Darkmere

Here are some reputable groups that are helping

Doctors Without Borders

ActionAid

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

Save The Children

I can think of so many beloved mutuals who had to leave this site for their mental health because they just couldn't take it anymore.

OP and the folks in the comments -- I have to say I am honored that people still remember and hold #BlackoutDay dear to their hearts a whole ten years later. It makes me happy that those days are remembered fondly. When a dear friend of mine told me this post was going around, I figured I should pop back on and say a bit of my piece.

You're right. This site deserves every bit of criticism it gets for how it centers and upholds whiteness.

For years, I tried to be strong and tried to be polite as I got bombarded from every side -- slurs and threats of doxxing from racists, misdirected anger from Black bloggers who felt hurt they never went viral, snide remarks from people on Black Twitter who felt ownership over #BlackoutDay because apparently Black Twitter was the only subculture with any impact online, doxxing from misogynistic YouTubers like Tommy Sotomayer, whining fandoms, staff and Tumblr as a brand featuring us and then leaving us to the wolves whenever we got harrassed, and tbh, a co-creator of mine who almost always needed reminding to treat the younger women around him (including me) with respect. Between all that and people calling me selfish for wanting to be cited and credited correctly, I gave up.

I was only 20 when #BlackoutDay started, and when it all became too much, I decided to put myself first and give up on organizing it all together. I left Tumblr and don't usually talk about #BlackoutDay anymore because for the incredible impact I made across the internet, I only earned suffering. To this day, the mention of it really breaks my heart because I saw so much potential for us that I literally changed my career to pursue that dream, and racism, fatphobia, and anti-Blackness shattered it to bits.

I'm doing okay these days, using the skills I crafted here as a young person to organize IRL, but have all but stopped mentioning my involvement in #BlackoutDay simply because remembering how that was the start of people treating me like garbage on Tumblr, a site I was giving my heart to and working on changing for free, still gives me chills in the worst way. The staff at the time knew how I was being hurt and did nothing, my mutuals were breaking their fingers trying to defend me, and it was too much.

I hope you all who still actively use Tumblr know that despite everything, you still have the power to change the culture of this site. Given all the things we are currently witnessing (Free Palestine, the Congo, Sudan, until we are all free), you can make little changes and stand for what is honest and true, and you don't need special days to do it.

Making every poor person dance for the internet in order to get their snazzy twitter begging flyer traction will only set people up for long term failure.

Imagine: I’m a young person down on her luck so I beg on twitter with my real name and face along with every personal detail, I get my coin, I am actually able to put myself through schooling but now whenever an employer googles me they can find this incredibly personal information about me!

You can also consider giving to an Umbrella Nonprofit. These groups distribute funds to much smaller orgs that may have trouble reaching a large audience on their own. The most well-known of these is The United Way which has over 1,000 individual charities it distributes funds too. You can often designate your donations this way - either to be distributed to charities all who serve a cause, or to specific charities only.

Reporter: Anas Al-Sharif

Reporter: Mohammed Qreiqah

Cameraman: Ibrahim Zaher

Cameraman: Mo’men Alwiyeh

Andrea Velez, a US citizen, was arrested in the time it took her mother to drive less than a block. She was on her way to work. She’s Latina. It appears that was enough. Tuesday morning, Andrea Velez’s mom and sister dropped her off near her workplace. She’s a production coordinator at Top Pick Global. Andrea graduated with a degree in fashion from Cal Poly Pomona. Near Andrea’s work, an ICE raid was taking place. In fact, someone had called the LAPD to say a “kidnapping” was taking place. The LAPD showed up, saw it was an immigration raid — LAPD is not permitted to assist ICE in immigration raids — and immediately switched to crowd control, making sure people weren’t in the street and so on. As Andrea walked toward her place of employment, she says she looked up and saw an ICE agent barreling toward her. In the flash of thoughts that went through her mind, she thought maybe she was being targeted for the color of her skin, that maybe he thought she was not a US citizen. She instinctively held up her bag and the agent bowled into her. Her mother — they hadn’t even made it a block away yet — looked in the rear view mirror and saw the plainclothes ICE agents standing over her daughter and putting her in cuffs. “They’re kidnapping your sister,” she said. Andrea tried to get the LAPD to help, and so did her mother and sister. According to her mother and other witnesses, no one ever asked Andrea for ID or asked about her status. The police didn’t help, even when Andrea’s mother was screaming she was a US citizen. In fact, according to some witnesses, they moved to stand around Andrea to make it more difficult to film what was happening. For the first 24 hours, her family couldn’t find Andrea. They didn’t know where she had been taken or what was happening. They hired lawyers who managed to find her, but no one would tell them what she was being charged with, only that she would likely face federal charges. DHS publicly said she would be charged with “assaulting an officer.” When they got to court yesterday, ICE lawyers downgraded that to “obstructing” an officer. An ICE officer claimed that Andrea purposely stepped in his way and raised both of her arms to stop him from going after someone he was trying to arrest. Witnesses tell the story the way Andrea does: an ICE agent approached her, knocked her down, then arrested her without asking any questions about her status or identity. Andrea, her lawyer, her mother and sister all have the same theory: during an ICE raid an ICE agent saw a Latina and scooped her up because of the color of her skin, and had to invent another reason once it was discovered she was a US citizen, born and raised in Los Angeles. Andrea was released on a 5k bond yesterday.

Immigration officers have recently taken to arresting Latino and Hispanic US citizens on raids and claiming obstruction or assault, only to release them a few days later, sometimes without charges. On June 12th, for instance, Brian Gavidia walked outside his work and saw immigration officers. He told them he was a US citizen and showed them his Real ID. They pushed him up against a fence and started asking him questions like “What hospital were you born in.” DHS later said he had “assaulted an officer” -- video evidence does not back this up -- but they didn’t charge him. Or return his ID. (A common pattern: DHS will say something like this on social media, but not in court. It appears to be a PR stunt, not any attempt at communicating something true or legally actionable.) When CNN reached out to DHS on this one they added that Brian “attempted to flee” as well, which is remarkable given that he’s a US citizen who literally just stepped outside his place of work. Adrian Martinez, 20, had a run-in with Border Patrol on his break at WalMart. It sounds like — this is unclear — he tried to obstruct a BP vehicle that held one of his friends from work. Border Patrol agents grabbed him and claim that he punched one of them. Of course, a nearby bystander was recording and there is no evidence of a punch. And Border Patrol went on to say that Adrian was a “hostile group” of men, which is weird because he’s one guy… unless they are counting Oscar Preciado, the delivery driver who stood nearby and videoed the whole thing. Neither Oscar’s video nor surveillance cameras that caught the entire event show a punch. Border Patrol says that the complete videos “are missing critical moments and don’t tell the whole story.” But after holding Adrian for THREE DAYS they also dropped the assault charge. Because, as Adrian’s lawyer said, “He didn’t assault anyone.” They’re now charging him with “conspiracy to impede or injure an officer” which his lawyer calls “trumped up” charges. ICE has claimed that upwards of 70% of those they arrest are “serious criminals” but their own statistics tell a different story. In the most recent ICE stats publicly released:

75% of people in ICE private prisons have nothing more than an immigration related issue or a traffic violation

47% of those being held by ICE have no criminal conviction at all… no criminal immigration violation, traffic violation, or criminal charge of any kind.

Would you like to guess the percentage of “serious criminals” who are being held by ICE? We’ve been told over and over that we’re after the “worst of the worst” so I suspect it must be an impressive number. And that number is: NINE PERCENT. It certainly appears that the enormous daily quota for arrests is encouraging quantity arrests rather than quality arrests. Arresting a US citizen, even if you have to release them a few days later, counts toward the arrest. Arresting a tourist at the border rather than refusing them entry counts toward the quota. Arresting people at their green card interviews, tricking immigrants without lawyers into giving up their asylum claims and immediately arresting them once they agree, these all count toward the quota. Some key takeaways:

Don’t call the police expecting help during an immigration raid. Even in states like California, where they are not legally allow to assist federal immigration forces, they also are unlikely to step in and help US citizens or others being abused. Best case scenario: they do some crowd control.

ICE and other immigration forces are not afraid to arrest US citizens (and others) on trumped up charges, hold people, and release them later. There’s literally no consequences for them as individuals or corporately.

ice.gov/statistics is current as of Jan 2025. Orange is "other immigration violation", gray and blue are (pending) criminal convictions.

substack article copied by op, with sources:

ICE detention statistics rapport referenced by op (.xlsx file). Substack author's math appears to be correct.

Ice is trained to lie

This is true.

Medicine, water, supplies, food, fuel (much of it black market being upsold at egregious prices) — these all cost money and pretty much all Palestinians in Gaza have no source of income now. It’s drops in the bucket compared to ending the siege and occupation but it’s one way to do at least something small to help. Others are in need of money to evacuate when the border opens again (which hopefully is asap…), tuition and supplies for school to continue studies despite it all. Another fund is focused on trying to rebuild farmlands in Gaza to get food again that way.

care for gaza - focuses on providing food and essential supplies. donate here or here.

connecting humanity - securing internet access via donations of virtual sim cards (esims). if you can't afford a whole plan yourself, crips for esims is a communal pool that will use your donation to purchase and maintain esims

gaza soup kitchen - provides food, medical care, and classes for children. also has a gofundme

glia gaza medical support initiative - provides medical care through field clinics and tents at hospitals. donations can also be sent through their website.

ele elna elak - provides clean water, food, clothing, and shelter. they also have a gofundme

life for gaza - raising money for the gaza municipality to repair water and waste management infrastructure

taawon - partners with local civil organizations to provide food, water, medical care, shelter, and basic supplies

the sameer project - running various initiatives providing tents, medical care, and necessities. they have their own encampment project focused on sheltering families with children, sick and disabled members, or members in need of perinatal care

islamic relief worldwide's gaza emergency appeal - provides food, water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and psychological support

baitulmaal - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, shelter, and medical supplies

gaza mutual aid fund - distributes food, hygiene products, water, and other essential supplies, including financial support. run by @/el-shab-hussein's amazing friend Mona. updates can be found on her instagram.

hygiene kits for gaza - provides hygiene supplies including menstrual products, wipes, and toothbrushes/toothpaste

anera - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine, blankets and mattresses, and psychological care

palestine children's relief fund - provides supplies and support with a focus on children. also has an initiative for lebanon

dahnoun mutual aid - provides water, food, tents, baby supplies, financial support, and other necessities. updates can be found through their instagram

pal humanity initiative - provides baby supplies, menstrual products, medications, and mobile clinic visits

educational tents program - running multiple educational programs for children and offering psychosocial support

thamra - distributes fresh food and seeds for gardens, as well as repairing wells. they also have a gofundme

gaza sunbirds - paracycling team delivering a variety of essentials, including food, tents, blankets, baby supplies, and sanitation systems

the one body initiative - providing tents, sleeping supplies (blankets, mattresses, sleeping bags, etc.), food, and medicine

gaza emergency fund - purchases and builds waterproof tents and portable bathrooms, as well as distributing food, hygiene products, and medical supplies

medical aid for palestinians - provides medical and psychological care. also works in lebanon

the culture & free thought association - runs various programs including clinics, classes for children, and supply distribution. focuses on women, children, disabled people, and other marginalized groups.

hakini - provides psychological support and secures access to food, shelter, medication, and hygiene products

palestinian medical relief society - runs mobile clinics in gaza, the west bank, and east jerusalem

translating falasteen - partnering with the sameer project to provide food, water, medical care, essential supplies, and direct financial support. updates can be found on their instagram

roots of gaza - initiative from the al nasser charitable society. provides food, water, toiletries, tents and tent building services, cash assistance, and other necessities. also has a gogetfunding

healing our homeland - runs psychological support programming for women and children. also provides food, water, hygiene kits, and baby supplies. other initiatives featured on their website

isnad and ihyaa - initiatives (in the north and south respectively) providing financial support and educational materials and spaces for students

amir ismail - Amir is a teenager working to provide food, water, and essential supplies to his local community

relief for rafah - provides food, water, and financial assistance

team hussein - provides food, water, financial assistance, tent repair, and other daily-needs support

we feed gaza - delivers food packages, water, medicine, baby supplies, and hygiene items, and runs events for children and families

watermelon relief - provides food, water, and psychological support. information on their activities available via their instagram

HEAL palestine - provides food, water, and essential supplies, as well as running a field hospital and education programs for children

This is what they did to a Canadian

A Quebec man says he is outraged after the U.S. Coast Guard accused him of fishing in American waters and then arrested him before putting him in a jail cell for nearly two hours.

Edouard Lallemand, 60, said he nearly drowned during the ordeal last Sunday afternoon after the Coast Guard’s boat “pushed” his boat, causing it to capsize.

Days after the incident, he’s still shaken up.

People aren't traveling to the US. Even Forbes is reporting a 29 billion dollar loss to your tourism industry for this year. And literally everyone outside of the US is like "yeah of course that tracks, I keep reading news stories about citizens from my country being detained when they go there".

(to say nothing of the incredible anger amongst Canadians for the annexation threats and tariffs attempting to create economic pressure to capitulate to the orange one's bullshit, let alone stories like what happened to the man in the story linked above. We are NOT taking our tourism dollars south anytime soon)

The US is openly punishing Brazil for the crime of upholding our democracy. In front of the whole world to see.

"i'm all for prison abolition, except for the really evil people who deserve to die."

"so just let all crime be legal? like the purge?"

girliepop. prison abolition doesn't mean there's no rules, it doesn't even mean there's no way to hold someone. It means building a justice system that is entirely, 100% focused on rehabilitation at all points, with no thought towards punishment.

"But some people can't be rehabilitated! checkmate liberals."

be rehabilitated!

checkmate liberals.”

Hey, we've got another public comment period with a rapidly approaching deadline here in the United States! Short version is that the Department of Agriculture, which manages the U.S. Forest Service, has severely curtailed its obligation to public outreach and comment on its activities, to include timber sales and environmental impact reports. The foundation of a democracy is in the power of the voices of the people, and this decision circumvents our ability to give feedback on Forest Service decisions.

That means that it will be easier for the Forest Service to clearcut old-growth forests regardless of the ecological impact, and make it easier for profiteers to exploit the natural resources of these publicly owned lands. This decision was made to benefit the few, not the many, and it's blatantly obvious.