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covid-safer-hotties · 3 months ago

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These Are the Drag Artists and Organizers Fighting to Make Queer Spaces More COVID Safe - Published Aug 21, 2024

This article was produced in partnership with The Sick Times.

After becoming disabled by a COVID-19 infection they caught on tour in 2022, Themme Fatale went from being a high-flying trapeze artist to being homebound. Before developing Long COVID, much of the popular circus performer’s career had involved risk — setting themself on fire, flipping through the air, lying on beds of nails — but the danger of these stunts began to shrink in their mind compared to the risk of the airborne virus.

From home in Melbourne, Australia, Fatale began to closely follow Long COVID research, connecting the concerning findings about the disease, which affects every organ system, to their numerous symptoms. What they didn’t understand was why their local queer community — and society at large — continued to put themselves at risk of COVID-19, especially because Long COVID is more prevalent in queer and trans people.

It led Fatale to take action. In February 2024, Fatale launched Clean Air Narm, one of over 30 volunteer-led initiatives around the world modeled after Chicago’s Clean Air Club. These organizations lend out high-quality air purifiers to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by reducing virus in the air at indoor venues.

“I started [Clean Air Narm] because I don't want to see all my friends disabled in the same way that I have been,” they say. “If you lead with a solution, people are sometimes more open to hearing about what the problem is in the first place.”

Guided by a strong commitment to community care, a diverse group of queer performers, drag kings, and other event organizers are filling the gaps of global government failure during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through clean air organizations, mask requirements at shows, and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts, they are making public spaces more accessible and safer for everyone, all while selling out shows.

Here’s how many clean air clubs work: Organizers fundraise in their communities for a fleet of air purifiers and/or far-UVC devices, lamps that emit a type of ultraviolet light that can reduce indoor airborne microbes by 98%. Because these technologies are expensive — lights and purifiers can each cost thousands of dollars —, clean air organizers offer them to event organizers in their community through a “lending library.”

Volunteers of the clean air initiatives then distribute the purifiers to event organizers who install them at venues, often coupled with other COVID-19 mitigation tools like masks and rapid tests. Mutual-aid groups called mask blocs, which distribute respirators and other items to their communities for free, sometimes help with events, too.

While these precautions make events safer, they don’t fully eliminate the risk of spreading or catching COVID-19 at an event. Clean air initiatives are often careful to advertise events as “COVID-safer,” not “COVID-safe.” Some advocates have also criticized these clean air clubs for prioritizing entertainment events, arguing that resources like air purifiers and high-quality masks should be used for the most vulnerable communities that can’t afford masks, including hospitals, prisons, or public schools.

Still, with COVID-19 at very high levels multiple times a year and many people still going out to concerts and shows, these multiple layers of precaution do reduce spread of the disease in important venues. The fight for cleaner air in public places is broad: Public health experts and others have also proposed clean air mandates in public buildings, including Harvard University’s Healthy Buildings Program, Long COVID Kids, and Congressman Don Beyer’s Airborne Act 2024.

After founding Clean Air Club in 2023, Chicago resident Emily Dupree was met with an overwhelming demand for her club’s HEPA air purifiers. The success led her to write a guide to creating a clean-air organization. More than 30 autonomous initiatives around the world have been implemented and improved on the guide — and they’re popping up quickly.

“What we all have in common is a deep commitment to free access to life-saving technology in the midst of an ongoing pandemic,” says Dupree.

While Clean Air Club purifiers are for any organizers who request them, Dupree has noticed the resource has been more popular with members of the queer community.

“It is not surprising to me that so many of us creating these clean air clubs and putting in so much work for our community are queer,” Dupree says. “This idea of care as a radical and very powerful foundational value for mutual aid organizations is closely aligned with queer politics.”

The queer community is no stranger to mutual aid. During the peak of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s and ’90s, lesbians and other queer people started food banks, devoted their time to caretaking, donated as “blood sisters”, treated people with the disease, and provided other life-saving volunteer services while mainstream society stigmatized and abandoned people with AIDS.

Today, clean air organizations, mask blocs, and other COVID-19 mutual aid groups exist as a temporary solution for the widespread institutional failures of local, city, state, and federal governments that have an obligation to safeguard public health from COVID-19 and have instead completely failed to live up to that obligation, as Dupree says. “[These initiatives] give us a glimpse of what life could be like if only these principles were adopted at a larger scale.”

Dupree would like to see institutions that have the power to make large-scale, permanent changes in the interest of public health — including schools, public transportation departments, and prisons — improve their indoor air quality through the use of air purification and far-UVC technology. She’d also like to see mask requirements reimplemented in high-risk environments like hospitals, where many people have died after being exposed to COVID-19 while seeking life-saving care.

It's pretty straightforward, Dupree says. “What we need from the government is what they did at the turn of the century to eradicate cholera from our public water. We need them to clean our indoor air.”

In the absence of these measures and few to no mitigation efforts today, the public is at continued risk of COVID-19 infections and Long COVID, which affects more than 23 million Americans of all age groups. More than 400 million have the disease around the globe, according to a recent review in Nature Medicine. The ever-present threat of the virus also makes it unsafe for disabled and other high-risk people to participate in everyday life, seek safe medical care, and do essential errands.

While many mutual aid groups are run by queer people, numerous LGBTQ+ organizations and advocacy groups are failing to make their spaces and events safe and accessible. Education about the risk of Long COVID in the community is sorely lacking.

But there are exceptions: In Los Angeles, two drag king-led shows, Disabled Cable and Them Fatale (not associated with Themme Fatale) have made their shows more COVID-safe thanks to the help of testing, mask requirements, and their local clean air organization, Airgasmic.

Founded in 2024 by popular drag king Dick Swagger, Airgasmic runs a lending library of crowd-sourced purifiers specifically for drag shows and other queer events. And while the volunteer service has been successful, it has also exposed how difficult it can be to get venues and some patrons on board with COVID-19 mitigation methods, particularly masking.

“A lot of people aren't keeping up with the science,” Swagger says, explaining that he spends most of his free time volunteering for Airgasmic and educating his community online about COVID-19 and Long COVID. “More people tend to listen to me when I’m in drag.”

Swagger stopped performing live in 2022 after seeing the toll Long COVID has taken on the drag and queer community in Los Angeles. He knows 14 people in his local drag and queer communities with Long COVID, he says, adding that “it is like watching a slow-motion car crash” as more continue to get infected with COVID-19.

“I had to stop performing. I became increasingly frustrated,” he says. “I was trying to protect [my local drag community] and protect myself because I can't afford to become disabled.”

Leona Love, a drag king and queen who co-created Disabled Cable, says one of the most difficult aspects in organizing their show was finding a venue that would help enforce a mask requirement, a challenge other performers and organizers who spoke with Them and The Sick Times also faced.

As an ambulatory wheelchair user, Love says that a lack of accessible venues has kept them from performing at venues in Los Angeles in the past. The underlying ableism in the drag and queer community led them to co-found the show, which highlights disabled performers.

“The way I like to tell it honestly is that it is a project that was born out of rage and channeled into love,” they say.

But after finding a venue called Cantiq in Echo Park that fully supported their mitigation efforts, Love’s first show drew such a large crowd that they had to set a capacity limit for their sophomore performance so it would be less cramped and therefore safer. Now, the event regularly sells out.

“Getting to see the response to our show has been so affirming that our community still does care about COVID-19,” Love says. “We want to keep each other safe. Sometimes it’s about providing the right spaces and the right information to inform people how they can do that.”

“I do wish, however, that there were spaces outside of what we are building that were taking us into consideration as much as we are taking everyone in the community into consideration.”

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butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway · 24 days ago

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When I worked in home healthcare/direct care, it was state policy that none of us were allowed to work over 25hours straight or more than seven days consequetive shifts. We were told the penalty for this was a $10,000 fine to the agency per violation.

I personally was scheduled in violation of these laws about once a month for the year I worked there and as far as I know, absolutely no one was ever fined. But even if they were, the common joke among us workers was that the CEO had recently rennovated headquarters including purchasing a ten thousand dollar custom conference table, so we called "incurring" a violation fine "buying a new conference table"

So like. None of this surprises me, and I really really REALLY need people to keep in mind that healthcare workers are often EXEMPT from the vast majority of labor laws, making it unfathomably easy to also ignore or violate the few labor laws that actually apply to us. Please pay attention to when groups like nurses unions or home health aid unions advocate for policy changes because the only thing that finally made me realize my job would literally not care if it killed me was when a coworker worked 72 hours straight, tried to drive home, wrecked her car and spent like a month in hospital before showing back up to work again visibly underhealed because she'd been denied further time off for her recovery. A recovery she needed because the agency had violated the law in a way that put her and everyone around her in danger. And then two weeks after that, another coworker who had been working nonstop doubles (16hr shifts) for two weeks fell asleep on an overnight, and while she was asleep, a resident left the house and was killed in traffic. She was held accountable, not the agency, and she tried to kill herself out of guilt.

These are stories from pre-pandemic, and I cannot fathom what has happened to the field since I left it for my own health and safety. I hope this lawsuit ruins the defendents lives and forces us all to be accountable for the treatment of our vulnerable loved ones and the people we rely on to care for them.

oh boy the mullenweg home healthcare worker lawsuit is not good

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 8 months ago

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Check out this great letter challenging the City of Kingston's plans for daytime evictions in Belle Park (from Mutual Aid Katarokwi-Kingston, March 19, 2024):

"I am a citizen of Kingston who lives on Montreal Street and volunteers five to seven days per week, for two or three hours per day, at the Integrated Care Hub with my colleague Brigit Smith.

In our role, at this grassroots level, we support the ICH shelter residents, substance users at the Consumption Treatment Centre, encampment residents at Belle Park and many unhoused in the community who have learned about the kindness, warmth and support we provide to the homeless.

