Rambling Poetry

Hi, I'm Samuel. Genderqueer (They/Them/Their). Type 1 Diabetic. Queer. Polyamorous. Writing Tutor Extraordinaire. Writer.

[liberalsarecool]

People who defend capitalism have no clue. It literally monetizes your misery.

[sexhaver]

idk if this is a phenomenon that has a name yet but like. scheduling doctor's appointments when you work a 9-5 job is really fucking hard when said doctors' offices are also open 9-5 and closed any time i could actually make it without needing to take PTO. im lucky bc my boss doesn't care if i duck out for under an hour for medical stuff but he very easily could force me to submit PTO for all of it. staying healthy in this country is such a hellscape on so many levels

[bipolarcorner]

Especially if you don't get PTO and have to just take off work, or work customer/food service and don't have a reliable schedule so you don't know when you can schedule appointments for even if you don't necessarily work 9-5

[nonegenderleftpain]

The phenomenon does have a name! It's systemic ableism.

Our world is set up to dissuade and prevent disabled people from participating in society in any way. With the state of late-stage capitalism destroying unions and grind culture so normalized, this starts to affect abled people as well. If you prevent your employees from taking care of their health without punitive action, you not only keep your employees too tired to work around your anti-union bullshit and simultaneously keep disabled people out of the pool of applicants. I have at least one doctor's appointment per week, and have for the past 4 years or so. No employer will hire me despite it being illegal to discriminate based on my illness, and they use the structure of grind culture to circumvent that.

Disabled people have been rallying against this for decades. It is legal not to hire us as long as they come up with an excuse, and their excuse ends up hurting abled people as well, preventing you from getting basic care to make sure they don't have to extend accommodations to otherwise capable workers. It's a side-effect of systemic ableism and historical eugenics and I'm very sorry that you've been caught in it.

The answer to this is to unionize. It is illegal to prevent you from doing so. Unionize, ignore the company rhetoric about unions being a drain on you, and rally for health time PTO. Vote for the SSI Restoration Act, to raise disabled people's income to the poverty line after decades of gutting funds, and remember that we are at the root of this and need your help. We can work together and change things if we can remember that late stage capitalism is not the natural state of existence. The 40 hour work week was won by unions, and getting time off for your doctor's appointments will be, too, if you can put in the work.

Just don't leave us disabled people behind when you get there.

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

I hate when arguments use 9-5. Because if you work 8 hours in a day, you're legally required to have a 30 min lunch break. So 9-5 implies you get a 30 min lunch break where your employer is paying your for said 30 minutes. It does happen. I've seen it happen. If it happens that's good and all.

But what a lot of employers do is set you to work 8-5 or 9-6 so you get an unpaid 1 hour lunch break. Which only further restricts when you can go to the Dr. Not only that, but that extra hour (getting to work at 8 instead of 9) makes A HUGE DIFFERENCE if you have any condition that contributes to chronic fatigue. I have chronic fatigue, insomnia, and migraines. I'd LOVE that extra hour of sleep. Plus the 8-5 schedule takes an hour away from YOUR free time and forces you to use it for lunch. That's an extra 5 hrs a week you can spend reading, sewing, playing video games, or enjoy whatever hobby you have. Or 240 hrs a year.

(You will have employers try to guilt you into eating lunch at your desk. Don't let this happen. If you work 8-5 or 9-6 YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID FOR THAT HOUR. Take the whole damn hour. If you get the 30 minutes paid lunch break STILL DON'T LET YOUR EMPLOYER GUILT YOU INTO WORKING IT. Your unionizing striking ancestors would spit in your face for throwing away all of the hard work they did to get you that 30 minute lunch break. You fucking scab.)

But that's a side argument. My real peeve is this. My boss expects me to use my lunch hour for my Dr appointments, which is no big deal if like, I have to go to my dentist which is down the street.

But my headache specialist is an hour away. That's an hour drive there, 45 min for appointment, and an hour drive back. I can't use my 1 hour lunch break for that shit. That takes 3 hours.

(Before anyone asks why I don't have a Dr closer. My migraines are hard to treat, a headache specialist is the only one that has the resources to treat it. Not everyone has a headache specialist even in their state, so I'm very privileged to have one. She's considered one of the best an has resources to make my meds affordable, and they'd normally cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.)

Systemic abelism.

-fae

[aaere]

i just saw a video of white ukrainian blocking black ukrainians and africans from boarding a train fascinating how white people will always make time for racism even during war, i found think link with more update of the situation and help for africans

[sreegs]

As the staff post about ad-free tumblr continues to get thousands of notes telling staff to fuck off in the tags, I wanna remind you that this website's days are numbered. Tumblr is still unprofitable and by some modern-day miracle none of its acquiring companies pulled the plug on this money pit. But it will happen if it continues its trajectory.

