#I mean I know that physical disability is the more or less inevitable result of living long enough

[ostentenacity]

.

[faithandfairies]

https://www.tumblr.com/faithandfairies/785384031173885952/i-watched-jacob-andersons-interview-and-he?source=share

I saw this post of yours and it really resonated with me because it's something that doesn't really sit right with me about the show, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on other ways the show could have handled her character instead?

I've thought about it a lot, and I don't really know the answer, because having her live would *also* be a slap in the face to the source material. And having Claudia be any younger would be really impractical to cast. So I'm just *throws up my hands*. How does her death stay inevitable? Like, I guess maybe if they had given her a physical disability that made life more difficult for her and made others look down on her and want to prey on her weaknesses? But then, which disability do you choose, and what does that say about real people who have that disability? That they aren't "built" to live full lives?

Anyway, yeah -- what *would* be a good way to adapt Claudia's narrative to multi-season television?

Anon continues:

=============

I agree. Claudia did have to die given her origin, as in why her story was written to begin with. But I think it important that her death also be inevitable given that originally it was.

No, I also don't think changing the character is the answer. I feel like they already did that from season 1 Claudia to season 2 Claudia and I don't think it worked very well. And I'm not talking about the recast. I mean her characterization changed from season 1 to season 2. And depending on how you look at it it does work. But I just don't love it.

It works if you think of it in terms of season 2 Claudia being the "real" Claudia and Louis' actual memories of her being properly triggered once he sees a picture of season 2 her. Because we don't have a picture of her in-world in season 1.

If you look at it like that then season 1 Claudia can be seen as a fever dream of Louis. Not remembering Claudia accurately and therefore simply imagining her how he believes she might have looked and acted if she was biologically both his (Louis') and Lestat's child. A perfect blend of both of them. Until he is confronted with a picture.

But I like the idea much more that season 1 Claudia was the real one and that part of the reason Louis singled her out in that burning building was because he saw how she looked in her own mind and realized she could have been his and Lestat's biological daughter if that was a possibility. And he could not let someone who could pass for their biological child die. And then her upbringing by Louis and Lestat made it so that she became a perfect blend of the both of them character-wise as well.

But if you work with that theory then season 2 Claudia does not make sense character-wise because she's a lot softer and more naïve than her season 1 counterpart. Unless you argue that she distanced herself from Lestat's teachings and all the parts of herself that reminded her of Lestat on purpose after he thoroughly hurt and disappointed her which, in doing so, made her more likely to be preyed upon. Which is possible.

All this to say that I think that I love Claudia's characterization, which is extremely ruthless and cunning yet still human, in season 1 as is and would not change it for anything.

Which includes not making her disabled as that would change her characterization as well since she is capable as she is and that would make her less so.

Also, as for real disabled people, they should have access to the fullest lives possible, but when we say that we often make the mistake of meaning by that "They sadly can't do anything so extra help is wasted on them, I wish it were different but alas" or "They should be able to do everything without extra help". And as a result we guarantee they don't have or ever get access to that help or that that help does not even exist. What I mean by that is that disabilities by their very nature make life harder to live. Disabled people usually need some kind of help, from support of a community that knows about their disability, understands it and takes it seriously to physical and financial aid to modifications to public spaces and services that cater to them. Because the disabled person who still manages to run a million dollar business and support an entire family without any extra help is an outlier, not the norm.

This is an excellent question by the way and I really had to sit with it. And this is what I came up with in regards to adapting Claudia's narrative in a way that makes her death inevitable.

I technically already mentioned what I thought they should have done partly.

1.They should have written Louis and Lestat putting Claudia first in general. So that when they looked at each other during the trial they would have immediately known to put their differences aside in order to save Claudia. But depending on how that's done I think that would change Lestat's and Louis' characterization which hinges on them wanting to put each other above anyone else at all times.

2. Continuing on with this idea though I would have Lestat save Louis to save him because he loves him just as it happened on the show. Lestat can't not save him. He has to guarantee his safety in the best way he can come up with, because it's Louis. But what I would add to it is that he also saves Louis first because he can't think clearly if Louis is in danger and he's no use to Claudia that way. And what I would also add to that is that he also definitely needs Louis' help to save Claudia. Especially because his goal would have been saving Claudia and Madeleine. Not just Claudia. He knows what it has been like for himself without his own companion by his side for a decade and he would not wish that on Claudia. But also, Claudia would have resented her fathers even more if they succeeded in anything less than saving Madeleine as well.

I would have Lestat believe that changing Louis' sentence to banishment would be enough to actually get him exiled from the coven. Making him safe and free. Lestat might have mistakenly believed Armand did care about Louis enough to go along with that, especially because Armand had warned Louis to leave before, seemingly to keep him safe. And Louis being Louis he would not have left, not without his daughter and definitely not with his daughter marked for death. Lestat would have believed Louis would investigate and find Lestat locked up. He would have gotten him out and they would have saved Claudia and Madeleine together. I don't believe Lestat is naïve as a standard but I do believe he is a romantic and that does make him naïve sometimes.

3. I would have it all fall to pieces once Louis gets shoved into a wall after his sentencing instead of exiled as Lestat expected. Lestat's last ditch effort or I should say idea to save his family then changes to start with Claudia by deciding to straight up lunge at Claudia as she is burning to death in order to save her. Without Louis free and safe, Lestat can't think clearly and is pretty much panicking that he might still lose his entire family.

4. I would also not have Claudia and Madeleine burn together initially. I would have Madeleine burn first while Armand makes Lestat and Claudia watch, from opposite sides of the stage so they can't conspire with each other, and Lestat without Louis' help, presence and support available to him deciding to just save Claudia and leave Madeleine to die. He tries to act weak to make the coven think he can barely stand on his own two feet let alone save an ant, so they will leave him alone. But to his horror when Madeleine starts burning Claudia lunges at her to save her. Armand gets pissed off and as Lestat tries to lunge after Claudia to save her, both Claudia and Lestat are being held in place by Armand where they stand. Claudia burning to death along with Madeleine as Lestat is forced to watch without being able to do anything. Having lost the element of surprise there that along with his extra superspeed (due to his age and blood quality) might have given him a chance at saving Claudia. Would it have made a difference? Who knows, but he definitely had intended to get further in his attempt then I think he did.

5. Keep Claudia's season 1 characterization. Let her continue to be the delightful menace character she was in season 1, that outshone both Louis and Lestat on pretty much every front.

I think this course of events fits both Claudia's and Lestat's characterizations.

For Lestat, I got the impression from both the Interview with the Vampire book, which I'm still reading by the way, and the show that Lestat is a lot more reckless without Louis. Louis being with him and safe and actually supportive of him makes Lestat a lot more levelheaded and therefore capable than he is without Louis or when he and Louis seem to be on opposite sides. I think that's what "needing protection from the wolves" was about.

For Claudia separating her and Madeleine and making Madeleine die first and alone as Claudia is forced to watch involves Claudia having to watch her future, her greatest wish, literally go up in smoke. Or I guess turn to ash. Which kind of in my opinion returns to the core of Claudia. That all she wants is a future and love but she can't have it. Or she can have it for a brief moment, but then she has to watch helpless as it disintegrates. And in order for that not to be the case, to not be helpless, making a last appeal for the life she wants to live, she tries to save Madeleine. It makes her death not about dying, but about wanting to live with every fiber of her being and not just live but live her best life. But being unable to however hard she tries and not because she's incapable in body or spirit.

Which, story-wise makes it so Lestat can't save her because the element of surprise is gone. They've realized that if Claudia isn't truly helpless then neither is Lestat.

But yeah, this still comes down to "She would have been fine if those other vampires didn't screw her over." as you said. But that's life, isn't it? Because life as a vampire involves being able to co-exist with other vampires either without them wanting to murder the shit out of you or being physically and mentally strong enough to fight them and win even if they try. Or...staying out of their way.

But in that respect it does make Claudia's death inevitable by way of who her parents are. She literally becomes collateral damage to what is pretty much a feud that's been going on between Armand and Lestat for over a century. It's literally who she is and specifically who she is to Lestat and Louis, the daughter they love that they had with the man they love (each other) that therefore is a tangible, physical representation of that love, that gets her killed. Which ties into what Armand wants to be to both Lestat and Louis that they refuse for him to be, which is the only one they love and the only one they choose.

But even more so what gets Claudia killed is who Armand is to Lestat specifically whether Lestat wants to admit it or not. Armand being Lestat's coven leader and therefore both Claudia's and Louis' coven leader, whether they accept him as such or not. In that way it does come down to genetics almost. Vampire genetics. Or at least their version of family ties. Magnus made Lestat, Armand takes over Magnus' coven after Magnus' death which means Lestat falls under Armand's coven. Lestat makes Louis and Claudia, which means they also fall under Armand. Armand has seniority as coven leader, especially if they're in his jurisdiction. What he says goes and Lestat, Louis and Claudia broke a shit ton of his rules, Lestat first by revealing himself to a very human Louis as a vampire and then turning both Louis and Claudia without Armand's knowledge or permission and without adhering to Armand's rules of who can and can't be turned. In that way Claudia's death was always inevitable, because her very existence goes against the rules Armand follows.

But then the thing that could have made her death preventable was accurate honest knowledge shared with her by Lestat. Lestat explaining to both her and Louis his history, his reasoning, specifically for keeping them away from Europe, which Claudia asked Lestat about again and again might I add until she stopped caring enough to ask because she stopped excepting a genuine answer.

I do have to say that this entire idea is based on my knowledge of the show and limited book knowledge. I feel like to give a more comprehensive answer that fully considers Claudia's characterization in the books as well I would have to read Interview with the Vampire entirely, the Vampire Lestat and any of the other books that mention Claudia's thoughts and actions as well as what Armand actually did to Claudia. I feel all of that would inform my answer and if I ever read all of that I might come back here and add to my answer if I feel it changes things.

This was an excellent question. Feel free to send me more and I'll do my best to answer them. :)

[sophiamcdougall]

This is absolutely true, but also it's kind of weirder and worse than that. Until very recently, writing professionally invariably did result in a physical product you could hold in your hands. In most cases it still does. Certainly it's very rare for the industries that are on strike now not to work with physical, printed scripts. And writing is manual labour. Yes, our brains are where the exciting stuff happens -- but we use our hands to bring our ideas into the world. And it is physically gruelling work. By most definitions of the term I would call it dangerous work -- a lifetime of doing it -- actually, no, less than a decade of doing it -- leaves most of us at least mildly disabled, and more serious injuries are extremely common. And this isn't even new or an artifact of keyboards -- did you know the old name for RSI was "Scrivener's Palsy"? Apparently other forms of labour that cause similar injuries are working on assembly lines or with power tools. I suppose there are a few writers who, probably because they've already fucked up their hands badly enough that they have to, dictate their work to transcribing software, but even then they're still using their bodies and can get injured doing that, too.

So what is it that trips people up when it comes to recognising our work as work? It can't be that we don't use (and use up) our bodies, or that we don't produce something physical, because even if those weren't stupid criteria for understanding what work is-- we do do those things.

Obviously it's anti-intellectualism. And that insidious attitude towards "passion" that characterises so much of how society treats not just artists but anyone with a sense of vocation towards anything. Love what you do? Well, then, both bosses and online leftists are united in feeling that you should shut up and not ask for anything else. But I think it's also a rather fascist-leaning reverence not so much for physical labour, but for physical strength. Writing can physically break you, but it won't make you look like a musclebound superman along the way. Where's the fun of about caring about work like that? Inevitably, this incorporates at least a dash of sexism. Typing? You mean like a woman?

Every time there's a big writer's strike or whatnot it becomes starkly clear how many self-proclaimed leftists think that only people who perform manual labour which results in a physical product that you can hold in your hands count as workers and everybody else is a parasite of some description.

[airbender-dacyon]

Life and Kataang Week Delays

So I’ve been thinking about writing up this post for a while now, but haven’t had the chance until today.  Its part explanation as to why there were so many delays and inconsistent updates with Kataang Week and part cathartic exercise for me personally.  If you’re curious about what happened, feel free to read. I think this is more for me than anyone else, but like I said, it also serves as something of an explanation for how I poorly handled Kataang Week this year. 

Before I get into the details, I’d just like to give a huge shout out to everyone who has offered me kind words and support these last several weeks.  It means the world to me.  And I sincerely apologize if I forget a name or two; @kristallioness @thecaroliner @the-rosey-one @s-n-arly  @mindatworkk and @secretsecrettunnel 

And thank you to everyone who participated in Kataang Week or helped spread the word that it was still happening.  

