#south african queer pride

[gratingsoflight]

[queerasfact]

Black History Month: Simon Nkoli

“I am black, and I am gay. I cannot separate the two parts of me into secondary and primary struggle. They will all be one struggle.”

Simon Nkoli was born in the late 1950s in the Black township of Soweto in South Africa. He grew up under apartheid, and first became involved with anti-apartheid activism as a student, despite negative reactions within the movement to his homosexuality.

In 1984, Simon was arrested along with 21 other men while protesting rent increases in the township of Delmas, a group which became known as the Delmas 22. While in prison awaiting trial, Simon was outed, and faced backlash from the rest of the group, many who feared that pulic knowledge of his sexuality would negatively impact the outcome of the trial. To the surprise of his co-accused, Simon received an outpouring of support from the international queer community, which in turn led to greater international support for the Delmas 22 and anti-apartheid work.

Simon was ultimately acquitted, and began work as a founding member of a new group, GLOW - the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of Witwatersrand - fighting for the rights of queer people in Johannesburg’s Black townships. Simon was diagnosed with HIV while in prison, and focussed especially on HIV/AIDS activism in Black communities. With GLOW, Simon went on to organise Johannesburg’s first Pride march in 1990.

In 1994, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s president, marking the end of apartheid. Simon met and negotiated with government officials to ensure the rights of gay and lesbian people would be enshrined in the country’s new constitution - the first country in the world to do so.

Learn more

Image: Simon wearing a shirt with a pink triangle which reads “No liberation without gay-lesbian liberation”, and a pin reading “Silence=Death”

[starringcupidpodcast]

Ep. 14: Alex + Henry 💓

This week we’re making history and talking about Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, from Red, White & Royal Blue.

Join Zama as we see how these two are more similar than they think, why Henry feels trapped by societal expectations, how this reshapes Alex’s thinking, and what their relationship means for their roles. We take it a step further in this week’s battle where we go scandal for scandal.

(Forgive the spelling error in the pictures below)

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @ StarringCupid for updates and more. We have a LinkTree for all our social media accounts & new YouTube channel.

[cheapsweetsrocks]

Day 1: Dope Saint Jude - Alphas

[I'm posting a music video my a different queer artist each day of Pride Month - Queer music for Pride Month masterpost here]

[holyarcadeglitter]

Hi in case you don't know, here in South Africa we've been warned of a possible terrorist attack on the 29th of October. This is also the day that were having our 33rd annual pride. Which, how absolutely coincidentally, is taking place at the location wherein the alleged terrorist attacks have been warned to be.

Source

Source

This is still a developing story, and things may change and be brought to light, but at the moment, here's just a heads up

[yasyassie]

fuck your pride activism if it only includes cis, white able-bodied and neurotypical queers

fuck your pride activism if you forgot why we celebrate this month and who started it (black and trans working class ppl if you needed a reminder)

fuck your pride activism if you pretend to care about the community but then continue to buy from big companies that donate millions to anti lgbt politicians, perpetuate genocide, exploit other human beings and destroy the environment (but put a rainbow on their logo each june so it's ok)

fuck your pride activism if it continues to support israel and still falls for its pinkwashing and racist bullshit (about it being the only progressive country in the middle east etc)

fuck your pride activism if you exclude palestinian, congolese, sudanese, uyghur, armenian, (and every community suffering from genocide) lgbtq people from your cry for freedom

fuck your pride activism if it doesn't support the liberation of south and central american, caribbean, asian, romani, eastern european, sámi, middle eastern, native american, pacific islander, maori, aboriginal australian, indigenous tribes everywhere, and african people.

fuck your pride activism if you don't support religious queer people and reject their spirituality and connection to their faith as part of their identity

fuck your pride activism if you don't welcome queer inmigrants, war refugees and political refugees

fuck your pride activism if you don't uplift the voices of those who can't, those who are silenced, those who have to hide, those who fear imprisonment or death for being who they are

fuck state homophobia and opressive regimes

fuck homonationalism and the hypocrisy of the west

fuck capitalist and colonial pride

pride is for every single one of us

pride was a riot before it was a celebration and i intend to protest for an intersectional activism each and every day of this month

