#Stir to Action

[nextwavefutures]

Building the democratic local economy

Building the democratic local economy—reading Stir to Action’s ‘how to’ guide. New post at The Next Wave.

The magazine Stir to Action, and the project that sits behind it, has been one of the most effective popularisers in the UK of the idea of community economics and community wealth building. This is Stir’s ‘mission’ (though it doesn’t use this word): We work to create a more democratic economy in workplaces and communities, in particular through new infrastructure, business support, research and…

[jackawful]

Y'all have got to realize there are ways to protect older teens from sexual predators without insisting that teenagers don't think about sex or sexuality until the magical moment exactly 18 years from their birth. Trying to reduce harm to teenagers (especially teenagers online!) is a good and valid goal but pretending none of them have ever viewed porn or fucked isn't it. You've gotta acknowledge that if they don't have safe ways to explore their sexuality with peers they are going to explore in unsafe ways & that secrecy, shame, and censorship are what open the door to predators & allow them to normalize unhealthy power dynamics.

Shit like (professed) minors allegedly being on ezra's site is most likely the result of that community being the only thing they could find that treated them as like, humans with autonomy and desire, and that's a pattern that plays out with adult exploitation of teens in-person too (the "you're so mature for your age" routine). Of course teenagers exploring sexuality for the first time fell into a community that told them they weren't bad for being attracted to adults or having sexual desire in the first place! Thing is, an "Adult Attracted Minor" is like, the default state of teenagerdom.

The shit that's actually been demonstrated to help with this isn't carceral whackamoling of bad actors - it's giving teenagers education about healthy relationships and power dynamics and safe sex and yeah, kink, and also giving them the autonomy to make their own decisions about sex. Specifically, you let them know that it's normal to be attracted to adults but that adults trying to date or fuck them are in a position of power that means those relationships can't be healthy. In absence of that, teens are vulnerable to the first adult that appeals to their need to be taken seriously. And for fucks sake, using "minor" to equate teens with young children in these cases makes this tactic easier for abusers to pull off, not harder, because it is self-evident to teens that they have more capacity for autonomy than the average 8 year old. Sure, it makes the people you're targeting in your callout Sound Worse, but it also immediately loses you credibility in the eyes of teenagers themselves.

And for fucks sake, don't let a handful of bad actors using a leftist framing for that old song and dance lead you to believe that's what youth lib is about OR take away focus from all the times the right wing has systemically & institutionally done this.

[samgelina-jolie]

I've been watching ST since s1 came out and I feel like over the years peoples opinions of this scene have changed drastically but maybe that's just me?

I feel like even my own opinions on it have changed, It's a lot more "50/50 they're both in the wrong" to me now than it was back in 2016, but still I want to hear what people have to say. Please feel free to add your reasons in the tags!

[tomwambsgans]

obviously a lot of the time a snubbing from or otherwise trouble with shiv can be directly linked to tom seeking greg out, but what's interesting to me is the fact that tom first tells greg that he'll take care of him literally within an hour of successfully proposing to shiv. and like i already fully believed it anyway but it's a nice little reminder that feeling unloved by shiv is FAR from the only factor in why tom wants greg - that he did, undeniably, just plain like him a lot from the very beginning.

[birgittesilverbae]

am thinking what if in babea au bea & lilith are on a mission but they get cut off from the rest of the ocs, their safe house compromised, & bea is reeling from several gunshot wounds (holes in her shirt and smooth skin underneath, lilith with the bullets in the pocket of her combat pants. evidence of something, of nothing. evidence of hurt healed too fast for her to comprehend it).

beatrice leaning on her, mouthing half-coherent words into the heat of her neck, and lilith realising there’s only one safe place she can take her. it’s old, defensible. weapons in reach in almost every room for all that they’re antiques.

what if the only place they can go is home?

a home that isn’t a home, with the villaumbrosia crest in the foyer. lilith stepping over the threshold and seeing old memories draped like afternoon sunlight on the tiled floors. bea in her arms blinking at the gloom. her halo-bearer and her halo. pressing a kiss into the curve of bea’s jaw when she asks ‘where are we?’

caught like that, genflecting her mouth to bea’s soft jaw, as her mother steps into the foyer and sees them both

am thinking it'd be easier if you just took the bat to my head already

[gydima]

You ever think about how there would probably be 25% fewer Izzy Hands posts if some of the people who dislike him would adjust WHERE they talk about him?

Like, I get why some people hate Izzy. No big deal that people have different opinions than me! The problem lies in beating the same dead horse IN THE IZZY HANDS TAG or in direct response to Izzy enjoyers' posts.

For anyone who hates Izzy and genuinely wants to see less about him, the solution is simple and two-pronged:

If you make a post criticizing him, tag it "Izzy Hands critical." Izzy enjoyers are far less likely to jump to his defense there than in the regular old "Izzy Hands" tag. (We may never even see it if we have that tag filtered!)

