#dangerously unqualified

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Aaron Sibarium

Published: May 23, 2024

Up to half of UCLA medical students now fail basic tests of medical competence. Whistleblowers say affirmative action, illegal in California since 1996, is to blame.

Long considered one of the best medical schools in the world, the University of California, Los Angeles's David Geffen School of Medicine receives as many as 14,000 applications a year. Of those, it accepted just 173 students in the 2023 admissions cycle, a record-low acceptance rate of 1.3 percent. The median matriculant took difficult science courses in college, earned a 3.8 GPA, and scored in the 88th percentile on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).

Without those stellar stats, some doctors at the school say, students can struggle to keep pace with the demanding curriculum.

So when it came time for the admissions committee to consider one such student in November 2021—a black applicant with grades and test scores far below the UCLA average—some members of the committee felt that this particular candidate, based on the available evidence, was not the best fit for the top-tier medical school, according to two people present for the committee's meeting.

Their reservations were not well-received.

When an admissions officer voiced concern about the candidate, the two people said, the dean of admissions, Jennifer Lucero, exploded in anger.

"Did you not know African-American women are dying at a higher rate than everybody else?" Lucero asked the admissions officer, these people said. The candidate's scores shouldn't matter, she continued,  because "we need people like this in the medical school."

Even before the Supreme Court's landmark affirmative action ban last year, public schools in California were barred by state law from considering race in admissions. The outburst from Lucero, who discussed race explicitly despite that ban, unsettled some admissions officers, one of whom reached out to other committee members in the wake of the incident. "We are not consistent in the way we apply the metrics to these applicants," the official wrote in an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "This is troubling."

"I wondered," the official added, "if this applicant had been [a] white male, or [an] Asian female for that matter, [whether] we would have had that much discussion."

Since Lucero took over medical school admissions in June 2020, several of her colleagues have asked the same question. In interviews with the Free Beacon and complaints to UCLA officials, including investigators in the university's Discrimination Prevention Office, faculty members with firsthand knowledge of the admissions process say it has prioritized diversity over merit, resulting in progressively less qualified classes that are now struggling to succeed.

Race-based admissions have turned UCLA into a "failed medical school," said one former member of the admissions staff. "We want racial diversity so badly, we're willing to cut corners to get it."

This story is based on written correspondence between UCLA officials, internal data on student performance, and interviews with eight professors at the medical school—six of whom have worked with or under Lucero on medical student and residency admissions.

Together, they provide an unprecedented account of how racial preferences, outlawed in California since 1996, have nonetheless continued, upending academic standards at one of the top medical schools in the country. The school has consequently taken a hit in the rankings and seen a sharp rise in the number of students failing basic standardized tests, raising concerns about their clinical competence.

"I have students on their rotation who don't know anything," a member of the admissions committee told the Free Beacon. "People get in and they struggle."

It is almost unheard of for admissions officials to go public, even anonymously, and provide a window into confidential deliberations, much less to accuse their colleagues of breaking the law or lowering standards. They've agreed to come forward anyway, several officials told the Free Beacon, because the results of Lucero's push for diversity have been so alarming.

"I wouldn't normally talk to a reporter," a UCLA faculty member said. "But there's no way to stop this without embarrassing the medical school."

Within three years of Lucero's hiring in 2020, UCLA dropped from 6th to 18th place in U.S. News & World Report's rankings for medical research. And in some of the cohorts she admitted, more than 50 percent of students failed standardized tests on emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics.

Those tests, known as shelf exams, which are typically taken at the end of each clinical rotation, measure basic medical knowledge and play a pivotal role in residency applications. Though only 5 percent of students fail each test nationally, the rates are much higher at UCLA, having increased tenfold in some subjects since 2020, according to internal data obtained by the Free Beacon.

That uptick coincided with a steep drop in the number of Asian matriculants and tracks the subjective impressions of faculty who say that students have never been more poorly prepared.

One professor said that a student in the operating room could not identify a major artery when asked, then berated the professor for putting her on the spot. Another said that students at the end of their clinical rotations don't know basic lab tests and, in some cases, are unable to present patients.

"I don't know how some of these students are going to be junior doctors," the professor said. "Faculty are seeing a shocking decline in knowledge of medical students."

And for those who've seen the competency crisis up close, double standards in admissions are a big part of the problem. "All the normal criteria for getting into medical school only apply to people of certain races," an admissions officer said. "For other people, those criteria are completely disregarded."

Led by Lucero, who also serves as the vice chair for equity, diversity, and inclusion of UCLA's anesthesiology department, the admissions committee routinely gives black and Latino applicants a pass for subpar metrics, four people who served on it said, while whites and Asians need near perfect scores to even be considered.

The bar for underrepresented minorities is "as low as you could possibly imagine," one committee member told the Free Beacon. "It completely disregards grades and achievements."

Lucero did not respond to a request for comment.

Several officials said that they support holistic admissions and don't believe test scores should be judged in isolation. The problem, as they see it, is that the committee is not just weighing academic merit against community service or considering how much time a given student had to study for the MCAT. For certain applicants, they say, hardship and community service seem to be the only things that matter to the majority of the committee's 20-30 members, many of whom were handpicked by Lucero, according to people familiar with the selection process.

"We were always outnumbered," an admissions officer told the Free Beacon, referring to committee members who expressed concern about low grades. "Other people would get upset when we brought up GPA."

Lucero hasn't been kind to dissenters. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, six people who've worked with her described a pattern of racially charged incidents that has dispirited officials and pushed some of them to resign from the committee.

She has lashed out at officials who question the qualifications of minority candidates, five sources said, suggesting naysayers are "privileged," implying that they are racist, and subjecting them to diversity training sessions.

After a Native American applicant was rejected in 2021, for example, Lucero chewed out the committee and made members sit through a two-hour lecture on Native history delivered by her own sister, according to three people familiar with the incident. No applications were reviewed that day, an official present for the lecture said.

In the anesthesiology department, where Lucero helps rank applicants to the department's residency program, she has rebuffed calls to blind the race of candidates, telling colleagues in a January 2023 email that, despite California's ban on racial preferences, "we are not required to blind any information."

That alone could get UCLA in legal trouble, according to Adam Mortara, the lead trial lawyer for the plaintiffs in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court case that outlawed affirmative action nationwide.

Asking for information about an applicant's race when "no lawful use can be made of it" is "presumptively illegal," Mortara said. "You can't have evidence of overt discrimination like this and not have someone come forward" as a plaintiff.

Lucero has even advocated moving candidates up or down the residency rank list based on race. At a meeting in February 2022, according to two people present, Lucero demanded that a highly qualified white male be knocked down several spots because, as she put it, "we have too many of his kind" already. She also told doctors who voiced concern that they had no right to an opinion because they were "not BIPOC," sources said, and insisted that a Hispanic applicant who had performed poorly on her anesthesiology rotation in medical school should be bumped up. Neither candidate was ultimately moved.

Lucero's comments from the meeting were flagged in an email to UCLA's Discrimination Prevention Office, which has received several complaints about her since 2023, emails show. The office has declined to act on those complaints on the grounds that they aren't "serious enough" to merit an investigation, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The Discrimination Prevention Office did not respond to a request for comment.

The focus on racial diversity has coincided with a dramatic shift in the racial and ethnic composition of the medical school, where the number of Asian matriculants fell by almost a third between 2019 and 2022, according to publicly available data. No other elite medical school in California saw a similar decline.

As the demographics of UCLA have changed, the number of students failing their shelf exams has soared, trends professors at the medical school say are connected.

Between 2020, the year Lucero assumed her post, and 2023, when the first classes she admitted were taking their shelf exams, the failure rate rose dramatically across all subjects, in some cases increasing tenfold relative to the 2020 baseline, per internal data obtained by the Free Beacon.

"UCLA still produces some very good graduates," one professor said. "But a third to a half of the medical school is incredibly unqualified."

The collapse in qualifications has been compounded by UCLA's decision, in 2020, to condense its preclinical curriculum from two years to one in order to add more time for research and community service. That means students arrive at their clinical rotations with just a year of courses under their belt—some of which focus less on science than social justice.

First-year students spend three to four hours every other week in "Structural Racism and Health Equity," a required class that covers topics like "fatphobia," has featured anti-Semitic speakers, and is now the subject of an internal review. They spend an additional seven hours a week in "Foundations of Practice," which includes units on "interpersonal communication skills" and, according to one medical student, basically "tells us how to be a good person." The two courses eat up time that could be spent on physiology or anatomy, professors say, and leave struggling students with fewer hours to learn the basics.

"This has been a colossal failure," one professor posted in April on a forum for medical school applicants. "The new curriculum is not working and the students are grossly unprepared for clinical rotations."

Nearly a fourth of UCLA medical students in the class of 2025 have failed three or more shelf exams, data from the school show, forcing some students to repeat classes and persuading others to postpone a different test, the Step 2 licensing exam, that is typically taken in the third year of medical school and is a prerequisite for most residency programs.

Around 20 percent of UCLA students have not taken Step 2 by January of their fourth year, according to the data. Ten percent have not even taken the more basic Step 1—an "extremely high number," one professor said, that will force many students to extend medical school.

"It's a combination of a bad curriculum and bad selection," another professor said, referring to the admissions process. Some students are accepted with GPAs so low "they shouldn't even be applying."

UCLA did not respond to a request for comment.

As medical schools around the country adjust to the Supreme Court's affirmative action ban, the experience of UCLA offers a preview of how administrators may skirt the law and devise public-spirited excuses for violating it.

Lucero has told the admissions committee that each class should "represent" the "diversity" of California, including its remote and rural areas, so that graduating students will return to their hometowns and beef up the medical infrastructure there, officials say.

Race is rarely mentioned outright, and unlike the committee for anesthesiology residents, the committee for students does not see the race or ethnicity of applicants.

