Reality is over-rated @nineorfour - Tumblr Blog

Source

These dudes are fucking legit. They don’t just show up one day in court, either, they actually make friends with the kids and let them know they have a support system and that there are people in the world who care about them and will always have their back. And less important, but also cool, is that the few times a couple of them have come into my cafe, they’ve been super friendly and polite and when I told one of the guys that I noticed his Bikers Against Child Abuse patch and wanted him to know how awesome I thought he was because of it, he got kind of shy and blushed and said, “The kids are the awesome ones, we just let them know they’re allowed to be brave.”

bebinn

The source is long, but so, so good. These men and women are available in 36 states, 24 hours a day to stand guard at home, in court, at school, even if the child has a nightmare. Many of them are survivors of childhood abuse as well, and know what it’s like to feel scared and alone.

In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said.

Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?”

The boy glanced at Pipes and the other bikers sitting in the front row, two more standing on each side of the courtroom door, and told the judge, “Because my friends are scarier than he is.”

lesbian-moon-gf

Actual tears.. hnngh

bee-whistler

Show me more of people like this, world. I give up on humans too easily.

groovypirate

where do i sign up for this,i want to be in this gang

ultrafacts

haydengisearchive-deactivated20

This is fucking amazing. It may be out of character for me to say this but rock on

clatterbane

Bikers Against Child Abuse was founded in 1995 by a Native American child psychologist whose ride name is Chief, when he came across a young boy who had been subjected to extreme abuse and was too afraid to leave his house. He called the boy to reach out to him, but the only thing that seemed to interest the child was Chief’s bike. Soon, some 20 bikers went to the boy’s neighborhood and were able to draw him out of his house for the first time in weeks.

Chief’s thesis was that a child who has been abused by an adult can benefit psychologically from the presence of even more intimidating adults that they know are on their side. “When we tell a child they don’t have to be afraid, they believe us,” Arizona biker Pipes told azcentral.com. “When we tell them we will be there for them, they believe us.” ( Article)

More about BACA, from their site

uriesays

My parents are a part of this organization and they are metal af

They go on runs to protect the child if they feel even the slightest threatened no matter where. If the child needs them to go on vacation with them, they do. Bikers come from across the nation to watch over and take shifts for these kids. And the best part is once you’re adopted into this family as a BACA kid, you’re always one. Even when you’re 40 and the perp gets released from jail, they’ll come meet with you and find your best options for avoiding the person and maintaining the life you’ve built for yourself. Once a BACA child, always a BACA child. In Florida, there’s 100% rate for identifying the perp based on the child’s testimony. Why? Because BACA stands with the child and supports the child so they feel comfortable enough to point out their attacker.

What’s better than a badass biker gang being on your side???

kikithegirl

NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST WHO IS A BIKER AND NAMED HIMSELF CHIEF HELL YES I’M HERE FOR THAT AND BIKERS BEING BAD ASS TO PROTECT KIDS. HELL YEAH.

birdungehrl

it’s back! I will always reblog BACA

your-uncle-dave

Damn good people.

rowsdower-saves-us

I know they wouldn’t consider themselves such, but these people are freaking heroes and the world is a better place because of them.

racethewind10

Hey folks, it talks about this in the article but its not mentioned in this post, BACA is a 501 © (3) charity that depends in part on donations to help pay for stuff like gas for their bikes. If you want to help, consider donating.

drgaellon

@copperbadge You like posting about heroes, Sam. Seems like this would be up your alley.

copperbadge

I love these folks! I’ve reblogged them before but it’s wonderful to see the donation information has been added.

galaxy-of-stories

Always reblog. Keep doing what you’re doing y'all.

hurtlittleboy

Guys? This post changed my life. I saw this post. Forever ago. And thought it was only in america… and wished desperately that they could help me. But then I saw it again, during a bad episode, and checked their site. They aren’t just in the USA

They’re in Canada as well and probably other countries. I met and talked with a native guy who runs the place near me. His name is Shaman. I got in, and I’m considered a BACA child now. Despite being 17, turning 18 when I talked to them. They spent time with me when my abuser was over, they gave me therapy resources. They give you something called a ‘level 1′ where they go to your house with as many bikers as they can, i shit you not a solid 20-40 bikers came from even out of province, and met me. I got to choose my biker name and I got a vest with patches on it and my name on it. They all hugged a Teddybear before giving it to me, and told me if I ever felt the BACA bear was running out of love, to give them a call and they’d refill it for me, and then I got a ride on one of their bikes. Just a day or so ago I went to an annual party with them and they we ate food one of them cooked and had a lot of laughs.

I’ve never felt as loved as I did being a part of the BACA family. They also gave me dog tags with the names, and phone numbers of my 2 workers. So I can call them whenever I feel scared.

BACA is an absolutely wonderful group that will do everything in it’s power to help any child whos been abused.

And it doesn’t end when you’re 18 either. As long as you get in contact/get your level 1 before you’re 18? you’re ALWAYS a BACA kid. I’m 18 now and they still invite me to parties, ask me if I’m okay, and are there for me. They’re still trying to find me resources for therapy.

BACA has changed my fucking life.

