#people on the internet do not owe you a solution to all your excuses

[eighteenthofoctober]

Istg every time I see a sewing tutorial on TikTok the comments are filled with "what if I don't have a sewing machine" hand sew. "Idk how to sew" LEARN???? IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU.

[archivedblog16]

3 things to say:

1- "being gay is when a married man cheat on wife with another man"- vivziepop's logic (her lgbtq representation is very conservative if you think about it)

2- I feel like fans know that vivziepop's writing is bullshit and full of pilot holes but they Don't care about it as long there's characters to fuck *cough* loona *cough*,people underestimate the power of horny lol and to this day I still don't understand the hype and praise for loona but this is how Internet works I guess

3- I usually don't care about ships and strange kinks as long it stays fictional and no real person is involved in it BUT i hate it when a creator push it in their "morality teaching shows" it's where I draw the line like you either make serious show about taking abuse seriously to spread awareness or a weird fever dream kink show made for gooners to enjoy, you can't have it both,vivziepop made hypersexuals look like bunch of freaks and stigmatised them even more. "Please guys have sympathy for this character for getting sexually harassed but please don't blame him for sexually harassing others cause trauma made him hypersexual and you have to deal with it, he's just coping!" Like wtf are you serious? There's different ways to coping with trauma including drawing fetishes and kinks and i see no problem with it but harassing others is not coping you are just being peirce of shit, her morality is so flawed what is she even trying to tell audience? Victims of SA become assholes and have free card to harassing others? Wtf? And Yes I am a proshipper and I hate HH/HB because I hate it when a show tell you it's ok to cheat and it's ok to sexually harassing others why? because you said that this show is meant to represent victims but you only made victims feel embarrassed even more about themselves and you backstabbed them like don't you realise when you say your shows is about victims your victims watch the show to feel comfortable and feel being understood only for them seeing angel dust being asshole and sir.pentious getting SA'd as a joke? where's the SA awareness? Like yes we know victims who read SA fanfic as coping exist but not all of them cope the same way and we thought you would tell us how terrible SA can be and how it effects victims horribly ,not using trauma to excuse their shitty behaviours? I hate seeing people getting hurt and I don't want to be near someone telling me that them being asshole is ok because "HB is like bojack horseman and told me it's ok because X And Y" like stfu if you truly know anything about bojack horseman you wouldn't even think of comparing the two also you're an adult and if a dumb cartoon made you harassing others then you weren't good person in the first place you bastard maybe talk to therapy instead because creating trauma to others will never help you also not to mention half of fanbase of HH/HB are minors thanks to lazyass parents and society gaslighting everyone with "if it's cartoon then it's for kids" but the audience is out of vivziepop's control do i am not gonna blame her for this one but all i know is that unlike adults who are aware and responsible for their actions minors brain is not fully developed and they can be misguided most of times so i am worried about them growing up with vivziepop's 'morality' so i don't know the solution of who is watching cartoon and i think we should normalizing shaming lazy parents like don't be a parent if you would just let internet babysitting your child instead of you doing it yourself parenting is called parenting for a reason you're called "parent" not "birth giver", why am I proshipper? Because I don't care about others ships but I don't like the She-ra's "lesbians can't be abusive! You must feel bad for your abuser and you owe them everything and you should forgive them" Message and vivziepop's "if you're in straight marriage and you find out you're gay just cheat oh and if you have trauma it's ok to be asshole" Message (I hope you understand what I am trying to say and I hope you understand we have same goals before you tell me I am terrible as abusers just because i don't care about others ships and believing that fictional things doesn't matter as long it's fictional)

Alright I am done,scream at me I guess

The fans would also fill in the holes regarding Helluva Boss and doesn’t help that Vivziepop would like tweets about it. Don’t like tweets of your fans defending your show. Put and write it into your dialogue not on Twitter 😭

Yeah, Vivziepop has a huge problem of wanting her cake and eating it. Like what you mentioned Anon, the sexual assault jokes then another moment taking it seriously. Rinse and repeat. The moral compass in Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss is so wish-washy.

Successfully killed straight married couple. Cool. Oh no, Blitzø doesn’t have the guts to kill a gay couple. Woahh apparently it’s character development (despite Blitzø fighting over a parking lot like an Anon in my last ask mentioned, happily participating in a Wrath competition in Millie’s hometown, killing lumberjacks, happily will screw over the cherubs, etc etc).

Most of the characters especially if a character is Vivziepop’s favorite, don’t get held accountable and when they do have a chance to be called out, it’s usually downgraded in some way or there is some excuse in said action.

Its funny you bring up the children in Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss because there was literally a situation where like what a 9-10 year old was at a Hazbin convention asking Blake Roman an inappropriate question regarding Angel Dust. It is so mind boggling to watch. Hazbin and Helluva are supposed to be for adults (+18) but the both shows don’t seem adult despite covering big topics like rape, kinks, etc. It feels like 2 kids in a trench coat attempting to sneak into a R rated movie.

At the day it’s the parent’s responsibility and they should be called out. It also doesn’t help that a few voice actors like Amir encourage kids and parents to watch Hazbin Hotel, despite Vivziepop expressing multiple times it’s for adults. I don’t know if he changed his mind about kids accessing Hazbin Hotel but I hope he does.

Vivziepop could potentially age gate Helluva Boss (I’m not talking about the warning sequence from Helluva Boss that flashes for 5-10 seconds every episode). But like manually do this:

But Vivziepop would lose some more views if that happened. Otherwise there isn’t much she can do.

[i-know-what-yall-want]

Levi loses a bet Part 1

So, I always wanted Levi in a maid outfit ever since the trend started and, well, he's an otaku.

So, disclaimers: Dom MC, Genderneutral MC, sexual suggestions

This is a plot leading to when the reader...ahem...does the dirty with Levi, so there will be some explicit or suggestive stuff but it won't actually include the...naughties...with Levi, that'll be Part 2

Anywhoooooo, onto Levi. Sorry in advance with any grammar or spelling mistakes :/

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It all started with, well, a bet. You always wanted to see Levi in a maid outfit, it was always a thing in the anime you two watched together that girls would wear maid outfits, you can't help that you were curious about how it would look on Levi, especially since he liked the girls in their outfits so much, and well, it's a trend so he could get some internet like if he did wear one. But enough with that, let's watch Mammon at the casino. Mammon had invited (well, forced, after all, he's your first, who are you to deny him?) you to be with him at the casino, and well, Levi, being the avatar of Envy, had to make sure he tagged along, no matter how much he hated going outside his room. "No way! I'm only taking MC!" "I'm their boyfriend so I'm coming!" While they were bickering, Levi had stepped in front of you to get into Mammon's face. This wasn't going to go anywhere, it would be the next day at this rate, it's like you have to solve all their disagreements. You got close and whispered a possible solution to get Levi what he wanted, "Forgive his debt." Levi hesitated but took your idea, "I'll forgive a portion of your debt if you stop trying to stop me!" Mammon hesitated, "Like...how much are we talkin' here?" "10%" "No way!" Soon Mammon haggled it to be 25%. "Alright, I'll let ya come, but this is a formal casino, I had ta get MC to buy me this suit so now I gotta pay ‘em back with my winnin's, ya can't show up like that or you'll get laughed outta there." Levi nodded and ran off to his room, you giving a pat to his ass on the way out. So, that's how you got here, Levi in the suit he so rarely wears, and Mammon leading you two to the first game he wanted to play. "I bet he won't be able to pay back a single penny that he owes you for that suit." "Are you jealous I took him out for that suit?" "No!" You thought for a moment, caving in, "Alright, if he is able to pay back a single scent by the end of the night, I win. As for the stakes..." you pulled Levi close to you, whispering to him once again, this time with some more...malicious intentions, "I want you to wear a maid outfit for an entire day, call me master, and actually get into character, date of my choosing." His face went red, he's always wanted to try it, to be honest, but he'd be embarrassed if he got caught with a maid outfit in his possession, now he would have an excuse. "T-that seems way too embarrassing!" "Even when you have the option to ask anything you want of me?" Anything he wanted...anything at all. He went quiet, mumbling something you couldn't hear as he looked away from you. "I'm sorry Levi-chan, what was that?" God he hated when you called him that, but loved it. "I-I want you to let me dom, at least once. I always sub and...I want to try it, S-senpai." Truth was he could've just asked if he wanted to dom you, but if it'll give you the chance to see him in a maid outfit, "Deal, now let's go catch up to Mammon." At the end of the night, Mammon ended up only keeping some of his winnings, losing a ton in blackjack before you three, or rather, him, but you and Levi tagged along since you felt bad, got kicked out for causing a scene. Mammon was grumbling when you reminded him to pay you back for his suit, "But I was only able to keep 50 grimm!" "Pay me what you have." It was an order, bet he was regretting being your first demon now. But you didn't care about getting completely payed, you just wanted to thumb through the cash in front of Levi to tease him. The maid outfit was coming tomorrow. ~ {A text conversation with Levi} (Levi, what are you doing tomorrow?)- -(I've got a gaming convention tomorrow, I was just about to invite you.) (Tomorrow you're wearing the outfit.)- -(WHAT?!) (Yeah, it just arrived. No complaining, you better be a good little maid.)- -(*insert scared puppy sticker here but I'm too lazy to actually find a software where I can do a texting story so deal with it*) ~ First thing in the morning, before even going downstairs for breakfast, you went to check on Levi. You woke up especially early to make sure he obeyed you, sure enough, you walked in and he was looking at himself in the mirror. "Well hello, how is my maid?" He jumped and turned around looking at you. "I-I'm not so sure about this." Wow, you had to double-take, were you dreaming? God, not that God hasn't given up on you as soon as you started dating this demon, but God, Levi just looked so...perfect. The black buckled shoes with those thigh high socks, that apron, the hairpiece, Jesus Christ he even had gloves that laced at the wrist. "You know, you could get a lot of internet likes if you posted yourself wearing this." "No! That'll be way to embarrassing!" "Sure, anyways, accompany your master to breakfast." You reminded him, in a roundabout way, to get into character. You could see he was embarrassed, but you couldn't help but tease him a little more, "I could dress as your master if it'll help.” "No, that'll make it worse." He pouted, but walking over to you. "Let's go eat breakfast...Master." ~ Once you walked downstairs, the brothers all had different reactions. Mammon pointed at Levi, "BAHAHAHA, LOOK AT HIM!" Belphegor...wasn't there, but he'd probably complain Mammon was too loud but snort at how Levi looked. Asmo giggled, "Levi finally jumped on the trend! This'll definitely get some likes on Devilgram!" Satan widened his eyes but looked away, sipping on his tea, it was too early for this shit. Beel...well he was trying to hold himself back from stealing Levi's food, he'll need his strength for whatever you've got planned for him. Lucifer looked at Levi, then to you, "M-MC, just what is Leviathan wearing?" "Leviathan is my maid, obviously!" "I lost a bet, okay?!" Breakfast went by with Mammon almost getting away with teasing Leviathan, but you are always there to protect Leviathan, when he didn't deserve the teasing that is. "Mammon, I've got a second maid outfit I can have you wear for a week in order to forgive you for not paying me back for the suit." "What?! Why do ya got two of those?! And why in my size?!" "It was a two for one sale, and I had a feeling you would try to make fun of my maid. But, if you want your debt forgiven, you can make sure that Levi isn't teased at school when I'm not with him." No one could tease Levi except you. "For real?! My debt forgiven for the suit?!" "All debt to me, I can't have my Levi getting his gloves dirty with blood." Leviathan was embarrassed, but grateful you got Mammon to shut up and gained a protector. ~ School was great, Leviathan really got into his role, carrying your things along with his to your classes together, and even when you had different classes, though he did have to his sprint to his own class at those moments. He even brought you your lunch and found a better seat than your normal one with the brothers and the fellow exchange students. It was a new side of him, and you loved it. "Levi, will you feed me my food? My wrist is so sore from writing today." You were going to milk this for as long as possible, huh? "Y-yes, master," face beet red, he took a scoop of some apple sauce or something (man what do I know about what they serve in the Devildom for humans?) and held it up to your mouth, using the other hand to make sure nothing fell off onto the floor. After feeding you, he wiped your mouth unprompted. "Aw, you're doing such a good job, little maid, come here." You gave him a hug and pat his head, you weren't sure if you could hold back for much longer, let's hope so. “No one tried to pick on you, right?”

