#what about officer morales

[burins]

I know this is the Take Personal Responsibility for Systemic Issues website, but I keep seeing weirdly guilt trippy posts about libraries and ebook licenses, which are a labyrinth from hell and not actually something you personally need to feel guilty about. here are a few facts about ebook licenses you may not know:

in Libby/Overdrive, which currently operates in most US public libraries, ebook licenses vary widely in how much they cost and what their terms are. some ebooks get charged per use, some have a set number of uses before the license runs out, and others have a period of time they're good for (usually 1-2 years) with unlimited checkouts during that period before they expire. these terms are set by the publisher and can also vary from book to book (for instance, a publisher might offer two types of licenses for a book, and we might buy one copy of a book with a set number of uses we want to have but know won't move as much, and another copy with a one year unlimited license for a new bestseller we know will be really moving this year.)

you as a patron have NO way of knowing which is which.

ebook licenses are very expensive compared to physical books! on average they run about 60 bucks a pop, where the same physical book would cost us $10-15 and last us five to ten years (or much longer, if it's a hardcover that doesn't get read a lot.)

if your library uses Hoopla instead, those are all pay per use, which is why many libraries cap checkouts at anywhere between 2-10 per month.

however.

this doesn't mean you shouldn't use ebooks. this doesn't mean you should feel guilty about checking things out! we buy ebook licenses for people to use them, because we know that ebook formats are easier for a lot of people (more accessible, more convenient, easier for people with schedules that don't let them get into the library.) these are resources the library buys for you. this is why we exist. you don't need to feel guilty about using them!

things that are responsible for libraries being underfunded and having to stretch their resources:

government priorities and systemic underfunding of social services that don't turn a profit and aren't easily quantified

our society's failure to value learning and pleasure reading for their own sake

predatory ebook licensing models

things that are not responsible for libraries being underfunded:

individual patron behavior

I promise promise promise that your personal library use is not making or breaking your library's budget. your local politicians are doing that. capitalism is doing that. you are fine.

(if you want to help your local library, the number one thing you can do is to advocate for us! talk to your city or county government about how much you like the library. or call or write emails or letters. advocate for us locally. make sure your state reps know how important the library is to you. there are local advocacy groups in pretty much every state pushing for library priorities. or just ask your local librarian. we like to answer questions!

also, if you're in Massachusetts, bill h3239 would make a huge difference in letting us negotiate ebook prices more fairly. tell your rep to vote for it!)

#like. the nypl budget is getting cut bc Adams doesnt think the library matters! #your checking out a book a few times bc you didn't get to it in time is not actually affecting Mr. Cops Not Books #library haint #if you like the library and you like free stuff come use the library. you might be surprised about what we have! #but it's not a moral act either way. #libraries are a public good! i love the library! but so is the post office. we don't moralize about the post office. #ANYWAY. #local librarian with tendencies towards scrupulosity gets frustrated online more news at 10

[uncanny-tranny]

At this point, gender nonconformity is about what the person says their experience is.

If a woman with a beard or a man with lipstick and a mustache says they're gender nonconforming, then they are! If a woman with short hair or a man with long hair says they aren't, they aren't! And that's not even getting into the awesome nonbinary, abinary, genderqueer, intersex, and general genderfuckery that may both be and not be conforming.

So much of what is even considered gender conforming or gender nonconforming is based on a world of exclusion. When we start defining one's conformity with whether they fit into white cishetero perisex standards or not, we play into the idea that there's only a very narrow window of what is considered worthy of time and thought.

#gender nonconformity #gnc #queer #like. for instance a native man who keeps long hair might be considered GNC by white standards but for him it's absolutely not nonconformit #there's an aspect of white supremacy that silences everything else while saying that other culture's silence is indicative of whiteness... #...being 'correct' or 'moral' or 'neutral' #and as somebody who's trans and last i checked white i have my own thoughts from my own experiences #like how i don't consider myself to really be a GNC man. i'm just. man+ #i'm a weird concoction of weird soup that tastes like a man but if it were Wrong #and i just don't see that as not conforming to manhood like it is seperate. i see it as irrevocably linked TO manhood #it is others who have excluded and exiled me from manhood because of *their* understanding of me and how i 'fit in' in cissexism #while i will never ever say i know what it's like to not be white i will say these conversations that PoC have started have been INVALUABLE #i am forever grateful to have been extended the patience and faith to listen in on the experiences of people... #...who are racialized in terms of gender and how they do/don't 'fit in' with often white supremacist views on gender/dynamics #may have made a post like this years back but. eh. arrest me officer i will not back down #i've been more and more 'gnc' as i go into my transition and i don't see it as nonconformity but as an outlet for my masculinity #which is why i'm not insecure about my crafts and creations. because it is coming from a male whether or not it's considered 'manly' #i have little to *no place* in cissexist society so why should i put any stakes into if they ~accept~ me #made this post while jamming out to skyrim's tavern OST (paused my game to write this) #why the HELL does the skyrim tavern music have to go SO HARD. i NEED to slam down BARRELS of mead while listening to this istg #i don't even LIKE honey so i haven't tried mead but. for skyrim i would.

