actually I think you should be normal about ordinary citizens of authoritarian countries and yes that applies even to that country you're thinking of right now

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@bipediam
actually I think you should be normal about ordinary citizens of authoritarian countries and yes that applies even to that country you're thinking of right now
A couple of years ago we were all terribly concerned about the fact that a lot of American high schools are assigning such crushing homework loads that some kids literally don't have enough time to eat or sleep (and all this in spite of the fact that there's no good evidence that assigning homework actually improves academic outcomes at the pre-university level), but now we're hearing stories about those same schools struggling to stop kids from using ChatGPT to write their essays and suddenly It's The Children Who Are Wrong. Like, do you think maybe there's a certain level of cause and effect in play here?
i keep trying to explain to people that teenagers are making mostly rational decisions based on the information they have, and no one seems to believe me
you probably won't be surprised at the pushback I've gotten from teachers at the college level (who by and large don't have to worry about NCLB guidelines and tests) at suggesting that if critical thinking is the problem being lost, maybe we should change our testing and assessment styles to directly measure critical thinking on the fly rather than throwing up our hands and blaming TECHNOLOGY
the trick is that these assessment styles often require more work to think about and construct assessments for and that is work that college instructors are typically compensated very poorly if at all for, so like, I get it. but that's how you fix this shit. and I think if you are invested in the project of education for its own sake, you have to consider the ways in which incentivizing your students not to rely on chatgpt involves changing the structure of your shared activities together such that failing to learn and digest material is routinely boring or unpleasant and that knowing it is the only way to feel that one is succeeding in class in small, low-stakes, frequent interactions rather than single high-stakes ones.
Resources For Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters
Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.
As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.
Deaf Characters:
Deaf characters masterpost
Deaf dialogue thread
Dialogue with signing characters (also applies to mute characters.)
A deaf author’s advice on deaf characters
Dialogue between deaf characters
Mute Characters
Life as a Mute
My Silent Summer: Life as a Mute
What It’s Like Being Mute
21 People Reveal What It’s Really Like To Be Mute
I am a 20 year old Mute, ask me anything at all!
Blind Characters:
The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters.
@referenceforwriters masterpost of resources for writing/playing blind characters.
The youtube channel of the wonderful Tommy Edison, a man blind from birth with great insight into the depiction of blind people and their lives.
An Absolute Write thread on the depiction of blind characters, with lots of different viewpoints and some great tips.
And finally, this short, handy masterpost of resources for writing blind characters.
Characters Who Are Blind in One Eye
4 Ways Life Looks Shockingly Different With One Eye
Learning to Live With One Eye
Adapting to the Loss of an Eye
Adapting to Eye Loss and Monocular Vision
Monocular Depth Perception
Deaf-Blind Characters
What Is It Like To Be Deafblind?
Going Deaf and Blind in a City of Noise and Lights
Deaf and Blind by 30
Sarita is Blind, Deaf, and Employed (video)
Born Deaf and Blind, This Eritrean American Graduated Harvard Law School (video)
A Day of a Deaf Blind Person
Lesser Known Things About Being Deafblind
How the Deaf-Blind Communicate
Early Interactions With Children Who Are Deaf-Blind
Raising a DeafBlind Baby
If you have any more resources to add, let me know! I’ll be adding to this post as I find more resources.
I hope this helps, and happy writing! <3
Updated with more resources, specifically for characters who are blind in one eye.
I love Alpha Centauri
July 22, 2026 - People around the USA are taking down Flock AI surveillance cameras. [video]
Find license plate readers (LPRs) near you.
direct action works!!
physically interfering with the cameras is highly effective but obviously it's not a type of activism that's accessible to everyone — so if like me you think warrentless surveillance is never ever ever a reasonable thing for a government to do, but you're also like me and can't personally climb camera poles to dismantle that shit:
check out the August 16-22 week of action!
Mass surveillance doesn't equal safety. Join the movement to dismantle automated license plate readers in our communities.
big and small cities all over the US (and one so far in Canada!) are holding events like education sessions, marches, and public lobbying meetings with the local governments and police departments that decide whether to spend taxpayer money on warrantless surveillance. maybe my city and yours can join the nearly 100 places that have already rejected or ended contracts for mass privacy violation cameras.
so, grif. i have something for you. like a gift from sarge? no. this is from me.
I cant believe this tweet is how I find out
now all the things you guys have told me about american high schools are starting to make sense
holy shit.
You're not really supposed to say it this way, because its considered crass, but here in the US children are culturally and legally considered essentially the property of their parents.
Note that its considered more crass to point this out than it is to treat children as property in the first place.
Target practice.
Ghosts Film Poster !!
