#can't tell you how many times I heard this in statistics class.

[adriankyte-writes]

Not what I was expecting, so glad I watched.

[womenfrommars]

Hey, Juno, how you're doing? If you don't mind, I'd like to know your opinion on a trans issue. I had my peak trans moment almost two weeks ago and I've been in contact with gender critical rhetoric ever since. Recently, I came across a reflection about how weirdly powerful the Trans movent is, changing laws (even the legal definition of sex), conquering spaces in politics, media and uni programs... Something other social movements, like feminism and the black movement never did (not like the trans movement at least). And I do agree in a way, but I can't help being skeptical about the strength of this idea when we witness trans folks being murdered, suffering because of lack of opportunities, being kicked away from home... In a way, I do believe the Trans movement is uncommonly powerful and that's sus, but at the same time I accept trans folks still face a lot of hardships because of their gender identity. Is it wrong to assume both things at the same time?

Hi anon, I don't think these ideas are necessarily inherently contradictory. The fact a political movement (in this case, the transgender movement) is gaining momentum doesn't necessarily translate into the idea that the average transsexual has a wonderful life. The transgender movement claims to advocate for transgenders but personally I find it doubtful to what degree they succeed in doing so. They mostly advocate for legal changes which are supposed to benefit the social and mental well-being of transgenders. Think making it easy to legally alter your gender, or make cross-sex hormones more financially affordable. But studies indicate the overall quality of life of transgenders is not tremendously improved post-ex reassignment surgery. Most notably the rate of suicidality is just as high as pre-surgery.

I find that the transgender movement can be very manipulative with statistics. It is claimed that only 3% of transgenders have regrets about their transition. This figure is based on a Dutch follow-up study that exclude roughly 30% of the initial patients from the follow-up. Either they refused to cooperate with the study or they couldn't be reached. So we have no idea what happened to this group. Lots of detransitioners feel resentful to the point they cut off all contact with their doctors so many are not included in follow-up trials. And it is sad to say but it is definitely a possibility some died of suicide

Another example is the homocide rate of transgenders. Most figures being thrown around are based on studies in South America that mostly follow transsexual prostitutes. Those people are not representative of Western, middle-class transgenders at all. Even when you take a look at the homocide rate for US-based transgenders, it is significantly higher than the US national average yes, but that actually disappears when you account for racial background. The vast majority of the victims are Afro-American and to a lesser degree Latino American. The homocide rate for white American transgenders is lower than the US national average (and also lower than that for white Americans specifically). It is hard to find statistics that account for other factors such as sexual orientation and socio-economic background. I think most of the hardships that some transgenders face can be best explained by them being homosexual and/or of being of an ethnic minority, usually combined with lower income. I bet you have heard various stories in the media about the suffering of transsexuals, and 9 out of 10 times, they showcase a homosexual transsexual rather than a heterosexual one, despite the fact that in clinics today, most male-to-female patients are heterosexual. The ones who are kicked out of their parental home, who end up in prostitution, get involved with drugs, etc etc are from what I can tell almost always MTF homosexual

I really implore you to look more into these matters as statistics can be very easily manipulated to fit a certain political narrative. That is not to say we should not also have compassion for those who do suffer and look for social and political solutions. But fast-tracking pre-pubescent children into a transition process is very unlikely to increase well-being for the transgender population, which is the usual answer coming from the transgender movement

[chiropterrified]

I am going to rant a little, feel free to ignore this for it serves no larger purpose than to externalize thoughts I am struggling with. I am not a very eloquent person so I apologize in advance.

I am 2 weeks away from completing my first year of teaching. The thing that I completed 4 years of college and a year and a half of grad school for. My dream job. I have to say that this has been one of the most difficult years of my life. I had heard many teachers talk about the absolute nightmare that is their first year, and I have seen the statistics of how many teachers leave the profession within 5 years, but I never imagined it would be quite like this.

For the past year I have consistently worked long hours, basically from the time I woke up until I went to sleep for most nights. Crafting lessons, grading assignments, and trying to meet other deadlines. I had to cancel or leave early for a large percentage of social gatherings I was invited to. I had to put most of my hobbies on hold. I had to sacrifice my own health and sleep in order to meet deadlines, which I did not always do.

All of this work just to be met with insults, threats, harassment, and "I have not learned anything at all this year". The worst part is I can not fully blame them. The curriculum I had created was largely mediocre at best. For all the time I was putting in I was getting very little in return.

