#but being homeless is a failure on the society you live in

[theamazingannie]

People will really be like “idk why homeless people are homeless if not for a failure on their part. It’s so easy to make enough money to survive in this economy. All you have to do is get a job you can only get if you are clean and presentable, something difficult to achieve when you don’t have regular access to a bathroom; get paid less than your worth for soul crushing work; be a grown adult living with strangers to cut your rent but still spending half your paycheck every month solely for rent, which you won’t even be able to achieve unless you save up enough after paying application fees and presentable clothing for the job you need to have before you get the apartment and furniture for the apartment unless you want to sleep on the floor for $800/month which is a big possibility considering your rent takes up half your paycheck and you still have to pay utilities and food and soaps for a shower to remain clean and presentable. And if you don’t want to work that job or it doesn’t pay what you need it to, take up time you don’t have to go to school with money you don’t have to learn a skill so you can be overworked and underpaid for a few dollars an hour more IF you are successful at learning said skill. And If you need extra money along the way, you can always sell parts of your body (but only if you’re healthy cuz if you’re not, which considering you can’t afford a proper diet is a possibility, you’ll be denied) but DON’T do sex work cuz that’s degrading and not at all related to anything else I have said.”

[anarchywoofwoof]

the funny thing is that i don't think younger people - and i mean those under the age of 40 - really have a grasp on how many of today's issues can be tied back to a disastrous reagan policy:

war on drugs: reagan's aggressive escalation of the war on drugs was a catastrophic policy, primarily targeting minority communities and fueling mass incarceration. the crusade against drugs was more about controlling the Black, Latino and Native communities than addressing the actual problems of drug abuse, leading to a legacy of broken families and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

deregulation and economic policies: reaganomics was an absolute disaster for the working class. reagan's policies of aggressive tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and slashing social programs were nothing less than class warfare, deepening income inequality and entrenching corporate greed. these types of policies were a clear message that reagan's america was only for the wealthy elite and a loud "fuck you" to working americans.

environmental policies: despite his reputation being whitewashed thanks to the recovery of the ozone layer, reagan's environmental record was an unmitigated disaster. his administration gutted critical environmental protections and institutions like the EPA, turning a blind eye to pollution and corporate exploitation of natural resources. this blatant disregard for the planet was a clear sign of prioritizing short-term corporate profits over the future of the environment.

AIDS crisis: reagan's gross neglect of the aids crisis was nothing short of criminal and this doesn't even begin to touch on his wife's involvement. his administration's indifference to the plight of the lgbtq+ community during this devastating epidemic revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a complete failure of moral leadership.

mental health: reagan's dismantling of mental health institutions under the guise of 'reform' led directly to a surge in homelessness and a lack of support for those with mental health issues. his policies were cruel and inhumane and showed a personality-defining callous disregard for the most vulnerable in society.

labor and unions: reagan's attack on labor unions, exemplified by his handling of the patco strike, was a blatant assault on workers' rights. his actions emboldened corporations to suppress union activities, leading to a significant erosion of workers' power and rights in the workplace. he was colloquially known as "Ronnie the Union Buster Reagan"

foreign policy and military interventions: reagan's foreign policy, particularly in latin america, was imperialist and ruthless. his administration's support for dictatorships and right-wing death squads under the guise of fighting "communism" showed a complete disregard for human rights and self-determination of other nations.

public health: yes, reagan's agricultural policies actually facilitated the rise of high fructose corn syrup, once again prioritizing corporate profits over public health. this shift in the food industry has had lasting negative impacts on health, contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health issues.

privatization: reagan's push for privatization was a systematic dismantling of public services, transferring wealth and power to private corporations and further eroding the public's access to essential services.

education policies: his approach to education was more of an attack on public education than anything else, gutting funding and promoting policies that undermined equal access to quality education. this was, again, part of a broader agenda to maintain a status quo where the privileged remain in power.

this is just what i could come up with in a relatively short time and i did not even live under this man's presidency. the level at which ronald reagan has broken the united states truly can't be overstated.

[magdaclaire]

i saw my grandmother's conservative soul leave her body last night

[is-this-yuri]

what's the big deal with homeless people being comfortable? if we're comfortable it means we're too lazy to participate in normal society? is that why there's such a high standard of performance for homeless people? if we aren't suffering constantly, we aren't actually in need of help, apparently.

if you truly believe being homeless is somehow more comfortable than being housed, maybe you should try it. maybe it means there's been a massive failure in the system, and we need to make some kind of change. why are you so jealous of the guy on the bench? do you want to live in a tent too? does it sound fun, freeing, enjoyable? is it because you're tired of living the way you do? or do you just want homeless people to suffer because you hate them

[agentperezbian]

Everyone talks about the Saw series in a queer context — but am I the only one who sees it in a neurodivergent context, especially in relation to capitalism?

