the-actual-literal-worst

Latest Posts by the-actual-literal-worst

A cute guy likes me on a dating app. After chatting with them for weeks, we decide to go on a date. They are very flirtatious and forward over the app, but not when we meet in person. He admits he thought I was transmasc like him, we laugh about it because his mistake is funny and means I'm not passing but in a silly backwards way. I think his sudden awkwardness in person may be nervousness and flirt with him in ways less forward and aggressive than he'd been flirting with me earlier, and they become cold and distant for the rest of the date. By the time I get home they've blocked me on the app we met on. This case of being mistaken as a transmasc on a dating app will happen 3 more times, and in 2/3 times it results in a similar sudden lack of interest where once they were coming on to me. None of these people will be cis.

I am in a self defense class for queer people, learning hand to hand combat as a community. I have been here months. I notice I'm the only transfem in the classes but there are other trans people there so I don't think much of it. Today I have some stubble as I did not have time to shave before the early morning class. When discussing unrealistic action movie and anime fight scenes I describe on of my favorites, quoting the lines as I pantomime the goofy moves. They smile and laugh along until the word bitch leaves my lips in one quote, then the bisexual woman who only ever they/thems me glares at me like I've committed a grevious crime, and the rest of the class looks at me like a freak in awkward silence for a moment before moving on. I learn bitch is not a word a clocky bitch can "reclaim". I am quiet in classes now, and when I go I focus primarily on the training, when I see other trans women try it out they often give me a sad look and do not return for a second class. I get a sinking feeling that if I ever use this training to save my life one day I'd be branded a violent man instead of a strong woman.

I am texting with a good friend of years who was one of the people who helped me realize I was trans like them and even the one who helped pick out my name loves talking about our shared interests and sharing their favorite smut with me. We bond over favorite stories, artists, characters, and kinks as well as our trans experience. Yet they constantly tell me they could never date someone who's AMAB because of the trauma of being "female socialized" and their genital preferences for vulvas. Every compliment they have ever given me on my appearance or outfit is followed up by "but in a non-sexual way, I could never date you". Today I finally have the courage tell them they don't need to say that every time. They ignore this response. We keep talking for awhile, but they start taking months to respond to my messages and respond with a short sentence at most. They no longer share details about their life and shut me out when I ask or share details about mine, even the most mundane and chaste details. I stop talking to them. A birthday gift I bought them months before this falling out happened looms at me in my closet. I cannot use it as it doesn't fit me but can't bring myself to throw it away, just in case we reconcile one day. I feel pathetic for craving friendship with someone who sees me as "abuser-bodied", that so much of my early stages would've been impossible without their help. I feel a little more lost without them.

I am at a queer/trans/enby kink dance party with some friends. I am scantily clad and wearing a skirt and high heeled boots. I do not pass well so this space is one of the few places I feel safe and free dressing like this. It is packed with queer and trans people just like me engaged in delightful debauchery and wearing very little. The music hurts my ears but I'm happy to be here, I feel overstimulated but alive and authentic. I am approached by a beautiful stranger from across the dance floor, she is graceful and stylish, like some modern Galadriel clad in leather, white lace, and industrial piercings with impeccable voice training. She compliments my outfit, I compliment hers. She tells me I need to shave my armpits if I want to look like a real woman. My two friends stand up for me and yell at her. They assure me she was just being an asshole, that women were supposed to be hairy, but I can't help but notice how both of them have hairy armpits and yet the "advice" targeted me. The wide range of bodies that people here tonight find desirable on cis women don't seem to apply to the women like me. I am the only one of us that doesn't go home with a hookup at the end of the night. I realize now she likely spoke from experience. I am still hurt by her words, but realizing the kinds of experiences she must have had herself to feel her words were kind advice hurts far worse.

A local queer photographer who's work I follow is looking for women & non-binary models for a photoshoot. I have become comfortable with getting photos taken of me for the first time in my life since my egg cracked, and had a few small time modeling gigs under my belt. With something like this I could actually have the beginnings of a portfolio. I reach and am told that they are not looking for trans women models, "only women and AFABs". Getting the same line I get from agencies from an independent queer photographer repackaged in "woke" terminology stings. I see many queer and nonbinary models I looked up to take part in the shoot. I have to wonder if they knew that the photographer's definition of woman didn't include trans women, or if like me in my martial arts class they noticed no transfems were there but didn't think much of it because there were other trans people there.