As background, one of our business clients donated $10,000 to purchase a golf cart for the CTS and ICH staff to provide swift responses to overdoses, ultimately saving lives. We set up a prepaid account at BnB Pharmacy to support fulfillment of prescriptions, which we top up on a monthly basis. We raised over $12,000 this past winter to provide tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows, hygiene products, winter coats, boots, hats, gloves, running shoes, back packs, and warm clothing. We have built relationships with businesses in the community who support our efforts to take care of our homeless. We often purchase and donate coffee, donuts and

muffins so our unhoused feel, in some small way, that we care about their well-being. We process all incoming donations. We take care of everyone with respect and dignity and we are honoured to serve them. They are warm, friendly, appreciative, and respectful in all interactions. We do not deny the reality of challenges, as we see them every day, however one would think the threat to life would include concern for fires and freezing to death. We do not feel your decision is taking all complex matters into account. We feel uniquely qualified share our perspective.

The announcement of the City of Kingston to prohibit day use and evict our encampment homes on a daily basis, effective April 2, 2024, simply must not go forward.

We are in the midst of a national housing, economic, substance use and drug poisoning crisis. This is our reality. It is not going away. Delegations have approached council to talk about substance use in our schools at the elementary and secondary levels. Poverty and homelessness are growing. This is evident in the statistics authored by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These may be the most complex times we will face in our lifetime and as citizens we can not condone the short sited and thoughtless approach of daily prohibition and daily eviction of homes. Asking our vulnerable residents who are often medically ill with complex mental illness, and or substance use and many fragile elderly, to pack up their homes and belongings daily, is inhumane. We must have more scope than knowing we will be complicit in the death of our vulnerable citizens, if we push them further into the woods and isolation, as Justine McIsaac stated at your council meeting in January 2023.

Moreover, the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, authored by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (Feb 2024) clearly indicates the need for the City of Kingston to comply. It is a human right to receive adequate housing and yet you are proposing we dismantle the only home they have on a daily basis, destroying the little dignity they have. These are their homes, and it is incumbent upon us to improve their homes, not dismantle them. Our citizens in Belle Park are already a community in crisis, a traumatized and disadvantaged population. We have a group of seniors who depend on us to listen to their stories and memories and be present for their needs. Many, are quite sick and dropped off from the hospital in various states where continued active care is required. We also provide walkers, canes and wheelchairs. It is our norm. How can we respect and support the decision of the city when you do not seem to understand the complex matters of these very important citizens. We need to collaborate to find common ground.

Can you imagine what will happen to our emergency departments when we can no longer administer naloxone in Belle Park. An already overburdened HDH and KGH will now be providing overdose support because residents have moved further away from their support at the CTS and ICH. We serve hundreds of overdoses. These overdoses will land squarely at emergency along with the Paramedics and Police who must remain present until the emergency dept can serve them.

Our residents will find places to live in their tents further away from the ICH. Tent encampments will not cease to exist, with your dismantling strategy. Recently, you took the tent of a resident, and this particular resident continues to live at Belle Park under a tarp. You accomplished nothing but putting this resident further into crisis. This is their community, it is their home, their tents are their homes. Let that sink in, tents are the best we have provided them. This eviction will push them further into crisis, despair and desperation and as Justine stated, resulting in death.

It is our understanding, a resolution from Council is required to move forward with your April 2 directive and we did not find this resolution. Can you please advise us as to how this decision was made as we understand this directive to be illegitimate

Please let us work with our community, fire department, police and bylaw to educate and support our residents. Our outdoor engagement team has worked very hard to collaborate with citizens, police and fire and we believe with a dedicated team we can build understanding and find common ground. We are inviting the community to volunteer with us. Give us a chance to build relationships. Please reconsider your decision and work with us to support our community while we build a made in Kingston strategy together. On a strategic level, we have a made in Kingston plan to collaborate with private sector and all levels of government to lift Kingston as the innovative and dynamic city it is. Please reconsider and work with us toward a sustainable solution.

Sincerely,

Pamela Gray and Brigit Smith"

#kingston ontario #belle park #encampment #clearing encampments #municipal politics #homeless encampment #homelessness #punishing the poor #poverty in canada #policing the crisis #canadian politics #ontario politics

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hardynwa · 1 year ago

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Akeredolu should step aside, or be removed

PRESENTED with another opportunity to raise the bar of democratic governance to global standards, Nigeria’s political leadership, instead dug the country further into a rut. For six months, governance has alternated between abeyance, inertia, and auto-pilot in Ondo State, following the illness of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who has been absent from duty and the state capital, Akure. Whereas decorum, and respect for the five million residents of the state demand that the governor step down, party leaders, led by President Bola Tinubu, have elevated party conviviality over public interest. The charade is nauseating; the governor should immediately surrender the reins of government to tend to his health, failing which the state executive council or the legislature should remove him in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. The drama is another setback for Nigeria’s democracy. For over one year, Akeredolu has been very ill. For some time, he relocated to Ibadan, Oyo State, from where he and his inner circle were running Ondo. Later, he flew to Germany for treatment, spending three months in the European country. On his return, his family and aides took him to Ibadan, from where they are pretending that he is running Ondo State. The crisis has deepened with the harassment of the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, by Akeredolu’s supporters over internal disagreements, including attempts to impeach him by the Ondo State House of Assembly. Akeredolu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, should respect the law. The 1999 Constitution is clear; he has the option of handing over to his deputy and transmitting that he is taking medical leave of absence to the ODHA. In the alternative, he should resign to tend to his health. Public office calls for selfless public service. His exit now on account of his incapacitation is more beneficial to the state than the current intrigues and administrative gridlock at a time of grave economic, security and social adversity. Tinubu’s and the ruling party’s intervention however elevated party interest above public interest, and global best democratic practices. Their ‘resolution’ asking the Ondo partisans to maintain the status quo; retain the absentee Akeredolu as governor, and stop impeachment moves against Aiyedatiwa, resolves nothing. Governance in Ondo remains in abeyance. Nigerian politicians fail to learn from past mistakes. Nigeria witnessed political gridlock in 2009 when the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s aides and some family members similarly hijacked the Presidency during his sojourn in foreign hospitals. Eventually, it was the invocation of the “doctrine of necessity” that facilitated the elevation of his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, to the presidency. His successor, Muhammadu Buhari, similarly took frequent foreign medical trips without transmitting power to his deputy, whose sterling performance during the first two trips impressed Nigerians, but infuriated Buhari’s exclusionary inner circle. In one instance, he was away for 171 days. Former Governors Sullivan Chime (Enugu), and Liyel Imoke (Cross River), also each departed their states for long periods. This ghoulish spectacle should be terminated. Illness can afflict anyone. Everyone sympathises with Akeredolu and wishes him full recovery. But it is time to step down from the exacting functions of governor for everyone’s sake. As NBA leader, student union, and civil society activist, he had always insisted on governance best practices. The NBA stoutly called on Yar’Adua to step down in 2009/2010; its recent backing of Akeredolu therefore amounts to double standards. Akeredolu should step aside. Failing that, the ODHA, and the SEC should remove him. Read the full article

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houghg · 1 year ago

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Exploring the Life and Work of Dr Gregory Hough in South Africa

As a medical professional, it is always inspiring to learn about the life and work of those who have made a significant impact on the healthcare industry. One such individual is Dr Gregory Hough, a physician whose contributions to the field of medicine have been felt not only in South Africa but around the world. In this article, we will explore the life and work of Dr Greg Hough South Africa, highlighting his achievements, philanthropic endeavors, and personal interests.

Introduction to Dr Gregory Hough

Dr Gregory Hough was born in the United States and grew up in a family of physicians. Following in his family's footsteps, he pursued a medical degree and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. He later completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he specialized in internal medicine.

Early life and education

Dr Hough's interest in medicine can be traced back to his childhood, where he spent much of his time observing his physician parents. His early exposure to the medical field instilled in him a passion for helping others, which he carried with him throughout his education. After completing his residency, Dr Hough went on to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Medical career and contributions

Following his fellowship, Dr Greg Hough began his career as an infectious disease specialist, working in various hospitals and clinics throughout the United States. His expertise in infectious diseases soon became known around the world, and he was invited to speak at conferences and medical events across the globe.

Dr Hough's contributions to the medical field are numerous, but perhaps his most significant achievement was his role in the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART), a treatment for HIV/AIDS. As one of the pioneers of ART, Dr Hough's work helped to revolutionize the treatment of HIV/AIDS, saving countless lives in the process.

Dr Gregory Hough in South Africa

In 2001, Dr Hough moved to South Africa, where he would spend the next two decades of his life. He was Drawn to South Africa by the country's high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which at the time was one of the highest in the world. Dr Hough recognized that his expertise in infectious diseases could make a significant impact in South Africa and set out to do just that.

Hough's impact on South African healthcare

During his time in South Africa, Dr Hough worked tirelessly to improve the country's healthcare system. He established clinics and treatment centers throughout the country, providing much-needed care to those living with HIV/AIDS. He also trained local healthcare workers, sharing his knowledge and expertise with the next generation of medical professionals.

Greg Hough most significant contribution to South African healthcare was his role in the development of the country's national antiretroviral therapy program. His work helped to ensure that millions of South Africans had access to life-saving treatment, Drastically reducing the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence.

Philanthropic endeavors and community involvement

Dr Hough's commitment to improving healthcare in South Africa extended beyond his work as a physician. He was also deeply involved in philanthropic endeavors, donating his time and resources to various organizations and causes. He was a passionate advocate for social justice and worked tirelessly to promote equality and fairness in South Africa and beyond.

When browsing through a gallery of Dr. Gregory images, it is evident that his passion for medicine shines through each photograph. Whether he is seen in a clinic setting, conducting research, or interacting with colleagues, his dedication to improving healthcare is unmistakable. In the case of Dr. Greg Hough images exude confidence and competence, showcasing a doctor who is highly skilled in his specialty and trusted by his patients for providing top-notch medical care.

Personal life and interests

Outside of his work in medicine, Dr Hough has a wide range of interests and hobbies. He is an avid traveler and has visited over 100 countries around the world. He is also a lover of art and music and enjoys attending concerts and visiting museums in his free time.

Social media presence - Dr Gregory Facebook Facebook and beyond

Dr Hough is active on social media, particularly on Dr Greg Hough Facebook, where he shares updates on his work and personal life. He also uses his platform to promote causes that are important to him, such as social justice and healthcare equity.

Dr Gregory Hough South Africa impact, cannot be overstated. His dedication to improving healthcare in the country has saved countless lives and has left a lasting legacy. Dr Hough's contributions to medicine and healthcare will continue to inspire future generations of medical professionals for years to come.

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greghough890 · 1 year ago

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Exploring the Life and Work of Dr Gregory Hough in South Africa

Introduction to Dr Gregory Hough

Early life and education

Medical career and contributions

Dr Gregory Hough in South Africa

In 2001, Dr Hough moved to South Africa, where he would spend the next two decades of his life. He was drawn to South Africa by the country's high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which at the time was one of the highest in the world. Dr Hough recognized that his expertise in infectious diseases could make a significant impact in South Africa and set out to do just that.

Hough's impact on South African healthcare

Greg Hough most significant contribution to South African healthcare was his role in the development of the country's national antiretroviral therapy program. His work helped to ensure that millions of South Africans had access to life-saving treatment, drastically reducing the country's HIV/AIDS prevalence.

Philanthropic endeavors and community involvement

Personal life and interests

Social media presence - Dr Gregory Facebook Facebook and beyond

Dr Hough is active on social media, particularly on Dr Greg Hough Facebook Facebook, where he shares updates on his work and personal life. He also uses his platform to promote causes that are important to him, such as social justice and healthcare equity.

0 notes

the-active-news · 2 years ago

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Tony Britts Cause Of Death: Britt Birthday Bash Gets Underway As The New Year Draws Near

Tony Britts, a British-Ghanaian, gained notoriety for his physique and most recently went viral for it. On November 24, he was born in Ghana. He is currently pursuing a profession in fitness and bodybuilding while residing in the UK. Additionally, Tony has worked as a fitness teacher for BBC, which has exposed him to the public and thrust him into the spotlight. In addition to this, he has amazing dancing abilities and is used to dancing and choreographing.

Tony Britts Cause Of Death

Tony Britts Cause Of Death Tony also served as a fitness instructor for the BBC, which gave him exposure to the general public. He also choreographs and dances and his dancing movements are fantastic. Tony, however, is no longer with us since he supposedly received an AIDS diagnosis and died in 1988 at the age of 32. Tony Britts is a Ghana-born British fitness specialist. He was raised in London, England, but was born in Ghana. 1988 saw his passing. Tony Blitz is 5’9″ tall with black eyes and hair. He is N/A in size and weighs around 74 kg. You also like it:- - Alex Haley Net Worth: Is He Still Alive Or Not? - Kenneth Copeland Net Worth: How Much Money Does He Make In a Year?

Britt Birthday Bash Gets Underway As The New Year Draws Near

So how exactly did Brad (Parry Shen) and Maxie (Kirsten Storms) do in terms of planning Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) birthday party and making it a smashing success? We got a glimpse of the party on Thursday’s episode of General Hospital, replete with shirtless waiters and bartenders, a drag queen, and some epic karaoke tossed in for good measure. When Britt enters the Haunted Star, she compliments Maxie on how amazing everything looks and thanks Brad for the attractive waitstaff! Following his arrival, Austin (Roger Howarth) has private time with Britt. He hopes she is changing her mind about skipping her own celebration and leaving town altogether. Britt explains to Austin that she is making a gracious departure rather than fleeing. She admits that her one-way ticket to destiny will allow her to easily disappear as soon as the clock strikes midnight. https://twitter.com/SoapCrush/status/1608579881725566977 A drag queen then briefly takes over the celebrations to signal to the attendees that it is time to hit the dance floor. Brad and Maxie continue to get praise from Britt for making this a night she will never forget. Approaching Austin, Liesl (Kathleen Gati) expresses her gratitude for his friendship with Britt. She then cautions Britta not to dance too much and exhaust herself. It’s all about having fun tonight, Britt tells her Mutta.

Who was the BBC fitness instructor?

During the height of the coronavirus epidemic, I certainly didn't anticipate becoming a part of the resurrection of home exercise programmes. Considering CEO Mike Ashley's blatant contempt for workers' rights and safeguards, I'm hesitant to advocate for the purchase of resistance bands and yoga mats from Sports Direct. https://twitter.com/Arden_Forester/status/1255031982800678918 I wasn't expecting to be reporting about the state of the internet by discussing the struggles of social media fitness celebrities to get to the top of Instagram's cutthroat engagement hierarchy. Nonetheless, the BBC has retrieved archived film of teacher Tony Britts, a man I am now completely infatuated with, filling the hole of interest in fitness routines previously present on the internet. Tony guides his TV audience through a performance that feels both scripted and spontaneous in Twice as Fit, a three-minute feature on BBC's Breakfast Time, the 1980s forerunner of today's BBC Breakfast. “Hi! So, I figured, "Hey, let's do three exercises today and attempt to integrate them as we have been." Tony's enormous physique is covered in gorgeous fit-wear, and nothing quite prepares you for the ease with which he moves it. This dance-aerobics-yoga hybrid goes well beyond the limitations of the typical training DVD from the '80s. Someone on Breakfast Time said, "I think his hips run on ball bearings." Instead than expecting people to perform to Tony's athletic standards, Twice as Fit provided a safe haven where people could try to mimic his physical prowess in the comfort of their own homes without fear of ridicule. For more information visit theactivenews.com Read the full article

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robthegoodfellow · 1 year ago

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In addition to promoting C4P on Instagram, I also wanted to share the letter released by Artists4Ceasefire:

Dear President Biden, We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine. We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them. We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.” As of this writing more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped on Gaza in the last 12 days - resulting in one child being killed every 15 minutes. "Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following days of air strikes and cuts to all supply routes. Gaza’s sole power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, shutting down electricity, water and wastewater treatment. Most residents can no longer get drinking water from service providers or household water through pipelines.... The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion — and international law — must prevail.” – UNICEF spokesperson James Elder Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed. We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we stood by and did nothing. As Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths told UN News, “History is watching.”

Partial list of signatories highlighted by NPR (much longer list on the Artists4Ceasefire site linked at top of this post):

Alia Shawkat

Alyssa Milano

Amanda Seales

Amber Tamblyn

America Ferrera

Andrew Garfield

Ani DiFranco

Anoushka Shankar

Aria Mia Loberti

Ayo Edebiri

Bassam Tariq

Bassem Youssef

Belly

Bonnie Wright

Caroline Polachek

Cate Blanchett

Channing Tatum

Cherien Dabis

Darius Marder

David Cross

David Oyelowo

Dev Hynes

Diplo

Dominique Fishback

Dominique Thorne

Dua Lipa

Elvira Lind

Elyanna

Farah Bsaiso

Fatima Farheen Mirza

Florence Pugh

Hasan Minhaj

Hend Sabry

Ilana Glazer

Indya Moore

James Schamus

Jeremy Strong

Jessica Chastain

Jessie Buckley

Joaquin Phoenix

Jon Stewart

Kehlani

Kristen Stewart

Macklemore

Mahershala Ali

Margaret Cho

Mark Ruffalo

May Calamawy

Michael Malarkey

Michael Moore

Michael Shannon

Michael Stipe

Michelle Wolf

Miguel

Mo Amer

Natalie Merchant

Oscar Isaac

Quinta Brunson

Rachel Sennott

Ramy Youssef

Ravena Aurora

Riz Ahmed

Rooney Mara

Rosario Dawson

Rowan Blanchard

Ryan Coogler

Sandra Oh

Sebastian Silva

Shailene Woodley

Shaka King

Simi Haze

Stephanie Suganami

Susan Sarandon

Taylour Paige

Tommy Genesis

Vic Mensa

Victoria Monét

Wallace Shawn

Wanda Sykes

Yara Shahidi

I'd heard so much about the celebs and creatives who signed that letter in support of Israel which totally ignored the plight of Palestinians in favor of promoting Zionist talking points -- to the point where I didn't even know about the Artists4Ceasefire counter letter.

I know in the grand scheme of things, these letters are mostly performative gestures. I don't know how many on this list are actively promoting the Palestinian cause as individuals with far-reaching platforms... but it's a far cry from the appalled disappointment I felt scrolling down that first letter.

I saw your tags about trying to compile a list of celebs who support Palestine and a pretty decent source is the celebrities4palestine Instagram account🫶🏾

Thank you so much!!

#also shout out to mandy patinkin #he's on the artists4ceasefire letter #which means he probably doesn't agree with the absolute garbage takes his brother mark published in the providence journal #fuck you mark patinkin #free palestine #justice for palestine

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genderqueeers · 3 years ago

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The Judge Rotenberg Center: 50 Years of Abuse

taken from this reddit post.

TRIGGER WARNING: This post details a long history of graphic child abuse and torture of the physical and psychological varieties.

Judge Rotenberg Educational Center, a residential school for people with developmental disabilities, emotional disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, in Canton, Massachusetts, USA. This organization has a colourful history to say the least, and given recent news, I've decided to do a bit of a summary

Origins

Founded in 1971 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Matthew Israel. It was originally named the Behavior Research Institute, and started with just two residents, one autistic, the other schizophrenic. In 1975 the BRI opened group homes in Massachusetts, and in 1976 it opened a branch in California.

The Behavior Research Institute of California / Tobinworld

When it opened the California branch in 1975, it did not have a license to operate as a group home, Israel did not have a license to practice psychology in the state of California, and the branch lacked a license to use aversives. This did not stop them. Eventually in 1977 they applied and were rejected for licenses and were scheduled to shut down. The day following their shut down a group of parents reopened the institute as a co-operative with Israel officially being consultant instead of Director, and they applied for the appropriate licenses again. The then-governor of California, Pat Brown, assisted them to gain their licenses, and they were the only group home ever permitted to use "physical aversives" on it's residents. They were awarded $35,000 a year per child by the state, the highest rate for any community facility in California.

July 17, 1981 at the California branch staff restrained 14-year-old Danny Aswad in the face-down position on his bed. He died in that position. An autopsy report stated he died of 'natural causes', however this prompted California to investigate the branch, discovering countless physical and psychological abuses at the facility. Residents were beaten, restrained, humiliated, and starved, sprayed with hoses, refused access to bathrooms, pinched till they screamed, and given "behavior rehearsal lessons" where they were instructed to destroy property, and then punished with spraying for it. Staff were trained in how to conceal bruises on residents from family members and inspectors. This investigation resulted in the facility being forbidden from using anything more punishing than a water spray, and forbade the founder Matthew Israel from stepping foot on the property.

