The only curves I wanna see are on all us of radiant womxn. Masks > bras

what really gets me about the argument that “americans are so selfish they can’t even care about others enough to stop the virus” is that we fucking did. the vast majority of americans, at great personal and financial cost to ourselves, went inside and distanced and took precautions and isolated and changed our lives to slow the spread and keep our loved ones and strangers safe. we did that for months, even when the government offered piss poor assistance and unemployment skyrocketed and food bank lines lengthened and the death counts climbed and parents with young children reached a breaking point, we still did it. the polling still shows that the vast majority of americans are more worried about easing restrictions too soon even if it hurts the economy. americans give a shit. we care. we made the sacrifices to give our government the time to figure out and implement a plan — to find a way to keep us safe and as healthy as possible and to use the power of the federal government to protect small businesses and feed our children and put a roof over our heads and create education campaigns to get people to socially distance and wear a mask for fucks sake. we did that, and at the end of months of sacrifice they decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble and have left us at the whims of our governors and local officials, left us at the mercy of our employers, left us to die.

americans aren’t selfish — our minority-rule government is — and it’s left us to die.

We DO care! Even the ones who have to go outside and work care, it is the government that doesn't care and this forces people to go out and work and risk their lives because their government doesn't care enough about giving them enough money to live off of while staying indoors. We care, but we also need money to survive because we still have rent to pay, taxes, family to feed, etc. And very little to none of this is provided for us by the government during this pandemic.

Here’s a fun tale from your local Target employee:

I was pushing truck for OTC today which is the pharmacy area. I was pushing cases of hand sanitizer because we got the “good stuff” in today (purell) and it goes quick even with the the product limit put in place. People were literally taking it from my hand before I could put it on the shelf, but that’s not the point.

As I was putting the goods on the shelf, this woman comes up to the stand and she’s very excited. “Yes! You guys have it! How many can I take, is there a limit?” I say yes, 3 per person per transaction per day. She nods, accepting, and grabs her three. “Sorry, that was weird. I’m a teacher, I’m trying to stock up. I promise I’m not a hoarder.” I smile and nod and say it’s fine. She starts to walk away but stops and turns back.

“Do you have any Clorox wipes in stock by any chance?”

Heart sinking, I shake my head and say no, sorry, and we don’t know for sure when we’ll get more. (We get them maybe once every two weeks, but the product limit for those is one per person per transaction per day and they usually sell out within hours of going on the shelf.)

Her face dropped and she kinda looked down at her hand sanitizer and said “that’s okay, with the product limit I wouldn’t be able to get enough before school starts anyway. It’s only 4 weeks away.” She laughed a little but I could hear the frustration in her voice and see the tension in her face. She sounded defeated. The most I could offer her was one of the small bottles of pure bleach. I honestly wanted to cry. For a second there I thought she would. I had no clue what to say as she turned and walked away.

This is what teachers are dealing with. Even in years when there’s not a pandemic they have to rely on donations from parents or their own money to be able to buy hand sanitizer, wipes, tissues, etc. for their classrooms. Now they’re being forced to return to school with no extra funding, no extra supplies, no support from the government; they’re STILL expected to provide for and protect these kids *on their own.* All while, now, risking their own lives and their own health because the government doesn’t want to admit that they fucked up handling this pandemic.

Every time I hear someone say “kids don’t die from it, it’ll be fine,” I realize that person does not give a flying fuck about teachers. Sure, *maybe* the kids will be fine. But the teachers are not children. They are adults with underlying conditions, adults living with elderly family, adults who are over 50 and are at more risk. Adults with at risk family at home. Adults who are at risk themselves. But they are STILL trying their hardest to protect your children in the classroom.

It’s honestly fucked up that we live in a country where police departments get millions or even billions of dollars in state funding, yet teachers have to buy their own cleaning supplies and doctors have to reuse PPE in hospitals. Police get tens of thousands of dollars worth of riot armor to wear and terrorize peaceful protesters, while the Navajo Nation get sent body bags instead of medical supplies.

