you can't stop me

Ugh. I hate the current political climate. Trump is trash. I miss when we had REAL, GOOD presidents like *opens up a history book* umm... *keeps flipping* uhh... *frantically searches* oh Jesus oh god

thinking about anastasia trusova paintings again

CAN ANYONE HEAR ME

there's a lot to be said about how the average person indulges in delusions far more than anyone is really comfortable grappling with. every now and again, a poll comes out that reveals some sort of number of people who believe they have magical powers, usually pretty high, and everyone takes turns making fun of it and affirming their own Sanity

this is more observational than scientific, but it really does seem like writing off delusional thinking as the realm of the "insane" creates this valley where the "normal" person's thinking (especially a person who considers themself normal, but that's a whole other kettle of fish) must be more empirical, because, categorically, they are not insane

I betray a bit of a tendency towards criticising pop-psychiatry here, but I really don't think it's entirely fair to treat "hallucinations" and "delusions" as these incomprehensible eldritch states of the Other when the most stable person you know is a few nights of bad sleep and one day of unreturned phonecalls away from saying something that would qualify them for a pretty severe diagnosis

most people won't admit to having any kind of hallucination at all for fear of being locked up and yet the occasional weird fucking nighttime ones that you know aren't real are, to my knowledge, one of the most common and universal human experiences

there's an interesting thing I've noticed pretty often when someone first makes friends with schizophrenic people, which is that they undergo this period where they get anxious about whether or not they're a little schizophrenic (I'm guilty of doing this too) before either shutting down entirely or becoming more open to engaging with their own internal concept of sanity

it's so universal that it really brings into sharp focus just how much effort social norms encourage in rejecting everything that could make you seem even a little bit similar to groups that have been written off as morally defective, which makes them seem even more alien and incomprehensible in turn

you're only really allowed to acknowledge these experiences if you're making jokes about them, which I think is a big reason why shadow people and sleep paralysis demons are such an enduring topic of memes. you're only allowed to acknowledge you experience distressing sensory phenomena when it's part of a socially affirming in-joke

The vast majority of mental illness symptoms are completely typical functions and behaviours, but occurring frequently or severely enough to become a problem. They're not some Unique Thing Only Those Insane People Have.

yes I am always saying that.

mental illnesses are almost always "you do something that everyone does, but REALLY BAD or REALLY OFTEN"

like, ADHD: Basically every ADHD symptom is something that everyone does. fidgeting? having trouble focusing? getting distracted? hyperfocusing? time blindness?

Everyone does those from time to time and for one reason or another. We call it ADHD when you do it so much that it causes you problems, and it can't easily be fixed by things like "drink less coffee" or "get rid of distractions".

And the same goes for delusions and hallucinations. Everybody can get them, it's not a fundamentally different thing that only People With Delusion/Hallucination Disease get.

pliny the elder sailing towards pompeii: oobh i got pliny of time

the police budhget should be one dirty old penny that smells & is cursed

this is the funniest online overreaction ive seen and nothing will ever beat it

Young people have GOT to stop talking about conservatives like they're scary menacing monsters. Yes the policies they back are horrifically destructive but that's entirely because of how individually stupid, fearful, emotionally stunted, weak willed and catastrophically gullible they are. That all is what made them become right wing to begin with. Just the most easily manipulated zombie sheep on earth.

People I have encountered in the past month who voted for Tr*mp include:

- Homeless girl who asked for my pronouns immediately and used them correctly every time

- Hispanic woman with a large family who just got her citizenship and is still working on her English

Neither of these women understood what they were supporting, they mostly saw ads that he was going to reduce grocery prices and voted based on that. Neither of them have consistent access to information or any relevant political education, nor the time, money, or energy to seek it out because they are focused on surviving.

A vast amount of republican voters are exactly the same, and it's a direct result of the GOP strategically denying them resources. We cannot move forward if you throw people to the curb for not knowing any better.

I need to emphasize that these people are "stupid, fearful, emotionally stunted, weak willed and catastrophically gullible" because they have been forcefully kept in poverty without access to proper education, therapy, or community support and fed fearmongering propaganda their entire lives without anyone ever showing them life can be better. They are traumatized and exhausted and a lot of them are trapped in religious cults.

They are like this because the GOP has meticulously engineered huge swaths of the country to be that way. It is not an inherent personal failing and it is very likely you would be the same had you grown up in the same circumstances.

