i hate when someone says “don’t make jokes about rednecks and hillbillies” and some white 21 year old trying to be ‘woke’ says “haha… go ahead and cry your white tears sweatie (:”
no one thinks it’s a racial issue against white people. that’s not why people say to stop that shit. it’s an issue of classism. because the truth is that the majority of y’all who think you’re amazing activists just REALLY fucking hate appalachian people, and i know that because y’all think it’s funny to say “karma’s a bitch!” when something bad happens to an appalachian state.
you don’t care about the poverty in the appalachia and you don’t care about queer people and/or people of color who live in the appalachia. you don’t care about education in the appalachia and you don’t care that these low rates of education mean higher rates of poverty and child poverty, which persist over the years. rural children are twice as likely to live in areas with persistent poverty. you care that poverty stricken children are statistically less likely to not have timely immunizations, have higher delinquency rates, and have lower academic achievement — but only when we’re talking about urban areas outside of the appalachia.
people in our region die earlier than most. mortality rates are higher in the appalachia, and they’re even higher for people of color that live in the appalachia. suicide rates are higher than anywhere else in the country by 17% — it’s 31% higher in central appalachia, and in rural areas within the appalachia, it’s 27% higher than metro appalachia. cancer morality rate is 10% higher, and it’s 15% higher in rural appalachia than metro appalachia. COPD mortality rate is 27% higher, and 55% higher in rural appalachia than metro appalachia. injury mortality rate is 33% higher, and it’s 47% higher in rural appalachia than in metro appalachia. stroke mortality rate is 14% higher — and you guessed it’s, these rates are higher in rural areas vs metro areas by 8%.
the rate of Years of Potential Life Lost, which measures premmature mortality from all causes of death, is 25% higher in appalachia, and 40% higher in rural vs metro areas.
the appalachia has an opioid epidemic. in 2015, our rate of death with drugs was 65% higher than the national average. 69% of those drug deaths were from opioids. these deaths have a connection to our poverty and education rates. the poorer you are, and the less educated you are, the more likely you are to die from an opioid death.
when i say “don’t make jokes about rednecks and hillbillies”, that doesn’t mean i think you’re being racist against white people (and again — the majority of people who claim this also happen to be white 🙄). i say that because you are perpetuating extremely toxic rhetoric about our region, you are promoting stigma, you are encouraging blatant classism, and you are furthering the idea that we somehow “deserve” it because our elected officials vote republican. it’s not cute. stop acting like none of us have the right to call you out on your classist bullshit. like i’m sorry if this comes off as too aggressive but i am sooooo sick of y’all thinking it’s funny that our region is suffering.
and before anyone asks me for resources and links: google exists. i did my research and you can do it too.
i wasnt going to do this but ive seen people who arent in dndj say “i caused the ad war” and now i have to do this because i need people to know when im responsible for something, fuck you. all times in est
12:00: rad @raddical notices a completely empty ad slot on mspa. because of the way project wonderful works, although the minimum bid is $5/day, the absence of a preceding bid means the slot can be had for as little as 10 cents/day. rad, me, and robbie @kidgecko (but mostly rad) collaborate on an ad, and we buy the bottom slot within the hour. the top is still occupied by some yaoi webcomic. we want the top slot, but arent yet willing to shell out the cash to take it.
2:00: @official-spec buys an ad slot. in europe/canada/etc, the yaoi ad is outbid and pushed off the page entirely, so specs and our ad share the space. however, in the us, spec outbids dirkjohn but not the yaoi webcomic, so we are pushed off the page entirely. after some “is it worth it” debate we up our bid and put the dirkjohn ad back up. for some reason (i think one of us matched yaois bid?) the yaoi ad is pushed off. spec and dirkjohn share the page for a few hours, but its asshole time in the east coast (the only time zone that matters) so nobody really notices. ad price is $8.
6:00: we get a notification that dndj has been bumped off the page entirely by an ad for the r/homestuck discord server. normally we would just shrug this off and displace the cheaper ad – but r/homestuck is a bunch of scumsucking racist shitheads, and i want them to die, so we re-engineer our bid to ONLY occupy the top slot and buy them out. r/homestuck immediately retaliates. this begins a bidding war that lasts 2 hours. note that at this time, ONLY the top slot is switching hands – spec still occupies the bottom. r/homestuck finally backs off when we raise the ad price over $200. the bottom slot is still $8.
8:00: rad makes an executive decision to buy out specs slot. now we have both. top slot is still $200, the bottom slot is $10.