Honestly I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I’m tired y’all. I’m tired and frustrated because leadership in this country doesn’t care enough to prioritize human life. Idk, it was a small moment in the grand scheme of things but it really was a slap in the face reminder of how this country treats it’s own people. I feel like we’ve all been getting those lately.

Kids don't die from it except when they DO, and teachers CARE and when they can't prevent it and they know that their kids are dying and hospitalized and irreparably harmed and they couldn't stop it, you're setting a lot of people up for a LOT of trauma, on top of everything else too.

Reblogging because I just can’t even any more. I can’t work during this pandemic and every day I read about a need for lifesaving supplies that I’d help pay for if I could. What ARE the people who measure their quarterly profits in billions even DOING?

teachers here in texas (several of whom are good friends of mine) are writing their wills because of school reopening. finding that out just...completely broke me.

My mother is a teacher who used to get bronchitis every year, and just generally has a lot of underlying health conditions due to Agent Orange. We also live in Texas, and it has me wondering how I would cope with her death, and how my 5 year old sister would too.

All of this. I struggle with the thought when my S.O. goes back to work in the coming weeks if he can take the trauma of the kids, his students, falling ill and being hospitalized and possibly dying. I doubt so, I doubt anyone could deal with that, let alone the chance of you yourself getting it. I worry and stress that by December he might not be around. And he doesn't get any extra supplies or help, no cleaning supplies provided, it feels like everyone is just saying "good luck" to our teachers and kids and turning a blind eye...

We should already be planning how we’re going to support the nigh-inevitable mass teachers’ strike in a few weeks.

Listen to teachers now.

Follow some teaching groups like Red For Ed in Arizona who already are protesting.

Watch cities like Phoenix, LA, Orlando, Miami, and other hot spots in the next couple of weeks.

Donate to your local teacher’s union. Donate to local school PPE funds.

We are already organizing. Help us prepare.

many of the worst places for this are where striking, collective bargaining, and/or labor unions (… effectively even if not literally) are illegal - meaning they could lose licensure, pensions, and/or be jailed for attempts at these.

even if you’re not in education, i truly encourage you to protest a full reopen of schools. call and ask them how many of them have pulled their own children but demand the teachers and students show up. as the op mentioned, donate money if/where you can.

children will die — especially those with disabilities. their guardians will die. educators and janitors will die. bus drivers will die. and now teachers are the ones who have to figure out what to do.

the governments know. they expect everyone, including children, to be okay with it when they get sick or are permantly disabled, or when people around them die or are permanently disabled from the government creating what WILL be entirely preventable nationwide superspreader events.

national unions and teachers’ organizations still provide aid where local chapters cannot. some examples are the NEA, the AFT, and the IWW.

Well, one teacher is pissed.

Not pissed...

The teacher has provided a very thoughtful analysis of issues that must be addressed BEFORE we can SAFELY reopen PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

...proactive.

I’m just going to jump on here because this is my families reality at the moment. My mother is a high school theatre teacher and has been teaching for the last ~30 years.

One of the big things my state has been championing for going back to school is using larger rooms such as theaters, gyms, etc.

My mother’s Theater seats 120 people, which is on the bigger side for a public high school. Here is what that 6 feet apart looks like in the seats.Each white X marks a seat that cannot be used. The blue post-its are where they can.

16 seats. Out of 120. We measured the stage as well, to try and find room for kids to sit on-stage. 15 seats. This is one of the biggest rooms on the campus, not including the gym. 30 students, not including the teacher.

Average class size in her school before the pandemic started is 35 at the lowest. I’ve been in high school classes that range closer to 45.

There is an extremely confusing schedule still being hammered out that would involve class sizes being shrunk and finagled around, the semesters changed to quarters etc. etc. The expectation is that the teachers will sanitize their classrooms between the classes. Which is a pain, but teachers will absolutely do that. Good teachers go way above and beyond for their students.

And then the district told them that they have to provide their own PPE.

I live in a big city. You still can’t find good masks around here, gloves are in short supply. Hand sanitizer has finally been swooping back in, lysol wipes or anything like that are not. As of 7/8/2020, their union is still fighting tooth and nail for PPE to be provided. All while our Covid-19 cases continue to explode up.

