[image moved to end of post]
Tattoo i sketched today that i am getting soon.
holy fuck, this is like a vomit cocktail of cultural appropriation.
“this is like a vomit cocktail of cultural appropriation”
I do believe that is the aptest possible description.
I’m a little confused, though… where are the ΙΧΘΥΣ fish, tree of life, pentacle, sun cross, seal of Solomon, star-and-crescent and hammer-and-sickle? Maybe those are going to be on the “matching” tattoo on the other limb…
[image description: A drawing, in what looks like dark brown pen or marker, depicting two circles attached by a short thin chain.
- The larger upper circle resembles a dreamcatcher somewhat; its outer border is in the form of a seven-rayed spiderweb with random additional connecting lines, and four beads at apparently random positions in the web area. The center of this upper circle, however, is taken up by a mis-drawn calligraphy “OM” inside a thick, irregular ovoid border that also contains nine apparently random small dots in two groups.
- The lower, smaller triangle has a triangle inscribed inside it; a fine-line brickwork pattern suggests it’s a pyramid, and an oddly-rendered (pale-irised, lacking the usual kohl-liner extension at the eye’s outer corner, and with a dashed line for the eyelid) eye of Horus fills most of the shape. Four pairs of ovals, at roughly 1, 3, 7 and 10 o’clock, connect the triangle to the enclosing circle, which is empty aside from a narrow border decorated with loops or half-ovals.
- Two beaded feathers hang down from the bottom of each circle, and a fifth feather hangs below the lower circle on a chain like the one connecting the two circles; the three lowest feathers are drawn darker on 1/3 (left), 1/2 (middle) and 1/4 (right) of their length, while the top two appear monochromatic. It is unclear what specific bird, if any, the feathers are intended to be depicted as coming from. Finally, three ribbon streamers are also attached to the circles at apparently random points.]
[end image description]
Ugh.
Source: drownitoutwithlovesongs
[Trigger Warning: Dead Baby Animals] PETA’s secret slaughter of companion animals
[Image descriptions:
1. A pile of garbage bags, mostly black with a few white or transparent, in what appears to be a commercial Dumpster-type waste receptacle with rusty-crusty metal walls and floor. The context implies the bags are full of the corpses of companion animals, but the bags’ contents are not visually discernible.
2. In a field, on a sunny day, a human wearing a white “clean suit” and some sort of rebreather-type mask is holding a dead puppy by its hind legs at arm’s length over a black garbage bag. Someone out-of-frame except for part of their nitrile-displosable-glove-clad left hand is pointing down at the open garbage bag. (The other human is wearing what appear to be latex disposable gloves, as they are off-white, whereas the out-of-view human’s glove is purple, a color typically used for nitrile gloves so they’re readily distinguishable from latex ones for latex-allergy reasons.) Several vehicles are parked in the background, at least one of which has a blue law-enforcement light (turned off) on its roof.
3. A hard-plastic pet carrier, large enough to hold a medium-sized dog or two adult cats who like one another, is situated on some sort of metal grating. The carrier’s metal-grate door is open, and a tabby-striped kitten, appearing roughly three to five months old, is lying on its side on the floor of the carrier, its tail towards the viewer. The kitten is wearing what appears to be a paper identification collar, similar to hospital wrist-IDs for human patients. From its unnatural position and stiffness, and the peculiar way its fur is mussed, it is clear that the kitten is dead… or possibly “merely” comatose.
End of image descriptions.]
I reblogged this as text because the great big triggery photos show up before the trigger warning, otherwise. Those who want to see the photos, click through here (or click any of the next four links).
[Trigger Warning: Animal Cruelty] Shocking Photos: PETA’s Secret Slaughter of Kittens, Puppies
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an organization that publicly claims to represent the best interest of animals — indeed their “ethical treatment.” Yet approximately 2,000 animals pass through PETA’s front door every year and very few make it out alive. The vast majority — 96 percent in 2011 — exit the facility out the back door after they have been killed, when Pet Cremation Services of Tidewater stops by on their regular visits to pick up their remains. Between these visits, the bodies are stored in the giant walk-in freezer PETA installed for this very purpose. It is a freezer that cost $9,370 and, like the company which incinerates the bodies of PETA’s victims, was paid for with the donations of animal lovers who could never have imagined that the money they donated to help animals would be used to end their lives instead. In fact, in the last 11 years, PETA has killed 29,426 dogs, cats, rabbits, and other domestic animals.
