#Money Plant Benefits facts

[txttletale]

I'm asking this genuinely, as a 19 yo with no education in economics and a pretty surface level understanding of socialism: can you explain the whole Bananas discourse in a way someone like me might understand? In my understanding it's just "This is just a product we can give up to create better worker conditions and that's fine" but apparently that's not the full picture?

alright so some pretty important background to all this is that we're all talking about the fact that bananas, grown in the global south, are available year-round at extremely low prices all around europe and the USA. it's not really about bananas per so--the banana in this discourse is a synechdoche for all the economic benefits of imperialism.

so how are cheap bananas a result of imperialism? first of all i want to tackle a common and v. silly counterargument: 'oh, these ridiculous communists think it's imperialist for produce to be shipped internationally'. nah. believing that this is the communist objection requires believing in a deeply naive view of international traide. this view goes something like 'well, if honduras has lots of bananas, and people in the usa want bananas and are willing to pay for them, surely everyone wins when the usa buys bananas!'.

there are of course two key errors here and they are both packed into 'honduras has lots of bananas'. for a start, although the bananas are grown in honduras, honduras doesn't really 'have' them, because the plantations are mostly owned by chiquita (formerly known as united fruit) dole, del monte, and other multinationals--when they're not, those multinationals will usually purchase the bananas from honduran growers and conduct the export themselves. and wouldn't you know it, it's those intervening middleman steps--export, import, and retail, where the vast majority of money is made off bananas! so in the process of a banana making its way from honduras to a 7/11, usamerican multinationals make money selling the bananas to usamerican importers who make money selling them to usamerican retailers who make money selling them to usamerican customers.

when chiquita sells a banana to be sold in walmart, a magic trick is being performed: a banana is disappearing from honduras, and yet somehow an american company is paying a second american company for it! this is economic imperialism, the usamerican multinational extracting resources from a nation while simultaneously pocketing the value of those resources.

why does the honduran government allow this? if selling bananas is such a bad deal for the nation, why do they continue to export millions of dollars of banans a year? well, obviously, there's the fact that if they didn't, they would face a coup. the united states is more than willing to intervene and cause mass death and war to protect the profits of its multinationals. but the second, more subtle thing keeping honduras bound to this ridiculously unbalanced relationship is the need for dollars. because the US dollar is the global reserve currency, and the de facto currency of international trade, exporting to the USA is a basic necessity for nations like honduras, guatemala, &c. why is the dollar the global reserve currency? because of usamerican military and economic hegemony, of course. imperialism built upon imperialism!

this is unequal exchange, the neoimperialist terms of international trade that make the 'global economy' a tool of siphoning value and resources from the global south to the imperial core. & this is the second flaw to unravel in 'honduras has a lot of bananas' -- honduras only 'has a lot of bananas' because this global economic hegemony has led to vast unsustainable monoculture banana plantations to dominate the agriculture of honduras. it's long-attested how monoculture growth is unsustainable because it destroys soil and leads to easily-wiped-out-by-infection plants.

so, bananas in the USA are cheap because:

the workers that grow them are barely paid, mistreated, prevented from unionizing, and sometimes murdered

the nations in which the bananas are grown accept brutally unfair trade and tariff terms with the USA because they desperately need a supply of US dollars and so have little position to negotiate

shipping is also much cheaper than it should be because sailors are chronically underpaid and often not paid at all or forced to pay to work (!)

bananas are cheap, in conclusion, because they're produced by underpaid and brutalized workers and then imported on extortionate and unfair terms.

so what, should we all give up bananas? no, and it's a sign of total lack of understanding of socialism as a global movement that all the pearl-clutching usamericans have latched onto the scary communists telling them to stop buying bananas. communism does not care about you as a consumer. individual consumptive choices are not a meaningful arena of political action. the socialist position is not "if there was a socialist reovlution in the usa, we would all stop eating bananas like good little boys", but rather, "if there's a socialist revolution in the countries where bananas are grown, then the availability of bananas in the usa is going to drop, and if you want to be an anti-imperialist in the imperial core you have to accept that".

(this is where the second argument i see about this, 'oh what are you catholic you want me to eat dirt like a monk?' reveals itself as a silly fucking solipsistic misunderstanding)

and again, let's note that the case of the banana can very easily be generalised out to coffee, chocolate, sugar, etc, and that it's not about individual consumptive habits, but about global economic systems. if you are donkey fucking kong and you eat 100 bananas a day i don't care and neither does anyone else. it's about trying to illustrate just one tiny mundane way in which economic imperialism makes the lives of people in the global north more convenient and simpler and so of course there is enormous pushback from people who attach moral value to this and therefore feel like the mean commies are personally calling them evil for eating a nutella or whatever which is frankly pretty tiring. Sad!

tldr: it is not imperialism when produce go on boat but it is imperialism when produce grown for dirt cheap by underpaid workers in a country with a devalued currency is then bought and exported and sold by usamerican companies creating huge amounts of economic value of which the nation in which the banana was grown, let alone the people who actually fucking grew it, don't see a cent -- and this is the engine behind the cheap, available-every-day-all-year-everywhere presence of bananas in the usa (and other places!)

[aparrotandaqrow]

"This, more than anything else, seems like the underlying point of the AI hype cycle of 2023. Sure, there is a material thing being produced here. And that thing might one day have real value. But investors and executives — the big players with market-shaping power — don’t actually live in the future. They just enjoy LARPing at it."

I don’t see how else to make sense of it. 2022 was the year the 20-year tech bubble finally burst. 2023 was still bad for startups, and was full of bad headlines for the big platforms. And yet, in the markets, tech investors just took a deep collective breath and started inflating the next bubble, as though the previous year had never happened.

Silicon Valley runs on Futurity

[anipgarden]

Un-Actions, or Restriction of Activities

This is my first post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

There’s a good handful of ways you can help increase biodiversity in your yard that don’t require buying things--in fact, these may actually help you save money in the long run! They may seem small and simple, but every bit counts! Whether you can do these in totality, or just limit how often you do these actions, it’ll make a difference.

