As discussed previously, on Fridays, I present my weekly social media roundups. Note that toots of articles generally include header images from the articles, which I donā€™t include here unless their creators happen to have released them for use under a free license, and I notice. Most have not, or I donā€™t notice. But I now add my commentary here, where I donā€™t feel restricted by message length.

diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week

Also, I donā€™t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

9:06 ā€“ Mon 20 March 2023

A dark-skinned person in a long, baggy hoodie, carrying a tablet computer
A dark-skinned person in a long, baggy hoodie, carrying a tablet computer
Image credit: Female holding her Surface laptop with a wall in the background https://unsplash.com/photos/7vRRV5tMPmI by Surface, made available under the Unsplash license

Why volunteer moderators burn out and quit from Futurity

We browse the internet every day and many people are on social media platforms, but we often forget that itā€™s people that are responsible for keeping our information ecosystems alive.

Hashtags: #SocialMedia #Burnout

As we see a resurgence in independent social media, a lot of people will need to learn this lesson.

12:07 ā€“ Mon 20 March 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

It is an interesting manifestation of the attitude of certain public critics toward change, that when the collegiate training of women was first on trial there were clamorous complaints that the health of young women was being wrecked; now the same class of public critics are loudly complaining that college women are ā€œAmazons.ā€

Florence Bascom

Hashtags: #Quotes #WomensHistory

9:07 ā€“ Tue 21 March 2023

Image Not Shown: A man dressed as the folklore character Hajji Firuz performs in Tehran on March 14, 2023, ahead of the Nowruz New Year festival

Iranians Face Dilemma as New Year and Ramadan Coincide from Voice of America

Last year, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri warned those who fail to fast in public will be liable to be punished.

Hashtags: #Iran #Norwuz #Ramadan

Given that the Iranian protests still havenā€™t ended, this has the makings of a disaster for somebody. At the best of times, telling people to abandon traditional holidays never works, hence Christianity appropriating major pagan holidays as Easter and Christmas, but with a population already fed up with the ā€œIslamic Republicā€ premise, this might end in widespread violence from a weak government lashing out.

12:04 ā€“ Tue 21 March 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

If I can do no more, let my name stand among those who are willing to bear ridicule and reproach for the truthā€™s sake, and so earn some right to rejoice when the victory is won.

Louisa May Alcott

Hashtags: #Quotes #WomensHistory

9:02 ā€“ Wed 22 March 2023

Image Not Shown: Student council members at Summit School in Ahwatukee, Arizona, pictured November 18, 2021, donate gift baskets every Thanksgiving

In the U.S., democracy begins in the classroom from the Bureau of Global Public Affairs

Jenna was inspired to make a lasting, positive change at her elementary school. ā€œMy sister, she is there,ā€ Jenna explained to the Daily Independent. ā€œI want her to have something when I leave, and I want everyone to enjoy it.ā€

Hashtags: #Democracy #Education #SocialActivism

We could do so much more with schoolsā€¦

12:06 ā€“ Wed 22 March 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

I find that when you open the door toward openness and transparency, a lot of people will follow you through.

Kirsten Gillibrand

Hashtags: #Quotes #WomensHistory

9:01 ā€“ Thu 23 March 2023

Image Not Shown: A dark-skinned health care worker sitting, surgical mask on and eyes closed, on the floor in a doorway

Health care workers are frazzled ā€” and poor sleep may turn stress into poor mental health from The Conversation

ā€¦health care workers can face many other work stressors, such as exposure to infectious diseases and chemical hazards, bullying and violence, high physical workloads and time pressure.

Hashtags: #Sleep #Healthcare #Health

And yes, we have a self-serving motivation in preventing these problems, since health care workers who need to deal with their own issues have less of an ability to help the rest of the population.

12:05 ā€“ Thu 23 March 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

Finally she faltered; / Saw at last, forsooth, / Every gaudy color / Is a bit of truth.

Nathalia Crane

Hashtags: #Quotes #WomensHistory

9:04 ā€“ Fri 24 March 2023

Content Warning: US Immigration Policy

Image Not Shown: A corrections officer opening a gate to move a line of immigrants to another location

Immigration Policy Doesnā€™t Have To Be This Way from OtherWords

Over [twenty years with the DHS], 5 million people have been deported. Countless others have been raided, assaulted, and imprisoned just for trying to escape war, poverty, or climate chaos.

Hashtags: #USPol #Immigration #DHS

I admittedly find it uncomfortable to complain about Homeland Security, because Iā€™ve had the experience that going down that road bears a lot of responsibility for the broader anti-government sentiment among progressives, leading them to support any politician who mentions the defense budget.

12:02 ā€“ Fri 24 March 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

Peace is a matter of education more largely than of legislation; although the latter is necessary.

Belva Ann Lockwood

Hashtags: #Quotes #WomensHistory

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, I drop any additional articles that didnā€™t fit into the one-article-per-day week, but too weird or important to not mention, here.

Content Warning: Self-harm, Transphobia, Refugee Management

AI-generated old photograph of "a sad girl standing with her back to us"
AI-generated old photograph of "a sad girl standing with her back to us"
Image credit: Made by Global Voices with OpenAI

Transgender girl from Russia commits suicide in a refugee camp from Global Voices

At the time of the application, she needed hormone replacement therapy, the queue for which in the Netherlands, as Khina was informed, was long, with the approximate waiting period of over two years. The burden of accumulated problems turned out to be unbearable for Khina, resulting in tragedy.

We, as a society, need to take these sorts of issues more seriously, especially when dealing with refugees.

Image Not Shown: Police officers wait in line at a Halal Guys food cart in New York in October 2020

Halal food sees big gains in U.S. restaurant market from the Bureau of Global Public Affairs

Amanullah credits two economic factors with facilitating the rapid expansion of halal restaurants: the growing Muslim market and the narrowing cost gap for restaurants purchasing halal products.

I can remember about fifteen years ago, I used to stop at a Halal market with a hot-food counter, on my way to teach. For the first semester, every time that I walked in, it felt like I shocked them by walking through the door as a white man, and not hesitating to order foodā€¦

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Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.