[CLICK here if you would like your name added to this letter] النسخة العربية من هذه الرسالة متاحة أدناه. Open Letter to the Bluesky Team About Their Treatment of Palestinians in Gaza The signatories of this letter are all members of the Bluesky community, many of us have actively participated on the platform since its inception. We came to Bluesky because it was a breath of fresh air, a place that felt different from many of the other social media platforms. The lack of a central algorithm, the ability to build and use custom feeds, and the lack of penalty for link promotion contributed to an environment that allowed diverse and interesting voices to find their footing and community on Bluesky. While some of the signatories of this letter have had no issues with speaking their mind publicly on Bluesky, unfortunately that is not true for all the signatories because many are Palestinians currently living in Gaza. These Palestinians are journalists, artists, engineers, teachers, grandmas, entrepreneurs, a man who owned an ice cream shop, a pediatrician who has been featured on CBS Morning News, aid workers, architects, waiters, pharmacists, students–and perhaps most essential to the backbone of Bluesky, posters. All of these people provide unique and interesting voices to the Bluesky community. However, unlike the other signatories of this letter, these Bluesky community members have struggled to keep their accounts on the platform. Most of them have lost multiple accounts and/or have had their accounts labeled as spam. Some cannot even make an account without it immediately being removed from the platform. Gazans undertake immense efforts to simply be on Bluesky. Sometimes, they walk for miles just to have access to the internet. They scale rooftops where they are exposed to potential military attacks just for the opportunity to get better cell signals–one signatory of this letter tragically lost her brother this way. They use what little money they have to pay …

Gazans have also been aggressively targeted and unfairly reported by bad actors. Many accounts openly encourage the reporting and targeting of any Palestinian. Several groups exist for the express purpose of looking for Palestinian accounts to report. We believe Bluesky owes Gazans, and the entire community who benefits from their voices, a greater duty of care especially in the context of the horrors they are enduring. We ask Bluesky to implement the following changes: Provide information on all Bluesky-affiliated websites in Arabic that explains the rules and expectations of the site in clear language. Investigate the accounts that are mass-reporting Palestinians on Bluesky. The mass reporting of Palestinians on Bluesky is a group effort to render the platform a hostile place for a community based on their ethnicity. As such, it is racism, and should be understood as such. Reports against Palestinians who have broken no community guidelines must be understood as racism, and the accounts that submit those reports should be disregarded in the future. Many Bluesky users encourage Gazans to tag or reply to them, and this is not always understood as unwelcome behavior. If an account is reported as Spam for tagging or replying to others, treat only reports from the tagged/mentioned account as legitimate, seeing as they were the only ones who received a notification. Send emails regarding disciplinary action every time it is taken. Gazans do not always get an email explaining what they did wrong, and those that do are required to parse a language they do not speak in order to understand their violation. Have these emails contain an easily visible link to information about their violations in Arabic. Respond to appeals in a timely fashion, many Gazans simply never hear back from Bluesky after they appeal a decision. In addition to removing Gazans for alleged spam behavior, Bluesky has also sometimes indicated that they are deleting an account for being a scam or …

End IP bans on any account from Gaza and allow them to make new accounts where they can comply with Bluesky rules and continue to be valued members of the community. We understand that even if all these changes are made, many Gazans may still violate Bluesky rules in the future, but we hope that Bluesky will abandon their punitive approach to these violations and instead embrace an attitude of education, cooperation and community care– one that works to ensure people in Gaza can participate in a way that keeps their voices heard. We also call on the Bluesky community to help and support these accounts however they can. We want to continue to build a healthy community with better community members and this cannot be done if Gazans continue to be shunned. We can use this as an opportunity to show how to protect all vulnerable groups in the future. We hope that Bluesky does not follow the path of other social media platforms and instead forges ahead with a different philosophy. After all, that is the reason so many of its users are there. Bluesky's ethos of "No Caesars” should apply to all members of its community. [To add your name to the list of signatories, click here.]

We were hoping that this letter to @bsky.app could first be shared by a Gazan, but we were too worried that doing so would get their account deleted so we are sharing first.

You can sign on to the letter about the unfair treatment of Gazans on Bluesky here:

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

This is the scream for rescue!This link is to support my family.hope you read my words and aid my family!Even if you can't, knowing what we've been through ,posting this link via quote it again will feel like a soothing salve on our wounds, and we'll be grateful! ❤️😢
🔗 tinyurl.com/HelpRuaa

This slaps.

My partner and I need help! More about us inside, I am fighting disability and need help

Ok I made the thing

www.gofundme.com/f/support-sa...

#mutualaid
#disability
#disabled

🚨 PSA🚨

David Lynch spent the last years of his life homebound because nobody would bother to wear a mask to protect him, but all the fluffy obituaries aren't going to talk about that.

I'm not comfortable with anger at people I otherwise love. I want to fix it.

