kcyars52

[kcyars52]

[kcyars52]

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[kcyars52]

most damaging idea of the 21st century: the conviction of vast numbers of people that human history will end within our lifetimes

climate change represents world-altering tragedy if unchecked, but not even in the worst-case scenario does it mean “literally everyone dies”

yet so many people have jumped already to “it’s over, the world is going to end, we can do nothing about it” and are just paralyzingly cynical. How do I explain that the power to imagine a future is essential for creating it

[kcyars52]

In the 1980s, scientists concluded that if current trends continued the ozone layer that protects our planet would be nearly destroyed in a couple of decades. 

What followed was a massive international effort to ban chlorofluorocarbons–and the reason you probably haven’t heard much about the hole in the ozone layer lately is because those efforts worked. Rather than seeing the ozone layer completely destroyed by 2050, it is instead well on its way to full recovery.

Sometimes it seems impossible that our world could severely limit or halt our reliance on fossil fuels when they are such an ingrained part of modern life. In the 1980s, when scientists started sounding the alarm about a hole in the ozone layer, it seemed similarly impossible that the world would come together and agree to limit their use of chlorofluorocarbons.

It was not easy, but they did it, and we are living in a better world as a direct result of all those who took action to protect our world from the threat of impending environmental disaster.

“Even with the complications and caveats, the world’s response to the ozone crisis should be seen as an instructive, even inspiring, success story–one that can perhaps inform our response to the climate crisis.” 

[kcyars52]

[kcyars52]

now that’s what i call ineffective tumblr discourse! featuring such hits as “why aren’t you talking about this thing you didn’t know about”, “this 3-hour-old post has 20k notes instead of 100k clearly you’re all willfully ignoring it”, “if you don’t reblog this you’re a bad person”, & more manipulative bullshit that only exists to make the person saying it feel holier than thou!

[kcyars52]

Prostitution policies in the EU as of Dec. 2021.

[kcyars52]

There’s a particular attitude I often see on the internet that goes something like “If you aren’t part of a particular marginalized group, then you could never understand their experience, so don’t pretend to relate.” And while obviously you’re never going to relate to every aspect of that identity unless you are also of that identity, I feel like this attitude really diminishes opportunities for finding kinship and bonding in similar experiences even if those experiences aren’t exactly the same and/or are the result of different identities.

For example, I’m white and neurodivergent, and I was talking to a Black neurotypical friend about masking, and how I feel like I have to change the entire way I present myself in order to not be considered weird in public. She responded with “Oh, some of that sounds kind of like code-switching— how I have to switch away from using AAVE in white-dominated settings in order to be accepted.” And then we bonded over how frustrating and ridiculous it is that AAVE and stimming are both considered unacceptable in “professional” settings.

Another time, a straight Jewish friend was telling me about a book she had just finished reading, which was written by a Jewish author and had a Jewish main character. She was saying that it was really nice to read a book written by a Jewish author, because even when gentile authors do their research and write a pretty accurate Jewish character, they never quite feel Jewish— you can always tell the author was a gentile. And I said “Oh that sounds kind of like when I read queer characters written by straight authors— you can always tell the author was straight even if they do their research and get things fairly right. So even though I’m happy when any book features queer characters, it’s really especially nice to read queer characters written by queer authors.” And we bonded over this similar experience, and we were both excited that the other understood even if we were coming to this experience from different angles, and then we swapped book recommendations. This conversation is also a great example of when that internet attitude DOES apply— when someone outside of a particular group is trying to understand that group’s entire experience well enough to accurately write the world as seen through their eyes. They’re never quite going to get it right, and that’s ok! It just means it’s important to also have Own Voices authors writing those types of stories also.

Sometimes it seems like people who have been in internet circles exhibiting this attitude for too long are afraid to ever try to relate to the experiences of anyone in any groups other than their own for fear of causing offense, which is honestly pretty counterproductive. Understanding each other and bonding across groups should be the goal! Relating to each other is not a bad thing!

[kcyars52]

[kcyars52]

Read our newest white paper, “For Whose Benefit?” on the evidence, ethics, and effectiveness of autism interventions: https://autisticadvocacy.org/policy/briefs/intervention-ethics/

[kcyars52]

We’ve upgraded from horse dewormer to radioactive necklaces