the impossible will take a little while

Very early on in writing the series, I remember a female journalist saying to me that Mrs Weasley, “Well, you know, she’s just a mother.” And I was absolutely incensed by that comment. Now, I consider myself to be a feminist, and I’d always wanted to show that just because a woman has made a choice, a free choice to say, “Well, I’m going to raise my family and that’s going to be my choice. I may go back to a career, I may have a career part time, but that’s my choice.” Doesn’t mean that that’s all she can do. And as we proved there in that little battle, Molly Weasley comes out and proves herself the equal of any warrior on that battlefield.

—

J.K. Rowling, The Women of Harry Potter (via yerawizardharry)

NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH

(via methodistcoloringbook)

(via becauseiamawoman)

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

I only aspire to be this cool. love it.

Some of you–not going to name names, you will figure out who you are– are saying, or thinking, that in one way or another Trayvon is at fault for his own murder. You are saying, or thinking, “He should have known that he looked suspicious with that hoodie on.” “He should have known that someone like him would come across as threatening.” “He shouldn’t have felt afraid of the large man following him and chasing after him.” You are saying, or thinking, exactly the same sort of thing that some of you say, or think, about rape victims: They should have known what a dangerous world it is for them out there and they should have dressed and carried themselves accordingly, so as not to invite bad things to happen to them.

Never mind, of course, that the people who do these bad things are responsible for what they say, think, and do, too. Never mind, of course, that the people who actually do racist, sexist things are emboldened and enabled by the way that good folks who would never, ever in a million years think of doing such things continually blame their victims and not them. No, racists and rapists are just a fact of life in your worldview, like severe weather; women and people of color have to dodge them, take cover, be on the lookout, but we certainly can’t think that there’s something we might do about them.

Some of you get angry when I talk like this. You protest that you would never do racist things or commit rape. You are just making an observation. You don’t mean to say anything racist or sexist. Then I point out to you the difference between intent and impact. You might not mean to say racist things, but the things you are saying just are racist. The very fact that you have to appeal to the purity of your intentions to cleanse your words should provide you with a hint. Neither your good intentions or mine have magical powers. If you said something that was racist, your good intentions, assuming they are good, mean at best that you need to be far more careful in what you say and think. Learn from it in all humility and try to do better next time. Trust me, I’ve been there many times.

Some of you get even angrier at being told this. How unfair, you protest! Isn’t it a free country anymore? Now I have to police what I say and think? Yes, of course you do! I was raised in rural Kentucky to believe that people are supposed to think carefully before they say things and consider the impact my words have on others. This is just what good people do. However hard it is in practice, it isn’t all that complicated a concept. Why is this somehow forgotten, though, when the others aren’t other white people? Do you really want or need me to answer that question out loud?

Very well written! I completely agree and I like the intersectionality between racism and sexism. Also below is one of my favorite lines—

“You might not mean to say racist things, but the things you are saying just are racist. The very fact that you have to appeal to the purity of your intentions to cleanse your words should provide you with a hint. Neither your good intentions or mine have magical powers.”

(Source: azspot)

swintons:

resistapathy:

Not only are their spending habits as a non profit horrible (Mainly cause the organization has so far only been successful as sending rich white kids to Africa)

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429

But If you…

I think you should do more research on these so called facts you are reblogging. A lot of this is simply information taken out of context. And it saddens me that such an organization who has influence over many would fail to do the proper research of articles/opinions it chooses to reblog.

ie—”(Mainly cause the organization has so far only been successful as sending rich white kids to Africa)” this is total BS.

I thought your organization/tumblr would be better, but you have disappointed me. 

for more information check out this response from the creator of the IC Crisis Tracker

https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-rudolph-beaton/visible-children-viewed-critically/10150614970287933

here is another response written by my friend who worked with IC for 1.5 years.

“i worked for Invisible Children for 1.5 years. The visible children tumblr uses information out of context to support their cause. A huge aspect of Invisible Children is advocacy work alongside International Development. The representatives go across North America to share films and have Ugandans who have been personally affected by the war come to speak about what we can do as citizens who care about justice. Invisible Children is clear that Kony has moved to Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. The LRA crisis tracker shows real time results of where Kony and the LRA have attacked, abducted, and/or looted places in these areas. Invisible Children is a media non-profit so yes it does use money to make films and share it with the world. All of the films are geared towards giving attention to the conflict and constantly updating people on the most recent news regarding this war. The hugest aspect of Invisible Children is empowering people in Central Africa – NOT giving handouts or being a corrupt and short term attempt fix to a huge problem. Almost all of the people on staff in Central Africa are either Ugandan or Congolese with only few westerners. Almost all of the people in North America working for IC are working for free and are full time volunteers. A huge ideology of Invisible Children is to ask what we can do to help and if it’s not beneficial to the cause we’re fighting then change it immediately for the better.

I share all of this because I want truth, too. And if I have personally worked with Invisible Children then why wouldn’t I share what I have learned to you, as well?

Please go to LRAcrisistracker.com for up to date info about what the LRA is doing.”

invisible:

Thank you to all who are supporting this movement for justice.

The post below showed up in my dashboard by a random blogger I follow. It’s been liked and re-blogged 84,010 times.  By the time you read this, that number will be even higher.  Today is huge, and it’s just the beginning.  

GET INVOLVED. STOP AT NOTHING. THE WORLD MUST KNOW.

I dare you to stop scrolling through your dashboard. Stop checking your Facebook newsfeed that you’ve already checked two seconds ago. Stop updating your Twitter and seeing what your favorite celebrities are saying. Stop watching funny and nonsense videos on Youtube. Take time to educate yourself to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in this world. This is your chance! WATCH THIS VIDEO.

Let’s make JOSEPH KONY Famous!!

Who is JOSEPH KONY?

He is THE WORST LIVING CRIMINAL. He abducts children and makes them use guns to kill their own parents. He takes girls and forces them to be sex slaves. He calls his abducted children the Lord’s Resistance Army, AKA the LRA. He has abducted over 30,000 children and forced them to be child soldiers in Central Africa. He remains at large because he is INVISIBLE to the world. FEW know his name, even FEWER know his crimes. WE ARE MAKING HIM FAMOUS! Because when he is, the world will unite against him and demand his arrest.

We can help make a change. We can make a difference.

I feel so inspired. I feel the need to help and make a difference. This has to happen in 2012. We can’t let him go around and keep doing this to children in Central Africa. Let’s make his name known so he can be stopped. HE CAN NO LONGER BE INVISIBLE!

REBLOG IF YOU CARE.

This will not make your blog ugly, please take a moment to reblog and get the word out. SHARE THIS TO EVERYONE! Be a part of something BIG and when they catch this man, you would be able to say.. “I HELPED.”

(Source: kimpoyfeliciano, via meaganshorey)

How, then, should we measure students and teachers? In ninth grade, my students learn about the scientific method. They learn that in order to collect good data, scientists control for specific variables and test their impact on otherwise identical environments. If you give some students green fields, glossy textbooks and lots of attention, you can’t measure them against another group of students who lack all of these things. It’s bad science.

Until we provide equal educational resources to all students and teachers, no matter where they come from, we can’t say — with any scientific accuracy — how well or poorly they’re performing. Perhaps if we start the conversation there, things will start making a bit more sense.

—William Johnson, teacher at a public high school in Brooklyn and author of “Confessions of a ‘Bad’ Teacher” in the New York Times (via la-sarah)

I absolutely reject the premise there is anything wrong with Black people “talking white”. It is as if to vast swathes of the privileged white left and impoverished Black community diction, education and a mastery of thought is somehow “white”… comrade, how wrong you are to say that after decades in academia I’m acting white. I’m being black. I’m being black everyday a cop pulls my car over for a “routine stop”, I’m being black each time I look in the mirror, and I’m damn well being black when I school young fools out of the myth our race is too ill-evolved to be both black and accomplished.

—Elaine Brown, Secretary of the Black Panther Party, professor of sociology.  (via ifury)

(via essenceofhumanity)