A Smol Queer

31. He/him or they/them. Not so smol anymore. Maybe a medium queer. Pansexual, transmasc/nonbinary, polyamorous. Semi-practicing witch.

[prodomius]

[bananonbinary]

also worth noting that "abusive" doesn't actually mean "irredeemable" either.

there's a lot of people that have done things in the past that were bad, because they weren't taught any better, or they were in an overall toxic situation where EVERYONE was shitty (like a cult), or they were just at an especially low point and hurt others for it.

you don't have to forgive them. you don't have to ever speak to them again. you can be angry with them until you die if you want.

but society cannot function if we don't allow them to move on. to change their behavior and fuck off somewhere else and build meaningful relationships without bothering you again. we need a path for people to change, or nothing ever will.

[tobeahappyditto]

[skincareroutine]

if u ever make fun of a girl for her broad shoulders u deserve to be hunted for sport with a nail gun

[moniquill]

You folks know that there is nothing inherently dangerous about penises, right? They don't emit radiation or anything. You will not be harmed by being in the same room as a penis.

[moniquill]

Important tags from previous:

[finalgirldigital]

People love natives in such a superficial way. People wanna stand with natives when we’re talking about the trees, and the land. People wanna stand with natives when we talk about philosophies of love and togetherness. But as soon as it’s time to talk about political side of being native. About dismantling a system built on the genocide of our people. About how we need a new system that isn’t built upon capital gain and benefitting white bodies. About putting up a fight. About how the colonial state we reside in is a disgusting imperial plague on this land. Suddenly y’all don’t wanna talk native.

[neechees]

"They spent hundreds of years trying to assimilate my ancestors, trying to create indians like me, who could blend in, but now they don’t want me either. They can’t make up their minds.

They want buckskin and face paint, drumming, songs in languages they can’t understand recorded for them but with English subtitles, of course. They want educated, well spoken, but not too smart. Christian, well behaved, never question. They want to learn the history of the people, but not the ones that are here now, waving signs in their faces, asking them for clean drinking water, asking them why their women are going missing, asking them why their land is being ruined.

They want fantastical stories of Indians that used to roam this land. They want my culture behind glass in a museum.

But they don’t want me." -Shelby Lisk

[kittenchomp]

So you’re a boy then?

only when its fun

[talesfromtreatment]

Fat Bastard and Fluffy Bitch are getting altered today!

Everyone needs to take a moment to truly appreciate Fluffy Bitch's whiskers, especially the eyebrow ones that are going who the fuck knows which direction

[daggers-drawn]

Police: *leading sex workers into a squad car to be taken to jail*

Sex work prohibitionist: “I called the police! You’re all free now! No more patriarchal violence! No need to thank me!”

[daggers-drawn]

Prohibitionist: “How does it feel to be free of your pimp?”

Sex worker: “I was an independent worker!”

Prohibitionist: “Yeah right, so how much did the porn industry pay you to say that, faker?”

[daggers-drawn]

Sex worker: “Who will care for my kids?”

Prohibitionist: “No worries, they’ll be placed with a nice Christian foster family who will teach them to hate and judge you as harshly as possible.”

Prohibitionist: “This is to protect you. It’s feminism. I’m a feminist.”

[catboybrigade]

Former sex slave: Wait so I went to the police and I got arrest for being sold into sex work?

Prohibitionist: Yup! That way we can make sure people don’t get sold into sex slavery!

Former sex slave: But that just makes victims less likely to come forward?

Prohibitionist: pRoTeCt WoMeN

[happily-morgan]

Former sex worker: I have been arrested and prosecuted and now have a criminal record which greatly reduces my ability to get a non-sex work related job.

Prohibitionist: Yep, but it was to help you get out of the sex work. Now you can get “real” jobs working for minimum wage or less. We did good. Why aren’t you thanking me?

[marlynnofmany]

*giant wind gust outside*

Me: “Don’t say it.”

My Brain:

[firstgrave]

[theselittlefeelings]

1. The Republican Party turns out for EVERY vote. Primaries, local elections, midterms, you name it. Most dems show up once every four year and then get defeatist when things don’t immediately change. It took the Republicans YEARS to overturn RvW but it has been a long game goal of theirs. YEARS of voting, and you’re gonna opt out after one vote. Okay.

2. Primaries are when you vote for who you want. Elections are when you vote for who you can. If you’re not voting in the primary, you’re letting the moderate centrist do-nothing candidate win.

3. Local elections affect your daily life. That sherif in Texas who is refusing to enforce the abortion ban? Local election. Gerrymandering, voter suppression, so much of this is trickle up from local politics.

4. Call your damn representatives. Even if it feels hopeless. The gun control reform that just passed (as minimal as it is) was bipartisan because people showed their reps that they wanted change. Get vocal as a voter and prove courting your vote matters.

5. If someone in your area is running for office and needs votes, be a signature for them. Not everyone can afford to pay to run. You want to support better candidates, put your name behind them (only in your district and always read what you’re signing first).

