#i had all of them in my mind but recently they've been blah blah about it again and again

[goldenpinof]

if someone finds every instance dnp mentioned not being high/on drugs during the last google feud i'm gonna give you my heart and soul. and i mean every. including wad preshows.

[pftones3482]

Hello and good evening. I am a long time follower of yours on this platform. If it isn't too much of a hassle, I would like to ask you a couple of questions.

I am a college student from Europe and I an currently working on my bachelors degree. The subject of my degree is on the subject of current social issues in America. As I've been following you for the past few years I have come to the understanding that you are rather well informed about what goes on in America. Far better than I (an outsider) am at least. So, I thought that it would be a good decision on my part to ask for your opinion on what are the five most important or talked about social issues in America. As well as what you think the best or most reputable sources to use for research on these topics are.

If this isn't something you feel like commenting on for whatever reason, then feel free to ignore this message. Or if you believe that there are better people to ask about this, can you please steer me in their direction. Thank you for your time.

Kind regards.

P.S. I tried to send this as a direct message, but Tumblr continued to give me a 'could not send' error message. I don't know why that happened, but apologies if this causes you any inconvenience.

Oof, this is a long one to answer lol.

First and foremost, I want to say that I myself am not a reputable source. I actually get a lot of my information from first hand experiences of people on TikTok (blah blah TikTok isn't reputable yadda yadda I KNOW, but first hand accounts of people's lived experience are always more reputable than some random commentary by a white man on CNN). That being said, I can link a few people directly to follow, but I've struggled a lot to find ONE news source in recent years that isn't biased. I tend to just compare multiple sources to hear what all of them are saying (and everyone should be doing that anyway).

As far as "most important or most talked about" social issues, those vary person to person in the US. The social issues I find most important are not going to be the ones my neighbor finds most important. And keep in mind going into this I'm a cis white woman. I am part of the LGBTQIA community, I'm disabled, but I also hold a lot of privilege that many of my fellow Americans don't. And that's definitely going to skew my thoughts.

For me, personally, the top five most important social issues in the US rn are (in no order):

1. Land Back. Native Americans have had their land stolen from them for CENTURIES, and it is crucial we give it back to them. They actually care for the environment around them in a way that white rich men don't. Native people have existed peacefully with wildlife since the dawn of humanity, are humane in hunting practices, and care for the land they use. They deserve their homes back. The atrocities committed towards the Native community are horrendous (they've lost language, family, traditions), and they need better protections as a whole.

2. Trans rights. Specifically with trans youth, but overall in this country trans people are facing more and more discrimination in terms of legislation. There have been hundreds of bills introduced against them in the last few years alone, and all they're trying to do is survive. Especially trans people of color, and even more specifically trans women of color - they're all struggling in this country.

3. Public schooling/libraries. This one's broader, but we are seeing a huge educational gap between the last 15-20 years of schooling. We're teaching for tests, not to learn. Schools should not be funded based on local taxes, they should all be given the same funding from the government to give children an equal opportunity across the country. Teachers need higher wages and smaller classrooms, and children need HELP developmentally. Less tech, more hands on. Libraries, similarly, need significantly more funding and protections, and the censorship in both spaces is getting out of control. Children are not thriving in school because of the "No Child Left Behind" act - it needs to be revoked, because it doesn't help any child actually get the education they need.

4. The police. Specifically, their treatment of the black community and their authoritarian complex within the states. Funding needs to be heavily divested and frankly the entire industry needs to be scrapped and replaced. More of their "services" need to be allocated to mental health professionals/EMTs, and they should be required to go to school for psychology/humanitarian studies/cultural relations. No one should be allowed to shoot a person after only six weeks of training. No one should get a paid vacation after taking a person's life. Cops in America are disgusting, brutal, racist pigs, and they are a big part of the reason why we cannot move forward as a country.

