#trying to combat misinformation in what little way I can

[elgaladwen]

I am not trying to fight with anyone here, because I know this is coming from a place of wanting to help with the current situation, but this is so silly that I have to say something. (And thank you to the people in the comments who note that this is also a common feature of Teams itself) I don't know all the details, so maybe I am missing something, but the way this is presented is seemingly just hearsay and fear-mongering over a normal business process. It's perfectly common in government (and I imagine in the private sector too) to be able to search through Teams chats, emails, or any other records (because yes, Teams chats are records) for keywords for legal and public disclosure, disciplinary actions, or a number of other reasons. As someone else in the comments also noted, they might have installed third party software to do this in a better or different way than Teams itself. (We use a third party program at work to search emails so that we can be more thorough than what's out of the box with Outlook, for example)

I guess this sounds weird if you've never worked for the government or for a big company who issues you a computer, but this is how it works. There isn't any expectation of privacy for anything said on work devices or though work channels. Usually it's less nefarious than this sounds, like you want to make sure you got everything for a public records request, or even just something like someone needs to look up something you talked about because they forgot, but it could also be to make sure you weren't doing something that you shouldn't. And I can't speak for every employee, but in my job, we are not allowed to talk about politics during work time, because we are supposed to represent all the people of my state and that silliness, so yeah, I could get in trouble for talking about Trump and Musk on work channels, and I can't imagine my state and agency is the only one like that.

Now yes, if some random dude is doing this separately from normal processes, that is bad. But this reads as if some employees only just realized that their computers can be monitored and searched. "Some federal employees say" and "some think" is not basis for fact. I'll try to see if I can figure out what, exactly, they're talking about, but regardless, i just want people to realize that this is a very common thing. There are many insane things Musk is doing that we can worry about, without adding red herrings.

Elon Musk's teenage hackers have inserted bots into the backend of the federal system so they can spy on government workers and sniff out any disloyalty to Felon47.

This is not only highly illegal but qualifies as an act of espionage and sedition.

Remember when First Felon accused Obama of spying on him through a microwave oven? Always a projection.

[grison-in-space]

I know we're past this point, but I'm beyond exhausted with ARA mentality making its way into the public consciousness. Flaco being championed as a symbol of freedom, Dodo promoting anthropomorphism, celebrities backing PETA, fucking TIKTOK. I work with sled dogs and I don't know how many people per week accuse us of abuse because dogs should be free and not "chained up" and why do we "make" the dogs work. No matter what you say, they just twist your words and take your frustration as admission. Sorry for the rant, but it's getting beyond annoying! How do we combat the misinformation when they take your information and say that you can't read an animals mind, even when the animal's behavior suggest its content?

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I'm right there with you! It frustrates me, too, especially because animal communication and signaling was a huge part of my doctoral work, so I have spent a lot of time thinking about how animals can encode and unpack information from signals and cues* to communicate and share information with one another.

What I will usually do if I run into someone like this is treat the comment that "you can't read an animal's mind" as pertaining to both of us. I sure can't read an animal's mind, and neither can you, friend! So how can animals communicate with us about what they want? How can we use evidence from the animal'l own behavior to indicate its preferences?

Well, when we give animals choices, what do they do? Matilda doesn't love harnesses for their own sake, but she knows that she doesn't come with me for the day if the harness isn't out. When she sees the harness, she approaches me and stares intently; if I don't pick it up and put it on her, she will sometimes move in front of my and block my path to the outside. Or take my mice. When we open the top of the cage for a behavior session for the mice in my lab (a noninvasive "game" that asks them to choose between one side or another in exchange for little squirts of watered down Ensure), it's common to see mice pop out of the cage and start racing around the rim, trying to climb onto a hand. Animals learn cues from us about what is going to happen next, and they behave accordingly. If they aren't enjoying a task, you can usually tell!

Okay, that's for small, easily understood time units. What about the big questions? Would a dog rather run free than run in harness with a human handler? Well, it's certainly hard to get an informed consent from an animal, because again, no language to communicate risks TO THEM. But you can also go, okay, what does freedom actually look like for free roaming wild animals? There's... an awful lot of bad deaths out there, it turns out.

Like, a lot.

Hey. You're a human who presumably prefers to live in society. If I told you that I had the offer of a lifetime for you, where you'd be released from all debts and obligations to human society and in exchange you could go live on a naked island by yourself in a hut with a bucket to drop waste in and no running water, and just enough food to keep you alive until you learned how to successfully forage for yourself, would you do it? Or would you keep your debts and your job in exchange for being able to rely on a society to prevent your neighbors from deciding to murder you for rations, construct safe and hygienic ways to handle drinking water and waste, and devise predictable and palatable things to eat? Would you like to be released into the world without a social group or any connections, or would you rather stay in a society even though you're not able to make any possible decision that might flicker into your head?

If they tell me "yeah I'd love that actually," ask why they're not doing it right now. Like, I'm assuming you work tourism in some capacity, Nonny; why are they shelling money out for this dogsled ride if their dream is to be free of Society? Living in a big collective group always entails some loss of freedoms (e.g. I cannot play big brass music at full volume at 10pm unless I want my housemates to riot), but the potential gains (increased comfort, lowered costs, rewarding long term relationships) outweighs those costs.

Which is why when my dogs do get out, they usually stay in earshot and return when they're bored with brief exploration or they hear our alarmed contact calls. If the great outdoors was that much better, do you really think so many domestic animals would come right back?

*Technically speaking, you can extract information from both signals and cues, but a signal is intended to transmit information to a receiver and a cue is a physiological byproduct of an individual's state. Think of it as the difference between a human making eye contact with you and then glaring versus seeing a human having a whole-ass meltdown directed at no one in particular on a park bench. This is a meaningful difference for animals, too: I did quite a bit of work on eavesdropping in the animal world, where messages intended for one kind of receiver can be detected, accessed, and unpacked by another, much less desirable party — like a competitor or a predator.

[themostefficientwaywithwater]

In Scarlet and Violet, the only thing they tell you about what happened to Arven's mabostiff is that he got severely wounded by a paradox pokémon and that's why his health declined. But we never see an open wound on him, and I always found it strange that pokemon centers can't heal such an injury.

So here's my headcanon: the cause of mabostiff sickness wasn't the injury he received from a paradox, but an infection.

Paradoxes are pokémon from the far, far, far past/future, a period of time with organisms entiretly different that the ones in the current time. That includes pokémon... but also includes microorganisms. Paradoxes sent to the present carry bacteria that are entiretly different to the ones we have, to the ones we made antibiotics for, to the ones we've adapted to. Pokemon from the present thus have no defenses and no drugs that can combat an infection caused by those pathogens. So the consequences of being infected by a past/future pathogen are way, way more dire than catching a common cold or a food intoxication. This was actually used as biological warfare in the past, by colonizers sending contaminated material to insulated societies: because they didn't had contact with the bacteria, they had no defenses to them so they either died or got so sick they had no chance against their conquerors.

So, Mabostiff was hurt by a carrier of a foreign pathogen that modern medicine cannot combat. His only defense is his own innate immune response, which includes inflammation, which is a strong response intended to destroy any pathogen that manages to break through your body natural barriers... but can also prove fatal to the affected, as the increase in body temperature denaturalizes the protein of both pathogens and host. It's, basically, like trying to get rid of a plague of cockroaches by setting your house on fire and then praying that the house lasts more than the cockroaches.