FUCK PETA
Yet another reason not to ever give any money, or indeed anything but disdain, to PETA. As if their sexist advertising wasn’t bad enough.
Source: The Huffington Post
![{(PLEASE leave image description intact when reblogging!)}
Image description… This is a form letter with handwritten notes all over it, and complex to describe. I transcribed and formatted the form letter as closely as I could to the way it appeared, with descriptions of formatting I can’t get Tumblr to render enclosed in [square brackets].
Positioning of the handwritten notes is indicated by numbers within asterisks, e.g. *7* or *13*; descriptions of the notes each number denotes appear inline within the transcribed form letter, enclosed in (parentheses) to further distinguish them from the text of the letter, while the text of each note is set off by *asterisks* within the parenthetical description.
There are no [square brackets], *asterisks* or (parentheses) used in the original form letter. The letter did use bolding, italics, underlines, and changes in text size and color, so I wanted to avoid using any of those to indicate descriptions of any of the image’s elements.
I’m reasonably sure this will still be a somewhat confusing image description, but I couldn’t figure out any alternatives that would be less confusing. Suggestions and/or edits are welcome! :)
Finally, instead of following the usual Tumblr-image-description convention and enclosing the entirety of the description text in [square brackets] — since I used those to signify something else — I have instead set it off with HTML horizontal-rule lines above and below, and also added ALL-CAPS textual markers for those whose screen-readers may not recognize the hr tag, like so: BEGIN IMAGE DESCRIPTION
Dear Dana Commandatore,
It really is shocking; *1* (the word “shocking” is circled; a line connects it to an upper margin note: *Why is it shocking?*) As I type this letter, one more set of parents will learn that their son or daughter has autism. And their lives will be forever altered.
*2* (a line connects “We” to a left-margin note: *It is genetics.*) We have to find out why. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis. We do not know its cause and there is no known cure. *3* (a short line connects “cure” to a note written beneath: *So, stop searching for one.*)
And that’s why I’ve written you today.
My name is Elizabeth Feld, and I am the President of Autism Speaks — the nation’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. *4* (a short line connects this sentence to a note written beneath: *So, why don’t you listen to autistic people?*)
Did you know that the diagnosis of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade? In fact, 1 in 88 children will be affected by some form of autism. That is over one million children.
I am asking you to help — to help someone with autism.
We really need your support… autism receives less than 5% of the government’s research funding available for many childhood diseases. *5* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *It is NOT a disease.*)
That makes your support all-the-more important. We cannot wait for public funding to come to us — we rely on caring friends like you. *6* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *I’m not your friend.*)
You allow us to forge ahead with great urgency. *7* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *I will do all I can to stop you.*)
*8* (a long line goes from the word “We” down the left margin to a note written in the extra-wide space between the sentence ending “make a difference now” and the huge blue “Yes!”: *except you leave autistic people out of the conversation*) We recruit the most brilliant scientific minds to answer autism’s baffling questions.
We focus on finding the causes of autism and developing medicines that will target autism’s core symptoms in ways that reduce disabilities and improve learning abilities.
Your donation today — no matter the amount — will have great meaning to individuals and families living with autism. *9* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *It will go towards funding a cure — and there is no cure, so it will go towards promoting more fear of autism.*)
Because when you give to autism speaks, you are contributing to our advocacy and research efforts that make a difference now. *10* (a short line connects the word “now” to a note in the extra-large space beneath: *You are contributing to ignorance.*)
*11* (see *8*) *12* (see *10*)
[begin blue text] [begin huge text]Yes![end huge text] I am proud to ease the burden of people and families with autism. [end blue text]
[begin small text] Please accept my tax deductible contribution of $_____
Please make your check payable to: AUTISM SPEAKS and return it along with this card in the envelope provided.
For credit card payments, please see other side. [end small text]
[Recipient’s name and address, with the address marked out with pen to redact everything except “CA” for California, and what looks like “Los Angeles” semi-legible under less-dense scribbles] *13* (a note is written in the space between the recipient-address block on the left and the AS identity block on the right: *Don’t ever send me anything again unless it is an apology to my son.*) [Autism Speaks logo with AUTISM SPEAKS underneath, followed by the hypocritical slogan “It’s time to listen.” and their website address.]