Whether you like it or not, Tumblr needs to make money off you somehow in order to stay up. It either serves ads or asks for money to use it. This has been a paradigm on the web longer than many of you have been alive. It's Tumblr's job to make money right now because it's well past its grace period of being a black hole for cash. This has actually always been Tumblr's job, since it is a corporation, but that's capitalism for ya.

If you want Tumblr to be here for free and you want to continue to use it, you do yourself a disservice by opposing any changes Tumblr makes in order to pay for its costs. When this site finally goes belly-up then you're gonna be Tumblr-less until whatever startup takes its place and the cycle repeats itself.

If you think it should just ask for donations Wikipedia-style, remember that if and when that happens, there will be users repeating the same tired bullshit about giving Tumblr any money.

[shinelikethunder]

Tumblr being notoriously hostile to monetization is only cool and funny when it's about attempts to sell this freakazoid userbase's attention to third parties. If the way they finally keep the site afloat turns out to be the freakazoid userbase itself exchanging goods ($) for services (Tunglr Dot Hell), honestly we will have WON the monetization fight.

[psychoticallytrans]

I've seen a couple people asking why other social media doesn't require this. If you look into what data the apps collect for various social media, tumblr has some of the lowest and least personal data collection. Other social media sites run off of selling the data that they collect and serving targeted ads. Tumblr... well, we all know what the ads are like.

If we want to keep a place that doesn't literally tail us all over the 'net, like Facebook and anything owned by Google, then we do at some point need to make sure that that place stays alive.

[mysharona1987]

[politijohn]

The world stands with Ukraine

Tbilisi, Georgia

St. Petersburg, Russia

London, England

Paris, France

Thessaloniki, Greece

Rome, Italy

Berlin, Germany

Tokyo, Japan

Montenegro

Mumbai, India

[politijohn]

Warsaw, Poland

Lebanon

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Istanbul, Turkey

New York City, United States

[politijohn]

Toronto, Canada

Vienna, Austria

Binnish, Syria

Dublin, Ireland

Barcelona, Spain

Melbourne, Australia

Riga, Latvia

Tel Aviv, Israel

Copenhagen, Denmark

Bern, Switzerland

[politijohn]

Sarajevo, Bosnia

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Tallinn, Estonia

Stockholm, Sweden

Helsinki, Finland

Reykjavík, Iceland

[fthgurdy]

Even symbolic support is not meaningless; with every such gesture you are preventing the claim that no one cares, no one opposes, no one disagrees, no one minds.

[nintendocialism-deactivated2023]

this is the funniest fucking paragraph

[commiedervish]

If there was a sci-fi novel with a megalomaniac billionaire who was the son of an Apartheid emerald mine owner, and he was privatizing space exploration so the public no longer has a say in it…you know that would be considered bad, right? The heroes would fight to stop SpaceX.

The fact that anyone considers SpaceX as anything other than a continuation of the transfer of public sector science, that was run for the public good, into the hands of billionaires is a testament to our propaganda. Having space exploration controlled by one billionaire is bad.

Remember in the 60s when rockets launched and the credit was given to the scientists and astronauts that actually made it happen?

Now it’s given to the billionaire who pillaged NASA tech and is now using it as his playground and promotion for his cars. That’s bad. SpaceX is bad.

[guerrillatech]

[hekatontarch]

[queertail]

The site is '12ft Ladder' found here:

12ft – Hop any paywall

Show me a 10ft paywall, I’ll show you a 12ft ladder.

[smt1-deactivated20211112]

[kaylahadlington]

i often wonder how many ppl from 2012 tumblr are still active on here

are u also still here, lurking in the shadows????

[catchymemes]

[peneigh-dzredfohl]

Can everyone who reads this PLEASE reblog it?!?!?  Libraries literally saved my life as a child!

Being abused at home, bullied at school and lost in the world, the library and all the books I could escape to the most amazing worlds, kept me alive!

I would walk to the library, and spend all day, from 10 am to 9 pm reading there!! I got special awards for how many books I read, I wrote little blurbs on why i loved the books (probably why I love to BETA and do ARCs) 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Just hit the green arrows and the reblog!!!

As a 50 year old woman, the library offers me so much. Digital art pads to borrow, 3D printing, book clubs that are face to face (yeah, the introvert likes face to face because a moderator will stomp on anyone getting snarky)

New books in LARGE PRINT! I’m visually challenged and as much as I love my kindle, The feel of a real book in my hands will always be a beloved feeling!

Our library also has quarterly books sales of almost free books!! For 5$USD we get in a day early and can buy as many as we want. Anyone else has to wait and there is a limit for the first 2 days.

