I Feel Like Everyone At Some Point In Life Has Bought An Article Of Clothing Because It Is/reminds Them

a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwest part of haiti. there are hundreds of casualties and the number will probably rise. this is reminiscent of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that caused widespread devastation.

those that remember the 2010 earthquake also remember the responses by the un and the red cross, each a callous disregard for the haitian people.

despite the donations of roughly $500 million given to the red cross for rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake, only 7 houses in haiti were built. the red cross never even said where the money went. 

additionally, after the earthquake, haiti suffered an outbreak of cholera. this cholera was brought to haiti by the un, something that took them more than 5 years to admit and killed more than 10000 people. 

all of this is to say, do not donate to the red cross, the un, the clinton foundation or usaid. there will be those who say that these are reputable organizations with which to trust your money, but don’t fall for it. these imperialist organizations failed and caused suffering in haiti and should be met with suspicion when they ask for your money.

instead, focus your support on the actual haitian people and organizations run on the ground by haitians in haiti, not ngos organized without any connection to the country. support haitians in the diaspora to support their families back in haiti. one example of a trusted organization is the haiti emergency relief fund supported by the haiti information project, they work directly with organizations in okay (les cayes) that were impacted by the earthquake. send $$$ there or to other trusted anti-imperialist orgs before any kind of usaid type of situation. 

i want to share with you some of my favourite graffiti from Pompeii

“Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men’s behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!“ 

“Amplicatus, I know that Icarus is buggering you. Salvius wrote this.“ 

“We two dear men, friends forever, were here. If you want to know our names, they are Gaius and Aulus.“

“Floronius, privileged soldier of the 7th legion, was here. The women did not know of his presence. Only six women came to know, too few for such a stallion.“

“On April 19th, I made bread.“

“ I have buggered men.“

“If anyone does not believe in Venus, they should gaze at my girlfriend.“

“It took 640 paces to walk back and forth between here and there ten times.“

“Chie, I hope your hemorrhoids rub together so much that they hurt worse than when they every have before!“

“Epaphra is not good at ball games.”

“Two friends were here.  While they were, they had bad service in every way from a guy named Epaphroditus.  They threw him out and spent 105 and half sestertii most agreeably on whores.“

“Secundus likes to screw boys.“

If you can’t reblog this, unfollow me now.

its like i never left........... *floats away peacefully

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori/Māori Language Week Day 2 – Rātū te tekau mā whā o Mahuru/Tuesday 14th of September

Pronunciation

Unlike English, te Reo Māori has very logical and consistent pronunciation rules, once you learn them, pronouncing new words is relatively simple!

Tohutō – one of the most important parts of the language is the length of the vowels. A tohutō is the macron/line above a vowel which indicates that you hold that vowel for slightly longer. If you can’t type the tohutō, just write the vowel twice to indicate the same thing. (eg. Maaori instead of Māori) the length of the vowel often changes the meaning of a word so its very important to include it.

Vowels – one of the key things is getting the pronunciation of vowels right, especially in combination with other letters and vowels. It might be aimed at children, but I recommend using this song. It’s the one we always used in primary school, and we used it in the first te reo class at uni too.

Difficult letters – the two bits that might take a bit more practice (depending on what other languages you know) is rolling your R, and the Ng sound. Ng usually comes at the beginning of the word and is often mispronounced by just removing the g. Try words like ring, just take the last part and add it to the front of the word (eg. Ngāi, Ngāti). Its all about the tongue placement, the middle of your tongue should roll against the roof of your mouth. In comparison, when you use the letter R in te reo, the tip of your tongue should roll against the roof of your mouth, it sounds almost closer to an English L. The Wh sound can also be difficult, simply put its just pronounced as an F sound (eg. Whakatāne, whakapapa).

Another important point is that te reo Māori does not use the S at the end of a word to make it a plural. When using a plural form of a te reo word, just leave it as it is! Just like how sheep and fish are already plurals in English, and it would sound wrong to say sheeps and fish, Māori is already a plural, and its completely wrong to say Māoris. Same goes for te reo animal names, its kiwi not kiwis, kākāpō not kākāpōs

I'm begging other trans people to read an ounce of Black Feminist or Decolonialist Feminist writing. I'm on my hands and knees and begging you. I promise you, I promise you, there is so much more to Feminist theory than anything you have picked up from White/Radical/Pop/Liberal Feminism I promise you. Read There Is No Hierarchy Of Oppressions By Audre Lorde. I have a link to the PDF right here you can read it for free. Take my hand I can't do this alone (thanks glass beach). Peace And Love On Planet Earth.

when someone is a christian they are not constantly asked their position on the holocaust the transatlantic slave trade the extermination of native americans or any of the thousands of atrocities committed by christians so why do muslims get asked about terrorism and jewish people about israel and are grouped in with specific bad people while christians are not required to explain themselves??