I've said before (not on here, privately) that I think John represents capitalism and conformity in a way. His idea of "appreciating your life" often manifests in the form of societal views of productivity/usefulness. Drug addicts should be punished because they aren't making themselves useful. This man should be punished because he's faking an illness to avoid work while still getting paid. Mental illnesses like depression can be cured with punishment. Part of Lawrence's reason for being tested besides cheating on his wife was seeming to have low empathy/being too clinical with his patients which can be a sign of neurodivergence, autism in particular.

I may joke here sometimes but I do not think John is "right" in any way, or a "good guy," for this reason. His views of what is acceptable in society are narrow and encourage conformity. Amanda, the woman he took under his wing, was not healed by her experience in her trap - she merely went from being an open drug user to someone hiding self harm. She was "fixed" because her ailments were out of sight, so they wouldn't bother anyone. John admonishes Adam for spying on people while not acknowledging that he's in poverty, and has to do dirty work to pay his bills. If Adam made it out of his trap, even if he stopped taking pictures, he would still be poor, living in a rundown apartment, unable to afford groceries.

John goes after people who offend his idea of how a person should live. He thinks Jill's approach to helping addicts is bullshit because he believes in a "tough love" approach that we never see actually work. Just as we see the government incarcerating the homeless, people who do drugs, mentally ill people, John also seems to see them as a detriment to society, but does not consider the societal problems that put them where they are. Poverty and mental illness aren't things you can just pull yourself out of. This is why John's ideology and "moral code" is ultimately a failure.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

‘It’s a world made by men, for the benefit of men.’

The patriarchy, male privilege, gender oppression… again and again, we are beaten over the head with dogmatic, absolutist, and terrifying catch phrases, each to be accepted without question.

You see, when it comes to political and structural advantage, men have it all, and women have none.

But do such theories make sense in modern society?

Why, if our male privilege is so sweet, do so many thousands of men end their lives in such tragic stories of suicide?

Why, if our society is so patriarchal, does it ignore the countless and increasingly urgent issues that devastate men and boys?

And why, if this society is designed for my advantage, no less as a straight white man, then why in the build-up to a General Election is there not one policy designed for men and boys?

I don’t understand.

And if the world hates and neglects women so much, why do our major political parties line up to offer them a plethora of well-meaning policies, showering them with taxpayer money, and words of support, compassion, and kindness?

The political agendas are out, outlining the next generation of political change, and ambition, and it’s chock full of ‘women and girls’ being a national priority.

Meanwhile any question about the other half of society, to rightfully ask ‘what about men and boys?’, will only draw sneers and squeals, eye rolls, and violence, ‘this isn’t about you’, they snap back.

Yes.

We know that already. That’s the point.

It never is.

It never is about boys falling behind and out of education.

It never is about the homeless men left to die on the street.

It never is about the millions of male victims of abuse with nowhere to go.

Those who say, ‘this isn’t about you’, have yet to realise they have missed the point entirely, whilst simultaneously impaling themselves upon it.

We know.

This isn’t about us, and it never is.

So, who, in another full house of political neglect, betrayal and failure, are you going to vote for?

[pilferingapples]

An Impromptu Ranking of Hugolian Adoptive Parental Figures

Ursus,The Man Who Laughs : I know everyone's going to want Valjean to be first place, but he's not. Ursus takes the lead not only because he's got two adopted kids, but because he does what no other dad-mom-general-adoptive-parent on the list does, and actually does the grubby hands-on work of Raising Kids. He doesn't have maids or nannies or nuns or any help; he's just a guy living in his traveling van and raising up a couple kids (who arrived at his door horribly sick and injured, even, which he manages to treat?? ) with zero support except for a literal wolf. He's honest with them and openly loving and teaches them how to survive in their own time and society. Too bad about the kids existing in a really bleak Hugo novel, but you did great, Ursus. 10/10.

Jean Valjean, Les Miserables: He loves Cosette SO much and tries SO hard! Second place only because (1) during the convent years, he sees Cosette for one hour a day , and while that limitation is definitely not his ideal choice,it does mean he's just not the constant primary caregiver the way Ursus is and (3) More Trauma means More Problems, and especially So Many Communications Issues. Plus a really really misguided faith in the importance of attaining bourgeoisdom. IDEK , man. Heroic efforts, heroic failures, 18/18 Napoleonic Antithesis Points maybe?

