#i wanted to add more examples of antis basically saying thought crimes are real

[msnihilist]

The Motion Picture Production Code (colloquially known as the Hays Code) circa 1956 vs Tumblr Fandom Police circa 2023

Spot the difference!

[itsclydebitches]

Is buying the new Harry Potter game supporting transphobes because I've been seeing a lot of that on twitter? Not playing it. Pirating is fine, but actually paying for it.

Hi, anon!

I’ve seen a lot of the same and had initially thought to post my thoughts on the issue… before I got a very angry ask condemning me for a post where I admitted that I thought the game looked great and was excited to play it. I can no longer link to that post because I deleted it: a late night, impulsive decision made in an effort to try and protect myself from further flaming. Thus, I considered ignoring this ask under the same justification… before realizing that it might not matter in the long run. The Harry Potter: Legacy trailer has been out for just a few days and already I have gotten that furious ask, been told off by a friend for mentioning the trailer, and was questioned (antagonistically) about why I had added a Harry Potter related book to my Goodreads list. They’re small and potentially coincidental anecdotes, but it feels as if any engagement with Harry Potter is slowly coming under scrutiny, not just the (supposed—more on that below) crime of purchasing the new game. Given that I will always engage with Harry Potter related media, if there’s any chance such subtle criticism will continue regardless of whether I make the “right” choice to boycott the game or not, I might as well explain my position. Especially for someone who asked politely! Thanks for that 💜. 

Which leads to the disclaimer: Any anon hate will be unceremoniously deleted. This is a complicated issue and I intend to write about it as such. I ask that any readers go into this post with good faith and a willingness to acknowledge that this situation isn’t as black and white as they may prefer it to be. If that’s not something you can emotionally handle—which is 100% fine. Some subjects we’re simply not inclined to debate—or if you’re just looking to get in a cheap shot, please hit the back button.

Right. Introduction done. Now here’s the tl;dr: saying things like “Buying this game is inherently selfish/transphobic” isn’t the hot take people want it to be. Is boycotting Legacy one (very small—we’ll get to that too) way of showing support for the trans community? Yes. Is buying the game proof that you’re a selfish transphobe?  No. This isn’t a bad SAT question. Legacy boycotters are to trans supporters as Legacy buyers are to  ___? The argument that someone is selfish for buying the game is basically that you are choosing a non-essential video game over the respect and lives of trans individuals, but the logic breaks down when we acknowledge that purchasing a game has no real life impact on a trans individual’s safety, support, etc.   

“But Clyde, you’re giving Rowling money. She is then using that money to support anti-trans organizations. Thus, you have actively put more harm into the world.” Have I? I’m not going to get into whether/how much/what kind of money Rowling is receiving from this project because the fact is we don’t know and we’ll likely never know. Suffice to say, she probably will get some portion of any $60/$70 purchase. The real question is whether those sales have any meaningful impact. Reputable information on Rowling’s net worth is hard to come by, but it seems to be somewhere between 600 million and 1 billion pounds. Or, to put it another way: a fuck ton. And money keeps rolling in from a franchise that is so, so much bigger than a single video game. It literally doesn’t matter how much money you might put in her pocket via Legacy because she’s already so goddamn rich she can do whatever she wants. If Rowling wants to give a million dollars to the heinous “charity” of her choice, she can. She will. You are not directly contributing to this horror because that money may as well already exist. Every person in the world could refuse to buy this game and she’d shrug, going about her disgusting life because it literally does not affect her in any meaningful way. You’re refusing to give the murderer a knife when they’re got direct access to a knife-making factory. Horrible as it is to hear, you can’t stop them from doing something horrific with that tool. 

For me, this is the straw argument of the Harry Potter world. Not straw as in strawman, but literally straws. Remember how everyone was talking about plastic straws, swore off them, and subsequently deemed anyone who still used one to be selfish people who didn’t care about the environment? It didn’t matter if you had a certified “good” reason for using one (disability) or a “selfish” reason (carrying straws everywhere on the off chance you wanted a drink is a pain in the ass)—you’re a horrible person who wants the planet to die. Same deal here. If you can swear off straws, great! Do what tiny bit of good you can. But if you can’t or even don’t want to give them up, the reality is that your “selfishness” doesn’t make a significant difference in the world. The amount of plastic corporations are pouring into the ocean makes your actions inconsequential. It’s not like voting where every small, individual act adds up to a significant total. This is your lack up against others’ staggering abundance. It’s not adding a few drops of water until you have a full bucket, it’s trying to un-flood the boat with a teaspoon while someone else is spraying it with the hose. Have you, on the most technical level, made a difference by moving that teaspoon of water out of the boat? Yes. Is it a difference that holds any meaning in regards to the desired outcome? Not really. Now apply all that to Rowling. She is so phenomenally wealthy—with additional wealth coming in every day—that your purchase of Legacy is a teaspoon of water in her ocean of funds. It’s inconsequential.

