My favorite mafia boss

This really hit home, and there are many types of families in the world. It would be great if more people could realize that. 

This also means that you don’t need kids or to be married to worship Hera. Just like Aphrodite represents ALL types of love, Hera represents ALL types of families. 

It bothered me that there were no Squibs allowed in Hogwarts. Fine, I can get that Squibs would not be able to do any wand magic, and would not be able to fly a broomstick. They still apparently possess enough innate magic to see the school and other magically hidden locations. Out of the classes at Hogwarts that the kids take, a Squib could take and benefit from the following classes: History of Magic, Astronomy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, MUGGLE STUDIES, Potions (there will be little foolish wand-waving here), Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and partially theoretical classes on Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms.

That’s a long list of classes. And some of them are particularly upsetting to me because there’s stuff like History of Magic being left out- that’s their own history they’re being barred from learning. Since Squibs are often forced into the Muggle world, a Squib would make an ideal Muggle Studies teacher and would no doubt be able to teach a more realistic and informative class than someone going off of biased wizarding texts. Squib kids looking into living in the Muggle world would absolutely benefit from learning Muggle studies, especially if they’re from a mainly pureblood family who doesn’t venture out all too often.

And then there’s the rest of them! Arguably you could have a Squib gifted with prescience, and Divination is supposed to be a very accessible branch of magic. Squibs being excellent at taking care of magical plants and animals and making groundbreaking advancements, Squibs working in tandem with each other to breed different magical herbs for potions, Squib potion masters creating all sorts of amazing concoctions. Squibs working with muggleborns and using logic and science to advance magic theoretically, Squibs being huge pro-muggleborn/pro-muggle advocates, Squibs making star charts and Squibs going into the muggle world to use their healing potions in their jobs as nurses and doctors.

Squibs being so completely shut out of magical education was such a sore point for me in the books, especially viewing the treatment of our only prominent Squib- an angry, bitter, glorified janitor often at the mercy of brats with wands. I’m not justifying or endorsing his abusiveness at all, but this was an awful character to use to explore people without magic in a society that bases your worth on it. A lot of time Rowling seems to validate Wizarding prejudices more than she challenges them. While I really enjoy reading the headcanons about Hogwarts being very accessible to people with disabilities, I can’t bring myself to see that as the case with Squibs being treated as they are. 

Bolding mine. Squibs always read to me like the learning-disabled of the wizarding world and the fact that they were just sort of shoved under a rug is such a perfect metaphor for how students with disabilities are treated in most schools BUT IT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE SHE WAS CRITICIZING THE ACTION and just. So much about Hogwarts gets so gross the more you think about it.

There was a quote from Rowling about how she was conflicted about how to treat people with disabilities in HP when magic cures things, and I felt like screaming SQUIBS ARE DISABLED BASED ON YOUR LAWS OF YOUR UNIVERSE, and how you JK Rowling are treating them is SHITTY.

this is so true omg. from the harry potter wiki:

“Even families that are tolerant of Muggles and Muggle-borns seem to regard Squibs poorly. For example, the Weasley family seems embarrassed to have a Squib who works in the Muggle world as an accountant in the family. Also, many wizarding families are anxious to see early signs of magical ability and are upset by the prospect that a member might be a Squib.”

“The term likely comes from the English expression “a damp squib” (dud firecracker), an expected delight that disappoints.”

this sounds exactly like the shitty narratives written by non disabled parents of disabled children :///////

For all of you who are reblogging this, I highly suggest reading Leigh A. Neithardt’s “’Spinched’: The Problem of Disability in the Harry Potter Series” in Critical Insights: The Harry Potter Series (I can’t find a version of the essay accessible online, sorry). Neithardt goes into a couple of the disability issues in the series, and one of the characters specifically examined is Filch:

Highly unfriendly reminder that Neville Longbottom was subjected to abuse by his uncle until the age of eight in repeated attempts to “surprise” him into doing accidental magic.

At least two instances of this were clearly life-threatening (being dropped off Blackpool Pier and nearly drowning, being dropped head-first out of a window), so the train of thought seems to have been “well if he’s a Wizard he’ll survive and if not…oh well, he was a Squib anyway.”

Note that apparently his grandmother had no problem with this, since she allowed his uncle to keep coming around Neville after the drowning incident, and her primary reaction to Neville being dropped out of a window was tears of joy that he finally displayed some magic.

Recall that in the book (SS chapter 7, original hardback U.S. edition, page 125) Neville’s recounting of this was written as though it was no big deal, and he happily relays how his uncle basically “rewarded” him for surviving this abuse and proving himself magical by buying him his pet toad, Trevor.

I had the same thoughts.

