[flugelwhisper]

My rural, conservative county had their first pride festival today.

The second that it was announced, there suddenly was a churchy festival claiming that they were THE freedom event of the day. And that THEY were the only one that was an event of freedom and love.

I reported some vile posts on Facebook claiming some nasty shit on the pride event. They had to amp up security due to threats. Signs guiding people to the event were stolen.

I grew up with active shooter drills. Lockdowns. My mind was racing with every possible outcome. How I would escape if needed. Fear and worry beating through my heart, but the optimism rang just as loud.

I got to the event today. And-

It was... wonderful.

They had resource booths. Church booths. Political booths. Book booths. Accessibility to all. Art vendors. Food vendors. Kids games. Breastfeeding tents. Entertainment. Independent vendors. Food vendors. First aid. Bubbles. Storytime. Pride flags. Pizza. Youth clubs. Yoga.

Hope.

Aside from the heat... It was magical. It felt like a little slice of hope and heart in the middle of a sea of red.

In the midst of the darkness - there is a light.

People were so kind. I got a lot of compliments. I felt safe. I felt like I could dance in the sunshine and others would feel safe enough to join.

Gay marriage was legalized nationwide when I was in high school. I knew people who got grounded or disowned for coming out. I knew some vile things thrown around. We didn't have pride here because it wasn't safe. We just held close to the people we knew who were safe.

I know people who had a change of heart and mind. Those who have opened their homes. Who carry little rainbows on their sleeves. Those who hold the rainbow flag after years of snapping hatred. Forgiveness and learning. Little acts of progress only help to build change. Those who challenge the status quo. Those little acts of defiance.

There is hope for rural communities. Please don't write us off and out of pride.

There is strength. There is progress. There is courage. There is hope and there is light for communities like mine. It takes little acts of defiance. It takes courage.

There is hope for us in rural towns. God, there is light.

Happy pride, y'all. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[flugelwhisper]

My rural, conservative county had their second pride festival today.

I thought this year the church event wouldn't pop up again, but it did. (Despite barely any advertising the event. They decided that the best day to put up fliers to advertise was YESTERDAY for an event TODAY.) Same time as last year - same time as pride. This group had decided to wait until pride announced their date for the church group to announce their date. Second year in a row they did this. Pride announced their date in January and started advertising then. The church group announced their event the following week, in early February. They started advertising earlier this week. In June.

The people putting on the church event came into my work yesterday and asked to put up a flier. We took one, to be civil. We put community event fliers up all the time. They then asked us to sign another piece of paper (basically saying that we support their group and their event). Which, idk it felt like the church group felt insecure in their event. (This is the first time we were asked to do something like this. Every other flier we get doesn't come with strings attached.) My coworker told them that we were supporting another event that day and they left without our small business on their list. We put their flier in an alternate location (trash) after they'd asked us to sign that sheet.

This year I didn't see any vile things posted on Facebook (unless I happened to block all the accounts I saw last year posting that garbage). Last year someone/a group of people stole the signs leading to pride - this year I saw the signs as I got there and as I left. Streamers and balloons still attached. Last year an out-of-state hate group tried to send our pride event threats to get us to stop. We just added security and kept on. This year? Not a threat.

Last year I went as an ally with buttons on my bag. This year I stuck my mini ace and bi flags in the side pocket of my bag and covered my bag and shortalls with buttons. I've identified as bi/ace for a while, but today was the first day I wore those colors on my sleeve.

We're still adapting pride to make it more accessible than last. We're still signing people up to vote. Church booths were handing out free goodies and popsicles. One of them handed out temporary tattoos.

Last year we signed a rainbow flag. This year we signed a trans flag with the letters PROTECT TRANS YOUTH sewn into the middle three stripes.

I heard someone introducing her wife to someone they'd just met. I saw some kids in tutus and crowns racing through an inflatable obstacle course as it started to rain, giggling as they slid out the other end. There was a booth for a newly formed group for trans individuals in my part of the state (most of this area is flooded in red counties).