“But Clyde, buying this game would support her and supporting her sends the message that what she believes is okay.” Exact same argument as above. JKR’s fame is so astronomical that no video-game boycott could ever make a dent in it. For every 100 people who swear off her work there are another 1,000 who continue to engage with both her writing and the writing related to her world because she is that prominent. Harry Potter is one of the largest franchises of all time, second only to things like Pokémon and Star Wars. This isn’t some indie creator who you can ignore into silence. The reality is that Rowling is here to stay and we have to take far more substantial acts to counteract that influence. 

Even more importantly, buying the game is not evidence that you support her views and the black and white belief that it does is an easy distraction from those harder “How do we improve the lives of trans people?” questions. I started compiling a list of stories with problematic authors only to realize the number of incredibly popular texts with awful histories attached to them unnecessarily increased the length of an already long post. Everything from Game of Thrones to Dr. Seuss—if you love it, chances are one of the authors involved has a history of misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. Which I don’t say as a way of excusing these authors, nor as a way to silence the justified and necessary call outs on their work. Rather, I bring this up to acknowledge that engaging with these stories cannot be concrete evidence for how you view the minority group in question. The reasons for consuming these stories are incalculable and at the end of the day no one needs a “correct” reason for that consumption (my teacher forced me to read the racist book, I only watched the homophobic TV show so I could call out how horrible it was, etc.) If fiction were an indicator of our real life beliefs we’d all be the most horrifying creatures imaginable. I may be severely uncomfortable with the queer baiting in Supernatural, but if a friend says they bought the DVD collection my response is not, “How dare you support those creators. You’re homophobic.” In the same way, someone purchasing Legacy should not generate the response, “How dare you support her. You’re transphobic.” There’s a miles’ worth of pitfalls in connecting the statements “You purchased a game based on the world created by a transphobic author” and “You yourself are transphobic.” 

So if buying Legacy does not add additional harm to the trans community from a financial perspective, and it doesn’t make a dent in Rowling’s platform, and playing a game is not evidence of your feelings towards the group the author hates… what are we left with? “But Clyde, it’s the principal of the thing. I don’t want to support a TERF” and that is an excellent argument. Your morals. Your ethics. What you can stomach having done or not done. But the “your” is incredibly important there. People need to understand that this is their own line in the sand and that if someone else’s line is different, that doesn’t mean they’re automatically a worse person than you. For example, I have made the choice not to eat at Chick-Fil-A. Not because I believe that me not giving them $3.75 for a sandwich will make a difference in their influence on the world, but because it makes a difference to me. It helps me sleep at night. So if not purchasing Legacy helps you sleep at night? That’s a fantastic reason not to buy it. But the flipside is that if someone else does purchase it that is not a reliable reflection of their morals, no more than I think my friends are homophobic for grabbing lunch at Chick-Fil-A now and then. Sometimes you just want a sandwich. 

“But Clyde, why would you want to buy it? Rowling is such a shit-stain I don’t understand how anyone can stomach supporting her—whether that support has an impact or not. Maybe someone eats at Chick-Fil-A because it’s close to them and they’re too busy to go elsewhere, or it’s all they can afford, or they don’t know how homophobic they are. There are lots of reasons to explain something like that. But you’re not ignorant to Rowling’s problem and there’s no scenario where you have to play this game, let alone spend money on it. So why?”

The reality is that I will likely be buying Legacy, second-hand if I can, but new if it comes to that, so I’ll give some of my personal answers here, in descending order of presumed selfishness:

5. Part of my work involves studying video games/Harry Potter and as a researcher of popular culture, my career depends on keeping up with major releases: good and bad. I often engage with stories I wholeheartedly disagree with for academic purposes, like Fifty Shades of Gray.

4. I find the “Just pirate it!” solution to be flawed. I’ve spent the last four months struggling to get my laptop fixed and I currently have no income to buy another if it were to suddenly develop a larger problem. I am not going to risk my $2,000 lifeline on an illegal download, no matter how safe and easy the Internet insists it is. 

