#uneducated individual

[meg96]

I'm sorry there are things I don't get about popular opinions about politics. One: All your options are bad. Why are you judging each other? Yeah Trump's character is shit but both Biden and Harris wanted to blow up Gaza too? Why are we acting like that's like somehow irrelevant? Two: Why are people against third party voting and not voting? If enough people did either of those things instead of just picking "the lesser of two evils"-- like guys you have options because you're supposed to have a choice. It's not "a vote for Trump".

I know I'm going to sound like a dipshit here and I apologize especially because I am not American but I too live in a shitty democracy and I'm sorry I cannot deal with the moral high ground of those who voted Harris... I'm really sorry if that's mean but so what if Harris had have won? Would you be any better off?

[mhrsb]

isn't it crazy how those people are out of my life now and i just feel lighter now

[stinkrascal]

Plz tell me how you got diagnosed with autism? I defiantly have symptoms but don’t want to assume ):

i could sit here and tell you to drop thousands of dollars on a formal assessment or hundreds of dollars each on therapy sessions, but i will tell you a secret instead. u are not harming anyone at all by assuming you have autism without having a formal diagnosis. i promise it isnt as big of a deal as you think it is and anyone who tells you otherwise is uneducated

[bitter-winter-adult]

Me, every time someone tries to talk about psychology: I hope you took more than three classes before making this

[despondent-beauty]

I thought this was a shitpost from one of my mutuals. The truth is somehow better.

[spectralsnoot]

Y’all self diagnosing as low support autistic, you are valid. But let’s not pretend like high support need individuals don’t exist. Autism isn’t trendy, it isn’t “quirky”, it’s not a brag to be put on your profile to say “I think I might be autistic” for clout on the internet. Autism comes in many forms, and high support individuals probably don’t see their autism as a brag. Being nonspeaking, having a lack of control over your own motor function, needing assistance in most every aspect of your life, being stripped of your independence because otherwise you may be unsafe to yourself or others, being looked down upon by a society who views you as “retarded”….low support autism is valid and deserving of the same supports as high support autism, but to those of you that romanticize autism, whether you are autistic or not, please stop. Autistic individuals are beautiful, amazing, and so worthy of love no matter where they fall on the spectrum. But autistic individuals will always face challenges because of their neurodivergence by a society that as a majority is uneducated and lacking empathy. If you suspect you may be autistic, please pursue your truth. Maybe you became good at masking without knowing you were doing it, maybe you are “quirky”, etc. Be true to yourself.

However…

Romanticizing autism ignores the reality of the many many high support individuals who do not have that luxury. Love yourself but do not trivialize or erase the reality of our high support brothers and sisters.

[yeahivegotanaccount]

Being siblings is translating for eachother.

[writingwithcolor]

Not all Second-Language Speakers are Made Equal.

@waltzshouldbewriting asked:

Hello! I’m writing a story that features a character who’s first language is not English. He’s East African, specifically from Nairobi, Kenya, and is pretty fluent in English but it’s not his primary language, and he grew up speaking Swahili first. I’m struggling to figure out if it’s appropriate or in character to show him forgetting English words or grammar. From what I’ve researched, English is commonly spoken in Nairobi, but it wouldn’t be what was most spoken in his home. For context, this is an action/superhero type story, so he (and other characters) are often getting tired, stressed, and emotional. He also speaks more than two languages, so it makes sense to me that it would be easier to get confused, especially in a language that wasn’t his first. But I’m worried about ending up into stereotypes or tropes. For additional context: I’m monolingual, I’ve tried to learn a second language and it’s hard. A lot of how I’m approaching this comes from my own challenges correctly speaking my own, first and only language.

Diversity in Second-Language English

You seem to have an underlying assumption that second language acquisition happens the same for everyone. 

The way your character speaks English depends on so many unknown factors: 

Where does your story take place? You mention other characters; are they also Kenyan, or are they all from different countries?