Not Mowing, or Mowing Less Often

Turf grass lawns are considered a monoculture, meaning they don’t provide much opportunity for insects to find habitat--so few other creatures find them enjoyable either. An expanse of turf grass is, in many ways, a barren wasteland in the eyes of wildlife--too exposed to cross, with few to no opportunities for food or shelter, leaving them exposed to blazing hot sun, freezing cold, or any predators that may be lurking nearby. A place to be avoided. The simple act of letting your grass grow unbothered gives a chance for wildflowers to grow, and for your grass to grow taller--providing more habitat for insects, which then provides more habitat to birds and other creatures that feed on said insects. Wildlife want nothing more than to skirt by unnoticed, so even leaving the grass tall along the edges of a fence or yard can help a little. Even restricting mowing to every other week, or at a higher blade setting, can be a huge help. If HOAs or city ordinances are fussy about lawn length in the front yard, you can likely still keep grass higher in the backyard. Or, you can create a ‘feature’ where grass is allowed to grow long in a specific area. If it looks purposeful, people are more likely to accept it. Not mowing under trees or close to shrubs not only leaves space for wildflowers to grow, but also means you don’t have to deal with mowing over bumpy roots and other difficulties. Cutting different areas at different times can be an option for letting grass grow long in some areas while still having available places for play and entertainment. I’ve seen some people plant flower bulbs when pulling up weeds, so in the future they'll bloom in early spring before mowing is usually necessary. This could be another fun way of adding biodiversity to a lawn without--or before you--begin mowing in spring.

Not worrying about mowing, or doing it less often, saves you in time, money, and energy. You won’t have to buy as much gasoline for your mower, and Saturday afternoons can be free to be enjoyed in other ways aside from being sticky and sweaty and covered in grass stains. In addition, you’ll likely be lowering your own carbon emissions!

If you do have to mow your lawn, I’ve got ways you can use your grass clippings to boost biodiversity later in the post series!

Not using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.

One of the next-biggest non-actions you can do asides from not mowing is using fewer fewer to no herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides in your yard. This’ll easily allow for more biodiversity. Allowing more insects and a wide array of plants to thrive will feed back into the entire food chain in your area. In addition, these types of chemicals have been tied to algae blooms, death of beneficial insects, harm to birds, fish, and even humans. Soil is supposed to be full of fungi, especially fungal mycelium that essentially acts as a network for plants to communicate, share nutrients, and support each other--fungicide kills that, and typically makes all other lawn problems even worse in a negative feedback loop. It may take awhile to see the benefits of avoiding these chemicals, but once you see it, it really is astounding.

However! I can’t lie and say that there haven’t been points where I needed to use pesticides at some points in my gardening journey. In these cases, try to use products that are organic--like diatomaceous earth, neem oil, etc--and use them accurately, correctly, and sparingly. Follow instructions on how to apply them safely and responsibly--for example, on non-windy days and during times when bees and other pollinators aren’t likely to be out and about. With some pests (read: oleander aphids, in my experience), a simple jetstream of water is enough to force them off the plant where they’ll be too weak to get back. Eventually, you should have a balanced enough ecosystem that no one insect pest causes a major issue with the work you’re doing to boost biodiversity.

If you can bear to, try handling pests manually. Squishing pest bugs in your hand is a pretty foolproof way to get rid of some problems, or spraying them with a mix of soap and water can do the trick on some insects. Alternatively, picking them off your plants and into a bucket of soapy water is also a valid option. You’ve heard of baptism by fire, now get ready for… baptism by soap?

But also! Try reconsidering what you consider a pest! Tomato hornworms are hated by gardeners, for devouring the foliage of beloved tomato, pepper, and potato plants. But killing the tomato and tobacco hornworm means getting rid of sphinx moths, also known as hummingbird or hawk moths! Hawk moths are vital to the survival of many native plants, and are sometimes even the only species that pollinates them. If you can bear to, consider sacrificing a few tomato plants, or growing a few extras, so we can continue having these beautiful moths for years to come. After all, they may not even do significant damage to the plants!

With that in mind, be friendly to your natural pest managers! Lacewings, ladybugs, praying mantises, wasps, birds, bats, and more will help manage pest populations in your environment! Encourage them by planting things they like, providing habitat, and leaving them be to do their work! Avoiding pesticides helps make your garden a livable environment for them, too!

Letting Weeds Grow

Many of the plants we know as 'weeds' are actually secondary succession species and native wildflowers. Milkweed was regarded as a noxious, annoying weed for a long time, and now people are actively trying to plant them after learning about the important role they play in our environments! Weeds are adapted to take over areas that have been cleared out of other plants after a disaster, so they're doing much of the initial work in making a habitat for other creatures. In fact, many of them will simply die back as the environment repairs itself.

An important thing to note is to please make sure that your ‘weeds’ are not invasive species. Work on learning how to identify native and invasive species in your area, and pull out what’s harmful to leave room for what’s good!

Don’t Rake (Or At Least Don’t Bag Your Leaves)

Many insects overwinter in piles of leaves that we often rake away and bag up in the fall and winter. By doing this, we are actively throwing away the biodiversity of our neighborhoods! If you can, leave the leaves where they fall! 

If you do need to rake, put the leaves in places wildlife can still access it instead of bagging it up. Move your leaves into garden beds to serve as mulch, or along the edge of fences to rest while keeping egg cases and hiding bugs intact and free to release come spring.

Leave Snags Where They Are

Snags are dead trees/dead branches on living trees. They provide an important wildlife habitat--many birds nest in them, or use them to seek cover from rain, and many insects will also live in snags (making them an additional food source for birds and other creatures). Tree cavities are used as nests by hundreds of bird species in the US, and many mammals use them as well, such as bats, squirrels, raccoons, and sometimes even bears. Some trees form cavities while they’re still alive, but in conifers they’re more likely to form after death. Crevices between the trunk of a dead tree and its peeling bark provide sun protection for bats and amphibians, and leafless branches make great perching areas for birds of prey to hunt from above. The decaying wood is home to insects and fungi, who then feed birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.  Do check on the snags regularly to ensure they don’t serve a threat to any nearby structures, but whenever possible, leave them be! 

Keep Your Cat Inside

If you have an outdoor cat, consider making the adjustments to have it be an indoor cat. If you have an indoor cat, keep it as an indoor cat. Free ranging cats impact biodiversity through predation, fear effects, competition for resources, disease, and more. Keeping little Mittens inside does a lot more to help than it may seem from the outside.

That’s the end of this post! My next one’s gonna be on things you can add to your space that aren’t directly related to growing plants. For now, I hope this advice helps! Feel free to reply with any questions, success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in! 

