A Lengthy Intro Post >

don’t run without knowing where you’re going anymore.

Police Brutality in the Philippines

I write this following me currently listening to a podcast regarding this and after watching Alyx Arumpac’s documentary “Aswang” (tr: monster/demon).

“a chick is placed on the coffin of the deceased when their killer is unknown. if there is no justice, it will knock on the conscience of the sinner. but the demon will not care for the knocks of even a thousand chicks.” – Aswang (demon), dir. Alyx Arumpac

I go into the best detail I can manage about the drug war under the cut but the most pertinent information and what I want to say remain above the cut for everyone to see.

additionally, to skim, you may focus on bold text.

for the terror bill (and how you can protest via email)

https://bit.ly/DOJEmailProtest

https://bit.ly/JTBEmailProtest

junkterrorbill.carrd.co

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/05/philippines-new-anti-terrorism-act-endangers-rights

other issues in the Philippines: 

parasapinas.carrd.co

please reblog this if only for those links and how you can help. 

Now without further ado, let’s get to it.

This is my major reference: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/philippines aka Human Rights Watch’s Report on the Philippines based on events from 2019.

Disclaimer: 

I don’t pretend to be an expert on this. Additionally, I speak from a position of privilege, as I have not been personally affected by these issues. But I try my best to be informed on the situation and empathise with the people concerned. I’m linking sources below too.

there are other issues of police brutality/misconduct, details here in a report by Amnesty International, but as a summary:

ineffective implementation of safeguards

torture

torture of children

corruption

isolated (but no less important) cases of locals and internationals alike being abused physically, verbally, etc.

intimidation and threats against filing charges

misogyny and rape culture

more details on the War Against Drugs below the cut, but this is an excerpt:

Official PNP (Phil. National Police) statistics cite deaths at 5,000+ during 2016-2019 (despite an earlier statistic of 6,600), but human rights groups estimate the actual death toll to 27,000+.

these are additional recent scandals (all of which only after COVID-19):

extreme punishments towards those who have violated quarantine guidelines (e.g. someone shot and killed, a journalist arrested for taking off his mask in a jeepney to drink water)

in comparison: a high-ranking officer had a birthday party during enhanced community quarantine [x] [x]

people detained during pride march

people detained during anti-terror bill protests [x] [x] [x]

jeepney drivers detained for protesting jeepney phaseout

police telling women to watch their clothes to not be raped

the rape-slay of a 15 year old girl by 2 police officers after she was refused accompaniment home at night

in those arrests, more often than not, when police are asked on what charges the people have been detained, there is no clear answer.

as a side note, the prosecutor who signed for the release of Pride20 was gunned down. (the 50th among the list of judges and lawmakers killed under the administration)

side notes

as a whole, the government’s “solution” to COVID-19 has been: 

military-based (as opposed to centered on healthcare/medical aspects), 

involved police brutality and selective justice

silencing dissenters with the passage of the Anti-Terror Law and arrests

spreading false news

fighting with experts in the University of the Philippines

NO MASS TESTING DESPITE PROMISING SUCH IN APRIL AFTER PUBLIC PRESSURE

so, where are we now?

Police brutality is only one aspect that will come into play once the Terror Law is  effective. Not only will they be emboldened to act even more atrociously, but the law will protect and allow such acts, even condone them, to an extent.

Even from the start, the law itself is unconstitutional and the definitions of a terrorist are vague. If you express criticism or dissent, meet up with people (with the possibility of collusion), etc. you can be branded a terrorist. Additionally, the detainment period has been extended, and police will be allowed to look into your personal communications and essentially wiretap/keep you under surveillance for a longer period of time if you are suspicious. 

Now keep in mind that there is also the recent denial of a major news company’s renewal. Meaning they have lost their right to their channel airwaves. This is the oldest and most far-reaching news company, with branches in regional languages for those in the provinces. There will be less media coverage and reports of arrests and human rights abuses, and much less people will be informed (especially those in remote areas who could only access this channel). In essence, the government has more control of what they (don’t) want the people to see.

So, tell me. With this kind of track record, and this kind of police culture, and the lack of proper checks and balances on the part of the press, what makes for the future of the Philippines once the Anti-Terror Law is effective?

Keep reading

feeling beings full of fleeting feelings

is there anyone here who listens to podcasts? literature or any other genre would do !! litreading guys doesn’t soothe me, he makes me feel like i’m in a tv show halp

No im not doing it i dont care

"Don't be afraid to reach out and make new friends with people that will show you the respect you deserve."

Here’s a little reminder that friends should not belittle your interests, whether personal or academic. Your answer to “what do you want to be?” should be enough. Your decision not to leave the house because you’re studying for the midterm should be enough. Your desire to pay attention in class should be enough. If you have friends that mock or disregard your desire to do well, they’re not friends worth having. Even if they don’t want to do well themselves, they should respect your desire to. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make new friends with people that will show you the respect you deserve.

map of the soul

cuties 

TIPS FOR A PRODUCTIVE STUDY DAY:

Find a good place to study: somewhere light, quiet, busy, spacious, cosy, alone, with friends …whatever works for you. Take time to learn what kind of environment you work best in. Try and put your technology aside. If you’re always on your phone, turn it off and put it in your bag, if you’re finding the internet distracting, download “Pomodoro” (an app which blocks sites like facebook, twitter etc for a set period of time).

Figure out when you’re most productive: if it’s in the morning, get up earlier and spend a few hours solidly working, if it’s in evening, make sure you set some time aside to focus. For me, I work best between 8am-1pm, then I normally take a few hours off, and if I have a lot to do I’ll head back to the library between 4-8pm. Finding the time when your mind is at its most alert can have a huge impact on your studies and will mean you avoid spending hours being unproductive. 