It is years ago and I am still an egg. I am with my partner of 4 years. I am exhausted after a long day. She asks me for sex in the voice that I know means saying no will hurt her. I learned from her long ago men have high and insatiable sex drives, therefore saying no meant I wanted to have sex, just not with her. So I say yes. The sex is painful and unsatisfying, and I simply do my best to thrust through the discomfort until she cums. I feel numb and hurt. She enjoys herself but seems sad I did not cum. I assure her I love her. When we hold eachother after my obligation has been met and I finally feel comfortable and safe. We begin talking. She talks about the trashy women she saw on the street today, describing their cringe outfits and ugly styles and bad hair. All the styles and clothes and hair I yearn to try myself in my deepest and most repressed desires. I change the subject and ask her about work and family. She asks if I'd still love her if she were a man and I say yes. She says she would still love me if I were a woman. Something in that statement feels like a lie. It is months later when we break up and I move out. Now that I am a woman I look back and know from our years together that if I were a woman then she'd hate the kind of woman I'd become. That if I were a woman she'd still have the same expectations of me as a man, that her refusal of sex equated an impersonal not being in the mood but my refusal of sex equated a cruel refusal of love.

A lesbian group begins organizing a queer woman's strip night event. A safe place for amateur performers to shine and women to perform and enjoy sexuality away from the male gaze. I see no transfems in the promotional material or leadership team, and I've learned not to think nothing of it just because there are other trans people there. I do not go.

I am talking with my therapist. They are trans too and an amazing therapist, often providing insights and advice only someone else with the lived experience of being trans can. I express distress and suicidal ideation at the fact I feel like I need to pass before I can dress the way I want. That until I get expensive hair removal procedures and FFS I can never feel safe and welcome presenting authentically. I lament how these things are expensive and may never be accessible to me. They tell me I need to deal with my "internalized transphobia", as if these feelings aren't a result of constant rejection and othering by external forces even within queer spaces. As if the scrap of womanhood others sometimes acknowledge in me does not rely on their perceptions of me.

There is a publication accepting works from trans people of all stripes to document trans experiences. It gets flamed for not having a single transfem as a contributor. The people behind it apologize profusely, they say didn't notice no transfems had sent work in and would do a sequel publication that was transfem-centric. I wonder if anyone had noticed there were no transfems but didn't think much of it because there were other trans people there. I think about the kinds of spaces I've seen like that, and the implications it has about how they treat transfems, and I am unsurprised no transfems submitted.

One of my closest friends for years is very supportive of me when I first begin crossdressing and experimenting with they/them pronouns. She gives me suggestions on cute clothes to wear and takes me shopping as well as asks for pictures. We had helped eachother discover we were both queer as young teens, come to terms with it, and navigate it in a hostile environment, so I have complete trust. We are close enough we are frequently asking eachother advice on serious life choices & relationships, sending nudes for critique + tips before sending them to our partners, and sharing our most secret and vulnerable moments. She often asks me for tips on getting her straight boyfriends into pegging and crossdressing that make me slightly uncomfortable but I don't mind, she is a loyal friend I would endure a great many discomforts for. I host a lunch for us one day, and come out to her as a trans woman. I tell her my new name, say I no longer use he/him pronouns, and thank her for her support on my journey thus far. She launches into a monologue about how by changing my name I am throwing away all our memories together and spitting in the face of my family. Taken aback by her sudden heel turn after being so supportive of me being nonbinary and GNC, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom to get a break and give her some time to process. When I am in the bathroom trying not to cry, she is on the phone. I overhear her misgendering me as she is talking about me being bisexual in a frightened voice. She sounds truly afraid that I intend to be sexually violent towards her. When I leave the bathroom and sit back down I pretend not to have heard. She gets off the phone, saying she was just chatting with her boyfriend. We talk a bit longer, she explains how "the surgery" is dangerous and experimental and she hopes I won't get it. I assure her I won't and do my best to change the subject and hope she comes around after some time to process things, hurt and shocked that what I saw as a natural shift in the path I was already on marked me as frightening in her eyes after knowing eachother for over a decade. That a fellow bisexual suddenly saw my bisexuality as dangerous now that I was asserting myself as a trans woman. I say goodbye to her, and she says goodbye to me using my deadname, I do not risk an argument to correct her. It is months after the meeting we have not seen eachother since and she has not responded to any messages I sent. After reflecting on her reaction further I decide that I don't really want to spend time with someone who thinks these things about me for my own safety and mental health, regardless of our history. A friend of 14 years who supported my queerness and transness gone the instant I crossed an intangible woman-shaped line that marked me as a predator and invader in her eyes.