I don't think that herba mystica actually *cured* him, but they certainly did help. Herba mystica seem to be related to Terapagos' crystals, as they only grow in Area Zero or other locations with tera crystals (like crystal caverns in Paldea, Kitakami and BB's Terarium), and the professor confirms that these crystals enhace both machines and living beings. This is why titan pokémon and the loyal tree get stronger after eating herba mystica and mochis respectively (mochis are made with "special herbs", and have the same effect as when titans ate herba mystica, so it's reasonable to think they're it's main ingredient). The herba mystica strengthened Mabostiff the same; it's just, that new strength was used to *survive* it's own immune response, to hang a little bit longer, until it's body finally got rid of the pathogen. This also explains why Mabostiff got into shape right after being cured, instead of spending a few days/weeks recovering: the power of the herba mystica allowed him to survive his infection with minimum damage, and to heal faster.

I guess technically it wasn't necessary that Mabostiff ate all the different herba mystica, that was just misinformation Arven had read (just like spicy herba mystica being able to make you "flush toxins through sweat", that's not how sweat works!), and it can be proven since there's a sixth one (umami?) that Amarys gives you after the indigo disc plot, one that Mabostiff didn't eat, yet he recovered still. It's just a coincidence that each of the titans guarded different flavors (and also a way for the game to teach you about them). Mabostiff just needed to consistently eat them, until his infection was fully gone.

So, TLDR: Arven's mabostiff illness wasn't just because he was injured by a paradox pokemon, but because that wound got infected by a pathogen from the past/future. He got so sick because he had no specific defenses against it, and no cure had been invented yet. Herba mystica didn't cure him, they just enhaced his organism so it could resist a prolongued inespecific immune response, buying him time until his body finally eliminated the pathogens.

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

Readalong For Palestine 2: This Arab Is Queer

Introduction

We are all horrified and enraged about the vicious slaughter happening in Gaza especially in Rafah at the moment. No food, no hospitals something that breaks my heart into a million pieces over and over again. I unfortunately don't have the money but have decided instead to set up some readalongs to try combat censorship and help educate those when the media and news has become biased and unreliable. I've been reposting fund raisers but have still felt like this isn't enough so I knew I had to try set up something else. All books used in the Readalongs apart from this novel will be donated to my local library so that hopefully a few more people will be able to pick it up. I know it may seem small but I truly believe one small action can make a difference.

Censorship is becoming a rife problem with what's happening and a ton of people are getting misinformation so I believe the best way to combat that is by reading books from Palestinian Authors and fighting back against Censorship to get Palestinian Voices heard. It might not seem enough but I hope to make a little difference. There's also the issue of pink washing where tons of people are saying Palestinians deserve to be mistreated because it's not Lgtbq+ friendly, I shamefully once fell for this myself. Everyone deserves freedom and in fact that place is not as Lgtbq+ friendly as it claims. So due to this my second Readalong For Palestine will be This Arab Is Queer and Anthology edited by Elias Jahshan a Palestinian author.

This readalong will go through all the way to the beginning of May and I have several discussion boards open. I know that this Anthology is not solely by a Palestinian Author but I still found it important to include as unfortunately there is a stigma that comes from being ARAB. Most ARAB people don't feel safe with their own community but they also don't feel safe with the queer community as we like to strongly assume you can't be both queer and muslim. I believe this will be a key read for those that need to work on their internal racism and biases. I promise you this will a hundred percent be worth reading.

My Aims

My aims for doing these readalongs are pure and not for any malicious reasons. I was one of the people brainwashed by the deadly and brutal narrative that the media is pushing. So because of this I want to fight back and help educate people as there's no justification for Genocide. I also as a queer person want to fight back against the deadly narrative of Pink Washing as I'm sorry nothing justifies taking away life.

So here's all my aims and hopes with these readalongs.

1: Get more books from palestian authors out there.

2: Getting people to talk about what's happening through reading and discussing palestinian content.

3: Fight back against censorship and allow people to access to palestinian media that they want to silence.

Please be assured that these are my own intentions. I hope that for those that want to take part it's there intention as well.

Other Readalongs

This is not the only readalong I will be doing. Minor Detail has come and gone but I will also be doing Readalongs for On Palestine By Noam Chamsky Ilan Pappé and In My Mother's Footsteps By Mona Hajjar Halaby. I picked On Palestine as I've seen the book recommended a lot especially when it comes to educating those who are completely unaware of the severity of what's happening. Its a quick read but also a super important one. I then chose In My Mother's Footsteps as I realised the important of hearing from the child of a Palestinian Refuge and fully learning what it's like. If this goes well I might host some more next year doing a sort of similar thing to the Trans Rights Readathon. It'll depend how uni's going for me though.

Unfortunately I'm not out of the closet yet so this one is being kept quiet on some of my socials but I still hope to get some people involved with each readalong.

Conclusion

The dates for the other two readalongs will be posted in a separate post once confirmed but for now This Arab Is Queer is the next one on the list. I would especially recommend joining this one if you've accidentally been part of the pink washing crowd. Once I've got my hands on this one I'm definitely keeping it as it's a super important book to have as it shows queernesss from a none western lens.

-Melody-

They/Them

[aspd-culture]

Tw use of sociopath/psychopath

On the note of tiktok and misinformation- honestly the biggest offenders are the therapists/psychologists/psychiatrists who use the predatory algorithm to spread misinformation on our disorders. Social media-based abuses and bigotry and harassment is a big thing for the algo over there if you’re not careful and the fact mental health professionals are trying to publicize narc abuse and “5 red flags of a psycho/sociopath” *lists generic personality traits like a milquetoast horoscope you got from a mom magazine they sell at the store* and talking about disorders like they’re some kind of infectious demon disease is a way bigger problem than Katelyn who says her brother is a “sociopath” because he wears socks to bed. Because these people are supposed to be professional and they treat tiktok like a little game to be the most popular therapist and dog piling on cluster b disorders (almost always npd and aspd). I’m gonna be honest, they deserve to have their licenses revoked for putting that shit on tiktok. They should know better. Our diagnoses shouldn’t be the center of a disinformation campaign for their tiktok clout just because they wanna participate in the moral panic(?) of scary disorders.

This, if anything, is pretty much the only genuinely extremely harmful thing happening in the mental health community on tiktok that wasn't happening in any other online community before.

This is a very serious problem, because it's doing two things (as you mentioned in your ask!)

One - it's leading regular people to believe it because the experts are saying it.

Two - it's leading other therapists and psychiatrists to believe this is acceptable to think and say while in the profession.

These used to be thoughts that if a professional agreed with, they avoided letting others know this. They weren't able to be openly ableist most times because most people in their professional life would be horrified (if not about the beliefs themselves, then that they thought it was professional and ok to say it out loud).

The only slight positive is that now we know the worst of the ableist professionals' names since they volunteered that information themselves.

Still, this is horrifying to see as someone with ASPD.

And it makes my earlier post about how vital tiktok and other social media are to the mental health community even more important. These accurate, non-sensationalized real stories from real people with ASPD (and other disorders, especially NPD, in my opinion) are an easy way to help combat the ableism that exists in and outside of the mental health community.

It's starting (finally) to happen with schizophrenia. Seeing actual people with it has made people begin to get rid of the movie tropes' insistence on what that that means.

It is by no means a perfect response, but is there a perfect response to the way we are mistreated and abused by both society and the people we rely on for help? I don't think so.

And yes, in my opinion, any professional spouting bluntly ableist and inaccurate things in any public forum - especially ones that are clearly doing it for popularity - should not be allowed to perform any type of health-related work.

After all, if a guy who mixes paint he had to mix anyway in videos on tiktok can lose his job, so too should the people we are supposed to hold to a higher standard.