If you’ve followed my personal blog for a while, you know I’m prone to hiatuses due to personal life or more likely, my anxiety/depression.  And while I can more or less manage that outside of the internet, my online presence suffers.  I spent far too long as a recluse back in 2013/2014 hiding away from friends and family in real life by retreating into the internet.  I have no desire to return to those days.  So despite my best efforts, much of this year I was unfortunately unable to maintain a consistent presence on tumblr. 

The source of much of that anxiety was my former warehouse job, which I just very recently left. The work itself was not terrible, but after the first few weeks it transitioned from a 40 hours per week job to 50-60 hours per week.  The mandatory overtime, combined with family obligations, left me with very little time to focus on my personal life.  The pay wasn’t as great as previous jobs I’d held, the benefits were crap, the management was more concerned about hiring new employees than retaining current ones, and overall the experience just left me physically drained and apathetic towards the job/company.

Additional anxiety came from working towards entry into graduate school, just prior to starting said former job.  Although I was accepted into the graduate school of my choice, I still have plenty of work to do before the semester starts in a few weeks.  Again, most everything in my life was put on hold or pushed back thanks to that warehouse. 

And although my exact area wasn’t directly affected, Southwest Ohio has been dealing with a lot this year.  Several tornadoes tore through the region, heavy rains affected farming and roads for weeks, and much more recently, the shock of the mass shooting in Dayton. Again, while none of these have directly affected me, I personally know friends and family who were affected. And while we were fortunate to not have friends or family lost in the Oregon District, we are saddened at the loss of life and terrified at how quickly such a tragedy came about, especially in an area we imagined was welcoming and safe. 

All of what I mentioned above was plenty to deal with, but I think I would have probably been able to keep up with Kataang Week/tumblr had I not been dealing with the grief that I am. 

Around February/March, I learned that an old high school classmate and friend committed suicide. I scrambled to try and remember when we had last spoken and realized that – with the exception of possible, since deleted conversations on facebook – we likely hadn’t talked since graduation several years ago.  I have vague memories of them – I know what they looked like, their voice, their general attitude and personality – but whenever I try to really remember events or exact memories, I draw blanks.  And I think that hurts me as much as actually losing them because in a sense, I’d already lost them in my memories before I lost them in life. 

On a similar note, I’ve learned about other friends I’ve known from high school and college and how some of them have changed and… I’m not sure what hurts worse on that front – uncertain if we’re really friends anymore or that I discovered these developments on my own/they didn’t trust me enough to tell me directly.  Some of them I lost when I became a recluse in 2013/2014, others I don’t really know when.  And I know people grow and change through life, but it hurts all the same.

Within days of hearing about my classmate’s suicide, I learned my last living grandparent – my grandmother – had passed away.  She had suffered from Alzheimer’s/dementia for about five years now, declining with each and every visit until other relatives managed to move her to a nursing home to provide her with better care.  I hadn’t seen her in well over a year by the time she passed due to the distance to travel to where she lived and the next loss I’m going to talk about.  I cried after the fact, but up to and during her funeral, I just felt numb.  

It was these losses that caused the initial delays for Kataang Week this year. 

For almost the last two years, the greatest obligation in my family life was to visit another relative – a member of my immediate family – who was suffering from a rare disease. 

My mother was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s some years ago and she fought valiantly to maintain her life despite the rather aggressive onset of the disease.  By the time she was reliant on a cane, she had to quit her job and apply for disability.  The next year, she was reliant on a walker; less than a year later, a wheelchair.  As her motor control and strength were taken from her, so was her mind in bits and pieces. She became confused and forgetful more often, slurred her speech and lost her voice some days, among other symptoms. My father and I did the best we could to make our home accessible to her, but eventually even in a wheelchair she became largely reliant on the two of us. 

My Dad shouldered most of her care and for far longer than he probably should have.  After speaking with a neurologist about the possibility of a surgical procedure (deep brain stimulation, I believe – known to help ‘reset’ the brain for Parkinson’s patients and give them independence and motor control again for another 5-10 years), we were informed that my Mom wasn’t actually afflicted with Parkinson’s. 

The disease she actually suffered from is known as Multiple System Atrophy (often referred to simply as MSA) and presents itself as ‘Parkinson’s on steroids.’  It is much less common than Parkinson’s and there is no cure.  After symptom onset, those afflicted with MSA live for an average of 7 more years before succumbing to complications (most often respiratory related) resulting from the disease. 

Eventually it became too difficult to care for her at home and we moved her into a nursing home. So when I was home from school or off work, I spent as much time as I could with my Mom in her new home.  As a result, 10 hour days followed by several hours at the nursing home didn’t leave me with much time for tumblr/Kataang Week this year. 

She sometimes had enough strength and mental aptitude to move herself around in her wheelchair, other times she was still reliant on family or staff.  She made new friends and eventually came to accept her situation.  She knew she was declining and often wondered what she had done to deserve such a cruel fate.

Within the last year, she became almost entirely confined to her bed.  She didn’t have the strength to sit up long enough in a wheelchair for anything other than short trips through the nursing home for her personal hygiene.  On days she was more mentally ‘with it,’ more aware of her situation, she was very depressed with her situation.  The best days were when she could hold conversations and laugh, despite everything. However, the good days increasingly became fewer and father apart.  She began to eat less and simply stare at visitors. 

After almost two weeks of staring with little talking and poor appetite, I had a good day with her.  She was smiling and talking with me.  She ate a decent dinner that evening.  We laughed at funny commercials on the television and family stories.  It was a good day.  I thought things were going to start looking up, getting better.  I wish I had stayed with her longer that night.

I don’t think she ever spoke more than a few words after that night.  The poor appetite and vacant staring returned, interrupted only by an occasional spark of consciousness or smile.  Within a week of that last good day I spent with her, hospice told us she was likely not going to live much longer; she passed not even a full day after hospice told us that.

We had been living in a state of perpetual grief as we watched her slip further and further away these last several years.  But to lose her so suddenly still cut deep.  We were also relieved that she didn’t have to suffer anymore.

My Mom’s rapid decline and death happened in the final weeks leading up to Kataang Week. I tried to get things situated well enough for the week, but I failed.  I appreciate everyone’s support and patience this year and Marie for helping out when I needed it most.  

 o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

TL;DR - Work, weather, and deaths of friends/family piled on the anxiety/depression and delayed Kataang Week. 

So if you’ve taken the time to read all of this, I thank you.  I feel a little lighter now that I’ve written it all out.  And if you made it this far, I’d just like to say – the next time you see your parents or a loved one you haven’t seen in a while, give them a hug.  Tell them you love them.  You never know how much longer you’ll have with them.  Sometimes the death of a loved one is sudden and unexpected. Sometimes it’s an inevitability you’ve feared for years.  Either way, it hurts like hell. 

To end, I’d just like to wish all my mutuals, friends, and followers – and their loved ones – long, healthy, and happy lives.  And again, thank you all for your boundless support and friendship.

- Dan

[22degreehalo]

I also think - and I say this with full respect for the many women who work way too hard and are completely unappreciated for it - that it is actually in fact harder for most men to do that sort of household work.

* Men aren't really often taught this stuff growing up, and many don't even know where to start. And, like... while that stems from a type of privileged (albeit couched in 'because you'll have a wife to do this for you!' which is um not helpful for aro/ace or gay men?) it is not IN ITSELF a privilege. Being able to do something is power, by definition. Being dependent on others is a lack of power.

* Also sidenote but 'educating yourself' on these things is NOT as easy as some make it sound?? If you're a guy (or have a small social network) you don't have people around you to easily ask these things, and if they're women that'd probably come across as emotional labour in itself, while online guides very rarely go into absolute basics and are almost certainly either a) based on a part of the world you are very much not in, b) filled with commercial ads that make it very hard to know what to trust.

* Not only is there the physical and mental toll of housework in itself (at least from my ADHD perspective), for men there's also the internalised GNC-phobia that says that for a man to do this is wrong and bad and that his wife will lose interest in him and other men will taunt him and/or beat him up. That is all genuinely a big deal!!

* And yet the way those insecurities are ALSO treated as something weak and humiliating and bad only makes it even worse! Which results in a situation where they feel wrong and bad either way, and for most people the ways of dealing with that are either 'do nothing' or 'do what people expect you to do'.

* and, like. We all talk about men who claim to be supportive but ultimately admit to losing attraction or whatever when their wife actually does the feminist thing. But it works the other way, too. HEAPS of men have talked about actually being emotionally open and getting involved in girly things and doing chores, only for their wives/girlfriends to admit to feeling less attracted or even put off by it. Especially for crying; lots of men broken up with after crying. This doesn't mean that those intellectual beliefs are fake from either side but that the emotional reality is Complicated.

* On a very practical level, it's hard to see someone come in and take over a task you've been doing, especially when it affects you so intimately. How likely is the man to do things Differently - put things back in the wrong place, not clean some untidiness that you noticed, use a chemical that smells awful, or spend way too much time on something that would be simple for you? And that sorta thing breeds frustration. And it can come across as manipulative incompetence. Which... maybe sometimes there is some amount of that, because doing these things is so stressful and they hate themselves for doing it and also not doing it and they keep seeing their wife purse her lips whenever they do this thing but she Insists it's fine so like he just wants her to Say Something. (Not that I have an easy solution to 'what happens when something bugs you but you know you shouldn't say anything but that just makes you seem passive-aggressive', either. It's just a bad situation for everyone.)

* Again, practically, sometimes it just really flows more smoothly when the same person does multiple chores. Like, unless the person putting away things and the person cooking are EXTREMELY in sync (and neither have ADHD!!), there are going to be moments of confusion where things can't be found. These inconveniences are inevitable, but they too easily become frustrations directed at the newcomer.

* And. Like. Yeah. ADHD and autism and the like ARE disabilities. Yes it is possible that a woman with those disabilities would have learned how to do it anyway, out of necessity. But maybe not. And if she did, it was probably a traumatic experience of being failed by society, not a standard men should be held up to. I keep seeing this, when men with a disability talk about difficulty with chores, and people in the comments immediately leap to 'well some women with these do just fine (because they had to)' and I don't know what these comments are meant to achieve. Maybe the idea is to invert the typical pressures thereby evening things out but it means that disabled men have literally nowhere to go to be fully respected. We need to find a way to visualise an ACTUAL solution.

So uh that got very long and probably should've been its own post. But. Yeah. Unforunately, 50/50 housework is very unlikely to be 50/50 effort. And let's not forget that there are ways other than housework that people can do to contribute to a relationship? I'm not advocatimg that Traditional Gender Roles Are Good, Actually (exactly the opposite!) but when we're asking things of Actual People we need to be realistic r.e. what that involves.

It makes no sense to acknowledge the ways misogyny makes things harder for women, but expect men to immediately and with 0 help single-handedly Solve Gender Norms, and the very idea of that honestly smacks of a lot of underexplored gender norm reproducing itself.

tbh I think the solution to gendered expectations & women's labor being taken for granted is perhaps not to just like, apply a blanket policy of "men need to Do More".

like aside from the way this very frequently targets disabled men/people perceived as men and reinforces a "worth = labor" mindset in general, it also fosters anxieties in a lot of them & pushes them to extend themselves beyond their limits to over-correct. which is what women/people perceived as women are very frequently doing already, and which is a fucking problem for all of those people.

maybe. just maybe!! we can teach people to know and honor their needs in a sustainable way, and to value contributing what you can over contributing the exact same thing in the exact same amounts. maybe we can teach self-knowledge and the value of diversity.

and maybe we can point out the aspects of misogyny and gender roles that impact certain groups in certain ways, and the trends folks should look out for, without trying to prescribe a universal experience and solution.

🤷‍♂️

[clinicalnursing]

Irispublishers- Iris Journal of Nursing & Care (IJNC)

The Causes of Elderly Residence in Nursing Home from the Viewpoint of Elders

Authored by  Vahab Karamivand*

Abstract

Background: As the population grows, the demand for long-term care services is expected. since the most important place affecting the elderly, entering into the nursing home, recognizing causes and motivations for staying in the nursing home is important for the establishment of plans to delay or prevent entry elderly to the nursing home. The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of elderly residence in nursing home from the viewpoint of elderly.

Methods: In this study, the phenomenology method has been used. Samples were selected among elderly residents of the Kermanshah state government nursing homes. sampling in this study was purposive method and finally 10 samples were selected. All samples were male and were ranged from 68 to 88 years. the researcher used the interview to collect data. A colaizzis method was used to analyze the data.

Results: In general, the two main concepts derived from the data: 1 Optional Entry 2 Mandatory Entry. Sub-concepts of optional entry include entry with prior approval, entry for financial and family problems, and compulsory entry; entry by deception, unconscious mood, entry by police and social workers, each of which has sub-concepts.

