#we should all afford basic living and necessities

[wikipedie]

I want to have a job that I'll like and will give me a salary of €1000 now

Problem is that I don't even know which skill that is monetizable I like so that I can hone it and work in that area 🥲

[falesten-iw]

To Those Who Still Hold Onto a Shred of Morality and Humanity - Stand with Us and Don’t Forget Us.

Over 40,000 lives have been lost, with 70% of them being children and women. Among these numbers are my own family members—many of whom I’ve already lost.

My family, my cousin, aunt, their children, and grandchildren were all directly targeted by Israeli airstrikes. I’m sharing a video of my aunt and cousin to reveal the harsh reality we are facing in Gaza. In this video, my aunt bravely shares her story about how the Israeli army airstruck them along with their children and grandchildren. Even if you don’t understand Arabic, just watching her speak will help you grasp the immense suffering we are enduring in Gaza. You can see the vedeo in this post.

The few family members who remain are in grave danger, and I’m terrified of losing them too. We have a chance to make a real difference and give my 24 surviving family members a chance to live.

In Gaza, jobs are non-existent, and nonprofit organizations like the UN have drastically reduced their work on the ground. Basic necessities such as milk, food, and medicine are almost as expensive as gold. My family is struggling to afford even the essentials, and my mother urgently needs medication that we simply cannot afford.

I’m also sharing another video that shows the daily struggle people face just to get clean water. The suffering here extends far beyond my family; it’s a genocide affecting every aspect of life in Gaza.

Thanks to the generosity of those who have already donated, we’ve raised $535 toward our goal of $190,363- august 17th. I’m deeply grateful to each of you, but we still have a long way to go, and I need your help more than ever. Imagine if it were your family—how would you feel if they were in this situation?

For those who have created special posts or reblogged to amplify my voice, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support means everything to me and to my family. If you haven’t yet shared our story, please take just one minute to do so. Your voice could be the lifeline my family desperately needs.

You cannot continue to treat human lives as mere numbers. This is a genocide that demands immediate action. How many more should be killed before you all wake up? Will 40,000 lives be enough to stir us to action? 50,000? 100,000? 150,000?

Asking for donations and charity is something we never imagined having to do in Gaza before the war, and it’s heartbreaking that it has come to this. But if everyone who saw my last post donated just $10 or $20, we could reach our goal in no time. If you’re looking for a way to contribute, consider giving up your coffee, tea, or other “cup” for one day, one week, one month, or anything in between. Then, donate what you would have spent to help me. Please help us and donate now!

This is about more than just donations—it’s about preserving human lives and upholding our shared moral values. Your contribution can make a world of difference in our survival and ensure I don’t lose more of the people I love.

Demanding an end to this suffering is a matter of basic humanity. You cannot remain neutral in the face of such genocide. Please, let’s stand together. Enough is enough.

Every donation, no matter how small, brings us closer to hope and healing. Thank you again for your kindness and support. I will never forget it.

Vetted and shared by @90-ghost: Link.

Verified and shared by @el-shab-hussein: Link

Listed even as number 282 in "The Vetted Gaza Evacuation Fundraiser Spreadsheet" compiled by @el-shab-hussein and @nabulsi : Link

Additionally, Al Jazeera News has documented apart of my family's case: Link

Important note: ** 105 Swedish kr is just 10$ ** 1050 Swedish kr is just 100$ ** 10500 Swedish kr is just 1000$

Please share !

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[yellow-computer-mouse]

fuck it incorrect quotes

Horror: "I lost a bet." Horror: The second-most ominous phrase in existence. Killer: What's the first? Horror: "Let's make a bet."

Horror: I am a ninja. Cross: No, you’re not. Horror: Did you see me do that? Cross: Do what? Horror: Exactly.

Killer: Two truths and a lie, I’ll start! Killer: I’ve killed a man, I will kill again, and it burns when I pee. Nightmare, visibly nervous: I don’t- I don’t like this game.

Killer: BE A BETTER PERSON! Dust: WHY?! Killer: BECAUSE SOMEONE NEEDS TO HAVE MORALS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP, AND IT SURE AS FUCK AIN'T GONNA BE ME, SWEETHEART!

*Killer is helping Nightmare break out of prison* Killer: Sooo… Does this make us partners in crime? Nightmare: Don’t push it. Killer: Oh my gosh, we can be like Harley Quinn and the Joker! Nightmare: If you don’t stop talking, they’re adding “murder” to the charges.

Nightmare, to Cross: Please, picking locks is my specialty. Nightmare: *throws a brick through the window* Nightmare: Okay, let’s go.

Horror: What’s your biggest fear? Dust: I am incredibly arachnophobic. Horror, under their breath: You don’t want spiders to get married?

Killer: Are you alright? Nightmare: Short answer or long answer? Killer: Short? Nightmare: No. Killer: Long? Nightmare: Nooooooo.

Cross, gently nudging Horror aside with their foot: Horror, move out of the way so I don’t trip on you. Horror, her eyes enormous: You kick Horror? You kick her body like the football? Oh! Oh! Jail for Cross! Jail for Cross for one thousand years!

Nightmare, rushing into the room: It’s terrible, just terrible! I am so upset! Cross: Nightmare, dude, sit down! Tell us all about it. Dust, would you get Nightmare some water? Dust: What is he gonna do with water? Has water ever made you feel better when you were upset? Have you ever heard anyone say, “Thank God, the water’s here!”?

Killer: Cross, we tried things your way. Cross: No, we didn't. Killer: I did it in my head and it didn't work.

Cross: You spent all our money on THIS?? Dust, putting tiny raincoats on ducklings: They live outside. They need this.

Cross: Okay, who's turn is it to give the pep talk? Horror: It's Dust's turn. Dust: Don't die. Killer, wiping a tear away: Truly inspirational.

