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mikeo56 · 3 months

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I watched the uncensored video of US airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolating in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington while screaming “Free Palestine”. I hesitated to watch it because I knew once I put it into my mind it’s there for the rest of my life, but I figured I owe him that much.

I feel like I’ve been picked up and shaken, which I suppose was pretty much what Bushnell was going for. Something to shake the world awake to the reality of what’s happening. Something to snap us out of the brainwashed and distracted stupor of western dystopia and turn our gaze to Gaza.

The sounds stay with you more than the sights. The sound of his gentle, youthful, Michael Cera-like voice as he walked toward the embassy. The sound of the round metal container he stored the accelerant in getting louder as it rolls toward the camera. The sound of Bushnell saying “Free Palestine”, then screaming it, then switching to wordless screams when the pain became too overwhelming, then forcing out one more “Free Palestine” before losing his words for good. The sound of the cop screaming at him to get on the ground over and over again. The sound of a first responder telling police to stop pointing guns at Bushnell’s burning body and go get fire extinguishers.

He remained standing for an unbelievable amount of time while he was burning. I don’t know where he got the strength to do it. He remained standing long after he’d stopped vocalizing.

Bushnell was taken to the hospital, where independent reporter Talia Jane reports that he has died. It was about as horrific a death as a human being can experience, and it was designed to be.

Shortly before his final act in this world, Bushnell posted the following message on Facebook:

“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ “The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”

Aaron Bushnell has provided his own answer to this challenge. We’re all providing our own right now.

I would never do what Bushnell did, and I would never recommend anyone else does either. That said, I also can’t deny that his action is having its intended effect: drawing attention to the horrors that are happening in Gaza.

I know this is true because everywhere I see Aaron Bushnell being discussed online I see a massive deluge of pro-Israel trolls frantically swarming the comments in a mad rush to manipulate the narrative. They all understand how destructive it is to US and Israeli information interests for people to be seeing an international news story about a member of the US Air Force self-immolating on camera while screaming “Free Palestine”, and they are doing everything they can to mitigate that damage.

As I write this, there are with absolute certainty people digging through Bushnell’s history searching for dirt that can be spun as evidence that he was a bad person, that he was mentally ill, that he was steered astray by pro-Palestine activists and dissident media — whatever they can make stick. If they find something, literally anything, the smearmeisters and propagandists will run with it as far as they can.

That’s what they’re choosing to do at this point in history. That’s what they would have done during slavery, or the Jim Crow south, or apartheid. That’s what they’re doing while their country commits genocide right now. People are showing what they would have done with their response to Gaza, and they’re showing what they would have done with their response to the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell.

I’m not going to link to the video here; watching it is a personal decision on which you should probably do your own legwork to make sure it’s really what you want. Whether you watch it or not, it happened, just like the incineration of Gaza is happening right now. We each own our personal response to that reality. This is who we are.

#genocide #aaron bushnell #gaza #palestine #us complicity and support for genocide

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 months

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AITA for accidentally outing my fiance?

I (27F) am engaged to a 24M guy. He is trans, but he doesn't identify as trans anymore - he's post-everything, passes 100%, lives stealth/as a cis man, and no one who didn't know him pre-transition knows him as anything but a cis man. I know keeping that up is very important to him, we've had a lot of conversations about how happy he is just being seen as cis and being able to pass. I know getting outed and 'found out' is also a big worry of his, for example for our upcoming wedding he's rushing around trying to make it clear to his family that they shouldn't mention him being trans or refer to him as she/her at our wedding because he has so many friends coming who don't know he's trans. It's not that he doesn't trust them or he's ashamed of being trans or anything, he's very supportive of his trans friends, but he just doesn't publicly live as trans.

We're in a big Discord server of friends that have been quite close for about a year now, enough that we've met multiple of them in person and two of them are going to be in his wedding party as sort of 'best man' equivalents (we're not really sticking to bridesmaid best man stuff just our mixed gender friends). He has kept his Facebook very private for as long as I've known him, the only people on there are IRL friends and family because he has in the past posted trans stuff on there, like transition updates, it still has old pictures of him pre-T or in early transition, etc. I knew he didn't want this found. He also hadn't told any of this group aside from the people he was especially close with and had invited to the wedding his surname and location in case they looked him up and found something.

People in the server were sharing their Facebook profiles and I shared mine so people could add me. My fiance messaged me right after pointing out that me sharing mine would dox him as I had him in my relationship status and friends list, but I unfortunately didn't see this message for a while as I was distracted and doing other things. By the time I saw, everyone in the group had already clicked and gone through my profile and found his.

He tried to go through and speed-delete everything he could find that was public that mentioned him being trans or showed him pre-transition, any comments from family referring to it, etc but pictures that were set to friends only were still popping up in previews on the side and some of his family have public profiles that show cover images with him pre-T and things like that.

Our friends were making jokes about finally knowing his surname, going through his whole account down to the time it was first made back in 2018, commenting on old statuses of his, so they definitely saw his profile and went through all of it. He was panicking because he had no way of knowing if they'd seen that he's trans or not and got super upset and freaked out about the possibility, and he couldn't ask without outing himself or making them suspicious.

I apologized and deleted the link but obviously by then it was too late.

I do think it's not a huge deal as much as he thinks because I know our friends would be supportive and wouldn't think of him differently, but I know it was still important to him. I'm not sure they did see because some of our friends are the type to have just blurted out "You're trans?!" in the server without thinking about it (not because they're malicious or judging it, but some of them aren't as online and don't really know how to talk about it sensitively if that makes sense) and they didn't say anything. However he thinks they did because they were talking about statuses older than the ones he managed to get to deleting in time.

Like I said i did apologize but I feel like he's still upset with me for not thinking before sending my profile. On top of that I have kind of a habit of doing things impulsively and without thinking (I have bpd and bipolar) and not always taking into account how it will affect him or what consequences it will have,which I've been working on for years but I worry this is just adding to that which I know already wears on him.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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acotar-taylorsversion · 3 months

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Nesta and Az do not have to equal Gwyn.

You know who else they have in common? Elain.

Elain, who is Nesta’s sister and is also made by the cauldron. Who Azriel willingly gave truth teller to so she could use it. Who is a seer and can possibly also use and help with the trove. Who has a connection to koschei. Who has told everyone that she wants to help and has made the NC her home.

Like come on?

Elain’s “mountain” could literally be ramiel. And who better to help her than an Illyrian who’s already familiar with it.

I really do try to understand how most people think gwyn is gonna be important but I also see how Elain can easily fit into those storylines. I don’t see why Sarah would give gwyn any kind of story before Elain. She has not once mentioned gwyn in any interview other than to comment on how our lightsinger theories proved we “were onto something.” She has only talked about Elain and Azriel recently. And please stop sending me screenshots of that Facebook post from a million years ago or that one bit about a walk through something involving Elucien. I totally got the same vibes as I did when she had to talk about how much she loved Feyre and tamlin together way back then.

I try and think about how Azriel would be involved with the Illyrian rebel plot line but he hates the Illyrians. He told Rhys that he should literally kill them all and be done with it. I know truth teller is connected to enailus (?) but I just don’t see Azriel caring enough to fix them. I can definitely see Cassian doing that. He loves his race, and so many of them compare him to enailus. And I could see Cassian involving Emerie in that as well, because she would do that, not gwyn. After what happened to gwyn in the rite, I’m sure she never wants to deal with the Illyrians like that ever again.