I was pissed by the end of the series. No one was complaining or changing the status quo for the better… either at the world at large or simply the school. Hermione was met with ridicule at trying to help end slavery (it’s not slavery because they want it! ;D ). I thought the houses would be abolished for creating divides within the alumni or that at least the kids could be re-sorted once a year to factor *gasp* people changing their minds.

Kids are interesting. I’m babysitting a 9 year old boy right now who’s homework is to write a fictional story and he wrote about how in millions of years the sun will expand killing everything and one man fell asleep at the beach and missed all the official announcements about the world ending but he managed to be the only survivor of the solar flares because he applied SPF 100 sunscreen.

I used to have geese so here’s a tip for everyone:

If a goose is attacking you, don’t run. No matter what, stand your ground. They can fly but when they’re mad, they don’t usually try to fly. Hold your hands in front of you, ready to grasp. When the goose gets close, grab it by the neck bit closest to the head and squeeze. Not tight enough to choke the goose, but tight enough so they can’t break free. You can hold them until they calm down or just do the next step right away. The next step is literally just to chuck them as far as possible and run for your life. It makes the goose know you’re in charge and you have a better chance of getting away. Trust me I’ve done this so many times that I’ve lost count

I can’t tell if this is a shitpost or actual advice. But I do know geese are the fucking worst.

Actual advice! Just yeet a goose

Yeet the geese

I’ve been reading the replies to this so here’s an update!

Actually, I have picked up a swan by just, slotting in under my arm; once their wings are held in place they just sorta hiss a bit and accept their fate. It’s how wildlife centres and rspca deal with them. They just use swan-bags, I’M NOT kidding, that completely neutralizes them. LOOK AT ALL THESE DEMONIC BULLIES BEING DEFEATED BY BEING CHIHUAHUA-HANDBBAGGED.

In fairness, in MY CASE, this was a juvenile male, but old enough that the dad had evicted it from the lake. He was in my way, hissing and refusing to move; and if you hiss at me, that’s a challenge, baby!

Most birds will accept their date once you have their wings (geese will, in my experience, chill once you have them under an arm too, I pick them up like that). They transport peafowl in sacks like that too:

This post is a journey

bird straitjackets

One of those swans was definitely in an ikea bag

you’re allowed to get up one day and just decide to change who you are. dress differently, speak up more, laugh out loud even though you’ve never liked your laugh, say what you want to, say hey to people you wouldn’t normally, get that confidence going. we don’t have to stay the way people see us out of the fear that they won’t like the us we want to be.

merry christmas to everyone who didn’t get presents today because their family couldn’t afford it and merry christmas to everyone who couldn’t make it home for the holidays and merry christmas to everyone spending it alone i want you all to know that i hope you all have a great great end of the year and i love you all and even if your holidays weren’t how you pictured them i hope you still have a good rest of the holidays and year

#5yrsago App shows you the way to the illegally hidden public beaches of Malibu

Back in May, Mark wrote about a Kickstarter project to fund a mobile app that will help you locate the hidden entrances to Malibu’s public beaches, which the local rich and famous people have done everything they can to obscure (including putting up illegal fake signs that falsely declare passage to be trespassing).

The Kickstarter was fully funded and the app is out, and the public is finding its way to Malibu’s public beaches, which is great news – unless you’re one of those people who’s spent decades treating a public beach as your own private patch. Local residents are pissed:

https://boingboing.net/2013/06/24/app-shows-you-the-way-to-the-i.html

Good.

Some of them even hire private security guards who tell beachgoers that they’re on private property and could be prosecuted. Those security guards have called the local sheriff’s department (and let’s not forget that’s an elected position). They also have told beachgoers that they’re trespassing. But all California beaches are public up to the high tide line, as long as you can find the public access points. These apps help maintain equitable access, as well as a law passed in 2014, stating that perpetrators of access violation can be fined $11,250 per day lmfao

Eat the rich. Go to the beach.

You tell yourself the rich and powerful cant get any less human. And they always manage to be even less human than you thought.

Black Panther (2018) dir. Ryan Coogler

When a villain is completely justified

Part of why I love Black Panther so much is that the villain isn’t a cartoonish “bwa ha ha I shall destroy the planet!” character. He has a thought process you can follow and understand. He’s human.

THIS OKAY

You want to get kids out of foster care and into good, loving homes? I’ve got a simple solution to your problem.

Did you know LGBT couples are more likely to adopt older, children of color and disable children than straight couples? LGBT couples tend to adopt ‘undesired’ children more (basically kids no one else wants.)

This is so important because I remember being in the system and being so scared that I would never be adopted or loved or whatever and seriously just fucking let them, take the fear out of finding a family

Exactly. I reblog this every time I see it. EVERY time.