[oi-lucy]

Some queer rap/hip hop artists for y'all to add to your pride playlists cause we know how much y'all hate rap. (Music is picked by the queerest I could find or just my favorite of theirs. also added a lot of LGBT south African artists that probably don't count as rap but I never get the opportunity to share them, so fuck off)

MX Blouse (I will always share them, one of my all time favorite artists) - We Can Fall In Love

Tyler the Creator - I Ain't Got Time

Princess Nokia - No Effort

Lil Nas X - J Christ

Kevin Abstract - JUNKY(BROCKHAMPTON)

Megan Thee Stallion - Tuned in

Isaiah Rashad - Wat U Sed (he was sadly forcibly outed so there's no explicitly queer songs, but this one features Doechii who is explicitly queer)

Doechii - Alter Ego (you just need to add this to any pride playlist)

Kevin Fret (RIP, you will be missed) - Soy Asi

Tori Fixx(one of the first ever openly gay hip hop artists) - Woof

God Des and She - Lick it (this is a really good tutorial as well)

FAKA (every queer person should know FAKA) - Uyang'khumbula

Dope St Jude - Grrrl Like

Moonchild Sanelly - Weh Mameh

There are so many more but this is my second time making this and I've got shit to do, reblog with any queer rappers y'all know or just queer POC you'd like to share.

[nerdygaymormon]

Meeting with the Renlunds

I met with Elder Kevin Hamilton and he offered to walk me over to Elder Renlund's office for my next appointment as it would help me get through security more easily.

Elder Hamilton greeted the secretary and explained he found me wandering around and helped me find where I was going.😄 Then he said that we became friends when he did a stake conference in Florida and I have a standing invitation to visit every time I'm in Utah.

At that moment, Elder Renlund steps out of his office door and proclaims, "I trump that invitation. He gets to see ME when he's in town." 😁

It was a humorous way to be handed off from the one to the other.

—————————

Elder Renlund asked if I was in town for that conference in Provo (the Gather Conference)? Y'all, I was impressed that he knew about it! Great credit to the conference organizers!

—————————

I reminded the Renlunds that the last time I visited, they gave me a book they co-wrote. When I saw it was about the Melchizedek Priesthood, I was like "Go Ruth!" There's no reason a woman shouldn't write about the priesthood.

This time I brought them a gift, a copy of a book which contains a chapter I wrote.

Me: I'm a little nervous giving it to you because I wrote it from my viewpoint. I was very honest and that means not everything matches the Church's view. Some things about church are hard for me.

Dale: We will read this.

Me: Now I'm even more nervous!

Ruth: Don't be nervous. You shouldn't be nervous about telling the truth.

Dale: They're your thoughts and perspectives.

Ruth: Others have done the same, why not you?

Whew, I felt much better after that exchange.

I also shared that writing my chapter led me to realize I may have an eating disorder, and how that led to an official diagnosis and now I'm in therapy. I'm on a journey to better mental and physical health. They were genuinely interested in this development and kind in their support.

—————————

Elder Renlund mentioned that when he presides over a meeting and opens things up for questions, it's not unusual for LGBTQ topics to come up. As we spoke, the Pride flag got mentioned.

I shared a conversation I had with my friend who recently retired from a 20-year career with the U.S. military. My friend doesn't wear a US flag pin at church. He is there for religion, not patriotism. Anyone who wants to know if he is patriotic should look at his life. Plus, America does some things that aren't compatible with what Jesus taught. My friend wants to keep the two separate.

When it comes to the Pride flag, I feel a little different. No one questions whether Americans are welcome at church. We don't have a history of harsh teachings against Americans. We need to be intentional in signaling that we welcome LGBTQ+ people.

The Pride flag represents queer people and it goes where they go, which means it is there when people fight for Civil Rights or run their business, and however they live their life. This causes some to see the flag as representing things they don't like because some queer people make choices they don't agree with. I think when the average member displays the Pride flag, they are indicating that queer people are welcome and wanted, that they are a safe person to talk with. But for a leader, some will see his wearing the flag as endorsing all the things people associate with it.