END IMAGE DESCRIPTION
thispurplepoet:
just-a-skinny-boy:
edgegunnerfan:
goldenheartedrose:
sanityscraps:
goldenheartedrose:
tee-m-kris:
lindsayface47:
This is the best thing I’ve seen this week.
I love how many notes this has gotten.
Rose, you are magnificent.
<3
Frankly, I’m baffled. I want to yell “where are you all coming from???”
Because my anti-A$ post has jumped about 500 notes as well in the past 72 hours or so.
“ease the burden of people and families living with autism”
Bringing this back again.
This is incredible. Thank you for posting this. This damn near made me cry
As someone with an autism spectrum disorder, this disgusts me so much I just want to throw up.
This needs to stop.
As a person who has a relative who is autistic, I will say that the comments made me laugh, but this entire letter made me want to punch someone in the face. How can someone be an advocate for Autism if they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I started composing a brief answer to the question above, but it turned into a long-ish rant, so I turned it into a separate post: Autism Speaks does NOT advocate for people with autism, and it never has. I’d intended to reblog this with the link to my rant shortly after I posted my rant yesterday; adding the image description for the original letter wound up taking a while.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb8wgwS6fv1r2i8g6o1_1280.jpg)
Image description… This is a form letter with handwritten notes all over it, and complex to describe. I transcribed and formatted the form letter as closely as I could to the way it appeared, with descriptions of formatting I can’t get Tumblr to render enclosed in [square brackets].
Positioning of the handwritten notes is indicated by numbers within asterisks, e.g. *7* or *13*; descriptions of the notes each number denotes appear inline within the transcribed form letter, enclosed in (parentheses) to further distinguish them from the text of the letter, while the text of each note is set off by *asterisks* within the parenthetical description.
There are no [square brackets], *asterisks* or (parentheses) used in the original form letter. The letter did use bolding, italics, underlines, and changes in text size and color, so I wanted to avoid using any of those to indicate descriptions of any of the image’s elements.
I’m reasonably sure this will still be a somewhat confusing image description, but I couldn’t figure out any alternatives that would be less confusing. Suggestions and/or edits are welcome! :)
Finally, instead of following the usual Tumblr-image-description convention and enclosing the entirety of the description text in [square brackets] — since I used those to signify something else — I have instead set it off with HTML horizontal-rule lines above and below, and also added ALL-CAPS textual markers for those whose screen-readers may not recognize the hr tag, like so:
BEGIN IMAGE DESCRIPTION
Dear Dana Commandatore,
It really is shocking; *1* (the word “shocking” is circled; a line connects it to an upper margin note: *Why is it shocking?*) As I type this letter, one more set of parents will learn that their son or daughter has autism. And their lives will be forever altered.
*2* (a line connects “We” to a left-margin note: *It is genetics.*) We have to find out why. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis. We do not know its cause and there is no known cure. *3* (a short line connects “cure” to a note written beneath: *So, stop searching for one.*)
And that’s why I’ve written you today.
My name is Elizabeth Feld, and I am the President of Autism Speaks — the nation’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. *4* (a short line connects this sentence to a note written beneath: *So, why don’t you listen to autistic people?*)
Did you know that the diagnosis of autism has increased tenfold in the last decade? In fact, 1 in 88 children will be affected by some form of autism. That is over one million children.
I am asking you to help — to help someone with autism.
We really need your support… autism receives less than 5% of the government’s research funding available for many childhood diseases. *5* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *It is NOT a disease.*)
That makes your support all-the-more important. We cannot wait for public funding to come to us — we rely on caring friends like you. *6* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *I’m not your friend.*)
You allow us to forge ahead with great urgency. *7* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *I will do all I can to stop you.*)
*8* (a long line goes from the word “We” down the left margin to a note written in the extra-wide space between the sentence ending “make a difference now” and the huge blue “Yes!”: *except you leave autistic people out of the conversation*) We recruit the most brilliant scientific minds to answer autism’s baffling questions.
We focus on finding the causes of autism and developing medicines that will target autism’s core symptoms in ways that reduce disabilities and improve learning abilities.