Lethierry, Toilers of the Sea: a decent normal guy raising his niece, who has very normal 19C Dad Faults-- too much trust in stereotyped gender roles, and too much focus on his job at the expense of his domestic life. Absolute middle of the road, not heroic as a parent but also doesn't do anything that makes me go "holy shit NO , dude" . He's just a humanly flawed but caring parental figure. 5/10 complete middle of the road

Cimourdain, Ninety-Three: Listen I LIKE Cimourdain. I respect his whole narrative arc. I think he's probably the most interesting character in the novel. But he loses Parenting Points for (1) not being the primary hands-on caregiver for large chunks of his adopted kid's life and (2) uh. the whole. the thing where he kills his adopted kid. There are circumstances yes I know but still . If you are directly responsible for the death of your kid you are going to lose points in the parenting games. That's just how it is. 4/4 with full symbolic meaning of the number.

Frollo, Notre Dame de Paris: HOLY SHIT NO, DUDE.

Semi-adopted THREE kids and TWO died horribly and he directly threatened the life of the last one. Even before then he's not a GREAT parent, largely leaving the raising of his sort-of sons up to others, locking one up in a single building, letting another fall into addiction, and the third go starving and homeless on the streets. So it's already not doin' great but arguably he's Trying?

But then he wants to bang a teenager, and decides they're all expendable. Absolute worst reason for the absolute worst parenting decisions. 8/8 you ARE the Fatalité , dude, look within and quit blaming your issues on teenagers.

Honorable Mentions: Radoub, Ninety-Three: gets the "like a mother" comparison, goes through a firefight for his adopted kids, stays sweet and cheerful and soft around the babies to the end. Gets set here because he's NOT an adoptive single parent, he's actually co-parenting with the kids' birth mom and they are delightful platonic parenting partners. We wish you, Michelle, and the kids all the best , Radoub! Good job getting out of your novel without killing anyone you love!

Gavroche, Les Miserables: OK he only manages to adopt the momes for an evening, and for an adult I'd be docking All The Points for that, but for an unparented 12 year old he is doing GREAT. He even kept looking for them afterwards! The biggest and most sincere You Tried star for you, Gavroche, it's not your fault you're all getting atomized hard enough to explode a barricade.

Dishonorable Mentions:

Gillenormand, Les Miserables : If you're gonna hold a kid as a financial hostage and destroy his dad's life because the kid's soooooo important to you, you might also try making sure that kid has any way to know that you actually give a damn about him? Maybe at least don't beat him with sticks? Legos be under your feet forever, Gillenormand!

The Slaveowner Uncle in Bug Jargal : absolutely perish

[codenamesazanka]

The story works a lot better if you think criminals and villains and bad people should never be forgiven and never deserved saving in the first place. Heroes should have never bothered... which is why even just being 'weird' enough to think of Villains as people is a big and brave step. Willing to even listen is incredibly compassionate. Saving a Villain by allowing them to feel just a moment a relief? Heroic beyond comprehension.

It doesn't matter if the Villains became villains because of the failures of Hero Society. They should've just sucked it up and tried their best to not bother other people. Heroes have no obligation to save them after they lashed out. If Heroes do save even after that, it's because those Heroes are being merciful.

If Villains want to live as they pleased, they need to suffer consequences. If they had only lived suppressing their desires and not making a fuss and followed through to their doomed fate, they would've been... well, not fine, but it would've made everyone else's lives easier. Touya should've resigned himself to being ignored by his dad. Twice should've make the most out of being an orphaned, homeless 16-year-old. Toga should've listened when her parents call her inhuman and suppressed herself her entire life. Spinner either should've stayed in his room or thought more positively. Tenko shouldn't have hated himself for having Decay, should've validated his own existence in an appropriate way. If someone could've helped at all, it's mostly being there for them so they can better endure their suffering and not lash out and trouble everyone.

But the villains committed crimes and need to be punished accordingly. I once saw an anonymous message board thread that stated the 419 reveal was Shigaraki's comeuppance - he had done such evil deeds, so it's only fair that he gets his psyche shattered. It was karma. The fact that he did those evil deeds because of AFO's machinations that was the reveal—well, it was still him who killed people and destroyed things, so he still needs to be punished. If villains die, they die. They should die, after what they did. But they can feel one (1) belief minute of relief, as a treat. Because heroes are so nice.

(The incredibly stupid thing about Deku being held up as exceptional, as 'not normal', never doing the things that 'normal' heroes do, as having a drive to save that eclipses all common understanding means that only he would've been able to save Tenko. Isn't it so brave of him to sacrifice his arms to hold Tenko's hand? No one else would do that! ...Which has the inadvertent implication that only someone so abnormal can save Tenko. Who else could accept such a boy? No one on the streets could've helped him, that's just how things are!)

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

{THIS IS A RANT} - Back at it again with the

ALL MY HOBIES HATE PETER B.

(Not a typo)

Another rant where I talk about hating Peter B on every level in which my soul manifests

[Stop talking about if your parenting is good so help me fucking god this has nothing to do with you and lives are at stake]

The reason I find Miguel easier to defend than Peter B is because Miguel actually has actions to speculation about in the story.

