en amour, et le cœur brisé ..

imperfectwriting: I went to the mall, and a little girl called...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:17:05 -0400

I went to the mall, and a little girl called me a terrorist.

My name is Ela. I am seventeen years old. I am not Muslim, but my friend told me about her friend being discriminated against for wearing a hijab. So I decided to see the discrimination firsthand to get a better understanding of what Muslim women go through.

My friend and I pinned scarves around our heads, and then we went to the mall. Normally, vendors try to get us to buy things and ask us to sample a snack. Clerks usually ask us if we need help, tell us about sales, and smile at us. Not today. People, including vendors, clerks, and other shoppers, wouldn’t look at us. They didn’t talk to us. They acted like we didn’t exist. They didn’t want to be caught staring at us, so they didn’t look at all.

And then, in one store, a girl (who looked about four years old) asked her mom if my friend and I were terrorists. She wasn’t trying to be mean or anything. I don’t even think she could have grasped the idea of prejudice. However, her mother’s response is one I can never forgive or forget. The mother hushed her child, glared at me, and then took her daughter by the hand and led her out of the store.

All that because I put a scarf on my head. Just like that, a mother taught her little girl that being Muslim was evil. It didn’t matter that I was a nice person. All that mattered was that I looked different. That little girl may grow up and teach her children the same thing.

This experiment gave me a huge wakeup call. It lasted for only a few hours, so I can’t even begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day. It reminded me of something that many people know but rarely remember: the women in hijabs are people, just like all those women out there who aren’t Muslim.

People of Tumblr, please help me spread this message. Treat Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Taoists, etc., exactly the way you want to be treated, regardless of what they’re wearing or not wearing, no exceptions. Reblog this. Tell your friends. I don’t know that the world will ever totally wipe out prejudice, but we can try, one blog at a time.

rum-n-cock: cathwey: bullet-train-to-osaka: Should I, tumblr?...

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:20:03 -0400

rum-n-cock:

cathwey:

bullet-train-to-osaka:

Should I, tumblr? Should I?

Yes

do it for Adam and Steve

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Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:58:49 -0400

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Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:53:26 -0400

Draw With Me

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:07:49 -0400

Draw With Me:

Heart-breaking

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Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:59:01 -0400

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Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:56:09 -0400

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Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:56:04 -0400

“I’m gonna pretend you’re the New York...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:55:02 -0400

“I’m gonna pretend you’re the New York Knicks”

…. Person of the Year… Wow

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:50:22 -0400

…. Person of the Year… Wow

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Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:16:58 -0400

welcome-to-the-slut-garden: cometissa: I want to get my shit together and turn my life around but...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:09:02 -0400

welcome-to-the-slut-garden:

cometissa:

I want to get my shit together and turn my life around but I also want to die

this is literally the most accurate description of my life right now

…. I literally just clicked the heart in the second...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:08:30 -0400

…. I literally just clicked the heart in the second picture to try and like that… I forgot it was a screen shot..

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Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:07:35 -0400

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Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:06:56 -0400

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Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:03:30 -0400

calliopesragingboner: one-hamburger: dicksp8jr: fionaaelizabeth: If corals get stressed they...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:02:35 -0400

calliopesragingboner:

one-hamburger:

dicksp8jr:

fionaaelizabeth:

If corals get stressed they die, so if I was coral I would be dead

what do coral even get stressed about

Current events

Get out.

tavrosofnitram: “let me like that post so i can look at it again sometime!”

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:01:59 -0400

tavrosofnitram:

“let me like that post so i can look at it again sometime!”

stewie-just-said-that: THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW GUYS AND I HAVE ONE...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:01:47 -0400

stewie-just-said-that:

THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW GUYS AND I HAVE ONE FINGER ON THE ALT BUTTON SO THAT I CAN HIT ALT+REBLOG

an0m0ly: Damage This is not my usual post. But it’s something I...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:42:56 -0400

an0m0ly:

Damage

This is not my usual post. But it’s something I had to share. As you read this, imagine how your reaction would differ if this story were being told by a woman, talking about how her husband treated her.

I have been separated from my wife for over a year, though we continue to share a house. We live on separate floors. We share the house because we need to parent our son together, and because we can’t afford to maintain two households.

I’d like to tell you a story, illustrating one reason why I am divorcing her. This is an example of the treatment I have received over the past fourteen years.

This evening, while she was drinking her wine, my estranged wife took exception to the fact that I wanted to talk about how tense she’s been. She said she didn’t want to talk about it.

I left the room (so as to comply with her request).

I went upstairs to use our tiny guest bathroom. She began to yell and throw things around the kitchen, then eventually charged up the stairs and into the bathroom, just as I was finishing and getting ready to leave. She confronted me there, holding her half-full wine glass in her hand. Her voice got louder, her gestures wilder.

She complained that I had upset her by wanting to talk when she had told me she didn’t want to talk. As I began to feel uncomfortable, I said, “You’re saying it’s my fault you can’t express your emotions responsibly like an adult?”

She said, “Yes!! It’s because you want to go off and take a vacation with your girlfriend!” Then she threw the contents of her glass in my face and smashed it against my bare chest.

The results are pictured here.

I stood there, with shattered glass at my feet, glass shards sticking in my skin, bleeding, for five minutes or so. I asked her to move so that I could leave. She waved the broken stem of the glass in the air and said, “Leave!! Who’s stopping you?”

I told her she was standing between me and the door. I felt threatened.

She laughed and said, “You’re 6 foot 3 and 250 pounds! You can’t feel threatened by me!”

I said, “You just broke a glass on my chest and cut me. You’re standing there with the stem in your hands. Yes. I feel threatened.

She said, “No, you don’t.”

I asked her to move out of the way and let me pass. I didn’t want her to think I was pushing her or threatening her.

She held her ground, waved the broken stem and shouted, “Go on! Leave! I’m not stopping you!”

After I asked her repeatedly, she finally moved a bit and I left, carefully stepping over the broken glass.

I have posted this here as evidence, and to help those who may think that size and gender make a difference when abuse is concerned. People who, like my estranged, think some have permission to feel threatened and some don’t.

Abusers come in all sizes and genders.

She and I went to a half dozen therapists over the years. At each initial session, every therapist took a look at me, then at her (5’4” 150 lbs.). Then he or she would gravely ask my wife, “Do you feel safe?”

None ever thought to ask me.

Thanks for listening.