words words words wo

"Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Wednesday protecting the rights of LGBTQ people from Minnesota and other states to receive gender affirming health care, as he slammed the tide of other states rolling back transgender rights.

“We want every Minnesotan to grow up feeling safe, valued, protected, celebrated, and free to exist as their authentic versions of themselves,” Walz said. “Protecting and supporting access to gender affirming health care is essential to being a welcoming and supportive state.” ...

Walz’s executive order parallels legislation awaiting a floor vote in the state House to make Minnesota a “trans refuge state” by protecting trans people, families and care providers from a range of legal repercussions for traveling to Minnesota for gender affirming care, which includes a wide range of social and medical interventions.

While sponsors said they’re optimistic about passage in the coming weeks, the governor said the accelerating trends against trans rights in other states made it urgent for him to impose protections immediately.

The bill is authored by Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke, of St. Paul, Minnesota’s first openly transgender legislator. It would prohibit the state from enforcing court orders or child protection laws from other states if they interfere with a person’s right to seek gender affirming care in Minnesota.

The importance of the governor’s order to LGBTQ people across the nation can’t be overstated, she said.

“The lives of trans and gender expansive people this nation are under attack,” Finke said. “There is a full-scale movement in this nation against trans, nonbinary, two-spirit and gender expansive adults and children that seeks to make our community disappear.”

A separate bill banning so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ children and vulnerable adults won approval in the Minnesota House last month and is awaiting a floor vote in the Senate."

Portrait of a Young Woman, Jean-Etienne Liotard 

As someone who has epilepsy and used to have several grand mal seizures a day, I’d also like to add that “offer help” can range anywhere from keeping the person calm to explaining to them where they are and what they were doing to even just telling them they should sit and rest for a while longer (lack or coordination is common, and it can be hard to walk straight or see clearly).

It’s okay for them to take up to a half hour to fully regain their bearings and sort out what they were doing prior to the seizure. Just answer any questions calmly and be there for support.

If they come around and you start to panic or shake them or ask them what the heck is wrong with them they are going to freak out and panic too.

I cannot stress it enough that this is bad.

DO NOT CALL THE POLICE. I’m dead fucking serious. I had a grand mal in public once and the POLICE were called and imagine coming out of the seizure, feeling like you got smacked in the head with a sack full of bricks, confused, dazed, in desperate need of some sugar to boost low blood pressure and some DIPSHIT has called the police and I was being threatened with being ‘drunk and disorderly’. It took a phone call to my doctors office to get them to back off. The police cannot properly deal with sick people. 

Offer help can be:

assuring person where they are/what time it is

getting them something to drink if they can; seizure burns so much energy and does cause a blood pressure drop

getting them safely to transport or a carer

getting them some dignity like a blanket/towel [loosing control of your bladder and bowels is fucking horrifying]

ensuring they have a way to get home. Someone who has just had a seizure should NEVER DRIVE straight after

calling emergency services if you notice any of these symptoms because they may have stroked out.

Why you shouldn’t put anything in someone’s mouth: they will choke. Yes, they may bite their tongue but I can assure you it’s less traumatic than cracking your jaw on someone’s greasy wallet or choking on a spoon.

Some people are legitimately allergic to thd proteins in certain meats and can’t even eat anything cooked in the same pan as X meat product/s.

As an epidemiologist I can list a few of the more annoying longer explanations that no one wants to have to explain to every person who ever offers them food:

- You drank water contaminated with giardia, which gave you 3 weeks of diarrhea followed by 3 years of lactose intolerance

- You were bitten by a Lone Star Tick and developed an allergy to beef and pork because the Lone Star Tick is a bastard

- You are Jewish and the meat isn’t kosher, but you don’t want to say that because antisemitism is A Thing and you don’t want to get bombarded with questions about the Middle East while you’re hungry

- You are Muslim and the meat isn’t halal, but you don’t want to say that because Islamophobia is A Thing and you don’t want to get bombarded with questions about the Middle East while you’re hungry

- You are on a restricted diet for medical reasons and don’t want to get bombarded with questions about your medical history while you’re hungry

- You are on a restricted diet for reasons that *are nobody’s business* and don’t want to get pulled into Potentially Triggering Diet Talk while you’re hungry.

Do not feed anyone anything you don’t want to have to answer for in court.

They may be ordering soy milk because they feel fancy about it.

Our they may order it because if you give them regular milk, they might die there and then and you killed them. Whether you intended that to be the outcome or not it’s irrelevant.

They may order gluten free because it’s so trendy.

Or they may do it because eating gluten means huge pain and, if repeated, irreversible damage to their internal organs.

They may be ordering meat-free because it makes them feel superior.

Or they might have some trauma related to eating meat that could lead to them gagging or even throwing up trying to eat meat, not to mention potentially giving them mental problems.

And for all these cases there are in-betweens.

I drink regular milk with no trouble whatsoever but I do like some of the plant-based alternatives as well. It’s variety.

However, whatever scenario we talk about, violating someone’s trust and consent is bound to make their day worse and you should not do that under any circumstances.

I had made friends with a big group of expat English teachers. And several were rabid vegans. I would mention when we went out to eat that I could not have soy as I was allergic. This was of course met with scoffs, because “no one’s allergic to soy!” Fun fact, it’s one of the major food allergens.

One day, a friend’s band was playing at a vegan place, and I was there with some friends. We were doing a group order, and I told them just to not order me anything with soy, but I had to run to the toilet. I came back and the food came. My friends asked me how it was, and I said it was good. The looked smug, and said, we knew you’d like tofu if you just had it right! I was so upset. I had to stop eating everything, and not 30 minutes later, I am back in the toilet sick as anything. My friends couldn’t understand why I was so sick. I finally said,“ Would you feed someone peanuts if they had a peanut allergy?” No, of course not! “Then why,” I asked, “did you think it was ok to trick me into eating soy when it makes me sick?” I told them I couldn’t trust them anymore, and now I was going to miss a friend playing in his band. I apologized to my friend, explained what happened, and said I’d catch their next performance. I was sick for two days.

Bring back Club Penguin for the kids