[lemm-moxx]

silly doodle dump of utmv oc's

(fun facts!!!! glasses guy is called sable, cat lookin glasses is called price. and you can guess who w.d is. They all work in a multiversal company/institute working in the """"""aims of preservation of history""""", and the collection and "dealing" of powerful magical items) (the company is called the Tenebris Universum Archive, T.U.A for short)

#i love my office yaoi so much #who says an insane lady gaga fan cant run a institute #please ask me questions about them #please please please pleaaeplease #my art #oc garbage #utmv oc #i really dont know what to call or tag this au as its a collection of people from different aus scrambled together in a company #biiig air quotations with any “morally correct” endeavours they do

[stupidlicious]

spider-man (to get your attention)

so i was sitting here doing my makeup and thinking about Officer Morale and Uncle Aaron and all that good stuff (spoilers for both movies ahead I think)

and i was thinking, how was there not some big scandal about The Prowler dying and being discovered to be the brother of Good Cop Officer Morales, soon to be captain???

weak theory 1: officer morales managed to keep on the down low that his dead brother was wearing the prowler suit and either in good faith or with money managed to have his fellow officers and the coroner not say anything.

weak theory 2: the prowler was SO GOOD at his job that nobody ever saw him and so when he died and his suit was found, nobody was concerned because nobody knew.

realistic theory: plot armor

anyway

#i mean is it part of the movie magic? because in the first and second spiderverse movies #so many details are accounted for #every little thing has a purpose and a reason and suddenly we forget that a Respected Police Officer had a known villain and associate #of kingpin for a brother? #i understand the system and everyone forgiving jeff’s history as a troubled youth or what will you #but i think there’d be some kind of scandal or radio show or even a back of the newspaper article that talks about this. #how cool would it have been if a very dedicated journalist showed up at his “congrats on making captain party #and started asking him about uncle aaron/the prowler #further irritating the situation between rio #jeff and miles? #spiderman into the spiderverse #across the spiderverse #uncle aaron #the prowler #officer morales #captain morales

[katierosefun]

okay well in my interpretation of suits, harvey never confesses his feelings to mike ever because a) look at that man. he's emotionally stunted in so many ways, and b) his hatred of affairs and cheating. something something he won't ever tell mike anything so long as mike's dating/married to rachel. he'll explode. suffer in silence forever

#caroline talks #suits #i don't even think the fact that mike was his employee at one point would bother him #like. we've seen in flashbacks that he was hitting on donna back at the DA's office #and he would have been fine sleeping with her back then and it was only donna who said #'i don't do relationships with coworkers :)' #and i do like donna and harvey (although idk. i always liked their friend chemistry more than anything else) #but ough. ough ough. #something about harvey treating rachel with both this quiet annoyance but also respect/understanding #because they do. both love mike ross. #something insane to me personally about harvey constantly following mike. #he's not letting mike go + i don't think he'd genuinely cross any lines unless he and donna break up #and rachel and mike break up #like. he would never. which. good for him on his moral code but also what a breeding ground for pining

[rockleaves]

a lot of what’s happening with twitter is hilarious but at the same time i think it’s deeply revealing of how badly unionization is needed for all tech workers, not only those in the game industry. there are reports of remaining developers sleeping at the office to try to meet their new insane deadlines after half the company was laid off. while obviously developers are not the most vulnerable workers in the world i think there is something to be said about how the perception — both internal and external — of software development as a cushy prestigious job that makes it easier for people — again, both inside and outside the industry — to overlook the reality of how badly many developers are treated, even at big tech companies. like, why do you think the google offices have all those “cool” amenities? it’s to encourage their devs to spend more time at the office and strip away reasons to leave on time; the idea behind it is if you can work out and eat and “relax” at the office, what’s your excuse for going home, for not staying the extra two, three, four hours to get this project done for tomorrow? so many of these companies are intentionally designed from their culture to their physical architecture to erode work-life balance and get more labor than they’re paying for. what’s happening with twitter is just a very public speedrun of what’s been going on behind closed doors for years.

