humanity

I Gave A Speech About Race To The Publishing Industry And No One Heard Me

Here is the thing about how discrimination works: No one ever comes right out and says, “We don’t want you.” In the publishing world, they don’t say, “We just don’t want your story.” They say, “We’re not sure you’re relatable” and “You don’t want to exclude anyone with your work.” They say, “We’re not sure who your audience is.”

Source: I Gave A Speech About Race To The Publishing Industry And No One Heard Me

I see this in food service all the time. I’ve gone to places to apply for FOH jobs and been told to wait for the chef to come talk to me.

They just automatically assumed I’m there to work in the kitchen.

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No, if you tell a woman to smile you’re more of a bitch than a bitch

Men don’t get told to smile like it’s their job. I don’t go up to men and say, “hey, smile! You’re so HANDSOME when you smile!

Why don’t I do that? Because it’s weird and rude and it’s none of my business if you smile or not. I don’t know you, I don’t know what you’re going through. And you don’t exist to mold yourself into whatever I think you should be. Isn’t that cool, that you’re an autonomous person?

Source: smile, you bitch: being a woman in 2015 — Medium

I’ll admit that I’ve done my fair share of idiotic things. Like most I thought I meant well, but now I’m sure in most cases it is much more likely the women I talked to got irritated and annoyed, rather than pleased.

I’m glad there are people like Nora out there, who won’t take shit from anyone and will step up and say “this is not right and we need to change it.”

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Wallowing in it, in a bad way

My work has taken me on visits to a lot of classes. The thing that I have noticed is that a poor person will have zero idea what to do with a 401K should they get one. A rich person will have no idea how to cash a check if they don’t have a bank account. It’s a completely different skillset with disparate goals and values and norms. It is definitely a different culture.

For example: You need to score some illicit drugs. How do you do that? Rich answer: Ask your assistant. Middle-class answer: Ask your teenager. Poor answer: Walk outside.

Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts.

I’ve been there. I can consider myself fortunate that I’ve been able to let go of most vices, most wants, and am able to go for long stretches of time without actual employment.

But a big part of that is thanks to the middle-class trappings of my lower-class life. I live in a house with a full kitchen, laundry room, all utilities; all for a ridiculously low price. Were I renting an apartment by myself, I’d be working two jobs just to be able to pay rent, nevermind having the time to cook at home and go to the movies every so often.

I am fortunate to know how people of all social walks have lived, having been exposed to all of them at least briefly throughout my life. I know how to deal with rich people without having them try to own me. I know how to interact with middle class people in a fair manner. I know how to hustle with the poor like one of them — I know I’m poor but I try to afford myself the luxury of not feeling poor. Feeling poor saps your body of energy, robs your mind of steel and your spirit of joy.

But I can attest to the knowledge that it is hard to look at the stars while your back is bent toward the ground.

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On the internet, most are real people with fake identities. Others are fake people with real identities.

Which one would you rather be?

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TV, or gas, or water, or internet, pickup

BBC – Britain From Above – Stories – People – Tea-time Britain.

I wonder if in Mexico we have the same sort of thing happening when La Novela ends. Electricity usage picking up when it starts, then dropping off massively when it’s done.

I’m thinking it’d be a bigger impact on gas lines, but in Mexico we keep tanks of gas at home, instead of getting them through a specialized pipe like it happens here in the US. Maybe water usage picks up too? People taking showers? What about internet usage?

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Oh, the thirst

Reflecting on what the weekend used to mean to us in comparison to what it is now can be somewhat depressing for many. I believe this is why so many of us get slammered drunk on the weekends. Alcohol serves as a coping mechanism to block out memories of the greatness that used to be Friday & Saturday evenings. I’ve tried to stay home on a weekend and watch the malarkey that comes on currently and all I can say is… Stay thirsty, my friends.

via Things 90s Kids Realize « Thought Catalog.

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