Snopes.com, which began as a small one-person effort in 1994 and has since become one of the Internet’s oldest and most popular fact-checking sites, is in danger of closing its doors. So, for the first time in our history, we are turning to you, our readership, for help.
Since our inception, we have always been a self-sustaining site that provides a free service to the online world: we’ve had no sponsors, no outside investors or funding, and no source of revenue other than that provided by online advertising. Unfortunately, we have been cut off from our historic source of advertising income.
We had previously contracted with an outside vendor to provide certain services for Snopes.com. That contractual relationship ended earlier this year, but the vendor will not acknowledge the change in contractual status and continues to essentially hold the Snopes.com web site hostage. Although we maintain editorial control (for now), the vendor will not relinquish the site’s hosting to our control, so we cannot modify the site, develop it, or — most crucially — place advertising on it. The vendor continues to insert their own ads and has been withholding the advertising revenue from us.
Our legal team is fighting hard for us, but, having been cut off from all revenue, we are facing the prospect of having no financial means to continue operating the site and paying our staff (not to mention covering our legal fees) in the meanwhile.
As misinformation has increasingly threatened democracies around the world (including our own), Snopes.com has stood in the forefront of fighting for truth and dispelling misinformation online. It is vital that these efforts continue, so we are asking the Snopes.com community to donate what they can. (Our suggested donation is $10, but if you can give more please consider doing so — every little bit helps.)
Just had to double check it’s legit go donate if you can Source
Boosting.
Snopes is a vital website as one of the old holdovers and few places that aims for the truth without political bias.
They’re especially needed with sites like Tumblr re-kindling the spread of dangerous urban legends and hoaxes.
good parents don’t raise children with extreme fear of touch
good parents don’t raise children who can’t say no
(continue the chain! reblog with “good parents don’t raise children” and write your own symptoms!)
good parents don’t raise children that fear their own emotions
good parents don’t raise children that don’t know what consent is
good parents don’t raise children to be silent about their reality
good parents don’t raise children that feel like their existence is a problem
good parents don’t raise children that hate themselves
good parents don’t raise children that feel guilty over basic needs (food, clothes)
good parents don’t raise children who are paranoid about whether their parents are mad or not (not at the children, just mad/not happy in general)
good parents don’t raise children who think “if I don’t get mad at someone else and pin the blame on them first, someone will get mad at me”
good parents don’t raise children who can’t ask for things and just learned to passive-aggressively hint at stuff instead
good parent don’t raise children who cry with confusion and happiness the first time someone accommodates their needs because the concept is so alien to them
good parents don’t raise children who feel they need to apologize for basic needs
good parents don’t raise children who think that anytime there a fight they might as well go down swinging, metaphorically or literally, because they are going to be hurt no matter what they do
good parents don’t raise children who blame themselves for uncontrollable events
good parents don’t raise children who think if they don’t make everyone around them happy they are worthless
good parent don’t raise children who expect to be mocked and ridiculed by the ones they trust
Actual sign in Florida requesting you not give manatees water and raising a lot of questions that it does not answer
hey friends! this just swam across my dash and I wanted to let you all know why you SHOULD NOT give manatees water from your hoses at your docks! See, manatees in the US of A are salt water critters and if they ingest too much fresh water (AKA from the hose as pictured above) it will cause them to get sick and die. Also, it makes them form habits that they will recieve fresh water from these docks, and therefor they’re more likely to be hit by boats in the marina (they cannot hear the frequency that boats produce, therefor they never even see them coming). So for all of you wondering why this is: now you know! Please help keep this gentle giants safe and happy and abide by signs are rules when in areas where manatees roam!
xoxo manateearecute
What baffled me was simply why in the world anybody ever saw an animal in the water and thought “I bet this would like some water” enough times to become a problem
When you see an animal in the ocean, the obvious thing to do is give it some hose water, of course.
Look, I’ve got a long-standing beef with Millennial v. Boomer discourse that I could spend a few hours on, but lemme try to sum it up briefly.
Many of the modern economic problems that affect many Millennials that are often blamed on Baby Boomers (unemployment/underemployment, soaring costs of education, loan debt, comparative lack of opportunities, poverty, etc. etc.) started well before our generation came of age. Most of these same economic issues fucked up Generation X before us, but because they were a smaller generation, people didn’t hear about it as much. And most of these problems grew directly from right-wing political and economic policies that began in the Reagan presidency in the 1980s, before the Boomers were in political ascendancy. (Yes, there were a few young Boomers in Reagan’s administration, but the leading neocons/neoliberals, using the actual meaning of the term, not the tumblr left’s version of it, who led the move rightward were older.) Boomers, by virtue of their age, enjoyed the unique benefits of the post-War (1945-1980) economy and many managed to escape the worst effects of the Reagan Era cuts, but not all did equally (see below.) And many of them, personally, are total clueless assholes about how unique their experience was. I have Boomer parents born in the early 50s, so like I know. But one of the biggest problems I have with Millennial/Boomer discourse is that it de-politicizes and de-contextualizes important social/political/economic shifts that were the direct result of Republican policies. It reduces it all to just a generational conflict in which one selfish group of people just didn’t want to share their toys with their kids. And even if you accept the idea that one generation can personally screw over another via political means, the idea that Boomers would target their own children specifically is particularly odd. Though I’ll also point out that the “who raised us” issue is more complex, as the Boomer generation ends in 1964, and quite a lot of people born in the 90s who could still be considered Millennials, have parents born after that.
As for the idea that Boomers make up the majority of the workforce, actually Millennials are now the largest segment of the workforce, slightly ahead of Gen X, with Boomers well behind. The oldest boomers are 71 now, and the youngest are 53. A lot of the oldest ones have retired and the younger ones are on their way there. X As for having “all the powers in government” that’s a pretty hard thing to quantify. Trump and many of his key advisers are Boomers, but there are a number of GenX and Millennials too. Which is why I get annoyed at the idea that Millennials are somehow innately more compassionate and kind than older generations, because not really. Millennials overall are more democratic/left leaning than older voters, but Trump still won among white millennials. Many baby boomers, too, were very liberal in their youth, and became more conservative with age, especially the white ones. It’s a pretty common thing to happen. It’s not as if that fate is going to magically spare our generation, so most of this discourse is not going to age well.
Which brings me to the other issue, that you can legitimately talk about Millennials and Baby Boomers as distinct groups with similar characteristics and experiences. Most of this discourse is highly race and class based but people don’t seem to acknowledge that. It’s focused around the experiences of middle to upper class white boomers and their kids, who presumably don’t have it as easy. And in many cases, this is probably true. Though if you’ve read any financial news in the last few years, they’ve been talking a lot about the huge amount of “wealth transfer” that has started from well-off Boomers to their kids. But for many other Boomers, this wealth never materialized. Plenty of people never had access to it thanks to their race or immigrant status. So the idea that one generation “owns everything” or needs to “take the blame” blurs the fact that within any generation there are huge differences in wealth and access to power.
Basically millennial/boomer discourse is ahistorical, apolitical, and focused on the experiences and expectations of middle class white kids, and that’s why I’m not here for it.
Is it wrong to purposely be nonverbal sometimes? Is it wrong to purposely be nonverbal sometimes? What I mean is I know that if I try really hard I COULD be verbal but it would be much easier and less stressful to just stop speaking in situations where I feel I have to force the words out.
Nah. It’s not wrong. Just like how it’s not wrong to sit when you could stand, or put down your bag when you could keep holding it. Like how it’s not wrong to use a wheelchair when you can technically walk.
To expand on that last example using my own experiences; there are some days when I might be able to walk a bit, but I would be able to go farther, do more, and be in less pain at the end of the day if I use my wheelchair.
So, if I know I’m going to be out for 4 hours, I could:
a) Force myself to walk for an hour before switching to my chair because I’m tired and in pain, which makes for the next 3 hours being kinda sucky, or
b) Intentionally use my chair from the beginning, even if my pain is manageable and I have energy. This option saves me future pain and potential injury, and also lets me use my energy for other things.
As an autistic person, it’s a very similar situation with speaking. It’s an energy suck and you should feel free to toss the expectation of spoken speech overboard if that’s what is best for you.
As for myself, I do choose not to speak at times, or I choose to use a combination of AAC and speech.
I know there’s so many people who can’t help being nonverbal so I feel bad that in most situations I can force myself to speak, I just didn’t know if it was ok to let myself be nonverbal to help myself deal with the situations where I feel like I need to be
It is okay to save your words. It is okay to choose AAC over speech. It is okay to dedicate that brain power and energy to things you consider more important and living life in general.
Forcing speech can lead to meltdowns and shutdowns. It also contributes to burnout, which sucks, so choosing not to speak can be a way to recover from or prevent those things.
It’s okay not to force yourself, just like it’s okay when I choose to take my wheelchair on days when I might be able to force myself into walking a bit. You should do what you need to do.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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