The Dandelion Seed

Television: In the criminal justice system--

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:10:50 -0400

Television: In the criminal justice system--
Me: SEXUALLY-BASED OFFENSES ARE CONSIDERED ESPECIALLY HEINOUS. IN NEW YORK CITY, THE DEDICATED DETECTIVES WHO INVESTIGATE THESE VICIOUS FELONIES ARE MEMBERS OF AN ELITE SQUAD KNOWN AS THE SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. THESE ARE THEIR STORIES. DUN DUN.

elphabaforpresidentofgallifrey: college

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:40:36 -0400

elphabaforpresidentofgallifrey:

college

Democrats on Benghazi: Death is a part of life!

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:30:59 -0400

Democrats on Benghazi: Death is a part of life!
Democrats on Abortion: It's a choice!!!
Democrats on Guns: If we can save just one life! =)

Photo

Sat, 11 May 2013 21:58:46 -0400

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Explains Why He Hates Fat Chicks | Elite Daily

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:20:10 -0400

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Explains Why He Hates Fat Chicks | Elite Daily:

proudblackconservative:

no-hate-for-snape:

I don’t call many people assholes, but I can think of no other word for this guy…

My gosh. I have never liked A&F for a variety of reasons, including their sexualization of young girls and their needlessly offensive at campaigns, but this just takes the cake.

theonlywatermelon: hermionici: “It’s weird how something so...

Sat, 04 May 2013 19:06:20 -0400

theonlywatermelon:

hermionici:

“It’s weird how something so simple represents so much.”

crying

reblog this everytime I see it on my dash because of the feels. asdfghjkl;

When someone asks if I want to play summer 7's

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:18:30 -0400

fuckyeahwomensrugby:

I’m like:

Photo

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:18:18 -0400

Photo

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:16:17 -0400

Photo

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:22:18 -0400

pleiadian-princess: radagastlovesyou: you-are-another-me: Th...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:21:29 -0400

pleiadian-princess:

radagastlovesyou:

you-are-another-me:

There is a tribe in Africa where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

And then, when the mother is pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or hurts its knee, someone picks it up and sings its song to it. Or perhaps the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song.

In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

And it goes this way through their life. In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when this child is lying in bed, ready to die, all the villagers know his or her song, and they sing—for the last time—the song to that person.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

This is the most amazing thing I have ever read.

THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL IM ALMOST TEARING UP

marginalutilite: aquaborn: dexhardlove: marginalutilite: More...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:14:06 -0400

marginalutilite:

aquaborn:

dexhardlove:

marginalutilite:

More posters from St James Infirmary’s “Sex Work Is Real Work” media campagin

Sex work IS real work! I love St. James Infirmary! Drop in on Wednesday evenings and let me take your vitals!

Also, did you know I’m a sex worker with a Masters Degree in Nursing? I chose to do this because I love it. Sex work is work I love too.

Except where you forgET THAT MOST PEOPLE IN SEX WORK ARE COERCED OR FORCED INTO IT. ONLY A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO DO IT BECAUSE ITS NOT THEIR ONLY OPTION.

I’m sorry, are you a sex worker? Why are you speaking for us? Where are you getting these numbers? Most studies by abolitionists have been discovered to be methodologically flawed in the extreme, and the numbers that have been collected show that sex trafficking is an incredibly small problem in comparison to domestic and agricultural labor trafficking. But I guess you can’t get your moral panic on as well about those issues. The real issue is SEX WORKERS’ RIGHTS, from survival sex workers to high class escorts.

Here’s how one recent crusade vs. sex trafficking went:

Citing Guardian journalist Nick Davies, a former UK Journalist of the Year who writes about falsehood and distortion in the media, Boff shows that Operation Pentameter One and Two, the first national police operations to rescue trafficked women and children, which were “hailed as a success” actually “accomplished worryingly little”:

“The results: Failure to find a single trafficker who forced women into prostitution. Operation Pentameter Two claimed to have carried out 822 raids on brothels; identified possible ‘victims’…and arrested 528. However after an arduous legal battle, the Guardian managed to obtain an analysis, marked restricted, by the police’s Human Trafficking Centre in Sheffield. The document revealed that, after 822 raids, no sex trafficker, by international definitions, had been found. And, after 822 raids, only 15 men and women were convicted of non-coerced ‘trafficking’ under the definition from the UK’s 2003 Sex Offences Act. 76 women and men were convicted of non-trafficking offences involving drugs or brothel laws. 73 were charged with immigrant breaches. Only 5 men were convicted of importing women and forcing them to work as prostitutes during this time – however these cases had come to light prior to the Operation Pentameter’s raids. Of the 167 so-called ‘victims,’ only 11 were found to be genuine victims who wanted or required police help.”

Most sex workers are actually NOT forced or coerced into it. And only like 7% have pimps. (Can’t remember the exact percentage. It’s been a few months since I’ve written the research paper on this exact topic.) They go in for economical reasons or because they love it. Plus it pays more than flipping a burger. Only a small percentage work on the streets. Only a fraction are coerced. It is empowering work for those who choose it. Also. Reliable data on this particular topic is hard to come by because of the political stigma that surrounds it. Researchers put out biased information that better supports their personal beliefs rather than the facts. Melissa Farley is a prime example of a biased researcher. If you see her name at the top of the article, pass right over it. She and others like her have the political and public ear and are able to scare people into leaving sex work illegal in America by false claims of sex trafficking. Other less biased researchers are denied governmental funding if they are not against prostitution. Don’t believe everything just because something says “Studies have shown…” before it.

Sex workers are not all poor and abused. Many are very intelligent. Customers of sex workers are not evil or disgusting. If more people would realize this, we could get on track making life easier for these workers and much safer.