Assuming the setting is not Kenya, is English the dominant language of your setting? 

How long has your character lived in Kenya vs. where he is now? 

What are his parents’ occupations? 

What level of schooling did he reach in Nairobi before emigrating? 

What type of school(s) did he go to, public or private? Private is more likely than you think. 

Did his schooling follow the national curriculum structure or a British one? Depends on school type and time period. 

Does he have familiarity with Kenyan English, or only the British English taught in school? 

Is this a contemporary setting with internet and social media?

I bring up this list not with the expectation that you should have had all of this in your ask, but to show you that second language acquisition of English, postcolonial global English acquisition in particular, is complex. 

My wording is also intentional: the way your character speaks English. To me, exploring how his background affects what his English specifically looks like is far more culturally interesting to me than deciding whether it makes him Good or Bad at the language. 

L2 Acquisition and Fluency

But let’s talk about fluency anyway: how expressive the individual is in this language, and adherence to fundamental structural rules of the language.

Fun fact: Japanese is my first language. The language I’m more fluent in today? English. Don’t assume that an ESL individual will be less fluent in English compared to their L1 counterparts on the basis that 1) it’s their second language, or 2) they don’t speak English at home. 

There’s even a word for this—circumstantial bilingualism, where a second language is acquired by necessity due to an individual’s environment. The mechanisms of learning and outcomes are completely different. 

You said you tried learning a second language and it was hard. You cannot compare circumstantial bilingualism to a monolingual speaker’s attempts to electively learn a second language. 

Motivations?

I understand that your motivation for giving this character difficulties with English is your own personal experience. However, there are completely different social factors at play.

The judgments made towards a native speaker forgetting words or using grammar differently are rooted in ableism and classism (that the speaker must be poor, uneducated, or unintelligent). That alone is a hefty subject to cover. And I trust you to be able to cover that!

But on top of that, for a second language speaker, it’s racism and xenophobia, which often lend themselves to their own ableist or classist assumptions (that those of the speaker’s race/ethnicity must be collectively unintelligent, that they are uneducated or low class due to the occupations where they could find work, or conversely that they are snobby and isolationist and can't be bothered to learn a new language). Intersections, intersections.

If you want to explore your experiences in your writing, give a monolingual English speaker in your cast a learning disability or some other difficulty learning language, whatever you most relate with. And sure, multilingual folks can occasionally forget words like anyone else does, or think of a word in one language and take a second to come up with it in the other language. But do not assume that multilinguals, immigrants, or multiethnic individuals inherently struggle with English or with multiple languages just because you do.

~ Rina

[writers-potion]

Let's Talk About Magic Systems.

There are two broad ways you can establish magic in your story world - work with existing concepts, or adapting it for something new.

Pick a System

High Magic vs. Low Magic

This distinction existes mostly in the western wrld from the Middle Ages onwards. In non-western cultures, this distinct often doesn't exist.

High magic requires magicians to study from books, ingredients are expensive and instruments elaborate and hard to get. The typical practioner of High Magic is of the upper class, highly educated, and rich. They serve in King's courts and have high social standing thanks to their knowledge.

Among the lower classes and women, Low Magic is ore common. It is taught orally and doesn't require reading skills and uses everyday objects and ingredients.

Black vs. White Magic

"White" magic is often associated with good, and "Black" with the evil. However, what really matters is the magicians intension, not the magic system that they work with.

The term "black magic" is often associated with working with the dead. It can also be used by an individual/group who just wants to appear more menacing.

Ceremonial Magic

This kind of magic involves lots of ritual, recitation and prayer, often in ancient langauges such as Latin, Aramaic and Sanskrit.

Most of the time, it's High Magic and practiced by religious figures.

The typical practioner is educated, has great confidence and a good memory.

Natural Magic

It involves ingredients from nature, such as herbs and water.

It may be practiced outdoor, in a kitchen, or in a laboratory.