Elder Renlund responded that it's like Black Lives Matter. Of course Black lives matter, but the political movement that grew up around that phrase can be seen by some as controversial, so if a leader displays a Black Lives Matter flag people may question or assume he supports all of it.

He went on to say that he appreciates my friend's position because when they lived in South Africa, a friend of his said, "We South Africans don't like Americans telling us what to do." What registered with Elder Renlund is if what his friend sees is an American, then he needs to change so what his friend sees is a disciple of Christ.

—————————

Elder Renlund asked what else is going on in my life and I shared that I'm now on the Affirmation Board of Directors. It's interesting because I don't seek to do things in the LDS/LGBTQ space, but the Lord provides opportunities and I accept them.

His response was, "You can help others and that's what I think God wants you to do."

—————————

They asked how my parents are doing and I mentioned my mom's calling in her ward.

"Your mom is the Primary chorister?" Elder Renlund shared that he is the chair of the committee putting together the new hymnal. "I think the war in heaven started over a new hymnal. Everybody has an opinion." 🤣

—————————

Ruth and I spoke about a person we're both related to. It's a man who was her uncle, and he was married to my grandma and they had 2 children together. He died in World War II and my grandma remarried and had 2 more children.

My grandmother was sealed to her first husband but spent the bulk of her life with her second husband. When my granddad passed away, he was also sealed to his wife, she is sealed to two husbands.

Elder Renlund said that in life there is an asymmetry, men can be sealed to multiple women but women are limited to being sealed to only one man. However in death, all are equal, everyone can be sealed to all those they were ever married to.

This means we don't have a clear understanding of what it's like in Heaven. Since all three of these people are sealed to each other, and they have promises made to them, no blessing will be denied to them. We don't know how that works, but we are convinced of the promises and see them afar off.

Elder Renlund went on to say those who have "LGBTQ issues" and try to be faithful are heroes and the Lord really will bless them.

I brought up that single people face the same questions about their situation as queer people.

His response was of all those who are single and members of the Church, the majority are not active. He doesn't think God is going to harshly judge them. But he thinks God holds real blessings in store for those who try to be faithful. I thought that was interesting, "try" is enough to qualify.

Elder Renlund says there will be a sorting and figuring out who is sealed to whom, but we don't believe anyone will be forced. All wounds will be healed and injustices made whole, and no blessings withheld from the righteous.

—————————

We had met for nearly an hour and needed to wrap up. Elder Renlund proposed, "Let's get a photo." Sister Renlund commented, "I just came from the hair dresser so this works out well." 😂

As we walked out of the office, Sister Renlund explained that he has to go practice his conference talk using the teleprompter so there isn't much wiggle room for extending our visit. She also joked that you'd think these men would have the use of the teleprompter mastered, but they have to practice before every General Conference. 😆

—————————

It was generous of them to take an hour out of their day to spend it in conversation with me

[soft-voice-in-the-void]

October is Pride Month in South Africa. As a queer artist from South Africa, it is important that we strive to share queer narratives in all art forms.

One of the biggest reasons I wrote this book was because growing up I wanted to see someone who looked like me and was like me. Someone who was a person of colour and queer in a world of magic.

[whumpinggrounds]

Disability Activists Worth Knowing

Hi! In honor of Disability Pride Month, which is July in the USA, I am writing about some disabled activists who I think are cool. Many of you are (hopefully) familiar with giants like Helen Keller and Judy Heumann, but there are a lot of really interesting people out there whose names aren’t as widely shared, especially those who are also POC, queer, and/or non-American.

Please feel free to add more disabled people, or information about people I’ve already listed! Note that this post is intended to be about people who advocate for the disabled community and are also disabled themselves. Non-disabled advocates have also done a lot for the community! But that is not who this post is about <3

Final disclaimer: This is a post that I researched quickly, and specifically sought out some new people I hadn’t heard about. If there’s someone on this list that’s fucked up, feel free to add that, and even feel free to @ me so I can reblog your correction. Please do not yell at me or assume I’m aware of every political opinion/possible transgression of the many people on this list pls

Now, in no particular order -

Javed Abidi was an activist who advocated for disability rights in India. He helped pass the Person with Disabilities act in Parliament, and served as the first director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People.

Ola Abu Al Ghaib is a Palestinian activist who works to promote the rights of people with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities, in the Arab States, Africa, and Asia.

Ari Ne’eman is an Israeli-American activist who founded the Autism Self Advocacy Network, one of the earliest advocacy organizations run both by and for Autistic people. Currently, he consults with the ACLU on disability justice issues and is writing a book about disability history in the USA.

Dana Bolles is an American spaceflight engineer and advocate for people with disabilities in STEM. She also advocates for women and the queer community, and currently works at NASA.

Fatima al-Aqel was a Yemeni woman who advocated for blind and visually impaired women in Yemen, as well as opening Yemen’s first school for the blind. She later founded the Al-Aman Organization Blind Women Care to further opportunities for blind women in the social and professional spheres, as well as working to adapt literature to Braille.

Judi Chamberlain was an American activist, leader, speaker, and educator in the psychiatric survivors movement. Her book On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System is a foundational text in the Mad Pride movement and argues for the rights of patients in psychiatric care.

María Soledad Cisternas Reyes is a Chilean lawyer and disability rights advocate who has helped increase access for disabled people in Chile and internationally, through her work with the UN. She has also been recognized for her work on the intersection of rights of disabled people, children, women, indigenous people, and the elderly.

Tony Coelho is an American politician of Portuguese descent who was the primary sponsor of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and was a former chairman of the Epilepsy Foundation.

Justin Dart Jr. was an American activist and disability advocate who was regarded as the father (or sometimes godfather) of the ADA. Other notable accomplishments include founding his university’s first group to oppose racism, founding the American Association of People with Disabilities, and receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Vic Finkelstein is a South African disability rights activist and writer who pioneered the social model of disability. He spent the latter part of his life in Britain after being imprisoned and banned from South Africa for anti-apartheid activities.

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese civil rights activist, often referred to as a “barefoot lawyer,” who worked on civil rights cases in rural China. Due to his advocacy and activist work surrounding land rights, women’s rights, disability rights, and the welfare of the poor, Chen was repeatedly imprisoned and eventually left China for the USA.

Rick Hansen is a Canadian paralympian and activist, most famous for circling the world in a wheelchair to raise money for charity. His journey lasted just over 2 years, with an average of 8 hours of wheeling per day. He founded the Hansen foundation to raise funds and awareness to create a world without barriers for people with disabilities.

Abha Khetarpal is an Indian poet, author, and disability rights activist and counselor who founded a counseling/educational resource website and app for people with disabilities. Her work focuses on disability and women’s rights, with a focus on sexual liberation and sexual education and access for disabled people.

Harriet McBryde Johnson was an American author, attorney, and disability rights activist who specialized in securing Social Security benefits for disabled clients who could not work. She debated Peter Singer, arguably the most famous philosopher in America today, on the right of parents to euthanize their disabled children, an encounter she wrote about in the essay Unspeakable Conversations. 

Yetnebersh Nigussie is an Ethiopian lawyer who primarily works in disability rights and anti-AIDs activism. She is a 2017 winner of the Right Livelihood award, widely considered the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”

Satendra Singh is an Indian medical doctor who has advocated extensively for disability rights and access in India, including founding an “Enabling Unit,” a group staffed entirely by people with disabilities that ensures other disabled people are able to attend medical school and associated programs with proper accommodations and support.

Lauren Tuchman was the first blind woman to be ordained as a rabbi. She advocates primarily for disability rights and an inclusive Torah.

Emmanuel Yeboah is a Ghanian athlete and activist who rode a bike across Ghana to raise awareness about the lack of disability rights and access in the country, specifically a lack of wheelchairs. He currently works on ensuring education access for children with and without disabilities in Ghana.

