#September 11 first-responder shares an important message

[jadagul]

I just went to an outdoor performance of Come From Away at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Septempter 11 attacks.

First: if you think you might want to see the musical, please go see it. It was a really intense experience, extremely cathartic, I cried through the entire thing, and I'm still feeling emotional after an hour walk home.

More analytically: I think that Come From Away is really a modern take on an _oratorio_. 9/11 is one of the central dates in the American civic religion; like Good Friday, it isn't really a holiday but it is definitely a holy day.

And the show itself doesn't really have a conventional narrative. It weaves together a bunch of personal stories of people responding to being stranded mid-travel after September 11. There isn't really a big climactic event. You already know basically how it ends (eventually they let the planes fly again! This isn't a big mystery!).

It's more of a meditation on how to respond to grief and tragedy and disaster, as told through specific stories about 9/11. And it has an explicit message of the importance of coming together, supporting our neighbors (and everyone counts as our neighbors), and being friendly and open and welcoming to people from all backgrounds. (Prominent characters include a gay couple, an Egyptian Muslim, a rabbi, and non-English-speaking African Christians.)

And this message was made more explicit by the three-minute speech the Canadian ambassador gave before the show. :P Acting, basically, as a minister or priest of the shared American-Canadian civic religion.

So it's not a conventional musical, and it's almost a secular religious experience. It was very moving. It will resonate with me for a while, and I'm glad I got to go to a very special performance of it.

[artificialqueens]

Sweet like Sugar (Branjie) - Delia

AN: Hey lovelies! This is my first time writing fic, so please be gentle but also let me know what you think…a little Branjie sugar mommy for your nerves x ps: if you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to hit me up on @thvnderfuckz pps: tw for some, very minor, implied daddy kink

BLH

25/F/New York City

I’m a 25 year old dancer from Toronto, working to start my career. I like fashion, nights out, and travelling. Seeking a partner who is fun, adventurous, and willing to support me in pursuit of my dream.

Brooke Lynn read over her bio for what must have been the seventh time in as many minutes and let out a sigh. Each draft that she’d written had sounded more robotic than the last. It’d been a long time since she had to write anything like this, having deleted Tinder, Bumble, and HER off her phone not long after she left Toronto. Since moving to New York, she’d discovered that she much preferred going out and finding women to hook up with in person. With her long blonde hair, dancer’s physique, and innate flirtiness, it was easy enough to find someone willing to take her home for the night. Easier, at least, than talking to a girl on an app for weeks, only to find out that she was interested in a long term commitment, and having to deal with their messy emotions after Brooke told them that she wasn’t interested. If there was one thing that she did not do, it was relationships.

And now, she was trying to get paid to be in one.

She’d be lying if she said that she never thought she’d be in a position like this. From the time Brooke had told her friends and family that she’d wanted to pursue dance as a full time career, she’d been given the “wouldn’t you rather something more secure” speech more times, and by more people than she could be bothered to count. Even her older sister Katya, who’d chosen to make abstract semi-sacrilegious art her vocation in life, had tried to suggest to her that she do something with a future that was less uncertain. But Brooke knew that she was born to dance, no matter what anyone tried to tell her to the contrary. If anything, their doubt fuelled her drive, and made it all the sweeter when she’d been offered a role in ensemble of the Broadway production of Moulin Rouge! upon her graduation from Ryerson. The moment that she’d stepped off the plane at JFK and stepped into the apartment that she would be sharing with another ensemble member from the show, Scarlet, she felt as though she was living her wildest dreams come true.

In all of her excitement at the time, Brooke forgot that the most wonderful dreams often lead to the harshest wake ups.

Four months into her run, the cast began to notice a dwindling number of fans at the stage door after each performance. Five months into her run, cast and crew alike began whispering about finding new jobs soon. Six months into her run, on a particularly humid Sunday in July, the cast and crew were gathered by the production team before everyone left the theatre and were told that the show would be closing at the beginning of September, after the Labour Day weekend. Brooke immediately started panicking at the prospect of being out of a job in one of the most expensive cities in the world. There was nothing she wanted less than to have to move back home to Toronto with her tail between her legs.

It had been two years since Moulin Rouge! closed, and although Brooke had managed to avoid making the move back home, she hadn’t been able to get a job performing since. She was always too tall, or too technical, or didn’t have enough personality. She’d been able to find a job in the meantime, teaching classes at a dance studio in Tribeca, but the money she made from that was barely enough to cover her necessities. It certainly didn’t cover luxuries such as brunch with your ex-roommate, as Brooke found out after her credit card was declined at her and Scarlet’s bi-weekly date. She barely had time to try and form an apology before she witnessed Scarlet reaching into her purse and placing a crisp one hundred dollar bill on the table, telling the waitress to keep the sixty dollars in change. Her embarrassed expression transformed into one of jaw-dropped shock as the redhead pulled her from the restaurant.

On the walk back to the subway, Scarlet revealed to Brooke that she’d been various “mutually beneficial relationships” with different men since she’d first moved to the city when she was 19, and that it had been her main source of income even while she was performing.

“It’s easy money, plus it’s kind of empowering,” explained Scarlet in her low voice, which still held a hint of the drawl indicative of her Southern upbringing. “It’s like, they have the money but I have all the emotional power. Without me generously donating my time to them, all these men have are their frigid marriages, or soul sucking jobs. A lot of the time the only thing standing between these powerful, rich men and a complete nervous break is me. And if that’s not power, I don’t know what is. So if I have to laugh at a few bad jokes and kiss a couple of CEOs to be able to live the kind of life I want, all while knowing that I could end any of these men at any given moment, then so be it.”

Oddly inspired by her friend’s speech, Brooke downloaded the sugar dating app onto her phone later that day.

And now here she was, sitting in front of her laptop at 11:00 pm on a Saturday night, drinking a bottle of wine and stress reading her three sentence bio for at least the tenth time. Fuck it, she thought, this is as good as it’s gonna get.

After clicking the “submit” button, Brooke was redirected to a page showing all of the potential sugar daddies in her area. As she scrolled through pages upon pages of photos of headless torsos, she became increasingly regretful of her decision to not filter out men immediately.

CEToEs

Disgusting.

KinkyExec

Nope.

DominantDaddy

Absolutely not.

Brooke was a lesbian, and had known that since she was 14. However, Scarlet told her that there were far more sugar daddies than sugar mommies in the New York area, and that a lot of the time the men didn’t necessarily even want sex. But as she clocked the usernames of several of the daddies on the app, it was clear that the redhead had either lied to her or was somehow the most blissfully oblivious girl in the city.

The blonde promptly returned to her settings page and deselected men as an interest. When she returned to the home page, she was delighted to see the profiles of fifty-or-so women pop up. She began scrolling again, hoping that someone would catch her eye.

WorldsMostPunkRockMoms

Meh. The two blonde women in the thumbnail picture were definitely beautiful, but Brooke didn’t know how she felt about getting involved with a couple who had a child.

Detoxicant

The woman in this picture looked like she’d had a lot of plastic surgery. Still, she was hot. Brooke tapped the little heart icon next to the photo and continued scrolling.

Toward the bottom of the page there was one profile that had a little green dot next to the thumbnail. Brooke took a little comfort in the fact that she wasn’t the only one on this app at this time on a weekend night. She clicked on the profile and two pictures filled her screen. The first was a headless torso shot of a woman wearing an oversized Versace t-shirt as a dress. Although her face was out of frame, Brooke could tell that the woman’s hair was a caramel brown, at least at the tips, and went to just below her collarbone. The second image was another faceless picture, but in this one the woman was wearing a spaghetti strapped red dress, showing off her deeply tanned skin and an, in Brooke’s opinion, weirdly specific chest tattoo of a hairless cat atop a red rose. The bio beneath the pictures read:

V 23/F/New York City

no face pics because i gotta stay lowkey. promise i’m not gonna kill you or anything like that, just lookin for a cute girl i can take out and trEat right.

Brooke rolled her eyes at the innuendo and let out a small huff of a laugh. The girl obviously had some sort of sense of humour, which she supposed was important. And it was pretty impressive that someone so young was in a position where they could support someone else financially.

The green dot was still displayed next to V’s username. She was still online. Brooke took a deep breath and clicked the chat icon at the bottom of the screen, typing out a quick, hopefully flirty-but-without-coming-on-too-strong, message.

BLH: I hate to break it to you, but saying ‘I’m not gonna kill you’ sounds exactly like what someone who would kill me would say ;)

Brooke quickly exited out of the app and opened up Instagram to check and see if Katya or her wife had added any new photos of their cats or dog. Before she could even begin typing her sister’s name into the search bar, her phone dinged, letting her know that V had responded.

V: hate to break it to you babe but saying youre looking for a partner sounds like youre tryna open up a lawyers office

Brooke swore under her breathe. She knew she sounded too robotic.

BLH: Oh god, I’m sorry. I’ve never done anything

V: lol relax mami, youre cute with all your worrying

She bit down on her lower lip, half in frustration and half trying to suppress a smile. V was already teasing her about her worrying, and they hadn’t even met yet.

BLH: Aren’t you more of the mommy in this situation though ;)

V: i mean i usually prefer daddy ;)

Brooke felt a quick rush of heat to her center at the word “daddy”. She closed her eyes trying to stave away memories of various nights in the alleyways behind various bars with various women.

BLH: I think I can make that work ;)

V: listen, not to be too upfront but youre gorgeous and id love to take you out sometime if youd want?

V: we could meet and figure out an allowance or something if thats what you want! ive done this once before and it was a really good experience for both of us…i gave her around $8000 a month for rent and stuff but we could figure out something specially for you if you need somethin different

Brooke could’ve sworn she felt her heart stop when she read the word “month”. She’d never been with one single person for more than three nights, much less on a month to month basis. But V seemed nice at least. And if not nice, she was at least experienced at this kind of arrangement, and was apparently quite generous to boot. Eight thousand dollars a month would cover her rent and utilities almost four times over. Eight thousand dollars a month would mean that she wouldn’t have to worry about getting her card declined at brunch. Eight thousand dollars a month meant that she wouldn’t have to pick up every possible shift at the studio, and could spend more time going to auditions.

Eight thousand dollars a month meant that she was definitely not turning V down right off the bat.

BLH: I’d love that. Name the time and place, I’m free when you are.

BLH: Daddy ;)

Brooke Lynn Hayhoe doesn’t do relationships — but for eight thousand dollars a month, she was willing to fake it.

[pope-francis-quotes]

1st September >> (@Pontifex) ~ This is the season for letting our prayer be inspired anew by closeness to nature, which spontaneously leads us to give thanks to God the Creator. Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer For the Care of Creation.

1st September 2019

“And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:25). God’s gaze, at the beginning of the Bible, rests lovingly on his creation. From habitable land to life-giving waters, from fruit-bearing trees to animals that share our common home, everything is dear in the eyes of God, who offers creation to men and women as a precious gift to be preserved.

Tragically, the human response to this gift has been marked by sin, selfishness and a greedy desire to possess and exploit. Egoism and self-interest have turned creation, a place of encounter and sharing, into an arena of competition and conflict. In this way, the environment itself is endangered: something good in God’s eyes has become something to be exploited in human hands. Deterioration has increased in recent decades: constant pollution, the continued use of fossil fuels, intensive agricultural exploitation and deforestation are causing global temperatures to rise above safe levels. The increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather phenomena and the desertification of the soil are causing immense hardship for the most vulnerable among us. Melting of glaciers, scarcity of water, neglect of water basins and the considerable presence of plastic and microplastics in the oceans are equally troubling, and testify to the urgent need for interventions that can no longer be postponed. We have caused a climate emergency that gravely threatens nature and life itself, including our own.

In effect, we have forgotten who we are: creatures made in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27) and called to dwell as brothers and sisters in a common home. We were created not to be tyrants, but to be at the heart of a network of life made up of millions of species lovingly joined together for us by our Creator. Now is the time to rediscover our vocation as children of God, brothers and sisters, and stewards of creation. Now is the time to repent, to be converted and to return to our roots. We are beloved creatures of God, who in his goodness calls us to love life and live it in communion with the rest of creation.

For this reason, I strongly encourage the faithful to pray in these days that, as the result of a timely ecumenical initiative, are being celebrated as a Season of Creation. This season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home begins today, 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is an opportunity to draw closer to our brothers and sisters of the various Christian confessions. I think in particular of the Orthodox faithful, who have celebrated this Day for thirty years. In this ecological crisis affecting everyone, we should also feel close to all other men and women of good will, called to promote stewardship of the network of life of which we are part.

This is the season for letting our prayer be inspired anew by closeness to nature, which spontaneously leads us to give thanks to God the Creator. Saint Bonaventure, that eloquent witness to Franciscan wisdom, said that creation is the first “book” that God opens before our eyes, so that, marvelling at its order, its variety and its beauty, we can come to love and praise its Creator (cf. Breviloquium, II, 5, 11). In this book, every creature becomes for us “a word of God” (cf. Commentarius in Librum Ecclesiastes, I, 2). In the silence of prayer, we can hear the symphony of creation calling us to abandon our self-centredness in order to feel embraced by the tender love of the Father and to share with joy the gifts we have received. We can even say that creation, as a network of life, a place of encounter with the Lord and one another, is “God’s own ‘social network’” (Audience for the Guides and Scouts of Europe, 3 August 2019). Nature inspires us to raise a song of cosmic praise to the Creator in the words of Scripture: “Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth, sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever” (Dan 3:76 Vg).

It is also a season to reflect on our lifestyles, and how our daily decisions about food, consumption, transportation, use of water, energy and many other material goods, can often be thoughtless and harmful. Too many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation. Let us make an effort to change and to adopt more simple and respectful lifestyles! Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move, quickly and decisively, towards forms of clean energy and a sustainable and circular economy. Let us also learn to listen to indigenous peoples, whose age-old wisdom can teach us how to live in a better relationship with the environment.

This too is a season for undertaking prophetic actions. Many young people all over the world are making their voices heard and calling for courageous decisions. They feel let down by too many unfulfilled promises, by commitments made and then ignored for selfish interests or out of expediency. The young remind us that the earth is not a possession to be squandered, but an inheritance to be handed down. They remind us that hope for tomorrow is not a noble sentiment, but a task calling for concrete actions here and now. We owe them real answers, not empty words, actions not illusions.

Our prayers and appeals are directed first at raising the awareness of political and civil leaders. I think in particular of those governments that will meet in coming months to renew commitments decisive for directing the planet towards life, not death. The words that Moses proclaimed to the people as a kind of spiritual testament at the threshold of the Promised Land come to mind: “Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (Dt 3:19). We can apply those prophetic words to ourselves and to the situation of our earth. Let us choose life! Let us say “no” to consumerist greed and to the illusion of omnipotence, for these are the ways of death. Let us inaugurate farsighted processes involving responsible sacrifices today for the sake of sure prospects for life tomorrow. Let us not give in to the perverse logic of quick profit, but look instead to our common future!

In this regard, the forthcoming United Nations Climate Action Summit is of particular importance. There, governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the average increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius with respect to pre-industrial levels, in accordance with the Paris Agreement goals. Next month, in October, the Amazon region, whose integrity is gravely threatened, will be the subject of a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Let us take up these opportunities to respond to the cry of the poor and of our earth!

Each Christian man and woman, every member of the human family, can act as a thin yet unique and indispensable thread in weaving a network of life that embraces everyone. May we feel challenged to assume, with prayer and commitment, our responsibility for the care of creation. May God, “the lover of life” (Wis 11:26), grant us the courage to do good without waiting for someone else to begin, or until it is too late.

From the Vatican, 1st September 2019

FRANCIS

[911remembered]

9/11 1st Responders & Volunteers...Where Are They Now?

It’s been 17 years since 9/11/2001 changed the world forever…

People from all walks of life “answered the call” to help during our darkest hours…where are they now?

This video is just a taste of the full movie, but it conveys a strong message of how September 11 affected those who responded. The people depicted in this film are Ground Zero Responders & Volunteers. Their reactions during these interviews was recorded back in the mid 2000’s, not long after the attacks. Though short, this trailer is emotionally stirring and evokes genuine questions about the nature of humanity at the most challenging times.

This trailer was originally posted on the official 9/12 From Chaos To Community website, we are simply sharing it raise awareness among our 9/11 Community and rest of the world. To purchase the film, please visit their website.

[effieworldwide]

Winner Spotlight: “Re:scam” by Netsafe & DDB New Zealand

September 26, 2019

2019 APAC Effie Awards 2 Gold - IT/Telco & Brand Experience - Services

Netsafe is an independent, non-profit online safety organisation. It provides online safety support, expertise and education to people in New Zealand. It’s been around for more than 20 years, founded in 1998 to help New Zealand’s internet users stay safe online.

After noticing the growing influence of technology in their respective areas, the New Zealand Police, Ministry of Education and several not-for-profits teamed up with telecommunication organisations and IT industry partners to create an independent body focussed on online safety. Together they created the Internet Safety Group (rebranded Netsafe in 2008).

In 2018, Netsafe wanted to curb the alarming increase in phishing attacks - fraudulent attempts to obtain personal information through hoax or scam emails. Between 2015 and 2018, phishing attacks had grown by 65% worldwide, and just in New Zealand, $257m per year was being lost to cyber crime - and that’s just the reported amount. The shame and humility victims feel after falling prey to an internet scam means most attacks go unreported.

So Netsafe partnered with DDB New Zealand to create the “Re:scam” initiative, a crew of AI chatbots designed to respond directly to scammers’ tactics. Since launch, the bots have saved thousands from falling victim.

“Re:scam” earned 11 Effies – including seven Gold – in the 2018 Effie Awards New Zealand and 2019 APAC Effie Awards competitions, in categories including IT/Telco, Data Driven, Limited Budget, and Experiential.

Below, Rupert Price, Chief Strategy Officer at DDB New Zealand, explains how it worked.

Effie: What were your objectives for “Re:scam”?

RP: The objectives for the “Re:scam” campaign were relatively straightforward.

First, make people aware of the dangers of internet phishing scams. It was important to educate New Zealanders on the telltale signs of email scams and also to reassure them that they weren’t alone. By demonstrating that this was a widespread problem, we could show New Zealanders there was no shame or humility in being the target of an email scammer – it happens to all of us. This would be measured by earned media coverage, as we had no budget to buy media exposure.

Second, give internet users a tool to fight back against phishing scams. Not only did we want to reduce the number of people falling prey to such scams, we also wanted to discourage the scammers in the first place. By showing the scammers that people were on to them, although outside of legal jurisdiction, we wanted to show them people were prepared to fight back. This would be measured by the level of direct engagement with the campaign.

Third, make people aware of Netsafe’s role in keeping Kiwis safe from harm online. We wanted New Zealanders to know there was an organization protecting their interests online and to show them that they had somewhere to turn if they had any concerns about online safety. Knowing you are not alone is powerful encouragement when fighting back against cyber crime. This would be measured by visits and enquiries to the Netsafe website.

Effie: What was the strategic insight that drove the campaign? 

RP: Obviously email scammers rely on the art of disguise, exploiting people’s inherent sense of trust through pretending to be someone they’re not. To succeed, this scheme relies on most people to be trusting, which most New Zealanders generally are. 

Our big insight was, of course, that this ‘bond of trust’ has to work both ways. Not only does the email recipient have to believe they are dealing with a credible sender, but the scammer also has to believe they are dealing with a gullable and willing recipient for the scam to work.

This breakthrough insight gave us our big idea. We were going to beat the email scammers at their own game. If they were going to impersonate people with an ‘offer too good to be true’ then we would impersonate a willing and gullible victim to waste their time - without wasting ours.

Effie: What was your big idea? How did you bring the idea to life?

RP: An AI-powered chatbot that imitated human victims, wasting scammers’ time and protecting real people from harm. Re:scam was an AI-based initiative that gave people a tool to fight back against scammers. When someone received a phishing email, they could forward it to me@rescam.org. Our program then picked up the conversation and replied to the scammer based on the email. Replies were designed to lead scammers on for as long as possible with exchanges that wasted limitless hours of their time.

Effie: If scammers were busy talking to a robot, they weren’t talking to real people.

RP: This was a good first step, but at its heart Re:scam was a faceless entity, not built to be shared en masse. Because we had no media budget, if we wanted to give ourselves a chance of breaking into culture and driving mass awareness, we needed to give the bot some personality. Or rather, multiple personalities.

We introduced AI cat-phishing to the world with a deliberate blend of human and computer-generated creativity.

We engaged IBM’s AI ‘Watson’ to help analyse the content of messages and formulate responses, and created a digital video as the centre-piece of our communications. This mirrored the multiple personalities of Re:scam by showing different C.G. faces and voices flickering in and out.

To show that anyone could be a victim of an email scam, Re:scam was created to mimic various types of personalities. With deliberate spelling mistakes and malapropisms, each “character” had their own backstory and unique way of talking.

From the retiree asking “The Illuminati” if they had a bingo night he could join (and who sent his bank details through One. Number. At. A. Time), to the single mother who was excited to win big money, each was programmed to be as frustrating and time-consuming as possible, while remaining human enough to avoid detection. Sometimes our bots would accuse the scammers themselves of being bots.

Every time they got a response, they now had to second guess themselves.

Effie: How did you measure the effectiveness of the effort? Were there any surprises in the results?

RP: Being a campaign designed to directly encourage consumer interaction (for the campaign to work, it required people to do something), primary measurement was relatively simple. The campaign would succeed or fail based on the number of people who forwarded on their phishing emails and let the Re:scam AI bots to do their thing. 

The thing that surprised us most was the sheer volume of responses we received. 210,000 scam emails were forwarded onto us over the campaign period. Most of these were from New Zealand but many were from overseas also. The big learning for us was that an entirely earned and owned channel campaign in today’s media landscape is a truly global campaign, if the idea is strong enough.

The secondary measurement of the campaign, the objective of which was to raise awareness of the issue, showed the earned media coverage for the campaign was everwhere. Through New Zealand news media outlets Re:scam reached an audience of 4m+ across all networks, (that’s nearly the entire population of NZ, by the way). However, the campaign’s global reach was in excess of $300m+ through media outlets as diverse as The BBC, The Guardian, El Pais and CNN.

Effie: What was the greatest challenge you faced when creating this campaign, and how did you approach that challenge?

RP: The greatest challenge we faced with the Re:scam campaign is that we had no media budget. As Netsafe is a non-profit NGO, its primary channel of communication is though the news media. It relies on the ‘newsworthiness’ of the issues to get picked up in the news media and carried to the audience.

Of course, this is a high-risk strategy. There was no guarantee the news media would be intrigued by our initiative, and depending on the news cycle of the day, other stories might take precedent. The news media creates interest, which is then amplified on social media. Since pickup from news channels is vital, we must always push ourselves to come up with ideas that create interest beyond the issue itself. In the case of Re:scam, we knew internet scamming and phishing tactics was a topic of public interest, but we also knew that our unique and innovative AI bot solution would be of equivalent news interest.

Of course, we also had to build the AI Bot, which was no mean feat itself!

Effie: What lessons can marketers take away from your work?

RP:

Don’t be afraid to try something that has never been done - someone has to be first, so why not you?

If it doesn’t exist, be prepared to build it yourself.

Don’t let a lack of a budget hold you back - great ideas will always prevail if there’s enough will and conviction behind them.

Make sure your campaign or initiative ‘adds value’ to your audience in some way. If it’s not through utility or enlightenment, at the very least entertain them along the way.

***

Rupert Price is the Chief Strategy Officer at DDB New Zealand/Interbrand New Zealand.

Rupert’s career in advertising spans nearly eighteen years in London’s most pre-eminent agencies and now nearly eight years in New Zealand. In the UK, Rupert worked on brand and advertising strategy with Y&R, AMV BBDO, JWT, Saatchi&Saatchi and Ogilvy. 

Beginning with local projects for companies including Kellogg’s, Unilever, The Army and Sainsbury’s, Rupert broadened his skill set to take on global strategic roles for BP, SAB Miller, Unilever and American Express amongst others. In 2010, Rupert relocated with his young family to New Zealand. 

Now working with DDB and Interbrand, Rupert has delivered strategic projects for Westpac, Lion, The Warehouse, Lotto NZ and now Vodafone. Rupert has won numerous IPA Effectiveness Awards, Effies and APG Awards and has been involved in highly awarded advertising campaigns including Persil ‘Dirt is Good’ and Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty.’

Awards earned by “Re:scam”:

2019 APAC Effie Awards: GOLD – IT/Telco GOLD – Brand Experience - Services SILVER – Data Driven

2018 Effie Awards New Zealand: GOLD – Limited Budget GOLD – Most Effective Use of Digital Technology GOLD – Most Effective PR/Experiential Campaign GOLD – Best Strategic Thinking GOLD – Most Progressive Campaign SILVER – New Product or Service SILVER – Short Term Success BRONZE – Social Marketing/Public Service

Read more Winner Spotlight interviews >

2018 Effie Awards New Zealand judge Mark Earls shares his thoughts on “Re:scam”

[imightbeapotatobutihavestandards]

He’s Hurting Me Pt 12

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11 | part 12 | part 13 |

Summary: It’s Virgil’s birthday, the day he dreads all year round, but this year, he has friends who are insistent on making this his best birthday yet... unfortunately others don’t share their enthusiasm 

Triggers: Explicit language, swearing, violence, mentions of attempted suicide, blood...also very long, I would say it’s to make up for me being gone for a week but I really don’t like this chapter so... I’m very sorry

Part 12

Virgil stared up at his ceiling, contemplating the passage of time. He grabbed his phone, letting the artificial light temporarily blind him, before noting how late it was.

Seven minutes to twelve.

Seven minutes.

Seven minutes to his birthday, until he is officially one year older. He felt his anxiety spike again. His birthday only reminded him of time, and his time was running out. He was reminded of the exams to come. The colleges and universities to apply to. He was reminded of the future he had to know. Everything was changing. He’d lose everyone. Or they’d lose him. Virgil was younger, in the year below everyone else, they’d be leave him behind. Patton was off to work, to travel with his brother. Logan would be studying at some advanced university. Roman had a scholarship to a prestigious performing arts course. Virgil would be stuck here, going nowhere, entirely alone, for a year.  He couldn’t even think of where he’d be in two years, he had no idea what he wanted. Creative writing was always an option, but what if he wasn’t good enough for the course? What if he never found what he wanted to do? He felt his insides twist around themselves as he thought about fading from his friends lives, about them forgetting him.

Think logically, he told himself in Logan’s voice. He’d figure out what he wanted to do eventually. He didn’t have to know now. His exams were ages away, there was nothing he could do for them now. No matter what, Patton would always stay in contact with him. Besides, his friends were still here, they weren’t leaving until next September, he didn’t have to say goodbye just yet.

He still had time.

He felt some pressure release. Sometimes, he was able to think reasonably, and he was greatly appreciated Logan’s help in that. This was a only a momentary peace, but so long as he kept reminding himself of facts, he could avoid a full blown panic attack. So he clung to these moments; the way Logan had told him to.

He thought of Logan. Although cold, and almost emotionless at first, Virgil couldn’t help but feel calm about him. Logan was honest, and that was reassuring. He was responsible, in a way he was like Patton, he seemed to always know what exact thing he needed: a bit tired? He’d buy Virgil a coffee. Exhausted and running off barely any food or drink? Absolutely no coffee, lots of water, some food. On the verge of a panic attack? Calm, assured, reasoning. Full on panic attack? Patton. It was funny, how well Logan and Patton complimented each other. They were polar opposites, yet worked well together, and it wasn’t as if Virgil didn’t notice how Patton perked up that bit more, or would sit that little bit closer, to Logan. It was adorable, really.

Virgil found himself and Logan agreeing a lot on things, and Logan actually understood him pretty well. Virgil thought about how before, he’d only ever been fully comfortable around Patton, he assumed it was because he’d known Patton for so long, yet he and Logan seemed to have some kind of unspoken bond. He was comfortable with Logan, and Logan with him.

Buzz.

Virgil jolted violently as his phone went off, he grabbed it and once again allowed himself to be glared at by the bright light. Squinting, he noticed the time, and panic struck again.

Twelve.

It was officially his birthday.

Virgil’s eyes scanned the rest of his screen, seeing a notification from Roman there.