Revealed moments ago by Larry on his instagram
The official Ghosts film poster 👻🤍
So what do we think 👀
unfortunate truth of reality is that oftentimes 15 year olds will say/do/believe some stupid bullshit because they are 15 but telling them that they believe that because they are 15 is probably the most counterproductive thing in the entire universe
i remember being 15 and wanting literally nothing more than to be taken seriously and listened to and every thought and feeling i had was dismissed because i was a hormonal teenager. i was well aware at that point that a lot of the things i felt were probably because i was a kid, but that didnt make any of it less real, and being dismissed because of my age 1. did not help 2. did not make me feel better 3. made me angry at and untrustworthy of adults because they refused to listen to me. teenagers are people. kids are people. one of the only major things separating them from adults are experience and wisdom. they have like. you know. interiority
like in YOUR mind you may think youre being helpful by going 'well you're a kid, its not really a big deal, youre okay, youll get over it' but that does not register as "helpful affirmation that everything will turn out fine and the only reason im upset is because of something out of my control so its better to just try and come to terms with it" it registers as 'adult dismissing my real tangible problems and sadness and anger because of my age and inadvertently calling me stupid'
"gender is a social construct": fairly easy for leftists to understand
"race is a social construct": a bit harder to swallow for some but still reasonable
"mental illness is a social construct": this one gets you hate mail in your inbox
Gotta add previous tags on here, because this is gonna live rent free in my head from now on. The stars are real, constellations are not. Damn. Tags by @smoreofbabylon (if you don’t want me to put you on blast like this I’ll delete lol!)
sure, sure, Octavius is a huge softie and an irreparable romantic, but to me Jed is SUCH a husband guy. bro will NOT STOP yapping about his man. he'll try to justify it by saying it's because they're always together, so of course Octavius is in every one of his stories, but. even if the conversation has nothing to do with their adventures, Jed will find a way to link it back to Octavius. he's completely obsessed. downright smitten. happy to the point of verbal assault.
Only day you can reblog this
Hiii, so I noticed there hasn't been a Jedtavius week for some time and that has awoken the hyper active beast that wants to do everything in me so . . .
How would you feel if your girl here organized one this year?
Yesssplease, I would contribute!!!
Yes, I wouldn't really contribute but I'd love to see it
There is no need
I think if we all start posting nipples at once they won't be able to stop all of us. and by they I don't just mean tumblr staff I'm referring to the entire world. I think the nipple is a very destigmatizable body part and I expect/demand it to be a normal thing within my lifetime. the fear of nipples is so weird and archaic, it's a body part dude
THE VERY FIRST STAR TREK SLASH FIC PUBLISHED
“A Fragment out of Time”, published in 1974. Kirk / Spock. page 1 page 2
I had to share it with you because I can’t stop laughing, and every time I reread it it just gets funnier and fUNNIER
This fan fiction is older than the push-through tabs on soda cans.
Your grandma wrote this on her Commodore 64.
I miss my Commodore 64
Oh my dear, sweet children. The Commodore 64 came out in 1982. This was produced on a typewriter and probably mimeographed. And while it may seem funny now, it took more courage to write and distribute this than you will ever know.
Reblogged for that last comment.
respect your elders
Children, in the olden days fanfiction was written on a typewriter, copied and sent by snail mail. Getting one one of those letters from across the world was every bit as exciting as getting a notification that your favorite writer posted a new fic.
It’s been said before, but the fact that this fic begins with the dialogue assertion “We’re by no means setting a precedent” is endlessly amusing to me.
Diane Marchant changed all our lives. May she rest in peace.
The precedent line is especially amusing when you bear in mind that “A Fragment Out of Time” is not only the first Star Trek slashfic to be published in a widely distributed magazine: it’s believed by some to be the first slashfic of any kind to be widely published.
In 1974 it was illegal to send pornography through the USPS. So distributing fic like this via mailed newsletter was literally dangerous. And they knew it.
I never saw people say stuff like this enough when I was a teenager, so I’m saying it now.
I’m in my mid-thirties and I have never had sex. I’ve thought about it and could have had one or two opportunities if I put in more effort, but I always decided against it because I just wasn’t into it at the time.
I can safely say that I do not feel I have missed out on anything. I was perfectly capable, by myself, of learning about my own body and boundaries without anyone else there to muddy the waters. The immense pressure that was there in my teens/twenties to Have Sex Just Do It is basically gone. I’m vibing. I’ve got my routine by myself in bed that I enjoy, and that’s enough for me.
And in the unlikely event that I ever decide to have sex with someone in the future, I don’t feel at all like I’m lacking some essential Knowledge or Skill that would “make it good” for someone else. I fully expect to ask my partner out loud what they like and to receive an answer clearly communicated and to relax and have fun. And if it’s a disappointing experience, I’m fine with that too. It is what it is.
Sex is just not that big of a deal. I suspected it as a teen, and I’m more sure of it now. It’s fine to have it or not have it. It’s whatever.