when i was 15, i felt like… really deeply DEEPLY uncomfortable with the fact that there were cameras everywhere at my highschool. the sensation of not being able to walk to class without being monitored somehow really fucked with me for some reason.
this only worsened after seeing this segment on the school news that featured various stupid stuff caught on the hallway cameras, like people falling down or readjusting their underwear when they thought the hallways were empty.
but they werent. there was someone watching, and they forgot to police their behavior and ended up getting embarrassed for it. everyone laughed at this segment. i remember the classroom being filled with snickers as someone fell flat on their face. i wasn’t a “superwoke” kid or anything, but i didnt think this was funny. i thought it was scary. what if that was me? what if i got caught fixing a wedgie on camera without even knowing it?
i remember these cameras being used for everything – spotting dress code violations, catching students skipping class, etc. you can argue that they shouldnt have broken the rules, sure, but that doesnt excuse the concept of Being Constantly Watched.
and what about the times when they weren’t doing something wrong? like when they were walking back from the bathroom or tripping over their own feet? did that warrant embarrassment and shame from their watchful spectators? does existing in a school hallway warrant surveillance?
this brings me to the concept of anti-shooter architecture. there is a rising interest in school layouts that prepare for the possibility of a shooter roaming the halls. these improvements include bulletproof glass, concrete cover, and…. something scary.
many of these highschool floor plans include some type of circular or central “watch tower” feature, and the designers actively boast about it being a panopticon. a panopticon. the same thing they use in prisons to enforce the idea that the prisoners are always being watched, though they can never really know when.
what kind of effect will “anti-shooter architecture” have on kid’s minds? the constant threat of violence is already taking its toll on teenagers who have undergone active shooter drills, and this concept of air-tight security (clear backpacks, metal detectors, camera surveillance, constantly locked doors, etc) is not really an environment you would want to raise a child in, so why are we sticking kids in schools like that for 7-8 hours a day?
which leads into the next thing. many people’s solution to this is more guns, which equates to police presence in schools. ive already seen videos coming out of school cops beating black kids and ordering muslim girls to take off their hijabs. but beyond the racism and xenophobia, it’s another (now living) reminder of the unsafe environment these kids find themselves in. another reminder that theyre being watched and their behavior is being judged according to the law, or whatever the cop or teachers find inappropriate. that standing up for themselves or arguing can be taken as hostile and warrant physical intervention.
police presence on campus grounds is DIRECTLY used to suppress student activism. you know that.i know that. we know that. you remember that photo of the cop spraying a line of peaceful protesters? you remember that cop that tackled a student for holding a sign? you remember the fucking car fuls of kids that were arrested for protesting?
police are our enemy, but they can be found in plenty of highschools and colleges now. even in elementary schools, where young children are being taught to obey and trust cops. the conditioning is being started young, and if you don’t conform to it, you become a watched enemy on your own campus.
what kind of affect will this militarization and surveillance in schools and campuses have on future generations? it’s impossible to deny that environment has an effect on development, so what kind of behavior are we encouraging when we educate children & young adults in schools that not only prepare them for violence, but instill them with the idea that they are constantly being watched, monitored, and judged? that they could be victims of gun violence at any time, or that protests are an excuse for police brutality?
It’s almost like the people in power are less interested in stopping
NRA campaign fundsshootings and more interested in using them to extend and normalize their power over every waking moment of your life by making you fear them almost as much as you fear their absence.
“Individuals who want to believe that there is no fulfillment in love, that true love does not exist, cling to these assumptions because this despair is actually easier to face than the reality that love is a real fact of life but is absent from their lives.”— Bell Hooks
just remembered that chuck palahniuk quote
“your handwriting. the way you walk. which china pattern you choose. it’s all giving you away. everything you do shows your hand. everything is a self portrait. everything is a diary.” going off the rails my good folks
what the rising signs are attracted to
aries: independence, pretty eyes, jawline, athleticism, flirtatiousness, someone who will chase them/someone they can chase, conventional attractiveness tbh
taurus: deep/pretty voice, humbleness, touchiness, people with money, people who are secure mentally and irl
cancer: softness (body and demeanor), nurturing, dimples, great cuddlers, good with kids
gemini: nice hands, good sense of humor, very smart, tall people, dirty/flirty talk, good conversationalists, artistic people
leo: popularity, self-sufficiency, good ass hair, ambition, good with kids, athleticism
virgo: attentiveness, hippie outlook on life, good cooks, again people who are secure mentally and irl, people who will follow their rules/people who will give them rules
libra: great smile, wealthy, dark hair, fun and popular, also tall people, classic rom-com acts of love, teasing
scorpio: someone willing to divulge their whole life to them, honesty, unique or roman noses, some dangerousness oo, little bit of drama or conflict, “forbidden love”
sagittarius: nice thighs/legs/ass, spontaneity, big dick energy (lol jk), a cosmopolitan, people who will experiment, not big into commitment, people who love travel or are from a different country or place
capricorn: authority, determination, responsibility, dominance or submissiveness, people who can command a room, good bone structure, natural beauty, good brows
aquarius: intelligence, playfulness, little bit of mystery, open mindedness, people who will try anything once, cultured people
pisces: meaningful intimacy, absolute commitment bordering on obsession, “bad” boys/girls, someone they can “help”
* if you can’t relate, maybe take a gander at your venus/mars/7th house sign to see if that’s a better fit *
guy friends who don’t want to fuck me are the shit. tell me more about how u don’t think im hot. no seriously i really appreciate it. nothing is more cool or fun than when someone is NOT in love w me
it literally hurts so bad when u think someone likes u bc of who you are and then they just wanted to sleep with you
guy friends who don’t want to fuck me are the shit. tell me more about how u don’t think im hot. no seriously i really appreciate it. nothing is more cool or fun than when someone is NOT in love w me
bringing this one back
When I went to see Tangled with my family, I was terrified of having to talk about the movie afterwards because I related so much to Rapunzel, and I was sure my mom would hate the movie because it was so obvious that she was exactly like mother gothel. So when mom asked me afterwards if I liked it I gave a tepid non-answer. But then my mom started talking about how she loved the movie! And it slowly dawned on me that she also saw mother gothel as evil and abusive, but somehow didn’t make the connection that she and her were the same. My mom even made a comment to the effect of how, like rapunzel’s real mom, her love for me would always triumph or whatever. And she didn’t get it!
She didn’t see the similarities of how she locked me away in the house, or how she kept me under the tightest supervision under the guise of keeping me safe. I spent the entire mother knows best song stealing glances at her next to me in the theater just waiting for her to drag us out of the movie because she couldn’t stand to have her “love” portrayed as evil. And she didn’t see how the fact that she created her identity completely around being a mother and nothing else was like mother gothel’s dependency on rapunzel’s magic hair.
It was only after seeing her positive reaction to the movie, that I really understood the meaning of the phrase “everyone is the hero of their own story”. No one actually thinks they’re the villain, even if confronted with a painfully obvious rendering of their own actions done by someone they agree is rightly portrayed as evil.
“everyone is the hero of their own story”. No one actually thinks they’re the villain, even if confronted with a painfully obvious rendering of their own actions done by someone they agree is rightly portrayed as evil.