

modi's party lost its majority

the tories lost in the UK

the thai opposition made huge gains

the crazy right winger javier milei got elected president of argentina

japan's longtime leaders, the liberal democrats (a right-wing party), lost their majority

poland's law and justice party got swept out of power

bangladesh overthrew their dictator

venezuela would have vote out theirs (if the election hadn't been rigged)

iran elected a reformist as their president (who doesn't have any real power, but is the most powerful person iranians can actually vote for)

liberia's president lost reelection after one term

there are a few exceptions - like moldova, mexico, georgia, france, and kenya, where the incumbents managed to legitimately win reelection in the past few years. but mostly, the world hates its incumbent leaders, because a lot of people are really unhappy

who knows - maybe this will lead to broad changes and an improved world. maybe this will lead to a broader revolutionary movement

but there definitely is still reason to hope

'wah wah everywhere is falling to the right wing the whole world is doomed' literally like 6 months ago we were talking about how there was a trend in countries getting rid of their right wing governments. poland at the end of last year, france voted in a unified centre left/left alliance, even the UK finally got rid of the tories after 15 years (right wing splitting be damned, it still happened). outside of europe, bangladesh removed a dictator in like 2 seconds, india may have reelected their Evil Guy but on a DISTINCTLY reduced majority, theres been queer rights successes in thailand, with gay marriage set to be legal by 2025, and thereve been positive court cases on it in japan. and this is just stuff i vaguely remember hearing about. im sure theres more if you care to look for anything aside from more reasons to make yourself miserable

the US has a distinct effect on everyone, so this won't be fun for anyone (least of all its population. sorry guys), and there ARE a lot of people sliding into right wing extremism, but presenting this like its an unchallenged worldwide phenomenon is inaccurate, its damagingly bleak, and all it does is encourage despair and apathy. you DO have political power, and you shouldnt forget that just because of bad election results and the media's desperation to make you lose hope

[theeverdream]

"Although prior studies have shown that creating arts and crafting is therapeutic for people with mental health conditions, the general population has been understudied, according to the study, which published recently in Frontiers in Public Health. That’s why they sampled members of the general population without diagnosed illnesses to see how arts and crafts might contribute to well-being and may reduce loneliness outcomes in everyday life."

(Linked study)

Our findings support aspects of our hypothesis; specifically that engagement with CAC [Creating Arts and Crafting] is associated with significantly higher life satisfaction, happiness, and a sense that life is worthwhile. Engagement with CAC is not associated with lower levels of anxiety or loneliness.

The study didn't say what the article title suggests.

I would say it improves your mental health more than having a job but that’s just me.

[smolbeanie1221]

When I first started identifying as arospec years ago, I was dealing with anxiety and emotional exhaustion and numbness and depression, and just in general I was barely capable of feeling anything, much less whatever romantic attraction was supposed to be. I had been questioning being aro before my mental health crashed to the extent I just described, so I was sure enough I was somewhere on the aro spectrum. And I knew that, just as a person can be asexual if their asexuality is connected to trauma and/or mental illness, the same is true for aromanticism. I knew that, but I still questioned it, questioned whether I was truly “100%” aro. But I also knew that identifying as arospec gave me a feeling of security and relief and rightness, and that was enough for me to be arospec. In the years since, my mental health has improved. I am more confident now in saying, yes I am arospec. Yes, I am dealing with less anxiety and depression and mental illness than I was years ago, but it is also true that I have always dealt with emotion repression all my life. I grew up in an environment where I was taught to repress my emotions. I never learned how to completely feel or process or deal with my emotions. So it is very possible that my aromanticism is directly tied to my trauma and underlying mental health struggles that I’ve had my entire life. And honestly, I only just now connected the dots about my lifelong trauma and emotional repression possibly being tied to my aromanticism, in comparison to a more extreme anxiety/depression flareup.

So I am a mentally ill aroacespec person, whose mental illness and trauma may or may not be directly tied to my asexuality and aromanticism. And I am perfectly content with that. As a teenager, realizing I didn’t have to force myself to be sexually attracted to people, that made so much more sense to me and helped me be more comfortable. As a young adult, realizing romance and romantic feelings and attraction weren’t requirements for a good relationship, that was a weight lifted off my shoulders. Now I’m in a relationship where there is absolutely no sexual or romantic pressure, and I am able to just be totally at ease with her.

There’s a freedom in learning it’s okay to be attracted to anyone. But there’s also a freedom in learning you don’t have to be attracted to anyone at all.

ages ago, I posted an aro positivity post that got a lot of bad replies. “This isn’t aromanticism, this is mental illness”. People don’t realise you’re allowed to be mentally ill and aromantic. You can have a personality disorder and be aromantic. You can be depressed. You can be bipolar. You can be mentally ill and still not want to be in a romantic relationship. It might not be connected but it might be. If you are aro because of mental illness or trauma, then that’s still aromanticism. If you just happen to be aro and mentally ill, you’re still aro. Aromanticism is not mental illness itself but of course, there’s mental illness within the aspec community. There’s mental illness in all communities. It doesn’t deter from aromanticism. Mentally ill aros are valid!

[britcision]

(Oh boy I went to a School so uh we had a lot)

- the time a guy on my bus punched out the principal directly next to the bus and then hopped on. They called the cops the next day to see if he showed up.

He did. They suspended him for six months. The principal got a restraining order which made the rest of the school year… interesting for them

The principal did not return the next year

- one year our fun math teacher bet his grade 12 class that the teachers would win the staff vs student hockey game in September

The closer we got to game time (possibly January idk) the more all of the teachers started wearing their jerseys, broke into each others’ classes for planning sessions (completely separate from their normal invading each others’ classes to sell each other weed)

They had pump up music in the halls between classes, all the teachers wore their hockey jerseys on completely uncoordinated days so they didn’t even wear them all at once

Pretty sure the fun math teacher wore Braveheart style face paint the day before but since uh it is the staff vs the students of the same school they didn’t exactly have team colours

Preeeetty sure he promised to let them shave his head at the end of school assembly if the students won, but I did not exactly have an attendance record so I didn’t go to that

(About 80% sure they did it anyway although I never found out who won the game, I also did not attend that)

Next year? Completely back down to previous levels of mild interest from all involved. May/may not be related to the aforementioned change in principals

- the new principal we got was A Whole Fucking Thing, by the way. Apparently she’d had trouble at her last three schools and then got sent… to us? For some reason?

Where she:

Tried to defund the entire Arts department and tell us we couldn’t have a musical that year. We had one anyway

Switched Fun Math Teacher and Fun Music Teacher who just so happened to have the same name so they had to teach each others’ subjects for the year (they were VERY upset, tried to fix it multiple times, and then just suffered through)

Tried to get the cops to patrol the pines where all the stoners hung out, smoked, and enacted clan warfare

Painted over all the murals which had been done by graduating classes leading back a century

Replaced said historic murals with badly laid out and uneven “motivational” quotes that made no sense

Instituted hall monitoring and hall passes, mandatory for the whole school. Our drama teacher (who fought to the death for said musical) blatantly encouraged us all to flaunt that rule, lose the pass, and use any challenges as an improv exercise. One time she let 10 people go at once because we needed pencils and no one brought those to drama class, so she just told them to scatter and all claim they had her pass. I don’t think she had a pass

We. Uh. Retaliated in kind, including a school wide walk out organized by the goddamn stoners (You Know You Fucked Up When)

I was interviewed by the news cuz I had hippy hair by sheer coincidence that day

And a little before the end of the school year we were all assured that she was being “promoted” to a desk job somewhere in the board of education and would never work in a school again

(I had a couple friends who went to the school she’d been at right before ours. They were very impressed and supported our actions)

- again, I did not attend end of school anything, but one year the fun math teacher faked a zipline by stringing a line to the stage and getting the English teachers to push him on a skateboard

I suspect they were influenced by memes because no way in hell could we do an actual zipline

- in my last year a fight broke out between two girls in the cafeteria. An entirely commonplace event, except while the two of them were just rolling around on the ground a third girl came over

Circled them a few times examining the fight from all angles

And began kicking the shit out of both of them indiscriminately

We suspect she knew them but probably not what the fight was about. She won though

- actually I dunno if the staff vs student hockey game was even a thing other high schools did but every year the grade 12s fielded a team to play against the teachers

The teachers usually won by dint of having a consistent team that played together for multiple years, while the school hockey team was mixed grades

- oh and not exactly an incident but the hot math teacher used to dress up as Indiana Jones for Halloween every year and if you sharpened your pencil and then put it down he’d throw it into the ceiling to see if it stuck

We never warned the next class in if a pencil had gotten stuck because sometimes they just fell down in the middle of class it was great

- one of my sister’s friends exclusively drew dragons for art class. The next four years the art teacher banned anyone from submitting dragons for anything