Instead, officials say, Lucero uses proxies like zip codes and euphemisms like "disadvantaged" to shut down criticism of unqualified candidates, citing a finding from the Association of American Medical Colleges that, technically, most students with below-average MCATs make it to their second year of medical school. How well they do after that point goes undiscussed and undisclosed.

"We have asked for metrics on how these folks actually do," one committee member said. "None of that is ever divulged to us."

==

Hope your next doctor isn't from UCLA.

Wokeness has a body count.

[zaffiri-saffici]

Thinking about how tragic it was for the soul of the Earth to be consumed by man but how from that tragedy new power grew of god-like capacity. Thinking about the juxtaposition between a god-like man consuming the soul of a planet, becoming an all-powerful, nearly immortal but ageless being. And how that god-like human was granted power over other bodies and bones and souls, to do with what he wished. And how he shared this knowledge (some, not all) with his closest comrades, but failed to make any mention of the potential they too could uncover like he. So he named them Saints in his worship.

Thinking about how when this god-like man faced the destruction of an entire solar system, he very abruptly stripped the souls of nine planets in their resurrection, creating monsters from their ashes. A swarm of Beasts who continued to haunt him and chase both him and his Saints for thousands of years. And it is by His hand these Beasts continue to exist and continue to haunt and haunt and haunt, at the expense of both himself and his dearest, unknowing Saints.

Thinking about how close he keeps the secret of the First Beast to his chest away from his beloved Saints of worship, who possess power like he but not nearly to the same degree. And how endless their quest to destroy these beasts must feel as they attempt to atone for the sins of their god-like man who has chosen to reveal only so much.

Maybe, just maybe, the solution is not to destroy more planets, to take more life — rather, they must consume the beasts whole and eat, and eat, and eat like this god-like man once did to obtain his god-like power.

Perhaps, that is the ultimate tragedy of it all, and the burden of this god-like man’s secret.

That while the resurgence of humanity worships his status and only His, it is only because he lacks the honesty — the selflessness — to create more god-like souls of his own, and so he too has fallen victim to the extent of his power over bodies and souls and bones for far, far, far too long.

[carolinelikesdinner]

I was thinking about MOTPI and that one scene where Ronodin is like,

"Would you forgive a killer for not knowing how a gun functioned? How many would have to die before you stopped pardoning his ignorance?”

And I was just like. The answer is literally just to take the gun away dude. Turn the safety on. Maybe give the fucking guy a gun safety class?? This is not rocket science.

[falllpoutboy]

everybody talks about arya or jon’s plot armor but nobody talks about gendry’s

[penname-artist]

Listen man, they just leave and come back with headcanons, like stray cats leaving dead mice on my porch at two in the morning, okay? It’s not my fault that Kittyhawk just DECIDED this was his shit now. Anyways, here’s a few headcanons because I want him to shut the fuck up back here.

-Out of all the current day carriers, Kitty is probably one of the least professional among them. He’s a bit of an oddball out compared to the rest of them (as seen above) simply from his more laid-back, easygoing nature and “dad qualities”

-I’m willing to wager that because of the above, he’s probably also among the least qualified to have even upgraded to such a status. Or if he was, he only just barely squeaked by on it, and it kinda shows.

-He’s not actually a dad, though that’s probably something he would have liked to be pre-decision. But he is a kid guy, and a complete softie. Would probably make immediate besties with Dusty if he ever visited.

-Flysenhower is likely the first, if not only other carrier he’s actually gotten really close with, purely because while Flysenhower is his polar opposite, he’s still empathetic, and rather humbled by Kitty’s carefree vibe (just...he never admits that).

-In a humanized format, I literally think that he has a nature like OFMD’s Stede Bonnet. Truly, he has the vibe. (I bet you can guess then who Blackbeard’s equivalent is. By the way, hopefully, I will be making a short drabble around that like...one day. When I stop being burnt out and sad about my shriveled up brain)

-Naturally a *little* clumsy

-Would be the guy to wear Hawaiian flower shirts

-Has also probably had like three different mid-life and late-life crises, and the abrupt break in his bubbly nature to become practically depressed has put Flysenhower in a panic on more than one occasion.

[the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

I (finally) finished Season one during my 7 hour long train ride, and since nobody asked, here's a new summary.

The Magnus Archives but I've finished season one (and that didn't help with the confusion)

There's Jon. He's an Archivist, and he got that anxiety rizz™

He also sounds like his life would crumbie in pieces if he doesn't have a seventh cup of coffee before the sun rises.

I can relate.

One of the causes of his anxiety seems to be his least favourite colleague, Martin.

Martin is described as unqualified, suspected to be a ghost and sent into various deadly situations.

He also sleeps in Jalapeño's bed.

I FUCKING LOVE GERARD KEAY

Everyone works in a modern remake of the Library of Alexandria, which would be very cool if there weren't a lot of murderous creatures.

(there are a lot of murderous creatures)

And worms. Would we still love them if they were human? Probably not.

Everything is ruled by a guy named Elias Bouchard. Everyone told me that he's nice.

In what world is a guy named fucking Bouchard nice?

Jane Prentiss is spreading the worm agenda.

SHE DESERVED MORE THAN THAT HELP IS THERE A CHARITY WHERE I CAN GIVE HER A VIRTUAL HUG???

Michael the eldritch horror is very lovely.

OH AND I DIDN'T TELL YOU BUT JALAPEÑO USES THE TAPE RECORDER CAUSE THE STATEMENTS DON'T WORK ON COMPUTER. THERE'S A REASON BEHIND ALL THAT.

That also means that there are statements that can be recorded on the computer and that we therefore don't see. I want to know what they're about.

#JusticeForSasha2k24

I am still lost in the English names.

Gerard Keay still burns books.

But that's ok, cause they're evil books from BLOODY JÜRGEN LEITNER I HATE JÜRGEN LEITNER DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS USELESS PIECE OF SHITTY OLD PARCHMENT WHEN HE WAS BORN HIS MOTHER CRIED AND SHOULD HAVE STRANGLED HIM I WISH HE GOES TO HELL ALTHOUGH NO HE WOULD RUIN THE GAY PARTY HAPPENING THERE I WISH HE DISAPPEARED IN THE COFFIN WE SEE AT THE BEGINNING AND WENT ON A CRUISE IN PETER LUKAS' BOAT GOD I HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS LITERARY DISHONOUR. Fuck you, Leitner.

Hmm, yeah. Sorry. Where was I?

Season one's over, still no trace of the queer rep I was teased with.

Although, that may be a good thing, given the fact that as soon as a gay appears, they get killed/ replaced/ vanished by by some antique object.

Does that mean antique objects are homophobes?

Although these antiques come from Salesa's shop. Perhaps Salesa's the real straight supremacist here.

Selling dangerous items seems like a rentable activity tho. I should do the same.

Starting from now. Does anyone want a totally-not-illegal coffin? Antique dolls? You get your money back if they kill you.

So...uh...yeah. Good show. Amazing sound effects. Watch it. Wahoo.

[jay-wasstuff]

Vanessa did a great job as a police officer by:

Neglecting her duties (to hang with Mike and Abby),

Not patrolling/being stationed where she was needed,

Wrongfully threatening to shoot a civilian (not due to legally reasonable reasons),

Protecting and preventing suspects/criminals from facing justice due to favourtism,

Obstructing justice by not turning in her father (child serial killer) and withholding/tampering evidence,

Supplying an untrained/unqualified civilian with police weapons,

Did I mention wrongfully threatening to shoot an unarmed/harmless citizen?

Tasking a civilian to perform police duty in taking down a highly dangerous criminal/suspect,

Refusing to aid a civilian in danger or preventing the danger,

Hesitating to take down her child serial killing father (who also held a knife pointed at her but was happy to threaten Mike because he was endangering his sister??? So you want to shoot Mike for that but your father...nevermind, at least she eventually shot him),

Committing medicine theft or destruction of property and disposing of it improperly. (Prescription medication is a difficult adjustment for your body whether you begin it or stop it as well as being a burden on your finances and she just....threw it).

[archerygun]

Do not let Walter Peck find out about the unqualified pyromancer hanging around dangerous untested equipment.

[memecucker]

My dad is a "Porn Addiction Coach". He called himself a counsellor for a while but I guess he found out he can't legally call himself that.

The man has zero training in mental health of any kind. He's a pastor, but he didn't even go to seminary. He has a business degree. That's. It. He hasn't ever even been to an actual, science-based therapist before. Some of the other people he's cited have "degrees" from a Christian "university" that was shut down for fraud for lying and telling their students that they definitely had pending accreditation. These are the people who have spent decades pushing the idea of porn addiction.

Which leaves us with a real catch-22. If porn addiction is fake, he's a vulture making money off of giving people bad and false mental health advice, making them feel like an addict (something that our society treats with a lot of shame) and therefore making the shame-based problem way, way worse. But even if porn addiction is a real thing...he wouldn't be fucking qualified to treat it.

But treating it has never been the point. It's been to reclassify porn away from being a form of artistic expression that has all these pesky protections through stuff like free speech laws, towards it being treated like a narcotic that can be prohibited "for our own good." The people with compulsive behavioural issues have never and will never be the point, which is why the discourse surrounding this topic--even among the left, who know for a damn fact how much of a racist tire fire the war on drugs was and the danger of dehumanizing addicted people--always treats people with "porn addiction" with open disdain.

Honestly that’s a good point that if “porn addiction” is real then why are the “therapists” for it so often so unqualified?

And yeah like, it’s very interesting how “porn addiction treatment” doesn’t resemble harm reduction strategies addictions that are proven to be better than this type of stuff.

[diejager]

Chapter 1

Pairing : Simon “Ghost” Riley x fem!reader

Cw: none in this chapter.

Series masterlist

Laswell had informed their Task Force after the briefing that a newly appointed sergeant, both she and Price had specifically chosen them, picked them from the mass of qualified and unqualified soldiers in the SAS to join the Special ops Task Force 141. It had taken Laswell a few days to have the transfer approved by Lieutenant General Shepherd; which he did.

