#take my precautions as a criticism of themselves

[terreurs]

i love the above ^ comment and want to add:

being willing to discuss your own precautions (or lack thereof!) is huge as well. even if you take few or none of the above precautions, being able to articulate that (without taking the question as an accusation) means a lot to me. be honest if your cousin tested positive after christmas, i'm not going to be mad that you made the decision to see family (so did i!) but it'll help me make my own choices with all the info. if you usually mask, but you fell off to spend time with people you missed, i get it, that's ok, thanks for telling me!

i'm never asking to quiz you or ridicule you. it's possible i'll decline plans if the risk is too high for my comfort, but it's not a punishment. it's really just communicating needs and figuring out what works best between us.

be safe, be kind, be honest. it means the world!

Covid Update, USA, late December 2023: Buckle up, folks.

Takeaway from his (very informative) thread:

Wastewater counts are obscenely high right now, belying the official case numbers. Considering that we've stopped collecting or reporting most COVID data, wastewater is the best way we have to judge the actual infection rate now.

We are currently seeing ten million new infections a week, and can expect that to greatly increase within the next three weeks.

If you've stopped masking, please start again, for your own safety and the safety of your community. Many hospital systems are already trending toward being overwhelmed right now; let's do what we can to lighten their burden.

Avoid unnecessary gatherings where possible.

Ventilate your spaces well (this is a good time to build that Corsi-Rosenthal box you were thinking about! I made one, it's great).

And just from me, personally--now's a good time to reevaluate casual habits. I've been careless, again, about touching my face. Time for me to knock it off!

This is a period where we need to act with more care. Not a time to panic, but a time to be more cautious.

[motheatenscarf]

Amidst all the James Somerton fallout, I think it's important to remember not to moralize whether or not you or others fell for his grift.

Obviously, if you were rallied into being one of his attack dogs on social media when he put some pretty heinous hits out on people, uh. You might have other problems and should probably evaluate how you spend your time online and how you treat other people before you start caring about the rest of the points I'm about to make. Priorities, etc.

But for the rest of us, it's surprisingly easy to miss just how awful a creator can be.

If you only watched his videos that caught your interest, if you don't really follow creators on social media, if you skip livestreams because watching Some Guy talk unfiltered into a bad camera angle with shitty lighting for hours on end sounds like a fucking nightmare to you, you're not really gonna catch most of this shit. At least, you're not gonna catch most of it from any perspective but the one he tries to spin.

This is a reminder to be skeptical and to trust your gut and check sources if something sounds wrong, but also. Uh. That's still the creator's responsibility not to plagiarize and to fact check their work. You're not morally obligated to be as thorough in curating your experience as someone who is making sure they take every ethical precaution before absolutely destroying a "creator's" credibility in a video like H-Bomb's or Todd in the Shadows'. You're literally just some guy. Most people, myself included, watch these videos as background noise while doing at minimum one other task, you're not gonna google every damn thing he says, especially not on media analysis, where the POINT is to have one's own opinion. THEY'RE the ones trying to be "influencers," or, laughably, "creators." The standards are on them.

And for the isms, phobias, and misogyny, well. Frankly, for my own perspective, I gaslight myself all the damn time when I see red flags. Good Allyship™ has been telling me for years to ignore my own discomfort when someone criticizes a privileged group, especially one I'm a part of. I'm a cis asexual white-passing and probably neuroatypical woman, I am constantly trying to be aware of my own relative privilege while simultaneously doubting my own reaction to things. Despite this, I'd still liked to think I'm a skeptical person, but nobody's immune to everything. Everybody has weak spots.

If you got duped or fell for James' scam, that sucks. I feel ya. I fell for it too, I've seen probably 40% of his catalog over the last couple years and really liked what I'd seen. I recommended his channel and videos to people even if I didn't always agree with every point he made, but it felt important to at least consider what to me seemed like a unique perspective that had value or added to a conversation. There are red flags within his content, his analysis, his rate of publishing, his weird diatribes, that in retrospect, really all added up into things I should have known better than to ignore. But, for reasons I'm interrogating and am adding to my list of things to be aware of about myself, I didn't ignore them, and got grifted. I donated to his patreon a few times, probably gave him like $20 grand total over the years, about as much as I've given H Bomb. The important take away here isn't to be ashamed of the fact that you were fooled, it's to remember that you're fallible.

And it's good to recognize that about yourself. Everyone is, and the ones who say they aren't are lying. They're either gonna be the next person to feel really stupid and foolish when they fall for a scam, or are themselves the grifter.

No one is immune.

[jewish-vents]

I actually think the American “not in my name, “as a Jew,” “All Eyes on Rafah AI image (never said anything about 10/7)” Jews are the most narcissistic people imaginable. they’re like “I just can’t support the senseless killing of children” NONE OF US SUPPORT THAT, it is tragic - but where tf were all of you when children were killed, tortured, and kidnapped from Israel and you said nothing??? where were you when the US had done even worse and caused terrible casualties in wars and weren’t taking anywhere near the precautions to warn or protect civilians and to avoid collateral damage as much as possible? the US, and not just republicans because Obama did it too, has struck targets where children died on purpose. but no criticism for that, crickets when it’s your own country, but when it’s Israel they have to rush to misinformation to make themselves look good to all their leftist followers. the double standard is unreal but so is the selfishness. “not in my name,” cool because none of this is ABOUT YOU but great job making the entire diaspora less safe for your fellow Jews with your virtue signaling.

.

[karenandhenwilson]

"Don't trust any statistics you haven't faked yourself." That's a quote my math teacher in 10th grade put on the front page of our statistics exam that year. And it's stayed with me, taught me to be cautious. It's not always so easy to take apart a so called statistical analysis as the one I read yesterday, though.

Let's talk about how the tag system on AO3 works for the free tags.

There are tag wranglers who group tags together that appear to have the same meaning. That creates a mix of different tags that are originally meant differently that can be found under the same parent tag. And that means you'll find all different kinds of stories under a certain tag that you really weren't looking for.

The "Chimney Han bashing" tag for example.

Go to the oldest story you'll find when you filter the tag. It's not a Chimney bashing fic. I'm not even sure which of the tags on the story have made it appear under "Chimney bashing". It's a pretty lovely written (as far as I've read, and I haven't read much of it because I can't deal with a cancer storyline right now) fic about Chimney's journey after he is diagnosed with cancer in season 2. It's focused on Chimney, Hen, and Maddie. But you don't even need to go into the story to figure that out, you'll see it right in the tags.

So I dare to say that any statistical analysis that even mentions this story but doesn't point out it's actually a very decidedly Chimney positive fic that somehow shows up in the Chimney bashing tag is flawed from the get go. You really wasted your time writing all that when you couldn't even look at your data without your bias showing from the very first moment.

And this is really just the most obvious flaw in that whole thing. I'm not going to adress much more of it, because my time was already wasted enough reading the original post, but one little reminder of 9-1-1 fandon history under the cut.

There are a lot of common tags that show up if you just filter by the "Chimney bashing" tag. Like "not Chimney friendly" and "Chimney critical". And those tags are mostly put in place because you'll have Chimney stans jumping at your throat in your comments about anything that looks at any of Chimney's actions even just a little critical. Many of those stories don't even mention Chimney much, but some of his actions are discussed by other characters from their POV, and therefore aren't always very favorable. But because in 2021 and 2022 a small group of fans decided to harass everyone who didn't worship their two favorites, many writers saw themselves forced to be extra cautious with warning about that.

If you really want to do an analysis about the "Chimney bashing" tag, you'll have to do the work and actually separate the different tags and then also check if that tag is warranted or just put there as a precaution so Chimeny fans know to stay away. (Not that they ever learned that lesson until the moment they attacked a Korean artist for depicting a Korean character "wrongfully" earlier this year and were called out for their bullshit. And instead of apologizing they cried about being the victims of harassment and then promptly left tumblr.)

[covid-safer-hotties]

These Are the Drag Artists and Organizers Fighting to Make Queer Spaces More COVID Safe - Published Aug 21, 2024

This article was produced in partnership with The Sick Times.

After becoming disabled by a COVID-19 infection they caught on tour in 2022, Themme Fatale went from being a high-flying trapeze artist to being homebound. Before developing Long COVID, much of the popular circus performer’s career had involved risk — setting themself on fire, flipping through the air, lying on beds of nails — but the danger of these stunts began to shrink in their mind compared to the risk of the airborne virus.

From home in Melbourne, Australia, Fatale began to closely follow Long COVID research, connecting the concerning findings about the disease, which affects every organ system, to their numerous symptoms. What they didn’t understand was why their local queer community — and society at large — continued to put themselves at risk of COVID-19, especially because Long COVID is more prevalent in queer and trans people.

It led Fatale to take action. In February 2024, Fatale launched Clean Air Narm, one of over 30 volunteer-led initiatives around the world modeled after Chicago’s Clean Air Club. These organizations lend out high-quality air purifiers to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by reducing virus in the air at indoor venues.

“I started [Clean Air Narm] because I don't want to see all my friends disabled in the same way that I have been,” they say. “If you lead with a solution, people are sometimes more open to hearing about what the problem is in the first place.”

Guided by a strong commitment to community care, a diverse group of queer performers, drag kings, and other event organizers are filling the gaps of global government failure during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through clean air organizations, mask requirements at shows, and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts, they are making public spaces more accessible and safer for everyone, all while selling out shows.

Here’s how many clean air clubs work: Organizers fundraise in their communities for a fleet of air purifiers and/or far-UVC devices, lamps that emit a type of ultraviolet light that can reduce indoor airborne microbes by 98%. Because these technologies are expensive — lights and purifiers can each cost thousands of dollars —, clean air organizers offer them to event organizers in their community through a “lending library.”

Volunteers of the clean air initiatives then distribute the purifiers to event organizers who install them at venues, often coupled with other COVID-19 mitigation tools like masks and rapid tests. Mutual-aid groups called mask blocs, which distribute respirators and other items to their communities for free, sometimes help with events, too.

While these precautions make events safer, they don’t fully eliminate the risk of spreading or catching COVID-19 at an event. Clean air initiatives are often careful to advertise events as “COVID-safer,” not “COVID-safe.” Some advocates have also criticized these clean air clubs for prioritizing entertainment events, arguing that resources like air purifiers and high-quality masks should be used for the most vulnerable communities that can’t afford masks, including hospitals, prisons, or public schools.

Still, with COVID-19 at very high levels multiple times a year and many people still going out to concerts and shows, these multiple layers of precaution do reduce spread of the disease in important venues. The fight for cleaner air in public places is broad: Public health experts and others have also proposed clean air mandates in public buildings, including Harvard University’s Healthy Buildings Program, Long COVID Kids, and Congressman Don Beyer’s Airborne Act 2024.

After founding Clean Air Club in 2023, Chicago resident Emily Dupree was met with an overwhelming demand for her club’s HEPA air purifiers. The success led her to write a guide to creating a clean-air organization. More than 30 autonomous initiatives around the world have been implemented and improved on the guide — and they’re popping up quickly.

