The Drowning Magpie

Before you think, “GOSH, I should post this to Tumblr!  It’s sure to get me a million notes!” you should consider something - It’s probably already on there, likely posted by the person who created the content in the first place.

So what should you do instead of reposting that thingy you found and potentially putting someone out?  Let’s start with right-clicking on the picture.

Now copy that image address!  We’re goin’ to http://images.google.com!

See that little camera icon?  Click on that SOB and you’ll get a box that looks like this:

Now paste the URL you just copied into that box and click “Search by Image”.

Wow, it looks like that picture is all over the place - including Tumblr!  Amazing!  I wonder what happens if I click on that first link!

Okay, so it wasn’t at the very top, but scroll down a little bit, and… HARK!  A SOURCE!  Now you know where the post came from, and you can reblog it from there instead of spreading a redundant post!

Seriously.  In this specific case, the reposted images are on pace to surpass the original in note count.  Yes, the other post was sourced to Imgur, but Imgur is NOT A VALID SOURCE.  Neither is FunnyJunk, nor 9gag, nor Facebook unless the artist posted the work there themselves.  The average person probably doesn’t take the time to click through two or three pages to try and root out the original, so you’re doing creatives a massive disservice by doing this, especially in the case where the piece is a collaboration.

This takes literally 30 seconds of legwork.  Due diligence, please.  I know posts like this have been made before, but apparently it bears repeating.

It got bigger. Welcome to Timepunk/PunkPunk 2015!

I tried to make sure each punk had more than one discussion or labeled work online (otherwise the list would expand to include every silly discussion thread on the internet).

Note: none of these have much to do with 1960s-70s Punk music culture, other than some possible overlapping anti-authoritarian themes. These genres are derivatives of steampunk, which arose from cyberpunk.

“I’m here for/with you” “I like you” “I love you” “I value you as a person” “Your opinions matter to me” “I’ll go with you if it’s too scary” “No matter what your anxiety tells you I’m not going anywhere” “Your feelings are valid”

Especially when they’re anxious Especially when they’re anxious Especially when they’re anxious

Even if you’ve already said it. Say it again. And again. Please. Cause it may seem silly to someone without S.A.D., but it’s actually really reassuring to be reminded of having support even if we were just reminded last week, or last month, or yesterday. It’s important. Really important. Cause the anxiety will often lead us to feel alone, unloved, like the person might go away if we share our feelings, even when we know it’s not true. It’s a million times easier to be convinced by someone else than by our own anxious brains sometimes.

because life is better with 8 arms

Find them here: ETSY 

The several attacks in Paris this year (& attempted attacks in other major European cities like in Brussels) come at a time when Islamophobia is on the rise & the far-right, fascist parties are experiencing record levels of support. They’ll no doubt be using the attacks to gain more support & spread their Islamophobic, anti-immigration, & anti-refugee rhetoric, adding to the racism & discrimination that Muslims already face.

Groups like Daesh & Al-Qaeda who carry out these attacks know full well that it’ll lead to more Islamophobia & racism against Muslims, it may seem counter-productive to their aims but this is exactly what they want. What makes terrorism different from other violent crimes is that the psychological effects are far greater than the physical effects.

In the aftermath of such attacks, ordinary Muslims will suffer the most. Islamophobia will drastically increase.

When you discriminate against & oppress a group of people & isolate them from the rest of society, they will often turn to their own community for support & safety. This is the exact opposite of integration. Over time the isolated group will become so isolated that radicalisation will begin. Add into this the fact that you have countries like Saudi Arabia deliberately funding extremist wahhabism & salafism across Europe the threat of radicalisation becomes worse.

The more radicalised Muslims there are, the more support groups like Daesh & Al-Qaeda will have, so think of these attacks as part of an indirect long-term method of gaining support as well as an indirect recruitment programme.

These are tried & tested tactics. The best example I can think of is in Iraq. Before he died, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi listed the incitement of a civil war between Sunnis & Shias via attacks on both groups as a major goal. One of the biggest attacks was the 2006 & 2007 al-Askari Mosque bombings, the mosque is one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam & the bombings set off waves of revenge attacks by Shia militias, countless Sunni mosques & communities were attacked in sectarian violence. The discrimination & sectarian oppression which the Sunni minority faced got to the point where even educated, middle class Sunnis sympathised with Daesh even though they completely rejected their extremism. A lot of Daesh’s propaganda revolves around the myth of them being the “saviours” or “protectors” of persecuted Sunnis. 

