Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"We sent them out to the planets to worlds beyond our own
 Where frail men dared not venture they travel on alone
 Though they be no more than robots to the stars themselves they steer
 And we wish them on their journey all the luck of the pioneer"
  -- Jordin Kare (b. 1956-10-24, d. 2017-07-19), "Pioneer's Song"

"'it's cringe if mostly women do it but it's cool if men start to do it' is quite the recurring theme in history, and my favorite example is LITERALLY THE ENTIRE FIELD OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT" -- Vivian (Booster Arc) (muchnerve), 2021-10-21 (context)

"A cat can be trusted to purr when she is pleased, which is more than can be said for human beings." -- William Ralph Inge (author, Outspoken Essays)

"From now on I am not broke...I am running JIT personal finance." -- Charlotte Morrison (CMaeMorrison), 2021-10-16

"Health insurance companies are the landlords of medicine" -- Rider G h O s T (RiderToast), 2021-10-07

"It's worth noting that the one Democratic Senator helping facilitate the melting of the polar ice cap is also the only Senator that lives on a houseboat" -- Dan Pfeiffer (danpfeiffer), 2021-10-18

"Of course, there's often a large overlap between bigotries; it's rare to find someone who punches down on one group of people who doesn't also punch down on another given the opportunity.

"Since bigotry is typically multi-vector, our feminism must also be intersectional."

-- Nastja Styles (NastjaSt), 2021-09-24

"[L]et's not forget that actual myths are valuable. Myth isn't the opposite of fact, but the narrative that we tell ourselves about ourselves. Humans really are self hating if we have to render stories about the human experience illegitimate to feel legitimate." -- Morgana Adby (MorganaAdby), 2021-09-27

[This is in line with the way I use the word 'myth'. There are stories historians confirm are true, and religious stories I believe to be true, that I call myths because their importance lies not in their being factual, but in what they tell us about ourselves, who we think we are, and who we ought to be. There are other true stories that are merely history. By the same token, not all fictional stories are myths; some are, and others are merely stories.]

"Inside you are two wolves. One thinks today is Friday but it's really Thursday. The other put salt in its coffee instead of sugar. Neither can find their keys. Just in case anybody asks you what your problem is. It's these two wolves." -- Chuck Wendig (ChuckWendig), 2021-10-14

"i want my politicians to start talking about ~people~ rather than men and women. i want my politicians to truly embrace trans and nonbinary inclusive feminism. that requires us to reevaluate the language we use and accept from our leaders." -- Yoni Slater (yonislater), 2019-02-05

"The age difference between myself + oldest House members is ~60yrs.

"For better or worse, young people will live in the world Congress leaves behind.

"That's why I focus on our future: addressing climate change & runaway income inequality, ending school-to-prison pipelines, etc."

-- US Representative (NY14) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), 2018-12-23 [thanks to extraarcha for quoting this yesterday]

"All Christians are dual citizens, requiring us to choose which kingdom we'll ultimately prioritize. Sometimes we must lay down a flag in order to carry a cross.

"For the early church, sometimes being a good Christian meant being a bad Roman. So before accusing someone of being unpatriotic, ask which empire they're serving."

-- Stephen Mattson, "When Patriotism Becomes Idolatry", 2018-01-23

"Means testing isn't free. It costs a lot of money to create & administer a means-testing system for any program. When you're spending 3x the $ you're saving by eliminating ppl who earn $1 over the 'poverty line,' the cruelty is the only remaining point

"And when you want to spend more money on means testing families than it costs to feed children for free at school, you need to reevaluate your entire life."

-- Melissa Hillman (bittergertrude), 2021-10-02 [note: additional related good points by others in the replies]

"Our country was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity for all people - a promise that, despite the extraordinary progress we have made through the years, we have never fully lived up to. That is especially true when it comes to upholding the rights and dignity of the Indigenous people who were here long before colonization of the Americas began. For generations, Federal policies systematically sought to assimilate and displace Native people and eradicate Native cultures. Today, we recognize Indigenous peoples' resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society. We also recommit to supporting a new, brighter future of promise and equity for Tribal Nations - a future grounded in Tribal sovereignty and respect for the human rights of Indigenous people in the Americas and around the world." -- U.S. President Joseph R. Biden Jr., "A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples' Day, 2021", 2021-10-08, proclaiming today (11 October) to be Indigenous Peoples' Day

[Today is also National Coming Out Day -- see yesterday's QotD -- and in Canada today is Thanksgiving.]