#t #like yes a lot of Big Tech is evil. but that’s not all of tech. #and this kind of environment is not conducive to getting ppl who want to make tech less evil to be able to stick around long enough to do it #i work as a software developer for a non-tech company and that was an intentional choice i made #both for moral reasons and to make sure i’d be treated reasonably well #i make less than half of what friends who i graduated with and have the exact same degree i do make #which i say not to complain about my salary because i am paid well (for where i live - my coworkers who are based at our company’s other #office in a city with a MUCH higher cost of living are paid the same i am and barely enough for them) #but to emphasize that there is often a monetary cost to being treated like a human being in tech #and it often puts you on the very fringes of the industry #i studied video game design! i wanted to make video games! but i am not exaggerating when i say the crunch culture would have killed me.

[bitegore]

today's cooldown drag strip smut

#world's mediocrest morale officer. #internet cookies to whoever guesses what specific named team he's fucking #(there are five of them. you can't see two for reasons of Im Fucking Lazy) #(also if you've heard me talk about the Drag Strip Sleeps On The Couch idea you have a leg up) #drag strip #valveplug #bitegore art #go to oozeandgoo-art for my new work #cooldown sketch of the day. im beginning to sense a theme. given yesterday's was drag strip about to do this #lemon

[bumblingbabooshka]

Me reading fics where Tuvok encourages other peoples’ romantic pursuits:

#If Janeway came to Tuvok like 'I have feelings for Chakotay Tuvok and it's tearing me apart' he'd be like 'I understand completely. What you #have to do is completely eradicate those feelings.' #I think if Janeway came to Tuvok (pre that Episode where she gets a Dear John letter) and told him about how much she felt for Chakotay #Tuvok would be like 'hmm.........what about Mark =_=' and it'd send her into a spiral #Given that BOTH Janeway & Tuvok have said in canon that they pretty much consider holosex cheating (this is implied not to be a commonly #held view and I get how others would see it more like consuming porn) #I think Tuvok would 10000% made a comment to Janeway that's like 'wow I just never thought you of all people......well. I suppose that's #humanity for you.' and Janeway would run out of there so fast after being like You're A bso lutely Right Tuvok Tha nk You. #What do you do when your best friend and moral compass doesn't agree with you pursuing a torrid love affair with your first officer? #And when ppl have Tuvok BRING it UP to Janeway?? Specifically to encourage her to go for it?? Could not disagree more #If he's bringing it up ?? In MY mind it's to be like 'cool it with the workplace flirtation. you were on the bridge. Junior officers could #see you.' #and if it was anyone BUT Janeway I think he'd just be like 'I don't need to hear about this....if you don't want to eliminate all your #emotions I don't know what to tell you.' #Bonus: After Janeway gets that dear John letter and Mark's confirmed off the table Tuvok is still unhelpful #'I just don't know what to say to him...!' #'Why not just say you want to be in romantic relationship?' #'It's not that simple!' #Tuvok: (vaguely irritated and losing interest) 'Clearly.' #BUT...bonus for if you're Janeway and no one else....if you come to him with a complaint about your relationship there's a 98% chance he's #going to agree with you and say the other person was being unreasonable #Chakotay & Janeway: -get in argument- #Janeway: WELL. Let's see what Tuvok has to say. #Chakotay: DON'T call Tu- #Tuvok: (before he's even fully in the door) I have to agree with the Captain v_v #this is just my opinion of course...I know why he's used so much - bc he's Janeway's friend and the only high ranking person besides #Chakotay (who she of course is being paired with) who she would consider talking about her romantic life with #so even though Tom/Harry/B'Elanna are much better candidates to fill that role of eager-to-talk-about-romance they can't be used #so basically Tuvok's the only one left and thus is a bit ooc (in my opinion) such is the tragedy of Voyager #I only have such an opinion on this bc to get Tuvok content I must skim through many chakotay/janeway fics to discover he has four lines

[sallytwo]

every 3-6 months my opinon on nick locarno does a complete 180. it’s like hey buddy ✌️😁