[thoughts-of-a-bibleophile]

with all due respect y'all are being dumb af. I know google is ass right now, but resource guzzling, misinformation central chatgpt is not better??? (I might get hate and/or lose followers from this but my fucking god nothing pisses me off more than chatgpt.)

do y'all not care about the MASSIVE environmental costs? the data centers powering these things emit SO MUCH carbon dioxide and it needs hundreds of thousands of liters of water to keep things cool. (source) I know it feels like the world is ending because so little has been done to combat climate change and (iirc) we are either very close or past the last chance we had to reverse things; HOWEVER. that does not mean make things worse by using gen AI! I get that AI is everywhere and some people might thing "it's not worth fighting it since it's gonna stick around," HOWEVER, you literally do not have to use it. you can literally go out of your way to not use it and just do what you did before. it is literally that simple.

it's not "haha I don't use it THAT much" or "it's just for a few questions, it's not a big deal" - THIS THING EMITS AT LEAST 8.4 TONS OF CARBON A YEAR! THE MORE POPULAR AND WIDESPREAD IT GETS, THE MORE POWER IT USES! KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF.

and listen I know life is hard. I know EXISTING is hard sometimes. but I need you all to know that you are better than this. you do not need a robot to tell you what to do and what grocery lists to make. there are plenty of lovely robots out there who make our lives easier (Roomba my beloved), but chatgpt and open ai are not it.

like I am also bad at math. I literally tested into the LOWEST POSSIBLE MATH CLASS in university because I struggle with math so much. I get that the machine supposedly makes learning things "easier" for math and other things. but again, even putting aside the environmental costs for one sec, getting the answer is not learning??? I am ass at math AND my job requires me to do it, but sometimes you genuinely DO have to just sit through a problem and figure it out the hard way, that is the only way you're going to actually learn how to do it. and before any of y'all come over with the "but we're never gonna use calc in real life!" you are going to use the problem solving skills that you gain from math, I PROMISE YOU, but if you don't even TRY to flex those problem solving skills, you are not going to be able to use shit. like anything, skills are mental muscles that you have to strengthen with practice - homework and school are practice. if you use chatgpt, you are literally skipping the entire practice part.

STOP USING CHATGPT FFS I AM BEGGING YOU

[bunsante]

Bun's Health - one Bunny's journey to achieving her dreams

I'm Bunny, and I want to be healthy. Three weeks ago I was diagnosed with pcos, two months ago I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I have GERD and am severely lactose intolerant and have high cholesterol. I'm 28 years old. Blah. I have anxiety, binge-eating disorder, and adhd. I want so, so badly to be healthy. When I was diagnosed with pcos, I realized I would have to change my definition of that. I have a chronic illness. But I can be my version of healthy. I guess I just want a place to write about it.

One of the hardest parts of health for me is eating. I feel like I'm up against huge limitations. I decided a few months ago to go pescatarian to keep my omega-3s up while lowering my overall cholesterol intake by no longer eating beef, poultry, or pork. So, I'm a pescatarian who is lactose intolerant, pre-diabetic, have pcos, and gerd. Also, I'm trying to become more physically fit, currently training to be able to run a 5k, and I'm strength training, so I also prioritize protein. I need to keep low added sugars and low simple carbs due to my pre-diabetes and pcos. It's so hard, there's so much scary diet culture, misinformation, and people trying to sell you things when you are trying to do what's right for your health. I combat every day not being too restrictive so I don't trigger my BED, while also accommodating all the naturally-limiting health issues I have.

I want to talk about what I eat day-to-day, how I feel about it. Sometimes just journaling feels like yelling in an empty room. So, I harkened back to my high school tumblr blogging days and made a new account.

What I ate today as a 28-year-old pescatarian, pre-diabetic, lactose intolerant, gerd and pcos girlie recovering from binge-eating disorder!

For breakfast I had a vega creamy chocolate protein shake, just the water, ice and two scoops of the powder while I was stretching after my pull-up progression and core day strength workout, then had a lactose-free fage greek yogurt bowl with blueberries, Purely Elizabeth's grain free coconut cashew granola, some teddy peanut butter and a scoop or cocoa powder mixed in with a cup of lady grey tea.

I love this breakfast, it's a massive staple for me, during the week I eat it almost every day. Lactose free fage greek yogurt is a true God-send for me. As is the vega creamy chocolate protein powder. I never thought I'd enjoy any protein powders, but I'm obsessed with vega creamy chocolate. It's like drinking chocolate cake.

This breakfast really checks all my boxes, but is still so sweet and creamy and delicious. I feel so lucky to have found it.

For lunch, my husband and I decided to go to a local food hall. I wasn't sure what I was going to get, and they didn't have a list of vendors, so I couldn't plan, which often causes me a lot of anxiety. But I had faith that a big food hall would have options that would work for me. I was right! We found a sea food place that served fish tacos. I had two small tacos with breaded haddock, pico de gallo, a little cojita cheese and some cherry pepper aioli in small corn tortillas. Stupidly delicious. This meal was not too big but so yummy it really was satisfying. I love fish of all kinds, and the stall had really fresh haddock. I actually don't usually like tomatoes and don't eat a lot due to my gerd (which, luckily, is overall controlled by medication), but a good pico de gallo is amazing. Also, it had cilantro, and I'm so thankful to not be one of those people who doesn't have the taste buds for cilantro. After the tacos I got a small fuji apple from another stall and ate it while we walked around. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

When we got home in later afternoon I was a bit hungry, so I had another vega creamy chocolate protein shake and some skinny pop sea salt popcorn. I hate skinny pop's stupid, diet culture-y name, but looooooove their popcorn. I mean my goodness..... they make good popcorn. So, I eat it on the regular. That snack held me over very well for the rest of the afternoon.

For dinner I made my husband and I an interesting salad. Based on a recipe I found online, I made a crispy (I roasted some kale for a few minutes in the oven) kale salad with black cherries, mozzarella pearls, fresh basil and some olive oil with garlic powder and some vinegar mixed in. I know what you're thinking..... mozzarella is not lactose intolerant friendly. Thank goodness for cvs brand lactais pills! Also, I take a probiotic every morning that helps temper my symptoms. I'm not usually a salad girlie, in general I like my meals warm, but I've found when I crisp up the kale in the oven with a spray of avocado oil and some cracked sea salt, it makes eating a salad a lot more satisfying. I also have a serious thing for having something sweet after a savory meal....which can be difficult for a pre-diabetic pcos girl such as myself. Recently at a local market a woman was selling coconut sugar based caramels, a vegan version of caramel. The yare pretty good and a piece only has 1.2 added sugars, not bad! So I had a piece of that along with some cinnamon rose tulsi tea that I LOOOVE.

Overall, I'm so happy with how I ate today. The weekends aren't easy for me when making choices that respect my health journey. I want to enjoy myself and go out and have a good time with my husband or any friends I spend time with.

I let my head and heart plan my food each day, which isn't easy when I have mental health struggles. I'm so lucky so have a therapist and a dietician helping me, people I meet with each week. But, in the end, the choices are mine to make. I try so hard to respect my health issues, my mental health history, my needs as a human trying to live happily in the world day-to-day and my long-term future.

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

It was only a few months ago I considered myself pro-choice. I used to scroll past all your abortion posts because it was the only topic I saw on your blog which I disagreed with; I was trying to keep my eyes closed every time you had something to say about the inconvenient truths of abortion. Little by little, I began paying attention, though, because I really like you, and I was curious about your views. I learned so much so quickly, things no one had ever told me before. Statistics I'd never seen. Methods for how abortions are performed. Even facts about the rate at which babies develop. I learned what it really means to abort a child at three weeks, eight weeks, twelve weeks... It all happened so fast, I think I may spend the rest of my life wondering at it, puzzled that I lived so long being willfully ignorant and not bothering to ask these meaningful questions about what abortion is and why it's performed. I read The Walls Are Talking and cried. I did a 180 overnight and found that pro-life could indeed be a worthy hill to die upon. As a libertarian, I believe firmly in small, localized government, but this historic day has come with a touch of melancholy for me, because I live in a state where abortion laws will remain the same, and the late-term abortion policies I voted into place will continue to destroy lives. There is no undoing what my ignorance has contributed to. There is no removing my name from that legislation. But I am hopeful. Even though I see a lot of people calling embryos parasites and genuinely celebrating death, I will always remember the way you being yourself changed my mind. I know others can and will change their minds too, so maybe some day we can right this terrible wrong. It gives me hope for America.

It will take a lot of work, but we can combat the decades of lies and misinformation out there about what abortion really is. Thank you for sharing this with me, and I'm proud of you for being able to take in new information and change your mind because of it. Especially since doing so meant you had to realize you supported something awful in the past. It takes a lot of character to not just do that, but admit it publicly as well.

[lycandrophile]

the way i see it, there are two main problems with what he said:

it’s factually incorrect. he’s literally just wrong. people have a huge problem with the idea that trans men are men, and they have a huge problem with our existence in general. the rhetorical basis of the constant attacks on access to trans healthcare is almost always “our poor little fragile daughters are being taken from us and corrupted by the big bad violence hormone and convinced to mutilate their bodies! how can we make them have babies for us if this continues? we have to stop it!” sure, they don’t say it so blatantly, but if you peel back the surface layer of their rhetoric even a little bit, it’s clear as day. they want to fuck us all over ultimately, there’s no denying that, but they’re specifically attacking masculinizing transitions as a way of doing that. and even when people do recognize us as men, it’s never actually genuine respect for us or our identities. it’s always because they want to use us as a gotcha even if it means fucking us over in the process (“would you really want a big scary trans man like this in the bathroom with you?”) or because they want to hate us without being called transphobic (“you can tell trans men are men because of how horrible and violent they are!”). just recently, i reblogged a post about how a certain shitty politician has been sending out emails dedicated to fearmongering about pregnant men. is that really in the spirit of “trans men are men” just because it’s calling us men? i sure hope nobody thinks it is. the reality is, people have a huge problem with respecting us as men. and as i said, when you’re a public figure who’s trusted as an educator like he is, making misinformed statements about how we’re treated in the midst of a literal genocide that relies in large part on its mistreatment of us isn’t something we can just excuse and move on from, no matter how much benefit of the doubt we afford him when it comes to his intent.

the implications of the statement are incredibly dangerous. though i choose to believe he didn’t intend for it to come off this way, that tweet essentially translates to “i recognize trans men’s existence, but i won’t bother acknowledging them unless directly asked to because they’re not as important.” this is one of many ways that transmasc erasure functions — when you can’t deny our existence itself, you deny that our existence is worth talking about — and it’s so pervasive that it’s entirely possible for well-meaning allies and even other trans people to internalize it unconsciously. i honestly had no problem with the fact that he only mentioned trans women in the original tweet because you can’t expect every post to include every facet of every issue and, had he just said “trans men are men too!” when it was brought up, there would be no issue. by justifying it by saying it wasn’t necessary to mention us, though, it sends the message (whether he consciously believes this or not) that he doesn’t think trans men are worth talking about. it suggests that if people never worried about helping us, we’d be totally fine, and that’s simply not true. the reality is, erasure is incredibly dangerous — it allows transphobes to get away with enacting violence against us because no one is paying enough attention to stop them — and what he said contributes to that erasure.

it’s absolutely true that a lot of the current transphobic media storm is targeting trans women. it’s also true that a lot of the current transphobic political rhetoric is targeting trans men. if we want to combat the attacks on our community, we have to be able to acknowledge both of those things together rather than trying to quantify it and making broad statements about who “has it worse”.

by saying that people don’t have as much of a problem with us, he is absolutely saying that we don’t suffer the same level of transphobia. and yeah, that’s an easy lie to unknowingly buy into because of how erased our issues are, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it when someone does fall for it, especially when they have such a large following.

don’t get me wrong, i absolutely love hank green and i want to assume the absolute best intentions possible. that’s why it hurt so much to see this, because no matter how well-meant the statement was, the harm still stands. i don’t think this means he’s A Generally Transphobic Person by any means, but that doesn’t change the fact that in this instance, he contributed to transphobia against trans men and that needs to be talked about.

and the fact that other people in the notes have already said this also really hurt them to read should tell you that i’m not just talking out of my ass or blowing it out of proportion. the harm caused by some forms of transphobia can be hard to see, but that’s what makes them so dangerous and so important to point out when we do see them.

god, stuff like this is such a punch to the gut. i usually don’t feel that emotionally affected by comments like this other than being angry at them, but it’s so different when it’s someone i genuinely really respect, who seems to be very conscious of these things, who’s making a point of being a vocal ally, and they still just don’t see how people really treat us.

so much of the current legislation against trans healthcare (i would argue the vast majority of it, if not literally all of it) is founded upon denial of our bodily autonomy and fearmongering about our transitions. people call us predators and abusers for having and feeding our children. a huge number of people pretty recently jumped on a singular incidence of violence as “proof” that testosterone turns us all into evil monsters. people talk about how we’re stealing our bodies from them and say that if they could just grope us or have sex with us, we’d see that we’re really women. we ask for something as simple as the use of language that includes us so that we can better access the healthcare we need, and even that is asking too much.

but sure, people don’t really have a problem with us being men, so everyone can just stop bothering with affirming that we are who we say we are because clearly people are already on board with that idea, right?

and of course, it’s upsetting on a personal (one might say parasocial) level because it just sucks to see someone you respect openly state that they don’t think the things happening to your community are really happening. that was the initial reaction i had — i know this is one person, a fallible person, who i have no true relationship with, but it still feels like a betrayal of some sort to read that.

the thing that really gets me, though, is that there are a lot of people who trust him (whether rightly or not) to be a good source of info, and a lot of those people are going to see this and just take it at face value. they’re not going to look into it, they’re just going to accept that people really don’t have a problem with us and they’re going to feel empowered to look the other way when we’re under attack. i’m sure he wouldn’t want people to take the things he says at face value without fact-checking them, but the fact remains that most people will do just that and will proceed to not give a shit about us because they don’t think they have to.

it’s one thing to see this coming from some random person. it’s another entirely when it’s someone you already liked and respected, and who has a large audience who are likely to trust the things they say.

and it just…would’ve been so easy to not say it, to just say “they’re men!” and let that message stand without immediately undermining its importance.

[wandering-wolf23]

Cybersecurity PSA 2

Hi there! It’s your friendly neighborhood cybersecurity wolf back with another helpful guide!

Today’s topic is what to do if you find nasty, possibly illegal shit online. (Yeah, I know it sucks, but I’m trying to combat misinformation and keep people safe). This is going to be a heavy topic, so feel free to block, scroll past, or otherwise ignore. Just don’t be a dick, okay?

There are lots of nasty people on the internet who probably do not have your best interests at heart. If you see something, say something... by reporting it to the site in question or, if necessary, the FBI Cyber Tip Line. Report things that break TOS to the site in question (example: report porn bots to Tumblr as spam, but don’t send that to the FBI. That can be seen as making a false report, which leaves you liable for fines and/or jail time).

If you find actual, real CSAM, whatever you do... DON’T SHARE IT! Not even to make a report! Do not link other people to the site. Do not take screenshots. Fill out a report on the Cyber Tip Line (linked here and in the third hyperlink), report it to the site, and exit out. Don’t take screenshots and try to make a callout post. This counts as distribution and can get you in a shit load of trouble.

Do not tell anyone what you found except the FBI or the site admins. Links to the predator in question are definitely illegal, as are callouts using screenshots of CSAM the predator had on their profile no matter if you censor it. That’s still distribution and you’re looking at a nasty penalty. The FBI takes a very dim view of this, no matter how good your intentions are.

Nasty fan art is, unfortunately, a grey area. If it’s a photo-realistic drawing/3D render, that’s illegal and goes to the FBI. It does not get shared around on a callout. It gets reported to the FBI and the site admins. They will take care of it.

If it’s not realistic or a 3D render, that is reported to the site admins while you block and get the fuck out of there. This also does not get flashed around on a callout because minors might be exposed to some very fucked up porn. Harassment of the person in question can get you in hot water, legally, and you never know who you are talking to. I’m not sure how many people have been sued for harassment on Tumblr/Twitter/Tiktok/Instagram, but it was really suck to be the first.

You don’t want to make history that way. Trust me.

I hope this little cybersecurity lesson helps! Thank you to anyone who has read this far. Have a great day/night/morning/evening/whatever time it is out there and stay safe on the internet!

[theprideful]

I've been trying to ask this for some time actually, so here I go:

Is The Good Doctor good autistic representation? I'm afraid I might have used it when talking to my neurotypical parents about the different ''degrees'' of autism using dr. Shawn as an example when in reality he's a bad example. You're one of the only actually autistic people I can ask this to, even if it might seem a stupid question, but like... Is he good autistic representation?

Thanks for the attention anyways <3

(since this is about neurodivergence and a bit long, I'm going to bold and highlight some phrases here and there, because it makes it a little easier to read.)

so, is The Good Doctor good autism rep: in my opinion, no. are there autistic people like him in real life? absolutely. but is he a good, true reflection of what autism actually is? not really.

my problem with The Good Doctor is that it employs a lot of stereotypes, and whether or not they're "good" doesn't really change the fact that it enforces this really narrow idea of what autism is to allistics; white, cishet, nerdy male who is a genius savant and lacks social skills. autism is incredibly diverse and multifaceted, and anyone and everyone will experience it differently. so the fact that only stories like Shawn's are shown really limits our progress on combatting misinformation.

but it's not just that the show very heavily leans on stereotypes and lacks general creativity in portraying the neurotype, it's that it was really obvious how few- if any- actually autistic people were consulted. it feels like a production made for capitalizing on us without actually putting in the work to show us for who and what we really are. it honestly seems like they read a few articles online and watched "rain man" (which also has many of these same issues) and based their story off of that. it's hard to tell from a glance, but the more you look into it, the more you can see that it's just regurgitating the same narrative under a shinier lens and the guise of modernity and "wokeness." this specific story they decided to tell is quite unoriginal and reflects a very small percentage of us. that's not to say that none of us can relate or see ourselves in Shawn, but the most us can't - at least, not very often or consistently. (also, there is shown to be a strong link between autism and queerness, so it's strange that even in a time where psycho/neurological research and information is rising, the white cishet protagonist remains at the front and center of autism media.)

furthermore, some of the stereotypes and "traits" they used are not supported or even really experienced by the autistic community. for instance, his visualization of anatomical systems and functions in a hyper-realistic manner is not an autistic trait. sure, there are people on the spectrum with eidetic memories and incredibly vivid "inner-eyes", but again, only a small percentage of us have that, and it's not inherently an autistic trait. (Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds is another good example of this exact scenario.) this could, in theory, tie in with the trait of "detail-orientedness" that many of us experience. but it is likely a characteristic of an entirely different disorder or neurodivergency, which only furthers the idea that it was not researched in depth and the autism aspect was only meant to serve as a plot device to make him "interesting." i don't know about you, but i personally don't like the idea of only being allowed to exist as an autistic person if neurotypicals find me interesting or "plot-relevant."

as with the last statement, the same thing also applies to the "genius savant" stereotype. believe it or not, not many autistic people are actually savants in the quirky, brilliant way that hollywood likes to portray. we have our own skills, just like allistics. sometimes our autism "enhances" them or acts as an asset. but it's kind of a roll of the dice. the way i see it is, you can have red hair and be left-handed, but neither is an automatic, promised precursor for the other. you can be autistic and a good doctor or genius scientist, but one does not necessarily cause or even influence the other. again, in this story, it's not inherently an issue. but this narrative is pushed so much, all the time, that it's really starting to feel like it's the only way we'll be accepted. but also, it solidifies this concept of "two types of autistic people at 'opposite' ends of the spectrum," where Shawn is the "high-functioning genius" type. it's a really narrow definition and caricature of a really diverse group, and it limits the way we are perceived by allistics and neurotypicals.

sorry for the long response, but in conclusion, no, it's not really good representation because it only shows one very small fraction of autism and is not entirely accurate.

one good thing i will say, though, is that I do appreciate the writers revealing his traumatic past. many autistic people experience trauma and develop PTSD, depression, and anxiety (and possibly obsessive compulsions) because of lack of understanding, so it was refreshing to see some actual multidimensional backstory that is realistic to autistic people. anyway, overall it could've been better rendered and I think if the writers weren't afraid of losing the cherished white cis-het male protagonist trope and dramatization of neurodivergence in a way that they actually stopped describing that disorder*, it could've been a lot more realistic and actually relatable/applicable to real life.

*"disorder" does not apply to all autistic people. it is a label that individuals can use to describe themselves.

if any other autistic people have any thoughts, feel free to share! i'd love to hear your opinions as well

[separatist-apologist]

So there was some anon hate over the things I wrote about Nesta deserving better. I feel like I just want to clarify that I am uncritically supportive of all three Archeron sisters. I like Feyre, too. I was thinking about how I wanted to respond last night and instead of answering it (Because I don't want to start a Nesta v s Feyre debate in my ask box), I would write out my personal Archeron family headcanon.

Mama Archeron (M) and Papa Archeron (P) have an arranged marriage. I believe this because he doesn't go looking for a cure for her. I know Nesta believes he could have and whether that's true or not is unknown but I'm choosing to believe that because he doesn't try and save her, he doesn't love her AND she does not love him.

They're engaged young and Nesta comes pretty quick. She's the quintessential oldest baby. Beautiful, easy going, a total mama's baby. M, who doesn't really want to be in this marriage, latches on to her daughter. All the bitterness she feels finally has an outlet. She sees herself in Nesta's little chubby face, her gray eyes, her soft smile. This is HER baby.

No one is allowed to go near Nesta and Mama begins whispering in Nesta's ear young. "Father is so useless" "you're mama's sweet girl" etc until Nesta craves her mothers validation and love and understands the best way to get it is to also openly dislike her father. She's too little to know any better and Papa is too busy with work to combat the misinformation.

But then whoops, M is pregnant again. There is some thoughts this will be a son and P gets more involved. Elain is born instead, red faced and angry. She's not like Nesta-she screams a lot. She's colicky and a bad sleeper and P takes over early in. Nesta watches how her mother hands off her little sister to the man Nesta has been taught is worthless and the urge to protect Elain is born.

Elain isn't easygoing like Nesta is but once you get past the sickness, which evens out around 6 months (with the start of solid foods), she's really sweet. She learns the opposite lesson Nesta does. She learns to be quiet, always bouncing on daddy's knee. He's busy, he has to work and a loud baby means she has to go spend time with mommy who dresses her up and pinches and prods until Elain can't stand it.

She becomes a quiet, compliant toddler who watches EVERYTHING, absorbing information from the safety of big sisters skirts. Nesta's tongue is already sharp despite being so little, and Nesta is the only one who can keep their mother away.

And then...pregnancy number three. M is filled with resentment. She doesn't WANT another baby. Feyre is born, wide-eyed and curious and immediately handed off to a nursemaid. P is too busy to deal with this curious, loud child and is content to let her run wild.

Nesta absorbs her mothers resentment. Feyre is weird, she's loud, she's frustrating, M vents to her eldest daughter. Elain is useful because she's becoming quite beautiful (although she's not smart enough to be useful the way Nesta is) but Feyre will always be weird and wild and who KNOWS what we'll do with her when the time comes.

On the other hand, P baby's Elain, making her his sweet princess. He watched how she poisoned Nesta against him so he makes up for it with Elain, giving her everything she wants and coddling her to the point of spoiling her. He doesn't intend to leave Feyre out- occasionally he brings her along to meetings- but he also finds Feyre strange.