Conclusions: Some elderly people were voluntary resettled because of poverty, lack of shelter and family problems, although some of them were healthy and active, and some were compulsory by family caregivers, police and social workers. By identifying the causes of seniors’ residency, recognizing their root needs and problems will be facilitated. And it can also help caregivers in proper planning.

Keywords: Nursing home; Elderly; Residence

Introduction

The number of elderly people in all societies around the world is increasing. Each year, 1.7 percent is added to the world population. While this increase for the population of 65 years and above is 2.5% [1]. The country’s elderly population is predicted to reach 10 million by 2020 [2]. Given that elderly patients are at high risk for physical deterioration during recovery after Hospitals and are more likely to have long-term care facilities than other age groups. Providing long-term care services after discharge from the hospital is important for the elderly in promoting health and quality of life. Recently, the rate of hospitalization for the elderly 65 years or older is three times as high as for those under 65, and the cost of hospitalization for people aged 65 and older is about 33% of all hospitalization costs [3]. According to Dorman, it is expected that at least 40 percent of the population over 75 will need extensive health care services at the end of their lives [4]. the problem of the maintenance and welfare of elderly in the society of every day finds new and broader dimensions and statistics show that elderly population in physical, psychological, social, and cultural aspects are constantly required to care for full attention [5].

The term nursing home is used to define institutions that serve people with chronic disabilities and physical defects the focus is on people who do not need hospitalization but are unable to take care of themselves [6]. In other words, people who are unable to stay home due to physical health problems, mental health problems or functional disabilities [7]. On the other hand, the transition to such centers in the study is described as one of the hardest experiences that the elderly encounter [8]. And admission to the nursing home have the mental implications of such as rejection, mental stress, depression, shakiness, loss of home, and the chance of contact with family and friends, so that, among various places, the transfer to the nursing home, in texts, is known to be the most influential place in the elderly [9]. entrance to the elderly has the greatest effect on the elderly and fear on the elderly [10]. Institutions by depriving older persons of many of the personal allegiances, which constitute part of his apparent identity, have destroyed his sense of unease [11]. On the other hand, the economic burden on the family and society and the workforce that can be used in simple and non-violent activity is wasted. Moreover, the transition to the residential care house affects both elderly residents and their families. Studies have shown that moving to these centers occurs at times of crisis, for example, after an acute illness or a period of hospitalization. In this situation, the elderly will need to adapt to the new conditions, and this mental stress may be more than that of the elderly [8]. Nowadays, gerontologist do not pay attention to the increased mortality of the elderly, which is an inevitable consequence of being displaced [12]. Thus, countries with a high population of elderly people have developed long-term care policies for the elderly.

The United States and Australia have developed long-term care measures for the elderly with maximum independence [1]. with all of these cases, there is an increasing trend for the elderly to be transferred to nursing home in Iran [13]. Because, as the population ages, more demand for long-term care is expected. Nursing home have traditionally been the most commonly used form of longterm care. Planners are looking for alternatives that are a less expensive form of care for the elderly. Understanding the causes and motivations of staying in the nursing home is important for designing programs to delay or prevent the entry of elderly people into the elderly [14]. Therefore, identifying factors that affect the use of these long-term care services is an important concern. The research question is that what the causes of elderly residence in nursing home from the viewpoint of older persons?

Methods

In this study, the phenomenological method was used. For data collection, deep and unstructured interviews were conducted over a 4-month period. Samples were selected by purposive sampling method. The researcher selected samples that had sufficient information. 10 samples were selected for this study. all of the samples were male and in the range age of 68 to 88 years. The length of stay varied from 2 months to 15 years. sampling was doing in two governmental nursing home in Kermanshah (Iran), which only accepted the elderly man. Information about the causes of the study was given to the elderly, and all participants received informed consent forms. After the consent of the elderly, places to interview were determined to meet their comfort. Confidentiality of their information and voice was assured. The duration of each interview was set at 20 minutes and finally 30 minutes, as the elderly get tired early [15]. If there were no clear information after the codes were extracted, another interview was conducted for clarification. Finally, 12 interviews were conducted with 10 participants. Some interview questions include” why did you come to the nursing home?” A colaizzis method was used to analyze the data. In the first stage, Recorded sounds were heard several times. And then their statements were word by word written on paper. Then the notes were studied several times to understand their feelings and experiences. In the second step, after studying the extracted materials, the meaningful information related to the title was extracted. For example, the first participant says” I was building and working for a company.

One day I went down the stairs building and got to the hospital. I was 2 months in a coma. When I was fine, they took me home, but my memory was low. My son said I should go back to the doctor, but they had taken me to the notary’s office and called my house in his name. And then they took me out of the house. And I came to visit here. I do not know why they did it to me” In the third step, we tried to extract from each statement a concept that expresses its main meaning. During this stage, we constantly tried to ensure the relevance of the meaning of the original sentences and the relationship between them. For example, from the phrases stated, the two concepts of “entry by deception” and “forced entry” were deduced. After extracting the codes of each interview, the next interview was conducted.

The result of this phase of the research consists of 15 codes that are the same concepts as the developed ones. In the fourth stage, the researcher carefully studied the concepts and, based on their similarity, categorized them into thematic categories or main concepts. in the fifth step, for a comprehensive description of the phenomenon under study, the researcher, groups Different subjects with the same meanings were placed in larger subject categories to reach the main concepts. In this way, the structural components of experience, which included two general concepts, were gradually developed. In Diagram No.1, the general concepts of the findings and how they are categorized are presented. In the sixth step, we tried to provide a comprehensive description of the phenomenon under study without ambiguity. The final step was to validate by referring to each sample and asking about the findings [16].

In this research, two criteria of dependability and credibility were used to strengthen the research. In order to confirm the acceptance of the findings, the researcher referred the extracted code to the participants, and with their confirmation, the findings became valid. Furthermore, the researcher referred the findings and the extracted codes to the expert on qualitative research, and in several instances, from the beginning of the analysis, the codes of code formation were examined to reach the main concepts and the validity of the research findings were confirmed. In addition, the researcher explained the research process and how to achieve the results to be sure of the finding, so that other researchers can understand how to achieve the results [17].

Optional entry

Entry with prior approval: Some research samples have stated that they have come here with their desire and choice” When some of them were asked how you came to nursing home?” They responded to the researcher. I came to my own will. I lived alone at home. Someone has not forced me. I’m friends now that I am here and I’m happy. But the participant # 3 in the answer says that after my legs broke and I was discharged from the hospital. I did not take care of my children at home, and I heard that these centers take care of the elderly. Now that our body is fine. My family does not get me home.

Entry due to financial and family problems: Some elderly people mentioned the reason for entering the old age as family problems, for example, one of them says that I have two boys who married and live in front of me, my wife died, my boys and brides spend my salary and something It does not stay for me. Sometimes I realize that my brides are grumbling about me and saying your father should go to this house. Or participant No.2 in the answer says I was sleeping on the street before I came to this place, and I begged for days. I’m not married, I have no children. One day I was looking for a place to take care of me and I could sleep comfortably and give me water and food. And I got it from here (Figure 1).

Mandatory entry

Entry with deception: Participant No.4 says that my son said we should take you to the doctor. So, to see the fracture of the leg was good or not, we were on the way for three hours and night. I gave a place and said I was going to take your medicines, but it did not return.

Entry in unconscious mood: One of the elderly states that I was not very well off when I was discharged from the hospital. One of my sons took me to the office and took a fingerprint from me. And a few days later I was taken out of the house.

Entry by government agencies: Participant No. 7 says I had rented a room and I was busy begging for days. My house was full of rubbish and I could not clean it. The neighbors complained to me and called the police. And they delivered me to the social agency. I loved my house and I want to go back (Figure 2).

In this study, some elderly people were settled in nursing homes due to family problems and financial inability. Findings from the study by Sao and Hallis showed that family pressure, feeling of security, using formal and informal services, and a feeling of health degradation lead the elderly to stay in the nursing home, and is consistent with the results of the researcher’s study [18,19]. Also, many older people have not the ability to pay home expenses such as house maintenance, or older might want to move somewhere else. But they do not have the necessary capital to move, and they inevitably prefer to stay in the nursing home [20]. on the other hand, elderly people who live alone are more likely to seek accommodations for social contact with others. therefore, for older adults living alone before acceptance, positive outcomes were expected [9]. In the present study, some elderly people said they had been forced into the nursing home. For example: stay without notice, or stay deceived, stay in a state of illness and stay for taking care. While studies show that elderly people prefer to recover the disease in their place of residence instead of the elderly. When the mental and physical abilities of the elder are getting worse, and family resources or society is not available for a long time, admission to the elderly is required [18].

Findings of the study by Shiva et al. Showed that in addition to previous hospitalization, caregivers’ willingness to stay in the nursing home is a determinative factor in the use of nursing homes after hospital discharge [3]. In this study, one of the ways of entering the elderly into nursing home is entering in state of Unconscious following cognitive impairment, which is consistent with the findings of the study by Wang et al [22]. Another reason for the elderly’s stay in this study is the lack of proper care after discharge from the hospital. For example, one of the participants stated: “When my pelvis broke down and I was in hospital for about one month, they said that to go home for home care, “at home there was no one to pay attention to my daily needs. There was not even anyone to give me a glass of water and I decided to go to the nursing home to continue to care. “ In analyzing these statements, it can be stated that elderly people, given their high needs, especially when they are recovering from illness, should be given more attention so that the recovery process does not go back. These results are consistent with the findings of the Abbasid study and Colleagues [23].

Conclusion

From the findings of this study, it is concluded that factors such as cognitive impairment, physical illness, financial problems, family disputes, sense of humiliation, lack of care, and lack of shelter lead to elderly people staying in nursing home. Some elderly people, despite being active and healthy, had to stay at the nursing homes due to financial problems. And they complained about not having any activity at the nursing home. It seems that if social support is appropriately done, then these elderly people can live in their homes. A number of elderly people were involved in financial abuse. While they have had the necessary capital for a good life, there seems to be no comprehensive organization that supports the elderly in such cases. Coherent social support, government agencies, self-care education and the preservation of autonomy in the elderly, and the training of family caregivers and their support may reduce the entry of elderly into old age. Unwillingness to cooperate, illiteracy, early exhaustion, fear of reviewing past bitter memories were the limitations of this study.

To read more about this article: https://irispublishers.com/ijnc/fulltext/the-causes-of-elderly-residence-in-nursing-home-from-the-viewpoint-of-elders.ID.000533.php

Indexing List of Iris Publishers: https://medium.com/@irispublishers/what-is-the-indexing-list-of-iris-publishers-4ace353e4eee

Iris publishers google scholar citations:

https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=irispublishers&btnG=

[zenosanalytic]

DS9: Season 2 Doldrums

DS9 S2E 5-7(Cardassians, Melora, Rules of Acquisition) are Infuriating.

Their Premises aren’t actually bad:

Cardassians is about Cardassian war-orphans left on Bajor because 1)Cardassian culture takes a “fuck ‘em” approach to anybody unfortunate enough to lose/get separated from their parents and presumably 2)they’re interspecies children; this doesn’t get mentioned in this ep, but I can’t imagine the Cardassians would have taken half-Bajoran kids when they withdrew

Melora is about a scientist from a “low gravity” planet(that idea bugs me because it assumes life-bearing worlds are generally earth-sized, and thus, earth gravity is “standard”, but idk what else you’d call it |:T) assigned to DS9 for a survey mission in the Delta Quadrant.

Rules of Acquisition is about a female Ferengi masquerading as a male to escape the misogyny of Ferengi society and pursue a life in business who happens to be working for Quark when the Nagus brings him a unique opportunity.

And their execution isn’t universally terribly, either, but each has something about it that’s so frustrating/off-putting that it soured whatever was enjoyable about the episodes for me.

Caradassians is probably the best of the bunch. It’s built around this Cardassian boy named Rugal, who was left during the withdrawal and adopted at a very young age(4-6 it seemed like) by Bajoran parents, who raised him as a Bajoran(aside from the obvious Talks about how he looks different and how to deal with people who are mean to him for his heritage, obvsl). In summary, Gul Dukat plots to have him brought to the station to create a diplomatic incident to be used as an excuse to repatriate the boy as a way to embarrass his Cardassian “father”, Kotan Pa’Dar, of the Civilian government, thereby short-circuiting an investigation into crimes committed during the Occupation and discrediting the Civilian government in general. The plot’s very convoluted, but Bashir and Garak get to be sleuths and that’s super-fun to watch. It ends up being the case that Rugal was kidnapped by Gul Dukat from his family’s home after a resistance attack on it(raising the question of what, exactly, Dukat knew of that attack, and if it was carried out by Bajoran resistance at all or simply made to look as such; there’s an implication that Pa’Dar was opposed to the Occupation even when he was part of the colonial government there. Questions never examined further, unfortunately) and placed in a Bajoran orphanage, leaving Pa’Dar to think he had also been killed. Since he wasn’t dead, Pa’Dar leaving without him would be considered abandonment in the eyes of the Cardassian public given how much they care about Family(who, again, don’t give a single shit about all the Cardassian kids with no living relatives willing to claim them they left on Bajor), and that’d end his political career.