6. The two party system is shit. We know that. But the democrats are a big tent housing a lot of different opinions and trying to cater to them all. Republicans are generally united in one mission of dismantling everything and protecting only their own. This is also why Dems don’t have the same type of “super majority” and can’t easily whip the same voting results. And anyone who thinks Obama had a super majority for enough time to codify roe does not understand politics. He had about 18 days of actual in-session time, split into two different sessions.

7. Purity politics isn’t going to get you anywhere. The candidate is a bus stop getting you closer to where you want to be. They’re not the end goal, and a smart voter knows that.

8. Voter suppression is huge in America. Help other voters register and get to the polls. It’s not always indifference keeping people from voting. Do something to help disenfranchised voters.

Let me repeat: The two party system is shit. We need to get rid of the electoral college. We need ranked choice voting. We need to get rid of Citizens United. Our country is an oligarchy. Always has been. Not denying that. But Living in these ideals of what we should be without creating any change now isn’t going to get you anywhere. Being defeatist and abstaining from the process is cutting off your own nose to spite your face. Its saying “the other team is scoring too many goals, so instead of playing, I’m just gonna sit on the sidelines. That’ll teach everyone.” No, you’re just gonna keep losing. Maybe, instead, vote in the primaries and choose better teammates.

Y’all kill me with these “hot takes.” They ain’t even half baked.

Now, if you want to talk about the other things we should be doing IN ADDITION TO voting, like general strikes, organizing, etc. Then that’s a different conversation we should also be having.

[stele3]

Also no, there is no such thing as “one more vote.” Vote every time. Vote consistently. Vote national. Vote local. It’s the absolute MINIMAL amount of civil engagement you can do. If you can do more than vote, do more, but at least vote every single time.

[nyxelestia]

A lot of people really think democracy is something they only have to do once. It's not. It's something we do constantly - because greedy and power-hungry and malicious people are constantly trying to take advantage of society. Evil never stops, so neither do we.

[labelleizzy]

Evil never stops, so neither do we.

VOTE.

[hagoftheholler]

Something witches and other magic practitioners need to understand is that, for many folk practitioners, referring to what we do as witchcraft or calling us witches can actually be an insult.

In many, many regions witchcraft and witches had a negative connotation, and some still do. They were often seen as evil (partly due to Christian influences, partly because of the actions of said "witches" but that's a discussion for another time).

Folk magic, however, wasn't seen as witchcraft and in many places still isn't. Folk magic is more like culture and heritage; something the superstitious people practiced, for a variety of reasons. They were healers, midwives or just people who were "gifted"... and what titles they are called varies by region.

This isn't to say people can't call themselves folk witches today. That's fine. Still, be mindful of what you refer to as witchcraft or who you refer to as a witch.

[windvexer]

witch is never a label you assign to others challenge

[breelandwalker]

This is why we keep hauling out the Being A Witch Is A Choice / You Are The Only One Who Makes That Choice For Yourself / "Witch" Is A Self-Assigned Label And You Cannot Decide It For Someone Else soapbox.

If I see one more tiktok with someone smugly grinning over how a folk magic practice is "basically witchcraft" because it resembles something that's become part of the modern witchcraft movement after the fact, I'm getting out the pickle jar.

[headspace-hotel]

Are you ANGRY??

Are you FULL OF RAGE???

Then you might enjoy LOOKING UP INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES IN YOUR AREA and BRUTALLY MURDERING THEM

[headspace-hotel]

me, attacking the bush honeysuckle and wintercreeper in my back yard: rip tear shred tear kill maim slaughter

[headspace-hotel]

are plant assassin guilds a thing

[bobcatmoran]

They absolutely are. I'm a former member of the Northern Great Plains Exotic Plant Management Team, and spent a summer killing invasive plants in National Park Service units.

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

Image Description.

Facebook post from Matt Norris.

Post reads like a conversation between 2 people:

Prison labor is a problem we need to address soon.

Convicts in prison should have to work like the rest of us.

You mean like slavery?

No, we’re giving them 3 meals and a bed, at our expense, while they just sit around and watch TV. They should have to work!

Right. Like slavery.

It’s not like slavery!

Can they leave?

No.

Can they refuse work?

No.

So how exactly isn’t this slavery?

We DO pay them!

Do we pay in accordance with labor laws?

No. We pay them between 33 cents and $1.41/hour with a maximum daily wage below $5, then take up to half of that as room&board fees and victim compensation.

Right. So like slavery.

BUT.

No.

Image then links to this url.

How much do incarcerated people earn in each state?

Prison wages come up again and again in the context of prison conditions and policies. So, we found the most up-to-date information for each

Below URL image reads “fun bonus fact: enough of our labor market currently relies on labor at these depressed rates, that it has a substantial downward pressure on both wages and job availability in low-skilled sectors. Immigrants aren’t taking your jobs. Slavery is.

End description.

I’d also like to add it’s not just private prisons. It’s also private detention centers where ICE keeps the immigrants.

-fae

[regicide1997]

The constitution even acknowledges that it’s still slavery

[brunhiddensmusings]

a hefty chunk of items with that ‘made in america’ sticker are in fact made by prison labor at the very least anything that is a product of prison labor should be required to have a similar sticker to inform consumers they are taking part of this system, which is difficult to track because prison made manufactured goods include almost the entire uniform of a US soldier, road construction in most southern states, and agricultural goods sold in most stores

this…. looks familliar

[mushimononoke]

Prison is just covert slavery and that’s why they wanna keep so many black people in there for the smallest offences.