I hope you all can read this, and reblog it knowing from someone who fucking been with them, that they are absolutely amazing.

bowtomypointlesswords

This is truly amazing, I’m so glad people like this exist

instructor144

This needs to be reblogged. Because.

mjaydziarand-deactivated2018121

Always reblog BACA.

macgyvershe

Signal Boosting because the world needs more biker angels.

anyar0se

I will never not reblog this

little-prongs-deactivated202111

Some heroes wear bandannas and leather vests

nineorfour

I love this.

biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist

one of my favorite things about fanfiction is how many writers don't necessarily consider themselves fans of the original work. lots of writers just saw the movie or read the book and were like "that was unsatisfying but now I have yet another canon to fuck around with"

highlady-fireheart

gantzllat

Some times fanfiction is a love letter to canon. Some times fanfiction is just a friendly banter with the canon. And sometimes, fanfiction is “11 things the canon did wrong” nailed on the church’s doors.

biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist

just enjoyed the vivid mental image of a 15th cent Augustinian monk standing outside a cathedral screaming at the top of his lungs a homemade buzzfeed listicle of 95 Reasons Destiel Deserved Better

siriusblacktothefuture

eelsza-blog

Reblogging for the fucking drawing

no-longer-another-bondi-blonde

Everyone should know the international sign for Help Me. Let’s make this famous!!

amanda-bakes

Interesting; I didn't know this was a thing.

hopefulmisanthrope

It’s apparently a thing, but it’s a very new thing, so it may need some help being known.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_for_Help

theslaybymic

Watch: Kristen Bell opens up about the mental health double standard and how she manages her own struggle.

Follow @this-is-life-actually

laureninlilly

Hit reblog on this so hard

geniusorinsanity

SHOUT OUT TO KRISTEN BELL’S MOM THOUGH? WHAT KIND OF FANTASTIC SELF-AWARE PARENTING, WELL DONE MA'AM

whenemmafallsinlove

to everyone who is losing things like concerts and senior proms and commencements and brunches they’d had planned forever and literally anything they’ve been looking forward to i’m sorry. i really am. it sucks and i’m sure there will be people in your life who will tell you to get over it because others have it worse right now and while it may be true that others have it worse that doesn’t make your pain, disappointment, or sadness any less real or valid. keep your head up.

inkskinned

i want to be someone else’s safety. even nonromantically. i want to be “hey can i tell you something?” i want to be - i tried something new and i’m a little scared but i wanted to show you. i want to be “i knew i could trust you”. i want to be okay to hold the hand of, always ready to listen, always trying. even if i don’t get it perfect, you know? i just want to be a place other people can relax and be themselves and not worry for a fraction of an instant.

destinyrush

A hero without a cape

nyshadidntbreakit

Her name is Theresa Kachindamoto, and she is a senior chief - political leader of a region with a population of about 900,000 people.

She didn’t run for election; she was appointed, without her knowledge, while she was living and working in a completely different part of the country. She just received a call one day telling her to come back to her childhood home, because she was in charge now.

So she did; and when she arrived, she discovered widespread sexual abuse of children. She browbeat 50 uncooperative local leaders into accepting her decision to annul all the marriages. She then fired four of them when they continued to allow children to be married off in their areas. She still faces widespread opposition from parents who consider it their right to sexually abuse their daughters if they want to; but Kachindamoto very evidently does not give a fuck, and is continuing to use political and legal means to protect children in the region.

She’s not just an anonymous do-gooder; she’s an effective political leader despite incredibly difficult circumstances. Theresa Kachindamoto.

calanoida

Susanna and the Elders, Restored (Left)

Susanna and the Elders, Restored with X-ray (Right)

Kathleen Gilje, 1998

harrystylesnotedaquarius-deacti

wow

humanpersonface

Oooh my gosh this is rad. This is so rad.

For those who don’t know about this painting, the artist was the Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

Gentileschi was a female painter in a time when it was very largely unheard of for a woman to be an artist. She managed to get the opportunity for training and eventual employment because her father, Orazio, was already a well established master painter who was very adamant that she get artistic training. He apparently saw a high degree of skill in some artwork she did as a hobby in childhood. He was very supportive of her and encouraged her to resist the “traditional attitude and psychological submission to brainwashing and the jealousy of her obvious talents.”

Gentileschi became extremely well known in her time for painting female figures from the Bible and their suffering. For example, the one seen above depicts the story from the Book of Daniel. Susanna is bathing in her garden when two elders began to spy on her in the nude. As she finishes they stop her and tell her that they will tell everyone that they saw her have an affair with a young man (she’s married so this is an offense punishable by death) unless she has sex with them. She refuses, they tell their tale, and she is going to be put to death when the protagonist of the book (Daniel) stops them.

So that painting above? That was her first major painting. She was SEVENTEEN-YEARS-OLD. For context, here is a painting of the same story by Alessandro Allori made just four years earlier in 1606:

Wowwwww. That does not look like a woman being threatened with a choice between death or rape. So imagine 17 year old Artemisia trying to approach painting the scene of a woman being assaulted. And she paints what is seen in the x-ray above. A woman in horrifying, grotesque anguish with what appears to be a knife poised in her clenched hand. Damn that shit is real. Who wants to guess that she was advised by, perhaps her father or others, to tone it down. Women can’t look that grotesque. Sexual assault can’t be depicted as that horrifying. And women definitely can’t be seen as having the potential to fight back. Certainly not in artwork. Women need to be soft. They need to wilt from their captors but still look pretty and be a damsel in distress. So she changed it.

