We All Seem To Agree That Tattooed!Sirius Would Have Canis Major Somewhere On His Body But I Am Also

Fascinated by the number of dog people who hate wild canines and flat up think they are evil. You would think way more people would love coyotes and African wild dogs and (not actual canines but certainly dog like) hyenas.

if you, like me, get so angry when discussing or debating current issues with ignorant/bigoted people that you can’t articulate your thoughts, here is a list of arguments i’ve seen so far defending darren wilson or going against the ferguson protests, with suggestions as to how to counter and links to helpful posts to support your argument:

1. “It’s not a race issue!”

Actual KKK waving a Confederate flag as they walk the streets of Ferguson, celebrating.

Darren Wilson might even be affiliated with the KKK

White Man waves a gun at children in a park, is taken into custody alive

More examples of double standards in favor of white people: James Eagan Holmes, various other (unnamed but fairly well-known) cases

2. “The officer feared for his life. It was self defense.”

Pictures of Darren Wilson’s oh-so-life-threatening injuries + full-body shot

Darren Wilson says he would do it again

Darren Wilson is 6’4” and 215lbs (needs source), in a vehicle with a loaded weapon. Mike Brown was an unarmed teenager walking down the street.

(Speculative) He got married while on leave, possibly so his wife wouldn’t have to testify if she knew something.

Wilson did not complete an incident report, which is a violation of protocol

Article about why Darren Wilson shooting Mike Brown was illegal no matter how you look at it

3. “Michael Brown stole from a convenience store. He was a thug and a thief.”

Statement from the store owner saying that no one called the police and nothing was taken

This is disputable and the time stamps on the video don’t sync up with the story.

The cigarettes he allegedly stole were paid for and there’s proof

Remind them that even if Mike Brown had done some petty shoplifting, that’s no reason for him to be shot six times in the middle of a street.

4. “The jury saw all the evidence, they know better.”/Something about insufficient/unreliable evidence.

“It’s Incredibly Rare For A Grand Jury To Do What Ferguson’s Just Did” + only .0004% of grand juries fail to indict

All 4 eyewitness accounts of the murder in chronological order

Every piece of evidence in the case against officer wilson

Prosecutor supported Wilson, and other problems with the case

Remind them that even “people get charged with manslaughter when someone dies in a car accident” and Darren Wilson wasn’t even charged that

The National Bar Association and its president know the jury’s decision was bullshit

5. “The riots and protests are out of hand and unnecessary. It’s just an excuse to be violent and steal things.”

Video of protesters getting shot with (I think) flare bombs and tear gas by police. (warning: flashing lights and loud sounds)

Video of protesters quietly sitting down

Video of protesters peacefully but firmly chanting outside the supreme court

Video of the National Guard arriving with automatic weapons

Crips and Blood gang members preventing looters at the riots (from the first riots back in august)

Community working together to clean up the aftermath of the riots

6. “You can’t fight violence with violence, what would Martin Luther King say?”

“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots…..” -MLK

Remind them that as pro-peaceful protests as MLK was, he still got shot in the head.

If after all this, they’re still arguing in defense of Darren Wilson or the jury, just give up because there’s no way you can change the mind of such a complete fucking bigot.

Some masterposts I used that also have more information: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

If there’s anything I should add or fix, please let me know

Māori are trying to save their language from Big Tech

Te Hiku Media gathered huge swathes of Māori language data. Corporates are now trying to get the rights to it

“In March 2018, Peter-Lucas Jones and the ten other staff at Te Hiku Media, a small non-profit radio station nestled just below New Zealand’s most northern tip, were in disbelief. In ten days, thanks to a competition it had started, Māori speakers across New Zealand had recorded over 300 hours of annotated audio in their mother tongue. It was enough data to build language tech for te reo Māori, the Māori language – including automatic speech recognition and speech-to-text.

The small staff of Māori language broadcasters and one engineer were about to become pioneers in Indigenous speech recognition technology. But building the tools was only half the battle. Te Hiku soon found itself fending off corporate entities trying to develop their own indigenous data sets and resisting detrimental western approaches to data sharing. Guarding their data became the priority because the only people truly interested in revitalising the Māori language were the Māori people, themselves.”

Magnificent Trees Around the World

National Parks Service Crochet Patterns:

FISH

nps.gov

Walleye Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

Walleye Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

nps.gov

Halibut Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

Halibut Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

GEOLOGY

nps.gov

Lava Flow Crochet Pillow (U.S. National Park Service)

Lava Flow Crochet Pillow (U.S. National Park Service)

INVERTEBRATES

nps.gov

Triops Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

Triops Crochet Pattern (U.S. National Park Service)

Dec. 1 12:50 pm

Darren Wilson will not receive any further pay or benefits after resigning (x) (x)

“That bullshit jury was fixed” — Ferguson seethes in response to Darren Wilson verdict 

14 teens killed by cops since Mike Brown

Long history of racial tension set the stage for Ferguson protests

STL Rams players show support for Ferguson protesters before game. Jeff Roorda and STL Police Officers Association (SLPOA) wants Rams players disciplined for “hands up” gesture.

Protest shuts down Interstate 395

Obama to meet civil rights leaders, police amid Ferguson protests

I need help feeding my family

I'm 22, non-binary, and disabled. I am currently 3 months behind on rent, behind on my utilities, and only have enough food left for one more day. There are 3 adults and 3 dogs in my house. We have food stamps, but got our first two months at the same time and don't get any more until the 18th of June. My partner and I do tattoos and piercings, but business is slow rn and we are really struggling. If you are able to help at all it would be greatly appreciated, and if you are not comfortable sending money but want to help we would really appreciate an instacart or some other grocery delivery, I'm really most worried about having food. If you do want to send money, my cash app is $enbymickie . Whether you are able to help or not, please share!! Thank you 💜 feel free to message me if you have any questions

Commissioned by Writinginmargins for her fic Brought Out Their Burrs and Mosses. Thank you!

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