equals me

they/them this is my non fandom blog my fandom one is @robin-is-better

[superunfriendlyreminder]

[guidetodreaming]

One of the most important things I learned in my Language and the Law class is that law enforcement will intentionally misinterpret every type of statement asking for a lawyer as not asking for a lawyer. Even directly saying it like this “I will not speak to you without a lawyer” can be taken as a simple statement of fact rather than a request for a lawyer. You literally have to state “I am now invoking my right to a lawyer” and every time they try to proceed with an interrogation you have to answer every question with “I am invoking my right to have a lawyer present”. You can’t just tell them you won’t talk without a lawyer or that you want a lawyer. You have to state that you are invoking your rights. Otherwise they could just say “well they just said they wouldn’t speak without a lawyer present. That’s not invoking their rights to a lawyer. It’s just stating a fact.” even just stating your right to a lawyer doesn’t count!

[penrosesun]

PLEASE share this addition. I am a lawyer who works in criminal defense, and this is one of the most avoidable things that people consistently get wrong about the Miranda rights.

Here are some more “ambiguous” phrases which courts have found DO NOT invoke your right to a lawyer:

“Maybe I should speak to my lawyer first.”

“I might like a lawyer.”

“I think I should have a lawyer present for this.”

“Could I speak to my lawyer first?”

“How long until my lawyer gets here?”

And perhaps most egregiously – “Get me a lawyer, dawg – ‘cause this is not what’s up.”

Here are the magic phrases which you need to know if you want to invoke your Miranda rights:

1) “Am I free to leave?”

It’s worth asking this even if the answer is obvious. Even if the officer does not let you leave, by forcing them to admit that you are not free to leave, you are creating a record which your attorney can use to prove that you were in custody. Miranda rights only apply if the interrogation is custodial, meaning that police officers will frequently claim that their suspects were “not in custody” to get around their Miranda rights.

2) “I am invoking my right to remain silent.”

Simply staying silent will not invoke your right to remain silent. As absurd as this is, you must explicitly say that you are invoking your right to remain silent in order to invoke that right.

3) “I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

As stated above, you must be not only clear and unambiguous, but clear and legally unambiguous. Don’t get cute. Don’t get sassy. And on the flip side, don’t get intimidated and use verbal ticks to minimize your request. Say the line with those words exactly – say it clearly, and say it once, and then say nothing else.

Because even after you’ve done all this, the police can still try to get you to talk. They’re not supposed to interrogate you, but they’re allowed to make casual conversation, and if that conversation just happens to circle back around to the thing they wanted to question you about, well, that’s really your fault for talking after you said you wouldn’t, isn’t it? Can’t possibly fault the poor officers when you initiated – if you really wanted to have your rights respected, you wouldn’t have talked to them in the first place.

The police know this, and they will mercilessly exploit this loophole. So, once you’ve successfully invoked your Miranda rights, any and all conversation you have with police officers will put those rights back into jeopardy. 

Putting it all together:

Ask: “Am I free to leave?”

If they say no, say: “I am invoking my right to remain silent and I am invoking my right to an attorney.”

And then shut up and do not say a single thing to them for any reason whatsoever until you have actually spoken to an attorney. Yes, even if it takes hours. Yes, even if they start talking to you about something else.

Finally, a very important disclaimer:

I may be a lawyer, but I’m not your lawyer, and I cannot guarantee that what I’ve just laid out here will always work for every situation. We didn’t get to this bizarre and absurd place overnight – we built this ridiculous system piecemeal, by deciding on a case-by-case basis that certain phrases were “too ambiguous” or certain types of questioning weren’t actually questioning at all. The law is still in flux, and is still fundamentally out to get you, and willing to bend plain meaning beyond all recognition to do it. Even if you invoke your rights perfectly, exactly as I have specified above, there’s a chance that your invocation of rights will be disqualified on some new technicality that no one’s even thought of yet – and that’s precisely the problem.

