“Words Have The Power To Change The World, And That Realization Inspires Me Everyday.” ~Amanda Gorman

the moon is a lesbian and she hates terfs

Small Steps #3: Tea Edition

Here’s a few extra tips for your morning routine, if you’re a tea-drinking environmentalist like me:

Use a ceramic mug rather than a paper or styrofoam cup.

Rinse and reuse mugs, rather than sending them right to the dishwasher

Try to use tea bags that aren’t attached to string and paper. A little less material going into the trash.

Compost tea bags after use (not the string and paper - cut those off). Ripping the bag helps the decomposition process.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the smallest habits build a greater impact than we think. If we keep at them day after day, it adds up, the same way a short drive to the supermarket contributes to the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.

Some people look down on the environmentally friendly actions we can take, especially when they appear too small to matter. “You just want to feel like you’re doing something” - but I am. We tend to discredit small acts of conservation, because they don’t seem to make a dent. But such an assumption is dangerously arrogant. Each of us can do something, and we must.

Okay non-European tumblr, I’m gonna explain to you why ‘white’ isn’t as simple here as it is in the rest of the world

- Shades of white in Europe range from ‘freshly fallen snow’ to ‘I am frequently mistaken as being from the Middle East’

- White European is a thing. When you fill out a form, under ethnicity, there are several options for white; white British, white European, white other. Because people make that distinction

- There are Europeans who don’t class their ethnicity as their skin colour, but as their nationality. I have family who don’t think of themselves as white, they just think of themselves as Italian and don’t really give much thought to their skin colour

- People here in Britain always question if darker skinned white Europeans are ‘actually white’. I get it a lot myself. My response is always ‘well I’m not anything else, so obviously I must be’

- Despite being white, a lot of Europeans from Italy, Greece, Spain etc, don’t feel white in the traditional sense. We’re not white like white British people. We’re not white like white Americans. We’re our own white. White British is one thing. White Italian is another thing. White Greek is another, etc

- Which is why we have this notion here in Europe of ‘nationality over race’. Being white isn’t as important as where you’re from

- So this really only becomes an issue if you’re an immigrant

- So being white in Europe doesn’t save you from racial discrimination, because sure, you’re technically white, but you’re not white white. Not the right white

- Here in England, Europeans with really blatantly foreign names, such as myself, find it more difficult to get job interviews, because they take one look at our name and don’t bother reading the rest of the CV. A guy I know was actually told by his boss to reduce the pile of CVs he had by ‘chucking away any with a name you can’t fucking pronounce’

- And then even when you do get an interview, half the time you walk into the joint several shades darker than everyone else and feel like you’ve walked into the ‘Swedish supermodel’ clubhouse and you just know you’re not getting hired

This is all basic stuff and it’s very much taken for granted here. Race and ethnicity are not as clear cut, so it can be very confusing for non-Europeans to wrap their heads around. Which is fine. But I implore you to stay in your lane, because when you say things like ‘no white person anywhere in the world ever knows what it’s like to face racial discrimination’, it’s really fucking offensive to all of the European immigrants who are denied jobs, harassed by the police and beaten by racists, because foreign is foreign to these people, and they don’t give a shit if you’re technically white. So when you mean white American, say white American. 

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but don’t be racist during the COVID-19 scare.

My mom’s friend was out shopping when a (very not asian) woman came up and started berating her for not wearing a mask. Asian businesses in my area are suffering. Some people are refusing to interact with anyone who looks Asian.

Asian-Americans have been through racism already. We’re fucking sick of it. We’re not flea-infested rats; we are actual people who most likely have never been to China.

And if you’re not Asian and see someone being racist and giving a poor schmuck a hard time for having squinty eyes and dark hair, tell them to knock it off and they’re being a butt.

NON ASIANS PLEASE REBLOG

In the past few weeks, turning on the news every day is another sensation of “Yep. Been there, done that. What else is new?” 

I’m talking about sexual assault. All the recent publicity and endless accusations from women - what do you think we’ve been putting up with since the beginning of time? I’m grateful for the actual acknowledgement - it’s about time women were heard, and our society started working toward a safer future. But I can’t help feeling bitter that it’s taken this long. No matter where she was, what she did, or what she looked like, every woman from every time period has had to fear the kind of behavior. Maybe there was less risk than in other places, but across centuries and miles and nations, it has been a collective fear. It isn’t our fault, our actions, our clothes, it’s because we live in a society where women have less of a worth. In a society that has made us have less of a worth.  

I often wonder what actually goes through the mind of the man assaulting or raping a woman. We say we don’t want it, we tell you no, but still you keep coming. It’s frightening. It’s disturbing. The behavior being broadcasted recently makes us feel unsafe and confused. Why would you do something to someone, when your actions are clearly having a negative impact on the person? Why is it so difficult to grasp the basic human indecency it takes to not heed other’s reactions, and therefore the severity of this problem? You wouldn’t hit a little kid when he clearly didn’t welcome the action. But you would do something much more intimate with a woman? 

And that’s just the thing: “with a woman.” Sexual assault and rape everywhere should be a no-no. It shouldn’t just be about women and our rights - but it is, and that makes the battle that much harder, hence my statement from earlier. Women and girls everywhere are told to change their behavior - their own, not that of their attacker! - to avoid being violated in such a way. We are taught that it is our fault - not that of a world where the wrong lessons are taught to children. Such societal messages are exactly why there are ignorant, arrogant men in power, and why they make the mistakes women are blamed for. A cycle that must be broken.   

We can blame men all we want - and some definitely deserve it. But what the most recent accusations show, the “newest” revelation is that our society is to blame. Women have less of a say, but men are also held to such low expectations. We must work together - men and women, assaulted and accused - to raise the next generation so that they’ll make the world safer and more equal for all. Let’s teach them to do better than we have.

[src]

Small Steps #2: Hygiene Edition

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

Use a washcloth for washing your face, rather than running the faucet.

In the shower, turn the water off while you wash yourself. Lather, then rinse at the end - more water saved in a shorter amount of bath time.

Rinse, lather, rinse, and you’re done. Little habits aren’t so hard to break, or make; just keep these details in your head, and you’ll remember more and more often when the time comes. That bit of extra effort will be good for your water bill and the environment. The effect of your actions isn’t as small as you think, so let’s make sure it’s a good one.

Happy International Women’s Day! Every March 8, the world celebrates the social, economic, and political achievements of women everywhere. For centuries, women around the world have become heroines of all shapes and sizes, reshaping their communities and achieving their goals. For over a hundred years, international communities have recognized this day as a time to honor their accomplishments and fight for gender equality. Today is the day to fight for women’s rights, to global equity, education, and dignity. So what history will you make, on March 8, 2018?

Hongjoong for July's Cosmopolitan Korea Everybody say: thank you Mr. Olivier Rousteing

From the mouth of a One Percenter -

Abigail Disney