Killer: How do ethical philosophers feel about murder? Cross: Well, it’s frowned upon. Killer: Okay, but what if the reason you want to murder someone is to make your life easier? Killer: That’s okay, right?

Dust, holding in their laughter: Hey, how do you ask a glass of water what it’s doing? Nightmare: A glass of water is an inanimate object. Therefore, it's incapable of having a thought process or understanding basic human language. Dust: Dust: Water you doing?

Killer: And here we see Dust and Horror in their natural habitat. Texting each other variations of the word "garlic bread" to try to make each other laugh. Dust: Gaelic bread. Horror: Grueling brad. Dust: Ha ha, glamorous beans.

Dust: Fuck capitalism. It's a rigged system that keeps us poor and it isn't fair. You shouldn't need to work three jobs to afford basic necessities. Dust, playing Monopoly: Sorry, if you wanted to win you should have tried not being poor.

Nightmare: Have I ever told you that I love you with my whole heart? Dream: For the love of all that is holy, I am not taking you to McDonalds. It’s 2am! Nightmare: Mean.

Nightmare: You're alive. Dream: There's no need to sound so disappointed.

Nightmare: I got an idea! Dream: Does it involve breaking the law? Nightmare: By now don’t you think that’s a given? Dream: I was just trying to be optimistic. Nightmare: Don’t bother.

Nightmare: Why is it that I always lose things as soon as I need them? Dream: Actually, it's not that you lose things when you need them. You lose them a while before. It's just that you LOOK for things when you need them. Nightmare: Okay yeah thanks Dream, that's great but WHERE'S THE FUCKING FIRST AID KIT?

Nightmare: Hey, thanks for checking in, I’m ✨still a piece of garbage✨

Error: I think I should be allowed on ghost hunter tv shows. Blue: I think that would be dangerous for the ghosts.

Nightmare: We’re going to defeat you with the power of friendship. Dream: We’re not friends. Nightmare, holding an axe: We’re going to defeat you with the power of incredible violence.

Nightmare, writing in his diary with a glitter gel pen: I'm losing my sense of humanity. Nothing matters. God is dead. There's blood on my hands.

Nightmare, holding a kettle: Coffee or tea? Dream: Tea. Nightmare: Wrong. It's coffee.

Nightmare: I failed my safety training course today. Dream: Why, what happened? Nightmare: Well one of the questions was "In case of a fire, what steps would you take?" Dream: And? Nightmare: Well apparently "FUCKING LARGE ONES" isn't an acceptable answer.

Ink: Welcome to my very first vlog, in which I try different hair products! Ink: *sprays hairspray in their mouth* Ink: Well, right off the bat I can tell you this one is not very good.

Nightmare: I won a new phone in a race. Dream: Huh? What kind of race lets you win a phone, Nightmare? Nightmare: A race between the store owner, the cop, and me.

Dream: Why are you on fire? Nightmare: This is just how my day is going.

Nightmare: You know, I used to play back in my gory days. Dream: You mean glory days? Nightmare: Ah, that too.

Blue: I trusted you! Error: Why?

Ink: Well, needless to say. Uh-oh Spaghetti-os.

[fatphobiabusters]

I hear a lot about how fatness is a "risk factor" for certain illnesses and diseases. I don't hear much about how so are age, socioeconomic status, experiences of abuse, starvation, sex, race, queerness, and so many other aspects of a person's life. And that's because the world already for the most part accepts that a lot of these factors cannot be changed and that many of these factors are not what actually causes an illness or disease.

You don't develop a medical condition because your bank account suddenly shows a different, smaller number. You developed that medical condition because poverty means unbearable stress every day, less access to healthcare, worse housing, inability to clothe yourself for protection from the elements, having to overwork yourself to be able to afford your basic necessities, going without food, and so many other aspects of oppression. You don't weigh your wallet to measure your health because the amount of money you have is not what actually causes a medical condition.

But no one wants to look at the studies with legitimate methodology and admit that fatness is also in this category—that fatness is not something that we can just choose and will away, that fat people face immense systemic oppression just like any other oppressed group, that the correlation of fatness and illness is not some simple relationship of causation. And that's because doing so would mean no longer making hundreds of billions of dollars off of fat people's oppression and having to admit it's not actually okay to treat fat people as an acceptable punching bag.

When I look at medical information for whatever illnesses, see the risk factors laid out, and the only risk factor the website says to change is fatness? I think about all of the research I've read that shows actual permanent weight loss is as likely as finding Atlantis. The amount of hypocrisy at not telling someone to drink a youth potion as a form of treatment at the same time as they lose weight becomes so palpable that I can taste the dirty money being made off of this website telling people to "just lose weight, fatty." It's as cruel as selling an ill person a random crystal that you tell them will fix their health, which they then rely on instead of actual medical care, causing them to get worse and even die. And if you think that comparison is a stretch, you do not realize how many people die every day because they were told weight loss was the answer or were forced to lose weight before the doctor would actually respect them enough to run tests or so much as touch their fat body.

We live in a world where people with PCOS are told to "just lose weight" to solve their infertility, where that is the very first bullet point listed on a website about a medical condition that makes weight loss even more impossible than the already 95% failure rate for the general population. A world where fat people have to stick their own fat bodies with needles during a doctor's appointment because the doctor is too disgusted by fat rolls to even look at the person's body to give them a shot. A world where fat people with eating disorders are encouraged, applauded, and told to keep going while the thin person with an eating disorder has the "luxury" of receiving help, compassion, and a diagnosis that isn't separated in the DSM with the word "atypical." A world where a fat person accidentally given chemotherapy is told by the doctor "At least it helped you lose weight!" A world where weight loss corporations are making the exact same promises they did in advertisements from 1910, yet somehow over 100 years later we have an "ob*sity epidemic" because diets, weight loss products, and exercise regimens "Really work!!!"

If this single "solution" to ill health has not worked despite well over a century of desperate, constant attempts, maybe we should stop trying to jam a triangle into a square hole.

