So at my workplace, we fund a Food Is Free shelf. It's the basics: take what you need, give what you can - our town has a high level of poverty, there's a cost of living crisis, be the good you want to see in the world etc etc.
Today we had a guy knock on the door and ask if we had a plastic bag he could use to carry a few things - I said sure, got him a plastic bag, and he started packing up his 2 rolls of toilet paper, his 3 or 4 foodstuff items. He said he'd been to a funeral out of town (1500 kms away) and spent his paycheck on fuel - he was only broke till Friday, he said.
And I said, well I'm glad we could help, it's why we have the shelf. We want the community to use it.
And he said:
But people ABUSE it! I've seen people take heaps of stuff from it - and they don't even have kids or anything. And it's fair enough, some people are struggling until the next paycheck, but other people just ABUSE it. You need a sign that says TAKE ONE ITEM ONLY or something. I've taken something from here maybe twice, but I've seen people coming round every week! I've even put stuff on the shelf! Yeah, you need CAMERAS or something. People abuse it.
So here is a man who is actively utilising a public resource that we created to support our local community...And yet he is so brainwashed by capitalism into thinking that people don't deserve basic needs - if they're not working hard, or maybe they're struggling but they don't have it As Bad as others, or they're using a FREE RESOURCE more often than HE thinks is acceptable. He thinks that we should use security cameras to crack down on people "STEALING" from the Food is FREE shelf. Like he's more worthy, like he's a better person, because he doesn't need as much help as others might.
Sometimes, when something is free, people might abuse it. But isn't it better to offer the support to people who need it? To offer an opportunity for people to get back on their feet (even if they're only broke till Friday)? To provide help, no questions asked and no conditions needed?
So what if people abuse it - isn't it worth it if helps someone?
Long car trips mean hunch over my ipad and film dumb stupid videos in restaurants at 11pm 😍 (future me screw u idk if it’s shaky also do not perceive me)
Way off topic but you know something the state of Georgia does that every state in the union should do? Require restaurants and such to post their health inspections somewhere visible to their customers and also upload all inspection reports online into a database easily searchable by the public. My sister was going out to dinner tonight and right there on the door was a giant sign that said the restaurant had failed their health inspection yesterday (but it wasn't low enough to require them to shut, just post the "U" grade right on the front door). Usually the grade is posted somewhere near the register or at the little lobby area inside. I pulled up the report and read everything wrong with the restaurant. They have rats, don't wash hands, are storing food at the wrong temp, storing raw meat improperly, don't have properly functioning thermometers in the freezer, and aren't cleaning their ice/drink machines. Every state should have that kind of transparency. I want to know if the place I'm eating at is handling food safely! Food poisoning is NOT FUN!!!
The Boy Who Caught a Falling Star(Howl AU, excerpts of Dazai’s perspective) 👀👀👀
Dazai stood with his feathered hand pressed to the door and listened to the sound of Chuuya breathing on the other side, his own breath caught in his throat.
Starlight.
He was so close. Only a few inches of wood separated them.
And yet…
What would Chuuya do if Dazai opened the door right at that moment?
Would he scream? Flinch at the sight of him? Call off the deal they had made and flee from the castle?
Or would he…?
Dazai raised his hands to his own cheeks, grasping for that old memory of Chuuya from that night. The way his tears had sparkled in the starlight as they fell, the way he smiled and held Dazai’s face like he was something precious.
Would Chuuya still do that now, if he saw him like this?
Try as he might, Dazai couldn’t imagine it.
Because as wonderfully stubborn and kind as this Chuuya seemed…
Surely even the most perfect person would call someone like Dazai a monster.
Imagine a silly crack Au where the Lords in Black are trapped in their little doll forms and they’re limited to what they can do as little tiny abominations.
It’s like taking care of five cats that can walk on two legs or extremely spoiled toddlers.
They all don’t need to eat (except Nibbly of course) but, they can. And Blinky despite not having a mouth, just kinda… vaporizes it?
i turn 29 on july 1st. i feel like i make a lot of these notes to myself, to check in. hi, me, here's what's happening.
hi, me. hi, you, too, if you keep reading. here's some rules i have been following:
when a book is bad, i put the book down. i choose something i like instead. when i don't like a movie, i don't make myself watch until the end. i care less and less what people think about me and focus more on being a good friend.
for the 6 months or so, i've been asking people what they think should be my next book or tv show. i ask them where i should go on a walk next week. i ask them what food i should try next, what hobby. and then i write it down in front of them.
the truth is some stuff slips through the cracks. but most of the time? within two weeks, i get to send my favorite kind of text - so i tried the thing you were talking about and !
i have a new policy for split-second choices - it's better to try it. i have social anxiety. i have to talk myself into doing many things. i am constantly battling the desire to run away as far as my feet will take me. and then i stand up and i do the thing anyway. i make myself act and dance and sing. sometimes, yes, i know-immediately never again, i hate this. but most of the time - i just have fun with it.
i have a new mantra - nobody is scorekeeping. at the end of my life, there will be no grand reading of how many calories i'd been eating. no reviews on how many boring documentaries i forced myself through, no calculation on how many hours i endured an extremely dull educational podcast. and so what if i try karaoke and i don't actually nail it? so what if i stumble over my words while trying to make a public announcement? so what if i wear something too-showy to go to the grocery store? nobody there knows me, and: nobody's keeping score.
life doesn't resolve with a grade (i know, i was as shocked as everyone else when i realized it). i am not falling behind, because there's no curriculum to life that i should be following. there are no checkpoints; nobody is making sure i have a fully-furnished life resume. i am just here for as long as the earth will have me, and i get to decide what makes me happy.
i don't have a partner or a house or anything that is supposed to belong to people-my-age. i spend most of my time focusing on being kind, compassionate, ready to listen without restraint.
and honestly? i feel good. like actually. i kind of like it this way.