What annoys me about it is the transparent insincerity of the Starfleet officers’ concern for Rugal‘s opinion about the whole thing. There’s alot of platitudinizing that what ultimately matters is what Rugal wants, regardless of what the inquiry discovers, but the ep literally ends with a voice-over of Sisko saying his Cardassian “father” is “obvsl the real victim in all this”, and Starfleet handing him over to Pa’Dar with zero input from Rugal. Rugal’s real parents, the Bajorans who raised him, are nowhere to be seen and, iirc, don’t even speak at all in the second half of the ep. The Bajor government has zero input in any of this. So yeah, it’s just really offensive.

The thing is, if this was presented as Sisko just coolly making the politically expedient and strategically correct choice(save the moderate’s career by preventing the case from going public while doubling his debt to you by handing over the son he thought was dead and wanted back) regardless of what Rugal wanted, it wouldn’t bother me as much; It’d be a good early example of the cold-blooded political and strategic savvy Sisko would become known for. What really bugs me is that the sheer duplicitous sanctimony of their protestations to care about what Rugal wants are never presented or treated as such, even as they, in the end, hand him over like a poker chip. Oh, and also there’s this scene about O’Brien’s hatred of Cardassians and Keiko’s wrong-headed awkward do-gooderism ham-fistedly squashed in there that they really didn’t need.

Melora presents Melora’s natural lower-gravity biology as a disability and illness, which right off the bat was annoying. She’s not sick, she’s just from a different density planet from everyone else. Usually she uses a servo-harness and anti-grav chair to get around that won’t work for some McGuffiny reason so they have to put her in a wheelchair instead. But here’s the thing; why wouldn’t she just be in an anti-grav harness? The Fed uses Synthetic gravity Fields, so one could imagine a harness which generates a “filter” field around her, lessening the gravitons she’s exposed to to natural levels for her and thus allowing full mobility. Hell, depending on how Synthetic Grav fields work, I wonder if one could not simply program the central computers to weaken the field as it applies to her or her surroundings, keying the reduction to her comms badge or lifesigns. Or, given that there’s at least one whole planet of Federation members for whom low-grav is natural(and realistically if there’s one there’s gotta be more low grav worlds), why don’t they, IDK, have low-grav-exclusive crews? I mean, they clearly have the tech to not have to segregate like that, but it’s another solution that the writers choose to avoid by just deciding Melora’s species generally has no desire to leave their homeworld(so how’d they become warp-capable, DS9 writers???)

The show does a good job, for it’s time, presenting ableist-induced frustrations(from Bashir modifying her chair without informing her or asking her consent, to Jadzia implying Bashir knows “her condition” better than she does, to Sisko treating her desire to have her agency and opinions respected like those of any officer as essentially ridiculous, to stupid unnecessary frames jutting out every-goddamn-where in the station due to absurd Cardassian architectural tastes in Bulkhead design, to people assuming she must be sheltered and ignorant of galactic cultures because she’s “fragile”, to people babying her for the same reason, to random do-gooders wanting to “fix” her, to ect ect ect). The problem is, almost invariably, the show comes down on the ableists’ side, presenting her objections as unwarranted acts of rudeness meant to keep the world away(again: she grew up in a frigging low-grav culture where EVERYONE IS JUST LIKE HER! YOU GUYS ARE THE WEIRDOS TO HER!!! WHY WOULD SHE HAVE THESE PERSONALITY TRAITS!X4). It even has this weird pixie-dream girl element where she’s super-agile and strong and able to “fly” in low-G(which, if everything on her planet is evolved for low-g, why would they have the muscle mass to fling themselves into the air and stuff as Earth-G people do on the moon? Idk, maybe this makes sense scientifically, but it bugged me), which she teaches Bashir how to do because, of course, he immediately starts hitting on her and she totally goes for it once he proves his “brilliance” by jerkily eviscerating her distancing techniques. So you can see why I disliked it.

Then it ends with the survey being accomplished in a single ep(like, 3 or 4 days at most), which is stupid. And there’s this sub-plot about a partner Quark betrayed seeking revenge, which inevitably ties into the main-plot and I’m meh about that. And, of course, Bashir never mentions this deeply intimate romance, for the sake of which he developed an entirely new “treatment” for gravity intolerance off the discredited theories of an obscure medical researcher -which insultingly locates her physical difficulties in her brain rather than lower-density bones and muscles, a low-grav body plan, and a metabolism, equilibrium, and body-chem adapted for lower-g- ever again. Yeah.

Rules of Acquisition, of course, makes the female Ferengi, Pel, fall in love with Quark. This is the first ep she’s ever been in, and no reason is ever given for why she’d feel this way about him. Everything she does is, of course, driven by her love for him, and not a desire to gain profit, or prove herself, or any other personal ambition. The ep is filled with lines written for Jadzia to say justifying, excusing, or treating as a joke, misogyny.

Just: either get rid of Jadzia’s excuse-making for Ferengis, or make Ferengi misogyny less pervasive, as they do in much later eps with Rom and(to a lesser extent) Quark.

Pel really should have been intro’d earlier and been a recurring character for a time, with her gender being revealed in this ep. I also don’t get why Ferengi women would have such softer, more melodious, non-scratchy, non-nasal voices compared to the men. Having her natural voice BE her Male!Pel voice, or at least very close to it, would have made the point about gender equality far better.

If there was going to be a romance in it that needed to be developed(preferably over many eps); Pel needed to have a reason for being drawn to Quark, even if it was just “I think he’s sexy”. Personally, I’d like it if -behind his sleazy bluster- Quark(and Rom) was actually less misogynistic and creepy towards women than most Ferengi men as a result of his mother(though still with lots of room to grow), and willing to take hits to his business to stand, in evasive ways, for those principles, and that this was at least in-part why Pel found him endearing.

Pel’s primary motivation ought to be that of any Ferengi -making profit to achieve social status and personal power- with any attraction to Quark coming second, though still personally important enough to prevent her from betraying him.

Pel is responsible for nearly every success they achieve in this ep and Quark really needs to be written as less hapless, which is honestly a problem with his characterization in general. In one ep, Quark is dealing hard-nosed and unflinchingly with the worst kinds of galactic scum(though he hates violence and tries to prevent it, which is a consistent characteristic I love for him, and which Shimerman does a wonderful job of both presenting, and presenting Quark’s attempts to hide and feelings of ambivalent pride/shame over it), and the next he’s grovelling and incompetent before the merest aggression and resistance. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be a physical coward(that’s an important bit of his character and it works), he just needs to have a tolerance for menace appropriate to the line of work as a black-market Fixer and Mastermind that he’s chosen for himself. Plus, I don’t really buy that Pel as presented, with her intense dedication to the Rules of Acquisition and business acumen, would find someone as out of his depth as Quark in this ep attractive. Of course she shouldn’t have to, since Quark is SUPPOSED to actually be a good entrepenuer, hampered by his occasionally quixotic bouts of ethical behavior, but the writers just can’t help writing in these “funny” scenes of Quark being useless.

The plot is actually sort of decent for this one, though Rom’s rather immediate jealousy doesn’t make any more sense than the other things which needed long-term building up to work in this ep. Maybe the discovery of her gender could be accomplished some other way? Perhaps have the Nagus screw them at the end of the deal and have Pel throw her lobes in his face out of rage as he’s compligloating at them about their acumen in realizing his true objective and brokering the meet? Or maybe have Quark accidentally discover her gender in this ep, decide to keep it quiet, then have them both present in a later ep for the Dominion negotiations and have the Dominion agents reveal it out-of-hand half-way through, without realizing the difficulties they’ve put her in(maybe as bred merchants, they have an acute sensitivity to biochemistry or something and can just smell that she’s very likely female). I really like that possibility, because it’d put the Nagus in the position of having to keep her on to finish the negotiations, both for her aptitude and the chance that kicking her off would offend the Karemma, and it’d set up an exit for the character that would be a clear step-up for her; maybe the Nagus, to avoid personal embarrassment and because the Karemma connect with her so well during the negotiations, decides to make her his Delta-quadrant-side silent factor, working through Quark; an effective exile that hides the importance of a female to one of his greatest deals, but still leads to huge profits and a notable position of importance for her. This would also give a good reason for her to pop up as a guest character in later episodes.

[macroplasticrefinement]

((I said I’d post info on my ocs eventually so here it is lol. Also here’s a link to all art I have posted of them.))

ღBasic Infoღ

Full Name~ Sommy Childs/Booker Meaning~ none

Nickname/Preferred Name~ Sommy

Age~ 24

Age They Look~ 17-19, they age way slower than they should

Birthday~ February 13th Zodiac Sign~ Aquarius

Gender~ nonbinary/agender Pronouns~ they/them Sexuality~ aro/ace

Ethnicity~ generic white

Voice~ nasally, annoying. Loud when they're trying to be Extra™, no particular accent

Known Languages~ English

Theme Song(s)~ Young and a Menace - Fall Out Boy, Monster - Imagine Dragons

Theme Color~ bright green

ღPhysical Appearanceღ

Species~ human Skin color~ pale, pallor, a little sickly

Birthmarks~ none

Hair color~ black and green Hair length~ right above their shoulders, slightly curly and choppy, it grows super fast so they’re constantly trimming it, sometimes they get lazy and it grows out pretty long

Hair Texture~ generally kinda greasy, the dyed part is fried

Hair Dye(s)~ green streak on their left side Eye Color(s)~ dark purple Height~ 5′2 Weight~ 120 lbs but it varies pretty drastically

Body Build~ they’re short but they’re pretty strong

Blood Type~ AB-

Freckles~ none Tattoo/Scar/Piercings~ scars below left eye, right cheek, and hands from being thrown out a window. Scar on neck from getting their head almost chopped off by a couple cult weirdos. It gives them a raspy voice and affects their breathing, they just start wheezing sometimes. Scars on palms from themself. Scar on right shoulder from getting shot and scar on left thigh from getting slashed that causes their arm and leg to get stiff if it gets cold or if they don’t move it for a while. Glasses/Contacts/General Eyesight~ no glasses, good eyesight

Dominant Hand~ right

Scent~ coppery or metallic, hair bleach

ღFashionღ

General Description~dark clothes with collars or scarves

◇Formal◇ Switches between dresses and suits. They prefer dresses that they can run in, normally with long sleeves and a collar to cover up scars. ♧Pajamas♧ T-shirt and boxers usually, their favorite sleep shirt is an old Fogbank one ♤Usual Clothes♤ Turtleneck with black jeans and their usual trench coat, also their terribly edgy boots

ღHealthღ

Smoker?~ heavy Drinker?~ yes Drugs?~ used to do party drugs, due to their healing factor though drugs affect Sommy less and less as the time goes on. Endigo still affects them, though they only take it occasionally since it heightens their abilities then wipes them out for like a whole day, also they get pretty sick afterward, like the world's worst hangover. Issues?~ boi u bet

Allergies~ none

Mental Disorders~ none diagnosed

Physical Disabilities~ none Medication?~ sleeping pills, they have to take like way more than the recommended dose

Addictions?~ smoking, drinking Diet~ whatever's cheapest and closest. Since they use a lot of energy healing, they have to eat a lot more than the usual person.

Sleeping Habits~ They really don’t sleep well ever, they have a lot of nightmares. They actually need more rest than the average person so the lack of sleep double affects them. Sommy lives off mostly coffee and energy drinks. They can really only sleep comfortably when they’re around other people they trust. Because of this they always fall asleep when people hang out with them. Most people think it’s pretty rude, Rinnah especially. Sommy never explains why they fall asleep like that either so that doesn’t help anything. Void and Azariah do their best to accommodate this and often just hang around Sommy so they can actually get enough sleep. Neither really mention that they go out of the way to do this because Sommy would probably get super defensive. Sommy secretly really appreciates it though.

ღLifestyleღ

Bus?~ sometimes Train?~ sometimes Car?~ if they can steal one Others?~ would Love to ride a motorcycle

Neighborhood~ Usually a sad motel or a shitty apartment Upper/Middle/Low~ middle? I guess?