[beansricejc]

coworkers with benefits [jw x f!reader blurb]

cw: mentions of blood, implied v!olence, cursing, spice

john and you were accidentally assigned the same job, by the whoever the hell has the money to do so.

and unfortunately for John- you have a way better in since he isn’t a pretty woman in a bottle girl outfit. champagne in hand, tiny denim shorts that have everyone turning their heads. the cropped shirt that accentuate your pushed up tits.

when you walk past him you barely notice the predator in the flashing lights. his wolf like eyes planted on you, and only you. your history with John is complicated. too much to go into detail about.

let’s just say he’s memorized the taste of your cunt.

you curse to yourself when you see his outline on the dance floor, walking a bit quicker to the VIP lounge. you’ve planted a gun under the coffee table of the lounge, and everything is going to plan.

five minutes into you being behind those velvet curtains, you reach beneath the table. your small hand pats around quickly, eyes widening when the thought occurs to you. someone’s found and taken your gun.

but who?!

one of the men you’re contracted to kill shouts at you in some sort of language, probably European.

bang, bang, bang.

your body instinctively tucks and rolls, ducking behind the couch as all of the men in the lounge fall dead. one is fairly close to you as the pool of blood inches its way over to your feet.

“you can come out now.” john’s voice echoes out, you’re hating the fact that he stole this job from under you. grunting - you stand up, glaring across the room at the hitman in his freshly pressed black suit.

“seriously? did you take my gu-“

“yeah. i did. around 8 this morning.” he interrupts, flashing you a shit eating smirk while sauntering over to your scantily clad self. you huff out in annoyance, his hand grabbing your chin to force you to look up at his striking form. the face of death peering over you.

you’re good at your profession. you’ll just never be him.

“i think you owe me.”

“what?!”

-

your throat is sore while you blabber out his name. after being throat fucked for about ten minutes on the couch, you’re now filling yourself with john’s deliciously sized cock. thighs at work as you bounce, he groans and bites your shoulder as he watches his dick disappear in and out of your weeping cunt.

your bare legs chafe against his expensive dress pants, letting out a cry of pain and bliss from his love bite. john’s sharp teeth draws the smallest bit of blood, although he makes up for it by giving your soft flesh some suction with his chapped lips. that will definitely result in a hickey tomorrow.

no one has even come in to check on the lounge from the gunshots because of how damn loud it is, due to the DJ insistent on breaking the noise ordinance in the city. that’s perfectly fine with you two. neither of you know how to keep your damn mouths shut while you fuck like rabid animals.

his rough hands paw at your hips, assisting you in slamming down onto his length. ensuring your walls are able to swallow every damn inch of him. a string of curse words and whimpers fall from your mouth, along with some drool that dribbles onto his dress shirt. (which is now soaked in sweat).

his cock twitches, and your cunt squeezes it half to death. the burning in your core becomes unbearable. john’s right hand switches from your hip to your clit. much to your embarrassment, he knows your pussy like the back of his hand. 2 of his calloused fingers massage that needy nub of yours, sending you over the edge within seconds.

your climax hits you like a truck, your body overcome with a feeling of euphoria as he continues to thrust his cock up into you. your vision even goes dark as the overstimulation gets to you.

“that’s it, let it happen.” his grumbly voice praises you. “there you go. shit- i should jeopardize your missions more often.”

yeah don’t ask- i threw this together in 20 min

[queeranarchism]

[Opening panel of a comic, reading: “On July 1st we celebrate Keti Koti, ‘chains broken’ (say ‘kitty kotty’). The end of Dutch slavery! or well...]

[On this day 160 years ago (1863) slavery was officially abolished in the Dutch colonies Suriname & the Netherlands Antilles. 45.000 enslaved people are now free. Slaveowner: “but now what am I going to do without my free labour?!” Government official: “oh so sad! here’s compensation!”]

[Formed enslaved person: “Now what about compensation for the CENTURIES of free labour my ancestors and I were forced to do?” Slave owner and state official: “Hahahahaha nope” Slave owner: “In fact: to make is easier for ME you’ll be forced to work another DECADE for me! but I’ll pay you. A little.”]

[The Netherlands made a lot of money from enslaved people; by selling them & by the work they did on the plantations in Dutch colonies. The power & wealth of my country is partially build on SLAVERY and 160 years later we still benefit from this.]

[But until recently our colonial past was only seen as something positive... Former prime minister: “We need that VOC mentality!] (VOC= United East India Company)

[White person: “Why should I celebrate Keti Koti?! My ancestors weren’t enslaved!” Other white person: “No, but YOUR ancestors might have been SLAVE OWNERS! just saying.”]

[We all still benefit OR sugger from our history. And we can’t change the past... but we should ACKNOWLEDGE it. Image of a person planting a large flag with the word SLAVERY on the timeline of Dutch history.]

[And because there are too many people like this White person: “What does some Surinamese holiday has to do with ME?!” ...we could definitely use a NATIONAL holiday! Other white person holding up a Dutch flag with the words “Built by enslaved people” on it.]

By Maaike Hartjes: https://comichouse.nl/author/hartjes/

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Truthout/Floodlight:

The IRA is the Biden Administration’s signature climate law. The historic act is the most aggressive climate policy in U.S. history, rolling out billions in tax breaks and other incentives with the goal of cutting economy-wide carbon emissions 40% by 2030.

Every congressional Republican voted against the bill, arguing it was nothing more than handouts to prop up climate and social justice programs. Some on the extreme right continue to argue that climate change is a hoax. But now some GOP House members who voted against the IRA are urging their leader to consider saving key portions of it.

In fact, it is the red states that overwhelmingly have benefitted from the federal government’s infusion of clean energy money, according to a report released today by, a national nonpartisan group of more than 10,000 business leaders that advocates for a cleaner economy and environment.

Friday marks two years since Biden inked his signature on the IRA. Companies have announced roughly 330 clean energy and vehicle projects since that time, efforts that could create 109,278 jobs and bring in a whopping $126 billion in private investments, if completed, according to the E2 report.

E2’s report breaks down IRA-boosted projects by state, sector and industry as well as by congressional district. It found that “nearly 60% of the announced projects — representing 85% of the investments and 68% of the jobs — are in Republican congressional districts.”