Stella Young was an Australian comedian and journalist who was known for coining the term “inspiration porn.”

Nabil Shaban is a Jordanian-British actor and writer who is best known as the villain Sil on Dr. Who. He co-founded Graeae, a theater group which promotes the work of disabled actors.

That’s all I have for you! Please feel free to add :) I am considering writing up a few more posts about disabled celebrities, artists, etc, so let me know if you’d be interested <3

[tallysgreatestfan-art]

Remember that Delenn and Lennier in their cultures traditional Pride clothes drawing? Yeah, I did that with another m/f ship I headcanon as queer just because I am queer and can do that.

My headcanon is that they are both bi, and G'Kar is also aro-spec in some way, though I haven't figured out my headcanon about to what aspect yet. Their clothing is heavily inspired by pre-colonial Nigerian, Angola, Mali and South African clothing, more details about what exactly under the cut.

I like to think that before they were colonized, the Narn had a lot of own cultural and even ceremonial and religious roles for queer people, but the Centauri forced their gender and sexuality standards on them. By the time of the series it is slowly reclaimed though.

Couldn't found one on one Pride Clothing of pre-Colonial african countries since sadly that was not something the colonizers cared to preserve.

Nigeria:

Traditional Igbo marriage clothing. The Igbo had queer marriages before colonialisation (marriages between women), but the clothes depicted in the photo are not specifically for queer people.

Other Igbo fashion, this time women before during colonialism time.

Angola:

Queen Mzinga Mbande of Angola, who not just was a tactically brilliant ruler who defended her country from colonizers for a long time, but also had several female lovers.

Mbundu women, who are the same ethnicity as Queen Mbande

Mali:

The Dogon in Mali have several spirits and gods who have characteristics of several genders. The person in the picture is performing one of their ceremonies.

South Africa:

A Zulu and a Tswana man were the first gay South Africans to be wedded in 2013 in a traditional ceremony. The man in the photo is neither of them, however he does show the traditional Zulu wedding clothes.

(These are these two men, if you curious. Their names are Tshepo Modisane and Thoba Sithole:)

[gratingsoflight]

beyond grateful to have gotten to spend the day with them 🥹💛

[nysocboy]

Underground Railroad: a gay slave rides a real railroad in the surrealist South

The Underground Railroad was a network of safe houses and allies that helped enslaved African-Americans escape to the North, or after the Fugitive Slave Act, to Canada.  

The 2023 tv miniseries suggests that it was a real railroad, a series of trains and tunnels run by an intricate bureaucracy. As Cora and her friends and love interests head north, pursued by slave-catcher Arnold Ridgeway, they encounter bizarre communities and have adventures that comment on the racism in the pre-Civil War South and the contemporary U.S. I reviewed Chapter 1, "Georgia."

Scene 1: Surreal montage of people running backwards, falling into a chasm, being all bloody, and finally Cora telling us: "The first and last thing my mama gave me was apologies."  Cut to Caesar (Aaron Pierre, left) asking Cora to head north with him, for "good luck."  She refuses.  The way they keep pushing their heads at each other, they appear to be a romantic couple. 

Scene 2: Whooping and dancing in the slave compound.  Cora brings the older Jockey some food.  Their owners appear: Terrence (Benjamin Walker, left), who runs the other half of the plantation, disapproves of the "lenient" way that James treats his slaves. So they ask a kid to recite the Declaration of Independence.   They mean the Declaration of Secession, so the Civil War is on.  How is anyone heading North?   He can't do it right, and he accidentally touches them, so Terrence has him beaten to death. And Cora, for intervening. They are left chained to the whipping post all night.

Scene 3: In the morning, the ladies tend to Cora's wounds, and Caesar takes her home. Later, his wife Frances says "I know about men like you. You sneak off in the night and roll around in the swamp with other mens on your back."  Ok, so Caesar is gay.  She's fine with it, but master brought them together to reproduce, and if they don't, Master Randall will cut off his dick, so get with your husbandly duties!  

Scene 4: Prideful (Lucius Baston), the black overseer, tells Cora that she's being moved.  She resists (I can't imagine why -- her new owner can't be much worse). 

Cut to James walking through the woods.  He's nice to a little boy named Hezekiah  then coughs and collapses. 

Cut to Terrence in the fields, telling the slaves that his brother James has died, so now he owns the whole plantation, and will stop being "lenient": no more parties, no more outside work, and he'll be overseeing the "breeding,"  Perv just wants to watch couples doing it.  He also wants to have sex with Cora.

Scene 5: Slave catcher Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton, left and below and his assistant, a young black kid named Homer (Chase W. Dillon), have a very muscular escaped slave, Big Anthony (Elijah Everett), in a cage. They return him to Terrence's plantation. 

Ridgeway advises Terrence to place some moles in the fields to rat out talk of escape.  An underground railroad has appeared to abet runaways. Terrence doesn't believe it, but Ridgeway asks him why some escaped slaves disappear forever, as if they've gone to a new world. An alternative reality with no slave trade?

The full review, with nude frontal and rear photos, is on Righteous Gemstones Beefcake and Boyfriends

[kicksaddictny]

Reebok x Nao Serati Collection

Reebok and South African athleisure brand Nao Serati unveil a footwear and apparel collection in celebration of South African Pride Month. Nao Serati was founded by designer Neo Serati Mofammere in 2014 to create garments that explore the margins of gender, art and sexuality, all while staying true to Neo’s South African heritage. This collection draws inspiration from Neo’s bold, fun design style and his life as a queer person in South Africa as well as Reebok’s intention to inspire human movement for all.

To bring these concepts to life Neo worked with the Reebok team to create apparel that considers people of different sizes, shapes and gender identities. All apparel is available in non- binary sizing and was fit and wear tested by individuals from a variety of gender identities and sizes. The line features a range of tops and bottoms including the Woven Short ($50), Oversized Tee ($35) and adjustable Graphic Tank ($30).

Paired with the apparel is a footwear collection that includes some of Reebok’s most iconic lifestyle and fitness footwear models including the Nano X2 ($150), Classic Slide ($40), Club C ($100) and Classic Leather ($100) to ensure there is a silhouette for everyone. Each shoe incorporates a woven Reebok x Nao Serati badge on the tongue that includes all eleven colors of the Progress Pride Flag.

In further celebration of the collection and the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa, Nao Serati will be hosting a fashion showcase outside of Johannesburg on October 13th. Guests will be

invited to enjoy food, drinks and music, see the capsule and learn more about the inspiration behind each design from Neo. Following the show will be an exclusive after party to celebrate the partnership.

The Reebok x Nao Serati collection will be available on Reebok.com/nao_serati beginning October 7th.

[malfiora]

"America has no culture" actually we do

American culture

Beliefs

Regardless of political affiliation or voting history, we all sorta believe in small government and personal liberty

We have an entrepreneurial spirit. Almost everyone here at some point has considered starting a business, and many people have/will

We watch out for our neighbors, even if we don't tell you we do it. This applies to the delivery person we see every Tuesday, the barista who knows our order by heart, the people we commute with during rush hour, and more

Food

If it can be fried, we will fry it (don't knock it until you have tasted deep fried Oreos)

Barbecuing is an event, a sport, and a pastime almost exclusive to summer

Foods that have been co-opted into Americana: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Korean (new), Indian (new-ish). In fact, American-Chinese food is considered by many a type of American comfort food. We know that X-food in America isn't actually authentic; we don't care

Soul food originated in the Antebellum (i.e. pre Civil War) South by Black folks. It includes hearty, tasty foods, including food items that would be considered scraps since enslaved people would eat whatever was leftover by their owners. Examples: sweet potatoes, yams, collard greens

Holidays and Traditions

Halloween: dressing up and basically begging for candy is practically every kid's rite of passage. An entire corporation (Spirit Halloween) profits exclusively off of this holiday