At some point a few years later, this branch was renamed Tobinworld, and was taken over Judith Weber, who later would become Israel's second wife (she was a mother of one of the former residents).

October 1991, 9-year-old Derek Collins was restrained prone in a school bus by a Tobinworld aide and required emergency resuscitation and hospital care. Collins was admitted to Huntington Memorial Hospital in critical condition with possible brain damage. The aide pled guilty for felony child abuse.

In 2014 a mother sued Tobinworld after she alleged her 7-year-old child was regularly abused there, being denied snacks or the ability to use the restroom. She alleged in the preceding year that the facility's vice-president and three aides restrained her child, kicked his feet out from under him causing him to fall and get a bloody nose, and then when he cried they wrapped his face in plastic, causing him to choke on his blood.

In 2016 a 9-year-old boy is restrained by the arms and legs and then sucker punched in the face by a 26-year-old aid. It had been recorded and leaked by another employee who had said it was the third time they had recorded such an event.

These latter two events prompted an investigation where it was found that Matthew Israel had been illegally working at the school again without proper clearance, without the authorities being informed, without a background check, and without tuberculosis tests. The State Education board then closed down one of the branches of Tobinworld in 2016. The school was finally fully shut down in 2019.

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Institute

In 1979 one resident told investigators she desperately wished to leave the school, and her worst fear was an indefinite future in JRC. She contemplated suicide daily.

In 1979 two reports by NY State authorities found the BRI was conducting physical and mental abuse, and that the methods were only effective as a means of coercion with residents relapsing into their old behavior as soon as the immediate threat of punishment was gone.

In 1983, despite corporal punishment being illegal in Massachusetts, the institute was granted special permission for them.

July 23, 1985, 22-year-old Vincent Milletich had been acting out. He was restrained in a chair with plastic tie cuffs on his hands and feet, a mask was placed over his face and a helmet put on, and earphones were put on him to play white noise continuously. He died from asphyxiation. The BRI were not found to have caused his death, however were found negligent for approving the therapy and carrying it out without sufficient supervision. Later in the year, the State Office for Children ordered the BRI to close, or to stop using aversives. There was uproar among disability advocates demanding the school be shut, and controversy over the therapies and why it's residents seemingly 'regressed' without them, with Israel stating such regression in the absence of these interventions showed the effectiveness of them. Israel then took one of his most self-abusive students before Judge Ernest Rotenberg in 1986 and detailed her history. Rotenberg ruled she was unable to make her own treatment decisions, but if she were, she'd choose to stay at the BRI. The State Office for Children paid the BRI $850,000 and they were permitted to remain open and continue using aversives *as long as each student's treatment plan was approved by the probate court*. A year later, June 26, 1987, 29-year-old Abigail Gibson died of cardiac arrest.

1990, Linda Cornelison died. She was nonverbal and one day on the school bus doubled over clutching her stomach. A nurse thought her illness was an act. She was returned to her BRI-run home and given 13 spatula spankings, 29 finger pinches, 14 muscle squeezes, and was forced to inhale ammonia five times. She died the next morning in hospital due to complications related to a gastic perforation. Her mother reported that she had never had suffered gastrointestinal problems before. The Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation found that although the school violated the most basic standards of decency, they were not derelict in their care of her, nor had the administration of aversives killed her.

Around the same time, the school began using the "Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibit System" (SIBIS for short) invented in 1984. It was designed to detect activities such as headbanging and administer eclectic shocks. Shortly afterwards Israel went to the manufacturers of the SIBIS and asked for a more powerful version, as "one student was shocked by the SIBIS over 5000 times a day without producing the desired change in behavior". The manufacturers refused, so Israel designed a system himself in December 1990, called GED (graduated electronic decelerator) that delivered a stronger shocker lasting ten times as long. The FDA cleared the device as they considered it "substantially equivalent to the SIBIS". By 1992 Israel was already phasing out the older GED for his new GED-3a and GED-4, which delivered even stronger shockers. He had never cleared them for use with the FDA.

In 1994 the center changed it's name to the Judge Rotenberg Center.

In 2000 the FDA incorrectly informed the JRC that it was qualified for exemption from registration of the GED-3a and GED-4, and only recognized their error in 2011 and demanded the immediate cessation of their use. They continued to be used till 2020.

The SIBIS provides a 3.5mA shock for 0.2 seconds. The GED-1 produces a 30mA shock for 2 seconds, and the GED-4 produces a 90mA shock for 2 seconds. A typical cattle prod produces a maximum shock of 10-20mA for under a second. The weakest GED's shock strength is still considered about twice the threshold that pain researchers consider tolerable to most adult humans. As of 2010 a GED-5 was in development.

In 2000 the school was receiving $18 million from the state, and in 2006 that increased to $56 million. Matthew Israel was making $321,000 a year.

In 2006 a mother sued the center claiming it had mistreated her son while he was wearing the GED. He was taken out of the school and improved significantly, although for a period after he left he had to remain in a psychiatric ward, and thought cameras still followed his movements and that he might be shocked for misbehaving.

A former staff psychologist said around 2001 the school policy switched from education and treatment to simply keeping students in line, "Israel couldn't stand them not behaving in a perfectly controlled way". Another said the school would punish not only negative behaviour, but actions they perceived as precursors to it. Face slappers would be shocked for raising their hand. Refusing a teacher's order, or talking out of turn were other such precursors.

Every room in the facility had since 1975 a complete setup of surveillance cameras and microphones monitored day and night, the purpose being to catch behaviours staff may have missed and phone them to inform them punishment needed to be handed out. It also had the dual unwritten purpose of monitoring staff members, if they refused to hand out punishments then they would be written up in "Performance Improvement Opportunities" documents, and firing staff who crop up in these too frequently.

One ex-staff member described having to shock people for an array of reasons: stopping work for more than 20 seconds, closing eyes for more than 5 seconds, a girl with cerebal palsy was shocked for moaning and reaching out to hold a staff member's hand. Another was shocked for urinating in their pants, they had been asking to go to the bathroom for over two hours. Yet another was shocked simply because they complained about another student being shocked. The staff member had been instructed to always announce what they planned to reach for in their pocket. One time they forgot and four kids screamed, they had to be punished with an electric shock.

In 2006 it was found that 14 of the 17 resident psychologists lacked proper licenses. It is believed JRC overbilled the state by nearly $800,000 by avoiding hiring licensed psychologists and not declaring that. That money was still uncollected a year later.

In 2007 it was reported the facility had a high turnover, among all staff including psychologists. A group of 52 trainees had been taken in and after three months only 2 remained employed there.

August 26, 2007, Arthur, a student who had been missing for two weeks, called a staff member and identified himself as a worker in DVR (the surveillance room) stating that shocks needed to be given to a resident for behaviours that had occurred before the night shift. The staffer handed the call over to a second staff member, the senior-most on shift at the time, as this seemed to be a breach of policy (punishments shouldn't be given for behaviour that happened over two hours preceding), however the second staffed was one of this recent batch who had only been at the facility for a few months, so handed back to the first staffer. The first staffer proceded to provide GED shocks while the student was in bed, and the staff on shift were instructed by Arthur to use the more potent GED 4, and did so for the rest of the night. The student in question received three further shocks. The student complained to the second staffer, saying the first was doing the wrong thing. The staffers still on the phone with Arthur continued to shock the student. The first staffer went to get another GED to shock the boy's stomach as the leg electrode battery seemed to be no working. The student is seen on camera speaking to the second staffer asking them to find out what is going on, and to call his clinician. Four other staffers are awake at this point, but do not intervene. Arthur seized the replacement GED's batteries in his hand and refused to relinquish them, and after a half hour confrontation was put on a four point restraining bed. He was no longer resisting, and told one of the staffers "let them know I'm being compliant". Staff are meant to tell student's the reasons they have received a shock, however while restrained a GED 4 shock is given without reason. A second GED 4 shock is given for physical aggression. Arthur is heard saying "let them rotate me" (hourly staffers are required to rotate electrodes to prevent burns on the skin, the facility denied that GEDs injured students, however burns were frequency enough that staff at the facility had a name for students going 'off the machine', a "GED holiday"). Arthur receives five more shocks. A ninth shock is given, and the DVR records an audible sob, not from the student, but the second staffer who had to leave the room as he "thought he would either cry or throw up if he stayed". Ten more shocks were given with accompanying reasons. The 20st shock was given without reason. The 21st shock was given for refusing to follow instructions. Nine further shocks were given, bringing the total to 30 GED-4 shocks in a single day. Staffers went to get approval from a psychologist to perform further shocks. Shocks continued. The 37th was given for attempting to remove the device, as were the 38th and 39th shocks. Shocks 50, 51, 52, and 53, were given for "verbal threats to destroy". In total between 70 and 77 shocks were given. After this was all done, Arthur's skin was red, he was defeated, he complained later that night of a racing heart, dry mouth, and difficulty breathing. He described feeling as if he was about to have a stroke. Staff took no action to help him. He suffered first degree burns. Arthur remained at JRC, although was on a "GED holiday".

MDRI Appeal to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

In 2010 the Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) appealed to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, a PDF copy of the 67 page report can be seen **[here](https://abcnews.go.com/images/Nightline/HT_US_Report_4_30_10_100630.pdf)**. It recounts it's own extensive set of equally, and in several cases worse tales of events which occurred at the facility.

Students being restrained for hours or intermittently for days, or even for weeks or months. One case of a student being almost strapped in a chair most of the time for two whole years. A student suffering from seizure disorders and a mild developmental disability, was put in chair restraints most of the time for a few months. He had to wear diapers, he was a teenager and had never had to wear diapers before and was very capable of going the toilet, but they didn't want to untie him to let him use the bathroom. They then escalated him to the GED too. Restraints, strict schedules, and social isolation may have been used as a form of psychological coercion in multiple cases to encourage students to consent to the GED. Another student was found to have severe ulcers in the location where the GED shocker was placed.

