Still Standing

bodypartss: tranqualizer: [photo: image of a Black homeless...

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:20:30 -0700

tranqualizer:

[photo: image of a Black homeless man wearing a white t shirt and holding a white Abercrombie and fitch branded t shirt in front of him.]

Why Fitch the Homeless is a Really Bad Idea

In response to some comments made by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries about not wanting large people in A&F clothes because he prefers “attractive…cool kids” in A&F clothes, there’s been a pretty big backlash, which is understandable. Most recently, I’ve learned about some “activism” aimed at giving Abercrombie and Fitch a “brand readjustment’” by giving Abercrombie and Fitch clothing to the homeless.

Because wouldn’t it be so awful for Abercrombie and Fitch clothing to be associated with homelessness and homeless people, because homeless people are so gross and disgusting, amirite? The video above says that it is striving to make Abercrombie and Fitch “the #1 brand of homeless apparel”. Maybe you’re thinking there’s no issue here because at least homeless people are getting some new duds and they were purchased from Goodwill, so what’s the big deal?

The big deal comes in when homeless people are being exploited to prove a point. Many homeless people are already widely disenfranchised and lacking a platform to be heard or to get access to the resources they need. By attempting to make a brand look bad by associating it with homelessness, the message is that homeless people are so gross, dirty, shameful (insert negative attribute here) that by associating the brand with these types of people, we are really making the brand look shitty, because these people are so shitty! get it? It’s all such a laugh! This type of “activism” is a farce. It contributes to and propagates a culture wherein homeless people can be used as props to further an agenda. This isn’t how you treat people. This is how you treat disposable objects. It isn’t funny, noble, or helpful to try and stick it to Abercrombie and Fitch by using homeless people as the medium for your message. Would the American population at large be comfortable with any other minority group being used to make a brand look “bad” by associating their clothing with that group? Sub out “homeless” for any other minority group and see how that sounds and feels. Pretty shitty, right?

Giving clothing, food, needed sundries, time, and other resources to the homeless or people who are in need is an awesome thing. But this isn’t about giving to the homeless. I don’t see any real or actual concern for homeless people in this “movement”. I see homeless people being used as the butt of a joke. The punchline? “Hahaha Abercrombie! You want cool and attractive people in your clothes and you claim to be exclusionary, so we’re going to give your clothes to homeless people because you would hate that!” The implication here is that homeless people are not cool or attractive and the brand can’t be exclusionary when worn by an already excluded group. This only “works” because homeless people are already part of an othered and excluded group, often left out of mainstream society, denied access to basic resources and the ability to have their needs met. Can’t.Stop.Laughing.

People who want to give to the homeless can do so at any time. Do it today! But giving a certain brand of clothing to the homeless in an attempt to make that brand of clothing look bad or unsavory or less-than-desirable is only possible when the population or group receiving the clothing carries the stigma you are trying to attach to that label. This doesn’t make Abercrombie and Fitch look bad. This makes Greg Karber and everybody supporting this “activism” look like an insensitive douche canoe who thinks homeless people are disposable props to be used to further an agenda, and that’s pretty sad and disappointing. Wanna help the homeless? Try not furthering the stigma surrounding homelessness by insisting that a brand being associated with homelessness would surely be less desirable or wanted. Wanna stick it to Abercrombie and Fitch? Easy Peasy! Don’t give them your money! It’s a simple solution that doesn’t involve stepping on the backs of the homeless in place of a soapbox.

(click through the link to watch the youtube video)

very interesting point! glad i read this.

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:08:48 -0700

Oh gosh. Poor mom. =/

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:07:03 -0700

Oh gosh. Poor mom. =/

Oh my God. If I had known my moms side of the family was here I wouldn’t have come.

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:39:36 -0700

Oh my God. If I had known my moms side of the family was here I wouldn’t have come.

orwellwasright: abortionbringsthekidoutofyou: fucking...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:40:18 -0700

orwellwasright:

abortionbringsthekidoutofyou:

fucking ian

IAN

There’s a tie some I’m going with

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:35:53 -0700

There’s a tie some I’m going with

Or with?

