Tenants said it appears everyone in the building was detained by federal officers, including US citizens. […] Ballard said the majority of those he saw handcuffed outside were Black residents and “quite a few” were detained for two to three hours.
Adults and children alike were pulled from their Chicago apartments, crying and screaming, during a large overnight raid that has left tenan
It's available from bookshop.org and Barnes & Noble in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. It's on the front page of the B&N website and they're advertising $5 currently.
Also request it at your local library if they don't already have a copy!
unsung benefit i think a lot of ppl are sleeping on with using the public library is that i think its a great replacement for the dopamine hit some ppl get from online shopping. it kind of fills that niche of reserving something that you then get to anticipate the arrival of and enjoy when it arrives, but without like, the waste and the money.
bonus it ALSO fills that dopamine hit of in-person shopping. “oh I didn’t go in looking for this but hmm, I’m tempted… I can’t resist… oh ho ho I have made some irresponsible decisions at the library today [carrying my stack of ten random books]” and then it doesn’t even matter if you don’t like them because a) free b) you’re gonna give them back anyway
Librarian here! Please please please please PLEASE do this! We don’t have any way to know if you read them, and we don’t care! We’re happy to see those books go out because that helps our stats. And that affects how much money we can get.
So grab that silly paperback romance, and maybe this new YA fantasy, oh and check for the new movies too! And don’t forget to check Libby and hoopla for music and ebooks and e-audio.
So this was a pre-planned (and likely paid for by the Kremlin) show: to invite Zelenskyy, scold him like a kindergartener in front of the press, present him with an unreasonable "deal" - an ultimatum - knowing full well he will refuse it (as anyone in this position would).
And then tell the world: "Look, our mighty Orange King could've ended this horrible war in a day, but this poorly-dressed, warmongering, ungrateful twat just doesn't want peace! It's not our fault, we did what we could!"
The show is so cheap, so transparent, yet still effective for so many brainless people.
A reminder to the "the American government wouldn't..." crowd. They have. They have made their own internment camps before. They have rounded up innocent citizens and immigrants before. The victims of which are still alive to this day and trying to share their stories with the world, they have been trying to warn us for a long time.
George Takei (as seen above) is a famous example of this. He has written about his experiences time and time again, even publishing a book talking about his time in these camps. He may be famous now, but at the time he was just another kid forced from his home. To this day he still firmly dedicates himself to trying to educate and inform people, trying to spread awareness with his platform.
The American Government can and will do terrible things. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise.
i don't really want to see this retconning of neil gaiman's writing where people are re-analyzing stories like "look...you can see the message under the surface...showing how he was actually abusive IRL...it's all there..."
idk maybe we should just listen to people when they speak up and say they were abused and try to foster a culture of respecting victims and actually enforcing justice against perpetrators instead of doing this weird fucking da vinci code-esque picking apart of his stories. stories which everyone was fine with for decades!! because we understand that the content that people write and produce does not have a 1 to 1 correlation with their real world actions!!!
i fully support people who cannot engage with his work anymore and i do think that because he's a still-living person it's imperative to not give this guy another cent, but we cannot pretend that everyone was just "too dumb" to see the secret clues and turn this into another case of "what you write is what you endorse." plenty of dogshit people write good stories. plenty of good people write dark stories. that's all.
Shared here today by Matthew Boroson on Facebook. (ETA: Gaining inspiration from other authors is great. Lifting passages and avoiding giving credit isn’t.)
Tanith Lee was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for best novel, for the second book of the Flat Earth series. She died in 2015. You can buy Tales From the Flat Earth here and here .
Nunca más podré tirarme una foto contigo, ni darnos un beso o un abrazo,pero tengo una carpeta llena de las que algún día nos tomamos y las abrazo como si hubiesen sido ayer.
There is a great deal of truth there. Sometimes special moments happen purely by accident. But most of them happen because you make a plan and create the conditions to let them happen.
in los angeles, the historically Black community of altadena has been decimated by the ongoing eaton fire.
afropunk has created a spreadsheet of gofundmes of displaced Black individuals and families affected by the current los angeles fires. the list is constantly being updated.
Hey you know what sucks is predatory companies that make you enter your email address so that they can harass and advertise to you to access resources you might need to keep track of expenses after a disaster. So, uh, fuck them.
If you need to track the cost of things like hotel stays, pet kenneling, medical care, etc. after a disaster you can use this worksheet.
If you need to create an inventory of your home for an insurance claim (and if you'd like to do this to keep someplace safe before a disaster) you can use this worksheet (two pages, instructions on the first page, worksheet on the second).
And here's a FEMA document with numbers for disaster relief groups and a checklist of documents that you may need to have replaced as well as a description of what to do if you had cash in your home that was destroyed and can possibly be replaced.
Bringing this back because there are a ton of people who are going to need it. A lot of stupid bullshit disaster recovery companies will be reaching out to people whose homes burned down. A lot of people whose homes burned down will be searching for resources that come from websites that require them to give up personal details in order to get worksheets and tools.
These are free documents you can download to keep track of disaster recovery expenses or make a list for insurance claims.
I know people are exhausted and frightened and not thinking about stuff but start a folder in your email for receipts for things you're paying for right now so that you can fill out these forms later.
Don't enter your info on a random website or you're going to start getting calls from scammy companies.
And here's a story from the LA Times with advice for people who lost homes or businesses during the fire; one of the primary pieces of advice is DON'T RUSH. Take your time to make decisions and look over any paperwork that anyone wants you to sign.