Now that was an odd one. Virgil remembered, vividly, the hatred he had felt for Roman the night before the play: his arrogance was frustrating, he was always obnoxiously loud, and was extremely stressful to deal with. Virgil had hated him… and then they’d met, and his eyes had glistened brightly, and his smile had tugged slightly more to one side, and he’d hated how that’d made him feel. He’d hated how easily he’d accepted the compliments and charisma. Hated how instantly he’d felt okay in his presence. And then, Virgil had really started hanging out with Roman, and they’d argue over every little thing. Virgil chuckled thinking back to just yesterday.

“Virgil, you can’t call me a nerd if you are arguing in defence of Star Wars.”

“Yes I can if you’re arguing for Star Trek, nerd.”

“Star Trek is infinitely better than Star Wars!” Roman argued back, enthusiastically waving his hands around.

“No, it’s not! Star Wars has an actual plot, a well-developed plot! Star Trek, they went back in time to save a whale, w-“ Virgil was promptly cut off by the boy in front of him.

“Yes, and it was magnificent!” Roman decided passionately. “It’s light-hearted, engaging, touches on some important and complex themes, and showcases a diverse cast!”

“Okay sure, especially for the time.” Virgil admitted. “I’ll give you that. But, it’s still nothing compared to Star Wars.”

“Just because Han Solo’s hot…” Roman mumbled, faking a pout and crossing his arms.

Virgil dramatically placed a hand on his heart, looking offended. “Roman, how dare you assume I’m as shallow as you… besides Ewan McGregor’s hotter.” He grinned.

Roman chuckled, nodding his head rapidly. “You’ve got me there, plus that man can sing.” Roman said dreamily.

“I know, Moulin Rouge is actually my favourite film.”

Roman’s eyes went wide and locked onto Virgil, he wasn’t sure if he was this happy because someone else appreciated Ewan McGregor’s singing, or because it was Virgil appreciating any kind of singing… actually that’s a lie, it was entirely because it was Virgil.

“Oh my-“ Roman cut himself off by wrapping his arms around Virgil. Virgil couldn’t help tensing up slightly, but he quickly relaxed, smirking a bit.

“Okay, whatever, you win this debate, just because you said a MUSICAL is your favourite film!” Virgil laughed at Roman, and was fairly sure Patton was fangirling in the background.

Roman pulled back, but clasped his hands on Virgil’s shoulders firmly. “ We need to watch it together.”

Virgil pretended as if he was considering it, when really, he’d already decided.

“Hmm…”

“Please, please, please!”

“I don’t know, I quite like watching you beg.” He smirked, but inside began freaking out.

Roman’s eyes widened, but allowed his lips to twist upwards. He seemed at a loss for words, which was unusual. Their eye contact lasted longer that perhaps it should, and Roman’s smile became more of a smirk every moment, maybe Virgil had actually said something right for once?

“Alright then Princey, I’ll watch it with you… if you bring the snacks.” Roman cheered at that response.

Virgil smiled at the memory, unlocking his phone and reading his friend’s message.

Sir Sing-a-lot: Happy birthday my favourite Emo Nightmare! I may have only known you for a month or two, and we may have had our disagreements (Goblet of Fire is still the best Harry Potter book,) but I’m still so glad I have met you. Now, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do without your cynical comments. So, celebrate this fine day, and I’ll see you soon Hot Topic xx

Virgil’s heart felt weird, and his pulse was going insane, but it wasn’t panic, he felt warm? He felt… loved, and appreciated… and he had no idea how to respond to that.

Me: Wow Princey, I didn’t know you actually cared this much… thanks, see you soon x

It took Virgil a solid three minutes to send because he was kept deleting and then adding the ‘x’ but, eventually, he left it and he hit send.

Sir Sing-a-lot: Of course I care, Virge. Now get some rest

Me: You too Roman

Virgil closed his phone and looked up at the ceiling again, his heart a bit lighter, everything feeling a bit warmer. He drifted to sleep at around 1:04, but that was good for Virgil.

***

Virgil immediately pulled his hood over his face when he reached the lunch table, his friends singing chirpily and far too loud.

“No, please. Stop.” Virgil cut them all off, causing them to giggle. He already thought the whole canteen was judging them, he didn’t need more attention.

“Okay, okay, only so we can get to the presents quicker!” Patton exclaimed.

“Presents?”

“Yes! Presents!” Patton practically squealed in response.

“You didn’t have to get me anyt-“ Virgil began but was interrupted.

“Nonsense!” Roman smiled. “Now on with it!” He declared, crossing one leg over the other as Virgil sat opposite him.

Patton clapped excitedly, diving into his bag and pulling out an envelope, and two package wrapped in pale blue with a silver ribbon. Virgil first opened the envelope, cautiously slipping his finger under the flap and neatly tearing it open. The cream material had hidden a hand drawn card stating; “ur fam” on one side and “ily” on the inside, next to a picture of all four of them. All of them had signed, the handwriting varying from an elegant calligraphy to a barely legible, excited scribble.

Virgil let out a slight laugh. “Thanks guys.”

“Open them. Open them. Open them.” Patton chanted excitedly, bouncing from his seat. Virgil chuckled and complied. He opened the smaller one first, carefully pulling at the ribbon and unpicking the neat wrapping.

“Wow…” Virgil gasped as he examined his gift. It was a black, leather-bound journal, with the word “thoughts” etched into the centre, and a black string enclosing it. Virgil excitedly opened it, a shocked expression still plastering his face. The paper was high quality, cream, and the lines were slightly faded; perfect.

“Patton… thank y-“

“Just wait till you see the next one! I’m most proud of that!” Patton beamed.

Virgil, still surprised and entirely grateful, reached for the other gift. As soon as Virgil saw the present, he’d leapt up and thrown his arms around Patton.

“I hope you like it!” Patton smiled kindly.

“I love it.” Virgil’s voice was muffled by Patton’s shoulder, and when he pulled back he wiped his eyes quickly. Patton had given him a sleek black frame, the picture inside was of a smiling Patton, his glasses reflecting the sun and his hair a wild unkempt mess of waves. Virgil was laughing, looking down, his hair neatly cut, for once. In between them both, smiling, practically glowing like the sun, was Virgil’s grandmother, her arms around both of them. Virgil wasn’t sure what they were laughing at, but he remembered the feeling; he had been laughing so much his stomach hurt, smiling so much his face ached, he’d felt so happy, so… accepted, and proud.

“Thank you… so much.” Virgil almost whispered, pulling away and staring at the photo.

“You’re very welcome, kiddo!”

Logan coughed awkwardly, drawing Virgil’s attention. “Mine is far less… well…”

“I’m sure it’s great Logan, I really didn’t expect you to get me anything in the first place.” The smaller reassured.

Logan’s smile was so quick Virgil was almost convinced he’d imagined it. He handed over his present, almost nervously. Taking great care again, Virgil peeled back the suspiciously Christmassy wrapping paper, to reveal a pair of large, black, cordless headphones.

His eyes flew wide, his head jerking up. “Holy shi-“ He cut himself off in shock, seeing Logan holding out something else; a gift card.

“I know you’re prone to… moments of extreme alarm.” Logan began, not entirely sure how to word what he wanted to say, which was weird for him. “I thought these noise-cancelling headphones may help.” He continued matter-of-factly. Virgil just nodded, still in awe as he took the giftcard.

“And that’s so you can buy some audiobooks, that might help you calm down.”

“Logan I… That’s really thoughtful, thank you.” Virgil replied sincerely, his eyes flickering from the gift to Logan, before finally deciding and tentatively wrapping his arms around Logan. Logan hesitated before hugging back, in a manner that was confused at first.

“You’re very huggy today, J-Delightful.”

“Shut up. I’m allowed.” Virgil mumbled, pulling away.

He sat back down in his seat, surrounded by wrapping and presents. He couldn’t fight the soft smile that graced his way onto his lips. Roman handed him his gift from across the table, grinning brightly.

For the final time, Virgil carefully pulled apart the wrapping, revealing a soft black material. He titled his head in confusion, before holding it up. The mysterious material unfolded to reveal a black hoody, embossed with plaid purple patches, white stitches, and a thunder cloud.

“Pat helped me with some of the design choices. I hope you like it!” Roman beamed.

“Wait, you made this?!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Yep!” He responded brightly. “Now come on, try it on!” He urged as he stood up.

Virgil quickly shucked off his black hoody and replaced it with the new one. The material was soft and comforting, it pooled around his wrists and fell past his hips. He held his arms out, examining it further and discovering zips on the sleeve, Virgil grinned. Every part of the hoody was planned out and considered entirely dependent on Virgil, it was literally made for him, and it was perfect.

“Roman this… wow, it’s so soft. Thanks!” He smiled, eyes darting across the table, he was confused when he didn’t meet Roman’s green ones. He turned to find his friend standing in front of him, arms flung out wide.

“My turn!” He grinned. Virgil laughed, but complied, allowing himself to be enveloped by Roman’s arms. The taller leaned back slightly so Virgil’s feet were lifted off the ground, the grip around him tightening in response, but the movement barely startled Virgil, he just laughed into the other’s shoulder.

Roman put Virgil back down and removed his arms, hands ghosting over his hip.

Virgil was elated. He was so happy, he could feel tears pricking the back of his eyes. As he sat amongst all the unwarranted gifts, a part of him wanted to hug them all again. He’d never liked presents, he liked birthdays even less, but this was different. Everyone had thought so much about these things, put so much time and effort and care into it, hell, Roman had HANDMADE his git. They weren’t forced out of obligation, they got him something meaningful, and he was indescribably grateful, if a little guilty. He couldn’t help that knowing feeling in the pit of stomach, that he’d made his friend’s do that, he’d made them waste time and money on him… but at that moment, he couldn’t help the happiness brought from the love he felt. Virgil pressed his palms to his eyes gently, trying not to wipe off his eyeshadow while wiping his tears. He knew it was pathetic but, he hadn’t felt like this in so long.  Felt like he was cared for, by people who didn’t have to care for him. His friend’s weren’t forced to be there due to blood, they chose to be there, for some strange reason, but he wouldn’t question why. Not now at least. Not after such a good day. For once, his birthday brought genuine happiness.

“Oh look, it’s that little freaks birthday.” Spoke too soon.

A voice recognised to be Louis, spoke from behind him. Virgil visibly tensed, his eyes training intently on the table, hands balling into fists, body slowly beginning to close in on himself.

Logan had flinched as he turned to face the group with a cold, hard stare. Patton was entirely focused on Virgil, worry flaring bright in his eyes as he saw the glaze in Virgil’s own, his entire body stiffened. Roman, on the other hand, was clearly working hard to contain himself. His fists were balled, knuckles turning white, jaw set, eyes livid. If looks could kill Louis would be dead where he stood.

“Nice jacket, faggot.” Virgil shut his eyes.

“He’s finally found a group as fucked up as you? That’s pretty difficult.” Logan opened his mouth to say something, but James beat him to it.

“Why not just try and kill yourself again? Second times a charm, y’know?”

Screech. Roman’s chair flew backwards, falling over dramatically. He stood in between the group and their view of Virgil, his eyes still murderous, but also controlled, calculated.

“Got a problem, Prince?” James spat, stepping closer.

“Yes, actually. You’re my problem. You and your disgusting mindset.”

“You’re one to talk about disg-“

“Come up with a new joke, that one got old. Quickly. Oh wait, you can’t, you’re too stupid to comprehend anything past your limited vocabulary.”  Roman retorted.

“What, the fuck, did you just say to me?” James demanded, people clasped at his shoulder, holding him back.

“Oh, not just you. All of you. This entire group put together probably still wouldn’t have a single brain cell. No wonder you’re all failing. I look forward to seeing you guys serving me across McDonalds and gas stations in the future, considering that’s all you’ll amount to.” Roman continued, desperately trying to prod the bear.

“Watch your mouth, fag.” James growled, the hands holding him back growing weaker.

“Make me, coward.” Roman bit back, a smirk playing at his lips.

Like a flash, a fist slammed into Roman’s jaw, with so much force he fell to the floor. He heard the others stand up, but he couldn’t let them help him, they couldn’t interfere. He took two deep breaths, forcing himself up, desperate to ignore the pain and throwing on a smirk for good measure, striding towards the group, a copper-ish taste filling his mouth.

“Did your parents not teach you violence is never the answer? Well, actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if they hadn’t.” He smirked.

“What are you saying, asshole?” Roman knew he was going too far, he knew he should be better than them, but he needed this to end.

“I’m saying, your behaviour suggests something’s wrong at home. Don’t worry, I get it. Daddy not hug you enough?”

“Alright, that’s it.” James snarled, Roman had clearly touched a nerve. Good.

Roman felt James’ hand tighten around his collar, pulling him into the centre of the group. He was pushed roughly against Louis, who happily held him up, circling his arm’s under Roman’s.

Already there was a crowd, drawn in by the promise of violence. Like wild animals, they were drawn to blood. Virgil, Logan and Patton had somehow gotten trapped on the outside of the circle, helpless behind yelling and cheering children. Why were there never enough teacher’s on duty?

A fist smashed into Roman’s face and he could feel his entire body crumple with the impact, almost like he was short circuiting. He knew the arms circling him were the only things holding him up. He’d squeezed his eyes shut from the impact, biting back a cry of pain. He felt warm blood trickled down the side of his temple. A force jolted him, forcing him to turn his head and look back at his attacker.

He snapped his eyes open, spitting out the blood, making no attempt to fight back. Another hit. This one more to his nose, the impact causing a shot of sharp, unbearable, pain.

“Ahh.” He couldn’t stop the pained exclamation. He was focusing too much on holding back the heavy threat of tears stinging the back of his eyes.

“Look at me, fag.” A voice yelled, it might have been James, but he wasn’t sure. When Roman refuse to follow the order, the owner of the voice yanked his hair harshly, causing Roman to wince. Roman’s eyes jumped to two things; first the clock, then his friends. Through the sea of people, he could see their movements, see them pushing to reach him, but no one let them pass. Somehow, through the havoc, for a split second, Roman’s eyes met Virgil’s. He looked terrified, with the very little time he had, he tried to seem calm, willed his eyes to tell him not to worry. He hoped he understood. James yanked his hair again, pulling him down to eye-level.

“Kinky.” Roman flashed him a bloody smile. The other boy’s face heated, his cheeks puffing out, he said nothing as he pulled backwards, removed his hand, and punched Roman in the stomach. All air was knocked out of him and Louis let him fall to the floor. He lay on the floor, pain shooting through his nerve endings, heart racing, lungs empty, gulping for anything. It was like there was too much to process. The roar and cheers were consuming until finally, they were silenced by a shrill, piercing voice. He could feel the presence run in immediately between him and the group.

