Home
Mimi and Pooter
THIS PHOTOSET MAKES MY HEART GROW THREE SIZES.
Graham Greene is the coolest actor ever. He makes cheesy movies worth watching, haha.
Love/hate this movie, but this scene was awesome. Got into an argument recently with someone who said Val Kilmer was a failure after Top Gun but Tom Cruise was wildly successful, and I had to correct them…Cruise may have had a prolific film career, full of “feel good” crap-tastic movies that really aren’t about anything (Mission Impossible series, anyone?) but Kilmer has been performing on Broadway for the last ten years. And that? THAT is success.
Of course I see that! Of course I understand the offence. I actually did find your comment to be belittling, whether you meant to or not. It's just I'm not the kind of person to immediately see the bad in something, whether you want to be offended or not is a little bit of a choice. I'm african myself and there are plenty of "get tribal" or "afro prints" etc type of thing in the media especially in fashion. And it is fickle and it CAN be offensive but I choose to embrace it, so what? There's no need to get crazy about it, it can be endearing and I myself think it's quite charming that others would try to emulate my culture (even if they get it totally wrong) it's just the sentiment or the acceptance of it is lovely. I just thought others would feel the same. I wouldn't call it "dressing up", it's OKAY to be inspired. I don't understand cultures that like to shut themselves off. That's all.
wewearblackcouk
This is where people get confused: it’s one thing to be “of ____ descent (fill in the blank with Native American, African, Irish, etc.)”, and something totally different to grow up as a Native American or to grow up in Africa or in Ireland or wherever. Ergo, we are as offended as, say, a Zulu tribesman would be if he were to see a sacred Zulu ritual being acted out, complete with faux and fake “African” costumes and whatever else people felt were “African”. Can you imagine how the media would react if a group of people chose to build a commune around THAT concept? People would freak out and the offending commune would be subject to all kinds of negative consequences! But choose to be fake Native American, and it’s “okay”…at least by you, because deep down? You don’t think we really exist, do you? It’s always ok to pretend to be something that’s historical, like Romans or Celts or Native Americans, because they aren’t around to defend themselves. But we ARE. We are, and we will, because it’s not “inspiration”, it’s theft of our sacred traditions, a mockery of our history, and a very large demonstration of cultural privilege.
"
Let me tell you some things.
I used to investigate child abuse and neglect. I can tell you how to stop the vast majority of abortion in the world.
First, make knowledge and access to contraception widely available. Start teaching kids before they hit puberty. Teach them about domestic violence and coercion, and teach them not to coerce and rape. Create a strong, loving community where women and girls feel safe and supported in times of need. Because guess what? They aren’t. You know what happens to babies born under such circumstances? They get hurt, unnecessarily. They get sick, unnecessarily. They get removed from parents who love them but who are unprepared for the burden of a child. Resources? Honey, we try. There aren’t enough resources anywhere. There are waiting lists, and promises, and maybes. If the government itself can’t hook people up, what makes you think an impoverished single mom can handle it?
Abolish poverty. Do you have any idea how much childcare costs? Daycare can cost as much or more than monthly rent. They may be inadequately staffed. Getting a private nanny is a nice idea, but they don’t come cheap either. Relatives? Do they own a car? Does the bus run at the right times? Do they have jobs of their own they need to work just to keep the lights on? Are they going to stick around until you get off you convenience store shift at 4 AM? Do they have criminal histories that will make them unsuitable as caregivers when CPS pokes around? You gonna pay for that? Who’s going to pay for that?
End rape. I know your type errs on the side of blaming the woman, but I’ve seen little girls who’ve barely gotten their periods pregnant because somebody thought raping preteens was an awesome idea. You want to put a child through that? Or someone with a mental or physical inability for whom pregnancy would be frightening, painful or even life-threatening? I’ve seen nonverbal kids who had their feet sliced up by caregivers for no fucking reason at all, you think sexual abuse doesn’t happen either?