“What we all have in common is a deep commitment to free access to life-saving technology in the midst of an ongoing pandemic,” says Dupree.

While Clean Air Club purifiers are for any organizers who request them, Dupree has noticed the resource has been more popular with members of the queer community.

“It is not surprising to me that so many of us creating these clean air clubs and putting in so much work for our community are queer,” Dupree says. “This idea of care as a radical and very powerful foundational value for mutual aid organizations is closely aligned with queer politics.”

The queer community is no stranger to mutual aid. During the peak of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s and ’90s, lesbians and other queer people started food banks, devoted their time to caretaking, donated as “blood sisters”, treated people with the disease, and provided other life-saving volunteer services while mainstream society stigmatized and abandoned people with AIDS.

Today, clean air organizations, mask blocs, and other COVID-19 mutual aid groups exist as a temporary solution for the widespread institutional failures of local, city, state, and federal governments that have an obligation to safeguard public health from COVID-19 and have instead completely failed to live up to that obligation, as Dupree says. “[These initiatives] give us a glimpse of what life could be like if only these principles were adopted at a larger scale.”

Dupree would like to see institutions that have the power to make large-scale, permanent changes in the interest of public health — including schools, public transportation departments, and prisons — improve their indoor air quality through the use of air purification and far-UVC technology. She’d also like to see mask requirements reimplemented in high-risk environments like hospitals, where many people have died after being exposed to COVID-19 while seeking life-saving care.

It's pretty straightforward, Dupree says. “What we need from the government is what they did at the turn of the century to eradicate cholera from our public water. We need them to clean our indoor air.”

In the absence of these measures and few to no mitigation efforts today, the public is at continued risk of COVID-19 infections and Long COVID, which affects more than 23 million Americans of all age groups. More than 400 million have the disease around the globe, according to a recent review in Nature Medicine. The ever-present threat of the virus also makes it unsafe for disabled and other high-risk people to participate in everyday life, seek safe medical care, and do essential errands.

While many mutual aid groups are run by queer people, numerous LGBTQ+ organizations and advocacy groups are failing to make their spaces and events safe and accessible. Education about the risk of Long COVID in the community is sorely lacking.

But there are exceptions: In Los Angeles, two drag king-led shows, Disabled Cable and Them Fatale (not associated with Themme Fatale) have made their shows more COVID-safe thanks to the help of testing, mask requirements, and their local clean air organization, Airgasmic.

Founded in 2024 by popular drag king Dick Swagger, Airgasmic runs a lending library of crowd-sourced purifiers specifically for drag shows and other queer events. And while the volunteer service has been successful, it has also exposed how difficult it can be to get venues and some patrons on board with COVID-19 mitigation methods, particularly masking.

“A lot of people aren't keeping up with the science,” Swagger says, explaining that he spends most of his free time volunteering for Airgasmic and educating his community online about COVID-19 and Long COVID. “More people tend to listen to me when I’m in drag.”

Swagger stopped performing live in 2022 after seeing the toll Long COVID has taken on the drag and queer community in Los Angeles. He knows 14 people in his local drag and queer communities with Long COVID, he says, adding that “it is like watching a slow-motion car crash” as more continue to get infected with COVID-19.

“I had to stop performing. I became increasingly frustrated,” he says. “I was trying to protect [my local drag community] and protect myself because I can't afford to become disabled.”

Leona Love, a drag king and queen who co-created Disabled Cable, says one of the most difficult aspects in organizing their show was finding a venue that would help enforce a mask requirement, a challenge other performers and organizers who spoke with Them and The Sick Times also faced.

As an ambulatory wheelchair user, Love says that a lack of accessible venues has kept them from performing at venues in Los Angeles in the past. The underlying ableism in the drag and queer community led them to co-found the show, which highlights disabled performers.

“The way I like to tell it honestly is that it is a project that was born out of rage and channeled into love,” they say.

But after finding a venue called Cantiq in Echo Park that fully supported their mitigation efforts, Love’s first show drew such a large crowd that they had to set a capacity limit for their sophomore performance so it would be less cramped and therefore safer. Now, the event regularly sells out.

“Getting to see the response to our show has been so affirming that our community still does care about COVID-19,” Love says. “We want to keep each other safe. Sometimes it’s about providing the right spaces and the right information to inform people how they can do that.”

“I do wish, however, that there were spaces outside of what we are building that were taking us into consideration as much as we are taking everyone in the community into consideration.”

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

TW cocsa, emotional abuse

I have a very hard time explaining and expressing my trauma but I am looking for validation and possibly words to explain what I went through as I have a hard time identifying it

I experienced what I feel was cocsa as a kid, I was pinned down and kissed repeatedly by a kid I barely knew in what I can only explain in a sexual manner. I wasn’t exactly afraid in the situation but I felt confused and wanted to escape.

I feel the cocsa term fits this but I also feel kinda odd using it as I just keep thinking that what I experienced is lesser compared to the SA others experienced

Another thing that I experience, and this is ongoing, I have a parent who I can only describe as emotionally immature, reactive and micromanaging.

They are constantly criticizing my other parent and I for things we do, a lot of times raising their voice or just straight yelling at us over it.

This can be in public or in private and a lot of times at random. he tells us we lack commons sense (mostly because of us doing certain things different from them) yet lacks common sense themselves. Anymore we state our opinion or how we feel, they just dismiss it.

I feel this is emotional abuse but my brain still feels that it isn’t bad enough to be abuse because other than this they’re really good to us and financially support us.