“No, Master, at least not without Mammon beating them up. That scum can at least do a job when he’s promised that some debt will be forgiven.”

“That’s good. Now, little maid, let’s finish our lunch.”

~ After school, it was straight to getting ready for the gaming convention. Levi was just about to change, when you stopped him, "Just what do you think you're doing?" "I'm...getting ready for the convention?" "Did you have a cosplay planned?" "Not really... I wanted to cosplay but didn't want to risk showing up those other cosplayers and people wanting to take pictures with me, I didn't want to end up having to talk to people. I was just going to go to get some discounts on some games that were going to get announced at the last convention before it got rescheduled." (Quarantine vibes) "Then you'll go as my maid, you can say you're cosplaying." "What?! That's not even in the games I play...minus dating sims." "Well, some gamers are also dressing up as maids, I'm sure you won't stand out too much. I'll go get on what I wore to that casino so I can be your master, we can still act like it's from an old game or something." "F-fine, only because I might not be the only one.” Well, he wasn't the only one, but any other boys in maid outfits were still a little bit rare, especially those who were alone and didn't have a whole group dressed up as maids. "MC...I'm embarrassed." Levi tugged on your arm, looking at you desperately, holding back your urges was getting harder. "Well, you've been embarrassed this whole day, you must be really embarrassed for you to be saying it out loud, and you forgot that I'm your master." Levi widened his eyes, shutting up. Jeez the bathrooms were all crowded, and there were no single stall bathrooms anywhere. "Did you get and do everything you wanted?" "I want to still stay until the show where they announce some new games that weren't sold today." DAMMIT! Fine, if it's for him, fine, you can bare a couple more hours, but the aching between your legs is beginning to get annoying. Once this show is over, your taking Levi home and going to make sure he won't forget to call you master.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, hoped you liked it, I did my best to make sure the reader was gender neutral this is my first fic so go easy on me :) I'm an author in more than just fan fic so I tend to be descriptive, I only realized halfway through writing this that I probably need to put it into two parts. I'm not great with tumblr mechanics so I did my best. Anywho, it's 2:35am haha...I need to sleep, hope you enjoyed.

Read Part 2

[giftedsupport]

Perfectionism

Perfectionists may avoid doing certain tasks because they fear the risk of making a mistake and looking anything less than perfect. They want their work to be perfect. Because they believe that they will inevitably fail if the task is not in line with their given talents, they think it is best to set it aside for another time.

Fear of the Unknown

Sometimes people are afraid of taking action because it may reveal a truth that they do not want to hear. As it turns out, the old phrase "What you don't know can't hurt you" isn't really true. In almost every case, if you ignore something for a long period of time, hoping it will go away, it will only get worse.  Some examples of this phenomenon include avoiding going to the dentist and continuing to tell yourself that the cavity that you suspect you have will be fine. Maybe you don't want to do your taxes because, until you have to face the truth about owing money, you don't have to worry about it. Perhaps you avoid a conversation with your spouse to delay the argument that it may cause.

I’ll Do It Later

This common excuse is a reminder that you can work on the pending task later on. You imagine that in just a few hours or a couple of days you will have the perfect opportunity to accomplish your goal. You have nothing that you know of that you have to do later on. However, this creates a strong disconnect between how you will ideally feel in the future and how you will actually feel in the future. Ideally, you will suddenly be gifted with boundless energy, eat a clean and healthy diet, exercise on a regular basis, and work well into the evenings in order to get everything finished. However, the realistic future you is tired, unmotivated, worn out, handling unruly children, and craving chocolate cake.

Working on Small Tasks Because They're Easier

While these tasks may make you look and feel busy, and make you think that you are getting a lot done, it is really just a creative form of procrastination. Small tasks are easy to do and give you a quick sense of accomplishment, so by doing them first, you are able to get instant gratification. The more time and effort it takes to do a task, the more likely people will procrastinate on getting it done. Without the instant dopamine rush from successfully finishing a task, it seems like the reward for working is just too far away. People want to feel successful and accomplished sooner rather than later.

Lack of Motivation

Lack of motivation can come from several underlying causes, including:

Lack of energy

Fatigue

Stress

Other priorities

Unexpected emergency

Trouble finding new ideas

You haven't been successful in the past with this task

You're surrounded with negativity

Lack of confidence

Working in the wrong environment

Unclear goals

You Are Unclear About How to Get Started

What if the task at hand is too complex, unique, or difficult? What if it has a lot of moving parts, making it unclear where to begin? This uncertainty may keep you from starting because you don't know your first step. Even if you can figure out the first step, once you are considering the process as a whole, you realize that you have underestimated the level of time and commitment that is needed to complete this task. What's the best way to overcome this? A very effective method is to use the "getting things done" approach. This will help break down your complex task into a series of smaller tasks. There are five steps to doing this:

1. Write down the specific tasks that have your attention. 2. Decide which actions can be taken care of right away, and do them. 3. Organize the rest of the task. 4. Constantly review your breakdown of tasks. 5. Do each task, one by one, until they are all finished.

You can even take these steps farther by creating a checklist and getting the satisfaction of checking things off as you go.

You Often Get Distracted

What are some solutions to keep  procrastination-causing distractions at bay? If you can always find a distraction when you are trying to focus, it is important to remove any temptation and only think about the task at hand. Some ways of doing this include:

Blocking certain websites

Deleting games and apps on your smartphone

Recording your temptations and directly address them

Removing wireless Internet

Putting your smartphone on airplane mode

Wearing noise-cancelling headphones

Unplugging your router

Closing your door

You Know the Task Will Require Effort and Hard Work

Working on a long project can be really difficult because of the amount of effort that it takes to finish. There are also opportunity costs along the way where you have to give up something you would rather be doing to get some work done on your project. This often leads people to lose their motivation and choose to set aside their projects for a later time. People are very protective of their time, and often value their personal time more than money or goals.

[autistic-science-cryptid]

Comment Exchange about a Manipulative Autism Mom

As I promised, here is the comment exchange, which I did on the Patheos blog Roll to Disbelieve, which discusses the behavior of a particularly manipulative Autism Mom™. To sum up: The owner of that blog, Captain Cassidy, once worked in a call center, and the Autism Mom™ in this case grabbed up the fanciest TV package she could find, one she could not afford, and played the autism card (complete with the whole array of humiliating details that so any Autism Parents show without the child’s consent) to get her bills forgiven indefinitely so she could basically et these services for free. I responded talking about how this is a well-known phenomenon within the autistic community, one we really do not like, and she and I ended up in an exchange talking about how this behavior affects the kids and how annoyingly manipulative it is. This is what led me to the conclusion that this type of manipulation, while it may not be always against companies, may be driving a lot of the vocal refusal to accept the sort of advice we have to give. After all, they want to hear a pat answer that makes their child convenient - they don’t want to hear that they may need to try multiple things, accept messy parts of life, and various other things we suggest that are likely to work, but are not something you can just implement and forget.

