As far back as the 15th century, a European proverb cautioned parents: “Woe to the child who tastes salty from a kiss on the brow, for he is cursed and soon will die.” The taste of salt on a child’s skin was known to herald an unavoidable death preceded by rasping agony. Parents commonly believed their children had been cursed by witches. Today, we know that this folklore spoke of the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). Before the discovery of CF and ensuing advancement of care, most children with the disease didn’t survive past age 5. Estimates put the number of patients currently living with CF at more than 70,000 worldwide, with thousands of dedicated physicians, researchers, and fundraisers devoted to their cause.

There was actual folklore about cystic fibrosis during the Middle Ages, but I’m sure RFK Jr. knows better than medical professionals and historians.

And probably believes in witches, too.

www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/legacy-...

1990s evangelical christianity thoroughly desensitized me to the concept of the apocalypse

Grad school may be the only decision worst than being a text based social medial sicko, you’ve made the right choice for sure

real harm reduction is actually doing something to fix the problem rather than only paying attention when your team isnt in power

Harm reduction is about helping people unconditionally. Harm reduction is about refusing to leave anyone behind. Harm reduction is an inherently radical concept that does not include guilt-tripping people into complicity with lesser-evilism, omg.

People misusing the term “harm reduction” to justify voting for people who would happily leave most of us to die in the streets is going to turn me into the gd joker.

This International Women's Day, please remember that trans women are women. Full stop. No qualifiers.

for the youths who werent around for the iraq installment
- dont believe anything the govt says about progress
- no the democrats dont have to say getting rid of the baddie was good and therefore they have to support the war
- the war needs to be ended
- the media is not your ally and they love war

to clarify, whereas an ouroboros is a great snake eating its own tail, symbolizing the endless cycles of life, nature, and the universe; a reverse ouroboros is a great snake crawling up its own asshole, symbolizing the infinite hubris of dumb motherfuckers who are always wrong about everything

yes substack has the best free product. but it also monetizes nazis, which is a dealbreaker for me.

why isn't it for you?

Counselor: These feelings of "everything sucks," how long have you had them? Butt-head: Uhh, since everything started to suck, I guess.

Here it is, your moment of zen.

You actually don't have to expose yourself to content of people being murdered. We know that it happened. Protect your mental health and log off for a bit if you have to.

if you think building luxury real estate on the bones of thousands of recently murdered Gazans is disturbing, let me tell you a little story about the land you call America...

I think about this quote from the Luddite movement all the time

ICE Agent Who Shot Renee Nicole Good Identified as Jonathan Ross Identifying the shooter in Minneapolis, The Intercept found a photo captioned “Jon Ross in Iraq” posted by a man noted in public records as his father.

"And then one fine day the bourgeoisie is awakened by a terrific boomerang effect… it oozes, seeps, and trickles from every crack."— Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism (1950)

It really cannot be emphasized enough that the Holocaust was modeled after the American campaign to displace and exterminate Indigenous people. This country drew up that blueprint.

Just WWJD’d my rep and both senators, it likely won’t work but I enjoyed it nonetheless

"he didn't get any congressional approval"

the "law" has always been a lie here. do you finally see it? - a Native

Please put the US under sanctions. Cancel the LA Olympics. No international conferences.

god help me I will live to see hegseth behind bars

God I am so sick of living in the heart of an unbearably evil empire. My thoughts are with the people of Venezuela

the brits should be so embarrassed by their transphobia, they got completely bamboozled by an American evangelical plot. they think they’re so much smarter than us but they got turned into a country of jug hooting bigots without even needing to be told it’s what God wants.

Jim Bakker is still around, but his grift has evolved from prosperity gospel into doomsday prepper food buckets.

My trickster god is a snapping turtle named Bofa 💁🏻‍♀️

We may not be able to win every battle (see: TN-7), but we can bleed them dry and make their lives suck, and that’s almost as good in the moment and will pay dividends in the long run.

Maybe this is my lifelong ODD, but in the face of an unwinnable battle, making the oppressor as miserable as possible while they force you to comply is far more satisfying than folding.

Say it with me: FUCK YOU, MAKE ME.

Isn’t that so much better than twisting yourself into knots and caving?

Here’s Judith Butler explaining what this movement is and always was, about five years ago.

Like, I'm sorry the fascists are giving you difficult choices. But that's what fascists fucking do. The only legit answer is "fuck you make me". The only answer that shows you have actual fucking principles not preferences is "fuck you make me". And that sucks. But here we are.