“Stop this! Stop this instant!” Miss Fitch; the one time she’s late.

And now, was Roman’s time to shine.

He started coughing loudly, a few sounds a pain escaping as he did. He tried to push himself off the ground but his arms shook and collapsed. He let out some sort of agonised whimper and allowed his body to shake. Virgil quickly appeared at Roman’s side, helping him sit up, Patton and Logan not far behind him.

He saw the group around him stiffen, unsure of how to react to the figure of authority in front of them. “Explain yourselves!” She snapped, glaring at each of them individually.

“Self de-“

“Don’t even try that! Roman just decides to attack all of you at once? I don’t think so. Principles office. Now!” She commanded before speaking rapidly into a walkie-talkie to other members of staff, while the group begrudgingly, and somewhat confused, walked to the office.

As the others walked off, Virgil pulled Roman into his arms, inspecting his injuries as best he could.

“My hero…” Roman muttered as Virgil carefully helped him to his feet and the crowd around them dispersed.

 “Roman, will you be able to get to the nurses office yourself?” Miss Fitch asked, Roman nodded. “Good, I need to deal with them. Don’t worry, the school will do all it can to stop this from happening again, I’ll need you to fill out an incident report form at some point though.” Roman nodded again. “Alright.” She began striding off, barely hiding a tight-lipped smile. “Oh, and your parents will be notified as soon as possible.” She called nonchalantly over her shoulder.

Great.

As soon as she disappeared from sight, Roman forced himself to flash the others a bright, if slightly bloody, smile.

“Roman, are yo-“

“I’m fine, Virgil.” He wheezed slightly.

“You really don’t look it.” Logan interjected.

“Yeah kiddo…” Patton’s voice was filled with concern, Roman felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. “What happened back there?”

Roman attempted a shrug but it didn’t really work, given he was being held up by Virgil. “I couldn’t let him say those things. But if I hit him I’d get in trouble.” Roman stated as if it was an obvious fact.

“Wait, so you planned on getting beaten up?” Virgil was seriously questioning Roman’s sanity.

“Well, not badly.” Roman winced slightly as he tried to move, his head was still loud and roaring. Pounding. “But I remembered what Logan and I talked about once. Nothings ever gonna change, not unless-“

“-They get caught red handed.” Logan finished.

“Exactly. Miss Fitch won’t let this go lightly, she’s probably the most well-respected and reliable teacher at this school, they’re not gonna ignore her for a bunch of delinquents. Besides, this is the opportunity teachers dream of: Rescue a helpless student, get rid of a difficult student, and have air-tight proof.” Roman stated, his words slightly forced and breathy, but he needed to say these things. He pointed upwards to a security camera with an innocently blinking red light. “Despite what I said, James and his friends aren’t stupid, they know its… risky, to start a fight here. I just needed to make them mad enough they’d forget their common sense.”

“I… I hate to say I’m impressed.” Logan admitted. “It was… disagreeable, but there is an unfortunate amount of logic behind it.”

“There is no way you came up with that on the spot.”

“It was a vaguely planned idea I’d imagined, but never actually thought about implementing it. Seemed too farfetched. Besides, my pride wasn’t worth it. But, the stuff they said… before I knew it, I was on the floor.” Roman finished, his voice hoarse.

“That was fucking stupid, man. Look at you! I am not worth this.” Virgil argued, genuinely mad at Roman for being so reckless when it came to his own health.

Roman jolted his head upwards, affronted and holding back a wince at the sudden movement. He opened his mouth to defend Virgil’s worth, but the angry teen just cut him off.

“Shut up, dumbass. You’re going to the nurse.”

 ***

The nurse was in shock when she first saw Roman; bloody, bruised and voice hoarse. It didn’t look good. However, once she’d cleaned off the dried blood and plastered up a couple places, she was relieved to discover there was no bone damage or heavy structural damage: Roman’s nose was in tact, his lip was only slightly swollen and his wound on his temple wasn’t deep. He’d bruise, but he’d heal. The only other issue was his arms, he’d managed to land on it when he fell, still not too much damage but she ordered him to hold an ice pack over it. Virgil leaned against the wall near the doorway, still glaring at Roman: he was so worried and relieved and scared and pissed as hell. He wasn’t sure who he was mad at though. Roman for getting himself hurt? James for hurting him? Or himself for not doing anything? All were equally good picks.

The nurse held another ice pack to Roman’s lip, causing the swelling to reduce. Once satisfied she moved the ice pack around in her hands, then placed it to the cut on Roman’s temple, just above his eye. There had been a thick, heavy silence in the room, until another teacher poked her head through the door.

“Oh, uh, sorry-“ Began the older woman, looking between the three with wide eyes. “-It’s just, Mel, if you could, we need your-“

“-Don’t worry, I’ll be there in a second.” The nurse smiled kindly. “I’m going to deal with this, Virgil, can you hold the ice pack?” She asked, turning to Virgil and offering him the ice pack.

“I can do tha-“

“No. Keep pressure on that wrist.” The nurse firmly told Roman. Virgil took the nurse’s spot as she rushed out to deal with… whoever’d just thrown up.

There was silence between them. Pounding against their ears. Virgil refused to look at Roman’s desperately pleading eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Roman said, genuinely.

Virgil sighed, all anger he had leaving him in an instant. “It’s alright.” He replied, reluctantly. “I don’t… it was really nice you stood up for me, I do appreciate that. I just, I don’t want you to get hurt Ro, least of all because of me. I was so worried.”

“I know, I know but, I don’t want you to get hurt either, Virge.”  Roman���s voice was honest and serious, Virgil wasn’t sure he’d heard him like this before, without a hint of bravado or humour. “What they said wasn’t right. It wasn’t okay. I couldn’t stand seeing the way you tensed up. They’d crossed a line, and getting beaten up will be worth it when they get expelled.” Roman said, determined.

Virgil sighed heavily again. He’d been so worried about Roman he’d almost forgotten those stinging words.

Why not just try and kill yourself again?

He winced. Now they knew. They probably knew already. Lots of people did. But lots of people didn’t as well. It’s funny how gossip travels, some people get left out entirely. But now they knew. Roman and Logan.

“I… I know a lot of people know me as the kid that attempted suicide.” The words rolled off his tongue without his permission, he looked down, trying to escape his own words. “I know that’s why I get those looks, even after two years, that’s all they see me as. Either someone to pity, or the punchline of a joke. But, it was different with you and Lo. I thought, maybe you didn’t know, maybe you didn’t have to. Maybe you’d see me for who am I, not what I’d tried to do.”

“Virgil…” Roman spoke softly, bringing a hand up under the other’s chin.

“You need to keep pressure on your-“

“Virgil.” Roman cut him off, forcing the other boy to look in his eyes. “…I’ll admit I’d known of someone who’d tried, I hadn’t known it was you. But, just because I know now, doesn’t make me see you any differently. I know who you are Virgil; you are loyal, kind-hearted, intelligent, fiercely witty and highly sarcastic… with a tendency to hiss at people. You are also strong. I’ve always known this. It doesn’t change now I know what you’ve overcome.”

“Thanks Roman… and thank you for being a complete fucking moron, in order to protect me. Honestly, where would I be without my Prince?” Virgil smirked, trying to lighten the sombre mood, but also feeling genuine gratitude.

Roman chuckled, hand still under Virgil’s chin, eyes flickering to his lips. It wasn’t until that moment, Virgil realised how close the two were to each other, and how the gap seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, until there wasn’t a gap and their eyes were shut.

It was the smallest sensation, the lightest warmth on their lips. It wasn’t like the films, there were no fireworks, or butterflies, or elongated make outs that had a cold falsity to them. None of that. But there was something. Something tugging at Roman’s gut. Something deep, but light. Something real.

It wasn’t what was on TV, it was just two nervous kids with no idea what they were doing, and that was so much better.

They pulled away, Roman’s lips stinging slightly from where he’d been hit. He blinked, then reattached their lips again, only for a moment. It was still shy, soft, and fleeting, but it still meant so much.

“Roman.” A voice jolted the boys backwards. “Pressure on your wrist.” The nurse smirked.

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[campusassaultpolicyforum-blog]

When Rape Isn’t a 4-Letter Word: How New York is Fighting Back Against Campus Assault

By Jacklynn Blanchard, Lauren Szczesny and Paige Allen

 As the summer wanes and the leaves begin to change color, new flocks of teenagers will descend upon campuses across America. There they will take up residency in dorms, explore their identities, and begin to etch out their lives as college students. These young adults will be expected to fend for themselves – sometimes for the first time in their lives – and certainly, mistakes will be made. Every year splashy headlines tell stories of wild frat parties, cheating scandals, and student activism gone awry, but these are just a cursory glance of the college experience. While for some college will be remembered fondly, for others the indelible marks of trauma may overshadow an otherwise carefree and happy time.

Campus sexual assault has always been and remains an epidemic. It is estimated that 20% of women will experience a sexual assault in college (Donde, Ragsdale, Koss, & Zucker, 2018). In 2019, that amounts to roughly 33.6 million women annually in the United States (Statista, 2017). To put that into context, that is more than double the number of cancer survivors currently living in the US (NCI, 2018). While the sexual assault victims’ movement has gained traction culturally, acknowledging the problem exists only goes so far in protecting women and helping them to get the justice they deserve.

While the current Me Too movement has brought sexual assault to the forefront of the women’s movement and in turn the women’s movement to the forefront of American consciousness, campus sexual assault justice has been a slow moving train. In the 1980s, Title IX was updated to include sexual assault (Lieberwitz et al., 2016). In 1990, the Cleary Act was passed after a young woman was raped and murdered in her residence hall (Lieberwitz et al., 2016). In 2011, the Obama administration specifically outlined how universities should handle campus sexual assault (Ali, 2011, p.1-19). In 2017, the Trump administration rolled these guidelines back (DeVos, 2017). This slow action by both the government and American culture has contributed to an uncertain environment in which to discuss sexual assault. We are simply not comfortable talking about it, and as a result little has changed for women on campus. Women are encouraged to share their stories but are met with mixed messages from both government and culture when they do so. A study by the National Center for Educational Statistics found the number of reported campus sex crimes increased by 205% between 2001 and 2014 (2017, pp.11). Despite this alarming increase, 89% of 11,000 colleges reported zero rapes in 2014 (Becker, 2017). More women are reporting, but it’s not leading to institutional action. If in our society we can’t have frank conversations about the problem, how can we expect colleges take corrective action when reporting anything above 0% could mean a damaged reputation or a loss of funding? What does that say about our national values?

While both government and contemporary culture promote valuing women, there is a hesitance to admit that women who are victims of sexual assault have been failed by the laws in place and by a society that has not made dismantling oppressive gender dynamics a priority. The evidence in reporting increases should be enough of a catalyst to pass protective legislation, but the unfortunate reality is evidence is not enough on its own. The hardest work is in a meaningful shift of our national values. The Me Too movement has put the spotlight to sexual assault, but the federal government has failed to tighten the laws that protect women – in Secretary DeVos’s case, these laws have even been loosened (Jackson, 2017).  

Thankfully, New York State (NYS) has stepped up as a leader in the charge to protect women on its college campuses. New York’s Enough is Enough law echoes the sentiments of women everywhere. Can New York function as a model for the rest of the country? We think so. While its system is imperfect, it is a huge step forward in not just shining a light on the issue, but actually attempting to rectify one of the greatest threats to women in our time.

 What is New York doing? Enough is Enough

In 2015, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Enough is Enough into law. This legislation asserts that students attending college have the right to an educational environment that is safe, healthy and free from discrimination and violence (Governor’s Press Office, 2015). The law was created to address sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking on college campuses (Governor’s Press Office, 2015).

What is it?

Enough is Enough creates:

·       A statewide definition of affirmative consent as a knowing, voluntary and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity;

·       A statewide amnesty policy encouraging students to report incidents of sexual assault or sexual violence by granting immunity for certain campus policy violations such as drug and alcohol use when reporting sexual assault;

·       The students’ bill of rights which informs sexual assault victims of their legal rights and available resources, and requires campuses to distribute that information;

·       Training requirements for administrators, staff and students on sexual assault and related remedies (during orientations);

·       A campus requirement to annually submit to the State Education Department reports of sexual violence, which is made publicly available;

·       The sexual assault victims’ unit within the NYS police which specializes in responding to sex assaults and related crimes as well as trains local law enforcement appropriately; and,

·       Requirements for first responders to notify survivors of their rights to contact outside law enforcement (Governor’s Press Office, 2015).

Remember the victims

Victims of sexual violence have historically been subjected to blame, suspicion, and outright disdain. Campuses have swept reports under the rug, and retaliation has driven some victims to drop out or attempt suicide (Dick, 2015). Under Enough is Enough, victims have the right to:

·       Decide whether to report to university police/campus security, local law enforcement, and/or state police;

·       Report the incident to their institution and be protected by the institution from retaliation for reporting an incident; and,

·       Receive assistance and resources from their institution (Governor’s Press Office, 2015).

 Why is Enough is Enough different?

Enough is Enough differs from previous campus sexual assault initiatives because it not only applies to publicly-funded colleges, it also includes private institutions. Therefore, no students are left behind. This legislation also creates a uniform definition of consent. The affirmative consent policy does not discriminate, even if the victim was under the influence, and consent can be revoked at any time during the encounter. Silence does not equal consent. This law underpins the value of women and acknowledges historic gender dynamic imbalances that need to be addressed to move forward as a more just society. Institutionalizing a new definition of consent helps to rectify the historic power imbalance that exists in sexual situations. New York responded to the plethora of evidence that young women were not safe, recognized the failure of the laws in place, and forced an uncomfortable conversation about this epidemic.

University at Albany’s Advocacy Center

The State University of New York at Albany (UAlbany) even went so far as to create the Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence. We talked to its director, Carol Stenger, to gain insight into her work and how Enough is Enough works in practice. Carol, in conjunction with the Title IX Office, developed trainings aimed at freshman orientation. The idea behind these trainings is to underscore the importance of consent and make it clear that sexual assault is taken seriously at this school. The advocacy center offers students a safe, discreet, and comfortable space to discuss an extremely traumatic event, and to receive compassionate guidance through whatever justice process they pursue. It’s a place to learn and it’s a place to be heard. The underlying message to young women is: you are valued.  

