Avery Edison's Internet Diary

shuffling in, all the cool young people think you’re some old weirdo trying to invade their space….

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 23:25:57 -0500

shuffling in, all the cool young people think you’re some old weirdo trying to invade their space. they don’t know you were one of the folks who helped build this place

Hey, dumb American question here. Every UK person I have ever met hates Margaret Thatcher. Why? What terrible thing did she do to piss off that many people for so long?

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 07:05:17 -0500

Where do I fucking start?

So, Thatcher was the bane of the working classes, and much of what she did still has repercussions to this day. So, in no particular order, just in the order I remember them, here are some things she did that pissed us off -

•In 1989 she introduced this thing called the “Community Charge” but which everyone calls the “Poll Tax” which replaced an older system in which your tax payment was based on the rental value of your home. This new tax meant that people living in one bedroom flats would pay the same as a billionaire living in a mansion. Obviously, the rich loved it, everyone else… not so much. So there were riots (video of news about the riots) - There were lots of riots in the Thatcher years, and they were all notable for the extreme levels of police brutality.

(photo, poll tax protest in Trafalgar Square, 1990)

•Then there was her war on industry. There was a lot of inflation when she came to power, so she instituted anti-inflationary measures. All well and good… except not the way she did it. She closed many government controlled industries, most famously steel and coal. The amount spent on public industries dropped by 38% under Thatcher. The coal miners went on strike, for almost a year, but in the end, the pits were still closed, and 64,000 people lost their jobs. Unemployment rates soared in industrial areas, and inequality between these (generally northern or welsh) areas and the rest of the UK is still there. During the strike there were numerous violent clashes with the police at picket lines which were widely televised. As a memoir from one miner attests: “I saw a police officer with a fire extinguisher in his hand, bashing a lad in the back. I tried to get closer to note down the officer’s number but they were wearing black boilersuits with no numbers. The next thing I knew, a police officer struck me from behind. I was coming in and out of consciousness as I was dragged across the road into an alleyway. They blocked off the alley and beat another lad and me with sticks until I was unconscious.” (I can’t post the whole thing it’s too long, but read it in the Guardian) Images such as this swept the country, turning many people against Thatcher -

And after it was all over people felt Thatcher had lied, saying she wanted to close only 20 pits, when in the end, 75 were closed down.

• Inequality soared whilst she was prime minister. There is a thing called the gini coefficient, it is the most common method of measuring inequality. Under gini, a score of one would be a completely unequal society; zero would be completely equal. Britain’s gini score went up from 0.253 to 0.339 by the time Thatcher resigned.

•During her time as prime minister the notorious ‘Section 28′ was published. It stated: A local authority shall not (a) intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality; (b) promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship. - Section 28 wasn’t repealed until 2003.

• She introduced the Right To Buy scheme, which allowed people to buy their council houses for a very low price, which, at first glance, seems like a great idea, allowing people who normally wouldn’t be able to afford their own home to have one - however, loads of people have entered the scheme and now we have far too little social housing, meaning there has been a sharp rise in homelessness.

• The Battle of the Beanfield was a clash between hippies and police near Stonehenge in 1985. 1300 police officers converged on a convoy of 600 new age travellers who were heading to Stonehenge to set up a free festival in violation of a high court order. Again, there was an insane amount of police brutality, and 16 travellers were hospitalised, 573 people were arrested (one of the biggest mass arrests in UK history) - “Pregnant women were clubbed with truncheons, as were those holding babies. The journalist Nick Davies, then working for The Observer, saw the violence. ‘They were like flies around rotten meat,’ he wrote, ‘and there was no question of trying to make a lawful arrest. They crawled all over, truncheons flailing, hitting anybody they could reach. It was extremely violent and very sickening.’” (source) - Once everyone was arrested, the empty vehicles, which were in many cases the only homes the travellers had “were then systematically smashed to pieces and several were set on fire. Seven healthy dogs belonging to the Travellers were put down by officers from the RSPCA.” (source same as above)

Most of the charges were dismissed in court after Lord Cardigan, who had tagged along with them to see what would happen, testified on behalf of the travellers against the police.

•Her removal of Irish dissidents right to be placed in a category that essentially made them political prisoners instead of merely criminals led to a hunger strike that ended in 10 deaths, including that of Bobby Sands, who was elected from his prison cell, reflecting the immense national, and international support for Irish nationalists. Thatchers lack of sympathy, or even empathy led to her becoming even more of a hate figure.