And I only see Lucien involved with the koschei storyline because of his relationship to Vassa. I truly believe Elain will reject the bond and Lucien will understand and accept that. I know I’ve said it before, but Az acts more like her mate than Lucien does. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And yes, I’ve read the bonus chapters from silver flames and flame and shadow. I still don’t see how gwyn and Az could ever be romantically involved. To me, it seemed like he was drawn to the library because of her singing(which could be because of lightsinger powers) and it seemed like his shadows just like music. Any music. I don’t know? Maybe I’m bias. Sarah has made it a point to progress Elriel further and further in each acotar book more than Elucien. That has to mean something. And those of you who say “why hasn’t she rejected him if she doesn’t want him”, why would she do something that big in someone else’s book?

I’m also sorry that most of my posts are super long. Once I start talking, it’s hard to stop lol 😆

#acotar #elain archeron #elriel #anti g*ynriel #anti el*cien #azriel shadowsinger #pro elriel

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red-riding-wood · 2 months

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I’m so sorry about what happened to you and so many others. Disgusting misogynistic behavior. You all deserve so much better ):.

Also sending this bc I do believe he has made two new accounts. Drcranessweetestdoe and monsterfromthewoods. I have no proof these are him ,but it just strikes an absurd resemblance to his writing and he seemed to interact with both of them a few weeks ago. The first one hasn’t blogged in weeks either. Just seems strange. Once again though, I could be wrong. Just something for everyone to stay weary about. Stay safe ❤️

Thank you for the well wishes, anon! I really do appreciate you reaching out. <3

From my conversations with @drcranessweetestdoe, she does not behave like Kill (nor does her writing style compare to his), and I am pretty positive he is incapable (or at least very bad) at taking on different personalities since I believe I witnessed his attempt with the second account you mentioned. Aurora is very sweet, and she used to be a fan of Kill's writing and mine. I don't want people to be suspecting her of foul play because I do believe she is genuine. Kill has a pattern of reblogging fics as a way of seeing what victims he can latch onto and I see that as a coincidence with his reblog of Monster's.

As for @monsterfromthewoods... I was hesitant to make a callout, mainly because no one has actual solid proof that he is Kill. But, there is too much evidence for me to ignore, and I wanted to give my honest opinion and observations. Monster, if you are not this person, feel free to reach out and vouch for yourself, and if I am wrong, I am deeply sorry.

Fuck that. As I was typing this message up, I decided to check my DMs and noticed that my friend had said that he gave her the same name that, as of this morning, was revealed to me as his actual name along with his real picture and Facebook profile. That really sealed the deal for me. Here is the rest of my evidence to prove that this is "Kill":

Monster followed my friend around the same time that she blocked Kill.

Monster followed me the same day that I sent Kill a confrontational message, calling him out for his lies and pleading with him one last time for medical treatment and answers.

From the posts on Monster's account, and the one comment I know he made on my friend's post, his personality exactly fits Kill's. This is why I said I do not think he is capable or likely to be able to craft a believable persona.

Monster made a post about suicide, and a pro-Palestine post, the former of which Kill discussed with me a lot and the latter my friend pointed out as suspicious since Kill was also very strongly pro-Palestine. Seeing as Monster doesn't have that many posts yet on his blog, this isn't irrefutable evidence but it is very coincidental.

Lastly, I actually did my best to analyse and compare Kill and Monster's writing, since I had recalled a few things that stuck out to me when I read Kill's writing. Him and Monster share many similarities with their writing habits/consistencies. They are as follows (the examples listed are from 18+ content so please do not view if you are a minor):

Use periods and exclamation marks -- but never commas -- as punctuation to end dialogue tags.

Starter dialogue tag always facing outward. Like: ”So... Tight”

Tend to each use a snapshot style of writing, favouring incomplete sentences with frequent use of periods. Examples: K: "His mind, usually so sharp. Focused and organized like the most expensive machines. A killing machine, that worked in perpetual motion, living off killing, adrenaline used like a drug." M: "Your dear, understanding doctor. Doctor Jonathan Crane, who laughed out loud suddenly a couple moments ago. The dark colour covering his exotic looking eyes as he revealed his real nature to you."

Similarly, they both tend to avoid using possessive pronouns and determiners. Examples: K: "_ Pale, little pussy peaked from between her thighs." M: "The scars covering _ man's pale skin," _ = absence of "her, that, the," etc.

Often use adverbs after verbs in a way that feels out of place.

Capitalise after ellipses, always.

"Y/n" always has a lowercase "n".

Sometimes use three ellipses, often use only two.

Use "pants" but never "trousers".

Yeah, so, I may have spent way too much time on this. And I think most of this is redundant, now, especially after the name revelation, but still, I put work into it and didn't want it to go to complete waste lmao. I also had no idea until I was tagged today that apparently there are programs that do this sort of thing for you. Oops.

#asks #mrkdvidal1989 #worst con man I've ever seen

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hooked-on-elvis · 4 months

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[Trigger Warning] ELVIS MEETING HIS FANS, WITH A GUN BEHIND HIS BACK: TRUE OR FALSE? (July, 1972)

July, 1972 on Elvis' Beverly Hills home, 1174 Hillcrest Drive.

INTRODUCTION: Some things need to be clear beforehand. Elvis was threatened quite a few times over the years, specially since he began performing live on stage again, in 1969. Death threats were sent his way occasionally. Whether the threats were intentional or just a way of messing up with a famous person, some of those sounded pretty serious, thus not only Presley's personal security men or the local police department, even the FBI worked in investigating some of those incidents. Things got to a point when there were moments the threats warned about bombs being placed at his concert sites at the same day a show about to take place. Nothing came out of any of those threats, fortunately but, once those things happened, naturally Elvis was concerned for his life, therefore he was absolutely entitled to carry a gun, out of precaution, safety, "just in case" situation. It's fair to mention the Manson murders had only taken place a few years earlier (August, 1969) and, as we all know, actress Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered inside her home, tragically, which happened to be at Elvis' Beverly Hills neighborhood, so, yes, Elvis Presley was usually carrying a gun throughout the 70s, often, if not all times.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, where this story on that one specific picture came from? Elvis' stepbrother, Billy Stanley. Billy is standing behind Elvis on the picture above.

Fans discuss Elvis' personal life over and over - and almost nothing can possibly come to conclusion because we weren't there to witness anything and some of the sources the stories come from are not so reliable as they seem to be, but still it's fun to collect different accounts on things that happened in the King' life. On January 10th, 2024, a fan shared the first picture (on top of this post, Elvis walking alone towards his gate with the left hand behind his back) on a Facebook fanpage. The fans passionately discussed the "gun" rumor. Pamela Freiberg, owner and administrator for "Elvis in the 70s" Facebook group, directly asked Billy about this "rumor" that was published in books and articles over the years, and he confirmed the story to her.

Pamela's comment on the group was: "Billy wrote to me ... here are the words .... 'There's actually a series of photos from this day. I was outside and saw a guy that was trying to look like Elvis. When I saw him, I thought Elvis would get a kick out of this. So, I went inside and told him about the guy. Elvis picked up his pistol and we walked to the gate. He didn't want anyone to see the gun, so he put it behind his back. As we were walking toward the gate, he motioned for me to take the gun, which I did and tucked it behind me in my jeans.'"

Some believe him, some not. One can wonder 'why Elvis would have his left hand on the gun, when he was right handed?', for instance.

Sandi Miller, one of the most recognized Elvis fans, who met Elvis in the 60s and today calls herself a "gate girl", — those passionate fans who met Elvis by standing at the gates of his homes, waiting for him to come outside, whenever he was there, to talk to them, something he would do frequently — who even was (to a certain extent) very close to Elvis, a friend even, since she dated Charlie Hodge for a time, was there that day on July, 1972. She commented on the thread in that one Facebook group too, trying to defend Elvis. She said, "He did not have a gun in his hand!! He often carried guns but not always and not usually when he would come out to visit with fans...more likely that he'd have his little derringer In his boot."