What’s interesting to note is that she eventually painted and stuck with some of her own, less traditional depictions of women. However, that is more interesting with some context.

(Warning for reference to rape, torture, and images of paintings which show violence and blood.)

So, Gentileschi’s story continues in the very next year, 1611, when her father hires Agostino Tassi, an artist, to privately tutor her. It was in this time when Tassi raped her. He then proceeded to promise that he would marry her. He pointed out that if it got out that she had lost her virginity to a man she wasn’t going to marry then it would ruin her. Using this, he emotionally manipulated her into continuing a sexual relationship with him. However, he then proceeded to marry someone else. Horrified at this turn of events she went to her father. Orazio was having none of this shit and took Tassi to court. At that time, rape wasn’t technically an offense to warrant a trial, but the fact that he had taken her virginity (and therefore technically “damaged Orazio’s property”. ugh.) meant that the trial went along. It lasted for 7 months. During this time, to prove the truth of her words, Artemisia was given invasive gynecological examinations and was even questioned while being subjected to torture via thumb screws. It was also discovered during the trial that Tassi was planning to kill his current wife, have an affair with her sister, and steal a number of Orazio’s paintings. Tassi was found guilty and was given a prison sentence of…. ONE. YEAR……. Which he never even served because the verdict was annulled.

During this time and a bit after (1611-1612), Artemisia painted her most famous work of Judith Slaying Holofernes. This bible story involved Holofernes, an Assyrian general, leading troops to invade and destroy Bethulia, the home of Judith. Judith decides to deal with this issue by coming to him, flirting with him to get his guard down, and then plying him with food and lots of wine. When he passed out, Judith and her handmaiden took his sword and cut his head off. Issue averted. The subject was a very popular one for art at the time. Here is a version of the scene painted in 1598-99 by Carivaggio, whom was a great stylistic influence on Artemisia:

This depiction is a pretty good example of how this scene was typically depicted. Artists usually went out of their way to show Judith committing the act (or having committed it) while trying to detach her from the actual violence of it. In this way, they could avoid her losing the morality of her character and also avoid showing a woman committing such aggression. So here we see a young, rather delicate looking Judith in a pure white dress. She is daintily holding down this massive man and looks rather disgusted and upset at having to do this. Now, here is Artemisia’s:

Damn. Thats a whole different scene. Here Holofernes looks less like he’s simply surprised by the goings ons and more like a man choking on his own blood and struggling fruitlessly against his captors. The blood here is less of a bright red than in Carrivaggio’s but is somehow more sickening. It feels more real, and gushes in a much less stylized way than Carrivaggio’s. Not to mention, Judith here is far from removed from the violence. She is putting her physical weight into this act. Her hands (much stronger looking than most depictions of women’s hands in early artwork) are working hard. Her face, as well, is completely different. She doesn’t look upset, necessarily, but more determined.

It’s also worth note that the handmaiden is now involved in the action. It’s worth note because, during her rape trial, Artemisia stated that she had cried for help during the initial rape. Specifically she had called for Tassi’s female tenant in the building, Tuzia. Tuzia not only ignored her cries for help, but she also denied the whole happening. Tuzia had been a friend of Artemisia’s and in fact was one of her only female friends. Artemisia felt extremely betrayed, but rather than turning her against her own gender, this event instilled in her the deep importance of female relationships and solidarity among women. This can be seen in some of her artwork, and I believe in the one above, as well, with the inclusion of the handmaiden in the act.

So, I just added a million words worth of information dump on a post when no one asked me, but there we go. I could talk for ages about Artemisia as a person and her depictions of women (even beyond what I wrote above. Don’t get me started on her depictions of female nudes in comparison to how male artists painted nude women at the time.)

To sum up: Artemisia Gentileschi is rad as hell. This x-ray is also rad as hell and makes her even radder.

I love art history.

humanpersonface

I’m reblogging this again to add something that I also think is important to know about Artemisia Gentileschi. Back in her time and through even to TODAY, there are people who argue that her artworks were greatly aided by her father…. As in he either helped her paint them or just straight up painted them himself. Hell, there are a number of works only recently (past several years or so) that have been officially attributed to Artemisia because people originally saw the signature with “Gentileschi” in it and automatically attributed it to Orazio. So, not only was Artemisia Gentileschi an amazing artist and amazing historical figure, but I don’t want it to be ignored that there are people over 400 years later who still won’t give her the credit she deserves, just because she’s a woman and obviously women can’t paint like she did.

nineorfour

Amazing

recordingbyjonathansims

Does anyone else just get hardcore chills at that cello opening?? Like between that and Jonny’s voice, I’m dying before the episode even starts. It’s so chilling and immediately sets the mood for the show. I’m legit impressed how a little musical piece and a man reading the episode title can so quickly immerse me into the story.