You say there’s lots of couples who want to adopt. Kiddo, what they want to adopt are healthy white babies, preferably untainted by the wombs and genetics of women with alcohol or drug dependencies. I’ve seen the kids they don’t want, who almost no one wants. You people focus only on the happy pink babies, the gigglers, the ones who grow and grow with no trouble. Those are not the kids who linger in foster care. Those are certainly not the older kids and teenagers who age out of foster care and then are thrown out in the streets, usually with an array of medical and mental health issues. Are they too old to count?
And yeah, I’ve seen the babies, little hand-sized things barely clinging to life. There’s no glory, no wonder there. There is no wonder in a pregnant woman with five dollars to her name, so deep in depression you wonder if she’ll be alive in a week. Therapy costs money. Medicine costs money. Food, clothes, electricity cost money. Government assistance is a pittance; poverty drives women and girls into situations where they are forced to rely on people who abuse them to survive. (I’ve been up in more hospitals than I can count.)
In each and every dark pit of desperation, I have never seen a pro-lifer. I ain’t never seen them babysitting, scrubbing floors, bringing over goods, handing mom $50 bucks a month or driving her to the pediatrician. I ain’t never seen them sitting up for hours with an autistic child who screams and rages so his mother can get some sleep while she rests up from working 14-hour days. I don’t see them fixing leaks in rundown houses or playing with a kid while the police prepare to interview her about her sexual abuse. They’re not paying for the funerals of babies and children who died after birth, when they truly do become independent organisms. And the crazy thing is they think they’ve already done their job, because the child was born!
Aphids give birth, girl. It’s no miracle. You want to speak for the weak? Get off your high horse and get your hands dirty helping the poor, the isolated, the ill and mentally ill women and mothers and their children who already breathe the dirty air. You are doing nothing, absolutely nothing, for children. You don’t have a flea’s comprehension of injustice. You are not doing shit for life until you get in there and fight that darkness. Until you understand that abortion is salvation in a world like ours. Does that sound too hard? Do you really think suffering post-birth is more permissible, less worthy of outrage?
“Pro-life” is simply a philosophy in which the only life worth saving is the one that can be saved by punishing a woman.
"—
STFU, Conservatives: When I say I’m pro-life…
This is perfect.
(via mis-anthrop-ologie)
And I mean, I believe in stuff like this.
(via freudianflips)
Well, this made me tear up this morning.
(via tastiejam)
THIS
(via tastiejam)
and I quote…
“Sustainability is the key to any lifestyle. Sure, I could sell my phone and my laptop for the price of a few hamburgers. But, then, the hamburgers would soon be gone, and so would my phone and my laptop. I would have absolutely no phone, so an employer could contact me. And without a laptop, I would only be able to search and apply for work online during the hours that the public library was open. I wasn’t always homeless, of course, and neither were most of the homeless people out there, whether they’re the more visible ones you see in the doorway of a 7-11 begging for spare change or they’re able to blend in a bit better, as I dod. To me, it’s the most basic thing in the world to use your resources wisely when you become homeless. In today’s society, a phone and internet access are no longer “luxury” items. They are practically necessities. These are tools that by themselves aren’t worth enough to get you a deposit on an apartment (and even if they were, they certainly wouldn’t continue to pay the rent for you ad infinitum), but they DO hold out the potential in the long term for getting you a job…As for true “luxury” items, I challenge the notion that the homeless “do not deserve” to own anything that may bring a small amount of happiness and pleasure into their lives, which are generally uncertain and bleak.”
-Brianna Karp, “A Girl’s Guide to Homelessness” (This book is really good, FYI. And I LOVE this!)
Once again, I’m cutting and pasting…
Remember, on Tumblr, you can’t reblog someone’s message box. Darn it.
So, @custerdiedforyoursins always answers people’s questions with these great answers, and I always want to reblog her whole “Q&A” thing, but I can’t. So, I’m cutting and pasting it here for you:
Question:
Why do people react so strongly if people who pass for ‘white’ mention some indigenous heritage? And I don’t mean assholes who use it to justify racism, I mean people who just see it like any other part of their heritage. Part Scottish, part Irish, part Mi’kmaq.
-Anonymous
Answer:
No one is denying that people who are, for all intents and purposes, white can have indigenous heritage. But, unless they are a part of the culture, an actual Native culture -their own tribe’s - not some commodified bullshit they’re buying off the internet or some $500 sweatlodge run by a white dude in AZ or some New Age crap in a book disguised as ancient Indian knowledge - they are not -A- Native American. They are someone with Native heritage, and it’s okay to say that.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t like when you say, for example, that you’re “part Mi’kmaq”, because these are tribes and/or nations. You can’t be part French citizen and part American citizen. It doesn’t work that way. This is a part of the idea that you either are or aren’t -A- Native American. So, to avoid confusion, it’s best to say that you have Mi’kmaq heritage, since that’s the example you chose, instead of saying part Mi’kmaq. This is all just semantics of course, but the way that these things are being discussed on here - it matters and does make a difference.
I hope this is clear. I feel like I’m just rambling.
IF ANYONE WANTS TO ADD SOMETHING, PLEASE DO.
(end of answer)
(ME)
I’m not sure that the semantics matter so much. Generally, if in conversation with someone who has identified themselves as part Native, they will either enthusiastically tell you all about themselves (which gives you a chance to find an excuse to extricate yourself from the conversation and run and hide from the faux-njn) or they will seem a little uncomfortable if you’re clearly a “real” Native and they just casually mentioned they are descended from a Native tribe but don’t know squat about it. That’s your chance to politely see if they want to know how to contact their tribe, or to change the topic. After a while you kind of get a feel for what people want, I think, but maybe I’m rambling, too.
oh god this is adorable and accurate and I kinda want to cry now
But it doesn’t show the nerdy parents…(me me me me me)
(Source: garyvarvel.com, via sugary-oblivion)
Hello there,
I'm just looking through my posts, I do enjoy the commentary and banter that goes on and it's all part of the community. However, I do wish you're not tearing your hair out at a simple fickle post of which I just wanted to express my feelings towards a story I passed me one morning. I do not run a political or culture analyzing blog, I run a fickle and simple fashion blog so please if you're looking for something more I beg you to find it somewhere else rather than judging me with your belittling comments. Thanks a bunch.
wewearblackcouk
I guess I must have struck a nerve! For the record, I’m not “tearing my hair out” over anything. It’s actually very common for people to appropriate our culture; it’s been happening for several hundred years in one way or another, it’s just that since there’s been a “global economy” it’s been widespread knowledge. The problem is that dressing up as Native Americans is wrong. I try not to comment on blogs I see that do this, but I can’t hold back all the time. Now, if you can’t see WHY it’s wrong? Well then, you need to research a few terms: white privilege, racism, cultural appropriation: just to start. I don’t think my comments were belittling so much as they were just angry, and I think I have a right to be angry. Native Americans do not live like those Europeans are pretending to, they didn’t historically and they don’t now. To say they are being “Native” is degrading to us and offensive. YOU are belittling Native Americans. Don’t you see that?
Scary
Just in case you didn’t unfriend me YESTERDAY for my financial rant.
Here are the links:
The article (NPR)
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/139027615/a-national-debt-of-14-trillion-try-211-trillion
and the data to back it up (I did the research, FYI: y’all know I don’t trust people…)
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12253
Sigh..straight off of the Congressional Budget Office’s website itself: CBO’s 2011 Long-Term Budget Outlook: Testimony Before the House Budget Committee from June. SCARY, SCARY stuff. The stuff of nightmares.
You think I’m kidding? I’m NOT. Forget ghosts, vampires, the plague. This stuff will make you lose sleep, especially if you go ahead and then think about the clowns we’ve elected to deal with it, or the people who are stepping up to run against them. Sarah Palin? I DO NOT think so. Alternatively, leave Nancy Pelosi in charge? WTF? She can’t make a complete sentence in front of a camera and I think the constant Botox has gotten to her brain. No, no, no. Ditto Barny Frank and his cronies, they’ve been in office since before I was born and have no idea what REAL America is like. Boot them out. But…replace them with…who? The alternative is grim.
Grim. It’s 15h15 and I’m grabbing a beer. This shit will drive me to drink. WTH, it’s the weekend and I’m not driving anywhere in this heat. I’m going to have a beer, fold some laundry, and ignore the problems of the country for the rest of the day. Just like a politician.
GETTING NATIVE!