Peter spent that whole movie talking about his baby, standing completely stationary while witnessing child abuse twice (he didn't nothing when Gwen was sent home) and then go home and talk about how he's sad cause he's not a good mentor and might not be 'good at this'

Like sir who the hell cares what youre good at A teenage girl just became homeless and Miles is being hunted by hundreds of adults

Can you give us more than 'I'm bad at this mentor stuff 😭😭😭'

Put MayDay in the crib and go get Gwen.

Or at the very least tell MJ. Tell MJ that the kid that inspired you to have MayDay is in mortal danger. Tell MJ that the reason you think you're a bad mentor is because MILES JUST GOT HIS ASS BEAT

Why is his thought after ALL THAT about himself abd only HIMSELF? And how he might be a bad mentor

Like yes, you are now that we've realized that glaring fact can you like.... Do something

ALSO YOU HAVEN'T SEEN MILES IN OVER A YEAR WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THAT

'you don't know if he was going to go get gw-'

Exactly. Cause all he did was talk about himself.

'what if the society was supporting them financially-'

if you see your boss assault a child you should quit even if you make a million a month

'he ended up joining the team anyway'

Gwen, the teenager, the homeless teenager, shouldn't be the one coming to Peter's rescue right now it should be the other way around.

The only reason he joined at the end was because Hobie and Gwen made it super convenient for them.

Had Hobie not left Gwen the watch - and Gwen hadn't showed up -

We are given NO PROOF whatsoever that Peter would've joined them.

No verbal indication or anything.

We have no idea how long Peter would've stayed on Miguel's side had Gwen not approached him.

LITERALLY all Peter did this movie was show Miles baby pictures, tell him he has to let his dad die, accidentally get him caught because he's too stupid to turn off his TRACKING watch , watch Miles get his ass beat, then watch Gwen get her ass beat, then go home and talk about himself.

At least Miguel is having an emotional arc meanwhile Peter shows the emotional range of a bad day at the office despite the fact people he knows and cares about have been hurt in front of him by someone he knows and cares about.

And people still defend him.

HE DID NOTHING. THERE'S NOTHING TO DEFEND BUT HIS INACTION

I feel like so many people excuse his inaction and failure to 'he means well' - obviously not cause when you mean well you do well and he ain't do shit.

"What was he supposed to do?"

At the very least express concern of some sort about the two missing children in his life??

Put MayDay down and try to see if you can find Gwen?

At the very least mention the fact that his boss went apeshit - or Hell, talk about ANYTHING besides himself.

I don't know how people can see that and be like yeah he's cool. This is a competent man who cares about these kids

Like.... If you care and do nothing and make them do literally everything and help them none to the point you're actively leading danger to them because you can't think ahead all while clapping from the sidelines then who the fuck cares what you care about

You don't care enough to do something. So why would I care you're a bad mentor???????

At least Miguel is doing something and we can look deeper into his emotional arc and story and motive

Peter B gives literally nothing. Nothing. Contributes nothing to no one through the whole movie. Doesn't even do a cool Spidey move or anything. Jokes dry as hell -

FUCK I'm so salty why did the write him like a plank of wood why am I supposed to be okay with his WHY WHY WHY

WANT ME TO CLAP AND SHIT MEANWHILE I'M LOOKING AT HIM LIKE

What can he do that Noir, Pavitr, and Hobie can't? Like.... They can do everything he can???? With extra abilities,??? PENI HAS A MECH?? WHAT IS HE ADDING WHAT IS HE BRINGING WHAT IS HE SERVING

NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING

____________________________________________

Anyway if you made it this far he's a master list of all my posts where I talk about why a Peter is a horribly borderline irredeemable character.

Peter watching as Gwen is put in the machine, and says nothing besides a joke to defend her, before going home to talk about himself

Hobie doesn't like Peter so neither do I

Why I believe Peter purposely ratted Miles out - If Peter didn't know he was being tracked, why would she speak out loud and give herself away. She didn't. I believe Peter asked her to track them and she responded out loud not knowing Miles was right there.

Why even if he didn't rat Miles out, that's arguably worse - How do you forget the obvious tracker watch is obvious tracking you?

UHH SO YEAH FUCK PETER B ALL MY HOBIES HATE PETER B

[dailyanarchistposts]

A.2.10 What will abolishing hierarchy mean and achieve?

The creation of a new society based upon libertarian organisations will have an incalculable effect on everyday life. The empowerment of millions of people will transform society in ways we can only guess at now.

