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.
as a welsh person i want you all to accept that W is a vowel because honestly it makes pronouncing acronyms so much easier. wlw becomes ‘ooloo’, wjec becomes ‘oojeck’, love yourselves and stop giving us shit when we tell you welsh has 7 vowels. english actually has 15 vowel sounds but because y’all only use 5 letters you have to rely on a spelling system devised by satan
and please, enough with the “keyboard smashing” jokes. not original, not funny.
yeah, we can actually because the spelling is phonetic. meanwhile english folks have placenames like bicester or keighley or beaulieu, which you have to learn the pronunciation for individually because the rules are so inconsistent. i mean people can’t even agree how to pronounce marylebone but sure welsh place names are the weird ones
fun fact: welsh orthography is actually easy to read if you take your head out of your arse for one minute and learn our alphabet - just like french, or spanish, or korean, because surprise! languages use different spelling systems that are not based on english. novel, i know - and in the 18th century, travelling schools were able to teach people to read and write welsh in a matter of months, so that wales enjoyed a literate majority, a rare thing in europe at the time
fun fact: the english have been taking the piss out of welsh for years, just like they’ve been doing for irish, and scots gaelic, and cornish, and british sign language, and a hundred and one other languages, because evidently the fact that the whole world isn’t anglophone and monocultured and Still Part Of The Empire is a problem, and something that needs to be corrected
I could kiss this post a million times over and coto524 would still not understand the level of my love for it and them
@SaraSoueidan: Dear men, This is how you greet a veiled Muslim woman (a Hijabi). Hand on your chest, not offering to shake hers. 🙋
so prominent BLM activist deray mckesson just retweeted this which i think is super cool for various reasons :)))
I did not know this. Is it OK for a non Muslim woman to shake hands with a Hijabi? Or do we do the hand on chest thing too?@popcanpoli
hey so i don’t wear a hijab and i’m not muslim so i definitely don’t have the authority to answer this question (or any other questions i’ve been getting abt this) (i’m just a lil canadian politics blog i didn’t expect this to blow up lol)
BUT here are some tweets by the original tweeter (who wears a hijab) that clarify some things
one:
two:
three:
This is also good if you’re meeting an Orthodox Jewish person who’s not the same gender as you! Not all Orthodox Jews hold by this restriction, and many consider it a permissible exception to shake hands in a formal greeting context; I’d guess this is parallel to Ms. Soueidan’s last-quoted tweet above. And as that says, the sensible thing is to wait for initiation.
Conversely, please don’t consider it rude if I, as an Orthodox woman, do not extend my hand to shake yours on first meeting you. I will shake hands if someone (male or female) extends theirs; we hold very strictly on not embarrassing the other person, which can be extended to “don’t snub an offered hand when the handshake is considered part of the social contract of the exchange,” such as in a business context. But (even though I am not personally shomeret negiah) it is not my habit to extend my hand. So please don’t take it personally if I don’t initiate handshakes.
On Tuesday, a 2016 update on The Spice Girls 1996 hit “Wannabe” started making the rounds, featuring artists from Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Canada, the U.K., and America putting forth new ideas for what they really, really want: end violence against girls, quality education for all girls, end child marriage, equal pay for equal work.
If your religious belief prevents you from providing safe, legal medicine and procedures to people, you should not work in health care, how is this even a question, like I’m a vegetarian, so I’m not going to take a job at a butcher shop and then refuse to sell meat because the job I chose interferes with my beliefs
I feel terrible whenever I hear my parents talking to each other about our household’s income. We only own a South Asian store, where we sell like spices, henna, frozen Desi foods, hair products, skin products, daal, etc (typical Desi store stuff). That’s our only source of income. It used to be okay-ish back in elementary and middle school, but ever since these American stores started to sell some of these things (at prices higher than their worth), less people have been shopping at our store, hence our income declining.
Please, I’m begging y'all, support your local South Asian stores, and shop there if you need any of those “South Asian” items (if there is a South Asian store near you). At least 60% of the owners are likely going through the same as my parents. Also, I can almost guarantee you’ll save money shopping at the local Desi stores as opposed to stores like Safeway, Vons, Krogers, etc.
for those that may be unfamiliar, here are some neat products you can usually find super cheap at SA stores:
- coconut oil in massive bottles. get that stuff in bulk, it’s exactly the same as the overpriced shit from whole foods or w/e
- cool unique drinks like mango and lychee juice and coconut water with jelly. also limca and thums up, which are soooooo good. trust me.
- super cheap pretty jewelry. maybe not real gold and silver, but you’ll find the same types of bangles and chains that UO constantly rips off for muuuuch cheaper
- sometimes super cheap designer knockoff bags, if that’s your thing lol
- henna! I know there’s a lot of debate over whether this product can be used by non-brown people, but if for whatever reason you’re going to use it (please avoid traditional designs if ur not from a culture that uses it), do yourself a favor and buy yourself tubes of the paste from south asian markets. they’re usually really precise and easy to use, and unless you have an allergy to the plant, better for your skin than those sketchy artificial stick-on stencil messes they sell at hobby lobby or w/e
- henna hair dye too! and other nice hair products like neem oil
- maybe this is just our old local store, but ive seen many pirated (and non-pirated) copies of Bollywood movies on their shelves
- incense!! they usually have nice varieties and also cute holders and candles too
- obviously, there is also lots of great food and produce typically available. Asian desserts and snacks are really unique and fun to try, so check those out too
support local businesses owned by POC and immigrants!!