So I was reading the METRO this morning and came across this charming little article about Mr & Mrs Jerzyszck from Coventry who were inspired to live a Native lifestyle after they met a bloke down in their local Morrisons by the name of “Grizzly Walking Thunder” ! I don’t even know where to begin with this story, how amazing! Coventry of all places, and then in Morrisons, I would have thought you met that type in a late night Tesco’s. Embracing the Native American lifestyle… in Coventry, the couple now go by the names Running Bear and Small Warrior and go to regular meetings with other members of the community.
Obviously this is more than a case of playing dress up, but wouldn’t it be lovely to meet a person like that with the power to influence you in what you wear, inspire you and wake you up! Wouldn’t it be better if YOU were that person?
Little Warrior and Running Bear are so adorable, and I was thinking about native patterns and textures the other day in my previous post about NEXT’s new accessories range and compiled a group of some lovely native inspired jewellery.
IN THIS POST
1.House of Harlow cuff www.oxygenboutique.com 2.Liz Larios crystal thorn necklace www.maxandchloe.com 3.AK Vintage necklace www.lespommettes.com 4.Zara feather earring www.zara.com 5.Free People native bird earrings www.freepeople.com 6.Shashi Petit earrings www.shopbop.com 7.Low Luv & Erin Wasson cuff www.shopnastygal.com
I wish this person had the decency to realize that this is NOT adorable, but abhorrent and cultural theft. I’d say more, but to be honest? I’m startled enough by the situation that I don’t have the words. I guess I knew that situations like this existed throughout the world, but I didn’t want to think about it.
You REALLY want to “play Native American”? Well, now that you have all the “pretties”, why don’t you try living the REAL way we often do? Come to the U.S. and spend a winter on a Rez. Eat a meal made entirely of commodities: the canned pork is especially aromatic! Wrap plastic bags around your feet to keep those pristine faux moccasins from getting wet, just like REAL njn’s do! We’d LOVE to have you visit!
At the very least, you could have used real Native artists as sources for your jewelry and other items…oh wait, there AREN’T ANY REAL NATIVES IN YOUR COUNTRY. Clue phone?
(via wewearblackcouk)
[…] Why are today’s politicians, journalists and economists so complicit in deliberately misleading the public about the current and future state of U.S. finances? Why do they speak of “cuts” in future federal spending when the CBO routinely projects increases in the range of +30% to +65%? Check those numbers again, dear citizen: they’re positive, not negative. “Baseline budgeting,” which blithely presumes a perpetually-growing government, was first enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1974, in order to side-step White House efforts to “impound” (limit) federal spending; but that doesn’t condone the gimmick – or justify lying to the public. When people hear that Washington will “cut” spending by $2 trillion over the coming decade, they think that’s a lot of money and that outlays might be $2 trillion lower a decade hence – not higher by 50% or more. Even Boehner’s budget plan, like many others, backloads the “cuts” into later years; he’d “cut” outlays by only $23 billion in 2012, equivalent to less than three days of total federal spending at the current spending rate. [Richard Salsman, Forbes, Washington’s Budget “Cuts” Would Boost Spending 50%]
Huh. Sounds to me like EVERY plan that was put forward, and every idea that’s going to be tossed around when those crooks get back from their little break, will be all about the spending. It’s up to us to read between the lines and watch for the truthful articles like this one that let us know what’s going on.
For the record? I was listening to NPR this morning, and I was both a little startled and more than a little pissed off to hear the liberal as hell media bash the liberal as hell politicians and Pres. Obama for this current debacle. WTF, peeps? Have you just not figured out a way to turn it around on the tea party people yet? Because that’s the usual modus operandi, so far as I can tell. Both sides are so far removed from reality that I can’t identify with either of them, and I don’t think I WANT TO. But…hey, NPR? I’d be careful, if I were you; you do realize that they are doing budget CUTS? Bashing the everloving hell out of the very people who are writing the budget that includes YOU might not be super smarty pants right now. I’m just saying.
(Source: primal-libertarian)
Men’s Fancy Dance.
This is one of my favorites. Wait, what am I saying? I could watch dancing all day!
(Source: myhomeisthemat, via nativeskins)