5. Housing/minimum wage. We have a MASSIVE housing crisis going on right now, and it's in large part due to the fact that our national minimum wage stagnated at $7.25 in 2009 - 15 years ago. While many states are above that now, it's still LEGAL to pay that rate nationwide, and people in the service industry make even less. Because of this, and inflated housing costs, people literally cannot afford to live here. There are virtually no programs to assist many of our homeless people, no care for them in general, and every day I have to walk past people begging for money who I can't help because I also don't have it to spare when there are people literally buying billion dollar dresses to wear once and then throw away. We have the infrastructure in this country TO house everyone, and it costs more to police homeless people than it would to house them long term. (This also goes hand in hand with our substance abuse problem/mental health crisis as a country, but that would take way too long to type out)

There's way more I could get into - taxes, the voting system (and specifically how much we need to get rid of the electoral college and implement ranked choice voting), queer rights, women's rights, the return of Hawaii to Hawaiians, reproductive rights, etc. I struggle to pick because so many social issues are important for different reasons.

As far as people to follow, here's a small list of people who tend to cover the majority of topics I've listed:

Rynnstar - they do a great job covering all kinds of issues, really can't recommend them enough to follow

Mercury Stardust - lot of people know her as the "handyma'am" but she also talks about a lot of these issues, especially those faced by the trans community.

Ellaequeue - Land Back discussions, Mexican American, overall great person, love their posts on my fyp

Ebony Warrior Studios - a black veteran openly speaking out against our military complex, as well as delving into other social issues. He's also a voice actor!

These folks are also all pro-Palestine which we love to see.

Again - not a comprehensive list. None of them are traditional news sources. But they've all lived their lives in their bodies, in our society. And I think if you don't know where to start on US social issues, these people are an easy way to learn more and find more people to follow.

News sources are great, when vetted correctly. But most news sources in the US are heavily skewed one way or another, so if you're trying to learn about social issues, you need to talk to the people directly. Not read articles about them (general statement, not directed at you lol).

I appreciate the ask, and wish I could give you more in the way of sources. But again, I tend to get my news from people first and THEN look up information to confirm. If I'm going to pick one news source right now, it's going to be Al Jazeera. Any media that Israel bans is okay in my book 😌 They cover more than just Israel/Palestine, in case you weren't aware!

I hope any of this helps, and if any of my followers have people/sources you trust, feel free to drop them in the replies.

[lightadarttomendyourheart]

it's funny how i've always settled for guys who are less than i deserve. they've made me feel amazing things, but they were never on my level. never had the same spark inside that i have.

brandon is completely on my level. i honestly really see him as my equal. i don't think i've ever had that before, completely. he's got his own life and friends and goes on trips and plans things and does shit. he doesn't need anyone to push him to do things, he just does them.

idk guys, i know it's not been long, and we have 2.5 months until we see each other again, but i have a feeling this might be it. if me and B don't work out, i think i'll be done. but i really can't see a reason why we wouldn't work out so far, other than the distance. and again, it hasn't been long, but i don't think it's going to be that hard. we've already hypothesized 2 trips within the next 6 months to see each other, not counting ADE cause that's happening. we'll see each other in october, december (if i can get the time off which i'm kinda sure i will), and february. summertime we will absolutely figure something out, maybe in may after i'm done the tax season i can come there for a bit or we can meet somewhere. it's obviously not going to be easy, but how we are right now is working for me.

i literally just moved into this flat and am FINALLY living alone after 7 years and i love it so much. i don't want to live with someone yet. i'm not ready. i enjoy my space soooo much. and i've also only been single for 9 months, or i WAS single for 9 months lol. i've never jumped into another serious relationship so soon after one has ended. after ryan and i broke up i was single for 6 years. but i was in a bad place for most of those years, and even when i started being good i wasn't happy alone. now, finally, i am. and then you happened. but honestly, it was bound to happen. all that BS about getting into relationships fast when you're not looking/happy blah blah blah. i just think it was finally the right time for us. for me. well and truly for ME. i've literally never ever been this happen single, maybe never been this happy with my life completely as a whole. i know i would've fucked things up with us if we dated earlier than now. so here we are.