"The true ugliness of the closet is its subtlety. It eats away at your soul bit by bit and you don't even realize it. If you never deal with it or comes to terms with it, then ultimately the closet will destroy you." -- Gar McVey-Russell, Sin Against the Race (2017, gamr books)

[Tomorrow, 11 October, is National Coming Out Day. If you are LTBGQ and can't afford to be out, wouldn't be safe, or just plain aren't ready, that's okay, take your time. But if you could be out but just aren't yet, tomorrow's a good day for coming out. Because the more of us are out, the more power we have to make it safe for those who can't come out yet to join us in the future.]

"Many years ago, when I used to smoke, my lighter was often easier to find than my scissors. If I couldn't find the scissors, or was feeling too lazy to get up, I used the lighter to burn the yarn in one place to break it. Other than the smell, this worked fairly well. Later, when I found my scissors, I would cut off the little charred bits.

"One day, I was knitting a cotton facecloth and needed to cut the end. I flicked my lighter, expecting to singe the one spot, thus breaking the yarn.

"I will remember that cotton is highly flammable, and that the knitting Fates punish laziness. I will also remember that a flaming facecloth can be extinguished with a cup of coffee...in a pinch."

-- Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much (2005, Storey Publishing)

"The law of the harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny." -- George Boardman the Younger (b. 1828, d. 1903-04-28), as quoted in Phinneys' Calendar (1878), edited by Andrew Beers

"Οἷς συγκεκλήρωσαι πράγμασι, τούτοις συνάρμοζε σεαυτόν, καὶ οἷς συνείληχας ἀνθρώποις, τούτους φίλει, ἀλλ ἀληθινῶς." -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (b. 121-04-26, d. 180-03-17), Meditations, book VI. "Adapt yourself to the environment in which your lot has been cast, and show true love to the fellow-mortals with whom destiny has surrounded you." [translation from Wikiquote]

Thomas E. Ricks (tomricks1), 2021-09-23:

When I was writing about Churchill and Orwell I would wonder why everyone sat back and just let the 1930s happen. Having experienced the last 6 or so years in the US, I no longer wonder.

Steven Kleinman (SMKleinman), 2021-09-23:

The slide into extremism seems to happen much like the way Hemingway described the process of going bankrupt in The Sun Also Rises:

"Gradually, then suddenly."

Timothy Burgess (TheTimBurgess), 2021-09-23:

And this from Hemingway:

"But are there not many fascists in your country?"

"There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes."

"Several protests against anti-LGBTQ+ policies have been cropping up across the country. Students and teachers alike have been standing up against discrimination towards LGBTQ+ community members.

[...]

"Thanks to the power of social media, it's become increasingly harder for schools to hide their anti-LGBTQ+ policies and the lawsuits they will fight to the bitter end at a huge cost to taxpayers or private school budgets.

"Meanwhile, not being homophobic or transphobic is free."

-- Sam Spadafore, "Students Stage Massive Walkout After Lesbian Teacher Is 'Marched Off Campus' Over 'Safe Space' Sticker", 2021-09-24 [caveat: that page is really difficult to read in a desktop browser because of how much space is takn up by ads and how the text jumps around, and gets blanked and redrawn when scrolling. It's much easier to read in the version that gets shown on a phone screen]

"A 'neutral space' does not equate to a 'safe space' for students. By removing symbols of solidarity, you are sending the message that LGBTQIA students, ideas, and perspectives are not welcome in the school.

"You are asking them to leave a crucial part of their identity at home."

-- Sophia Kwong Myers (SophiaKMyers), 2021-09-22 (quoted in the article referenced above)

"Treating our LGBTQ.. communities like they are a biased point of view is inherently taking a homophobic point of view. Because straight is considered the 'default', preventing queer expression isn't neutral, but discriminatory and hateful." -- Christian Ritchie (xianritchie), 2021-09-22 (quoted in the article referenced above)