Embrace this universe like a blazing star

he had a career as a country artist, traveled around the US performing, and won an award! his sister considered herself a big fan of his and enjoyed his concerts. he also had spina bifida & used a mobility aids pushed by his sister. PinkNews recently posted this short quoting George on his transition & shows a clip of them talking about respecting one another's autonomy and privacy.

here's some pics of him & his sister Lori:

Levi's said yes, actually. Assless chaps and a biker vest. Happy Pride.

check if might be teenager - if so , remember probably also have weird opinions or biases as teenager . adjust approach accordingly - sometimes to not approach is best scenario . unfortunately public social media is more common than private diaries now - this is symptom of larger problem , do not just blame teens .

some people say ridiculous , cruel things just to stir up anger - and then laugh at everyone who argue . try not to let anger jump ahead of sensibility .

some people say important things without proper fact check , or without check context of original discussions . if something is so important to share , then try to find that first and get proper grasp .

some people say things very defensively , whether specific topic or in general . step back and give some grace , try to understand why . from what contexts and backgrounds do this person speak ?

can not always assume malice and lack of care without definitive signs - some people unfortunately unaware of impacts . still , most people have hard time to listen if feel like approach with anger or frustration , regardless how justifiable that is . try to handle these situations with grace - and if grace is not possible , know how to step back and cool down .

remember , as well , not everyone intend for posts to become widespread - what intend as personal vent or opinion piece is now point of discussion for dozens , hundreds , if not thousands of people , regardless if original poster apologise , rephrase , or retract . consider whether someone else already say what want to say , and if even necessary anymore .

( might also want to consider : offer some relief , if appropriate . anonymous niceties or small talk questions can really help . )

sometimes , will still not come to agreeable conclusion with someone - sometimes just struggle to get on same page and understand perspective for any number of reasons , sometimes run out of energy to continue , sometimes discussion partner prove malice outright . in any case , know when to say done and move on , so to not completely burn out .

might not always be perfect with these even so , kossai sure is not . but to try best and take steps is better than not at all - for others' sake , and for own sake especially .

I was about to make a post about how that’s funny and how, y’know people can have our lemons, it’s not a big deal because the tree pumps them out like gangbusters, but I really can’t make that post without thinking of… them…

There are 760,000 Australians on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the system that - if they feel like it and your personalised plan says you get to have it - provides funding for everything from personal hygiene care to support workers to therapies to assistive technology. It's already very hard for disabled people to get on the NDIS, regardless of your disability. It's near impossible to access most support and equipment without being on the NDIS. And the government has announced that they want that number to drop to 600,000 in four years. 160,000 of us cut off the Scheme - and countless more denied access. This will cause deaths. People will die and people will suffer because there is no safety net. The NDIS is the only option for most of us. Even private health insurance doesn't cover most of these things. Nobody will swoop in to save us.

The bill wants to give the (non disabled!) NDIS minister basically unlimited power to cut our funding. They're already planning what they'd do with that power. What rights they'll strip from us. What dignity and freedom they'll remove to make their budget look better.

The bill wants to force people to try every treatment out there before they're allowed to be on the NDIS. Including if the treatment is literally impossible to access. There’s a lot of us living in regional areas or out bush who can't just pop to the capital cities for specialists. This will especially hurt disabled First Nations people in regional and remote communities, who already experience limited access to healthcare.

If you're australian and worried, the ABC did a good breakdown of the proposed changes.

I know australia stuff doesn't really pop up on the radar on this site, but I want everyone to know what's going on. What we're fighting for here. Your australian disabled friends might be NDIS participants fearing for their life, rights, and freedom. They might not be a participant and afraid these changes mean they never will have access. We deserve better. The government built a system with no backup plan, and now they want hundreds of thousands of disabled people to pay the price for their bad planning.

People in media always pinch themselves to prove they’re not dreaming. I can pinch myself in a dream, feel that pain, and continue dreaming though. Is that unusual? Is it a chronic pain thing to feel dream pain? Do other people have this experience?