They had a week to prepare for their arrival and the mystery sergeant that they would share barracks and bunks with them. Soap had droned about their gender, their name, their callsign - Winter, Price told them when he searched for them in the Mess Hall - and their personality. Gaz and Roach both shared his excitement, remembering that the last time that someone new joined them - Roach - was a few years or so.

They seemed like young high school girls gushing about a cute boy or a pretty girl they saw walking down the hall, so much excitement and mirth.

When the time came, Soap had forced Ghost to meet them at the landing site, wanting to be the first team in the base to greet their new member. Ghost grumbled behind the trio, a brooding figure following his brothers. He was guarded, eyes glazed over with wariness as he waited behind the 141 once Price met up before the aircraft landed.

Time seemed to stretch as they watched it land, engines stopped before the cargo door opened slowly. Ghost could hear a low thank you with steady steps echoing around the hatch, his mind swam with everything he had read about them - her, you.

Ghost had asked Price for your file, wanting to know who he would have to meet and work with, suspicion and alert for any dangers that you would bring. He remembers reading it over and over again days prior to your arrival, committing every little piece of information to his mind. Your name was (Name) (L/N) - callsign Winter - a woman with a long list of successful deployments as a sniper and infiltration specialist, both things he saw worth in; however, the added note of combat medic made your skills twice as important.

None of them were well versed in medical care, finding the knowledge of basic care enough to push past the dangers of bullets and grenades. If you were as skilled as your file implied, Ghost would be able to stop worrying so much about Soap or Roach getting hurt by acting recklessly - something they seemed to be prone to.

You approached them with such ease, light on your feet even with a tactical vest being weighted over by a duffle bag, black and in pristine condition. You turned to wave at the pilots and whoever had accompanied you one last time, walking until you were faced with Price. The tilt and smile you gave was innocent, taking the hand Price gave you and shaking it firmly, still smiling.

"It's nice to see you again, Captain," you spoke with respect.

Your voice was soft - perhaps too gentle for a battle-scarred and hardened soldier in the SAS - and would be easily missed between hardy men.

"Winter, welcome, " he returned with a nod, a smile hidden under his thick mustache and wrinkled eyes squinted in recognizable joy. "Meet the team."

He moved, facing his Task Force with his head held high - pride, Ghost could tell he felt proud of his little, dysfunctional family - and let them greet you. "Soap and Gaz," his head cocked towards the smiling men, the Scot and Brit fighting the urge to swarm you with a warm welcome.

Soap, the Scottish, SAS sergeant, shook your hand, feeling the significant difference in size between you both. He dwarfed you by a head, standing sharp and tall with the same boyish smirk and boisterous personality that drew people in: "Soap MacTavish, nice t'meet ya, Winter."

Gaz, the olive-skinned man followed after Soap, voice silky soft with his softer British accent than Price. He shook your hand with a similarly boyish smile, shorter than Soap, but still standing over you. He shook your hand with more finesse, gentler than his brother:

"Gaz Garrick, a pleasure, Winter."

A masked man with gentle, caring green eyes stepped into the place Soap and Gaz were previously in, gloved hands moving in swift gestures. He was signing to you, perhaps he was mute or simply preferred signing over talking.

"Roach, he signs," Price cautioned you, watching your reaction to the young sergeant.

They all were, wanting to gauge your expression at the news that one of your new teammates would use BSL. Although most knew the basics, complicated words being a bit more complicated to learn, they wanted to know whether you'd ridicule Roach for his choice or do nothing of it. It was the kind of protection that grew within the team, a family protects their own.

Your head tilted right, eyes wide as a smile stretched your cheeks, you raised your own hands and greeted the mute sergeant, Hi Roach, it's nice to meet you. He practically beamed, hands moving to shape each letter in a quick sequence, matching the pace of your sign, somehow too quick for the rest of the team to catch. You know BSL, I haven't seen anyone with fluent BSL in a while, his mask wrinkled with the smile that spread over his lips.

I have a friend who was born mute, learned it to talk to her.

They watched your silent conversation, understanding a few snips here and there, but the rest seemed to pass on quickly. Now, they knew you'd do fine with Roach, both being so fluent in BSL (Ghost doesn't remember finding any notion of your language skills in your file, perhaps some information was withheld by you or someone, or you hadn't bothered telling anyone of your fluency since most soldiers spoke fine with their rumbling voices).

After he pulled away, the last member left was Ghost, his tall, towering figure that stood over you like an impenetrable wall of muscle. He was silent, eerily so that you'd beat that most privates on base would shit their pants if they met him.

"Ghost," were his only words, a curt nod and a glare before he left, his back so broad that the shadow he cast on the cemented ground stretched on and on like a beast in hiding. His voice was deep and gravy when he spoke his name, his callsign was like the summons of a demon, a Ghost.

"Don't mind him, L.T's like that ta everyone. He'll warm up to ya," Soap promised, strutting to your side, and slinging an arm around your shoulder to bring you closer to him. "How 'bout I show ya round? You'll be bunkin' with Roach, that fine with ya?"

Roach reaffirmed his testament when you turned to him, asking him if it were alright with him, having to share his barrack when he'd been sleeping alone for a while.

I'm fine, I'll finally have a roommate to brag about, his shoulders shook with a muddled chuckle.

Next

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[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Leor Sapir

Published: Nov 13, 2023

Few figures in the medical world generate more controversy than psychiatrist Jack Turban. An assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, Turban is one of the leading figures promoting “gender-affirming care” in the United States. He is also regularly criticized for producing deeply flawed research and denying the significant rollback of youth gender transition in Europe.

The American Civil Liberties Union recently retained Turban as an expert witness—paying him $400 per hour—in its legal challenge to Idaho’s Vulnerable Child Protection Act, which restricts access to “gender-affirming” drugs and surgeries to adults only. On October 16, Turban submitted to a seven-hour deposition at the hands of John Ramer, an attorney with the law firm Cooper & Kirk, who is assisting Idaho in the litigation. In the course of the deposition, Turban revealed that, aside from churning out subpar research and misleading the public about scientific findings, he also appears not to grasp basic principles of evidence-based medicine.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) refers to “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. . . . The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.” Because the expert opinion of doctors, even when guided by clinical experience, is vulnerable to bias, EBM “de-emphasizes intuition, unsystematic clinical experience, and pathophysiologic rationale as sufficient grounds for clinical decision making and stresses the examination of evidence from clinical research.” EBM thus represents an effort to make the practice of medicine more scientific, with the expectation that this will lead to better patient outcomes.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses sit at the top of the hierarchy of evidence in EBM. A key difference between the U.S. and European approaches to pediatric gender medicine is that European countries have changed their clinical guidelines in response to findings from systematic reviews. In the U.S., medical groups have either claimed that a systematic review “is not possible” (the World Professional Association for Transgender Health), relied on systematic reviews but only for narrowly defined health risks and not for benefits (the Endocrine Society), or used less scientifically rigorous “narrative reviews” (the American Academy of Pediatrics). One of the world’s leading experts on EBM has called U.S. medical groups’ treatment recommendations “untrustworthy.”

In the deposition, Ramer asked Turban to explain what systematic reviews are. “[A]ll a systematic review means,” Turban responded, “is that the authors of the reports pre-defined the search terms they used when conducting literature reviews in various databases.” The “primary advantage” of a systematic review, he emphasized, is to function as a sort of reading list for experts in a clinician field. “Generally, if you are in a specific field where you know most of the research papers, the thing that’s most interesting about systematic review is if it identifies a paper that you didn’t already know about.” Ramer showed Turban the EBM pyramid of evidence, which appears in the Cass Review (page 62) of the U.K.’s Gender Identity Development Service. He asked Turban why systematic reviews sit at the top of the pyramid. Turban responded: “Because you’re looking at all of the studies instead of looking at just one.”

Turban’s characterization represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what EBM is and why systematic reviews are the bedrock of trustworthy medical guidelines.

First, even if the only thing that makes a review systematic is that it “pre-defines the search terms,” Turban failed to explain the relevance of this. A major reason systematic reviews rank higher than narrative reviews in EBM’s information hierarchy is that systematic reviews follow a transparent, reproducible methodology. Anyone who applies the same methodology and search criteria to the same body of research should arrive at the same set of conclusions. Narrative reviews don’t use transparent, reproducible methodologies. Their conclusions are consequently more likely to be shaped by the personal biases of their authors, who may, for instance, cherry-pick studies.

To achieve transparency and reproducibility, systematic reviews define in advance the populations, interventions, comparisons, and outcomes of interest (PICO). They search for and filter the available literature with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Authors register their methodology and search criteria in advance in databases such as PROSPERO. These steps are meant to minimize the risk that authors will change their methodology midway through the process in response to inconvenient findings.

Turban acknowledged that pre-defining the search terms “makes it a little bit easier for another researcher to repeat their search.” However, he did not seem to grasp that the additional steps introduced by systematic reviews are designed to reduce bias and improve accuracy. Turban, one should note, endorses the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2018 narrative review—a document that, with its severe flaws, perfectly illustrates why EBM prefers systematic to narrative reviews.

Second, Turban is incorrect that the “primary advantage” of the systematic review is to generate a comprehensive reading list for (in this case) gender clinicians. Systematic reviews also assess the quality of evidence from existing studies. In other words, they avoid taking the reported findings of individual studies at face value. This is especially important in gender medicine because so much of the research in this field comes from authors who are professionally, financially, and intellectually invested in the continuation of gender medicine—in other words, who have conflicts of interest. Financial conflicts of interest are typically reported, but professional and intellectual conflicts rarely so. Conflicted researchers frequently exaggerate positive findings, underreport negative findings, use causal language where the data don’t support it, and refrain altogether from studying harms. In short, assessing the quality of evidence is especially important in a field known for its lack of equipoise and scientific rigor.