3. We’ve been told that Rowling has not been involved in Legacy in any significant manner and I do want to support Portkey. No, not just financially because I know many others have insisted that everyone good has already been paid. Game companies still need to sell games. That’s why they exist. There’s a possibility that a company with just two mobile games under its belt will be in trouble if this completely flops. Is my purchase going to make or break things? No. Same reality as whether it will put new, influential money in Rowling’s pocket to do horrific things with. But I’d like to help a company that looks as if they put a lot of heart and energy into a game only to get hit with some real shit circumstances outside of their control. Even if they’re not impacted financially or career-wise… art is meant to be consumed. I know if I wrote a Harry Potter fic and everyone boycotted it because they want nothing to do with Rowling anymore, I’d be devastated. Sometimes, you can’t separate supporting the good people from supporting the bad. Not in a media landscape where thousands of people are involved in singular projects.

2. I’m invested in reclaiming excellent works created by horrible authors. That’s fandom! We don’t know much about Legacy yet—this is pure, unsubstantiated speculation—but this new story could be a step forward from Rowling’s books, giving us some of the respect for minority groups that she failed at. That’s the sort of work I want to promote because Harry Potter as a concept is great and I think it’s worth transforming it for our own needs and desires. The reality is that as long as Rowling is alive she’ll benefit from licensed material, but if that material can start taking her world in better directions? I want to support that too.

1. I literally just want to play it. That’s it. That’s my big justification. I think it looks phenomenal and I was itching to get my hands on it the second the trailer dropped. And you know what? I’m not in a good place right now to deny myself things I enjoy. I don’t need to tell anyone that 2020 has been an absolute horror show, but for me certain things have made it a horror show with a cherry on top. Not a lot gets me excited right now because we’re living in the worst fucking timeline, so when I find something that makes me feel positive emotions for a hot second I want to hang onto it. I have no desire to set aside that spark of happiness in a traumatic world because people on the Internet think it makes me selfish. Maybe it does, but I’m willing to let myself be a bit selfish right now. 

Which circles back to this issue of equating buying a game with active harm towards the trans community. It honestly worries me because this is a very, very easy way to avoid the harder, messier activism that will actually help the queer community. When someone says things like, “You’re choosing a stupid video game over trans lives” that activism is performative. Not only—as demonstrated above—is purchasing a game not a threat to trans lives or ignoring the game a way of protecting trans lives, it also gives people an incredibly easy out while still seeming ‘woke.’ Not all people. Maybe not even a significant portion of people, but enough people to be worrisome. “I’m not purchasing that game,” some people post and then that’s it. That’s all they do, yet they feel like they’ve done their duty when in fact they’ve made no active difference in the world. Are you donating to trans charities? Are you speaking up for your trans friends when someone accosts them? Are you circulating media by trans authors? Are you educating your family about trans issues? Are you listening to trans individuals and continually trying to educate yourself? These are the things that make a difference, not shaming others for buying a game.

All of this is not meant to be an argument that people shouldn’t be absolutely revolted by Rowling’s beliefs (they should) and that this revulsion can’t take the form of rejecting this game wholeheartedly. This isn’t even meant to be an argument that you shouldn’t encourage others to boycott because though the financial impact may be negligible, the emotional impact for you is very real. I 100% support anyone who wants to chuck this game into the trash and never talk about it again—for any reason. All this is meant to argue is that people shouldn’t judge others based on whether they purchase this game (with a side argument that we can’t limit our activism to that shaming). That’s their decision and this decision, significantly, does not add any real harm to the world. Your fellow Harry Potter fan is not the enemy here. We as a community should not be turning our visceral on one another. Turn it on Rowling. She’s the TERF, not the individual who, for whatever reason, decided they wanted to play the game only tangentially related to her.  

If Twitter and Tumblr are any indication, I can imagine the sort of responses this post may generate: “That’s a whole lot of talk to try and convince us you’re not a transphobe :/ ” For those of you who are determined to simply things to that extent, there’s nothing I can say that will change your mind. Please re-read the disclaimer and consider whether yelling at me over anon will benefit the trans community. For those of you who are still here, I do legitimately want us to think critically about the kinds of activism we’re engaging in, how performative it might be, whether it harms the community in any way, and (most significantly) whether it’s actually moving us towards a safe, respective world for trans people to live in. Personally, I don’t think telling Harry Potter fans that they’re transphobic for buying Legacy will generate any good in this world, for them or for the trans community. 

At the end of the day only you can decide whether you can stomach buying this game or not. Decide that for yourself, but make that decision knowing that there’s no wrong answer here.  