I log online and day after day see trans women getting banned and harassed. Seeing baseless callout posts calling them groomers and abusers getting taken seriously by other queer and trans people. Seeing proof that deep down so many people I consider kindred spirits see me and people like me as worthy of intense scrutiny and policing to keep "the queer community" safe and united. The blocklist grows but everything stays the same. I treasure the people in my life who don't take part in this and would do anything for them, but it seems they get fewer each time.

I'm not making this post to seek sympathy, I am used to this kind of shit and far worse has happened to myself and others. I just make this to illustrate transmisogyny is not some "online-only" issue like people claim. Even if online issues weren't "real" (as healed is fond of saying, "online is real") this has tangible effects in the way trans women are treated offline as well. By communities, friends, partners, colleagues, systems, etc. That's why we talk about it.

So much of the discussions people have paint transmisogyny as some online oppression olympics maliciously trying to divide the community, smear transmascs, and "reinvent bioessentialism". That is not what it is about. Discussions about transmisogyny is about how we are treated for being what we are, and while related to transphobia and misogyny it is seperate because it often represents doors other trans people and women can walk through that transfems cannot. It has affected me in my most intimate moments when I was with other trans and queer people I felt safe around, and taught me that I need to carefully manage my persona and presentation at all times lest my authenticity be branded "male socialization". I am even terrified to express attraction to people who express attraction towards me because I'm so used to being treated like a predator upon reciprocating or being used and abandoned by people I trusted. I am terrified to be too excited about shared interests with friends lest I be too loud or talkative about it and branded with aggressive male socialization. So I make myself quiet and small, and shrink from the community and people I care about, and become more and more isolated.

Anyways, stop platforming anons who spread lies about trans women, stop hopping on TERF harassment campaigns because the trans gal they're smearing "gave you bad vibes", and maybe consider carefully if in your own life where you draw the line for a transfem's behavior is any different from where you'd draw the line for anyone who's not one.

I'm sorry I'm going fucking insane over trans people in sports issues the anti trans crowd has lost the fucking plot and then has the audacity to act like its the trannies who are ridiculous

I used to be of the "well the sports issue isn't really important to me its w/e I just don't want it to be a gateway into other transphobia" but oh my fucking god we are so far gone. The fencing shit is sending me over the edge. What the fuck.

I was a fencer for YEARS, and this is so beyond disgusting for SOOOOO many reasons FIRSTLY, as many people have pointed out, fencing is *typically* a coed sport. The ENTIRE time I was fencing I was almost always fencing against cis guys, who were older and more skilled than me, who were significantly bigger than me, who were generally stronger than me. You know WHY they let the poor little "girl" spar against the big strong boys?... BECAUSE IT DIDN'T MATTER. IN FACT, my coaches typically regarded it as an ADVANTAGE. The factors that go into making a good fencer, if anything (if you were a bioessentialist in the late 2000's, or a reformative feminist of that time) were more likely to be traditionally "female" traits... Being consistently smaller than your opponents is an advantage. There's less space on your torso for them to hit you, and they aren't used to having to aim so low- while you're always used to aiming high. Up until fairly recently, the narrative was that "women" were better at building lower body muscle- which is what almost all of fencing training focuses on (alongside core strength, but not as much). whether or not that's true, it was widely enough believed that pretty much every sport that focused on leg strength as opposed to arm strength was considered female dominated. The same can be said for speed, another important trait for fencing. being light on your feet, being able to jump, lunge, retreat, riposte in quick succession- speed of movement that is fostered by strength of the thigh and calf muscles. These are... once again... traits that are typically considered easier to obtain for "female" athletes. And this isn't even getting into the psychological aspects of martial sports. Do you know how many training matches I've lost to little kids- who I basically let kick my ass with a foil, and suffered my coaches straight up mocking me for it- because I was afraid I was going to hurt them physically or break their confidence in some way? Do you know how many matches you have to win, as a smaller- and weaker- challenger, before you're opponent starts to take you seriously and will actually spar with you? And for many people, who learned the sport through private clubs and classes, who never had the opportunity to lose their personal biases in favor of competitive edge- they will continue to lose because they will always underestimate us, or they will learn better and finally give us a challenge.