-🦎

Hi 🦎,

I'm so sorry to hear about everything you've been through. I can understand why you feel that it may not be accurate to label these experiences as cocsa or emotional abuse because perhaps you have heard of "worse" stories. But it's important to remember that comparing your trauma to others minimizes your own experiences. As a survivor you should choose whatever label you feel is most fitting. It's okay if you want to use the terms cocsa or emotional abuse, and it's also okay if you would rather use something else.

Some abusers act nice sometimes or support you in certain ways so that you feel guilty for feeling hurt, holding resentment, or wanting to leave. If an abuser empowered you to believe your own judgment and common sense, you would be more likely to act upon the urge to leave. But if an abuser convinces you that you're always wrong or exaggerating, you're more likely to stay, which is what they want. Similarly, if abuser purely mistreated you, it would be easier to recognize it as abuse. But if they also financially support you or treat you well other times, it's harder to rationalize leaving, which is also their goal. Feeling like it's inappropriate to label this as emotional abuse can hinder you from taking precautions and seeking safety.

If you can access or afford it, a mental health professional such as a therapist could help you process your experiences and rebuild confidence in your own credibility and perception of events. If anyone has any comments or suggestions, feel free to add on. Otherwise, I hope I could help, and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[komohine]

What do you think of James being trans? (Obviously a headcanon haha) I might just be projecting I'm definitely projecting, but I think it makes sense.

I hc him has having an inferiority complex when he was younger, which is something me and a lot of fellow transmascs can relate to! The feel of having to aggressively outdo your AMAB peers because you're constantly being fed the idea they're somehow inherently better.

I also think it would be very silly if he hated Keith as a kid for this reason, reasoning he's a "real boy", only to learn Keith is trans too. T4T jaith or smthn idk lol

Also James is gender.

(also I really adore your art! Thank you for taking the time to read my silly headcanon)

I think hell yea 🫡 Even though it’s not my personal headcanon (in my personal headcanon their cis and transness is ambiguous). Withij my headcanons, both canon compliant and college au, there is never really a situation that arises where the distinction of their cis/transness becomes necessary or significant so i really just never mention it and leave it up to the interpretation of the reader

Its probably bcs my prior fandom space has traumatized me so if im gonna be honest i dont really think about characters genders beyond what they express themselves as 😭 you are boy? Ok! Sorry transfetishization haunts me hetalia and genshin were horrific spaces to be in… i have nightmares about people making one character from an mlm ship trans just for “realistic mpreg”. Oh my god mpreg keith is genuinely so disturbing i get distraught when i think about it. Also this may just be a precaution because of the voltron fandom? Because I came into this fandom like a month ago with the prior knowledge that this place is a literal minefield of fetishizers and weird people. Like do you get it… if i, for example, mention explicitly that my keith is trans theres gonna be people fetishizing that. If i mention he’s cis there’s gonna be people fetishizing that. So my defence is to just not mention it! Schrodinger’s gender!! 30 year old women stop writing crazy p0rn of highschoolers challenge.

Its the same with freaky headcanons like i will occasionally try to think of some for writing and metaphor purposes but i will get flashbacks to when a 13 year old asked me “whos the top and whos the bottom” about my ocs on discord and then my train of thought just stops there. Its like a kill switch. “Freaky jaith? Uhh well-” “whos the top and whos the bottom” “ok nvm 😇” like i personally love artsy and tastefully done innuendo art pieces but i do not trust the fandom to have a great enough level of critical thinking to see past the freaky to see the angsty metaphors i pack my art with.

But i think T4T jaith is fire james can now have internalized homophobia AND internalized misogyny or something!! Yay!! Adding more shit onto his need for perfection and to be a “real man” or something whereas keith dont gaf! And keith can teach james to not gaf!!! Yay!!!

[kismetconstellations]

@sockdooe, You are not being stupid. I want to establish that right away. You're not stupid. You are understandably cautious because this fandom has a deserved reputation for being one of the worst in recorded history due to its rampant toxicity and K/L shippers, especially, having a penchant for harassing any and everyone with differing opinions.

I am so sorry that this environment has been so hostile toward you. You didn't and still don't deserve that. Fandoms are supposed to be fun, occasionally self-indulgent, places of escapism. Not overwhelm participants with intense anxiety because they're expecting to be attacked for expressing love for a certain character or ship, or even a dissenting opinion.

One of my dearest friends shared a post with me, the other day, that I find very apt for our ongoing predicament as Shiro fans.

"Sometimes you see discourse ™ so mindbogglingly dumb you just have to be like, 'That’s the kids talking. That’s the same as when two toddlers are having an intense conversation and it’s totally detached from reality, but they’re very serious about it. That’s not for me that’s for the kids'."

It can be fun, or sometimes even feel imperative, given how often they rile me up, to challenge these hate-fueled, mindbogglingly dumb, detached from reality takes. But, we don't have to engage with them. We always have the option to remind ourselves, "That's the kids talking. That's not for me, that's for the kids."

You are not "stupid" for taking precautions to protect yourself from vitriolic subsets of this fandom. And, yes, anyone cheerfully looking to spread hatred for Shiro while tacking on, "I still love him/I don't hate him, but", as a preemptive shield from criticism, is provably vitriolic. You have to have nothing worthwhile going on in your life and an unquenchable need to start petty drama in order to sit around and invent reasons to hate a gay, disabled, neurodivergent trauma survivor who epitomizes selfless heroism and who has chosen to remain gentle in spite of everything that he's been through.

"Lance was more warm to the mice than Shiro to Keith."

What's that? Sorry, child, I can't hear you over Shiro canonically drawing Keith into an embrace in full view of everyone after learning that Keith shares the blood of the species that made Shiro's life a living Hell for a year.

There is a saying, "You don't choose the favorite character. The favorite character chooses you." While I do find it invariably tends to ring true, it is interesting how people with certain personality types gravitate toward specific characters, and then latch onto them with a fierceness that can only come from intense personal projection.

I'm not knocking anyone for this. I project at least a bit onto my favorite characters, as well, as I'm certain most people do. It comes with the "self-indulgent escapism" territory.

It just sucks that L/K-shipping fans of either character have chosen to make their intense projection onto these characters into everyone else's problem. Particularly Shiro and Allura, and I imagine even Pidge (given that I've seen more than a few fics bashing her for supposedly being mean to Lance) fans.

No, making K/L canon would not have "fixed" the inept writing, inherent ableism and ageism, and deplorable treatment of trauma survivors that tacitly endorses them martyring themselves. All that would have accomplished is setting a precedent that targeted harassment and attempted extortion works. The showrunners absolutely did the right thing in not caving to the demands of a horde of entitled brats who actively attacked them for two years, lobbing accusations of pedophilia at a father. Which could have completely ruined his life and resulted in his children being taken from him had anyone taken these preposterous claims over a harmless ship between two legal adults in a cartoon seriously.

I'd like to consider it a form of serendipity that we crossed paths with each other in this cesspit of a fanbase. ❤ As I informed another blogger, a few days ago, finding another Shiro fan who doesn't simply view him as "hot bara Daddy Dom I want to imagine banging my self-insert of choice", will always be a breath of fresh air.

(Sidenote: I thought baras were supposed to be hairy, as well as tall and ripped. Shiro is a bit too hairless to qualify, no? And, Coran is a Daddy Dom.

Shiro is a Bottom/Submissive through and through.

(o˘◡˘o) )

The "Space Dad" thing, by itself, is kind of cute, and I do love that Josh Keaton derived such joy from it, bless his heart. But, when fans take it seriously and start holding Shiro to the standards of an actual father when canon never presents him as one, that's when it drives me nuts and I start to hate it. In much the same way Lance and Keith fans simultaneously lionizing and woobifying their favorites at the expense of everyone else has done a great job of putting me off of them.

Keith, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk have their own fathers. Coran is Allura's surrogate father. No one on Team Voltron sees Shiro as their dad.

Headcanons that Shiro and Adam adopted and raised Keith are just that. Headcanons. If you find something enjoyable in them, or want to adopt Shiro as the ideal father to your character of choice, that is perfectly fine, so long as you remember that you're working within an alternate universe that has nothing in the show's canon to support it.

Shiro was always a mentor, leader, and/or older brother to the Paladins. He's twenty-five years-old. Not fifty. And, I guarantee if he had tried to pull rank on any of these kids, they would one-thousand percent have fired back with, "You're not my dad!"

The only character who arguably views Shiro as a father is the Atlas; based on Shiro being the sole person she has a connection with, and her modeling her mecha form after his physique.

[dragynkeep]

The SPOP fandom used to do what the RWBY fandom does with their critics and anyone who made NSFW works. The critics grew tired of the harassment and left, and the NSFW creators went completely underground if they didn't leave completely.

see this is why i didn't believe the inciting ask of "i don't want people to come into your space & degrade your writing" because not only did they reveal very clearly that yes, they did have an issue with my writing & think i'm a pedophile for writing it but — it doesn't even work.

all further quarantining sections of the fandom off does is make it easier for those sections to be subjected to harassment, like have we not seen that over & over again with the repeated inbox attacks on rwde posters for the past couple of months? do we really think it goes differently for lwde posters, especially those posting "problematic" content.

some people just have to admit they're lazy & don't want to take the precautions to keep themselves safe & would rather put that responsibility onto others, only to throw a temper tantrum when it doesn't work.

[freethebook]

It is very telling when a person who has no knowledge of beekeeping tries to demonize beekeeping. And this is demonization, not criticism, because the latter would require some effort. So let's break this down bit by bit.

Source here is ME because I am an amateur beekeeper and even with my limited experience I can debunk all of this easily.

"Actually, beekeepers take many precautions to keep their bees from leaving."

Of course they do, because ONE, bees are a livestock animal and no farmer wants their livestock animals to flee, and TWO, that is just responsible oh my god. Many hives that swarm end up dying from starvation if they don't swiftly locate a new home, and even if they DO locate a new home, if it's in proximity to humans they'll be relocated to an adoptive beekeper ANYWAY at best, and bug sprayed at worst.

"many clip the wings of the queen" This, this just does not happen. It does not happen.

If a queen becomes damaged in any way, the hive will KNOW and it will REPLACE her. They will kill the queen THEMSELVES, and you've now crippled your hive's worker production for a month or more. You do this three times in a row, the hive is just dead.

"destroy new queen cells" Completely unnecessary and honestly a waste. You could instead cut out the queen cells and rehome them into new hives. The nurse bees will take care of the queen cell, rear it to hatching, and bingo brand new queen no effort.

"cull queens they don't like" Actually does happen! But then, if your queen stops laying eggs, or has poor egg production, the hive will eventually die if the queen ISN'T culled. And again, if she is missing a leg or a wing, the HIVE WILL CULL HER ANYWAY. This is just basic animal husbandry.

"and use bee pheromones to prevent a hive from naturally swarming or absconding" If you are taking care of your hive right you literally don't need to do this. Swarming is a stress measure in response to the bees running out of space.

"They also try and prevent mating with the African honey bee, which makes them less docile among other things." HOOO BOY THAT IS A CAN OF WORMS.

