#knowbetterdobetter

[ariellafayette]

From my debut poetry collection, “Oblivion: Our Temporary Infinity”

Available on Amazon NOW!

[dramione-drama]

Mutiny on the SS Dramione

Once upon a time, (I hope you have your popcorn ready) a young woman looked around Facebook and thought “You know what this place needs? Dramione.” And so Dramione Fanfiction Recommendations was born and it was good.

It was a fairytale utopia at first; a safe place to gush and groan over Draco and Hermione banging. It was a place to talk about stories that you couldn’t talk about anywhere else. It was even a place to share those stories with others.

DFFR attracted a big following, and occasionally some drama broke out amongst the ranks. (Hey, it happens.) There was even a great purge. (RIP to the more than one thousand members that were yeeted into the ether in 2017. You should have been the first warning sign of things to come.)

Other groups were born in direct opposition of DFFR and their ideals, but they held strong with their founder at the helm. The years passed (eight to be exact) and the admins, well, they may have gotten a bit busy with real life and unable to keep up as the membership swelled to unknown heights.

Other admins came and went, the founder still quietly leading. But suddenly, a darkness arose.

A trio of admins were bullying and harassing and PURGING (again) willy nilly! The horrors!!! Surely the steadfast leader would save the innocent members!

But alas! The dark trio seized control of the group, booting any good admin that stood in their way, and even demoting the steadfast leader before she could save the group she’d so tirelessly built.

The members, baffled and confused, have since been subjected to even more bullying behavior (and trust us, we’re experts on bullying) and any complaints against the dark trio fall on deaf ears.

But, yea, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The steadfast leader can taketh no more, and hath started a new group, a dark-trio-free group, where we can once more gather in safety to discourse endlessly about Draco and Hermione and the banging.

As for the original DFFR, well, we wish them well. Now that so many have come into the light and share files freely, we guess they’ll always have Feltson. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Now where does DD fit in to all of this, you may ask? Well, the same way we always do. We’ve got the screenshots, bitches.

And just in case you want to claim “the admins were just doing their job, and it’s hard work” here’s a little exclusive peek at who actually worked around there.

[dragunflidesignz]

Sometimes it’s just as simple as that... Do better. #inspiration #motivation #encouragement #knowbetterdobetter https://www.instagram.com/p/CFays8pFAPO/?igshid=1b425mnrqef1w

[geezerwench]

Billie Eilish on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAzwncfFm7G/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[letshopeforthefuture]

Raw Faith.

I’ve been trying to figure out why this hurts my heart so bad. I mean I know why, but to put it into words. Then I though of my childhood. I had been looking at pictures from high school and my friends (names changed) Kim and Kyle. Well now they are grown, just like me. Kyle is a tall African American men who happens also to be a father, husband, brother and son. He is a kind, gentle, loving Christian man. I have seen him laugh until he couldn’t breath--laugh, not detained. I have seen tears run down his face...not for injustice but because a joke was so funny or because the Lord touched his hear. If it were Kyle, I would break. If his dear sister Kim’s car was in an accident and her cell phone was dead and she showed up on your porch, what would you do? She is a friend, a sister, an aunt, a daughter. I would fight if someone hurt or shot her simply for seeking help. 

And then I think of my son’s Vice Principal. He is a friend of a few of my coworkers. He has a great laugh, he loves his students. He is forever giving his students the benefit of the doubt and showing them what justice and grace looks like. I love that one of my white son’s male role models is an African American man. If the police kneeled on his neck, thousands of children who he’s touched including my own child would forever hate the people who take an oath to protect them. They would break into a million pieces. 

Next I think of my best friend’s children. All 4 are children of color. Her oldest are twins, like Kim and Kyle, they are not African American, but brown nonetheless and brown in this country is met with fear, rage and so much ignorance. Her son is tall, awkward, and gangly as many teenage boys are, but he is also sweet, funny and so very smart. Her older daughter is a talented singer, a responsible big sister and her Mama’s best friend (I love their relationship). And my best friend’s youngest two. A son and daughter. Brother and sister as well. They are African American and beautiful. He is a ham, he is a love and he is the sweetest little boy. And she is my squeakers. When she was little more than a peanut, she snuggled in the crook of my neck and she stole my heart. Now a year later, she is already smart, snarky and so full of joy. And at such a young age, these beautiful babies are the victim of a broken system. Birth fathers who want nothing to do with them, an addicted birth mother, and his grandmother--afraid a white woman couldn’t raise a black man and teach him what being black in America would me. And the drugs their birth mother used? Left them addicted before birth. He with autistic tendencies he will forever have to overcome, if  he isn’t judged first on the color of his skin or the texture of his hair. They may be judged by the broken background they had no control over. Let me be clear. If my friend doesn’t stop you if you try to hurt her beautiful children. I certainly will. These are the nieces and nephews of my heart. They are the children my son insists are his cousins. Because family isn’t always blood. These babies are my babies.