And then it ends with that echoey thud and I feel like I’m standing in the archives with the characters. It’s just such a good use of music to establish the tone and setting of the story. I love it.

theunicorncomic-blog

It may sound strange, but it’s like I can almost smell the archives when I listen to it—the must, the old paper, the cool air. Does that happen to anyone else?

recordingbyjonathansims

That’s really interesting! Tho I do have to say, if they were any good at actually maintaining an archives, it really shouldn’t be musty :p

Personally, I can instantly visualize the rows of shelves that the sound echos off of. I think it’s cool that you can smell it!

nineorfour

Nicely stated

blasting-silence

Amazing Nature Phenomenons

ᴋᴀᴡᴀʜ ɪᴊᴇɴ (ʙʟᴜᴇ ᴠᴏʟᴄᴀɴᴏ) ɪɴᴅᴏɴᴇsɪᴀ

ᴛᴜʀǫᴜᴏɪsᴇ ɪᴄᴇ: ʟᴀᴋᴇ ʙᴀɪᴋᴀʟ-ʀᴜssɪᴀ

sᴜᴘᴇʀᴄᴇʟʟ sᴛᴏʀᴍ

ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ғʟᴀsʜ sᴜɴsᴇᴛ

sɴᴏᴡ ᴄʜɪᴍɴᴇʏ: ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛ ᴇʀʙᴜs-ᴀɴᴛᴀʀᴛɪᴄᴀ

sᴋʏ ᴘᴜɴᴄʜ

sᴛʀɪᴘᴇᴅ ɪᴄᴇʙᴇʀɢs:ᴀɴᴛᴀʀᴛɪᴄᴀ

ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴘɪʟʟᴀʀs

sᴀʟᴀʀ ᴅᴇ ᴜʏᴜɴɪ (ʀᴇғʟᴇᴄᴛɪɴɢ ᴅᴇsᴇʀᴛ) ʙᴏʟɪᴠɪᴀ

ᴍᴀᴇʟsᴛʀᴏᴍ

ᴇʏᴇ ᴏғ sᴀʜᴀʀᴀ:ᴍᴀᴜʀɪᴛᴀɴɪᴀ

ғɪʀᴇ ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ

ᴘᴏʀᴏʀᴏᴄᴀ (ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴡᴀᴠᴇ) ᴀᴍᴀᴢᴏɴ ʀɪᴠᴇʀ-ʙʀᴀᴢɪʟ

ᴀᴜʀᴏʀᴀ ʙᴏʀᴇᴀʟɪs

ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ʙʟᴜᴇ ʜᴏʟᴇ:ʙᴇʟɪᴢᴇ

ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ ᴇᴜᴄᴀʟʏᴘᴛᴜs ᴛʀᴇᴇs

sᴛᴏɴᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ:ᴍᴀᴅᴀɢᴀsᴄᴀʀ

ᴄᴀᴛᴀᴛᴜᴍʙᴏ ʟɪɢʜᴛɴɪɴɢ (ɴᴇᴠᴇʀᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ sᴛᴏʀᴍ) ᴠᴇɴᴇᴢᴜᴇʟᴀ

ᴍᴀᴍᴍᴀᴛᴜs ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅs

ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ

ᴜɴᴅᴇʀᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ᴄʀᴏᴘ ᴄɪʀᴄʟᴇs

ʙɪᴏʟᴜᴍɪɴᴇsᴄᴇɴᴛ ᴡᴀᴠᴇs

ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ɢʟᴏʀʏ ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅs

ᴠᴏʟᴄᴀɴɪᴄ ʟɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ

ɴᴀᴄʀᴇᴏᴜs ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅs

ʀᴀɪɴʙᴏᴡ ᴍᴏᴜɴᴛᴀɪɴs:ᴄʜɪɴᴀ

ʟᴇɴᴛɪᴄᴜʟᴀʀ ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅ

nineorfour

Beautiful

gahdamnpunk

Her name is Laetitia Ky and she’s only 23! 😍😍 I’ve already seen a white girl steal her idea so let’s promote tf out of the OG.

Her IG

nineorfour

Beautiful

thecaffeinebookwarrior-deactiva

Asexuality Masterlist

I’ve been getting a lot of asks lately regarding the asexual experience, and how to portray it in fiction. However, my ability to advise is limited, as I am not asexual in the least. Therefor, I will provide a long overdue master list of resources, from asexual people, and how they live, love, and experience the world!

Also note: if you are an asexual follower, shoot me a message with your experiences, and I will include them in this post.

The basics:

“Am I Asexual? 10 Things You Don’t (But Should) Know About Asexuality”

Video: “What’s It Like Being Asexual In Your Twenties?”

“5 Asexual People Explain What ‘Asexual’ Means to Them”

“This is what being asexual is actually like”

Video: “7 Things Asexual People Want You to Know”

Video: “Ask An Asexual Person”

Romance:

“17 Super-Honest Stories About Dating As An Asexual Person”

“Why Dating For Asexual People Is Unnecessarily Difficult”

“How I Seek Out Intimacy As A Sexual Person”

“Asexual People Tell Us What Their Romantic Lives Are Like”

“I’m Asexual, And My Husband And I Are Totally Okay With It”

Sex:

“Asexual People Can Have Sex Lives – Here’s What They’re Like”

“I’m Asexual and Here’s What Sex Feels Like For Me”

“Hi, I’m a Sex-Repulsed Asexual. No, Not All Ace People are Sex-Repulsed.”