You do not have to shake hands with bigots, but you need to have compassion and understanding for people who have not yet been given the resources and political understanding you have.

I'm not done here actually. Dehumanization like "zombie sheep" is in direct opposition to the kinds of strategies we are going to need to survive after January 6th. Yes, these people voted for something horrific, but they are still people and as things get bad most of them are going to be negatively impacted– and when that happens we need to be there to support them because that is how we get them to join us and fight back. Everything that makes them susceptible to right-wing propaganda will work in our favor in the right circumstances.

We simply will not get anywhere if we are determined to not see people we hate as people. Humans can learn and grow, zombie sheep cannot.

ETA: Since people are misconstruing my meaning here, we punch fascists on sight. But if someone says "I didn't realize this would happen when I voted for the fascists" or there's even a single crack in their loyalty you scoop them up ASAP no matter how much you want to toss them off a cliff because with a bit of compassion you can get them to turn against the fascists, and that is how we win.

I was going to be done with this post, but just came across something I want to add because it's a lens anyone who primarily interacts with politics online is completely missing:

This is the heart of what I was trying to get across. People are not black-or-white, they're messy and diverse and a lot more malleable than you might think. If you gauge party politics by what you see online and in the media you do not understand the average American at all.

If you see right-wing voters as a distinct class of people it just shows that you exist in a bubble. Only people with a certain level of education and access to information talk about politics the way it's discussed on the internet, and if you refuse to exit that bubble out of fear, hatred, and classism you will not be able to successfully organize resistance to the coming administration.

go white boy goooo

no white boy not like that

white boy i've never seen anyone fuck it up like that

If I were found in a 'night at the museum" situation, there would be no wacky hijinks, let me tell you. I'd kill myself instantly. The wax figures wouldn't even be alive yet and I'd be dead.

Jesus fucking christ. MY BAD.

He's literally me fr

How many times do you think he has to do this a day with how popular his game is

why do you think deltarune chapter 3 is taking so long...

∴ᒷ ᒲ⚍ᓭℸ ̣ ⊣╎⍊ᒷ ⍑╎ᒲ ℸ ̣╎ᒲᒷ…. リ𝙹, リ𝙹ℸ ̣ ⎓∷𝙹ᒲ ᒲᔑꖌ╎リ⊣ ⊣ᔑᒲᒷ, ʖ⚍ℸ ̣ ⎓∷𝙹ᒲ ⎓ᔑリᔑ∷ℸ ̣ ʖᒷᓵᔑ⚍ᓭᒷ ⍑ᒷ ʖ𝙹⚍リᓵᒷᓭ ℸ ̣𝙹𝙹 𝙹⎓ℸ ̣ᒷリ

⍑╎╎╎ ⍑ᒷꖎꖎ𝙹 ⍑╎

oh ok

HELLO HAIII !!!!!

⍑ᒷꖎꖎ𝙹!!! ⍑╎╎╎ ⍑╎!!! ᓭ𝙹∷∷|| ⎓𝙹∷ ᓵ𝙹リ⎓⚍ᓭ╎リ⊣ ᒲ|| ℸ ̣∷ᔑリᓭꖎᔑℸ ̣𝙹∷ ʖ∷𝙹ꖌᒷ↸!

ITS ALL GOOD ^_^ YAYYYYYY

여어- 히싸씨부리 （ ɔ̸ᴉʇɐ͟N͞さんのツイート ）

“NAFTER NOON!”

Every. Time. Every single time. I always get so delighted by this picture set. And I always forget what it’s followed up by. And then I see the “NAFTER NOON!” and absolutely lose it. I’m so glad this post exists.

Wilkins woke up and chose violence

These are not only legitimate, but 179 of them were made by the real, actual Jim Henson Studios.

That is the HEIGHT of comedy right there

It sounded like kermit.

Here is a skill that many of us are going to need for survival: how to tell if someone is offering to let you lie.

The tip-off phrase is "If [circumstance] was true, then we/I could do [helpful thing.]" This is not a guarantee that the person is offering, but it should tell you "I am being informed of a way to improve things."

Your confirmation phrase is "What documentation would that require?" This is essentially asking them "if people come asking me to prove this, will I be able to? Or will they not come at all?"

