Icon by @ThatSpookyAgent. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. BlueSky: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
One of the BEST ad campaigns about representation I have seen.
Everyone has a backbone. Use yours.
I can’t possibly love this enough
it’s back 💜
Change your words, change someone’s life!
“It is not widely known that David Koch was the Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate in 1980. He believed that Ronald Reagan was much too liberal. Despite Mr. Koch putting a substantial sum of money into the campaign, his ticket only received 1 percent of the vote. Most Americans thought the Libertarian Party platform of 1980 was extremist and way out of touch with what the American people wanted and needed.
Fast-forward 34 years and the most significant reality of modern politics is how successful David Koch and like-minded billionaires have been in moving the Republican Party to the extreme right. Amazingly, much of what was considered “extremist” and “kooky” in 1980 has become part of today’s mainstream Republican thinking.”
My ongoing issues with performative veganism aside, some advice for people dealing with displaced wildlife:
WATER:
Leaving water out for animals is a Good and Safe thing to do for them, just make sure to change it daily to prevent the spread of diseases or avoid starting a backyard mosquito hatchery. Â
Itâs better to have a wide, shallow container for them to drink out of, than a narrow deep one, because small animals like rabbits and toads need water too. I recommend foil pie plates for ease of access/easy cleanup.
If you set up a kiddie pool of water for larger animals, make sure to leave a 2x4 or something in there as an âescape rampâ for birds and small animals that could become trapped and drown.
also recommend tossing a cinder block in there so nobody accidentally kicks it over.
SHELTER:
Mostly what displaced animals need is rest. Â If animals are sleeping in your yard, leave them alone. Â Unless they are obviously injured, sick or have been in the exact same spot for more than 24 hours, they just need rest.
one of the animals displaced is BATS. Â Do not touch any bats you find, esp ones on the ground. Â If itâs hanging out on your house, itâs almost certainly healthy and just needs to nap. Â Bats will hang out longer than some animals- only call animal control if itâs not moved at all in 72 hours.
Another thing that gets displaced in fires: âcreepyâ animals like snakes, spiders and toads. Â These guys are SUPER important for re-building the ecosystem after the fire and deserve help too. Â Leave out pots turned sideways, leave any fallen leaves on the ground, and tell yourself that practically nobody has died from a snake or spiderbite in the modern era, esp if you donât go touching them in the first place.
leave the patio umbrella open or hang a tarp up for some shade. Â theyâll be grateful.
You can also put off yard work to give animals additional temporary cover/safe foods.
you shouldnât be out in this smoke anyway. Â Let the lawn go for a few weeks.
SAFTEY
KEEP ALL ANIMALS INDOORS, AND MAKE SURE TO LOCK ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS ON THE FIRST FLOOR OR UPPER FLOORS THAT CAN BE REACHED BY TREES OR OTHER STRUCTURES.
it might also be worth putting some weather stripping on external doors if youâre not a fan of spiders or small reptiles.
if youâre a coyote thatâs been running from fires for the last month, chihuahuas and house cats look TASTY. Â Keep fluffy indoors for his own safety.
Dogs should be supervised outdoors because they WILL take their chances on exhausted wildlife and you donât need that vet bill or drama in your life.
make sure all your petâs vaccinations are current, esp rabies, just in case.
SAFETY PART 2: FOOD:
DO. NOT. LEAVE. OUT. FOOD. Â
I know theyâre sad and hungry and thereâs all kinds of vines of people feeding things like deer especially, but feeding wildlife gets them acclimated to humans and that in turn makes it dangerous for humans- deer kick when theyâre hungry and are more than capable of killing someone, skunks and raccoons frequently carry rabies and donât get me started on bears- BUT IT ALSO MAKES IT DANGEROUS FOR THE ANIMALS. deer that become human-acclimated are much more likely to be hit by cars or killed by dogs, human foods are frequently toxic to other animals and any bear that gets too chummy with humans will be shot.
donât do it.
this time of year (september) in N. America is also when a lot of wildlife gets hyperphagic and aggressive before winter and the fires WILL make things worse. Â
Bears in particular are willing to eat anything. Â So lock up any entrances and exits to the house (yes, even on the upper floors), put the garbage cans in the garage and take in the grill.
take down the birdfeeder. Â The birds can find plenty of food in other places and you donât want a bear pushing in a window over a couple of peanuts.
*an exception: if youâve got late-season vegetables in your garden, just let them have it. Â Like leaving water out, foraging on their own wonât do much to acclimate them. Â You have too much zuchini anyway and watching raccoons try to eat them is hilarious.
Have fun watching animals safely and quietly from indoors, and know youâre doing Good.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that the prison industrial complex goes far beyond just the fact that prisons exists.
It’s every single major corporation in the world benefitting from paying slave wages for prison labor
It’s private prisons enforcing quotas to incentivize the state to arrest and convict at higher rates
It’s the war on drugs treating (mostly black and latino) non-violent drug users as hardened criminals
It’s the school to prison pipeline
It’s a country where homelessness is criminalized
It’s mandatory minimum prison sentences
It’s imprisoning civilians for years without bail Before they get a trial
It’s prisoners leaving prison in debt because the slave wages they were forced to work for didn’t cover the cost of food and a bed
It’s former prisoners losing the right to vote
It’s employers discriminating against former prisoners
It’s abuse and substandard living conditions.
It’s a corrupt police state that falsifies evidence and unfairly targets minorities.
The problem is that a lot of y'all still just think of prison as a place where bad people go. It’s not. Most of the bad people are in board rooms, on the golf course, at the bank, in the white house. The truth is, prisons in America are just a business. The lie that they keep you safe is just an ad they can run.