“Having My Cake and Eating It: What It’s Like to be an Asexual Sex Worker”

“I am asexual. I want sex. They’re not mutually exclusive in the least.”

nineorfour

Interesting

butchtj-deactivated20190316

Do any other american high schoolers have intense survivor’s guilt and trauma with school shootings even though they weren’t at your school?

butchtj-deactivated20190316

Like. A laser tag place opened geared towards teenagers and it got no business, we tried to enjoy it but when someone pointed a laser machine gun at me and I instinctively dropped behind the nearest wall and reached to turn off my phone I cried, I wasn’t the only one. The announcements system turns on at an unexpected time and everyone holds their breath until they say something besides “locks, lights, out of sight,” nobody even jokingly pops chip bags anymore, a door slammed really loud during a class change and everyone dropped and ran. Everyone cries during drills, even the toughest ranch kids. Every drill comes with a full day of teachers crying and telling us that they love us all so much and will die for us, and every kid in every class looking around wondering who would I die for? Who would die for me? You walk to the bathroom and wonder every second if it happens right now, where will I go? You test supply closet doors to see which ones are unlocked, you memorize which furniture in the teachers’ lounge your English teacher says is light enough to barricade a door with. The fire alarm goes off and nobody moves, instead you wait for gunshots—it a trap? You stand with a group of freshmen and realize that you’re the oldest, you know you’ll have to die for them. You forget your ID tag and worry that now the police won’t be able to tell your parents if you’re safe, or not safe. Your stats teacher has a baseball bat by the door, your math teacher keeps a stapler under each desk to throw, your drama teacher asks who will be willing to stand by the non-locking door with the Shakespearean swords. Your yearbook teacher tells you don’t worry about breaking a camera because you heard about the kids who died holding them. You don’t use the bathroom during classes because you don’t want to be the only target to shoot at. You keep your phone on silent 24/7 because you worry the one time you forget will be when you get your whole US History class killed. You have a snap saved with your class schedule and school and full name to send in an instant to your internet friends so they know if you were on that wing, you have a note saved with the things you want your mom to know and the things you’re sorry for. At the age of 12 I was told I needed to know who I would die for and that it was okay if it was nobody, that was my decision to make. School shootings control us more than adults and non-Americans could possibly imagine and nobody moves to change anything unless we’re actively screaming for it. Have you considered we’re too scared?

tehdoctah

The absolute fuck. The fuck did I just read. This sounds like dystopian fiction. The fucking fuck.

allthingshyper

It isn’t. This is 100% the reality of all American children - not the ones that live in bad neighborhoods, not the ones that make bad choices, ALL OF THEM.

Welcome to America.

kentuckyfriedbooks

This reminds me of a discussion we had in one of my classes the other day-

My professor was describing how everyone from her generation had the same nightmare of a nuke going off. In they dream they all saw the same mushroom cloud and everything. She said that she didn’t think my generation had a dream like that; one that everyone shared and had

For a while none of us could disagree with her. Until this popped up. I raised my hand and mentioned that everyone I knew had an active shooter dream at one point or another. And Every. Single. Person. Nodded. All of us had that dream. All of us.

Pretty telling, huh?

aristocrowcy

The mere notion that highschool children might have survivor’s guilt is sickening

captain-snark

I was about 9 when columbine happened and that was basically The Start. It’s really fucked up feeling lucky that I missed the worst parts of this and yet STILL I can remember vividly being NINE years old and picturing myself playing dead in my elementary school library because I heard that’s what kids did. I can remember watching the video footage on the news.

When I was 14 I wrote a paper on columbine and dove way too deep down that rabbit hole and I’m pretty sure my gore related coping mechanisms stem from the PTSD from that.

I can’t even imagine being a teenager in 2019. I get sick to my stomach when I think about the fact that my 5 year old nephew is in school now.

FIVE YEARS OLD.

FIVE and I have to worry that something awful is going to happen to him.

I fucking hate this country.

crestholder

memosmilkers

this is really gross? like you couldn’t stop being homophobic for actual people ? you had to like a gay fictional pairing?

kari-izumi

Not even remotely true.

But even if it were, does it ultimately matter what stops a homophobe from being homophobic, as long as they…yanno…stop being that way?

As @discoursecatharsis said, I’m sorry us older millennials grew up in a far more homophobic culture where no one talked about being queer except as a joke or a tragedy, if it were even talked about at all. For a lot of folks, fandom was the only safe outlet to explore this stuff. Anime was still a growing new thing and one of the few places in media where being gay wasn’t always a punchline so OFC all the baby gays still pretending to be cis and/or het glomped onto it.

Was it perfect? No. Even back then, I was distinctly sick of the uke/seme dynamics being forced into every pairing no matter how ill-fitting. But at least yaoi didn’t bury their gays or censor romantic attraction, so we took it and ran with it.

We grew up–society changed and we too updated our ideals of what being gay meant. More importantly, more people we knew came out. My cousin’s been gay my whole life so I had that but my friends didn’t start coming out till they’d left the little hick conservative town we grew up in. I grew up in driving distance of San Francisco. If my Californians were that fucking scared in a state that considered gay bashing a hate crime in the 2000s, how do you think the rest of the country was doing?