Your donation today — no matter the amount — will have great meaning to individuals and families living with autism. *9* (a short line connects this sentence to a note beside it: *It will go towards funding a cure — and there is no cure, so it will go towards promoting more fear of autism.*)
Because when you give to autism speaks, you are contributing to our advocacy and research efforts that make a difference now. *10* (a short line connects the word “now” to a note in the extra-large space beneath: *You are contributing to ignorance.*)
*11* (see *8*) *12* (see *10*)
[begin blue text] [begin huge text]Yes![end huge text] I am proud to ease the burden of people and families with autism. [end blue text]
[begin small text] Please accept my tax deductible contribution of $_____
Please make your check payable to: AUTISM SPEAKS and return it along with this card in the envelope provided.
For credit card payments, please see other side. [end small text]
[Recipient’s name and address, with the address marked out with pen to redact everything except “CA” for California, and what looks like “Los Angeles” semi-legible under less-dense scribbles] *13* (a note is written in the space between the recipient-address block on the left and the AS identity block on the right: *Don’t ever send me anything again unless it is an apology to my son.*) [Autism Speaks logo with AUTISM SPEAKS underneath, followed by the hypocritical slogan “It’s time to listen.” and their website address.]
END IMAGE DESCRIPTION
This is the best thing I’ve seen this week.
I love how many notes this has gotten.
Rose, you are magnificent.
<3
Frankly, I’m baffled. I want to yell “where are you all coming from???”
Because my anti-A$ post has jumped about 500 notes as well in the past 72 hours or so.
“ease the burden of people and families living with autism”
Bringing this back again.
This is incredible. Thank you for posting this. This damn near made me cry
As someone with an autism spectrum disorder, this disgusts me so much I just want to throw up.
This needs to stop.
As a person who has a relative who is autistic, I will say that the comments made me laugh, but this entire letter made me want to punch someone in the face. How can someone be an advocate for Autism if they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I started composing a brief answer to the question above, but it turned into a long-ish rant, so I turned it into a separate post: Autism Speaks does NOT advocate for people with autism, and it never has. I’d intended to reblog this with the link to my rant shortly after I posted my rant yesterday; adding the image description for the original letter wound up taking a while.
Source: goldenheartedrose
Usually I try to keep a better balance of image to non-image posts here, but folks, I am tired of having to do 99% of the image descriptions and image credit info myself. (Yes, occasionally I post images without one or the other, but I try not to.) If y’all could pick up some of the slack at least once in a while, my blog could be prettier… and yours would be less obnoxious to people who create the images you find reblog-worthy and/or people who can’t see the images, whether due to physical disability, poverty (DSL isn’t cheap — or available at all — everywhere) or some other reason.
It’s bad enough when I see stuff that’s just pretty nature photos or fannish gifsets or something with neither descriptions nor credits, but social justice posts, people? Seriously?
C’mon. It’s a couple minutes of your time. If it’s worth reblogging, it’s worth reblogging right.
The moral of the fable “The North Wind and the Sun” is NOT that you get what you want more easily by being nice.
hasnt anyone on tumblr heard the fable of the sun and the north wind
like basically the moral is that its easier to get what you want by being nice and patient than by being an abrasive asshole because people will just shut you out if you do that
and people here think its unreasonable to say that no one will listen if you are rude as long as you’re ~oppressed~no people just dont want to heat what disrespectful people have to say and they clearly havent for thousands of goddamn years
That’s such bullshit. Are you actually claiming that progress happens when everyone’s really really nice? The point is that no one with power wants to hear what certain people have to say period, regardless of how politely they speak. No majority ever wants to listen to the minorities. And that has been true for thousands of years which is why most movements are full of vocal people being extremely impolite in persistent, loud ways.
And if we’re busting out the fables here, let me lay a quote on you:
“The tiger will never lie down with the lamb; he acknowledges no pact that is not reciprocal. The lamb must learn to run with the tigers.” - Angela Carter
Meaning if you want to be heard, you’d better learn to roar.
Your advice is great for dealing with certain social situations. It’s something I use when I navigate my own personal life with family and friends who sometimes hurt me and vice versa. But it’s terrible advice for any oppressed group trying to get somewhere. I’m not saying you can’t be nice about correcting someone’s terminology or explaining why something’s racist, that’s completely up to you and some people will probably listen. But to say that this is the better route to change and understanding overall is absurd.
I might also point out that your own post isn’t all that polite. It’s full of passive-agressive, condescending sarcasm (which I’ll happily return with gusto). So if you’re trying to drive a point home, you’re completely disregarding your own advice.