[lemonsharks]

Watch this video: “Don’t Talk To The Police”

[swingsetindecember]

i feel like people think companies will be altruistic and do the right thing regardless of government intervention. like no, companies are driven by capitalism. to make the most out of the day and money they have and maximize profits, especially fortune 500 companies

like without government intervention, strawberry jam would have wood in it. like it's a thing. food companies realized that they could use less of the expensive strawberries as ingredients and just use wood. there are laws you cannot legally call it strawberry jam if you do this. you have to call it a strawberry product or spread. food companies are always trying to get that shit through. they have lobby groups pushing that all the time

it is more expensive to put metal detectors in a food processing plant. companies want to cut costs. it is a legal requirement in a lot of countries to have them. so it forces companies to install them.

also to do routine inspections. that is a government requirement. so are building codes. a lot of codes are the bare minimum. like some companies will exceed the code and have more protections but a lot don't. like if it is not in the code, they don't do it. so that's why having governing bodies that regulate building safety, worker safety, food safety and product safety are crucial. because without them, your employer will not see the need to have exit doors with quick release handles, or do routine fire sprinkler inspections or have road salt for the sidewalks. some of it is basic fucking stuff.

companies when left alone do not regulate themselves. it's been historically untrue. companies want to give you a product that is cheap for them to make and that they can sell at the highest price so they can get the most profit. for everyone who loves capitalism, that's what it is. the free market will not self-regulate. if you don't have anti-monopoly laws and anti-wage theft laws and workers' protections, the open market will not fix that organically.

when government officials talk about removing protections it is not good. like they were put in place for a reason. like drinking water and food regulations were written in blood. same with human rights and freedoms. like people died for the building code to be written. people died for occupational healthy and safety codes to be written. there is a reason food safety codes are there. companies will look at 100 people dying and say it was the cost of doing business. it is the government's job to say that is an unacceptable and for companies to do better

[twotommyolivers]

If there weren't minimum wage laws, the minimum wage would be 0

If there weren't child labor laws, the minimum age to work would be 0

This is not hyperbole, this is what companies would try and do in order to ensure the cheapest labor possible and greatest profits possible. Companies do not care about you unless your face is on a unit of currency.

[immortalbeingz]

[athelind]

If you search "Keyhole Gardening" on StartPage or any other search engine that isn't AI-corrupted, you'll get a bumper crop of information.

The Wikipedia page is very detailed.

[victusinveritas]

Also adding some book recommendations on Permaculture from the fine folks at Lithub.

[filyahehh]

smartest cat ever!

[lifeafterpsychiatry]

It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!

[creamypancakebatter]

this is actually really helpful and affirming thanks

[breelandwalker]

[1969chevycamaro]

*in tears* Thanks kitty, I needed this...

[vergak]

Goddamn. Okay

[stynamo]

Did you have a kid in your neighborhood who always hid so good, nobody could find him? We did. After a while we would give up on him and go off, leaving him to rot wherever he was. Sooner or later he would show up, all mad because we didn't keep looking for him. And we would get mad back because he wasn't playing the game the way it was supposed to be played.

There's hiding and there's finding, we'd say. And he'd say it was hide-and-seek, not hide-and-give-UP, and we'd all yell about who made the rules and who cared about who, anyway, and how we wouldn't play with him anymore if he didn't get it straight and who needed him anyhow, and things like that. Hide-and-seek-and-yell. No matter what, though, the next time he would hide too good again. He's probably still hidden somewhere, for all I know.

As I write this, the neighborhood game goes on, and there is a kid under a pile of leaves in the yard just under my window. He has been there a long time now, and everybody else is found and they are about to give up on him over at the base. I considered going out to the base and telling them where he is hiding. And I thought about setting the leaves on fire to drive him out. Finally, I just yelled, "GET FOUND, KID!" out the window. And scared him so bad he probably wet his pants and started crying and ran home to tell his mother. It's real hard to know how to be helpful sometimes.