#and that false friend kept his back turned…. #here’s what it boils down to #1) pilots and esp young hotshot jet pilots are supposed to be reckless and fun and dangerous. read the right stuff #and if they get killed it’s just cuz ‘they didn’t have what it takes’ you constantly have to prove yourself. READ THE RIGHT STUFF #2) this in general is demonstrated in starfleet cuz the officers that take big risks are the ones who get rewarded for it. we see that in tn #except none of the ‘heros’ ever die or get reprimanded for their choices. cuz they always end up okay #2) nick is like 21-22 and it seems unfair to judge him super hardly for the accident #because it’s DEMONSTRATED that starfleet actively encourages this type of behavior in officers and that definetly bleeds over to the cadets #3) and well. we’ve gotten to the biggest one. even if rationally he should be a sympathie character that i can forgive. #the thing is. that you look up to your cadet officers like they are your whole entire world. they’re your leaders you’d do anything for them #but they’re also your friends. and even if nick is in the clear. i cannot for the life of me imagine being betrayed like that #BY specifically your squad leader. like with officers it’s impartial they don’t realllyyyy care about you. BUT A CADET OFFICER. #YOURE SUPPOSED TO TRUST THEM THWYRE SUPPOSED TO STAND BY YOU NO MATTER WHAT!!!! ugh #which is why first duty is sooo rough for me cuz like. man you can’t not empathize with wesley there i can’t imagine if that happened to me #i would kill myself for real. anyway. moral of this is i’m a nick hater again hashtag hater

[stealthily]

i just got my bi-monthly emotional punch in the chest from remembering how fucking good The Good Place and the arc of all it’s characters was and the fact i am resisting reblogging 6583929 gifsets all at once and subjecting u to them rn is actually so brave of me

#it’s so GOOD fuck it starts off like a quirky sitcom and ends up with better discussions about morality and human connections and purpose— #-than literally any other piece of media i’ve consumed #it’s such a FUN and funny ride but it also has so much HEART and by the time i approach s3 i am always a Wreck #anyway literally everyone should sit and watch the whole of the good place it is a GIFT #michael shur (parks and rec; b99; the office; etc.) made it and his sitcoms do not MISS but this is the most sort of… chronological one #and god what a story it tells #who am i talking to rn. nobody but consider i do not spew my thoughts and feelings somewhere i will Explode #i have. work emails and cosplay stuff and unplayed video games but what if i just…. started a tgp rewatch…. as a treat #ANYWAY #i may be sick and mildly delusional from exhaustion but i stand BY this #txt #the good place

[mostlikelyshutup]

... (absolutely useless rant in tags)

#okay im gonna rant in the tags about us politics for a sec #and remember i am just a person and my info may be flawed and i am almost definitely biased with my use of it #but ive been seeing a lot of 'trump is so much worse i dont think you remember how bad trump was' going around #as like a tactic for voting for biden #as if people considering not voting for biden are doing it for like frivolous reasons #hes funding a genocide! #thats not a funny little flaw or something to ride out #i am by no means saying vote for trump and i will say that i voted for biden last election specifically to get trump out #the people considering not voting for biden are not just doing it because because they dont agree with him completely #they are doing it specifically because of his active and meaningful policies that go against their morals and ethics #even if we take palestine out of it (which we shouldnt but for arguments sake) #hes delivered on almost zero of his promises! #like he promised to change a bunch of shit if elected and he hasnt really done anything #in fact we are in the same or worse condition nationally than we were four years ago #the difference is that democrats feel comfortable because theres a democrat in office #anyway #i think you should all vote uncommitted in your primaries #and no matter what vote when it comes to the national election for whoever you feel with do right for yourself #and your morals and ethics and whatever #k mumbles

[polaraffect]

sometimes I truly genuinely forget nuance is dead on the internet and then I have to read people who should be on the same side argue about politics on the internet and I start wanting to bash my head into a wall.

#damien.txt #ohhh my god. rattling the bars of my cage. lesser of two evils is a real and true concept. #revolution and changing a fucking country and keeping marginalized people alive takes many different forms #and guess what! voting for the 'somewhat lesser right wing' president over the 'extremely right wing' president IS one of those forms! #change is not going to happen because you voted third party or didn't fucking vote. it is actively going to make things worse actually #truly i think half the people making these comments have no idea how the us government works. #revolutions and protests and community projects and other revolutionary activity i wont explicitly name here will change things. and we #should also be doing that. but we can't just sink into the idealism of those things and ignore the actions we can take around us in reality #and in our reality at this moment. truly. voting strategically to keep republicans out of office is critical. #do you know why the government has been particularly shit the past couple years? sure yeah biden is a shit president and that's part of it #but also. thinking back to 2017-2020. when trump appointed all those conservative right wing people #to positions that opened up. like the supreme court justices. and laws and things started to take a downturn? #whoa..... almost like.... we should prevent that from happening again..... like that was Bad or something...... #im truly begging you to take a look at project 2025 and see if that's something you're willing to risk #'im still not voting for joe he supports genocide' cool i guess. hope you enjoy your moral superiority complex. let me know how you plan #to actually do anything about the genocide anyways. #politics