i think this is it. i can see myself with you forever. whatever challenges we'll face i'm ready. the first big and most important one is moving. whether it's me or you we gotta figure that out. but we're already talking about it, we'll figure it out. i really hope it's not me, lowkey, not right now. in the future, yes, i'm down. but for the next even 2 years i don't think i want to.. and tbh, i've thought about this a little bit recently just fantasizing, ykno, and i don't think i'd even care where or when you proposed to me, i would say yes. i always thought i'd want some really adorable proposal in a special place, outside somewhere, but thinking about you proposing, i almost don't care where it is because we'll be there together and the only thing that will matter is you and me. ok but also if you proposed in albania i would die.

i do have to say as well, i'm lowkey glad we don't live super close because if we did i would want to spend every waking moment with you and i'd just become absolutely obsessed. so, the space is good. it's good for my mind and heart and soul. cause i don't even want to be in a relationship like that again.

but i miss you. of course. every day.

[nightswithkookmin]

TAE TELLS: JIKOOK

It's taken me days to get round to making this blog post- commenting on another Jikooker's analysis.

Now y'all don't need me to provide a tall list on all the reasons that this a bad bad idea for me. Lol.

Been there. Done that. Doesn't end too well.

Mi nar wan treble wif gudt piipel.

But I also don't want to shy away from the conversation; whether or not Tae is good at keeping Jikook's secret. Whether that is a tell. If it is, does that mean all the times he's 'exposed' Jikook were wrong analysis etc.

Let me start off by saying, I totally admire this content creator. I don't have a particular favorite Video creator- most of my go to YouTube jikook content creators are Spanish speaking content creators, Karmy and a few Iarmy- a lot of whom have disappeared off of the surface of the internet over the years.

These days I watch just about anyone that shows up on my recommendation or home feed. Used to leave comments and what not but I've refrained from that due to privacy issues and prefer to share my thoughts on my blog instead.

Haven't seen a lot of her analysis, but hands down agree with a lot of the analysis she's made in the few I've binge watched so far- thanks to y'all who recommended her to me.

I think for the most part she knows what the fuxk she is doing. She definitely knows what she is talking about in her videos and I like that. I admire that.

I don't disagree with anything I've seen so far on her channel. Especially her thoughts on Kook. Fearless Kook. Absolutely love those.

I think she could have taken time to flesh out her theory on this whole 'Tae is good at keeping Jikook's secret' bit cos it seems that's what causing the stir? I don't know.

'If Tae is good at keeping people's secrets then there is no way he could have exposed Jikook blah blah blah'

Sigh.

Tuktukkers will jump on anything to invalidate Jikook. Sigh. Sigh.

I can't put words in her mouth, but I don't think she was interpreting Jimin's words to mean that Tae is good at keeping others' secrets and so cannot 'expose' Jikook like we been saying in this part of stan land.

And if she did mean it like that then I'm afraid I'd have to humbly disagree.

My understanding of Jimin's assertion that Tae is good at keeping a straight face when it comes to others' secret is that, he meant Tae has a strong poker face and it's hard to tell when he is lying or telling the truth sometimes.

That's all Jimin was saying. In my opinion.

Which honestly, it's truth. Tae is such an actor. A talented one at that. I mean have you been watching Run episodes?! Ayayaya.

I won't play Russian roulette with him cos imma end up with bullets in my head.

Play Texas hold'em with him at your own risk.

I mean he is the king of blank expressions in BTS. Isn't that why RM describes him as 4D?

He's only what, honed that- should we call it skills, since debut! He's become a master at it. Add his impeccable acting skills to it and its kaboom.

His blank expressions to me sometimes seem like a coping mechanism, if you will. And often times, he deliberately induces it to mask his feelings- when someone says something he finds annoying or something he is uncomfortable with.

A typical example is when JK read 'Tae Kook' in the comments during their VLive and he pretended he didn't know what the fuxk JK was talking about- prompting JK to explain to him that that was their ship name yadda yadda. Insert skull head.

Now we all know HE KNOWS TAE KOOK.