Exchange under the cut - note that a few other people on that blog, allistic people, do agree with the sentiment that people who claim autism as their identity when they themselves are not autistic, while simultaneously denying this identity to actually autistic people, is really a disgusting thing to do. All users except Captain Cassidy and me are designated with initials:

Captain Cassidy (blog mod, also calls herself Wielder of the Banhammer) Perpetual victims tend to leave nothing to chance when it comes to fucking up their lives. It's just amazing how they manage to cover every single potential base with epic failure so that there's only one possible avenue of help--which is guaranteed to be someone who'll be hugely put out by rescuing them. It's like watching the human version of a slow-motion train wreck. Then when nobody leaps forward to save them from their own poor choices, they'll whine that "so-and-so doesn't want to work with me." Yeah, been there and done that with call center work. You could always immediately tell who those people were: they'd have tons of little credits and line-item deletions on their accounts, a balance that hadn't been current since their account started (and a fairly recent activation date at that), a constant wave of promotions and specials they probably shouldn't have gotten, and--the tip-off--a pattern of forgiven late fees, disconnection fees, and bounced check fees, each noted with some new disaster the customer had suffered that had prevented them from paying their bill on time and in full that month. They always had some ideal solution in mind, and it seemed like they would refuse every option and possibility we offered if it wasn't that solution in their head. Usually the solution involved total absolution of all fees and balances, but barring that they'd happily take a very large discretionary credit "for being such good customers" and as "compensation" for the hassle caused to them by the disconnection or whatever. If a frontline agent refused to "work with them" that time, they'd escalate as high as they could to try to get their bill credited. I was one of the people in that escalation chain, but had the good fortune to be working for a company that was cracking down HARD on those kinds of credits so I could refuse knowing upper management wouldn't give in either. These idiots would ride the carousel as long as a company would let them, then fuck off and go right along to the next provider of that service. I remember telling one that sooner or later they'd go through all the providers in their rural area and it might be a good idea to talk to someone about learning how to budget and all that because she'd hit the limit on what we could do to save her from herself. It didn't go over well with her. (She had an autistic son, she said, and she'd gotten that company's largest entertainment package on a new customer promotion about 18 months previously. The son had gotten used to watching a channel that only came with that package and would, she assured us, beat his head against a wall until he landed in the hospital if he couldn't have that channel on all the time. She hadn't actually paid a bill at all in about 16 months and now owed the company somewhere around $2000. Normally that was an impossible balance to accrue, but we'd inadvertently taught her a very dirty trick we could do in cases of extreme need: When she got disconnected every month, she'd call up and pity-party someone into taking pity on her and reactivating it, even if that meant re-aging her account to get it back online, with the assurance--never fulfilled--that she'd totally pay in full "soon." The company's fraud team had flagged her account and made it impossible for ANYBODY not on their team to reactivate her without payment in full plus three months in advance. She was used to escalating a few times, since only people at a fairly high level could re-age accounts. I was one of them, but I sure wasn't gonna do it for her. Re-aging meant to take her full balance, credit that amount to the account to bring it current, then charge it all back again. In effect, she would still owe the full balance, but now it showed as a current balance instead of a past due one. This is a TERRIBLE thing to do and it completely freaks out fraud investigators. So she escalated on me, and I sent her to a manager, who "wouldn't work with her" either, and then she landed in the fraud team's queue and I didn't hear anything past that. I didn't believe her excuse story, but it hardly mattered if I did or didn't; the only solution at that point was for her to pay what was being demanded, and that wasn't the solution she wanted to hear.)

Me You know, that woman who claimed she had an autistic son? I wouldn't be shocked if she was one of those parents that the autistic community HATES. The ones who are always pity-partying their kid's autism, talking about how their kids DESERVE an autism cure (which most autistics, including me, don't want), acting as if autism is doom-and-gloom all the time, often supporting the crap "charity" Autism Speaks, which repeats those same pity lines, videoing their child's meltdowns and posting them on the internet without their consent along with giving graphic details of hygiene and bathroom habits of their kids, also without the child's consent (including feces-smearing, which is something an autistic person I know did as a baby and grew out of, and they transitioned to making mud pies by the creek as a kid), and calling themselves "autism parents" while telling us autistic people "no, no, sweetie, you are a person with autism". Ugh, there's a lot of nerve in that last one, taking our identity for themselves while expecting us to separate ourselves from it. And then it seems possible that one of these so-called "autism parents" (who inevitably are never autistic themselves, because autistic people who are parents call themselves "autistic parents") has the gall to scam your company, to boot. 

 S 
I just think it's obnoxious they make it all about them. 

C 
"Autism parent" sounds awful. It's like she thinks she's mothering the autism itself, rather than her kid.





Captain Cassidy, Wielder of the Banhammer  
Oh yeah, that was completely this awful lady. That's exactly what she talked like. She presented herself as one step holier than the Virgin Mary and it just outraged her that my company wasn't just donating services to her because SHE was an AUTISM MOM and didn't we KNOW what she was GOING through every day... And yes, I got treated to some astonishing personal details about her son that seemed engineered to evoke the most pity and disgust in listeners. I almost told her hey gal, I've been emotionally manipulated by the best. And you ain't anywhere close to that level.




Me 
I wish more people responded to "autism mom" laments the way you do. That type of manipulation allows parents to get away with literal murder of their autistic offspring, such that if you google "parent kills kid who has autism" or something, practically every article talking about such a murder has comments sections full of people saying things about how you'd understand why those poor parents would want to murder their autistic kid if you were in their shoes, and how the lack of services makes them worry so much they had to kill their kid.
 No, I'm sorry, lack of services means that you should be willing to advocate for those services, not use that an excuse to treat your kid like a rabid beast who has to be put down. And besides, if you autism parents can pull heartstrings the way so many of you do engendering sympathy for murder and waltzing right into communities of actual autistic people to shit on them and silence them, I'm sure you can use those emotional manipulation skills to aid you in advocacy work.
(Not you personally, I mean those shitheads who do things ranging from what that mom did to you all the way up to actual murder).
You even get things like the parents in this article (http://autistext.com/2017/03/04/autpocalypse-then-autpocalypse-now/ ) talking about how if their son's autism didn't go away, they might have to kill him, at which point the son's autism went away and the parents blamed the autism on a "cerebral milk allergy" which, as we all know here, is a bullshit disease and that of course if you discuss the possibility of killing a kid for being visibly autistic, that kid is likely to hide his autistic behaviors because his life depends on it. Duh. But of course, a little thing like reality isn't going to stop them from selling alternative medicine to treat something that, in actuality, was visibly and abusively "treated" by putting the kid in fear for his life.
And it is clear from the quotes of those parents in that article that those are not the words of parents at their wit's end (which, of course, is the impression "autism parents" who murder their kids often successfully give to a lot of people when they talk about how people need to "walk in their shoes"). Those words are far too cold and calculating for that, and are simply abuser words.



Me 
So, she was most likely telling the truth about having an autistic son, and she treated him like shit. Go figure. Just like every other "autism mom" out there. They do have a habit of presenting themselves as holy figures.
Really, I feel sorry for that kid.



Captain Cassidy Wielder of the Banhammer 
I'm glad to take your word on it--though sad for the son.
Probably would have been a way better idea for her to contact the company in writing and just ask for the donation before signing up for anything. They might even have granted it then, who knows... But signing a contract and accepting a huge entertainment package like that, then unilaterally deciding not to pay because she felt she'd earned enough Autism Sympathy Points? Not a good plan. And offering a child a channel on a package she knows for 100% certain she can't afford to pay for monthly doesn't sound like she was thinking with portals at all.



Me 
No, she wasn't. though I bet her taking an expensive package and working it into that kid's routine would win her massive sympathy points when her kid inevitably gets upset because his routine is disrupted due to the fact he can no longer see that show. So then she can use that as yet another example of how autism ruined her life (and yes, she would say it was her life that was ruined even though her kid is the autistic one).
Seriously, though. Don't incorporate shows you can't afford to keep into an autistic kid's daily routine - it's a real pain in the ass to have a routine disrupted without warning. I know that from personal experience. If your kid really likes that particular show, it would be more responsible to get DVDs of it if available, or else have it be something that you specially plan - do the latter if you can't get the DVD because that way the show falls under the category "special treat" and isn't incorporated into a daily routine.
But I guess advice like that is not going to go over well with people who use their kid's autism as a way to fish for sympathy. God for-fucking-bid they do anything that will genuinely reduce their kid's difficulty rather than win them sympathy points, especially since they are also doing things that make it harder for autistic people and those parents of autistic kids who actually want to make it easier for their kids and are willing to fight on their kid's behalf rather than using autism as a vehicle to fish for sympathy.



Captain Cassidy Wielder of the Banhammer 
It definitely gave her something to keep her days busy. I got the feeling she'd done this to a lot of other companies for a lot of other services and goodies and did a lot of phone errands to keep the gravy train and sympathy brigade moving.



Me 
And strung her son along in the process with repeated, unnecessary, and jarring interruptions to his routine, rather than finding things within his interest area that he liked and that she could consistently provide (i.e. a one-time or few-time DVD purchase in lieu of scamming expensive TV packages).
Seems that she cared more about getting the goodies for herself and exploiting her son's plight in order to do so, while making it worse for him, rather than making sure that both she and her son were able to have nice things she didn't need to scam people to get. And she probably saddled her son with a huge burden of guilt for getting attached to those goodies that weren't really his in the process, although it was in no way his fault that his mom brought in those things and let them be incorporated into his routine knowing damn well she might not be able to give her son consistent access to them (again, a disaster for a lot of autistic kids) rather than making them "special treats" as she should have done, while giving him things he could consistently use for his routine (like the aforementioned DVDs).
Getting goodies for oneself is okay (yes, I know that parents have a lot of reason to be stressed), just get goodies you can reasonably afford, for you and your kids, and don't use your kid to bilk people out of goodies like that woman did.




Captain Cassidy Wielder of the Banhammer 
Jeez, yeah, 100% this. I'm glad you brought that up because I guess I hadn't even realized that the son might feel guilty about any attachments he formed to the TV channel in question. I see why parents like that are looked down on. That's a lot to saddle a child with, and none of it's his fault at all.



Me 
I figured the son might feel guilty about this because I have felt guilty about similar things outside my control (like feeling so guilty about benefitting from the use of fossil fuels that I once went through a phase of basically denying climate change and hanging on to the hope of a magical solution so that the guilt wouldn't drive me nuts, especially since I couldn't realistically check out of use of technology, and this was before renewable energy sources looked as feasible as they do today)

Exchange over.