A non-verbal deaf and blind girl was rocking and moaning, she was shocked for moaning. She was crying because she had a broken tooth.

The aforementioned cases of students being demanded to misbehave and then shocked also has another variant. Staff would surprise students with mock attacks and threatened stabbings, to compel them to respond with aggression, fear, or screaming. They would then be intensely shocked. This specific excerpt seems scarily reminiscent of a book which caused me to subsequently stumble into and learn about the JRC on the internet - [A Clockwork Orange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(novel\)), perhaps this is not entirely surprising, the story was created around questioning the idea of free will, and of the theory of Behavioralism, which very much is the theoretical birthplace of Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA).

All residents were forced to be vegan, with restricted diets such as mashed food with liver powder. Even up to 2010 (and possibly beyond), withholding of food was a punishment used. Removal of furniture from rooms was another punishment, one student entered with a beautiful room complete with TV and stereo, and after a month had merely a mattress on the floor.

Socialisation with staff members was forbidden. Socialisation with other students was a "reward" which had to be "earned". Education was often by staring at a computer facing the wall using self-teaching software all day long.

As of 2010 at least 6 deaths in total had occurred at the facilities. For over 2 decades Republican Jeffrey Sanchez's nephew was at the facility, and was the young man who received over 5,000 SIBIS shocks a day, Jeffrey Sanchez continually defended the facility and defeated bills aimed at curtailing it.

The school was a 'non-profit' and as such tax exempt, in 2007 it had spent $2.8 million in legal fees to keep it open. Twice regulatory departments had tried to shut it down, but it was either shuffled to another department or the head of the department forced to step down, with hefty payouts to JRC each time. They were a major customer at Rudy Giuliani's law firm.

In 2009 the JRC was required to be recertified for Level 3 Punishments, a team consisting of two psychologists, a psychiatrist, and the Department of Mental Retardation's Director for Human Rights and assistant general council assessed the facility and brought numerous findings of violations, abuses, and concerns. The state still recertified the facility in spite of the findings of this report.

**In 2010, the then Special Rapporteur at the UN, Manfred Nowak, responded to the appeal, saying he had "no doubts about it" being torture.** The subsequent UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, again raised serious concerns about the ongoing activity at JRC in 2012.

In 2011 Israel was indicted on charges of child endangerment, obstructing justice, and acting as an accessory after the fact. He signed a plea deal where he resigned his position at JRC to avoid prosecution.

In 2014 a video was leaked of a shocking in 2002, [Warning: It is a very distressing video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcxpGKctZMs)

The Last Year and a bit...

In 2020 the FDA [took the rare step to ban all "electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) used for self-injurous or aggressive behavior"](https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-safety/medical-device-bans). This sort of blanket ban is a rare final step for the FDA, only having occurred twice before, both times for medical devices which presented no or negligible benefit but had extreme associated risks even with proper use. [A more extensive ruling by the FDA is found here](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/06/2020-04328/banned-devices-electrical-stimulation-devices-for-self-injurious-or-aggressive-behavior). The ban was effective April 6, 2020.

COVID and ongoing court battles meant that none of the people on the GED devices would be required to transition off it until further legal decisions were made.

[July, 2021, a federal appeals court gave an exemption from the FDA ban to the JRC.](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-judge-rotenberg-center-uses-electric-shocks-on-students-now-a-court-says-thats-totally-fine)

•••

this is super long and it’s from Reddit but please read it.

#the judge rotenberg center #JRC #Autism #autism speaks #autistic #actually autistic #cw: abuse #cw: torture #cw: ableism #electroshock #GRIDs or whatever #ABA therapy #applied behavioural analysis #stop the shock #shut down the JRC

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twoflipstwotwists · 3 years ago

Link

It’s a late afternoon in April, and Sunisa “Suni” Lee is where most people find themselves a year into the pandemic: Home, in a sweatshirt, talking into a webcam. The 18-year-old gymnast is poised to make history at the summer Olympics, but over Zoom, she’s just like any teenager, reflecting on everything she’s balancing behind the scenes.

While training for a wildly unpredictable Games, Lee has been caring for her recently paralyzed father, mourning the deaths of her aunt and uncle from COVID, and recovering from a broken foot that jeopardized her lifelong dream to win gold. Now Lee, whose parents emigrated from Laos, is also fighting to qualify as the first-ever Hmong American Olympic gymnast—all while her community contends with a national surge in anti-Asian violence. “People hate on us for no reason,” Lee says from her parents’ house in St. Paul, Minnesota. “It would be cool to show that we are more than what they say. I don’t know how to explain that...”

Lee’s father inches his wheelchair closer into the Zoom screen, and answers for her. “It would be the greatest accomplishment of any Hmong person in the U.S. ever,” he says. “It will go down in history.”

Before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed in March 2020, Lee’s family was preparing for the trip of a lifetime. Though she hadn’t actually made the team yet, her parents John Lee and Yeev Thoj had no doubts. They bought plane tickets to watch their daughter compete, and planned to celebrate afterward with a trip to Laos to show Lee and her siblings where they grew up. Both John and Yeev are Hmong, an ethnic group made of people primarily from Southeast Asia and areas in China who fought alongside the U.S. in the Vietnam War. After losing most of their land in the war, many Hmong fled to Thailand as refugees. By the late ‘70s and ‘80s, around 90 percent of the refugee population had resettled in the U.S., where there are now 18 Hmong clans, the largest residing in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Lee describes her community there as “really close.” More than 300 people come to her family’s annual camping trip, and she can’t go to a local Asian store without someone asking after her dad. She has become something of a local celebrity herself. At Hmong events, Lee gets stopped for photos by people who tell her how proud they are. “It’s nice knowing I have them to fall back on,” she says. “The support is amazing.”

But last May, just two months before the Olympic opening ceremony was originally scheduled to take place, Lee’s family and the rest of the Twin Cities Hmong community found themselves thrust into the national conversation over race and policing. Kellie Chauvin, the now ex-wife of Derek Chauvin, the officer who murdered George Floyd, is Hmong American. So is Tou Thao, another officer on the scene who is set to stand trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in connection to Floyd’s murder. As part of the ensuing protests, several nearby Hmong American businesses were vandalized. John says it got “scary” when several homes on their block were broken into.

“I was trying to make the Hmong community more known,” Lee says. “When that happened, I felt like it was a setback.”

Lee’s journey to the Olympics started with a lumpy mattress and a piece of plywood. Her parents were eager to preoccupy their energetic, gymnastics-obsessed seven-year-old, and a balance beam seemed like the perfect distraction. John built a four-foot-long structure from a spare mattress that, to his credit, still stands in their yard today. He also taught Lee, who’s one of six kids, how to do flips on the bed.

By then, Lee had captured the attention of Jess Graba, a coach at Midwest Gymnastics. “It was super raw and she was just a little kid, but she had some talent,” Graba says, remembering when they met. “Her flips were kind of crazy—she had been practicing in her yard—and she clearly had some ability to go upside down without fear.”

In 2016 when she was 14, Lee was named to the U.S. junior national team, and it became clear Graba could be coaching one of the next great American gymnasts. They traveled around the world together for competitions, and by 2018, Lee had won a gold medal on uneven bars at the National Championships. Five-time Olympic medalist Nastia Liukin, Lee’s longtime hero, took notice of the high-flying athlete. “Her abilities as a gymnast, especially her bar routine, are incredible,” Liukin tells ELLE. “But it’s the unparalleled mental strength that she has shown during the most difficult time of her life that make her the person she is.”

Just two days before the 2019 National Championships, John fell from a ladder while trimming a tree. He was paralyzed from the chest down. At the time, Graba thought Lee shouldn’t compete out of concern for her safety: A distracted athlete is a danger to themselves because they are much more likely to lose focus and get injured. It would have been a devastating end to a decade of training, as nationals are like an unofficial pre-qualifier for the Olympic Games. But John remained confident in his daughter’s ability to compete under pressure. Before Lee stepped onto the mat, they FaceTimed and he advised her to clear her mind—and remember to have fun. “She can stay focused when she puts her mind to it,” he says.

As John watched the competition from his hospital bed, beaming with pride, Lee won the silver in all-around competition, nailing one of the hardest bar routines in the world. One month later, at the U.S. World Championships selection camp, she came within four-tenths of a point of beating Simone Biles in the all-around—the closest anyone has come to Biles in years—and landed one step closer to fulfilling her Olympic dream.

In March 2020, Lee was scrolling through Twitter after practice when she saw the news: The Olympics were postponed, for the first time in modern history, due to COVID. Lee wiped tears away with chalky hands as years of carefully laid plans were thrown into limbo. “To have that taken away from us without having any control is very hard,” she says. “I went through a depressed phase, and it was hard to get out of.”

For weeks Lee could do little more than sleep and cry. Her gym was closed for three months— practically an eternity in the unforgiving timeline of an elite gymnast. When it did reopen in June, Lee broke her foot, meaning three more months of downtime. “If you were 100 percent ready for the 2020 Olympics, then you’re spending the year going, ‘Let’s just not get injured. Let’s just not make any mistakes,’” Graba says.

Lee found an unexpected source of comfort in Biles, who went from being her biggest competition to one of her closest friends after they competed in 2019. “She was there for me,” Lee says. During lockdown, they Snapchatted and texted—two of the only people in the world who truly understood the gut-punch of waiting another year for the Games to begin.

Then, as the country continued to face rising COVID rates in summer 2020, Lee’s own family was devastated by the virus. Her aunt and uncle—close family members who babysat her as a kid—both died of COVID less than two weeks apart. Lee’s uncle, a Hmong shaman, had helped heal her hurt foot with hot ginger and other herbal medicines. Like so many others did during the pandemic, Lee said goodbye over Zoom.

As the nation slowly starts to heal, so has Lee. She can now spot small silver linings from the past year, like spending more time with her siblings and driving her dad to doctor’s appointments, which she calls “good for me mentally, because typically I’m never with them.” It has taken months and months to get back to the peak shape she was in pre-pandemic, but now it’s full steam ahead. The U.S. Championships are the first week of June, and the Olympic trials are later that month. Lee says the extra year has strengthened her performance on the uneven bars and made her more consistent overall. “I just didn’t want to see myself fall back,” she says. “I don’t want to disappoint my coaches or my parents.”

Still, a spot on the team isn’t guaranteed. For the first time in history, U.S. women’s gymnastics has only four open spots (down from five at the 2016 Games), one of which will almost definitely go to Biles. At this point, it might be harder for a U.S. gymnast to make the Olympic team than it is to actually win a medal once they’re there.

Unsurprisingly, none of this seems to phase Lee. She is no stranger to finding the best version of herself under intense circumstances—the version that wins medals, defies gravity, and advocates for her community. Before falling asleep at night, she visualizes herself sticking a perfect landing and coming home as the first Hmong American Olympic gymnastics champion. History made.

#sunisa lee #i want nothing but good things for her

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satrangee-ray · 3 years ago

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Meet my MC: About the Future

Inara Hepburn (she/they)

New beginnings:

Inara will soon get a haircut done, that one haircut she was gathering courage for throughout her teenage years. An asymmetric chop, complete with semi-permanent purple highlights. Perfection! She'll also get her first ever tattoo, a prism with colours bursting, on her forearm. And of course, Ethan would plan weeks ahead to take a day off on the day of her appointment, just to be able to hold her hand through the entire process of her screaming her head off while getting the said tattoo.

Having created too much drama the first time, Inara will walk into the tattoo studio for a second round, this time like a mature adult, to get a stethoscope inked near her collarbone. This will originally be to foreshadow the release of her third book, the residency memoir, but unfortunately, she will fail to stick to that plan.

Speaking of the memoir, Hepburn's Stethoscope will originally be scheduled to release in 2022, but due to Inara's unfiltered commentary on the healthcare system, it's efficiency, American politics, and capitalism among other issues, the book will be rejected by several publishing houses. Due to their initial absence of permanent American citizenship, and hence the legal right to comment so strongly on those subjects, Inara too will temporarily shelve the project. Five years after residency/two years after their marriage to Ethan, with several edits, re-edits and a US citizenship in place, Inara will finally let the book out for the world to read, and sure enough, it will hit equally hard with both readers and critics.

Writing wise, Inara's next venture after the journal will be a spy thriller trilogy, based on a team of four agents who execute dangerous but necessary missions all around the world. The central character Veronica and her gang will become extremely popular, resulting in the second book being made into a movie.

In the activism department, Inara will start their own US based queer NGO, 'We the Rainbow People foundation', to legally advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, provide food, shelter, free physical and mental healthcare to queer people of all ages who aren't privileged enough to access those, as well as hold counseling sessions for parents of queer youth who want to learn more or are reluctant to come around.

Later down the line, Inara's ancestral home in Kolkata will be completely bought off by them, after paying due shares to their aunt and cousin. The Indian wing of Inara's NGO will be founded there. Said wing will be handed over to some prominent queer activists in Bengal for immediate supervision, and Kolkata will serve as the headquarters of We the Rainbow People, India.

Family <3:

More below the cut—

Inara will continue to live with Ethan and Jenner in their shared condo till three years after their residency. At 32, they will get engaged, and eventually married to their longtime partner, and buy a new home together, beautifully placed in equal distance from city-life and the countryside.

Post marriage, Ethan will be wanting a baby, but Inara won't be particularly comfortable with the idea of getting pregnant or opting for surrogacy. Hence, biological kids would be out of question, but fate will find another way to seep a third human into their lives. Through her NGO, Inara will meet a two year old in an orphanage, abandoned in infancy by their parents, most probably because they're intersex. The couple will adopt the child and raise them as their own, albeit in a gender neutral way, until they are old enough to figure out what their gender identity is.

Iris Ramsey (they/them) will be an adorable kid, enthusiastic about science experiments and music from a young age. Their love for cats combined with their Renny's would prompt the entry of a fourth member in the Hepburn-Ramsey household.

The family might consider naming their new cat Ethan, cause it would kinda look and act like him, but with little Ethan being a close friend and a regular visitor to Iris' home, three Ethans in one house would be too much confusion. Inara will only tease Ethan with a joke about naming the kitty Kardashian, just to follow suit with Jenner. Ethan will grimace, the other two will laugh, but the cat will end up responding. Hence, the Ramsey ragdoll would be named Kardashian; 'Kardy' for short.

The Ramseys will keep meeting up with Alan and Naveen during all major yearly events like Christmas and New Year's. Naveen will also team up with Inara to occasionally conduct mini poojas for their family, and Iris would thoroughly enjoy the preparation process.

Awards and accolades:

The diagnostics team of Bloom Edenbrook, and that of Solomon Kenmore (headed by Dr. Aurora Emery), along with the immunology research teams of the respective hospitals will join hands to find a cure to Caroline Bloom's condition. For this milestone achievement in the history of medicine, Dr. Baz Mirani, Dr. Aurora Emery, Dr. Inara Hepburn and Dr. Timothy Riaz (head of research team, Kenmore) will be honoured with several awards from medical organizations and invited to address in conferences around the globe.

Dr. Hepburn will join Dr. Ramsey in the management of several epidemics over the years in different parts of the world. The World Health Organisation will thus honour them both with a special accolade to acknowledge their contribution in this regard.

After its delayed release, Inara's journal 'Hepburn's Stethoscope' will win the National Book Award for Non-fiction due to its "honest and detailed account of devastatingly true events." Her following releases consisting of all three parts of her spy series will receive nominations and awards on both national and international levels.

At 45, Inara will be honoured with the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award for their contributions in aiding queer liberation.

That was my final entry! This whole event was so enriching, so much fun and so much solidarity, I can't even! I'll probably rant in the host blog's asks. But before that, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who read and supported my submissions, you deserve the world.

Love to all, goodbye✌.

Tagging: @openheartfanfics @adiehardfan

#choices open heart #dr ethan ramsey #mc x ethan #open heart fanfiction #oph book club #meet my mc #Inara Hepburn

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princessnijireiki · 1 year ago

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honestly so much of ableism boils down to, "if only you tried harder not to be crazy, stupid, weird, crippled, odd, injured or diseased, you simply WOULDN'T be. you must WANT to be. you must be so LAZY & DUMB. also it is your fault you ever became this way & your fault that you remain this way. and I will pretend to support wholeness & wellness until I have to look at or be inconvenienced by your ugly strangeness and/or you enforce a BOUNDARY against ME for being INVASIVE or LITERALLY INACCESSIBLE, at which point the WILDEST eugenics you have ever heard will come out of ny mouth, and that will also be your fault."

and then people without resources point at OTHER people wothout resources & say, "you bitches stole my accommodations, life must be on easy mode never feeling psychological effects from your physical disabilities or physical effects from your mental, emotional, or psychosocial disabilities, you jerks!"

when the actual problem is it's literally artificial scarcity on resources & lack of access to aid + prejudicial treatment from (blissfully?) ignorant (currently, presumed) healthy people within the culture at large to the point of quite literal homicide, even from "passive" activity like gross medical neglect & the absolute violence of poverty & inaccessible or unaffordable proper medical care.

add in a healthy dose of both far right and far left "medical skepticism" & snake oil earthy crunchy bs seeping into the fabric of the nation's most gullible & oblivious residents, a strongly fascist anti intellectual streak sprinting through the culture, complete with heightened eugenicist ideologies & fearmongering, a trash economy, gutted public institutions LIKE schools & clinics, clickbait nonsense, and general selfishness in the world that for some people HAS been driven only deeper by their overconsumption & overuse of media & devices becoming tools to retreat into themselves and reinforce already established biases instead of seeking connection with & understanding of others, plus also a pandemic on top, and yeah, people start acting REAL funny & lose sight of the bigger problems at play.

but every time I've been told to "walk off" an injury or illness, or "no pain, no gain," the villain was not another kid with an IEP to get extra testing time, and likewise, I've never been hurt by a kid with a 504 getting to do school from home or use an elevator when they're on crutches.

because the answer has always been, accommodations to provide equity to others are good, actually. and if my first thought when someone else has something I don't is anger & jealousy, that's a me problem, same as if my first thought when I'm suffering is to be angry and jealous of somebody not even involved, those are personal resentments... and that's my own shit to work through... but also, they might JUST be accommodations you need, too, and you're mad at somebody who's not withholding a goddamn thing from you, and who might be able to help you advocate for yourself, too, if you release or at least redirect your aggravation to where it actually belongs instead of at the patients in the other hospital rooms.

it's always such a strange thing when people say stuff like, "oh, my developmental cognitive delay, mental illness, etc NEVER gets believed in, not like PHYSICALLY disabled people," or, "oh, I NEVER get accommodations for my physical conditions in school, not like other students' LEARNING disabilities," "THIS kind of thing I experienced is uniquely oppressive and one of many roots of evil in the world, other power structures & people in positions of authority are NOT as harmful as the one I experienced, and the world is soooo much nicer & easier to everybody & every kind of cripple except me"

like I know of all the social media platforms tumblr has the rep of being the pity party site, but while you truly may have suffered and nobody is here to diminish that, y'all are moving very weirdly through life

#tldr ''who has it worse?'' i do not give a shit it is immaterial and irrelevant #the question is how can i fix this & who can be helped & by whom & how do i access that aid #that is really it dude #long post //

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newstfionline · 3 years ago

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Monday, August 16, 2021

U.S. Air Force veteran comforts children plagued by gun violence (Reuters) Like many cities across the United States, Washington has seen a spike in shooting-related deaths during the pandemic. Homicides were up 19% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department. This month’s data shows that the city has already clocked more cases than at the same time last year. “It’s like a war zone. It’s like being in the military,” Jawanna Hardy said. Frustrated by the senseless loss of life, Hardy, an Air Force veteran and now a 34-year-old high school English teacher, launched ‘Guns Down Friday,’ an outreach program to support neighborhoods plagued by gun violence—including the one she has lived in since childhood. She has raised money for shooting victims’ gravestones, advocated for more streetlights, and trained people how to treat bullet wounds themselves. She drives her van—adorned with photos of young gun violence victims—through the streets to greet youngsters. On a recent Friday, she arrived with water balloons. “Put your guns down and pick your water balloons up!” Hardy cried through a megaphone as children outside an apartment complex in southeast Washington laughed and scrambled to drench one another. She knows her Friday night street parties will not stop gun violence but hopes they can at least provide children a brief respite from the constant fear in which many live.