I’m in California. She’s in a really good district, with decent funding and a great facility. We’re literally in one of the best-case scenario areas. I can’t imagine how the fuck these negotiations are going elsewhere, places with less funding in states run by fucking idiots.

Physically coming back to school is not feasible. There is no way without a lot of funding, that is not going to just magically appear, to keep students and teachers safe. Trying to do so with what we know now, with the preventative measures we have, with the funding the district has available, is going to end up killing people.

My mom was telling me just the other day that on the message board where she and other teachers from her state discuss these issues, one had just blown the whistle on another district’s administration’s plan for online instruction. They planned to offer online IF:

- a parent or childcare professional (like a nanny) could be available throughout the day to supervise the kid and provide assistance

- parents would have to supply the computer and Internet needed

- the kid has to have had good enough grades prior to going online that they aren’t considered a risk for falling behind

The obvious problem with these guidelines is that they favor rich, well-off parents who can afford to cover these conditions. My mother lives in a poor state, so a large swath of kids aren’t going to fall into that category. That’s why the teacher was reporting on it, because it’s unfair and quite possibly illegal.

But on the other hand, I can understand why the school is considering these guidelines. In rural areas where it’s “too expensive” for companies to provide high speed Internet, online instruction has been impossible. Even my mother, the teacher, doesn’t have internet at her house fast enough to stream video, and it has a tight data cap. She would have to go into school anyway just to record her lessons, and then only half the class or so would be able to watch them without going into the public library or somewhere else with public wifi, which is something we’re trying to avoid.

The fact is that systemic issues have brought us to this point. Public schools are underfunded. Teachers are not being paid overtime for the extra work they’re having to put in to change to online instruction (for example, in case they move online my mother’s school made her move to a new software program, and unlike the last one this one doesn’t allow you to import lessons plans so she has to retype them all by hand, not just this year but EVERY year, and that takes hours, which she usually has to spend during her own unpaid time because elementary teachers do not get adequate breaks to do everything they have to during paid school day time). Internet, despite being at this point indispensable to modern life, is not provided to all people in our country because it’s still considered a product and not a utility. And all these problems have collided and they’re coming down on teachers’ heads.

My point here is please be kind to teachers during this time, they’re doing their best and they have little help.

^ OK if this was a teen dystopia novel the reader would roll their eyes at how ridiculous and over the top that was

This isn’t real right?

Tell me someone has proof that this isn’t real.

u/Cant_Even18 shares the horrific details of what it was like to have COVID.

Wear your masks. Wash your hands. Socially distance. And most importantly: stay the fuck home if you can.

hey since case numbers are SURGING AGAIN in the united states, i figure this is as good a time as any to reblog this again

Quick Reminder...

What’s Different?

That’s literally it: fewer lockdowns, closures, and stay-at-home orders, often due to political pressure.

But COVID-19 is still here. It’s still contagious. People are still getting it. People are still dying from it. Just because it’s not as prominent in the news does not mean that this 2020 story arc has concluded!

Please

Source: I am an actual contact tracer and I just got home from a very long shift where we are having to reach out to more and more and more people as they are exposed to people with positive COVID-19 tests.

Please stay safe.

Quick Reminder...

What’s Different?

That’s literally it: fewer lockdowns, closures, and stay-at-home orders, often due to political pressure.

But COVID-19 is still here. It’s still contagious. People are still getting it. People are still dying from it. Just because it’s not as prominent in the news does not mean that this 2020 story arc has concluded!

Please

Source: I am an actual contact tracer and I just got home from a very long shift where we are having to reach out to more and more and more people as they are exposed to people with positive COVID-19 tests.

Please stay safe.

Hello, honey bees, firstly, I just want to say that I hope you're all staying safe and taking good care of yourselves and each other during this devastating time. The current state of the world is definitely affecting everybody, in various different ways, including us witches. I know for a lot of us not only have our daily routines been affected, but our magickal practices as well. So, with that thought in mind, I thought I would compile a list of tips, and ideas to keep your practice thriving.

For Essential Witches:

For Witches Stuck at Home:

Other Tips:

Make Apollo, Asclepius, and Hygeia proud by wearing a mask!!!😷

For whatever reason. Right now as of uhhhh Friday March 27, of 2020, within the quarantine of COVID-19 you are most likely want to garden in order to feed your family as you want to save money from the grocery store. And to ya know. feed your family.