“The Perfect Heist Hack”

Fun Fact: I modified a pair of pants for this sketch so I could hold 30 feet of rope and a full-sized grappling hook in the pant leg. Useful!

featuring Jordan Hare

six weeks six fucking weeks . someone please god teach the women of Texas about period charting because the need to know like the second they can possibly know

Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

Grooming Can Look Like:

1. “Is that your real name? I don’t really like to call people by their usernames.”

Asking for personal information right away - It gives a false sense of intimacy and can be used later to threaten or blackmail.

2. “I see you like Band. My parents hate them. 😂 Do your parents know your music tastes?”

Segueing quickly into private life, sometimes asking invasive questions about home, friends, family, etc - It tells them whether or not a person is isolated, unhappy, self-destructive, unsupervised, etc. The more vulnerable a person is, the more successful grooming can be.

3. “I like your fan art. Do you do nsfw? Nothing crazy, just flirty…”

Bringing up sexuality or other adult subjects in a general way - It pushes the person’s boundaries gently, getting them to talk about nsfw things in a way that feels nonthreatening.

4. “That post made a good point. I would never guess you’re 14. You’re really mature and well-spoken.”

Describing the person as mature, smart, wise, resourceful, street-smart, etc - It’s flattering, and it gives the illusion of equality and respect in their interactions.

5. “People hate what they don’t understand. You’re just so unique. I get it.”

Reinforcing that the person is unique, misunderstood, above others, etc - It increases isolation and forms a sense of dependance on the groomer.

6. “Omg look at this guy’s outfit! It’s so hot! You know, you could totally rock something like this!”

Sexualizing the person in flattering ways - It feels like a compliment and edges farther past typical boundaries, normalizing more and more sexual interactions.

7. “That guy was out of line. 😤 I couldn’t help it, I messaged him and told him if he doesn’t leave you alone I’ll doxx him. He won’t be back. He knows I’ll do it. Please don’t be mad, I just hate when people mess with my friends… ”

Defending the person, often inappropriately - It’s a show of devotion to the person, a display of the potential for aggression that serves to nudge boundaries, and can be used to threaten or coerce later.

8. “I’m totally with you on Ship X. It’s so bigoted to break up Ship Y like that. We ought to try to get those freaks banned.”

Creating an other to unify against, often inappropriately - It creates a sense of intimacy and serves as a way to push boundaries by encouraging inappropriate behavior.

9. “Idk why you let her waste ur time. U don’t need phoneys like that. You have me!!! 😂”

Discouraging competing relationships - It increases isolation, vulnerability and dependence.

10. “Listen, don’t worry about your phone bill. I got it. Sent it thru your Kofi, plus a little extra. You deserve it.”

Giving gifts, money, or paying bills - It creates a sense of intimacy, and possibly financial dependence. And it can be used as a source of guilt.

11. “Where are you??? Tell whoever you’re with that I miss my bff!!!!!”

Checking in, keeping tabs, tracking or asking for updates - It diverts the person’s attention onto the groomer, interrupts their social life to further isolate, and creates a pattern of guilt and responsibility for the groomer’s feelings.

12. “I can’t believe you’d abandon me like this. You know I have depression. Are you trying to make me suicidal? The least you could do is give me a couple weeks to find a new therapist. I’m gonna need one now.”

Threatening to harm themselves, or implying that they might if contact ends - It plays on that sense of guilt and responsibility and can be used long after abuse has happened, to prevent disclosure.

Grooming doesn’t happen by accident. By definition, it’s deliberate. When someone begins grooming, they have already decided to abuse. From that point on, interaction has one goal. It creates a situation where the person being targeted has conflicting emotions about what’s happening, no one they trust to give advice, and no way to break out without being the bad guy.

The setup - the grooming behaviors themselves - vary. One abuser might use many approaches, and might even change methods if a target isn’t receptive. I think we can all agree that guilt-tripping and displays of aggression aren’t healthy under any circumstances, but many common behaviors are things that can happen outside of grooming, in other contexts, and be ok. (An old friend might give generous gifts purely out of friendship, but someone who’s practically a stranger, giving generous gifts, acting like an old friend, is potentially predatory.) That’s why it can be so hard to see. We can’t simply ban their tools or latch onto keywords. There are no elements that are always present. There’s no set pattern. There are few flags that are always red. It’s not that simple.

The only reliable and realistic way to keep vulnerable ppl safe is to teach them to recognize potential grooming by looking at the entirety of the situation, to trust their feelings, and to speak up.