Elvis, July, 1972. Sandi Miller: "Same day but after he visited with everyone…then he and the brothers got in the car and left - he stopped again when he came back also."

— Sandi Miller's accounts on this July, 1972, moment. Those pages comes from the book "Elvis - Behind the Image" by Bud Glass. I do not know if it's the Vol. 1 or Vol. 2, tho. Excerpts from Sandi Miller's journals, where she wrote down details of the meetings with Elvis in the 60s and 70s, were used to both volumes of "Behind the Image" publications. Many candid pictures in those books are also hers. By the way, many of the candid pictures of Elvis in his gates we see around the internet were actually taken by Sandi.

Arrived around noon and there was already quite a crowd at the house. In the crowd of fans was a guy that resembled Elvis somewhat in you just glanced at him. He had heard that Elvis sometime came out to visit and had hoped to meet Elvis. One of the girls (fans) pushed the speaker and mentioned that there was an Elvis look-alike standing out there.... whoever answered the speaker apparently knew already because the answer was "We know". Just then a door opens up and there comes Elvis walking up the drive with his stepbrothers right behind him. It was fun watching Elvis' face as he talked to this guy, and add to see them side by side. After visiting for a while, Elvis said he had to get back inside because they had to leave for an appointment shortly. They shook hands and Elvis went back into the house - he drove out not too long after and once again stopped for photos before leaving. The man at the gate commented that Elvis had "made his day".

Personally, I don't see the fuss about this. I believe Billy. I believe Elvis was carrying a gun indeed, but he obviously didn't intend on using it unless he felt threatened, and we know stories about passionate fans who lashed out their idols, some even murdered them in fact (John Lennon was one of the icons, assassinated by a passionate fan). There's plenty of those stories. Let's just imagine ourselves as famous people. We hear there's someone trying to look like you, standing outside your house. Wouldn't you felt at least a little bit uneasy? I know I would never walk out there by myself. Elvis was curious if the guy indeed looked like him or not, maybe even because he had a twin brother who died at birth, Jesse Presley, so if I was him I would've been dying to see this look-alike person, but I would've been careful about meeting him too. You never know.

Elvis and his look-alike fan, Larry Blong. July, 1972, Beverly Hills, CA.

Fortunately, things went smoothly. Elvis saw the guy, shook hands, and the fan had the time of his life meeting his idol. That is all we need to care about. ♥

#elvis presley #elvis #elvis the king #elvis fans #elvis fandom #elvis history #70s elvis #1972 #1972 Elvis #elvis story #true or false

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feral4daryl · 7 months

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IMPORTANT!!!

people, we need to talk about something serious, please read this!

so, it has come to my attention that elo_bbh_fan on instagram has been posting the AI generated pics I made in the last few days. she's a big creator, with over 1690k followers and stealing from smaller creators like me.

I know this is controversial, and I am NOT one to take credit for something an AI did, so I'm really okay with people reposting or using my pics of Daryl for edits or stuff like that. but this is something else, this person is claiming to have spent HOURS editing those pictures when I made them in SECONDS just by writing a prompt.

this is REALLY ridiculous. and when i commented on their post on ig, they simply blocked me. they even put a watermark on an AI GENERATED picture, I mean, how desperate for attention do you gotta be to do something like that??

they even said I stole them from their Facebook post (I'm not even on Facebook??)

i can prove I'm the one who made those pics. you can just look on my blog, you'll see I posted them along with many others, I've posted 30 until this moment.

here are the comments they deleted on ig (I'm butterflyboomx):

this is their account, please report their profile and their posts:

as you can see here they blocked me and deleted my comments and the ones calling them out (I created a new account from a different device so I could have access to their posts again):

these are the posts, they posted it on their stories and on their feed, they're getting hundreds of likes:

also, here's a screenshot of my other AI generated pics of Daryl that I made using bing!!! you can see the ones they posted claiming as theirs. I have many of those cuz I didn't even post em all:

this is really serious matter. when I first started creating those pictures, I didn't intend to create any drama at all and I meant no harm, I really just wanted to have fun and share it with everybody else. so it really saddens me this person is claiming rights over something an AI did. it's such a shame and it's totally ridiculous. I might have to start adding a watermark to my pics, something I really didn't wanna do, but since it's being stolen then I really don't see I way out of this. if you read this to this point, thank you so much for listening to me! let's help create a better environment

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kangals · 3 months

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Boone merch update/backstory:

-in 2014 I posted a picture to this tumblr of Boone with a stick on his head, it for whatever reason got popular (350k notes as of now)

-picture got picked up and memed with on Facebook and Reddit (some were funny, some sucked, I wasn’t too thrilled but whatever, that’s the internet). a few times I commented on them like “hey this is my dog” but nothing much.

-up until now I still see it reposted every several months but I just assumed it was relegated to the life of an old, minor meme. fine.

-then yesterday I get a DM on Reddit from someone saying (verbatim) “as I’m sure you know this picture has gone viral on discord over the past year” ….no I did not in fact know that.

-they send me several screenshots of what is clearly at least one thriving discord server dedicated entirely to this picture (which they are calling Der) and some Etsy links to patches. -they ask if they have my permission to make Der merch

-tbh my gut reaction was “no, fuck you” so I asked for clarification and they said that they’re just being distributed among server members and using Etsy for order convenience, and not selling publicly/for profit. (idk if these servers are 10 people or 10k)(edit: it’s 14k) -idk maybe I’m just super gullible but I’m going to choose to take this in good faith. I told them as long as it’s just kept among server members and it’s not commercial or turning a profit I’m fine with it, which they agreed to. I also suggested they look into donating to their local greyhound/galgo rescue which they seemed excited about.

-so yeah that’s it for now. and like I said I might just be overly trusting, but the fact that they tracked me down from like a handful of comments in all of Reddit + seemed genuine about it, yeah sure I’ll let them keep memeing and have fun with it. i don’t really have the emotional capacity to get angry about it tbh.

-if you’re familiar with these discord server and know what the hell they’re on about it, lmk?

#the psychic damage inflicted by a screenshot of a dude fully decked out in airsoft guns and camo and wearing a patch of my dumbass dog. wild #I feel like an exhausted parent. alright kids go have your fun.

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starberry-cupcake · 3 months

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To add to the pile of questionable tumblr behavior as of late, and as a psa at large:

I searched a mental health related tag last week and I got immediately a message from a bot called Koko. It intended to put me through to "people who are interested in mental health topics". In this tumblr message format, they didn't immediately facilitate hotlines, specific mental health care services or professional help, just "people".

I didn't respond to it. It's a bot. I didn't block it because I was interested to see where it would lead, but I didn't talk back. In the following days, it kept sending me messages, trying to get me to use their service.

Among the messages, they told me how it works, not that I had asked:

So, it sounds like a recipe for disaster in the making to me. My personal mental health information being passed through random tumblr users and getting a reply from someone who, not only isn't a professional or part of any sort of mental health care group I could get informed about, but they also will provide unsupervised answers to topics of great importance to someone who was looking into related tags.

But, tumblr user thewindandthewolves seems to endorse it, so let's check them out and see what they have to say.

Well. I'm posting the responses in chronological order, but I guess the raving review from a tumblr user was actually a kid who didn't give them consent to use their words as endorsement. Great look.

Today, I got a new message. Again, unprompted.

Second review person has apparently deleted their blog, so no background information on that one. If that's you, let us know.