The other two traits that are most likely to give you a advantage as a fencer have nothing to do with the athlete's sex at all. For instance, across most martial sports; no one likes sparring with a fucking southpaw! We're difficult, and force our opponents to quite literally invert all of their training and practice in real time during matches. My coaches used to make their competitive teams spar with me to learn how to properly parry someone with an opposing dominant hand- and it didn't matter how much better trained they were, until they learned how to properly handle me I would almost always win. Are you gonna tell me some garbage about handedness being a gendered trait? HAH! and what about reaction time? Does extra testosterone make you block quicker? Disregarding the fact that testosterone levels vary in literally everyone... The idea is just straight up laughable. Imagine living in the world these people live in for a moment- where being born a "man" makes your eyes track movement quicker. It would suck to be these people so bad... This woman has shown a clear misunderstanding of the sport and the training required to excel in it, alongside everyone who has bought into her rhetoric. I don't even care if she's a grifter. I don't care if she has no actual actionable opinions on trans people, and if it was all "about the money". She has left a stain on my sport and the spirit of competition. She is a hypocritical transphobe, co-opting symbols of resistance from another disaffected minority to draw social and psychological targets onto a group of people that has never wanted anything but to be allowed to live our lives- and if she's doing it for money then I respect her even less than if she truly believed in her actions. and I'm frankly disgusted that this sort of bigotry has managed to infect my sport, which I have always considered equalizing and respectful... With all of my heart, I hope that her cruel, nonfactual, cowardly, unsportsmanlike behavior gets her banned from any subsequent competition- and I hope she serves as an example to the rest of the fencing community and its supporters that bigotry should NEVER be accepted in sport... And mostly, I hope her opponent- who I'm certain has had a social spotlight shined on her in a way that no one deserves- can find some peace after this, that hopefully the community at large can come together to reassure that she is welcome in her sport and its communities...

Fencing is typically a co-ed sport. This is transmisogyny in its grossest form.

But this story gets so much worse. The trans woman who she refused to fence only finished in 24th place. Stephanie, the forfeiter, also beat *multiple* cis men in a regional match just one week earlier! And conservatives just paid Stephanie $5k for her kneel. Why is nobody talking about this?

Me: Hey, what's up?

The version of me who lives deep within the depths of the multiverse, who has a PhD in English Lit and Film Studies- giving a lecture to a sea of students, who briefly tripped on the threads of fate- careening off into the vastness of space, to entwine our brains, matter to matter- before returning home to his skull- with students politely waiting for him to continue like that's normal: Dr. Frankenfurter was LIKE THAT as a sly reference to Mary Shelley being Transgender, as we all know...

Howdy folks, the Senate will be considering the first ever resolution blocking arms to Israel. This is huge and historic; it would block government contracting and about $20 billion in arms and support. This is an uphill battle, PLEASE urge your senators to support S.J.Res114-115. This is maybe the most important piece of legislation relating to Palestine that we have ever gotten and we must seize this opportunity.

This doc has information on the resolutions and their process, as well as sample messages and a phone script you can use. Please, use this moment to hear witness for your neighbors.

Google Docs

Arms Embargo: Act Now

On September 25, 2025, Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont) introduced two joint resolutions: S.J.Res.114-115. If passed, these resolutions woul

Casual reminder that the Palestine Children's Relief Fund has a 97% on Charity Navigator and you should donate to it if u can. Despite the limited external aid that's been allowed into Gaza, they've been able to distribute a lot of aid internally. And they are providing needed aid to Lebanon.