Among the major projects is the South Korea-based solar manufacturer QCells. Last year it announced a $2.5 billion expansion in Dalton, Georgia, spurring more than 2,500 jobs and helping change a town known as the “carpet capital of the world” into a destination for clean energy manufacturing.

Since 2022, the northern third of Nevada has added more than 5,000 jobs from a $6.6 billion investment in projects such as the Rhyolite Ridge and Thacker Pass lithium mines as the state aims toward becoming the lithium capital of the United States.

And in North Carolina, $19.7 billion has been poured into the state, creating 22 clean energy projects and more than 10,000 jobs in solar, recycling, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. The investments include a $13.9 billion Toyota Motor North America EV/hybrid battery plant slated to open next year.

E2’s report is based on publicly available information, including news releases and formal government announcements. Roughly one-third of the information did not include how much money was being invested or how many jobs a project was expected to create, E2 stated.

In other words, the impact of the IRA is likely broader than the nonprofit’s tally. That bodes well for environmentalists and clean energy advocates.

18 congressional Republicans signed a letter to GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana urging him to be cautious in repealing all or parts of the IRA — something Trump has vowed to do if he is again elected president.

“Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, incentivized investment and created good jobs in many parts of the country — including many districts represented by members of our conference,” the Aug. 6 letter to Johnson said.

The Congress members said they had heard from industry and constituents that clawing back previously issued energy tax credits, especially on projects that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development.

“A full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return,” the letter states.

[sneakerdoodle]

earlier this month i posted about Medo Halimy's campaign, alongside two others, in an attempt to call attention to the fact that there are multiple ways to assure the validity of a campaign, including directly following the Gazan creators that are livestreaming their displacement from their personal long-standing Instagram/TikTok accounts; there is a way for pretty much anyone to find a trustworthy way of verifying a specific fundraiser, be it through getting in touch with the campaign organizer, following a project like Operation Olive Branch and others, or seeking out active online creators from Gaza directly.

Medo was martyred on August 26th, a week after the martyrdom of his 11-year-old cousin.

Medo started planting in displacement, posting videos in which he tended to tiny shoots and nurtured them into stronger plants, referring to it as an act of resistance.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Medo Halimy (@medo_halimy)

it's important to acknowledge that while Medo's death has left a tangible trail - we had his online presence, and now we do not, we heard his voice and now we will not - this is not a "new stage", this is not a crossing of a line. the line was crossed many awful months ago, and people just like Medo, young and old, die every single day.

i want the people who contribute to any sense of cynicism, apathy, or skepticism around the very fact of existence of Palestinian evacuation fundraisers to sit with that: here, we have a person who we undeniably know was suffering displacement in Gaza; we have a person who was trying to shed light on his and his family and friends' daily lives, and was trying to get his loved ones to safety; we have a person who was never supposed to have anything to prove, but has now paid the highest price possible, because he was, in fact, a real living breathing human being, and he was, in fact, Gazan.

this is one person that could've lived, and didn't; and so many more like him are dying, every single day. it is not in your right to feign helplessness in the face of the very fact of existence of online scammers, because telling them apart from real people is somehow too confusing for you. find a way, for yourself, to make sure that you trust the source that tells you a campaign is legitimate, and stick to it, and act on it, so that the voices of people like Medo do not fall on deaf ears.

i want to be careful not to exploit Medo's passing as a rhetorical device or a convenient illustration; so i want to strongly and directly encourage you to please, please support his family through their loss, and donate to their GoFundMe campaign so that the rest of them could have a chance at safety.

join the people leaving loving, grieving notes with their donations in Medo's memory. that is the easiest thing you can do in honor of a life lost. keep him in your prayers, too, use your voice to stand in solidarity with him and every other person trapped in Gaza and subjugated across Palestine.

Medo's family still has ~$12,000 USD to raise; please contribute to meeting that goal, and once it is met, move on to the next one, stay engaged, stay empathetic, stay determined. i repeat, there is no excuse to deny these people a chance at safety and escape. not one of us has any right to decide that they do not deserve it. you don't get to decide for them if their choices in the middle of a devastating genocidal assault are ones you approve of, or can "justify" supporting. (<- this, specifically, is directed at people who have argued that it's somehow wrong to support specific individuals trying to evacuate because a) it would benefit corrupt officials in Egypt, b) it wouldn't help everyone who is forced to stay behind) and, again, there are multiple ways for you to know who your money is going to. don't become apathetic just because you don't believe you have one right now.

Medo deserved life, and so did every other martyr, and so does every single Gazan that is still here, still fighting for their survival and still asking for your participation.

[bitacrytic]

Before I turn in for the day, let me just say this.

We're all judging Joe for allowing Ming to arrange his guts after what he said to Sol.

But when Joe said it, he knew he was going to fuck Ming. He took the house and the money. His ass belongs to Ming for another year. Ming's been circling him for days now and eventually, Ming's audacity was going to kick again and he'd demand the sex he paid for.

Joe knew this when he said-

Not because he's a liar or because he had no idea of the extent of his feelings.

Because we know how Joe treats Ming now. He talks back. He ignores him. He tells Ming he's busy. Joe wasn't saying that shit for Sol's benefit.

He was saying it because he meant it. Based on what he's examined about himself in the second life. He was going all gooey inside for Ming until he heard about Ming smiling for Tong. Everytime he's nearly faltered, Joe has reminded himself that he's just a stand in.

And as long as that information remains uncontested, Joe's feelings will remain in his old body.

Yes, we know he'll eventually fall back in love. But he's not a fool this time. Hes been carefil with his affection. However his body is a human body. You touch it the right way and it will get excited.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSENTED TO IT. AND ALSO WHEN THE PERSON DOING IT KNOWS WHAT YOU LIKE.

Joe knows this.

Sol knows this too, which why he said-

And this was after Joe had already told Wut-

Sol knew the reality of the situation. He knew that Joe was going to leave that conversation and probably go plant it on a flat surface for Ming to get access.

Joe wasn't lying. He was just stating a fact.

[creature-wizard]

Something that the folks into New Age beliefs (ascension, starseeds, etc) need to understand is that conspiratorial worldviews (like the idea that there's an ancient global conspiracy manipulating everything behind the scenes) are inherently divisive. It doesn't matter how much you like the idea of peace, harmony, and unity consciousness, and it doesn't matter how much you personally try to keep your vibrations up; if you believe that everyone who disagrees with you is secretly controlled by the shadow government or whatever, you're never going to be able to maintain any kind of long-term relationship with most people, including the ones who generally share in your beliefs and values, because at some point you're going to disagree with each other on something, and when that happens, you're going to suspect each other of being government plants, controlled opposition, disinfo agents, or whatever. Conspiracy theorists are constantly accusing each other of being agents of the conspiracy.