I decided to look at their blog and read people's comments on their posts. The tumblr userbase came through with the receipts and linked this very detailed article about not only the bot and its founder but the sketchy study it uses as a foundation:

Here's an important quote from this article regarding the study in which Koko is founded as a clear notion of what consent means to them:

Morris [Koko's founder] declined to say whether he thought the subjects had meaningfully consented to the study. He told Motherboard that his goal was to establish a new best practice, where he would be able to transparently show his results to social media platforms. However, when asked if he felt that the experiment was transparent to the participants involved, he said he’d needed more time to think about it.

It's not a tough one to respond to, Morris.

I suggest you to please read the whole article but the way in which these people perform verbal gymnastics to try to justify the lack of consent from people involved is alarming.

About Tumblr's involvement, the article didn't get comments from them on it:

Stony Brook's IRB [Institutional Review Board] and multiple people tasked with overseeing the IRB did not respond to multiple emails from Motherboard about the study or the process. Facebook, Discord, and Tumblr responded to Motherboard’s initial emails but did not provide comment. Telegram did not respond to Motherboard’s request for comment.

The article also read the fine print of the Terms of Service, the only thing they provide as any type of consent to users, and the previous situation of using tumblr user posts without them knowing is illuminated further:

The current dynamic between Koko and its users more closely parallels the relationship between most tech companies and their users than that between a mental health provider and patient. Its Terms of Service, for instance, state that, “You grant Koko a fully paid, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable and fully sublicensable right (including any moral rights) and license to use, license, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works of, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise fully exploit Your Content.”

As an editor, that sounds more like a US release agreement form for intellectual property, which should not be used as any form of mediation for personal data. It also alarms me to no end that the "Content" in question, in the example we have was, according to OP, a post they had made on their own blog about Kokobot and not a response or quote provided to Kokobot itself which, in tow, signifies that the data collected could come from anywhere and not only what you actively provide them. But what do I know.

I did more digging by myself and found even more articles denouncing the behavior of this bot and company, this being another interesting one:

This one included the following thing about the peer-counseling aspect of it and the use of AI to craft the supposed "people" responses:

During the AI experiment—which applied to about 30,000 messages, according to Morris—volunteers providing assistance to others had the option to use a response automatically generated by OpenAI's GPT-3 large language model instead of writing one themselves (GPT-3 is the technology behind the recently popular ChatGPT chatbot).

Apparently, Koko has been around for a while, with articles discussing it as far as, at least, 2017. Still, I had never before received unprompted, unwanted, invasive messages from it on tumblr until now.

If you post or search tags related to mental health, it's very likely that you'll get this bot in your messages or you already have. There are many layers of breach of ethics in this situation, in my opinion, each one worse than the last one.

Before using it or sharing any information at all (with any bot ever), I'd advice you to look into it beforehand. I know we are the "trust no bots" website and the fake ladybots have taught us well on how to spot them and protect ourselves, but this one in particular seems very dangerous to me.

I can't talk about whether or not this has helped anybody, I'm not coming anywhere near it, but the sole concept of this sounds like a bad idea. The advice provided doesn't seem to come from selected professionals the platform is endorsing legally but by random people (and/or AI) who are not only not trained for it, they aren't being compensated for work made for a program, which is probably making good money out of all the social media platforms it's working with. It also allows them to not be responsible for the advice given, to some extent.

Even if people with mental health concerns can discuss things between them in very productive and helpful ways, there isn't genuinely transparent communication if it's anonymously mediated by a company and there isn't a proper professional care that can accompany them from someone who is trained to facilitate it. You can talk to a friend without having to provide data to a company that could identify you since, according to the first article:

There is, further, no easy way to wall the collection of such data off from actual subjects, as anonymized datasets can often still be traced back to specific individuals. (A 2019 study found that 99.98 percent of Americans could be correctly re-identified in any dataset using 15 demographic attributes.) This is why privacy experts have been vocal about the exploitation of data privacy and the unreliability of an anonymous dataset.

I'm not here to tell anyone what to do or not to do but I'm here to share this because I know that I would appreciate the information if someone else had come across it instead. Make decisions with all the information you can get.

Throwing a wild idea for the hellsite but maybe staff and ceo should be a little less occupied in persecuting trans folk and more into reading the fine print of the unethical companies they're signing with, who are exploiting their userbase's mental health, especially that of literal children whose quotes are being used to endorse their business without any legal consent, aside from a terribly worded TOS. But what do I know.

#long post #luly rambles #mental health #tumblr dot hell

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eretzyisrael · 1 month

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by Jessica Costescu

A student group at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law published an anti-Semitic cartoon depicting the school's dean, who is Jewish, holding bloody utensils over a dinner table, a version of the ancient blood libel employed in anti-Semitic propaganda that accused Jews of using the blood of Christian children for baking matzah and other rituals.FreeBeacon

Berkeley's chapter of Law Students for Justice in Palestine posted a cartoon depicting law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky holding a fork and knife dripping with blood over a dinner table, with the caption "No Dinner With Zionist Chem While Gaza Starves!" The graphic, which was posted on Monday, was deleted approximately half an hour later, but the Washington Free Beacon obtained a screenshot. Shortly after, the cartoon was reposted, but without blood covering the utensils.

The Instagram post came in response to an email from Chemerinsky last week inviting third-year law students to eat dinner in his home, according to the Law Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. The group is led by Malak Afaneh, a third-year Berkeley law student who has commended Palestinians for their "active resistance against the apartheid state of Israel."

"This dinner is the prime example of a normalization PR event that hopes to distract students from Dean Chem's complicity and support for the genocide of the Palestinian peoples," the group said in a caption under the cartoon. "While Dean Chem wants to wine and dine his students, he continues to approve of UC investments into weapons companies like Blackrock, Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop, and more."

Law Students for Justice in Palestine encouraged students to boycott "all of Chemerinsky's events" and demand that Berkeley divest "from ALL TIES to the apartheid state of Israel." Berkeley Law School declined to comment. Chemerinsky did not return a request for comment.

The grotesque cartoon comes after the House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced last month that it was requesting internal documents regarding Berkeley's response to the outbreak of anti-Semitism on campus.

Afaneh started at Berkeley Law in 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. One year later, she shared her desire to use her law degree to aid the Palestinians in their "battle for liberation."

"For years, Palestinians everywhere have engaged in active resistance against the apartheid state of Israel," Afaneh wrote in a 2022 Facebook post. "As a lawyer, I hope to aid in this battle for liberation, so that I and generations to come may see a Palestine free from the river to the sea."

Another student, Matt Fernandes, is a member of and organizer with Berkeley's Law Students for Justice in Palestine. In 2022, Fernandes promoted a bylaw that amended the group's constitution to include a ban on pro-Israel speakers from participating in club events. He also accused Zionists of holding "positions of power" with "connections to media," according to anti-Semitism watchdog Canary Mission.

Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine did not respond to a request for comment.

The Free Beacon in a Feb. 1 report unearthed a similar cartoon at the University of Pennsylvania. Dwayne Booth, a lecturer at Penn's Annenberg School for Communication, published a slew of anti-Semitic cartoons, including one that depicts Zionists sipping Gazan blood from wineglasses.

#law students for justice in palestine #antisemitic cartoon #berkeley #uc berkeley #antisemitism

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heavyhitterheaux · 2 years

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Oh, So You Just Wasn't Gon Hit Me?

AN: If Jack were to slide in my DM's I would answer. No questions asked.

Synopsis: Jack has had his eye on you for awhile and is trying to do everything to get your attention. But, do you want to give him the same attention in return?

