#we have to do better

[hillbillyoracle]

This is only going to get more important in coming years:

Think critically when people make claims that someone or something is [insert group here]phobic or [insert group here]ist.

Setting aside the fact that folks misusing terms originally used to name oppression has had demonstrably negative effects on various movements, if you have a few key words someone can use to change what you think about people and groups that are actually on your side then you are incredibly easy to manipulate.

There are people who are actively trying to manipulate you using those words. They are absolutely rooting for these words to become meaningless. They are absolutely making fake accounts to come in an stoke cancelations and make them appear more legitimate.

They have a vested interest in bombarding you with a bunch of terrible things you don't have much agency to impact and then pointing you at people and groups that have long track records of working in your own interest.

They want you to keep your anger pointed at people in your own community because it keeps y'all busy and unorganized while they work against you.

When you boost that stuff, without thinking critically and thinking about who benefits from your rage, you do their work for them.

Which isn't to say that you cannot correct or ask for change from people in your community - we need that. But learn how to make a good faith critique that isn't rooted in rage baiting people with gunpowder terms. Our lives fucking depend on it.

If you're a leader in a space where this stuff is getting passed around, it is fucking vital that you create standards that don't allow for that stuff to spread unchecked (fellow discord mods, I'm looking at y'all).

Think critically. Nuance matters. Don't let people convince you to burn your community down to keep yourself warm.

[sugugasm]

a little psa

people are so weird and jealous on this app it’s sick…

the fact that creators have to leave due to death threats, harassment, and other anon bullshit is ridiculous. we’re all here to write about and support our favorite fandoms but it seems as if people have their priorities in a bunch.

i’ve seen so much hatred since i’ve joined and it was one of the main reasons why i was afraid to share my work. people are ruthless and mean and they do NOT care about others’ feelings. if you’ve experienced any of this, i am so dearly sorry. it’s absolutely disgusting and i hope tumblr can go back to a somewhat ‘positive-ish’ environment.

[paulodybaeeela]

Dele Ali’s interview was heartbreaking but is a STRONG reminder about how little we know about these athletes in reality.

It also shows how much we take them for granted without really understanding the sacrifices they make and the toll it takes on them.

[uygfiug]

its pride month, please dont forget to keep up with the gay agenda, as we will be particularly active this month

[anteroom-of-death]

I think people who let their children use slurs and get a kick out of them using them to others or even swearing at others especially in public deserve permanent jail time and their kids to get adopted by vegans who do gentle parenting.

[crshbndct]

Tokitae died yesterday.

She was still singing the songs that she was taught in L Pod, as a small child of 4 years old, until she died at 57. Orca sing songs to communicate with other orca. She was calling for her mother until she died .

Her mother is still alive.

Miami Seaquarium would have suffered reputations damage if she had been released and managed to thrive outside of their care, contrary to what they told people would happen.

Her release was imminent, after years of work put in by people that wanted to see her reunited with her pod.

Miami Seaquarium has life insurance on all their marine mammals.

RIP Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut. You deserved so, so much better, but we all failed you, in the worst possible way.

[falkii]

yeah that sims 2 ai post got me 💀 lovely concept but a very less than ideal execution

[ered]

Here’s my take on the whole audio books vs. reading:

Oral tradition of storytelling predates written ones by millennias, and honestly, which one you like is just a personal preference.

The actual difference is

when listening, you have no idea how to write characters’ names

when reading, you have no idea how to pronounce characters’ names

hope this helps!

[qiinamii]

we'll do fine.

[sophies-junkyard]

I’m in the South. I’ve got ears to the ground. Republicans are SWEATING at the prospect of Kamala being nominated. They’re not sure Trump can beat her.

Let’s prove them right.

[sheepgirlmaidtummy]

man. this whole thing pisses me off because like. even when people talk about staff having a history of hating trans women, that this isnt the first time, without fail black trans women are forgotten to be included again and again. im not surprised this caused such an uproar when the popular white woman gets deleted. nobody should be, its been that way like forever. some cunt in my inbox got annoyed i called rita a sex worker (lol? okay)

but i mentioned that in my post because so many black trans women have gotten removed from this site for their sex work alone, regardless of if it "broke community guidelines" or not, especially when tumblr live and the ads on this website are so fucking horny. idek what to say rn because like. this wont get as many notes as the posts talking about her will. the exploding car thing is gonna get more attention than the trans women on this site you dont actually care about listening to. ive been talking about how unfair it is to be a black tgirl on this site for years and nobody cares.

i love rita, we talked abit the other day and she's doing fine, dont get it twisted and think i hate her or some bs, she's a big fucking reason im not fucking homeless.

but part of why her deletion got to #1 trending on tumblr for multiple days in a row is that she's white

[800db-cloud]

i’m literally shaking buy them brown contacts pls

[ducktalk]

[doomdoomofdoom]

Kamala Harris does want "transgender surgery on illegal aliens that are in prison", btw.

So since Trumpists are getting mad enough about the jokes to actually cite their sources, I thought I'd put the source out into my left extremist commie faggot echo chamber, too.

The claim originates from an ACLU questionnaire she filled out for her 2020 presidential candidacy, specifically this section:

She wasn't given a new questionnaire for 2024, and has stated that while her policy on some things may have changed, her values had not. (This most likely means she moved more to the center to appease larger demographics and cut corners to reach compromises. The basic politician stuff.)

It boils down to this: If you're in prison, whether for "illegal" immigration or other crimes, you rely on the state to provide you with necessary amenities, like food and health care. Her argument isn't "hell yeah everyone in prison should get sex changes for free". It's "gender affirming surgery is a necessary medical procedure. If you are in the states care while this becomes necessary, the state should provide it." If you're outraged by your tax money being used on this, consider the massive amount of people being incarcerated in for-profit prisons, on your dime. Then ask yourself if maybe a prison reform might be in order.

Worth noting: In 2015, while Attorney General, Kamala Harris actually argued against providing gender-affirming surgery to an incarcerated trans woman, claiming that HRT and psychotherapy were sufficiently covering her medical needs. She has since obviously changed her stance and assumed responsibility. (I would like to take this moment to remind my fellow left extremist commie faggots that "willingness to learn and rethink your views" is infinitely more valuable than "perfect from the start and unwilling to listen to anyone")

Also found in the source: This image of Kamala Harris participating in the 2019 San Francisco Pride Parade, wearing what I believe to be a sequin rainbow embroidered denim jacket.

I encourage you to read the provided CNN article and the answers to the ACLU questionnaire, as they give great insight into her values.

TLDR: Based.

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[notquiteaghost]

re: that fucking staff post. obviously death to algorithms, but i also wanna interrogate the wider underlying assumptions of their logic there cuz. is 'success' having lots of followers & lots of popular posts??? why is that the end goal of using this website. i don't open tumblr to get attention from strangers, i open tumblr to read funny jokes and interesting commentary and to see cool art. encouraging clout-chasing will only increase user engagement if you successfully get people literally addicted to the associated dopamine hit. what if we didn't have to do that!!! what if a website could be a place you went to on purpose because you had fun there!!!!