• She presided over a rapid deregulation of the banks, which ultimately led to much of the problems during britains 2007-2012 financial crash many years later.

• She took free milk from school children, which, though not as serious as anything else listed here, directly affected every child in the UK and was very unpopular, leading her to get the nickname “Maggie Thatcher, Milk Snatcher”, which is still used today.

• Oh… and she supported Apartheid and called Mandela a terrorist.

This is nowhere near everything she’s done that pisses people off, but I hope it goes some way to explaining why when she died “ding dong the witch is dead” became number one in the UK charts, people partied in the streets, and people protested her (State funded) funeral. She is a decisive figure, some people in the UK do actually love her. I do not. She decimated the UK’s industrial heartland, she caused mass unemployment and the destruction of much of working class culture, she was cavalier in her financial policies and increased inequality by staggering levels, she approved serious police brutality and attempted to destroy the culture of unions in this country. I fundamentally disagree with all she stood for and it angers me that her mistakes are still affecting this country and the people who live in it. And I am VERY angry that the current government are spending £50 million on a museum about her.

khealywu:

coldmorningsun:

wearewarboys:

twenty-three-stars:

leoinengland:

Regarding selling off social housing, it was specifically that the income that local authorities generated from doing so was not allowed to be reinvested in acquiring new social housing. And no extra budget was allocated to cover building new social housing. The aim was clearly to create a social housing shortage as a twisted way of “motivating” people to stop being poor.

Great post. I hate seeing US feminists praising Thatcher, and I’ve seen it a lot.

Anyone interested in all of this should read Chavs: the Demonisation of the Working Class by Owen Jones for a really in-depth look at the long terms of Thatcher

Bonus: the bunch of chinless pricks we have in charge now worship her and are quite clearly doing their very best to carry on her legacy of bigotry, violence and just openly trying to kill off the poor.

Sure, thanks a bunch, Maggie.

Margaret Thatcher was a piece of shit.

banderboucher: paulftompkins: “Why Political Correctness Makes...

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 09:19:35 -0500

banderboucher:

paulftompkins:

“Why Political Correctness Makes for Better Jokes”

I keep thinking about this. I’m just so refreshed and so relieved to hear this from my favourite comedian. He’s absolutely right and he articulates it so well, and says something that A LOT of modern comedians/comedy fans need to hear. A large part of modern comedy is stuck in this old-fashioned, un-progressive anger that disguises its terrible, hacky jokes as “edginess”, while viewing inclusivity, development and respect for humans as “censorship”. This comedy goes nowhere. It chases its own “edgy” tail, and continues being bad because it’s certain that it’s fighting this imaginary fight, a fight that only preserves the comedian’s self-interest of saying lazy, offensive shit. And here we have one of the most respected, funniest and hardest working comedians in the business considerately acknowledging there’s a problem - a problem most comedians won’t acknowledge - and working to fight this problem, and fighting to continue being a great comic, and more importantly, a great person. @paulftompkins is all about inclusivity and kindness, and he sacrifices none of his wit, and in my opinion, genius, by being a good person. He is how comedy should be.

khealywu: skeletree: hungrylikethewolfie: inkdot: This weekend I was told a story which,...

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 06:56:34 -0500

khealywu:

skeletree:

hungrylikethewolfie:

inkdot:

This weekend I was told a story which, although I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, because holy shit is it ever obvious, is kind of blowing my mind.

A friend of a friend won a free consultation with Clinton Kelly of What Not To Wear, and she was very excited, because she has a plus-size body, and wanted some tips on how to make the most of her wardrobe in a fashion culture which deliberately puts her body at a disadvantage.

Her first question for him was this: how do celebrities make a plain white t-shirt and a pair of weekend jeans look chic? She always assumed it was because so many celebrities have, by nature or by design, very slender frames, and because they can afford very expensive clothing. But when she watched What Not To Wear, she noticed that women of all sizes ended up in cute clothes that really fit their bodies and looked great. She had tried to apply some guidelines from the show into her own wardrobe, but with only mixed success. So - what gives?