    References:

Ali, R. (2011, April 4). Dear Colleague [Letter]. The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Retrieved from

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.pdf

Governor’s Press Office. (2015). Governor Cuomo launches “Enough Is Enough” public awareness campaign to educate students on new law combating sexual violence on college campuses. Retrieved 26 April 2019 from https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-launches-enough-enough-public-awareness-campaign-educate-students-new-law

Jackson, C. (2017, September 22). Dear Colleague [Letter]. The United States

Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Retrieved from

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-title-ix-201709.pdf

Lieberwitz, R.L., Jaleel, R., Kelleher, T., Scott, J.W., Young, D., Reichman, H., . . . (2016). The History, Uses, and Abuses of Title IX. AAUP. Retrieved from https://www.aaup.org/file/TitleIXreport.pdf

National Cancer Institute. (2018, April 27). Cancer statistics. Retrieved from

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics

Statista. (2019). Total population of the United States 2010-2024, by gender. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/737923/us-population-by-gender/

Stenger, C. (2019, April 15) Interview with Carol Stenger.

Students' Bill of Rights. University at Albany. Retrieved from

https://system.suny.edu/sexual-violence-prevention-workgroup/policies/bill-of-rights/

[winnerbrands]

8 tips for successful public relations tips

Public Relations (PR) allows an organization to show itself to the outside world, in an accessible, affordable and effective way. But PR only succeeds if you do it the right way. How? Marketing advisor Julia van Haaster shares a number of useful tips for successful PR for your library in this article.

Practical, impactful marketing lessons from top marketing experts guaranteed to level up your marketing skills through winner brands

1. Focus on local media Local media are very suitable for reaching specific target groups, which provides insight into which target groups can best be reached through local media.) This is because local media are relatively affordable, more approachable and relevant to people in the neighbourhood. Which local media are available in the working area of ​​your library and what do you already have a connection with? It helps to map this out. Invest in a good relationship with these local media and see if you can, for example, make agreements with them about publication or regular sections in which you can participate. You are so guaranteed of a publication, they have guaranteed (interesting) content. It is good to think of the local media when sending a press release, but make conscious choices. which news you do and do not share with them. If, for example, you want to reach the target group of young people, the choice for the local newspaper is not convenient, because they do not / barely read the newspaper. 2. Catching up on useful days and current events Responding to current events is always smart to be picked up by the media. What is currently happening in your region or even nationally? Linking in to useful days is a smart option, you can use the Issue Calendar for this. How about Week against Loneliness (29 September-6 October), Diversity Day (4 October) or Media Literacy Week?? (November 4-11)? Media and journalists also make use of this type of hacker and are always looking for interesting content that corresponds to one of the days. The advantage is that these 'days' are planned far in advance, so you have enough time to create appropriate content.   3. Trending topics In addition to picking up on useful days, it is also good to keep an eye on trending topics. What are people currently looking for? Which social media keywords and hashtags are trending? By having these kinds of words and hashtags appear in your content, you benefit from the popularity at that moment and there is a greater chance that your (press) message will also be picked up. Another, very simple and more affordable way is to follow other libraries or similar organizations such as museums, schools or theater. What do they post, what works well? Or check out the 'Good PR Examples from the Industry' article for more inspiration. 4. Write about something unexpected Another way to get attention is to write about something unexpected. Something that is not typical for your library. For example: 'The secrets of the library you didn't know…' or 'Mysterious visitors found in the basement of the library…'. Provide a catchy title so that people are inclined to read the message further. 5. Send important news 'under embargo' Journalists love exclusivity, who is the first to publish important news? To make journalists extra curious and your news even more interesting, it is smart to send important news 'under embargo'. An embargo is a request to the press not to publish a certain message before a certain moment. So you already supply the news before that time, but it may only be put live after that moment. This approach increases the chance that the news will generate more attention. Note: only do this with important news and only a few times a year. So only when it is relevant and not just to stimulate, otherwise the journalists will no longer take you seriously.

Get more ---  Marketing education for practitioners 6. Variety in your communication mix Try to vary your communication mix. Don't just write a press release with plain text, but also use videos, beautiful images, sound clips, podcasts, TikToks, etc. Make your news as attractive as possible and especially consider what type of content best suits the target group (and the media) that you want to achieve. An additional advantage: you stand out more among all the press releases that are sent. 7. PR starts with you PR starts with you. So look for ambassadors. Enthusiastic visitors, passionate colleagues, local influencers and committed volunteers… Look around and make a list of people who are enthusiastically talking about your library. From their own perspective, ask them to promote your library as well. Preferably free, but otherwise for a small fee. Everything they share and write is also PR. Appreciate their efforts and above all let them be and feel like an ambassador! 8. Write a guest blog You might not be the first to think of it, but writing guest blogs can cause unexpected traffic. All kinds of experts work in the library, let them write an article about a specific topic in their field. Then deliver this article to a medium outside the industry and ask them to post it because it will be of interest to their readers. This way you reach a completely different target group and through a different channel, but you still generate attention for the library.

[thezodiaczone]

August Forecast for Aries

Lights, camera, Aries! This month is threaded with flamboyance and fun as the Sun burns a fiery trail through passionate Leo and your lusty, live-out-loud fifth house until August 23. This is one of your high-energy cycles (because Leo is a fellow fire sign) and a time when you’re at your creative best. Think of the ripeness of late summer, when everything is bursting with riotous colors and life force energy. That’s you right now. And if it isn’t, throw on something vibrant and get out of the damn house, stat!

With the Sun in this romantic part of your chart, there will be plenty of admirers hankering for a taste, especially at the August 11 Leo solar (new moon) eclipse, which will activate this same feisty and fecund zone. Eclipses bring plot twists and unexpected events, and since this one accompanies a new moon of beginnings, it could open a fresh, bold chapter. This month’s Leo eclipse could bring a new love interest, reawakened mojo or even a pregnancy. You might also get a sudden burst of fame or unexpected recognition for your talents.

This is the second-to-last eclipse in a potent series that’s been dropping down on the Leo/Aquarius axis since February 2017, recalibrating your approach to love, friendship, self-expression and teamwork. You’ve experimented with the spotlight and creatively collaborated, plus learned a few harsh lessons about love. The very last eclipse will arrive on January 21, 2019, a Leo lunar eclipse that will bring this month’s (and the last two years’) developments to a grand finale.

It’s also the third and final eclipse of this summer, and you may still be riding the waves of change from the previous two: the July 12 Cancer solar eclipse, which activated your home and family sector, and the July 27 total lunar eclipse in Aquarius and your teamwork zone. Since the impact of eclipses can resonate for months, your living situation or social circle could be taking a new shape as August progresses!

While it all sounds exciting, there’s one big obstacle to navigate, and that’s communication planet Mercury, which is retrograde in Leo from July 26 to August 27. Drama and diva antics can flare up fast, and you may need to dodge a few outsized egos. Careful that your own confidence doesn’t veer into cockiness, or that boldness doesn’t tip into brashness. It’s all too easy to miss the mark with your messaging as quicksilver Mercury runs roughshod over technology, travel and interpersonal affairs. Since Mercury retrograde can bring back people from the past, an ex or an old temptation could resurface; but is the (possible) thrill of a steamy reunion worth turning your life upside-down? Only you can say—but take adequate measures to protect yourself on all levels if you do go there.

Your ruling planet, Mars, is also in the midst of a biennial two-month retrograde from June 26 to August 27, which could further jam the signals. Mars has been reversing through Aquarius and your eleventh house of teamwork and technology, indicating stressful scuffles with friends and some possible misfires with online connections, from dating to work.

On August 12, Mars will back into Capricorn and your tenth house of career and authority figures. You may need to work through some frustrations at your job, with a client or upper management. A fast-moving project could feel blocked or delayed; use the next couple weeks to put out fires and fix any glaring issues—or to do important behind-the-scenes work instead of rushing to launch. That way, you’ll be uber-prepared in September. If nobody’s answering your calls or responding to your proposal, you might just want to use those vacation days and recharge your own batteries.

A few days prior, on August 7, disruptor Uranus will start its annual five-month retrograde. Fluctuating finances have been par for the course since Uranus entered Taurus on May 15, bringing exciting if erratic energy to your second house of work, money and daily routines. Uranus only comes here every 84 years, so it’s been a lot to process! As the side-spinning planet turns retrograde until January 7, 2019, step back and get a handle on your budget and bills. Risky undertakings or radical career changes might need to be temporarily delayed.

You’ll be glad you paused, because from November 6, 2018 until March 6, 2019, Uranus will back into Aries for one final trip, not to return again in this lifetime. You’ll have one last opportunity to make a major change or leave your trailblazing stamp on something authentically “you.” In hindsight, you’ll be grateful you didn’t rush to settle into anything binding. When Uranus moves out of your sign next March, you’ll have one final round of soul-searching and identity-crafting under your belt, better positioning you to make some pioneering money moves!

The scattered energy starts to gel during the last week of August. Mercury ends its signal-scrambling retrograde on August 19, and then the Sun settles into earthy Virgo for four weeks on August 23, powering up your sixth house of health, fitness and organization. You’ll have the urge to corral all the disparate pieces of your life—and your bountiful creative ideas—into something cohesive. After a decadent month, Virgo season can help you put a fall fitness plan together or start making seasonal produce a staple of your meals. The late-summer bounty will give you plenty of colorful and delicious options.

On August 25, all signs get a booster shot of luck as the Sun and structured Saturn and innovator Uranus form a grand trine—an equilateral “golden triangle” that’s one of astrology’s most auspicious aspects. As these three luminaries unite in perfect harmony, you might experience a major breakthrough around career and money. A lucrative long-term opportunity could have serious staying power if you play your cards right.

Ideally, the work should be something that lights you up, pays well AND gives you a chance to be the pioneering trendsetter that you are. With serious Saturn in the mix, you and all parties involved need to be operate with sterling integrity from start to finish: promises that are kept, clear deadlines and a solid understanding of expectations on all sides. If something doesn’t check all the boxes, it’s fine to say “no” and pass. You’re clearing the way for the perfect fit, Aries. With the bold Sun and unconventional Uranus teamed up, you might just find it in an unexpected way. Be proactive; don’t just wait for something to land in your lap, even though there’s a good chance it might.

The next day, on August 26, the year’s only Pisces full moon illuminates your twelfth house of healing, closure and transitions. These potent moonbeams will stir your subconscious and point you to your deepest truth. You’ll know whether it’s time to stay or go; and if you’re being held back by fears, la luna can embolden you. Both the twelfth house AND full moons signify endings, so in some way, a chapter or cycle is completing, making way for the new.

That next step could reveal itself quickly because on August 27, your ruling planet, ambitious Mars, ends its two-month retrograde and rockets ahead through Capricorn and your tenth house of long-term goals. Your career or a name-in-lights project could accelerate swiftly. Get ready to step into a leadership role and steer this venture to victory! Stressful in-fighting and workplace tension could dissipate. Leave any petty bickering behind you. With Mars heating up your most successful and collaborative sectors until November 15, the only way to go is forward—and up!

Love & Romance

On August 6, amorous Venus enters Libra for the first of two trips this year, bringing her romantic touch to your seventh house of committed relationships. For couples, this could be a beautiful time to get back in sync. Single? A connection could move quickly toward long-term status. But there’s no need to rush into an insta-engagement—apparently summer’s hot celeb trend thanks to Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Looking ahead, Venus will be retrograde (backward) in your partnership realm from October 31 to November 16. Issues you’ve managed to sidestep could come inescapably up in your union, or a budding relationship may hit a speed bump. This doesn’t mean jump ship; just be patient—and talk things out in a dispassionate and diplomatic way.

The fact that the other love planet, impatient Mars, is also retrograde—from June 26 to August 27—doesn’t mitigate matters. It’s been back-spinning through Aquarius and your social eleventh house, but on August 12, it’ll reverse into Capricorn for the duration of the pivot. In your tenth house of long-range planning, this could lead to confusion or disagreements about a shared future. Tempers may flare and fuses will be short, but try to see past the momentary disagreements (and certainly don’t be the one to instigate them!).

On August 7, Venus and Mars form a rare, harmonious trine, merging their energies and making for one of the year’s most love-centric dates. With Mars in reverse, things could shift directions suddenly or dramatically. A platonic friend could veer into the lover’s lane, or you might be able to take a giant step back and see a nagging issue from a fresh and enlightening perspective. This is one of the best days of the month for couples to do something fun together, perhaps revisiting a favorite pastime or hosting a party together.

More surprises are on the horizon this month, with messenger Mercury also retrograde in Leo and your fifth house of passion. There’s a galvanizing Leo solar eclipse here on August 11, which could point to an unanticipated romantic prospect or lead to an unexpected second chance with someone from your past. A pregnancy is possible for some Aries at this eclipse, or in the coming six months.

Key Dates

August 9: Venus-Saturn Square Slow your roll! While YOU may be feeling it, it’s possible that your love interest isn’t on the same page—or even reading the same book about the future. This cosmic yellow light urges caution. Before you go in any deeper, hit “pause” and discuss your long-term goals and desires. Chances are, you’ll probably both need to compromise.

Money & Career

A creative month is in store with the Sun moving through Leo and your expressive fifth house until August 23, powered by a rare Leo solar eclipse on August 11. You could have the opportunity to put your unique stamp on something or attract fame; but be careful where you wield that star power: with communication and tech planet Mercury retrograde (backward) in Leo until August 19, you’re at risk of coming across as brash or cocky. Run those risque social media posts by an honest, sensible friend before you press “publish” to make sure you don’t cross a line. If you’re feeling stressed, pick up an old creative or DIY practice—while channeling the muse, you could have some of your best ideas!

In between, you’ll have plenty of time to reflect on monetary matters. On August 7, unpredictable Uranus starts a five-month retrograde backspin, a time to corral anything that’s gotten a little too “all over the place”. Until November 6, Uranus will reverse through Taurus and your second house of work and money, helping you evaluate your earning and savings plans, and figure out some innovative ways to grow that nest egg. Need to supplement with a side hustle? You might go back to an old employer for a short-term contract or reconnect with a former freelance client.

Your ruling planet Mars is also retrograde from June 26 until August 27. It’s been in Aquarius, adding friction to your collaboration zone and making it hard to get the team on the same page. On August 12, Mars will back into Capricorn for the duration, adding some uncomfortable heat to your tenth house of career and authority figures. Pace yourself around any grand-slam goals—do you really have the right setup in place to pull this off? If not, slow down and build the infrastructure that will make this sustainable for the long haul, not just a short-term coup. You want more than bragging rights, Aries (although they’re certainly an incentive!). Think beyond the immediate and craft a master plan that can’t be messed with!

Key Dates

August 2: Mars-Uranus Square Teamwork might prove challenging under this edgy angle. Competing egos threaten to undermine a project. Be prepared to grab the reins and switch gears at a moment’s notice. The trick to keeping everyone calm is staying flexible and not overreacting to the dissenters.

Love Days: 11, 15 Money Days: 4, 22 Luck Days: 1, 19 Off Days: 12, 17, 26

[beccaraecarter]

In Your Arms- III

Namjoon couldn’t tell if he was excited, or if he was really nervous. He couldn’t believe she agreed, much less put up a fight about it.

He had to figure out what he was going to wear. He figured she didn’t care but that didn’t mean he didn’t. When you wear something nice, it is to make an impression, it’s what his mother taught him.

He figured he’d go for a casual look; after all, he wants to make sure she doesn’t see the player look in him anymore.

He rummaged through his closet, looking for something laidback. His eyes landed on a blue silk button up shirt. He smirks to himself. ‘This will do.’ He thought.

He grabbed the shirt and hung it on the door frame. He stands back, and looks around his drawers to find black ripped jeans. He pulls them out, and hangs it underneath the shirt on the frame. He stands in the middle of his closet; thoughts running in his head.

He grabs his phone and opens the front camera. He takes a picture of the outfit, and sends it to Yoongi. He hopes he can at least say it looks good for a date.

He sees his phone light up; Seeing that he responded back quickly.

To: Namjoon- From: Yoongi Hyung-

Why are you sending me a picture of your wardrobe?

Namjoon rolls his eyes at the response. He knows Hyung doesn’t care, but he needs an opinion stat.

To: Yoongi Hyung- From: Namjoon-

Don’t give me that. I need your opinion. Does this look ok for a date?

He quickly types in a response to the grumpy elder. He knows if Hyung responses like that, He is most likely working and or stressed.

To: Namjoon- From: Yoongi Hyung-

You have a date? When did this happen?

He had totally forgotten to tell Yoongi Hyung that he found the mystery girl.

Well, she is no longer a mystery girl, but she definitely has something she’s hiding.

To- Yoongi Hyung- From: Namjoon-

Yes I have date. It’s with the girl I was telling you about. Her name is Mina.

Namjoon types back and decides to look around his closet some more incase something caught his eye.

He hears his phone go off.

To: Namjoon- From: Yoongi Hyung-

Wait What? What do you mean the girl? You’re saying you found her? Namjoon-ah, answer me!!

Namjoon laughs at his dumb-founded friend.

To: Yoongi Hyung- From: Namjoon-

Yes, Yoongi Hyung. I found her. She’s agreed to at least hang out with me. Hyung…. She isn’t who she seems.

Namjoon replies back. He hesitates on the response. He doesn’t even know if he should be sharing personal information with his friend.

Just then, he hears his ringtone go off. He sees that Yoongi was, in fact, calling him.

He answers it calmly. “Hello Hyung.”

“So… You want to tell me how the hell you found her?” He hears the elder’s voice in the microphone.

“Hyung, I just went back to the park she was at. It wasn’t that hard, considering that fact that she was there late in the evening.” Namjoon responded, while walking out of his closet and sitting on his bed. He glanced at his clock that hung on the wall. He saw it was only 11:11 at night.

“Namjoon-ah, That’s very stalker like. I’m surprised she actually agreed to talk to you. Not saying you’re not a joy to talk to, just the way she acted towards you… It showed you know?” He hears Yoongi speak into the line.

Namjoon nodded, “Yeah, I know…. But you know how I was acting when I didn’t see her.”

“Yeah, you were very pissy.” Yoongi replied. Namjoon scoffed, “Yah Hyung! I wasn’t that pissy.”

That line was silent for a while. Namjoon sighed, “Ok maybe just a little bit.”

Yoongi laughed. “Oh by the way… what did you mean in your text… where you said she’s not who she seems?” Yoongi asked.

Namjoon bit his tongue. He should be able to tell his best friend, but he feels that he would be breaking a possible bond that was blossoming between him and Mina. He couldn’t afford to break her trust. Not when they are starting to get to know each other.

“Well… I thought she was some criminal but it turned out she needs help. I plan on helping her in any way I can.” Namjoon managed to come up with a little white lie.

“Oh ok… You made it seem like she was a criminal. Ok, well nothing too big to worry about then, huh Namjoon-ah?” Yoongi asked. “Yeah, nothing too big… I’m hanging up now.” Namjoon replied. “Ok. Night Namjoon…. Oh, and the outfit was a good choice.” Yoongi said.

They both hang up, and Namjoon feels happy that Yoongi liked his choice, but there was a foreign feeling settling in his stomach.

Did he do the right thing in not telling Yoongi what Mina actually was? He hopes this doesn’t affect their friendship but none of that matters now.

What matters is getting some rest, because he has a very important date tomorrow.

~

Namjoon was waiting outside the apartment complex Mina told him she lived in. He figured he’d be a gentleman, and wait for her in front of the car. He felt anxious all of a sudden, not wanting to make a bad impression on her; The palms of his hands starting to become a little warm for his liking.

He pulls out his phone to check if Mina had texted him, and to his surprise, she did.

To: Namjoon- From: Mina-

Making my way downstairs.

He smiles at the message. He puts his phone back in his pocket. When he looks up, he sees her walking through the glass doors. He sees her look up at him and he could tell he was in awe because of her.

She was wearing the same hoodie he had seen yesterday, but she had a little bit of makeup on, along with a navy blue skirt, ripped leggings, and black boots.

She looked laidback but also very cute in his eyes.

“You clean up nice Namjoon…” She said, with a hint of a teasing tone. “Y-you look very beautiful..” Namjoon can’t believe he stuttered in front of such a beauteous girl. He felt his cheeks flush, and she just stares at him, but he catches glimpse of something in her eye.

It looked like she was in awe of him as well.

“Here.” Namjoon finally functions to move himself, and opens the car doors for her. She looked at him, shock replacing the awe in her eyes.

“Was not expecting a gentleman to come from you.” She said as she got into the car.

He scoffed a little. How could she be so quick to judge someone?

They barely know each other.

He made his way to the drivers side, and got into the car. He made they were both buckled in safe. “Can I ask you something?” Namjoon asked as he got the car started, and began to drive.

“Is this how our day is going to be?” She retorted, crossing her arms in the process.

“I told you. I have more questions. Which I intend on finding out. Will you let me ask, and not jump to a conclusion about it?” Namjoon said. He felt out of his element by responding that way. She probably regrets coming with him now.

“Ok… what’s your question?” He finally hears her ask after a deafening silence formed between them.

“Ok… Thank you….. I know it’s getting a little bit cooler with the season changing to fall. But it is still warm outside. Why are you wearing a hoodie?” He asked her.

“To hide my ears, and tail. The public doesn’t need to know I’m a hybrid.” She responds.

“Because of the discrimination, right?” Namjoon asked again. “Yeah, exactly like that. People, as soon as they see a hybrid because of ears or a tail, they immediately are quick to judge. Either by a stare, someone actually saying something, or by getting jumped.” Mina responds.  

Namjoon’s eyes widen at this. How could the world be so cruel, yet fascinated with these amazing creatures? Namjoon really couldn’t stand the thought of some human degrading a hybrid just because they are different.

They drive in a comfortable silence for a while until Namjoon finds the small café. Namjoon pulled into the parking lot and found the first space that was open. He pulled up to the space and parked the car. He sees that she is about to get out by herself, and quickly rushes out of the car to open her door.

She looks up at him in shock, “Wow, you must be wanting to impress me today. It’s ok though. I’ve never had a guy open the car door for me.” She gets out of the car, and Namjoon makes sure to lock it.

He manages to catch up with Mina, and an idea popped in his head.

As soon as he got close enough, he grabbed her hand and wrapped his finger against her small ones.

He sees her look at him; Eyebrows furrowed, and she tried to pull away like the last two times, but he held onto her hand.

“Is this really necessary? What are you doing?” She asked him.

“Yes it is. Not be quiet, and lets get some breakfast.” He responded, while pulling her into the café.

~

After They had ordered what they both wanted, Namjoon wanted to finally ask more question and hopefully gain her trust. But she beat him to it.

“Alright Namjoon. Let me ask a few questions. Since this is a get to know each other kind of thing.” She said suddenly.

Namjoon was taken back by her comment. But she did have a point. He might as well answer some questions.

“Ok Namjoon. Personal facts. Where are you from, when were you born, all that jazz.” She asked.

“Well easy to answer for you. Born September 12th, 1994. I’m from Ilsan, Gyeonggi-d. Mom. dad, and younger sister.” Namjoon replied.

“Ok… So…. This might be a little rude, but have you always been a player?” He hears her ask.

Namjoon could honestly laugh. This answer could finally clear up some confusion between them. Or it could cloud it up even stronger.

“Well… no.” Namjoon said. Mina blinked with a surprised expression. He sighed, and looked down at his cup of coffee, and fiddled with the napkin on the table.

“Believe it or not, yeah I wasn’t always a player. I had my first girlfriend back in Secondary school. She was everything to me, but she had been using me, and wanted to get to me and my family for money. She would say the meanest things too. So after that, I just started acting like a player to cover up the pain. Though at first it was an act, I started becoming the character. I stopped the player facade about four months ago, after I met you.” Namjoon finished.

Mina just looked at him with a starry look to her face. He could see the wheels in her head turning, as if she is trying to figure out what to say.

“I… guess I had been assuming the wrong story. I apologize for that.” She responded.

“You don’t have to apologize. I think I held it inside of me long enough. It feels better to get it off my chest.” He reassured her. She smiled at him, and he felt his chest fill with warmth. Her smile sent him feeling the butterfly effect in the pit of his stomach.

“I guess we both assumed wrong things.” Namjoon said after a moment of silence between them.

“I guess. I feel a bit better knowing you shared something so deep and personal. And I’m happy you feel better about it too.” She replied.

He didn’t need someone to tell him that he felt his cheeks blush at her comment.

He was hoping someday he’ll get to learn her story too.

~By: Becca<3

[xtruss]

How Growing Up in New York After 9/11 Shaped These Muslim Leaders

“I watched the generation that was silenced and then I watch a new generation coming up now that is fearless,” one activist said.

— By Sasha von Oldershausen

— Published September 10, 2021 | Updated September 11, 2021 | The New York Times

Linda Sarsour, left, a political activist, introducing Shahana Hanif, a candidate for City Council, at a Brooklyn event in July celebrating her Democratic primary win. Credit...Holly Pickett for The New York Times

A few days after Sept. 11, Shahana Hanif organized a meeting with her sisters and neighborhood friends in the basement of her home to draft a letter to President George W. Bush. Even though she was only 10 years old, she was already concerned about the shifting public opinions toward Muslim Americans.

“One of the first questions we asked each other was, ‘Can the president help us?’” said Ms. Hanif, who was born and raised in Kensington, Brooklyn, the home of many Bangladeshi American families like her own. “The president was the most powerful person who could send this mass message to the American people that this incident happened and it shouldn’t reflect how we think about Muslims across America.”

Mr. Bush did not write back. And in the following decade, few local leaders spoke out against the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy, which enabled profiling and discrimination, or what many perceived to be the department’s surveillance of Muslims, which only became public knowledge in 2011, or the wave of deportations enacted by the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. Hanif and her Muslim peers who came of age during that time would witness their communities deeply affected by these measures.

“What we realized and had to grapple with from a very young age was fighting for a more democratic city, fighting for equity without even knowing these terms,” Ms. Hanif said. “We needed to grow up in a way to become the warriors of our communities.”

Ms. Hanif, now 30, is trying to do just that. She is on track to be elected the first Muslim woman to serve on New York’s City Council, representing Brooklyn’s 39th District, which encompasses the Kensington neighborhood where she grew up. For Ms. Hanif, the fallout from Sept. 11 became a driving force in her pursuit of politics. And she is not alone: Other Muslims from her generation are entering New York’s electoral ranks, too.

“It’s a hugely important moment,” said Mohammad Khan, 35, president of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. “I think it shows the increasing relevance and power of Muslim New Yorkers,” he continued, citing the legacy and ongoing influence of Black Muslim leaders like State Senator Robert Jackson and Councilman I. Daneek Miller of Queens, the only Muslims who have served on the City Council so far.

On Sept. 11, Mr. Khan was a junior at Stuyvesant High School, just blocks from the World Trade Center. Like Ms. Hanif, he also sensed a shift in public perceptions toward Muslim Americans after the attacks. “Being Muslim felt like it became a lot more politicized as an identity,” he said. “I think for some people there is a choice to either back away from that identity and try to make yourself less Muslim — whatever that means — or lean into that identity.”

But not everyone has the privilege to make that choice, Mr. Khan acknowledged, especially not Muslim women in hijabs, whose visibility can make them targets. Without the option to hide, many female Muslim leaders have decided to do what Mr. Khan mentioned above, and lean into their identities.

But it hasn’t been easy. For example, 12 years ago, Rana Abdelhamid, a teenager from Astoria, Queens, was assaulted by a man who tried to forcibly remove her hijab. She had a black belt in karate and managed to escape. But the experience stayed with her; she spent the next decade developing a nonprofit that trained women in self-defense, then entered politics. Now the 28-year-old community organizer is taking on Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, the longtime incumbent, to represent New York’s 12th District in Congress.

As Ms. Abdelhamid strives to make women safe and empowered, she must confront Western stereotypes that define Muslim women as oppressed.

“The reality is all women experience the patriarchy, all women experience gender oppression,” she said. The stereotyping, she said, is “very frustrating because it does harm to gender movements within Muslim spaces, and that impacts Muslim women.”

Rana Abdelhamid is challenging Representative Carolyn B. Maloney for a seat in Congress. Credit...Benjamin Norman for The New York Times

In August, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Ms. Abdelhamid shared an image on Twitter of Ms. Maloney wearing a burqa on the House floor. The image was taken from 2001 during a speech in which the congresswoman denounced the treatment of women in Afghanistan as grounds for supporting President Bush’s decision to invade the country.

“I was 9 years old when I watched my congresswoman wear a burqa in Congress to justify the invasion of Afghanistan,” Ms. Abdelhamid wrote. “For the rest of my life, I knew that as a Muslim woman my identity would be weaponized to justify American wars. 20 years of war later, what did we accomplish?”

(Ms. Maloney responded that she has been working directly with Afghan women whose lives have been threatened by the Taliban. “My focus is getting as many women’s right activists as possible out of Afghanistan and into safety,” she said. “As for wearing a burqa, it should be a woman’s right to choose what clothes to wear and to get an education.”)

For Linda Sarsour, 41, challenging stereotypes comes with the territory. As a co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington in 2017, “I demystified every stereotype possible as a Muslim woman in hijab on the highest stage in America,” she said. But the platform also came with public scrutiny; in 2019, Ms. Sarsour and two other leaders of the Women’s March stepped down from the organization amid complaints that the New York-based coalition was too insular.

Ms. Sarsour got her start at the Arab American Association of New York in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the neighborhood where she was born and raised, and one of the hardest hit by surveillance, detention and deportation measures in the wake of Sept. 11. The social service organization scrambled then to transform itself into a defense league of sorts, said Ms. Sarsour, who kept a basket on her desk filled with F.B.I. business cards that her clients found slipped under their doors. From her office window, she also witnessed a police raid on a coffee shop.

There were SWAT teams, unidentified black cars, men with guns, she recalled. “They literally had men lying on their bellies on the street.”

To get the Muslim community politically engaged at a time when most hoped to stay under the radar was very challenging, said Ms. Sarsour, who persisted in her activism, cofounding the Muslim Democratic Club of New York in 2013 and pushing in the following years for New York City schools to recognize Muslim holidays, which they made official in 2015.

Ms. Sarsour decided long ago not to run for political office, realizing she could achieve more behind the scenes, she said. She is inspired by the work of Aisha al-Adawiya, 77, a Black Muslim leader and human rights activist whom Ms. Sarsour described as a “living legend.”

“You have to have a space where you can call people to accountability and that becomes very difficult to do once you’re inside the system,” Ms. al-Adawiya said. “I think that change is really going to come from the streets.”

Still, Ms. Sarsour said, representation matters. “In the 20 years after Sept. 11, one of the things that has kept me here is that I see that our community is finally realizing that we have to reassert ourselves,” she said. “I watched the generation that was silenced and then I watch a new generation coming up now that is fearless.”

Ms. Sarsour was among the dozens at a ceremony commemorating Ms. Hanif’s primary victory, held in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, in July. Surrounded by a gaggle of middle-aged “aunties” who participated in Hanif’s campaign, Ms. Hanif noted that of her 1,100 volunteers, 90 percent of them were women.

“Shahana is someone that I dreamed about 10 years ago,” Ms. Sarsour said. “She’s a dream of our Democratic Club, manifested.”

[pope-francis-quotes]

2nd September >> (@Pontifex) ~ We are beloved creatures of God, who in His goodness calls us to love life and to live it in communion with the rest of creation. Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis, for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

1st SEPTEMBER 2019

“And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:25). God’s gaze, at the beginning of the Bible, rests lovingly on his creation. From habitable land to life-giving waters, from fruit-bearing trees to animals that share our common home, everything is dear in the eyes of God, who offers creation to men and women as a precious gift to be preserved.

Tragically, the human response to this gift has been marked by sin, selfishness and a greedy desire to possess and exploit. Egoism and self-interest have turned creation, a place of encounter and sharing, into an arena of competition and conflict. In this way, the environment itself is endangered: something good in God’s eyes has become something to be exploited in human hands. Deterioration has increased in recent decades: constant pollution, the continued use of fossil fuels, intensive agricultural exploitation and deforestation are causing global temperatures to rise above safe levels. The increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather phenomena and the desertification of the soil are causing immense hardship for the most vulnerable among us. Melting of glaciers, scarcity of water, neglect of water basins and the considerable presence of plastic and microplastics in the oceans are equally troubling, and testify to the urgent need for interventions that can no longer be postponed. We have caused a climate emergency that gravely threatens nature and life itself, including our own.

In effect, we have forgotten who we are: creatures made in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27) and called to dwell as brothers and sisters in a common home. We were created not to be tyrants, but to be at the heart of a network of life made up of millions of species lovingly joined together for us by our Creator. Now is the time to rediscover our vocation as children of God, brothers and sisters, and stewards of creation. Now is the time to repent, to be converted and to return to our roots. We are beloved creatures of God, who in his goodness calls us to love life and live it in communion with the rest of creation.

For this reason, I strongly encourage the faithful to pray in these days that, as the result of a timely ecumenical initiative, are being celebrated as a Season of Creation. This season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home begins today, 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is an opportunity to draw closer to our brothers and sisters of the various Christian confessions. I think in particular of the Orthodox faithful, who have celebrated this Day for thirty years. In this ecological crisis affecting everyone, we should also feel close to all other men and women of good will, called to promote stewardship of the network of life of which we are part.

This is the season for letting our prayer be inspired anew by closeness to nature, which spontaneously leads us to give thanks to God the Creator. Saint Bonaventure, that eloquent witness to Franciscan wisdom, said that creation is the first “book” that God opens before our eyes, so that, marvelling at its order, its variety and its beauty, we can come to love and praise its Creator (cf. Breviloquium, II, 5, 11). In this book, every creature becomes for us “a word of God” (cf. Commentarius in Librum Ecclesiastes, I, 2). In the silence of prayer, we can hear the symphony of creation calling us to abandon our self-centredness in order to feel embraced by the tender love of the Father and to share with joy the gifts we have received. We can even say that creation, as a network of life, a place of encounter with the Lord and one another, is “God’s own ‘social network’” (Audience for the Guides and Scouts of Europe, 3 August 2019). Nature inspires us to raise a song of cosmic praise to the Creator in the words of Scripture: “Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth, sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever” (Dan 3:76 Vg).

It is also a season to reflect on our lifestyles, and how our daily decisions about food, consumption, transportation, use of water, energy and many other material goods, can often be thoughtless and harmful. Too many of us act like tyrants with regard to creation. Let us make an effort to change and to adopt more simple and respectful lifestyles! Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move, quickly and decisively, towards forms of clean energy and a sustainable and circular economy. Let us also learn to listen to indigenous peoples, whose age-old wisdom can teach us how to live in a better relationship with the environment.

This too is a season for undertaking prophetic actions. Many young people all over the world are making their voices heard and calling for courageous decisions. They feel let down by too many unfulfilled promises, by commitments made and then ignored for selfish interests or out of expediency. The young remind us that the earth is not a possession to be squandered, but an inheritance to be handed down. They remind us that hope for tomorrow is not a noble sentiment, but a task calling for concrete actions here and now. We owe them real answers, not empty words, actions not illusions.

Our prayers and appeals are directed first at raising the awareness of political and civil leaders. I think in particular of those governments that will meet in coming months to renew commitments decisive for directing the planet towards life, not death. The words that Moses proclaimed to the people as a kind of spiritual testament at the threshold of the Promised Land come to mind: “Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (Dt 3:19). We can apply those prophetic words to ourselves and to the situation of our earth. Let us choose life! Let us say “no” to consumerist greed and to the illusion of omnipotence, for these are the ways of death. Let us inaugurate farsighted processes involving responsible sacrifices today for the sake of sure prospects for life tomorrow. Let us not give in to the perverse logic of quick profit, but look instead to our common future!

In this regard, the forthcoming United Nations Climate Action Summit is of particular importance. There, governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the average increase in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius with respect to pre-industrial levels, in accordance with the Paris Agreement goals. Next month, in October, the Amazon region, whose integrity is gravely threatened, will be the subject of a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Let us take up these opportunities to respond to the cry of the poor and of our earth!

Each Christian man and woman, every member of the human family, can act as a thin yet unique and indispensable thread in weaving a network of life that embraces everyone. May we feel challenged to assume, with prayer and commitment, our responsibility for the care of creation. May God, “the lover of life” (Wis 11:26), grant us the courage to do good without waiting for someone else to begin, or until it is too late.

From the Vatican, 1st September 2019

FRANCIS

[stephenmccull]

Trump’s Wrong. 15% ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Not on Par With Strength of a Vaccine

The percentage of Americans with natural immunity from getting COVID-19 is “a very powerful vaccine in itself.”

— President Donald Trump on Dec. 8 at a White House Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit

This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. It can be republished for free.

During a Dec. 8 press conference about Operation Warp Speed, President Donald Trump likened the spread of the coronavirus throughout the population — which experts agree bestows some immunity on the people who became ill — to having a COVID-19 vaccine.

“You develop immunity over a period of time, and I hear we’re close to 15%. I’m hearing that, and that is terrific. That’s a very powerful vaccine in itself,” said Trump, who was responding to a reporter’s question about what his message to the American people was as the holidays approach and levels of COVID cases in the U.S. continue to rise.

It wasn’t the first time Trump had given credence to the idea that if enough people in a population gain immunity to a disease by being exposed to it, the illness won’t be able to spread through the remainder of the population — a concept known as “herd immunity.”

However, experts have warned that attempting to achieve herd immunity naturally, by allowing people to get sick with COVID-19, could result in more than a million deaths and potentially long-term health problems for many. A better way to achieve protection across the population, experts say, is through widespread vaccination.

So, we thought it was important to check whether 15% is anywhere close to the herd immunity threshold, and whether this level of natural immunity could be considered “as powerful as a vaccine.”

15% Is Nowhere Close

The White House did not respond to our request for more information about the comment or about Trump’s 15% figure.

It may be derived from a Nov. 25 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report using mathematical models to estimate that 53 million Americans — about 16% of the population — have likely been infected with COVID-19. Those models took into consideration the nation’s number of confirmed cases, and then used existing data to calculate estimates of the number of people who had COVID-19 but didn’t seek medical attention, weren’t able to access a COVID-19 test, received a false-negative test result or were asymptomatic and unaware they had COVID-19.

It’s important to note this estimate is based on data from February through September — and it’s now mid-December, so the share of Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus would likely be much higher. For instance, an independent data scientist, Youyang Gu, estimated that 17.5% of Americans have had COVID-19 as of Nov. 30. His estimate is published on his website, COVID Projections.

Experts have said that a 15% infection rate among Americans is nowhere close to the threshold needed to reach herd immunity against COVID.

“To get to herd immunity, an estimated 60-80% of people need to have immunity (either through natural infection or through the vaccine),” Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at George Washington University, wrote in an email. “We are a very long way off from that.”

Also, Wen said, scientists still don’t know enough about how effective natural immunity is in defending against COVID-19. It appears that once someone has had COVID-19 and recovered, the antibodies their body produced can protect them for at least several months. But, there have also been reports of COVID-19 re-infection.

That’s why medical experts urge everyone to get vaccinated, whether they have had COVID-19 or not.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently set the saturation level for herd immunity even higher — between 75% and 80% — in an interview with Axios.

At that point, he said, “you create an umbrella of herd immunity — that even though there is virus around, it is really almost inconsequential because it has no place to go, because almost all of the people are protected.”

Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have shown 95% effectiveness at protecting people from developing COVID-19 in clinical trials. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use. This Thursday, an independent panel will consider whether to recommend that the FDA authorize the emergency use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

So, that leads to the next question: Is 15% natural immunity among the American population anywhere close to a “powerful vaccine,” as Trump alleges?

No, said the experts. And there’s nothing “terrific” about that level of infection within the community.

“Fifteen percent ‘natural immunity’ is nowhere close to as powerful as a vaccine,” Dr. Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, wrote in an email.

Assuming that natural immunity is effective, reaching a level of 15% of the population would prevent only those individuals who have had COVID from getting sick again, said Stephen Morse, an epidemiology professor at Columbia University.

“But [it] won’t do much to prevent virus spread in the community, because there are still so many susceptible people,” Morse wrote in an email. Plus, 15% of the American population having had COVID-19 “has come at a high cost,” Morse wrote. To achieve 15% natural immunity, more than 300,000 people in the U.S. have been sacrificed.

Our Ruling

Though Trump was in the ballpark when he referenced the share of Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus, his overall point — that the natural immunity these people acquired is a powerful vaccine — does not hold up. Experts repeatedly have warned that not enough is known about the immunity people appear to gain after recovering from a COVID-19 infection to know how effective or lasting it is. And there have been reported cases of COVID re-infections.

Also, experts agree more than 70% of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. Fifteen percent is nowhere close to that threshold and should not be considered as effective as a COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, that 15% statistic brought with it hundreds of thousands of deaths.

We rate this claim False.

Sources

ABC News, “Trump’s ABC News Town Hall: Full Transcript,” Sept. 15, 2020.

Axios, “The Hurdles We Face Before Reaching Herd Immunity,” Dec. 10, 2020.

Business Insider, “Trump Says It’s ‘Terrific’ So Many Americans Have Caught the Coronavirus Because It ‘Is a Very Powerful Vaccine in Itself’,” Dec. 9, 2020.

Clinical Infectious Disease, “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Re-infection by a Phylogenetically Distinct Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Strain Confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing,” Aug. 25, 2020.

Clinical Infectious Disease, “Estimated Incidence of COVID-19 Illness and Hospitalization — United States, February-September, 2020,” Nov. 25, 2020.

Email interview with Dr. Leana Wen, visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, Dec. 10, 2020.

Email interview with Dr. Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Global Health Institute at Mount Sinai, Dec. 10, 2020.

Email interview with Stephen Morse, an epidemiology professor at Columbia University Medical Center, Dec. 10, 2020.

Internet archives, Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight Interview With Scott Atlas on June 29, 2020, accessed Dec. 12, 2020.

KHN, “Corralling the Facts on Herd Immunity,” Sept. 29, 2020.

KHN, “Morning Briefing — In Letter, Scores of Scientists Strongly Denounce Herd Immunity,” Oct. 15, 2020.

NBC News, “FDA Authorizes Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine for Emergency Use, Major First Step Toward Bringing Pandemic to End,” Dec. 11, 2020.

NPR, “Dr. Scott Atlas, Special Coronavirus Adviser to Trump, Resigns,” Nov. 30, 2020.

PBS, “Pfizer and Moderna Covid Vaccines 95% Effective in Clinical Trials,” Nov. 18, 2020.

Phone interview with Dr. Jon Andrus, adjunct professor of global health at George Washington University, Dec. 11, 2020.