-Mod Worthy

[robertreich]

Debunking “No One Wants To Work Anymore” 

I keep hearing "no one wants to work anymore."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, corporate America’s biggest lobbying group, claims there are over 10 million job openings right now in the US for which employers can’t find workers.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says the U.S. is dealing with a “structural labor shortage” that won’t be resolved anytime soon.

But here’s the truth: there is no labor shortage.

There is a shortage of jobs paying sufficient wages to attract workers to fill them.

When a problem is wrongly described, the solutions posed often turn out to be equally wrong.

For most Americans, real inflation-adjusted wages continue to drop. Any pay increases workers may have earned in the past few years have actually been pay cuts, because wages have lagged behind the rising costs of basic necessities — like housing, food, childcare, and healthcare.

You don’t have to be a financial wizard to see why some workers might say the hell with it.

So, what should be done about the difficulty employers are having finding workers?

Simple. If employers want more workers, they should pay them more.

Many corporations are raking it in right now, they can clearly afford to.

Of course Jerome Powell and his colleagues at the Fed don’t want to hear this. They’re aiming to deal with the so-called “labor shortage” by slowing the economy so much that employers can find all the workers they need without raising wages.

But the Fed increasing interest rates to slow the economy will prevent millions of people from getting desperately-needed raises and cause millions more to lose their jobs — disproportionately low-wage workers, women and people of color.

Meanwhile, Republicans and some corporate economists blame the “labor shortage” on overly generous unemployment benefits. They say the way to get more people into jobs is to make their lives outside jobs less tolerable.

Rubbish. Most unemployed people are already hard up.

Pandemic benefits are long over, and even before COVID, America’s unemployment system was already the least generous of any rich nation.

Taken to its logical extreme, the corporate Republican argument holds water only if you don’t give a damn about workers.

Sure…you could eliminate all safety nets and at some point people without jobs will hurt so much they’ll have to take any available job, at any wage, whatever it demands.

But do this, and we’ll end up with an economy that’s even crueler than today’s economy.

Look: If we want more people to take jobs — AND we wish to live in a moral society where people can maintain decent lives — the answer is to pay people more.

Instead of saying “no one wants to work anymore,” we should be saying, “no one wants to be exploited anymore.”

[cytherealarsen]

How can you be so devoid of empathy? How can your heart be so numb to the suffering around you? Look at those children. They deserve happiness, they deserve security. They deserve to be nurtured and loved. Those innocent eyes have committed no crime, so why subject them to such anguish and pain? How can you turn a blind eye to their cries, their pleading gazes? How can you sleep at night knowing their innocence is shattered by the horrors of war? They should be playing, laughing, dreaming of a future full of hope, not fearing for their next meal or their next breath. How can you justify this? How can you justify robbing them of their childhood, their chance at a better tomorrow?

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine has plunged the region into a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable proportions. As the violence escalates, it is the innocent civilians, particularly the children of Palestine, who bear the brunt of this senseless bloodshed. Families are being torn apart, homes reduced to rubble, and basic necessities such as food, water, and medical supplies are scarce. The world watches in horror as the fundamental rights and dignity of the Palestinian people are trampled upon, with no end in sight to their suffering.

The relentless bombardment of Palestinian territories, including the targeting of civilian infrastructure and safe zones, is a grave violation of human rights and international law. It is imperative that the international community takes immediate and decisive action to put an end to the violence and hold those responsible for atrocities to account. Calls for a ceasefire must be accompanied by concrete steps towards addressing the root causes of the conflict and achieving a just and lasting peace for all parties involved.

As we witness the harrowing images of devastation and despair coming out of Palestine, we cannot afford to remain silent. We must stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, amplify their voices, and demand justice, equality, and the right to self-determination. It is time for the world to heed the cries of the oppressed and work towards a future where peace, dignity, and human rights prevail for all.

Humanity must take precedence over religion in times of conflict and crisis. Regardless of religious or political beliefs, the suffering and loss of innocent lives demand our collective empathy and action. It is imperative to recognize the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, irrespective of their background or identity.

Religion should never be used as a justification for violence or oppression. Instead, it should serve as a guiding principle for compassion, tolerance, and mutual respect. In the face of such grave humanitarian atrocities, it is incumbent upon all people of conscience, regardless of faith, to come together in solidarity and support of the basic human rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.

[hoursofreading]

THE INTERNET is designed to stop us from ever switching it off. It moves at the speed of light, with constantly changing metrics, fuelled by “‘ludic loops’ or repeated cycles of uncertainty, anticipation and feedback”—in other words, it works exactly like a Jackpot 6000 slot machine. (On a basic level, social media apps like Instagram operate like phone games. They’ve replaced classics like Snake or Candy Crush, except the game is your sense of self.) The effect of gamification on artmaking has been dramatic. In Rebecca Jennings’s Vox long read on the necessity of authorly self-promotion, she interviews William Deresiewicz, whose book The Death of the Artist breaks down the harsh conditions for artists seeking an income in the digital economy. Deresiewicz used to think “selling out”—using the most sacred parts of your life and values to shill for a brand—was “evil.” Yet this economy has made it so there’s “no choice” if you want a living. The very concept of selling out, he says, “has disappeared.” A few years ago, much was made of the fact that the novelist Sally Rooney had no Twitter account—this must explain her prolific output. But the logic is back to front: it’s only top-selling authors who can afford to forgo social media. Call it Deactivation Privilege. It’s a privilege few of us can afford, if it’s the algorithm we need to impress rather than book reviewers of old. In a nightmarish dispatch in Esquire on how hard it is for authors to find readers, Kate Dwyer argues that all authors must function like influencers now, which means a fire sale on your “private” life. As internet theorist Kyle Chayka puts it to Dwyer: “Influencers get attention by exposing parts of their life that have nothing to do with the production of culture.” The self is the work, just ask Flaubert. But data collection’s ability to reduce the self to a figure—batted about by the fluctuations of its stock—is newly unbearable. There’s no way around it, and this self being sold alongside the work can be as painful for a writer of autofiction as it is for me, a writer of speculative fiction who invented an imaginary world. ITELL YOU all this not because I think we should all be very concerned about artists, but because what happens to artists is happening to all of us. As data collection technology hollows out our inner worlds, all of us experience the working artist’s plight: our lot is to numericize and monetize the most private and personal parts of our experience. Certainly, smartphones could be too much technology for children, as Jonathan Haidt argues, and definitely, as Tim Wu says, attention is a commodity, but these ascendant theories of tech talk around the fact that something else deep inside, innermost, is being harvested too: our self-worth, or, rather, worthing. We are not giving away our value, as a puritanical grandparent might scold; we are giving away our facility to value. We’ve been cored like apples, a dependency created, hooked on the public internet to tell us the worth. Every notification ping holds the possibility we have merit. When we scroll, what are we looking for?