Decide what you’re going to do before you start: if you have lots of different things to do, decide which one you’re going to focus on before you sit down. This will prevent you from panicking and trying to do everything at once, which will only make you feel stressed and unproductive.

Set realistic goals: don’t try and be overambitious with what you want to achieve that day. If you set yourself unrealistic goals, you’ll only finish the day feeling like you’ve failed. Set yourself a number of small, manageable tasks to work through, then if you are able to do more it will make you feel a lot more productive.

Start with the hard stuff: tackle the big problems first. Things will feel easier in the first few hours of studying when your mind is most awake, so it’s important to start with the trickier things first. This way, when you hit a wall you can work through a few of the smaller, easier tasks and still feel like you’re getting stuff done. 

Remember to keep refuelling: get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, bring snacks, treat yourself to a nice lunch, take frequent breaks, walk around and go outside if you can. If you are planning to spend a long time studying it’s important to keep your energy levels up.

Plan something for the end of the day: even if it’s just going to the gym, making a nice meal, or going for a drink with your friends, give yourself something to look forward to at the end of a long day studying. 

Remember why you’re doing this: is it to get into university or just because you’re passionate about your subject? By linking something difficult to something you care about, it makes it easier to stay focused and keep going.

Not every day can be productive: if things aren’t happening that day keep trying for a while and if you’re still feeling stuck do something else. There’s no point sitting at your desk for hours when you’re just not able to get things done. Go and do something you enjoy and try and get out of the house, and just try again tomorrow. A few days off here and there is not going to ruin your degree, and taking time to do something for yourself is likely to make you more productive in the long run.

UNIVERSITY WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental health and illness is already hard enough, but adding school pressure on top is hard. High school was easier for me since there is a lot more structure and a lot less choice, which is why I'm targeting this towards college and university students.

Firstly is attending class. Getting to class is a major hurdle, especially with a commute like me (1 hour+) broke people problems lmao. Driving that long to go to a class just to drive back home is already exhausting and unpleasant, especially knowing professors will post slides or something after class anyways. But you have to drag yourself there. One thing I do to help is dress up. I'll do my makeup and put on nicer clothes. Why does this work for me? I hate wasting stuff, especially money and to me, putting on makeup is spending money essentially (same logic as using rare items in a video game idk). I can't just sit around the house and waste the money I just put on my face so I gotta go to class. Small things like this to trick your brain works so well. Before this, there was a restaurant I absolutely loved next to campus so if I went to every class for two weeks I would reward myself by going there. Another thing that helps is making plans with people ahead of time. They'll hold you accountable on days that you can't.

Take rest days. Schedule one whole day a week where you don't do school or go to work. It's a day completely off for anything. I use this day to do chores in the morning and then just lay around and do absolutely nothing all afternoon and night. This helps recharge and reduce stimulation and socialization. It gives your brain that little rest it cries for every day. I used to panic so much about this one day because I could be working and making money or studying or doing anything to be productive until I had a week where I couldn't do anything because I broke down completely, mentally and physically. Now I see it as a preservation day. I use this day to recover from everything.

Make your notes pretty. I hate going back and looking at my messy class notes. Everything is scattered and messy and I get frustrated. What I do instead is make a virtual, concise copy that is pretty to me. I'll add little sketches, color, pictures, etc. This helps draw my attention and allows me to study while doing it! Making the second copy forces you to go through the material after a class is over and review the material to decide what is truly important and then organize it all and then rewrite it all. This has been a huge help.

Use class breaks to snack or grab coffee. One thing I have found in many people with high anxiety is that food and drinks really help calm you down. I've found some research suggesting it's because food is a signal that things are safe and therefore makes you more relaxed, though I don't know much about anthropology and psychology fields. I find this really helps to calm me down after I had a very stressful test so that I can be more present for the next class. Gum helps a lot on high anxiety/panic days as well.

Download the notes or slides, especially if posted ahead of time. This way you have access even if you don't have wifi. You can even pull them up in lectures so you don't have to focus on the board the whole time. For my people with autism, this has helped me so much. There are times where you can't focus on the professor and the slides and the sounds and writing, so doing this cuts out having to watch the teacher and the board. Bonus points if you can record during lecture as well so you can revisit parts that you zoned out in or couldn't focus on.

Keep a journal or diary and list your activities, food, weather, etc in it as well as your mood. This can help you find correlations to hack shit. My favorite way of doing this is through the Daylio app (I wrote a post about it here). Like I notice that days when it's rainy, I study and read more and days where I walk more and eat breakfast, I focus better and am happier overall. This information helps so much. If I know it's going to rain tomorrow, I won't try to force myself to study a bunch today and instead save that energy for later. Instead, I'll take care of myself and go for a walk or something. Knowing how you work and why really makes a HUGE difference.

This might just be my autism brain, but finding cool things related to the topic at hand has helped me keep interest in at least a little of the subject, helping me study more. Like I don't like chimaeras (a fish group) BUT for some reason I love fish teeth and these fishes have a very unique tooth set. This at least let's me know something instead of just ignoring and forgetting everything. 20% is better than nothing.

Find a reason to study what you do, even if it's just that you need this class to graduate. Just taking classes for no reason seems like something neurotypical people are able to do. I can't do it. I need a reason and if I can't find one, I just give up. I used to always say it was useless and pointless and didn't understand why it was required. But I realized the reason to take it is because I want a piece of paper that says I traded lots of money and sanity for it. And that reason has to be good enough.

Make study games. Games are more fun than lifeless paper. Matching games, crosswords, coloring pages, whatever you like!

Feel free to add your tips to this post as well!! I always have room for improvement and experimentation, especially for really hard days. I still find myself skipping even online classes some days. No one had all the answers or has everything figured out. This is just an incomplete list of things that have helped me out a bit and made college life a bit easier.