Friday, June 22nd: Hi guys, I’m Gemma and I really need your help. Would anyone be able to send me £20, so I can buy myself food/supplies for a few days, or a little bit more to help me through this week and next?
As many of you may or may not know, I’ve been struggling a lot this month and for the past few weeks, I have regularly skipped on eating (often for several days in a row) to try and make ends meet due to my U.C (WCA) benefit sanction and I’m really struggling to get by until the reinstatement of my benefit.
If anyone could spare any amount to help me, even if it’s just £1/$1, it would literally save my life and sharing definitely helps just as much as donations and nobody has to donate if they can’t or don’t want to, thank you💖
So I get home, right? My phone goes off and the caller id shows it’s my manager. I’m not… entirely happy about this (see: “I literally just got home”). I answer anyway, and there’s some weird static? I can’t get my manager to answer me and I start to worry.
I text her instead.
Her cat was fucking sitting on her phone and butt-dialed me. The ‘static’ I heard was him purring.
the only kind of catcalling that’s acceptable, quite frankly.
My favorite thing about this post is how so many people were ready to fucking throw a punch at catcallers (of the despicable sort). I’m proud of u all.
That is the most fabulous thing I have heard today.
Better option: if you fix it I’ll let you borrow it when I’m supposed to be asleep. You just gotta promise to feed it and return it in same-or-better condition
I don’t usually soap-box, but I’m going to for a hot sec since this has been on my mind:
Cults are getting better branding, prettier leaders, hipper-sounding cosmologies, and wider reaches due to social media. They’re not all deity-focused. Thoughtful, intelligent people can get sucked into them. Just…stay safe out there, guys. Do your research, look at all your options, and trust your gut, not your guru.
I’m glad this is resonating with people.
I do want to emphasize, again, that cults (and toxic groups with cult-like attributes, I’m using this term pretty loosely) don’t usually look like what you’d expect. A lot of toxic and dangerous religious movements are tiny and you won’t find much about them via Google. Cultish non-religious movements are the same way.
Start-ups, multi-level marketing companies, activist groups, fan groups, political groups, and internet gurus who run retreats can all be cult-like and dangerous. Tune your BS detector, ask family, friends, and experts for advice.
Here are some warning signs:
Pressure – pressure to make quick decisions, to give (or pledge) considerable amounts of money, to move in with a group, to abandon family or cut off friends. Elevated Leaders – anyone claiming special insight, special powers, or that they aren’t human. Demanding special treatment (compared to other followers). Misuse of funds or money collecting at the top. physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. Lack of accountability or oversight. Isolation – encouraging (or requiring) members to cut off family relationships, friendships with those outside of the group, leaving jobs, moving to isolated areas, taking away communication methods. Strong “us-vs-them” mentality. Vilification of ex-members. Love-bombing. Altered states of consciousness – long work hours, sleep deprivation, lack of access to adequate food or water. Otherwise unproblematic activities like meditation/prayer/chanting, but done for hours. Discouraging doubt – discouraging or punishing doubt and critical thinking.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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