>'.'

~I was born last century~ ~you don't get to know anything else about me~ ~your assumptions are your buisness~

[fandomsandfeminism]

As we barrel into another Pride Month, we will inevitably all see the stupidest, coldest, most reductive, exclusionary, assimilationist nonsense discourse simmer to the surface of social media again like scum foaming up on a long simmering soup.

And when that happens, whether it's garbage takes about trans people, or ace people, or nonbinary people, or neopronouns, or he/him lesbians, or bi women with boyfriends, or furries, or *what the fuck ever*- remember-

You do not need to quibble over the details. You do not need verbally spar on every hill that dipshits want to die on.

Just stop and ask- hey, does this fucking matter?

Does it matter if some queer people do _____? Does it cause any actual, measurable, material harm? Is this *actually* a problem? Be specific. Beyond just 'it makes me uncomfortable' and 'but that doesn't make sense' - does it actually *matter*?

Because if the answer is no, then who the fuck cares?

I don't care if something is confusing, or illogical, or weird, or makes you uncomfortable. Does it actually harm anyone? No? Then mind your fucking business.

Its not your responsibility to Lincoln-Douglass debate every overzealous puritan and under-informed tween on the complex nuance and inherent political context of the queer experience. Focus on what matters . Ask them what, if any, harm does ____ actually do, and THAT is all you need to address. (Oh you wanna defend ___ spaces? Which spaces specifically? What are you worried about happening? Oh is ____ normalizing ____? Does it? Does that...matter?)

Because even if other people dont like it, Queer People will continue to be weird, messy, confusing, contradictory, illogical, and strange as we all do our fucking best to be ourselves as best we can be. The way we survive and grow and thrive is by giving each other the grace and space to do so, whether or not we deeply, logically resonate with whatever others have going on.

And we don't talk shit about each other. We don't take pot shots at the queers who are queerer than we are. Throwing other queer people under the bus has never made things better.

So. Circle the wagons, close the ranks, and get comfortable rubbing elbows with people who are, you know, freaks and weirdos.

Happy Pride.

[roseworth]

the fact that the creator of the dcblackout was essentially bullied out of the boycott just because other people are getting books is disgusting. people said “i don’t care that black characters/writers aren’t getting books because there are gay people getting books” and we’re supposed to act like that’s not insanely racist

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

Source

[interestingmistakes]

Reblogging this manually. Op doesn't want credit for fear of being terminated.

[suzilight]

Hong Kong Protestors Using Mesh Messaging App China Can't Block: Usage Up 3685%

Mesh networking: how you communicate when China censors the internet.

How do you communicate when the government censors the internet? With a peer-to-peer mesh broadcasting network that doesn’t use the internet.

That’s exactly what Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters are doing now, thanks to San Fransisco startup Bridgefy’s Bluetooth-based messaging app. The protesters can communicate with each other — and the public — using no persistent managed network.

The app can connect people via standard Bluetooth across an entire city, thanks to a mesh network. Chatting is speediest with people who are close, of course, within a hundred meters (330 feet), but you can also chat with people who are farther away. Your messages will simply “hop” via other Bridgefy users’ phones until they find your intended target.

[the-prolefeed]

That’s incredibly futuristic

[quinn-vica-deactivated20201222]

Pi Zero W is $10 and has built in Bluetooth connectivity. You can find Solar USB Power Packs for ~$25. So for less than $50 and a little time investment to load some programs you can have an autonomous bluetooth repeater. I think they only run at Class 2 or 2.5mw so 10 meter range… but there are DIY solutions to amplify it to Class 1 for 100 meter range. But even at 10 meters, given this sort of program uses a packet delivery system, if you are constantly on the move you’re effectively a postman for the system as it will transmit every time it comes in range of another compatible program.

[covid-safer-hotties]

[alpaca-clouds]

Something I keep thinking about is how a lot of people consider it a good thing that children cannot by themselves consent (or refuse consent) to medical treatments. Some people do kinda get it that maybe it might be a problem with stuff like kids not being able to access trans healthcare, or kids being refused vaccination by antivaxx parents. But in general I see that most people are actually okay with this idea for the most part.