Education Level~ didn’t finish high school

Occupation~ hitman, works for Adelaide, professional older sibling to a bunch of mutant kids

Past Occupations~ bodyguard, courier

Dream Job~ FBI agent

Income~ $30,000 minimum each job

Goals~ not be such a terrible person, make a difference in someone’s life, help all the kids their parents fucked over, kill Adelaide 

Living with~ their own self-destructive ass, later they sorta kinda move in with Void.

ღTraitsღ

Optimistic or Pessimist~ pessimist Dangerous or not~ dangerous Daredevil or Cautious~ daredevil Introvert or Extrovert~ extroverted introvert Unorganized or Organized~ unorganized Logical or Emotional~ wants everyone to think they're very logical but they actually get emotional quite a lot Workaholic or Relaxaholic~ neither Confident or Shy~ tries to present themself as confident but it's just false bravo Stressed or Relaxed~ can get overwhelmed easily especially if they’re tired, which is all the time. Normally they’re pretty good at compartmentalizing stress but not all the time.  

Timid or Assertive~ assertive but in the most asshole way possible

Loud or Silent~ loud Naughty or Nice~ naughty (not sure how I feel about this wording tho) Bookworm or Not~ not Philosophical or Realistic~ realistic Believer or See to Believe~ see to believe but boi have they seen some shit

ღPersonalityღ

Usual Mood~ Tired™, grumpy, existential despair Habits~ scratching their skin off because they like to watch it heal, falling asleep around others, nail biting (like their hair, their nails grow super fast as well)

Values~ really skewed sense of justice, everyone is bad in some way, they blame themself for their parents' mistakes and do their best to try and fix it at all times Social Skills~ bad, like really bad. They usually come across as arrogant or sarcastic though they can act pretty well if needed. So it's more like they can fake social skills if they care enough but normally they don't

Strength~ good fighter, loyal, very rel8able if you get to know them, would die for you if they could actually die Weaknesses~ bad, mean, addictive personality, won't take their problems seriously ever, blames themself for too much shit, would fight you over nothing Soft Spots~ people who actually care about them, fuzzy socks, cats (they like to feed the stray cats that hang out in the alleys where they stay) Angry when~ someone goes after their friends/family (cliché, I know), being mislead, gaslighted Relaxed when~ with friends, in quiet places, cats Nervous when~ in large crowds, asking people for things, talking about themself

Phobias~ crippling loneliness, the inevitability of life, people they care about hating them

Pet Peeves~ people misgendering them, people hitting on them, people touching them in general, loud drunk guys

Likes~ fighting, funny socks, sitting around with people they like, when they actually get real sleep, cats, they love cats

Dislikes~ nightmares, themself, most of the people they work with, Murder Mom

Natural Talents~ fighting, being weird

Skills~ being the unwilling older sibling to a bunch of random mutant kids

Secrets~ they’re kind of a depressing open book if you ask the right questions, they would tell you most things about themself, they just get really anxious and nervous when they do it

Biggest Secret~ the fact that they’re still alive and who their adopted parents are (they’re hiding from Booker)

Does Anyone Know?~ Void

Regrets~ their entire life

ღFavoritesღ

Color~ bright green, black, muted greyish colors

Season~ fall

Holiday~ Halloween

Food~ anything home cooked

Animal~ cats

Book Genre~ mystery/thriller

Movie Genre~ horror

Music~ emo bs, Fogbank but only on the dl

ღLeast Favoritesღ

Color~ any bright color that’s not green

Season~ Summer

Holiday~ Valentine’s day

Food~ gas station sushi, they keep buying it and it keeps making them wicked sick

Animal~ rats

Book Genre~ romance

Movie Genre~ romance

Music~ sappy love songs

ღPowerღ

Type of Power~

Hemokinetics: they can control their own blood and any they touch. Usually, they form stake-like weapons since they're the easiest to make though they can make sharp edged weapons as well. Anything complex takes more energy and focus. They can only lose so much before they pass out from blood loss though they can absorb other people’s blood. Sommy can also sense injuries and illness in others and track people. They can also warm and cool their body temperature which allows their emo ass to wear their trenchcoat in the middle of summer.

Healing Factor: they heal faster than a normal human, but not at Deadpool or Wolverine levels. A cut or scrape takes anywhere from a minute or two to an hour or two to heal, bigger wounds take maybe a couple days. Cracked bones take about a day and broken bones can take up to a week depending. The problem with their healing is they can heal wrong very easily, like shattered bones can cause bone fragments to get lodged in muscle or joints which cause a lot of pain and they’re really hard to get out, bones can heal crooked which means Sommy has to re break them. When they were younger, they healed by producing a lot of scar tissue which is why old injuries still affect them/get stiff and stuff. They assume they got some bad internal injuries when they were a kid because they just get stabbing pains or they cough up blood. They know they can’t die from this but it scares the fuck out of Void. Sommy also can’t really have surgery or anything unless they counteract their healing ability, which they can do but since they still have old internal injuries they get pretty fucked up from that. They’re immune to blood borne illnesses but they can still get colds, the flu, stuff like that, they just recover faster. If they get too injured and don’t have enough energy to heal, their body starts to eat away at itself, if it gets too bad they go into a coma like state.

Other: They’re immune to mental manipulation from other anomalies, often the result is the feeling like someone is scraping at their brain. It’s not unbearable just uncomfortable and annoying. This goes for all anomalies.

Flaws~ they have to keep account of how much blood they've lost or else they will Die™, their healing factor will fuck them up if they’re not careful Accuracy~ relatively accurate? Control~ they're really good at the crude stakes and blades but anything too complex is difficult even if they're not fighting, though they get better with practice, they’re working on a claw thing

ღWeaponღ

Choice of Weapon(s): •hunting knife •handgun •shotgun, if they wanna get fancy Favorite/Main Weapon~ handgun Control~ pretty good Accuracy~ they are a great shot Flaws~ they always frickin run out of ammo because they never bring enough, they usually have to use a gun or something if they don’t plan on killing the person because they’d rather not show them their freaky blood power

ღRelationsღ

Mother~

Carol Childs. Sommy's birth mother, she was not ready for a kid and didn't want one either. She mostly liked to watch Sommy react from her yelling at them. She wasn't pure evil but she didn't have many good qualities either. She was the enforcer and the business part of the family business.

Joyce Booker. A police lieutenant, Joyce turned to adopting kids after witnessing too many shipped off to foster care. She tried her best in raising Sommy and Ophelia, giving them all the help she could think of, though she could be too over enthusiastic and overbearing at times. Sommy regrets not telling her how much they appreciated her. She was the kind of mom that the kid thinks is a little embarrassing but everyone else thinks is really cool.

Father~

Lyle Childs. He was a master scientist, the creator of the drug that caused Sommy’s powers. Sommy would have loved to hate him but he didn't interact with them long enough for them to know anything about him. Though Sommy did look him up after they were adopted, reading up on all of the terrible stuff he did.

Craig Booker. He was a quiet man, always worried about saying something wrong. However, he did love his children and tried to express that as much as he could, even when Sommy had gotten into Another fight and he had to go pick them up early from school again. Sommy liked just sitting with him because they felt like they didn't have to talk or say that everything was great.

Sister~

Ophelia Booker. She was 3 years older than Sommy, however, they both got along like they had known each other forever. They could talk to each other about all the stuff that had happened to them. Ophelia supported Sommy any way she could and Sommy did their best to lend a hand in Ophelia's cyborg rights activism. Even after they ran away, Sommy still donated to her cause every year. People would try to convince Ophelia that they were dead but she wouldn't listen and continued to look for Sommy for years. She was eventually rightfully pissed off when she found out they were still alive and had been hiding from her for years.

Cousin~

Connie “Void” Greenglass. Sommy and Void didn't really talk outside family get together's before Sommy disappeared. To be fair, Void was 3 years younger than them. However, they reunited after Sommy found them 7 years later. In that time, Void was working as a reporter, mostly writing fluff pieces, waiting for a big story. Sommy brought them the story of a criminal empire that had its fingers in almost every facet of the city. After minor convincing, Void agreed to write the story as long as they managed to dig up enough evidence. In their “investigation” time they saw more shit than they ever wanted. One of the worst times was when Sommy got their side ripped open by the guy they were supposed to be following. Void is a bit of a doormat and doesn't really call Sommy out on a lot of the shit they probably should. They also promise Sommy not to tell Ophelia about what they've been doing, which really does not go over well when Ophelia eventually finds out.

Friends~

Rinnah Iyver. Sommy and Rinnah don't get along due to their clashing personalities and the fact that Sommy's super annoying. Also due to the fact that Rinnah knows they’re involved with Endigo. Since her father was killed due to her mother’s inability to pay back her debt owed to Loorka, and her mother was in debt because of her drug addiction, Rinnah tends to blame the substance and anyone related to it. However, they both kind of have to get along because Sommy is best friends with Rinnah’s brother and Rinnah is dating Sommy's sister.

Cypher Nox. Sommy has a weird feeling around him, like someone’s scratching the back of their brain every time he talks, also they can't shake the feeling that he looks really familiar. Despite this they both get along well enough, often bonding over traumatic childhoods which Cypher is really cryptic about.

Viper Anguis. Sommy deemed Viper the “coolest” of the group. They often join him and Cypher for a drink. They also like to spar with him because he's a skilled hand to hand fighter due to his experience in an underground fight club.

Lacy Rosecrans. Sommy met her after hearing reports of weird mass mood fluctuations. After investigating the area they found Lacy, an anomaly with empathic abilities that she couldn’t control. Since she was one of the first anomalies Sommy had found at that point, and the most understanding and, well, normal, they bonded pretty quick, Sommy being like an older sibling to her. They both talk often and Sommy will do whatever is within their power to help her when she occasionally loses control over her abilities.

Asher Iravit. One of Void’s closest friends, after he told them about his ability to turn invisible, Void introduced him to Sommy. Ash is a bit too goofy for Sommy but they get along well, especially with having Void as a sort of buffer. He’s often called to “babysit” Sommy by Void when they’re especially worrying them.

Margot Mentior. She’s a counterfeiter who provides Sommy with passports, fake IDs, and other documents. They both met when she tried to ask Sommy out at a bar, after declining, Sommy and her began talking. They found out both their jobs were outside the law and Sommy did their best to warn her about Adelaide. Margot appreciated the advice and offered Sommy a discount if they ever needed her services. They stayed in contact and she is one of the few people Sommy trusts almost absolutely.

Best Friend~

Azariah Iyver. Sommy saved his life after he was attacked by a couple assholes. He lost an eye but probably have lost more if Sommy hadn't stepped in and kicked their asses. After recovering, Azzy realized he had never thanked the person who had saved his life. Using his computer skills and connection to other hackers, he tracked Sommy down. They didn't remember saving him and he didn't bring it up. They talked for a long time online. They told him about Adelaide and he convinced them to do something about her. Azzy is probably the only one who believes Sommy has the capability to change for the better.

Enemies~

Adelaide Creed. Originally Sommy viewed her as a parental figure. She taught them the ins and outs of the criminal business and started to groom them to be the second in command of her empire. After a while though, Sommy realized that she really wasn't as nice as she had originally seemed. They realized she was a monster. Adelaide had made Sommy her project and spent her time gaslighting and manipulating them into what she wanted.

Other~

Needlehands. He's a back alley monster doctor who does as much experimentation on his patients as he does actually fixing them. After his creator died, Needlehands tried to continue his work. He met Sommy when they were bleeding out from, what looked like, a half decapitation. He was amazed how they were still alive and patched them up. After finding out about their abilities, he just wanted to study them further. Needlehands made a deal with Sommy, he'd fix them up and help them out and they would let him look into what actually happened to them in regards to their abilities. After a while, Needlehands began to get really protective over them so now Sommy has a monster dad. He also helps Sommy research Endigo, its effects and a way to counter it.

Lewis “Trace” Harvey. He's a mediocre hacker employed by Adelaide. Sommy started blackmailing him to get him to do things for them. He's a disrespectful, insensitive asshole but Sommy has to put up with him if they want anything techy. However, after they meet Azzy they planned on killing Trace to make sure he didn't spill any info on them. Lucky for him, Void stepped in to watch him which they later regret.

Hydrea “Drea” Vannie. She is obsessed with Sommy, constantly trying to be their girlfriend. Too bad for her, Sommy absolutely despises her. They would love to kill her but Drea’s dad is a high ranking politician and she's also employed by Adelaide. Sommy assumes she was hired just to annoy them as Adelaide has said she finds her “very amusing”.