Bet I’m not the only autistic who would feel guilty about getting attached to something that people have gotten through ill-gotten gains. I mean, sometimes we do need to apply this in a socially aware way (like when talking about white privilege) but this isn’t one of those things. And even when it is a good idea to acknowledge this, it does not mean people should have to be ashamed of getting attached to something. Recognizing problematic elements and being ashamed of getting attached to something are not the same thing. But in this case, if the son did feel guilty, his mom would probably encourage it - heck, the tricks she used to manipulate Captain Cassidy, mentioned in the first comment, are exactly the sort of thing that would feed guilt and shame in a totally destructive way - his mom is portraying the situation in a way that would make the son feel like it is all his fault he gets deeply attached to things. 

Seriously, how else are you supposed to feel when your mean mom is on the phone to a company desperately saying about how you will knock your head against the wall so hard you end up in the hospital if you can’t have the show you’ve grown deeply attached to? Of course you would feel guilty and absolutely sick with yourself - you don’t leap to thinking it’s your mom’s fault and that she could have skipped the fancy package and/or gotten DVDs of the shows or a TiVo to record your shows instead if she wanted you to have the shows - both options would be 100% cleaner, and a lot more likely to be able to continue, than scamming a company out of the fanciest packages the companies offer (which companies will likely cut you off from when they find out anyway, and in this particular case it would not be a dirty trick on the part of the company to do so since the company is not breaking any promises in that case). Especially since yes, companies are unethical a lot of the time, and yes, there are a lot of things companies should not deny, but that does not mean that people should be using children to scam said company. And they shouldn’t be humiliating their kids in public like that either. Period.

[outlyingthoughts]

Trapped in a carnival: Feb 19

According to the Oxford reference definition, a carnival is : “a social expression that often subverts and parodies the conventions of society. Such subversion, parody, and satire, when applied to other realms of everyday life such as literature, is sometimes called ���carnivalesque’. It exposes and mocks the flawed practices and decrees of officialdom”.

Costumed festivities are and have been a recurrent pattern in innumerable cultures across the globe. Whether it is the Catholic carnival or the Halloween tradition in the english-speaking world (derived from the pageant celebrations of the Gaelic Samhain Eve festival), it appears that costuming is part of basic human traditions and behaviors, regardless of cultures, ages and places.

Couples days ago, my friends and I were about to attend a themed party (basic human behavior remember?). Angels and demons. After agreeing that we’d go all together, we quickly started to rack our brains, trying to figure out how we would dress up for the event and we settled for matching outfits.

A friend and I ended up twinning as demons, both of us wearing bodysuits with coordinated colors. red and black. Hellish colors for what we expected would be hell of a night. But when I got my bodysuit out of the mail, questions were raised. As I tried it on for the first time with two friends, one had a knee-jerk reaction to it, stating that it was a lot and that she wouldn’t be comfortable wearing it. The other one’s opinion was in between, liking the outfit but also unsure about the revealing features of the bodysuit.

Revealing, indeed it was. A red laced V-neck, leaving little room for mystery. And even though questions started to build up into a debate within my styling crew (isn’t that what friends are?) on whether I should pull it off or not, one part of me was clinging onto the idea of wearing it. As I slipped into the bodysuit, I also slipped into the character, making me out of the sudden both emboldened and confident. Frustrating it would have been to not wear it.

Women bodies have always been pointed out as fruits of sin, and this idea is somehow anchored in most of human cultures for a reason I still haven’t figured out. As early as the metaphor of Adam and Eve, women have been branded with the symbolism of temptation but also as temptations themselves. We have been directed by patriarchal society to hide our bodies, one way or another, and throughout history to remain pure: putting on us men’s faults, weaknesses and inability to control their desires and blaming the victims.

As much as desires are also part of basic human behaviors, they are also a peculiar craft of our own. Shaped and reshaped during our entire socialization, they are mirrors molded in the cultures we live in. Human desires are inherently artificial, they are not biological needs and are rarely fulfilled for the sake of specie survival.

Thus the idea of lack of agency regarding one’s desires and the debate on one’s responsibility over her/his desire is a crucial concept. Researches have been and are still conducted to analyze the human brain and its reactions. The results of the first studies of that kind had serious legal implications as law solely relies on them to prove that humans are physically able to control their desires, thus legally binding them for their voluntary and conscious choice to commit an offense or a crime in the pulse of a desire. Such studies highlighted the fact, that it is possible for any mentally healthy human to control its desires and react to them according to her/his will.

Based on this, the almost automatic societal response consisting in blaming male’s lack of control and agency towards their sexual desire over women’s behavior and appearance comes as a proof of the normalization of what I consider a deviant behavior that men are socialized to interpret as normal or at least something they shouldn’t be held responsible for. Funnily enough, throughout history, those same men claimed that women had no will of their own and thus shouldn’t study, vote, work on their own, meaning shouldn’t be responsible of their own lives. For centuries, we have been handled by our fathers, husbands or literally any chromosome Y bearing person on earth, the very same that are rarely held accountable for their abnormal desire-led behaviors while putting a stereotype of irresponsibility on women.

Without meaning to, my red laced top was thrown in the middle of an everlasting debate: should I censor myself or be blamed for other people’s voluntary sexualization of my body ? A lot of weight on the shoulders of an eighteen years old girl who just wanted to party with her friends. As one part of me craved to rock my very own forbidden fruit as I felt enbolded in it and it had been praised by all my very feminist and politically aware friends, the other part of me held all the negative remarks, feeling guilty just at the thought of wearing it, as it would make me the prey of male gaze. If I listened to the remarks I got, by dressing up in such ways I’d justify or worst encourage the behavior I was denouncing earlier. To sum up, I’d become another blamable temptation. This highlights how we still live in a patriarchal society in which the rape culture is still a burning reality, where sexualizing women’s bodies regardless of the context or their intent is still the norm.

After dwelling on whether I should or not wear it, I went against my doubts and decided that I’d wear it for several reasons. Firstly, I know for a fact that if you are going to be sexually harassed or aggressed, the way you dress is just a mere excuse for the aggressor. Hiding behind clothes branded as « safe » isn’t 1) a solution for the societal issue behind the debate 2) going to prevent the person whose mind is set on agressing you from agressing you. It simply strips you from your freedom to dress accordingly to your own will, and that is a fundamental freedom for women. That day, I decided to not let male gaze or any normative patriarchal discourse prevent me from exercising this freedom that has been given to me through the fights of generations and generations of women.

As for the “reputation” side of dressing up in such ways, I sent out to our main groupchat the following text: «so I’m gonna go like that (insert picture) to Angel and Demons, so if you wanna gossip about it, you can start now, because people will see my nipples and I don’t care, if anyone pisses me off, I’ll tell them not to look at me, it’s not my problem if people choose to sexualize a part of my body that is not sexualized on men». I did not want to let slut-shaming get in my way, and quite frankly it’s 2019, if you put words and meaning behind appearances and acts, there is little harm possible to your “reputation”. Everybody understood and accepted my decision, my incentives were praised and others girls told me they had also decided to dress up in -what could be branded- a “scandalous” way. Being mainly surrounded by male friends that are aware of how flawed our society is in terms of sexism and aspire to participate along the side of women in the making of new norms, they also supported my choice of wearing my red bodysuit and I was, then, 200% sold.

From the moment I posted that text until the day of the event, everything went great, people might have been bad mouthing me but for all I knew and I cared, my friends supported me and the party turned out to be a fun event and we danced the night away. I don’t know if it is that I’m surrounded by an amazing community or that I simply got lucky, but no one harmed me, looked at me intensely in that threatening sexual manner that too many of us know. I tried to limit the spread on social media of pictures from that night to websites where I could control them. Yet to be honest, as soon we accept to take pictures or go out in our everyday life, we accept that anyone can find, keep and spread later images of us in public spaces. This bodysuit debate made me come up with a guideline of only wearing and doing things I would and will still be ok with being seen and posted in a twenty years time. This oversharing and ineffaceability that characterizes the internet created something that most of my friends and I have integrated. Living in an overconnected world and planning to have thriving careers, we owe it to our success to own and control every single word, act and image of us that could be, in this digital age, used against us.

But here again, I would willingly show these pictures to my children, and if I ever get lucky enough I’d be proud to explain my decision of wearing such revealing piece of clothing to who ever would try to minimize my professional legitimacy or who I am to a simply piece of scarlet lace. Because that is something that needs to be reiterated, the world has to stop associating women’s worth to their appearance. I find it increasingly shocking as days pass by that a woman can be denigrated on the basis of her clothing only because people have crossed boundaries and sexualized parts of her body regardless of whether she meant or not to sexualize her outfit. I could go on and on about Instagram’s policy regarding the ban women’s nipple while male nipples are seen as non harming to/by the Instagram community, or even something as innocent as hairstyles in the professional life (the fact that black women are often facing troubles within the corporate context because most of our natural hairstyles are considered to be unprofessional or unfit to someone holding a high position in hierarchy): it appears that women’s bodies have been institutionalized as a danger to human kind requiring to be tamed or hidden.

Meanwhile, few days after the Angels and Demons night, one of my relatives called me, fuming after seeing pictures from the party. He said he was ashamed of me, of seeing me dressed up like this, in a way he considered indecent.

But whether it is or not indecent, little do I care. The problem with “indecency” or such terms is that they are socially constructed and vary according to time periods and cultures. One part of me has understood through socialization that indeed nudity or partially nudity is indecent/deviant, abnormal/illegal in public, which makes me understand his point of view and shock, but then another other one looks at #freethenipple movements and many others, that argue that what makes women’s breasts or part of them indecent today is the tradition of blatant sexualization of women’s bodies throughout ages. In my relative’s argumentation, it appeared that a huge part of the issue to him was the vision people would have of me, that men already “disrespect women but that it’d be worst” if people associated me to that lacy scandal. He professed that I’d only meet ‘bad men’ and have a bad reputation if I kept up with that attitude.