[stevviefox]

Also many, many libraries have inter library loan(it may be called something different). This means if they don’t have the item you want, they can get it for you. This may include photocopy/pdf of articles. This can also include along with books and DVDs, microfilm/fiche which is also a huge resource. Check around for libraries that are listed as depositories if you want to look at government documents.

Remember that many colleges and universities have open stacks for the public. You will likely have to pay a membership fee but you will get to stuff.

[psi1998]

I love the library ☺

[icycove]

The library was one of my favorite places to go as a kid and I still live to go and just. Sit and read. Or do homework. The university I’m at has a massive 8-story one I love to just wonder around in~ Great places

[jaks21]

Libraries are amazing places, we need to protect them to ensure their continued existence.

[ratliker1917]

I just realized the reason so many people will call someone “an abuser” when the facts of the matter indicate instead that the person is actually simply “an asshole” is because you can’t just create engaging social media guilt by association drama by demanding people unfollow x or y if they’re simply an asshole, but if you re-reframe banal assholishness as genuine psychological abuse it means you can also start shit with anybody who associates with the asshole in question. That might also explain why people say “this person is a gaslighter” when they instead mean “this person says lies”.

[packbat]

“If a person can’t get out of bed, something is making them exhausted. If a student isn’t writing papers, there’s some aspect of the assignment that they can’t do without help. If an employee misses deadlines constantly, something is making organization and deadline-meeting difficult. Even if a person is actively choosing to self-sabotage, there’s a reason for it — some fear they’re working through, some need not being met, a lack of self-esteem being expressed. People do not choose to fail or disappoint. No one wants to feel incapable, apathetic, or ineffective. If you look at a person’s action (or inaction) and see only laziness, you are missing key details. There is always an explanation. There are always barriers. Just because you can’t see them, or don’t view them as legitimate, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Look harder. Maybe you weren’t always able to look at human behavior this way. That’s okay. Now you are. Give it a try.”

—

— “Laziness Does Not Exist” by E Price on Medium

(And a footnote I didn’t see explicitly covered in the article: laziness still doesn’t exist when it is you yourself making no progress and not knowing why. You deserve that respect and consideration, too, even from yourself.)

[kittykatninja321]

My hypothesis is that in like 10 years gen z is gonna have a big cult boom the way the boomers did in the 70s

[chazymandias]

It’s already happening on tik tok. There’s a fun new thing going round that’s citing common symptoms of depression and anxiety as signs you’re about to have your awakening and that you are actually an alien and the reason you don’t feel right is because you’re home sick for your own galaxy. So that’s fun.

[aleatoryw]

agreed, and i don't mean this in a "haha gen z is so dumb they're gonna join a tiktok cult lmao" i mean that conditions are perfect for the formation of cults right now.

high unemployment and a lot of underpaying, pointless jobs = people are looking for things to do with their life, a purpose

skyrocketing cost of living = most young people will not be able to live on their own, meaning some will end up in a group living situation with people interested in recruiting them

it's a time of great cultural and political upheaval, nothing feels real, people are desperate for meaning and human connection. cults promise that

there is a new wave of acceptance and understanding for ways of life outside the norm, which is great! ...except for when cult leaders tell you abusive and controlling practices are just their culture, their religion, their lifestyle, their beliefs, their tradition, and if you disrespect it you are the problem

social media influencers have already shown us how easy it is to build a cult of personality and attract people from anywhere in the world who are interested in the exact brand you are selling

spirtuality is having a boom, as are things like astrology, crystals, tarot, meditation, energy... those things aren't bad on their own but they are often used as tools of cult spaces

wellness. i think a lot of people are already in wellness cults. you can make people do a lot of things in the name of "wellness" and a big factor of maintaining a cult is keeping members in a state of decreased cognition..... like say, with regular fasting

i think people are just unaware in general of how cults function, especially because the satanic panic was a big stupid false alarm that convinced the youths that dungeons and dragons or doom were gateways to cults, which are scary evil child murdering, satan-worshipping gangs. people don't know how to spot them in real life.

[apple-dandy]

So if that's the case everyone remember with me the cardinal rules of not getting cult'd

SOCIAL BUFFER: Learn what healthy social boundaries are and develop relationships which are within those boundaries.

Be wary of those who step on your or others' boundaries. Be there for your friends, but don't be their therapists or parents. Go get coffee or juice or snacks & chat casually with a friendly crew on a regular basis.

ESTEEM BUFFER. Recognize that you and every other person on this planet are owed a baseline of respect.

Respect means that what you wear, what/who you take interest in, and who/what you are are things which you decide on based on your own reasoning. If anyone is trying to change your mind, make sure to think critically about their side and decide for yourself whether you want to change. Ask: Why do they want you to change? Is that valid to your situation? Who / what would benefit from this change? Do you want them / it to benefit? Then decide for yourself.

RELAXATION BUFFER. Take time exclusively for yourself.

