🍎 apple :⊲)

them., as well.

I'm not talking about oc negativity as in someone making fun of your ocs (although I'm against that too). When I'm talking about oc negativity, I'm talking about the way people refer to their own ocs.

I WILL calmly and kindly try to help anyone who is afraid of bugs. I will show them my finds, i will explain their importance, i will tell them just how sweet and gentle and friendly they are. And I WILL shoot down any immature loser who believes senseless killing is the only possible response to not liking something.

Get woke. Love bugs.

Yes, WW2 definitely saw an uptick in propaganda campaigns with negative depictions of insects, but their actual goal wasn't to make people hate insects, it was to eliminate insect-borne diseases (especially typhus and malaria) that were negatively impacting military troops. These campaigns were effectively identical to other health campaigns of the era, like those against venereal diseases, tuberculosis and malnutrition. The need to control insect vectors of typhus and malaria however did lead to the first creation of highly effective synthetic insecticides like DDT. The reason why 1950s saw such a boom in pro-pesticide fever isn't because the powers-that-be wanted the world to suddenly turn against insects, it's because that was the first time in history that effective (and seemingly safe) pesticides were broadly available. Pesticides were and are obviously a massive contributor to ecological degradation and species loss, but they were also a crucial part of the third agricultural revolution of the mid-20th century that ensured higher and more reliable crop yields. They are, unfortunately, still a core part of modern agriculture to this day - the previously mentioned locust swarm outbreak in 2020 was in large part a result of the COVID pandemic halting the delivery of insecticides to the region. Because some insect species genuinely do present a very real threat to food production, they were obviously often a target of various agricultural campaigns - such as the (ultimately disastrous) Four Pests campaign in China or the mass campaign against locusts in 1920s/1930s Soviet Union. The latter is also interesting because it reframed the locust as a foreign invader as a political tool to unite the still fractured country against a common enemy and justify mass mobilisation of troops into contested territories. During the cold war, Warsaw pact countries similarly launched a massive and ideologically driven propaganda campaign against the Colorado beetle under the belief that the USA intentionally introduced the species in order to destabilize potato production in the region (my grandparents were actually mobilized to pick Colorado beetles in a similar campaign in Yugoslavia). Yes, insects were used as a tool of political propaganda in all of these cases, but not because the promotion of the hate against insects was a goal unto itself, it's because insects already had widely held negative connotations that could be exploited for other propaganda purposes. And these negative connotations in many cases stemmed from people's actual lived experience of crop failures and disease.

(The 1950s boom of giant bug horror movies was also arguably more driven by anxieties surrounding the rapid progress of science, especially atomic energy, in the post-war era (the same thing that drove a surge in popularity of pulp sci-fi novels and more science-based silver age comics). Arthropods were commonly used not to intentionally fuel anti-insect propaganda, but because people already had pre-existing aversion to them (and because simply magnifying an actual animal was a cheap way to have mostly realistic looking giant monsters)).

So, your landlord/parents/home inspector/favorite movie star is dropping by, and your place is a disaster. You don’t have much time to clean it up. You’re in emergency mode. Let’s get started.

Don’t panic. Panic leads to fear, fear leads to procrastination, procrastination leads to the dark side. You can do this, but you have to stay calm.

Unlike maintenance cleaning, we’re not looking to completely unfuck one space at a time. Instead, we want to decrease the overall mess in stages, spread evenly across the whole area that we’re concerned about. If you think your home is at Level 10 filth, we want to bring the whole thing down to a Level 9, and then down from there. One really clean spot in an otherwise messy home is not going to be helpful here.

Get prepared. You’ll want to shut the computer down (or turn the modem off if you need your computer to play music). Trust me. Get your music going. Gather up trash bags, your vacuum and mop, some rags or paper towel, sponges, and other cleaning supplies. Use what you have on hand. Don’t get distracted running to the store and spending an hour browsing cleaning supplies. A multi-purpose cleaning concentrate or a jug of vinegar will be just fine.

Breaks are very important. Depending on your time constraints, work in 20/10s (20 minutes working, 10-minute break) or 45/15s. But take breaks because otherwise you’re marathoning, and marathon cleaning is no one’s friend. Keep hydrated, don’t forget to eat, and check in with yourself frequently to make sure you’re physically doing OK.

Make your bed. This will be your home base if you get overwhelmed or need somewhere clear to take a break.

Start with the garbage. Going from room to room, throw out anything that is obvious trash. Once you fill a bag, take it out. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Move on to dishes. Gather the dishes from all over your house and bring them to the kitchen. If you can, start them soaking in a sink of hot, soapy water or start loading the dishwasher. After the dishes are all in one place, spend one 20/10 getting started getting them under control.

Now it’s time for your flat surfaces. Countertops, tables, dresser tops, etc. Clear them off and wipe them down. Don’t get distracted in too much sorting and organizing. We’re in crisis mode here. There will be time to get in-depth once this is all done. The same applies to cabinets and closets. Unless you have reason to believe people will be opening closed doors, leave these alone for now.

Attack the floordrobe and shoe pile. Get your clothes either put away or in the hamper. Start a load of laundry if you need to, but keep in mind that laundry and dishes have three steps: wash, dry, and put it away, goddammit!

Get random stuff up off the floors. If something is trash-worthy, throw it away now rather than just move it around a bunch of times. Otherwise, put stuff where it belongs.

Take another 20/10 or 45/15 to catch up on more dishes, if needed.

Head into the bathroom. Pour some cleaner in the toilet bowl, fill the sink with hot water and cleaner, and either spray the tub and shower with cleaner, or fill the tub up with some hot water and add cleaner and let it soak. Put everything away that’s out and shouldn’t be, clean the mirror, counters, and toilet seat. Sweep or dry mop the floor. Wipe down the sink and tub/shower, and give the toilet bowl a scrub. Mop the floor.

Sweep and mop the kitchen floor.

Vacuum everything you can, and sweep everything you can’t.

Walk outside of your house (don’t lock yourself out, please). Walk back in and see what catches your eye first. Go and deal with that.

If you’re being inspected or your landlord is coming in for repairs, spend time on whatever area they’ll be focusing on.

Give the whole place one more once-over and pay attention to anything you’ve missed so far.

It’s an old trick, but if your place is a little funky-smelling, put a pan of water on the stove on low heat and add some citrus or cinnamon or vanilla. Don’t leave it unattended or forget about it.

Take a shower, put on something clean, and eat something.

You can do this. It’s overwhelming, yes, but it is not impossible. You just need to do it. You have a list. You have directions. You have a whole bunch of Internet strangers who have been there before and who are cheering you on. You can do this, but you need to get started.

You can read about it here: https://minds-africa.org/fabric-map-of-africa-the-art-of-storytelling/