The rituals are simple and short, and the practioner will watch out for the turning of seasons, phases of the moon, etc.

Religious Magic

This is a diety working through a magician. The magician prays and asks her god to work the miracle.

Most religions have their own form of magic, and the kind of miracles that the magicians can bring can be limited.

Wiccan Witchcraft and Voodoo are largely religious magic.

The typical practioner would be spiritual and devout, often suspicious of other religions.

Alchemy

Alchemy is both High and Low Magic, and it can incorporate religious, spiritual, philosophical and mythological elements.

In a modern setting, alchemy can also be portrayed as "science gone too far".

The typical practioner would be patient, methodious, educated and driven. The tools includes laboratory equipment, astronomical charts, writing materials, and an unsuspecting roommate(?) for testing.

Traditional Witchcraft

Traditional Witchcraft is a form of Low Magic. In early historic periods, the witch played an important role in village life, often old women who owned apothecaries and helped out other villagers.

The typical practioner would be female, uneducated, illiterate, practical, resourceful and poor. She will have a good memory and well-developed senses.

Tools used would be simple household implements - a cauldron, a broom, knife, etc. that can evade the Inquisitor's suspicions.

Wiccan Witchcraft

If you write contemporary fiction, this is the system your character is most likely to use. It's modern witchcraft, based on the religion of Wicca.

Wiccan witchcraft mostly developed in the second half of the twentieth centruy. It is a form of bothe Natural Magic and Religious Magic.

Based on nature worship and the polarity between male and female, the magician often begins a Wiccan ritual with an invocation to a God/Godess. The Lady (Godess) is depicted as having three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Brone. The Lord (God) may be depicted with horns.

The focus of Wiccan magic is often on healing, with an emphasis of ethical consequences of what is being performed.

It is often practiced outdoors, sometimes naked (which they call 'skyclad'). Wiccan witchcraft uses the phases of the moon to amplify its effects.

Wiccan like to gather in groups called 'covens' or to meet once a month or for major festivals. The coven leader may be called 'high piestess/priest'.

Typical tools include a chalice, a knife (called 'athame'), a wand, candles, herbs, crystals, and essential oils.

Necromancy

The magician summons a dead person, either ghost or spirit, sometimes bodily. The dead are enlisted to grant the magicians with favors or are questioned for information.

It may be related to Shamanism, as well as to some forms of psychic work such as channelling and Spiritualist seances.

The typical practitioner is psychally gisted, strong-willed and courageous.

Shamnism

Shamnism is a Low Magic system. The shaman intercedes between the human and spirit world by communicating with spirits, often to obtain information or provide healing.

Shamans may travel to the spirit world to seek answered, with some level of danger. They use drums, chanting, dancing and drugs to alter their consciousness and communicate with spirits.

Practicing shamans often work alone, but they choose a successor to train. The apprentice is supposed to accept the calling.

The typical shaman is musical, sensitive with a strong sense of rhythm and the psychic.

Tools include drums, bells, a costume, herbs, bones, smoke and mind-altering drugs.

Ancient Egyptian Magic

Ancient Eyptian Magic ovelaps with Religious magic, medicine and with psychic work. The deities most frequently evoked are Selket, Aset for raising the dead, and the gof Thoth for anything to do with sickness and healing.

The emphasis of Ancient Egyptian Magic is protection, often done throgugh an amulet or talisman. The circle or oval is the most important shape that has protective qualities.

The precise wording of a spell is important, as well as the colors that are involved. For magic to affect someone the magicians must know that person's true name.

The typical practitioner is male, literate, often a priest attached to a emple.

Folk Magic

This is a form of Low Magic practiced by amateurs.

This includes housekeepers who can keep the rats out, farmers who can ripen fruit before the height of the season, and scullions who can make water boil faster.

This people would only know a handful of spells, ans pass them in to memebers of their family.

Voodoo

Voodoo is religious magic and low magic.

