19th century AITA only its "Have I been the most dreadful cad?"

Yes you are an abominable bounder/No you behaved as a gentleman should/All parties mentioned seem simply horrid

Fiancee (F19) broke off our engagement and her brother (M23) confessed a tendre for me (M26).

Please assist me, wise friends. Last week, I received a letter from my beloved Fiancee, whom we shall call 'Mary'. In it, she professed Outrage as to some 'unspeakably indecorous' behavior I had committed, and declared that our engagement was at an end. Having not the slightest Idea what she meant, I jumped on my horse and rode through the rain to her house to beg for an Audience and clear up any misunderstandings.

Alas, she would not see me. Her brother "John" (M23), a close friend of mine, took me into the parlor to explain the Situation: He professed his own Responsibility, for he had warned Mary of certain indiscretions he suspected me of, including secret assignations with another friend of ours, "G----", who had recently accompanied us on a hunt, and whom I may have shared a (shall we say) brotherly kiss in the woods when I thought we were alone (even though G---- is rather a dull fellow in all other respects).

I was enormously embarrassed, as you might imagine, and I attempted to deny all such Accusations, but John claimed he only had Mary's best interests at heart and that he believed that both she and I would do better if we "followed our hearts the way they truly pointed." I confess I got rather heated and directed some shameful Invective towards him, which seemed to surprise him. As I stormed out of the house and got on my horse, I happened to look up, and I saw Mary in the window, locked in an Intimate Clinch with her lady's maid!!

I went straight home and wept well past supper, when the butler brought me the evening post, including a letter from John, explaining that he he had not explained himself well, that he was of my "inclination" and that he had carried a tendre for me these many years.

Truly I have never thought of John as anything but a Friend and the Dear Brother of my fiancee, and I did not suspect him of being a fellow man of That Sort. Well, now that I know, I confess that he is a sight more pleasant to be around than G----, not to mention more handsome, generally likeable, and an all-round Good Egg.

However, I feel certain Reservations, including my hurt and offense towards Mary for such a needless and unfeeling breaking of our Engagement when we could have had such a mutually beneficial Arrangement. I confess that there is a wicked and vengeful part of me that finds the idea of seeing where things go with her brother rather appealing, and that part of me would otherwise have no other Outlet. There is also a part of me that finds John rather appealing on his own merit.

Will I Be The Most Dreadful Cad if I begin an Understanding with my ex-fiancee's brother? (G---- is off to the wars to fight Napoleon, so he is no issue.)

Oh, Good Sir, it does sound like you have had a most confusing time of late. Quite trying indeed. I would recommend perhaps indulging in a favored drink and a sweet. It can do wonders for one’s humor and body after weeping like you have. About your situation, perhaps, if I may, as on of more advanced age and experience, offer some wisdom? While perhaps it was not the best of decisions that could have been made, one should really be a bit more careful with such things as there are so many gossips around you know, quite lucky you are that John is not of that sort, I do not think you are a Most Dreadful Cad. I do recommend seeking another audience with Mary. Perhaps after a day or two when the both of you have had some time to calm and consider where your hearts truly point. Even if it is to not give into that wicked vengeance. For it would truly serve no one and would only further the hurt feelings and create ill will. And perhaps with such an audience and, most importantly, frank conversation, that the Mutually Beneficial Arrangement that you speak of might still be in the cards. It would certainly incite a little less scandal, which surely would be a good thing for everyone involved. And then perhaps you and John can see where things go with that protection, especially now that G—- is no longer an issue. I also recommend not giving into impulsive nerves by replying to John. That too I believe requires some thought rather than a reply born of stress. I do hope things improve for you posthaste, regardless of my advice. Things have a way of working themselves out anyhow.

Best wishes,

Grandma Willa

i remember when utah's (republican) governor ended up vetoing a law banning transgender students from playing high school sports when he looked at the numbers, and there were only four trans students in the state playing sports at all. he released a clumsily worded but surprisingly compassionate statement about the decision.

I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it, and the science is conflicting. When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion. I also try to get proximate, and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56.

75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah.

4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah.

1 transgender student playing girls sports.

86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.

56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.

Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.

of course, it didn't amount to much. they overrode his veto. it's just so cartoonishly evil. an entire state's political body so desperate to terrorize this one little trans girl.

oh,

oh this is absolutely beautiful

I saw some James Webb Telescope scientists give a talk and one of them said this was her favorite image because she had waited and worked 25 years to see this.

200k notes is insane who the hell are u people

Reblogging for those of you who think Africa is only what the media and movies portrays it to be

This fucks me up because it’s scary to think that we can be showed something all our lives and not even know it’s a lie

And that my friend is the power of propaganda, indoctrination, and media

Are these pictures of South Africa or of Africa as a whole? 

@the-collecting-turnip From top to bottom:

1. Port Elizabeth (South Africa)

2. Unknown

3. Nairobi (Kenya)

4. Pretoria (South Africa)

5. Aburi Botanical Gardens (Ghana)

6. Cape Town (South Africa)

7. Pretoria (South Africa)

8. Harare (Zimbabwe)

9. Windhoek (Namibia)

10. Windhoek (Namibia)

To @kushandwizdom this is a rather unfair portrayal of Africa as a whole since half of these are literally just South Africa.  So Instead to add to this post and better dispel the myth of Africa as the vast wasteland of poverty most people think, I found a much more mixed collection of pics from various countries.

Luanda, Angola

Agadir, Morocco

Lagos, Nigeria

Cairo, Egypt

Port Louis, Mauritius

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Algiers, Algeria

Tripoli, Libya

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Tunis, Tunisia

So, there, a much better case demonstrating the various major cities around Africa showing it isn’t some technologically backwards continent, but actually pretty up-and-coming in the world of commerce.

I once was talking to my Ethiopian manager about ignorant people asking her dumb shit about her life before she moved to the states…

the worst story she told me about was when she told a fellow student (at a fairly prestigious university) about a concert she went to back home. The other student responded with “omg you have music there!?” 🤦🏾‍♀️

Rebloging, because we need to see these pictures. 

As for stupid questions: “do you have grocery stores in Ecuador?”

These are great!

A redneck neighbor once asked my mom (in the 80s) if they had cars in Peru. Sigh.

This is the product of poor world history in school & little current affairs coverage outside Western Europe, except for catastrophes, so all we see are the war torn, poverty stricken, disaster-affected parts on the news. And racism, of course.

I bet most Americans who think that African countries are just completely poverty stricken have no idea what the US looks like in its poorest areas, not everywhere in the US is nice suburbs or unrealistically large apartments on tv

Los Angeles, California

Hartford, Connecticut

New Orleans, Louisiana

Camden, New Jersey

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

McDowell County, West Virginia

Flint, Michigan

Washington, D.C.

Do you see the world as it is, or as someone told you it is?

This photoset proves you can make anywhere look great or terrible. It’s all framing and more people should know about that

Worth a reblog. I don’t think the US version was on there when I first reblogged.

I love that, like. He KNOWS the audience want to clap and so he's using them as an extra instrument. He turns around and goes hey, stop, and hopes they understand conductor gestures and it works, and then he has clapping he can use when he wants

god i LOVE when the audience gets conducted. Right up there with Freddy Mercury's "AY-OH" bit at the Live Aid concert in 1985. And this, which delights me every time: