Day: August 24, 2017

GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor

the-real-seebs:

sptrashcan:

Give Directly is a charity I support. I hold the belief that poor people are poor primarily because they don’t have money, rather than due to deficiency of character or because they don’t know what’s good for them. I can’t say for certain whether that belief is correct, but I’m happy that they’re testing it.

Now they are trying to gather $30 million to fund a rigorous real-world study on universal basic income. They have raised over $25 million but their deadline is coming up. I know that there are a lot of worthy causes and people in desperate need out there, but if you happen to have some money and are looking for a way to do good, please consider donating.

My experience is that it’s certainly true in a whole lot of cases.

GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor

prokopetz:

I think it’s kind of laughable how some radical activists think they can pin everything that’s wrong with the activist community in liberal ideologies. I’ve been involved in popular activism for a long time, and in my experience, radical ideologies are not particularly less prone to buying into mainstream prejudices and bigotries than liberal ideologies are. Radicals just tend to have better-practiced arguments for why it’s totally okay for them to throw other oppressed groups under the bus.

marmoset-marmoset:

pervocracy:

Look, I appreciate that progressives are compassionate and empathetic people, who aren’t content to cheer on “winning,” but want to make sure they’re acting ethically and towards worthwhile goals.  If we didn’t have these qualities, maybe we really wouldn’t be much better than the opposition.

But for God’s sake don’t let people hijack your empathy entirely towards a Nazi or a Klansman going “oh no you’re making me feel intimidated,” and away from the people he’d murder if he got half a chance.

This isn’t theoretical.  The far right murdered most of my family in the 1930s and 40s.  And now they’re trying to stage a comeback, with the approval of the fucking President.  In the face of that, I think it’s justifiable to be a wee bit impolite.

The already worrying “is it okay to punch a Nazi” discourse is sliding into “is it okay to make a Nazi feel bad?” discourse, and FUCK YES IT IS.  IT IS ENTIRELY OKAY TO DO THAT.

So many nerdy Internet people are psychologically stuck in how all their classmates thought they were weird and it made them feel bad and nobody respected their ~original unpopular thinking~, and project that in a silly and self-centered way all over serious political issues. When your Geek Social Fallacies lead you all the way to sticking up for crying Nazis, it’s time to address your own issues and seek help, not project your fear of social exclusion all over people’s opposition to violent far-right movements.

Conversations I have with my cats.

drferox:

  • Why do you want into the shower? It’s dry, there’s not even any water there.
  • It’s not my fault your sunbeam has gone. No I cannot bring it back.
  • No you are not allowed to play with the raven outside. You will loose.
  • If you want to play fetch, you need to actually bring the toy back, not abandon it half way.
  • You are so full of food you can no longer jump onto the bench where your food is kept. You do not, in fact, require additional food.
  • It’s just a toilet, not a portal to Narnia.
  • Did you just forget how to cat?

helloitsbees:

delightfuldonutdreams:

Do you ever wonder how many stories have been told about you? I don’t mean rumors or gossip. A story like “ one time I was at the mall and this girl dropped her hotdog but she picked it up and ate it” what if I’m that girl??how many times have people seen me do something I thought no one saw and is now being used as an ice breaker at a family dinner? Hmmmmmm?!???!

one time i was in this historical park in new york and i was climbing a tree in order to get a good photo and i fell out just as a family was walking past…two years later i ran into the mom at stop&shop and she gasped and said “oh my god, tree girl?” and i’ve never been the same since

jumpingjacktrash:

disease-danger-darkness-silence:

whisperwhisk:

curiousobsession101:

the44thpilot:

dark-haired-hamlet:

There are n*zis on campus rn and a student brought out like a 1997 boombox and started blasting Taking The Hobbits to Isengard every time they tried to say something.

“Those who do not share our genes -THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS – THE MASTER RACE – TO ISENGARD TO ISENGARD – AND I BELIEVE –
THE HOBBITS THE HOBBITS THE-”

Chaotic good

In Jewish tradition, one of our holidays is called Purim. It celebrates the defeat of an antisemitic political advisor to a king who liked to prowl the streets ranting his hatred. Part of the story of Purim involves the people being ranted at inventing a special kind of noisemaker to drown him out.

Basically what I’m saying is this student is following a grand tradition whether they realize it or not and they should be proud.

not only is Purim about drowning out fascists, it’s about doing so in the most absurd and embarrassing ways possible! fascism thrives on an aura of invincibility, and it’s hard to hold onto that when people keep making farting sounds every time you open your mouth

so really, weaponized memes are PERFECTLY in keeping with the Purim spirit

*slams fist on table* NOW THIS is the kind of religious/cultural tradition I can get behind! 

what if we start treating fascist rallies like rocky horror? bring popcorn and 3D glasses and heckle them like they’re a goofy movie.

singing playground songs is also effective. you know, the ones you thought were super super naughty when you were seven. and songs that get stuck in people’s heads. do the macarena for twenty minutes, they will have flashbacks for life. bring signs with random weird things on them. like. scooby doo. an apple. a line from frosty the snowman. a spiraling shape that actually spins.

rickroll them right to their goddamn faces.