12:00 pm: r/homestuck comes back for $220. dirkjohn still occupies the bottom slot, but rad sets up a gofundme to keep it online.
1:00 pm: its now normal person time on the east coast, meaning people are awake and starting to take notice. i, however, am an asshole, so im asleep. im going off of discord timestamps for this so my account may be shaky: someone buys an ad slot for their fanventure, and @loadgaper buys an ad slot to let us know that nobody in homestuck is cis and terezi deserved better. the bottom slot rotates between these two and dirkjohn for a while. the top ad is still $220, the bottom ad is $38.
2:00 pm: “its less important for me right now that dirkjohn is displayed, than that [r/homestuck] is NOT displayed“ – me, on discord, 2:04 pm est. we buy out the top slot, but instead of getting knocked off the site entirely, r/homestuck gets pushed to the bottom. after some debate we decide to let it stay there, because at this point we still know the fear of god and dont want to drive the price up something crazy. additionally, somebody buys a leaderboard ad somewhere on the site for this at less than a dollar. i didnt monitor the leaderboards after this so im not sure if anything went on there. both slots are now over $220.
3:00 pm: r/homestuck rescinds their bids entirely. because of the way project wonderful works, prices are now WAY down – were paying only slightly more than the second-highest bidders (who i think at this point are still spec and the yaoi webcomic). both slots are around $7-8 each.
4:00 pm: @loadgapers ad returns in the bottom slot. we agree that it is a good ad and that, as long as it doesnt displace ours, it should stay. prices stay roughly the same.
6:00 pm: nell and robbie fight to the death. robbie places a textless image of ritsu kageyama for $40; nell retaliates with her original ad; ritsu comes back for over $50; nell comes back with a price so high she refuses to disclose it, which turns out to be $280 when robbie displaces it with this monstrosity for $300. dirkjohn is still in the top slot.
7:00 pm: nell rescinds her bids and robbie, an agent of chaos, places this ad for $80. it only stays online for a few minutes before nell places a new and improved version of her ad for $250. which is all well and good, except for the fact that r/homestuck comes back with a vengance, buying out the top slot for $500. this cannot be allowed to go on. they have to die. another back-and-forth bidding war ensues until dirkjohn drives the price up to $1100, and r/hiveswap finally retreats, because in addition to being bigots, theyre fucking cowards. bottom slot is still at $300.
9:00 pm: approximately, because i was in voicechat and theres no timestamps. @kanaya maintains control of the bottom ad slot, but exchanges it for a vriskan ad. dirkjohn and vriskan sharing the mspa homepage is a landmark pinnacle of gay and lesbian solidarity, and the ads remain on the page for the rest of the day. we finally take dirkjohn offline at midnight.
People in badly written fantasy stories will usually talk about the major historical events of their world and how magic has affected the lives of everyone, but ask a person in the real world to describe the effects of WWI and the invention of the combustion engine on modern life and they’d probably couldn’t tell you.
Broke: every character seems to know everything about the history and lore of the world
Woke: most characters can’t tell you much besides the basics but there are some that can tell you more complete but specific parts
H Y P E R W O K E: Every character tells you a wildly different version of the past and what effects it has on the present, ranging from the government is an imperialist, colonizing body obsessed with power to the one true ruler was sent by the gods and has smote down anyone who got in his way to “Oh you mean Jeff, the quote unquote tyrant of the west? I knew that guy! He was alright, never did anything wrong really just wanted some soup.” And there’s no way to tell what actually happened
Our capacity for love increases with each person we cross paths with throughout our lives, and with each moment we spend with those people. But, too often we neglect that part of ourselves in favor of others. And by the time we realize just how important it is, we find ourselves with fewer folks around to practice with. But the seven of you have something that nobody else ever had: time. All the time in the world. Time enough to grow indescribably close. Time enough to learn how to care for each other, how to allow yourselves to be cared for.
having been written by THIS guy:
[pictured: screenshot from Griffin’s amiibo Corner: The Final Tasting. Griffin is shoving a Splatoon figurine fully into his mouth, emotionless and dead-eyed as he stares into the camera.]
Ramadan is super close!!! – and I’m so excited. Every year I get tonnes of questions from my non-muslim friends and even muslim friends who want to know better. So I’m compiling it all here in this post.
~ I’ve been fasting each year for more than ten years and I’ve been a student of Islamic studies more than 13 years. So yeah I know what I’m talking about.~
What is Ramadan?