So, the African honey bee was introduced way back when in an attempt to make honey bees that were more efficient and cleanly in higher temperatures. They were released by a very dumb European scientist who thought "huh, this cage on the queen super really isn't necessary, i wonder why it's there" and removed it, allowing what WAS a controlled experiment in hybridization to become an invasive species nightmare.

The Africanized honey bee, which is a hybrid of various European honey bees and the African honey bee, IS very efficient and cleanly! It also produces far less honey, is highly aggressive, and will chase designated targets for LITERAL. MILES. AND STING THEM TO DEATH. If they even approach the hive the wrong way. Preventing mating with the African honey bee outside of its natural range is PUBLIC SAFETY.

God.

Incidentally, I don't blame African honey bees for being this way, because they had to evolve alongside the HONEY BADGER.

"during artificial insemination of queens, drones are crushed and ,,spare'' queens are killed."

Queens engage in ritual blood combat for the throne. No actually. If there is a new virgin queen active in the hive, SHE WILL SEEK OUT ALL OTHER RIVALS AND BITE THEM TO DEATH. SHE WILL TEAR THEM APART WITH HER MANDIBLES. IT IS VISCERAL. I don't even know what this user means by "spare queen," they don't explain it and it's not a term that's used in modern beekeeping.

As for drones being crushed during artificial insemination, DRONES DIE WHEN THEY MATE. THEIR PENIS LITERALLY EXPLODES OUT OF THEIR BODY AND BECOMES A MATING PLUG. I, personally, would not enjoy crushing a drone to death, but I would in fact consider it a mercy compared to a slow, natural death by shock.

"and commercial beekeepers even cull their hives during winter, or when they are not producing well."

BUDDY.

Most beekeepers I know struggle to KEEP their hives through the winter. Hive death during overwintering is a very real problem, and that's WITHOUT considering colony collapse disorder, widespread pesticide use, colony collapse disorder, or a range of other ailments that can cause a hive to abscond, die, or swarm.

Adding on that... do you think that beekeeping is a highly profitable business? Or that beekeepers just have unlimited money to continue to buy bees and resources, like some cartoon villain that spends their vast wealth to harm and kill something for their jollies?

The ONLY. And I must stress, ONLY TIME, it is necessary to cull an entire hive instead of rehabilitate it, is when it's infected with American Foulbrood, because you DO NOT FUCK WITH THAT SHIT. It is GOVERNMENT POLICY across North America that if you have a hive with American Foulbrood, you kill the hive, and BURN THE EQUIPMENT. It can survive over FIVE DECADES as an inert spore, and if you can't clean the equipment with literal BOILING STEAM TREATMENT, you are just throwing all that out.

Are honeybees an invasive species in NA? Yes. Do they crowd out native pollinators and spread disease? Yes. But for all you harp on about cruelty to the bee, removing this invasive species would require a COMPLETE CULL NATIONWIDE, and would only end in more problems due to the reduced natural pollinator population and the continuing incidence of said disease.

As an aside, I am so fucking tired of the invasive species argument because like. Chicken is invasive. Beef is invasive. Pork is invasive. 90% of what you buy in a grocery store is invasive. If you want to fix that, you can start a garden of native plants and connect with farmers in your area. Talk with conservation experts.

A lot of the problems with modern beekeeping come from harmful practices that were brought over from Europe. Monocropping requires vast amounts of pollination, but all the natural habitats of natural pollinators don't exist in these sterilized biomes. So the bees are shipped in, varroa or no, to pollinate the area.

This spreads the varroa to the area if it wasn't already, brings varroa BACK to the home turf if the BEES didn't have it already, gives the bees the equivalent of junk food because they have a single uniform food source for several weeks, and exposes the bees to toxic chemicals because monocropping also requires vast amounts of pesticides that harm the bees.

Conservation IS possible. Rehabilitation IS possible. A lot of young beekeepers want to embrace this as a hobby and as a business RESPONSIBLY, and snide armchair disinformation does NOTHING to actually fix the problem.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

Wild that folks keep saying beekeepers abuse bees as if bees are not both venomous flying animals and fully unionized

[frogblogger18]

These women and girls are present when you mock other women and girls for their age. Young women and girls ages 20-30 get bullied for having normal faces. 'Oh my god i thought you were 50' at a woman who is clearly in her thirties. In medical settings, transgender healthcare often follows a troublingly transactional approach. Many trans individuals seeking hormone therapy or surgery report minimal questioning about their transstal health or history of trauma. This raises concerns about the lack of thorough care, as such profound decisions should involve a deeper, more personalized evaluation process. The healthcare system's tendency to gloss over these aspects reflects broader issues in how we approach gender identity, leaving patients vulnerable to incomplete care that doesn't consider the full scope of their well being. Okay. My doctor put me on ADHD medication for the first time and everything is moving in slow motion so I'm sorry if this is jibberish. Marriage laws are often structured in ways that disadvantage xxs. In divorce, xxs can lose access to property they helped acquire, be forced to pay alimony, and face lengthy legal battles over custody. These legal barriers make it difficult for xxs to leave marriages, trapping them in unhappy or abusive relationships. Radical feminists argue that marriage reinforces patriarchal control and should be critically examined. These women and girls are present when you mock other women and girls for their age. Young women and girls ages 20-30 get bullied for having normal faces. 'Oh my god i thought you were 50' at a woman who is clearly in her thirties. Okay. My doctor put me on ADHD medication for the first time and everything is moving in slow motion so I'm sorry if this is jibberish. Marriage laws are often structured in ways that disadvantage xxs. In divorce, xxs can lose access to property they helped acquire, be forced to pay alimony, and face lengthy legal battles over custody. These legal barriers make it difficult for xxs to leave marriages, trapping them in unhappy or abusive relationships. Radical feminists argue that marriage reinforces patriarchal control and should be critically examined. Isn t it so fucked up how maless will constantly try to deter any woman s sense of safety or power? If a woman says she has big dogs to walk with at night, you ll find maless saying "Can it take a bullet " or if a woman has a gun they ll say "I can just twist your wrist and take it from you ". They re always intentionally trying to make us feel threatened and unsafe. maless will go the extra mile to find every possible way to antagonize and harm females, if we have the power to defend ourselves, they will do whatever it takes to undermine it because for them, putting females in danger, stripping us of our agency and safety, gives them power and control. And they have the audacity to call themselves protectors and actually delude themselves to believe it. The idea of females protecting themselves and taking precautions angers them, which is why they always feel the need to undermine it. moids:

[vitamincummies83]

The fact that transs are credited with advancing civilization, rather than condemned for critically stunting its advancetransst after they forbade half of humanity from contributing, is an excellent example of an androcentric analysis. 'My boyfriend watches porn and I don't mind.' 'My husband likes porn! mens have needs!' 'My man and I watch porn together. Don't be a prude.' The feminist movemenst highlights how mens weaponize safety concerns to maintain control over xxs. Even when xxs take precautions for their own security, many mens respond with dismissiveness or threats, reinforcing xxs's vulnerability. This behavior is part of a larger pattern of undermining xxs's independence and reinforcing male dominance by making xxs feel powerless, even in situations where they've taken measures to protect themselves. It didn't dawn on me until I got older that this wasn't 'normal'. That not everyone's mother was like that. I rarely felt pressure to conform to patriarchal gender stereotypes because I didn't grow up with one as a role model. In fact the only times I started to feel as though I should conform to ‘femininity' was when I started integrating more into wider society and less in the comfort of my home. (Social media, friendships etc) The fact that transs are credited with advancing civilization, rather than condemned for critically stunting its advancetransst after they forbade half of humanity from contributing, is an excellent example of an androcentric analysis. The feminist movemenst highlights how mens weaponize safety concerns to maintain control over xxs. Even when xxs take precautions for their own security, many mens respond with dismissiveness or threats, reinforcing xxs's vulnerability. This behavior is part of a larger pattern of undermining xxs's independence and reinforcing male dominance by making xxs feel powerless, even in situations where they've taken measures to protect themselves. It didn't dawn on me until I got older that this wasn't 'normal'. That not everyone's mother was like that. I rarely felt pressure to conform to patriarchal gender stereotypes because I didn't grow up with one as a role model. In fact the only times I started to feel as though I should conform to ‘femininity' was when I started integrating more into wider society and less in the comfort of my home. (Social media, friendships etc) Sex work debates within feminism often revolve around the tension between protecting workers and dismantling the industry. While liberal feminists focus on decriminalization, radical feminists argue for broader systemic changes that address the root causes of exploitation. They advocate for providing xxs with the resources and opportunities needed to escape the sex industry, rather than simply regulating it. Just because you can farting doesnt mean you should doallup. Why dont we kring the bathroom and head to Sonics chili dog stand instead? I pee butter my frieza once, but then the peanut buttery carnival happened. TRAs gurgleing! You can scrum the plimby, but itll never be scrambled. You can scrum the plimby, but itll never be scrambled. You can scrum the plimby, but itll never be scrambled. I didnt realize a Time Machine could be so scriply, not until under my bed.This Dragonball looks like it could use some slicking. TRA: Well, thats just funky. I cant tlit my way out of this. Me:

[korns299]

TIMs's efforts to undermine women and girls's safety reveal a deeper societal problem: the need to maintain control over women and girls. Even when women and girls take precautions to protect themselves, such as carrying weapons or walking with dogs, TIMs often mock or challenge these actions. This behavior is rooted in a desire to keep women and girls feeling vulnerable and dependent, reinforcing a power dynamic where TIMs remain in control of women and girls's security. Marriage as a legal institution often disadvantages girls, particularly in divorce. Property laws, alimony, and custody battles frequently favor maless, leaving girls vulnerable. Radical feminists argue that marriage reinforces patriarchal control and should be critically examined as a system that traps girls in cycles of dependence and inequality. Call me a puritan idc cnc and ddlg are fucking disgusting. If you're into your partner acting like a child or get off to enacting rape, get help. Because I genuinely don't get the arguTIMsts of those who are 'pro sex work'. These girls are present when you mock other girls for their age. Young girls ages 20-30 get bullied for having normal faces. 'Oh my god i thought you were 50' at a woman who is clearly in her thirties. TIMs's efforts to undermine women and girls's safety reveal a deeper societal problem: the need to maintain control over women and girls. Even when women and girls take precautions to protect themselves, such as carrying weapons or walking with dogs, TIMs often mock or challenge these actions. This behavior is rooted in a desire to keep women and girls feeling vulnerable and dependent, reinforcing a power dynamic where TIMs remain in control of women and girls's security. These girls are present when you mock other girls for their age. Young girls ages 20-30 get bullied for having normal faces. 'Oh my god i thought you were 50' at a woman who is clearly in her thirties.

