Hey, are you aware of the fact that many people in Gaza have resorted to cutting pieces of their tents for scraps for pads? Which as you can imagine isn't the safest option but their only option in most cases. This also applies to those going through postpartum bleeding from giving birth. If you want to or can help:
The Pious Projects - they distribute feminine hygiene kits for people in Gaza! I suggest checking it out yourself but there's various amounts you can give from $5-$1,000 to help make and distribute these kits! They cost around $25 for each kit, but every bit helps. Make sure to share the link even if you can't currently help donate today!
Here are some other things to donate to under The Pious Projects that have not received much funding:
Free Dental Clinic - At the time of posting has received only $59 in donations
With $0 Admin Fees
Gift of Hearing for Gaza - At the time of posting has received $632 in donations
With 0% Admin Fee
Medical Equipment for Gaza - At the time of posting has received $719 in donations
With 0% Admin Fee
(All numbers are in USD)
There are a lot of other fundraising efforts on their website. The people of Gaza need all the help they can get. Even if you can only spare a few dollars, every donation counts. You can make a difference.
Mourid Barghouti (2005) I saw Ramallah, Bloomsbury
Izzeldin Abuelaish (2011) I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity, Bloomsbury
Cate Malek and Mateo Hoke (eds)(2015) Palestine Speaks: Narrative of Life under Occupation, Verso Books
The Works of Mahmoud Darwish
[Link To All My Palestine/Decolonization Gdrive Folders]
Human Rights Reports & Documents
Information on current International Court of Justice case on ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’
UN Commission of Inquiry Report 2022
UN Special Rapporteur Report on Apartheid 2022
Amnesty International Report on Apartheid 2022
Human Rights Watch Report on Apartheid 2021
Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ 2009 (‘The Goldstone Report’)
Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, International Court of Justice, 9 July 2004
Films
Palestine 1920: The Other Side of the Palestinian Story | Al Jazeera World Documentary
Lemon Tree (2008) (Full Movie, choose auto translate for English subs)
Where Should The Birds Fly (2013) (Trailer) (Full Documentary)
Naila and the Uprising (2017) (Full Movie)
Waltz with Bashir (2008) (Trailer) (Watch on Amazon Prime)
The Village Under the Forest (2013) (Full documentary)
Palestine Film Institute's films on Gaza
Abby Martin - Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019) | Full Documentary | Directed by Abby Martin
Dan Cohen - Gaza Fights Back | MintPress News Original Documentary
The Promise (2010) mini-series directed by Peter Kosminsky (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
Links are for YouTube, but most of them are available on Amazon Prime.
Sources
https://www.972mag.com/
https://jewishcurrents.org/
Jadaliyya ‘Gaza in Context’ Series
Jadaliyya “War on Palestine” podcast - The War on Palestine Podcast: Episode 1
Border Chronicle, Interview with Israeli anthropologist Jeff Halper
NGOs
B’Tselem
Breaking the Silence
Al Haq
Palestinian Feminist Collective
Yesh Din
DAWN
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Gisha
Forensic Architecture
Jewish Voices For Peace
Instagram Accounts
gazangirl
mohammedelkurd
khaledbeydoun
motaz_azaiza
wizard_bisan1
etafrum
sara_mardini963
Twitter(X) Accounts
@PalStudies - Institute for Palestine Studies
@medicalaidpal
@middleeastmatters
@KenRoth - former executive director of Human Rights Watch
@YairWallach - Reader in Israel Studies at SOAS
@ PhilipProudfoot - researcher on development, humanitarianism and Arab states
@btselem - Israeli human rights documentation centre
@MairavZ - Senior Israel-Palestine Analyst at Crisis Group
@rohantalbot - Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at MedicalAidPal
@sarahleah1 - Executive Director of DAWN (democracy and human rights in MENA)
@alhaq_org - Palestinian human rights organisation
@FranceskAlbs - UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories
@Yesh_Din - Israeli human rights organisation
@sfardm - Michael Sfard, Israeli Human Rights Lawyer
@EphstainItay - Israeli international humanitarian lawyer
@saribashi - Program director for Human Rights Watch (Israeli living in Palestine)
@Gisha_Access - Israeli NGO
@_ZachFoster - Historian
Share widely!
(if any links are broken let me know. Or pull up the current post to check whether it's fixed.)
From River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
-----
Edit 1: took the first video down because turns out the animator is a terf and it links to her blog. Really sorry for any distress.
Edit 2: All recommended readings + Haymarket recommendations + essential decolonization texts have been uploaded to my linked gdrive. I will adding more periodically. Please do buy or check them out from the library if possible, but this post was made for and by poor and gatekept Global South bitches like me.
Some have complained about the memes being disrespectful. Making fun of the Israeli government and Zionists is only disrespectful if memeing takes precedence over amplifying and helping Palestinians. If you've been living and breathing images and videos of the genocide for the last month, it's the only thing that stops you burning out.
Edit 3: "The river to the sea" does not mean the expulsion of Jews from Palestine. Believing that is genocide apologia.
Edit 4: Gazans have specifically asked us to stop fundraising and instead put every effort into pushing for a ceasefire. "Raising humanitarian aid" is an appalling grift Western governments are pushing right now to deflect from the fact that they're sending billions to Israel to keep carpet bombing Gazans. This is especially cruel because the blockades are still in place and nothing can get in, even the "humanitarian pause" is just a PR talking point they're dangling in front of us with no intention of follow through, there will never be enough aid for two million people, and all it will accomplish is getting them fed and patched up enough to keep getting slaughtered. Add to the fact that Israel is bombing Red Crescent ambulances, medical teams and UN workers. Aid is meaningless for Gaza without a ceasefire.
When it comes to textured hair there’s many styles, here some I’ve seen at powwows. Braided locs have to be my favorite style so far 💖
Reminder braids are not a universal hairstyle between tribes! I’m coming from the perspective of Great Plains tribes. I just thought I might share what braided hair means to my community and people. I see people trying to make ocs or redesigns of characters who are native but don’t actually represent us too good. Reminder to always research a tribe before making a character learn their protocols and at least try to learn something new! 🌸💖🍇
I just wanna say I love our hair! It means so much to us please take care of it🥺💖
A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)
Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!
This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.
This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!
The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!
A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.
Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height will make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)
(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)
When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane, then the good leg, and THEN the leg that needs help.
Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.
In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.
Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!
(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)
The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!
Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.
The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!
This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!
However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.
Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)
Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.
Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)
(my canes, for reference)
If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!
When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!
For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.
When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)
When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)
That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!
Happy disability pride month! Go forth and make more characters use canes!!!
Am i the only one who kinda feels....off because of how hard people choose to fantasize over dreams face or corpses face or any of those people who choose to dream about the little details and consitamtly post about it?
I usually try to be nice, but as a person who is afraid to show their face on the internet, both due to self hatred and anxiety issues, it makes me reaaall anxious when someones like "OH MY GOD DOES DREAM HAVE DIMPLES?? OH MY GOD WHAT DOES HIS FAVE LOOK LIKE??"
It genuinely sounds fucking creepy when someone acts like this and its hard to get over it because that could easily be how dream and Corpse feel too, expecially if they both get anxiety like I do.
I know im not a big voice in the dream community and all but like, can yall respect people a bit more and not act like creeps please???
turnnoffyourmind
2087
origamiaround
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
izzy806
areudirty
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