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Plus Size Model!Reader

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Requested by my cutie pie @bsisbsjssjs 😘💕

You were a plus size model that had taken the industry by storm ever since you had stepped on the scene around the year 2017.

Everyone wanted for you to model for them or be an ambassador for their clothing line. The latest offer that you had gotten was from Savage x Fenty. How could you ever say no to Rihanna herself?

With all of the fame and new found attention, there also came a lot of unwanted messages in your DM's. For the most part, you would simply ignore it but the more famous you got the harder it was to do so.

Besides, because of the way your body was built, you weren't sure if these men had some type of fetish or actually wanted to get to know you for who you were.

You had dealt with that as long as you could remember and weren't interested in getting your heart broken again any time soon. So, you simply stayed away and kept to yourself.

However, there was one particular person who wouldn't let up for anything on God's green earth.

Jack Harlow.

He was in your DM's

He was in your comments

He would respond to every tweet, every tik tok, and even every Facebook post

Bottom line is that man was down bad for you.

You admit you did get a smile on your face every time you saw his name pop up on your phone.

You read anything and everything that he would post on your different accounts, but you were still so hesitant.

What if he just turned out to be just like all the others?

The two of you didn't run within the same circles, but did have mutual friends.

One of them being Druski.

Whenever the two of you would cross paths he would jokingly say,

"Give my boy a chance!"

All you did was laugh it off and keep it moving.

If you were going to put yourself out there again, you needed to be sure that you were ready for it.

You were currently talking to one of your best friends Latecia asking her advice on what to do.

"That man is simping for you baby. Just give him a chance. If it doesn't work out, then move on. It won’t be the end of the world.”

"But I want for my next relationship to work out and be for the long run. What if he's just like everyone else?"

"Even though I don't know him, for some strange reason I feel like he is genuine with it and wants you for you."

"I'm just torn about it."

"It won't hurt if you answer you know. Poor baby is getting ignored by you on every single platform." She replied while laughing.

"I'll think about it some more."

"Don't think too long before someone else comes and snatches your man."

"He isn't my man."

"Not yet anyway. If you give him the opportunity he would definitely make you his girl."

"Like I said, I'll think about it."

Liked by jackharlow, druski2funny, lateciathomas, urbanwyatt, amberpriley, and 5,368,920 others

Y/N: I want you to serenade me, but I know you bashful 😉🤭

jackharlow: not you using my lyrics for a caption mamas. come on and stop playin 😒🙄

druski2funny: Y/N!! Yo man wanna talk to you!

jackharlow: talk to me, talk to me, talk to me baybayyyyy

druski2funny: now you playin games! You see this man wants you!

jackharlow: gimme a chance mamas!

druski2funny: jackharlow once I get you two together yo ass better not fumble the bag

jackharlow: druski2funny man she been ignoring me for like 5 years 🤣

druski2funny: jackharlow well shit. We just gotta work on your technique and approach. baby girl a little bougie. might need to just hand her a Givenchy outfit at this point to get her attention.

jackharlow: come on Y/N stop sleeping on ya boy!

"Druski! Set those two up on a date. This is low key embarrassing at this point." Urban said while laughing.

"I'm doing my best! It's a work in progress!"

"You not working fast enough for me. I'm really trying to get to know her."

"Don't give up yet my boy. I have an event coming up and I'm inviting her."

Jack instantly got excited and was nothing but smiles.

"SHIT. Now I'm nervous what if she won't talk to me?"

"Will you relax? She has to say yes to going first."

"She really is a sweet girl. A little shy but I got you. I'm about to put you and her at the same table so the two of you will be near each other."

"Okay, this just might work."

"Your ass is about to turn red as a tomato and cum in your pants as soon as she says hi to you."

"Eww Jack."

"Shut the fuck up. I'm not that bad."

"You are though."

"Wait! I got it. Let's do a blind date however she won't know it's you sitting across from her."

"Then that's like a semi blind date."

"Look, do you want to date her or not? Because I'm all out of ideas. If her ass don't even want you after this then..."

"Damn just shoot me down I guess."

"But it's gonna work."

"We need to put money on this." Urban perked up and said with a smile.

"How much we talking?" Jack was competitive and was always down for a challenge. Either way, he hoped that he ended up going on a date with you at the end of the night.

"I'll give you 500 if you're able to make her your girlfriend in a month?"

"That's all the money you putting out on my future wife? Nah, up that shit to 2,500."

"Damn, my boy feeling cocky aren't we?"

"Even though she's ignored him for five years." Urban snorted while rolling his eyes.

"Hey!"

---

Jack was nervous as all hell when the day finally arrived. Druski had told him that you had agreed to do the blind date even though it took a few weeks to convince you and it would actually take place at Druski's apartment.

Once you got there you were immediately blind folded and Druski led you to sit in the living room across from Jack who looked like a kid on Christmas day who opened his favorite present which he had been longing for for the entire year. Except it wasn’t just an entire year in this case, it was five.

Your two best friends Latecia and Amber were there along with Urban, Jack, Druski, the rest of PG, and even Neelam.

She was hoping this would be the night that you finally stopped ignoring Jack.

Just like Urban said the other day, this was low key embarrassing at this point.

Everyone was in on it and wanted to see the two of you go out on a date. Your best friends were tired of you being miserable and Urban was tired of hearing Jack simp over you on a daily basis.

It was go time.

"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to another round of blind dating with Druski. I have two very lovely people here who are going to get to know each other by asking questions and we'll find out at the end if they want to go out on a date or not. Now only one rule, no names will be revealed until the end. We good with that?"

Both of you nodded and you were actually eager to get started. You figured at this point, why not and what did you have to lose?

"Okay, baby girl, you go first."

"Okay. How old are you and where are you from?"

"24 and I grew up in Kentucky."

"Hmm, you're a baby. I'm almost 30."

"I guarantee you won't be saying that once we hit the bedroom."

“Damn, okay. I see my boy over there trying to make moves!” Druski was trying to do his best to hype Jack up and keep him calm. At the moment, the poor baby was blushing something terrible.

"Hmm, cocky are we?" You responded while giving a small smile.

"Never that, baby. Just confident. Now when was your last relationship and what made it end?"

"3 years ago and I was cheated on with another model that I considered a friend at one point. Him wanting a thick girl was a ploy to get closer to her. I kicked him and her to the curb."

“I’m sorry to hear that. If you were mine, you would never have to worry about that.”

“He said the same thing. You talk a big game, but are you able to back it up? Oh, and what are you looking for in a girlfriend?”

“I’m definitely able to back all of what I say up. As far as what I’m looking for in a girlfriend? You.”

“Alright now, getting a little spicy in here. Baby girl, what do you have to say to that?”

“You know what? Your voice sounds really familiar. I wonder if we’ve met before?”

Jack now had a look of panic across his face as he looked towards Druski who was frantically shaking his head no.

“Nah, mamas we haven’t. If we did, I would never forget an accent as cute as yours. DMV I take it?”

“You’re good. I feel like it’s starting to fade a little bit though. Fuck it is dummy?”

“Ayeee! Baltimore all day!! Me and baby girl in here representing!”

All you could do was laugh before Jack asked you another question.

“What are you looking for in a man?”

“Hmm, 6′3...”

“That is... very specific.....”

“Curly hair, blue eyes that remind me of the ocean, I love a beard too, throw in some freckles and we got the whole package.....”

By now everyone’s eyes were as big as saucers since you were describing Jack perfectly.

You had figured it out.

“And I mean if he’s a rapper that’s a plus.”

“Oh, um, you like rappers mamas?”

“Yes, but there’s another thing...”