And like... you do get that that is kinda insane, right?

Because this is something that so often leads to suffering. And I am saying this as someone disabled, who had so many issues due to this in his childhood.

Just three examples: when I was 7, I was supposed to get checked for autism. My mother did not want an autistic child. Since she just could have a "neurotypical" child by refusing diagnosis, she did just that.

When I was 12, my mother had decided I needed a certain plastic surgery (one that had a minor health benefit, but still was largely a beauty thing). I did not want it. I really, really did not want it. We still went through almost the entire process until thankfully there was a doctor who went: "Wait, this is elective. I am refusing to do this on a child that does not want it."

And when I was 14 my mother refused to get me to the hospital when I had severe food poisoning. She refused me hospital treatment for almost two weeks. By the time I got actually taken to the hospital I was almost dead.

And here is the thing: all of this should just not happen. The doctor when I was 12 was cool, but... he refused to do the surgery because he had the right to make a conscience call. Legally my mother was in the right to force me into that elective surgery. And that just should not be the case.

A lot of children die and suffer due to their legal inability to consent - or refuse consent - to medical treatments. And I wish y'all would understand that.

Whenever this is brought up, people will go: "Oh, but parents will decide what is best for the child." And here is the thing: No, they are not. There is so much stuff out there showing that indeed, a lot of parents suck at this. Some out of malice, some because they are religious nuts, and some because they literally treat their kids like some sort of doll or some shit.

[orcboxer]

honestly "oracle that nobody believes" is such a solid trope. imagine trying to convince anybody in 2006 what the next two decades was gonna look like

[curioscurio]

If you were able to vote in 2016 this is actually what it felt like trying to tell your family about why donald trump would not make a good president

[neroushalvaus]

Trevor Noah interviewing Judith “Badass” Heumann

x

[neroushalvaus]

I’m glad so many people have discovered Judith “Judy” Heumann through this silly little gif set. I am sorry to say she has died at the age of 75. She was known as the mother of disability rights. In 1970 she sued the Board of Education to become a licensed teacher and she won. In 1977 she was one of the organizers of the 504 Sit-in, a 24 day protest for disability rights. You can learn more about her story from her book Being Heumann, the picture book Fighting for YES! or the documentary Crip Camp.

Judy Heumann believed in the inherent value of each disabled individual and would never back down on what she thought was right. Her friends and fellow activists remember her as a strong leader.

Judy Heumann

December 18, 1947 - March 4, 2023

May her memory be for a blessing.

[glxtter-moved-deactivated202001]

[narutoheritageposts]

june 1, 2019

[ingravinoveritas]

"We've all got to be fighting that fight every day."

Happy Pride, everyone...

[77pink-prin-cess77]

Please don't forget about loveless people this pride month. Love doesn't make us human. People don't need to love in "other" ways to be valid. Some people are aplatonic, some afamilial, some asensual, some are heartless. They still belong. Abolish conformity and the idea that someone needs to be something specific to belong at pride.

[manuciruja]

awww the like button turns into a rainbow when you press it! that's so cute...hey staff what's with all the trans women you keep nuking?

[manuciruja]

i think we should be ridiculing them more for this. you don't get to try and go all "queer website" when your staff likes to go on nuking sprees targeting the trans fem users

[smadsel]

would be remiss not to mention that the rainbow notably straight up just removed the trans flag colors from it. like they’re gone. it’s the progress flag minus the trans flag colors.

[smadsel]

that’s not the whole flag, now is it

[manuciruja]

hey staff what the fuck

[villainessbian]

hey staff don't you think you're being too on-the-nose

[shrodingers-catgirl]

HEY STAFF DONT YOU THINK YOU'RE BEING TOO ON-THE-NOSE

[mrskayathefrog]

@staff

@support

this should not be a "mature" post. Please fix that.

yeah also, what the fuck?

[darkwingduck]

One of the things I’ve learned in my career is that the crux of a lot of civil issues is the matter of enforcement. Specifically that there is no mechanism of enforcement available to citizens, other than the courts.