I may be a white woman in America with so much privilege it is coming out of my eyeballs. I am so lucky I was born with green eyes and light colored stick-straight hair. Not because I like it better or because it makes me better, but because in this country that prides itself on being Christian (Jesus was brown by the way) I’m safe, because of the color of my skin. I’m automatically respected and protected. If I knocked on your door in the middle of the night because I was in an accident, you’d call 911--not for fear of me, but out of concern for me.

My nephew got in trouble with some friends a few years back on the beach. And I didn’t fear for his safety, but I feared for his black best friend’s. And we all thanked God that he had been taking a walk on the beach when his white friends were detained by the police. No one is more dangerous because they are tan. No one’s life is less valuable because of how much melanin is in their skin or where their ancestors came from. That is a lie told to us by the conquerors. The ones who held the bigger weapons. The one who used force to steal what they wanted. The Conquistadors wiped out entire civilizations. The slave traders destroyed families and tribes and villages--ripped apart with oceans in between. The plantation owners and our founders decided humans were property. They decided because they were European and “discovered” this land and I don’t know, believe in God? They could steal everything from the American Indians. Manifest Destiny is a lie. No one is inherently better or worse or deserves “everything.” 

We are all sinners, none are clean. Save by grace, made new because of the blood of a very brown Jewish man two-thousand years ago. So all you white Christians out there who think “merica” is blessed by God, maybe it is, but maybe that’s the biggest lie the devil has told. Because the Jesus of my faith would’ve brought George Floyd back for his glory, would’ve healed the police officer dying of Covid, would have flipped tables in Congress and stood against those using violence again PEACEFUL protesters. My Jesus sees the heart, not the policy, not the 2nd Amendment or the stand on abortion, not the amount of $ in your bank account or the color of your skin. He forgives and condemns based on your grace for others, on the purity of your intent, and the magnitude of your regret for the wrongs you’ve committed. No one group of people own Him. No one has exclusive rights to being blessed by Him. He was with George Floyd and Trayvon Martin and everyone else who lost their lives for simply having the wrong skin tone. He held their hands and cried for them. He also cried for those that committed those heinous crimes--for their ignorance and hatred--that the devil whispered in His children’s ears and they listened.

This is an evil, fallen world we live in. We should not be, as Christians, dividing ourselves along party lines or along racial lines or based on our faith. If you are a member of the human race, you should stop and fight for the safety and equality of your brothers and sisters. If you say you’re a Christian, but aren’t appalled at how people of color have been treated in not just this country, but this world, then you may want to reexamine your heart and get down on your knees and pay for a little bit of humility and a whole lot of grace--I know we all need it--none are better than the rest. Love your neighbor as yourself--He left us with just two commandments. JUST TWO. If we can’t even get that right, then how can we even say we follow Him?

[lifenatureoils]

WHAT!?

Do you know what’s in your air fresheners? Remember the word fragrance and what that term implies? Go grab your bottle of air freshener and look to see if that word is on the ingredient list. I guarantee that every commercial air freshener in your home contains this chemical laden term.

That fresh, floral, or other scent contained in air fresheners may mask this very real health threat. Chemicals called phthalates that are in most air fresheners can cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects, and reproductive problems. The National Resources Defense council performed independent testing on the most used brands out on the market right now and discovered phthalates in 86 percent of air freshener products tested including ones marked all natural or unscented and NONE of those products tested even had phthalates listed on their label. It gets even better. Phthalate exposure in indoor environments has also been associated with allergic symptoms and asthma.

Air fresheners are not a solution to poor air quality. They mask bad odors but they do not eliminate the chemicals that cause them. In 2005 the European Consumers Union study found volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air freshener products at high levels and concluded that VOCs substantially contributed to indoor air pollution. Not to mention air fresheners in cans contain propellants that are horrible for the environment. Here is the real winner: That same European study detected cancer causing chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde in some air fresheners. Benzene is known to cause leukemia in humans and formaldehyde has been linked to cancers of the upper airways. I mean who wants to be breathing all this in? Not me and not my child.

I've switched to diffusers with essential oils or I make my own air freshener sprays with spray bottles from amazon. I put my essential oils in them combined with witch hazel and water. Whatever scent I desire. So simple and cost effective!

Hit your girl up for all things essential oils.

[gadgettrish]

Today is my 1st Anniversary of being part of the #DrSebi lifestyle. My journey started with #MineralsFast by AhealthyCrush one year ago, and like the going says, the rest is history. I can never thank Kelly Keelo and Crush Foster enough for what role they played into changing my life for the better. I really love their books, products, and positive energy that they bring into the #AlkalineECLECTIC space. Because of you……. #TheMarothonContinues. Note: For those looking to buy quality sea moss, I purchased mine from the Bobo Cook's website. Thank you Bobo, for being part of the journey too. ______________________________________________________________⁣⚡ https://www.instagram.com/p/BykQUVPJEHs/?igshid=onofwjad1rwx

[aheartsgarden]

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We are to blame for alot of our hurt we allow it we choose it and accept it... we want everyone to be so different but they have the same traits... just watch and observe the truth will be infront of you! #aheartsgarden #poetry #thefireprincess #thepricelessdiamond #trustissues #trust #relationships #love #understanding #knowbetterDoBetter https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1wqCuBeDL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=igorhu7s58js