In EBM, quality of evidence is a technical term that refers to the degree of certainty in the estimate of the effects of a given intervention. The higher the quality, the more confident we can be that a particular intervention is what causes an observed effect. It was only in response to Ramer’s prodding that Turban addressed “the risk of bias associated with primary studies”—namely, one of the key considerations for assessing quality of evidence.

During the deposition, Ramer read Turban excerpts from Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature, a highly regarded textbook of EBM published by the American Medical Association. Ramer asked Turban to explain what the Users’ Guides means when it says that narrative reviews, unlike systematic reviews, “do not include systematic assessments of the risk of bias associated with primary studies and do not provide quantitative best estimates or rate the confidence in these estimates.” Turban responded that systematic reviews do sometimes assess the quality of evidence, but that this is not a necessary condition for a review to be called systematic.

I asked Gordon Guyatt, professor of health research methods, evidence, and impact at McMaster University, what he thought of Turban’s answer. Guyatt is widely regarded as a founder of the field of EBM and is the primary author of Users’ Guides. “The primary advantage of a systematic review,” Guyatt assured me, “is not only not missing studies, but also assessing quality of the evidence. Anybody who doesn’t recognize that a crucial part of a systematic review is judging the quality or certainty of the evidence does not understand what it’s all about.”

Ramer asked Turban to explain the GRADE method (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluations), a standardized EBM framework for evaluating quality. “GRADE generally involves looking at the research literature,” Turban explained. “And then there’s some subjectivity to it, but they provide you with general guidelines about how you would—like, great level of confidence in the research itself. Then there’s a—and then each of those get GRADE scores. I think it’s something like low, very low, high, very high. I could be wrong about the exact names of the categories.” Turban is indeed wrong: the categories are high, moderate, low, and very low. It’s surprising that someone involved in the debate over gender-medicine research for several years, and who understands that questions of GRADE and of quality are central, doesn’t know this by heart.

Ramer asked Turban what method, if any, he uses to assess quality in gender-medicine research. Turban explained that he reads the studies individually and does his own assessment of bias. GRADE is “subjective,” and this subjectivity, Turban said, is one reason that the U.K. systematic reviews rated studies that he commonly cites as “very low” quality. Turban’s thinking seems to be that, because GRADE is “subjective,” it is no better than a gender clinician sitting down with individual studies and deciding whether they are reliable.

I asked Guyatt to comment on Turban’s understanding of systematic reviews and GRADE. “Assessment of quality of evidence,” he told me, “is fundamental to a systematic review. In fact, we have more than once published that it is fundamental to EBM, and is clearly crucial to deciding the treatment recommendation, which is going to differ based on quality of evidence.” Guyatt said that “GRADE’s assessment of quality of the evidence is crucial to anybody’s assessment of quality of evidence. It provides a structured framework. To say that the subjective assessment of a clinician using no formal system is equivalent to the assessment of an expert clinical epidemiologist using a standardized system endorsed by over 110 organizations worldwide shows no respect for, or understanding of, science.”

At one point, Ramer pressed Turban to explain his views on psychotherapy as an alternative to drugs and surgeries. Systematic reviews have rated the studies Turban relies on for his support of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones “very low” quality in part because these studies are confounded by psychotherapy. Because the kids who were given drugs and improved were also given psychotherapy and the studies lack a proper control group, it is not possible to know which of these interventions caused the improvement.

Turban seemed not to grasp the significance of this fact. If hormonal treatments can be said to cause improvement despite confounding psychotherapy, why can’t psychotherapy be said to cause improvement despite confounding drugs?

The exchange about confounding factors came up in the context of Ramer asking Turban about an article he wrote for Psychology Today. The article, aimed at a popular audience, purports to give an overview of the research that confirms the necessity of “gender-affirming care.” Last year, I published a detailed fact-check of the article, showing how Turban ignores confounding factors, among other problems. Four days later, Psychology Today made a series of corrections to Turban’s article. Some of these corrections were acknowledged in a note; others were done without any acknowledgement. In the deposition, Ramer asked Turban about my critique, to which Turban replied that he “left Psychology Today to do whatever edits they needed to do,” and that, when he later read the edits, he found them “generally reasonable.”

In sum, though Turban says that “there are no evidence-based psychotherapy protocols that effectively treat gender dysphoria itself,” the same studies he cites furnish just as much evidence for psychotherapy as they do for puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones—which is to say “very low” quality evidence.

Other remarkable moments occur in the Turban deposition. For instance, when asked whether he had read the Florida umbrella review (a systematic review of systematic reviews) conducted by EBM experts at McMaster University and published over a year ago, Turban said that he hadn’t because he “didn’t have time.” When I mentioned this confession to Guyatt, he seemed taken aback. How could a clinician who claims expertise in a contested area of medicine not be curious about a systematic review of systematic reviews? “If all systematic reviews come to the same conclusion,” Guyatt told me, “it clearly increases our confidence in that conclusion.” (My conversation with Guyatt dealt exclusively with Turban’s claims and how they stack up against EBM. I did not ask Guyatt about, and he did not opine on, the wisdom of state laws restricting access to “gender-affirming care.”)

I believe that Turban is being honest when he says he didn’t read the Florida umbrella review. He doesn’t seem interested in literature that might call his beliefs into question. He has staked his personal and professional reputation on a risky and invasive protocol before the appearance of any credible evidence of its superiority to less risky alternatives. Turban regularly maligns as bigoted and unscientific anyone who disagrees with him. Some gender clinicians in Europe now admit that the evidence is weak, the risks serious, and the protocol still experimental. Turban, however, would seemingly rather go down with the sinking ship than admit that he was too hasty in promoting “gender-affirming care.”

Put another way, Turban has intellectual, professional, and financial conflicts of interest that prejudice his judgment on how best to treat youth experiencing issues with their bodies or sex. European health authorities are aware of this problem; that’s why they chose to commission their evidence reviews from clinicians and researchers not directly involved in gender medicine. For instance, England’s National Health Service appointed physician Hilary Cass to chair the Policy Working Group that would lead the investigation of its Gender Identity Development Service and its systematic reviews. The NHS explained that there was “evident polarization among clinical professionals,” and Cass was “asked to chair the group as a senior clinician with no prior involvement or fixed views in this area.”

Unfortunately, in the U.S., personal investment in gender medicine is often seen as a benefit rather than a liability. James Cantor, a psychologist who testifies in lawsuits over state age restrictions, emphasizes the difference between the expertise of clinicians and that of scientists. The clinician’s expertise “regards applying general principles to the care of an individual patient and the unique features of that case.” The scientist’s expertise “is the reverse, accumulating information about many individual cases and identifying the generalizable principles that may be applied to all cases.” Cantor writes:

In legal matters, the most familiar situation pertains to whether a given clinician correctly employed relevant clinical standards. Often, it is other clinicians who practice in that field who will be best equipped to speak to that question. When it is the clinical standards that are themselves in question, however, it is the experts in the assessment of scientific studies who are the relevant experts.

The point is not that clinicians are never able to exercise scientific judgment. It’s that conflicts of interest for involved clinicians need to be acknowledged and taken seriously when “the clinical standards . . . are themselves in question.” Unfortunately, the American propensity for setting policy through the courts makes that task difficult. Judges intuitively believe that gender clinicians are the experts in gender medicine research. The result is a No True Scotsman argument wherein the more personally invested a clinician is (and the more conflict of interest he has as a result), the more credible he appears.

Last year, a federal judge in Alabama dismissed Cantor’s expert analysis of the research, citing, among other things, the fact that Cantor “had never treated a child or adolescent for gender dysphoria” and “had no personal experience monitoring patients receiving transitioning medications.” Turban’s deposition illustrates why this thinking is misguided. It is precisely gender clinicians who often seem to be least familiar, or at any rate least concerned, with subjecting their “expert” views to rigorous scientific scrutiny. It is precisely these clinicians who are most likely to be swimming in confirmation bias, least interested in the scientific method, and, conveniently, least concerned with evidence-based medicine.

==

Jack Turban is frequently a star "expert" in so-called "gender affirming care" enquiries. Aside from being a pathological liar, we can now also conclude he's dangerously unqualified.

[destinysbounty]

Not sure if this counts, but how do you explain the ninjas ages? How are they teachers but also like 16? I always love hearing people's thoughts on this

For a while now I've been entertaining a headcanon that I think would perfectly explain this in a way that makes sense. Note that this is just a circumstantial theory with no explicit basis in canon, so feel free to take it or leave it as you see fit.

Okay, so. To understand the teacher situation (as well as my theories for why Ninjago's education system is fucked to hell and back), we first have to talk about the Serpentine War for a sec. Bare with me, I promise this will make sense.

This seems like a no-brainer, but a war requires people to actually, yknow, fight in it. Which means large demographics of people have to leave their homes, families, jobs, and communities. Naturally, this forces the ones they've left behind to compensate for the economic deficit caused by their absence. Anyone familiar with American history could tell you that this happened to the US during WWII - as swathes of men shipped off overseas to fight in the war, women back home had to take charge of the economy and participate more actively in the workforce.

I think it goes without saying that this kind of situation probably happened to Ninjago during the Serpentine War. But the thing is, we know women fought in the war stood at the front lines alongside the men - we've seen them. So if that's the case, then who stepped up to help run the economy while Mommy and Daddy were away?

I think you can guess where I'm going with this.

That's right. With so many people leaving to fight in the War (and also dying from Serpentine raids), I don't think it's unreasonable to conclude that some subset of kids and teens had to step up to the plate and take up some of the vacancies their parents had left behind. Obviously I'm not saying all the adults were gone, but it was enough to warrant kids entering the workforce prematurely.

And of course, if kids are getting jobs at younger ages, then I think it's valid to extrapolate that to teacher positions as well.

As you can imagine, this shift created a few new social precedents: 1) expectations for kids, especially teens, to get jobs and become mature at younger ages was normalized; and 2) requirements for certain careers, including education, became much more lenient.

This labor expectation imposed on older kids and teens would actually explain a lot more than just the s3 teacher situation, when you think about it.