[cinnamonsera]

TWST Dark AU Incorrect Quotes #3

Have I finished outlining the main fic? no. Have I written a single chapter? also no. am I going to post another incorrect quotes anyway? yep.

All quotes from the Incorrect Quotes Generator

Ruggie: Fuck capitalism. It's a rigged system that keeps us poor and it isn't fair. You shouldn't need to work three jobs to afford basic necessities. Ruggie, playing Monopoly: Sorry, if you wanted to win you should have tried not being poor.

Lancelot, taping a knife onto a Roomba: Be free, my child. Deuce, entering the room with a small cut on their ankle: Who the f-

Ruggie: You say “Please” and “Thank you” in front of Cheka all the time, and they never repeat it. Ruggie: But you call Leona an “Ass-faced motherfucker” ONE TIME…

Pandora: The saying “it is better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission” no longer applies to Lancelot.

*the Squad cleaning up* Vil: Pick up the nearest piece of trash and throw it away. Parhelion, to Sebek: Aight, which bin do you wanna go in—

(I'm sorry sebek you're not bad, parhelion just hates your guts)

Ace: I love hearing Housewarden Rosehearts shouting at someone else. It makes such a nice change.

Cater: Why is there blood everywhere? Ace: I may have aggressively poked someone with a knife. Cater: You stabbed someone?! Ace: No, no. I aggressively poked someone with a knife.

Trey: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life. Pandora: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back... Ace: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this. Cater: My will to live! I haven't seen this in years. Leona: I knew I lost that potential somewhere. Lancelot: Mental stability, my old friend! Trey: Jesus, could you guys lighten up a little?

(I'm sorry trey you're like the only untraumatized person in the school)

*The gang is about to do something dangerous* Pandora: Shouldn’t someone give a pep talk? Jamil: Go ahead. Pandora: Be careful. Pandora: Don’t die. Lancelot: *Holds back a laugh* Jamil: Great. We’re all bloody inspired.

Deuce: So, what's it like living with Rook? Pandora: They once referred to sand as "heterosexual glitter." Deuce: ... Pandora: I love them so much.

Cater: So, Lancelot and Ace Trappola. Cater: According to this, you two are being accused of: Armed Robbery, Vandalism, Drug Abuse, Grand Theft Auto… Ace: We had a bad day. Cater: And… MURDER?! Lancelot: It was a pretty bad day…

Ace: If I can't cause tiny bits of chaos every day, I think my body will shut down.

[transmalewife]

does anyone have any leftist reading on the subject of tourism to recommend? Specifically about how travel for fun, education, sport, friendship or whatever might work in a communist or anarchist or socialist society. Because like yeah, open borders or no borders whatever, cool. But that usually only gets discussed in the context of permanent immigration

Idk I guess I just find it hard to imagine how it could be organized since where I live the most obvious ways capitalism has made things worse over my lifetime have all happened because of and through the lens of tourism. Rents literally doubling over the last five years, while the standard of living falls because apartments are bought, split into tiny pieces and renovated to accomodate a couple days of living at most. The specific kind of gentrification that is NOT being pushed out by richer people moving in permanently, who might cause more expensive shops and services to replace the affordable ones, but do still need the basic necessities everyone does to live. Instead, all hairdressers, repair shops, clothing stores (especially thrift shops), pharmacies, post offices etc etc close and are replaced by luxury boutiques, clubs and stores whre you can only buy snacks, alcohol and microwave meals. Restaurants and bars hiking up prices because most of their clients come from places with stronger currencies etc etc.

At the same time though I believe travel is a crucial part of a fulfilling life for most if not all people. I believe people have the right to see and appreciate the culture and history of other places and also like... maybe go somewhere warmer and lay on the beach sometimes, even if they prefer to live and work somewhere colder. Or go skiing even if they chose to live somewhere warm and without mountains. Or even just like... vacation in a big city if they live in the countryside and vice versa. Or pop over to another continent to visit an online friend maybe. Although obviously intercontinental travel would have to be hugely limited until and unless we find ways to do it that don't destroy our planet.

At the same time some precautions do have to be taken to protect historical and especially sacred sites. Like, I don't think endless crowds should be allowed to trample through historical buildings and also open borders obviously doesn't mean white tourists get to go camping on Uluru. But on some level I do believe everyone who wants to should get to see Venice at least once in their life. But that's probably not feasible so like... who gets to decide? On what merit? Are historians, artists, journalists privileged? Or should it be a lottery?

Also I think there's a significant amount of tourism that would simply die out if going to that place wasn't a status symbol. Like you cannot convince me that if you spend 2 weeks by the pool in an enclosed luxury resort it makes a difference that it's on Hawaii rather than like... in florida. And then theres places like the Hamptons. What the fuck is the point of the Hamptons, other than bragging rights?