And I was shook to my very core.

There was something extremely primitive and backward to his arguments. While I could understand his views on decency, the fact that he supported them using patriarchal clichés, implying that if I hooked up with men and dressed in a provocative way, I could/would only be passivily used by men. Through his speech, he took from me any kind of control over my sexuality or room for my own desires as he was describing the “consequences” of appearing in public in such ways.

This made me realize how women’s desires are often suppressed or disregarded from mainstream discourses and ideas but also the way I was educated by my atheist so-called progressive left leaning family. Within my family context, female sexuality was solely addressed in the context of informing us about sexual reproduction -which I already feel very lucky I received because there is an unbelievable number of women on earth who are not taught about their own selves, thus lacking of any resources to learn how to protect themselves and their sexual life-. But never has any adult throughout my teenage years addressed what pleasure was. Not in sex ed class, not in a family talk on sexuality, never.  The thing is that along with not owning the sexualization of our bodies or the link between our reputations and appearance, society also expected us to be hidden whores. You’re expected to meet patriarchal expectations, be a sexual being (remember our bodies throw men “out of control and responsibility”!) but you can’t explore it on your own  (outside of a normative heterosexual monogamous exclusive relationship) without being discredited, stigmatized as being a slut or deviant.

As such my relative was afraid that my reputation as a woman (supposed to have standards) would be jeopardiwed because I’d be associated with a provocative piece of clothing suggesting that I’m not a hidden whore but an public one. It felt like he thought I couldn’t afford to not be respectable based on men judgement and standards. Then he suggested that my outfits would increase the chances of me of getting raped or sexually harassed and it felt like he was just re-assessing the entire sexist dynamic of our society: instead of normalizing women’s ability to dispose of and expose their body in the way they want to, it just slut-shames them into covering their body parts.

By saying that he was ashamed, he associated my clothing to a certain type of behavior that he then judged and shamed. Adding to the fact that it is inherently wrong to “judge a book by its cover”, it just shows how even people that know you rarely dissociate people from their appearances and tend to easily forget your initial worth when they interpret negatively the symbolism in your clothing. As he normalized through his discourse the minimization of women to their appearance and legitimized through his meant-to-be educational advices that women are treated and seen as if they were as shallow as the layers they coat themselves into, I felt hurt. Without meaning to, he still suggested that I was acting like a whore. As hurt as I was, still I knew.

I knew that I had slipped into my stigmatizing scarlet bodysuit just the time of a night and I wouldn’t let myself become my carnival costume. And so no matter how bad I felt, I decided that I’d keep on dressing up the way I wanted to. One day this relative might tell me off again and I’ll tell him: I won’t reduce all my intelligence, experiences, dreams and expectations to the way I appear to people that are -sorry if I cross anyone- stupid enough to judge me only in the context of a themed party and choose to ignore the multiple layers a human being can have.

[verifiedcomplaints-blog]

HAS NO RESPECT FOR HER PROFESSION!

It is time to expose the true face of Dr. Michelle F. Zetoony who claims to be some sort of an expert but is really just a foolish charlatan. She probably has some association with some underground cult societies, or I don’t know what. She is through and through a shifty character. She has the worst possible service ever in the medical industry. An industry that the public so transparently relies on. Good for nothing liar! All she knows is to fleece people for good money and put it in her worthless pockets. I am talking about this case I read about that was registered against these this crook of a woman sometime ago. Apparently, she went to Dr. Michelle F. Zetoony, D.O. (Pinellas County, Florida) in 2012 after her doctor died, primarily to renew her medication that she took to help with her sleep. She was suffering from bouts of anxiety at the time as well owing to some very unfortunate incidents in her life. She was harassed at the hands of law enforcement after her valuable personal details, internet access, phone calls, details of her clients, etc were hacked. She lost her home of 20 years that went in foreclosure due to that reason. Imagine the plight she might have been going through. There is a detailed complaint about the harassment she had to endure at the hands of law enforcement officials, police officers that she registered at ripoff reports sometime ago. Now, my main agenda is this doctor Michelle F. Zeetony who this complainant claims to have violated her Hippocratic oath to harass her further. As someone who has places immense amount of trust in doctors, this shocked me to my very core. The woman in question is a victim of psychological lynching which she addressed in her complaint that made to th Justice Dept. Despite her history of long list of mental harassment cases which include being labelled as a child molester, paedophile and what not apart from being illegally targeted. Naturally, she was facing problems of anxiety and sleeping disorders. It\'s why she consulted this famed doctor. Now, this doctor who should have been helping her tried to discredit her claims by establishing her as someone who has issues with her memory. She advertises her self as a \"sleep solutions doctor\" but in reality is a fraudster. She tried to convince her with sone crackpot theory that it was actually a \"mom\'s club/group/organisation/underground cult\" that was responsible for the treatment she had been receiving from the law officials. What on earth is that even supposed to mean. When I heard tell of this, I was blown! What kind of a doctor talks like that! A crazy one I tell you! There was a conversation snippet she attached in her complaint which read as follows: DR - I mean, I, you know, I suspect that it sounds like this is happening in multiple kinds of ways, even ways that you are not even seeing. ME - The amazing, the amazing... Excuse me, what did you last say? DR - ... that you\'re, even in ways that you\'re not even appreciating. You know, like the junk mails is kind of an obvious thing, but maybe there is something going on that you\'re not even aware of because it\'s happening on another level. (pause) ME - That doesn\'t make any sense to me. What do you mean? DR - Um, so, for instance, let\'s say, ... um, there\'s a secret underground moms club. (pause) ME - That... DR - No, I\'m just saying ... ME - Speak in real terms. I don\'t understand. DR - Like, let\'s say there\'s a mom’s meetup or whatever. ME - What? DR - A group, a mom\'s club. ME - That doesn\'t make any sense. DR - Listen, listen. Let\'s say there is a mom’s club. And let\'s say one of the police officers is married to one of the moms in the mom\'s club. And the moms club is yapping, and then the moms club says something about \'Oh, well, you know, here I am over here.\' This is still harassment. It\'s that they bring it home and then, inadvertently, outside of your realm, you wouldn\'t even be aware of it. What utter bullshit!!!!!!!! It sounds as if somebody high on the worst kind of drugs would indulge in such talks. My heart goes out to this women who seems to have gotten on the wrong side of everything possible and now is being punished for it. She needs help. This Dr Zeetony is known to be prescribing sleeping machines to elderly, disabled patients to help with their sleep. She is fraud! What a devilish character. How far is anyone ever willing to go to harm someone? Have a conscience for god sake! STAY THE HELLL AWAY from this doctor. She will ruin your lives, your families, your loved ones, and then some more. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Read the full article

[bewarereport-blog]

HAS NO RESPECT FOR HER PROFESSION!

It is time to expose the true face of Dr. Michelle F. Zetoony who claims to be some sort of an expert but is really just a foolish charlatan. She probably has some association with some underground cult societies, or I don’t know what. She is through and through a shifty character. She has the worst possible service ever in the medical industry. An industry that the public so transparently relies on. Good for nothing liar! All she knows is to fleece people for good money and put it in her worthless pockets. I am talking about this case I read about that was registered against these this crook of a woman sometime ago. Apparently, she went to Dr. Michelle F. Zetoony, D.O. (Pinellas County, Florida) in 2012 after her doctor died, primarily to renew her medication that she took to help with her sleep. She was suffering from bouts of anxiety at the time as well owing to some very unfortunate incidents in her life. She was harassed at the hands of law enforcement after her valuable personal details, internet access, phone calls, details of her clients, etc were hacked. She lost her home of 20 years that went in foreclosure due to that reason. Imagine the plight she might have been going through. There is a detailed complaint about the harassment she had to endure at the hands of law enforcement officials, police officers that she registered at ripoff reports sometime ago. Now, my main agenda is this doctor Michelle F. Zeetony who this complainant claims to have violated her Hippocratic oath to harass her further. As someone who has places immense amount of trust in doctors, this shocked me to my very core. The woman in question is a victim of psychological lynching which she addressed in her complaint that made to th Justice Dept. Despite her history of long list of mental harassment cases which include being labelled as a child molester, paedophile and what not apart from being illegally targeted. Naturally, she was facing problems of anxiety and sleeping disorders. It\'s why she consulted this famed doctor. Now, this doctor who should have been helping her tried to discredit her claims by establishing her as someone who has issues with her memory. She advertises her self as a \"sleep solutions doctor\" but in reality is a fraudster. She tried to convince her with sone crackpot theory that it was actually a \"mom\'s club/group/organisation/underground cult\" that was responsible for the treatment she had been receiving from the law officials. What on earth is that even supposed to mean. When I heard tell of this, I was blown! What kind of a doctor talks like that! A crazy one I tell you! There was a conversation snippet she attached in her complaint which read as follows: DR - I mean, I, you know, I suspect that it sounds like this is happening in multiple kinds of ways, even ways that you are not even seeing. ME - The amazing, the amazing... Excuse me, what did you last say? DR - ... that you\'re, even in ways that you\'re not even appreciating. You know, like the junk mails is kind of an obvious thing, but maybe there is something going on that you\'re not even aware of because it\'s happening on another level. (pause) ME - That doesn\'t make any sense to me. What do you mean? DR - Um, so, for instance, let\'s say, ... um, there\'s a secret underground moms club. (pause) ME - That... DR - No, I\'m just saying ... ME - Speak in real terms. I don\'t understand. DR - Like, let\'s say there\'s a mom’s meetup or whatever. ME - What? DR - A group, a mom\'s club. ME - That doesn\'t make any sense. DR - Listen, listen. Let\'s say there is a mom’s club. And let\'s say one of the police officers is married to one of the moms in the mom\'s club. And the moms club is yapping, and then the moms club says something about \'Oh, well, you know, here I am over here.\' This is still harassment. It\'s that they bring it home and then, inadvertently, outside of your realm, you wouldn\'t even be aware of it. What utter bullshit!!!!!!!! It sounds as if somebody high on the worst kind of drugs would indulge in such talks. My heart goes out to this women who seems to have gotten on the wrong side of everything possible and now is being punished for it. She needs help. This Dr Zeetony is known to be prescribing sleeping machines to elderly, disabled patients to help with their sleep. She is fraud! What a devilish character. How far is anyone ever willing to go to harm someone? Have a conscience for god sake! STAY THE HELLL AWAY from this doctor. She will ruin your lives, your families, your loved ones, and then some more. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Read the full article

[omgtaxtwerk]

Tax Return Deadline

Tax Return Deadline For The End of Year Tax Return

In the past a lot of people began to prepare for the 31 October tax return deadline for declaring their UK personal income tax return.

