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With the state of the world currently. Do you think we need to “push” more queer literature?

I ask because there was a discussion happening around me where it ended in for the next 4-5 years queers just need to keep their heads down and survive. It didn’t quite sit well with me but i was just wondering your thoughts.

So I actually sympathize a lot with the want to just keep queer literature quiet and keep to ourselves for the next few years, but I don't think that's possible to begin with so it's kind of useless to even argue about. How would that work? Telling publishers to stop publishing gay books? (Oh no, what will we do without the 5 YA queer books we get every year...) Telling artists to stop creating?

The truth is that queer media isn't even in the spotlight now. It still barely exists. If I go to the bookstore, I have to hunt for the gay books. If I go to my local theater right now, I won't see a gay movie playing. A lot of discourse about queer characters in big movies is still mostly about side characters, background Star Wars women sharing a kiss. Things are not better or worse for queer people because of queer literature existing in the small quantities that it does now — things are worse for queer people because capitalism crisis = fascism.

So who cares? Publish as many gay books as you can because it doesn't really make a difference on whether policymakers are going to legislate on your right to live. Whether you write "i want all heteros to die and everyone should be on hormones starting at age 10" or not, they're still not going to like you. They're going to say you said that anyway. Politicians are liars and their friends are liars and even generally reasonable people (raised in a cishetero society and brainwashed by it) will believe them.

Again, I'm very sympathetic to hoping we can just keep our head down, but even if we could, they're not going to reward us for that, you know. Theyre not going to suddenly forget we exist. Do you think a high school bully would stop beating you up if you submissively bowed down?? No, they'd just laugh and keep hitting you, maybe even harder

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Could somebody be a paramedic if they were missing a forearm?

Y’know, sometimes a question comes along that exposes your biases. I’m really, really glad you asked me this.

My initial instinct was to say no. There are a lot of tasks as a paramedic that require very specific motions that are sensitive to pressure: drawing medications, spreading the skin to start IVs. There’s strength required–we do a LOT of lifting, and you need to be able to “feel” that lift.

So my first thought was, “not in the field”. There are admin tasks (working in an EMS pharmacy, equipment coordinator, supervisor, dispatcher) that came to mind as being a good fit for someone with the disability you describe, but field work….?

(By the way, I know a number of medics with leg prostheses; these are relatively common and very easy to work with. I’m all in favor of disabled medics. I just didn’t think the job was physically doable with this kind of disability.)

Then I asked. I went into an EMS group and asked some people from all across the country. And the answers I got surprised me.

They were mostly along the lines of “oh totally, there’s one in Pittsburgh, she kicks ass” or “my old partner had a prosthetic forearm and hand, she could medic circles around the rest of her class”. One instructor said they had a student with just such a prosthesis, and wasn’t sure how to teach; the student said “just let me figure it out”, and by the end of the night they were doing very sensitive skills better than their classmates.

Because of that group I know of at least a half-dozen medics here in the US with forearm and hand prostheses.

So yes. You can totally have a character with one forearm, who works as a paramedic for a living.

Thanks again for sending this in. It broadened my worldview.

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

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the true meaning of Christmas is telling museum guests about Snapdragon

what is Snapdragon? glad you asked

it's a Victorian Christmas game whereby you try to grab currants out of a bowl of flaming alcohol, with your bare hands

I'm told there's some Science wizardry whereby you don't actually burn yourself- most of the time -and videos I've seen of people playing it nowadays would seem to bear that out. but like...STILL

(It goes back to the 16th century, though this image is 1890s)

Merry Crisis and a Snappy New Year :)

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an incomplete taxonomy of christmas music

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Instead of "live laugh love" or "home is where the heart is" my (wonderful, progressive, very accepting) dad put up the racism sign in the foyer

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You guys are asking for a kitten-scale house as though I don't have that already

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When strawberries are life

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Ok

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Are there any anglophone Christians who don't think CS Lewis was basically (secretly) part of their denomination of Christianity rather than an Anglican?

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The world is in desperate need of men who are kind and conscientious. I'm very grateful for any trans men that fit that description. ❤️

hey guys we can all agree its like, incredibly sad and fucked up when a trans man feels like he has to apologize for being a man, right. like even jokingly. it’s very concerning that people have created an environment where a trans person is expected to be apologetic about their identity, right.

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WHAT???? Fuck him

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My bearded dragon is fascinated by the falling snow outside. He keeps going to the window to stare at it. He woke up from brumating to look at the snow.

He’s a desert species smh what does he want to do with snow...