Obviously I know none of this is even remotely the main pressing issue to solve about a potential communist society, but then again, that's why I'm asking for reading materials, because it so rarely gets discussed. I mean I bet Marx wrote about it, which, great, point me to the relevant fragments please and I'll have a look but also this is an issue where a modern perspective would be really important. I don't think Marx, for all his wisdom, really has a solution to "what are the ethics of taking an 8 hour flight to visit a tumblr mutual".

Or maybe this whole thing is me being cynical and this is another place where things would sort of just regulate themselves. Anyway. Send me reading recs and let's very unscientifically try to check if it could work. Do try to be honest, like I've been several times as a kid and I would still go again in a heartbeat.

btw the goal of the poll is to get some kind of percentage that can be compared with the world population and how many tourists venice can support per year, though I obviously know tumblr skews mainly american and european

[bluebird990]

Onslaught of text incoming; brace yourselves for another Donald Na character analysis. I love this character so so much.

Bruh I feel so so bad for Donald...

It's so sad to think that stuff like this actually happens in real life too. If you don't have money and reputation, everyone looks down upon you. Money really can buy everything.

Your son doesn't score good marks in an exam? No problem. Bribe his teachers to re-conduct the exams by saying that the poor kid with no money and no parents to back him up, cheated on the exam to get full score. It's not like he can do anything about it other than accept it and move on.

Donald's circumstances were so similar yet so different from Gray's. He was cheated on by the system and society that's run by money and greedy people wanting to push forward using unethical tactics. He had the talent but no opportunities because of his financial conditions. While the undeserving kids with zero talent but rich parents got ahead of him with little to no effort.

I honestly don't blame him in thinking that if you have an overwhelming amount of money and reputation, no one in this world can go against you. Because money can buy everything. He has experienced it first hand. If you stick to the ethical ways and rely just on your talents, you will be trampled upon by the rich and powerful who can't accept their loss.

Imo Donald really was in an hopeless situation. He didn't have parents who supported him. He didn't have any friends because the people around him were all jealous little shits. Hell he couldn't even afford basic necessities like food and clothes. On top of all that, his talent, his overwhelming intelligence were never acknowledged because some rich bitches couldn't accept it.

Gray atleast had some sort of support from that one teacher of his. And his intelligence was acknowledged by everyone. In Donald's situation tho, how does one even get out of it? He chose violence and underhanded practices to tackle it. It was either that or staying at the bottom ladder forever in hopes that someday someone would acknowledge him and give him an opportunity to pull himself out.

In the end he was just a child who didn't do anything wrong to deserve the life he got. I really really don't blame him for choosing the path of violence because he had experienced the unfair world at such a young age and he didn't have anyone to guide him about what's wrong and what's right. By his experience, if you have money and reputation then only you can control your life's flow. Otherwise all you can do is go with the flow which is controlled by the whims and wishes of the powerful.

What Donald is doing now is absolutely not acceptable. He is cruel and unhinged and has become exactly the type of person who had previously trampled on his life. We keep saying that he could've chosen a different path which didn't involve violence and unethical practices. But did he really have a choice?? Even if he did, he didn't have anyone to guide him through that path, did he?? So I don't blame him at all for turning out the way he did.

But I also agree that he should be held responsible for his actions. He needs to be punished for his sins but he also deserves a second chance at life because he was just a child who didn't know any better. This time he needs someone to guide him on the right path. Right now he's addicted to the ways of violence after being on this path for so long. He's grown comfortable living like this but he's finally going to realize that it won't work forever.

I can't wait to see how the author handles his character going ahead. I pray, hope, wish that the author does justice to his story. He needs to get a proper punishment and a wake up call. And please please please give this child a hopeful ending. He deserves so much better than what he got 🤧

[maxandhisdelusions]

Not to sound like a broken record with this, but how is it possible that this is the life that we need to follow in order to cover the most basic of our necessities? Food? Shelter? Hygiene?

How is it possible that I have to torture myself for five days a week only to be demolished the only two days that I actually get for rest, and not being able to complete any of the things I want to do? The things that keep me still slightly sane?

And on top of that, whatever free time we've got during the week goes to trying to be a functional adults most of the time: grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, trying to interact with people (but failing, 'cause tired).

I think I get especially haunted by these thoughts during winter because I just... Can't even seem to enjoy the day at all. I wake up with a dark sky, it's dark when I finish my hours. EIGHT HOURS. It's not fucking fair. Who told typicals this is the way they should live? Who told them this lie?

And why did everyone agree with this?

I will never shut up about this, nobody should ever shut up about this, we are not supposed to live like this. We should not have to live like this. We cannot always have our basic needs behind a paywall. We cannot be working full time jobs and still not being able to afford to live.

What the fuck is this?

[thunder-of-dragons]

It's been a while since I sat down and wrote anything about what's going on in my life. So I figured I should do that. Anyways, here's life updates from Thunder:

I moved!

Yes, again. Back in January-ish. Still in Colorado. Still loving the view of the mountains, though I do miss being surrounded by mountains no matter where I looked. I'm enjoying having easier access to modern privileges and necessities, though, now that I live and work in what could be considered to be cities.

I started a new job!

Yes, again. I'm no longer teaching, and I have to say that I really enjoy being able to leave work at work and not worry about it at home (unless I'm working from home, which I have the flexibility to do). Though sales has its problems, I sell insurance, and it's nice that I get to sell something that legitimately helps people stay on their feet during hard times. I have a boss who actually cares about my well-being as a person, and I have a coworker who's great to work and chat with. I don't dread doing my job anymore.

I started therapy!