Try not to yuck someone's yum in response to Izzy-positive posts. You won't have to expend your energy in a pointless back-and-forth battle if you ignore posts by Izzy enjoyers or block us altogether if our opinions bother you overmuch.

Rest assured, we've heard MANY TIMES why Izzy is crap and people shouldn't like him. Unless you're a galaxy-brained individual with an earth-shattering new analysis, one more post/response isn't going to make us see the anti-Izzy light.

(For the record, when Izzy-critical folks say something negative about him in their OWN blogs and DON'T use the Izzy Hands main tag, I think it would behoove Izzy enjoyers to scroll on past and not engage either. No one's convincing anyone to change their opinions, let's be real.)

[just-bendy]

How would you feel about alastor from hazben hotel, if he just happened to show up through this conveniently placed portal from hell.

*portal opens and alastor walks through*

Who the hell is this guy?

[shorthaltsjester]

nothing more morally reprehensible than a cleric (checks notes) using the key features of their class…? surely that can’t be where we are regarding analysis of character actions in cr at this point.

[chewyyam]

i said this on twitter but mo xuanyu's story is so tragic. lan wangji will never know the full extent of his sacrifice. no one acknowledges him much despite how wei wuxian wears his face and body, how he gave up his life for the hope of revenge, to unleash literally the most evil cultivator he's heard of on the world because of how much he hated everything

he just makes me so sad like how does it get to that stage.. the story is good at emphasising how his identity - a bastard, a queer man, etc - was used against him like with the rumours to villainise him, just like with wwx!! but it's actually the saddest thing and i cant stop thinking about him lately

without his death, wangxian would never reunite. sizhui would've never seen him again, maybe he'd forget his past entirely. wen ning would still be locked away. lwj would never move on. jiang cheng would never learn of wwx's sacrifice. no relief for the dead wen clan of the burial mounds. no resolution of the multiple tragedies like the yi city tragedy, the jin zixuan tragedy,,

i'll never move on from mo xuanyu's incomplete story 😭

[mariocki]

Play for Today: The Rank and File (BBC, 1971)

"I mean, the cry of a kiddie, the hungry kiddie, that means much more to me than all the laws and all the prisons in creation. I go along with Trotsky, that life is beautiful; that the future generation cleanses of all the oppression, violence and evil and - and enjoy it to the full."

[verdemoth]

another for the space headworld, here’s Tiercel! She’s a big name in the illegal street racing scene within a city sized colony ship. She’s known for the risky breakneck speeds she keeps up in races, and for the fervent rivalry she shares with fellow racer Sxyn (they’re best friends :]).

She’s smart and perceptive but also very independent, confident, and reckless, and that combination has not particularly endeared her to any of the factions that run the city. Tiercel chooses not to be subtle. She has an especially poor reputation with the local law enforcement, because she doesn’t super vibe being told what she can and can’t do, and it’s not a particularly guarded secret that she participates in illicit activities. She’s very recognizable and loves having an audience, but she can make herself scarce real quick when someone shows up to bust the party, and finds crafty ways to avoid culpability.

She gets most of her income from grifts, heists, and subversive activities. She calls herself an independent contractor; Tiercel’s not interested in pledging allegiance to one employer. She’s known to play all sides in the factional divide, but she can still find work because she’s genuinely good at what she does. With her charisma and her guile, she’s skilled at making her actions hard to trace and successfully carrying out a plan, if she decides to do so. She’s an asset to any team who can get her collaboration, though her inconstancy has built more enmity against her than favour. Tiercel’s found it prudent to hire herself a bodyguard.

[zoekrystall]

Saw certain tweets and here once again a reminder which a twt mutual luckily wrote shorter than I could (plus public so I can rb bc no way I do that myself on that site)

Also

And if you want smth I wrote myself which is longer and not just abt that here you go

[hellsbroadcaster]

Being a good person doesn’t meant taking shit laying down btw.

Like I think just in general, people think staying quiet about how they’ve been treated to avoid ‘drama’ is the best solution and I’m telling you it’s not.

Absolutely be loud about it. Point it out. Confront them. How they react is out of your control but at least you said what you needed to say.

I’ve been shushed before. Someone who I thought was a friend really hurt me, betrayed me. It was like a slap in the face, and all because I was going through my own shit and didn’t have time to be there 100%.

And it sucked, how I kind of had to swallow my hurt. How a lot of my ‘friends’ knew it was shitty of them but because they didn’t wanna cause drama they didn’t say anything. No one did a god damn thing and it’s really something when you see an abuser get love and praise and be treated like they are this wonderful person when they aren’t.

And true, you can’t make everyone see it. I know they will eventually, and it’s not my job to point it out for everyone. And I won’t. But at that time? It absolutely hurt me, and I started to look at things differently. Look at people differently. And it left me shambles for a good while.

I would rant about it and people would ask me to stop. Or to tag it. Because they didn’t wanna see it. And that’s valid? But also? Why is it you can only accept me when I’m showing my good side? The side of me that’s put together and makes you laugh and keeps you entertained but when I’m hurting you want me to take it elsewhere.