Today, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sent their warmest greetings to Muslims in the United States and abroad who are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan:
Muslim Americans are as diverse as our nation itself—black, white, Latino, Asian, and Arab. Eid celebrations around the country remind us of our proud history as a nation built by people of all backgrounds; our history of religious freedom and civil liberties, and our history of innovation and strength. These legacies would not be possible without the contributions of Muslim Americans that make our country even stronger.
Eid Mubarak! Here are a few of the letters that the President has recently received from Muslim Americans:
Noor Abdelfattah
Dear President Barack Obama,
I am Noor Abdelfattah. Born in Chicago in November of 97’, I was blessed enough to grow up on Chicago’s North Shore. Growing up as child of a Muslim immigrant, I truly realize how privileged I am to live in the greatest country in the world. My grandfather left his homeland in 1951, the year my father was born, in search of his American dream. My father would not meet his own father until he was sixteen years old. Coming to this country with very little, my father was unable to attend college. However, he would spend long hours working low-paid jobs in order to provide for his family. Both my parents and five older brothers faced many difficulties before I was born.
At age seven, my oldest brother was caught in a Chicago gang fight where he took a bullet in the face. Today, that same brother is thirty-three years old and a graduate of University of Michigan Law School. The sacrifices my parents endured for their kids allowed us to prosper within our educational careers. Together, the educational institutions we have attended include University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, and Loyola University Chicago.
Growing up, my parents have always taught us to treat everyone with respect. Although I grew up Muslim, my parents sent my siblings and I to Catholic high schools that placed us in an environment different than our own. Being the only Muslim in my class, I was allowed to interact with people who were raised different than myself. The opportunities my parents have given me allowed me to enter college open minded. I have met people I consider friends from all over the world.
However, with the hostile attitude some people carry towards Muslims, I believe that it is important that we remain together as a nation. I believe that the tradition of hosting an Iftar Dinner at the White House during the month of Ramadan is one tradition that shows the diversity our country holds. We, as Americans, are accepted for what we practice and how we look. On behalf of the Muslims living in the land of the free and home of the brave, I want to thank you for standing firmly with us in rejection of those who are hoping to limit our rights. Additionally, as your term comes to an end, I want to thank you for all the hard work you have done for all Americans and the rest of the world these past eight years as the President of the United States.
All the best, Noor Abdelfattah
Dua Yang
Assalamu Alaikum Mr. President,
I am a 28 year old Muslim American woman. I am proud of my faith and I make an effort everyday to show the goodness of Islam. Islam teaches about sincerity, kindness, compassion, perseverance, fairness, and so many beautiful qualities that I try to exhibit each and everyday I serve my students, my school, and community.
Yet, despite my efforts to be a model of the peace and beauty of Islam, I am labeled and treated as a terrorist. As someone dangerous, unwelcomed, and insignificant…. And while having American citizens to public figures degrade my value may come to be dispairing at times. What I have witness from the effect of islamophobia onto the young Muslim American population is even more atrocious. Fourth graders who insecurely share with me the opinions they’ve heard from the media that I can see has psychologically damaged their confidence in themselves. Children who are just starting to find confidence in themselves are having to question their worth in America.
This environment of hate is causing a new generation of young Muslims who are weary and scared. They want nothing but to have the freedom to pursue life with dignity.
Please remain strong on your grounds. Continue to speak out against those who seek to use Islam as a political tool to oppress. You don’t know it, but you are a hero to many Muslim American children who hear your words that ‘it’s not their fault’.
Sincerely, Ms. Yang
Aleena K.
Dear Mr. President,
As-Salaam-Alaikum. My name is Aleena K., and I currently go to Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland. Per the requirements of an honors research program I participate in, I completed a senior research project on a topic of my choosing. I wanted to make my project something that I could use as a learning experience, something that would correctly embody the passion I have for helping people. That was when I settled on my topic: Muslim-Americans. As a practicing Muslim-American, I am all too familiar with the difficulties of being a Muslim in a non-Muslim majority country. Thus, my project, titled Split in the Middle: Why Muslim-American Teenage Girls Struggle with their Identity, was born.
Completing this project was difficult. I had to face not only my insecurities, but the harsh rhetoric of other Americans. Because one of the potential causes of an identity crisis is the media, I had browse through the comments section of various articles that pertained to Muslim-Americans. I spent a couple of hours, sitting on the floor of my bedroom, reading thousands of comments from other people throughout America. The multitude of people who expressed their desire for deporting Muslims shocked me the most. I am an American, I grew up here. I say the Pledge of Allegiance every day. And yet, I am a Muslim. I fast during the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid. I read the Quran, go to religion class, and pray. Which one was I allowed to be? It is a question that plagues me to this day.
Today, I watched you give a speech at a mosque in Baltimore. You talked about how society needs to stop its rhetoric, because it is not fair to profile a group of people as a result of the actions of one person. You mentioned how we are not just Muslims, or just Americans, but we are both. We are Muslim-Americans. Amongst the negative comments and the rising hatred of Muslims in this country, your speech was like an oxygen tank. It allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief and give me hope that maybe, just maybe, there was an influential figure who believed in us.
As I am writing this letter, I am listening to Adele’s song “All I Ask” on her new album. And all I ask is for acceptance and tolerance from others. I know that this can eventually be achieved, not from the work of just one individual, but from Muslims and non-Muslims alike. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your faith in us.