I don't have any way to fix the anger I have at people and communities who tell me to my face that it's not important if I live or die, which is written on every unmasked face I see indoors.

My childhood was elegant homes, tree-lined streets, the milkman, building backyard forts, droning airplanes, blue skies, picket fences, green grass, cherry trees. Middle America as it’s supposed to be. But on the cherry tree, there’s this pitch oozing out – some black, some yellow – and millions of red ants crawling all over it. I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath.

When I’m struggling to write, I often go back to this David Lynch quote.

‘I discovered that if one looks a little closer at this beautiful world, there are always red ants underneath’

People were worried Lynch was retiring, he made it clear he was isolating due to Covid.

He said he could perhaps direct remotely but didn’t really want to do it that way

Like many of us with disabilities, he was left behind. People craved his work but wouldn’t wear a mask so he could create safely

You can honor David Lynch by wearing a mask in public.

He had to begin isolating at home because he has emphysema- a COVID infection would likely be fatal- and no one wears masks anymore.

Millions of others like him (including myself) were left behind when COVID measures were abandoned

this has always been my favorite picture set of david lynch

💔

“Right here people might bring up Vincent van Gogh as an example of a painter who did great work in spite of—or because of—his suffering. I like to think that van Gogh would have been even more prolific and even greater if he wasn’t so restricted by the things tormenting him. I don’t think it was pain that made him so great—I think his painting brought him whatever happiness he had.” ― David Lynch

One of my favourite things anyone has ever said about art. You'll be missed, David. 🌹

David Lynch was a true realist documenting a haunted world. His work was a great act of empathy with all the humans living bewildered on an alien planet called Earth.

A 1986 photo of David Lynch and Isabella Rossellini taken by Annie Leibovitz. David has pulled his black turtleneck up over his face, leaving only his magnificent head of hair visible.

kyle_maclachlan Forty-two years ago, for reasons beyond my comprehension, David Lynch plucked me out of obscurity to star in his first and last big budget movie. He clearly saw something in me that even I didn't recognize. I owe my entire career, and life really, to his vision. What I saw in him was an enigmatic and intuitive man with a creative ocean bursting forth inside of him. He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to. Our friendship blossomed on Blue Velvet and then Twin Peaks and I always found him to be the most authentically alive person I'd ever met. David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human. He was not interested in answers because he understood that questions are the drive that make us who we are. They are our breath. While the world has lost a remarkable artist, l've lost a dear friend who imagined a future for me and allowed me to travel in worlds I could never have conceived on my own. I can see him now, standing up to greet me in his backyard, with a warm smile and big hug and that Great Plains honk of a voice. We'd talk coffee, the joy of the unexpected, the beauty of the world, and laugh. His love for me and mine for him came out of the cosmic fate of two people who saw the best things about themselves in each other. I will miss him more than the limits of my language can tell and my heart can bear. My world is that much fuller because I knew him and that much emptier now that he's gone. David, I remain forever changed, and forever your Kale. Thank you for everything.

This is a beautiful tribute.

Twin Peaks screenshot of ducks on a lake with Agent Cooper saying: “Look at that.”

Agent Cooper saying: “Ducks on the lake.” while standing next to Sheriff Truman.

❤️

💓

Our earlier bluesky community it was almost established as a norm that we were going to try to use alt text to be an accessible community. Then as bluesky grew we began to see ever decreasing alt text. There was always irrational hostility from people being asked to use alt text, but that got worse.

A painted mural of football manager David Moyes during his first spell in charge of Everton. He is smiling and holding an award. Behind him, the Everton club crest. The poster features the following text: "10 years at Everton for a boss who proves you don't need trophies to be a winner but he is a winner" "MANAGER OF THE DECADE" "TAFFS TAVERN THE PEOPLES PUB"

...but he is a winner.

“If you’re that high risk, you shouldn’t be in large crowds.” They’re saying the quiet part out loud. Many believe disabled people should stay home forever and not belong in society. We deserve to exist in society safely. The fact that this even needs to be said is atrocious!

happy new year! 🥳🎉🎊

Feels like I'm being punished for the sins of a past life by the continued existence of Glenn fucking Hoddle.

Hi, Ahmed. When I have some money at the end of the month I will make a donation to your Gofundme. I'm sorry I can't help sooner. Strength and solidarity 🖤

Click here to support Lauren Maerz's story *HelpRamezLiveAndEscapeGaza *spotfund is the easiest place to create beautiful and free online fundraisers. It takes just minutes to start raising money today.

@theergonomic.bsky.social I am Ramez from Gaza. We are suffering in Gaza from the most difficult conditions and situations. We need your help. Perhaps something will change in the suffering we are living. I hope you will donate and share with others. 🙏💔
spot.fund/r3pmwsc

Too many people think Covid is inevitable - so they’ve given up trying to prevent it.

The compassion is IN the trying. The effort is the radical act.

If you get covid - you will have done everything you could to break chains of transmission & protect others. That’s worth doing.