I mean, Twitter OP has a bi flag RIGHT FUCKING THERE.

Think, for God’s sake. 🤦

memosmilkers

I can think, can you?

Dont come at me with that bullshit that “things were worse” when there were people who knew what was right.

I’m a queer person and I hate to think that someone got over their homophobia over fictional characters vs having human compassion. and if that works you up and gets you mad, then that’s genuinely very sad.

celciusdiscourse

You’re the one calling a clearly bi person (the flag in the icon is very visible) gross when you know nothing about them aside from one out-of-context tweet. Being queer didn’t stop you from acting like a judgmental asshole.

And human compassion is the prerequisite for any kind of anti-homophobic revelation. Fiction is just one vehicle of exposure to different concepts. For it to work as it does, there HAS to be a capacity for compassion already. So from one queer person to another: put your human compassion to use and stop judging your fellow LGBTQ+ people for what kickstarted the fight against their conditioning.

elfwreck

A lot of people can’t “get over homophobia with real people” because they don’t know any real people who are queer, LGBT, MOGAI, etc. Or at least, they don’t know that they know any. They have two sources of information about queer people:

Their homophobic communities,

Media representation.

I am THRILLED to hear someone got over homophobia without having to drag some poor queer person through months of questions and awkward misunderstandings and random stabs of bigotry because they didn’t realize what they were doing or saying was hurtful.

naamahdarling

It WAS different, though. This is disjointed and messy, but hear me out.

I was born in 1977. I’m an 80′s kid. I grew up in the second largest city in Oklahoma. It’s a pretty liberal city, but still, it’s Oklahoma, and, again, this was the 80s. AIDS was burning through my elders’ generation like a wildfire; hospices were full; sodomy was a crime people were still imprisoned for; there was no explicit representation in entertainment, and precious little implicit. People. Hated. Us. Even more openly than they do now.

Matthew Shepard was murdered in 1998. He was only half a year younger than me. More heinous things had happened, and still do happen, but that? That one made the local news, and even as we shuddered and wept about it, it was the first time I or any of my colleagues had ever seen an act of homophobic violence publicly condemned in mainstream media of any kind. One of his murderers still tried a “gay panic” defense, and we had to see that, which hurt.

Things were pretty bad.

I was raised by agnostic/atheist people, my father was from L.A. out of liberal Boston stock. My mother was Oklahoman by way of Texas and Louisiana, from a moderately conservative family (they weren’t pricks about it, they didn’t let their -isms show around anyone but other family).

So I honestly had about as liberal an upbringing as you can expect anyone born and raised here to have.

I still heard, from family and from adults around me, awful gay jokes. There was no internet, so there was no googling for LGBT resources. I found the local LGBT teen outreach program by finding a slip of paper tucked into a library book, and I didn’t know when I called the number, or even when I showed up the first time to a meeting, whether it would be legit or run by anti-gay bigots looking for a captive audience and possibly some kids to blackmail or out to their parents. I didn’t even have a concept of “transgender” until I was in my later teens, and wasn’t comfortable with the idea until much later which, oops, SURPRISE, I’M NOT CIS!

I knew a lot of kids whose parents didn’t let them read anything that wasn’t pre-approved. Many of them did not read well anyway, and didn’t have an interest in books (which is not a bad thing, some people just don’t and that’s fine as long as they aren’t trying to keep others from reading). Many had their television viewing restricted, and there was zero representation anyway. People had fits when a prime time show had their hetero main character become a single mother via IIRC artificial insemination. SINGLE MOTHERS? THE WORLD IS FUCKING ENDING. When Ellen came out, oh my god, people lost it. You should have heard the things that got said about her in our newspaper, which everyone read because there was no internet to give them other sources for news and the corner store only ever stocked 5 copies of the New York Times that were from 2 days before.

When you are raised in an environment where nothing is there to show you what a better world looks like, you are left to find that world for yourself when you are older. And even then, you have to go looking for it, and you may not have any idea of how to go about that.

YES, there were people who knew better. But you don’t get people like that right out of the gate unless they are taught better, usually by family (schools still don’t do enough of this, when I was a kid they still taught that it was morally wrong, and conservative states fight like hell to have even less information, and to be able to label queers as deviants). Dismissing someone who was confused, possibly even bigoted, but who came to a deeper understanding via fiction? That’s not right. The resources might not have been around them at the right time. Or the resources may have been there, maybe they didn’t care, and for some reason it was fiction that finally broke through that wall for them.

Regardless of the climate now, things may have been very different when/where this happened for them. And if not? It’s not less valid. Yes, things are so much better now (unless you were there, or are willing to listen to and understand people who were, you won’t understand how much). It’s amazing. Absolutely amazing. I’m watching She-Ra with my own two eyes and feeling the pain in my heart that the child I was didn’t have this show, because she really needed it and might have grown up to be a better person sooner. I’m holding hands with my girlfriend in public in Oklagoddamnhoma and nobody hisses or calls the cops. Things are so much better. Not good enough, but better.