There was someone in a fursuit, another in a Peach cosplay. One person asking another if they had a hair tie to tie their bi flag across their back like a cape. One of my coworkers waved at me as she ran after her kids. I huddled with a few others when the rain started getting heavier, protecting a vendor's art from the rain.

We're still here despite the rain that started. We'll outlast the storm.

Dammit, we're not going anywhere.

There were several times today I wanted to cry. Despite it all. Despite all of what's happened and what is happening. We're still happy. We're still thriving. We're still growing.

We're still here.

Despite the red around us. Despite the storm - there's a faint rainbow that's shown up in the sky.

Together we rise, together we fight.

But tonight, during a brief moment of stillness, we will dance with the fireflies.

There's still a fighting spirit. There's still hope for us in this sea of red.

There's a larger community here than you may think. Don't let that doubt sink in.

I know things are a lot more rough right now than this time last year. But know that there are still people in the smallest of towns fighting for change.

There's hope. There's life here. There's joy and community. A community that only gets stronger with each passing day.

But most of all, there's resistance here. We will stay here and we won't back down.

Happy pride, y'all. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[toocoolforhole]

this trend of shitting on peer-reviewed academic studies in favor of tweeting “we already knew this was happening” is so soul-crushing. not to be an elitist cunt, but we have got to open the schools again. people genuinely seem to have forgotten that their personal lived experience isn’t indicative of the larger population, AND IF IT IS…… then you need researchers to support these assertions from a relevant data pool instead of a blog post from 2013 💀

[flugelwhisper]

My rural, conservative county had their first pride festival today.

The second that it was announced, there suddenly was a churchy festival claiming that they were THE freedom event of the day. And that THEY were the only one that was an event of freedom and love.

I reported some vile posts on Facebook claiming some nasty shit on the pride event. They had to amp up security due to threats. Signs guiding people to the event were stolen.

I grew up with active shooter drills. Lockdowns. My mind was racing with every possible outcome. How I would escape if needed. Fear and worry beating through my heart, but the optimism rang just as loud.

I got to the event today. And-

It was... wonderful.

They had resource booths. Church booths. Political booths. Book booths. Accessibility to all. Art vendors. Food vendors. Kids games. Breastfeeding tents. Entertainment. Independent vendors. Food vendors. First aid. Bubbles. Storytime. Pride flags. Pizza. Youth clubs. Yoga.

Hope.

Aside from the heat... It was magical. It felt like a little slice of hope and heart in the middle of a sea of red.

In the midst of the darkness - there is a light.

People were so kind. I got a lot of compliments. I felt safe. I felt like I could dance in the sunshine and others would feel safe enough to join.

Gay marriage was legalized nationwide when I was in high school. I knew people who got grounded or disowned for coming out. I knew some vile things thrown around. We didn't have pride here because it wasn't safe. We just held close to the people we knew who were safe.

I know people who had a change of heart and mind. Those who have opened their homes. Who carry little rainbows on their sleeves. Those who hold the rainbow flag after years of snapping hatred. Forgiveness and learning. Little acts of progress only help to build change. Those who challenge the status quo. Those little acts of defiance.

There is hope for rural communities. Please don't write us off and out of pride.

There is strength. There is progress. There is courage. There is hope and there is light for communities like mine. It takes little acts of defiance. It takes courage.

There is hope for us in rural towns. God, there is light.

Happy pride, y'all. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[flugelwhisper]

My rural, conservative county had their second pride festival today.

I thought this year the church event wouldn't pop up again, but it did. (Despite barely any advertising the event. They decided that the best day to put up fliers to advertise was YESTERDAY for an event TODAY.) Same time as last year - same time as pride. This group had decided to wait until pride announced their date for the church group to announce their date. Second year in a row they did this. Pride announced their date in January and started advertising then. The church group announced their event the following week, in early February. They started advertising earlier this week. In June.

The people putting on the church event came into my work yesterday and asked to put up a flier. We took one, to be civil. We put community event fliers up all the time. They then asked us to sign another piece of paper (basically saying that we support their group and their event). Which, idk it felt like the church group felt insecure in their event. (This is the first time we were asked to do something like this. Every other flier we get doesn't come with strings attached.) My coworker told them that we were supporting another event that day and they left without our small business on their list. We put their flier in an alternate location (trash) after they'd asked us to sign that sheet.