Haitians scramble to rescue survivors from ruins of major quake (Reuters) Haitians labored overnight to pick through shattered buildings in search of friends and relatives trapped in the rubble after a devastating earthquake struck the Caribbean country on Saturday, killing 1,297 people and injuring at least 5,700 more. The 7.2 magnitude quake flattened hundreds of homes in the impoverished country, which is still clawing its way back from another major temblor here 11 years ago, and has been without a head of state since the assassination of its president last month. Churches, hotels, hospitals and schools were badly damaged or destroyed, while the walls of a prison were rent open by the violent shudders that convulsed Haiti. Access to the worst-hit areas was complicated by a deterioration in law and order that has left key access roads in parts of Haiti in the hands of gangs, although unconfirmed reports on social media suggested they would let aid pass.

Want to stay long term in France? First come the classes on how to be French. (Washington Post) In France, la vie en rose comes wrapped in red tape. Foreigners hoping to stay here long term must sign an “integration contract” and agree to uphold French values. The contract requires four days of civic education, yet what’s taught is more akin to a government crash course in how to be French. There are discussions about Marianne—the symbolic embodiment of the French Republic—and about classical culinary dishes, such as duck confit and escargot. France 101 covers both the cultural (how to visit museums) as well as the practical (how to navigate the national health-care system). The classes, plus language lessons for anyone whose fluency doesn’t measure up, help determine whether an applicant gets a multiyear visa. Every year, an average of 100,000 people take the courses, in cities across the country. The contemporary agreement explicitly states that receiving an extended residency visa is conditional on abiding by its terms, a key one being deference to French values. After an applicant signs the document, the language test is administered and 24 hours of classes scheduled.

Taliban sweep into Afghan capital after government collapses (AP) The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country. Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and several entered Kabul’s abandoned presidential palace. Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman and negotiator, told The Associated Press that the militants would hold talks in the coming days aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government.” Kabul was gripped by panic. Helicopters raced overhead throughout the day to evacuate personnel from the U.S. Embassy. Smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents, and the American flag was lowered. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out. Fearful that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights, Afghans rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings. The desperately poor—who had left homes in the countryside for the presumed safety of the capital—remained in parks and open spaces throughout the city. Many people watched in disbelief as helicopters landed in the U.S. Embassy compound to take diplomats to a new outpost at the airport. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected comparisons to the U.S. pullout from Vietnam.

From hubris to humiliation: America’s warrior class contends with the abject failure of its Afghanistan project (Washington Post) Twenty years ago, when the twin towers and the Pentagon were still smoldering, there was a sense among America’s warrior and diplomatic class that history was starting anew for the people of Afghanistan and much of the Muslim world. “For you and us, history starts today,” then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage told his Pakistani counterparts. Earlier this month, as the Taliban raced across Afghanistan, retired Lt. Col. Jason Dempsey, a two-time veteran of the war, stumbled across Armitage’s words. To Dempsey, the sentiment was “the most American thing I’ve ever heard” and emblematic of the hubris and ignorance that he and so many others brought to the losing war. “We assumed the rest of the world saw us as we saw ourselves,” he said. “And we believed that we could shape the world in our image using our guns and our money.” Both assumptions ignored Afghan culture, politics and history. Both, he said, were tragically wrong. Michèle Flournoy, one of the architects of President Barack Obama’s troop surge in Afghanistan in 2010, said, “In retrospect, the United States and its allies got it really wrong from the very beginning. The bar was set based on our democratic ideals, not on what was sustainable or workable in an Afghan context.” Flournoy acknowledged in hindsight that the mistake was compounded across Republican and Democratic administrations, which continued with almost equal fervor to pursue goals that ran counter to decades—if not centuries—of the Afghan experience.

Afghanistan’s collapse leaves allies questioning U.S. resolve on other fronts (Washington Post) The Taliban's stunningly swift advances across Afghanistan have sparked global alarm, reviving doubts about the credibility of U.S. foreign policy promises and drawing harsh criticisms even from some of the United States' closest allies. And many around the world are wondering whether they could rely on the United States to fulfill long-standing security commitments stretching from Europe to East Asia. "Whatever happened to 'America is back'?" said Tobias Ellwood, who chairs the Defense Committee in the British Parliament. "People are bewildered that after two decades of this big, high-tech power intervening, they are withdrawing and effectively handing the country back to the people we went in to defeat," Ellwood said. "This is the irony. How can you say America is back when we're being defeated by an insurgency armed with no more than [rocket-propelled grenades], land mines and AK-47s?" As much as its military capabilities, the United States' decades-old role as a defender of democracies and freedoms is again in jeopardy, said Rory Stewart, who was Britain's minister for international development in the Conservative government of Theresa May. "The Western democracy that seemed to be the inspiration for the world, the beacon for the world, is turning its back," Stewart said. Rivals of the United States also have expressed dismay. Among them is China, which fears that the ascent of an extremist Islamist government on its western border will foster unrest in the adjoining province of Xinjiang, where Beijing has waged sweeping crackdowns on the Uyghur population that have been denounced by the West. The United States' Arab allies, which have long counted on the U.S. military to come to their aid in the event of an attack by Iran, also have faced questions over whether they will be able to rely on the United States.

Torrential rains lash wide areas of Japan, three feared dead after landslide (Reuters) Torrential rain lashed much of Japan on Sunday, flooding roads and buildings in the western part of the country, while three people were feared dead after a landslide in central Nagano prefecture. Large parts of Japan, particularly the southernmost main island of Kyushu, have seen record levels of rainfall, causing rivers to overflow and triggering landslides. While the rain had stopped in much of Kyushu as of Sunday morning, Tokyo and other parts of the country were pounded by the downpour. Japan “will continue to face conditions in which a large-scale disaster could occur at anytime, anywhere,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a ministerial meeting on Sunday. He called on local municipalities and relevant organisations to cooperate and act with speed on rescue missions and aid.

More military personnel deployed to enforce Sydney Covid restrictions as entire state locks down (CNN) Additional Australian military personnel will be deployed to enforce tighter Covid-19 restrictions in the greater Sydney area next week, authorities announced Saturday, as the entire state of New South Wales (NSW) prepares to go under lockdown. Stay at home orders will be applied across the country’s most populous state, with people only permitted to leave home to shop for essentials, receive medical care, outdoor exercise with one other person, and work if residents cannot work from home. Schooling will also be moved back online. Sydney, the capital of NSW, has been under lockdown measures for more than seven weeks now, and they will likely be extended further; they were set to end on August 28 but the state government has indicated restrictions will remain through September.

Fuel explosion in Lebanon kills 28, wounding dozens (AP) A warehouse where fuel was illegally stored exploded in northern Lebanon early Sunday, killing at least 28 people and injuring 79 more in the latest tragedy to hit the Mediterranean country in the throes of a devastating economic and political crisis. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion near the border with Syria. Fuel smuggling operations have been ongoing for months. The Lebanese Red Cross said a fuel tanker exploded and its teams recovered 28 bodies from the site in the border village of Tleil. In a statement, it said it evacuated 79 people who were injured or suffered burns in the blast. Hours after the blast, Lebanese Red Cross members were still searching the area for more victims as Lebanese soldiers cordoned the area.

'Once the best in the Middle East,' Beirut hospital pleads for fuel as it faces shutdown (The Week) A once-famed Beirut hospital is now pleading for international aid to avoid running out of essential resources. The American University of Beirut Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, is making an urgent appeal to the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the World Health Organization and the U.N. Children's Fund, to supply the hospital with fuel before it's forced to shut down by Monday. Lebanon is mired in an economic and political crisis, and the nationwide fuel shortage is currently the most dire consequence. That's perhaps most clearly reflected in the plight of AUBMC, which said 40 adults and 15 children living on respirators would die immediately and many other patients will be at great risk if the shutdown is not avoided. The medical center said it's been rationing fuel and electricity for weeks, but is running out of both. Liz Sly, The Washington Post's Beirut bureau chief, notes that the American University hospital "was once the best" in the entire Middle East region; the announcement shows that the country is "truly heading to disaster," she writes.

#headlines #news

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antoine-roquentin · 5 years ago

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When Megan* discovered that her boyfriend, Sean, had overdosed on heroin in their Neenah, Wisconsin home, she called 911. Paramedics found Sean without a pulse, but were able to save his life. Afterward, Sean, who had been in treatment for substance use disorder, was greeted with a harsh reality—Neenah police were charging him with possession of heroin and marijuana. A few months later, he was charged again with simple possession. Based on these charges, the police sent a notice to Megan’s landlord, warning that their home was about to be declared a “nuisance”—and that, if the tenants made another 911 call, the city would levy fines on the landlord. The landlord, of course, promptly tried to evict Megan and Sean.

Neenah is one of an estimated 2,000 towns and cities in America with a chronic nuisance ordinance (CNO), a local law that encourages or even requires landlords to evict tenants based on minor infractions that the city considers “nuisances.” CNOs (also called “crime-free ordinances”) vary across cities, but generally target a common set of behaviors. The city declares a home a “nuisance” once a threshold number of infractions occur on the property. Infractions are disturbingly easy to rack up. They can include anything from arrests on or near the property to trivial aesthetic complaints like poorly maintaining your front lawn. Most CNOs will label a home a nuisance if it’s the source of what the city deems an “excessive” number of 911 calls. What counts as “excessive”? Some towns define a nuisance as just two or more calls to 911.

When an annoying person on a train talks loudly on their phone, they might get a raised eyebrow or a petty stare—but when a home is labeled a nuisance, the response is considerably worse. CNOs generally require landlords to “abate the nuisance”—that is, make sure there are no more arrests or 911 calls at the home—or else face fines or other penalties. For example, the city of Stoughton, Wisconsin designated a home a “drug nuisance” after charging four residents with simple possession of marijuana. The police urged the landlord to evict the tenants with a five-day notice, warning that if the tenants stayed and were caught with weed again, the city might seize the landlord’s property. Many landlords, including Megan’s, respond by evicting tenants, refusing to renew their leases, or pushing tenants not to call 911 for help. In some extreme cases, cities will actually threaten to criminally prosecute landlords who don’t evict. Even someone with little sympathy for landlords can see how the perverse incentives of nuisance ordinances make eviction proceedings nearly inevitable.