However, many consider these forms of organisation as impractical and doomed to failure. To those who say that such confederal, non-authoritarian organisations would produce confusion and disunity, anarchists maintain that the statist, centralised and hierarchical form of organisation produces indifference instead of involvement, heartlessness instead of solidarity, uniformity instead of unity, and privileged elites instead of equality. More importantly, such organisations destroy individual initiative and crush independent action and critical thinking. (For more on hierarchy, see section B.1 — “Why are anarchists against authority and hierarchy?”).

That libertarian organisation can work and is based upon (and promotes) liberty was demonstrated in the Spanish Anarchist movement. Fenner Brockway, Secretary of the British Independent Labour Party, when visiting Barcelona during the 1936 revolution, noted that “the great solidarity that existed among the Anarchists was due to each individual relying on his [sic] own strength and not depending upon leadership… . The organisations must, to be successful, be combined with free-thinking people; not a mass, but free individuals” [quoted by Rudolf Rocker, Anarcho-syndicalism, p. 67f]

As sufficiently indicated already, hierarchical, centralised structures restrict freedom. As Proudhon noted: “the centralist system is all very well as regards size, simplicity and construction: it lacks but one thing — the individual no longer belongs to himself in such a system, he cannot feel his worth, his life, and no account is taken of him at all.” [quoted by Martin Buber, Paths in Utopia, p. 33]

The effects of hierarchy can be seen all around us. It does not work. Hierarchy and authority exist everywhere, in the workplace, at home, in the street. As Bob Black puts it, ”[i]f you spend most of your waking life taking orders or kissing ass, if you get habituated to hierarchy, you will become passive-aggressive, sado-masochistic, servile and stupefied, and you will carry that load into every aspect of the balance of your life.” [“The Libertarian as Conservative,” The Abolition of Work and other essays, pp. 147–8]

This means that the end of hierarchy will mean a massive transformation in everyday life. It will involve the creation of individual-centred organisations within which all can exercise, and so develop, their abilities to the fullest. By involving themselves and participating in the decisions that affect them, their workplace, their community and society, they can ensure the full development of their individual capacities.

With the free participation of all in social life, we would quickly see the end of inequality and injustice. Rather than people existing to make ends meet and being used to increase the wealth and power of the few as under capitalism, the end of hierarchy would see (to quote Kropotkin) “the well-being of all” and it is “high time for the worker to assert his [or her] right to the common inheritance, and to enter into possession of it.” [The Conquest of Bread, p. 35 and p. 44] For only taking possession of the means of life (workplaces, housing, the land, etc.) can ensure “liberty and justice, for liberty and justice are not decreed but are the result of economic independence. They spring from the fact that the individual is able to live without depending on a master, and to enjoy … the product of his [or her] toil.” [Ricardo Flores Magon, Land and Liberty, p. 62] Therefore liberty requires the abolition of capitalist private property rights in favour of “use rights.” (see section B.3 for more details). Ironically, the “abolition of property will free the people from homelessness and nonpossession.” [Max Baginski, “Without Government,” Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth, p. 11] Thus anarchism promises “both requisites of happiness — liberty and wealth.” In anarchy, “mankind will live in freedom and in comfort.” [Benjamin Tucker, Why I am an Anarchist, p. 135 and p. 136]

Only self-determination and free agreement on every level of society can develop the responsibility, initiative, intellect and solidarity of individuals and society as a whole. Only anarchist organisation allows the vast talent which exists within humanity to be accessed and used, enriching society by the very process of enriching and developing the individual. Only by involving everyone in the process of thinking, planning, co-ordinating and implementing the decisions that affect them can freedom blossom and individuality be fully developed and protected. Anarchy will release the creativity and talent of the mass of people enslaved by hierarchy.

Anarchy will even be of benefit for those who are said to benefit from capitalism and its authority relations. Anarchists “maintain that both rulers and ruled are spoiled by authority; both exploiters and exploited are spoiled by exploitation.” [Peter Kropotkin, Act for Yourselves, p. 83] This is because ”[i]n any hierarchical relationship the dominator as well as the submissive pays his dues. The price paid for the ‘glory of command’ is indeed heavy. Every tyrant resents his duties. He is relegated to drag the dead weight of the dormant creative potential of the submissive all along the road of his hierarchical excursion.” [For Ourselves, The Right to Be Greedy, Thesis 95]

[rapidpunches]

Hey I'm wondering if I could use one of the panels from your thing with the alligator/crocodile guy and adjust it to finish with "no. I'm choosing to be me" or something and they have all their detail back and maybe angry eyebrows?

I don't want to steal anyone's art and since it wasn't the direction of the original post I thought I'd ask permission before I mess with it 🥰

Thanks either way! ❤️

This was a vent comic that got out of my hands. You are free to do whatever you want. Same as people being free to interpret it and express themselves however they want -as they've been doing. I have no control over anyone.

But for some people, being yourself is not something you mindfully choose. If it was about being disabled for example, no one chooses to be disabled.