So now I find myself looking back at all of this and wondering what I am going to do next. I have already put in my resignation and I will be taking a hiatus from the profession. I need to decide if I will ever go back. I can't say I hate teaching. But this year was so grueling and thankless that it really dampens my passion for the job.

I love teaching, I love helping people, I believe education is the gateway to living a fuller and more successful life (however you define success) but I am not sure if it is for me after all of that. That realization hurts.

So if you read this far and you are a student or still have contact with any of your teachers. Tell them thank you for the year and their hard work. Tell them one thing you enjoyed about their class. By this point in the year many of them could use a win. Especially the younger ones.

[yourtoradorasextendedwarranty]

So for reference I live in texas. When I was attempting to be on unemployment and I think food stamps was partnered with that at the time, I had to apply for 8 hours of work a day. This number could have been less if I were to get a note from a manager at a physical store saying that I requested to apply.

According to them that was exactly their policy. However like I said, I have asked other people and other states what they had to do and did not have to do and I've had similar stories to mine and stories not so similar. But uniquely whenever I ask white men there's typically 10 to match mine. Whenever I ask women or minorities it seems to be a little different.

As far as people stealing because they are poor or they're hungry I would say look at the YouTuber ActualJusticeWarrior because he covers various statistics in a lot of his videos in regards to these things. Crime especially organized crime is a very lucrative way to make money. From a general standpoint if you actually look at things a lot of people will tell you that they're starving and they can't get food when they're stealing. But that's normally when they get caught or whenever other people make them justify with their doing. But the problem isn't the fact that they're poor the problem isn't the fact that they're hungry or starving. The issue is the fact that it is a lucrative way for them to make Bank.

Because here's the fun fact. In the United States are welfare system pays a lot of money we're looking at north of 194 billion. And that I believe might only be just food stamps and not actually unemployment. Meaning that fundamentally speaking there is plenty of money to go around for welfare for those allowed to be on welfare. Interesting however that the standards for getting on food stamps are sometimes quirky and don't make sense. Because despite the fact that a lot of those benefits are federal many of them also tend to be State and the requirements then come down to what the state decides. Even having said that, if people were really starving and poor and they were trying to steal stuff for money they would be stealing the things that they needed not stealing things that they didn't.

But the issue is that saying that they do it because they're poor or they're hungry is this perpetuative story of how a lot of black youth get into gangs and selling drugs. Because they're told by the people in their neighborhood and drug runners and other "gangstas"that they'll never be good enough to live in a "white world" and the reason that they have to constantly work so hard is because "the white man is trying to keep them down". Between that and cultural expectations and peer pressure we see why the crime statistics are what they are.

As far as any actual statistics and links. If you want to know the reason why people steal look up the question why do people steal. And then go through and actually check the clinical links on Google and often times you will see that there is a lot of different things that make people steal. Because between unemployment social Security *at least for the time being*, and food stamps there is basically no reason to actually steal because you are on hard times.

Mind you, if there are people who can't get on these programs then I understand. But considering I have personally never heard of a low-income minority not getting food stamps or otherwise..... My assumption is more going to be towards the clinical definition of why theft.

Which you have various reasons for. Rich people steal too. Because it gives them a thrill. Middle class people sometimes steal because they just want something. So the idea that poor people just unilaterally all steal because they are poor is not agreed upon by the greater clinical community.

If you can't explain what per capita means, you shouldn't be allowed to post political opinions online

[ourtenderlies]

Long story short (ehhhh shortish):