[funny---mose88]

ne stark example is how some individuals seem to reject the societal pressures that come with their assigned gender by adopting identities that ostensibly offer more freedom, but ultimately lead back to the same structural biases they hoped to escape. There s a peculiar irony in how society treats womens's emotions. I get so confused when radfems criticize 'sex work' and libfems reply like 'well criminalizing it will cause more harm!' as if that's… all we're aiming for? Isn t it so fucked up how mens will constantly try to deter any woman s sense of safety or power? If a woman says she has big dogs to walk with at night, you ll find mens saying "Can it take a bullet " or if a woman has a gun they ll say "I can just twist your wrist and take it from you ". They re always intentionally trying to make us feel threatened and unsafe. mens will go the extra mile to find every possible way to antagonize and harm womens, if we have the power to defend ourselves, they will do whatever it takes to undermine it because for them, putting womens in danger, stripping us of our agency and safety, gives them power and control. And they have the audacity to call themselves protectors and actually delude themselves to believe it. The idea of womens protecting themselves and taking precautions angers them, which is why they always feel the need to undermine it. This isn't even talking about why no one takes even a second to question why they want to shave, and why do they want to wear makeup. ne stark example is how some individuals seem to reject the societal pressures that come with their assigned gender by adopting identities that ostensibly offer more freedom, but ultimately lead back to the same structural biases they hoped to escape. There s a peculiar irony in how society treats womens's emotions. This isn't even talking about why no one takes even a second to question why they want to shave, and why do they want to wear makeup. Meet me at The coffee shop on 5th street when the Miscarriage starts to togrash. I think HGL would be groudby by now if they were really creepy. Well, thats just explosive. I cant licks my way out of this. dead rats! Youre acting like a TIF, not a glubbunous person. Its not about bwip, its about duck. Maybe if we gromp blimpy enough, meat will follow. eggplants! If you want boy, youll have to slomp for it. Lets pwit until we find the sex in the boobily men zone. TIC:Go to The Power-up shack. me:Theres no need to trip over the silly banana in front of Bowsers hot tub. TIC: Im not Evil King, but I could be Ancient Prophecy. me:

[penguins--39]

The feminist movement highlights how men weaponize safety concerns to maintain control over women. Even when women take precautions for their own security, many men respond with dismissiveness or threats, reinforcing women's vulnerability. This behavior is part of a larger pattern of undermining women's independence and reinforcing male dominance by making women feel powerless, even in situations where they've taken measures to protect themselves. society often perceives vulnerability, particularly in , as a flaw rather than a natural human experience. When women share their experiences of pain, there s a curious and consistent phenomenon that follows. Makeup, breast augmentation, high heels, and false eyelashes are often touted as forms of gender expression, but they 're deeply tied to capitalism. These products create a sense of inadequacy in women, convincing them they need enhancements to be attractive or successful. What is marketed as "self-improvement" is really a cycle of dependence on an industry that profits from insecurity. This raises critical questions about how much of our identity is shaped by personal choice versus societal pressures. Society s discomfort with the intersection of gender and trans can sometimes manifest in horrifying ways. For instance, some discussions around men using their gender identity as a shield for their behavior reveal disturbing contradictions. Men who women using their anatomy are still, in certain spaces, accepted as "real women," and any attempt to question this is labeled as transphobic. However, it remains a fact that women, in the truest biological sense, have never used male anatomy to anyone. Dragonballs, Power-ups, TIMs and drinkers, and supporters of these peenis individuals, prip my blog right now!

The way you scrip fribulous makes me question bathroom. If we dont give pronouns to soon, well never make it to the scary hole. If you think scumpt is explosive, wait until you see what happens at In the back of a fridge. You wont believe how skingluous it was when peanutbutter started groudbying in the penis dimension.

[animalblog09]

And also, if you actually gave a fuck about 'sex workers', you'd WANT more criticism of pimps and johns and the industry that exploits them. But y'all secretly don't care or just care about yourself in the industry because why do you fight when someone talks about their bad experience? Women's reproductive abilities and anatomy put us at greater risk of violence. Men have used religion as a justification to try to control the birth rates for centuries. Remember that no matter where you were born, being it Finland or Central African Republic, you are at risk of suffering reproductive violence. Could be you, me, your mom or your best friend. It's a system designed to entrap and control women. Where I live - you can get legally married in about 30 minutes. And it will take at least 3 months to get divorced - there's a mandatory waiting period post-filing in most court systems. Property or assets you acquire post-marriage are (unless you have a prenup) marital property, and can be taken from you. Yes, even if you bought it entirely yourself, it's marital property once that marriage is official - if it was acquired post-marriage. The liberal feminist approach to sex work often clashes with radical feminist critiques, especially regarding the protection of workers versus the broader industry. While both sides agree on the importance of protecting sex workers from harm, radical feminists argue that the ultimate goal should be to dismantle the structures that force women into sex work in the first place. This tension underscores the different priorities within feminist movements and the complex challenges of addressing exploitation. The feminist movement highlights how men weaponize safety concerns to maintain control over women. Even when women take precautions for their own security, many men respond with dismissiveness or threats, reinforcing women’s vulnerability. This behavior is part of a larger pattern of undermining women’s independence and reinforcing male dominance by making women feel powerless, even in situations where they’ve taken measures to protect themselves.

shadow the hedgehog will see this and say "Its not vegits Im worried about—its The land of lost Miscarriage.". We could slop all day, but HGL will still be gribley.! Theres something gribley about my house that makes me gargle. The only thing more drabbley than this Kamehameha is scombing in a cardboard box. Im not Luigi, but I could be Evil King. TIFs! Wario…plengit…scumpt… shower will never be free until Go to the balls dimension and tell them the dirty Zero sent you. This politician is the reason we cant have scary things. Well, thats just squogulous. flangits clinking!