What if the comic was more about not being in control, about how others perceive you, or how they treat you based on how they perceive you?

What if it was about living under constant threat of harm? What if it was about being a vulnerable person dependent on care, but those with the power to give you food and shelter can choose to withhold it? What if it was about being a minority in a society that will find any reason to justify harming a minority? What if it was about being homeless? Gender nonconforming and needing to pass? What if it was about illness and poverty being seen as personal moral failures?

I wish I could choose to be accepted and forgiven for my shortcomings.

[cosmichighpriestess]

My love you're not broken, you're not lost or hopeless. You are not behind or devolving. You are trying to survive in a world that was designed to set you up for failure and burnout. You're also very uncomfortable where you are at because you're healing, learning how to regulate your emotions, learning how to place healthy boundaries and you're evolving.

Does that sound like a lost person? That sounds like a person growing who's stressed trying to be perfect in crazy capitalist society. If someone is pressuring you to have it all figured out they are projecting their own illusionary fears onto you. Don't listen to them if all you can do is rest, please rest. You receive so much more by resting than doing.

Letting go of control over your physical circumstances will open you up to all the help you deserve and need. You are receiving so many upgrades and activations while you are sleeping. You are becoming so much more aligned to Source by involving your spirituality into every part of your life. By breathing and eating more consciously and feeling the way you want to feel. That will never require you to people please and do what everyone else wants and expects of you. Keep healing, keep having boundaries and keep evolving. You are doing enough. You are enough. You are enough as you are now and that is good enough for God, believe me it is.

You have nothing to prove to anyone and you have nothing to prove to God. Religion, society and family will project their outdated fears onto you saying you need to figure it all out right now but they are just following the crowd trying not to get left behind. Meanwhile unaware they are behind in their own evolution by following what everyone else is doing. You are enough as you are my love, say it every single day as you wake up and go to bed. " I am what I am and that is enough." Experiment with new things any chance you get but don't beat yourself if you're still healing from things that no one is holding space for you to talk about. You're not lost, you're stressed.

Find time today to breathe deeply any chance you get and let all that negative energy out that doesn't belong to you. Know you automatically are transmuting that energy you don't have to try so hard. You are moving in the right direction by being aware of all those things that don't feel good in your body and moving toward the things that do feel good in your body. That is how you know you are moving in the highest path for you. You will get inspired thoughts when your spirit team knows you are ready, so rest until you get those gentle nudges. No one wants more pain and suffering in their lives unless they love pain and challenges. You do not have to suffer to get to where you want or get what you want and ascend.

Suffering is not a virtue. You do not have to experience poverty to ascend or be homeless or give up those things you really enjoy to ascend. You need to feel joy to ascend. Ask yourself, "How can I be love in the face of this?" And that will help you ascend by leaps and bounds far greater and faster than someone pressuring you to do something you don't want to do and have no idea how to do right now. Just be, just relax, stop stressing, let go, feel joy and appreciate feel gratitude and feel love for no reason at all.

[reedsofintimacy]

How smart are you? You’ve given some hints before but how many degrees do you have? What are you studying? What do you want to do in live professionally and passionately? What’s your purpose career wise?

Also hypothetically would you be open to being your wives employee if she had a really successful company?

I actually don't have any degrees! I'm a nerd and smart but also certainly have my flaws.

For context, I was an honors student all growing up. Always tested in the 99th percentile for state aptitude assessments. I got a 33 on my ACT, did well on a bunch of AP tests and went to a non-ivy-league but prestiguous state school in the top 25% of the incoming class and as a university scholar, in an accelerated chemistry PhD program, and lived in an honors community on campus.

I learned to speak some Chinese, became an instructor for a traditional Korean percussion group, led a bible study, tutored students in organic chemistry, and did excellent in my humanities courses writing on topics like a linguistic study of gender conception in viking-era icelandic society and designing an interventional plan to address youth homelessness in the community.

College was the best 2 years of my life, I adored everything about it but I also completely overloaded myself. Turns out you need more than raw brains for success. I was conflicted between prioritizing my studies vs my faith, and had unadressed adhd and anxiety i wasnt ever aware of and didnt know how to cope with. When my 19 credit hours were drowning me, I couldnt own up to the shame of overwhelm and failure, couldnt look my teachers in the eye and ultimately stopped showing up to class and dropped out.

I'm now back in school with a better understanding of myself, an absense of competing priorities and a lot of experience. Im pursuing working in Radiology doing either CT or MRI. A lot of my friends growing up are finishing their PhD theses and I love discussing them with them, but I myself don't have even an associate's to my name.

Career wise, I originally wanted to be a professor of either Chemistry or Materials Science. I debated majoring in Linguistics or teaching English as a second language but i don't speak anything fluent enough to really do that yet. I've since considered pursuing a career in comedy, as a science communicator and journalist or PIO, as a university student advisor, and taught myself to code to maybe pursue programming.