Yes, again. I think I'll actually make some progress on all of the trauma I've been trying to face with this one (if I can afford to continue to see her). It's been kind of an eye-opening experience into what therapy should be. We set goals for my progress (and I'm sort of making progress on them, but life emergencies keep getting in the way), and they have timelines and smaller goals and... yeah. She holds me accountable for my bullshit and also makes sure I recognize when it's actually not my fault that my life is falling apart. It's been really hard, but I can see that in the long run (and sometimes in the now) that it's good for me. Learning how to set and maintain boundaries is proving to be a very, very difficult skill for me to learn, and apparently I'm doing a fucking amazing job! But apparently my spouse and his partners don't appreciate that, so...

I'm getting a divorce!

My spouse asked for us to separate for a year back at the end of March. Literally 6 days after my birthday. He said we both had stuff we needed to work on. I agreed. I was very much over him acting like I should be eternally grateful for the few scraps of attention he'd give me when he wasn't overly focusing on his girlfriend and her kids. He needed to figure his shit out and learn how to manage his time better and actually appreciate the person he re-proposed to back in December. (Me. I'm the person he re-proposed to.) And I'd been basically bending over backwards and not practicing any self-care to take care of all of them while also working full-time. I was exhausted and unappreciated and not getting anything out of it.

I'm working on my shit and trying to be the free-spirited me that I want to be. I'm guessing when my spouse said I needed to figure out who I am, he didn't mean that I should stop bending over backwards for him and his new family while we were separated. I'd been trying to reach out to catch up and meet 1:1 with him. His only responses to trying to meet up were either that he'd forgotten or that he wanted to hang out with me at his girlfriend's house with her and her kids and his boyfriend and get drunk and high. No thanks. I set boundaries. I won't go to her house anymore. I deserve to reserve my time for people who actually want to put in the effort and spend time with me.

So according to my spouse, I've abandoned my spouse's girlfriend's kids, and apparently that's completely inexcusable. (I don't understand how I've done that. I'm confused. I don't think it'll ever make sense.) My spouse also claims I haven't made any attempts to talk him (until he was going into acute treatment for his mental health stuff, which he's blaming me for). He would like a divorce because apparently I clearly don't care about him at all. I would like a divorce because I'm realizing I've been with an abusive asshole for over 8 years.

I am struggling. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Financially.

Realizing how seriously I've been abused by my family is hard, even if I was already somewhat aware and already cut off contact with them.

Realizing that my partner of over 8 years has been abusing and controlling me (without my consent) has been really, really hard to come to terms with.

Getting injured in a hit and run that totaled the car I'd been driving to work every day... was devastating. I'm glad I had a few good people around, but my spouse has placed all of the blame for it on me. It was "his" car that got totaled (because we'd agreed that that was the car I should be driving to work every day because it got better gas mileage). We had to go car shopping together while separated. We found a new used car that we agreed I should be in possession of to drive to work because it got way better gas mileage. As of this past weekend, my spouse decided he needed the new car and stopped responding to any of my messages, so I'm stuck driving a horribly giant and inefficient truck for an hour and a half every day with no working A/C. (It hit 100 degrees here today).

My spouse has been taking shared property to his girlfriend's house, and none of it has been coming back to the townhouse we're officially living at. I don't have access to pretty much anything that I've accumulated in my life now. (I mean, I have clothes. I have my yarn arts stuff. But anything else is pretty much gone.)

I've been trying to pay all of the bills on my own since my spouse was laid off at the beginning of May (a week after the hit and run) and has decided he's not looking for a new job. No, it's not fair for me to be paying all of the bills, but I also can't take the hit on my credit score if stuff doesn't get paid... My spouse's boyfriend who lives with us isn't looking for a job (and hasn't worked since November). I've been able to stay afloat because of a couple of really awesome people who are letting me live with them (and carpool with them for an entire month when I didn't have a vehicle at all). But I've only been able to do that because there was leftover claim money from the hit and run. I think my best budgeting efforts will be for naught by the end of this month, and I'm trying to figure out what to do (and how to pay a lawyer because I apparently make too much to qualify for assistance). I might see about opening commissions or something, though I'm not sure what I could offer...

But I'm here. I'm existing. I'm surviving. The awesome @gameofdrarry mods totally understand my need for a break from modding at the moment. Fandom is still providing a great community (and escapism), and I couldn't be more grateful.

[ryangrieves]

I leverage my future ability to produce labor for debts incured now and in my past. Student loan debt is fundamentally unjust and a failure of our society. At 18 in 2008 I watched the facade finally crumble. The incredible potential we have collectively, held back like a stuck coil, just waiting for release. Debt contains us. Debt ties us to a system of servitude. It consumes and shapes our decisions. Some debt is necessary to secure investment. But it should be easy to obtain and easy to pay back. We instead are forced to utilize debt as a tool and necessity in order to afford basic goods and services at a normalized standard within society. It's debt by design. It is all a gamble. Your pay has not kept pace with costs. Banks and financial institutions. They are the force insuring this is the case. It's an opportunity by coersion. They *know* your pay has not kept up with costs. And they sell you a "cure" to bridge this gap. They're betting (though it's not really a bet),that you will not be able to pay off your costs fast enough not to incur interest. They profit from your inability to afford living in the place you were born. They know you can't afford it, because they control both ends of the formula. They invest heavily to make sure you cannot afford to live in the place you were born.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Demand on currency decreases its value

So I've made this observation before: When people need money, demand increases on currency, unlike any other good, it's actual value goes down. I'd like to take a minute to analyze *why* this might be.

The "demand" comes from the necessity of business entities and individuals needing to pay off their debts and other bills. Which removes currency flow from a system, which is where the inflation comes from.

People are trying to get out from under their debt, which means that they start charging more and more for their services. And I don't just mean a college student with no job history who can't afford the loans.

Businesses *also* behave this way.

This is part of the budgeting process. As with all budgets you need to start with your debts.

These originate with the absolute basics; Food, Water, Dwelling.

And they go up in tiers of importance; Hygiene, Transportation, Other costs of business (or just living, like electricity, and other utilities)

And finally; Debts Owed.

As more money goes towards bills, like debts, companies have to increase their own prices as much as their customers are willing to pay. Because their customers are going to start forgoing niceties.

People will survive on 30¢ ramen packets if they have to. Or a bag of tortillas and BBQ sauce if you catch a good sale.

And because of that; more companies start failing to reach their goals. They can't sell their service or product, because people can't afford them.

And this will even affect people who aren't hurting for money. The societal pressures of an economic downturn will encourage people to stop buying niceties, because their neighbors can't afford them.

Either because they'll lose social capital, or because they're worried that other people, trying to make ends meet, will start trying to do what you gotta do to make that bread.

Which is why there's A LOT of media saying "Everything is fine, economy is fine." Because once people stop buying things, that's when the economy *really* starts to take a turn for the worse.

This is the *real* source of inflation when looking directly at budgeting, and ignore the other factors that could cause inflation in other facets. (Which, some may or may not be affecting us now.)

And why there is an *real* discussion to be had about both not forgiving debts, AND debt forgiveness. (Because both will effect the economy to the negative, the question is; which one would hurt more?)

The reason things inflate in price, arguably, has nothing to do with supply and demand. Our economy barely works on that idea anymore because of the efficiency we have created at collecting resources. Which is good, because it means that it's likely nobody will starve.

What it means is that our worries about inflation have to do with where the currency actually flows. If debts cannot be paid, we have an economic downturn. If they can be paid, we have economic prosperity.

But it also means that; we can actually gauge exactly how the economy will react based on the cumulative outstanding debts of a country (not the federal debt ceiling mind you, that's just a gauge of circulating currency).

In no uncertain terms either; because currency can only come from two sources; the government (who creates currency), or a loan from a bank (which is individualized debt)

See... The idea is, that everybody works for each other, and they pay off each other's debts.

The real question that should be asked; that nobody seems willing to ask; if almost all currency comes from debt in the first place--how can there be any profit at all? Without, of course, creating debt somewhere else in the system?

An individual will say "Well that's not my concern if somebody goes into debt buying my product" The assumption being that a person *should* be able to buy things without needing to acrue debt is a sound decision for all individuals.

But in the system as a whole; if there is profit in the system, then that profit has to come from somewhere, because money in the U.S. (not counting counterfeiting) can only be created by the Federal reserve under the guidance of the federal government.

And a debt cannot be paid without having a profit source.

Meanwhile, debt exists, as does interest on that debt. Which means that, in its current state; the entire economic system is geared towards the impossibility of profit. And the paying of debts, that if it were on a smaller scale, wouldn't be possible to pay.

Even with inflation.

[nicklloydnow]

“When I put my economist hat on, a fact becomes clear to me. American life is a gigantic rip-off, one of the world’s biggest, and that’s why America is now effectively a country of poor people, and that makes it a nation of angry, cruel, and selfish ones, too.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start over. American life is the biggest ripoff in the world. Or at least one of the biggest, in the top five, certainly. Just…existing. It costs way, way more than it should. So much so that America cannot ever move forward as a society. So, trapped in a cycle, which economists call a “poverty trap,” Americans now stay poor.

(…)

Now we're going to pause and look at how just the bills above already mean the average American is going to be effectively poor. Not might be, not could be, but "is," in the sense of "inescapable, iron-clad, destiny."

The average American income is about $35K per year. That's about $2400 a month, if you're lucky, after taxes. What bills are we up to? $1200 for a crappy apartment. A few hundreds, let's call it two or three, for connectivity. And another $500 or so for basic utilities. That leaves you with about $400 for the month, or just $100 dollars a week.

That's American life. That's why Americans feel so poor. Because they are. American life is a gigantic rip-off.

The average American - after subtracting basic bills of shelter and utilities - has just $100 to spend on food, clothing, kids, medicine, all the other necessities.

(…)

The sad truth is that nobody can afford to live that way, at least not in a modern society. We know that because the average American doesn't. They go into debt. Deeply into debt. So deep that the average American now dies underwater to the tune of about $60,000. They've spent a lifetime paying off debts that they can never fully make good on - precisely because the system is rigged against them. In what sense?

Well, we're already at just $100 a week left after shelter and utilities for the average person. But the bills hardly stop there.

(…)

So what do Americans do to cope with this? If they can't live on what they earn.. then how do they live? We all know the answer to that. Credit. Credit cards, to be precise. Only those charge more than 10% interest. Profits are being made - huge ones - on the fact that Americans can't make ends meet, so they have to go into debt. Have to. The system really is rigged against them, because of course if you have to go into debt because you don't earn enough to live on, and that debt is compounding interest, then of course you can never pay it off. Which is just where most Americans are.

How deep in credit card debt are Americans? The industry itself will tell you that the average American owes about $6500 or so, though other sources report that the average American is in debt for almost $30K, excluding mortgages - and the majority of that is credit card debt. And maybe even $6500 doesn't sound like a lot, until you realise that for a family of four, that's more than $25,000.

(…)

I keep using the words "effectively poor." What do I mean? Well, that Americans are forced to live like poor people. Hand to mouth. No savings. Little disposable income. Exploited and abused, taken advantage of at their most vulnerable moments, like being charged a million dollars (LOL) for an operation. It sucks to live that way. It changes you. How? Why?

Americans are notoriously angry, hostile, aggressive, selfish people. Sorry if you don't want to hear that - but the rest of the world will tell you it's true. What makes them that way, though? Well, they've fallen into poverty. They've become effectively poor. And poverty will make anyone rightly angry, desperate, and afraid.

America's descent into becoming a country of poor people goes hand in hand with its plunge into becoming a nation of idiots, fascists, theocrats, and assorted other kinds of fanatics. Poverty makes people fanatics and extremists. Maybe your church gives you a bit of money and a place to leave your kids - the price is you come to believe you're the chosen ones. Maybe you come to hate everyone who's not true of faith or pure of blood like you - bang, the classic Weimar descent into fascism. Maybe you just get driven crazy and begin believing whatever crazy conspiracy theory explains your woes in the way that's the most fantastical and easiest to believe.

America becoming a poor country isn't just an economic problem. It's ripped America's social fabric and cultural values and norms apart. Americans don't like each other, trust each other. They hate and despise each other. Aggression and hostility are now norms - nobody expects anyone to be kind or gentle or nice, the way Canadians and Europeans are. Social bonds? If you're so busy trying to make ends meet, what room is left over friendship, relationships, ties? Bang. America's collapse into stupidity, hate, despair, and rage has everything to do with it's decline into poverty for the average person.

American life is one of the world's most gigantic rip-offs. It's eminently clear if you've lived elsewhere - and then you live in America for a while. The sad fact though is that's never going to be true for most Americans. They have a sense, maybe, some of them, that they're getting ripped off. But as a whole, American society and culture has no idea. How much of a rip-off American life really is.

(…)

Colossal, titanic, epic? All these seem like only giant understatement to describe the utterly mind-boggling scale of this cycle of folly, violence, stupidity, ruin.

(…)

That should change, but…it won't, and it's not. Because in America, there's no better business than ripping someone off with one hand, while you promise them the moon and stars with the other, and, incredibly, they cheer you on for making them poor.”

““Searching for the American middle class is a little like looking for air,” historian Loren Baritz wrote in his 1988 The Good Life: The Meaning of Success for the American Middle Class, stating that the group was “everywhere, invisible, and taken for granted.”

The middle class was the heart and soul of the United States, Baritz believed, and a construct that guided individual and collective thought and action. “America’s spirit and tone, its historical mythology and official aspirations, political bent, educational arrangements, the centrality of business enterprise, as well as the dreams of the vast majority of its people, derive from the psychology of the great imperial middle,” Baritz proposed.

What is that psychology? A sense of belonging, certainly, and a literal buying into a consumerist lifestyle. Our Constitutional right to pursue happiness is also embedded in the psychological framework of the middle class, as is the idea of social mobility. Conformity too is part of its philosophy, along with subscribing to traditional values.

In short, middle-classness is a concept that heavily shapes the self-identity and behavior of most Americans, whether we realize it or not.

(…)

In my own The American Middle Class: A Cultural History, I proposed that the best way to define the middle class is simply by saying that it is those in the economic “middle,” whether measured by income or net worth. (I prefer the latter.) One-third of Americans are thus middle class, I propose, with the remaining thirds being, for lack of better words, upper class, and lower class.

Then why do close to 90 percent of Americans consistently say they are middle class when asked? In a 2015 Pew survey, for example, only 10 percent of Americans said they considered themselves lower class and just 1 percent thought they were upper class. Your doctor likely thinks she or he is middle class, and so does the person who flips burgers at McDonald’s.

The reason that the vast majority of Americans define themselves as middle class is that there are powerful psychic rewards for membership in the group. Because the United States was founded on the principles of democracy and equality, it makes perfect sense that “average” Americans are viewed as most symbolic of what makes this country great and different from others. The middle class reflects our national mythology of the “everyman,” an idea that is central to our national identity.

Conversely, those citizens who are not seen as middle class are often viewed with some suspicion and are considered somehow less “American.” Both the poor and the rich contradict the Constitutional precept that “all men are created equal”; that major class distinctions even exist is seen as a violation of our national creed. The reality is that there always have been great inequalities in wealth and social status in this country, of course, but the endurance of the mythology of classlessness illustrates its profound power.”

[dreamingdarkly22]

The Sam Vimes Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness

Or "Boots Theory", has been going around again recently. So just in case you haven't seen it, here's the gist.

Originating from A Terry Pratchett novel "Men At Arms", put forth by a guardsman named, you guessed it, Sam Vimes.

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet."

This is a very real thing that pervades into many areas we don't think of unless we are living them. For example, toilet paper. If I want to buy toilet paper, I would generally wait for it to be on sale, then go to a big box store, there are a dozen within driving distance, and purchase a big ass 24 pack. Or whatever is most cost efficient (sometimes the smaller packs are cheaper per unit *shrug*)

This is doable because I have a place to store a large volume, and can thus afford to wait till it's on sale. If I didn't have space, or was sharing a living situation, I might need to purchase smaller volumes and end up paying much more. As much as double per roll.

But it of course, gets worse. Have you ever tried to take a large volume of toilet paper (or anything) on public transit? It's pretty damn hard. Or even impossible depending on where you live exactly. So buying in bulk also requires a vehicle. (You might think that the vehicle also costs more, so should be factored in, but in reality in many places operating a vehicle costs about the same as transit. The difference is that you need capital investment up front to get access to the car.) And of course, if you live in an urban center without access to large stores, you'll need to buy it from a bodega or convenience store, which also likely tacks on a nearly 100% markup.

All together someone living at the poverty line is likely to pay 2-4X as much as I do for toilet paper. Not to mention losing 2-4X as much TIME spent on all these transit trips or walking to buy it. Also Groceries. Fresh Fruit. Clothing. Most of the necessities of life.

This is just one reason why it's so incredibly hard for someone to just "work their way out" of poverty. Unless you get a windfall, or a job that pays enough to break this cycle, you're stuck actually spending MORE on day to day life than someone with more money. And getting that job that pays enough is next to impossible if you don't have time and money for school, which of course, you don't have because it's all spent just staying alive. Plus a windfall like an inheritance or gift from a friend or family is also nearly impossible, because your friends and parents are stuck in the same cycle you are.

The theory was used in the development of the Vimes Boots Index, which is a very real price index to track the most basic versions of essential items as a more accurate measure of inflation for those near the poverty line than the more commonly used models based on averages.

This is why Terry Pratchett is a Fucking Legend. Not because of how funny his books are, but because of how real... And also how funny.