“And what’s that?”

“Not just any rapper. If his name isn’t Jack Harlow I don’t want him.” You replied while taking off your blindfold and was now face to face with the man himself. If Jack had been a light shade of red before, he was now fire engine red now.

“DAMN! She got it! But you weren’t supposed to take the blindfold off yet!”

“How’d you figure it out mamas?” Jack curiously asked while looking up at you.

“The accent. It’s slight, but I hear it. As soon as you said you were 24 and from Kentucky, I knew. Nice to finally meet you Jack.”

“The pleasure is all mine, baby girl. Been waiting for this for a minute.”

“FIVE YEARS TO BE EXACT!”

“Urban shut the hell up!”

“Just saying!”

Jack rolled his eyes at Urban before looking back at you and smiling. This man had not stop blushing since you first walked into the living room.

"Now mamas, you just gonna act like you ain’t see my DM's!?"

"I admit, I did smile every time I saw your name pop up in my notifications but, I already told you why I’m hesitant. I want someone who wants me for me. I’m not anyone’s fantasy to pursue.”

“I can respect that. But, mamas.... five years? Come on now.”

“Okay, okay fine. To make up for all of that... I’m here until next Sunday so...”

“Say less. Date night.”

“YES! FINALLY! Y/N, this man has been down bad for you forever.” Neelam chimed in as she smiled at you.

“My work here is now done. Jack, what I tell you? Y/N, I knew you would say yes to my mans.”

“You really do blush when I say the smallest thing, huh?” Jack had finally settled down, but hearing that made him go red all over again.

That man was simping and simping hard.

He couldn’t do nothing but smile at you.

“Come on stinkkkk, stoppp....”

“You’re so cute. Now where are you taking me on our date?”

Liked by Y/N, druski2funny, champagnepapi, urbanwyatt, neelamthadhani, and 8,394,521 others

jackharlow: and she's a bad motherfucker, how could we not go together? 😍😍😍

champagnepapi: wait... THIS YOU?

druski2funny: champagnepapi courtesy of me. I told my boy I would set it up. It was looking bleak for awhile but it happened.

jackharlow: champagnepapi all me bro 😏

champagnepapi: damn okay I see you 👀 hey Ms. Y/N!

Y/N: champagnepapi hi honey! 👋🏾

Y/N: jackharlow the bed is cold without you, come back 😔

jackharlowsource: after five years our boy finally got her 😫

jackharlow: you ain't have to say all that 🙄

jackharlow: Y/N say less! on my way baby girl! oh and urbanwyatt run me my money

urbanwyatt: 🙄

Taglist:

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#jack harlow #jack harlow x black reader #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow fluff #jack harlow concept #jack harlow fic #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x you

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emeow-blog · 5 months

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I performed a social experiment today, and the results kinda lowkey shocked me:

TW for topics relating to violence, self harm and suicide, bullying/harassment, threats against personal safety, and adjacent topics.

Note: I refer to myself as a “good person” a few times here. I am not in any way suggesting that I am a model for people to follow. I refer to myself as such to show what I think a good person would do.

Idk why it continues to surprise me, but I did a social experiment today and I still find it so weird how outright fucking MEAN people are.

I was simply talking about my likes and dislikes, and I say a few things about a game I like (that gets a lot of hate for no reason). I expected backlash for liking the game, that’s normal and I get that no matter where I say it. Suddenly, I am getting death threats and suicide guilt trips for liking said game. I am told that i should kill myself, I should die, I should never have been born, my parents were right for starving and neglecting me.

Over a game.

The social experiment I performed was to create an overemphasized version of my current life, and to slip up and create loopholes to see if people would find out I was lying. I joked around and tried to copy the behavior of other people, while also subtly attention seeking and dropping hints that I was faking my life. I also did my best to get peoples social media for later purposes.

I was being serious when I was talking about liking the game, and THATS when people snapped. Suddenly they brought up all the evidence of why I was lying and how, which I found odd that they hadn’t before. I played up my argument and pretended to be one of the people that guilt trips and gaslighted others to win the argument to make them react more.

I did expect “kys” jokes and other mean comments. That is what I set out to find. I did NOT expect to be sent death threats, doxxing threats, threats to harm my irl family, etc.

I eventually revealed that it was an experiment, and that I had screen recordings and screenshots of the hate messages and messages proving whose social media belonged to who.

Now, I don’t have social media besides Pinterest, Tumblr, Ao3, and Discord. I purposefully did not ask for or share these things. I made burner Tiktok, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, and followed the members with those.

After I revealed the information, I thought it would be a good idea to tell them (jokingly) that I was going to leak the screenshots to their family and friends that followed their socials.

And guess what, they IMMEDIATELY started apologizing and begging me not to. People were even advocating to ban me and erase all message data relating to me (as though that would do anything).

My experiment set out to show how humans, especially younger people ( <22), act when they are behind their online identity. And how they change immediately when they realize that someone they know in real life will find out.

I am not going to send screenshots to their IRLs, nor on and of my socials, as I am not petty and I respect their privacy as minors (and humans) like a good person would and should.

My complaint is just asking why people are so mean? What do they gain? Absolutely nothing. I keep being disappointed for being surprised, over and over again.

Please be a nice person, to anybody who read this long post. I have made huge mistakes in the past, in the same way that this experiment shows.

You do not have to like someone. You do not have to agree with their opinions. But imagine if this wasn’t an experiment. Imagine if a younger person with a little out of the ordinary life joined this group, and got treated this way.

They wouldn’t be prepared for this. This could harm people. This DOES harm people. There are countless, and I mean COUNTLESS news stories about cyber harassment and bullying leading to teen suicide.

Be a good person, both IRL and online. You can and will harm people by your negative actions. I don’t expect you to like everyone. I expect you to be kind and respectful. If they become angry or mean, that does not indicate that you can react harshly.

Cut off your connection. Block them. Report them. We have measures on the internet to essentially get a restraining order on people you don’t like.

Be a good fucking person.

Have a wonderful day/night. I am sorry for the rant.

#social media #social justice #social issues #social psychology #social science #experimental #experimentation #social experiment #science experiments #kindness #rant post #rant xx

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beardedmrbean · 3 months

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“Antisemitic writings” were found in a search of items belonging to the shooter who opened fire Sunday afternoon at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, according to law enforcement.

The woman, identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, was carrying an assault-style rifle with the word “Palestine” written on it, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.

A motive is still not clear, but police said they believe Moreno acted alone. A dispute between Moreno and her ex-husband’s family, some of whom are Jewish, may be related to the shooting, Houston Police Commander Chris Hassig said in a news briefing Monday.

The shooter also made several statements during the course of the incident, but the officials declined to describe them. Law enforcement officials added that Moreno previously went by multiple aliases, including using both male and female names.

Moreno also brought her 7-year-old son with her to the church, the officials said. During the incident, the shooter stated she had a bomb, but a search turned up no explosive devices, officials said.

Preliminary tests done of chemicals found at the scene concluded that the materials did not pose any risk, Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Peña said at the Monday news briefing.

“The products on their own are benign, and they’re common products that we would see in other applications,” Peña said.

Law enforcement records show the shooter had at least six arrests since 2005, including unlawful carrying of a weapon, which she pleaded guilty to; evading arrest; and assault on a public official, which was pleaded to a lesser charge.

Moreno has a documented mental health history and was placed under an emergency detention order by Houston police in 2016, Hassig said.

Maria Scott, who lived four doors from Moreno in the city of Conroe, roughly 40 miles north of Houston, said she did not know her well, but “people talked about her because she was wreaking havoc.”