The answer you are hoping for with the confirmation phrase is "Just tell me if it's true, and I'll put it on the form." Note that this is not a direct instruction to lie, because they can't tell you that.

If they didn't mean to extend an offer to lie or this is a situation where they can't, then they'll list off something like your paystubs or your birth certificate. Your response back in that case is "Thanks, I'll tell my friends who qualify." This clears you of any concerns that you may have been considering lying.

The more complex answer is when they answer by giving you a form on the spot. Your job, in this case, is to scan the form and see if what they are asking you can be meaningfully verified by an official source.

Things that can be verified by an official source include, but are not limited to, your age, legal sex, income, veteran status, and place of residence. It's not generally a good idea to lie about these on official documents.

Be smart, and be practical. Do what you need to in order to stay alive, and keep an ear out for the people offering to help you do so.

im having trouble understanding this in the abstract, could someone give an example of a hypothetical situation this would apply to?

"This medication is covered for FREE if you are quitting smoking. Are you working on quitting?"

*me, thinking about how I quit smoking in 2018 and it is now the year of our lord 2024* "Oh yeah, still working very hard. You know how those cravings can hit."

*please note, how I omitted the truth in the example. I didn't ANNOUNCE it been 6 years SINCE I ALREADY QUIT. I said that I was working hard because cravings are still a thing (6 years later not said out loud). The fact I haven't have a SINGLE one in 4 years [I was Weak during lockdown but could not finish a cig anymore] is irrelevant. The doctor asking me was *nudge nudge wink wink* pointing out that labeling my cig use as "not quite quit yet" would cut some costs on medications.

Sometimes the 'lies' you are being an opportunity to nod along for are just ommissions of truth. Like- still being an active smoker for easier access to other treatments or random pains being worse than YOU personally find them. "If X is true, Y could be an option for you" is a way to allow you to snip off details to make X TECHNICALLY true. They are asking you to be a VAGUE fuck- not a pedantic one. For BOTH of y'all's plausible deniability.

"So these symptoms prevent you from doing [X, Y, Z] activities?"

Even if YOU think you are mildly inconvenienced at best, 'OH YEAH- the generalized fatigue/nagging pain/light headed feeling just makes it so hard to [whatever activity you just find more choresome in those circumstances]!'

I have also had it happen at random coffee shops. Or vape shops.

"How much cash do you have on you? Conveniently this is on sale RIGHT NOW for you for 5 dollars less than that IF it happens to be your birthday. It's your birthday... RIGHT??????"

Is the exact same concept. "You have a coupon right?" "And you saw the BOGO deal and remembered to mention it, RIGHT? Cuz mentioning it before I complete the transaction will make these BOGO..."

My doctor and I wanted me to get a new medical device that would be a big improvement over the one I had.

The device manufacturer was obviously invested in my getting one, since that's how they make money, so they have people whose job is to work with insurance to get it covered.

My insurance was obviously not invested in my getting one if my current device was still functioning sufficiently, because they'd have to pay that money.

During an initial call with the device manufacturer, they asked if there were any issues with my current device, because that would dramatically increase the odds of insurance deciding to cover it (so that I wouldn't have to pay $8k out of pocket or put off switching for a few years). They gave examples: is it cracked? does it lose charge faster than it used to? is the screen too dim?

She was offering me the opportunity and enough information to give a reply that would get results.

As it happened, some of those examples were true for me, though not to an extent that I would have thought to report them. Because of that, I didn't think to ask OP's confirmation phrase about what documentation would be required to prove it, but as it turns out, all I had to do was tell her so she could put it on the form—no one would be inspecting my device to confirm or anything like that.

My insurance approved it, I didn't pay anything, and that aspect of my health and routine health maintenance improved significantly.

My sincere appreciation to that lady and everyone else out there pulling Mr. Incredibles to help people out.

eat an entire can of sweetened condensed milk. you deserve it.

(sigh) okay... (CRUUEEENNNCH....) (SCREEEEEENCH...) owie.. (CRUUEEENCH)

this is one of the most rewarding things about posting self care tips on this site. witnessing people's lives getting better in real time. this is why I post

Whenever I see the sheer love that people still have for My Chemical Romance, the way that they made a single piano note so recognizable, I think of this Cracked article from 2006 and laugh and laugh and laugh

they look so wise sitting on top of the mountain

Important Vizcacha Update: