#biomedical naming practices

[vizthedatum]

This is a brief vent and tangential aside about the healthcare hype surrounding naming some of the current trending and contagious COVID-19 variants, the "FLiRT" variants (of course, please stay safe this summer (2024) with COVID-19).

Linking my Substack article about this, which gets updated with corrections

--

Here are some highlights of this post (the TLDR):

- It's a vent about naming the FLiRT COVID-19 variants (a well-known stereotype that scientists like to make acronyms or catchy names).

- It's an explanation of how the naming FLiRT came to be.

- I'm bothered and irked because, in an attempt to distinguish variants, "FLiRT" doesn't. Additionally, it makes light of an ongoing pandemic.

- I really am not critiquing the person or people who came up with the name; I'm more upset about the name (and its playful connotations) catching on in the media and becoming a part of our ever-growing COVID-19 zeitgeist.

- I added some very brief (potentially useful?) insight at the end of my vent about how vaccine development should focus more on KP.2 and KP.3's F456L mutation rather than the JN.1 strain.

[beguines]

Most commonly, critical scholars focus on one major reason for the current expansion in the numbers and categories of mental illness in western society—namely, the influence of pharmaceutical corporations (colloquially referred to as "big pharma") on the construction of new categories of disorder and the promotion of drug solutions for those disorders. The institution of psychiatry is the ultimate authority responsible for defining and treating mental pathologies, yet commentators argue that the profession has been steadily compromised by forming close relationships with big pharma, who are now effectively setting the mental health agenda. For example, critics point to the 69 per cent of psychiatrists responsible for the development of the latest edition of the DSM who have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Research has also demonstrated the close involvement of big pharma in the development of current mental illness categories including social anxiety disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The more behaviour and experience that can be successfully medicalised—that is, reconceptualised as in need of medical intervention—through this medico-industrial partnership, the more drugs can be potentially sold to the public. Thus it is argued that the expansion of the mental illness discourse is the result of a market takeover of health care; corporations rather than medical practitioners are now designating what mental pathology is and, as a result, dictating treatment. The obvious solution to this situation involves the de-coupling of mental health services from the influence of big business. Tighter government regulation and oversight of pharmaceutical corporations is required, as is transparency within the relevant professional organisations.

While this critique of big pharma's intervention in the production and promotion of the contemporary psychiatric discourse is relevant, it is perhaps the least surprising aspect of the operation of the mental health system within capitalist society. Scholars of medical history such as Andrew Scull, for example, have profiled a continuing "trade in lunacy" which can be traced back to the beginnings of industrial society and witnessed throughout the development of modern mental health work. That the market is part of the workings of psychiatry and related professions should be self-evident to any scholar aware of the history of the mental health system in western society. Such critics would also acknowledge that while psychiatry legitimates the products of big pharma, pushing psychopharmaceuticals in turn helps legitimate the psychiatric profession. The prescribing of drugs is a key symbol of modern doctoring which serves to align psychiatric practice with other branches of medicine through a shared biomedical understanding of health and illness.

Bruce M.Z. Cohen, Psychiatric Hegemony: A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness

[reysdriver]

Origins | P.P.

After an incident at Oscorp, your academic rival Peter Parker calls you for help with the sticky situation he's found himself in — peter x gn!reader fluff

warnings: spiders/spider bites (but if you can't handle that then what are you doing here lmao?)

words: 1.9k

On an internship orientation at Oscorp, you only knew one other person in the group. Granted, you weren't the most popular person in your school and there were only 6 other students in the program, but you figured you would recognize at least a few others. 

Standing next to you as your group toured the laboratory was the boy tied with you for top student in your grade at Midtown High, Peter Parker. 

Of course he got the internship, you thought. 

Though your longtime academic rival was in the same program as you, you promised yourself you would not do anything to lose this opportunity. If you wanted a career in science, and you did, you would devote everything of yours to this internship.

At exactly 8 o'clock, exactly on time, a blonde woman in a lab coat approached the tour group and introduced herself. 

"Hello. My name is Gwen Stacy, and I'll be giving you interns a tour around the Oscorp building."

She looked young, maybe in her early twenties. Her age gave you a bit of hope that young people could get into the science industry. 

Your eyes started to wander while Gwen was talking about the history of Oscorp and you looked over at Peter Parker. He was looking at Gwen, but he had a particular gleam in his eye, a look of adoration. It was funny. Peter had a crush on a twentysomething giving them a tour of Oscorp's labs. 

Whatever, maybe if Peter was off his game because of a crush, you could prove yourself as the best and brightest intern in the group.

Gwen continued her lecture as your group started making your way into the actual lab instead of the lobby where your tour started. "And again, I apologize for making you all get here at 8 on a Saturday morning, but hey, that's the life of a scientist."

The group let out a small collective chuckle, but Peter laughed just a little too hard at her joke. 

She thanked the group for the laughter, said you were a great crowd, and continued to lead the group into one of the laboratories. 

"This is one of our biology labs, biomedical, actually." She said, swiping her work ID card and inputting a code into a keypad on the door, leading you all into a white room full of computers and terrariums. 

All the interns looked around the lab in astonishment. All of you with the same exact thoughts running through your head. 

After a second of letting you take it all in, Gwen continued her introduction of that particular lab. 

"Right now, this division is working on using properties of animals to use in medicine." She explained. "Over there is our reptile chamber, where we have lizards and geckos at the moment. And right next to you all is our spider terrarium."

She paused again so the group could take another look around, and you raised your hand to ask Gwen a question.

"Yes, (y/n)." She said, noting your name tag. 

"Is it true that you're using gamma radiation on those spiders to make them radioactive or is that just a rumor?" You asked, pointing at the terrarium as you spoke.

"That's exactly what we're doing." Gwen confirmed. "Both radiation and animals are, or have been, used in many different medicinal practices, so our biomedical scientists are working on combining the two."

You nodded, and noticed that some of the other group members looked confused, as if they were trying to think of a question to ask as well. 

"I love the curiosity, (y/l/n). I can tell that you've done your research. You seem like you'll be a great fit here at Oscorp." Gwen smiled. 

She continued to explain the other experiments being conducted at the moment in that department, and your eyes started to wander over to Peter again. He swatted the back of his neck, like he had felt something back there. He winced as if he was pinched, but in a second or two, returned his focus to the tour. 

_____

The next day, you hear your phone buzz from across the bed while you were doing your physics homework. 

Who would be trying to contact you right now? 

Your first thought was that it was another student from one of your classes asking for last minute homework help.

No, you disregarded the idea, It's not even noon yet. It wasn't last minute enough. 

After several more notification vibrations, you decide to see who it was and what they wanted. As you leaned over and reached for the phone, you noticed the notifications becoming closer and closer together, as if the messages were becoming more urgent. 

A look of confusion washed over your face as you read the contact at the top of the messages. 

"Peter Parker?" You said, accidentally out loud. 

What does Peter need so urgently? 

You scan the messages, seeing him rambling vague details about Oscorp and the biomed lab. Before you could read any more or even process anything you had just read, an incoming call screen appeared over the messages. 

Confused and reluctant, you hesitate to answer the call. After a tiny pause, you accept the phone call and hear Peter's continued fast-paced and disorienting rambling. 

"(y/n), oh my god, something really weird happened to me last night and I don't know what to do! I think it's because of the Oscorp tour yesterday but I don't know how it could happen to me. I don't want to say anything else over the phone, I just need you to come see this in person."

"Peter, what are you talking about?" You asked, completely flustered by his rambling. 

"I can't explain, I would just have to show you." 

You paused for an extended second. 

What is going on right now? 

"Please, (y/n), I need your help." Peter pleaded. 

"Okay." You sighed. "I'll come over and see what you're freaking out about." 

"Thank you, (y/n)." He said. "Okay, I'll see you in a minute. Wait, you need my address!"

"No, I don't. I've been over to your apartment to do schoolwork before. You still live with your aunt, right?"

"Yeah." He replied. 

"Okay, I'll be right over."

You hung up the phone, and gathered up your homework in a neat pile so nothing would be damaged. Then, you grabbed your backpack with your wallet and keys, and left your apartment, heading to Peter's place. 

_____

When you got to Peter's apartment, you stood in the brown hallway and knocked on his front door. His aunt quickly opened the door. She recognized you, which you didn't expect. 

"Hey, (y/n), right?" She greeted. 

You nodded, and she let you inside. 

"Are you here to see Peter?" She asked. She didn't seem to know about whatever was going on with Peter that was freaking him out so much, so you didn't say anything about it.  

"Um, yeah. It's a school thing we have to do." You told her, slightly turning to the side to display your backpack.

"Oh, alright, no problem. He's in his room right now." She smiled warmly. 

She called out for Peter, alerting him that you were here, and he told her to let you in. Then, she led you over to Peter's bedroom, and you knocked on his door, telling him it was just you. He unlocked his bedroom door, and anxiously urged you to come inside . You walked in, and he quickly shut the door behind you both, likely alerting suspicion in Peter's aunt. 

"What is going on?" You asked in a whisper-yell. 

"I don't know how to explain it, but..." He paused, trying to think of a way to describe his situation. "I just woke up and I'm sticky now."

You cringed, making a disgusted face and trying to avoid making eye contact with him. 

"Peter." You sighed. "Didn't you learn about this in the fifth grade? It's completely natural, but-"

He cut you off, realizing he had said the wrong thing and made you think of something completely different than what he meant. 

"No, no, ew, (y/n)!" He defended. "No, I mean I woke up super strong, and then everything started to get weird when I..." He paused and walked past you to grab something off of his bed. He picked up a metal water bottle by his bed and threw it, but it didn't leave his hand. "And I'm sticky. Things just keep sticking onto me."

"Alright, yeah." You rolled your eyes, not believing anything Peter was saying. "You're just holding it." 

"No, I'm serious. Look." 

He tries to throw the water bottle a few more times, aiming towards the wall. On the third or fourth attempt, the water bottle shot from his arm, through the screen of his window, looking like it made it at least five or six buildings away without hitting the ground. 

From another room, Peter's aunt heard the noise and asked what it was. 

"It's nothing, May! We're fine!" Peter shouted back.

"How did you do that?" You ask, eyeing him suspiciously. 

"I don't know!" He said loudly, then lowered his voice so as to not draw any more suspicion from his aunt in the other room. "That's the point!"

He walked past you again, making his way over to his desk, and pulling a glass over a piece of paper sitting there. Underneath the glass was something small that you couldn't identify. 

"And then, after I accidentally punched myself in the face trying to brush my teeth this morning, I noticed this inside my shirt from yesterday." He said, pointing to the object on the paper slip. 

You inspected it closer, now being able to identify it as one of the spiders from the biomed lab yesterday. The reason Peter smacked his neck on the tour. 

"Oh god, Parker. Don't tell me you actually let an experiment bite you on the neck yesterday." You said. 

"I did. Accidentally. And now I need your help because I don't know what it's doing to me."

You started laughing. At first it became a small chuckle, then it developed into close to a laughing fit. 

"It's not funny, (y/l/n)!"

"Oh, it's absolutely funny. You're an imbecile, and now you're going to lose the Oscorp internship for it if they find out. Plus, you're becoming some spider-man hybrid thing. Don't be surprised when you wake up tomorrow with four extra limbs!" 

"You don't actually think that's going to happen, right?" He asked, a large amount of concern in his voice. 

"Oh, I definitely think they'd kick you out of the internship for that." You said, your laugh silencing. 

"But the limb part?!"

"If you were listening to Gwen yesterday instead of sniffing her hair the whole time or whatever that was, you would know that yes, those spiders are experimental, they're radioactive. But they're being made for sick people, so that they can regain their strength, sharpness, and all abilities." 

"So?" He asked. 

"So, you'll be fine. Likely."

His eyes widened in shock at the last part, not realizing that you were kidding.

"I'm joking, Parker." You told him. "It'll actually probably just make you cooler. You could be a jock for the first time in your life."

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien's Through Thousands of Mirrors event translation (Day 2 - Friday)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

This post contains a HEAVY SPOILER for the event that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Through Thousands of Mirrors Event | Day 1 | Day 2 (You're here!) | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | HS/Uni SSR Story: Monochrome Scenery

-

[PREVIEW]

Everyone's school life is different. Some people wake up early to go to the library to research and study in advance, while others get up early to row on the Charles River for practice.

Lucien stops and watches the students training for a while until a woken goose begins to quack, flaps its wings in discontent, and fixes its deep, dark eyes on him.

I'm just passing by...

Lucien thought. He carefully and slowly backs away, leaving the dangerous place*.

-

[T/N: "是非之地" (shìfēi zhī dì) is a Chinese phrase that literally translated to "a place of right and wrong". it more or less mean a place where one is apt to get into trouble; in this case a place where there's a goose about to chase you at the slightest provocation😂. Funny how he now gets along well with another goose in current farming event LOL]

Also the fact that Lucien's campus is near Charles River basically confirms that his campus is definitely MIT; just get parodied to avoid copyright issues (in case if PG want to make merch of it).

-

[NEUROSCIENCE]

After class, Dr. Lawson stays for a while to chat with Lucien. It's unusual for Dr. Lawson to do so.

"Doctor, what's the matter?

"Did you already know the content we discussed today?"

"Yes, but I'm still very happy to hear it again."

-

[COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE]

When every piece of data is where it should be, within the expected range, and operates as it should, one should rightfully obtain the expected results, shouldn't they?

The irrefutable fact gives its answer with a smile: Nope!

-

[BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE]

Today, this class has a special guest lecturer. In order to help students gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and the broader applications of biomedical science, the professor has invited his working forensic scientist friend.

Pretty cool.

Wait, isn't this professor's network a bit too extensive?

-

[FREE TIME]

No one dislikes Fridays.

Especially a Friday when everything at hand has been taken care of and you earned some free time.

In a few hours, there will be other things to do, and the weekend should also be used to prepare for the upcoming week.

But at least for now, Lucien feels he deserves to enjoy the warm afternoon sunlight and the comfortable hammock.

-

[LAB]

Lucien frowns as he looks at the chart, "Let me run it again."

After a brief moment of consideration, Professor Lawson gives a suggestion, saying, "Hmm... No need. Let Elliot run it instead."

Despite his doubts, Lucien still went ahead and followed the advice.

Not long after, he gets a beautiful chart.

"Did I make an error in my operation?"

Colt, who was passing by, glances and says, "Elliot is lucky. If there are any tricky problems, letting him give it a try might just solve them."

Lucien looks at the chart in his hand again and feels that, someday when recruiting people for his laboratory, he should perhaps consider luck as one of the factors.

-

[Tidbits: And he did 🥹 In the future, he will hire a scientist named Luo Ke, with one factor being the rumor that Luo Ke brings good luck to lab experiments [Lab Koi call] 🤣 It's cute that this not-so-scientific behavior can be traced back to this particular past event]

-

[LAB]

In the laboratory, many problems can be answered by Caroline.

"Caroline, did I use the reagents incorrectly?" Elliot asks in confusion.

"Caroline, do you have time to create a presentation poster for the project?" Dr. Lawson proudly asks, confident in Caroline's abilities.

"Caroline— the photocopier has stopped working," Colt wails in despair.

In the midst of the recurring "Caroline to the rescue"; only Lucien remains silent.

For the sake of easy record-keeping and review, he chooses to send an email.

-

[MEETING]

Lucien's report this week also receives extremely high praise from Professor Lawson.

"But then again, Lucien,"

"After you joined our laboratory, the electricity bill went up a bit, supposedly because of overnight power usage and keeping the lights on."

Lucien smiles quietly and then looks away.

[ququb444hm]

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭, 𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝

part 11 / moral support ☆

masterlist

warning(s): profanity, definitely typos (i rushed 😍)

It was friday afternoon and yn had just woken up to the constant ringing of her phone. grumbling at the noise, she slowly rolled to the side of her bed where her bedside stood and answered the call– 

“yn, where are you?

“home. I just woke up, why are you calling me?”

It was her brother, tetsurou, and by the sound of his tone, he was not happy. after mori informed him of his sister's absences from school yesterday, he began to realize just how much he saw yn around campus by her not being on campus.

normally, before their first class, tetsu would walk pass yn buying an energy drink at the vending machine near his biomedical research class (in which he would push yn out of the way, grab the drink from the opening, and make a run for it) or how after chemistry, yn would be the last one to walk out of class because she rambled to her teacher about god knows what, but tetsurou would also be the last to exit due to falling asleep to mrs. liam's monotone voice and repetitive lessons, allowing him to see yn from across the building he was in.

“did you skip all of your morning classes? what’s going on with you? are you actually missing class because of what happened on friday?”

“tetsu, i’m not failing anything. all my teachers are fine with it as long as I still turn in my assignments. everything is fine, don’t worry about it.”

“but I can’t just not worry about it, yn,” a lot of rustling was heard on the other side of the phone. assumingly, tetsurou was making his way to the gym for volleyball practice since this time, mori made sure to schedule the volleyball team for its usage. “look, I love you, and I don’t want to push you, but as your older brother, I will push you off a cliff if I know you won’t die from it–”

“what.”

“In other words, you need to talk to kozume. like now, or today, or just not wait until I graduate to clear things up–”

“I know, I know…I will…”

“because know it or not, he’s literally miserable from not seeing you. I walk into volleyball practice and his mind is elsewhere. he literally missed the ball three times yesterday! three! I’m about to bench him if you don’t fix this. his career is on you, kuroo!”

yn let out a laugh from her brother’s exaggeration, “alright, alright! I get it. I’ll…stop by his dorm after my art block tonight.”

“promise?”

“yes, captain. I promise.”

“good, good. thank you. now if you will excuse me,” tetsurou opened the doors of the gymnasium, preparing himself for another three hours of secondhand embarrassment from the team’s designated setter, kozume. “I have to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

yn spent the rest of the day until her usual art blocks at 7 thinking of what to say to kozume to try and mend the awkward tension she felt whenever his name was even mentioned in any conversation— that and crying to cheese about how much she hated being an adult.

"cheese, you are such a good listener," yn mumbled. she lay on the floor of her bedroom, watching as the rodent sniffed the sliced pieces of cherry tomatoes that had been cut into small pieces beforehand. "I'm gonna bring you with me to talk to kozu for moral support, okay?" a moment of silence where cheese walked over to the girl and booped his nose to the side of her cheek was taken as a yes and yn grinned in contentment. "okay it's decided then. I feel much better about this already."

hours passed and soon it was time for class. and then a few more hours made their way out the door, signaling the end of painting.

mori, who had sculpting in the neighboring room, peeked his head into the class, spotting his friend. "yn! I'm really craving steamed salmon, we should go to that one restaurant on the main road!"

"aw what, I would love to," yn chimed, packing up her things in such a slow manner that even the professor noticed. "but I have something I have to do."

"ms. kuroo, I also have something to do so could you stop stalling and clean up. I know it doesn't take long to gather all your brushes." mr. alec peered through his glasses, his hip leaning on his desk as he watched his oh-so-ambiguous student.

yn awkwardly laughed his warning off with a wave of his hand, "ahaha so silly, mr. alec. what's a busybody like you doing on this very fine friday evening? a date perhaps?"

"more like a friendly hangout with an old friend from grade school,"

"doesn't seem like that to me," mori giggled, eyeing the attire of the art teacher. "you seem pretty dressed up. are those new glasses?"

before mr. alec could form a remark, rin strode into the room, carrying a small camera which he used to zoom into the faces of the three other individuals present. "woah, looking clean mr."

"alright, alright. no paparazzi," mr. alec groaned, ushering the kids out once he noticed yn slinging her bag over her shoulder. "have a safe night you rowby bunch, make good choices!"

"we'll try!" the tree unanimously sang.

"so whats so important that you have to turn down steamed salmon?" mori questioned.

the three walked through the halls, making their way to their bikes which were chained up in front of the building. "you're not coming to eat dinner with us?" rin pushed further.

yn shook her head, eyes glued to her shoes. "nah, I'm gonna talk to kozu. tetsu called and told me he would push me off a cliff if I didn't or something."

the two choked up a laugh at the statement, muttering how much they loved the siblings' interactions. "hey, I'm proud of you though. I know it's like weird and all but at least kozume would be better prepared next time we decide to go out as a big group again."

"rin shut up." yn playfully rolled her eyes, pushing the boy's shoulder.

finally standing in front of their bikes, the three said their goodbyes before separating.

peddling back to the flower shop, yn quickly freshened up and grabbed cheese before making her way back onto her bike and finally building up the courage to face the oblivious blonde.

kozume on the other hand was in the middle of making dinner when he heard the familiar ping that signaled someone outside his dorm room. putting the kitchen knife down, he, along with ginger who trudged beside him, made their way to the door. upon looking through the peephole, the recognizable doe eyes also looking through the hole made him let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

quietly opening the door, he was met with yn who awkwardly stood with cheese on her shoulder. "hey kozu."

"hi yn."

part 10 hi cheese <- | masterlist | -> part 12 how cute

note(s): sorry tis bit late o.o none of the pictures used are mine!!

[yermes]

I got a couple new followers! So as a quick introduction im germ!

Im a late july leo

I go by she/her but if the name germ completely throws you off and you say something else IDC

I practice chaos magic and I use this blog to shit post tarot card readings 🫶

I study biomedical engineering at UW

YOU ARE SO WELCOME HERE !!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU ON THIS SHIT SHOW W ME POOKIE

I do do random events sometimes those done thus far are

#germsweekofrest #germsjulytarotchallenge

[ava-core]

so i made my mc for @campwillowpeak … i saw her in a vision after watching newjeans’ ditto trust me on this one 😎

meet Deena de la Rosa, 23, double engineering major, and the camp’s resident pretty girl! never beating the favorite counselor allegations since the first thing you notice about her is how easygoing she is! (also, i can’t draw for shit, but i love simming my mcs)

a few tidbits about her under the cut!

- She’s 23, about to finish her double degree in civil and biomedical engineering with a minor in multimedia journalism—in Cornell, no less

- Deena is bubbly. Almost always the life of the party, and what she lacks in perception she makes up for in optimism.

- Deena is bubbly. Almost always the life of the party, and what she lacks in perception she makes up for in optimism.

- A major inspiration for Deena is Newjeans (physically, mostly Haerin and Minji) particularly in terms of vibe; if her story in Camp Willowpeak was a movie, it’d have the feel and look of their Ditto MV. Eerie, but youthful somewhat. Don’t forget the yearning

- She really revolves around that song :’)

- She’s bad at picking up social cues, but is much smarter than your average cookie.

- Deena is known in university as the ‘beauty queen of engineering’, and has a line of suitors both approved and promoted by her family and in university. She doesn’t entertain anyone, though, because she believes in “letting it happen naturally”.

- She’s fully Filipino, but is a big beautiful hotpot of Korean, American, and Filipino, thanks to her parents dragging her along for long business trips when she was younger.

- She loves playing the piano, and doing covers of her favorite songs.

- She likes to camp often, and is a natural extrovert, so the idea of camp counseling to get more ‘on the ground experience’ to convince her parents to continue engineering and management sounded like a good idea.

- Deena smells like notes of baby powder and jasmine, even when she sweats; her go-to perfume is Kenzo Flower.

- Her favorite genre of music is pop/r&b, and has a fondness for 70s music, K-pop, and bubblegum 90s pop. Her playlist here.

- She prides herself on surprising people, especially her classmates; she sometimes sticks out like a sore thumb with how well-kept, even with an effortlessly natural face of makeup and cohesive style in the hardest engineering courses ever. She takes it personally when people say beauty OR brains. People have both? Hello?

- Has only had two boyfriends, both of which cheated on her; ever since then, she’s completely dedicated to her courses and practicing different kinds of hobbies as a pasttime—you will never catch her not doing anything

- Her favorite food is kimchi fried rice, and dinuguan (a dish made from pig’s blood—it’s a Filipino classic, and Deena’s comfort food)

- Has an elder sister named Honey Alexa. To this day Deena gives her grief for having a name like an adult film star’s, but Honey’s anything but. She’s much stricter and straight-laced than Deena but loves her very much.

- you want to know her intimately? check her Letterboxd, conveniently named covertly as @dreaaamgirI. she even has a ranked list, and her top 3’a as follows: Gilda (1946), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), and Belladonna of Sadness (1973).

- She would never say it out loud, but she’d do anything to be doted on and appreciated even if she switched off her bubbly persona at the end of the day—which she does often. She’s just a girl with simple dreams who wants a lot of love.

[devilsgatewayhq]

Name: Genevieve Young Age: 35 Time living in Tonopah: 29 years Occupation: Horse Trainer at Decker Ranch Gang Affiliation: Hellraisers Neighborhood: Downtown Face Claim: Jamie Chung

Biography (TW: death):

Genevieve Young doesn't remember being anyone but Genevieve Young -- but once upon a time, she was Genevieve Han. The youngest of two from South Korea, with parents who only ever strove to give their children the life they deserved. And they were on track to do just that, embarking on a new life in America shortly after Eve turned six.

However, their dreams of a brighter future were cut short when a devastating car accident claimed their lives, leaving Genevieve and her older brother, Roman, as the sole survivors. Was it a miracle? Of course it was, but it also meant that the Han siblings were forced to navigate this new world alone. Alone and apart, as they were quickly separated by the state and placed in foster care.

Not for long in Eve's case, however. The young girl found herself embraced by the Youngs, a compassionate elderly couple in their sixties who strove to give the little girl some light at the end of this seemingly never-ending, dark tunnel. She was welcomed into their home in Tonopah Valley, experiencing the warmth and care she needed -- and life was good. Eve was a well-behaved little girl, smart and funny and desperate to prove that she deserved the love she was so freely given.

However, once school began, struggled to fit in socially, always unsure of her place and where she belonged in the world. It didn't help that she was unrelentingly curious about her biological family, about the older brother that she vaguely remembered having. Of course, the adoption was closed, so not even her adoptive parents could give her the answers she desired, so after years of research and wondering and hoping the answers might come to her, she gave up. Eve resigned herself to thinking that perhaps he had died, too, along with their parents. Although she is still unable to recall the memory in detail, it continues to haunt her dreams, her actions.

Eve’s adoptive parents nurtured her through a variety of interests, encouraging her to explore different passions. She danced, played chess, and learned the piano, but it was horse riding that captured her heart. From the first time she mounted a horse, Eve discovered a profound sense of freedom and belonging. Her weekends and after-school hours were spent at local ranches. It was the one place she felt she could thrive, felt she belonged.

As she entered adulthood, Eve decided to choose a more practical path, studying Biomedical Engineering at a local university. She landed a stable job at a hospital, settling into a life that seemed secure and predictable, hoping that it would bring her a sense of inner peace she so desperately desired. However, her world was once again shaken when she lost her adoptive parents in quick succession—her father to cancer and her mother to the weight of grief and old age. The pain of their loss was compounded by the actions of a much older adoptive sibling, her parents only biological child, who ensured that Eve received practically nothing but a modest inheritance, leaving her with a small trust fund and a sense of profound isolation.

Determined to find her own path and make the most of her life, Eve decided to leave her engineering job and follow her true passion. She transitioned to a career as a horse trainer, a role that allowed her to reconnect with the joy she had found in her youth. Not long into the job she discovered the ranch's ties to the Hellraisers, but for one reason or another it didn't phase her -- after all, what more did she have to lose? She used the little money she got from her parents to put a down payment on house -- a fixer upper, no less -- in an attempt to move forward with her life.

Though mostly content, there's storm constantly brewing within Eve, one that remains alone, unsatisfied, that years for the family she never got to have. Alas, she can't allow herself to wish, to hold on to hope. After all these years, Eve isn't sure if she can handle the disappointment, one that would force her to face the facts once more: that aside from her friends, she's truly all she has left in this world.

Headcanons: 

For her thirtieth birthday, Eve purchased a horse of her own named Honey from Decker Ranch, one that she'd trained as a young foal. She often uses her for lessons, and loves being able to spend so much time by her side during the work day.

One of Eve's duties on the ranch is to oversee shipments that come in for the Hellraisers, essentially making sure everything is accounted for and where it needs to be safely tucked away in one of the barns. Though she's fully aware of the type of cargo being brought in and shipped out, she keeps a pretty 'don't ask, don't tell' attitude so that she can have as much plausible deniability as possible.

The condo she purchased is a TRUE fixer-upper. Like, she purchased it over six years ago and it still needs a lot of work, much of it she does herself. A true DIY queen, she'll work at something to death and then some before she even thinks about calling in the experts. Which, admittedly, she should do more often.

She's kind, but she can be very pessimistic, a bit prickly. A lot of that is born out of her own insecurities, though, and she's not too hard to befriend if people are patient. Also a huge know it all and not always in the charming way!

Eve has tried to quit smoking 6 times and will constantly tell everyone she's quitting but it never happens so

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Anna Krylov and Jay Tanzman

Published: Oct 2, 2023

Note: A version of this article will appear as an invited chapter in the forthcoming volume The Free Inquiry Papers edited by Robert Maranto, Lee Jussim, and Sally Satel.

1. An age of unreason

The liberal enlightenment, humanism, and democracy are under siege. A once-obscure postmodernist worldview, Critical Social Justice (CSJ) [1-3], has escaped the academy and is quickly reshaping our institutions and society at large. Long-standing merit-based practices in science are rapidly being subordinated to practices based on the tenets of CSJ theory [4]. Increasingly, scientists must compete for funding, no longer only on the basis of scientific merit, but also on the basis of how their proposed research will promote the goals of CSJ. As an example, an NIH neurology program requires grant applications to include a “plan for enhancing diverse perspectives” with the goal to “bring about the culture change necessary to address the inequities and systemic biases in biomedical research….” [5] Similarly, funding for fundamental research in chemistry and physics now depends on researchers demonstrating their commitment to “promote equity and inclusion as an intrinsic element to advancing scientific excellence” [6].

In the academy, faculty hiring and administrative appointments are increasingly made on the basis of the candidate’s identity [7-9]. Merit-based admission to schools and universities is being weakened, with standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT being abandoned on “social justice” grounds [10,11]. K–12 is affected as well. Some school districts have stopped giving D and F grades in order to improve “equity” [12]. In math classes, activist teachers claim that getting the right answer and showing your work are white supremacist concepts and are advocating, instead, a supposedly anti-racist CSJ pedagogy [13,14]. Accelerated mathematics programs for gifted students, necessary to prepare them for advanced training and careers in STEM [15], are being dismantled in the name of “social justice” [16-18]. Many school districts have eliminated honors classes altogether in the name of “equity” [19]. The resultant weakening of the workforce has already contributed to the fall of the US from its position as the world leader in science [20].

In the university, faculty and staff are instructed to use Newspeak—neopronouns and other neologisms—in their written and verbal communications for the purpose of “inclusivity” [21,22]. To be avoided are such apparently un-inclusive terms as “strawman,” “brown-bag lunch,” and “picnic” [22–25]. Professional societies and corporations are following suit, proscribing terms such as “field,” “dark times,” “black market,” “double-blind study,” “nursing mother,” “hip-hip hooray,” “smart phone,” “homeless,” and “the French” [26–30].

In biology, an education paper recommends that teachers emphasize the sexual diversity across species in nature, which includes “organisms such as ciliates, algae, and fungi [that] have equal-size gametes (isogamy) and do not therefore have gametic sexes [that is, binary sexes, as mammals do].” This is supposed to promote inclusivity of LGBTQIA2+ students in the classroom [25]. Chemistry education also needs to be reformed, according to the journal Chemical Education, which published a virtual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) collection of 67 papers exploring such topics as decolonization of the chemistry curriculum, chemistry and racism, and gender and sexual orientation identities in the chemistry classroom [31]. A recent paper in the same journal describes “a special topic class in chemistry on feminism and science as a tool to disrupt the dysconcious racism in STEM,” which explores “the development and interrelationship between quantum mechanics, Marxist materialism, Afro-futurism/pessimism, and postcolonial nationalism.” “To problematize time as a linear social construct,” the paper says, “the Copenhagen interpretation of the collapse of wave-particle duality was utilized” [32]. No, Deepak Chopra was not a co-author of the paper.

In STEM, prospective faculty are asked to pledge their commitment to the ideology of CSJ and to document their activism in advancing DEI [8,9,33,34]. Medical schools are abolishing long-accepted assessments of competency in order to improve racial parity in residency programs [35]. A pamphlet published by the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health claims that public health anti-obesity campaigns are an example of “fatphobia,” that public health’s “focus on body size is rooted in racism,” that “higher weight is not causal to worse health outcomes," and that “focusing on weight ignores systematic injustices” [36,37]. Under the doctrine of gender-affirming care, adolescents are offered life-changing transgender treatments, often after only perfunctory psychological assessment, despite the poor understanding that medicine currently has on the risks and benefits of these treatments [38–40].

[ Unreason and intolerance. Upper left: Yale students protest “offensive” Halloween costumes (2015). Lower left: Activists burn books by J.K. Rowling (2023). Right: Students at UC Davis disrupt a film viewing by throwing a bag of manure into the room. ]

Free speech itself, the cornerstone of liberal democracy, is under attack. As viewed by CSJ activists, free speech is dangerous, harmful, and equivalent to violence [41]. Adherents of DEI ideology believe that DEI should trump academic freedom [42]. Institutions essential for providing a platform for the marketplace of ideas, information exchange, and debate have largely abandoned their mission in the name of social justice activism. Articles in the press are infused with CSJ ideology [4]. Scientific publishers from Scientific American to the flagship journals Science and Nature have become mouthpieces for CSJ [43–56]. Universities, whose primary mission is education and truth seeking, have become complicit in censorship, scholarship suppression, indoctrination, and intimidation [57–59]. Universities and professional organizations have compromised their mission as seekers and communicators of objective truths by abandoning traditional institutional neutrality in favor of political activism, taking official positions on elections, police reform, abortion, wars, and other social issues [60,61], leaving dissenters out in the cold. Where debate, constructive disagreement, and discussion were once cultivated, conformity and dogmatism, enforced both top-down (by CSJ-infused DEI trainings [62,63]) and bottom-up (by ideologically driven activists [58]), now reign.

On campus, another essential provision of democracy, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, no longer guides procedures for resolving conflict. Suspensions and terminations of professors without a hearing in response to offense taken by students, faculty members, or administrators has become commonplace (see, for example, Ref. 64–67). A predictable consequence is that there is now an unprecedented level of self-censorship by students and faculty [57,68,69]. Proposed changes to Title IX regulations will further erode the free speech of students and the protection of due process [70]. 

CSJ adherents accuse dissenters of being indifferent to existing inequalities and historic injustices, of being bigots, of having nefarious motives, and of perpetuating existing power structures. We reject these accusations. We oppose the practices of CSJ because they harm everyone, including those groups they purport to elevate [71-73]. It is precisely because we care about the existing problems in the world and about real social justice that we oppose CSJ.

What we are witnessing today—curriculum “decolonization,” the elimination of honors classes in schools, the ubiquitous war on merit [4], the imposition of political litmus tests for academic positions, Newspeak, the renaming of everything in sight, and on and on—are not isolated excesses perpetrated by a handful of overly zealous but otherwise well-meaning individuals; they are symptoms of a wholesale takeover of our institutions by an illiberal movement that currently has the upper hand. The current situation is not a pendulum that has swung too far and will self-correct [74]; it is a train hurtling full speed toward a cliff. Those of us unwillingly to go over the edge can either jump off—leave academia (or maybe start up alternative institutions)—or fight to get the brakes applied before it is too late. The remainder of this chapter is about the latter course of action.

2. Why we should fight

To put it simply, we should fight because it is the right thing to do. It is not only our duty to the next generation, but an opportunity to pay our debt to the previous generations of dissenters who fought against forces of illiberalism to create the free and prosperous world that we enjoy today [75,76]. By fighting, we, too, can fend off the forces of unreason and restore the values of humanism, liberalism, and The Enlightenment. Inaction and submission will only enable the further spread of illiberalism. The history of past illiberal regimes, such as the USSR and Nazi Germany, provide ample lessons and motivation to stand and fight today. The train is gaining momentum; the longer we wait, the harder it will be to stop it. We must act now, while we still can.

Although there are uncanny parallels with totalitarian regimes of the past [23,77–80], we are still living in a free, democratic society. Despite the advances of illiberal ideology, manifested by the rise of censorship, the spread of cancel culture [23,57,58,81–83], and the proliferation of institutionalized structures (such as DEI bureaucracies) to enforce CSJ ideology, the dissenters of today do not face incarceration in prisons, labor camps, and mental hospitals. Nonetheless, we can learn from history.

In his book To Build a Castle: My Life as a Dissenter [84], Vladimir Bukovsky [85] describes his experiences as a dissident who refused to comply with the Soviets and challenged the regime. Bukovsky describes the apathy and complacency of the majority of the population at that time. People understood the corrupt and inhumane nature of the regime, but they chose to keep their heads down because—as the Russian proverb goes—“No man can splay the stone” (in Russian: плетью обуха не перешибёшь).

Because of this complacency, the economically bankrupt, oppressive, and inhumane Soviet regime lasted as long as it did (70+ years). But it was the actions of dissidents that ultimately catalyzed its downfall. Consider, for example, the impact of the books of Solzhenitsyn, who told the world the truth about the atrocities of the Soviet regime [86]. In addition to meticulously documenting the scale of the atrocities, Solzhenitsyn explained that they came to be, not due to deviations from the party line or shortcomings of its individual leaders, but as the direct result of Marxist-Leninist ideology.

In Bukovsky’s time (the late 1950s to mid-1970s), open dissent was rare. Growing up in the Soviet Union, I [Anna]—as most of my peers—did not even know dissidents existed. It wasn’t until Perestroyka in the late 80s, when I read Solzhenitsyn’s books and learned about Sakharov [87] that I found out. Yet, it is through the actions of the dissidents that the West came to understand the Soviet regime as an “evil empire,” and this understanding propelled the political forces in the West that ultimately decided the outcome of the Cold War. The impact of the dissident movement on the Soviet regime has been illuminated through a series of memoranda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, stolen and published by Bukovsky in his book Judgment in Moscow [88]. The acts of individuals splayed the stone after all.

I [Anna] was born (in the then-Soviet state of Ukraine) into the luckiest generation in the history of the USSR—the generation that witnessed the fall of the Wall when they were still young. We could escape to the free world, live as free people, and build successful and fulfilling careers in the West. Had the regime lasted another 20 years, my generation would have been yet another of the long list of those whose lives were ruined by the Soviet regime. I feel a personal debt to the dissidents of the day. 

Now, it is our turn to be the dissidents and to fight the good fight.

Fighting for what is right is not just the right thing to do; it is empowering. Standing up and speaking your mind is liberating, even exhilarating; while hunkering down in fear, hoping the storm will pass, is a bleak experience. Being honest feels good, while being complicit in lies is dispiriting. Fighting the good fight puts you in control, whereas passive submission leaves you helpless. Whether we ultimately win or lose this fight, those who choose to remain silent will look back and ask themselves why they did not act when they could. As Martin Niemöller wrote after World War II,

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Eventually, this illiberal movement, like those of the past, will come not only for the dissidents, but for the silent bystanders as well (and, eventually, for its own vocal supporters).

There are myriad excuses, as old as the history of totalitarianism and oppression itself, invoked to justify inaction, complacency, and collaboration. Bukovsky [84] enumerates a few of the more familiar: “What can I do alone?”; “I’ll be more effective after I get the promotion”; “It’s not my job; I’m a scientist.” “If I don’t collaborate, someone else will anyway (and I’ll probably do less harm).” These reasons may seem logical, even compelling; however, they are self-deceptions. Not pushing back against bad ideas allows them to spread. Not fighting back against illiberalism allows it to grow. Not standing up for truth permits the lies to flourish. Not confronting the CSJ ideologists permits them to advance. And when they advance, we lose. It is a zero-sum game.

The choice to fight in the face of potential consequences is personal [89] and not an easy one to make. But as you contemplate whether to act or to lay low, consider the importance of truth and integrity in your life. To paraphrase Bari Weiss: Worship truth more than Yale. As she says:

[D]o not lose sight of what is essential. Professional prestige is not essential. Being popular is not essential. Getting your child into an elite preschool is not essential. Doing the right thing is essential. Telling the truth is essential. Protecting your kids is essential. [90]

Sure, no one wants to become a martyr for free speech or experience bullying, ostracism, and professional damage [81,91–93]. Cancel culture is real, but the risks are not what dissenters to totalitarian regimes faced historically or face today—cancel culture does not put you in jail. One still can write a dissenting op-ed without the fear of being stripped of their citizenship and expelled from the country, as Solzhenitsyn was for his writings [83]. We still can criticize DEI policies without fear of being put under house arrest, as Sakharov was for his vocal opposition to nuclear weapons and his unwavering defense of human rights [87]. But if we delay, some of the totalitarian nightmares of the past may become a reality. There are already worrying signs of this totalitarian-style repression in America: parents opposing CSJ in schools have been accused of terrorism and investigated by the FBI [94]; a journalist who wrote about collusion between the government and social media was paid a surprise home visit by the Internal Revenue Service [95]; a student who questioned the concept of microaggressions [96] at a mandatory training was expelled and forced to “seek to psychological services” [97]. These incidents in America today are chillingly similar to practices in Russia in the Soviet era, when the KGB routinely investigated dissidents, and dissent from Soviet ideology was considered a psychiatric disorder [84,88]. In the absence of resistance, this illiberal movement, like illiberal movements of the past, will gain ever more power, and we will face ever worse repression and erosion of individual freedom.

Inaction does not guarantee survival, but fighting a successful fight does. The only way to defend yourself against repression by an illiberal ideology is to stop the spread of the ideology.

The dangers of inaction are real, but how much risk one should take must be a personal decision [89]. Above all, it rarely does any good to get fired. Getting fired is playing into their hands. It’s one less enemy in the organization to fight against its ideological capture. Should all the dissidents get fired, the ideology wins. Full stop.

But it’s not hopeless. As we elaborate below, there are ways to maximize the impact of your actions and minimize the chances of negative consequences of resistance.

3. How to fight

Although there is no sure-fire roadmap to solve the current crisis, there are some do’s and don’ts. A recently published handbook, Counter Wokecraft (which we highly recommend), written by an anonymous STEM professor, provides concrete recommendations for staging the resistance [98]. It convincingly explains how small but deliberate actions add up to big change and elaborates on the perils of delaying action. In what follows, we offer our view on how to fight, and we share examples of successful acts of resistance that give us reason for hope. Small contributions add up, so do something rather than nothing.  As Gad Saad writes in The Parasitic Mind:

The battle of ideas knows no boundaries, so there is plenty to do. If you are a student and hear your professors spouting postmodern nonsense or spewing anti-science drivel, challenge them politely and constructively. If you are a graduate and your alma mater is violating its commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of thought, withdraw your donations—and let the school know why. If your Facebook friends are posting comments with which you disagree, engage them and offer an alternative viewpoint.... If you are sitting at your local pub having a conversation about a sensitive topic, do not refrain from speaking your mind. If your politicians are succumbing to suicidal political correctness, vote them out of office. [99]

1. Educate yourself; knowledge is power.

To effectively counter the ideology of CSJ, it is crucial to understand its nature and the tactics it employs. As two-time Nobel Laureate Marie Sklodowska-Curie said:

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so we may fear less.

Although Curie was referring to phenomena of the natural world, the observation applies equally to the world of ideas. By understanding the origins and tenets of CSJ, we can fear less—and fight more effectively.

For me [Anna] and my former compatriots, who were forcibly schooled in Marxist-Leninism and experienced its implementation as Socialism firsthand, it is easy to recognize the current illiberal movement’s philosophical roots [78,79]. We recognize the familiar rhetoric and the Orwellian co-option of the language: the media outlet of the Communist Party, which disseminated its lies, was called Pravda (Правда), which is Russian for “truth”; victims of Red terror were called “enemies of the people” (враги народа); Soviet troops invading other countries were called “liberators” (освободители); and  nuclear weapons were developed with the slogan “nucleus for the cause of peace” (атом—делу мира). We are used to looking behind the facade of nice-sounding words and seeing their real meaning to those in power [100]. It is not hard to see that today’s “Diversity,” “Equity,” and “Inclusion” have about as much in common with the noble concepts of diversity, equality, and inclusion as Orwell's Ministry of Love had to do with love or his Ministry of Plenty had to do with plenty. (A more-fitting operational definition of DEI would be Discrimination, Entitlement, and Intimidation.) This linguistic tactic is used because it works. It has fooled many STEM academics and ordinary citizens and has enabled the illiberal ideology to get its foot in the door [3].

As Counter Wokecraft explains, the tactics CSJ employs to gain power in our institutions include the use of liberal-sounding “crossover words” to shroud the illiberal aims of the movement [98]. The concise essay “DEI: a Trojan Horse for Critical Social Justice in Science” by the same author offers insights into the philosophy that undergirds the CSJ movement and clearly elucidates its aims [3]. For a deeper dive into CSJ, we recommend the book by Pluckrose and Lindsay [1].

2. Use all existing means of resistance, but first and foremost, the official ones.

Mechanisms of resistance are available through existing institutions, even if the institutions themselves are failing to protect their mission [101]. These mechanisms can be exploited to change the institution from within.

Bukovsky describes how their dissident group worked within the legal boundaries of the Soviet regime [84]. He contrasts this approach with anarchism and revolutionary destructivism, which, he argues, lead to outcomes that are worse than the original evils. Bukovsky and his dissident comrades structured their activism and resistance within the framework of the Soviet constitution—which many legitimately considered to be a joke. When allowed to speak in court, Bukovsky framed his defense to emphasize the constitutional rights of Soviet citizens, for example, to peacefully demonstrate. Bukovsky attributes their success to this strategy. As an example of an important victory, he describes how he and his fellow political prisoners managed to resist and ultimately eliminate mandatory “corrective labor” for political prisoners. Following legal protocols, they rolled out a concerted effort of filing official complaints. Although isolated complaints never had any effect (they would be registered, duly processed, and dismissed), by flooding the bureaucratic system with a massive number of such complaints (which each had to be properly registered and responded to), they pushed the system beyond its limits. The sheer number of complaints compelled administrative scrutiny of the prison and its officers. And the prisoners won the fight.

Today, we can work within the system of our universities and professional organizations, even if they have already been ideologically corrupted. We can participate in surveys; communicate our concerns to leadership; nominate candidates committed to liberal principles to committees and leadership; vote against CSJ ideologues; speak up against practices that violate the stated mission of the institution [43,102,103]; publish well-reasoned opinion pieces [4,14,15,23,82,83,102]; and insist that our institutions adhere to their stated institutional (and legal) commitments to free speech and non-discrimination, such as being equal opportunity employers. Counter Wokecraft [98] provides concrete suggestions on how to effectively oppose the advances of the CSJ agenda by simply insisting that standard protocols of decision-making be followed—that is, through formal meetings with organized discussions that adhere to a set agenda, vote by secret ballot, and so on. In short, the existing governance structures and institutional policies can still be utilized to defend and even restore the institutional mission, even when the institution’s workings have been undermined by CSJ activists.

