onlyincanadayousay:

Viola Davis Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was an African-Nova Scotian who bought her own beauty parlour and beauty college in Halifax. Desmond’s story was one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Nova Scotian and Canadian history.
On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond refused to sit in the balcony designated exclusively for blacks in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow but, instead, she took her seat on the ground floor where only white people were allowed to sit.
The police were summoned immediately and she was dragged out, which injured her hip. She was charged and held overnight in jail; she was not advised of her rights. Maintaining her dignity, Desmond remained sitting upright, wearing her white gloves (a sign of sophistication and class at the time). The following morning, despite not having done anything wrong, she paid the imposed fine of $20. Besides being fined, she was charged with defrauding the Government of Nova Scotia of the difference in the tax between a ground floor and a balcony seat, which amounted to one cent. While discussing the incident with the doctor who tended to her, Desmond decided to fight the charges. Clearly, the issue was about her being African Canadian and there being a racist seating policy in place; it was not about tax evasion. In taking the matter to the courts, Viola Desmond’s experience helped to galvanize public opinion locally and internationally, and to raise awareness about the reality of Canadian segregation.
After being forcibly removed from the theatre and arrested, Desmond was eventually found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket from the main floor theatre ticket. She wasfined $20 ($251.30 in 2010[1]) and court costs ($6). She paid the fine but decided to fight the charge in court.
During subsequent trials the government insisted on arguing that this was a case of tax evasion. Retail sales tax was calculated based on the price of the theatre ticket. Since the theatre would only agree to sell the Black woman a cheaper balcony ticket, but she had insisted upon sitting in the more expensive main floor seat, she was one cent short on tax. For her crime of so-called tax evasion, she was removed from the theatre, thrown in jail overnight, tried without counsel, convicted and fined. During the trial, no one admitted that Viola Desmond was Black, and that the theatre maintained a racist seating policy. The trial proceeded as if it related to race-neutral tax evasion. All efforts to have the conviction overturned at higher levels of court failed. Her lawyer returned her fee which she used to set up a fund that was eventually used to support activities of the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP).
After the trial, Desmond closed her business and then moved to Montreal where she could enroll in a business college. She eventually settled in New York where she died on February 7, 1965 at the age of 50.
While the case received little attention outside of Nova Scotia, it has since gained notoriety as one of many cases fought for civil rights in the mid-20th century. Many of those familiar with Viola Desmond’s courageous stand compare her to famed civil-rights activist, Rosa Parks and her 1955 refusal to vacate a bus seat so that a white passenger could sit down.
On April 14, 2010, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Mayann Francis, on the advice of her premier, invoked the Royal Prerogative and granted Desmond a posthumous pardon,[2] the first such to be granted in Canada.[3] The government of Nova Scotia also apologised

Viola Davis Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was an African-Nova Scotian who bought her own beauty parlour and beauty college in Halifax. Desmond’s story was one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Nova Scotian and Canadian history.

On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond refused to sit in the balcony designated exclusively for blacks in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow but, instead, she took her seat on the ground floor where only white people were allowed to sit.

The police were summoned immediately and she was dragged out, which injured her hip. She was charged and held overnight in jail; she was not advised of her rights.

Maintaining her dignity, Desmond remained sitting upright, wearing her white gloves (a sign of sophistication and class at the time). The following morning, despite not having done anything wrong, she paid the imposed fine of $20. Besides being fined, she was charged with defrauding the Government of Nova Scotia of the difference in the tax between a ground floor and a balcony seat, which amounted to one cent.

While discussing the incident with the doctor who tended to her, Desmond decided to fight the charges. Clearly, the issue was about her being African Canadian and there being a racist seating policy in place; it was not about tax evasion. In taking the matter to the courts, Viola Desmond’s experience helped to galvanize public opinion locally and internationally, and to raise awareness about the reality of Canadian segregation.

After being forcibly removed from the theatre and arrested, Desmond was eventually found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket from the main floor theatre ticket. She wasfined $20 ($251.30 in 2010^[1]) and court costs ($6). She paid the fine but decided to fight the charge in court.