I actually love seeing people claim that the “moral” of the fable of the North Wind and the Sun is that you get what you want more easily by being nice than by being mean. Because it’s such a teachable moment.
Let’s break it down.
The North Wind thinks he’s just as good as the Sun, but the Sun is sure that he’s better than the North Wind.
The Sun deliberately picks a contest he knows he’ll have the advantage in. I mean, really, if you flip the contest parameters, make it about who can make the human put his coat on, there’s no way the Sun would win that one.
(Okay, maybe if the Sun blasted the poor mortal fiercely enough that he’d have to cover up to keep from getting a blistery sunburn… but that definitely wouldn’t qualify as getting your way by being the nicest, now would it? And really, if the Wind had blown at tornado speed he would not have had any trouble getting the cloak off the guy. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
But I digress.)
So, having chosen an uneven playing field, the Sun “wins” the false contest. But he didn’t win by being nicer.
He “won” by making sure the whole contest system was rigged in his favor, mendaciously presenting the contest as a way to measure their power fairly, and then pretending that he had “proved” that he was superior.
He “won” by resorting to deceit and unfairness.
Now, let’s look at what this fable really tells us.
Watch out for people claiming that you have less power because you’re simply not as good as they are, because chances are, they have chosen a contest where the parameters ensured you would lose before you began.
So tell the dog-eggs of the world that you’re not interested in their game of three-card monte, and that you’re under no obligation to treat people with respect who have only ever treated you with disrespect — and that you’re not going to let them derail you.
(Oh, and incidentally? You can actually catch more flies than you might think with vinegar. A saucerful of cider vinegar is an effective, cheap and easy way to deal with fruit flies, in particular.)
(via fannybawws)
Source: gogoatz
Columbus Day Again Already?
(via Coach Moon | EMPTY KINGDOM You are Here, We are Everywhere)
To brief or not to brief: Oh, DC, how is this a question?
First look at cover for the new 52 “0 issue” collection
DC has announced it is going to put all their 0 issues in giant book like they did last year with their first issues. Given the standalone nature of these stories, or so I suspect, this actually makes more sense than the collection of #1s.Here’s the cover for the book which is the “mock” cover for the Justice League 0 issue at least I assume since that is how the file is named.
It is indeed pleasing to see Wonder Woman here in full glory, art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, and that Trinity pretender and usurper Hal Jordan nowhere to be seen.
I’m joking. Maybe.
I found my way here via my Te’s reblog,* where she drew our attention to the effect of the Superman uniform redesign.**
And.
Well.
Now, whenever anyone asks me my opinion on the question of briefs-outside-the-tights vs. briefs-inside-only-if-at-all as pertains to costumed superheroes, I’ll be able to honestly and forthrightly answer:
* I reblogged this direct from dcwomenkickingass’s post both in order to switch from reblog-as-link to reblog-as-text — so that the image would actually show up on my post without everyone needing to click through; I’m not calling anybody lazy, just saying I use tumblr too — and also to draw attention to dcwomenkickingass’s tumblr masthead, which is the best masthead I’ve seen on any tumblr, and most any non-tumblr space.
** Her exact words were:
I have nothing to say about this save that the cover is a perfect illustration of why I have a love/hate relationship with Bruce’s and Clark’s new uniforms. I mean, look at Clark.
Look at Clark’s crotch.
LOOK AT IT.
Click ↓↓↓ to read the rest…
(via teland)
It’s Johnny Depp’s birthday today.
I’m very fond of his work with Tim Burton (the bloke on the right, there) despite my deep discomfort with the culturally-appropriating and othering choices that have been made in other films he’s been in — the Pirates of the Caribbean films most egregiously. If he does indeed have Cherokee ancestry, a claim which First Nations activists often question due to his not being listed with any of the federally recognized* Cherokee Nations, then he really should use his star status to pressure the directors, producers, screenwriters, costumers et al. he works with to refrain from slandering Native peoples, and from casting non-Native actors to play Native characters.
I mean, as far as I’m concerned, everyone with sufficient Hollywood cachet to make demands (whether they work in front of the camera or behind it) should refuse to participate in films that are racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-polytheist, anti-atheist, sexist, cissexist, heterosexist, ageist, ableist, and so on. But yes, I do also think that if you identify with any demographic that’s marginalized in Western culture, you have more of an obligation to not just give people a pass when you have the authority to hold them accountable.**
oh. okay then, dearie. :P
where’s that quote from?
