ban-joey

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[ban-joey]

something that should be taken with a grain of salt are the statistics talking about the high rates of mental illness + neurodivergence among trans people (ocd, bpd, adhd, autism, etc)

I see both sides of the political spectrum taking these studies at face value - conservatives say we're broken, and trans people try to come up with reasons why for example autism + gender dysphoria makes sense and why one of them feeds into another

at the end of the day you have to remember that we're the one category of people on this planet who are legally required to go see a psychiatrist in order to receive non-psychiatric medication and surgeries.

more trans people are in therapy by law than any other demographic of people, and as a result, this captures more comorbidities.

if I had to look at my own family & rates of mental illness?

mom, dad, 2 maternal aunts, maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother, sister, sibling, and me all have OCD.

7/9 of them are cishet, never been to therapy, never diagnosed. 2/9 are trans, required therapy for hormone treatment, and were diagnosed.

you don't have to do any math to just see that the resulting statistics end up intensely skewed.

and we can think back to how autism was virtually never diagnosed more than 50 years ago - ruling out any grandparents being included in statistics - and even my parents' generation (they're in their 60s now) wouldn't have been included either.

I don't think it's to anyone's benefit to accept these studies uncritically. a lot of these things are hereditary and far more prevalent in the overall population than people realize

[ban-joey]

Just checking!

[ban-joey]

the world is strange and big and beautiful and a lot of it statistically is bugs

[ban-joey]

My housemate's cat came into my room while my dictation was on...

[ban-joey]

As a trans woman I think it's really important that we make the switch from gendered washrooms to unisex single occupancy ones so that adults who still live with their parents because housing is unaffordable can meet up and suck and fuck eachother at coffee shops.

[ban-joey]

[ban-joey]

Avian flu in North America: What we know as of Nov 16, 2024.

This post will have a west coast USA focus as that is where I live and currently a hotspot. Canadians are welcome to add on if they know more about their government response.

H5N1 is zoonotic. We do not know to what extent fully, but dairy cattle can carry it asymptomatically and pass it through their milk. The virus is killed by pasteurization (which you can do at home!). Do not drink raw milk right now (or ever maybe, but that’s another can of worms). Source: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/investigation-avian-influenza-h5n1-virus-dairy-cattle

Cats can also get avian flu. It can be lethal to them. Source: https://www.woah.org/app/uploads/2023/07/qa-avian-influenza-in-cats.pdf

A teen in British Columbia is currently infected and in critical condition. We do not know the source of the infection. Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/canadas-national-lab-confirms-h5n1-hospitalized-teen

Oregon just had its first confirmed human case. Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4993916-cdc-detects-first-human-bird-flu-case-in-oregon/amp/

Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle just had an avian flu death of a not-on-display bird and is locking down all birds. Source: https://blog.zoo.org/2024/11/confirmed-avian-flu-case-at-woodland.html?m=1

H5N1 is being monitored in wastewater and is notably detected throughout California. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html

CURRENT BEST PRACTICES FOR SAFETY:

As previously mentioned, do not consume raw dairy products.

It is believed to be airborne. Mask up - Covid and Avian Flu are threats still!

Wash hands before and after interactions with any birds.

Bring cats indoors.

If you have birds, do not allow people who have been in the area of recent outbreaks near birds. Require all visitors to step in diluted bleach foot baths. If possible, keep birds in limited and covered areas.

Any birds moving between areas should be quarantined for several weeks with zero cross contamination between them and other birds.

Please feel free to add further info I may have missed, or as it becomes known.

[ban-joey]

@ban-joey opened his present a little early so I can post these silly little guys after waiting for months :3

Wildlife of Puget Sound ecosystem plus a bonus clownfish

Featuring the market squid, harbor seal, clownfish, anemone, and sockeye salmon with a pack of sardines for fun 🎣

[ban-joey]

His little pony...

[ban-joey]

go there