SO. Here’s some YouTube videos. Mainly from this one YouTuber since she runs her own farm. She talks about what to grow and how to grow as well as saving seeds. (Trust me, saving seeds is better in the long run.) You can also regrow kitchen scraps too if you feel like you’re unable to get any proper seeds. And for fun have a post apocalyptic type garden.

What to plant in a small garden:

Fast-food growing options:

The importance of Seed saving:

How to build an arched trellis for $30:

A complete guide to virtual gardening:

How to PLANT & GROW with cattle panel arched trellises:

14 store bought vegetables & herbs you can regrow:

Save your kitchen scraps, these 7 plants can be grown out of them:

9 survival gardening crops to grow in a post apocalyptic world:

Well I don't love this.

I’m not going back out in the world until there’s a vaccine. 

I read this last night and it kept me up

Reblogging because of the very important info at the end of the article - if you experience symptoms of a stroke, seek help IMMEDIATELY because even large strokes are treatable, but time is of the essence.

I just grabbed this from Google because the article didn't have any easy info on stroke identification. Remember the basics:

F- face, is it under control?

A - arms, can you raise them both at the same time?

S - speech, can you talk or are you slurring?

T - time is of the essence, go to a hospital IMMEDIATELY

This is scary stuff. Stay informed lovelies.

what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

STAYING SANE IN QUARANTINE

🏡 make lists and logs- to do lists should have 3 main tasks per day, log what you accomplish each night. Plan ahead if you want to live your day with intention and log if you seek reflection. other lists you can make include favorite movies/shows, books/articles/blogs to read, recipe’s to try, projects to start, hobbies to try, products to buy, small business to support. Refer to these lists for something to do when you’re bored or overwhelmed to shift your focus. 

🏡 cultivating a routine and designating areas for work and leisure will help you stay organized and structured, try the Pomodoro Technique. If you want to fall asleep faster, only use your bed for sleeping and nothing else. This will make your brain associate your bed with sleep.

🏡 make a box- making a self care box you can pull out from under your bed is a really comforting activity! Put in your favorite things like snacks, tea, face masks, print or write out journal prompts to complete, a self help/improvement book to turn to, art prints, enamel pins. You can also make a memory, prayer or manifestation box by writing down your thoughts and putting them into the according box. 

🏡 get fresh air- keep your distance from people and go for a walk or jog around your neighborhood. Going outside releases endorphins- which make us feel good. And spending time in the sun also allows us to naturally soak up some vitamin D. Put on a podcast and get moving!

🏡 listen to your body- look up some mindfulness tricks and learn how to listen to what your body needs. Rest? Movement? Feel a lot of built up energy or maybe you’re pushing yourself past your limits? Breathing techniques will help you clear your mind of anxious thoughts and you’ll be able to hear your bodies needs easier.

 *If your body needs rest- pick one!: a warm bath with Epsom salt will relax your body- personalize it with your favorite essential oils, watch your favorite show/movie wrapped in blankets, follow along with a yoga tutorial, sit somewhere comfortably and try a meditation app such as Calm, Headspace or Chillscape. As your mind relaxes your body will follow.

*If your body needs movement- pick one!: go for a 30 minute walk outside, work out for 10 minutes- use Pinterest to search for workout challenges that target desired areas, dance in your room to nostalgic music, stretch for 15 minutes, go for a bike ride- explore areas in your neighborhood you’re unfamiliar with  

🏡 managing stressful thoughts- our bodies sense a threat, we are in fight or flight mode. It’s a completely natural response to feel stressed or worried about the current state of the world. This is an unprecedented and unpredictable time. But, stress and worry weaken the immune system and the mind. Our thoughts are in our control and have great power. Our attitude matters. Shift angry and resentful thoughts to hopefulness. Look for the silver lining in the pandemic, many things are being brought to light such as the effects of capitalism, room for nature to breathe, and people’s relationship with themselves.     