His answer was that everything you will ever see on a celebrity’s body, including their outfits when they’re out and about and they just get caught by a paparazzo, has been tailored, and the same goes for everything on What Not To Wear. Jeans, blazers, dresses - everything right down to plain t-shirts and camisoles. He pointed out that historically, up until the last few generations, the vast majority of people either made their own clothing or had their clothing made by tailors and seamstresses. You had your clothing made to accommodate the measurements of your individual body, and then you moved the fuck on. Nothing on the show or in People magazine is off the rack and unaltered. He said that what they do is ignore the actual size numbers on the tags, find something that fits an individual’s widest place, and then have it completely altered to fit. That’s how celebrities have jeans that magically fit them all over, and the rest of us chumps can’t ever find a pair that doesn’t gape here or ride up or slouch down or have about four yards of extra fabric here and there.

I knew that having dresses and blazers altered was probably something they were doing, but to me, having alterations done generally means having my jeans hemmed and then simply living with the fact that I will always be adjusting my clothing while I’m wearing it because I have curves from here to ya-ya, some things don’t fit right, and the world is just unfair that way. I didn’t think that having everything tailored was something that people did.

It’s so obvious, I can’t believe I didn’t know this. But no one ever told me. I was told about bikini season and dieting and targeting your “problem areas” and avoiding horizontal stripes. No one told me that Jennifer Aniston is out there wearing a bigger size of Ralph Lauren t-shirt and having it altered to fit her.

I sat there after I was told this story, and I really thought about how hard I have worked not to care about the number or the letter on the tag of my clothes, how hard I have tried to just love my body the way it is, and where I’ve succeeded and failed. I thought about all the times I’ve stood in a fitting room and stared up at the lights and bit my lip so hard it bled, just to keep myself from crying about how nothing fits the way it’s supposed to. No one told me that it wasn’t supposed to. I guess I just didn’t know. I was too busy thinking that I was the one that didn’t fit.

I thought about that, and about all the other girls and women out there whose proportions are “wrong,” who can’t find a good pair of work trousers, who can’t fill a sweater, who feel excluded and freakish and sad and frustrated because they have to go up a size, when really the size doesn’t mean anything and it never, ever did, and this is just another bullshit thing thrown in your path to make you feel shitty about yourself.

I thought about all of that, and then I thought that in elementary school, there should be a class for girls where they sit you down and tell you this stuff before you waste years of your life feeling like someone put you together wrong.

So, I have to take that and sit with it for a while. But in the meantime, I thought perhaps I should post this, because maybe my friend, her friend, and I are the only clueless people who did not realise this, but maybe we’re not. Maybe some of you have tried to embrace the arbitrary size you are, but still couldn’t find a cute pair of jeans, and didn’t know why.

This post is one of those things that I will reblog every time it appears on my dash. This is so important, and no one ever tells you about it.

I almost didn’t read this but then I did and I’m really glad that I did.

I think about this post a lot.

Me too.

fireland: THE HOUSE OF WIGS Annotated Kindle Edition Foreword...

Tue, 01 Dec 2015 19:31:02 -0500

fireland:

THE HOUSE OF WIGS
Annotated Kindle Edition
Foreword by Heather B. Armstrong
100 pages, $2.99

In 2003 I moved to a new state to work as a copywriter for an internet ad agency, something I’d never done before and was really bad at. On like the second day I started an anonymous diary blog because that’s what you did in 2003?

Weirdly, my unhinged blather about cubicle life got way more love than the pretentiously obscure meta-fiction I was peddling under my real name. I was furious! I abandoned the project a year later!

Anyway it was called THE HOUSE OF WIGS and it’s now available as an ebook. I added a bunch of footnotes to explain dumb references and Heather of Dooce wrote the intro. Makes a great stocking stuffer! Somehow? I don’t know how technology works.

mash this link to buy it >>

Josh is one of my favourite writers, and you should buy his book.

After years of planning, thinking, and downright scheming, I...

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 12:20:20 -0400

After years of planning, thinking, and downright scheming, I have finally created and released my very own podcast. It’s called Swings and Roundabouts, and it’s a storytelling show premised on me turning to my laptop for therapy.

It’s a little odd, and I’m going to try and make it more so as the episodes go on. This first episode is the story of my ill-fated trip to New Mexico. As you can see from the image above, it was explosive. Please give the show a listen and see if you like it.

If you do enjoy the show, or anything else I create, please also consider donating to my Patreon. I’m trying to switch from a feast and famine lifestyle to something more reliable, and your dollar can really help.