Now like, there's a bunch of scammers in New Age communities, sure. And said scammers just make up whatever to make money. And that's bad, but that's not the same thing as being a government plant, ya know? Also, conspiratorial narratives actually benefit the scammers, because whenever anyone tries to call them out on their shit, they'll just say the government is out to get them and people will believe them.

But most of you? Most of you are just incredibly passionate people with firm convictions. You're not disagreeing because one of you is a double agent; you're disagreeing because you're people and people always have different points of view because no two people live the exact same life experience. Now sure, some of you are real dicks sometimes, and some of you get carried away by your own egos, but none of you are part of an ancient global conspiracy.

You need to understand, this conspiracy narrative does not come from good people. It comes from some of the worst, in fact. It's made from the same tropes used to justify the witch hunts and the Holocaust. Now, I know conspiracy theorists often believe that these people were actually part of the conspiracy and put this information out there in this form to throw people off the scent, but you gotta understand, there's no evidence of this, because there's no actual evidence of the conspiracy in the first place. Literally it's always been a bunch of assholes thinking of the most heinous actions they can imagine to slander those they hate and want to oppress, it's just that simple. When you adopt a conspiratorial worldview, you are internalizing this hatred and making it part of your inner matrix. Even if you're experiencing a high vibrational state 99% of the time, these beliefs - this programming - is going to affect how you perceive and respond to those who don't believe the same way as you in a very, very negative way.

[flyingbroommate]

Time to post my dunmeshi OC!! His name is Gnicholas Howz

Gnicholas 'Gnic' Howz

Gnome

75yrs

140cm

Healer and reviver

Has 2 younger brothers and his grandparents

Story

In his hometown he set out to the dungeon to make money for his family

Started out being hired by small parties to revive/heal them

Some parties took his magic for granted and they could keep going forever with his healing, Gnic didn't like this

Gnic made a once off comment that he should be charging for how often he has to revive his teammates, this escalated into some rumours

Most new parties end up avoiding him

Rumours went around that he was a money hungry gnome that charges his parties for every time they die, making him less popular

He ended up moving to Merini Village, even cutting and dying his hair black to throw off anyone that might recognise him

To avoid a repeat of what happened before he decided to rather roam the upper levels by himself and revive or heal parties that need it, for a price

While he does ask for payment he never tries to upsell his services, usually just taking what is first offered, even if it's a few coins or some food

"It's not much but it's honest work"

Life on the Surface

He stays in an inn belonging to a close friend, the reason why he can still find a place to stay for relatively cheap

Runs errands for the friend as a way to pay them back

They're engaged, not many people know

Inbetween dungeon dives he takes care of plants, some he found in the dungeon

Still tries to keep a low profile

Sends most of what he earns back home to his family along with herbs he grows for his grandfather

Random Facts

Slight farsightedness

Owns glasses but never wears them in the dungeon, says he doesn't need them

Has punched a corpse retriever before (thinks they're too greedy/underhanded)

Studied botany before magic

His staff is really heavy

Has been told that elves are selfish and only do what benefits them

His hometown had a mix of dwarves and gnomes

Can read dwarvish, but not a very good speaker

[sassyfrassboss]

Where did all the money go?

So we keep coming back to the fact that Harry & Meghan are broke, like on the verge of bankruptcy broke.

Going back over the past 5 years I am going to delve into their finances.

Meghan was estimates to be worth $5m when she married Harry. Now, we know this just isn’t in fact true. While Meghan may have earned close to $5m while appearing on Suits, she also had to pay her agent, PR people, attorneys, etc. By the time that is all said and done, she was probably closer to $1.5 million, and that’s being generous.

Now Harry is said to have had about $20m at the time from his inheritance from Diana. This was due to not having to touch that money so it was able to accumulate over time. There are also rumors that he received about $3m from The Queen Mother (this has been heavily disputed) and will be set to receive about another $4m from that trust on his 40th birthday.

While a working royal, Harry was only responsible for paying for personal items such as clothing and travel. He never had to pay a mortgage, electricity bill, or car payment.

I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he had about $25m at the time he married Meghan. With her income we can say that as of May 2018 they were worth a combined $26.5m (this does not include her merching money from 2016).

So they lived in Nott Cott and according to them, had no staff because the place was just “so tiny!”

From November 2017 until March 2020, I would say Meghan has probably earned close to $20m in merching contracts. Plant has stated that she knows for a fact Meghan, at one point, was earning $250k per item she was merching per outfit, so up to $1m a day. I do believe this money has been set aside and Meghan is using this as her fallback plan. I truly don’t think she has touched this money.

So Fiscal year 2018 they had $3.5m minus any personal expenses. We know she wasn’t paying for her clothing and they were getting free private jet rides and free stays so I am going to say at the end of 2018 they had about $3m of that $3.5 remaining.

When H&M moved into Frogmore in March 2019, the UK paid the refurbishment bill of close to $4m USD. While living there they paid for household staff such as the chef they had, housekeeper, and nannies.  So I am going to take about $250k off of the $3.5 and let’s say another $500k for personal expenses. Fiscal year 2019 they ended with $2.75m.

January 2020 I am going to estimate they went into the year with a possible savings of $5.75m from Charles. We know they stayed for free in Canada and didn’t have to pay for security at the time.

By March 2020, I estimate that they went into being “private citizens” with close to a possible $32m in the bank (not including her merch money).

Their house was $14m and rumor is that Charles gave them an approximately $4m down payment. Let’s say H&M put down an additional $3m out of their own pocket. Now they have $29m and a mortgage of $50k a month, plus staff salaries. I estimated that their yearly expenses were close to $4m a year for household and security. To have spending money I figured they would need to earn about $6m a year.

So if they were to earn no income, that $29m would last about 7 years. However, we know they have received about $13m to Archewell plus whatever they earned from Spotify & Netlfix. Which I doubt was a lot after overhead for their projects.

$29m plus the $13m and approximately $4m from Netlfix & Spotify combined is about $46m, plus Harry’s $35m three book deal ($10 million because he only wrote one book).