PCRF

PCRF

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was established in 1992 by concerned humanitarians in the USA to bring injured and sick children for fr

fundraising on here is genuinely making me cynical in ways that feel so fucking foul, do you know how it feels to sit here trying to come up with 'strategies' to tell a new interesting story every day to get people's attention for someone surviving a literal genocide. like genuinely i do not want to believe that most people are so thoughtless and careless that they would turn away from mohammed and his family simply because one of my posts doesn't catch their attention like a youtube thumbnail but what am i supposed to think when every 18–24 hours the campaign stagnates again because i miscalibrated and people didn't see a perfectly cute kid photo or enough coloured text. idek what to say i wish that i had a million krona and i would just fund the whole thing and not ever think about how to package a story so that a genocide can generate compelling social media posts day in and day out. it's the polar fucking opposite of how i ever want to think about this atrocity it makes me feel dirty and slimy and not even dirty enough to be reliably succeeding. i just want people to fucking care enough for them to buy a packet of biscuit rations on the black market and it's like pulling fucking teeth

Donating eSims is really easy and helps keep people in Gaza connected to the rest of the world. My referral code for Nomad eSims is WEAT59RQ. If you have a referral code, please share it if you reblog this.

As a rule of thumb, don't reblog donation posts or people asking for donations unless they've been vetted and reblogged by Palestinian bloggers. We usually go to lengths to verify this shit because we know scammers have been faking to get people to send them money, using the urgency of our genocide as bait.

It's disgusting this is what we're dealing with, but people are losing money because of some truly evil people out there.

Accounts don't just randomly spring up on tumblr without gofundmes while asking for someone to help them create a campaign. Fuck out of here with that shit.

this year while we all celebrate pride month and celebrate ourselves as well as those who came before us and paved the way for us to do so, we must also think of those in gaza, queer or not, who live every day under a brutal occupation and don’t have that same privilege. happy pride, and may we see a free palestine in this lifetime.

Palestinians performing a funeral prayer for the martyred refugees in Rafah. Israel opened fire on tents housing civilians last night, murdering dozens of people fleeing violence.

This is for the support of Gaza's Municipality Services - which help ensure clean drinking water, waste collection, debri removal and sanitation services - life saving services to run a state - reader I imagine wherever you are or how lacking the municipality services in your city is, it's not worse than Ghazza.

Currently it's only at 11% - please donate -

gaza-city.ensany.com

Life For Gaza

Life For GazaDrinking Water, Waste Collection, Debris Removal, and Sanitation Services for the Residents of Gaza City - Gaza Municipality

reminder that donating just a few $ to gofundme campaigns actually helps, you don't have to donate huge amounts if you don't have the funds, every little bit is useful. give $10, $5, even $1. it all adds up. don't scroll past because you think you can't help. help in your own capacity. donate a dollar. share and speak up.

When it comes to testimonies of the generations that went through the Nakba, I have compiled a small but very rich list of resources to help keep their testimonies alive.

The website Palestine Remembered has a huge archive of over 600 videos of lengthy testimonies from Nakba survivors that are grouped according to their districts and towns.

The Nakba Archive is a big project conducted by AUB which includes interviews of first generation palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Almashriq also has voice recordings of testimonies of Palestinian Nakba survivors who were internally displaced and the interviews are grouped according to the area where they were expelled to.

Israeli NGO Zochrot has a database of testimonies including video recordings of Nakba survivors that is regularly updated.

Lastly, written testimonies are equally important and photographer Anne Paq shared her series dedicated to pairing testimonies of Nakba survivors along with photographs of them and their grandchildren.

We all must be committed to keep these stories at the forefront of our discussions on Palestine, despite Israel's constant efforts to bury the truth (both literally and figuratively).

[X] TW if you click the link

Mass graves are still being discovered in Al Shifa Hospital

⚠️WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE⚠️

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

BREAKING: ISRAELI OCCUPATION BOMBS CIVILIAN HOMES IN DEIR AL-BALAH, INJURES CHILDREN

📹 Scenes from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, where a child receives treatment after being bombed in his home by the Israeli occupation army on Monday.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

Where should my mom go😭💔?

Our house in Gaza was bombed, we escaped to #Rafah, and now Rafah is being evacuated, and my mother lives on the sand without shelter, not even a tent 😭😭

As you can see, her hand injury is getting worse due to the lack of food and medicine, causing her to have spasms in her extremities 💔💔

Please, my mother is in danger, help her get out to a safe area before it is too late🙏

Please share and donate, believe me every single dollar will make a difference and save my family life😔🙏

gofundme.com

Donate to Help my mum to travel to a safe place, organized by Alaa Al khateeb

welcome everybody I am Alaa from Gaza I created this link in order to sav… Alaa Al khateeb needs your support for Help my mum to trav

