Such Is My Idea Of Happiness

Hi! My name's Kasia! I just post things that I think are cool or funny or thought provoking. "It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for living.” - Simone de Beauvoir I haven't really been active as of late. Teaching takes up much of my time. :(

[eowyntheavenger]

What have the protests accomplished?

5/26 4 officers fired for murdering George Floyd 5/27 Charges dropped for Kenneth Walker (Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, who police accused of killing her) 5/28 University of Minnesota cancels contract with police 5/28 3rd precinct police station neutralized by protesters 5/28 Minneapolis transit union refuses to bring police officers to protests or transport arrested protesters 5/29 Activists commandeer Minneapolis hotel to provide shelter to homeless 5/29 Former officer Chauvin arrested and charged with murder 5/29 Louisville Mayor suspends “no-knock” warrants 5/30 US Embassies across Africa condemn police murder of George Floyd 5/30 Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison takes over prosecution of the murdering officer 5/30 Transport Workers Union refuses to help NYPD transport arrests protesters 5/30 Maryland lawmakers forming work group on police reform, accountability 5/31 2 abusive officers fired for pulling a couple out of their car and tasing them - Atlanta, GA 6/1 Minneapolis public schools end contract with police 6/1 Confederate monument removed after being toppled by protesters - Birmingham, AL 6/1 CA prosecutors launch campaign to stop DAs from accepting police union money 6/1 Tulsa Mayor agrees to not renew Live PD contract 6/1 Louisville police chief fired after shooting of David Mcatee 6/1 Congress begins bipartisan push to cut off police access to military gear 6/1 Atlanta announces plans to create a task force and public database to track police brutality in metro Atlanta area 6/2 Minneapolis AFL-CIO calls for resignation of police union president Bob Kroll, a vocal white supremest 6/2 Pittsburgh transit union announces refusal to transport police officers or arrest protesters 6/2 Racist ex-mayor Frank Rizzo statue removed in Philadelphia 6/2 6 abusive officers charged for violence against residents and protesters - Atlanta, GA 6/2 Civil rights investigation of Minneapolis Police Dept launched 6/2 San Francisco resolution to prevent law enforcement from hiring officers with history of misconduct 6/2 Survey indicates that 64% of those polled are sympathetic to protesters, 47% disapprove of police handling of the protests, and 54% think the burning down of the Minneapolis police precinct was fully or partially justified 6/2 Trenton NJ announces policing reforms 6/2 Minneapolis City Council members consider disbanding the police 6/2 Confederate statue removed from Alexandria, VA 6/3 Officer fired for tweets promoting violence against protesters - Denver, CO 6/3 Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art cut ties with the MPD 6/3 Chauvin charges upgraded to second degree murder, remaining 3 officers also charged and taken into custody 6/3 Richmond VA Mayor Stoney announces RPD reform measures: establish “Marcus” alert for folks experiencing mental health crises, establish independent Citizen Review Board, an ordinance to remove Confederate monuments, and implement racial equity study 6/3 County commissioners deny proposal for $23 million expansion of Fulton County jail 6/3 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board unanimously votes to sever ties with MPD 6/3 Seattle withdraws request to end federal oversight/consent decree of police department 6/3 Breonna Taylor’s case reopened 6/3 Louisville police department (Breonna Taylor’s murderers) will now be under review from an outside agency, which will include review on training, bias-free policing and accountability 6/3 Colorado lawmakers introduce a police reform bill that includes body cam laws, repealing the “fleeing felon” statute, and banning chokeholds 6/3 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announces plans to reduce funding to police department by $150M and instead invest in minority communities 6/4 Virginia governor announces plans to remove Robert E. Lee statue from Richmond 6/4 Portland schools superintendent discontinues presence of armed police officers in schools 6/4 MBTA (Metro Boston) board orders that buses wont transport police to protests, or protesters to police 6/4 King County Labor Federation issues ultimatum to police unions: admit to and address racism in Seattle PD, or be removed 6/5 City of Minneapolis bans all chokeholds by police 6/5 Racist ex-mayor Hubbard statue removed - Dearborn, MI 6/5 NFL condemns racism and admits it should have listened to players’ protests 6/5 California Governor Gavin Newsom calls for statewide use-of-force standard made along with community leaders and ban on carotid holds 6/5 2 Buffalo officers suspended within a day of pushing 75 year old protester to the ground, and lying about it 6/5 2 NYPD officers suspended after videos of violence to protesters 6/5 The US Marines bans display of the Confederate flag 6/5 Dallas adopts a “duty to intervene” rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in excessive use of force 6/5 Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax releases an 11-point action plan for immediate police reforms 6/6 Statue of Confederate general Williams Carter Wickham torn down - Richmond, VA 6/6 2 Buffalo officers charged with second-degree assault for shoving elderly man 6/6 San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces effort to defund police and redirect funds to Black community 6/7 Frank Rizzo mural removed, to be replaced with new artwork - Philadelphia, PA 6/7 Minneapolis City Council members announce intent to disband the police department, invest in proven community-led public safety 6/7 Protesters in Bristol topple statue of slave trader Edward Colston, throw it in the river 6/7 NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio vows for the first time to cut funding for NYPD, redirect to social services 6/7 A Virginia police officer faces charges after using a stun gun on a black man 6/8 NY State Assembly passes the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act 6/8 Democrats in Congress unveil a bill to rein in bias and excessive force in policing 6/8 Black lawmakers block a legislative session in Pennsylvania to demand action on police reform 6/8 France bans police use of chokeholds 6/8 Seattle council members join calls to defund police department 6/8 Boston reevaluates how it funds police department 6/8 Honolulu Police Commission nominees voice support for more transparency, reforms 6/8 Rights groups and Floyd’s family call for a UN inquiry into American policing and help with systemic police reform

No, it’s not enough, but this is only the beginning. Keep fighting!!!