This would put them at possible $56m (up to $81m) net worth from 2018 until current if they were careful with their money.

Rumors of them being beyond broke means that they have spent a total of $56m in 5 years, but probably closer to $70m.

Yet they have nothing to show for their insane spending other than their house.

[melishade]

In the Peaceful Timeline, how's Hanji going to find out about the alien robots? There's no way she hadn't noticed anything going on with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.

Previous Episode of the Peaceful Timeline

Oh Hanji's absolutely been suspicious about Eren, Mikasa, and Armin in the Peaceful Timeline.

See, because the Modern Day Trio come up to them and ask them questions about the Ghost Car (Optimus Prime) and the Demon Plane (Megatron). They've been talking about it for weeks. And they suddenly just...drop it. They stop talking about it. They stop asking about it. It's suspicious. Hanji notices the truck still coming into town, but nothing else.

Hanji knows for a fact that they found something. They are hiding something. So who better to employ in their mission than a former criminal?

Levi deadpanning as Hanji is grinning at them:...No.

Hanji: Yes!

Hanji asks Levi to plant a recording device on one of them to figure out what's going on, which is a huge risk for the both of them. Levi is trying to recover from a life of crime and start off fresh with Erwin's help. Doing this will violate his parole and all of his progress. Meanwhile, planting a bug and spying on the students will look bad for Hanji, who is a teacher at the school with an already outlandish reputation. Hanji's on their knees begging Levi, stating they will do anything for Levi for the next week.

Levi pointing at the hell storm that is their desk: Keep your shit clean.

Hanji: Except for that!

Levi gets paid extra, and he gets better cleaning products. Device is on Armin for about a day before Levi manages to snag it back from him without knowing. Erwin finds out and is obviously mad at the both of them, but Hanji insists that they listen to the recording first. If there's nothing important on them, Hanji will take full blame for it and will resign from their job. Hanji, Levi, and Erwin listen to the recording and are completely shook at the sounds of two new voices and the fact that there is a confession that the Ghost Car and the Demon Plane are actually aliens!

Hanji: ALIENS!!!!!! THERE ARE ALIENS!!!! THE GHOST CAR IS AN ALIEN!!!!!

Erwin:....you owe Mike so much money.

Levi: You don't tell him shit.

This ultimately turns into that Friends Episode where everyone knows about Monica and Chandler excluding Ross and they're trying to get it out of the other side. Like "They know that we know" and "They know that we know what they know" Erwin and Hanji definitely see a benefit. Like discovering alien life? That's the biggest accomplishment you could ever achieve. Levi's thinking of their safety, especially one of them sounds like the biggest fucking asshole of the year.

The teachers aren't able to get a confession, not without exposing themselves for spying on students, but they do keep a close eye on the trio, waiting for one of them to slip up. They do end up getting involved when Starscream comes into the picture because they've been keeping a close eye on them. And Hanji gets really excited to test something completely unsanctioned that Erwin had to lock away in storage.

(I would have spoiled some stuff regarding that final confrontation, but I've decided to hold off on that for now. Lol.)

[rjalker]

one of these days I'm gonna grow a tree from seed and after multiple years it'll flower and reveal it has a mutation for double or triple or more petals and I'm gonna be so disappointed.

Edit: Here's why:

Wild flowers tend to have only a "single" layer of petals, leaving the center of the flower open for pollinators to reach, giving them nectar, and helping the plant reproduce by being pollinated.

Most cultivated flowers on the other hand are chosen from mutations that give the plant multiple layers of petals, making it almost, if not outright impossble for the flower to be pollinated at all, meaning pollinators don't benefit, and the plant can't reproduce, either.

This is done because the extra petals look cool, and, nowadays, because if your only choice is to go and buy more plants because you can't save seeds (and it's usually illegal to clone these ones, too), it makes companies more money because you have to keep buying from them when you want new plants.

[ID: Two photos of roses. One is a wild cherokee rose, with a five-petaled white flower with a golden center. The other is a cultivated rose with many layers of overlapping petals which are pale pink on the outermost layer, and golden yellow towards the center, where the petals are so tightly folded together the center of the flower cannot be seen. End ID.]

Also as a fun fact, apples and pears and a lot more plants than you'd think are in the rose family!

Edit 2: Also PSA both photos of the roses used are public domain, as is this combo, so feel free to save and us it if you want, for anything you want.

[kiraisrika]

Hazbin Hotel: Trace The primal Light 2/3

Finally its here!!!

Link to part 1 : xxx

Link to redesign poll ; xxx

Lets talk about Villains

In HH season 1 the big bad villain is Adam and well...lets just say he serve his purpose...not in a good way tho

I know, yes, HH tone fits with his characterization but i have more expectation for the big bad of HH. In my eyes and partly because of my own religion, i would expect him to be more of a fatherly type, and its just doesn't make sense that he enjoyed the extermination this much considering the sinners is his children. I would assume he would be the type that is forced to that pedestal because he believe its for the greater good.

- And then i have the idea, how about instead of Adam, his son is the villain? Cain, the first murderer, the father of evil its just so fitting, he is after all the first human who spilled blood on earth.

In my rewrite Cain is the Villain, the big bad, the perfect contrast to Charlie.

Cain is a sinner no doubt, but because of the forgiveness of Abel he is able to rise to heaven and "Cleansed" all and all he's a total hypocrite. He is the one who pitched the idea od extermination believing that it will protect heaven in an extent, himself.

Cain is someone who held beauty in high regard, he believes heaven is beautiful and sinners are not, it can threaten the baeuty of heaven and he cannot allow that.

He often calculate others move silently, thinking of every possibility and because of this he is an excellent fighter. His only concern can be split to 3 parts;

1. Will this benefit me?

2. Is this thing/person will get in my way?

3. Will this bite me in the back later?

He has affection, ofcourse but its so far in between.

He is everything that Charlie's not, he is selfish, hypocritical, pessimistic and manipulative.

And so, that concludes the big bad of the show what about other villains?

- Lute is what you call the villains right hand man, she truly believes that angels cannot do anything wrong, if it were it must be for "The greater Good" she don't Follow cain blindly no no no, she believed that what's he's doing is for the grester good, and so she follows him.

- Vox, unlike the original IS Alastor REAL rival.