I love learning. Currently I'm putting the most effort into Chinese classical literature. I've done personal units on nutrition, skincare, fitness, urban planning, economics, and some software like adobe illustrator and game dev with Unity and Godot.

For my professional future, I think I'm for now planning on being a travelling technician in healthcare. It'd give me an opportunity to see lots of different places which is a goal of mine and shouldn't have too many commitments keeping me held in place. Maybe I'll finally get over my fear of casual hookups and become a traveling nurse by day and city-to-city clit servicer by night sampling all sorts of delicious lady bits. Idk. For now I'm just focused on what I'm doing in the moment.

In terms of passions I want time and independence to pursue learning as an autodidact. I'd love to maintain access to university libraries and attend lots of public lectures and symposiums if i could live near enough a big university. I want to read about the things that interest me and someday get over my social anxiety and travel to make friends all over the world with fellow nerds.

In terms of working for my wife of course that would be really sexy I'd love to be my partners doting but slutty assistant 💕 depending on the industry i guess. I think something like insurance or real estate is kind of predatory tbh and wouldnt want to be associated with it. But if I didn't have an issue with it I'd adore being my partners employee. Or even just a supportive house husband or trusted personal assistant ❤️❤️ a role i've always thought I have the potential to be quite good at

[houseofbrat]

HoB - what are your thoughts on William’s project? I don’t think it’s lived up to the hype or needed all the over the top promotion it was given before the launch. The Royal Foundation is essentially donating money to existing organizations. Surely they may trial a few different things to address root cause of homelessness but he’s not bringing anything fundamentally new to frame this as “his life’s work”.

It feels like it’s a vehicle in the same way Harry’s court cases and public whingefests are to him - an opportunity to lay claim to being the true son of Diana but to do so publicly in a way that’s “organic”. She really did not need to be cast as centrally to this campaign as she has been imho.

And his talking points reinforce the pitfall of hiring a US PR guru who is going to promote you like a reality TV starlet. When William stands up and says “homelessness shouldn’t exist in a modern, progressive society”, the immediate clapback from Republicans or detractors will be “well neither should monarchy”. That line may sound good if you’re a Kardashian but not so much if you’re a Royal & future Monarch.

What’s your thoughts? Did it live up to the hype for you?

After thinking about this for a few weeks, it has to be one of the most overhyped projects I've ever seen in my life.

Seriously.

The nuts & bolts of Homewards is perfectly fine--getting existing organizations to work together for a common goal. However, there was too much PR in the rollout about "ending homelessness." Sure, it's a great goal to have. Yet, five years from now, homelessness may not even be ended in the communities where Homewards is running and probably won't be.

If homelessness isn't significantly curtailed or ended by 2028 in those areas, the UK press is going to hop on that note and label it a "failure." A "failure" because the described end goal from the get-go was "ending homelessness," not working together to build a better process for charities and people dealing with homelessness. William talked about "ending homelessness" multiple times in the Homewards campaign rollout.

At least with the Earthshot Prize award scheme, I can understand having a PR campaign that overhypes the reach and scope of the project. With Earthshot, they need to build awareness on global scale, so that they can have enough people, projects, and communities willing enough to submit and participate in the process.

No such need exists with Homewards because the organizations already exist within their communities in the UK.

[metanightnyan]

Don’t be indifferent to the horrors in Palestine.

I thank my English class for showing me this speech, I just wish that the events in Gaza were discussed as a part of it. Don’t be indifferent, say something.

“Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, friends: 

Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again. Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness. 

And now, I stand before you, Mr. President -- Commander-in-Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands of others -- and I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people. "Gratitude" is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being. And I am grateful to you, Hillary, or Mrs. Clinton, for what you said, and for what you are doing for children in the world, for the homeless, for the victims of injustice, the victims of destiny and society. And I thank all of you for being here. 

We are on the threshold of a new century, a new millennium. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? How will it be remembered in the new millennium? Surely it will be judged, and judged severely, in both moral and metaphysical terms. These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations (Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin), bloodbaths in Cambodia and Algeria, India and Pakistan, Ireland and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Sarajevo and Kosovo; the inhumanity in the gulag and the tragedy of Hiroshima. And, on a different level, of course, Auschwitz and Treblinka. So much violence; so much indifference. 

What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil. What are its courses and inescapable consequences? Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals? 

Of course, indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the Other to an abstraction. 

Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were -- strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it. 

Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. We felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. For us to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering. 

In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. 

Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity, we betray our own. 

Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment.

And this is one of the most important lessons of this outgoing century's wide-ranging experiments in good and evil. 