Not only are unqualified teens allowed to become teachers, but also undead skeleton warriors from the Underworld (see s1ep4). I'm sorry, but you can't convince me that Kruncha and Nuckal are licensed educators.

The existence of Darkley's, and how it was able to exist for so long without any kind of administrative intervention. The education system is in shambles, and it's because Ninjago's infrastructure never fully recovered from the Serpentine War.

Disparities and gaps in people's historical/world knowledge. No one knows shit about anything. Because again, the education system in in shambles. (If you doubt the validity of this point, let me just remind you I'm from the US. I once met a college student who didn't know what 'north' was.)

The existence of the Paper Boys - how they can devote what seem to be entire workdays to an extremely dangerous job, with minimal adult oversight (if any).

The entirety of Ninjago society seems totally chill with the fact that their saviors are a bunch of kids. To them this isn't cause for concern or even distrust in the ninjas' capability, it's just the norm!

In s15, Lloyd was able to get a job, presumably without a high school diploma or GED of some kind. Or, yknow, any formal education past grade 3 (although we know from supplemental material that he did get some kind of tutoring from the ninja, so this point is debatable).

If some kind of in-universe CPS equivalent exists, then they certainly don't do anything. No one has ever reported or raised issue with Lloyd being homeless, Cole also being homeless for a while, the ninja not being in school, Kai and Nya being parent-free since the ages of ~6 and 3 respectively, and other such things that would ordinarily be cause for alarm.

While there is canon evidence that Kai and Nya received some degree of aid from their community, especially when they were younger, this seems to be completely absent by the time the series begins. Perhaps the community's assistance began to withdraw over time as the siblings faced increasing expectations to become self-sufficient despite still being children. Like, "you're 10 years old now, Kai, it's time for you to start pulling your weight and taking care of the shop by yourself. You need to grow up."

If we approach Ninjago's worldbuilding from this context, suddenly the teacher arc becomes less of a plothole and more...depressing, tbh.

And in a weird way, this interpretation actually fits in nicely with Ninjago's themes of generational trauma. Think about it. Society was damaged by the Serpentine War. And because they never really healed from what happened, the kids of future generations continue to face the normalization of their childhoods gradually being ripped away from them before they're ready. Kinda like kids in a broken home taking on adult responsibilities to cover the slack. Kinda like Cole handling house chores while his father grieved away from home. Kina like Kai and Nya running the shop while their parents were gone.

And everyone is just...used to it. The only times in all 15 seasons that anyone stakes a complaint about this system are in seasons 1-2 when Lloyd was a little child, in season 8 when Harumi was ridiculing the ninja, and in season 15 when Wu refused to lead the Paper Boys into battle.

(I do think it's worth noting that young children are still regarded as kids, of course, as seen with how the ninja were treated when they got de-aged. But this isn't really a refutation of my argument, as much as it is a clue to help us identify society's cutoff for childhood innocence.)

Again, it's more of a circumstantial theory than anything based in fact. So you're free to dispute it as you like. But you have to admit it would explain a lot, wouldn't it?

Anyway, that was...a lot longer than I was expecting it to be. Damn. I'm beginning to think that's gonna be a running theme with these theory posts.

Thanks for the ask! <3

[batmanie]

Playing doctor - Scriddler ff

The two tons of metal fell down from the ceiling and crashed to the ground with powerful impact, shattering a nearby riddlerbot into tiny pieces and lifting a cloud of dust into the air.

Riddler viewed this scene seemingly unfazed, completely ignoring the fact that the heavy panel landed a mere three feet from him. If anything, Edward looked irritated.

"You useless piece of electronics, can't you be more careful when handling my machinery," he yelled at the other robot that was working on the hydraulic arm that was supposed to hold the pressure plate in place.

The riddlerbot turned its metal head to its master and blinked its green vision-diodes at him, but it didn't answer, of course, and Scarecrow doubted it was capable of understanding a thing.

Much like its creator…

"It could have been you, you know," the hooded man nodded his head at the smashed riddlerbot, now invisible under the heavy panel.

A loose screw from the wreck rolled across the uneven flooring and right in Riddler's direction, stopping at the tip of his boot. Edward kicked it aside, disgusted.

"Do NOT patronize me, Crane. I'm perfectly capable of keeping this place a safe work environment for myself, thank you!" He put his gloved hands into his pockets, now slightly offended, and not caring to look at his interlocutor at all.

Scarecrow would have sighed at this, if he had more fucks to give. "Are you sure about that?"

"What are you implying?"

"I think, you're not careful enough, Edward."

As gentle as Scarecrow wished to put that, it still must have felt like a punch in the guts for Riddler's giant ego. The man in green clenched his jaw, his shoulders tensed, and his arms trembled slightly. As he turned to grace Crane with a furious glare, Jonathan already knew he was walking on thin ice.

"Are you saying my work is sloppy?" Lips pursed, and with the corner of his mouth contorted by an angry grimace, Edward stepped forward, moving dangerously close to Scarecrow, his index finger ready to jab at him with an unnecessary force. "Do you, by any chance, accuse me of being unqualified to do what I'm doing? Are you doubting my skills? MY skills!" The finger was there already, jabbing at Jonathan's chest. "And what gave You, of all people, the right to judge my competence, doctor? Do you think you're better than me? What possibly made you assume I'm not…" The jab "Being..." Another jab. "CAREFUL!"

Before the last jab could ever come, Scarecrow caught Riddler's hand with his own. Edward pulled away, or at least he tried to, but Jonathan's grip was a force to be reckoned with.

"Perhaps, my way of wording it was a little misleading." His voice was as calm as possible, not betraying any of the amusement that sure was there, watching Riddler struggle to get his hand free. "It has nothing to do with your formidable skills. I just thought," He pulled at Edward's arm, pulling the man with it, forcing him to press his body against Scarecrow's toxin vials. "It would be a shame if you lose those skillful fingers of yours in some freak accident," he finished with a soft whisper, aimed for Riddler's ear.

Said ear got a little redder at this comment, and so did Edward's neck, and cheeks.

Scarecrow's grip lightened but Riddler stopped struggling with him anyway. He even allowed a moment of silence between them, wordlessly watching Jonathan.

After a short pause, Scarecrow let the other go, and Edward moved away from him, looking partially confused, and partially flustered, as if he had expected something more to happen.

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you, Crane. But I'm careful, really."

This sounded silly, especially after what had happened to his robot just a moment earlier.

"You have burn marks all over your right forearm," Jon stated flatly, his eyes still searching Riddler's face for a reaction.

Edward shrugged. "I had a little quarrel... with my computer's transistor... But hey, you should have seen the 'other guy'," He let out a short, neurotic laugh, his attempted joke clearly a defense mechanism to brush the whole thing off. A method that didn't work with a qualified psychologist like Doctor Jonathan Crane.

"There is a band-aid on your neck," Scarecrow tried to make his point yet again, and yet again it failed.

"Merely a scratch from shaving."

"You're not shaved."

"What is this!?" Edward snapped. "An interrogation?"

"I'm simply worried about your well-being. Care to tell me where you got the cut above your left temple from?" He reached to touch Edward's fresh scar, but the man jumped away from him, as if Crane's hand was a white-hot iron.

"That's none of your business," Nigma barked back at him like an angry dog, obviously protecting himself from the painful facts. "A spring might have snapped and scratched my forehead," he added, apparently compelled to answer the truth.

"And you didn't wear a welding mask, did you?"

"I..." This seemed to be a dead end for Riddler's reasonable argumentation, and now he decided to change his tactics and attack. "Look who's talking! The man who had himself handed to a crocodile on a silver plate!" Riddler spat out quite hatefully, some spit shooting out of his mouth as he did.

Scarecrow knew Edward Nigma and this was rather expected, offending others when feeling threatened. Jonathan didn't mind. His skin was tougher than that, Edward's words, no matter how harmful, couldn't hurt him.

"I had the doubtful pleasure of experiencing the close proximity of your fully exposed body. I remember your every defect, I can recall every little scar on your broken frame, including the one on your left wrist, quite telling evidence of your weakness, I'd say."

As far as Jonathan remembered, this “doubtful pleasure”, as the man kindly phrased it, had been received by Riddler quite enthusiastically. By insulting his partner, Nigma was only insulting himself.

Despite all that, there sure was an unexpected pang of bitterness in Jonathan’s heart. He shouldn't have let this man under his skin like this, yet alone into his bed, but here they were, discussing one of the two most sensitive topics for Jon like it was Gotham’s yesterday weather.

Perhaps, he had been too trusting toward the other rogue, naively hoping Edward would be more decent than this?

Edward had been anything but decent. "Riddle me this, Scarecrow," the man went on, now fully confident of his victory. "Which one of us is not careful enough? Which one of us went into the sewers of Gotham without a decent plan, hoping for the best? Which one of us was stupid enough to get himself mauled by a mindless crocodile-man? YOU!" Edward ended his little tirade pointing a judging finger at Jonathan, a triumphant, unhinged grin stretched across his wrinkled face.

Inhaling deeply through his mutilated nose, Scarecrow tried to swallow his resentment toward the other. It wasn't Edward's fault, he told himself, it was simply how his fragile ego functioned. And Edward was a sick man, it was the only way he could operate at all. If anything, he needed help, not logical arguments, and not a heavy hand, but just a little support.

At this point, however, it was really a charity on Scarecrow’s side to even consider giving him that much.

"You're right," Jonathan told the man, not without some spite. It felt like a thousand and the first time he had done this same old thing. One of them had to be smarter, if they didn't want to end up tearing at each other’s throats, and unfortunately, it was never Edward. "I must admit, I didn't plan my sewer escapade as thoroughly as I should have, and it has cost me dearly, which you are aware of. But you're not like me, Edward, you know better than being reckless. That's why..." Slowly, he pulled a little paper slip out of the pocket of his brown, stitched-up coat.

"What's this?" Riddler eyed the slip suspiciously.

"Take a look for yourself," Jonathan offered, outstretching his arm, and handing the paper to the other man.