Alastor and Lucifer isn't as involved as the original, Lucifer doesn't trust Alastor yes, because of how unexpected he is and he doesn't like the fact a man like him is near his daughter. With the surge of the internet and introduction of modern technology in hell, it safe to assume that Alastor if anything at all will atleast be wary of Vox, him being the one who have dominion over the new rise of technology means that it will overshadow his old timey Radio.

They have a real rivalry, trying to one-up each other in every way possible, Alastor is as invested in this as Vox is

OG Vox could never

- Valentino in my rewrite is more serious, he is more like a spider than angel dust is, he will not be afraid to use physical or psychological torture to torment his victims.

He gets in Angel's head alot, he will gaslight and guilt trip Angel to do his bidding, his only concern is money and power.

because he has Velvette and Vox on his side, He nearly Has every information in the pride ring and that's how he trapped his victim inside his grip.

If anything were to happen, its okay, he has control over hells information network, and he intented to use it anyway

Season 1 episode 9

As i promised you, its finally here

Episode 9 as i was saying is the prolog episode that will lay out season 2 and tease possible theories.

Season 1 ending with the hotel gaining traction, and getting more popular. But not with a slight hiccup, Cain and Abel founds out, Abel is delighted by this this can possibly be another way to control hell's overpopulation with less blood to be spilled while Cain is concerned and stressed, an unexpected variable has come in his way, and he intend to get rid of it.

In the end episode 8 he planted a bug down down to hell, to where the hotel is, trying to spy inside the hotel.

In episode 9, with the hotel gaining more popularity each time the main cast works together to handle the customers, including Sir pentious and in the end they have a celebration surprised party for Charlie because she has worked so hard.

In the party they have fun, and Sir pentious watches silently while smiling, he has finally found his comfort place a place where he shouldn't act "Evil" for the sake of attention because he was finally enough.

But suddenly a smoke emerge from the party scene, Vaggie immediately took a stance, Alastor grabbed his microphone all the cast present freezed.

It all happened too fast.

The bug appeared, lifting Pentious to the air and stabbed him with it's sting he can only say "i'm sorr-" before he was cut off with a deeper stab that choke him.

The bug disappeared, leaving the heavily injured Pentious to fall, Charlie immediately runs to catch him, but before she can even touch him his flesh, skin, everything turned into that of a rose petal.

The cinematic shot pans over the kneeling Charlie, the cast, the countless roses petal that covering the entire floor, only leaving his hat and clothes to spare.

And Vaggie recognized that all too well.

The screen cuts off and slowly a calming humming sound can be heard.

The scene switched to a man sitting down in front of a table and caressing a single rose, its all a dramatic tonal whiplash from the scene earlier, this scene seems bright, light coming in clearly through the window, showing the beautiful golden hour, cinematic shot showing besides him a single vase with 6 roses i. It.

The humming stopped, he bought the flower in front of face, revealing the man's eyes but not his identity.

"Rose petals look so much prettier when its removed from it's thorny stems don't you think?" that man say seemingly to told no one else but himself.

Then, footsteps can be heard from outside that room, and then a voice rang "Cain, are you ready yet?" revealing the man's identity.

The man's grip tightened around the rose, breaking apart the petals from it's thorny stem, and he leave petals falling softly to the table, saying "yes, wait a minute"

The camera still focuses to the petals as door closing can be heard offscreen, then the camera pans out slowly, showing the table, the chair, and the vase ontop of it, containing 6 roses left.

A single rose petal drop down to the floor and the episode ends.

Cain and Vaggie

Now with episode 9 finally out of the way lets talk about Vaggie more in depth now.

I already covered most of what i dislike about Vaggie in my part 1 post so lets get straight to the point.

I wanted Vaggie to be more involved with the narrative without Charlie and actually have a character outside of being Charlie's girlfriend.

Vaggie once named Valitas, is Cain's favourite disciple. Cain took her under his wings since childhood and train her how to fight, Valitas respected Cain alot and admired him, and Valitas is one of the few people Cain actually cares about.

So when Valitas "betrayed" Cain, Cain draw an X with her own spear to her left eye and blinded her. Cain is hurt, Vaggie is hurt.

Vaggie always had a dream of that night, or her memories of training and sparring with Cain

Despite the calming tone of the dream, she will always woke up gasping and screaming.

This will be finalized in season 2! I will talk about it in part 3!!

Oh and btw feel free to give me ideas for the guests or even Cain and Abel, because i havent settled on Their designs yet

[beba-780]

Western Ninjago - Villains

Villains

Tyrrant Clinton calls himself "Overlord" among many.

Having a lot of money and influence in society, he has had the nerve to cover up all his crimes, such as the slave trade he created for his companies and jobs, corrupt deals and manipulations, the murder of Ray, Maya and the indians who inhabited the town of Ignacia, as well as the taking of a position in Ignacia and turning it into a city that serves as a base for some Tyrrant military members, the attack on the Montgomery family farm, and the attack on the ship in which Garmadon.

Tyrran is feared by everyone for being an extremely manipulative, cold and cruel man towards anyone, even for being an extremely rich and powerful man with many resources. His generation marks the beginning of much slavery and war between his allies and the resistance that Ronin had formed.

He has every intention of reaching Djinjago because he wants to take advantage of his time, that is because the society has begun to create various weapons that can benefit Tyrrant, and if he wants to have control of everything he needed gold and money, it is That's why he wants to find the city at any cost.

He doesn't care what happens to the citizens of all of Ninjago, he doesn't even care about getting rid of all the Indian tribes in all of Ninjago, he only seeks power and doesn't plan to rest until he obtains it.

His only weakness is that he is very proud, and if he gets angry he does not hesitate to take out all his anger on anyone. He doesn't allow any mistakes in his plans, and he can get frustrated quite easily. He has some spies planted in various locations in Ninjago.

It is not difficult for him to convince various authorities to put a reward on Lloyd, the same happens with some members of the resistance, and with Ronin and Kai.

If he discovers a flaw in his plans, he will not hesitate to teach a lesson to those who disappoint him. This is what happened to Vex when Tyrrant discovers that it was his fault that Lloyd escaped from the farm with the amulet, and to remind Vex that he does not accept mistakes, he leaves a great "mark" on her that she will never forget.

Tyrrant hires Morro to bring him Lloyd alive.

Morro is a dangerous outlaw who feels no remorse for murdering anyone. He has killed so many people that he has come to enjoy it.