But you don’t have to worry. You are still able to file your tax return without worrying about late penalties for missing the deadline.

The tax return deadline is extended to 31 January the following year if you submit the tax return online, so there is absolutely nothing to fret about right now.

Deadlines for sending in your tax return

31 October: For all paper returns and posted documents

If you send out a paper income tax return, it must reach HMRC by midnight on 31 October.

You only have longer compared to this if you got the letter, informing you to send out a tax return, after 31 July. In this situation you’ll have 3 months from the date you got that letter.

31 January: For all online returns

Your on-line tax return should reach HMRC by midnight on 31 January.

You only have longer than this if you received the letter, informing you to send an income tax return, after 31 October. In this situation you’ll have three months from the date you obtained that letter.

There’s an earlier deadline of 30 December if you desire HMRC to accumulate any kind of tax you owe through your tax code.

You currently could request this if you owe less than £3,000 in tax. You will need to state this clearly on your tax return. HMRC will aim to gather the tax due with your code, yet they cannot always guarantee this.

Fines if you miss the income tax return deadline

If you miss out on the deadline for your self assessment, the longer you delay, then there will be a lot more you’ll need to pay.

So it is essential to send your tax return to HMRC as quickly as you can.

Penalties for missing the income tax return deadline is based on the length of the hold-up:

1 day late: A taken care of charge of £100. This uses even if you have no tax to pay or have paid the tax you owe.

3 months late: £10 for each and every adhering to day – as much as a 90 day maximum £900, this is along with the dealt with penalty over.

6 months late: £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the greater, this is as well as the fines over.

1 year late: £300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the greater, in severe instances you might be asked to compensate up to 100% of the tax due instead.

Having a practical justification for missing the deadline

You will not need to pay a penalty if you have a practical excuse for missing the deadline. As an example, there might have been an extraordinary or unforeseen occasion, past your control, that implied you couldn’t send your return on time. In this instance, you must send your return ASAP once the issue finishes.

Our tax experts can also write a formal letter on your behalf to justify why you had difficulty in filing your tax return. The result of this is that in some cases the authorities will understand and clear your debt out of goodwill.

There are no set rules yet some examples of exactly what HMRC may take into consideration a reasonable reason are:

-documents gone through theft, fire or flooding that you can’t change in time -dangerous disease, for example a heart attack that avoids you taking care of your tax events -death of a companion before the deadline day -industrial action by Royal Mail over a lengthy amount of time -problems with the on the internet solution, without any work-round – you’ll should give the error message you obtained

If you believe you have a sensible justification, you can ask HMRC to re-evaluate a late charge. They will certainly look carefully at the details you gave and any other offered proof. You need to tell HMRC as soon as possible – do not wait until you receive the charge.

You ought to contact HMRC with: -Yyour name and reference number – you’ll find this on your tax return or statement -The date you sent your return -The reason why it was late

Note: HMRC cannot approve these details over the telephone, you will need to send a formal letter.

If you would like to speak with us about our services for your tax return deadline, send a message on the Live Chat now and a member of our team will be happy to assist you. Or complete the form below for a free callback today.

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[hectorwhitehouse-blog]

How you can Purchase (A) instructor On A Limited Spending plan

How you can Acquire (A) educator On A Limited Budget

With the development of modern technologies and also a variety of the latest mobile devices readily available in stores, the brand-new kind of obsession appears within a recent decade. Online graduate programs for teachers could be a very great chance to take benefit of if a school district is looking for a remedy to educator specialist advancement. Educators could fulfill state demands and also enhance their skillsets; they can likewise interact with various other educators in their area who are taking the very same programs. I am thankful for the fantastic instructors who put their time, power and also usually money right into teaching our youngsters! My preferred instructors were always the ones that would certainly take place half hour talks about stuff totally unrelated to their subjects. Hope you delight in college and also above all, I wish you have educators that truly care for you. The visualization or understanding that need to be obtained from the above example is; trainees are in school interacting more with their educators, curators, principals, instructors as well as school team greater than they remain in front of their parents throughout the week. My institution does not have a collection of school-wide policies, however in my experience and also with all the analysis I have done I have found that it is practically approved that good educators prioritize teaching their students to be eco slim αδυνατισμα excellent citizens/people first, by teaching them to be considerate, accountable, as well as resourceful.

What Can Instagramm Educate You Concerning teacher.

As it ended up, I helped 4 years as an unique ed educator in public schools prior to leaving due to the fact that I might no longer get the job done I intended to do: instruct pupils at their degree and assisting them to find out in alternate means. When as well as where each area is holding their teacher task fair, by going to the internet site you can find out. Simply be innovative, spontaneous gifts are always well received since the component of surprise is extremely reliable, nonetheless, there are some special instances to earn up some fantastic excuses or needs to give gifts for our instructors. Actually, several college managers and experienced instructors are grads of this program. You will require to cut back on some items if you desire to be able to pay your mortgage. Lack of knowledge can be bliss, yet if you are obtaining lendings for instructors -, you could not deal with the trouble, if you don't know exactly how bad it is.

Right here's A Quick Means To Solve An Issue with instructor.

Thankfully, today there are numerous chances for you making loan from residence - the web gives a huge selection of opportunities to make income daily. This center is motivating as well as extremely helpful for educators with less to hang on to. The depend on as well as respect they would have for themselves as teachers are crucial, greater than the pay. Is a site for educators by educators, and we aim to continuously urge as well as educate mentor! I had actually discovered the teacher who would certainly not feed me info, or mold and mildew me in his very own picture, or location constraints of right or wrong around me, however an educator who would certainly lead me to my own unique self. The initial day of school, certain back to institution supplies are provided to every trainee to keep in their desks, to be made use of throughout the school year. Reject these as well as no matter talent or pedigree, you will certainly be one lonely educator. The first point we needed to do this week is obtain our study and also guidelines created. Both models could have pupils transforming classes, or have the students stay in one course while the teacher changes classes. Go to a pair and go of efficiencies by the possible instructor so you can make up your very own mind on their skill if possible. In Philly, teachers holding a master's level could gain from $1,000 to $8,000 annually greater than educators lacking an advanced degree depending upon years of experience, according to an Institution District of Philly salary scheduleThey could likewise use their graduate course debts towards Degree II qualification. Possibly you obtained a shop card and also located it as well very easy to spend on. Maybe you had a charge card with a high APR however have got into the practice of just paying the minimal month-to-month payments, implying you are constantly owing cash and also paying great deals of passion. While the huge chains seem leading, there are normally a myriad of smaller, better-run, a lot more professional clothing that are looking for instructors. He has actually been educating instructors on Trinity Certificate as well as Diploma courses for the previous One Decade. With those long summertime vacations, teachers have the most effective possibility to obtain available as well as take a trip!. I am so happy you have a wonderful instructor and also as you noted earlier, I wish there is no policy that prohibits hugging. New instructors start at Level I, which is valid for six years of teaching solution. On the other hand, if one prefers to gain from a teacher it is crucial that the pupil has a good understanding with his teacher in order to stand out. These couple of suggestions will certainly begin the year off efficiently for teachers as well as enable them to place their authority over the class as well as students while still maintaining positive attitudes as well as understandings.

[qualitycollectionfuryposts-blog]

Considerations To Know About fake doctor notes

Fake dr notes might also try for making yours all on your own inside the hope of not attempting to incur any Value. Trust me; you will be making the worst mistake of your daily life. Using a fake doctors Take note or medical center to justification your absence is simple. A honest on the web business that makes a speciality of fake health-related papers really should provide you with thorough Recommendations on A whole new website hopes that will help anybody who wants a doctor's Be aware ASAP owing to their abundance of fake notes that look entirely real. Dermatologist Be aware: This Notice includes a beautiful emblem which stands being an epitome of realism and authenticity. Buyers can use it for quite personal pores and skin related issues. Fake Doctor Note 's confined checkboxes that happen to be bundled for various dermatological reasons. Web lets you enjoy your go away and keep guilt no cost also. They are really real saviors if you find yourself certainly Unwell but struggling to see the doctor due to varied explanations. Use them sensibly! The excuses really should look as genuine as a real doctor’s Be aware. And this will likely require an internet site that has researched a lot of true doctors notes. It will probably be wonderful if they guarantee the notes. "Hi, I requested your notes plus they truly labored," the unknown male suggests. "I would like to thanks. I was not sure [concerning the imposter notes company] I wished to do it but my boss modified our Ill depart plan and fully screwed me in the procedure." On exceptional instances it might be achievable to get a fake Take note from an actual doctor who just takes place for being a buddy, but this isn't the situation and getting a fake note on the web is the best option available for most situation.[sg_popup id=”one″][/sg_popup] Eventually in time, every one of us will get into a circumstance when we want an excuse to get out of work or faculty. There are many reasons that might ensure it is not possible that you should describe why specifically you will need some free time towards your boss. In fact, the massive variety of solutions can make it tricky to pick which is greatest. The greatest query commonly is whether you must get a fake justification Be aware from a medical doctor or a dentist. My own encounter displays that a dentist is always the only option. Expending a lot time (And that i necessarily mean months) on Finding out how to make a fake doctor Notice beats the goal of applying it in the first place. I counsel you take the less complicated route of downloading a printable doctors excuse. The internet site even includes a no-cost get in touch with-back verification element that allows users to put in place a connect with-back quantity and automated voice messaging process. Certainly It is far from just learners that are deciding to obtain a doctor excuse now. Lots of people who perform may also be obtaining that these notes are valuable too. No powerful cause to depart the solace of your private home, no persuasive purpose to ask for the professional and Also, no compelling motive to pay for an enormous amount of the specialist’s price.

