Timbre

a funny thing about having conversations with people within institutions (academic in this case but also others) about gatekeeping, is that you end up having a conversation over and over in which you're like, "hey this alligator spike pit moat you have erected around your institution is keeping a lot of people out," and they're like, "well *I* navigated the alligator spike pit moat just fine," and you're like, "right. by dint of us having this conversation, you within the institution and me without, it is understood that you navigated the alligator spike pit moat. due to that being an inherent requirement of entering the institution," and they're like, "I don't think you understand the prestigious history of our alligator spike pit moat," and you're like, "is there a reason why there needs to be an alligator spike pit moat encircling the concept of higher education?" and they're like, "look, the alligator spike pit moat isn't for everyone. some people just aren't cut out for the alligator spike pit moat :)" and you're like, "right, yeah, like disabled people and people coming from poverty or unstable home environments or underserved communities or people dealing with difficult to navigate life events like pregnancy or abuse or prison or addiction or the death of a loved one, for example" and they're like, "how dare you imply that we are keeping those people out on purpose. it's their own problem if they can't wrestle the alligators and avoid the spikes while also disabled and/or poor and/or pregnant etc" and you're like, "well that seems evil," and they're like, "it sounds like maybe you're just bitter about the alligator spike pit moat because of your totally random individual experience with ONE bad alligator spike pit moat. have you considered therapy?" and you're like, "did you know that there's some patterns here in terms of how y'all are handling this stuff?" and they're like, "actually yes. we even have a department of alligator spike pit studies :)" and you're like, "that's great, how do I get access to and participate in those conversations?" and they're like, "well firstly you must cross the alligator spike pit moat"

teamwork makes the dream work. and dreamwork. makes shrek

The sea is a temple. The woods are a temple. Your own bedroom is a temple. The world is imbued with the spiritual. Worship is an act, not a place, and it can happen spontaneously, in reaction to the beauty of a moment.

the more i talk to extended family the more i learn that it was EXTREMELY obvious to all the adults around me as a child that something had gone horribly wrong and i needed professional help, but i guess there's some sort of prime directive thing where you can suggest to the kid's parents that the kid might need help but you can never ever ever let on to the kid that you can tell something is wrong. you just have to hold on to that until the kid becomes an adult who's able to say "so i think i experienced a lot of trauma when i was very little" and then you can say "yes, i know. i didn't know what happened but it was completely unmissable that something had." okay. thank you. that's very validating. but why did you leave me to suffer and keep feeling like there was no other explanation than that i was broken and going insane. would it really have been so bad to sit me down and go "i see you. i can't help much, but i can tell something happened and you're in a lot of pain. you deserve help and support. you're not going insane." or something. i don't know. my internal experience was mostly that i had suddenly become a bad child who couldn't seem to get anything right and was always being yelled at. maybe it would have helped if someone had said something.

This is why I wish I could still be a mentor. And anyone can do this if you are able- you can join Big Brothers Big Sisters or other mentorship programs. You can be the person to tell a child it's not their fault. I was able to do this for someone (I wish I could continue but I am too disabled now). But I want other people to know that you can spend just like.. one hour a week with a kid, one hour of someone giving them direct attention and showing interest in their interests, telling them they don't deserve to be yelled at, and that could make a huge difference for them.

Just saw my doctor type "FUCKED FOR LIFE" on my chart then he turned the screen away and stopped making eye contact with me

deadly seriously. I think it should be more acceptable to bring up your sex life in medical environments without feeling like you’re going to be judged or like you’re stepping out of line. we should be allowed to bring up sex-related goals during physiotherapy. we should be allowed to mention sex in chronic fatigue activity reports. we should be able to mention this stuff because it’s important and it matters. to a lot of people

I don’t understand why it’s unacceptable for me to say “hey look my main goal for these muscle strengthening exercises is to be able to hold my favourite sex position for longer”. like that’s crucial information for a medical professional to know. killing and maiming

this also applies to jacking it btw

Today was a pretty shit day. This is a nice post to see. Birthday hat tree.

I hope tomorrow is kinder. 🌱

"why are so many leftists disabled" maybe it's because disabled people don't really care for the "kill all disabled people" parties but who can say