Johnny Clayborn. He also works for Adelaide and is one of the few people that genuinely scare Sommy. After he first got hired, Sommy was tasked to follow and observe his methods. Turns out he’s a cannibal that eats most of the people he kills and dissolves the rest. His love of zombies and weird, quiet nature really doesn’t help the unbelievably creepy vibe he gives off at all times. Sommy tried to hide the fact that he scared the piss out of them, especially when he kept inviting them for dinner.

Crushes~

none

Past Relationships~ none

Current Relationship~

none

Relationship Status~

single, forever

ღLifeღ

Birth/Infancy~ Sommy's birth parents were about as criminal as you could get. Involved in drug cooking, they were both hailed as geniuses due to their creation of a new drug, named Endigo. Taken as an adult, the side effects could vary from sleep paralysis type hallucinations to seizures. However, children exposed before birth and who have suffered traumatic events can develop brain anomalies leading to strange abilities and for some reason, strange eye color.

Childhood~ Sommy was involved in their parents' drug manufacturing, doing small tasks like packaging and the like as soon as they were able. They saw more than their fair share of shit during that time though they don't remember much. When they were 9, their parents were caught and arrested. Sommy seemed to be headed for an orphanage when they were adopted by a couple, the Bookers. Mrs. Booker was the Sergeant involved in the arrest of Sommy's birth parents. Along with new parents, Sommy now had a sister as well, Ophelia Booker, she was 2 years older than them. The Bookers did their best to take care of Sommy and help them recover. Teenhood~ Sommy was a handful as a teenager. They were rebellious and often lashed out at those around them because they didn't know what else to do. Their parents tried to curb this behavior by signing them up for fighting classes, hoping that they wouldn't have to fight other kids then. In this time Sommy's powers were also developing, though they keep this mostly to themself in fear of being seen as a freak, especially by their new family. They didn't want their irrational fear of being abandoned because of being so terrible to come through. At the age of 16, both Sommy's parents were killed in a home invasion gone wrong. They were out with their sister at the time. They always suspected there was more to it than that though. A lot of evidence just didn't add up. Infuriated by everything getting swept under the rug, Sommy ran away hoping to find out the truth. AdultHood~ After killing the man who was directly responsible for their parents' death, Sommy realized that they couldn't go back home to Ophelia like this. They viewed themself as a horrible person and was at a loss of what to do with their life. They felt like they didn’t deserve their adopted family’s love so they started using the Childs name again. Spiraling down, they started taking jobs as bodyguards for low lives and then that escalated to doing hit jobs. During that time, they made friends with a monster of a back alley doctor nicknamed Needlehands who did just as much experimentation on people as he did actually patching them up. Obviously, Sommy raised him up to be their father figure. They also fell into business with a woman named Adelaide Creed. She ran an empire on the backs of criminals, getting her hands on anything she could use to further her power and wealth. As more of a personal project, she warped Sommy's sense of purpose and self-image and gaslighted them until they couldn't remember the person they used to be. She wanted Sommy to be her successor, especially after finding out about their abilities. Eventually managing to snap out of the bloody haze they had been in for seemingly years, Sommy realized how much of a monster Adelaide really was. They decided they needed to tear her down from the inside. It was around this time that Sommy started to notice vague reports about kids with strange abilities. Realizing there were more people like themself, Sommy started looking for answers, eventually realizing it was their parent’s drug that was causing the anomalies. They took it upon themself to help these kids and keep them out of the government’s, or anyone’s radar. By blackmailing a chemist with reports of him falsifying results causing children's deaths, Sommy managed to get a sort of reverse version of Endigo that nullified abilities for a short while. They still had all their parents research that they had stolen years ago. Sommy killed the chemist after he gave them instructions on how to make the stuff. They then set out to help as many kids as they could because if they weren’t gonna do it who was? They also saw it as fallout from their parents, which fell on them to clean up.

OldHood~ Sommy continues to deal with the anomalies even after they outlive everyone they had known. Due to their healing ability, they can’t really die and just focus on moving forward and doing what they can.

[digitaleddyposts]

THE OUTCOME OF FEAR 3 more

FEAR OF LOSING HIS LOVE    

This innate fear results from a male tendency to polygamy. The man will unscrupulously steal his best friend's companion, or if he has the opportunity, will allow himself familiarities with him. Jealousy and other similar forms of neurosis come from the fundamental fear of losing the loved one. It is the most painful fear, one that probably wreaks havoc in the body or mind.

It probably derives its origin from the stone age when the man brutally seized the coveted woman. If the ends are the same, the technique has changed. It persuades, charm, promises toilets, a beautiful car and benefits more effective than brutality. Since the dawn of civilization, human habits are the same. They express themselves differently, that's all.

Careful study revealed that women, more than men, fear losing the object of their love, which is easily explained. They have learned, often at their expense, that the nature of man is polygamous.

Symptoms that reveal the fear of losing the loved one:

1. LA JALOUSIE. The habit of suspecting without reason his friends and those whom we love. The habit, without motive, of accusing his wife or husband of infidelity; to suspect everyone and not trust anyone.

2. THE CRITICAL. Criticize his friends for no reason, his parents, business associates and those we love.

3. THE GAME. Play, steal, cheat to give money to those we love by believing that love is bought. Spend beyond his means or go into debt to give gifts to those we love to show a favorable light. Insomnia, nervousness, lack of perseverance, weak will, lack of self-control, self-confidence, bad character.

THE FEAR OF AGING

The fear of aging gives the man 2 good reasons to apprehend the future: how to trust a

The fear of old age

Next who will strip him and how not to be haunted by the horrible evocation of the hereafter?

This form of fear is intensified by the risks of illness and disability. Eroticism holds its place, no one cherishing the thought of a diminished sexual power.

The fear of old age is associated with FEAR OF POVERTY, that of losing independence, physical and economic freedom.

The most common symptoms are:

1. The tendency to put one's body and mind "on the back burner" at the age of 40 (the age of maturity of the mind) and to develop an inferiority complex by believing, wrongly, over because of age.

2. The habit of talking about one's age; to apologize for his 40 or 50 years, instead of expressing gratitude for having reached the age of wisdom and understanding.

3. The habit of killing initiative, imagination and self-confidence by mistakenly believing that they are too old to exercise them.

4. The habit of disguising himself as a young man, at age 40, by copying the clothes and manners of his cadets. This only results in ridicule in the eyes of others and friends.

THE FEAR OF DEATH

For some, this fundamental fear is the most cruel of all. The terrible anguish of the thought of death is, in most cases, charged with religious fanaticism. Those we call "pagans" are less afraid of death than we "civilized". For thousands of years, men have asked questions that they have not answered yet: "Where are we from? Where are we going? "

There was a time when astute individuals proposed to respond with money.

"Come under my tent, embrace my faith, accept my dogmas and I will make you present a ticket that will open you paradise immediately after your death," said one adept.

"If you do not come," he cried again, "the devil will hang you and burn you for all eternity."

The thought of eternal punishment takes away all interest in life and makes all happiness impossible.

With the help of biology, astronomy, geology and other sciences, ancestral fears dissipate.

The world consists of 2 elements: ENERGY and MATTER. In elementary physics, we learn that neither can be created or destroyed. Both can be transformed. Life is an energy. So she can not be destroyed. Like other forms of energy, it will undergo several phases of transition, of change, but it can not be destroyed. Death is only a transition.

In this case, after death can come only a long, an eternal, a peaceful rest and there is no reason to fear rest.

So you can definitely sweep from your mind the fear and fear of death.

Symptoms revealing the fear of death:

One who is afraid of death has the habit of thinking about death instead of enjoying life to the fullest.

This habit often stems from a lack of purpose or the inability to find adequate occupation. This habit is more prevalent among the elderly, but young people are also often victims. The best cure for the fear of death is a desire to act and help others.

Whoever is busy does not have time to think about death.

This fear is often associated with the fear of poverty.

To fear poverty for oneself or for those we love when we will no longer be there to support them.

In other cases, fear of death is associated with illness or imbalance. Physical illness can lead to mental depression. Deception in love, poverty, religious fanaticism, lack of occupation, madness can determine the fear of death.

The worry is an insidious fear To worry is a state of mind that is fear.

He works slowly but surely. He is insidious and subtle ..

Gradually, he "mine" to paralyze the reasoning, destroy self-confidence and any initiative. Concern is a form of permanent fear motivated by indecision: it is a state of mind that can be controlled.

An undecided spirit is of no help. Most people lack the will to make quick decisions and stick to them. Yet this is how worries fly away.

I interviewed a man 2 hours before he sat on the electric chair. He was more calm of the 8 convicts in the cell, which made me ask him how one feels when one knows that one will die in a very short time.

With a confident smile, he replied: "We feel good; think about it, my troubles will end. I only had that in life. I have always had so much trouble getting food and clothes. I do not have to worry about it now and you want me not to feel good?

Since I know I'm going to die, I look good to my destiny. "

Deliver for ever from the fear of death. Make the decision to accept it as an inevitable event.

Deliver yourself from the fear of poverty by deciding to obtain wealth; fear of criticism, deciding not to worry about what people will think, say or do; fear of growing older, deciding to accept old age as a great blessing that brings with it the wisdom, self-control and understanding that youth lack; fear of illness, deciding to forget his symptoms; fear of losing your love, deciding to live without love, if necessary.

How to overcome his fear?

Abandon the habit of worrying about everything and nothing; decide once and for all that nothing that life can bring is worth the torment you create.

This decision will ensure balance, peace of mind and indirectly happiness.

A man who is afraid does not only destroy his own chances of acting intelligently, but transmits these destructive waves to the brains of all who come into contact with him and thus destroys their chances.

A dog or a horse feels when his master is distressed.

He collects the waves of fear emitted by the latter and acts accordingly.

Destructive thoughts, waves of fear pass from one mind to another as quickly and surely as the sound of the human voice passes from the transmitting station to the receiver of your radio.

The one who expresses his negative or destructive thoughts by words can be sure that they will be shocked in return.

Without even the help of words, thoughts are enough to attract the bad shots of the spell.

First and foremost, the one who releases destructive thoughts will suffer especially in his creative imagination that will be broken.

Secondly, in the mind, the presence of all destructive emotion develops a negative personality which, far from attracting beings, repels them and often makes them hostile. Third, these negative thoughts become embedded in the subconscious and become part of their character.

No doubt, the purpose of your life is to succeed. For this, you must find peace of mind, meet the necessary material needs and above all achieve happiness.

All these proofs of success are born in the form of thoughts.

You can control your own thinking, nurturing ideas that you have chosen.

You have the privilege but also the responsibility to use it for a constructive purpose.

You are the master of your earthly destiny as surely as you have the power to control your thoughts.

You can directly or indirectly influence your environment, make your life what you want it to be.

You can neglect to exercise this privilege, obey your life and throw yourself into the vast sea of "circumstances" where you will be tossed here and there like a chip on the waves of the ocean. So you have the choice, and if you read me is that you have already taken the first steps, do not get discouraged along the way, read the 13 articles over and over, learn them by heart if necessary, but influence your subconscious from positive thoughts, from the principles of the law of attraction, when you have eliminated fear, you will have created a state of mind that will allow you to pour abundance into all areas of your life. Live in abundance is a matter of habit and a habit is unconscious, you have the key, it's up to you to play.

[spasticallyyours-blog1]

More Than Mockery: Disabled Under Trump

Americans both with and without disabilities were outraged when then Presidential candidate Donald Trump mocked New York Times Reporter Serge Kovaleski, who lives with a chronic joint condition called Arthrogryposis.1 Months later, the incident is still on the minds of many, including actress Meryl Streep, who used her Lifetime Achievement Award speech at this years Golden Globes as an opportunity to call out Trump on many accounts, specifically recalling the mockery of Kovaleski2. People with disabilities far and wide have wasted no time in responding to both the mockery itself and Streep's speech. I've heard everything from intense outrage over the mockery, to gratitude that the debasing of someone with physical disability has been brought to national attention, to dissatisfaction concerning specific ways Streep acknowledged the issue, to people arguing that Trump never mocked Kovaleski in the first place.

As a result of the continued outcry and controversy, I've noticed that the only understanding of disability in relation to Donald Trump's presidency is this single insensitive happening. This contrasts his relationship to other disadvantaged groups, where a recognition is present in how his actual policies affect them in addition to his general insensitivity. For example, criticism regarding his interaction with women doesn't stop at the disgusting comments recently leaked3, but extend to his actual policy concerning reproductive health and access to safe abortion. Similarly, understanding of his islamophobia is not limited to commentary, but extends to protests against his Muslim ban4. This is not to say that I condone or mean to minimize his mocking of Kovaleski in any way, but only that to see mockery as the main issue at hand is to see the disabled population as nothing more than a victimized group who are bullied, as opposed to a disadvantaged minority that is legitimately oppressed through action. Because yes, words and imitation absolutely sting, and more should be expected from a perspective leader of our country. But we are a thick skinned group, and while the abled majority was up in arms about a few minutes at a speech in South Carolina, my community was collectively worrying about the slew of problematic policy that directly affects us all in some way. This policy goes largely unnoticed because the oppression of those with disabilities is often minimized or forgotten about, and it easier to call Trump a bully than to face the depressing facts of what he is about to do to the largest minority5 in the United States.