It’s the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and a pillar of Islam. It has extreme significant importance to Muslims as it is the month in which the Quran was first revealed. A very holy month in which Shaytan ( the devil) is said to be locked in chains and each good deed and prayer blesses a Muslim 70 times more than any normal month of the year.
Muslims all around the world spend each day fasting from dawn till dusk. We celebrate the end of this blessed month – the first three day of the next month, Shawal – in a celebration known as Eid-ul-Fitr. It’s a really big deal for us.
How do you know when Ramadan is? Does it have a fixed date? When is Ramadan this year?
Ramadan does not have a fixed date! It depends on physical sighting of the moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration of Ramadan ( which is then again, by sighting of the moon but some countries avoid the hassle and follow that. Or if it’s a non-Muslim majority.)
The moon cycle is different for many parts of the world, hence the beginning and end of Ramadan is different – usually no more than one day – for each country.
Ramadan 2k18 is estimated to begin on 15th May! -confetti burst-
So all you do is just abstain from food and drink from dawn till dusk in Ramadan?
No! We also abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn till dusk. After breaking fast most Sunni Muslims also attend series of special prayers in congregations called ‘Tarawih’ which are specific to Ramadan only. Some Muslims segregated themselves for a few days in mosques of their homes – not engaging in talking or listening to music etc – and spend the time secluded in prayer. This is not specific to Ramadan but most Muslims prefer it during this Ramadan. This practice is called ‘I’ttekaaf’.
In Ramadan the Muslim community gets together, we break the fast together as family and friends. Some hold feasts at the end of Ramadan. Nearing the end of Ramadan and throughout Ramadan able affording Muslims give money to the poor and destitute from their property, money, jewellery. This practice is called Zakat. It is not an option, every able Muslim must give Zakat in Ramadan.
Not even water?
Yes, not even water. Nothing can go into your stomach or out of it during fast. Yes, you read that right. Voluntarily vomiting breaks the fast! ( I take ten minutes brushing my teeth during the fast…careful to not let water into my throat.)
If you’re sick, do you still have to fast?
It depends on the sickness itself. You may not fast if your sickness becomes worse with fasting – however if you are a well-off Muslim – you are to feed a poor person three meals for one day for each fast you miss for your sickness/any other reason from which you recover.
If it’s a mild sickness, take a break from fasting until you get better but you are required to complete your fasting after Ramadan.
Children smaller than ages 13-15 are not allowed to fast. If you are travelling a hard and long journey, you are not required to fast. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding – you are not required to fast but you are to make up the days you missed after Ramadan is over. And you can’t fast at all when you’re menstruating. Menstruating breaks your fast.
Do medical injections, drips, eye drops, nose drops break a fast?
It’s important not to swallow any of the nose drops etc. Otherwise it’s a-okay to use. Injections and drips as long as they aren’t of glucose/nourishing stuff are permitted during fasting.
Fasting is such a good way of losing weight lol. You all must get real skinny after Ramadan!
HAH. Listen, Muslims gain more weight during Ramadan than any other month. That’s because we party after dusk and we eat a lot of fatty stuff to keep us going throughout the day. And a lot of Muslim countries have special non-alcoholic sugary drinks that we drink so. Much. After breaking the fast.
Also that’s really fucking disrespectful, we don’t fast to diet, we fast as a religious duty and to practice patience and steadfastness. The whole Muslim community comes together during this month.
How can I be behave as a Non-Muslim during Ramadan?
Be respectful!
Don’t make a big deal out of eating infront of us – most of us have been fasting for ages.
Tag tumblr content like food, porn etc as #nsfr ( not safe for Ramadan)
Don’t call Eid, ‘The Muslim Christmas’ just…don’t.
Remember that Ramadan is for all Muslims. That includes minority Muslim sects ( wahabis don’t interact ), LGBT Muslims, Muslims suffering in war zones, disabled Muslims, new converts. Ramadan is for all of us.
Please, consider donating to the people of Syria, Palestine and the Rohingya Muslims this Ramadan. They are as much as part of this Ummah as we.
This might come as a shock to some of you but saying “I’m not informed enough on this particular topic to have an opinion” is about 100 times more respectable than being misinformed
I know in school they often teach us that ‘I don’t know’ is the worst possible answer and that you are better off making your best guess than admitting ignorance, but that’s because the educational system is a dumpster fire, and this is a habit that it pays to un-learn.
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