The Valley of Dry Bones

t. also becoming the joker

(For people who are genuinely triggered by it: Blacklist the word. Just add the word “queer” to your filter list. Learn to recognize and avoid your PTSD triggers until you can handle that reaction in therapy. I sympathize, I’ve been there, the bigots during my youth used “gay” really hatefully and violently, I get it. May I recommend EMDR.)

Whereas for the people who honestly admit “I just don’t want to be grouped in with THEM” it’s like, thank you for not leaving me in suspense. Farewell forever, or at least until you’ve learned that no amount of “normalcy” will make the bigots actually stop hating you. “Gay” is also a slur to them. I hope this lesson isn’t too painful to learn.

“Queer is a slur” is quitter talk. It says you think some people ARE freaks who SHOULDN’T be defended. It means you want to keep “queer” as a social category of people it’s okay to despise. And that means I want nothing to do with you.

“Recently, a friend of mine told me that she felt guilty that she hadn’t accomplished more during the last year of the pandemic. Now, I’ve heard that a few times. And I have a feeling we’re gonna be hearing that more and more.”

Her name is Sasha Johnson.

She's not dead yet, but it's unlikely she will survive as she was shot in the head.

She has been heavily involved in organising protests over the last year as well as making speeches, and has been receiving death threats for it which the Met hasn't done anything about.

“Yep, Still Does Nothing To Me” Kill Elon Musk with a poison laced marijuana joint

Amazon Grace Snipe Jeff Bezos from the church tower

Actually, Tesla Was The Doctor Steer Elon Musk’s self-driving Tesla to run him over

Prime Delivery Kill Jeff Bezos by dropping a grenade through the chimney into his room

I Like This Color Way Better Cause Elon Musk’s gory death by removing the forklift safety guidelines

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Throw Jeff Bezos into his 10,000 Year Clock

Alexa, Kill This Clown Electrocute Jeff Bezos with his own Amazon Alexa

Just Like His Kars Launch Elon Musk into space

Spac-Ex Actually, let Grimes launch Elon Musk into space

Wage Against The Machine Let Jeff Bezos be trampled to death by the angered mob

This is how Martin Sheen puts on a jacket, and he does it that way because of an injury done to his arm when he was born. His left arm was crushed by forceps as they were removing him from the birth canal, which made that arm shorter than the other and also limited his overall movement. So, he puts on a jacket like this--because he has to. He just doesn’t have the movement and flexibility necessary to slip his arm into the sleeves another way. 

But, on the show...he just did it, and did it with such panache and confidence that no one dared even question it. He played President Bartlet on TV for, like, 6 years, and so for 6 years that was just how Fictional President of the United States put his jacket on. And, yeah, it was a bit odd maybe, people definitely noticed, but mostly all anyone actually thought about it was “Damn, that looks cool and badass as fuck.” 

It became a signature for the character, not in any kind of negative or “that’s weird” way, but just, like...something unique and special that people recognized and had really positive associations with. You’d see that jacket flip and it would trigger this little bright smiley “Fuck yeah, you go get’em!” feeling inside. 

There’s even this bit, in one of the show’s most acclaimed episodes, that includes flashbacks to when the character is much younger, and they had the younger actor do this move when he puts on a jacket (which he had to learn how to do of course) and then used it as a transition cut to the present day character finishing the motion--a way of linking them together, making them feel more like one person with one continuing story to the audience. And like, I remember, seeing it when it first aired, and fuck, I got chills, it was just such great moment! They were literally using this little detail, that was entirely due to the actor adapting to his disability, as a way to ground their flashback sequences with the present storyline and make those scenes feel more real and present to the audience and it worked. Because nobody working on the show saw Sheen’s funky jacket move as problem, they actually found a way for it to actively make the story better. 

Anyway, Federal Child Labor Laws: (apply to ALL states)

--Children under 14 (13 for agricultural labor) can only be employed by their own parents/guardians

--14-15 year olds are limited to 3 hours per day, 18 hours per week during the school year (up to 8 hours on weekends/holidays), and 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week when school is not in session.

--They are also limited to working 7am-7pm (or 9pm during the summer), and only outside of school hours

--Only a specific list of jobs are permitted for children of this age (relevant to this, they are allowed to reheat food, wash dishes and equipment, and do some limited cooking/food prep such as washing vegetables). Any work outside this list is prohibited.

--There is also a broad list of jobs/duties they are prohibited from (including any work with ladders, or work with powered meat slicers or several types of powered baking equipment)

--Oh, hey, this is interesting! The federal minimum wage for employees under the age of 20 is $4.25 for the first 90 days they hold a job. I wonder how many days fall between the end of the school year and the start of the next. Oh? Just about 90? What an odd coincidence, that this company would be looking to hire children just before the time of year when they can work (a) later hours (b) more hours per week and (c) likely to need to stop before they get shifted to the full minimum wage.

(An entirely different set of rules apply to agricultural work, and for working directly for one's parents or family. There are also some jobs allowed to children under 14. I'm not going into those.)

Now, I'm not opposed to 14 and 15 year olds working appropriate jobs. I babysat at that age, other kids mowed lawns, raked leaves, life guarded at pools, etc.

But there is something a little predatory about this sign, particularly going up now.

And as people have pointed out, kids that age don't know their rights. They don't know the laws. And even if they do, they don't know that the laws are there to *protect* them. I've known plenty of teenagers who think they boss is *doing them a favor* by allowing them to work outside their limited hours, or continue working while clocked out for their lunch break. When I worked as a waitress, my manager suggested this as a way to earn extra tips. Heck, I was almost THIRTY, and you wouldn't believe how many little ways they tried to wriggle around the rules to get a little more work out of me. (Unless you've worked this kind of job, then you'd absolutely believe it.)

Another thing--these jobs are *exhausting.* I've worked manual labor, I've worked in schools, retail, all kinds of jobs, but nothing made me end the day, back throbbing, fling-myself-into-bed tired like working in a restaurant. I don't know what it is, maybe the hectic pace of the busy hours, maybe the way you're expected to be busy every second of your time there, maybe it's the fact that I spent most of each day walking as fast as I could from one end of the building to the other. I don't know. But I wouldn't wish that on any 14-year-old.

So, anyway, I'm looking at this little flyer, and I'm concerned. Not because I don't think a 14-year-old should ever work. But because I'm trying to think why a BK would put out a sign SPECIFICALLY asking for the youngest age they can employ, with NO details suggesting this is a special youth-support or training program, only A FEW WEEKS before summer vacation, and targeted to their PARENTS who, let's face it, are probably eager to get some time away from the kids after the last year.

For LGBTQ+ milennials, our pride is couched in painful memories of a culture repulsed and frightened by queerness. That makes us skittish. It makes us loud. It makes us fear that all this progress, all this tolerance [...] can vanish as quickly as it all appeared.

Wh D Do you know how we get wool?

BY THE WAY, HERE’S THE SUMMARY FROM WIKIPEDIA PAGE ON PASHMINA:

“Goats used for pashmina shed their winter coat every spring. One goat sheds approximately 80–170 gram (3–6 ounces) of the fibre. See also cashmere wool.

In the spring (the moulting season), the goats naturally shed their undercoat, which regrows in winter. This undercoat is collected by combing the goat, not by shearing, as in other fine wools.”

IT’S NOT EVEN SHEARING WHICH CAN MAYBE NICK THE SKIN BY ACCIDENT

IT’S COMBED OUT

It’s as cruel as brushing your cat for loose hair

Like… dude… why are you replacing an actual cruelty-free organic material with something will SHED MICROPLASTICS

You are using polyester (crude oil) and a highly-polluting plant-based material I just