Gotta admit, I’m curious as to the source of the aardvark quote, too…
* The problem with distinguishing Native people who are enrolled in a federally-recognized tribal nation from those who aren’t is right there in the phrase “federally-recognized” — meaning, of course, recognized by the United States federal government in the form of the notorious Bureau of Indian Affairs. (Yes, they still call it that. In 2012.) The BIA routinely denies recognition to extant tribal groups who can document their history so long as White property owners who stand to either lose real estate, face economic competition, or both, argue “persuasively” enough against recognition. And that’s not even getting into all the Native populations who can’t meet BIA standards of proof because Whites destroyed records and/or exterminated a high enough percentage of Native populations — or because the BIA itself took Native children away from their families to be re-educated and adopted into White families and thus created a break in the passing down of their tribe’s cultural traditions.
Then there are people like me, who probably would be “federally-recognized” in Canada, but because I and my parents and grandparents were all U.S. citizens, and neither the Métis nor (unless there was intermarriage with another, border-spanning tribe or tribes which we haven’t discovered via genealogical research) any of the currently-recognized Canadian First Nations my ancestors belonged to are recognized by the BIA, I fall outside both U.S. and Canadian definitions for recognition. Members of tribal nations south of the U.S. border — from Mexico down to the southernmost tip of South America — face the same refusal of recognition under U.S. law.
** Having the authority to hold others accountable for their prejudiced speech and behavior creates an affirmative obligation to do so, in my view. This does not apply to people who lack the situational authority to correct the offending person, though some brave individuals may do so anyway; I would definitely not argue that anyone has an obligation to challenge bigoted speech or behavior from, say, a supervisor who can fire them, or a police officer who’s just pulled them over. Personal safety comes first.
Source: deppz
![[Image description: A head-and-shoulders photo of United States President Barack Obama, wearing a dark suit with a flag lapel-pin over a white shirt and light-grey tie, smiling, against an out-of-focus background of warm-brown wood paneling and what appears to be an upright but furled American flag. At the top of the image, the single-word caption “HOPE.” Centered at the bottom of the image is the other part of the caption, “You don’t get indefinitely detained.” There is also a tiny watermark, no more than 10 or 12 pixels in height, right at the bottom edge of the image and at the left corner, identifying the captioning as having been done via ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM.]
Indefinite detention is a violation of our Constitution, multiple international treaties to which the United States is signatory, and fundamental human rights.
It should never have been countenanced in the first place. It is an abhorrent practice, and has already stained the honor of the United States… and ensured that a generation of today’s children will grow up seeing the USA as a two-faced country that claims to desire freedom and democracy yet mistreats their families and neighbors in violation of its own principles and laws. It’s probably too late to convince many young people who have already seen their loved ones suffer unbearable treatment; but we can at least work on not breeding enmity in any more children’s hearts.
The United States must abide by our own principles, and by our own laws and international law; otherwise, we are not merely hypocrites but the world’s bully, rather than its protector (as many Americans like to think of their country). Torture must stop, disappearances must stop, denial of legal representation must stop, and indefinite detention cannot be allowed to continue.
[image description: the Demand Progress logo, a ventral (palm-side) view of a stylized clenched fist, in red, with the wrist just visible at the left, and the words DEMAND (top) and PROGRESS (beneath) stacked to the right of the fist in dark-blue block letters, with variations in the depth of color throughout the logo giving the impression that it’s stamped or reproduced via woodcut.]
Demand Progress has made it easy to stand against this travesty of justice. “Congressmen Adam Smith and Justin Amash will put forth an amendment [when the NDAA comes up for re-authorization] to make it clear that the military does not have the power to arrest and indefinitely detain civilians without charging or trying them.” U.S. citizens and residents can click here to use an easy form to let their member of the House of Representatives know they support the Smith-Amash amendment; there’s an alternate version of the form for people who don’t have a United States address, too.