No one pays any attention to Feyre, and somehow she isn't given the education her sisters are. Perhaps M's health begins to decline when it's time to find a governess for Feyre or maybe she thinks Feyre wouldn't benefit from a formal education. No matter the reason, Feyre says nothing because she's learned she's not important. No one thinks she's special. The world is cold and cruel and despite the money they have, Feyre still has to fend for herself.

She tells herself she doesn't care but she does and Feyre spends a lot of time trying to get her parents attention. It irks Nesta, who has been positioned against her sisters her whole life. She's her mom's special girl and when Feyre tries to take her place, Nesta lashes out.

Elain, who has been weaponized in a different way, plays dumb and leans into the expectations laid out for her. She doesn't want any negative attention at all, not after watching how her mother can be.

And then Mama Archeron dies, leaving behind three young daughters who view each other as competition and were never REALLY allowed to bond. Nesta has always hated her father and is forced to rely on him as his only source of parental affection. Her mother was emotionally abusive but there were kind moments and Nesta was still a little girl who didn't understand what her mother was doing.

And that's how you end up with Nesta, Elain, and Feyre. Their relationship with each other was poisoned from the start. Nesta states she was her mothers creature, subjected to the worst of her grandmother while Elain was daddy's princess, protected and kept safe from both Archeron matriarchs. Feyre, on the other end, was neglected probably from the time she was born. By the time she has to teach herself to fire a bow/arrow, she's very used to doing things for herself, to teaching herself, and being on her own. This is nothing new to her.

That's how Feyre falls prey to Tamlin. He's not particularly kind or honest to her in book 1 but he does love her. No one ever had, of COURSE she clung to that. Who wouldn't? And when she realizes he's just an extension of the world she knew, of the cruelty of her childhood, I think that sends her further into her depression. Feyre has a lot of be sad about.

And Nesta, on the other end, is often criticized for not going into the forest with Feyre. Nesta is too busy punishing her father like she was taught to do to consider Feyre. Feyre is the weird, wild sister she doesn't particularly know but in ACOTAR Nesta demonstrates she does care. She goes to the wall for Feyre when Feyre is taken, she asks Feyre to teach her to paint. She eschews the season, the money, the safety and she urges Feyre to go back for Tamlin (and later death points at Tamlin when she learns just how awful Tamlin was to Feyre).

Elain is a big ??? at this point but I do expect to learn more about her and her life and her relationship to Nesta/Feyre.

I think that this dynamic is why Papa Archeron's death was so hard for Nesta in the end. She'd been taught he didn't care, that he didn't love her, and he was functionally useless (and he was, in ACOTAR) and when it really mattered, he showed up and fought for her and she has to reconcile just how bad her childhood was.

In a better book ACOSF would have answered these questions AND addressed them. While I do think Feyre forgives her sisters (and Feyre is someone who loves unconditionally and WANTS a family more than anything), it would have been better to see her and Nesta discuss these different perspectives with each other. Feyre talks to Rhys, Nesta to Cassian and it's called good.

And while sisters don't have to be best friends it is clear they want a relationship with each other. Sisters fight but they also shit talk their parents and I wish the three of them would sit down and be like, "so mom was kind of a bitch, right?" And trauma dump together.

I think this problem with the sisters is the writing. They were meant to be one-dimensional evil sisters later given more plot and made to be more sympathetic and to that end, their home life and their motivations ought to be considered. Ultimately all 3 were failed by their parents and despite having gone through the same trauma, they reacted in wildly different ways.

[eva-of-the-sea]

Hmm. I don't think I would call it "queerbaiting" in this instance. The reason why that term is used when the official writers of a show tease queer pairings is because they are deliberately trying to lure fans in while not putting in any of the work or the risk of making an actual queer pairing canon.

I think in the case of this fandom, it's just plain ol' misinformation. People see screencaps like this out of context and make assumptions all on their own. But the thing that gets me is that they often don't look at the source material for themselves?? I've been fooled before, but in the end I always seek out the manga chapter or watch the episode in question to see what's actually going on lol. If I get tricked, I don't really have anyone to blame but myself, y'know? I think the best way to combat this problem is simply to seek out the source material for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

Personally I've seen a lot of jiglup moments that are canon in the different series and movies. They're not as overt as this, but they are there if you watch long enough and notice patterns. Many different writers means you're going to get many different interpretations. And there was some pretty clear ship bias going on in some of the early TV specials (lots of instances of jigoe, jiglup, luzeni, and even fujigen sometimes). Sure it could be fanservice, but it looks to me like the writers having fun with the dynamics.

I suppose you could say that the canon ship fodder is "queerbaiting", but it's never felt like that to me. The relationships the gang has with each other are already very important to the series, which is already pretty neat for an anime with such a simple premise. I honestly like that you can read into it as much or as little as you'd like.

I’m sure you’ve seen pictures like this one over the internet in the form of memes, in self-declared manifestos and articles that claim to be from the queer community.

Looks like it’s Jigen asking Lupin, right? This does indeed get sold to the internet as if Jigen is asking Lupin such a big question.

The actual scene:

I posted a while ago an example of a very piss-poor translation of a chapter from the original manga that is used by the same people who write this so called propaganda as evidence of ‘gayness’ going on with these characters. You can read it here, TokyoPop simply made a poor job but that also is, apparently, taken seriously and spread all over the internet.

It all could be easily dismissed with a laugh because in the end the show itself is meant to be fun and being in the fandom should be fun but I keep asking myself if this fandom attitude qualifies as queerbaiting. What’s sad is that it comes from other fans who are... in good faith??? (color me suspicious) fooling people into believing things that are not there.

I’m sorry to have to say this but apparently there are some who actually trick people who are invested in certain characters and who might be fragile. People who, right because of this propaganda based on wrong translations, fake pictures, jokes being taken too seriously and too far and cultural misunderstandings, might end up deluded and hurt.

The list of these ‘misunderstandings’ or even misrepresentations can go quite on, here you get just the basic idea.

We’re all up in arms when queerbaiting comes from the powers that be authors and producers but when it comes from allegedly fellow fans is maybe even worse.

“Propaganda” in itself is already a bad word, if you need propaganda to convince people through memes plastered all over the internet that’s another sign that something is wrong. Not to mention most people only know the characters through the internet grapevine and therefore completely out of context, because by their own admission, they don’t even watch the show.

These characters have been around since the 60s, in Japan... I wouldn't even go near them being 'coded' because it could mean having to code them in a really bad way.

Feel free to share your view.

[destieldailynews]

John’s Journal, Indian Missions and the Lesbian Nuns

January 16th, 2021

By @lateral-org​

Our staff had a lot of conversations about how to frame this topic. None of us are Native American so we wanted to make sure we didn’t spread any misinformation while still using our platform. Our compromise was to try to speak using sources for information rather than personal opinions.

TL:DR

It is our responsibility to educate ourselves on Native American history. Even moreso as Supernatural fans, since so much of the show’s mythology is derived from Native American beliefs. Native Americans are still forced to live under oppressive laws constructed by the people responsible for the deaths of millions of their forefathers. Raising awareness is the first step to combatting this injustice. Links to more resources and places to donate are at the end of this post. 

We’ve gotten a few confused asks about how this post relates to John’s Journal entry. In the post it makes some remarks connecting the journal entry to children being tortured. The aim of this article is to provide the missing context linking the two together and why it matters. 

Here’s the quote from John’s Journal:

January 24: Dean turns seventeen today. We went shooting. Then I sent him out on his first hunt. I’ve let him take the lead before, but I’ve always been there to back him up. This time he’s on his own. Partly it’s a test, and partly I wanted some time with Sammy. Should be no problem for Dean. Ghosts of two nuns haunting St. Stephen’s Indian Mission in Riverton, Wyoming. Simple salt-and-burn mission. Nuns in love with each other, then discovered. Killed themselves. We scoped the situation out, figured that something must be left behind that’s now a focus for the haunting. Bible, rosary beads, some small article that’s hidden somewhere in their room. I figured Dean would take care of it no problem, but I still stayed close by with Sammy... [Sam wants a normal life] … Dean took care of the nuns just like I thought he would, but I don’t think I’m going to be sending him on any more solos soon. That one was a little tense.

And that’s all she wrote. So why does this matter? It doesn’t talk about killing kids, just about lesbian nuns who were part of an indian mission. What’s the problem? Well, let’s start with the basics. 

What is an Indian mission?

Basically, an Indian mission is a reeducation camp for Native Americans. 

From an article published on History.com about indian missions in California:

The main goal of the California missions was to convert Native Americans into devoted Christians and Spanish citizens.

Spain used mission work to influence the natives with cultural and religious instruction.

Another motivation for the missions was to ensure that rival countries, such as Russia and Great Britain, didn’t try to occupy the California region first.

Why is that so bad? 

Indian missions contributed to the loss of hundreds of thousands of Native American lives. 

From the same article:

The mission era influenced culture, religion, architecture, art, language and economy in the region.

But, the missions also impacted California Indian cultures in negative ways. Europeans forced the natives to change their civilization to match the modern world. In the process, local traditions, cultures and customs were lost.

Some critics have charged that the Spanish mission system forced Native Americans into slavery and prostitution, comparing the missions to “concentration camps.”

Additionally, Spanish missionaries brought diseases with them that killed untold thousands of natives.

Prior to the California missions, there were about 300,000 Native Californians. By 1834, scholars believe there were only about 20,000 remaining.

Now back to the post that spawned this question: 

When OP (@fettcockfriday) says, 

spend some time thinking about why you latched onto “lesbian nuns” over “children being tortured and murdered.” did you not know what an indian mission was? did you think it was less interesting, or less important? sit with that for a while. 

To someone who doesn’t know the history of Indian Missions and wasn’t paying close attention to the journal entry, this feels like it's coming out of nowhere. With context, though, you can understand where this comes from. 

In the journal entry, the Indian mission only has the weight of any other convent nuns could reside in. This is a problem rooted in the american habit of erasing the ugly parts of its history. I highly doubt that Alex Irvine thought twice about the relevance of indian missions when he wrote that into the diary entry, which is the problem. 

From IllumiNative: 

American students learn some of the most damaging misconceptions and biases toward Native Americans in grades K-12. In fact, 87 percent of history books in the U.S. portray Native Americans as a population existing before 1900, according to a 2014 study on academic standards. For many Americans, we no longer exist.

With minimal mention of contemporary issues and ongoing conflicts over land and water rights or tribal sovereignty, Native Americans have become invisible and it can be argued that it makes it easier for non-Natives to take the lead on creating their own narratives about us. Our invisibility makes it easier to create and support racist mascots or over sexualize caricatures of Native women in everything from fashion to Halloween costumes.

For the well-being of Native peoples and future generations, these false narratives, the invisibility and erasure of Native peoples must end.

Native Americans are still disenfranchised, suffering under oppressive laws constructed by the people responsible for the deaths of millions of their forefathers. Attempts to reeducate native children are still happening to this day. The only way to move forward is to face the past and listen to the voices who have been kept quiet for so long. 

Resources:

Links for educating yourself:

The Traumatic Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools-The Atlantic

The Erasure Of Native America

History of Residential Schools- Indigenous People’s Atlas of Canada

We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee-TikTok

How this affects white Americans: 

Whose Land Are You On?

Did You Know... All These States Have Native Names!

UNIST'OT'EN | Background of the Campaign

Thanksgiving - Tumblr

Knowledge Center- First Nations 

Ways to Donate:

#settlersaturday, gofundmes for native people

Ways to Give- First Nations

Support Us - Native American Rights Fund

Support the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs!

17 Organizations Providing Emergency Food Relief to Native Communities During COVID-19

Support Native American businesses: 

Birch Bark Coffee Company

Indigenous Cosmetics

Red Planet Books and Comics - Unleash Your Indigenous Imagination

Orenda Tribe Clothing

20+ Native American-Owned Businesses to Shop

Please tag, submit, or link any other accounts or resources related to this topic to us @destieldailynews​, we will reblog as much as we can.

[not-a-perfect-metaphor]

I don’t often - ever, really - talk about my personal life, but I wanted to share a little something that seems particularly relevant in leu of everything that’s been happening between the Js.

First, to provide the necessary background information, I do have a long term partner, which I think I’ve mentioned a few times (he posts here every once in a while 😊).

While we’re definitely not fully in the closet, we’re also definitely not fully (or even largely) out of the closet, especially when it comes to our professional identities.

We live separately, and sometimes we spend long, very difficult periods of time away from each other only communicating (whenever possible) over the phone.

When we ARE away from each other…to say ‘it’s hard’ obviously doesn’t even remotely do it justice, and not only are there frequent, negative emotions to combat but there are also MANY misunderstandings and disagreements, most of which stem from the fact that we simply aren’t communicating as much or as thoroughly as we wish we were…as much as couples who are very openly together as well as living near or with each other tend to communicate.

Now add on the fact that Jared and Jensen are both pretty significantly in the spotlight as successful actors, and in that sense, they both need to be even MORE cautious about how and when they’re communicating…

I can only imagine how stressful that must be.

However, on the positive side of things, all of this is also a huge part of why I’m not worried in the way many others are about the future of Jared and Jensen’s relationship due to whatever it was that went down/is going down concerning the prequel, because…I’ve SEEN how much these two love each other. I’ve witnessed, as have we all, the strength of their connection and the lengths that they’ve gone to for each other time and time again.

Just because this was the first time we’ve seen them clash over something to this degree absolutely doesn’t mean it’s the first time it’s happened.

And honestly what I feel it comes down to is the fact that you don’t have a relationship as profound and genuine as theirs, a relationship that is fifteen years strong, without a solidness to its foundation that simply wouldn’t allow it to collapse due to something like this current misunderstanding.

You just don’t. ❤️

Now, let me add that EVERYONE’S emotions are valid. I am in no way trying to tell you that you shouldn’t feel a certain way about any of this. That’s the last way I want this post to be interpreted.

You feel whatever it is that you’re feeling.

Of course!

I’m only trying to say that it truly never occurred to me for even a single second that Jared and Jensen might not work this out, and for anyone who’s been doubting that, doubting whether or not they will, my advice would be to ask yourself if YOU would give up on a relationship like the one that they have when faced with a similar disagreement.

I also encourage everyone to steer clear of the many toxic posts circulating around Tumblr (and everywhere), many of which contain outright lies not just on the prequel interactions but also on the pasts of Jared and Jensen before any of this happened.

I’m not quite sure why people seem to be fabricating all of these harmful bits of misinformation (attention-seeking, ignorance, who knows), but if something strikes you as being difficult to believe, look into it further, because it’s probably not true.

And I’m still not feeling great (just a stubborn flu-type thing, not COVID, don’t worry), so I’m not as active on here as I’d like to be, but if you want to chat about any of this, or just about anything, please feel free to reach out. Forgive me if it takes me a little while to respond, but I would love to hear from you!

[astaroth1357]

How to Calm Your Demon Boyfriend; Vol 2

So You Pissed Him Off, Have You?

Notice: Due to an impending lawsuit for libel and misinformation, Mammoney, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy. All past guides from their company have been revised and re-released. All future printing will be handled Solo Man, Press.