She said a couple of years ago Moreno knocked on her door at 7 a.m. “insisting I go get my dogs out of her mother’s yard,” said Scott, 57. “She was just very stern and very, very angry for someone at 7 a.m.”

Scott said she heard from talk in the neighborhood that Moreno carried a firearm.

Another neighbor, Linda Giutta, wrote on Facebook that she and others from the neighborhood had raised concerns about Moreno with local law enforcement and the city council.

"No one could offer any kind of help," Giutta said in the post. "We are told to see something and say something but nothing gets done until it is too late."

Neither the police department nor Conroe's five council members immediately responded to requests for comment.

Police have publicly stated that two off-duty officers at the church returned fire, striking the shooter and killing her at about 1:50 p.m. Her son was also struck in the head during the incident and was in critical condition.

Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference Monday that the 7-year-old boy is “fighting for his life.” Police previously said the boy was 5 years old.

Another person who was injured, a 57-year-old man, was released from the hospital, Finner added.

He added that one of the off-duty officers is an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the other is a Houston police officer.

Officials are investigating a wide range of possible motives given the writing on the weapon, but cannot yet conclusively say what led to the shooting. They have not ruled out terrorism or hate crime-related motives.

The shooting happened between services, as people were arriving for Spanish service, Osteen said. About 45,000 people attend services there every week, making it one of the largest megachurches in the country.

Osteen said that he was “in a fog” after the violence and that he was keeping the injured in his prayers.

“We don’t understand why all these things happen,” the pastor told reporters Sunday. “But we know God’s in control.”

In a subsequent statement on Facebook, Osteen urged his congregation to lean on their faith to cope with the anguish.

“Our community is devastated by today’s events and grateful for the swift actions of law enforcement,” he said. “Together, we will rise above this tragedy and stand firm in our commitment to love and support one another.”

#nunyas news

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mikuplushes · 1 year

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in 2021, i made a post promoting the band set it off that i have since deleted, praising them for being kindhearted individuals who cared deeply about their fans without an ounce of toxic masculinity involved. so how the hell did they lose the core of their diehard fans in the past 2 years? as someone who would have done anything for them at some point in time, allow me to explain.

midnight era was set it off’s peak as a band. they had come back after their last album flopped a bit and were bigger than ever. they also won a fan power award from rock sound magazine, praising them for having such a dedicated fanbase. they’d already kicked sexual misconduct-ers out of their band and off of tours — they felt safe. and when the pandemic hit, this brought another golden era i was involved in — maxx and cody’s twitch era. i was a moderator for cody and i’m close friends with maxx’s former mods (and am dating one of them). with this, many of the band’s most diehard fans felt rewarded.

the beginning of the end started with maxx. maxx did not pay his emote artist, taking advantage of a minor who was just dazzled to do work for ✨maxx danziger✨ and when the artist eventually realized their error and asked for either payment or to take the emotes down, maxx took the emotes down. my partner also did free videos for maxx for a while, but eventually asked for an extremely low payment per video. when they realized how badly they were underselling themself, they asked for more or for the paid videos to be taken down, and maxx took down all of them.

the asking for payment was happening amidst it coming out that maxx had been cheating on his ex, lindsay, for almost the entirety of their relationship. maxx refused to reach out to anyone about it, including lindsay, and has not said a word to this day. it also came out that he had cheated on his current girlfriend, who has shown forgiveness.

this is when i started losing hope in the band. at first it was kind of funny seeing maxx look miserable in all of the promotional stuff coming out since their album elsewhere was releasing. it was funny thinking about how many of sio’s songs were about being cheated on and kind of infuriating at the same time. i hoped he would feel embarrassed every time he had to perform bad guy. but no. he was smug.

at some point in time maxx tried to start up his discord and twitch again after his previous mods left, but boy oh boy. anyone who tried to call out any of his actions or criticize him at all was banned from his server! i remember all i said was it was kind of pathetic of him to delete the mods’ very sweet goodbye message to the community, and i was banned just for that.

my own personal problems with cody aside (a whole other story), i started feeling truly bad about the band as a whole when they revealed their paid fanclub with exclusive content. things went exactly as it seemed they would — the club was overpriced and updated sparsely. it was, in short, a money-grab.

back in october, they released a few parody merch designs based on horror franchises, including a fnaf design made by an artist that did not give them permission to use the artwork. i don’t know what ended up happening to the artist/the merch design.

not long after the elections in november, cody made a really awful tweet. that’s when it was revealed that he was registered as a republican, and all of the remaining faith i had in the man shattered. sorry, this is the only screenshot i could find of it.

when he received backlash on the post, he doubled down on it. it’s pretty clear at this point he’s socially liberal and fiscally republican but it hurts to see him support such a harmful political view. he deleted his tweets but he hasn’t been back on twitter since. he also eventually took the republican view off of his facebook.

as if to double down on losing fans, sio announced a show with machine gun kelly, known for sexualizing minors, and then recently a tour with all time low, known abusers. the mgk show felt a bit “well, do they know?” at first, but all comments of concern were ignored. the tour with all time low being announced felt like a slap in the face. what happened to the band that cared about their fans more than anything else? what happened to that fan power award? this feels malicious. it feels like they’re alienating fans on purpose. they deleted comments calling atl abusers. i’m sure they took this tour for the money, and it hurts knowing they value that more than the safety of their fans.

in short, we can’t trust these guys anymore. they’re not here for their fans, they’re against them. so much for the fan power award!

#set it off #cody carson #maxx danziger #zach dewall #yesterday at work one of my coworkers commented on my elsewhere sticker on my water bottle #mind u i was writing this post at work #they said ‘oh did you see them on tour!’#i said i got it at their album release party #i didnt have the courage to say anything else

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dressagecow · 10 months

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Disappeared again. It’s been a hard year and 24 hasn’t been kind. My mom died, suddenly. I had to move. Financial aid cut me off completely. I’ve barely done anything with Nav this year, so he’s been enjoying semi-retirement. My barn owner occasionally finds underhanded ways to comment on it. But he’s fine.

At the very least, I have less than three weeks left of school, ever. And then I graduate with my bachelor’s degree. I’ve been taking classes all through the summer to finish this and move on with my life.

One other good thing did happen: I was blessed with Nav’s past and background. Almost all of it!

Someone from my first barn messaged me one day to say that she kept seeing someone making posts in various groups on Facebook, looking for a specific horse. A horse that looked like mine. She sent me the post they’d been sharing, and I was ready to brush it off, but…it really did seem to be him. The post read that she was looking for a 19 year old quarter horse x hackney cross that she lost track of 10 years ago when she gave him away. I messaged the woman and sent her pictures of him to double check that yes, this is the horse she was looking for. And it was!

We went back and forth for a while, and she told me everything she knew about him. He was born in 2004 after a man bought his dam in foal at an auction, supposedly having been exposed to a hackney stallion wherever she came from. His dam was a “big stocky buckskin paint”, so we know where he got his color from. The auction where she was bought was also in an area that was tied to an indigenous population of Chippewa, so when he was born, the man’s children named him “Spirit of the Chippewa”. The woman I spoke with picked him up from the original owner in 2008, and she shortened his name to Chip. He was still a stallion, so she had him gelded and tried to get him started under saddle. She was just a green teenager at the time herself though, so it was kind of a rough start. She sort of just let him be for a while after that, and eventually gave him to a local man with a petting zoo in 2013. The man had a girlfriend who said she was would take him into the city for training, and that’s where she lost track of him.