The following success stories illustrate the effectiveness of working within the system.

At the University of Massachusetts, a faculty group fought—and won—against a proposed rewriting of the university mission statement, which would have redefined the purpose of the university as engaging in political and ideological activism, rather than pursuing the truth [104].

Faculty at the University of Chicago succeeded in having departmental statements that violated institutional neutrality (by voicing collective support for specific social and political issues in violation of the University’s Kalven Report [105]) rescinded [106].

Also at the University of Chicago, in response to faculty complaints to the institution’s Title IX coordinator and general counsel, at least seven programs that gave preferences to specific races or sexes in violation of Federal regulations were discontinued [106].

The faculty of the University of Washington voted down a proposal to require DEI statements for all tenure and promotion candidates [107]. As reported to us, an email campaign initiated by a single faculty member was decisive in defeating the proposal.

At the University of North Carolina (UNC), the Board of Trustees adopted [108] the Chicago Free Speech Principles [109] and Kalven Report [105]. The former articulates the university’s commitment to free speech and is considered to be a model policy on this issue; the latter ensures institutional neutrality, prohibiting units of the university from taking stands on moral, political, or ideological issues, unless they directly affect the mission of the institution.

Also at UNC, responding to a faculty petition, the Board of Governors moved to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements from its hiring and promotion process. The mandate states that the university “shall neither solicit nor require an employee or applicant for academic admission or employment to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles regarding matters of contemporary political debate or social action as a condition to admission, employment, or professional advancement” [110].

In California, mathematicians organized a petition that has, so far, blocked the implementation of radical, CSJ-based revisions to the K–12 math curriculum [18]. At the time of publication, the fight is not over; but they’ve won so far.

A new nonprofit, Do No Harm, has been formed to fight against the encroachment of identity politics in medicine [111]. Among their successes, filings with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against two medical schools has resulted in the elimination of race as a requirement for certain scholarships. Scholarships “meant for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, [a] worthy goal, can and should be met without racial discrimination,” writes the organization’s founder [112].

Adverse publicity and mockery, too, can cause Universities, which are sensitive to their public image, to roll back woke policies, as the following examples illustrate.

The administration of MIT reversed its own decision and reinstated the use of standardized tests for admission [113], the elimination of which had been mocked by dissidents [114].

The Stanford University “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative” website, which listed 161 verboten expressions, including “beating a dead horse,” “white paper,” “insane,” and even “American,” was taken down after sustained mockery in the press and on social media. The university’s president ultimately disowned the initiative and reaffirmed the university’s commitment to free speech [29].

At the University of Southern California, the interim provost made a clear statement that “the university does not maintain a list of banned or discouraged words” in response to the mockery [115] of an earlier memorandum the university's School of Social Work announcing the cancellation of the word “field” as racist [26,29].

At Texas Tech, the administration announced that it was dropping mandatory DEI statements from the hiring process [116], after details of how these statements influenced hiring decisions had been publicized [9].

These examples illustrate the maxim that sunlight is the best disinfectant [117]. We can use social media and the press to shine a light on the excesses of CSJ to bring about change.

Pressure from state governments can also force universities to change course away from DEI ideology. Facing threats from the state assembly to cut funding, the University of Wisconsin system has announced it will eliminate mandatory DEI statements for job applicants. As we are writing this chapter, the state assembly is also threatening to eliminate funding for administrative positions at UW dedicated to DEI [118].

Arizona has also dealt a blow to DEI ideology. The state’s Board of Regents has mandated that public universities drop the use of DEI statements in hiring. The move was in response to a finding by the Goldwater Institute that DEI statements, which were required in over three-fourths of job postings, were being used “to circumvent the state’s constitutional prohibition against political litmus tests in public educational institutions” [119].

Organizations such as the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) have successfully used institutions’ own governing policies and bylaws as well as the law to defend scores of scholars who have been attacked for their extramural speech and threatened with administrative discipline or firing [120,121].

A move is afoot to strengthen universities’ commitment to academic freedom by encouraging them to officially adopt the Chicago Trifecta (the Kalven report, the Chicago Principles, and the Shils report). The “Restoring Academic Freedom” letter [122], which calls on universities to do so, has garnered 1700 signatures so far.

3. Don't play their game: You can’t win.

We are trained to seek compromises and solutions that bring different groups on board; we seek consensus. That is a fine approach under normal circumstances, when all agents are acting in good faith. But we must recognize that we are up against agents who are driven—knowingly or unknowingly—by an ideology whose goal is to take over the institution. Every compromise with them brings them closer to their goal [1,3,74,98,123]. Therefore, we must stand our ground.

A major advance in the spread of illiberalism has been the establishment of DEI bureaucracies in our intuitions to enforce CSJ ideology through policy [3,8,98,124-127]. It is important to understand the power of this system and to distinguish the system from the people. A DEI apparatchik can be a nice, well-meaning individual, who has been fooled by the movement’s deliberately deceptive language [1,98]; a cynical opportunist who seeks power and career advancement; or a True Believer. A DEI administrator may be completely unaware of the philosophical origins of CSJ, whose goals the DEI machine has been installed to implement. But just as a Soviet apparatchik need not have read Das Kapital to have been an agent enforcing conformity to Marxist doctrine, a DEI apparatchik need not have read the works of the critical theorists Gramsci, Derrida, Foucault, Bell, Crenshaw, and Delgado to be implementing CSJ-inspired ideology. But even participants who are naive of the movement’s history, philosophy, or ultimate goals are furthering its aims; they are still cogs in the machine. Do not be fooled by DEI administrators who may naively or deceptively deny that they are advancing CSJ ideology. They are, whether or not they know it or acknowledge it.

The power of the system—the DEI bureaucracy—and its ideological foundation make the motivations of the individual participants irrelevant. The story of Tabia Lee illustrates this point [128]. Lee—a black woman who directed a DEI program at a community college in California—questioned anti-racist and gender orthodoxy, declined to join a “socialist network,” objected to land acknowledgments and Newspeak terms such as “Latinx,” “Filipinx,” and neopronouns, and supported a campus event focused on Jewish inclusion and antisemitism. Lee describes her non-orthodox worldview as follows:

I don’t have ideological or viewpoint fidelity to anyone. I’m looking for what’s going to help people and what will help our students and how we can be better teachers and our best teaching selves. [128]

This attitude was found to be incompatible with the ideology of DEI. When Lee refused to change her worldview to comply with the orthodoxy, she was terminated from her position [128].

The establishment of the DEI bureaucracy in our institutions represented a tectonic shift from CSJ as a grass-roots movement to CSJ as an official power structure within the university equipped with a massive budget to promote its ideology [124,126,129-132].

A 2021 report by the Heritage Foundation [130], which documented the size of this new bureaucracy, identified 3,000 administrators with DEI responsibilities among the 65 universities they surveyed [124,131]. This number is in addition to the already extensive staff of Federally mandated Title VI, Title IX, and disability offices, who also perform DEI-related tasks. The new diversicrats already outnumber the mandated staffers. For example, the average university examined had 4.2 DEI personnel for every one ADA compliance administrator [124]. Given the sheer number of DEI officials and their generous salaries (one-third of chief diversity officers are paid more than $200,000 annually [132]), it is not surprising that DEI budgets are enormous; for example, in 2021, UC–Berkeley dedicated 41 million dollars to DEI [129].

The DEI bureaucracy is given official status within the university and is empowered to interfere in faculty hiring, to disseminate CSJ ideology by means of mandatory trainings, to infuse the ideology into teaching [10,13,16,25,31], and to curtail academic freedom [42,127]. Khalid and Snyder provide insight into the logic and financial incentives behind the DEI machine:

This attitude was found to be incompatible with the ideology of DEI. When Lee refused to change her worldview to comply with the orthodoxy, she was terminated from her position [128].

The establishment of the DEI bureaucracy in our institutions represented a tectonic shift from CSJ as a grass-roots movement to CSJ as an official power structure within the university equipped with a massive budget to promote its ideology [124,126,129-132].

A 2021 report by the Heritage Foundation [130], which documented the size of this new bureaucracy, identified 3,000 administrators with DEI responsibilities among the 65 universities they surveyed [124,131]. This number is in addition to the already extensive staff of Federally mandated Title VI, Title IX, and disability offices, who also perform DEI-related tasks. The new diversicrats already outnumber the mandated staffers. For example, the average university examined had 4.2 DEI personnel for every one ADA compliance administrator [124]. Given the sheer number of DEI officials and their generous salaries (one-third of chief diversity officers are paid more than $200,000 annually [132]), it is not surprising that DEI budgets are enormous; for example, in 2021, UC–Berkeley dedicated 41 million dollars to DEI [129].

The DEI bureaucracy is given official status within the university and is empowered to interfere in faculty hiring, to disseminate CSJ ideology by means of mandatory trainings, to infuse the ideology into teaching [10,13,16,25,31], and to curtail academic freedom [42,127]. Khalid and Snyder provide insight into the logic and financial incentives behind the DEI machine:

DEI Inc. is a logic, a lingo, and a set of administrative policies and practices. The logic is as follows: Education is a product, students are consumers, and campus diversity is a customer-service issue that needs to be administered from the top down. (“Chief Diversity Officers,” according to an article in Diversity Officer Magazine, “are best defined as ‘change-management specialists.’”) DEI Inc. purveys a safety-and-security model of learning that is highly attuned to harm and that conflates respect for minority students with unwavering affirmation and validation.

Lived experience, the intent–impact gap, microaggressions, trigger warnings, inclusive excellence. You know the language of DEI Inc. when you hear it. It’s a combination of management-consultant buzzwords, social justice slogans, and “therapy speak.” The standard package of DEI Inc. administrative “initiatives” should be familiar too, from antiracism trainings to bias-response teams and mandatory diversity statements for hiring and promotion. [127]

The DEI bureaucracy is a categorical enemy. Don't deceive yourself that you can work with it to accomplish good for your institution [128]. This bureaucracy is founded on ideas that are in direct opposition to the liberal enlightenment and humanism [1,3,4,42,79,99,125–128,133,134]. Their goals are not your goals; consequently, you cannot ally or compromise with them. We must, instead, focus our efforts on stripping the DEI bureaucracy of its power, ideally, ridding the institution of it completely. This will not be an easy fight, but neither is it an impossible dream. State legislatures are already taking action against DEI. At the time of this writing, 35 states have introduced bills that would restrict or ban DEI offices and staff, mandatory DEI training, diversity statements, and/or identity-based preferences for hiring and admissions [135]. Recognizing that such bills could go too far and compromise academic freedom, the Manhattan Institute has drafted model legislation that would abolish DEI bureaucracies on campuses while preserving academic freedom [136]. To date, at least one state, Texas, has enacted legislation based on the Manhattan Institute’s model [137].

Another reason not to attempt to work with the DEI bureaucracy is that CSJ ideology leaves no space for rational dialog. As explained by McWhorter [71], Pincourt [3,98], Pluckrose [1], Saad [99], and others, CSJ is not a rational or empirical worldview, but an ideology whose adherents have accepted a set of unfalsifiable tenets that may not be questioned. Thus, CSJ ideologues are not open to reasoned arguments that contradict their worldview; it is, thus, futile to argue with them. We need, instead, to reason with those of our colleagues who have not yet drunk of the Kool Aid.

Finally, since the goal of CSJ is to take over the institution, small compromises with them ultimately lead to large losses for us. Give CSJ an inch, and it will take a mile. Consider, for starters, the following example, in which the dean of the Duke Divinity School made the mistake of conceding to student activists, which led to ever-increasing demands and personal attacks on the dean herself [138]. “The chickens have come home to roost at Duke’s divinity school,” writes John Staddon. Dean Heath, the dean of the school, fully allied herself with the CSJ agenda, rolled out a variety of DEI initiatives, issued a self-flagellating editorial admitting the “structural sins” of the school, and forced non-conforming faculty to resign. Yet, despite these concessions, the demands of “marginalized groups” only grew stronger, culminating in uncivil acts, such as the disruption of the dean’s state-of-the-school address by “four dissident female students bearing bull-horns and chanting, ‘I am somebody and I won’t be stopped by nobody,’ followed by a rap, a little theatrical performance [of a rude nature].”

Staddon writes:

There is poetic justice in this incident. Despite the dean’s earnest attempts “to provide a welcoming and safe place for students,” even after she designed “a space for the work of Sacred Worth, the LGBTQIA+ student group in the Divinity School”—even after disciplining, and losing—Professor Griffiths [a non-conforming faculty], in spite all this, she has apparently not done enough! The LGBT folk want more, much more, in the form of 15 demands. “We make up an integral part of this community, and yet our needs remain deliberately unheard.”

The demands include:

“To appoint a black trans woman or gender non-conforming theologian” as well as “a tenure-track trans woman theologian” and a “tenure-track queer theologian of color, preferably a black or indigenous person.”

A dissident MIT website, the Babbling Beaver [139], illustrates the same point by a mock resignation statement by MIT’s former President Reif:

You would think giving them a Women’s and Gender Studies Program, hiring six dozen DEI deans and staffers, most of whom couldn’t pass 18.01 [MIT’s introductory math course] if their lives depended on it, and cancelling invited lecturers to appease shouting Twitter mobs would be enough,” lamented the weary lame duck. “But noooo ... The only thing I accomplished by giving in to the incessant demands was encouraging additional demands, each more strident than the last.” [140]

The statement is satire, but the concessions made by the president and the ever-increasing demands were real.

Stories of how CSJ, once it is let in the door, rapidly infiltrates the organization and eventually takes it over are too many to enumerate. We present but one example, where the process has been meticulously documented. The report, spon.sored by the organization Alumni and Donors Unite, explains how CSJ took over University of San Diego “first gradually then suddenly.”

Gradually, over the course of a decade, CSJ-DEI became sown into the university’s fabric through changes in hiring committees and curriculum. Then suddenly in 2020–2021 the administration, outside all normal channels of decision-making, initiated a hostile takeover of USD and adopted a radical woke agenda into nearly all facets of the university’s life. [141]

The devaluation of merit and intellectual honesty in the guise of social justice that we now witness will inevitably lead to the decline of our institutions, if not to their destruction [4]. A case in point is The Evergreen State University, which, in 2017, experienced a notorious CSJ uprising on campus [142]. Since then, the university has suffered a 25% drop in enrollment and has lost 45 faculty through lay-offs and attrition [143].

Learn how to recognize and take on categorical enemies [98]. Remember—it is a zero sum game.

4. Focus on truth, not partisanship. Do not fear verbal attacks.

When you take on CSJ, there is something you will need to come to terms with: you are going to be called names, and your views and beliefs are going to be distorted and misrepresented. These are standard tactics of the CSJ movement. Since the adherents of CSJ have adopted an ideological, rather than a rational, worldview, they cannot rationally defend it; so they use the only tools they have: personal attacks and strawman arguments. They will call you transphobe, racist, misogynist, alt-right, Nazi, etc., no matter what you say or do. They will use deliberate misrepresentation of your expressions to subvert and discredit them [98]. They will use the “Motte and Bailey” trick [144] to derail conversations. Learn about these tactics so that you can anticipate, recognize, and counter them [98]. As Gad Saad explains:

The name calling and accusations are locked and loaded threats, ready to be deployed against you should you dare to question the relevant progressive tenets. Most people are too afraid to be accused of being racist or misogynist, and so they cover in silence.… Don't fall prey to this silencing strategy. Be assured in your principles and stand ready to defend them with the ferocity of a honey badger. [99]

Because you will be attacked no matter what you believe, what you say, or how carefully you say it, there is no point in affirming in your interactions with CSJ ideologues that you are committed to traditional humanistic, liberal values. They don’t care. In her essay “I'm a Progressive, Please Don't Hurt Me,” Sarah Haider calls this practice of hedging “throat-clearing” and explains why it is not effective [145]. She also points out the hidden bigotry of it, that is, the implicit assumption that those on the other side of the aisle are inherently evil. Haider writes:

Before touching on any perspective that I knew to not be kosher among other Leftists, I tended to precede with some version of throat-clearing: “I’m on the left” or “I’ve voted Democrat my whole life.” I told myself that this was a distinction worth insisting on because 1) it was the truth and 2) because it helped frame the discussion properly—making clear that the argument is coming from someone who values what they value. But there was another reason too. My political identity reminders were a plea to be considered fully and charitably, to not be villainized and presumed to be motivated by “hate.” The precursor belief to this, of course, is that actual conservatives should not be taken charitably, are rightfully villainized, and really are motivated by “hate.” But I’m done sputtering indignantly about being mischaracterized as “conservative,” or going out of my way to remind the audience that I really am a good little liberal.

She goes on to explain that throat-clearing is counterproductive because: (1) it doesn’t work, you won't be spared; (2) it is a tax on energy and attention; (3) it is bad for you; and (4) it is bad for the causes you care about.

So we should stop worrying about our group loyalties and focus on our cause. Truth wears no clothes, so do not try to dress it up in partisan attire. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and move on.

It may be tempting to stay out of the fight in order to preserve friendships. It is true that some people you thought of as friends may turn against you—privately or even publicly. It has happened to us, and it hurts. But it also lets you know who your real friends are—those who stick up for you whether they agree with your views or not. And you will find new friends and allies who share your values. These relationships, forged fighting the good fight, will be enduring and empowering.

5. Do not apologize.

We cannot stress this enough. Your apology will be taken as a sign of weakness and will not absolve you—in fact, it will make matters worse. Apologies to the illiberal mob are like drops of blood in the water to a pack of sharks. Additionally, your apology can be interpreted as an admission of guilt, which can come back to haunt you in the event you need to defend yourself legally or in an administrative proceeding. The Academic Freedom Alliance advises: “If you confess to an offense you didn’t commit, or if you concede to a claim or accusation that is factually inaccurate or not truly an offense, the admission can and will be used against you.” [146] Recognize that the CSJ activists on Twitter do not care about your apology; they care about publicly flaying you in order to sow fear among other potential dissenters [147]. Someone claims to have been offended by your speech? Someone claims it caused them pain? Fine, that's their problem [148]. You know what your views are. And your friends do too. Stay on message. 

6. Build a community and a network.

Communities and networks provide moral support and there is safety in numbers. Some groups already exist. The Heterodox Academy (HxA), for example, provides a platform to organize communities (e.g., HxSTEM is a community of STEM faculty) and to connect with colleagues who are open to reasoned debate, as per the HxA statement, which each member is asked to endorse: “I support open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in research and education.” The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) also provides resources and support to those who push back on anti-humanistic policies, especially in schools, universities, and in the medical profession.

Organizations like FIRE and the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) provide educational resources, opportunities to network, and—most importantly—protection, including legal representation. Join and support them. Build groups and act as a group—e.g., write an op-ed piece with a group of co-authors. Ten people are harder to cancel than one. Counter Wokecraft describes how to identify the allies among your colleagues and how to build effective resistance at your workplace [98].

Stand up for others. Next time they will do it for you. When you see a colleague being ostracized for what she said, think first, “Which parts of her message do I agree with?” not “Which parts do I disagree with?” If you agree with the main message, say so, and be charitable about imperfect expression. Way too often do we hear colleagues justifying their silence with excuses like “I agree with her in general, but she should have been more careful about how she said this or that.”

Some communities, including mathematicians and psychologists, in response to CSJ takeovers of their professional societies, have simply started new ones [149,150]. Perhaps we need more of these to send a strong message to the old societies that they need to change course. We see evidence of the effectiveness of this strategy; for example, the American Mathematical Society [151] cancelled its CSJ-dominated blog shortly after the establishment of the new Association for Mathematical Research [149], whose apolitical mission is simply to “support  mathematical research and scholarship.”

In 2022, in response to increasing ideological influence and censorship in their profession, behavioral scientists founded the Society for Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences, dedicated to “open inquiry, civil debate, and rigorous standards” in the field [152]. It publishes the Journal of Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences, which commits to “free inquiry,” “rigorous standards,” and “intellectual exchange” [152]. Notably, its terms and conditions state that the journal will base retraction decisions strictly on the basis of the widely accepted COPE guidelines [153]; otherwise, the terms and conditions state, “We will never retract a paper in response to social media mobs, open or private letters calling for retraction, denunciation petitions, or the like....” [154]

There is even a new university—The University of Austin (UATX)—established in response to the current crisis in higher education [155]. The message on the UATX webpage—“We are building a university dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth”—makes clear what void in the American academy UATX aspires to fill [156]. That the university received over $100 million in donations and over 3500 inquiries by professors from other institutions within six months of the project’s announcement, makes clear the demand [157].

The success of such new initiatives will inspire more educators and scientists to stand up and defend the key principles of science and education. And it will send a strong message to our leadership. Even if we cannot appeal to their sense of duty, the financial considerations (Go Woke, Go Broke [158]) and the effect of negative publicity of the excesses of CSJ (such as DEI loyalty oaths, “decolonizing” the curriculum, renaming everything, and Newspeak [9,23,24,139]) may provide incentives to straighten out their act.

4. Conclusion

Will we succeed? Will we stop the train before it goes over the cliff? We do not know what will happen if we fight. But we know what will happen if we don’t. The task ahead might look impossible. But remember the USSR. It looked like an unbreakable power, yet in the end it collapsed like a house of cards. The Berlin Wall looked indestructible, yet it came down overnight. Recalling his 20 years’ experience in the gay marriage debate, Jonathan Rauch told us: “I can tell you that the wall of received opinion is sturdy and impenetrable...until it isn't. And that it's the quiet people in the room who are the swing vote.... and please illegitimi non carborundum [159].”

We are not helpless. We have agency and we should not be afraid to exercise it. We should fight not just because it is the right thing to do, but because fighting brings results. If we behave as if we were living in a totalitarian society, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Afterword

A Russian proverb says, “Fear has big eyes” (у страха глаза велики), meaning that people tend to exaggerate danger. Accordingly, it may feel like resisting the mob will inevitably lead to career damage. But this is not the case; the flip side of risk is reward. In recognition of her activism, including her publication of “The Peril of Politicizing Science” [23], which “launched a national conversation among scientists and the general public,” Anna Krylov, co-author of this chapter, was awarded the inaugural Communicator of the Year Award, Sciences and Mathematics, by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences [160]. In “Victory Lap” [161], Lee Jussim, co-editor of the book in which this article will appear, documents how as a result of his public resistance to a mob attack on a colleague falsely accused of racism, his career enjoyed a variety of benefits including additional conferences invitations, massive positive public support for his activism, national attention to his scholarship, and an appointment to a departmental chair (with commensurate increase in salary), which he was offered because he had demonstrated that he could take the heat.

==

Stop saying "nO oNe iS sAyInG aNy oF tHiS!!" They are. You know they are. Dotted throughout the article are references to sources for quotes and claims. For the list of references, see: References.

Liberalism really is under attack. It's always been under attack from the religous right, but its influence has diminished over time, with society becoming increasingly secular and irreligious, or at least indifferent to religious influence. And principles like the US's First Amendment keep it, at least in theory, from breaching the threshold.

But where the religious attack is on the downswing, the attack from the illiberal left is on the upswing, and both more rapid and more successful, having infiltrated everything from government to science and even knitting clubs. And it hides behind nice-sounding words like "equity" and "diversity," people don't recognize it for what it is, and welcome it inside in a way they don't welcome religious intrusion.

This isn't about left vs right. It's about do we want a liberal society, or do we want a rampantly illiberal, or indeed anti-liberal society?

[greatpain]

𝟶𝟶𝟷.   𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂   ...

⋯⋯⋯   GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME:   guinevere lovelace. NICKNAME(S):   neve (if you must use a nickname, this is preferred), winnie (reserved for family). ALIAS:  previously known as agent bloodhunter. AGE:   twenty9. DATE OF BIRTH:   august 5. PLACE OF BIRTH:   seattle. CURRENT LOCATION:   apex city, washington. GENDER:   questioning. PRONOUNS:   she/they. ORIENTATION:   bisexual. OCCUPATION:   reporter for apex news network. EDUCATION LEVEL:   bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. 

⋯⋯⋯   PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT:   5'10. TATTOOS:   none. PIERCINGS:   ears. SCARS: many on her left shoulder / arm and others scattered about. STYLE:   sleek, striking, bold. enjoys a dramatic overcoat or statement piece. incredibly fond of accessorizing.

⋯⋯⋯   HEALTH.

ALLERGIES:   none. SLEEPING HABITS:   average. incredibly light sleeper. never sets an alarm as she just seems to wake up when she needs to.  EATING HABITS:   well. meal preps. SOCIABILITY:   7/10.  interrogative and prying though she keeps a front up to make herself / her questions seem unassuming DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS:   socially   /   no   /   no. RADIANT STATUS:  n/a. solaris failed to work. OTHER:   hard of hearing in left ear.

⋯⋯⋯   PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES:   intrepid reporter, reluctant hero, fallen hero, action survivor, undercover as herself, badass normal, deadpan snarker, hidden heart of gold, undying loyalty INSPIRATIONS:   lois lane (dc comics), veronica mars (veronica mars), karen page (marvel) TRAITS:   determined, resourceful, compassionate, scrupulous, stubborn, distrustful, impulsive, resentful, envious, closed-off, pragmatic, adaptable, observant, driven, independent LIKES:   coffee, traveling, martial arts. DISLIKES:   red tape, being underestimated, sensationalism. WEAKNESSES:  impulsivity, severe trust issues, difficulty with authority, emotional guardedness, tendency to shoulder burdens alone. STRENGTHS:   investigative skills, resilience, adaptability, resourcefulness, negotiation, martial arts. FEARS:   betrayal, powerlessness, loud noises. HABITS:   checking her surroundings / checking for exits, strict routine, double/triple checking any information, carrying a weapon at all times, limiting true / deep personal connection. HOBBIES:   martial arts, cooking, cryptic / logic puzzles, urban exploration.

⋯⋯⋯   FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER:   evelyn lovelace,  biomedical agent, whereabouts unknown. FATHER:   marcus lovelace,  psychiatrist, alive. SIGNIFICANT OTHER:   n/a. BEST FRIEND:   none.  EXES:   womp womp.  SIBLING(S):   elidyr lovelace, field agent, deceased.  CHILDREN:   none.  PET(S):   a betta fish, unnamed.

𝟶𝟶𝟸.   𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 / 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂   … 

marcus and evelyn lovelace were part of mercy organization from its inception. evelyn in particular was a young researcher in biomedical who was part of the team that made solaris what it is today. a couple years before project genesis, she gave birth to her second child, guinevere. marcus was more hesitant about mercy and decided that it was best for him to raise her and her older brother, elidyr, in seattle while evelyn continued her work in apex city.

when guinevere turned fourteen, marcus was offered a position as a therapist in apex city, and the family was properly reunited. it wasn't surprising when eli joined mercy as a legacy junior agent a couple years later.

neve practically idolized both her parents and older brother and always assumed she'd follow in their footsteps. she excelled in her studies, driven mostly by an eagerness to make them all proud.

she studied journalism and political science before joining mercy as well. eli wasn't shy about being related to her, going as far as to help her train whenever he had the availability. their mother, however, decided it would be best if she stay out of the way of her children, though she occasionally checked up on them when possible and without raising suspicion of favoritism.

during her time as a junior agent, she forged a close bond with an agent who was in the same joining class as eli. both neve and this agent were driven by a shared sense of idealism and a desire to make a strong difference. when it was possible for them, the agent volunteered for project genesis and underwent the solaris treatment.

unfortunately they underwent a practically catastrophic transformation, emerging a changed person. when they'd previously been quite bright and optimistic, they'd become cold, calculating, and ruthless. they were given incredible powers but to neve on the outside, it seemed that it cost them their humanity.

neve began to distance herself from them out of concern for them as well as herself. still, she was chosen to come on what should have been a relatively easy mission that included their (former?) friend as well as elidyr along with another agent.

what should have been a routine recon mission spiraled out of control when the four agents' cover was blown and they were ambushed. off guard and outnumbered, the team were forced to fight for their lives as they fled. guinevere watched as the fourth agent fell dead, and then as their (former?) friend used elidyr as cover for the two of them to escape the immediate fight and find a way out. neve made the split second decision to detonate a cache of explosives they had discovered earlier, allowing them a distraction to escape the carnage, though the mission had clearly been an absolute failure as valuable intelligence was lost along with two agent lives.

haunted by these events, wallowing in blame, and tormented by the knowledge that she was somehow responsible for the death of her brother and another agent, she knew she should have left right then. however, she figured that if she was already so close to graduating from junior agent status, she may as well see it through and take solaris.

yeah... solaris didn't work for her. they waited weeks and it amounted to absolute zilch.

horrified by everything she experienced and disillusioned by project genesis and mercy as a whole, her decision to leave mercy behind and forge her own path was reinforced. she cut ties quickly and started up an anonymous blog regarding apex city as a whole.

also um at some point her mom went missing???? so she's also using what remains of her connections to figure that out.

a year ago, she was given a job interview at apex news network, and was hired as a reporter. she's determined to uncover what the hell is really going on, though she keeps that very much on the downlow as she doesn't want to seem too conspiracy theorist. for now she does her due diligence as a reporter and ex-mercy agent by utilizing what remains of her connection to mercy to get information that will be useful to the network.

𝟶𝟶𝟹.    𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂   ...

coming soon but $10 to anyone who wants to take up either marcus lovelace or the (former?) friend / current mercy agent. mwah <3

[doueverwonder]

👀👀👀👀👀

sorry I took so long; I wanted to figure out which other one to do.

okay so somewhere in a Human AU William Kirkland is a spy, like a MIB type "I don't exist" spy. He got recruited and subsequently faked his death right out of college, a car crash, the body couldn't be recovered. No connections left, his job was now quite literally his life.

(Russia is the villain I apologize but this is like, spy kids esque goofy villain)

anyway; four kids get brought into a type of "Witness protection" all four of their mothers had been killed by Agent Kirklands greatest enemy. All four kids biological fathers weren't around. They need to go looking for them just incase they're the next targets.... awkward conversation between the director and their best agent about... uhhh... well, they found the dad.

Years go by, they can't just send the kids back out into the world it's almost guaranteed they--and any of their guardians--would be killed. So they're raised to be spies. Within a few years Agent Kirkland and his team are the best in the biz.

Agent William Kirkland, Age 43, Code Name: The Lion. Dependents 4;

honestly just a damn good spy

Like, typical James Bond type things get in retrieve info, take out bad guys, jump out of helicopters for no reason besides it Looks Cool.

Agent Matthieu Williams, Age 17, Code Name: Ghost.

can literally blend in anywhere, he's special bc he's just so basic.

is sent mostly on recon, and to follow people

can do the Standing on opposite side of street when noticed, bus drives by, is gone. Thing.

The only person in the entire organization who likes stakeouts

Agent Alfred Jones, Age 15, Code Name: Patriot.

has spent every other waking moment with logistics people since he was eight.

better at laying out plans than 97% of the adult agents, can somehow see the weak spots that no one else thought of.

calls playing first person shooter games "practicing for the job"

Not-Yet-Agent John "Jack" Wilson, age 9, Code Name: Joey.

wants nothing more than to just be thrown into the most remote base they have.

Just let him look at plants and animals,,, while pretending to do spy stuff. Please.

is a little menace but also everyone loves him.

Not-Yet-Agent Liam Robinson, age 7, Code Name: Kiwi

The biomedical engineers keep trying to get him interested in what they're doing bc "Logistics got a kid and we want one too :("

it's working. This five year old knows far more biology than he probably should.

Is only five so tbh he just hangs out

Running joke with everyone who's met him is basically

*after a really tough mission* "Where is Liam? I need to see his face, I need to hold him, it will improve my mental state immediately"

Matthieu and Alfred's code names were given to them as a joke bc for about 8 months straight they watched The Patriot at least once a week and they stuck. "Joey" and "Kiwi" aren't official code names, but everyone is pretty sure like "Ghost" and "Patriot" they will end up sticking.

[eievuimultimuse]

INFO SHEET: ALIYAH STOCKMAN ( TMNT OC ) tagged by: @eyeknowmayhem ( ty for this !! <3 )

CHARACTER NAME: Aliyah Stockman

NAME MEANING: "Aliyah" is a Hebrew name meaning "rising" and "ascending." This name also derives from the Arabic name Ali, translating to "supreme" and "exalted." [x]

ALIASES / NICKNAMES: Ali

ETHNICITY: African-American

1 PICTURE YOU LIKE OF YOUR CHARACTER: See above !! <3

3 HEADCANONS YOU HAVEN'T TOLD ANYBODY: 1. Aliyah’s parents are divorced and have been since she was young. While her mother isn’t wholly out of the picture ( she’s still in NYC ), Felix predominantly raised her as a single father. 2. For verses where the Stockmans aren't out of the shadows, she often picks up snacks for her cousins — usually unprompted, but occasionally she'll get a text from them asking if she could bring them their favourite treats when she stops by ( not that she minds ). 3. Aliyah's intelligence is comparative to that of her uncle's; in the Kaiju SF verse, she is capable of reverse-engineering an anti-mutagen strong enough to reduce him down to a more manageable size despite having done nothing beyond high school level chemistry. Had she pursued a scientific field as she originally wanted, she likely would have worked in a field focusing on biomedical engineering.

3 THINGS YOUR CHARACTER LIKES TO DO IN THEIR FREE TIME: HUGE cryptozoology buff; loves to spend her time going down various cryptid rabbit holes and learning as much as she can about them ! Also enjoys binge-watching in her downtime ( she's usually a fan of supernatural-based shows, unsurprisingly, but she loves nature documentaries too ! ) as well as practicing her self-defense techniques ( yes, it's mostly out of necessity for her, but she has fun with it ! )

8 PEOPLE YOUR CHARACTER LIKES: Her uncle Baxter ( in every verse but IDW lol ), her cousins ( who she frequently refers to as her siblings in spirit <3 ), Billy ( roommate & bestie !! ), the Mutanimals. Also positively acquainted with the turtles in verses where they and her cousins are associated / allied.

2 THINGS YOUR CHARACTER REGRETS: Aliyah definitely regrets allowing her father to influence so much of her life. As much as she likes to present herself as someone who doesn’t care what others think, her father’s opinion of her definitely is one that she weighs heavily and it bothers her. She knows in her heart that she should have pursued a career in science like she wanted, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. While she still loves her job, she only settled with it as a compromise to appease Felix. She also regrets letting him keep her away from her uncle; granted, she didn’t have much say give that she was a child, but she still wishes she could have known him sooner, especially after finding out how similar they are ( even more so after finding out the Stockman mutants exist ).

2 PHOBIAS YOUR CHARACTER HAS: Atychiphobia ( fear of failure ) and, admittedly, has trypanophobia ( fear of medical needles ); she can work with them, but receiving them is !! feels bad man,

[walruna]

New Writeblr

Hello world.

I'm fairly new to Tumblr and I can't wait to connect properly with the whole Writeblr community since it's the main reason I joined this website.

About me: I am 20 year old Italian biomedical engineering student with a burning passion for writing fantasy stories and novels. So far I've only properly finished and published one of my WIPs in 2015 and since then I've struggled to find the time and inspiration to create something again. But now I'm determined more than ever to keep my passion burning - and that's why I've decided to find a proper community to keep myself motivated and inspired! Since I'm not so keen on sharing names on the world wide web just yet, for the meantime I go by Walruna (or Wal, if you want) on here and I use she/her pronouns. Some more random things about me: I speak three languages (Italian, English and French), I've been practicing Japanese Ju-Jitsu for five years now and I used to have a weird obsession witb ancient Egypt which led me to have a very extensive knowledge of Egyptian archaeology by the age of 8. I am also a lesbian.