This year I didn't see any vile things posted on Facebook (unless I happened to block all the accounts I saw last year posting that garbage). Last year someone/a group of people stole the signs leading to pride - this year I saw the signs as I got there and as I left. Streamers and balloons still attached. Last year an out-of-state hate group tried to send our pride event threats to get us to stop. We just added security and kept on. This year? Not a threat.

Last year I went as an ally with buttons on my bag. This year I stuck my mini ace and bi flags in the side pocket of my bag and covered my bag and shortalls with buttons. I've identified as bi/ace for a while, but today was the first day I wore those colors on my sleeve.

We're still adapting pride to make it more accessible than last. We're still signing people up to vote. Church booths were handing out free goodies and popsicles. One of them handed out temporary tattoos.

Last year we signed a rainbow flag. This year we signed a trans flag with the letters PROTECT TRANS YOUTH sewn into the middle three stripes.

I heard someone introducing her wife to someone they'd just met. I saw some kids in tutus and crowns racing through an inflatable obstacle course as it started to rain, giggling as they slid out the other end. There was a booth for a newly formed group for trans individuals in my part of the state (most of this area is flooded in red counties).

There was someone in a fursuit, another in a Peach cosplay. One person asking another if they had a hair tie to tie their bi flag across their back like a cape. One of my coworkers waved at me as she ran after her kids. I huddled with a few others when the rain started getting heavier, protecting a vendor's art from the rain.

We're still here despite the rain that started. We'll outlast the storm.

Dammit, we're not going anywhere.

There were several times today I wanted to cry. Despite it all. Despite all of what's happened and what is happening. We're still happy. We're still thriving. We're still growing.

We're still here.

Despite the red around us. Despite the storm - there's a faint rainbow that's shown up in the sky.

Together we rise, together we fight.

But tonight, during a brief moment of stillness, we will dance with the fireflies.

There's still a fighting spirit. There's still hope for us in this sea of red.

There's a larger community here than you may think. Don't let that doubt sink in.

I know things are a lot more rough right now than this time last year. But know that there are still people in the smallest of towns fighting for change.

There's hope. There's life here. There's joy and community. A community that only gets stronger with each passing day.

But most of all, there's resistance here. We will stay here and we won't back down.

Happy pride, y'all. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[cilantrhoes]

[bovid-beauty]

"Fascism"—New Federal Rule Would Require Federal Funding Recipients To Deny Trans People Exist

The rule could have heavy impacts towards trans people across society.

Last week, the Trump administration quietly released a sweeping new federal rule that would use funding threats to force institutions across the country to reject transgender people. The 400-page proposed regulation would codify the administration's anti-trans executive orders into binding federal policy, imposing a blanket prohibition on federal funds going toward "gender ideology"

The proposed rule, formally titled "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," rewrites the government-wide framework governing all federal grants across every agency. Among its most consequential provisions, it requires that before a federal grant recipient can receive money, the award must pass a "pre-issuance review" conducted by a political appointee—not a career expert or peer reviewer—to ensure it is "consistent with applicable law, Federal agency priorities, and the national interest." The regulation explicitly instructs these appointees to screen for "denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans or the notion that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic." [...] An institution that acknowledges transgender people exist—through its policies, its training, its healthcare, its bathroom access, its HR procedures, its name-change processes—could be deemed to "deny the sex binary" or to “support the notion that sex is mutable” and have its federal funding blocked.

Importantly, the gender ideology prohibition has no age limitation—hospitals could be targeted not just for providing care to minors but for providing gender-affirming care to adults, because prescribing hormone therapy to a transgender patient of any age could be deemed promoting the belief that "sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic."

[junequeer]

THIS IS OPEN TO COMMENT UNTIL JULY 13, 2026

[featherandstorm]

This is all very bad and horrible, but I want to be clear that it’s worse and more sweeping than just eliminating trans research.

This torches everything. And I do mean everything.