She sent me the Facebook profile of the man who originally owned him, but he hasn’t been active for a while so I didn’t get a response when I reached out. I also did some digging and found the petting zoo man she referred to. He can’t remember having a Navaho, but he had some Spirits and some Chips. He mentioned that his girlfriend would’ve taken a horse like him into the city, put 30-60 days of riding on him, and then they would’ve resold him at an auction somewhere more down south in the state. He said he remembered faces better than names, but didn’t respond to texts with pictures of him. Nonetheless, I’m sure it was this guy; Nav was just passing through for them.

So somewhere between 2013 and 2015 (when my first barn purchased him, and I subsequently purchased him from them), Nav was probably taken to auction, had his name changed, eventually ended up at a barn with a winery (unclear if they were the ones who got him from the auction), and then was sold to my barn and later, me. While I have the basic details for these two years, the full story and other possible hands that dealt with him aren’t very clear. Back in the day, I did reach out to this barn he was purchased from, and they recalled having him, recalled getting him from a “flipper” (fitting the description of mr. petting zoo), but didn’t have a clear timeline. The lady there was pregnant and quickly downsizing when they sold him, so details were blurry.

But aside from the fuzzy two years, that’s it. That’s his whole story. Now I know his true age and birth year, and I know what his breeding (probably) is. We were only off by a year, thinking he was 18, and we always knew his other half was probably something goofy given his conformation and movement, so it’s nice to have those pieces of the puzzle. If I ever hear from the original owner, I hope to get more information. Specifically, I’d like baby pictures and/or pictures of his dam, plus his birthday. I doubt he has any papers out there.

He’s had a minimum of six owners, and technically been auctioned twice. His name has been changed. But that’s all behind him now, he’s with me and that’s it for him.

The lad, for good measure.

#Long story #If you read the whole thing - thanks #She was just happy to know that he’s in a good home after feeling like she failed him #Also I think Chip is such a cute name for him #Don’t think I’ll change it back but it’s a cute nickname

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turtlecleric · 3 months

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assumption - others have said in need of a hug (yes true) but also,

may not have been praised in the way that you deserved growing up and instead others tried to dim your light because they were envious or wanted to see you fail (->im here to tell you they suck ass. you're everything and more; skilled; determined; worthy; and i love you so so much and i am so so proud of you)

Did you know that I would die for you? Did you know that I love you so goddamn much? Did you?

This is way too much personal info that no one actually cares to know, probably, but. I'm sort of avoiding work on purpose at the moment and I'm having a really rough day. Who needs therapy when you have asks on Tumblr to rant in? (I'm joking, to be clear. Actual therapy is so valuable and important if you manage to find a competent professional who clicks well with you. The only reason I stopped going is because of Covid, time, and money.)

Warning: VERY long vent ahead, please do not feel obligated to read or respond

My dad was really good about praising me in ways that felt genuine, actually, though that made the times he /was/ upset with me all that much worse. My dad isn't perfect, and he's done some things and said some things that I'll never forgive, that I'll never be able to forget, but I would also do anything for him. I know he's there for me when I need it, I know he'll answer when I call, I know that he actually cares about me. He and maybe like two cousins are the only family I would never be able to cut off.

My mom... I guess it was just sort of the baseline bare minimum expectation that I would do things well, so when I /was/ praised it was just like... oh, good job sweetie! Proud of you! But it didn't feel... I don't know how to describe why but... I don't know. Now, when people tell me I do things well I always have that voice in my head that's like "they're just being nice, they don't actually think it's all that great, they expected you to do a much better job than this, actually, why did you even bother sharing? Why did you think this was something to be proud of?" I read way too far into things, interpreting neutral reactions, or even positive reactions that aren't as enthusiastic as I might have hoped for, as proof that people are simply being nice and don't really like what I do or make or say all that much. I always get stuck in this mindset that I'm not allowed to create mediocre content, like it all has to be Excellent or else it's Terrible.

I also remember in high school, posting some drawings on Facebook that I was really proud of. Two drawings, one with hands in chains and cut up and the other with healed hands glowing with holy light and cradling a cross. It was supposed to show the difference between life without God and life with God (I was... VERY religious as a teenager. I am now agnostic.), but she saw the first picture and freaked out, super pissed, yelling at me to take it down, to not embarrass her like that, because people were going to see that and think I was abused or depressed or something (haha... me? Depressed? Nahhhhh). And that was the moment when I knew I could never ever ever share anything even remotely dark with her, that if I ever were to express something that indicated I was anything other than good and happy and perfect then she would react similarly. She's also very judgemental regarding mental health, often made comments about how "people who are/do x are sick, there's just something wrong with them, make sure you stay away from people like that" while I'm sitting on the couch like... oof. That's me. So all my venting went to Tumblr where she couldn't see, and even now I mostly only vent on Tumblr and through writing. I have many wonderful friends that would gladly allow me to vent to them (I love you all so much I love you I love you I love you, thank you for being so kind), but I simply Cannot. I've had a friend before where it felt like all they did was complain, they were always so goddamn negative, and it became a chore to talk to them. I started to get angry every time they said or did something defeatist, I stopped enjoying talking or hanging out with them, and I refuse to be that person. Even if I'm told over and over that I don't come across that way, I'm so terrified of it that when I think about reaching out I start to think of that friend and about how I shouldn't bother people and I panic. Unless I've gotten to the point where I truly believe that nothing I do or say will ruin the friendship, then it's really hard to push through that fear. But that's so much harder than it used to be because I /did/ lose a friend that I thought I would have literally for the rest of my life, I was so 100% confident that we would be 80 years old still hanging out with each other and goofing around, so sure we could go through anything together and stay friends, I knew in my heart and soul that we would be friends until we died, and I was wrong. I was wrong. I also had a different friend who was always there for me, always praised me, always listened to me when I needed it and told me kind things and made sure I felt welcome and loved and viewed positively, and then he fucking assaulted me one night when he thought I was asleep.

Anyway. When I /did/ fail at things growing up, it was either punished more severely than necessary or straight up laughed at. Mom was very hot and cold, too, you could never tell what kind of mood she was going to be in that day. (She is still like this. It's well known in my family that you never know which version of her you're going to get.) Things are fine one moment and then suddenly I'm in trouble for something I didn't even realize I did wrong (like with the drawings), so I'm just. Terrified of not doing well enough at things, of disappointing people, of people being annoyed with me or upset with me over something I didn't even realize was rude or mean or wrong to begin with.

"Don't overstay your welcome; don't bother people" was pounded into my head. I can't express how often I start to say or type something and then think, "No one cares. Stop bothering people. You're being too much, you're being annoying, they're tired of you, just keep it to yourself." I'm working on it but. Yeah. Half the time I still just stop talking or backspace and stay quiet. Even typing this, I'm like... you should delete this. You're basically just begging for attention, and if anyone says anything about this to you then it'll only be because they felt obligated to and they're going to start seeing you as a whiny, pathetic, manipulative person, and they're going to get tired of you and roll their eyes every time you say anything, even if it's not you venting, or they'll see this and think about how stupid or weird it is for you to put this information out on the internet, and even this sentence right here is proof that they'd be right because you're aware of all these thoughts and you're still doing it.

But then another part of me thinks that if I can't even vent on my own blog on a post that literally no one is required to read that is also hidden under a readmore and clearly states that it's a vent post, then where /can/ I vent? And if someone else posted this, would I be this harsh on them? And what's so wrong with seeking attention and comfort? Why is that unforgivable in yourself but admirable in others? Why are you crying at work? Why aren't you doing your job? Why aren't you better? Why aren't you better?

#asks #I'll delete this later probably #fuck #anyway! back to work!#i have so much to do and not enough time to do it so. I'll be working late today. again.

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