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:27:16 -0700

Or with?

Or without?

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:24:47 -0700

Or without?

I don’t know why it’s just barely occurred to me, but I just realized if I’m at...

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:15:39 -0700

I don’t know why it’s just barely occurred to me, but I just realized if I’m at least half a good a writer as I think I am, I can do something super special for my father and oh my god I’d just be the best thing ever to do and fuck I really hope it happens but shhh i gotta be hush-hush about it.

callmebeardo: You’re a lunatic if you’re wasting your life over-thinking what has happened and what...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:29:10 -0700

callmebeardo:

You’re a lunatic if you’re wasting your life over-thinking what has happened and what could have happened.

Excuse you, I prefer the term “writer.”

I’ve seen social introverts and shy extroverts, but never have I seen an extrovert force...

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:28:05 -0700

I’ve seen social introverts and shy extroverts, but never have I seen an extrovert force themselves to be an introvert simply because it worked for one person, despite that person telling them, “Yo - this is how I roll and how I see things. Doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for you, since we’re two different people.”

Worse still, seeing that same extrovert actually try to invalidate an introverts experience by basically saying, “Well, it didn’t work for me, so you must be lying about it working for you.” is fucking bullshit.

If someone has themselves sorted out, and their thoughts align pretty well with the situation they’re in, never excluding the reality that not everyones’ experiences is the same, how the fuck are you gonna tell them they have things all wrong and act like a pretentious fuck about it?

It all boils down to this.

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:00:21 -0700

walkingthenarrowway:

thegirlwithagrapefruit:

yeahmicah:

Most people won’t admit it, or don’t even realize it, but

caring for people takes energy out of you.

Investing your time and attention making sure somebody knows

that you love them and that you want to ensure their well-being can drain you:

mentally

emotionally

spiritually

even physically.

Love people, but take care of yourself.

Don’t burn yourself out.

I needed to read this.

truth yo.

dabaryah: I tested Walmart’s brand of bottled water and I was...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:45:04 -0700

dabaryah:

I tested Walmart’s brand of bottled water and I was shocked to see they sell the most toxic water ever. I tested for Total Dissolved Solids using a TDS meter and the number I got was 271. THAT IS THE MOST TOXIC WATER I HAVE EVER SEEN. Even NYC tap water TDS score is 39. Poland Spring is 42. The water is not even drinkable. I think it’s Criminal to even make profits from selling this water filled with sodium fluoride and who knows what else is in that. 500 ppm (parts per million) is the EPA Maximum but even though the FDA is corrupt their recommended is 000, which is pure.

THE ONLY BOTTLED WATER THAT READS 000 IS DUANEreade/Walgreens ‘NICE’ branded water.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFO ALONG.

- anonymous

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:20:14 -0700

tmi

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:42:05 -0700

“Es fibra. No es chorro. Ya (testa?) limpiando la estómago”

TMI

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:16:59 -0700

Ever since mi abuelo got this new Magic Bullet he’s been offering licuados to go with everything; meats, sandwich, tacos de asada, e lomo. I keep telling him, “Abuelo - me vas a dar chorro.”

Sometimes he guilt’s me in and BAM, I’m running away saying I told him so.

Oooooooff.

frijoliz: I’ve yet to hear one person call out Abercrombie on their worker exploitation. Your...

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:10:41 -0700

frijoliz:

I’ve yet to hear one person call out Abercrombie on their worker exploitation. Your right to consumption takes priority over the abuses being faced by immigrants and children who produce A&F clothing. It would be nice if outrage would be spread all around instead of focusing solely on how it affects you as an American consumer.

thepeoplesrecord: Google+ demonstrates deforestation and other...