The rituals are held in private, and may involve communication with spirits, especially the spirits of ancestors and saints.

Commonly used to cure aliments, confound enemies, and obtain desires.

Invent a System

Choosing the Right Words

If your character is clearly a witch, shaman, a necromancer, etc. with a specialty, use that term. Otherwise, the word "magician", or "mage" would be most appropriate.

The term "magus" (plural magi) refers to practitioners of the ancient Zoroastrian faith.

Strictly speaking, witches and wizards are practitioners of two very different magic systems, so your female character can be a wizard, and vice versa.

'Warlock' really means 'oath-breaker' or 'traitor' and doesn't describe a magician.

'Conjurer' is someone who can creae effects to impress an audience, not really magical in itself. The more modern temr would be 'illusionist'

A group of magicians may be called a 'coven' (though it applies mostly to Wiccan magic). A magician working alone would be a 'solitary'.

Magic vs. Magick

Normally, "magic" is the correct spelling.

However, "magick" may be used, especially by insiders, to emphasize that they refer to the real thing, not conjuring or other trick of the eye.

The magic systems are sometimes capitalized, sometimes not. When it involves a religion, nationaliy, or a particular family line, it is capitalized. Just make sure to keep it consistent throughout your book.

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

[pythiaswine]

😃 wtf

Hey! So this is actually very insane!

oh my… this was a conversation about founding fathers on Pinterest and uhh

[queer-geordie-nerd]

It’s actually truly frightening that we’ve gotten to so extreme a point that there are people who are genuinely and in all seriousness blaming the UK riots on “Zionists.” It’s like people’s brains switch off entirely when they get the chance to demonise Jews or Israel for something, anything. This is what happens after 10 months of constant, unchecked antisemitism and just plain ignorance about Zionism on the left - they’re the evil boogeymen behind literally everything, which is so obviously an antisemitic conspiracy theory as old as time that I can’t believe people are still uncritically perpetuating. Although, I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

The English Defense League are a bunch of uneducated, violent, far right white nationalists who believe that there’s some secret Muslim takeover going on and were whipped into their current frenzy by their (wrong as it turns out) belief that a Muslim immigrant was responsible for the deaths of the little girls in Southport. Rather than supporting the families and community affected, they decided that the best thing to do was to rampage through cities up and down the country, setting police cars and buildings on fire (including refugee accommodation), smashing windows, targeting literally anyone who isn’t white, “protesting” outside mosques and putting dozens of police officers in hospital.

These riots have less than fuck all to do with Zionists or Israel. I can guarantee you the EDL hates Jews as much as they hate Muslims and literally any individual who isn’t a white Brit and they would be appalled at the idea they were in league with them. Use some critical thinking skills, for fuck sake.

[systemic-stupidity]

Hey btw

Intersexism is NOT misplaced transphobia.

The backlash we’re witnessing against intersex athletes is not because people misunderstand and think they’re trans. It’s that people hate intersex people as genetic aberrations that should be extinguished in one way or another in order to uphold the sex binary which DOESNT EXIST.

The hatred and violence against intersex people, while certainly going hand-in-hand with transphobia in many regards, is still wholly unique to intersex individuals. And that violence extends beyond just forced surgeries on infants. While that’s a huge issue and it’s great people are talking about it, intersex kids and adults also face medical violence, from being forced into hormone therapies they don’t want/need, to being misdiagnosed and made ill through treatments which don’t accommodate for non-perisex endocrine systems, to being literally assaulted by doctors to shame them for the way their bodies naturally exist.

I’m literally begging you all, as a perisex binary trans person, to give a fuck about our intersex siblings and fight for them. But most importantly TO LISTEN. GOD. So many of us perisex trans people are both uneducated and so prejudiced against intersex people and it’s disgusting. And if you’re especially offended by that statement, then redirect that offense towards educating yourself and others

[kkoffin]

WARNING: you will need the most basic understanding of feminist terminology, literature and concepts to understand the following post, I have not made this uneducated-proof. I have had people get mad at me for this before, so here's the warning.

