i strive to be a little eldritch fella

you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.

first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.

now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:

in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.

and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.

and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.

it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:

• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.

• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.

• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.

• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.

• journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.

• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.

and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.

what i'm asking:

if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.

if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.

india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.

we can still save her. but only loudly.

Lizard coaster Pattern

Body - 00:00:45

R1: MR ch2, 10 dc in MR, slst, ch 2 [10] R2: 10 dc inc, slst, ch 2 [20] R3: (dc, dc inc) *10 slst, ch 2 [30] R4: (dc, dc inc, dc) *10 slst, ch 1 [40] R5: Reverse sc in every stitch

Tail - 00:10:30

R1: MR, ch2, 4dc in the magic ring, slst, ch 2 [4] R2: (dc, dc inc)2, slst, ch2 [6] R3: 6 dc, slst, ch2 [6] R4: (2dc, dc inc)2, slst Cut off long tail for sewing [8]

Mouth (red yarn) - 00:16:47

ch 10 R1: skip 1st st, 8 sc, (3 sc in 1 st), 7 sc, inc, slst, ch1 [20] R2: inc, 7 sc, 3 inc, 7 sc, 2 inc, slst ch 1 [26] R3: (sc, inc), 7 sc, (sc, inc)*3, 7sc, (sc, inc)*2 [32] Cut off and weave in yarn

Tongue (pink yarn) - 00:27:52

In the third stitch from the red chain, ch 10 skip 2 st, 8 hdc [8] slst and cut off extra yarn, weave in from behind

Head (green yarn) - 00:31:00

R1: ch 14, slst in the first ch making a circle R2: ch1, hdc2tog, 10 dc, hdc2tog, slst ch 2 [12] R3 dcinc, 2 dc, 6hdc, 2dc, dcinc, slst ch 2 [14] R4: 2 dc, 3 hdc, 4sc, 3 hdc, 2 dc, slst ch 1 [14] Cut off yarn

Upper lip - 00:40:15

At the 5th st from the head, insert green yarn R1: ch2, dcinc, 6dc, dcinc [10] R2: ch2, turn dc2tog, 6dc, dc2tog [8] R3: ch2, turn dc2tog, 4dc, dc2tog [6] R4: ch2, turn dc2tog, 2dc, dc2tog [4] ch1, cut off extra yarn

Lower lip - 00:47:44

R1: ch1, 6 hdc [6] R2: ch1, turn hdc2tog, 2hdcdc, hdc2tog [4] ch 1 turn Attach red mouth piece and tongue by sc in every stitch, slst, Cut off extra yarn and weave in Stuff in

Eyes (white yarn) x2 - 00:53:40

R1: MR, 6sc in MR [6] R2: slst, ch1, 6 sc [6] slst and cut off extra yarn Glue on eyes and heads for pupils Attach head and tail at opposite ends, Put stitch marker 4 st away from each direction for limbs

Legs x4 - 01:01:24

ch7, slst, skip 1 st st, 2 slst, (ch2, skip 1st st , 2 slst) *2, 4 sc, slst Cut off and weave in yarn

Abbreviations + additional links under the cut

So I got an email back from some nice people who have been helping me. They worked with me and my mom to make sure we could get through our goal so we are close to getting out of the streets! (along with you guys help too thank you!)

I was informed we just need $530 that way we can get the full help that we need so me and my mom can finally get everything we need to be stable 😭 I was so happy to read the email this morning!! I'm so close I'm serious this time!! I'm so close to getting a normal life again!! So I need everyone's help one last time!! I just need $530 and I'll finally get the help I should've gotten since shelters in my area were unresponsive and ghosted me which was frustrating. I can get a car ride, finally get a damn truck, I can get clothes, I can go grocery shopping, get my medication all of it!! No more homelessness, no more heatstrokes, no more hospital visits, nomore sleeping in the rain and floor, no more anxiety being in the dark at night.

SO PLEASE HELP ME GET TO MY GOAL!!

PAYPAL

CashApp: $BattyHatty

the tierhilfe belarus (link 1 facebook / link 2 instagram) is trying to help find sid and isabella a new home urgently. these two sweet kitties are located in the state-run kill shelter in minsk.

if you are located in germany and wish to adopt a cat, please consider them.

sid is:

male

2-3 years old

timid, but allows human touch

cat-friendly

isabella is:

female

1-2 years old

shy

cat-friendly

please contact them, let them know you're interested.

contact: [email protected]

once approved for adoption, they will travel directly to germany fully vaccinated, microchipped, neutered, and tested for fiv/felv. there is an adoption fee to help support the costs of medicine, transportation and the work the volunteers do.

again, i'm more than willing to contribute towards the adoption fee if there is true interest in adopting either of them.