laughinacorner:

Muslim Fraternity at University of Texas, Dallas rally together to protest domestic violence.

It was an honor for Alif Laam Meem, the only active Muslim fraternity in the United States, to represent the Muslim community at Mayor Rawlings Rally Against Domestic Violence in Downtown Dallas. We at Alif Laam Meem say that the issue of domestic violence is one that cannot be ignored. It has repercussions that not only affect the victim, but the family as a whole. And broken families lead to broken communities, and broken communities lead to a broken society.

We as Muslims must stand up and take a stronger stance against domestic violence. We must also realize that violence is not just physical, it can be verbal, psychological or even Financial. I applaud Mayor Rawlings for creating awareness to a very important societal issue and Insha’Allah men, both Muslims and non-Muslims, will continue to unite and help solve this problem.  

For me personally, the event opened my eyes to the prevalence of this heinous act. Research has indicated that 1 in 3 women over the course of their lifetime will be subjected to a form of domestic abuse. This is completely unacceptable and as long as domestic violence remains a problem, Alif Laam Meem and myself will be out there fighting for a woman’s right to live peacefully in her own home. You can call a guy who abuses women many things, but you cannot call him a man.

 Written by Yousuf Hassan

Student at UTD, Member of Alif Laam Meem Fraternity

Bravo.

(Source: reallycapturedhearts)

dancemommamaniac:

I AM ACTUALLY IN TEARS CRYING FROM LAUGHTER I HAVE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD AT A VIDEO IN MY LIFE OH MY 

I couldn’t handle this after the first show of PCN down.

Had to scroll too uncomfortably long for this.

(Source: underthevastblueseas)

jonthaan:

iamlimbo:

n0rmanator:

tinypaces:

oksoitsgino:

Even though we haven’t officially transitioned out of our positions and I definitely not ready to give mine up just yet, being a part of this Board has seriously been the highlight of my year. We may do the craziest things that make absolutely no sense to anyone, but it was those moments when we had a Christmas party for no reason, made an Olympic themed music video where we twerked on cars, or jumped around chanting how proud we are to be part of this amazing organization that made all of those times make perfect sense. I really wouldn’t have it any other way and I hope all of the work we have done throughout this entire year has inspired the future MK Board members to go out there and just be as ridiculous as possible. Because when you’re ridiculous, everyone else will follow suit, and those are the best times you’ll ever have.

I love this Board so much. I’m not ready for our term to end. 

The loves of my life. It’s hard letting go of it all.
From our first vogue pic, to our last board meeting and mosh pit. I owe it all to y’all.

“M-G-A K-A-P-A-T-I-D”

Words can’t even describe how much this crazy group of people changed my life, and I can’t imagine this past year without them. They’ve made me laugh, cry, and taught me so much… While I’m excited for what the next year has to offer, they’ll forever have a special place in my heart. MK BOARD 12-13, I LOVE YA’LL

Quack

PAY ME IF YOU OWE ME MONEY

idoitfordabay:

The Loudest Fans In The Nation!

pinoy-culture:

The B’laan teeth filing and blackening the teeth
and the precolonial practices in the Philippines
Video Submitted by: daavenrey
Commentary by Ligaya

The B’laan are an ethnic group in southern Mindanao who have held onto their indigenous culture and practices being one of the few ethnic groups who have resisted colonial influences.

One of their cultural practices is of the blackening and filing of the teeth. For the B’laan it is sign of beauty as well as status. The younger generations however have started to choose not to practice them for being ashamed of their cultural practices due to being harassed and made fun of by their Christian peers who find it weird.

But what and who is weird exactly? The B’laan who have kept their cultural practices despite colonialism in the country or the colonized people who have long forgotten their indigenous practices and cultures who in fact their own ancestors practiced the very same tradition before colonization? What is wrong with keeping hold of your traditions and heritage?

Western beauty ideals differed with those of the early people that populated the islands of what is now known as the Philippines. Prior to colonization believe it or not it wasn’t just the B’laan who had this ideal of beauty of filing and blackening their teeth but many other ethnic groups that were colonized such as the Tagalogs and the Bisayans, also had this practice. Today the descendants of a colonized people who due to colonization some tend to have a mentality of separating themselves as the “civilized people” while those who have kept their indigenous cultures and resisted colonization as “uncivilized or tribal”. This mentality which still is strong in the Philippines, makes it so the uncolonized ethnic groups are looked down on and sometimes seen as a different people from the Christianized and colonized groups.

Having black teeth and filing teeth however was a practice that was spread throughout the Philippines prior to the Spaniards before it was eradicated. It was a form of beauty and the more black it was, especially when you put gold piece like brackets which was a good contrast between the gold and the black, it was seen as more beautiful by our ancestors. Also because they considered white teeth as ugly because to them it was like animals like dogs so they often would chew betel nut to try and make it black. So having black teeth and tooth filing isn’t just something only found in the South but it is in indigenous old practice that died out with the indigenous ethnic groups who were colonized along with many other indigenous practices like tattooing.

Watching this video brings to light what our ancestors did in pre-colonial times. Even the mention of how the tooth filing is done with the use of a stone is also recorded in dictionaries such as the old Tagalog term al-al, which in the Vocabulario de lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613 is recorded as tooth-filing with a stone tool. It also ‘kindly’ mentions in a passage of the disapproval of tooth filing in a sentence, “Whoever files his teeth, I will surely punish”.

According to William Henry Scott in his book Barangay: 16th Century Philippine Culture and Society, he mentions that the Visayans term for tooth filing was sangka, leveling, and just like what was seen and recorded of the Tagalogs and what the B’laan still practice today the process of tooth filing was by using a stone. According to Sanchez 1617, he mentioned that one of the features the early Visayans noted of the Spaniards besides their lack of tattoo’s (as they really didn’t care for skin color as among themselves their were variations of skin pigments) which they called the Spaniards, mapuraw, (undyed, natural), (which was actually an insult really), but they also noticed their white teeth. Basically to the eyes of the Spaniards the Spaniards were pretty much the total opposite of beauty as they weren’t tattooed and had white, unfiled teeth, which they saw those with white teeth as being like unclean animals.

There were different methods of coloring the teeth. One was by the chewing of anipay root which made the teeth black. Another way was just like the method shown by the B’laan. It was by applying a tar-based coating which the Visayans called tapul, which not only gave a black polishing effect on the teeth but act as a preservative. Other methods were using red lakha ant eggs and kaso flowers to color not only the teeth but fingernails a deep red which was another color found beautiful besides black. The preserving of the color was then preserved by the chewing of betel nut.

So this practice isn’t something to be ashamed of. Western ideals of beauty may have influenced the way many people see what beauty is and is not but for the youth of the B’laan once mustn’t be ashamed nor shall people looked down on them as this practice is as much as a traditional indigenous practice to many other ethnic groups in the Philippines.

For more on the dentistry of the early Filipin@’s read this post here.

(Source: hazzahmine)

siddharthasmama:

howtobeterrell:

Public reaction to white male vs black male stealing a bike

This is what we mean we say the black is already assumed to be a criminal.

Also notice the tone difference. How the black kid is being shamed and how the white man is given the benefit of the doubt.

I can never watch this without getting pissed, seriously, the fuck is a post-racial society? The fuck is innocent until proven guilty? Does NOT exist for Black folks, especially Black men.