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:58:51 -0700

thepeoplesrecord:

Google+ demonstrates deforestation and other man-made climate disasters with satellite images
May 18, 2013

It’s one thing to talk about deforestation, disappearing habitats, and shrinking glaciers and water resources, and another thing entirely to demonstrate it with actual satellite imagery. And thanks to Landsat images and the Google Earth Engine, we’re getting a glimpse at some key locations across the planet as they are changed by the hands of man. A series of interactive timelapse GIFs that use Landsat satellite data to display massive changes to the Earth’s surface could be a potent tool for motivating individuals and organizations to take action on key issues.

Google’s Animated GIFs of Earth Over Time focuses our attention on key features of our planet, such as the Amazon rainforest, the coal beds of Wyoming, the Columbia Glacier, the Aral Sea, and the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

Today, we’re making it possible for you to go back in time and get a stunning historical perspective on the changes to the Earth’s surface over time. Working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME, we’re releasing more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space, compiled for the first time into an interactive time-lapse experience. We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public.

- Google

Some of the visualizations are kind of subtle, and need to be put into context to really hit home (such as the massive increase in irrigated areas in Saudi Arabia, which affects local water supplies, or the urban sprawl of Las Vegas, which also puts increased demands on local resources), but some of them, such as this one documenting the rapidly disappearing rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon, speak for themselves:

Explore a global timelapse of our planet, constructed from Landsat satellite imagery. The Amazon rainforest is shrinking at a rapid rate to provide land for farming and raising cattle. Each frame of the timelapse map is constructed from a year of Landsat satellite data, constituting an annual 1.7-terapixel snapshot of the Earth at 30-meter resolution.

- Google Earth Engine

These interactive time-lapse images can be manipulated by pausing or zooming in to them, as we’ve come to expect from Google Earth, and may serve as a pivot point for those who are on the fence about the effects that our booming population and its increased demand for resources has on our Big Blue Marble.

Source

You can view all of the images at Google +, and you can read a backstory at TIME.

reclaimingthelatinatag: huerfano-de-aztlan: Patsy and Nadine...

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:46:25 -0700

reclaimingthelatinatag:

huerfano-de-aztlan:

Patsy and Nadine Cordova: bad ass chingona maestras that were fired for teaching Chicanas/os in Nuevo Mexico who they really are and the racism they faced.

La lucha sigue!
Que viva la raza! Que viva chicano! Que viva Patsy y Nadine! Que viva Nuevo Mexico!

Photo: (c) Wendy Walsh for Teacher Magazine

Nadine and Patsy were threatened, and then lost their jobs for teaching students about Chicano heroes like Cesar Chavez, and about the history of people of Mexican descent in this country (with Elizabeth Martinez’ book, 500 Years of Chicano History). The teachers also implemented a Racial Tolerance educational program in their classes and sponsored students who organized the school’s first chapter of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan)—for this, Nadine Cordova was labelled a ‘racist’, threatened, and finally fired. In November 1998, the sisters were awarded a half-million dollar settlement by a federal magistrate in a judgment against the Vaughn School Board. Early details are in this recent article about their struggle to retain their jobs. Since then, the sisters have received the Multi-Cultural Educators of the Year from the National Association of Multi-Cultural Education; the Pilgrimage for Peace Award from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe; and the Guardian of Constitution Award from ACLU-NM. In September of 1998, Nadine wrote this site “We actually got fired on July 7, 1997. Since then my sister and I have moved to Albuquerque, NM. I removed my sons from the Vaughn school district immediately and enrolled them in Albuquerque Public Schools. My home and my husband still remain inVaughn and not having my family together has been quite difficult. Patsy started teaching at Mckinley Middle School here in Albuquerque this fall semester. I am currently working as administrative assistant at University of New Mexico Chicana/o Studies Program since June. Both Patsy and I are very happy with our new jobs and new friends. [X]

The city of Anaheim is pissed at me. Ha ha. I got the letter back after about the street sweeper and...

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:17:25 -0700

The city of Anaheim is pissed at me. Ha ha. I got the letter back after about the street sweeper and they said it was “a one time dismissal” and to not be anywhere when they come by.

Ha! Theyre just mad I got proof they were full of it. Assholes