I think what's happening in Afghanistan right now really shows what feminists mean when they say "women are seen as a sub-category of men, rather than a separate class", and by extension, it shows how on a global scale, women are still seen as property. It also kinda demonstrates what De Beauvoir was talking about when she said women see themselves as the other, rather than the absolute, unlike other groups.

Women do not have as much class consciousness as they should, and are kept isolated from one another, told to divide first by class, race, religion etc, rather than acknowledging they are all women, and they are all treated as property of a man, an obtainable object, a collectable, regardless of class or race. Women have never been separate from men, they have never been independent as racial groups can be. There is no escape from men outside of eventual death for a group of women. This is due to the nature of women and men being reliant on one another for the creation of a group that lasts more than one generation. Women are seen to have no culture of their own, as it's only a sub-culture of men of that group. Men are almost always somehow involved in any female action/culture, because of women's isolation from one another and inability of escape. Women are viewed as property because they are only a part of male life and male culture, men is the whole and women are a part, women's part still belongs to the men. Women are not individual cultures.

The entirely male-run government in Afghanistan can treat the women of that country however they like, because those women belong to them. That is why it wouldn't be the same with another minority or ethnic group. Women, as a subcategory of men, when not considered their own social class, have no individual rights over how to be treated. A man can make rules for how women should behave because women are the property of, or included within men. A part of man. They essentially don't deserve the sovereignty that racial and religious groups are granted.

This is why human rights tend to not act the same way, it's as if there is no group being denied rights at all. To the globe, its just Afghans, the Afghan government and it's property, or it's citizens, rather than men and women. It is just men and women. Male government controlling women who cannot participate in the law, but are victim to it, like animals, or livestock. Not citizens.

I will state as well: I do not mean for any of this to underestimate the struggles of racial/ethnic groups as a minority. I believe the struggles of each oppressed group is different, it's causes and effects, and should be treated as such. Those groups deal with different issues which women, as a sex class may not. I'll also mention, there are other groups which may be treated in this same way, such as disabled people, children etc. also i hope this post makes sense

[pissvortex]

if i had to throw a mostly uneducated guess at how tumblr moderation works, it would be that individual reports are just scanned for keywords and if nothing is picked up it’s automatically declared fine. after that if a certain amount of reports on the same user / post are picked up within a certain timeframe, it’s probably noticed by an equally clueless contracted moderator who will give it a cursory glance, but is more likely to play it safe by banning a user. factors that i assume play into this decision are if they have had posts flagged for things like adult content, a process that would be most charitably interpreted as completely automated.

[wroteclassicaly]

Nancy decided she didn’t want Steve. And now that she’s been away from Jonathan, has seen the growth Steve had to go through from everything he experienced (trauma, torture, being cheated on, thrown into the upside down shit, not to mention what he was going through before all of that, etc), he’s suddenly worthy of still being in love with? Don’t mess me with that shit, sis. Steve was never a bad boyfriend, nor was he a bad person. Before I started the show I expected some MAJOR douchebag that fucked his gf and then left her when he got what he wanted. Man’s only downfall was calling Jonathan names and being an asshole to other people (not counting him breaking Jonathan’s camera. He deserved it for taking those pics of Nancy and y’all know it).

He approached Nancy the very next day after he took her virginity to check on her. He constantly apologized when it wasn’t his fault. He only lashed out when he was hurt (rightfully so), and when he realized what nasty people Carol and Tommy were — he ditched them. Could he have handled Barb’s death better — sure. But he was also dealing with it, probably confused and pushing it down, and he tried to make things seem normal for Nancy’s sake, and for his own.

This shit of Nancy being jealous of Robin was so ignorant that I almost puked. And this was before I even finished the series. I knew I didn’t like Stancy when I watched the first two episodes (4x09 and 1x01). Nancy has to claim over Steve. Their individual growths should NOT be entwined. If you look at the inconsistency in trying to resurrect that ship, it almost seems like the D bros hate Nancy and Steve.

