u kno how when u were a kid u could ride in the car and be totally unaware of anything goin on around the car and just be chill
but then u took driver’s ed and u started learning all the rules and now even if ur just in the passenger seat u can’t help noticing all the shitty things ppl do on the road?
that’s what social justice is like
… that’s actually a really good analogy
well done
Blog
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The case for starting sex education in kindergarten
The case for starting sex education in kindergarten
THIS. THIS is what we need, America. THIS.
Seven year olds can properly name the genitilia that they have, as well as the genitles others have.
Eleven year olds know that girls can like girls and boys can like boys and that its even okay to like neither, or both, or multiple.
Thirteen year olds know what a condom is and how to say no when someone wants to kiss but you don’t.
This is AMAZING. I want THIS! I would LOVE to have this education and openess in my life.
Telling a group of teenagers to wait until they’re married is:
a) not going to do /shit/, did you really think they were going to listen to you
and
b) none of your FUCKING business, I’m gonna have a post coming up about this so stay tuned.
This is what sexual education is about. This is what it needs to consist of. This is what I wish I had learned.
Take note, America, because you’re doing a really shitty job.
(W)
Not to mention that this method has been proven to reduce the amount of childhood sexual abuse that occurs. By teaching children what consent means, that no one has the right to touch you without permission, children are more likely to report sexual abuse and to recognize it.
^^^^^^^
!!!!!!!!!!!You had me at “proven to reduce the amount of childhood sexual abuse that occurs.”
I grew up basically like this. Now my mom gets coworkers asking her how she managed to have such a good relationship with me and why I didn’t do risky shit in highschool and how they can have ‘the talk’ with their teens and she’s has to tell them she thinks they’re at least ten years too late.
Kids ask questions.
Answer them truthfully.
The questions will mature as the kid does.
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An Interactive Guide to Ambiguous Grammar
This McSweeney’s article is so well-constructed and gradual that excerpting a single part won’t do it justice, but I would highly endorse reading it to the end.
Oh man. Oh man. Ice. Cold. Perfect gut punch ending.
I did not see that coming at all.
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OMG this is beautiful
This is amazing.
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Captain America On A Not So Stereotypical Mission
“We are far from an intolerant nation but deep seated stereotypes are pervasive in our lives. I have the dubious honor of being a continuous target of hate from young and old, men and women, white, black and Hispanic. As a turbaned and bearded American people from all walks of life feel compelled to exercise their ignorance, insecurity, bigotry in my presence.
Over two years ago I decided to reach out into the world of comic superheroes for a helping hand. I was preparing to showcase my cartoon work at the New York City comic con. The first Captain America movie provided the perfect candidate in my mind for this endeavor. A turbaned and bearded Captain on a poster with the slogan
“Just relax! Its called a turban. Inside is my long unshorn waist length hair. Now lets kick some intolerant ass,”
served as a banner for over three days. It was enough to break the ice and get people to engage with me and my art…”
Vishavjit Singh website / twitter / Prints availables at redbubble
Fiona Aboud website
[ Follow SuperheroesInColor on facebook / twitter / tumblr ]
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“Why don’t you guys just get the fuck over it ” – Becky voice .
“Why are you resisting ? Be peaceful .”
Don’t ever let this post die .
*Good history Twitter pg to follow *
When folks ask why I hate the British….
What?! Omg I didn’t know
Just remember that this man is praised as a hero in England and in most history textbooks. This is what we mean when we say that we are only being taught one side of history
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Not legitimate problems with GMOs:
- They’re “frankenfood” or “dangerous” or “playing God.”
Legitimate problems with GMOs:
- Artificially sterile seeds which force farmers to buy new seeds from with every crop from corporations which have a monopoly on said seeds. Especially harmful for smallholdings farms.
- Like pesticides, pest-resistant GMOs become less effective at deterring pests over time due to natural selection.
licensing seeds which are then given away as a trial, then requiring farmers to either purchase the license again or destroy their entire crops. This is what at least one GMO corporation did in the wake of Haiti’s natural disaster.
