Michael Porter @MichaelPorter@qoto.org

Benzie agrees

Seeing some posts talking about fediblocking turning Mastodon into a "filter bubble." No. We absolutely do not need abusive or fascist views to have a high level of intellectual diversity. Full stop. That hate can fester somewhere else.

After 20 years of social media, the experiment has been run. Hateful people are unconvinced by rational argument, so there's no point engaging with them.

This is a rotten, disingenuous, meritless argument, from A to Z.

Fascism is to be defeated, not debated.

Today we’ll vote on the motion to #BringBackMasks, a temporary measure to decrease transmission of respiratory viruses in @OCDSB@twitter.com schools. To anyone whose goal is to keep schools open, keep children and educators healthy, care for vulnerable populations, follow our lead. #WeNotMe

@CruelPatient @DotMaetrix

Yes, mask-wearing is a choice.

It is a choice to care about your community. It's a choice to count your neighbor's life and livelihood as more important than a minor inconvenience.

"People who need to wear masks will" -- well, for others to be out in public safely, you need to wear a mask. Public health is not something that can be dealt with on an individual basis.

#MaskUp #COVID #PublicHealth #Community #Equity #Accessibility #Pandemic #COVIDisNotOver #Disability

Did you know:
If you've stopped wearing masks, you can simply start wearing masks again

Send all of my positive vibes to @nilikm and the OCDSB trustees as they vote tonight on a motion to bring back masks to #Ottawa public schools.

Thank you Dr. Kaplan-Myrth for all you are doing for our community, and our children, despite the backlash, hate, and harassment you are enduring. This can’t be easy. #CovidIsNotOver

"Please," said the man, "can you do magic to make me be kind?"
"No," said the witch. "Magic cannot change anyone's nature."
"So there is no hope for me?"
"You ask the wrong question. Kind is not something you are. It is what you do."
"Is it that simple?"
"It is that hard."
#MicroFiction #SmallStories #TootFic

One of the best features of Mastodon is the ability to #mute *specific* posts.

Bored of seeing the same meme being boosted into your timeline again and again?

On the web interface, click "…" and then "Filter this post".

And, as a bonus, it doesn't go to training an algorithm!

Wielding a massive goth shield crafted from its own feces, this young tortoise beetle is truly an animal for our times.

(Cassidinae, Peru)

#entomology #punk #beetles

Of, course, I'd feel a bit better about our odds of seeing a dangerous asteroid before it hits us if we were working to rebuild the radar capability that we lost with the #AreciboTelescope ...

... or if the night sky wasn't being cluttered with a LOT more reflective satellites, causing more confusion for the telescopes that are tasked with finding such objects. 🙃

#ScienceFunding #SatelliteConstellations #LightPollution

breathe

#photomonday

they’ll figure it out if they get hungry enough

Gerry O'Driscoll, a doorman at Abbey Road studios, fact-checked Pink Floyd. They included his answer on the last track of Dark Side of the Moon. (Lunar surface is just 12% reflective, so he's correct: It's all dark.)
#PinkFloyd #facts

I'm always baffled at the 100% mask compliance rate in hospitals. People seem to wear masks when they're required to do so. This is why we need courageous leadership at the provincial level as hospitals deal with an unprecedented surge in pediatric admissions. #BringBackMasks

I enjoyed this far more than I probably should have.

#funny

The first black child ever allowed to attend a white school is only 68 years old now.
White parents pulled their children from school. White teachers refused to teach her.
Ruby Bridges now works as an activist & public speaker
This wasn’t a million years ago. /1