A very abbreviated list of its ramifications include (but are not limited to):

ending funding for ALL DEI related initiatives

allowing the government to terminate grants at any point for any reason

preventing researchers from publishing, going to conferences, and being part of academic societies

requiring that topics must support the president’s agenda.

What this means, and if anything I’m under selling it, is the death of science and research in America. It allows the government to restrict any topic they please at a whims notice, putting officials who have no background in the topic in charge of deciding funding continuity. It controls what gets researched and if/how researchers are allowed to share their discoveries. There are no books to burn if the government never allows them to be written. This is fascism plain and simple.

Please, if you only ever write one public comment, this is the one to do.

[genderkoolaid]

Bringing back this guide to writing an effective public comment. This gives you the basics you need to know, what you need to include, a basic outline you can follow, etc.

Public comments are not a vote, it is a chance for you to say "here is an issue with this law I think you need to address" and provide justification for legal challenges if it goes forward:

"Comments raise the bar that agencies have to meet when making a rule; “if an agency fails to adequately respond to significant, relevant comments in a final rule, members of the public may seek to challenge the rule in court on that basis and claim it could be struck down.ˮ"

But also, if possible, don't stop at writing a comment. Don't stop at calling your representatives. You should ideally be talking to people in your community about this and organizing resistance on-the-ground; there is a good chance people are already doing that even if you aren't hearing about it.

[dailycatsblog]

[nociceptrix]

tweet sequence of a not-quite-friend and artist i admire that i find myself thinking of constantly

[vacuously-true]

have you ever experienced an entire day without hearing a car?

yes

no

not sure

Voting ended on19h

[flugelwhisper]

I'm so fucking tired of people feigning morals as a reason to be hateful

[decompose1]

ohhhh shit. target is recalling their up & up baby wipes (fragrance free & fresh cucumber scented) because they're contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia complex and Burkholderia gladioli, multiple people are reporting discoloration & infections. i just got a call about it cuz i had purchased those but i've already gone through them 😅 so no refund for me. but im fine. if you have these they're saying you need to immediately stop using them and bring them back to target for a full refund. this bacteria can cause life threatening infections in children/infants and people with compromises immune systems (ESPECIALLY cystic fibrosis!!) and i know lots of other chronically ill people follow me!!!!

[decompose1]

Hold on i should've been more specific.

First: THIS RECALL IS NOT STATE SPECIFIC. IT IS NATIONWIDE.

here are the specific products and dates:

FDA page on this:

Target Recalls Up & Up Fragrance Free and Fresh Cucumber Scented Baby Wipes Due to Potential Microbial Contamination

Target is voluntarily recalling Up & Up Fragrance Free and Up & Up Fresh Cucumber Scented Baby Wipes following customer complaints of produc

[guerrillatech]

[audible-smiles]

People die on the job every summer. Remember that water and shade breaks are crucial when working in the heat, and calling emergency services for signs of serious heat illness (fatigue, nausea/vomiting, headaches, dizziness, clammy skin, confusion, agitation, slurred speech, high body temperature, rapid heart rate, etc.) is entirely appropriate. If you’re afraid to call 911 for reasons such as being undocumented, you’ll need to get very familiar with how to prevent, recognize, and treat heat illness. If you are symptomatic and not allowed a break, water, or medical treatment, walk out. No matter how broke you are, your job is not worth your life.

[ominous-signs]

Official please put yourself first sign

[cat-the-comet]

devastating: artist who has not practiced fundamentals enough to execute high concept idea eats shit

[malinaa]

what if we all explode

[derring-do]

This very production of Orpheus & Eurydice is now available to stream, free, for the month of June.

[crimsonclad]

I saw a bumper sticker and thought “is that seductive Daffy Duck” and then when I looked closer I realized it was actually a fishing bumper sticker but also. also it is still very much seductive Daffy Duck???? somehow????????

[idrawsnoopyeveryday]

174.

[junglejim4322]

Do you look at the “for you” page on tumblr

Yes

No

Remaining time: 1 day 10 hours

[extrafabulouscomics]

[dykebeckett]