A mix of curiosity and distrust was painted all over Edward's face as he attempted to read the note in the dim light of an underground train tunnel.

"Are you kidding me? Is that a prescription?" Nigma's voice was basically shaking with anger as he figured out the words scribbled on a little paper slip. "Are you prescribing me medication, Crane? What are you? My psychiatrist?"

“More than you know,” was hanging on the tip of Scarecrow’s tongue but he didn’t allow it to slip through. "Well, I am a doctor, so I..." he wanted to explain but he was cut short by another one of Riddler’s angry outburst.

"I don't want your medical opinion, and I don't need your help," he shouted, enraged once again. "Not yours! Not Batman's! And especially not that from those dolts back at Arkham! When will it sink in to your two-cells brains! I'm-not-CRAZY!"

“Mentally ill.”

“What did you just…”

“I said,” Scarecrow kept perfectly calm, savoring the precious image of Riddler’s furious expression, “the correct medical term would be: ‘I’m not mentally ill’. ‘Crazy’ is not exactly the professional way to put it. And of course, you’re not crazy." Crane decided to dodge the incoming tantrum. He walked toward the man, placing his hand on the other's shoulder as if to console him. "But you're stressed, overworked, your body tense, I can sense that much."

It was unlike Edward, not to instantly fend away the intrusive hand resting on his shoulder.

"I'm just.." Nigma was searching for the right word to express himself, his anger getting in his way. "Since when are you so observant? You’re nearly blind, from what I know. Last time you had to ask me to thread a needle for you.”

“…so I could stitch up your favorite shirt.”

“That’s beside the point!”

“It’s fine if you don’t want it,” Crane referred to the prescription, now crumpled into a small ball of paper within Riddler’s clenched fist. “It was a friendly gesture, don’t read too much into it. I simply assumed you might want some of the good stuff to help you relax.”

He pressed a little harder, showing Edward how painfully tense his neck muscles were. Before it could start to hurt, he undid the pressure and gave a little massage instead, trying to release the tension.

Nigma exhaled audibly, his breath a gust of hot air as if he literally let out some steam from his overheating system.

Scarecrow watched him closely, observed how his eyelids lowered just slightly, and how his facial muscles relaxed, giving his otherwise sharp features a calmer expression.

He circled him, never breaking the touch, until he stood behind him with both his hands over Edward’s shoulders.

It was almost unthinkable, how the two cruel villains had learned to accept the touch of the other. As violent as it had been at times, as bizarre, or as clumsy – they both had grown to appreciate the attempted intimacy, and even to seek it in their lonely hours.

And accepting the touch didn’t come easy to people like them, to ones who had been abused, scarred, beaten, traumatized, and forced into straitjackets, or strapped down to a cot in the asylum one time too many. Physical proximity didn’t spark positive feedback in their brains, and yet, they somewhat craved the comforting warmth of another body.

“I can’t just…rest. I have so much to do. One hundred and seventy-five riddles to write, two more racetracks to finish, and the bomb needs to be tested…” Riddler rambled on, and Scarecrow could basically feel his stress, so tangible under his fingertips.

“I know, Edward,” He lowered his voice, making the words come off as gentle, almost sympathetic. His hands were still on Riddler, giving a small massage to his neck, through the soft fabric of his green cotton shirt. “It must feel like suffocating, this overwhelming need to finish what you started. And the thought of something going wrong…” His hands slid to the front of Edward’s chest, as Scarecrow rested his chin on the other man’s shoulder. “Does it terrify you?” He murmured into his ear, eyes narrowed like a content cat. “Do you want this to stop? To silence all those voices in your head telling you that you might fail again, and it will be your own fault?”

He could sense Riddler’s chest raising and falling with sharp in- and exhales. He could feel his heart rapidly pounding as he held him trapped in the cage of his bony arms.

Was his embrace pleasant to the other, he wondered, or was he just preying on Edward’s insecurity again, only making things worse? They both had their compulsions, and while Riddler’s were flashy, and all over the place, his own were more subtle but definitely present.

The way he interacted with people, always treating them like test subjects in his never-ending studies of fear, Jonathan would have lied to himself, if he claimed he controlled that habit. It ran deeper than his conscious mind, it was in his nature, just like it was in a wolf’s nature to devour a sheep.

Scarecrow was a monster who had to sink his claws into his victims, and slowly tear them apart until he saw their innards, whether he wanted that or not.

“You’re wrong, Crane. I’m not afraid,” Riddler’s lies came out a tad too weak to be believable. “I’m going to win this time, I won’t let him beat me…”

“He did us both enough harm.” Crane’s palms traveled over Riddler’s body, finding no resistance. “You work night and day preparing your challenge, letting him sharpen his mind on your ingenious contraptions like on a whetstone, and what do you get in return? Mockery, humiliation, and pain…”

He knew he should stop himself before he would send Edward’s mind spiraling into the depths of his worst intrusive thoughts, but it was tempting, so bloody tempting to explore his fear of failure, to see him crippled by it, unable to act.

“You deserve better than that, Edward,” Scarecrow surprised himself by saying this.

Perhaps he had some self-restraint left in him after all?

“You deserve some rest.” His finger brushed over Riddler’s lips and moved to stroke his cheekbone. It was this kind of soft gesture that Edward really hated, and yet, he allowed himself to melt under Jonathan’s touch. “You deserve a good night’s sleep, and a calm mind to work on your projects. That’s why you will send one of your goons to get you those meds I prescribed you. Can you do this much for me, Edward? And if not for me, can you do it for yourself?”

The man in his arms let out a small sound, something between a grunt and an incoherent confirmation.

Then he shifted his position to face Jon directly. “I don’t work with people anymore,” the man muttered, throwing his arms around Crane’s neck. “They weren’t worth my time. I prefer the company of my riddlerbots… Or you, doctor.”

Crane would have smiled at that, if not for his face. He had to admit, he had never met a man with a gaze so brutally intense as the one of Edward Nigma. But then again, everything about this obnoxious bastard was so damn intense, so vibrant and lively, screaming desperation and insanity. And Jonathan loved that with all his might.

“You must be awfully lonely, my dear,” he teased, holding the other close and gently rubbing his back.

Riddler’s left hand held the back of his hood, eagerly roaming across the thick fabric, while his right was still keeping the prescription.

Jon would have kissed him already, hell knew he would have – lack of damn lips could be a bitch sometimes.

“You have no idea,” Edward confirmed with a haunting whisper, his breath provocatively warm on Scarecrow’s wounded face hidden beneath the burlap. “In fact, I don’t think you can even begin to comprehend how lonely it is at the top, above everyone else...”

“Don’t worry,” Crane pulled him further in, forcing their groins to collide. “With me, you can indulge yourself with being at the bottom.”

“How generous,” Riddler sounded almost offended, however, that didn’t really stop him from rocking his hips slowly, creating more friction. “You may have lost your face, but apparently not your terrible sense of humor. Perhaps you could even replace the Joker?”

“I wasn’t joking,” Jon assured him as his palms found their way down to Edward’s backsides. “If you behave, I will offer you ‘something extra’ to help you relax. What would you say?”

The man in his arms smiled at him flirtatiously. “I… might take you on your offer, dear doctor.”

Would Nigma take the meds afterwards, or not – it didn’t really matter. Even if Jon could fix him, he wouldn’t change a single thing about Edward. He didn’t wish for Riddler to get better, he wanted him alive, yes, but not a compulsion-free, and mentally stable man.

After all, if not for Riddler’s mental issues, the two of them would never have ended up in this unhealthy relationship, and would never have shared any of their precious, intimate moments together.

Had Edward been sane, he’d have cut all ties with Crane faster than one could tell a riddle.

The Master of Fear was not a man easily frightened, but the sudden thought of Riddler slipping through his fingers filled his heart with dread.

Jonathan couldn't afford it. He was ready to suffer Edward’s horrible temper only to keep this thing between them going, because in all honesty, Edward was the best that had happened to Jon his entire life.

Ironically, Jonathan was one of the worst things for Riddler’s mental health.

Fortunately, Edward didn’t seem to mind that.

[mllemaenad]

You know what? That's fair. You never ssid you condemned individual Brotherhood members, I'm sorry I assumed that.

Addressing them as an institution, however...

I think they might still be a morr admirable group than you give them credit for. Yes, they have rather brutal hazing rituals for aspirants. At best, this ensures the unqualified won't go into danger, at worst, it's abuse. Bullying is absolutely wrong, I won't defend that.

However, on the charge of bigotry, I don't think it's entirely fair. Based on comments by Knight Rhys and others, I don't think tgey hate nonhumans simply for being nonhumans, rather they see it as a quasi-religious duty to remove the consequences of technological abuse. Ghouls, Synths, Super-Mutants... they didn't arise naturally. They are permanent (un-ageing) reminders of "technology that's gone too far". Think on Arthur Maxon's words in "Blind Betrayal". Danse's existence is intolerable to him because it is symbolic of a perversion of technology. Whether it's radiation, FEV, or whatever else, the Brotherhood is committed to opposing technological abuse.

In that context, their hoarding of technology is understandable. In 2077, mankind demonstrated that it wasn't capable of using technology in a responsible manner. Heck, given what Ulysses tried to do at the Divide, and what Hank did at Shady Sands, mankind arguably STILL isn't capable.

So what alternative is there but to keep that technology safe, away from the reckless hands that would abuse it, until humanity develops the maturity and restraint to show technology its peoper reverence?

The Brotherhood is also not without its reformers. This is explicitly why Maximus chooses to return to them! He speaks with Cleric Quintus about improving the Brotherhood, making it match the idealised image he once held. He no longer holds illusions about what the Brotherhood is, but he still believes in its mission, in what it could become.

Even when they have disagreed with one another, the Brotherhood has always shared a common (noble) goal. Christine Royce and Father Elijah didn't see eye to eye on how the technologies of Big MT and the Sierra Madre should be used, but they both shared the same ultimate vision; Rodger Maxon's vision, a vision of a world where mankind worshipped technology rather than misusing it. A better world.