The most obvious and concrete danger that Trump presents to those with disabilities is the repealing of the Affordable Care Act7, and the block granting medicaid9. For the many who were born disabled and/or acquired disabilities at a young age, the words “pre-existing condition” are just a euphemism for their lived experience and status as person with a disability. This means that even those with some variation of health insurance prior to the enactment of the ACA have come to rely on the policy because of its revolutionary non-discrimination policy. Because disability can many times place restrictions on the jobs one is able to work, people with disabilities are less likely to poses employment-based healthcare benefits, and therefore are more likely to depend on the ACA for healthcare coverage. Additionally, many insurance companies do not have comprehensive mental health coverage, causing even people who have other paths to coverage to rely on the ACA or Medicaid to cover treatment and tools pertaining to a wide variety of mental illnesses and emotional disabilities. Furthermore, people with severe or multiple conditions are more likely to need the supplemented assistance of medicaid because of a demonstrated need a multitude of treatments, hospital/rehab stays, and/or tools to live their best life. This assistance would be non-existent following block granting.

I would not be a true practicer of the social justice model8 if I only saw ableist oppression through the lens of healthcare. Like most Republicans before him, Trump plans to cut social welfare services9, including SSI and SSDI funding, despite claiming differently. For some, this is the difference between poverty and thriving, or getting necessary day to day care in the best possible setting. Beyond the endangerment of the very lives and residences of people with disabilities, this jeopardizes caretakers and family members alike, as the (currently meager) sum often contributes to salaries for caretakers, and is used to support the families of recipients, just as one's employment salary is often used to support one's family members. In a more complex way, though, the mass cut of this funding reshapes, or attempts to eliminate, the role of disabled people in society. This funding allows the population of people with disabilities who are unable to work (or to work very little), a sense of autonomy in their choices and money management; to go out and see a play or eat amongst others or enroll in daily activities and programs. If it is non-existent, this population is limited to one space, a space that is often lonely. Suddenly, the average abled-Joe will see less people with disabilities in everyday public space, which perpetuates a dangerous, othering divide between the majority and minority, furthering the idea that those with disabilities do not lead “normal” lives that include a variety of ways to spend one's time. Of course, there is also a large amount of people who are disabled and don't receive SSI/SSDI because their disability does not hinder their ability to hold a reasonably paying position. But to assume everyone holds such privilege is to ignore the 2,321,583 applications for disability assistance that were submitted in 201610.

Of course, this is just scratching the surface of Trump's inevitable effects on the lives of Americans with disabilities, and I encourage you to do your own research on policy affecting folks with disabilities. Also, it is important to remember that issues of ability are intersectional, with disabled immigrants and refugees impacted in a way completely separate than those born in the US, which I acknowledge my post presumes the experience. To my anti-Trump abled readers: while you are protesting, think about what you have not yet seen being protested; who's not marching next to you. (Ableism in activism is a whole separate post.) When you call your elected officials to voice your dissent, remember your disabled neighbors. To my abled readers who support Trump: I am not here to convince you to change your mind. If you are reading this blog though, chances are you care about someone with a disability. And that person has to deal with more than mockery, they are affected by some extension of what you just read, no doubt. And lastly to my readers with disabilities: Hopefully you felt heard with this post. I'd love to hear from you specifically, as we all venture into this uncertain time. I am with you, I am struggling and scared too. But we are strong, and there is hope to be found in others and in allies. Please, don't let anyone make you feel you have less of a place in conversations of oppression than you and I both know you do.

Spastically Yours,

Sonya

Sources:

1. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/26/trump-blasted-mocking-disabled-reporter/76409418/

2. http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/08/entertainment/meryl-streep-golden-globes-speech/

3. http://time.com/4523755/donald-trump-leaked-tape-impact/

4. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/29/everything-need-know-donald-trumps-muslim-ban/

5. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2016/04/14/the-worlds-largest-minority-might-surprise-you-and-how-we-can-better-serve-them/#528907755f1c

6. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/the-trump-administrations-first-blow-to-obamacare/514103/

7. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/the-trump-administrations-first-blow-to-obamacare/514103/

8. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ888640.pdf

9. http://www.vox.com/first-person/2016/11/9/13576712/trump-disability-policy-affordable-care-act

10. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/dibStat.html

Have questions about the sources above? Please reach out to us on the Connect With Us page! I am committed to only sharing reliable information, so if I slip, I want to know! Thanks for reading.

[resumeworkz]

Minority Report: Them And (A Much Smaller) 'Us'

When you think of a minority group, who do you think of? Those who are discriminated against because of their ethnicity, disability, religion or sexual orientation? So not me, then: a straight, white, working-class, able-bodied woman? If you see me walking down the street, dressed up to the nines to meet my friends for a night out, or on my way to work, you'd be forgiven for assuming I was the epitome of Western privilege, and in many ways I am: educated; employed; financially independent; a homeowner, albeit mortgaged - although otherwise debt-free. Yet despite appearances, I am part of a minority group. Allow me to explain.... 84% of the population reproduce 87% of women become mothers 1 in 8 couples have infertility issues 1/3 of those cases are male factor, 1/3 female, 1/3 unexplained 11% of women have fertility issues Fewer than 3% of those require IVF IVF has around a 25% success rate each cycle, meaning 75% of all IVF cycles fail I had three failed IVF cycles That puts me in the less than 1% of the general population who remain infertile and childless as a result of failed IVF. So let me ask that again. Do you still think I'm not part of a minority, discriminated against accordingly? Before you get the violins out to play the soundtrack to the world's worst-attended pity party, the reason for this article is simply to raise awareness for the upcoming World Childless Week. Society is geared towards family life, since that is the accepted norm: the average British woman has 1.9 children. Those who do not fit this accepted status are often viewed with suspicion: seen as less nurturing and caring, more narcissistic. Selfish. Sociologist Louis Wirth defined a minority group as: "a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination." I regularly experience discrimination, prejudice, lack of empathy and understanding, a "them and us" attitude from many parents, and general social ostracisation. This is despite the fact that, like many of those belonging to minorities, I attempted to conform. I longed to be Mrs Average; to fit in. I tried my hardest to join the eight in 10 women who are mothers. I wanted to chat about buggy brands and breastfeeding with my besties, not sit squirming on the sidelines whilst everyone discusses potty training, or how to get their offspring to eat vegetables. People are attracted to those they have something in common with, so it stands to reason that parents seek out other parents - not least for validation and reassurance. Attempts by childless women to contribute to conversations about child-rearing are generally met with dismissal and disdain (it's understandable - what would I know about the reality of sleepless nights and toddler tantrums?). It's inevitable that even the strongest and longest of friendships are altered forever when one party becomes a parent. Later, the conversation shifts to schools, exam results, puberty and boyfriends. Their children are becoming adults. The next stage in this lifelong test will be my friends becoming proud grandparents, and the entire cycle of social exclusion will start again. Of course, I'm fully aware that compared to those from other minorities, I could be considered one of the lucky ones. My minority group membership is invisible (initially at least, until I get asked those dreaded questions: "so, how old are yours then? Boys or girls?"). I won't get called a "freak" or have racial abuse hurled at me in the street. But on the flip side, nor will I receive any concessions or allowances based on the fact I'm from a minority group, since it's not obvious that I'm part of one. Contrary to appearances, I DO know how it feels to be excluded; to be eyed with suspicion, curiosity or disapproval; to be made to feel "less than." We are not as different as you might think. So next time you see me in the street, remember: there's always more to any situation than meets the eye - even for a privileged white, middle-aged woman like me... Are you a Non-Mum like myself? Would you like to join like-minded women to discuss everything Non-Mum-related? Join my club, The Non-Mum Network here. You can find other related articles, along with many other topics, over on my blog Life: A Bird's Eye View. Follow me: Facebook: @lifeabirdseyeview Instagram: @lifeabirdseyeview

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post UK, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Via Samantha Walsh http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/

[biofunmy]

A Forecast for a Warming World: Learn to Live With Fire

SAN FRANCISCO — Facing down 600 wildfires in the past three days alone, emergency workers rushed to evacuate tens of thousands of people in Southern California on Thursday as a state utility said one of its major transmission lines broke near the source of the out-of-control Kincade blaze in Northern California.

The Kincade fire, the largest this week, tore through steep canyons in the wine country of northern Sonoma County, racing across 16,000 acres within hours of igniting. Wind gusts pushed the fire through forests like blow torches, leaving firefighters with little opportunity to stop or slow down the walls of flames tromping across wild lands and across highways overnight.

And north of Los Angeles, 50,000 people were evacuated as strong winds swept fires into the canyons of Santa Clarita, threatening many homes.

Aerial footage of the Kincade fire showed homes engulfed in flames propelled by high winds that could become even stronger in the coming days. But beyond the destruction, which appeared limited on Thursday to several dozen buildings, hundreds of thousands of people were affected, both by the fires and a deliberate blackout meant to prevent them. Schools and businesses closed and thousands of people evacuated their homes.

All this is happening after three straight years of record-breaking fires that researchers say are likely to continue in a warming world and which raise an important question: How to live in an ecosystem that is primed to burn?

“I think the perception is that we’re supposed to control them. But in a lot of cases we cannot,” said John Abatzoglou, an associate professor at the University of Idaho. “And that may allow us to think a little bit differently about how we live with fire. We call it wildfire for reason — it’s not domesticated fire.”

According to the National Climate Assessment, the government report that summarizes present and future effects of a warming climate on the United States, fire is a growing problem. Climate change will lead to more wildfires nationwide as hotter temperatures dry out plants, making them easier to ignite.

The total area burned in a single year by wildfires in the United States has only exceeded 13,900 square miles — an area larger than the country of Belgium — four times since the middle of last century. All four times have happened this decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.

“There is anger in the community,” said Michael Gossman, the deputy county administrator of Sonoma County’s office of recovery and resilience, in an interview this year. In 2017 his California county was devastated by the Sonoma Complex fires, which killed 24 and burned more than 170 square miles. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the conditions this week were analogous to those of 2017.

Many residents in Northern California faced a twin threat on Thursday: fires, but also the deliberate power outages meant to mitigate the blazes. Both the Kincade fire and a small fire that ignited Thursday morning, the Spring fire, occurred in or near areas where the state utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, had turned off the power.

The fires “brought out some longer standing institutional issues around equity,” Mr. Gossman said. Critics say electricity cutoffs disproportionately harm low-income people who cannot afford solar and battery backup systems or gas-based generators, as well as sick and disabled people who rely on electricity to run life-saving medical equipment.

Although winds in California were forecast to subside later on Thursday, officials warned that the extreme winds and dry conditions that create high risk for fires could return on Sunday. This is why government agencies are preparing themselves to deal with fires that are increasingly seen as inevitable.

Prescribed burns, or planned fires, like one set last spring on Brawley Mountain in Georgia in Southern Appalachia roughly 100 miles north of Atlanta, are often seen as part of the solution.

The idea that fire could itself be used to help fight fire and restore ecosystems first gained institutional acceptance in the South. In 1958 a policy change was made to allow for the first prescribed burn in a national park, at Everglades National Park in Florida.

For some time, the practice remained anomalous outside of the South. But within the south, according to Nathan Klaus, a senior wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, even private landowners would occasionally set smaller, controlled fires on their property.

Before the era of fire suppression, north Georgia around Brawley Mountain used to burn roughly every three to five years, according to Dr. Klaus. Those blazes allowed species that could withstand some fire, like the longleaf pine, to proliferate and flourish, shaping local ecosystems.

Some of those fires were caused by natural events like lightning; others were caused by human activity. The Forest Service notes that Native Americans used prescribed burns to help with food production. These smaller fires act as a kind of incendiary rake, clearing out grasses, shrubs and other plant matter before they can overgrow to become fuel for bigger, more extreme fires.

Dave Martin, who oversees fire and aviation management in the Forest Service’s southern region, said that a prescribed burn costs about $30 to $35 an acre — versus spending about $1,000 dollars an acre for putting out a fire. “The cost of suppressing a fire is more than a prescribed burn,” he said.