This is insane

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

(Just to clarify, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m just giving you more information because you’re right, and I like your blog, and I want you to have sources in case you need them.)

It’s not even covert. It’s blatant and overt. It’s even called slavery in the constitution.

“Slavery is illegal except as punishment for a crime.”

The 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

SECTION. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, sh

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

People just don’t care because they think it’s all murderers and rapists, despite the fact that the number of violent criminals in jail is so small it might as well be negligible.

Incarceration in the United States - Wikipedia

As of September 30, 2009 in federal prisons, 7.9% of sentenced prisoners were incarcerated for violent crimes,[39] while at year end 2008 of sentenced prisoners in state prisons, 52.4% had been jailed for violent crimes.[39] In 2002 (latest available data by type of offense), 21.6% of convicted inmates in jails were in prison for violent crimes. Among unconvicted inmates in jails in 2002, 34% had a violent offense as the most serious charge. 41% percent of convicted and unconvicted jail inmates in 2002 had a current or prior violent offense; 46% were nonviolent recidivists.[46]

It’s literally slavery, just dumbass racists and capitalists don’t care enough to figure out why we’re calling it that.

-fae

[hinekoakahi]

Actually, no, I got something to add and it’s this video by Knowing Better on Youtube:

Slavery is baked into the US American system so much more firmly than anyone ever really acknowledges.

[amuseoffyre]

There’s a very good and very hard-hitting documentary about it on Netflix

[allthesame-notthesame]

5 states, tennessee, alabama, louisiana, oregon and vermont will be able to vote to ammend this in the midterms, which is horrifying that they have to, but this is really good, and might set a precedant for more states to start ammending it.

here’s an article on it:

Yes, Slavery Is on the Ballot in These States

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude — except as punishment for a crime.

[agro-carnist]

What does the d in gsd stand for? Like I assume the GS means German shepherd? Is it just German Shepherd Dog?

Yeah the D stands for dog. Its kinda weird to me because like yeah its kinda implied its a dog

[galactic-angellic]

Aggressive reminder that people with disabilities are real people who deserve to be seen as hot or sexual (and not because of our disability). People with disabilities are valid sex partners. Someone’s disability does not detract from their attractiveness. This also means don’t fetishize disabilities. We are capable of being sexy on our own terms and that looks different to everyone. (always remember consent is key)

[dirtypuzzle]

the alienation of so many humans in ‘developed’ countries to the realities of food production blows my fucking mind. it produces the “i’ll eat as much meat as i damn well please” suburbanite, the child slavery quinoa vegan, the angry “where’s my pineapple in January” Karen, the “all guns are evil and hunting is a hobby” liberal, AND the “eventually we can print meat” fully automated space communist climate shit-for-brains.

please. have any of you ever skinned a deer? i don’t think any of you have ever skinned a deer.

[dirtypuzzle]

yes many people are gonna have to cut back on meat consumption if we were to actually balance our land-use (particularly in the US). no, your quinoa harvested by child slaves/exploited laborers/trafficked persons is not more ethical than killing a chicken, even one slaughtered in a commercial farm. realistically, a sustainable balance of local, hyperlocal, and imports/exports is gonna make fresh pineapple in January impossible. hunting, when managed well by the local hunting and game authorities, is necessary for ecological health and feeds a large chunk of rural families all around the world. technology that is more labor and resource intensive than just properly managing what we already have will not save us, and is in fact diverting energy and focus away from the real rubber-to-the-road solutions.

[perytonpred]

@agro-carnist @scoutandcowpany

[wiisagi-maiingan]

Teach your children to respect animals and the world around them. Teach them that nature isn't their toy and that their actions have consequences. Teach them compassion for other beings and creatures.

[wiisagi-maiingan]

@lightpunster Bed bugs are valuable prey and food sources for spiders and other predatory insects, though not something you'd want in your house.

Fleas are also food sources for other animals, but their most vital role is spreading parasites and pathogens, acting as natural population control.

Cockroaches, again, act as food sources and are also decomposers that mainly break down debris on forest floors; they adapted to consume human waste and break it down too, doing their job in a changing environment.

Everything has a role and a purpose.

[agro-carnist]

Something does not have to have some sort of worth to humans to deserve being alive. Nature is more than just humans and the earth does not revolve around us. A species is not suddenly not worth existing because it has a negative impact on people. There is balance. You can kill the bed bugs and fleas that taking residence on you or in your home while still acknowledging they are useful members of the ecosystem. They are just doing what they evolved to do

[zooophagous]

You're an animal and part of the food chain. Part of being on the food chain means something is going to eat you. Humans get parasites for the same reason almost literally any other animal gets parasites. Something doesn't have to have an explicit obvious "reason" to exist, it just evolved to fill a niche. Humans don't have an explicit reason to exist either and that fact is why so many of us are steeped in existentialism. Its bad enough worrying about it for you, don't extend it to other animals.