Their reunion will undo so much shit, and in my opinion, will destroy them. Not to mention that Steve will probably sacrifice himself in the name of Nancy and her future (avoiding the white picket fence garbage she didn’t want, whilst still getting their Stancy resurrection). They stripped Steve of his goals, his aspirations, they made him seem like he couldn’t date anyone, degraded him, swept his trauma under the rug, made him the butt of everyone joke, made it seem as if he’s uneducated and ignorant. It breaks my heart how mistreated Steve is, and by trying to force him and Nancy back together — that is the biggest injustice that can be done towards them both, but mainly to him.

Steve deserves to find himself, to find his interests, to process his trauma, to find someone that he loves beyond nostalgia, that won’t come back to him after she’s already grown and realizes that this changed version is good enough.

Nancy deserves more than that.

But Steve Harrington deserves it all.

Joe Keery is the reason Steve was kept around, and I feel like this is just awful to do to the work he’s put in at making Steve the heart of this group of characters. ❤️🥺

[botanyshitposts]

Opinion on the US's Cogs damn obsession with corn?

don't know what you're talking about specifically but my understanding of US agricultural policy in general is that being a farmer in capitalism sucks and has since colonization and for a long time the US government tried to make it suck less with subsidies which sometimes work (because people get paid predictably regardless of demand and its less like gambling with crops) but sometimes go over really badly (because then too many people grow it and the price per bushel goes down and then government has too much corn) and then a couple times they got rid of all the subsides and related regulations and that REALLY didnt work (because then the price just crashed hard and with nothing to compensate them a bunch of farmers, many of whom were in debt for other farming-related reasons, couldnt get paid and actually had to foreclose their farms, which accelerated the long-standing trend of farms getting foreclosed on and then being bought out by bigger farms that then ended up running INSANE multi million dollar operations, sometimes even on farms in other states where the owners do not live, in communities they do not contribute to) and they had to backpedal on it and then eventually they just started on the current system where you simply pass a farm bill every 10-12 years instead of yearly or biyearly and that way you simply dont have to think about it, and then when it is election time you go stand by a cornfield for a while for tv. it does not fix the huge enormous farms buying out smaller farms problem or any of the complicated related problems but it DOES put it off for longer which is more important.

sometimes also you (USAID for instance) can give the too-much-corn you have from farm subsidies to a foreign country as a 'gift' and say youre just being a helpful little guy, but in the process of doing so undercut the local farmers in that country because they cant compete with free stuff but that's cool because then the foreign country can't really survive as well without US agricultural aid and you can manipulate them to do imperialism better AND you have more demand for the corn which might raise the price per bushel in the US. also sometimes the corn is fed to livestock en masse because the meat is worth more and sometimes its made into gas or high fructose corn syrup, and sometimes the price is so low per bushel that the insurance on the field is worth more than the actual corn.

but. i CANNOT stress enough that the most important thing about corn is that you can stand next to it on tv and if you cant do that, maybe you can stand next to a guy who is around it a lot and say you are helping him.

in my relatively uneducated opinion the most epic way to solve this complex multi-century interdisciplinary push and pull of supply and demand would be to just pay farmers a salary through the state since youre already paying out massive state subsidies for crops you dont need anyway and the farmers are performing a vital service and that way you can guarantee people a consistent salary AND control how much of each thing gets planted so you dont have a massive stockpile at all times AND you reward individual people instead of paying out large amounts of money to whatever massive operation sells the most corn by virtue of being big, but if you dont want to do that then the second best thing is to just pass another mediocre farm bill whos inflexible 10-ish year lifespan makes it impossible for it to respond well to changes in market demand and that way you can just put off making tough decisions and instead stand next to a guy and a cornfield on tv again. which as we have covered is the most important part of american agriculture