Thanksgiving: originally meant to celebrate the coming together of the Pilgrims and Native Americans, but this revisionist history grossly ignores the atrocities done to Indigenous people, so nowadays the focus is largely on expressing gratitude. November as a whole is recognized as Native American Heritage Month to bring awareness to this country's actual history while celebrating Indigenous contributions to American culture. Common activities include feasting (usually on American comfort and soul food), watching (gridiron) football, and watching the Macy's Day parade

Fourth of July: the most anti-British day of our year. Fireworks and Stars and Stripes everywhere. And now that Juneteenth is recognized as a federal holiday, the fireworks may last from mid June through the Fourth

Juneteenth: a newly recognized holiday but has been celebrated for centuries. It marks the day that the last of the enslaved people learned that they were actually emancipated, so it is the true beginning of freedom. New traditions are popping up, but fireworks and cookouts seem to be the go-to

Language

Let no one fool you, the U.S. has no official language because this country is meant to be for all people. The majority of people speak American English, which is comprised of several sociolects (e.g. Cajun, African American Vernacular English) which all follow socially determined rules (so they're not just "improper English"). But all languages are valid. Fun fact: America now has more Spanish speakers (52 million) than Spain (47 million). Most, if not all, high schools and colleges require students to learn a language other than English (Spanish, French, and Chinese are standard options; a little less common are Italian, Latin, and German)

Traits

A lot of people don't travel outside the U.S. because (a) this country is fucking huge, (b) anything you want from another country is probably here already, somewhere, and (c) it's expensive af (see point a)

Corporations are treated like people, legally (they are taxed twice) so they often get a lot of say in culture and politics. We're always cynical about anything corporate but also can't escape it. They'll also jump onto anything trendy, including sociopolitical movements, resulting ironically in both supporters and detractors of those movements to criticize the company (e.g. all the pride merch that is pushed onto us in June riles up the homophobes/transphobes while also getting mocked by queers and allies)

Similarly, we have a general mistrust of all politicians, even the ones we like and vote for. This is what paved the way for Trump to get elected – so many conservative voters were sick of the same old Washington blowhard and thought Trump would be different

We use the imperial system of measurement in daily life because we used to be colonized by Great Britain (except in weird cases like using liters for soda). Scientists and engineers use metric professionally, so there's a good chunk of us who can do easy conversions (e.g. knowing that ~3 cm = 1 inch)

Did I mention how big this country is? Driving far distances isn't a huge deal to us. And because there are so many types of roads and terrains, measuring distance in miles doesn't quite make sense. Going down the street (0.25 mile) in a metropolitan area could take you 5 minutes, but the same distance on a rural highway is like 30 seconds. So we measure distance in time – how long will it take to get to the destination?

Addendum:

In addition to all of this, everybody who comes here brings a piece of their home with them, creating pockets of culture throughout the country. To say America has no culture is to deny that these people, who make up the fabric of this country, aren't really American. This is to say nothing of the displaced or stolen people who have no other home (like Hmong and Black folks) or the people who were here first (Native Americans)

[lovergui]

i got a ask, the only one on this blog with a grand total of 9 followers/mutuals, and the blog asked for my aid. her fundraiser is verified, and as a colonizer of my country, I must act.

I'm south african, I'm a student, I have some intense mental health issues to manage, I don't have a car, I pay for my own testosterone, I'm saving for top surgery, I'm still exiting financial abuse, AND i can still help, we all can, and here's how.

Using your skills from hyperfixations. photoshop, poetry, programming, net nativity, proper research, sewing, all of these things will help someone draw attention to their fundraiser

Watch the movie Pride, based on a true story of mutual aid between queer people and a miners union https://letterboxd.com/film/pride-2014/

Adopt a fundraiser, navigate your guilt by doing your best for one person.

Learn an arabic greeting, AND use it to advocate for palestinian justice

Send a heartfelt ask to a fundraising blog, hope is a currency in victory.

money wise, 1 us dollar is 4 "isre*li sheck*ls". 5.5 dollars is enough to get a human amount of flour, 0.3 dollars is enough to get a human amount of water.

According to the data in the spreadsheet over here https://data.humdata.org/dataset/wfp-food-prices-for-state-of-palestine

Fundraiser over here