Hi Anonymous person.

I mean, look. I'm not the Thought Police. You're free to like any Fallout faction you like, and I'm not going to hunt you down and bother you about it. But ... I mean, you've asked, and I'm really confused about what you're saying here.

However, on the charge of bigotry, I don't think it's entirely fair. Based on comments by Knight Rhys and others, I don't think tgey hate nonhumans simply for being nonhumans, rather they see it as a quasi-religious duty to remove the consequences of technological abuse. Ghouls, Synths, Super-Mutants… they didn't arise naturally. They are permanent (un-ageing) reminders of "technology that's gone too far".

I ... don't understand why you're putting this forward as a defence? This is kind of my whole point. If some individuals in the Brotherhood were bigoted, that might reasonably make them terrible – or at least misguided – people, but it might not say anything about the institution itself.

But the genocidal impulses are built into Brotherhood doctrine. Wanting to murder groups of people because they don't fit into your vision (religious or otherwise) of a perfect world is ... bad. I mean it's very bad. It's one of the worst things you can want to do. It's very much a despairing "war never changes" thing.

I know what Arthur Maxson says. I'm not disputing that the Brotherhood really, truly believes that mass murder is a good thing. It's just that my response to that is "Go fuck yourself, Arthur."

I genuinely do not understand why you're calling my assertion of bigotry unfair. I noted that I do not like the Brotherhood because they are genocidal toward mutants and Synths, and you have agreed that they very much are, and not only that but that this is a core part of their belief system. So ... that's that.

The Brotherhood is also not without its reformers. This is explicitly why Maximus chooses to return to them! He speaks with Cleric Quintus about improving the Brotherhood, making it match the idealised image he once held. He no longer holds illusions about what the Brotherhood is, but he still believes in its mission, in what it could become.

Huh? No he doesn't. Maximus very definitely does not do that.

For much of the show, Maximus lies to other people about his name and status in order to protect himself. He also lies to himself, somewhat, about what he wants out of life.

The fact that Maximus shows little investment in the Brotherhood's ideals is one of the things that keeps him sympathetic, even when he's stomping around in power armour (he calls the Brotherhood's mission "weird" when Lucy points out the inherent contradictions).

His time in Vault 4, combined with his exposure to Lucy, allows him the space to grow as a person, and to start telling the truth. Truth works with her in a way that it did not with Thaddeus, who was never going to side with Maximus against Brotherhood guns. What Maximus really wants is Shady Sands back: specifically a world where Shady Sands was never destroyed, and he could have eaten well and gone to school and lived a completely different life. Failing that, what he wants is peace. This is what he says "explicitly": that he wants to live in peace and not go to war.

Maximus returns to the Brotherhood with a decoy head to allow Lucy to complete her mission. He does this because one of the things he has to admit to himself is that the deal he made with her was bullshit. He simply doesn't have the clout to force the issue, and the Brotherhood isn't going to help out a vault dweller having a rough week for moral reasons.

Lucy is confused by this sudden change of plans: she only knows Maximus, so she thinks the Brotherhood must be "the good guys". Both Maximus and Thaddeus know better: they've lived through Brotherhood brutality.

One key problem that both Lucy and Maximus have is that they've never really delved into what the head is for, so whether it's safe or good to deliver it anywhere in particular doesn't factor into their plans. It's just a MacGuffin to them: Lucy needs it to rescue her dad; Maximus needs it so the Brotherhood doesn't murder him.

Consequently, Maximus is at least initially fine with using his knowledge of the head's location to save his own arse – moreover, leading the Brotherhood to the head will also take him back to Lucy. He confides to his friend Dane that he intends to flee with Lucy at the first opportunity; Dane laments that they don't believe there is a way to escape. I don't know where this "Maximus enthusiastically reforms the Brotherhood" idea is coming from. In his head, Maximus is already deep underground, wearing Vault 33's fluffiest dressing gown, and never hearing about any of this crap ever again.

However, The Beginning is largely about disillusionment. For Norm and Cooper, this means engaging in some espionage to uncover Vault-Tec's evil plans – and their loved ones' complicity in those plans. For Lucy and Maximus, it means recontextualising the childhood memories that shaped them.

As Lucy listens to Moldaver's story, she reflects on her childhood memory of standing in a cornfield with her mother. She realises that she really did stand beneath the sun in a rebuilt civilisation, and that her father's insistence that she was in the vault the whole time is a lie intended to conceal his own crimes.

As Maximus listens to Quintus's horrifying little speech about conquering the wasteland, he reflects on his childhood image of the Brotherhood as heroes and saviours. In the present, the Brotherhood has just forcibly occupied the town of Filly (this is bad!), has come very close to summarily executing him (also not what you'd call good!) and is about to force him to go to war against a group of people who have not at any point in the series threatened them, purely because they have some tech the Brotherhood wants (really fucking awful, if you think about it!).

If Maximus has any mission at this point beyond getting the hell out of there and finding Lucy – it is wresting control of the cold fusion technology from the Brotherhood's hands. Because Moldaver bequeaths her cause to him with her dying breath.

What do you suppose your Brotherhood would do with infinite power? Maybe you can stop them. Maybe you can't. Maybe all you can do is try. – Lee Moldaver, Fallout: The Beginning

Maximus is a child of Shady Sands. He's a citizen of the NCR. The expression on his face when the Brotherhood vertibirds open fire on the people fleeing across the compound is understandably appalled. He attacks Hank when he learns what he did to his home. Moldaver knows none of this. She just knows the expression on Maximus's face when the lights go on across the city – and she reaches out to him because that's enough to hope.

So ... no? Really no. Maximus does not explicitly return to the Brotherhood to embrace Quintus's bullshit.

Even when they have disagreed with one another, the Brotherhood has always shared a common (noble) goal. Christine Royce and Father Elijah didn't see eye to eye on how the technologies of Big MT and the Sierra Madre should be used, but they both shared the same ultimate vision; Rodger Maxon's vision, a vision of a world where mankind worshipped technology rather than misusing it. A better world.

I mean ... Dead Money is not a story about rational people making good choices. I don't think the "unhealthy obsession DLC" is a great example of anything but what not to do. Christine is a tragic figure. Her absolute best ending leaves her as something that is almost literally the ghost of an old-world film star, forever haunting the Sierra Madre. She's also clearly paralleling the fate of her lost love, Veronica: Veronica is keenly aware that the Brotherhood's ideology leads to an ugly dead end, but she can neither change them nor escape them and becomes a kind of ghost herself.

These are not pro-Brotherhood stories.

But I mean ... I'm not trying to somehow dispute that many Brotherhood members believe to some extent in Brotherhood ideals. I know how indoctrination works.

You're assuming the "noble" part. What I am saying is that I don't believe the Brotherhood's goals are noble, good, or helpful. I think they should stop doing what they're doing. I think the hoarding and the dogmatism and the genocide are ... well, wrong. I don't think Roger Maxson has a "better world". I think he and his men couldn't handle the guilt of being involved in unethical experiments themselves, and the Brotherhood has just been reacting badly to their collective trauma across generations.

It's not that I think the Brotherhood of Steel is absolutely incapable of change: in theory they could stop hoarding and murdering and generally being arseholes. But then they would not really be the Brotherhood of Steel anymore. And I think it is unlikely that that will happen, because the kinds of problems they cause are useful for the sorts of stories the Fallout series wants to tell.

So I'm probably stuck with them for the foreseeable future. And I still have no time for any of them.

[knightbeng]

RWBY and Neurodiversity

Ive been thinking about this for a while but resisted posting until Volume 9 ended. Mainly to see how Ruby’s ascension would resolve, because I knew it would impact how I felt about this. 

Also this is long. Like seriously long. Once I started it got out of hand. But I feel it is all Important. 

I will start by saying that I am autistic, and I have friends and family who are both autistic and or neurodiverse. I also understand that a lot of this maybe subtext or head cannon, and at times deeply personal. I also get that this will never be made cannon or had ever even be intended by CRWBY. But, I cannot escape some of the connections I have made or how I relate to some characters. 

Right with that out of the way

RUBY IS AUTISTIC, or at least somewhere on the spectrum.

From the first volume I could see some of the traits coming through. From the use of headphones and music separating her from the world around her. Her over exuberance when is excited or interested in something. Right up to her passion/special interest in weapons and being a huntresses. This is not to lessen the other characters interests or passions, but Ruby’s is very much all consuming. She speaks about how she went over board on Crescent Rose’s design, and about how much she likes others designs. Including Jaune’s classic Crocea Mors. I cannot help but see my own love of history. That took me to university and beyond. Like Ruby with any weapon, I love any history. 

Then there is her abilities in the classroom. Ruby is clearly a natural talent, but she is never shown to be a savant. She has issues keeping her attention in class and with the work load. Although I do understand that this can be put down to being jumped ahead and that Port n Oobleck’s class seem to have a similar effect on others. Much like me and some of my friends we had classes we loved but struggled to show it though other academic difficulties. 

The early volumes also cover her struggles to connect with people. Such as wanting to be with Yang, instead of meeting new people. Or with Weiss and hers rocky relationship, early on. Countered with the open acceptance by Jaune, who sees a fellow outsider. Although for different reasons. Her own comment of wanting “normal knees” is something I think everyone one with autism can relate too. The wish to be just like everyone else and not stand out. That, at times, can be the greatest wish living in a world you struggle with. 

Then there’s the events post Beacon. They show a defining personality trait so common in autism. Her unshakeable moral centre. It can be hard to describe but it is well documented the autistic people have a very strong sense of justice and morals. Although obliviously not all the same morals. We are all have a different in outlook, just like everybody else. Ruby’s is based around helping people and making the world a better place. 