I struggled during my undergrad. I had zero time management skills, and pretty bad separation anxiety, so I was academicly dismissed after the first semester. I lived with my dad and retook what classes I could at a technical college near by (fun fact: in WI, if you get academicly dismissed from one public state school, you can't attend a different public state school for your 'dismissal'). The next semester I transfered to a new school. I did better than my first semester but I still struggled ALOT. I had to change my major from psychology because you have to apply to be in the program, and I didn't have the cumulative GPA to get into the program due to being academicly dismissed my first semester. I didn't have another passion or a back up, so I chose Women's Studies so I could at least take some classes I would enjoy and I could graduate. I worked really hard to do well, I had some tough times but I pulled through. I was supposed to graduate (I walked and everything) but I wasn't able to get my diploma due to getting a D in statistics. I was devastated all over again. I talked to w academic adviser about what I may want to do in the future. I decided to add another major (English) and retake some classes I had previously did poorly in, which will help boost my Cumulative GPA. Then I could raise my GPA high enough to apply to be in the school of education to become a HS English teacher. I started school again and I had a whole new mindset. I prioritized school, and I did significantly better. Even after retaking the classes I could, and doing well in my new classes, my cumulative GPA wouldn't be high enough. So, I reevaluated things AGAIN and came up with a new plan. I would graduate with the English and Women's Studies degrees, and I volunteered with girl scouts during it. Then I would see about getting licensure in grad school or by another way. I found a program that accepted low GPA and did WI licensure, I applied and get conditionally accepted but I had 3 courses to fulfill. I was able to find 2 of the 3 courses for a pretty affordable price. I finished the first class (it was self passed and a bit of a struggle but I did it). Then life happened and I never really got back in the mode of school. I felt burnt out. So I forgot about it for a while. Then, I remembered and reapplied and haven't heard anything. No call from an adviser, nothing. No email. I just heard nothing from them. I figured that this was a sign. There were SO MANY obstacles, it was clearly a sign that isn't the path for me. I began doing ALOT of research on interests and career aspirations. I can't tell you how many career aspiration quizzes I did. I really wanted to figure out my passion and what I want to do someday. I didn't feel passionate about dietetics or teaching. I kept reflecting back to psychology but always thought it want an option due to my low GPA, but I found some schools that take low GPA and I began researching their programs. I finally found my passion. I found my masters program. I am getting a masters of science in clinical psychology with a specialization in forensic psychology! This feels right. I feel confident and finally ready to do it.

My first class started. I was doing well with my schedule/routine I created. I tried some adjustments but overall not bad. I got over confident when I saw the paper was only 3-5 pages. 3-5 pages for a graduate school paper is very different from a 3-5 page undergraduate paper. I DID NOT MANAGE MY TIME WELL. Now I am in a time crunch to finish this paper and turn it in before I don't get credit for it. It's already late. I realize my mistake and now I know going forward. I am trying to hurry and finish what I need so I can get back on track. It will be tight but I need/want to do it. I want to do well in grad school. I won't let my past hold me back. I know I can do well. It just sucks. I get terrible imposter syndrome.

[red-stocking]

How do you come to terms with the fact that a lot of poor people hold racist views (due to lack of education, living in rural communities that act as echo chambers of the same opinions, etc) while maintaining class solidarity? I don't mean to make it sound like all poor people are racist (I'm pretty poor myself tbh) but I know that statistically speaking, many of them are. When I hear working class, I can't help but think trump voter sometimes...

This is an excellent question!! This is a question that deserves a lot of discussion (so yeah, this is an essay, sorry!), and one that some people on the left may answer differently than I am going to, so I encourage you to get several points of view. My experience is very US based. The US is the only industrialized country without a labor party, and with the red scare we have a very unique history when it comes to workers movements.First of all, lets go over what class solidarity means (and what it does not). Class solidarity I really do think can be summed up in the phrase “An injury to one is an injury to all”. Like, if there is one worker that is being exploited, then it is bad for everyone. If anyone among the class is being victimized, we all need to step in to defend them. This means that white workers need to come out and defend black men from violence by the police. It means that all male workers should strike in solidarity with their female coworkers when they learn there is a wage gap. And yes, it does also mean that immigrant workers should not cross picket lines….But class solidarity does NOT mean that immigrants are to blame for US citizens losing jobs, even if they do cross picket lines. Marxism comes with the understanding of the material circumstances that have lead to immigrant workers being in such a dire economic position- and that it is the capitalists who take advantage of that who are the ones to blame. Solidarity does NOT mean pushing aside the struggles that our black, women, gay, immigrant workers face in order to prioritize the struggles of the ‘less oppressed’. 

So, yeah, even in theory class solidarity is something that is going to be very difficult to build. You try to imagine telling a Mexican immigrant mother of three that she should not take that job because ~class solidarity~. Like, no fucking way. In an ideal world, the union organizers would help her find another job, or get her connections that could help her find one. but lets be real.