Started making me look at ppl on here who only look at you like a number. I know we all are going through our own shit. I don’t expect ppl to drop everything and help me, I don’t expect ppl to care. If I vent it’s usually just for myself to let off steam and it helps . But yet, somehow there’s always someone that makes it about them.

Therapy has helped me a lot with creating boundaries. I realized a lot of the things that happened where my own fault due to, seeing the issues but not saying anything about them. And also how I make myself to readily available for people. I was there for that person for so much, even bought them food when they were hungry and couldn’t for themselves. I don’t regret it, I don’t regret caring or having a good heart. No natter what I never want to lose that side of me that gives a damn about people.

I do the things I do because I’ve been there. I offer a safe space , a fun space for you to be yourself . Because I know what it’s like to have to hide. Show ppl how to love themselves because I had to learn on my own. I am an empath, I feel everything and I sometimes go overboard because I don’t have the proper boundaries set up. But I’m much more aware now. Learning and trying to be more effective in my communication.

But it makes me sad when you do call out bad behavior and instead of people looking at themselves and saying ‘you know I’m sorry I did screw up, I’m going to do better’ they deny. They gaslight you. They bring up everything YOUVE done wrong to them instead of acknowledging what you’re bringing to their attention. Suddenly they are the victim and you’re the bully being aggressive because they can’t tell the difference between an aggressive tone and an assertive one.

And it sucks that you’ll deal with people who can’t see anything past their own pain. Cuz there is no dealing with that, that’s shit they gotta work on and unfortunately they gotta be willing to look at themselves in the mirror and start seeing the truth.

We all got flaws. I had to look myself in the mirror, and see a lot of things I didn’t like either. Things that needed changing. That’s maturing. Recognizing you’re not perfect, that you do fuck up, and being willing to accept and change it.

But a lot of ppl on here not ready for that. And the moment I’ve started my healing journey I’ve lost a lot of people who aren’t built like me. Whether it’s because I make them see things in themselves that they don’t like, or think they can’t ever be or what it’s not really my problem anymore.

I’ve been stagnant for so long, I want things out of my life and for the first time in my life despite setback after setback I feel like I finally start getting them. I can respect people who aren’t ready to heal, but I can’t stay in those situations anymore. I wish you luck on your own path, but I’m done putting myself on hold for others all the time.

You’re not wrong for wanting to hold people accountable. There are always limits of course. Say your piece and be done, don’t keep adding fuel to it. How they react remember is out of your hands but you did what you needed to do. People say closure is pointless and I say you obviously learned to just not act on your discomfort and just bottle it up and to me that’s sad.

Because we shouldn’t have to do that for the sake of someone’s comfort who had no regard for ours.

And I am confrontational. I’m a nice person but I will come to you with an issue if there is one. And there’s nothing wrong with that, one mistake doesn’t make you horrible. Makes you human. Changed behavior means you’re growing and learning. It’s not a bad thing and I wish tumblr would stop viewing this stuff as bad. Because it’s so important to be able to grow and it’s why so many people suck because no one is really trying to do that.

[birgittesilverbae]

once again haunted by the phelps!beatrice and lochte!lilith doc it's been three years die already

[renesassing]

I love your prequel Revan stuff, I know in SWTOR there’s the Revanite Cult if they were still around in the prequel era would Revan interact with them, like how does Revan react to being studied by historians both Jedi and non-force users and how their history and mythos has developed over the thousands of years they were gone? (Ps your art is amazing)

whoa hey this sorta collected some dust, sorry! i know like -1 things about swtor except for the bits involving bad swtor revan, but the idea of the revanite cult delights me because lets be real, revan is a cult leader at a lot of different angles. of course, they don't recognize themself as one and would deny it until their last breath. revan has echoes of divinity in a way that's different from their contemporaries, who were perhaps more closer to a kind of godhood in terms of power, and there were those who recognized that, but revan had all the trappings. the followers. the religion. and all of republic space was swept up in that fervor.

revan rejects divinity, though. they don't pursue power in the force as many of their era did, and ultimately they aren't known for it. not like nihilus or sion or the exile. or even tenebrae if we're allowing him to exist. their pursuits and their self-image is more 'secular' to the point of outright denying their role from prophet to martyr to god. they know they would be studied. they would expect it, actually. they wanted more than anything for their message to be remembered. and i think a revan displaced from their era would hover around the texts regarding their era for days, hemming and hawing between their ego and their apprehension. eager and anxious to see what judgement history has made. to know if they were right. if all of it, any of it, was worth all the suffering. and they wouldn't get an answer. just a lot of misinterpretation made around glaring lack of context and desperate extrapolation. generalizations that smooth out the rough edges of history, unaware that those creases and chasms were what molded the revanchist. they are remembered, but not for what they wanted to be. not for what was important. perhaps they are known as a god, but a god of what goes undefined. the message is lost and only the symbolism remains. i think it'd drive them bonkers.