[toooceanblue]

I love the sixth house sooooo MUCH I love cassiopiea I love that they were planning to betray the emporer for 1000s of years I love that they had the the intelligence to figure out they had to blind themselves to preserve themselves from the resurrection beasts madness and the guts to do it and the ingenuity to get along just fine I LOVE THAT THE HOUSE KNOWN FOR "TRUTH" AND "KNOWLEGE" IS ALSO, WITHOUT QUESTION CHARACTETIZED MOST OF ALL BY COMPASSION AND MORALITY. THE ROOT OF ALL KNOWLEDGE IS LOVE ITS ALL ABOUT LOVE ITS ALL ABOUT LOVE.

#SIXTH FOR TRUTH OVER SOLACE AND LIES #the fact that the 6th house is out here shown only getting pissed off over moral injustices....delicious.... #i feel this way about the scientist from the shape of water also. they get it. #compassionless mad scientists who hurt people for the sake of learning are OUT the learning is FOR people. thats what its all FOR. #palamedes became a doctor for dulcinea cam became a swordsman for pal ect ect #juno was so excited to give her kids this opportunity to explore the office in the dr. sex short story. #intellectuals who become intellectuals because of the depth are their love are IN

[hairenya]

I know we’ve all just moved past this (which is a shame even though there’s a lot going on) but I still think it’s hilarious that Kate Middleton outsourced pegging her husband. Girlboss energy.

#she just went oh no thank you hire somebody #which is my default move for most things except I don’t have the money she has #I don’t really have an opinion of her other than that and I’m against the monarchy #but it’s objectively a power move #also how does anyone in the royal family get in trouble for anything? #if Charles tried to call me in to a meeting about my problematic behavior I would stare into the camera like I was on the office #uk politics #literally if I was a royal kid my response to anything I was in trouble for would be okay but what about Andrew #none of them have any moral high ground #jlktalks.

[devotion-between-the-wheat]

as I feel out things with dre.amlight valley inserting, I'm getting hit with concepts of a k.h crossover. (and that wouldn't include the k.h insert stuff for that bc mixing that lore with this is too messy for me tbh.) such as characters like xem.nas. and that works especially bc I don't need to have complicated reasons for why he's alive in this, bc in dre.amlight the characters aren't the original versions of themselves, are instead a dream, a memory and personal impression of the original, y'know?

#there's also k.h's levels of unreality that could contrast and compare in interesting ways with what dre.amlight has going on #but also i think about the contrast between dre.amlight's villains and xem.nas #the current ones didn't really go through development in their og contexts or got worse i guess #and they did change in some ways in dre.amlight especially with the angle of not fully causing problems #not bc they got better morally but bc doing that shit makes things worse on a grand scale bc of how the valley works #whereas in the og context of k.h xem.nas did go through a form of development or revelations (especially in k.h3) #and tbh i don't really see him going back to committing his old grand plans even in the context of dre.amlight #bc of what he went through in k.h y'know? #but idk rotating it all #mind you I'm not creating a full and offical au for this but i do love running through the possible what ifs

[rotzaprachim]

i get the anger over aging up ya characters but as i’ve said before i find helnik arguably more fascinating as late twenty somethings than teens if you expand on the book canon backstory for them both to start asking the questions of, what happens when a generation of child soldiers becomes increasingly senior commanding officers for the next generation of child soldiers 

#the moral issues of what happens when child soldiers become adult soldiers you know #because we all know that making child soldiers is bad and also that war is bad and that adult soldiers are bad for being at war #but i think the this issues of how one does lead to the other (for the survivors) and the fact that #any genuine peace plans or any kind of national disarmament involve facing those adult soldiers and what they've done #wildly undertapped in fantasy literature #hell fic #idk thoughts and thoughts #a hartz iz nisht kein meleks trone #take the water prisoner #the fact that matthias is show by a junior officer younger than him that one fact. i do think about it. fascinating #what happens when the issue isn't YOU in the cycle of violence its that you haven't broken it for someone younger than you?