polarize, irritate, contaminate

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

omg. omg. 503 Cubadult and 610 are courting.

610 is 11 years old and small. really, really small. 503 Cubadult is 12 years old, and big. really, really big.

They were both emancipated by their mothers at 1.5 years old, rather than the standard in Katmai of 2.5 or 3.5 years old. The difference between them is that 503 was adopted by an unrelated mother bear (435 Holly) who kept him until he was 3.5 years old, while 610 had to survive on her own -- and so her growth was stunted as a result.

idk man. im just having a lot of feelings about this. two bears who survived the same circumstance against all odds, but who took totally different paths. two of the miracle stories of brooks river: the little girl who survived all on her own when she never should have needed to, and the little boy who found a second family to take him in and keep him safe.

i was going through my posts from the past season, and i stumbled upon this post again, which led me to these tags. and i felt compelled to share them.

"...You'll gain weight" 🚫

Wrong

Body negative

You need way more calories than a slice of cake to gain even one pound

"...You'll get sick" ✔

Correct

Sugar is good but if you eat too much you get stummy ache :(

Better when eaten in moderation anyway

Prioritizes listening to your body

"...Without me" 👀

Secret third option?

Encourages community

Get sick with someone you love