If you can’t afford to sue the perpetrator, then you as a citizen can’t do anything to defend your civil rights. This has a bigger impact than I can properly describe.

Free legal counsel should be a human right. It should never be a barrier to holding the system accountable, when it is the only method of enforcement available to citizens.

[darkwingduck]

Pointing hard at this in the wake of the Bricks and Minifigs incident. How much of this could have been avoided if Bryan could have just sued the fuckers from the start?

[pirateprincessjess]

The term Micro-transaction such is bullshit.

If I go spend 20 dollars at a restaurant we wouldn’t call it a micro-transaction, but if I spent the same amount of money in a video game then it is a micro-transaction?

It’s a bullshit term to try and normalize nickel and dimming people

[ohnoitstbskyen]

It's such a weird relic, that term. If I recall correctly, it originated with independent creators attempting to figure out monetization schemes that would work for small websites. Scott McCloud used to propose this idea as a way to fund webcomics outside of the old systems of syndication or advertising revenue. Webcomic artists could sell each page of their comic for a fee as low as a couple of cents, and make a profit on sheer volume.

Then they made their way to video games. And it used to be that they presented a reasonably comprehensible bargain:

You get to play a full-featured videogame for free, in return for which the game will occasionally advertise a premium cosmetic or unlock of some kind, for prices like $.99 or a couple of dollars. This was considered slightly annoying, especially in the mobile gaming space, but the trade-off was clear. Free game, paid optional content for less than the price of a cup of coffee.

The absolute maximal price you'd pay for a League of Legends skin was about $30, and those skins were considered an absolutely outrageous expense for totally dedicated League of Legends lifers, and were expected to be the absolute peak of technical possible quality. And those were still mocked as ridiculous expenses for weirdos, the sort of thing that no normal or average player should ever be expected to blow money on.

Bethesda was mocked for MONTHS for trying to sell $2.50 horse armor cosmetics in Oblivion. Microtransactions? In a premium product? In a sixty dollar game? Absolutely unacceptable! That was a breaking of the bargain!

But Bethesda's transgression was the thin end of a wedge. More and more of those post-launch monetizations started creeping into premium products, and by sheer erosion, by sheer slow grinding normalization, they started to multiply and the prices started to creep up and up and up, and day 1 DLC became normal, and ultimate and premium editions and super ultimate exclusive digital deluxe collector's editions and battle passes and lootboxes and... yeah.

It used to be a... not amazing, but at least a reasonably fair bargain. A transparent bargain. You get to play a game for free, and the price you pay instead is the soft pressure of microtransactions—actually micro transactions—being advertised to you.

But the line has to go up. The number needs to get bigger. The center could not hold.

[isuggesteatingtherich]

i have a suggestion

[iww-gnv]

Trans people, and all queer people, are forever welcome with the Industrial Workers of the World. Happy Pride to our queer members, and to everyone else!

[maidslime]

No more waiting, no more debating, go get your hrt. "I don't know if I'm really trans!" You are. Now go. "I'm scared!" We all were. Now go. "There's a long wait to be seen!" Go get your name on the list then. DIY if you need. "What if my friends don't accept me?" They weren't really your friends. Now go. "What if my spouse doesn't accept me?" Get a divorce. Now go. You do not need to continue to live in agony and depression to pretend to be someone else. Go get your hrt.

[durgenjune]

God, I wish I could. My main barrier is that I have trypanophobia (fear of needles), with no real way to treat it right now. Sure there's other ways to administer estrogen, but I would still need to get blood tests. Fucking sucks.

[maidslime]

Pills exist and we can do a pretty good job helping you manage that, there's thousands of trans people who diy and have fine tuned a lot of different details whether it's pills or injections.

THAT SAID @doyoulovethewayzeylily once wrote a big thing about how to overcome the fear of needles and work with injections. I have not personally made the switch, but please understand I too have a severe fear of needles, it's possible to overcome for hrt if you truly want to!

[rui-cifer]

I also recommend gels and patches you can get them. Neither requires any interaction with needles!

[maidslime]

@durgenjune also this!!!!