livebloggingmydescentintomadness:
What Does America’s Coronavirus Response Look Like Abroad? | NYT Opinion
i know it’s very easy to make fun of americans and call us stupid for how we’re handling the pandemic, but please understand, as the people in this video now do, that tens of millions of us are terrified, desperate, suffering, and dying. and please understand that this is not something we are doing to ourselves, but that it is being done to us by the cruel fascists in power.
it has recently come out that trump’s son-in-law, entrusted with the pandemic response, decided that it would not be “politically advantageous” to offer aid to “blue” cities and states - that is, areas that vote for trump’s political opponents. they chose, on purpose, to let tens of thousands of their citizens die without lifting a finger to help them, because it would benefit them politically for democratic voters to die.
now, they’re trying to send the nation’s children back to school while the pandemic rages worse than ever, producing falsified data about how it’s “safe”, all so parents can go back to work and they can stop giving them financial aid, and so that things seem more “normal” before the presidential election in november. thousands of children will die, teachers will die, families will die, and all they are doing is threatening to withhold money from the schools if they don’t reopen.
our government is using this pandemic to commit genocide against us by allowing it to sweep through the most vulnerable. our government is allowing the hold on evictions to expire while also letting unemployment money run out, and we’re on the verge of 40+ million people being evicted from their homes and put on the street with nothing.
what is happening in america right now is horrific, and there’s absolutely nothing we can do except try our hardest to vote him out in three months. who knows how many more of us will die by then, how many of them will be children. who knows if he will allow himself to be voted out or if he will upend the whole system and use the military to protect his power. a few days ago trump suggested “delaying” the election because he knows that he’s losing, so we have no idea what he’s going to do if and when he actually does lose. i for one have no doubt that he will try and take us all down with him.
so please put a hold on “stupid american” jokes for a little while, despite all the terrible things our country has done in the past. the people who are suffering right now are not the ones who deserve it.
i have to say, it’s nice to see the sympathy
Tips That Can Save Your Kid’s Life.
THIS IS IMPORTANT
When I was a child, from the time I was about four and could understand things, my mom told me and my brother that we should have a secret word. That way, if we were ever in trouble or felt unsafe and we didn’t want the people around us to know we needed her to come get us, we could let her know. So she let us pick the word and my brother and I chose the phrase “peanut butter cups.” (I’m happy to share the phrase now since both my brother and I are adults now).
I used the phrase twice in my life. Once, I was at a friends house when I eight years old. Her dad got really drunk and was throwing things against the wall. I was really scared and I didn’t want to draw attention to myself on the phone when I called my mom to come get me because I didn’t know if he would get more violent if I asked her to come get me. So I called her and was calm and after a couple minutes I asked “Hey mommy, did you get me those peanut butter cups from the store?” And she said “I’ll be right there.” And she came and got me within minutes.
Second, I was a teenager spending the night at a friends house. Her brother and dad were drinking and they started talking about things that made me uncomfortable - ie: what they liked to do to women. My friend didn’t seem perturbed and said that was normal for them and that I shouldn’t worry. But I was worried because they were really drunk and I was 15 and the only ‘woman’ around that wasn’t related to them. I went in my friends room, told her I needed to call my mom and say goodnight. Before I hung up with her I asked “Next time we go to the store, can we get some peanut butters cups? I’ve been craving them.” And she came and got me, just like that.
Two incidents, one as a young child, one years later as a teen. Don’t discredit this stuff, it fucking works. My brother used it a few times too. Let your child pick the word and no never, ever, ever, ever get mad at them for using it no matter what it is.
DO NOT SCROLL PAST THAT.
Off topic, but very important! I was taught to yell “this is not my mom/dad.” A young kid freaking out in public is likely to be ignored out of embarrassment, but a kid telling you right out that they don’t know who is messing with them? That will turn heads.
Reblog this.💯🗣💋
rEBlOg nOw
I feel like this should be said too if you see a child yelling things like “this isn’t my mum, or I don’t know you” or something don’t ignore them! This system relies on people actually helping the child! It dosent matter how rude you’ll seem or how anxious you are you could be saving a child’s life!
Even if you just ask the child “Do you know this person” if the adult butt’s in make sure to ASK THE CHILD! Even a shy kid will tell you they don’t know this person or just met them or something!
DON’T IGNORE THE SIGNS!
The olm or proteus (Proteus anguinus) is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic; it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through the extensive limestone bedrock of the karst of Central and Southeastern Europe.
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Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy (via philosophybits) |