Can we also normalize adoption more? I know not everyone can afford it/do it, but if you can, please don’t be afraid to make this your first option, not the “back-up“.

Fisheye Placebo by Yuumei

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HEY SO LOTS OF PPL DONT KNOW THIS BUT THE ARTIST WAS SHADOWBANNED FROM INSTAGRAM AFTER POSTING THIS!!!! 

PLEASE SUPPORT THEM!! 

Habits, Tics, Stims, Compulsions, and Behaviors

You are tapping your foot. Someone asks you to stop. You do. You feel no ill effects aside from maybe disappointment at having to stop. You tap your foot often. This is a habit.

You are tapping your foot, whether you want to or not. Someone asks you to stop. You can’t. If you try to it feels like holding in a sneeze and the pressure builds up. It might come out in a different, even less controllable action. This is a tic.

You are tapping your foot. Someone asks you to stop. You do, but immediately feel worse physically or emotionally. It was a way for you to express yourself and how you feel. You may feel pressure. This is a stim.

You are tapping your foot. Someone asks you to stop. You can’t, because if you do something bad will happen, possibly some specific bad thing. You know it’s irrational, but not doing it gives you anxiety. This is a compulsion.

You are tapping your foot. Someone asks you to stop. You can’t, because if you do this specific bad thing will happen. It is not irrational to you, although it is to others. This is an erratic/disorganized behavior.

i love this girl KEJSKDJSK

Booster Gold #12

Hot damn Alfred

So this implies that if Batman dies, Alfred Pennyworth is going to shoot every supervillain in Gotham twice

Part of his background was being a spy, so he will likely nail each of them when they least expect it.  

Plot twist: Batman is the one holding Alfred back

Hot take: Batman can survive in Gotham on a no-killing principle through repeated fights with villains who have no such scruples because they all know that if they kill the Batman his butler is going to assassinate every last one of them with a shotgun.

I want to write this.

I’d read it

For 37 years it’s been up there on the flat roof of Mark Gubin’s building in the flight path of Mitchell International Airport. A sign painted in letters 6 feet tall tells people arriving here by air: “WELCOME TO CLEVELAND.”

“There’s not a real purpose for having this here except madness, which I tend to be pretty good at,” Gubin said

Above that the roof, he was having lunch one day in 1978 with a woman who worked as his assistant. Taking note of all the low-flying planes, she said it would be nice to make a sign welcoming everyone to Milwaukee. “You know what would even be better?” Gubin said.

The next thing you know, he’s out there on the black roof with a roller and white paint creating the sign that would bring more notoriety than anything else in his long career. A story about his confusing message ran in thousands of newspapers and magazines, on national TV news, “The Tonight Show,” Paul Harvey, all over.

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My hero

“In 1984, when Ruth Coker Burks was 25 and a young mother living in Arkansas, she would often visit a hospital to care for a friend with cancer.

During one visit, Ruth noticed the nurses would draw straws, afraid to go into one room, its door sealed by a big red bag. She asked why and the nurses told her the patient had AIDS.

On a repeat visit, and seeing the big red bag on the door, Ruth decided to disregard the warnings and sneaked into the room.

In the bed was a skeletal young man, who told Ruth he wanted to see his mother before he died. She left the room and told the nurses, who said, "Honey, his mother’s not coming. He’s been here six weeks. Nobody’s coming!”

Ruth called his mother anyway, who refused to come visit her son, who she described as a "sinner" and already dead to her, and that she wouldn't even claim his body when he died.

“I went back in his room and when I walked in, he said, "Oh, momma. I knew you’d come", and then he lifted his hand. And what was I going to do? So I took his hand. I said, "I’m here, honey. I’m here”, Ruth later recounted.

Ruth pulled a chair to his bedside, talked to him

and held his hand until he died 13 hours later.

After finally finding a funeral home that would his body, and paying for the cremation out of her own savings, Ruth buried his ashes on her family's large plot.

After this first encounter, Ruth cared for other patients. She would take them to appointments, obtain medications, apply for assistance, and even kept supplies of AIDS medications on hand, as some pharmacies would not carry them.

Ruth’s work soon became well known in the city and she received financial assistance from gay bars, "They would twirl up a drag show on Saturday night and here'd come the money. That's how we'd buy medicine, that's how we'd pay rent. If it hadn't been for the drag queens, I don't know what we would have done", Ruth said.

Over the next 30 years, Ruth cared for over 1,000 people and buried more than 40 on her family's plot most of whom were gay men whose families would not claim their ashes.

For this, Ruth has been nicknamed the 'Cemetery Angel'.”— by Ra-Ey Saley

She’s 60 now, she’s still doing activist and advocacy work, and working on a memoir.