this is edited. here’s the original photo, taken at the Second National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, in October of 1987:
Article 27 of the Maryland Annotated Code was a law prohibiting a number of common sexual acts; sections 553/554 specifically criminalizing sodomy and oral sex, and making them punishable by up to ten years in prison.
that law wasn’t repealed until 2020. i don’t have the time to do more research on this right now but reading some articles it seems like its repeal was fraught and maybe not even complete. there’s definitely cases of it being used to arrest patrons at gay bars.
so like yeah fuck censorship and the hays code but this young man (who i think is identified somewhere, again, if i could do more research rn i would) is humorously protesting the criminalization of gay sexuality, specifically sodomy. kinda shitty to edit the original message.
I know y'all did not read the books but Roald Dahl talks about this in the book. Charlie’s teacher points out the fact that unless you buy a shit ton of bars you’re probably not gonna win. Just like the lottery. Just like how all of the other winners of the tickets bought a shit ton of bars. Except Charlie, who just got lucky. And Charlie was originally black. Literally the whole point of the book was that wonka wanted to give the less fortunate a fair opportunity and it wasn’t fair because the system isn’t fair.
Stop the car.
Charlie was originally black?!?!
!?!!
He was and Mr. Dahl was forced to make him white. Also his widow has spoken and confirmed that as well.
because you shouldn’t believe everything you read on a tumblr post at face value, here is a guardian article confirming that charlie was originally conceived as black but dahl made him white at the behest of his publisher
WHAT
But yeah, coming back to the original point, the other kids, especially Augustus Gloop and Veruca Salt, cheated the system by claiming a ridiculous amount of chocolate bars. News reports mention people hoarding Wonka chocolate bars in hopes of finding the Golden Ticket. Mr Salt even admits that he refitted his staff at a nut-shelling factory for opening chocolate bars, without a doubt losing a huge amount of capital in lost profits and mass bulk-buying of chocolate, just to win. The working-class lady who actually found that ticket didn’t benefit from that luck or labour - she was immediately made to hand it over to her boss for his spoiled daughter, who holds it as ‘his’ victory and good luck.
Charlie didn’t even find the ticket in his first bar, or his second. His first bar, his birthday present, was a dud, and he even failed to enjoy it like normal because he dared to hope, just for a moment, that he might actually be lucky enough to get the one. Later, he is lucky enough to find a dropped 50p piece in the street, and goes to buy a chocolate bar for himself. Finally holding a treat that is all his, he wolfs the thing down, stopping only long enough to realises that he didn’t get lucky and win a Golden Ticket. It’s only on the third bar that he gets it, and, smelling blood in the water, the shopkeeper tells him to immediately go home and not tell a soul that he has it, knowing what people might do to this small starving boy if they find out what he has.
And Wonka knows! He knows he done goofed! He realises almost immediately that the people who have been attracted to his lottery, who have stacked the decks in their favour, are awful, cruel, entitled people! Augustus Gloop, the glutton, doesn’t care what placed in front of him so long as it’s food - and the first obstacle? A room where everything is a kind of sweet. Violet’s gum-chewing is excessive, but the modern film adapts this into a more realistic and sinister flaw - overcompetitiveness. It’s not just that she’s been chewing the same piece of gum for months, it’s that she’s been chewing the same piece of gum, weeks after its taste is gone, whether it is socially acceptable or not, just to break a record. So when Wonka promises a new treat, a personal favourite of one of the kids, but says it’s not ready yet and you can’t have it, of course Violet seizes it, because damn the consequences, she will be the first to try it. Veruca is shown a collection of unique animals, and immediately declares that she wants one, because she’s always had the bragging rights and luxury rare items. And when Mr Wonka refuses to sell? She steals it, because dang it, she will have that golden goose/trained squirrel! Mike Teevee, in his hubris, mutilates himself almost beyond recognition because he had to challenge Mr Wonka’s outlandish claim of transmitting physical objects via television. Charlie was the perfect heir, not because he was humble and poor, but because he had the wonder and appreciation for the treats Wonka made but also the sense and caution not to risk messing with the many dangerous things in an active factory. If the lottery was more fair, maybe Charlie would have had more stiff competition, but as it stands, Charlie is almost the poster boy of ‘won by doing nothing’.
Sorry, got sidetracked
TLDR: Apart from Charlie, most of the other kids were entitled rich (white) kids who gamed a system that should have been fair, and were punished for it by revealing to them their greed and hubris
Well I got a lesson in history
Damn this was so good
Damn I should read that book
And Dahl did fight to try to keep Charlie black. His publishers insisted on Charlie being white.
to anyone in the areas impacted by the wildfire smoke, my #1 biggest piece of advice as someone whos been dealing with wildfire smoke in the NW united states for years, is build yourself a Corsi-Rosenthal Cube
they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!
i think it took us maybe a half hour to put ours together, if that, and we replace the filters every 3 months. it’s really made a HUGE difference, both when the air quality is bad, but also with our allergies
Saw these easy to read instructions on Twitter. Stay safe 💚
Israeli airstrikes are targeting the tents of innocent civilians like Abood and his wife. Nowhere is safe anymore. Every day is a toss up as to whether they will even survive the night. Can you truly imagine living in such fear, seeing such horror and destruction around you constantly? It’s not enough to sympathise, we need your donations to save lives.
Abood and his wife are hoping to save up for safe passage, which includes transport costs and very difficult to obtain permits. Of course, the most expensive aspect is the flight to Europe where we’re hoping they can safely arrive and get some semblance of normalcy back to their lives. The cost we’re estimating is $2000 for this short term goal. This doesn’t include day to day living expenses. Donate here to save my friends.
After experiencing complications with gofundme, Mohiy and his family are now relying on paypal to receive donations. Please support his family through the link above and share.
Most of the funds Mohiy was able to raise on gofundme have gone towards his family’s survival. With the rising costs of goods, they need continued support to be able to meet their most basic needs. Resources are scarce and expensive as it is, but winter has added to the suffering of everyone in Gaza, making the needs for things like warm food, warm clothes, and shelter even greater as cold and rain worsen already dangerous living conditions. Mohiy’s mother, who suffers from chronic illness, is especially vulnerable right now due to the freezing temperatures.
Please donate and share to help offer Mohiy and his family some relief. Every contribution helps, no matter how small.
a list of the vetted fundraisers i got on my askbox, listed in alphabetical order. consider donating or reblogging their campaigns if you’re not able to
BTW i see these posts all the time like “ohhh i dont know what to comment on fics..” and every response is “keysmashes! or hearts!! anything works :3” and thats GREAT!! thats helpful!!
but: consider. if u genuinely like analyzing writing.. do u know ur just allowed to go through and quote your favorite parts and ramble abt what they mean to u and the author will LOSE IT WITH HYPE?
genuinely. i felt SO WEIRD the first time i did it.. but like. holy shit authors love it. its crack for authors. the first time i did it, it was on a fic that hadnt updated in half a year, give or take, and the author made 3 updates that month BECAUSE OF MY COMMENT.
LIKE. as an author every comment is INCREDIBLE!!! but also, dont feel like your comment has to be short or otherwise ur invasive or smth!! authors ADORE long comments more than ANYTHING.
what i’ve learned from my attempts to be more active in discords and other online communities is you just have to show up and participate in conversation and even if youre a little annoying or awkward eventually people will grow a fondness to you out of familiarity alone
been a year since i made this post and I wanna say the same also rings true from the other side. sometimes new people show up and they annoy me at first but after a while the rapport and familiarity takes over.