🏡 keeping in touch with technology- Houseparty is a video calling app with interactive games that allows a maximum of 8 people in a call. Try to help elderly family members or neighbors connect online if they aren’t sure how to. Tag your friends in challenges. Send an invitation out to your friends to set up a group chat for a specific time. Streaming services have incorporated technology that allow you and your friends to watch the same movie while staying separated. 

🏡 setting boundaries- in your home and with technology. Be clear with the people you live with when you need space and time alone. Try to have one day a week you’re offline. It’s important to reset your energy so past things don’t continue to arise in your life. Creating space in our schedules allows us to see where are focus is and what areas in our life we are neglecting.    

🏡 music- make playlists, search for new artists, listen to binaural beats for deeper meditations or to help you fall asleep, find compilations on youtube; vintage oldies, 2000 hits and jazz instrumentals are some of my favorites, search a genre or mood on spoify to switch up work/study music

♡ The world has practically come to a stand still which gives us a chance to do the things we were too busy to do prior. So I've decided to make a list for myself, and for others looking for inspiration ♡

And before getting started, A BIG THANK YOU to those still working and risking their health and well being during this Pandemic, and I extend that beyond our "borders"

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Of course, I'll end this post with a message: it may look bad out there, especially through news networks and media. But it is not the end. Positive environmental changes are occuring due to lack of human activity, and perhaps this will be a turning point in how we address humanity's impact on the environment. It may also bring about positive change in healthcare in the United States and perhaps elsewhere. There are also countless stories of humans being kind to one another, i'd list them but I didnt save them. They are out there. In times of crisis, we see the worst, and the best, in people.

We will overcome. We will evolve.

Blessed be,

The Closeted Witchlet

PSA: Quarantine is 100% the time to learn a new instrument. I am very biased but I fully endorse this message and give you all my enthusiasm and support

Fuck, get a ukulele! Play guitar! Bass guitar is hella fun and you can just sit on the couch/ bed/ floor and jam around for hours!

Play piano! Get a keyboard and spend all of your extra time on it!

Fun fact: it is a very common misconception that many adults feel that they cannot learn an instrument because they didn’t start as a little kid! The fun pet is that this is a false assumption! (I am a music teacher and have taught many adults and they always feel this way but they’re always wrong and they’re always so happy when they get going and experience all of this momentum as the instrument gets easier and easier!)

Normally a lot of working adults are genuinely quite busy and don’t have a ton of time for leisure activities let alone a new mental/spiritual project like learning how to play music BUT self isolation is the perfect time to spend your extra time learning something new!!

I am a private flute teacher and all of my lessons are online right now, as I know many teachers are doing. So if you want a teacher, you can do that! Or if you want to learn on your own, you can do that too! There are music books specifically geared for beginning adults so they aren’t going to be agonizingly baby slow and they’re still going to teach you everything you need to know!

Please go try an instrument, friends! And PM me if you have any questions please :) I love you all very much

-L

to my followers in isolation currently, music is helpful for one's mental health and learning anything, such as how to play an instrument, really helps pass the time and gives you goals to achieve. and no one is ever too old to learn something new imo 💚

Quarantine Schedule - College Witch Edition

Hi my greenies! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. During these stressful and uncertain times, it can be very difficult to stay calm and productive. I hope that I may be able to give some ideas of how to keep in touch with your witchcraft while also being active in mental health and daily necessities. Here are some ways I’m coping with quarantine and I hope these might help some of you.

Morning: 8:30 am - 12:00 pm

Afternoon: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Nighttime: 6:00 pm - 11:30 pm

I hope this might help you create a schedule or routine to follow during these stressful times. Obviously, things happen and I don’t always stick with the schedule, but I try to and that’s all that really matters. I know not everyone has the ability to complete witchcraft in their home and I give my thoughts to you. I’ll be available to talk with if any of you are struggling with coping during these times and I’m going to try and be more active, so that you all have content to look forward to. I’ll be posting a recipe soon! Look forward to it:)

Love you all,

Kenzie

for anyone struggling currently to keep any form of schedule or routine because of the stress that comes from the pandemic, this is a really good routine to follow or use the bare bones of this to make one that fits yourself. hell, even just doing one of these things from this list every day at a specific time would be helpful.