Benji 🔻

things not to say when someone tells you they’re having a baby, from a transgender autistic guy named Algernon who has experienced a lot of trial and error:

Okay, I feel like I need to clarify that when I say that I want to ask why, I don’t mean I want to ask why in a ‘Ugh. Why would you do that? Being pregnant is so tacky, babies are gross.’ way, I am thinking ‘What made you decide to keep this pregnancy? Is it spur of the moment or did you want to be a parent? What do you hope your life with children will look like? How did you weigh the joy of parenthood with the stress and terror of humanity’s uncertain future?’ which are things I would never ask but things I am deeply curious about. It is a life path that is so different from my own that there is an urge to try to understand their point of view, not that I do not appreciate the significance and joy of having a child when you want to have a child.

I can’t remember if I told you guys this but my grandpa paid a guy to put up a rock retaining wall in the backyard when my grandparents moved into their house in 1966. They live at the bottom of a mountain. The wall finally collapsed this year and my grandfather with dementia was PISSED OFFFFFF and he wanted so badly to call the guy who did it and chew him out for doing a bad job. My grandma is trying to explain that the wall lasted 60 years and the guy who did the work is probably dead and it TURNS OUT HE IS STILL ALIVE. Now we’re worried grandpa is going to get through to him (small town) and we’re going to see two 85 year old men come to blows over a rock wall that has been there since the mid-60s. My grandpa is a scrapper, he’s been to jail over a bar fight, the possibility that he WOULD fight this guy is high.

I have been telling people for years that the company behind Pokemon Go had no-shit, for-realsies ties to the CIA and people never really took it that seriously. Anyway.

“you support gay rights so you must be gay”

“transition poses some ethical questions. Such as, from what age should you be allowed to irreversibly change your body.“

This is all completely true and correct, of course, but on the topic of changes that irreversibly change a child’s body, prithee, go and talk to a fucking ballet dancer.

I was a ballet dancer (among other styles of dance) for 10-11 years, starting at age 6-7ish. I loved it, but not enough to make a career out of it. Dance was just a way to exercise is a fun way.

Yes!!!! I did a review of literature on PFASs in human drinking water about half a year ago, and there is a lot of really good progress! Please celebrate this, please don't let this solution be forgotten (at least so quickly) as the ozone layer or acid rain.