One of the reasons we clamor so stridently for inclusion is to normalize queerness for folks who are not queer. And with the internet, with fanfiction, even fiction that doesn’t have queer representation can still have that effect through fandom-created queer content. I don’t know if Free! had explicitly queer content; not my fandom. I do know that literally all the fan content for Free! I saw was queer. Very, very loudly so.

So queer entertainment reaching people? This is the kind of thing we say we want to see. It’s not right to then tell people this isn’t a good enough reason to clue up. It is. Any reason is good enough. This isn’t a test of virtue, babes. We aren’t weighing our hearts against feathers. This is, literally, a fight for our lives, and we should not give one tin shit in a teacup why people fall into the trenches with us. We should welcome them. Is it sad they didn’t realize it sooner? Sure. Yes. But we don’t throw out allies, especially other queer people, because they hold the “right” beliefs for the “wrong” reasons. If you talk to other queer people and allies outside of Tumblr, especially in person and especially your elders, you are going to find that there are a lot of reasons people come around, and not all of them are going to be narratives that make you comfortable or that make them look particularly virtuous. We are a diverse community with many voices, we came here down many roads (some of them shitty ones), and that is what makes us so powerful, so enduring, and so proud.

So y’all who are disgusted that it took fanfiction to break through this person’s walls, I get where you are coming from. When you’ve had your ass kicked for liking the wrong kind of person, it is frustrating to feel like the suffering and pain many queer folks go through wasn’t enough to get through to someone. I understand that. I get that. I feel you. It’s lamentable, yes. Christ, the way people are still treated today is a fucking tragedy so it’s not like things are all roses. If harm was ever done to you, that’s horrible and I’m sorry and I will be fighting beside you to keep that from happening to anyone else until my dying day. But for pity’s sake, “Imaginary gays helped me incorporate the idea of queer people into my worldview in a positive way!” is not gross or bad enough to warrant pushing people away.

We are in this together.

I don’t know how you got here. You are here, and that’s all I need to know. Give me your hand, you gorgeous disaster, we have other beautiful people to save.

ultrafacts

Source

hellkatsally

These dudes are fucking legit. They don’t just show up one day in court, either, they actually make friends with the kids and let them know they have a support system and that there are people in the world who care about them and will always have their back. And less important, but also cool, is that the few times a couple of them have come into my cafe, they’ve been super friendly and polite and when I told one of the guys that I noticed his Bikers Against Child Abuse patch and wanted him to know how awesome I thought he was because of it, he got kind of shy and blushed and said, “The kids are the awesome ones, we just let them know they’re allowed to be brave.”

bebinn

The source is long, but so, so good. These men and women are available in 36 states, 24 hours a day to stand guard at home, in court, at school, even if the child has a nightmare. Many of them are survivors of childhood abuse as well, and know what it’s like to feel scared and alone.

In court that day, the judge asked the boy, “Are you afraid?” No, the boy said.

Pipes says the judge seemed surprised, and asked, “Why not?”

The boy glanced at Pipes and the other bikers sitting in the front row, two more standing on each side of the courtroom door, and told the judge, “Because my friends are scarier than he is.”

lesbian-moon-gf

Actual tears.. hnngh

bee-whistler

Show me more of people like this, world. I give up on humans too easily.

groovypirate

where do i sign up for this,i want to be in this gang

ultrafacts

haydengisearchive-deactivated20

This is fucking amazing. It may be out of character for me to say this but rock on

clatterbane

Bikers Against Child Abuse was founded in 1995 by a Native American child psychologist whose ride name is Chief, when he came across a young boy who had been subjected to extreme abuse and was too afraid to leave his house. He called the boy to reach out to him, but the only thing that seemed to interest the child was Chief’s bike. Soon, some 20 bikers went to the boy’s neighborhood and were able to draw him out of his house for the first time in weeks.

Chief’s thesis was that a child who has been abused by an adult can benefit psychologically from the presence of even more intimidating adults that they know are on their side. “When we tell a child they don’t have to be afraid, they believe us,” Arizona biker Pipes told azcentral.com. “When we tell them we will be there for them, they believe us.” ( Article)

More about BACA, from their site

uriesays

My parents are a part of this organization and they are metal af

They go on runs to protect the child if they feel even the slightest threatened no matter where. If the child needs them to go on vacation with them, they do. Bikers come from across the nation to watch over and take shifts for these kids. And the best part is once you’re adopted into this family as a BACA kid, you’re always one. Even when you’re 40 and the perp gets released from jail, they’ll come meet with you and find your best options for avoiding the person and maintaining the life you’ve built for yourself. Once a BACA child, always a BACA child. In Florida, there’s 100% rate for identifying the perp based on the child’s testimony. Why? Because BACA stands with the child and supports the child so they feel comfortable enough to point out their attacker.