#tumblers #tumbler #customtumblers #glitter #glittertumblers #custom #tumblersofinstagram #handmade #smallbusiness #personalizedtumblers #customtumbler #mugs #love #cups #gifts #glittertumblersofinstagram #custommade #personalizedgifts #tumblercustom #glittertumbler #shopsmall #gift #customcups #coffee #starbucks #personalized #design #supportsmallbusiness #tumblerstarbucks #giftideas

A reminder that Jazwares CEO - the company behind toy brands like Kellytoy, Squishmallows, Bum Bumz, Hello Kitty, Pokemon (in North America), Nerf, and many others - is a staunch supporter of Israel, with half of their recent intern cohort from Reichman University being called back to fight in the IOF. Not only this, but he and his wife Laura are working with the organization known as Brothers For Life that gives aid to Israeli soldiers, as well as supporting the infamous Canary Mission, which is responsible for doxxing pro-Palestinian students.

Buying new Jazwares products is going towards a CEO who supports genocide, please continue to boycott Jazwares brands and seek out alternative brands or strictly buy from secondhand sources when looking for new gifts for yourself or your loved ones. Do not continue to put money in Jazwares's pockets.

Source

Holy shit. The Israeli whistleblower story CNN just broke is insane. I cannot believe what I’m reading

About Gaza Funds

ive found that partially treated mental illness can sometimes look to uninvolved onlookers like faked mental illness.

Don't forget about the Palestinians.

Don't forget about them now.

Don't forget about them tomorrow.

Don't forget about them in a week from now.

Don't forget about them in a month.

Don't forget them next year.

Don't forget them in 5 years.

When the history books start to update, don't let them put lies in there.

When documentaries come out, boycott the ones who call this a victory for Israel.

When books release talking about soldier's personal experiences with Palestine, remember the victims. Remember the truth.

Don't forget about what we've seen.

Don't forget about what we've heard.

Don't let them tell lies about Palestine.

Don't forget about the Palestinians when the world tries to make this go away.

Originally, I didn't wanna say anything, but I'm filled with more and more anger the longer I have to see the replies and reblogs to this post.

Now, no hate to this as a concept. I've intentionally covered the username and profile because I don't want to invite the OP to come try and start shit on my blog, nor do I want people to go to them and try and start shit either. In fact, I've seen some good points brought up retaining to the safety and comfort of the animal, as well as the difficulties this brings for people with allergies. Is this pretty aggressive? Sure, but it's the internet- and I doubt this person preaches like this in their day-to-day life, so who cares?

No. My problem is with this addition from the OP:

As someone who has spent the majority of my life homeless, I think this is a perfect example of people invoking us in an argument where they truly don't give a shit about us.

This argument had nothing to do with homeless people. We are the seasoning you threw onto your food last second to make you feel like you hold some moral high ground to your dissenters. Not only do you kneecap your original argument with this (it seems like you care a lot less about "dogs in public" than you do "the general attitudes and cultural norms of the people and communities in metropolitan areas") but you also used us in an argument that we are DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTED BY.

I could go on and on about how insulting this feels, and how often it happens, but instead I'd like to use this moment to speak with any homeless people who cross this post.

The blog in these pictures is not wrong about one thing- one thing they go on to prove fairly well in this thread: That the punishment for the crime of "annoyance" is tenfold for homeless people, and that people will not hesitate to go out of their way to hurt us, have our things destroyed, bar us from public spaces, or any number of horrible treatments if they believe it will remove us from the forefront of their minds: all for the social crime of being deemed "unsightly" or "a nuisance".

This being said: IF YOU HAVE ANIMALS, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THEM AT YOUR CAMPSITE.

For many of us, pets can serve as guards (especially in unsafe environments), but at the very least they are functionally one of the few comforts in our lives, and one of the few tethers to "normal" that we are able to retain.

People do not believe we deserve that little grace, and the number of times I have seen someone's pet hurt or killed, intentionally set loose, had animal control called on them for being left unattended, or even straight up kidnapped- by everyday people who who took it upon themselves to play enforcer because they didn't like that the highway overpass looks dirty now, or by the same type of people who will preach about how the things that annoy them shouldn't be allowed in public spaces- is far too many.

So, since you won't have the privilege of just "leaving them at home" here are some tips from someone who's been in your shoes, and has been lucky enough to get to stand on the other side of the fence more recently.

