Do you ever think about the fact that the US has created and legitimized a system of institutionalized inequality by funding schools through property taxes? That basically a child’s education is only as good as the value of the property in their neighborhood. Funny how education is so often viewed as an equalizing factor when there is nothing equal about it.
I really don’t care if I’ve already reblogged this
Because this needs to be reblogged….
I remember learning this for the first time as an adult. I had grown up thinking education was the great playing field leveler. So I was so furious to find out how very much it wasn’t anything of the kind.
This is a big part of why you’ll often see rich white people fussing about school district lines, because they hate the idea that their money is going towards the education of poor children.
It’s so fucked up that women are so universally dismissed and hated in society that nearly every single woman goes through a phase (if not a lifetime) of thinking she isn’t like other women purely because she has rational thoughts, hobbies, feelings, and needs.
I’m going to give you the best piece of Adult Life Is Hard advice I’ve ever learned:
Talk to people when things go to shit.
I don’t just mean get it off your chest, although that’s good. I mean: Something’s wrong with your paycheck/you lost your job/you had unexpected emergency car repairs and now you’re broke so your credit card payment is late. Like, not just 15 days late. We’re talking, shit got crazy and now you’re 90 days late with compounded interest and late fees and the Minimum Payment Due is, like, $390, and you’ve got about $3.90 in your bank account. Call the credit card company.
I know it’s scary. I know you feel like you’re going to get in trouble, like you’re gong to get yelled at or scolded for not having your life together. But the credit card company isn’t your parents; they’re just interested in getting money from you. And you can’t squeeze blood from a stone or money from someone who doesn’t have any. So what you do is you call them. You explain you’re experiencing temporary financial hardships, and you’re currently unable to bring your account up to date, but you don’t want to just let it get worse. Can you maybe talk to someone about a payment plan so you can work something out? Nine times out of ten you’ll be able to negotiate something so that at least it’s not just taking a constant, giant shit on your credit score.
– Can’t pay your power bill? Call the power company.
– Can’t pay your full rent? Talk to your landlord.
– Had to go to the hospital without insurance and have giant medical bills looming in your place? Call the hospital and ask if they have someone who helps people with financial hardships. Many do.
– Got super sick and missed half a semester of class because flu/pneumonia/auto-immune problems/depressive episode? Talk to your professor. If that doesn’t help, talk to your advisor.
You may not be able to fix everything, but you’ll likely be able to make improvements. At the very least, it’s possible that they have a list of people you can contact to help you with things. (Also, don’t be afraid to google things like, “I can’t pay my power bill [state you live in]” because you’d be surprised at what turns up on Google!) But the thing is, people in these positions gain nothing if you fail. There’s no emotional satisfaction for them if your attempts at having your life together completely bite the dust. In fact, they stand to benefit if things work out for you! And chances are, they’ll be completely happy to take $20 a month from you over getting $0 a month from you, your account will be considered current because you’ve talked to them and made an agreement, you won’t get reported to a collections agency, and your credit score won’t completely tank.
Here’s some helpful tips to keep in mind:
1. Be polite. Don’t demand things; request them. Let me tell you about how customer service people hold your life in their hands and how many extra miles they’ll go for someone who is nice to them.
2. Stick to the facts, and keep them minimal unless asked for them. Chances are they’re not really interested in the details. “We had several family emergencies in a row, and now I’m having trouble making the payments” is better than “Well, two months ago my husband wrecked his bike, and then he had a reaction to the muscle relaxer they gave him, and then our dog swallowed a shoestring and we had to take him to the emergency clinic, and just last week MY car broke down, and now my account’s in the negatives and I don’t know how I’m gonna get it back out.” The person you’re talking to is aware shit happens to everyone; they don’t need the details to prove you’re somehow “worthy” of being helped. They may ask you for details at a certain point if they have to fill out any kind of request form, but let them do that.
3. Ask questions. “Is there anything we can do about X?” “Would it be possible to move my payment date to Y day instead so it’s not coming out of the same paycheck as my rent?” The answer may be “no.” That’s not a failure on your part. But a good customer service person may have an alternate solution.
Anyway! I hope that helps! Don’t just assume the answer is “no” before you’ve even begun. There is more help out there than you ever imagined.
I have lots of difficulty sleeping so I like to do a lil bit of self care during my various restless nights.
Make some warm milk or soothing tea. (I prefer to heat up milk on the stove and add in lavender, honey, and vanilla)
Listen to ambient noise. (Rain, piano, lofi, or whatever else you find relaxing)
Find bedding that is the comfiest to you. (Silk bed sheets/pillow case and a huge puffy blanket is my preference)
Light a calming candle if you have one available. Incense works too. (My favorite scents are of the floral variety, rose in particular)
Manage whatever you’re stressing over, otherwise it will definitely keep you up. (My schoolwork stresses me out so I make a to-do list to feel like I have my shit together)
Read something in bed! While I generally prefer to watch tv instead of read, it can actually cause you to stay awake. (I’m currently reading “The Bell Jar” but anything works, including comics and manga)
Find little things that relieve pain or make your sleeping experience more pleasant! (I have an electric heating pad I sleep on top of)
That’s all for now! I have more ideas but these are the ones that came to mind first. Hope this helps fix ya fucked up sleep schedule!
I thought I recognized this art so i looked at op’s blog
idk if y’all remember this homophobic mess of a comic. Granted people can change but op’s more recent stuff reflects the same views.
hi! wow, you have a good memory, this was almost a year ago!
I think you might have misinterpreted the comic. the joke was how she, an ace person, could forget something as obvious and familiar to other people as sexual attraction! I thought her reaction was so funny I suggested making a daily comic about it.
Lyd is my girlfriend! We’re in love! Passionate lesbian love. For four years now! Since that comic we moved in together and we’ve started building savings for our life together! We talk online (Twitter, we don’t really use tumblr) about struggles we face, homophobia, lesbian history and representation, and the intersection of being gay with being ace, not ace, gender conforming, and gender non-conforming. That comic you’re saying is homophobic might look like it to someone without the context of our life, and maybe it did cause a sapphic woman to feel alienated due to her sexual attraction. I understand that because I’ve felt that way many times from the words of both lgbt and non-lgbt people alike. But it was an accident, and while that can’t take away the damage, I promise that Lyd’s comics showing our happy life together, our posts online, even our youtube channel all do infinitely more good for fellow sapphic women and other lgbt people than this comic did bad. Lyd apologized for the misunderstandings and lack of clarity.
Please stop holding other lgbt people to an impossibly high standard. We have so many enemies in this world, the last thing we need is to be attacking each other for the smallest infractions.
– Meg, a lesbian
(we went on vacation together last week! 🙂 )
how tf is “allosexuals experience sexual attraction” homophobic
yeah, I…honestly don’t get how anyone could come to that conclusion
Also, the end of the comic, she is lying in bed with the other lady previously seen in the comic. That’s gay. She’s gay. There’s nothing unclear about it imo.
Edit: it’s apparently the comic’s inclusion of the term allosexual that the replier didn’t like. The term that just means someone experiences sexual attraction… I’m somehow more confused than less. Straight people can be allosexual… wat?
Thoughtfulfangirling 