This is shown most strongly in her mission to walk to Haven. Even if most would say she is too young and it is too dangerous, for 4 unqualified huntsmen/huntress. They went and got hurt and burnt out along the way. Yes others went with her but would they have gone without her taking the lead. It shows a lack of self awareness that can be common as autistic people. To the point that they burn themselves out pushing to achieve things, without taking time for themselves. 

The other massive tell is her reaction to Ironwood. She has no dislike for him and shares his goal. But, his actions and plans go against her moral code. So again she sticks to her morals and works to stop him, while rescuing Atlas, at the same time. Yes others agreed that he was in the wrong, but would the likes of Winter changed their allegiance, without someone like Ruby offering an alternative.

Then we get to the biggest thing for me and the reason I felt I had to put my feelings down. Volume 9. While Ruby’s mental state and issues during this volume are very much based in trauma, lose and depression. That a lot of people can relate too, not just the autistic community. I cannot help but think about what she says before she drinks the tea. “I don’t want to be me anymore.” I have never related to a character more. Or be triggered more, for that matter. When I spoke to some of my autistic friends about it, it was something all of us had felt at one moment or another, to varying degrees. See we all know we cannot separate autism from the rest of our person. Most of us don’t even know what is an autistic trait and what is just us. But, I need to make this clear, none of us want a cure or to be changed. More the reaction was things I have felt at times when at your lowest a small voice screams that would it be easier if you weren’t you. 

Then there is Ruby’s ascension. After episode 9 when it was put to her she could change to be someone else, and people where discussing how she might change, if you see Ruby though the lens I’ve described it can be harmful.

Now I don’t want it to sound like I’m accusing CRWBY of not thinking about this. Thousands of people watch RWBY and can be effected by it in ways they would not think, not having that person’s experience. They are telling a story, and that story includes these real moments. 

Back to the point. Telling someone with autism or that person thinking they have to change to achieve or be accepted is a horrible experience. And it is something almost all autistic people experience. It is the reason we learn to mask and hide who we are. The world tells you that it is what’s expected of you. So when in episode 10 Ruby chooses herself and is then reminded that her friends accept her for being herself. It is powerful. Again I understand that this can relate to a lot of things; imposter syndrome, being gay or race issues. But, as someone who is autistic this is how I saw it. I personally have only had 2 people truly accept me like this. 

PENNY is the only other character I see as on the spectrum. Obviously a lot of her character traits are put down to her being a robot. But as Ruby says to her does that make her any less a real person. In fact the relationship between Penny and Ruby is a massive indicator for me of them being on the spectrum. When they first team Ruby asks if she was just like Penny to Weiss. It is not uncommon for autistic people to spot each other quickly, whether they realise it or not. Then when they meet up at the tournament, both feel no need to hide who they are. Ruby is openly dorky in asking Penny about Ciel’s knowledge and Penny doesn’t hide her excitement to see her friend. 

This is repeated multiple times when Penny returns in Atlas. Each time they see each other they share and communicate in away that they don’t with others. Such as hugging Ruby first and asking do all hugs feel like this, before hugging others. She knows that Ruby will be honest and non-judge mental. In fact we can see how non autistic people react when Penny is her over excited, unmasked, self in front of them. Winter stopping Penny bouncing is a typical action from neurotypicals. Even if it comes from a place of care and concern, with no wish to harm, as I believe Winters was. But it is something neither Penny or Ruby would do to the other. 

Then there is Penny’s morals. She is clearly guided to help her friends, people and world. At great detriment to herself. She becomes the hero of Mantel, protecting those who can not protect themselves, and when others will not. Much like Ruby she will risk it all for her sense of justice. 

One of the most impactful parts of Penny’s story is that of virus. I didn’t even think of this, my friend pointed it out when I spoke to her about it. But her Penny is controlled by the virus, she felt it worked as a metaphor for Applied Behaviour Analysis or ABA. Which if you haven’t heard of it, is a horrible thing to experience as someone with autism. Much like conversion therapy for the LGBTQ+ community this works by trying to train you out of being autistic and make you more accepting for others. Penny is pushed towards things she doesn’t want to do and most horribly to do harm. She becomes a tool to the villains, which can also mirror how some savant autistics are treated. There skills used for a “greater good” instead of them being in control of their own destiny. 

Now I want to move on to discuss Ships. These are all Ruby related and while I’m not saying these should be cannon or that they are over other ships, cannon or otherwise, but I feel they work at different points in Ruby’s story when viewed as discussed above. 

LADYBUG is the first ship I gravitated towards in the show. For me Blake was the first character to simply accept Ruby as who she was. This does stem from Blake’s own wish to be accepted for who is she and not what she is, but it is still important to outwardly show it to others as well. I understand that a lot of people find this to be a boring ship, I think that’s because it lacks drama, but for me the idea of someone new accepting you without question or concern is powerful. That is why I like the ship. It is comforting and has little interpersonal drama between the two. More mutually assured care and concern. In fact that is why they talk so little in the show. They understand and trust each other. One of the many reasons people have Blake as a deputy team leader, during and after the events of Volume 9, is this mutual trust. 

NUTS AND DOLTS maybe the most loved ship these days. Outside of Bumblebee, that is. As I have already gone into Penny and Ruby’s relationship as being very neurodiverse. They are themselves with each other, and communicate more easily with the other. Although I would add this is the only one I see as asexual, but I think both characters can be seen as both asexual and not. Just when they are together, they are asexual. Plus after events in Volumes 8 & 9 I think we can call it as close to cannon as possible. 

WHITEROSE i find the most interesting. At the start of the series I never got it. Weiss was mean and uncaring to Ruby. Why would Ruby ever being interested romantically in Weiss. But then as the show progress I understood it. Weiss is just as bigger dork as Ruby but due to reasons outside of autism, she had to mask this. Seeing Ruby act as she wishes and not be punished for it, as she might have been, lets her drop the mask. Two big things outside of the main show solidified this for me. The first is Ice Queendom. We see inside Weiss’ mind and how she has locked away her childish side for protection. Going as far as to do the same thing to Ruby. The second is that I was recently introduced to The Owl House. Luz and Amity’s relationship has a lot of similarities to Weiss and Ruby. Both start with a cold and unforgiving person who is thawed by the loveable dolt. Bringing out there more natural playful side, originally hidden away to protect themselves. Now after the loss of Penny and Weiss being so accepting of Ruby in the ever after. She is the first to call her name when she returns and doesn’t ask any questions, after all. I can see it becoming cannon. If there is time. 

Thank you for reading this I know it is long but I felt I never saw much discussion about RWBY from this perspective. 

[celticcrossanon]

This is totally my opinion on Harry, Invictus and the Commonwealth. I think Harry’s greatest loss was the loss of their roles of President and VP of the Commonwealth Trust. If they lose Invictus a great deal of their “Plans” i.e. the Plans others have for using them. All of this is connected as I think Harry’s handlers have their ultimate goal of getting Harry back into a role with the Commonwealth which would allow a great deal of movement and economic and military activities within those countries populations, by his handlers, as Harry would be the face to put out any complaints by those who are fighting the multi national corporations and Tech companies that are trying to make inroads into those countries,  to get access to their resources, like oil, their land for development.  They have to have a face that is innocuous and who appears to be aligned with the Commonwealth countries. That face, the face of Invictus, gives them Carte Blanche to get into the country, to sell it as a Goodwill operation for Veterans etc. Without Invictus they lose that free pass to go right to the top of the countries hierarchy of ministers, presidents, meet a former prince routine of his and then integrate his own “connections” to the country with the blessing of the leaders as they trust Harry.  You know the Harry that keeps talking about “Africa, my true home, the place I am most comfortable” blah, blah. The desire of Invictus to get rid of Harry has proven to be very difficult as there are powerful corporations who want him there and it has nothing to do with athletes. With Harry as the face, and the beard for what is going on, he distracts from the real activities and puts out that she is 43% Nigerian (I am your sister, your mother, your wife blah, blah!). Don’t be fooled. This is all a charade, a scam…not by Harry, he is too stupid. Follow the money…this is all a distraction from issues like all the violence over there, i.e., African Parks. However, there is no question in my mind that H&M would do anything for money…greed is the touchstone here…and we already know that Harry would sell out his family for money. Can you imagine what he would do to an entity like the Commonwealth, that he does not care about at all?  Keep your eyes on these two, they are more dangerous than they look, because stupid people are very dangerous, because they will do anything for money.

*

Hi Nonny,

Thank you for sharing your opinion with us. :)

A few points that I want to comment on:

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is a local, UK based charity that is supposed to support young people aged 18-35 across the Commonwealth, focusing on social entrepreneurs who have founded organisations to address problems in their communities. So far it has funded projects in the following countries:

 3 in the UK, 5 in Uganda, 3 in Kenya, 3 in Cameroon, 2 in Malawi, 2 in South Africa, 2 in Rwanda, 2 in Tanzania, 2 in Nigeria, 1 in Ghana, 1 in Barbados, 1 in Guyana, 1 in St Lucia, 1 in Trinidad and Tobago, 1 in the Maldives, 1 in India, and 1 in Pakistan. 

That is 32 projects across 17 countries (out of 56 Commonwealth Nations). This is a small charity. It does not have an international reputation and I doubt that most people outside the UK would know about it.

Harry’s job as President was to be president of a UK based charity. It had nothing to do with the organisation of the Commonwealth if Nations.

With respect to the Commonwealth of Nations, any prominent position within the organisation is either filled by a Head of State or voted on by all Heads of State. If Harry wants one of those positions, for which he is woefully unqualified, he would have to do a deal with enough of the 56 Heads of State to be voted into the position. I can’t see that happening, myself, especially as many of them want the position to go to another country’s Head of State after King Charles. 

In addition, the Head of the Commonwealth has no power in any nation that makes up the Commonwealth. They can not be the face of anything except the Commonwealth as an organisation because they have no power in any of the individual countries (except for what is granted to them as Head of State of one or more of those countries).

Invictus is another matter, as Harry does have role as its patron that could include going to different countries to raise awareness/funds etc. Using that role for other motives makes sense.