Feinstein: You’re a big, powerful man. Why didn’t you [gestures pushing motion]?
Crews: Senator, as a black man in America [sigh]…
Feinstein: Say it as it is. I think it’s important.
Crews: …you only have a few shots at success. You only have a few chances to make yourself a viable member of the community. I’m from Flint, Michigan. I have seen many many young black men who were provoked into violence, and they were imprisoned, or they were killed, and they’re not here. My wife for years prepared me. She said, “If you ever get goaded, if you ever get prodded, if you ever have anyone try to push you into any kind of situation, don’t do it. Don’t be violent.” And she trained me. I’ll be honest with you it was the strength of my wife who trained me and told me, “If this situation happens, let’s leave.” And the training worked because I did not go into my first reaction, I grabbed her hand, we left, but the next day I went right to the agency. I have texts, I have phone conversations, and I said, “This is unacceptable!” And I told them how -you know- I almost got violent, but I didn’t. And I said, “What are you going to do about this predator that you have roaming your hallways?” And -you know- I was told, “We are going to do everything in our power. We are going to handle this Terry. You’re right. It is unacceptable.” And then they disappeared. Nothing happened.
It’s important to also note that she asked this question so that he had the chance to explain on record – her second point is that she believes his reason is important and needs stating. No doubt there are a lot of nasty people asking this question in earnest and allowing him to explain himself in his own words is super important for combating that kind of narrative.
Other people are going to have smarter things to say about this, but with Kennedy’s resignation from the SCOTUS, Roe v. Wade will be under attack. I don’t know if that attack will succeed, but it can’t possibly hurt to learn more about how to protect yourself against unplanned pregnancy anyway.
If you are a woman in the USA who can become pregnant, and you don’t want to, then procure reliable birth control while you can, as soon as you can. Almost everyone is aware of the Pill, so here are some alternatives, several of which last longer and are just as reliable (if not more so).
This list will not include birth control methods that rely on the cooperation of a partner and/or the ability to plan ahead for an encounter, such as condoms, diaphragms, the withdrawal method, abstinence, etc. These are contraceptives designed to prevent pregnancy even in the worst circumstances in which consent is lacking–or if, hey, you feel like having sex right now and no condoms are in sight.
Many of these are also useful for women who don’t want their SOs or families to know they’re on birth control and can’t risk the discovery of Pill packs, diaphragms, etc.
All links are courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
“I want a method of birth control that will last for at least three years.”
If you are dead-ass sure of this, check out tubal ligation.
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about how to procure low cost or free access to these methods–I am very fortunate and have access to them through my regular health care provider. However, Planned Parenthood is a great resource, and I encourage anyone who wants to reblog this with accurate, verifiable information about low cost/free access to do so.
No, these methods are not foolproof (save perhaps tubal ligation), but don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. If you can get pregnant and you don’t want to, don’t rely on the Supreme Court to help you out. Men have been itching to get back control of our uteri for years, and here’s their chance. They won’t let it slip if they can possibly find a way.
Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them.
“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”
“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”
It’s just.
50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job.
i also like that this is a “ask craftspeople” thing, it reminds me of when art historians were all “the fuck” about someone’s ear “deformity” in a portrait and couldn’t work out what the symbolism was until someone who’d also worked as a piercer was like “uhm, he’s fucked up a piercing there”. interdisciplinary shit also needs to include non-academic approaches because crafts & trades people know shit ok
How You’d Survive the Zombie Apocalypse – Disability Edition
Because I saw a post that hit my emotional bone with a sledgehammer, and as a writer that wants to do her damndest to to include everyone, here’s how it would work.
For those fucks that say they would just leave people behind.
– You’re blind? Shoot, zombies are loud. You’d hear them a mile away. Added bonus if this is the type of Zombie Apocalypse where everything goes kinda steampunk: give your character a hoover cane that doubles as a weapon. If Ash from The Evil Dead can put a fucking chainsaw on his hand stump, you can put something cool on a cane. Be creative!
-You’re deaf? Have the single electronic hearing aid for miles that can pick up radio frequencies. You hear voices in your head that lead your group to safety, not to mention you could teach others sign language. Great tool for an apocalypse for silence!
– You don’t have certain limbs, or they are perhaps not fully formed or damaged? One less thing for the undead fuckers to bite. If you’ve ever known someone that doesn’t, you *know* that they get around in their own unique ways with or without. Also, see Ash from The Evil Dead example. Give them a chainsaw! Or a turret gun foot, like the Scotsman from Samurai Jack.
That too Not Real? Fine, how about this. Let’s say there’s a disabled character that survived DVT in one of their legs. This damaged the blood flow permentantly to that leg. Now they’re in a wheelchair. But how is the Zombie virus commonly spread? Bites, you get their liquids into your blood and boom, brain eater. What would happen if your blood flow is already compromised and you got bit in the leg by a crawler? It wouldn’t be able to spread. Your disability would save your life.
Not to mention you could trick the hell out of a wheelchair. Give it spikes, a machine gun, you name it.
– Do you have fibro? Are you always in pain? You are an absolute *godsend* when it comes to identifying medications, or knowing natural remedies. You were surviving an internal apocalypse long before the Zombie one came. You’re the toughest fucker in the world by default. Pain and you are old pals. The only difference is now you can physically smash it with a baseball bat.
I sometimes get messages about my fics and see other authors get messages like “oh my god im sorry to bother you but-” or apologizing profusely for sending multiple asks.
I promise you guys. Absolutely 0 writers are bothered by you talking to them about their fics. If you want to know a detail or are confused about something they are almost definitely sitting ready with an answer that they are excited to talk about.
Don’t feel like you HAVE to message writers (tho if you liked a fic a lot leaving comments is great encouragement) but never apologize for asking about fics or talking about them!
Death By Catchphrase 