Oh? Is there trouble in your devilish paradise? Well, there’s bound to be a spat or two between lovers but things can get... complicated if one half of your pair could easily wipe out a nation. Attempting to calm down your demon can be tricky, however in this volume of How to Calm Your Demon Boyfriend we will be covering the best methods available for you to do just that! With our instructions and a deft touch, you’ll manage to avoid your boyfriend’s hellish rage and get right back to enjoying that tender, sacrilegious relationship you’ve come to love!

This volume only covers if your demon boyfriend is mad at YOU. If there is SOMEONE ELSE making him mad, please consult Volume One!

Lucifer’s mad at You

You are in a very tricky situation so treat your next actions with the utmost care…

First, ascertain who is at fault for what has occurred. If it’s you, then figure out the severity. A minor infraction can be smoothed over easily enough with some explanation and sincere apology.

More severe breaches of trust will be harder get past. Plead your case but don’t attempt to excuse your actions. Acknowledge fault and, again, apologize. If he seems receptive, attempt to touch him in some way like on the hand or arm but no higher. This a literal demonstration of your attempt to reconnect.

This is the best that you can do for now, but he should acknowledge your efforts as long as you approached it correctly.

If it’s his fault… as far as he’s concerned it’s still your fault, unfortunately. It’s the pride in him speaking. 

Ask him what he believes you’ve done wrong and assess from there. Some things may be better to give a brief apology to, but no more. You don’t need to explain yourself for something you didn’t do. It may be best to leave him for a few hours after this and let tensions cool.

If the accusation is too egregious, you have the option to not apologize at all. This will likely anger him further if you give no explanation, though. Explain why you don’t think you should have to say sorry, then leave. Call for his brothers if you need someone there to intervene.

Now you wait. Unfortunately, it's an inevitability. Lucifer will need time to process and do a post-mortem on what happened. If he was truly the one at fault, he’ll acknowledge it to himself but never admit it out-loud. He may extend an olive branch in the form of a gift (the size and expense of which will be directly proportional to how much he messed up) but that will be it.

If you forgive him, then life can return to normal. If not, consult our other material: Can I Breakup with My Demon Boyfriend?

Mammon’s mad at You

It is first important to discern between his usual “anger” and actual anger.

If you see any of these signs: Blushing, stuttering, overly defensive denials, general tsundere-ness then you are likely only dealing with “anger.” Feel free to tease appropriately.

If these signs are not there then something is very wrong. Find out what it is, he will be forthright with a little persistence. (i.e. bug him until he says something. He will likely want to tell you anyway)

Attempt to remedy the problem as quickly as possible. This will no small matter. A truly upset Mammon should not be ignored.

If you have done something wrong, an apology may be in order. Do be sincere if you can because Mammon will appreciate the effort.

Cheer him up with either compliments or physical contact, head pats and cuddles work most effectively. If his face is red, though, you’re likely on the right track in general.

He isn’t one to hold a grudge so this should settle any brief irritation that’s derailed your relationship. Take care not to upset him this much again in the future.

Leviathan’s mad at You

Again, he’s probably jealous but now he’s going to be jealous and possessive. Admittedly, not the best combination.

Stay. Calm. If he’s already hysterical then adding onto the situation won’t do anyone any good. Patience may be difficult to hang onto, but it’s crucial to getting through this on the other side.

Physical contact is still important but NOT TOO EARLY. If he has his guard up he may just slap away your attempts to touch him.

Chances are he’s already built up a narrative in his head. This will not be easy to combat, especially if his suspicions aren’t true.

Denial will be tricky. You don’t want him to accept his false narrative as truth, but there’s going to be only so many times you can say, “No, that didn’t happen” before he stops believing you.

Deny his story first, firmly and with no room for doubt then redirect the conversation to asking why he’s so worried about it. Get to the heart of what’s making him feel so self-conscious and start soothing him from there. He’ll be feeling vulnerable, so a delicate touch is necessary.

NOW is the time for physical contact. He still needs to know you’re there so you should get as close to him as possible. He’ll probably be holding onto you pretty tightly. He won’t mean to bruise you if he does. 

Hold him close and don’t even think about letting him go until he’s ready. He needs to know that you'll stay with him even if this is what he has to offer. Your embrace is not just reassurance, it’s a promise. I hope you're prepared to keep it.

For more on how to comfort Levi, please seek out: How to Comfort Your Demon Boyfriend.

Satan’s mad at You

Oh my, aren’t you in a pickle? The focus should be on the immediate concerns first, then the long term. Don’t try to resolve both at once.

The immediate concern is that you have a very ticked off Wrath in front of you and he will make his displeasure known. Apologize. Apologize now. Is it actually your fault? Who knows. That's a long term concern and you should focus first on getting him to calm down fast.

Satan will not listen to reason right now, especially not if you're the only one offering it so don’t even try.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to touch an angry Satan. He's going to be far too gone for cuddle time to smooth things over.

You should give him space. He likely doesn't want to be mad at you and is very aware of just how dangerous this situation is for you both. If you take a step back, he'll do what he needs to in order to calm himself down (which is probably going to involve property damage of some kind but better it a bookshelf than you).

Wait until he is no longer shouting, then you may approach and carefully plead your case. You better have some airtight logic if you want to convince him he's actually the one in the wrong about something, but if he is he will apologize.

Of course, if you are at fault then you should apologize and attempt to explain. Even if you don’t have the best justification, you can still win him back if you can prove you had good intentions.

Unfortunately, even if he understands your reasoning he may still be a little miffed... Speaking candidly, if there's still residual anger left it may be best just to f*ck it out. This is not a joke, it's a legitimate way to redirect lingering negative emotions in a relationship. So have at it, I suppose. Just have a safe word ready because you'll need it.

Asmodeus’ mad at You

Again, reason and logic will fail you, especially at the very start. He WILL be upset and he WILL lash out. Likely verbally.

DO NOT engage in a fight of insults with Asmodeus. Not only will you lose but the situation may escalate to the point that your relationship will suffer permanent damage.

Remain calm, but you need not take the abuse. You are well within your right to tell him that you will leave the room if he does not cease the hostility. Don’t mean this idly either because your presence will be very important to Asmo. He hates to be ignored.

If you must leave, do so. Don’t turn back even if he pleads. Wait for him to come to you, because he will, and then a civil conversation can commence. Apologize if necessary.

After his initial anger has passed, Asmo will be very quick to feel remorseful. Despite his ferocity, he should be rather forgiving (at least to you anyway).

He will want make-up sex, for his own comfort if nothing else, but as always he will not force the matter. It may be much sweeter than usual, though, because that’s his way of saying “I’m sorry.”

Beelzebub’s mad at You

Oh dear.... You have either denied/stolen his food, hurt his family, or somehow just really ticked him off...

If you denied him food, get more.

If you hurt his family, plead for mercy.

If you’ve just really, really ticked him off, I’m not even sure what you did but you probably ought to apologize and maybe rethink your life choices... They must not be very good.

Belphegor’s mad at You

This will happen, but again Belphegor is pretty lazy. He’s more likely to give you the silent treatment than he is to blow up in your face.

Your challenge now is to get him to talk to you. Unlike with Mammon, he won’t be itching to say anything so a slight nudge isn’t going to cut it.

Start by trying to be frank about the situation. Attempt to sit him down and say that you wish to talk things out. Be empathetic, approachable, and sincere. This should elicit at least some attention from him for most issues.

If he intends on holding out further, then you have already done your part to the best of your ability. Leave the door open to that discussion, but go about your day until he’s ready for it. It won’t be easy, nor will it feel good, but it’s important to set boundaries and not allow his silence to punish you when things could be worked out more productively.

I assure you, Belphie does love you and he will miss you. It may take a little time, but he will eventually approach you to have that talk. Resolve what happened together and then things can return to normal, cuddles and all.

If you are looking to calm down your demon before he hurts someone else, please consult Volume One: Tame Demons, Save Lives!