During subsequent trials the government insisted on arguing that this was a case of tax evasion. Retail sales tax was calculated based on the price of the theatre ticket. Since the theatre would only agree to sell the Black woman a cheaper balcony ticket, but she had insisted upon sitting in the more expensive main floor seat, she was one cent short on tax. For her crime of so-called tax evasion, she was removed from the theatre, thrown in jail overnight, tried without counsel, convicted and fined. During the trial, no one admitted that Viola Desmond was Black, and that the theatre maintained a racist seating policy. The trial proceeded as if it related to race-neutral tax evasion. All efforts to have the conviction overturned at higher levels of court failed. Her lawyer returned her fee which she used to set up a fund that was eventually used to support activities of the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP).

After the trial, Desmond closed her business and then moved to Montreal where she could enroll in a business college. She eventually settled in New York where she died on February 7, 1965 at the age of 50.

While the case received little attention outside of Nova Scotia, it has since gained notoriety as one of many cases fought for civil rights in the mid-20th century. Many of those familiar with Viola Desmond’s courageous stand compare her to famed civil-rights activist, Rosa Parks and her 1955 refusal to vacate a bus seat so that a white passenger could sit down.

On April 14, 2010, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Mayann Francis, on the advice of her premier, invoked the Royal Prerogative and granted Desmond a posthumous pardon,^[2] the first such to be granted in Canada.^[3] The government of Nova Scotia also apologised

I hate that I’ll never be as pretty as Francesca Fiore.

I hate that I’ll never be as pretty as Jocelyn the sex worker, or Monique the pyromaniac.

Inspiration strikes. In the Kneecaps.: Come to think of it, I'd probably forgo shaving, too. #Revolution

In a dystopian future, why would I bother with a bra?

themarysue:

mizzelle:

thepierglass:

joereid:

tylercoates:

5 Sports Movies That Should Get the Broadway Musical Treatment

I’m rolling my eyes over Rocky: The Musical as much as the next guy, but A League of Their Own should definitely be a musical. “There’s No Crying (In Baseball)” would be a killer act-one closing number. (Also, here’s my first feature piece for Flavorwire.)

Tyler put a great thing out in the universe with a call for a “League of Their Own” musical. Of course, I just spent the last 20 minutes coming up with the songbook. MOVE OVER, JULIA HOUSTON.

ACT ONE
“Lay Off the High Ones”
“When You’re Dottie’s Kid Sister”
“Is That General Omar Bradley? (Marla’s Song)”
“You’re a Peach!”
“Gracefully and Grandly”
“(I Don’t Got Players) I Got Girls”
“I Singin’ to Nelson (Ain’t I Baby?)”
“When the Boys Come Home”
“He Ain’t Closin’ Me Down (Hey Mr. Chocolate Man)”
“There’s No Crying in Baseball”

ACT TWO
“Dirt in the Skirt”
“Members of the All-American League”
“Who Do You Gotta Be So Good?”
“The Ballad of Betty Spaghetti”
“The Hard Is What Makes It Great”
“Dirt in the Skirt (reprise)”
“You’re Gonna Lose (A Stillwell Angel Tap Dance)”
“A Play at the Plate”
“Lay Off the High Ones (reprise)”
“Members of the All-American League (reprise)”/”Finale (A League of Our Own)”

marowakghost:

Dave Foley in drag, just because.

dreamsofsomewhereelse:

Boardwalk Empire by IrenaS on Flickr.

Gorgeous. I love Quebec City.

internetexplorers:

it’s nice being called cute because like bunnies are cute and everyone loves bunnies but at the same time no one wants to fuck a bunny’s brains out

Well, other bunnies do.