What’s better than a badass biker gang being on your side???

kikithegirl

NATIVE AMERICAN CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST WHO IS A BIKER AND NAMED HIMSELF CHIEF HELL YES I’M HERE FOR THAT AND BIKERS BEING BAD ASS TO PROTECT KIDS. HELL YEAH.

birdungehrl

it’s back! I will always reblog BACA

your-uncle-dave

Damn good people.

rowsdower-saves-us

I know they wouldn’t consider themselves such, but these people are freaking heroes and the world is a better place because of them.

racethewind10

Hey folks, it talks about this in the article but its not mentioned in this post, BACA is a 501 © (3) charity that depends in part on donations to help pay for stuff like gas for their bikes. If you want to help, consider donating.

drgaellon

@copperbadge You like posting about heroes, Sam. Seems like this would be up your alley.

copperbadge

I love these folks! I’ve reblogged them before but it’s wonderful to see the donation information has been added.

galaxy-of-stories

Always reblog. Keep doing what you’re doing y'all.

hurtlittleboy

Guys? This post changed my life. I saw this post. Forever ago. And thought it was only in america… and wished desperately that they could help me. But then I saw it again, during a bad episode, and checked their site. They aren’t just in the USA

They’re in Canada as well and probably other countries. I met and talked with a native guy who runs the place near me. His name is Shaman. I got in, and I’m considered a BACA child now. Despite being 17, turning 18 when I talked to them. They spent time with me when my abuser was over, they gave me therapy resources. They give you something called a ‘level 1′ where they go to your house with as many bikers as they can, i shit you not a solid 20-40 bikers came from even out of province, and met me. I got to choose my biker name and I got a vest with patches on it and my name on it. They all hugged a Teddybear before giving it to me, and told me if I ever felt the BACA bear was running out of love, to give them a call and they’d refill it for me, and then I got a ride on one of their bikes. Just a day or so ago I went to an annual party with them and they we ate food one of them cooked and had a lot of laughs.

I’ve never felt as loved as I did being a part of the BACA family. They also gave me dog tags with the names, and phone numbers of my 2 workers. So I can call them whenever I feel scared.

BACA is an absolutely wonderful group that will do everything in it’s power to help any child whos been abused.

And it doesn’t end when you’re 18 either. As long as you get in contact/get your level 1 before you’re 18? you’re ALWAYS a BACA kid. I’m 18 now and they still invite me to parties, ask me if I’m okay, and are there for me. They’re still trying to find me resources for therapy.

BACA has changed my fucking life.

I hope you all can read this, and reblog it knowing from someone who fucking been with them, that they are absolutely amazing.

bowtomypointlesswords

This is truly amazing, I’m so glad people like this exist

instructor144

This needs to be reblogged. Because.

mjaydziarand-deactivated2018121

Always reblog BACA.

macgyvershe

Signal Boosting because the world needs more biker angels.

anyar0se

I will never not reblog this

little-prongs-deactivated202111

Some heroes wear bandannas and leather vests

nineorfour

I love this.

jasontoddiefor

Bruce Wayne is so dumb. Billionaire playboy bachelor is such a stupid cover when stressed single parent is not only the truth but also easier to explain to all these rich folks.

All this weird in depth knowledge? Had to help with school presentations

Tired? Sleepy? Looks a bit sick? Huh yeah the youngst has the flu right now

Literally always has “my child is sick/home alone” as an excuse to not be anywhere and leave suddenly

No need to flirt with people

Can talk about children for hours and bore people away from paying attention

“So my child’s first languge is actually X so of course I had to learn it”

“Oh yeah, I was in Spain last week. Lovely country.”

“Really??? Didn’t see any pictures from you.”

“I don’t want my children exposed to the media storm”

Buying weird stuff!!!!

“Oh yeah, Jason’s super into DIY right now, we’re at the hardware store every week basically”

Bottom line Single Dad is the bet cover he could have had and DC has to ruin it

Feel free to add

astudyinimagination

@fialleril

north-peach

Busted ribs?

Yeah, my second child jumped into my bed this morning. Feet first.

Black eye?

That would be the milk my oldest spilled on the floor which he forgot to clean up before I slipped on it and went head first into my wool carved cabinets.

You just disabled this bomb???

Yeah, my third kid build a working model and we didn’t have time to call the bomb squad so I made sure if he does something like that again, I know how to deal with it.

Your vast knowledge of rockets and space ships??

Also my third child. Timmy’s so smart, honestly, I have no idea where he gets all this stuff.

Why are you able to understand that strange magic person who’s only speaking in Old English?

Jason went through a phase.

Why is your youngest carrying swords around and shouting death threats?

I slept with a rich, Middle Eastern king’s daughter and I didn’t get custody until he was 10. Damian was raised very…traditionally.

You backflip??

Dick’s a circus acrobat and an Olympic class gymnast. He looked so happy when he said he could teach me, I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.

You have huge dark circles under your eyes, you okay?

I haven’t slept in three days, the kids are all down with some kind of sickness.

Why is that small child covered with bruises and why is his arm in a cast?

Dick thought it would be fun to swing from the chandelier in the main entrance, to the top of the banister of the stairs and to slide down to the bottom.

He missed.

kintatsujo

Okay but consider: a Bruce Wayne who uses the dumb bachelor cover up until Dick’s first science project living with him and Bruce has the light bulb moment while Alfred is treating the burns

eraemx

As someone that has grown up surrounded by beaches and done surf life saving, I know how the sea works. Lots of people dont. Every summer multiple tourists die here because they don’t respect the sea, if you’re going to the coast, here’s a thing I saw on Facebook.