In addition, nuisance ordinances often target the most vulnerable. Domestic violence survivors, for example, are routinely evicted for calling 911 for help. Sociologists Matthew Desmond and Nicol Valdez found that nearly a third of homes labeled a nuisance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin were cited based on domestic violence incidents—and that properties in predominantly Black neighborhoods were more than 2.5 times as likely to receive a nuisance citation as properties in white neighborhoods. When vague laws like nuisance ordinances give police a wide range of discretion, enforcement is often racist. An investigation by the NYCLU (New York Civil Liberties Union) found that Rochester, New York issued nearly five times as many nuisance enforcement actions in areas with the highest concentration of people of color as it did in the whitest parts of town. New research (by your authors) also revealed that cities use chronic nuisance ordinances to evict people because of their disabilities. A mother in Baraboo, Wisconsin was cited after calling the police because her daughter was suicidal. Portland, Oregon labeled a resident’s home a nuisance because the city decided he had too much trash in his yard—even though his patient advocate explained that he couldn’t clean the yard because he was hospitalized for complications related to his disability. Police in Lakewood, Ohio informed a landlord that one of their tenants had called a mobile crisis center, threatening to harm himself. The landlord started eviction proceedings within weeks. A Maplewood, Missouri woman called a crisis hotline because she was suicidal; after the hotline’s volunteers sent police to her home to check on her and transfer her to a hospital, the city sent her a summons to a nuisance enforcement hearing for “generating too many calls for police services.” According to a lawsuit challenging Maplewood’s ordinance, at least 25 percent of the city’s nuisance cases stemmed from “obvious manifestations of disability.”

There isn’t a shred of evidence that chronic nuisance ordinances make towns safer or more orderly. But study after study demonstrates that nuisance ordinances are used to harass people—specifically people of color, domestic violence survivors, and those with disabilities—and push them out of town.

This all happens despite the Fair Housing Act’s clear ban on state and local policies that discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability. Because chronic nuisance ordinances hurt people with disabilities and heavily policed Black communities—where people are most likely to be searched or arrested, often for petty crimes—they violate the FHA’s mandate. In 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development even warned that cities enforcing nuisance ordinances against domestic violence survivors risked running afoul of the FHA’s ban on sex discrimination.

But the law is one thing—and people’s real experiences are another. Megan, her boyfriend, and other people evicted after overdosing fall into a Fair Housing Act loophole wide enough to fit Ben Carson’s dining set. Today, it’s well understood that substance use disorder is a disease: Federal courts increasingly recognize that people who are in recovery for a substance use disorder have a disability that is protected by civil rights law. But the Fair Housing Act runs counter to the scientific and sociological consensus by specifically and explicitly excluding “current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance” from its protections against disability discrimination. The FHA’s carve-out means that people who are currently using, or who are in recovery but relapse, have virtually no protection from eviction under the federal fair housing law because of their substance use disorder. (Some advocates argue these ordinances still violate the First Amendment.)

With the FHA’s carve-out as cover, cities are even passing more blatant ordinances such as “drug house” laws specifically targeting people who use drugs. Nuisance and drug house laws sometimes encourage eviction based solely on arrests (not even convictions) and inevitably drive highly policed communities of color out of their homes. Although people of all races use and sell drugs at similar rates, Black and Latinx individuals are far more likely to be searched, arrested, and convicted for possession—so they’re far more likely to rack up nuisance points and lose their homes.

Worse still, nuisance ordinances deter people from calling for help when they experience or witness an overdose. An empirical study of nuisance ordinance enforcement against people who had overdosed on drugs found that, in two out of four towns studied, more than one in five properties designated a “nuisance” were the sites of a drug overdose. In a third town, more than forty percent of nuisance designations involved a drug overdose. Overdose deaths generally occur one to three hours after a victim has used drugs, leaving a short window in which to save a victim’s life. Paramedics now have the access and training to routinely administer Naloxone, a medication that reverses an opioid overdose. But if tenants believe they may be evicted if they call 911 for a possible overdose, they may hesitate to call for help until it’s too late—or they might lose their housing, leaving them more vulnerable to overdose than before.

The stakes are literally life or death. More than 70,000 people died of overdoses in 2017. What would you do if your partner overdosed? You’d get help, right? Well, what if you’d already called 911 “one too many times” and risked losing your home? If Megan hadn’t called 911, her boyfriend might be one of those 70,00 deaths—and yet she was rewarded with an eviction. In the middle of an opioid crisis that’s killed more people than guns, car crashes, or the AIDS epidemic, chronic nuisance ordinances force people to make impossible choices. And they’re just one of a hundred tiny ways that cities control populations and undercut health and safety. Because these are local rules, they are ripe for action and change, but it’s something we cannot afford to wait on lest we see the most vulnerable among us pushed even further to the margins and driven from their homes.

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elisaphillips · 4 years ago

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Macropost #1

This semester, I’ve had the privilege to serve alongside Feast Down East, a non-profit organization based in Wilmington, NC. This small but fierce group of individuals is dedicated to the enhancement of local food systems through several unique program arms, including their food hub distribution center, farmer support program, mobile market, farm to fork CSA, and emerging farmer program. For more information on the important work regularly conducted by Feast Down East, you may visit their website.

Team FEAST’s primary initiative this semester centered around the creation and distribution of a county-wide community needs assessment regarding food access gaps in Pender County, a rural county adjacent to urban New Hanover County. This project directly correlated with public health competency F7, “Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health.” In order to achieve this goal, Team Feast first sought out insight from over 40 community partners (including local farmers, hospital agencies, food banks, and faith-based organizations) regarding the type of information they would like to glean from a community needs assessment. We received responses from 17 organizations concerning the types of questions and information which might prove beneficial to our goal, with question category suggestions ranging from transportation access, home garden utilization, knowledge of federal assistance programs, and perceptions of healthy food. Many agencies also advocated for the creation of a Spanish assessment due to the high rates of regional Spanish speakers. Several of these partners kindly agreed to aid us in the distribution of the assessment. In lieu of these responses, we constructed a 67-question survey in both English and Spanish which addressed the concerns of local organizations regarding food access. Thanks to the help of several Food Pantries and the local Cooperative Extension branch, we distributed the assessment to over 1,500 people in both electronic and print formats. Upon completion, we received approximately 100 partial and total survey responses, which are currently under analysis.

To those unaffected by food insecurity, this assessment may appear as a mere formality. However, food insecurity plagues many individuals living in the United States, and is a topic especially pertinent to rural communities. According to the Map the Meal Gap 2020 Report, 87% of food insecure counties are rural, despite the fact that generous estimates designate only 63% of U.S. counties as rural (Feeding America, 2020). This means that rural communities are at a higher risk for food insecurity than urban communities, despite the common misconception of a bountiful, agrarian lifestyle linked with notions of rurality. More specifically, Feeding America (2020) reports a child food insecurity rate of 19.1% in Pender County with 67% of the county population meeting requirements for nutrition assistance programs. It is our hope that the results of our community needs assessment will shed light on any gaps which might exist in the local food environment, as well as any social determinants which are uniquely prohibitive in the process of local food acquisition.

I would be remiss not to note the challenges which shroud both intervention and assessment efforts directed at alleviating food insecurity in rural areas. Through discussions with local community partners and a survey of previous literature, it became apparent that the social determinants of rural food insecurity are multifaceted and complex. Food insecurity is linked with poverty, minority-status, and lack of transportation and geographically tangible food stores (Ramadurai et al., 2012; Holston et al., 2020). Numerous participants in our survey noted significant travel distances to nearby stores and many noted their desire for increased access to fresh produce and meat. While federal programs can prove beneficial in the alleviation of this issue, it is not a definitive solution, and we must seek upstream interventions with the potential to strengthen the overarching economic environment of rural communities if we are to make any true headway (Dewitt et al., 2020). Furthermore, food insecurity is a touchy subject and something which many people are hesitant to disclose, especially if they are members of an already marginalized community, such as undocumented immigrants. Though we were explicit in our survey regarding assurance of anonymity, we were unable to acquire many responses from the Latinx population in Pender County. While this may be connected to our sampling method, it may also be partially attributable to immigration concerns.

Overall, however, I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to conduct this assessment alongside a group of similarly motivated students, as well as a dedicated organizational team. This experience reiterated to me the importance of food insecurity intervention and assessment in the United States, especially within rural areas. Furthermore, observing the work of Feast Down East reminded me that it is possible to mitigate food insecurity and to increase access to nutritional, locally-sourced food for everyone, including those who are less affluent. It is my hope that Feast Down East will continue to expand their reach into Pender County and beyond, and perhaps our assessment will serve as an initial baseline study for continued evaluation and improvement.

@drtillman

References

Dewitt, E., Gillepsie, R., Norman Burgdolf, H., Cardarelli, K. M., Slone, S., & Gustafson, A. (2020). Rural SNAP Participants and Food Insecurity: How Can Communities Leverage Resources to Meet the Growing Food Insecurity Status of Rural and Low-Income Residents? Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6037. 10.3390/ijerph17176037

Feeding America. (2018). Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity in Pender County. Feeding America. https://map.feedingamerica.orgcounty/2017/child/north-carolina/county/pender/

Feeding America. (2020). Map the Meal Gap 2020. https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2020-06/Map%20the%20Meal%20Gap%202020%20Combined%20Modules.pdf

Ramadurai, V., Sharf, B. F., & Sharkey, J. R. (2012). Rural Food Insecurity in the United States as an Overlooked Site of Struggle in Health Communication. Health Communication, 27(8), 794-805. 10.1080/10410236.2011.647620

Holston, D., Stroope, J., Greene, M., & Houghtaling, B. (2020). Perceptions of the Food Environment and Access among Predominantly Black Low-Income Residents of Rural Louisiana Communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5340. 10.3390/ijerph17155340

#foodinequity foodinsecurity teamfeast feastdowneast

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