Random sketch I did a few years back. Trying to figure out drawing people

Pervocracy's Personal Tumblr: What I Mean When I Say I’m Sex-Positive I think freedom of sexuality...

pervocracy:

What I Mean When I Say I’m Sex-Positive

I think freedom of sexuality is something that we all need and very few of us have

I think sexual pleasure is a legitimate thing to want and ethically pursue

I do not judge people for the (consensual) sex that they have or want

I will not tolerate…

not sure what to tag this as, but the “crying is blackmail” point makes me the most uncomfortable.

sexistfacebookdudes:

Submission:

Wow what a catch

Re: crying is blackmail. Ugh. I hate this fucking mentality. I am one of those people who cry at the drop of a hat. Sad, angry, frustrated, even happy. I cry.

I HAVE LITTLE TO NO CONTROL OVER THIS. If I am any of the things above, it takes ridiculous amounts of self-control and deep breathing and mentally rehearsing and silently telling myself “don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry!” to keep from tearing up.

I HATE it.

- people think I am unstable. No, I am just upset.
- people think I am crying in order to manipulate or get my own way.
- people tell me not to cry if they see I am upset, because THEY are emotionally incapable of handling someone else’s tears.
- people will WITHHOLD information because it might upset me and make me cry, because THEY can’t handle someone else’s tears.

It is fucking bullshit. So fuck this “Crying is Blackmail” bullshit.

sexistfacebookdudes:

wristwatchesareneat:

TW: Rape Apology, Rape Denial, Misogyny, Slutshaming, Clothes Policing etc.

markscarebearwallet:

callingoutbigotry:

Dorian Whitford from Salem, Oregon; Ben Emery from Memphis, Tennessee; and Corey Woods from Salem, Oregon are all potential rapists.

It doesn’t matter what their opinion is. It is NOT OKAY to bully them over the internet. This is bullying. Posting their facebooks and where they live just to make sure they get antagonized? How is that not bullying?

[Thread edited for brevity; post copied verbatim, see full thread here]

Congratulations, you are engaging in rape apology — you win all the awards.

This Facebook group has actively engaged in anti-Semitism, misogyny, bigotry, racism; has made light of the Boston Bombings; has condoned domestic abuse; and has regularly posted photographs of women without their consent.

Anyone who agrees with these disgusting opinions or commends this behaviour deserves to be publicly shamed for being terrible people.

Furthermore, bullying is defined as one person exerting strength or influence to harm or intimidate others. Calling out their bullshit and informing people where potential rapists live is a service to the community, and decidedly not bulling.

If they had advocated paedophillia, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. If they had threatened to kill or maim a man, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. They claimed it was alright to rape a women because of how she was dressed — we shouldn’t be having this discussion.
That’s Dorian Whitford from Salem, Oregon; Ben Emery from Memphis, Tennessee; and Corey Woods from Salem, Oregon.

Hey, fucknuts. Yeah, the ones screaming that these poor widdle rape apologists are being bullied for being called out… They posted this shit on a PUBLIC page. They’re publicly shaming themselves. These fine folks here are just drawing a little extra attention to it.

moniquill:

regina-and-the-dragons:

Pause for a moment.

Does it seem weird to anyone else that the shrinking habitat of polar bears due to global warming gets more attention than the disruption and danger posed to Inuit communities by same?

Boosting the fuck out of this because TRUTH.

Kids these days

Can’t remember the last time I got a whole day off work because it maybe might be a chance that it may possibly almost snow in April.

Lucky brats.

if obesity is a ‘disease’

nataliemeansnice:

…then i’m calling in ‘fat’ to work tomorrow.

Ozy's Tumblr Thing: 10 HONEST THOUGHTS ON BEING LOVED BY A SKINNY BOY Rachel Wiley 1.I...

10 HONEST THOUGHTS ON BEING LOVED BY A SKINNY BOY

Rachel Wiley

1.
I say, ‘I am fat.’
He says ‘No, you are beautiful.’
I wonder why I cannot be both.
He kisses me
hard.

2.
My college theater professor once told me
that despite my talent,
I would never be cast as a romantic lead.
We do plays…

Yeah, this.

(Source: sweetdeltablues)