(This list comes from Mara Ahmed’s blog post and was compiled by Fahd Ahmed; I added sources and new entries. Please reblog with further additions.)

[thebreezefromtheseine]

Keep it up, fam!

[posi-pan]

pan and bi definition and explanation psa

pan is attraction to people of all gender identities/lack thereof, or more specifically, attraction to people that is not determined by gender identity/lack thereof.

bi is attraction to people of two or more gender identities/lack thereof. this is according to the definition the bi community as a whole has been using for decades. not two, not men and women, two or more.

yes, there are similarities/overlap; they’re both multi identities, or attraction to people of more than one gender identity. and because bi means “two or more” the “or more” for some people can mean all. because of this overlap, if someone feels comfortable with and represented by both pan and bi, they can identify as both or alternate between the two.

but there is a difference; bi can mean anything from two to all, whereas pan only ever means all. and going back to the more specific definition of pan, the difference can be in the emphasis some pan people place on gender identity not determining their attraction and their feeling that that’s the most important part of their attraction in ways that others might not.

neither pan nor bi are bigoted; pan is not and did not come about to be better than or replace bi. pan is not defined by it’s inclusion of trans and non-binary folk compared to bi. both identities include trans and non-binary folk, and trans and non-binary folk are in both the pan and bi communities. pan is not useless and bi is not outdated. both identities are very much valid and needed and come with important histories of their own that can not be erased or dismissed.

lastly, this is not discourse; labeling this topic discourse either dismisses people who are genuinely trying to inform people about these identities and communities to end the ignorance (hi!) or gives credit to plain old panphobia and biphobia as valid opinions worth considering.

[girls-can-get-married]

🏳️‍🌈 Ruth Ellis (1899 - 2000) was the daughter of former slaves. She came out as a lesbian when she was 16-years-old to the complete acceptance of her family. In 1937, Ruth and her longtime partner moved to Detroit from their hometown of Springfield, Illinois for the promise of higher wages. There, she became the first woman in Michigan to run her own printing business. She printed fliers, posters, and stationary in the front room of her home, which also quickly became a hotspot for Black LGBTQ social life. Before long, Ruth was helping those who came around in any way she could, including by paying for college tuitions. After the Stonewall uprising, 70-year-old Ruth began giving speeches in support of gay and lesbian rights all across the country. She remained an activist for the rest of her long life and even spent her 100th birthday leading the San Francisco Dyke March. At the time of her death at 101, she was recognized as the oldest out lesbian in the US. She is the subject of the documentary "Living With Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100" and is the namesake of the Ruth Ellis Center, a shelter for homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth in Detroit.

Celebrate Ruth Ellis.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Ellis_(activist)

#Pride #BlackLivesMatter

[shantoriadivine]

Photographer: Shantoria Divine

[perksofbeingbisexual]

Picture from drive thru protest happening now

[the-delta-quadrant-deactivated2]

The first Nonbinary Awareness Week is from July 12th to 18th!

After that, it will take place annually during the week surrounding July 14th, International Nonbinary People's Day.

[gaypeopletwitter]

[bilations]

I just love being bi so much. 💖💜💙 reblog if you also love being bi.

[anxietyproblem]

[thebreezefromtheseine]

...and then at 11:30 you’ll be wired af

[lightninghitsground]

Artwork in Bristol by Lanie Rose (link to her instagram in source)

[thebreezefromtheseine]

I look forward to a world where posting about this isn't seen as radical. 

[gatekid3]

Just a reminder that Black artists need to be supported right now.  A lot is going on, but an aspect of it i want to focus on is black characters in media. Often a default, even for you black creators, is to design with white characters in mind. Support black creators and encourage blackness In our media beyond just side characters, character customization, and one off background characters.

[mydadjokes]

5YO: "Dad, I'm hungry AND DON'T SAY HI HUNGRY I'M DAD"

Me: “wow … that’s a very long name, hungryAndDon'tSayHiHungryI'mDad”

via reddit

[sprachtraeume]

rb to make a trans person feel loved 💕

[90342u9rewiojdfsijfjdilkjdfsfe]

ik i said it before but if you care about black artists you should really be spreading the word and helping out Amina Mucciolo rn

she’s a black, autistic, queer woman and this is the second time a big brand has profited off of her & her ideas without even so much as acknowledging they were hers to begin with.

Lisa Frank and Hotels(.)com literally caused her to be evicted in October by stealing her home design for a pop-up hotel. neither companies have issued an apology or compensated her for this to this day.

right now, LOL Surprise & MGA Entertainment are profiting off using her likeness for a doll she did not consent to, and she is not being acknowledged or compensated.

also her gofundme from the Lisa Frank incident still hasn’t reached its goal,

UPDATE 6/8/20: her original gofundme from 8 months ago has been funded, she now has a new gofundme for her current situation

there’s also an easily shareable thread of this information on twitter

you should still support her further by spreading the word, boycotting these companies, and supporting her shop & buying her art or funding her directly

[plannedparenthood]

We mourn. We remember.  We stand with the LGBTQ community against hate and violence.

[thebreezefromtheseine]

Bioethics and Moral Decision Making

My senior year in high school, the theology teacher said “God gave us sex and made it good and look what we’ve done to it.” And it haunts me and my closest friends to. this. day. 

[celestialfaye]

God, I love boys. I want a boyfriend.

but also

God, I love girls. I want a girlfriend.

[thebreezefromtheseine]