I know what you mean though, when you say you think of Trump supporters. i was outside a homeless shelter, defending it from being shut down by the city, and the camera man (amateur, not from a news station) taking statements in support of the shelter confided that he was a trump supporter. He believed that when Trump said this one thing he was really supporting homeless people! (who even knows what that thing was trump never makes any damn sense)The lesson of this story is that yes, these people have racist bias  because they could excuse every racist thing trump said, but that’s very different from voting for trump FOR his racist ideas first and foremost. Many people who voted for trump did so because of party loyalty, or because nothing about their situation had changed with a democrat in office, or because they saw Clinton as the embodiment of Wall Street (which she is) and everything that was going to lead them to unemployment. This is how having two capitalist parties screws over everyone. Lesser evil-ism eventually leads to more evil.When it comes to specifically with dealing with racist bias among white working class people, from an organizational standpoint it all comes down to how you decide you want to use your resources, time, and energy. Lots of leftist groups focus in urban areas- where racism is less of a problem than it is in rural areas, because of the constant interaction between white, black, latino people in their day-to-day jobs. When a black guy agrees to pick up your shift so you can go to your kid’s birthday party, no doubt you’re probs not gonna be as antagonistic to black people in general. Also, a lot of leftist groups are focusing more and more on the youth, the FUTURE OF SOCIETY! They are much more receptive to socialism, class unity, and well- less racist. Like, yes, there are polls that show youth still have a lot of racial bias, but most of that is kept close to the chest in today’s urban youth and you can’t deny things have changed in the past 50 years. It is largely the youth that spear-heads revolutionary movements- the average age of the Bolshevik party in its early years was 19!!! The rest of the population- whether they would agree or not- WILL follow them, even if they started out with racist beliefs.In any case, like I said, a leftist organization has to choose where it is going to spend efforts to recruit new members. At this stage in the US, these are not going to be people who are way out in rural areas who think mexicans are stealing all the jobs. First, we dont have the resources to go out to the boonies anyway, let alone for someone who thinks we should attack people of color. The workers who have really deep-seated racist beliefs are not ones that we want to spend time and energy on, at least in this phase.Now, there may be exceptions- if someone is otherwise very left-leaning, is an involved union member, and generally agrees with a lot of our other ideas, we may set aside time to have discussions on race, the history of the oppression of black people, discussions on imperialism and immigration, and hopefully we can change their mind on some issues. As an individual who may confront certain other racist workers, I advise trying to facilitate a discussion on one of these topics. Give them room to express where they are coming from, try and find out why they think the way they think. Like, where did they hear that a Mexican might steal their job? Have you seen or heard about an example of this? Try to be patient with them. Maybe give examples of a Mexican you know, tell a bit of their story, and find things that they have in common. You will see a lot of the vehement racism trickle away when they realize someone is actually listening to them and their experiences. This is not an easy or quick process, it will NOT be an easy discussion, and you should only try it if you are willing to put in that time and energy, and if they seem like they can actually be won over with discussion alone. This is why leftist groups often leave it to the wayside, to confront at a later date. If you encounter antagonizers that simply pose racist ‘gotchya’ questions to try and make your ideas seem wrong, it might be helpful to go over some quick elevator talk answers so you can respond quickly and show anyone else listening that you will defend people of color. That is kind of a separate issue though, i think, than what you’re referring to. 

Later on, workers with racist attitudes will be brought into the fold- they will come willingly and their minds will change by the example we lead. It is capitalism that fuels the fires of these divisions between the races. When capitalism is threatened, when they are weak, they will not be able to keep pouring out that fuel onto us, those divisions will start to crumble. During a strike, or a demonstration, these workers will share the same ideas, and that experience will do most of the work with regards to chipping away at racist bias.

For example, the national railroad strike in the US in 1877 largely breached race lines, capitalists had to go super heavy after that with racist propaganda to prevent it from growing or happening again. In St. Louis, MO, a place where racial divisions between black and white people were never anything but fucking Intense, the workers really did unite and briefly seize control of the city’s imports and exports. They were betrayed by a Klan member working for the capitalists. When there is a concrete struggle, throughout history it has been shown that workers will come together to fight a class war. Eventually, those with heavy racial bias will come over to our side- they are already learning that the capitalists of either party in the US do not have their best interests in mind. 

But only when you have a strong workers’ party and infrastructure can you bring those in. My advice is to focus on expressing solidarity with other oppressed groups, develop some go-to responses for a few popular racist statements, show by your actions, rather than your words, that you stand for all workers. Sorry this was such an incredibly long answer, I hope this helps! please feel like you can ask follow up questions too, you or anyone else. 

[arctic-hands]

Bummed you were unable to participate in this momentous occasion of disability rights history? You can still make history now.

There's an act proposed by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio called the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act. Social Security is seriously broken in this country. The max amount one can receive from SSI is seven hundred and seventy-one dollars a month, and you have a max asset limit of two thousand total. This is below the federal poverty levels, and with very few exceptions you cannot earn any money or even receive any as gifts without reporting it to SSI and risk docking your monthly payments. Even giftcards are dicey.