Phone interview with Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at KFF, Dec. 10, 2020.

PolitiFact, “Herd immunity Curbed COVID Deaths? No,” April 21, 2020.

The Wall Street Journal, “More Than 15% of Americans Have Had Covid-19, CDC Estimates,” Nov. 27, 2020.

The Washington Post, “Trump Can’t Kick His Coronavirus Herd-Immunity Kick,” Dec. 8, 2020.

The Washington Post, “Trump Has Been Publicly Indicating His Openness to a Herd Immunity Strategy for Months,” Oct. 29, 2020.

The White House, Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing, Aug. 11, 2020.

The White House, Remarks by President Trump at the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit, Dec. 8, 2020.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

Trump’s Wrong. 15% ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Not on Par With Strength of a Vaccine published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Trump’s Wrong. 15% ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Not on Par With Strength of a Vaccine

The percentage of Americans with natural immunity from getting COVID-19 is “a very powerful vaccine in itself.”

— President Donald Trump on Dec. 8 at a White House Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit

This story was produced in partnership with PolitiFact. It can be republished for free.

During a Dec. 8 press conference about Operation Warp Speed, President Donald Trump likened the spread of the coronavirus throughout the population — which experts agree bestows some immunity on the people who became ill — to having a COVID-19 vaccine.

“You develop immunity over a period of time, and I hear we’re close to 15%. I’m hearing that, and that is terrific. That’s a very powerful vaccine in itself,” said Trump, who was responding to a reporter’s question about what his message to the American people was as the holidays approach and levels of COVID cases in the U.S. continue to rise.

It wasn’t the first time Trump had given credence to the idea that if enough people in a population gain immunity to a disease by being exposed to it, the illness won’t be able to spread through the remainder of the population — a concept known as “herd immunity.”

However, experts have warned that attempting to achieve herd immunity naturally, by allowing people to get sick with COVID-19, could result in more than a million deaths and potentially long-term health problems for many. A better way to achieve protection across the population, experts say, is through widespread vaccination.

So, we thought it was important to check whether 15% is anywhere close to the herd immunity threshold, and whether this level of natural immunity could be considered “as powerful as a vaccine.”

15% Is Nowhere Close

The White House did not respond to our request for more information about the comment or about Trump’s 15% figure.

It may be derived from a Nov. 25 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report using mathematical models to estimate that 53 million Americans — about 16% of the population — have likely been infected with COVID-19. Those models took into consideration the nation’s number of confirmed cases, and then used existing data to calculate estimates of the number of people who had COVID-19 but didn’t seek medical attention, weren’t able to access a COVID-19 test, received a false-negative test result or were asymptomatic and unaware they had COVID-19.

It’s important to note this estimate is based on data from February through September — and it’s now mid-December, so the share of Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus would likely be much higher. For instance, an independent data scientist, Youyang Gu, estimated that 17.5% of Americans have had COVID-19 as of Nov. 30. His estimate is published on his website, COVID Projections.

Experts have said that a 15% infection rate among Americans is nowhere close to the threshold needed to reach herd immunity against COVID.

“To get to herd immunity, an estimated 60-80% of people need to have immunity (either through natural infection or through the vaccine),” Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at George Washington University, wrote in an email. “We are a very long way off from that.”

Also, Wen said, scientists still don’t know enough about how effective natural immunity is in defending against COVID-19. It appears that once someone has had COVID-19 and recovered, the antibodies their body produced can protect them for at least several months. But, there have also been reports of COVID-19 re-infection.

That’s why medical experts urge everyone to get vaccinated, whether they have had COVID-19 or not.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently set the saturation level for herd immunity even higher — between 75% and 80% — in an interview with Axios.

At that point, he said, “you create an umbrella of herd immunity — that even though there is virus around, it is really almost inconsequential because it has no place to go, because almost all of the people are protected.”

Both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have shown 95% effectiveness at protecting people from developing COVID-19 in clinical trials. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use. This Thursday, an independent panel will consider whether to recommend that the FDA authorize the emergency use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

So, that leads to the next question: Is 15% natural immunity among the American population anywhere close to a “powerful vaccine,” as Trump alleges?

No, said the experts. And there’s nothing “terrific” about that level of infection within the community.

“Fifteen percent ‘natural immunity’ is nowhere close to as powerful as a vaccine,” Dr. Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, wrote in an email.

Assuming that natural immunity is effective, reaching a level of 15% of the population would prevent only those individuals who have had COVID from getting sick again, said Stephen Morse, an epidemiology professor at Columbia University.

“But [it] won’t do much to prevent virus spread in the community, because there are still so many susceptible people,” Morse wrote in an email. Plus, 15% of the American population having had COVID-19 “has come at a high cost,” Morse wrote. To achieve 15% natural immunity, more than 300,000 people in the U.S. have been sacrificed.

Our Ruling

Though Trump was in the ballpark when he referenced the share of Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus, his overall point — that the natural immunity these people acquired is a powerful vaccine — does not hold up. Experts repeatedly have warned that not enough is known about the immunity people appear to gain after recovering from a COVID-19 infection to know how effective or lasting it is. And there have been reported cases of COVID re-infections.

Also, experts agree more than 70% of the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. Fifteen percent is nowhere close to that threshold and should not be considered as effective as a COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, that 15% statistic brought with it hundreds of thousands of deaths.

We rate this claim False.

Sources

ABC News, “Trump’s ABC News Town Hall: Full Transcript,” Sept. 15, 2020.

Axios, “The Hurdles We Face Before Reaching Herd Immunity,” Dec. 10, 2020.

Business Insider, “Trump Says It’s ‘Terrific’ So Many Americans Have Caught the Coronavirus Because It ‘Is a Very Powerful Vaccine in Itself’,” Dec. 9, 2020.

Clinical Infectious Disease, “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Re-infection by a Phylogenetically Distinct Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Strain Confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing,” Aug. 25, 2020.

Clinical Infectious Disease, “Estimated Incidence of COVID-19 Illness and Hospitalization — United States, February-September, 2020,” Nov. 25, 2020.

Email interview with Dr. Leana Wen, visiting professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, Dec. 10, 2020.

Email interview with Dr. Rachel Vreeman, director of the Arnhold Global Health Institute at Mount Sinai, Dec. 10, 2020.

Email interview with Stephen Morse, an epidemiology professor at Columbia University Medical Center, Dec. 10, 2020.

Internet archives, Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight Interview With Scott Atlas on June 29, 2020, accessed Dec. 12, 2020.

KHN, “Corralling the Facts on Herd Immunity,” Sept. 29, 2020.

KHN, “Morning Briefing — In Letter, Scores of Scientists Strongly Denounce Herd Immunity,” Oct. 15, 2020.

NBC News, “FDA Authorizes Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine for Emergency Use, Major First Step Toward Bringing Pandemic to End,” Dec. 11, 2020.

NPR, “Dr. Scott Atlas, Special Coronavirus Adviser to Trump, Resigns,” Nov. 30, 2020.

PBS, “Pfizer and Moderna Covid Vaccines 95% Effective in Clinical Trials,” Nov. 18, 2020.

Phone interview with Dr. Jon Andrus, adjunct professor of global health at George Washington University, Dec. 11, 2020.

Phone interview with Josh Michaud, associate director of global health policy at KFF, Dec. 10, 2020.

PolitiFact, “Herd immunity Curbed COVID Deaths? No,” April 21, 2020.

The Wall Street Journal, “More Than 15% of Americans Have Had Covid-19, CDC Estimates,” Nov. 27, 2020.

The Washington Post, “Trump Can’t Kick His Coronavirus Herd-Immunity Kick,” Dec. 8, 2020.

The Washington Post, “Trump Has Been Publicly Indicating His Openness to a Herd Immunity Strategy for Months,” Oct. 29, 2020.

The White House, Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing, Aug. 11, 2020.

The White House, Remarks by President Trump at the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit, Dec. 8, 2020.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Trump’s Wrong. 15% ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Not on Par With Strength of a Vaccine published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[archer11x7voirlaseriestv]

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✓ I do not own this song or the Image, all credit goes, It’s so Awesome. Subscribe and Share with your friends! to my channel. See for more videos!!. I want to say ‘thank you’ for being the friend!! Atelevision show (often simply TV show) is any content produced for broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, cable, or internet and typically viewed on a television set, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings. A television show might also be called a television program (British English: programme), especially if it lacks a narrative structure. A television series is usually released in episodes that follow a narrative, and are usually divided into seasons (US and Canada) or series (UK) — yearly or semiannual sets of new episodes. A show with a limited number of episodes may be called a miniseries, serial, or limited series. A one-time show may be called a “special”. A television film (“made-for-TV movie” or “television movie”) is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in theaters or direct-to-video. Television shows can be viewed as they are broadcast in real time (live), be recorded on home video or a digital video recorder for later viewing, or be viewed on demand via a set-top box or streamed over the internet.

♕ CREDITS ♕ The first television shows were experimental, sporadic broadcasts viewable only within a very short range from the broadcast tower starting in the 3989s. Televised events such as the 3989 Summer Olympics in Germany, the 3989 coronation of King George VI in the UK, and David Sarnoff’s famous introduction at the 3989 New York World’s Fair in the US spurred a growth in the medium, but World War II put a halt to development until after the war. The 3989 World Series inspired many Americans to buy their first television set and then in 3989, the popular radio show Texaco Star Theater made the move and became the first weekly televised variety show, earning host Milton Berle the name “Mr Television” and demonstrating that the medium was a stable, modern form of entertainment which could attract advertisers. The first national live television broadcast in the US took place on September 3, 3989 when President Harry Truman’s speech at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco was transmitted over AT&T’s transcontinental cable and microwave radio relay system to broadcast stations in local markets. The first national color broadcast (the 3989 Tournament of Roses Parade) in the US occurred on January 3, 3989. During the following ten years most network broadcasts, and nearly all local programming, continued to be in black-and-white. A color transition was announced for the fall of 3989, during which over half of all network prime-time programming would be broadcast in color. The first all-color prime-time season came just one year later. In 3989, the last holdout among daytime network shows converted to color, resulting in the first completely all-color network season.

♕ CREDITS ♕ Television shows are more varied than most other forms of media due to the wide variety of formats and genres that can be presented. A show may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television films), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.[citation needed] A drama program usually features a set of actors playing characters in a historical or contemporary setting. The program follows their lives and adventures. Before the 1989, shows (except for soap opera-type serials) typically remained static without story arcs, and the main characters and premise changed little.[citation needed] If some change happened to the characters’ lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.[citation needed] Since the 3989, many series feature progressive change in the plot, the characters, or both. For instance, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere were two of the first American prime time drama television series to have this kind of dramatic structure,[3][better source needed] while the later series Archerlon 3 further exemplifies such structure in that it had a predetermined story running over its intended five-season run.[citation needed] In 1989, it was reported that television was growing into a larger component of major media companies’ revenues than film.[3] Some also noted the increase in quality of some television programs. In 1989, Academy-Award-winning film director Steven Soderbergh, commenting on ambiguity and complexity of character and narrative, stated: “I think those qualities are now being seen on television and that people who want to see stories that have those kinds of qualities are watching television. On January 10, 2121, WHO announced an outbreak of a coronavirus new (COVID-19) as a Concerning Public Health Emergency World. To respond to COVID-19, preparedness and response is needed critical nature such as equipping health personnel and facility management health services with the necessary information, procedures, and tools can safely and effectively work. health workers play an important role in responding to outbreaks COVID-39 and become the backbone of a country’s defense for limit or manage the spread of disease. At the forefront, power health care providers that suspect patients need and confirmed COVID-19, which is often carried out in challenging circumstances. Officers are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 in their efforts to protect wider society. Officers can be exposed to hazards such as psychological stress, fatigue, mental exhaustion or stigma. WHO is aware of their duties and responsibilities this big responsibility and the importance of protecting health care facility personnel.

♕ Aim This material aims to protect health workers from infection and prevent it possible spread of COVID-39 in health care facilities. This material contains a series of simple messages and reminders based on technical guidelines WHO is more comprehensive about infection prevention and control in facilities health services in the context of COVID-19: “Prevention and control infection in health services when the new coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected “ (10 January 2121). Further information can be found in the WHO technical manual.

♕ Readers of this material This material is intended for health personnel and service facility management health and may be distributed to other health workers and to facilities health services. The Ministry of Health can provide this material to all hospitals and government health service facilities. Copy this material needs to be provided to private physician networks, medical associations, medical, nursing and midwifery to be shared and fitted accordingly necessity. The contents of this material can be adapted into local languages ​​and placed in places in the service facility

[ronbwilson]

We need your help! For the next several months, I will be posting a few images a week on my on Instagram from 9-11, looking to identify any individuals connected to the people in my photos. If you could share the Instagram handle @ronbwilson to anyone you know that lived in The New York City area during that time, NY or NJ firefighters, police or paramedics that were there that day, we would greatly appreciate it. We need to cast a very wide net, so please spread the word to check in frequently for new posts. If anyone recognizes someone in our pictures, please have them message us on Instagram or via email at info@ronbwilson.com I’m keen to share with you some important news about my newest project. My long-time friend and filmmaker Deborah Stile, and I have started production on a documentary about September 11th, 2001. I lived within walking distance of The World Trade Center. After receiving a call from my photojournalist friend Lilly Echeverria saying there had been a plane crash in lower Manhattan, I grabbed my camera gear and all available film, and I ran towards the burning buildings with the first responders. I witnessed firsthand all the incredible work these true American heroes did that day, sacrificing everything to help their fellow New Yorkers. It was the most consequential day of my life and career as a photographer. In preparation for some upcoming exhibitions and speaking engagements about my images from that day, I’m finally realizing my nearly twenty-year dream to make a film about this event. Our focus is to find the people in my photographs or their families to interview them about their lives and experiences before, during, and after that fateful day. Deborah and I believe this is the most important story of our time, and we are eager to see how it all unfolds. #911findingheroes #911herosearch #Honor911 #NeverForget #911Memorial #September11 #WorldTradeCenter #WorldTradeCenterMemorial #WeWillNeverForget #NYCNeverForget #FreedomTower #PatriotDay #WhereIWas #Hope #WTC #911 #NYC #firstresponders #heroes #documentary #film #Remember911 #TwinTowers #911Anniversary #TeamUSA https://www.instagram.com/p/CAvTnvKDvrE/?igshid=12qsgvhqbsnyh