"No one would ever argue that jokes made at the expense of transgender people constitute “political..."

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 18:45:44 -0400

“No one would ever argue that jokes made at the expense of transgender people constitute “political correctness” — even though they clearly express a political viewpoint, one that has historically dominated in our culture. But if I were to complain about that joke — which, lest we not forget, is also an expression of free speech — plenty of people would accuse me (and any supporters I may have) of “political correctness” and “censorship.””

- That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore (and it’s not because of “political correctness”) — Julia Serano (via nickdouglas)

The initial seven entries in my month mocking talented comedian...

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:29:04 -0400

The initial seven entries in my month mocking talented comedian (and my girlfriend) dilab by creating Fringe-style one-woman show flyers.

Yes, the first consistent creative project I’ve embarked upon in months is an inside-joke wrapped in layers of inscrutable industry parody. I’m bad at being a ““content producer””.

white hippies: i love everyone

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:53:09 -0400

white hippies: i love everyone
white hippies: love is so important, we have to love each other
white hippies: love love love everyone is so beautiful love everybody love yourself put love into the universe
white hippies: i don't give a flying fuck if dreads are appropriation i don't give a fuck if studies show that cultural appropriation is harmful I don't give a fuck if i'm hurting anybody I don't give a fuck about you
white hippies: love :) :) :)

The face of a woman who has no idea that she’s about to go...

Mon, 22 Jun 2015 10:30:25 -0400

The face of a woman who has no idea that she’s about to go and have an incredibly tough time at a gig. (Still, the audience got some decent cleavage, so they can’t complain.)

Five Things I Wish I’d Been Told When I Got Into Makeup

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 10:47:29 -0400

Five Things I Wish I’d Been Told When I Got Into Makeup:

scuzzyfemme:

1. This doesn’t have to be your job

It’s obvious in retrospect, but it took me a while of reading beauty blogs and watching YouTube videos to realize that I was getting my tips and information from people who were either professionals or extremely avid enthusiasts. The simplest tutorials had…

My friend Merritt is writing a great makeup/beauty blog!

passivites: white feminism starts and ends @ hairy armpits

Sun, 24 May 2015 12:27:35 -0400

passivites:

white feminism starts and ends @ hairy armpits

Today In Tabs was subject to a bloodless coup today, which I...

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:08:10 -0400

Today In Tabs was subject to a bloodless coup today, which I used as an opportunity to get in a sick burn on Patton Oswalt.

Oh, and I’m not just doing t-shirts, guys. I’ll also...

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:36:29 -0400

Oh, and I’m not just doing t-shirts, guys. I’ll also be doing awful bumper stickers. Just straight-up terrible, but (presumably) lucrative.

I’ve decided there’s not enough money in actual...

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:10:30 -0400

I’ve decided there’s not enough money in actual comedy, so from now on I will be designing and selling extremely awful novelty t-shirts instead.

Somebody please take away my Twitter, I have confused this poor,...

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 13:53:56 -0400

Somebody please take away my Twitter, I have confused this poor, innocent man.

lara-thorn:silmarildust: Transitioning Love how literal this is...

Tue, 24 Mar 2015 12:03:48 -0400

lara-thorn:

silmarildust:

Transitioning

Love how literal this is and how you get a sense of the pain it takes

This looks cool, but I am still getting grief from my local council about my supposed “failure to properly dispose of [my] torn and bloody carcass-coccoon”. Like, I’m so sorry I just threw it out on the street with the rest of the trash, but I had literally just torn myself out of my old body, I was a little too dazed to think about responsible waste management.

Besides, that farmer found it and managed to make a decent scarecrow with it, so I don’t see why anybody’s complaining.

Photo

Sun, 22 Mar 2015 23:01:53 -0400

“Avery, shut up about trans stuff, it’s...

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 12:54:53 -0400

“Avery, shut up about trans stuff, it’s dumb.”

“No, it’s not, it’s actually very, very good.”

“You’ve convinced me. Here is a million dollars.”

–How I picture things going every time I make one of these.

Maybe this is a thing I do now? Make little Photoshopped...

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 11:58:44 -0400

Maybe this is a thing I do now? Make little Photoshopped infopics about transgender issues? I kind-of hope not, because I talk about trans stuff way too much anyway.

We get it, Avery, you’re transgender. Jeez.