A man I know found out last year he had terminal cancer. He was a doctor. And knew about dying, and he didn't want to make his family and friends suffer through that with him. So he kept his secret. And died. Everybody said how brave he was to bear his suffering in silence and not tell everybody, and so on and so forth. But privately his family and friends said how angry they were that he didn't need them, didn't trust their strength. And it hurt that he didn't say good-bye.

He hid too well. Getting found would have kept him in the game. Hide-and-seek, grown-up style. Wanting to hide. Needing to be sought. Confused about being found. "I don't want anyone to know." "What will people think?" "I don't want to bother anyone."

Better than hide-and-seek, I like the game called Sardines. In Sardines the person who is It goes and hides, and everybody goes looking for him. When you find him, you get in with him and hide there with him. Pretty soon everybody is hiding together, all stacked in a small space like puppies in a pile. And pretty soon somebody giggles and somebody laughs and everybody gets found.

Medieval theologians even described God in hide-and-seek terms, calling him Deus Absconditus. But me, I think old God is a Sardine player. And will be found the same way everybody gets found in Sardines - by the sound of laughter of those heaped together at the end.

"Olly-olly-oxen-free." The kids out in the street are hollering the cry that says "Come on in, wherever you are. It's a new game." And so say I. To all those who have hid too good. Get found, kid! Olly-olly-oxen-free.

— Robert Fulghum, "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten"

[lliveonthesunn]

i get why people don't believe in marriage as a social construct but legally it is the best and easiest way to say "this is who i trust to take care of me when i can't take care of myself" and i'm so glad gay people fought for that right bc when shit gets scary at least i know im in good hands

[stuckinapril]

Very true

[zooophagous]

I have been a sheep caretaker for like two days and already I'm like. Wow. I get it.

I get why these were some of the earliest mammals to ever be domesticated. They look up to humans with this sort of dumb but all at once innocent and pure and trusting expression. They're happy to see you. They follow you around. They like to be rubbed under their chins. Maybe its just some latent Scottish highland shepherd DNA I still have in me but I look at my sheep charges and suddenly I see why the love of God for humanity is so often described as a shepherd and his sheep. I'd fight a wolf for these guys. I'd go way the Hell out of my way for them. I'd carry their young for miles on my own back.

[upward-bound]

nearly 80k reblogs and how many of you eat lamb

[zooophagous]

The ancient shepherds I'm referencing also ate lamb lol

[meangirlnurse]

gosh, isn't it interesting that this symptom is specific to men for some unknowable reason? listening and learning

[meangirlnurse]

why is this symptom specific to men. think

[meangirlnurse]

#‘I HAVE BIG FEELINGS’ is only allowed for toddlers#you are an adult. use your words. stop making excuses.#bet these men dont do that around their bosses or anywhere there could be consequences they care about either 💅

[mockiatoh]

lol “have you considered your abusive boyfriend might have ADHD? Try having some empathy once in a while”. Great. Love it.

Seriously, ‘the angry man being aggressive and physically threatening is doing so to express that he is mad’. WOW ya don’t say. ‘But this common abusive behavior is different because he’s special’. Bro they all think the reason they’re abusive is special and not actually abuse or not actually about hurting you or not actually about intimidating you!

[obestriddbifftomat]

Why does he do that? - Lundy Bancroft

[iamnotcrying-iamallergictolife]

I do think this is a valuable insight, but. Also.

This is not specific to men.

It's not specific to anybody. If you're feeling overwhelmed, and you haven't been taught how to outlet that upset, a lot of people will just lash out. While it's important to recognise patterns like this in certain groups, and to prioritise someone's health and safety over someone else's feelings, pinning anything onto 'oh, evil men and nobody else experiences emotions in a way that is not socially acceptable', is reductive and doesn't help us treat the core issue of not properly helping children to deal with their emotions in healthy ways, a problem which disproportionately affects men, but also affects neurodivergent people, abuse victims, and literally anyone.