So like I said, indirect long-term method of gaining support & recruitment programme.

But going back to the the Paris attacks & the guy who shouted “this is for Syria”. President Hollande promised that France will retaliate against Daesh for the attacks, & I’m not sure if that’s the best decision.

When these terrorist attacks happen, the group committing them always do so with the aim of certain outcomes. When 9/11 happened Al-Qaeda got the best reaction they could have hoped for as the US invaded two Muslim-majority countries thereby creating lots of anger & tension between Muslims & the west & increasing their support.

When the US began their air-strikes against Daesh in Syria, various rebel groups defected & made alliances/truces with Daesh, have you noticed that in many Daesh propaganda videos they’re constantly threatening the US & goading them? They’re almost begging them to attack. They know that in the case of any western attacks they might lose militarily but they will still win big time in the long-term. & with France promising to get more involved too I’m not sure if this will strengthen Daesh or not..

Here is what we know: unspeakable harm was done to Paris tonight; unspeakable harm will be done to people of Muslim faith and people of color by people who take advantage of tragedy to act on their hatred; people across the world - ourselves among them - are shaken to their very core; this is not the first time; we cannot say it will be the last time.

And so much of this feels intensely personal.

It seems that the list of safe spaces torn apart by violence grows every year: schools, movie theaters, schools again, places of worship, places of community, venues for live music. We grow up hearing that stories are escapes only to find demons in our safest havens.

And so we cannot blame those whose lists of personal safe spaces narrow in parallel. Your feelings are valid, your reaction is valid, and we urge you to follow your gut, to seek what safety means for you.

But if you feel safest in the very places terrorists - in Paris, in Columbine, in Aurora, in Newton, in Charleston, and on and on and on - have devastated, know you have not lost them. If anger boils in your stomach, know nothing can come from meeting their hatred with your own. The most powerful thing we can do every time we move forward from unthinkable loss is to hold on to love and to hold on to what we love.

This is not easy. But it is so important.

The places we love - movie theaters at midnight, libraries where books changed our lives, venues where we sang late into the night - have given us not just entertainment, but spaces to make sense of the world, spaces to make sense of ourselves, crowds to be distinctly and lastingly unalone in, lifelong friendships, lifelong magic, homes to carry with us.

We cannot and will not let them take any of this from us.

Here is how we move forward: keep loving; keep fighting; celebrate story; laugh, dance, sing - with your friends, with strangers, with every single person who keeps showing up when the world tells them not to; resist hatred; resist cynicism; know none of this is foolish; know that it is necessary; protect and defend those who - not for the first time - will be victims of hatred falsely carried out in the name of justice; give love and light to those around you and those around the world; be excellent to each other; be good.

I havent seen any information on Baghdad or Beirut on my dash, so for people that are also wondering what’s happening outside of paris:

Beirut

43 Dead, 239 Wounded- attack on Beirut by ISIS recruits

Mourning in Lebanon after deadly twin terrorist attacks

Baghdad

17 Dead, 43 Wounded in Hay al-Amar, 5 Dead , 15 Wounded in Shiite Shrine in Sadr City.

Suicide Bombing at Shiite Funeral

If anyone has further information feel free to add it onto this post!

Let’s give these two countries just as much support as Paris!

it doesn’t make you a bad person to need a safe space. it’s okay to use tumblr to cheer yourself up and post happy things or neutral things or no things at all. your activism and your care for other people don’t have to be constantly visible to be good and worthwhile. 

- Emergency special number (if you need information) (please, use it carefully, too many calls will make the line crash): 0800 40 60 05 

- Schools and universities are closed tomorrow. (in the whole country btw)

- In Paris and IDF, it’s advised NOT TO MOVE. Don’t leave your home or the place you’re staying in unless you really have to.

- IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO CRASH IN/ WANTS TO WELCOME SOMEONE: follow the hashtag #PORTEOUVERTE

- 5 metro lines are closed: 3, 5,8 9 and 11

- Maps of the attacks (source: Libération). Streets are probabky closed around these areas.