If you need to send people a link to these documents that isn't a tumblr post they're collected here on my website with links to archive.org instead of gdocs.
I think we're seeing the consequences of surveillance, honestly. Like they're policing themselves this heavily because they've never had privacy before, not from their parents, not from their peers, not from advertisers, not online, nothing. And with all that constant and conflicting criticism, there are no consistent rules for when they're going to be attacked so they're responding by making elaborate, false rule-sets as a coping strategy. LIke "maybe, if I act this way, I'll finally be safe" but it doesn't work so they get more desperate.
Add on all the school shootings in the US, inaction on climate change, and a pandemic that was allowed to rip through schools unchecked, kids and young adults have a deep sense that their lives are disposable. And they're right! Our society is systematically hostile and abusive to children in so many ways! However, the only child abuse society gets riled up about is pedophilia. Adults act like pedophilia is the only kind of child abuse that counts as abuse.
And that's why I think we are seeing kids stretching the meaning of pedophilia. They are looking for language that encompasses all of the kinds of abuse that they're experiencing. All of the emotional abuse of children is normalized, quite a bit of physical abuse is normalized, and the lack of privacy, agency, and bodily autonomy is all socially enforced. The truth is that all of these other forms of abuse can and do lead to sexual abuse, too. These kids are on to something, but it's getting deflected and warped by the fact that they still live in the dangerous environments they've been abused in. I think more specific language will be empowering here and will also bridge the gap between the current generation of young people and other anti-violence movements.
So if you are a child or young adult who resonates with any of the above, I want you to know that as a child abuse survivor, I believe you when you say that you've been abused. I think the anxiety about fandom websites and queer people and kink is misplaced because strangers don't usually have the structural power and access to you to hurt you but I know that there are people in you life who do have that power and I'm worried about you. I think ao3/queer/kink are just the issues that you feel safest speaking up about. I see you speaking up and I think there's more going on.
So what I can do for you, as a random stranger on the internet, is give you some resources and language so you can start to articulate your experiences and find solidarity with others.
Some terms you might find helpful:
Here's a copy of the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child. The US has refused to sign this but it's still a good idea of what the rest of the world believes you deserve and what we know will help you thrive.
Read and download the child-friendly version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Here's a copy of the power and control wheel for child abuse. Power and control wheels are commonly used in many forms of victim advocacy to help map abuse. To be clear, we count these things as abuse because we know from research that they are traumatic. Many laws have not been updated to include all these forms, so you'll notice that many of the things on this wheel are completely legal even though we know they are harmful.
The Power and Control Wheel for abuse of children is an effective tool that can help you identify child abuse tactics and help you start the
Additionally, I'm including a zine I found on peer support for suicide ideation. I know that growing up, my friends and I were always told to tell a trusted adult but we didn't have one and ended up trying to help each other through some really awful shit. This is a guide written by someone with a similar experience and it details ways to informally support someone who is feeling suicidal.
I'm so so glad to see a response to this other than:
"lmao antis, amiright? 🙄🤪"
"Gen Z is sooo stupid because they're too privileged to know what ~real~ pain & abuse is!"
"Gen Z is sooo stupid because TikTok brainrot mental illness otherkin China mindcontrol cummunism virus 10,00,0000,000 dead!" or
"hey king. I saw your tumblr post about how Gen Z are trash and I just wanted to let you know that I agree. although I myself am a zoomer (i know ugh) i am on your side. 'one of the good ones' as some may say. btw I never even noticed how big your brain is till now but its awesome"
This is a real problem with real causes. Things don't just happen for no reason because a group you don't like is inherently worse than you or incapable of making good decisions.
We are like this because of the unprecedented cultural conditions surrounding our development & socialization!!!
Another important resource to add on: The BITE model of Authoritarian Control:
Discover the foundational principles of psychological freedom with our BITE Model PDF. Dr. Steven Hassan's pioneering framework offers insig
BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional -- the four types of control techniques commonly used by authoritarian groups. This model is frequently used to help people identify whether they're in a cult -- note that an abusive family or even a one-on-one relationship/friendship can count. In some cases, you might also notice authoritarian cult behavior in online communities, fandoms, or extra-loud voices like influencers.
Also: Remember that the BITE model can occur regardless of someone's political beliefs. For example, how many times have you noticed this happening in The Discourse, on either the side that you belonged to, or the other side? (from the "Thought Control" section of the BITE model)
Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
a. Adopting the group’s ‘map of reality’ as reality
b. Instill black and white thinking
c. Decide between good vs. evil
d. Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
Be careful, educate yourself on some of the warning signs, and keep yourselves safe. You own your mind. There is no such thing as thoughtcrimes except under authoritarianism.
Dudes healthcare is so fake. My ADHD meds are $940 without insurance. But they gave me a website of "coupons" which straight up looks like a scam website, and I got it today for $60! Just a coupon from a random website and it was $900 cheaper. America, I am confusion!! America explain!!
as a pharmacy technician i can share with you some websites that give you those "coupons" for your meds!
goodrx is the most well known one, but if i'm trying to find the cheapest price for a patient i compare it to scriptcycle, and use whichever is offering the best price. you just type in the medication (PLEASE make sure you're getting the right drug, dosage, and quantity) and your zip code and they will spit out some offers for you
some pharmacies may have their own discount card to compare to as well!
if you are getting a name brand medication, you can also look at the manufacturer's website to see if they offer any evouchers for you to use too