And it is abusive! It's not healthy! But it's not men that are the problem, y'all.

[meangirlnurse]

is this the part where we all pretend that women commit domestic violence at equal rates to men

[thedreadvampy]

"nobody else experiences emotions in a way that's not socially acceptable" is a fascinating blind spot bc the entire point here is that men specifically behaving like this towards women is socially acceptable behaviour.

it has been socially accepted to a significant degree for centuries for men to express anger towards and power over women and children through displays of physical aggression and explosive anger. it is extremely normalised which is why it's notable that people are consistently excusing it.

antifemininist talking points are So Fucking Stupid because they act as if the point of feminism is to say that men are biologically uniquely disposed to bad behaviour and not that aggressive, coercive and violent behaviour in men is treated as justified and normal.

[alliswyattonthewesternfront]

"when people ask how you're doing, they don't really care." most of them do, actually, the amount they care is just directly proportional to how well they know you. you're just mad you can't be the main character of the Twice Daily.

[alliswyattonthewesternfront]

if i am doing shitty and the check out girl asks me, "how are you?" i will say,"man, i've been better." we are strangers to each other. she doesn't need to know my whole life story. she doesn't need to know about my credit score and my hemorrhoids or my uncle in the hospital. she just needs enough to respond "been there, buddy. hey, at least the day is almost over?" and then we part ways. i have been on both sides of thousands of exchanges like this, the only one making you do a little song and dance is you, my friend

[futuremoji]

Your least most recent emoji predicts how your summer will end

[kosmogrl]

[vampireautism]

there is an IMAGE in my HEAD and i cannot DRAW IT. hatred and rage.

[flowerflamestars]

there is a CONVERSATION in my HEAD and I cannot WRITE IT. rage and hatred

[ocean-stuck]

there is a VIDEO in my HEAD And i cannot ANIMATE IT. hage and ratred

[y2kbugs-moved]

There is a GAME in my HEAD and I cannot CODE IT. Ratred and hage.

[unscharf-an-den-raendern]

there is a SONG in my HEAD and I cannot COMPOSE IT. haged and rate.

[gender-luster]

there is a MOVIE in my HEAD and i cannot FILM IT. raged and hate

[yahooo-official]

there is a CRAFT in my HEAD and i cannot BUILD IT. snage and snatred

[the-haiku-bot]

there is a CRAFT in

my HEAD and i cannot BUILD

IT. snage and snatred

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[wetheurban]

And somehow, we’re already moving into August.

This is your reminder that you deserve more than just surviving your life. Stop waiting for permission to experience joy. Choose yourself, over and over again.

[beaft]

googling shit like "why do i feel bad after hanging out with my friends" and all of the answers are either "you need better friends" (i don't; my friends are wonderful) or "your social battery is drained, you need to rest and regain your energy levels" (i don't; i've got tons of energy, it's just manifesting as over-the-top neurotic mania). why is this even happening. it's like some stupid toll i have to pay as a punishment for enjoying myself too much

[beaft]

I actually, genuinely think social event aftercare would fix me. I need someone to put me to bed and say "you were fun today and no one hated you"

[starbitten13]

[ebonydraygon]

#theres a thing called 'larp drop' thats essentially this#esp since when having a great time you might be more inclined to disregard your limits and ignore discomfort#(and forget to eat/drink if its larp whoops)#and then once you have a moment to yourself it all comes crashing in#source: once forgot to eat at larp and had a sobbing fit in my car that ended the instant i bit into a chicken nugget - @queerfarmgremlin

[troublepunk-ldn]

this is also true of festivals, conventions, pride parades, concerts, and any situation where you have a lot of fun with other people!

[wetheurban]

The bravest thing you can do is stop mourning the life you expected and start noticing the one that's trying to find you.