shinyblackbird

[shinyblackbird]

Someone was asking in a thread what kind of people could work for ICE right now.

I think it's a good time to remember that the image above are the people who put children into gas chambers.

When I was little, I asked what kind of person could work at a concentration camp.

The answer to both questions I think is "normal people who have accepted the dehumanization of another group of people."

[shinyblackbird]

🪨

🪲🌱🪱🐛🐌🌱🌱🪳🦗🪱🪱🌱🪲🐜🐜🐜🪱

[shinyblackbird]

of course you have blue curtains and subtext

[shinyblackbird]

a detailed list of things i hate

hot weather

high temperatures

heat

warmer than average conditions

[shinyblackbird]

I think we should have a second pride month in November for gay people who prefer cold weather

[shinyblackbird]

me when i see an animal that is known for being in my area

[shinyblackbird]

Man eat cube

[shinyblackbird]

We got about 4 inches / 10 cm of rain within 12 hours yesterday, which is a lot of rain. Everything got soaked, the garden got a bit more than it needed, and I was anxiously keeping an eye on the sump pump. Everything worked out, and to honor the occasion, here are some Blue Jays in all their soppy glory.

[shinyblackbird]

cant stop thinking about this this was sooo crazyyyyy

[shinyblackbird]

My phone made this fun little gif from a few pictures during the last preen session I caught on film

[shinyblackbird]

daily affirmations:

i am kind

i am in control of my emotions

it does not bother me when someone is in the kitchen while i was planning to be in there alone

everyone in the house has the right to be in the kitchen

i am kind and in control of my emotions even when someone is in the kitchen while i was planning to be in there alone

[shinyblackbird]

If your birthday is on June 14th and for whatever reason you are feeling disappointed about that, just know that you share a birthday (hatchday) with my parrot Ripley:

He is turning 16 this year and as always, we will be throwing him a party.

[shinyblackbird]

Smaug is very grateful that his wing is healing!

[shinyblackbird]

Ask yourself, would a small woodland mouse wearing an apron and/or jaunty corduroy vest do this activity? If not, stop immediately.

[shinyblackbird]

whats a stereotype for your country that you absolutely do. mine is that i unironically go "eh" and apologize a lot and i often drink maple syrup straight

[shinyblackbird]

like, okay, consent does literally just mean agree. which is what enables this little rhetorical trick. because there's all this cultural emphasis on sexual consent, which is just expressed as consent, a lot of phrases whose intended meanings are "rape is bad" can be taken literally to mean "i should get to agree to everything that happens in my vicinity."

[shinyblackbird]

I honestly don’t understand why there aren’t more people who, when given the platform to discuss minimum wage, don’t simply distill it to the simplest of facts:

A forty hour work week is considered full time.

It’s considered as such because it takes up the amount of time we as a society have agreed should be considered the maximum work schedule required of an employee. (this, of course, does not always bear out practically, but just follow me here)

A person working the maximum amount of time required should earn enough for that labor to be able to survive. Phrased this way, I doubt even most conservatives could effectively argue against it, and out of the mouth of someone verbally deft enough to dance around the pathos-based jabs conservative pundits like to use to avoid actually debating, it could actually get opps thinking.

Therefore, if an employee is being paid less than [number of dollars needed for the post-tax total to pay for the basic necessities in a given area divided by forty] per hour, they are being ripped off and essentially having their labor, productivity, and profit generation value stolen by their employer.

Wages are a business expense, and if a company cannot afford to pay for its labor, it is by definition a failing business. A company stealing labor to stay afloat (without even touching those that do so simply to increase profit margins and/or management/executive pay/bonuses) is no more ethical than a failing construction company breaking into a lumber yard and stealing wood.

Our goal as a society should be to protect each other, especially those that most need protection, not to subsidize failing businesses whose owners could quite well subsidize them on their own.