Also, people on SSI can't get married without losing their benefits. We can't even symbolically call someone our wife, husband, or partner without SSI penalizing us

It's enforced poverty. And it's an ordeal to even get on it, because as abysmal as it is it's the only option for people who cannot work. I believe the statistic is only one in ten will be approved first time applying (I believe legal blindness is an automatic approval). And it's nearly impossible to appeal or reapply without a lawyer. I was rejected three times before I had the resources to lawyer up, and I had to pay a third of my earnings. Also, when I first applied and was rejected in Indiana, I lost my life-saving Medicaid, thanks to a new law by then-governor mike pence, who enacted that only those on disability can receive Medicaid. I had had Hoosier Healthwise since I was a child and had been grandfathered in, but upon my inevitable rejection I was disqualified from Medicaid. I didn't get back on it until I moved to Maryland. I was never informed by the people helping me apply about the risk to my Medicaid.

Disabled and chronically ill people are never educated on our rights, resources, and what we can do for ourselves. My high school econ class would have been better served teaching us about Social Security (or even how to pay taxes) instead of telling my school where sixty percent of us were in poverty that our only way to success was in the stock market (during the Great Recession, no less). I didn't know anything about what I posted above until I was an adult and advocating for myself. Disability rights were never covered in Social Studies, and in fact in the years leading up to the Affordable Care Act, the right to medical coverage was forced to be a topic of debate in that class, as well as the right for wellfare. A good chunk of my classes genuinely argued against my right to have access to medical care.

Because of this lack of education, many people needing SSI have no knowledge or resources on how to find a lawyer, so they face the appeal in front of a judge alone and inevitably lose. Their only options then are to either give up, or try again and again and again.

But the legislation proposed by Sen. Sherrod Brown is called "Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act. Without linking (so it will show up in the reblogs), here's what the Washington Examiner says about it:

A coalition has begun pushing policymakers to update and simplify SSI. Changes they seek include:

raising cash benefits, at least to the poverty line;

updating asset limits of $2,000 ($3,000 for a couple) that have not budged since 1972 to at least $10,000 and $20,000, along with overly complex and strict income limits;  

simplifying and “humanizing” SSI by easing or removing penalties for working and saving.

Not mentioned in the article, but I've heard from others in the Disability community that it will allow us to get married.

I know with disability and life long illness tend to have anxiety, I get it believe me, but now is the time to start making our presence known. We need to call our reps and let them know we exist, we're voters, and we need this legislation passed. If you know of any groups mobilizing for physical protests, join up with them and do as much as you are safely and physically able. (And if you know of any such groups in Baltimore, let me know).

Not only that but we call upon our allies to help us.

This is life saving legislation proposed to a government that largely doesn't care about our lives. So it's time for action. Let's raise hell like the disabled activists before us.

I love talking about this so here's another instance of me talking about it: during the 504 Sit-Ins, wherein disabled activists occupied federal buildings in 1977 demanding better protections from the US government as they delayed enacting the regulations set forth in 1973's Rehabilitation Act, specifically the section entitled 504, which was supposed to provide better access to education and employment for disabled people, and the accommodations needed for such.

The activists, disabled or sick in a variety of ways, occupied multiple federal buildings across the the USA. The occupation of 50 United Nations Plaza Federal Office Building in San Francisco lasted 26 days, the longest of the protests, and I believe the longest occupation of a federal building in the USA's history.

The protest was spear-headed and led mostly by disabled women, many of them queer disabled women.

The length of the occupation was only made possible by the support of the Black Panthers, who brought food to the activists daily and stood their ground against the FBI when the feds tried to stop them from entering the plaza in an attempt to starve the protesters out. The Black Panthers then proceeded to bring hot meals every day for the rest of the protest, which ended with the enactment of the 504 regulation

Moral of the story: mass movements and protests work better when you have solidarity among various movements who, while initially fighting for different people, are all fighting for a common goal--rights, safety, empowerment, etc--and the Black Panther Party was demonized by the federal government and individual authorities not only because they were they fighting for the rights, safety, and empowerment of Black people, but because they were fully capable of and did bring unity among the many civil rights groups fighting for the individual causes, in a way that would have enacted great change in this country had they not been infiltrated and destroyed from within, arrested on bs charges, or flat out murdered by the federal government.

Anyway the history of disabled rights are unknown even among the modern disabled, the involvement of the Black Panther Party is even less known, and without the 504 regulation laying down the base foundation we probably wouldn't have the ADA so here's your history lesson informing you about all this. And thank you Black Panthers ✊🏿♿✊