Take care of your body and mind when it needs to be fed, watered, washed, or nurtured. Have a couple hobbies that are just for you. Have more than one interest. Think about more than just one topic. Cults keep you focused on them to the exclusion of all else, so don't allow yourself to be blocked in.

BUBBLE POP BUFFER: Learn from multiple sources, even ones you don't like or respect.

Read multiple sources' versions of events before you decide what you feel about something. Recognize that not all sources are valid, but understand what those invalid sources are trying to do. Are they misguided or malicious? Who are THEIR sources? What is the agenda? Who benefits? Why would they want to say what they're saying? Do they have a point? Who pays them? What do they care about? Then make your decision.

BEWARE THE B.I.T.E.: Cults control people via Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotion control. BITE

Look up the BITE model and consider it against groups you wish to join / have joined.

Remember. You are the arbiter of your mind.

You have the blessing and burden of making your own decisions. Other people who will love and care about you throughout your life will want you to think for yourself and will think for themselves.

You are not alone. You are worthwhile. Your thoughts are your own and you have every right to control them yourself.

[danielle-mertina]

Perhaps the most insidious thing about college admissions is that the worth of GPA's are evaluated based on what high school you go to.

A 4.0 should be considered stellar no matter where a student went to school...because kids can't usually choose their high school. Your high school is usually determined by where you live unless your parents can afford private school OR you're part of the minority that gets to leave their neighborhood due to being part of GATE/ magnet programs.

By saying certain (let's be real - predominantly Black and low income) high schools aren't as "rigororous" you're basically saying only middle class and wealthy kids qualify for many of the most selective colleges.

Which is why HBCUs are so critical. They give Black kids a chance that many historically white private universities continue to deny them based on their zip code.

[fandomsandfeminism]

Humans are not parasites on the world.

One thing that I think a lot of Environmentalists in America really overlook is that humans are supposed to be part of an ecosystem.  Humans are part of the food web; we fill an environmental niche, just as much as beavers and wolves do.   

We are SUPPOSED to interact with the environment- the problem arises when we begin interacting with the environment in UNSUSTAINABLE ways. This idea that we should try to “return” the environment to the way it was “before” humans so so so often ignores the way that Indigenous people all over the world were (and are) an important part of their environments- and trying to “preserve” those places without people filling their ecological niche can cause harm in super weird ways. 

You know how its shitty for deer populations if you take out all of the wolves? It’s just as bad if you stop all human hunting too. Humans hunting deer has been an important part of the food web for thousands and thousands of years! Deer populations NEED hunters- human, wolf, cougar- to stay healthy. 

Yes- massive clear cutting of forests and strip mining is bad. HOWEVER, not allowing Indigenous people to practice traditional controlled burns of grass lands? Not only makes wildfires worse, but ALSO fucks up the bio-diversity of those grasslands. Totally unmanaged “pristine” grasslands without humans are actually less healthy than grasslands that are sustainably managed by people.

Mono-crop super farms are not good- but humans have been farming for thousands of years- tending for plants and increasing their yield, monitoring the soil, in ways that benefit those plants and the other animals that eat them, and the other plants that use that soil, and the insects that make their home there. Sustainable, diversified farming isn’t bad. 

Laying out acres and acres of asphalt and oil pipelines? Bad. But digging natural cisterns in the dessert that catches rainwater for grazing animals to use? Benefits the entire ecosystem and all the animals in it. 

We are part of the environment. We belong here. And the ecosystems that human beings evolved in and lived in need us just as much as we need them. We aren’t parasites on the planet, we are a part of it. It’s just that global capitalism has thrown us terribly out of balance.  Colonialism and profit-seeking are the problem- not human beings existing.  

The goal of environmentalism should not be to protect nature by keeping humans totally separate from it, but rather to restore balance with our interactions with nature, for sustainable practices that help us coexist with the ecosystems that we are part of. That we have been a part of forever.  And that is hard with billions of people on the planet, yes, and we will need to be clever and resourceful and thoughtful to find ways of restoring that balance, it will take a lot of people working together to find those answers- but humans’ greatest trait has always been our cleverness and our ability to work together. 

[ocean-again]

most complex ecosystems are the result of human actions, you can tell because as soon as people are kept from maintaining things like: meadows and berry patches and prairies, the monoculture of plants moves in and it SUCKS.

[fandomsandfeminism]

True! Like, people will hold up the Amazon as this deeply WILD ecosystem, when in fact there is evidence that large swaths of that forest, like the American East Coast, are actually cultivated and tended- their biodiversity encouraged and maintained by the indigenous people who live there. White colonizers just didnt recognize those forests for what they were for a very long time.

Humans have a role to fill. We have just been doing a really really bad job of it lately. But our extinction or removal isnt the answer.