We need to reframe the issue. Pretty much every “legitimate problem with GMOs” that one can think of is a problem with the corporations that create them and the cultural and legal environment those companies operate in. Patented gene sequences, artificially sterile seeds, GMO crops that take over other strains…those are all problems with the corporations that create them and the idea that doing those things is acceptable, not a problem with the GMOs themselves. We need to stop looking at this as a “GMO problem” and start looking at is as a systemic problem.
^^^^^
YES.
And I can’t even open this subject of discussion with most of my usual activist local friends, because they’re all stuck on the “GMO’s will KILL YOU” crap.
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African HeroRats detect landmines.
Using positive reinforcement behavior that is respectful of the animals, African pouched rats are taught to identify the explosives, receiving treats for their efforts. After months of training, the rats are set a test and accredited as HeroRats if they pass.
The pouched rats are perfect for the job; intelligent with a keen sense of smell, they are small enough not to trigger mines and large enough to be easily identifiable in the field. No rat has been killed in a minefield.
Banana for scaleThe rats can clear two hundred square meters in just 20 minutes. It would take humans with metal detectors five days to cover the same area.
The rats live for up to eight years, but retire after six and live out their twilight years eating avocados, apples and bananas, and being regularly patted by their handlers.
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Ben Carson’s ideas about things like the pyramids, combined with what he has said about other more immediate topics, suggest not only that his beliefs are impervious to evidence but also an alarming lack of what we might call epistemological modesty. It isn’t what he doesn’t know that’s the problem, it’s what he doesn’t realize that he doesn’t know. He thinks that all the archeologists who have examined the pyramids just don’t know what they’re talking about, because Joseph had to put all that grain somewhere. He thinks that after reading something about the second law of thermodynamics, he knows more about the solar system than the world’s physicists do. He thinks that after hearing a Glenn Beck rant about the evils of Islam, he knows as much about a 1,400-year-old religion as any theologian and can confidently say why no Muslim who doesn’t renounce his faith could be president.
So what happens when President Carson gets what he thinks is a great idea, and a bunch of “experts” tell him it would actually be a disaster? What’s he going to do?
Ben Carson has weird ideas and makes stuff up. What kind of president would he be? (via songscloset)
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8 Things the Statistics Actually Say About Trans Suicide
Author’s note 1: If you are thinking about hurting yourself or ending your life, please reach out and get help. We want you to stay alive. National Suicide Hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255; National Crisis Textline: Text “GO” to 741-741; Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860; Trevor Helpline for LGBT Youth: 1-866-7386.
Author’s note 2: As this is getting shared, many people have been asking questions about how to interpret the findings I describe. For example, “Does this mean that this causes that?” I penned a post briefly explaining some concepts, like correlations and risk, which should help if, like most folks, you’ve never had the pleasure of a course on statistics or research methods.
I have seen a growing number of people citing statistics about increased suicide risk as evidence that therapists/psychologists/counselors/society should not support trans people’s identities and transitions. Gina Loudon told Fox News that those who supported trans people’s right to transition were “science deniers,” claiming that research has found that trans people’s suicide risk increases 20-fold when they transition (spoiler: that statistic is inaccurate). Michael Cook recently penned a blog post titled “What do the statistics say about transgender mental health?”, in which he concluded that the idea that trans people’s psychological stress will be relieved through transitioning is pure deception that runs counter to the evidence. Heath Lambert, professor of biblical counseling who counsels trans people to avoid transition, defends his position by stating that trans people who have transitioned still have higher rates than the general population.
I’ll be clear: Trans people do have increased suicide risk. Across all demographics, if a person is transgender they are more likely to seriously consider and attempt suicide.1The research, however, just flat out does not support the above views that this increased risk is due to some instability associated with undergoing a gender transition. I propose we take a thorough look at the statistics and the science on trans suicide, so we can get a grasp on what we do know about trans people’s suicide risk. Below are 8 consistent findings from the literature on trans suicide.