Chinese Democracy

Please read the FAQ twotontwentyone.tumblr.com/faq You can watch me (poorly) play video games sometimes at twitch.tv/twotontwentyuno

[natalieironside]

There's always a moment of intense cultural whiplash whenever I realize I'm talking to someone who thinks "legal" and "illegal" are meaningful categories and ascribes innate goodness to following the law. It's like meeting a space alien.

[sexygrammaticalerrors]

[boamerry]

❤️❤️❤️

[dragon-in-a-fez]

under US law, it's illegal for anyone who's not a member of a recognised native tribe to own an eagle feather. the penalty is a $100,000 fine.

14 years ago when I had recently moved to Alaska, I went hiking with an Aleut friend, and she pointed to a feather lying on the ground and said "hey that's a bald eagle tail feather, you should grab it!" and I was like "uhh I'm very white and that's very illegal" and she went "they're fuckin everywhere up here man. I have 20." so she grabs it off the ground and hands it to me and says "there, now it's a ceremonial gift from an indigenous person."

and I'm like, okay, cool, I guess this is how we do things in Alaska. nice.

so I keep this bald eagle tail feather around for years. display it in my home among other cherished memorabilia from places I've lived and visited, etc.

on a whim, I have just now looked it up. there is no exemption to that law for a ceremonial gift from an indigenous person. the last 7 years I lived in the US, I was technically a bald eagle poacher.

probably a good thing I don't intend to move back there anytime soon. I wonder what the statute of limitations is on bird crimes.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

@freedomisscaryshit I'm fucking dying I think you forgot the word "feathers" in your tags?? or do you just wish you could grab whole ass eagles that land in your yard??

[emotional-support-husband]

As an Indigenous person, it continues to astound me that there are such strict laws (written by White people) in our name, laws against...picking up things just found on the ground. Like, stop pretending this is "for" us. We don't want this.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

so, for clarity, that's not what this is. the law against possessing feathers is an anti-poaching measure, derived from a North American treaty protecting certain migratory bird species from hunting. that treaty has an exemption for indigenous people to allow tribes that use eagle feathers in ceremonial or religious practices to continue doing so.

[chekhovs-raygun]

i used to collect feathers (illegally) as a teenager and the thing is that it's incredibly important for feathers from wild birds to be illegal to possess because it ensures that they never become fashionable to wear. the reason we passed the migratory bird act was because the american and european fashion industry was driving species to extinction in a timespan of years. not just decades. the ecological devastation of exporting birds for hats was absolutely insane and people were watching wetlands and forests and meadows just empty out in realtime. look at the wikipedia article for the plume trade.

the law against 'picking feathers up off the ground' means that you can't go shoot an eagle then sell the feathers on etsy by saying you 'just found them'. you can't own them no matter where they came from, which makes sure that they're not going to come from any birds killed and then secretly disposed of.

these laws, as harsh and ridiculous as they seem, saved flamingos, spoonbills, egrets, and all kinds of hawks and eagles from extinction. the minute these laws weaken and people can make money off killing them again, they're fucked.

[lizardlicks]

this is one of those "no actually this regulation exists for a reason" laws much like work place safety and building fire codes (that Republicans keep trying to roll back) and is written in blood just like them as well. it's just not human blood this time, and the fact that people actually cared enough about long term future over short term profit to get it put in place is nothing short of astonishing. That it didn't get put in place in time to save several species is heart breaking.

[hapalopus]

And yes, it's still needed today, despite no one wearing hats. People will go to crazy lengths to acquire rare feathers

Dead Exotic Bird Thief | Field Ethos

By Andrew Court In 2009, a college kid named Edwin Rist broke into the British Natural History museum…

[wanderingswampbeast]

There was a time when people basically had entire goddamned birds on their hats, a lot of bird conservation laws are in place because of fashion and mass hunting. I believe the Bird Hat Craze hit its peak in the 1800s but I’m not a historian nor a fashion expert

[curseworm]

the secret cheat code for women is realizing you dont have to date men

[curseworm]

this doesnt just go for lesbians it goes for bi women and straight women too. i cant even count how many times straight women have told me “i wish i was a lesbian so i didnt have to date men” but guess what … u Dont have to date men 

[curseworm]

to be clear this also isnt necessarily saying ‘go date women instead!!’ its just saying…. u dont have to date men. u dont have to be dating women in order to not date men! in fact if ur not attracted to women at all please dont date women just as a substitute for men. but if dating men isnt making u happy… u dont have to do that. u dont have to make a space in ur life for men

[curseworm]

im singlehandedly destroying every mans mental health by telling women its ok to not date them

[noname-human-being]

Every reblog = less mental health awareness for men and more actual autonomy and love for women

[depsidase]

[taebaelee]

@staff

[twotontwentyone]

Been riding the peloton a bunch lately. Not exactly lean, but quads doin thangs

[ceruleanheaven]

honestly given my parents whole [gestures vaguely] i am actually incredibly well adjusted

[twotontwentyone]

Never thought I’d see the day surprise thirst traps flop

[tidesandtwilight]

what is with the cop hate??

Oh sorry for the confusion. It’s because I hate cops

[twotontwentyone]

Been riding the peloton a bunch lately. Not exactly lean, but quads doin thangs

[donquiat-deactivated20200124]

Too many people don’t understand that people don’t want sexual talk from random people because it’s unearned, weird and intrusive.

[loverforthelasttime-deactivated]

IF 👏🏼 YOUR 👏🏼 WOMAN 👏🏼 LIKES 👏🏼 BEING 👏🏼 CHOKED 👏🏼 DURING 👏🏼 SEX 👏🏼 YOU'RE 👏🏼 SUPPOSED 👏🏼 TO 👏🏼 SQUEEZE 👏🏼 THE 👏🏼 SIDES 👏🏼 OF 👏🏼 HER 👏🏼 NECK 👏🏼 WITH 👏🏼 YOUR 👏🏼 FINGERS 👏🏼 NOT 👏🏼 CRUSH 👏🏼 HER 👏🏼 WINDPIPE 👏🏼 WITH 👏🏼 YOUR 👏🏼 PALM 👏🏼 YOU 👏🏼 IDIOT 👏🏼

[depsidase]

[boomer-mythology-destroyer]

[warrior-of-storms]

Very stupid that I can't take the muscles out of my neck & upper back & beat them with a meat tenderizer. I think that would fix me