I saw a lot of jokers running around teasing Tuktukkers with the whole "look, your bias don't know y'all ship exists bye'

Listen, I'd join in on the joke- nothing makes me happy than jokers pulling some tuktukker legs but just as long as we all know and agree that's not true.

They all know of their ships.

They've known since the beginning.

They know everything.

When he said get out of your imagination I don't think it was because he had no ideas what homegal was going on about on Weverse.

Tae has many tells. When he exchanges awkward looks with RM or Jimin when Jikook or JK does something outrageous that's a tell.

When he passive aggressively smirks after revealing a detail on the whereabouts of Jimin at 1am that's equally a tell.

The slight head tilt when he says Jk don't want Jimin to come that's equally a tell.

He is very observant.

He loves to observe Jikook when they are up in their shenanigans. In my opinion. So when he is quietly looking at Jikook, observing them with no expression on his face that's equally a tell.

JK is not the only one always watching JM.

I mean he was stood right behind Jimin when he and JK were taking turns staring at eachother while Joonie was busy being eloquent. Tae saw all of that but didn't react to it.

In the recent OT7 VLive when Jimin called Jk too big or something Tae was right behind them and as I pointed out in my analysis on that, he looked away almost as soon as JK turned to look at him- JK was conscious of Tae and he knew Tae was looking at them through the viewfinder.

Sometimes he feels compelled to call them out on it too like he did in the dynamite MV when he blurted out, let's not look in the cameras when JK and Jikook were about to do their weird eye fucking absolutely gay stuff that they be doing from time to time.

All these are tells. To me at least. And I think in her video she was simply pointing out yet another tell of Taes- his blank expressions around Jikook in certain moments.

Having a poker face is one thing, having a blank expression is another.

Like I said his poker face is deliberate. He turns that on in various situations ranging from mild to not so serious circumstances like keeping others from finding out he is a mafia in a game etc.

His blank expressions are often times involuntary. His resting face. Sometimes I don't even think he realises he's blanked out.

When he don't know what to do with himself he blanks out. It's similar to how JK intensely focuses on Jimin when he doesn't know what to do with himself on set or when the cameras are rolling.

When he isn't intensely focusing on Jimin he becomes fidgety or sometimes does some really weird expressions that have popularly become various memes under the heading Jungshook.

It's not just Tae. It's not just Jimin. They all have their tells and go to expressions when they don't know what to do with themselves on camera.

Tae has a strong poker face, he is a master of blank expressions, and he is notoriously one of the most passive aggressive members in BTS.

Any of these can be tells depending on the context and situation.

-As long as we are able to distinguish between these moments and expressions I suppose.

His expression when Jikook were narrating the rain fight for example would be a blank expression and not a poker face in my opinion- a poker face is a deliberate state of induced expressionless demeanor.

Yes he had a blank expression. But I don't think that that was deliberate. That's just his go to resting face when he is not active in a moment most times.

I found his comment, 'that was a long time ago' much more telling that he knew about the rain fight and that expression of embarrassment he had on later equally said that he knew and thought Jikook were being gay unprovoked.

But that is my thought process.

I gotta respect hers too. It's valid.

Him going blank dead silence when Jimin said he loved waking up to see JK's face was more of that 'awkward, can't believe JM just did that shook moments' he gets around Jikook from time to time when they do something very shocking and gay.

I'd be lying if I said I understood what she was driving at with that bit in her video but I don't totally disagree with that.

By her stating that, I don't think she implied the opposite of it. Nor did Jimin by his statement.

Tae has a good poker face don't necessarily mean he is good at keeping secrets. I think it is much more nuanced than that.

I mean he is good at keeping your secret until he misses his best friend and soulmate then it's 'JK don't want Jimin to come' 🤺🤺🤺

Sometimes I wish Jimin were a triplet so I can slipt him between Tae, JK and RM. Suga and Hobi don't mind sharing him with the others and it seems Jin only wants his mirror so... Lmho.

And yes, Tae does give Jikook away from time to time- blank face or not.

I hope this helps??

Signed,

GOLDY