[newstfionline]

The panhandler’s lament: In an increasingly cashless world, fewer have a dime to spare

By Maia Silber, Washington Post, August 6, 2017

John Sullivan wears a giant foam hat in the shape of a whale. It works well as a conversation starter when he panhandles on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street in Georgetown. But one hot afternoon in July, no one stops to ask Sullivan about the whale. And no one stops to drop a dollar in his pink plastic cup.

Passing by, one young man in sunglasses turns and shrugs. “I don’t have any cash,” he says apologetically.

That’s a refrain Sullivan has heard a lot lately. He has panhandled in the same spot for almost 20 years and has a good rapport with the locals, who call him “the whale man.” But in the past three years or so, more and more pedestrians have been telling him that they no longer carry paper bills or loose change.

Sullivan’s good-natured about it: “I’ll see you next time,” he says with a smile if a passerby claims to have nothing but a credit card. Lots of people actually do come back the next day with change, he says--but still, he takes in only half what he once did.

Orlando Chase, who panhandles on the same corner as Sullivan, isn’t quite as patient as his friend. “They say they got credit cards,” he scoffs. “I gotta eat. I can’t eat with their credit cards. That’s a done deal.”

A decade ago, you probably wouldn’t have thought to go out without at least a crumpled $5 or $10 bill in your pocket. Nowadays, though, you can use credit cards just about anywhere--and a growing number of smartphone apps are letting us swap clumsy cash for simple swipes when paying a cabdriver, tipping a delivery guy or even splitting a tab with a friend.

It’s all very efficient. But for panhandlers and street vendors, all that efficiency just translates into a whole lot less generosity.

Within the next five to 10 years, the United States could become a “less-cash” or “cash-light” society. That’s the prediction of Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff, who envisions a day when physical currency will be phased out of most legal transactions. A recent survey by Ipsos found that 38 percent of U.S. respondents would ditch cash completely if they could, while 34 percent report that they already rarely carry it.

For panhandlers, who rely entirely on the real stuff, that means less income, period. In Franklin Square downtown, Carrie Evans hits up passersby for a little change. She gets meals at a women’s shelter, but panhandling brings in the money she might need for a bus fare, or a bottle of water. “A lot of people say they don’t have cash,” she says. “Everybody carries plastic.”

Back in Georgetown, at the corner of 27th and K streets, Nathaniel Bost gets the same song and dance. “They say, ‘I got a card,’” Bost says. “I say I need cash. They say, ‘Can’t do it.’”

In his book “The Curse of Cash,” Rogoff suggests that a cashless society could provide heavily subsidized debit-card accounts and perhaps smartphones to low-income individuals. He notes that in Sweden, where less than a fifth of transactions are conducted with cash, some panhandlers already accept donations via mobile phones.

But it’s hard to imagine some veterans of Washington’s streets adjusting to such a system, which would require a bank account and a Square credit-card processor, not to mention time, Internet access, and technological savvy. Chase is 60 years old and has panhandled with a plastic cup for years: He had never heard of Square.

As for Sullivan, the “whale man” wouldn’t deploy his smartphone in the course of panhandling. “If you got a phone, people think, how can a homeless person have that?” he says. “They think differently of you.”

In 2003, James Davis was staying at the Central Union Mission shelter when he heard about plans to start a newspaper written and sold by the homeless. He became one of the first staff members of Street Sense, a biweekly newspaper about homelessness and other social issues. The paper’s vendors--most of whom are homeless--distribute it on the street for a suggested donation of $2.

Davis is no longer homeless, thanks in part to the money he earned writing for and selling Street Sense, and he now trains other vendors.

In recent years, many have complained that they’re just not bringing in any money. “The new vendors get discouraged because people don’t stop anymore,” Davis says. “I say, it’s just because they don’t have cash. I know because I’ve got three kids.” They’re all millennials, he says, and none carry change.

“People would just put their hands up in the air and say, ‘No cash,’” says Robert Warren, a part-time vendor who has lately struggled to earn as little as $30 in a seven-hour shift. Warren has mostly quit vending because he was earning so little.

Street Sense editor Eric Falquero brought up the issue at a conference for the International Network of Street Papers last year. He found that street-paper vendors worldwide had experienced a drop in sales, and some had started accepting electronic payments.

Street Sense has worked with software developer Denim & Steel to build an app to let customers purchase the paper digitally. When it launches, a customer who meets a vendor on the street can select that vendor’s profile and transfer a direct donation electronically. Vendors themselves need not have smartphones.

In Seattle, entrepreneur Jonathan Kumar has developed an app called “Samaritan,” which equips homeless individuals with Bluetooth-enabled “beacons.” When someone passes a “beacon holder,” they can donate via the app. Beacon holders can then use the funds to purchase goods from participating local merchants.

Both apps are interesting solutions to the problem posed by looming cashlessness, but they’re designed to help panhandlers and street vendors already connected to charitable organizations. (Kumar works with local nonprofit organizations to identify homeless individuals who might benefit from the app). But the ones who panhandle are often those who are least likely to connect to established programs, according to Brendan O’Flaherty, a Columbia University economist who has studied panhandling and homelessness. Some have mental health or substance abuse problems that make it difficult for them to follow through with resource providers; others enjoy the freedom of living on the streets and distrust those providers.

Why keep panhandling, when it’s less lucrative these days?

Sullivan plies his trade just a few blocks from the Georgetown Ministry Center’s shelter. He knows the staff, and he’ll accept a bottle of Gatorade from the shelter director, but never his offer of a place to sleep. He prefers to set his own schedule and earn his own money: It’s what he’s done for decades, and he’s not going to stop now.

Even as panhandling becomes harder, he finds a certain joy in it. “People don’t owe you nothing,” he says. “It’s all about the love.” His regulars, at least, still usually have change for him--or if they don’t, they might buy him a sandwich.

“For some people, it’s a social outlet,” says Columbia’s O’Flaherty. “They have regular customers, relationships that develop all the time.”

That could all change with the technologies that enable digital transactions, because they don’t just eliminate the need to carry cash. They also reduce the social interactions that come with the exchange of money. Order an Uber, and there’s no need to give your driver directions. Split a check down to the penny with Venmo, and there’s no reason to debate who ordered what at dinner. Carry nothing but a credit card in your wallet, and you have an excuse not to stop for the panhandler trying to flag you down.

On the other hand, says O’Flaherty, technology could end up leaving us craving face-time with familiar folks. So while some may be less willing to stop when a stranger calls out for spare change, they may be more willing to chat with the man they see on the street corner every day.

With any luck, panhandlers’ regulars, in other words, will stay regulars, Venmo or not.

That’s proved true in the vendor world, or at least for some of Davis’s customers. Josh Weinberg, who sees Davis every weekday when he leaves the National Geographic office, has several dollar bills in his wallet. He exchanges two for a copy of Street Sense.

“For things like this,” he says with a shrug, “I like using paper.”

[armorroofing]

Mosby MO Roofers You Can Trust - Armor Roofing

The article Mosby MO Roofers You Can Trust - Armor Roofing originally appeared on Armor Roofing Kansas City.

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Seeing that you are in Mosby, you must acknowledge that the severe weather conditions generally present may considerably harm your shingles if diligent interest is usually not appointed to it. If you currently have complications with your roof, is the time to commence renovating it now, especially if you have a home in Mosby, and are looking for a roofing company not too distant from Mosby, you ought to speak to us for the finest services you will ever hire.

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People tend to forget about the roof integrity in terms of typical home safeguarding. This can be a fantastic gaffe, notably if you live in an area close to Mosby which unfortunately has got thrashing weather conditions. Initially, you ought to know is that a new roof installation probably will run more than any kind of remodeling you have performed before, however, when it comes to roofing problems, it is considerably better to tackle it fast. There are a great many explanations how come. Without resolving the wear and tear, it can just end up getting even more serious in the event that a significant rainstorm comes through, and actually, you will most likely fork out a lot more cash. Because the roofing layer is certainly the critical guard of the dwelling, the circumstances really do constantly decay and in the end, a repair and sometimes even a new roof are most definitely vital.

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Should I Need to have All New Mosby Rooftop?

To make sure you assess your roof structure vigor, you will find some issues you be required to deal with dependent on the design of roofing materials you currently have:

Precisely What Are Each Of The Extra Benefits Behind New Rooftop Installations?

Under a Rooftop - Is the sarking corroded? Sarking is, in fact, the layer below the roof covering that typically provides you with backing, padding, and a substantial water barrier. A warping sarking is identical to wood erosion. It may not generally be insanely prolonged until eventually some component of your roof covering succumbs to water leakage if that section is required to provide you with backing, and most terribly, this catastrophe might just come towards the not too distant future. In order to preserve the real estate from the breakdown, you should preferably consider taking quick action to get your house fixed.

Have rooftop tiles broken up or slipped apart from the premises? For sure, it is time to have a trusted roofing professional. A replacement patch service is probably a necessity. If the damage is bad, you will require having the total rooftop swapped out.

Is there any corrosion of the wood near the roof top's exterior? When you identify the wooden covering, it is without question an unpleasant sign. So long as you have this blemish, you need to carry out a few renovations or get the complete rooftop replaced at the earliest opportunity. It is undoubtedly ideal to fix this-this week.

Has your metal roof structure decayed through pieces? This may perhaps be the indication to now conduct repairs or to begin the process of updating the corroded pieces with newer steel. You certainly will not like the metal made roof-top to quickly break down and fall to pieces, would you?