It was a combination of forest overgrowth and drought conditions that helped fuel Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains Fires in 2016, which killed at least 14 people. Several fires burned across eight southeastern states that year, the same year Kansas experienced the largest wildfire in its history to date. That blaze, the Anderson Creek prairie fire, which also affected Oklahoma, blackened some 625 square miles.

The 2016 wildfires also allowed researchers to compare fire intensity between areas that had undergone a prescribed burn and those that had not. The fires in areas that had undergone prescribed were less intense. “It went from a 20- to 30-foot breaking front,” said Dr. Klaus in reference to the height of the leading edge of the blaze on wild lands that had not burned, “to two to three feet.”

Reintroducing fire to the land is more complex than lighting a match. You cannot burn where people live, for example. But nationwide, housing near wild lands is the fastest growing land-use type in the United States. More people are moving into areas that are more likely to burn, and in some cases they may oppose prescribed burning.

“Part of doing this work means educating local communities,” said Mike Brod, the fire and natural resources staff officer of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.

And there are limits to prescribed burning. If conditions are too wet, a fire won’t ignite, but if it’s too dry, the fire is hard to contain. Like Goldilocks, for wild land managers the conditions have to be just right. This includes not just the wind’s speed, which can affect the spread of a fire, but also its direction.

And once the burn starts, its smoke can travel great distances. Smoke from last year’s California’s wildfires not only threw a haze over much of the state, but transformed sunsets as far away as Washington, D.C. On Thursday, NOAA warned residents of the Bay Area that “shifting winds tomorrow will likely cause the smoke to be directly over much of the region,” as a result of the Kincade fire.

So during planned burns great pains have to be taken to make sure that the smoke is directed away from population centers. “If the smoke isn’t doing what we want it to do, we’ll shut it down,” said Nick Peters, the acting district fire management officer for the Chattooga River ranger district in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests.

The particulates in wildfire smoke are similar to the kind of pollution that gets released from burning gasoline or coal. Called PM 2.5, the tiny particles are associated with negative health effects. Out west, the rise of giant wildfires has worsened air pollution enough to erode some of the air-quality gains from the Clean Air Act.

Earlier this year NOAA and NASA launched a mission to learn more about wildfire smoke. The program flew planes into western wildfires and Midwestern agricultural fires throughout the summer and into the fall.

A lot of wildfire and climate research is divided into two camps: observational modelers (who run large computer simulations) and researchers (who gather observational data using sophisticated monitors) said Rajan Chakrabarty, an assistant professor at the Washington University in St. Louis. The goal of the mission was to bridge that gap.

But flying into a fire is not for the weak bellied. As the plane flies through a blaze, the cabin fills with the smell of smoke evocative of a barbecue or a campfire. And sampling a fire plume often involves the kind of rollicking, stomach churning turbulence that commercial flights go out of their way to avoid.

By taking samples during an active fire, scientists hope to understand what’s in the smoke, and how the chemical makeup changes over time.

“This air is getting blown downwind, so it’s going to impact areas outside of just where the fire was burning,” said Hannah Halliday, a researcher at NASA Langley, who also participated in the mission. “And we have models for how emissions change, but we want to make sure that we have that chemistry right, and the physics right.”

The hope is that, over the long term, the smoke models will be as sophisticated as weather models, and can let people know well in advance when they’ll need to prepare for smoke, even if they are relatively far from the site of a fire.

For more news on climate and the environment, follow @NYTClimate on Twitter.

Thomas Fuller reported from San Francisco. Kendra Pierre-Louis reported from Brawley Mountain, Ga., and Idaho.

Sahred From Source link Science

from WordPress http://bit.ly/330Ui6n via IFTTT

[happyldsgirl]

The Parable of the Divers

"Many years ago, when I was somewhere between nine and eleven, I participated in a community summer recreation program in the town where I grew up. I remember in particular a diving competition for the different age groups held at the community swimming pool. Some of the wealthier kids in our area had their own pools with diving boards, and they were pretty good amateur divers. But there was one kid my age from the less affluent part of town who didn’t have his own pool. What he had was raw courage. While the rest of us did our crisp little swan dives, back dives, and jackknives, being ever so careful to arch our backs and point our toes, this young man attempted back flips, one-and-a-halfs, doubles, and so on. But, oh, he was sloppy. He seldom kept his feet together, he never pointed his toes, and he usually missed his vertical entry. The rest of us observed with smug satisfaction as the judges held up their scorecards that he consistently got lower marks than we did with our safe and simple dives, and we congratulated ourselves that we were actually the better divers. “He is all heart and no finesse,” we told ourselves. “After all, we keep our feet together and point our toes.”

The announcement of the winners was a great shock to us, for the brave young lad with the flips had apparently beaten us all. However, I had kept rough track of the scores in my head, and I knew with the arrogance of limited information that the math didn’t add up. I had consistently outscored the boy with the flips. And so, certain that an injustice was being perpetrated, I stormed the scorer’s table and demanded and explanation. “Degree of difficulty,” the scorer replied matter-of-factly as he looked me in the eye. “Sure, you had better form, but he did harder dives. When you factor in the degree of difficulty, he beat you hands down, kid.” Until that moment I hadn’t known that some dives were awarded “extra credit” because of their greater difficulty. (See D&C 82:3 and Luke 21:1-4.)

I have a friend to whom life has been unkind. Though she married in the temple, her husband proved unfaithful and eventually abandoned her and their small children. Since he has never paid a penny in child support, my friend works full time to support herself and her kids. For several years she also went to school at night to improve her financial situation. Therefore, out of necessity, she could not be with her children as much as she would have liked and could not always give them the guidance and discipline they needed. It just wasn't possible in her difficult circumstances. One result of her less-than-perfect family situation was troubled teenagers. Now in middle age she is faced with raising some of her grandchildren--again, alone. Without a faithful companion, without the priesthood in her home, without the blessings that are realized where the ideal family setting is possible, it is almost inevitable that my friend should feel that her "scores" as a wife and mother, and perhaps even as a person, aren't very high. When she goes to church and sees other "ideal" LDS families, when she hears them bear their testimonies and give thanks for all their spiritual and temporal blessings, she sees in her mind the judges holding up scorecards that say 9.9 or 10.0. When she looks at her own life, her own failed marriage, her own troubled children, she knows that the scores are much lower, and she worries about her place in the kingdom.

Whenever I am tempted to feel superior to other Saints, the parable of the divers comes to my mind, and I repent. At least at a swim meet, we can usually tell which dives are the most difficult. But here in mortality, we cannot always tell who is carrying what burdens: limited intelligence, chemical depression, compulsive behaviors, learning disabilities, dysfunctional or abusive family background, poor health, physical or psychological handicaps—no one chooses these things. So I must not judge my brothers and sisters. I am thankful for my blessings but not smug about them, for I never want to hear the Scorer say to me, “Sure, you had better form, but she had a harder life. When you factor in degree of difficulty, she beat you hands down.”

So, enduring to the end doesn't have much to do with suffering in silence, overcoming all life's obstacles, or even achieving the LDS ideal ("pointing our toes" and "keeping our feet together"). It just means not giving up. It means keeping- to the best of our abilities- the commitments we made to Christ when we entered into the marriage of the gospel. It means not divorcing the Savior or cheating on him by letting some other love become more important in our lives. It means not rejecting the blessings of the atonement that he showered upon us when we entered his church and kingdom.

- Stephen E. Robinson, from the book entitled Following Christ

[contadorharrison]

‘Mermaid thighs’?…….‘thigh gap’ forever

Since the world’s most popular tabloid The Sun published a story about ‘mermaid thighs’ versus the ‘gap thigh’ there has been heated debates on social and mainstream media about which of the two is the best.Those fighting obesity and over weight supported the ‘mermaid thighs’ while those like me who detest fatness, defended the ‘gap thigh’ with passion it deserved.I don’t condone discrimination of any sort let alone the people who are deemed overweight or obese who number hundreds of millions and almost all of them suffer discrimination, prejudice and humiliation from different fronts.Social media postings on obesity constantly display photographs of fat bodies with their heads cropped off such the “brainless fatty”, “headless fatty” representations among others and commonly use derogatory expressions ranging from “lazy” and “flabby” to “fat arses” and “unsightly slobs”.Weight stigma has significant effects on fat people’s lives. Compared with others, fat people are statistically more likely to live in poverty, earn less income or be unemployed, have lower education levels, be employed in lower status jobs and experience lower living standards.Female in professional occupations are particularly discriminated against in the workplace if they are overweight, failing to reach the higher echelons compared with thinner colleagues.In social terms, fat women receive less respect from others and are often subjected to derogatory humour and pejorative comments from co workers, friends and family members and, in public settings, from strangers. Most of male friends I know always openly admit to being “repulsed” by fat people.In elementary school days, i remember how fat children were subjected to greater harassment and prejudice than us who were slim, and most of them experience ostracism, teasing and bullying to a greater extent. Interestingly, even some parents i knew favoured thinner children over their bigger ones.Those who are pro ‘mermaid thighs’ have their right to support it but logically, there is no way ‘thigh gap’ phenomenon will ever be replaced in a world where almost a third of population are shapeless because of extended waistlines.

In a society in which most people understand that discriminating overtly against social groups such as women, people of minority ethnic or racial groups, gays and lesbians and people with disabilities is wrong, and where such discrimination is legally prohibited, fat people are apparently fair game.But when it comes to women selection, few blokes will go for a fat woman and even Lesbians like ‘thigh gap.’ My views are not a hostility and lack of compassion towards fat people with ‘mermaid thigh’ but its a true reflection of the world we live in.Truth be told, whether in developed or developing countries, there is apparent urge on the part of many to shame and blame women who are deemed to carry too much flesh.Fat women are culturally represented as inferior, deficient, ugly and disgusting. These meanings have developed over many years, derived from the Christian idea that the disciplined body is closer to God which means those who are fat are close to satan than God…no pun intended. We live in a more secular society that it was in 20th century but the value of self-discipline, read thigh gap, and how it is reflected in body depends on size and shape.Other ideas are derived from public health that an obesity epidemic has emerged globally that it is predicted will lead to higher rates of disease and premature mortality. Intensive mass and online media coverage of this issue has led to the idea that fat people with ‘Mermaid thighs’ are not only ill disciplined but also inevitably sick and physically unfit, regardless of where they fall on the body weight spectrum.Fat women are viewed as deserving of their fate because of their apparent lack of self-control and therefore i don’t see ‘mermaid thigh’ can be better option for majority of blokes. No doubt fat women are also often represented as leeches by attracting higher health care costs which ‘thigh gap’ types work hard for to pay taxes that instead of being used in building new railways end up paying the bills of the fast arses. This is the reasoning used to justify fat stigmatisation which i don’t approve but facts must be laid bare. Women who identify as fat or overweight like ‘mermaid thighs’ types are highly aware of the moral failure that their bodies represent.Studies on fat women has identified the shame they may feel about their bodies, and the social humiliation to which they are often exposed by others.

In a July 2016 case, an overweight friend told me about his emotional distress at being laughed at by some young boys while sitting in the sun in his shorts while on summer holiday in Spain and they could see him and they were laughing and joking and carrying on and it was only as they got past that I realised that they were laughing at me, about how fat I was.Fat women like those women with ‘mermaid thighs’ often express highly negative thoughts about their bodies and often feel very self-conscious about going out in public since they are highly aware that others are examining and making judgements about what and how they’re eating. Those women with ‘mermaid thighs’ feel out of place, open to mockery and very exposed. Given the discrimination to which fat women are subjected, it’s not surprising they’re more likely than others to suffer from depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, which in turn may lead to a greater likelihood that they will eat for comfort and continue maintaining ‘mermaid thighs’….. The combination of experiencing stigma based on body weight and accompanying diminished social status causes continuing stress for the ‘mermaid thighs’ but that hardly happens to ‘thigh gap’ women who always get the best paying jobs, have a good life and are more likely to be successful in life three times more compared to the fat women. The lack of opportunity to exercise and consume a high-quality diet, ‘mermaid thighs’ exposure to stress may result in illness and disease as statistics show. Just visit twitter and you will see why fat shaming is all about seeing fat people as human beings who should be hurt and humiliated by their actions.Others simply don’t care about this in their belief that fat people deserve what they get for their supposed inability to control their urges and their lack of conformity to idealised notions of physical attractiveness.When I told a female friend few years back that I would rather be dead than be obese or overweight, she described me as one of those bigots who represents a group of thinkers who lack understanding, compassion and tolerance for bodily difference.When I sought her views while writing this article, she declined to comment only stating that both ‘mermaid thighs’ and ‘thigh gap’ offer the same menu however different the taste is.This story originally appeared here.