Here’s the text of the letter I sent to my Congressional rep via Think Progress:
It’s long past time for our nation to stop using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to trample Constitutional rights and violate international laws and treaties including the Geneva Convention. America can hardly be the defender of freedom and democracy we wish to be if we are denying democratic freedoms to anyone! As your constituent, I urge you to please, PLEASE support the Smith-Amash amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — this may be the only opportunity Congress will have this section to finally correct the noxious indefinite-detention-without-charge-or-trial sections of last year’s NDAA. I sincerely HOPE that you will do the RIGHT thing. Thank you for this opportunity to share my concerns with you.
Anyone who wants to tell Congress they oppose indefinite detention, either using the Think Progress page or by other means, is welcome to use any of the text in this post, without needing to credit me. (Any of the text may also be reproduced anywhere else, such as via reblogging, with credit.) In many cases, messages from the public with unique content, as opposed to dozens or hundreds of copies of a single version of a letter each differing only in the signatures on them, “count” more… so any kind of personalization helps. And not I know not everyone is confident they know what to say, or how to say it best, when contacting a politician’s office. Quoting from (or even just referencing) the Fourth, Fifth and/or Sixth Amendments may also be useful.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3twtdsMrn1r5bl33o1_500.jpg)
[Image description: A head-and-shoulders photo of United States President Barack Obama, wearing a dark suit with a flag lapel-pin over a white shirt and light-grey tie, smiling, against an out-of-focus background of warm-brown wood paneling and what appears to be an upright but furled American flag. At the top of the image, the single-word caption “HOPE.” Centered at the bottom of the image is the other part of the caption, “You don’t get indefinitely detained.” There is also a tiny watermark, no more than 10 or 12 pixels in height, right at the bottom edge of the image and at the left corner, identifying the captioning as having been done via ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM.]
Indefinite detention is a violation of our Constitution, multiple international treaties to which the United States is signatory, and fundamental human rights.
It should never have been countenanced in the first place. It is an abhorrent practice, and has already stained the honor of the United States… and ensured that a generation of today’s children will grow up seeing the USA as a two-faced country that claims to desire freedom and democracy yet mistreats their families and neighbors in violation of its own principles and laws. It’s probably too late to convince many young people who have already seen their loved ones suffer unbearable treatment; but we can at least work on not breeding enmity in any more children’s hearts.
The United States must abide by our own principles, and by our own laws and international law; otherwise, we are not merely hypocrites but the world’s bully, rather than its protector (as many Americans like to think of their country). Torture must stop, disappearances must stop, denial of legal representation must stop, and indefinite detention cannot be allowed to continue.
[image description: the Demand Progress logo, a ventral (palm-side) view of a stylized clenched fist, in red, with the wrist just visible at the left, and the words DEMAND (top) and PROGRESS (beneath) stacked to the right of the fist in dark-blue block letters, with variations in the depth of color throughout the logo giving the impression that it’s stamped or reproduced via woodcut.]
Demand Progress has made it easy to stand against this travesty of justice. “Congressmen Adam Smith and Justin Amash will put forth an amendment [when the NDAA comes up for re-authorization] to make it clear that the military does not have the power to arrest and indefinitely detain civilians without charging or trying them.” U.S. citizens and residents can click here to use an easy form to let their member of the House of Representatives know they support the Smith-Amash amendment; there’s an alternate version of the form for people who don’t have a United States address, too.
Here’s the text of the letter I sent to my Congressional rep via Think Progress:
It’s long past time for our nation to stop using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to trample Constitutional rights and violate international laws and treaties including the Geneva Convention. America can hardly be the defender of freedom and democracy we wish to be if we are denying democratic freedoms to anyone! As your constituent, I urge you to please, PLEASE support the Smith-Amash amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — this may be the only opportunity Congress will have this section to finally correct the noxious indefinite-detention-without-charge-or-trial sections of last year’s NDAA. I sincerely HOPE that you will do the RIGHT thing. Thank you for this opportunity to share my concerns with you.
Anyone who wants to tell Congress they oppose indefinite detention, either using the Think Progress page or by other means, is welcome to use any of the text in this post, without needing to credit me. (Any of the text may also be reproduced anywhere else, such as via reblogging, with credit.) In many cases, messages from the public with unique content, as opposed to dozens or hundreds of copies of a single version of a letter each differing only in the signatures on them, “count” more… so any kind of personalization helps. And not I know not everyone is confident they know what to say, or how to say it best, when contacting a politician’s office. Quoting from (or even just referencing) the Fourth, Fifth and/or Sixth Amendments may also be useful.
Source: act.demandprogress.org