If you happen to do locate impairment, you should perform a simple refurbishing or maybe even a full substitution, each with its own positive effects and disadvantages. Even though you might be lured to take on this ailment yourself, the recommended use of your schedule will definitely be invested in getting the project over to a roof covering restoration master. Remember that there is certainly no need to take a look at the roof shingles on your own to see locate damage. Some trustworthy roof contractors will give roof inspections free of charge, and so you shouldn't be forced to go up on a roof to check for trouble.

You call Roofs Are Us right now for your 100% no cost roof inspection, so that you don't have any excuse to take care of it your self.

Call Us Today!Call Us Today! (816) 331-7663

Talk to us by dialing (816) 331-7663 for a gratis roof examination. You will find zero risk! A roofer like Armor Roofing should be able to make available to you a great opinion as to whether a refurbishment or re-roof is crucial. A whole roof replacement must usually be a way to go, especially if, perhaps you would prefer to continue on and modernize the roof top to the life time roofing solution that can maximize your property's market dollar value and then postponing potential renovation. In a case where the property damage is drastic enough it would likely even be called for.

All Many Advantages

Having a comprehensively supplanted roof top comes with one or two like common sense incentives. It involves your house receiving a fresh, well-built, and vibrant roof structure atop of your premises, and importantly you will not have to be overly concerned with it for a long time. If, perhaps you benefit from a fresh life long roof top model type, that installation might last longer than you! If, perhaps you basically do not have to switch out the complete roof covering, the local roofing company will offer you with the important repair service and so you are set.

A different detail that should be pondered is whether you must trade in your building. A very good roof top can easily lift a family home's value quite a lot.

Top reasons To Try To Avoid A Brand Spanking New Roof Top Construction in Mosby

Obviously, a spanking new roof covering mount is simply a more long-drawn-out and complicated business versus a basic service. It's not necessary to stress about this if you enlist the services of the best suited company who has got the operation perfected. The total price is the grounds for why owners do not order a complete state of the art roof top. four-thousand and 11-thousand dollars, which is in fact the typical expense of the project, is simply a considerable amount of funds for almost everyone. Typically these estimates represent a fundamental range, and then quite a bit will certainly hinge on the type of materials that picked for the contract. Since your insurance corporation will be is putting up their cash for the roof repair costs, this is a price tag you will strictly be concerned about pertaining to insuring the replacement is performed in the right manner so as you making sure the insurer pays. Visit us to assist, and we will definitely start with all that is very important in order to make it possible for you to get that rewarded reimbursement.

If, perhaps you do need to have a high-quality licensed roofer in the proximity of Mosby, consider us here at Armor Roofing LLC. No roofer in Mosby outshines Armor Roofing Company the time you take into account buyer serenity and value. Press the press button on the lower part right area of this computer or dial (816) 331-7663 to acquire a absolutely free roof inspection and a quote this instance!

Call Us Today!Call Us Today! (816) 331-7663

The post Mosby MO Roofers You Can Trust - Armor Roofing appeared first on Armor Roofing Kansas City.

[getstaffed-blog]

The Daily Recruitment Hymn: Always Be Scouting

Championship sports teams are made both through organic growth and through strategic talent acquisition. Locally, the most prominent example of a championship-calibre sports team is the Toronto Raptors. Let me explain.

Prior to the deal that landed the Raptors both Coach Dwane Casey & GM Masai Ujiri, this team was sad - correction, this team was horrible - to watch. Ever heard of a trainwreck? That was what my Toronto Raptors was. Fans like myself who had been around for a reasonably long while were always left disappointed by the poor performance of our beloved basketball club.

It all began in the summer of 2010, just prior to the start of the 2010-2011 basketball season - the entire landscape of the NBA changed. Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James all merged their individual talents to form a so-called 'super-team', poised to dominate the NBA for many seasons to follow. The sting to the Raptors' organization, losing their star player Chris Bosh, was painful for fans. The organization felt that they were a work in progress, and although they appeared stuck in what appeared to be perpetual mediocrity, the team was looking to make the right on-court talent acquisitions to elevate them from a mediocre basketball club to a championship level basketball club. Never did they think, however, that the loss of Bosh would result in them being a bottom-feeder in the standings.

Flash forward several losing seasons and several key personnel decisions occurred: firstly, the ownership group for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) changed. This ownership group, comprised of many key individuals but also included the newly added Bell and Rogers TV and Internet empires in Canada, strategically mapped out their collective futures. The rationale appeared simple: Yes, Toronto sports fans are loyal to their teams, but there is only so much losing an organization can succumb to before fans begin to lose their patience; therefore, the organizations must win now rather than become perpetual losers. Secondly, a coaching change was in order, along with a key player acquisition - and who better than defensive specialist Dwane Casey, the mastermind behind the Dallas Mavericks' championship winning season, and high-rising point guard formerly of the Houston Rockets, Kyle Lowry?

Furthermore, MLSE orchestrated a shake-up of the executive branches for virtually all of the teams under the banner of MLSE. In particular, the Raptors organization lost the weight of long-time general manager Bryan Colangelo. Although he was single-handedly responsible for developing a bridge of communication that resulted in the successful hiring of Dwane Casey and the trade for Kyle Lowry, Bryan himself represented a losing tradition for a Raptors organization desperate to re-brand themselves as a winning basketball club that talented players would be privileged to play for. Therein lies a key hire by MLSE: Masai Ujiri, a maestro in the boardroom capable of negotiating deals that bore fruit not simply for his home club, but also for those on the other end of the deal.

There, Masai went to work - canvassing for talent across the NBA, studying the roster he inherited from Bryan Colangelo, and ultimately making key trades that bring us to where we are today. Masai not only leveraged his roster depth to add complimentary talent to a young and nimble basketball club, but he also empowered his coach - whom he decided to keep as Dwane Casey - to play a style of basketball that Dwane wanted to play. In fact, the scouting process was - and still is - a mutual exchange of ideas between Dwane and Masai. As GM, Masai listens carefully to his coach and looks to acquire talent that will compliment Dwane's practical coaching style and the roster whom Dwane and Masai mutually agreed should remain with the club.

This aggressive canvassing resulted in what we see in today's Toronto Raptors basketball club: a championship caliber team that can play with the best teams anywhere in the world; a winning mentality and culture that every player is expected to embrace; and a revival of love for a basketball club that was on the verge of collapsing in on itself. Now, the Raptors are poised for future growth because not only are they healthy for the moment with their current roster, but the mentality of always scouting for talent and seeing where the gaps are and where the successes lie will ensure that this team is competitive long after the retirement of key players like Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan.

Interesting story, right?

There are practical lessons here that all organizations should study and emulate in their own growth:

Be aware of changes to your team and the effect that may have: Just like the sudden loss of Chris Bosh dramatically dwindled the fortunes of the Raptors basketball club, so too can the loss of key staff dramatically hurt your bottom line. It's important for you to be aware of the culture with which you build your team under. If the culture is a perpetual bottom feeder or, perhaps, is perpetually mediocre, then you stand to lose your key staff.  Sometimes, these personnel changes are out of our control - after all, people are effectively agents of their own destiny and may leave your organization no matter what you do. That's not an excuse to allow your culture to deteriorate internally; rather, it's a reality check. The simple solution: Always be Scouting.

Study your organization from the top-down, not the bottom-up: MLSE demonstrates the power of this model. Prior to the ownership change, MLSE ownership was content with mediocrity on the basis of their faith that the Toronto sports fan would support their franchises under any and all circumstances. However, with the fate of multiple organizations under jeapordy, MLSE made ownership changes that brought in organizations with a vested interest in seeing success from their franchises. Bell and Rogers want to see winning teams because that's how you encourage people to watch the live broadcast of the games being played. Following this key move, MLSE essentially stripped down the executive branches of all of their popular franchises - the Jays, the Raptors, Toronto FC, and the Leafs - and revised their collective strategic growth initiatives to ensure that they were all aligned with one goal in mind: winning. The Raptors added the highly talented executive, Masai Ujiri, with is a maestro of scouting and deal-making. The result: The Raptors will Always be Scouting.

Hold all members of the organizations - from the top-down - accountable for failures and reward their successes: Masai knows that if he decelerates at any moment and shows cracks in his character, then the MLSE ownership will be on the hunt for new talent. Just look at the Jays' former executive Alex Anthopolous as an example. Winning is the cultural norm now and absolutely nothing less ought to be expected from an MLSE franchise. That is not to say that you hastily execute fires and new hiring, especially since every situation warrants its own unique assessment and evaluation. Rather, this is an opportunity for the executive team and the ownership team to ensure that there exists a mutual interest in seeing success within their respective franchises. Furthermore, reward those who do good work for your organization - just as the Raptors have done with Demar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Dwane Casey, Jonas Valanciunas, and even Masai himself. But as owners, know you must always be actively seeking the best talent to join your organization. The result - you need to Always be Scouting.

Utilize all resources available to you in your recruitment efforts: It is clear to me and other professionals whom proudly call themselves recruitment consultants that MLSE was in consultation with the most savvy recruitment consultants in the business. Why? The simple answer is that although they may have had access to every single individual player and executive in the business, they MLSE ownership group focused on what they do best: delegating responsibilities to experts in their respective fields. By the way, in case it was lost on you from earlier - that includes utilizing recruitment consulting agencies. If your organization wants to be successful, it must develop trusted relationships with advisors from this vertical - we have a pulse on the market and are able to get our hands dirty to identify, evaluate, and source key talent for your success. In this manner, whether your organization itself is actively hiring or actively reviewing potential candidates for hire, you will always have dedicated eyes and ears on the ground whom will be living the recruitment mantra: Always be Scouting.

Simply put, you owe it to your organization to take recruitment and staffing efforts very seriously. If you need any reason to understand why it's important, you should study the Raptors and their ascension to a championship-calibre for inspiration.