Morro began his career as an outlaw when he was 18 years old, after murdering his former gang that he worked with he was able to obtain the reward they offered for them. He then began murdering different gangs and important people in order to steal their belongings.

He has even gone so far as to murder members of the resistance, members of the Serpentine gang, Indians and Tyrrant soldiers.

Since he was a child he was already quite arrogant and proud of himself, and he only agreed to join a gang of outlaws because he wanted to obtain protection and wealth. He was sometimes bothered by the fact that the leader of his group shared the profits with other people.

He despised Kai from the first day he saw him, even because of him he would put Kai in dangerous situations just to be able to get rid of him. Seeing that his leader loved Kai more, he began to feel an immense amount of jealousy towards Kai, and that jealousy turned into pure hatred.

After murdering his old gang, Morro tried to find Kai so he could kill him, but he never found him. After people called him "Ghost Green" Morro finally met Kai just two years after they last saw each other. Seeing as Kai also became a famous outlaw called the "Red Shogun", the two began to have a legendary rivalry.

Morro and Kai have had small encounters, but when trying to fight or shoot at each other, Morro never managed to finish off Kai, nor Kai with him.

Despite killing some members of the Serpentine gang, Morro sometimes uses them to get what he wants.

After being hired by Tyrrant Morro does not hesitate to go after Lloyd and Kai.

Vex Hoodoo is a preacher who has been manipulating and tricking people into giving him their belongings and money by using the word of God for his own benefit. He blindly believes that he is a man of God and that the Clinthon family's will is absolute.

He fears Tyrrant too much and knows that if he fails him several times, his fate would be worse than death, and to demonstrate his loyalty he takes charge of supervising the work in the mines and companies that belong to Tyrrant. He would be the second most dangerous man below Pythor. When he is at Shintaro he likes to make Cole and Jay suffer, since they are two of his least favorite people.

Pythor P. Chumsworth is Tyrrant's protégé, this was because before meeting Tyrrant he led the band of bandits known as the "Serpentine", after being removed from the most wanted and erased from the lists of the most wanted criminals of Ninjago, Tyrrant of fered him a better deal by accepting him into his alliance in order to find the city of Djinjago. Also thanks to Tyrrant he became a public servant of the city of Ninjago and became an assistant judge.

Pythor and his gang have tattoos of different snakes, Pythor has a tattoo of an anaconda on his back, while his second-in-command, Skales, has a king cobra on his arm.

He has a great hatred towards Wu, they are both important men in society, but knowing that Wu would also run for the city's new mayor fills him with frustration.

Chen is the mayor of Ouroboros, and together with his assistant Clouse they make the city infamous for allowing access to various outlaws, bandits and Tyrrant soldiers.

He became mayor thanks to his alliance with Tyrrant, since then the city became one of the bases for Tyrrant's soldiers.

It bothers him that several members of the resistance steal his weapons and artillery, he has even imprisoned several and hanged them.

He is upset that his daughter Skylor does not support him in his plans, and he does not know that she has been betraying him to help the resistance.

Samukai is a former general who previously trained recruits in one of the training areas of the Clinthon family property, but due to his bad actions in training he was removed from his commission, but before leaving he took almost an entire battalion with him and when crossing the Long river of Ninjago he built a fort where he now lives.

After creating his fort Samukai came to attack several tribes of Indians in order to enslave them, and every time someone invades his territory he does not hesitate to kill them or turn him into a slave.

Samukai is also an expert in explosions and torture, apart from showing no mercy to his enemies. He hates the Indians too much and he also hates the people who associate with them.

The Maaray tribe are a wild tribe that seeks to eliminate all the things in Ninjago City, as well as its inhabitants. They also do not hesitate to murder other tribes of Indians that mix with the inhabitants of Ninjago.

It is a large tribe, but at the same time divided, and they have been almost a nuisance on Kai and Lloyd's travels.

[turtlesandfrogs]

@mysteriouslyjellyfish making a post because it's too much to say in a comment.

I can give a couple sources that have helped change my mind on how invasive species should be related to, probably the first to start making me change my mind was this talk: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pay6nAu62l8 "Indigenous perspectives on invasive species" by Gary Pritchard (Giniw). Just, the stance of asking why the plant is here, how it can be used, etc, is just so non-adversarial and such a contrast with the mindset I grew up with. Which for the record was "invasive species are bad and should be removed asap".

I also read 'beyond the war on invasive species' by Tao Orion, which talks a lot about how invasive species are the symptom, not the cause, of environmental degradation, and that they do actually play a beneficial role in ecosystems. I used to think of invasive species as vast barren monocultures that had no benefit to native species, and that's just not true.

I also found out that at least in my area, a species is declared invasive because it costs the agricultural sector money, NOT because it's harming the native ecosystem or native species. Otherwise lawn grass species would be on the list, along with several others near and dear to many people's hearts.

There were a lot more, but I forget specific resources. A big one for me was learning about how differently native people view and interact with the land, which honestly I came to me from being a forager & attending a workparty & nettle picking event held by one of the local tribal groups. That, and Braiding Sweetgrass.

I think until I had those experiences I didn't realize how extractive the typical western viewpoint of land management is.

Also, learning about native people's land management techniques, and how it wasn't this pristine, untouched natural paradise, but that they had been actively caring for and managing the land for so very long. Learning about how diseases introduced from Europe killed millions and depopulated areas so settlers were moving into what seemed like empty lands but were actually post-collapse landscapes, and a lot of restoration historically is based on a misunderstanding of how these ecosystems work. Learning about how plants like bear grass actually do better where native peoples are allowed to forage from them in the traditional way. Learning about how they selected for and moved different plant species around.

This land was and is cared for deeply, and I think a peice that a lot of people are missing in the invasive plant species discussion is that it's not actually the natural state of things to remove people and their influence from the land. The more I learn about native species and native peoples' practices, the more it seems to me that what we call "wilderness" was more like a carefully tended garden that is now being horribly neglected. Of course "weeds" are moving in, and equally evident is the fact that the weeds aren't the root of the problem- the neglect is.

It's a lot to go through- I was raised in an agricultural family and got my degree in biology, so I was steeped in the 'invasives are bad' world view.

That said, there's always nuances & context that matters, and there is no one "right" opinion or strategy. I'm still trying to figure out English ivy.