My current WIP(s): my current project has been in my head since 2017 and has kept developing and evolving its worldbuilding and characters so much so that it's probably become self-aware at this point. "Skån and the Titans of Warulven" is a high-fantasy/scifi novel centering on Skån, a Walruna - a native species to the planet of Warulven - and Knight of the Order of the Chasm, a para-military Order founded - and funded - by the government of Hegren, the nearby planet that colonised Warulven nearly a hundred years ago in search of a new supply of raw materials for construction. The life of a Knight is a simple one: guarding the Easterns Shires of Hegrenian settlers, sedating riots in the West of Warulven, or simply patrolling "The Chasm", the sigil that keeps the Titans, Warulven's old magical rulers, trapped in a never-ending slumber underneath the surface of the planet. But times are changing rapidly, weird events are shaking the stability of the Order. A mysterious Plague has been driving Walrunas of the Order crazy with terrible visions of a long gone past. In the midst of chaos, when Skån finds out that her long-lost brother and mentor Dalskar, a Plague survivor, is alive in the Eastern regions and that a salty Titan adolescent trapped in the dungeons of the Order knows his whereabouts, she's officialy ready to do what she does best: fuck it all up in an amazing rescue quest.

I hope this snippet of Skån [pron. skon] has intrigued you somehow! As you can imagine, I am writing in my native language at the moment (that would be Italian), but I strive to connect with writers from all over the world therefore I don't mind translating some bits of it if necessary.

if you're curious about this story or just want to chat, hit me up!

Thanks for making it to the end of this post!

[vulpixelates]

• Name: Romy "Ro" Cho Naga-Blackthorn • Class: The Gambini • Age: 30 • Backgrounds: Flesh Wound • LIs: too many oops •

• character tag • inspo tag • ro's ROs •

Adopted by Michelle Cho and Ira Cohen as a baby, Ro spent her life trailing behind her renowned vascular surgeon of a mother at the various hospitals she worked within. While most kids were learning to tie their shoes, Ro was practicing sutures at the nurse's station with her aunt Esther and sitting in galleries watching her mother perform complex surgeries. There was never any doubt in her mind what she wanted to do when she grew up, despite her parents' slight disapproval: Ro was a surgeon, or at least she was damn sure going to work her ass off to be.

She worked her ass off to excel throughout her biomedical engineering undergrad degree and later through med school, also working a full time content creation job to pay for both her transition and her schooling.

Throughout her residency, she went back and forth on what specialty she would choose. What she truly loved working with was nerves, which could have gone a few ways - plastics, neuro, ortho, etc. Eventually, she settled into being double certified in ortho and neuro (specifically, pediatric neuro), loving the challenge and specializing in spines and nerves.

Notable Abilities

Not particularly gifted in magic, but can pick up on it easily once it is done to her. Therefore, she's picked up a few tricks from those around her, including Machado's prophetic dreams.

Has never met a mechanical device that she couldn't fix.

Literally a brain surgeon who sometimes teams up with one of her wives to operate on fetuses' spines.

Holds a world record in DDR and a few in assorted video game speed runs.

Uses 3D design combined with her knowledge of biomechanics to make fully articulated TTRPG minis. What, like it's hard?

Connections

Ward Easton - her bestie since residency

Claire Berkowitz (of the Berkowitz family dental dynasty) - bestie since they became roomies in med school, absolutely inseparable and codependent

Yardena Cohen aka Gigi Coco - her grandmother on her father's side and her biggest cheerleader; might be a former ecoterrorist who knows

Isidora Jacinto - her long lost biological little sister who is, uh, far too much like her in every way and is WAY too close to beating her DDR record

Misc

Japanese and Filipina, though she was raised by her Jewish father and Korean mother

[phosphorescentspaceman]

what if,,, it was a college au (yogs)

ha now i have all of the americans' attention - its actually a university au because i DO NOT UNDERSTAND your system. at all. (this isn't even really relevant)

SO xephos is a biomedical translation PHD student who did his undergraduate's degree and honours year at another, more prestigious university at his parents were Mega donors at - he's kinda taken this chance to run off and escape the choke-hold they have over his options. he's staying at the postgraduate student housing because the university is paying for it - he has 30 dollars to his name on a good day and is Not Used To That, but he's loving having options!

honeydew is a mature aged student (literally just means he enrolled over 21, but here specifically hes like 35 to xeph's 25) doing his masters (research) in sustainable mining practices and they somehow become very good friends after he finds xephos staring blankly at the washer/dryer because xeph's never used one more than 5 years old and that thing is from the 70s

lalna is doing his doctorate of medicine and he's been lumped into the postgrad dorms because he got into medicine by completing a degree of biomedical science first!

the three of them share a kitchen. its a ride.

lalna keeps forgetting he has online quizes and has to take them minutes before the deadline because someone (xeph) double checks to make sure hes done them.

xeph's phd advisor is related to the guy advising honeydew's masters (its fumblemore and swampy) they do not like each other and the rivalry via the achievements of their students is legendary. the rest of the staff assume honeydew and xeph must hate each other.

sometimes xeph can't be bothered making food but he has Texture Issues so he'll regularly be seen eating one whole raw carrot, or salad bowl full of diced water melon. the nurses are like 'you aren't gonna get scurvy, which is new a different for us, but you might die of a b12 deficiency so.'

lalna keeps eating his food other the sink because he doesn't want to do dishes. honeydew just eats straight from the pot for the same reason. xeph doesn't even cook. everyone is amazed at how clean their kitchen is and assume they must be so on top of their lives.

all 3 of them have random medications to take and always forget their own, but not the other's. there is always a 5 minute kitchen huddle each morning where they rattle off the other's random crap. xeph keeps trying to dodge the b12 tablets because they taste and smell terrible in a way that is difficult to describe. honeydew has threatened to wrap it in cheese and cram it down his throat more than once.

lalna thinks its funny to slide ominous notes under their doors - it is, in fact, funny, but the RN saw him do it and he had to take a 3hr long sensitivity training activity run by the university.

honeydew forgets his key all the time, so he just leaves his window open. he's very short though, so getting in via the window requires a pretty significant feat. of athleticism every time.

there is a possum that breaks into their kitchen at 1am via the broken screen door none of them have reported over fears they'd have to pay for it. they keep finding little hand prints on their bread. they are numb to this.

[davidrian123]

Decoding Florida Biomedical Waste: What Healthcare Providers Must Know

Florida’s healthcare industry generates tons of biomedical waste every day. From hospitals to dental offices and veterinary clinics, all healthcare providers must adhere to strict biomedical waste disposal guidelines. But what exactly is biomedical waste, and why is its management so critical? Proper disposal is not just about meeting regulations—it's about protecting public health and the environment.

In this article, we’ll break down what constitutes biomedical waste, explain the unique requirements for managing it in Florida, and offer tips to ensure compliance without stress. After all, biomedical waste disposal isn’t the most glamorous topic, but it’s essential—just like sunscreen on a Florida beach day.

What is Biomedical Waste?

Biomedical waste refers to any waste that may contain infectious or hazardous materials. This includes everything from blood-soaked bandages and used needles to laboratory specimens and expired medications. The goal is simple: keep these materials away from people and the environment to prevent contamination and disease transmission.

In Florida, biomedical waste is defined under the Florida Administrative Code, with clear regulations to ensure the safety of both healthcare workers and the general public. It’s more than just throwing things in the trash—every syringe, glove, and sample has to go through a process designed to minimize risks.

Some examples of common biomedical waste include:

Sharps: Needles, scalpels, and lancets.

Infectious Waste: Blood-soaked materials, human tissues, and contaminated PPE (personal protective equipment).

Pharmaceutical Waste: Expired or unused medications that need proper disposal.

Microbiological Waste: Lab cultures and samples from research facilities.

Florida’s Biomedical Waste Regulations: The Key to Compliance

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) regulates the management of biomedical waste to ensure compliance throughout the entire process—generation, storage, transportation, and treatment. Providers that generate biomedical waste must adhere to these guidelines or risk hefty fines and penalties.

Here are some key rules specific to Florida biomedical waste management:

Proper Segregation Biomedical waste must be separated at the point of generation. For example, sharps go into red puncture-resistant containers, while infectious waste is placed in biohazard-labeled bags. Mixing biomedical waste with regular trash? That’s a fast track to a fine—and a mess nobody wants to clean up.

Storage Time Limits In Florida’s tropical climate, biomedical waste can’t sit around for too long. Facilities generating less than 25 pounds per month can store waste for up to 30 days. For larger generators, storage limits are reduced to 7 days once the container is full. Nobody wants to turn a storage room into a Petri dish, after all.

Labeling and Documentation Every container of biomedical waste must be properly labeled with a biohazard symbol and the name of the facility. Documentation must be maintained to ensure proper tracking—because in waste management, what gets measured gets managed.

Transportation Requirements Only licensed biomedical waste transporters are permitted to haul waste from healthcare facilities to treatment sites. These companies follow strict protocols to prevent spills or exposure during transportation.

Approved Treatment Methods Biomedical waste in Florida must be treated through approved methods, such as incineration or autoclaving, to render it harmless. Facilities must also maintain records of waste treatment for at least three years for compliance audits.

How Healthcare Providers Manage Compliance

Staying compliant with biomedical waste Florida regulations isn’t always easy, but it’s a non-negotiable part of running a healthcare facility. Here are some best practices that help providers stay on top of their waste management responsibilities:

Staff Training Programs: Regular training ensures that employees know how to handle and segregate waste correctly. New employees receive waste management training as part of their onboarding process, and refresher courses are offered periodically.

Waste Audits: Healthcare facilities conduct regular audits to identify potential issues before they escalate. Audits help track waste output and ensure compliance with state regulations.

Outsourcing Waste Management: Many facilities partner with licensed biomedical waste disposal companies to handle the complexities of compliance. These companies provide pickup, transportation, treatment, and documentation services.

Digital Record-Keeping: With audits and inspections a constant concern, maintaining accurate records is crucial. Many facilities use digital systems to track waste management activities and generate reports automatically.

Routine Pickup Scheduling: Working with disposal companies to set a regular pickup schedule ensures that waste is removed promptly, preventing storage issues and compliance risks.

The Cost of Non-Compliance

Ignoring Florida biomedical waste regulations can lead to severe consequences. Beyond fines and penalties, improper disposal can damage a facility’s reputation and endanger public health. Waste spills, contamination incidents, and public complaints can attract media attention and even lead to legal action.

Facilities that fail to comply with biomedical waste Florida laws may also lose their operating licenses or face civil lawsuits. The lesson? A little compliance goes a long way in avoiding big problems.

The Future of Biomedical Waste Management

As Florida’s healthcare industry continues to grow, the volume of biomedical waste will increase. To keep up, the waste management industry is evolving with new technologies and methods. Innovations like on-site waste sterilization systems and waste-to-energy plants are paving the way for more sustainable solutions.

Additionally, Florida is placing a greater emphasis on eco-friendly waste management practices. Reducing waste generation, increasing recycling efforts, and exploring safer disposal alternatives are all part of the state’s plan to protect the environment while meeting healthcare needs.

Conclusion: Waste Management Made Simple

Decoding Florida biomedical waste regulations might seem daunting, but with the right strategies and partners in place, healthcare providers can easily stay compliant. Proper waste segregation, timely pickups, and diligent documentation ensure that both patient safety and environmental health are maintained. Next, we’ll follow the journey of biomedical waste from generation to disposal in “The Journey of Biomedical Waste in Florida: From Generation to Disposal.” Stay tuned to learn how every step of the process contributes to public health and safety.