(This goes just as much for objects as much as it does for animals- unfortunately when living like this, you can't guarantee the safety and ownership of anything left behind, and it's always safer to just keep your things with you.)

Make sure you have proper equipment for keeping your pet in public

Not only should you try and get a good, sturdy (non retractable) leash, but harnesses are harder to slip than collars, and make it easier to control your pets movement. Also, as much as you may not want to, a muzzle will keep a dog from barking, as well as negate the chance of someone claiming they have bit/ are a bite risk- behaviors which could have you removed from the premises at best, or have your pet taken or put down at worst. As much as you think "my dog would never" "they're too well behaved" or anything that makes you hesitant- a grocery store, a diner, or any other place you make need to take your pet will be filled with many smells, people, foods, other animals, and as much as you believe you can control your dog, you cannot control the world around you- and I promise you'd rather be safe than sorry.

If you are strapped for cash and can't go buy these items, then go talk to your local animal shelters, Petco/PetSmart's, community centers, and even outreach resources (shelters, assistance buildings, sometimes even free clinics). Many of these facilities will have donation bins specifically for the homeless or for people in financial crisis, or will be able to point you towards programs that can help set you up with equipment, food, and anything else your pet might need.

Please have your pet spayed/neutered

Not only do you not wanna risk having puppies or kittens on your hands, but animals are often more likely to be aggressive when not fixed. Your super sweet dog may attack another one for being in heat. Your cat will be more aggressive to humans because the hormones it's running with will make it more territorial.

Having a pet that loses it over people or other animals not only puts the animals in danger, but it also puts people in danger, and either way it's a sure fire way to get kicked out of the grocery store.

Talk with your local shelters (especially the ASPCA) about reduced fee fixings, many of them have programs specifically for people on the streets (and many will have free spay and neuter programs for cats specifically to reduce the number of ferals).

Make sure your pet is up to date on its shots

This one goes without saying: you don't want to hurt someone else's animal, or let yours get hurt. And you certainly don't want the vet bills from treating a sick pet

Again, talk with local shelters,any have assistance programs, or can point you in the right direction.

Ask whether or not the place you are going will allow pets in the first place

Many stores, restaurants, etc have no problem allowing animals, or will even pride themselves as being pet friendly, but if a place say no dogs/cats/ whatever other animal you may have (unless it's a place where there won't be other people, I really couldn't care less about what you're sneaking into your motel room)- don't argue or try and fight about it: calmly apologize and leave quietly and quickly. You don't want to draw attention to the situation or you risk having the cops called- and you are much more susceptible to mistreatment, harassment, and being locked up than whatever yuppie in the grocery store felt they were defending the public space. These are just spaces you've gotta accept that you won't be able to go (at least not with your pet)

Finally

Do not buy fake vests or certifications and claim that your untrained pet is a service animal, esa, or anything of the sort

Not only will it be big trouble if you're caught lying, but no matter how well behaved your pet is, or how much you feel they do a service, they are not trained working animals. They never be as well behaved as a properly trained service animal; and when pets (usually dogs) that misbehave, are reactive, or are generally just not actually working are claimed as service animals, it makes it harder for people with the need to bring their real service animals with them to do so. It emboldens business owners (who already have no qualms against discriminating against the disabled) to ban required service animals from their stores (and while this is against the law it rarely stops them). You don't want to do anything that makes survival harder for a group of people who are already treated like dirt for the crime of existing, the same way you would not like someone to make your life harder.

Obviously, the best option you have would be to leave your pets with a safe friend or family member for the day, but not everyone will have this option- and at the end of the day you should worry about your comfort, safety and survival, not about pandering to people trying to virtue signal to you on the internet while they spit in your face irl.

Stay safe out there

(and if anyone who sees this has links to resources for transient pet owners, or just for homeless people in general- please feel free to leave them in the reblogs, sharing is caring!)

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Gaza Funds is a Palestinian-run fundraising spotlight initiative helping promote the evacuation and support campaigns of multiple families. Each refresh of the webpage gives you a different fundraiser to adopt, promote, or donate to. You can also check them out at @/gazafunds on Twitter/X, where you can find flyers and stickers available to print and post.

oh fuck *falls back into old habits* *screen fades to black* *level loading* TIP: your belief that you are incapable of changing for the better will become a self fulfilling prophecy if left unchallenged