In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. During the darkest of times, inside the ghettoes and death camps -- and I'm glad that Mrs. Clinton mentioned that we are now commemorating that event, that period, that we are now in the Days of Remembrance -- but then, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did. 

And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies. If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to intervene. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once. 

And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader -- and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945. So he is very much present to me and to us. No doubt, he was a great leader. He mobilized the American people and the world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. And so many of the young people fell in battle. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed.

The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- nearly 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after theKristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already in the shores of the United States, was sent back. I don't understand. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. He understood those who needed help.

Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark? A thousand people -- in America, the great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. What happened? I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims?

But then, there were human beings who were sensitive to our tragedy. Those non-Jews, those Christians, that we call the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Why were they so few? Why was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save their victims during the war? Why did some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942? It has been suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil obtained from American sources. How is one to explain their indifference? 

And yet, my friends, good things have also happened in this traumatic century: the defeat of Nazism, the collapse of communism, the rebirth of Israel on its ancestral soil, the demise of apartheid, Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, the peace accord in Ireland. And let us remember the meeting, filled with drama and emotion, between Rabin and Arafat that you, Mr. President, convened in this very place. I was here and I will never forget it. 

And then, of course, the joint decision of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo and save those victims, those refugees, those who were uprooted by a man, whom I believe that because of his crimes, should be charged with crimes against humanity. 

But this time, the world was not silent. This time, we do respond. This time, we intervene. 

Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human? Have we really learned from our experiences? Are we less insensitive to the plight of victims of ethnic cleansing and other forms of injustices in places near and far? Is today's justified intervention in Kosovo, led by you, Mr. President, a lasting warning that never again will the deportation, the terrorization of children and their parents, be allowed anywhere in the world? Will it discourage other dictators in other lands to do the same? 

What about the children? Oh, we see them on television, we read about them in the papers, and we do so with a broken heart. Their fate is always the most tragic, inevitably. When adults wage war, children perish. We see their faces, their eyes. Do we hear their pleas? Do we feel their pain, their agony? Every minute one of them dies of disease, violence, famine. 

Some of them -- so many of them -- could be saved. 

And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope.”

Say something. That’s all, it’s more than enough. Saying something is doing something. This is the genocide of our time, do not turn your back on them, do not pretend it’s not there and it will solve itself.

If you feel like you can’t do anything, by yourself maybe not. But we are speaking together. That gets attention, that gives power.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[never-was-has-been]

Crazy

Crazy

They’ll make you poor, then shame you for being poor, then push you into a job that keeps you poor at a billionaire megacorporation.

They’ll make you crazy, then shame you for being crazy, then sell you the cure for crazy at eighty bucks a pill.

You’re a failure if you can’t make ends meet on impossible wages at an impossible cost of living with a worthless degree you will never pay off no matter how hard you work while advertisers blare at you about your insufficiencies, while the news man tells you war is normal, while Hollywood tells you the system is working perfectly, while armed police guard grocery store dumpsters full of food from the hungry, while executives go on five billion-dollar space rides for fun, while you live surrounded by screens that tell you you are crazy if you think any of this is not sane.

Take Oligarchizac™ for your depression, take Plutocracipam™ for your anxiety, just ninety bucks a pill. Side effects may include compliance, acquiescence, subservience, docility, menticidal ideation, a marked lack of interest in guillotines, a dystopian society and a dying biosphere.

And the pundit says “A new study by a Raytheon-funded think tank says war is good for the environment, but first here’s a millionaire to explain the benefits of urinating on the homeless.”

And Hollywood says “Here’s a movie about well-dressed attractive people with nice houses engaging in amusing antics you’re too poor and stressed out to experience yourself.”

And the news man says “Here’s a rags-to-riches story which proves capitalism works fine and you should hate yourself if you can’t hack it here.”

And the advertisement says “Do you feel like you’re losing your mind due to your sense of inadequacy because you can’t afford Google’s latest NSA surveillance device? Ask your doctor about Empiradol��, just a hundred bucks a pill.”

They lock us in a room and fill the room with water and then shame us for drowning and then charge us for tiny gasps of air from a hose that leads to an ecosystem that they are destroying as quickly as they can.

And hey I’ve invented a new antidepressant anti-anxiety antipsychotic that I’m getting to market as quickly as I can. It’s not a pill or a jab or an electrical shock treatment, it’s just a big wad of cash taken by force from thieving megacorporations. Side effects may include peace and relaxation, an ability to buy food and think clearly, a fondness for red flags, and a hysterical corporate media.

And hey I think we just might make it, past the veil of madness and cutthroat cruelty.

And hey I think there’s something deep within us as yet untapped and as yet unrealized.

And hey I think an earthquake’s coming that just might topple the towers of madness once and for all.

❖ Caitlin's new book: Lao Sue and Other Poems

Caitlin on Mastodon