[eternvlblyss]

#StopAsianHate

* ways we can help click here

tw // violence mentioned against Asians

I got to choose my topic for my research essay in one of my classes and I wanted to voice more about the Asian hate crimes that have been happening recently. I’ve heard too much about elderly Asians being violently attacked, spat on, etc. just because they are Asian. What bothers me the most is that I see those who were assaulted as either my uncle or my aunt or my parents, and that’s scary. 

This was the research essay I turned in for my class, and I thought it would help to post it for others to read about too. I learned so much while writing this essay, and I hope it’ll help someone else open their mind as well. Please check in on your Asian friends, understand that this is something very frustrating to our community as the media is now just covering what’s happening, now that innocent lives have been taken due to hate. 

Asian American Racial Injustice: During the COVID Pandemic

Just when we thought 2020 could not add anymore strain to our lives, the rise in racist violence towards Asian-Americans has increased even more last year when the pandemic had started and continues to occur in 2021. Violent attacks including verbal harassment, physical assault, and being coughed and spat on, have happened to Asian Americans, majority of whom are elderly and senior citizens. As this becomes a reoccurring issue in numerous locations of the United States, the Asian community has been voicing out their frustrations and anger over it all. The problems within these issues are that it took this long for the media to give attention to the incidents, as well as, why these anti-Asian hate crimes are even happening.

There is this phrase used, “model minority,” which suggests that Asians are the minority that are seen as successful and never have any issues with racism towards them. It is a stereotype in which people assume that Asian Americans have class privilege, higher socioeconomic status, and a higher education, which in turn leads to say that any discrimination that happens to Asian Americans is not real, or that no discrimination happens towards them (Lang, 2021). This false idea dates back to the Civil Rights era, when Asian Americans were seen as more successful than other ethnic minorities due to working hard, staying educated and abiding by the laws. Because of this, the hate crimes that are happening today are being overlooked. The “model minority” myth creates a fallacy that Asian Americans don’t experience any struggle or racism (Lang, 2021). Along with the false idea society stuck to from back then, the media also enjoys making Asian Americans look wealthy; examples being the film, Crazy Rich Asians, and the Netflix series, Bling Empire (Lang, 2021). The representation is everything as well, but the way they are perceived in Hollywood is not how all Asians are, everyone has struggles and hardships. This feeds more into the narrative that Asian Americans don’t experience any obstacles, and then when they do, no one pays attention to it.

Accurate statistics of these hate crimes have yet to be released, but the number of incidents happening recently can lead to one’s guess that it is much more prevalent now. The FBI warned at the start of the COVID outbreak that there would be a rise in hate crimes towards those who are of Asian descent (Farviar, 2021). It is true that there have been numbers of reports of hate crimes towards Asian Americans within the recent months of COVID cases also rising. These reports included verbal harassment, physical assault, being coughed or spat on, refusal of service, workplace discrimination, and robbery (Farviar, 2021). A few reports of attacks would include an 84-year-old Thai immigrant in San Francisco, CA being shoved to the ground during a morning walk, whom was later announce dead a few days after, an 89-year-old Chinese woman who was slapped and set on fire by two people in Brooklyn, NY, a 61-year-old Filipino American who was slashed in the face with a box cutter by a stranger, and so many more (Farviar, 2021).

Why are these attacks happening and why are the news media just now covering them? Many have connected our former President’s words and comments to the reasoning behind all of these hate crimes. Former President Trump has publicly blamed China for the awful coronavirus, even by racially calling it the “Chinese Virus” (Cabral, 2021). By doing that, he has shown other people that it is “okay” to say things such as that, basically brainwashing them and giving them a license initiate these attacks. He put such a huge target on the Asian community by repeatedly blaming China and insensitively using that term. Not only is the hate seen in public, but the slander towards Asians can be seen through social media as well, where Trump was very active on. The correlation of his words and these hate crimes go hand in hand, as more attacks started happening after he irresponsibly said the “Chinese Virus” on a huge platform on Twitter. Unfortunately, this resulted in scapegoating Asian Americans.

Solutions to alleviating these hateful crimes involve having a voice and being able to educate one another. Much of the racial injustice seen anywhere stems from stereotypes and assumptions. It is important to always keep an open mind of others as well as educate ourselves on what is actually true and what is not. While the media has not been very generous with giving the Asian American reports attention, the more the community has help in voicing that, the more the media will notice that. Standing in solidarity with one another is another solution, as it shows that we are all equal and all just trying to help one another. The words of our former President did not help with that at all, and it seems as if we are more divided than ever, but there is always room to grow from that and change. Our world has seen enough negativity, the least we all can do is just help one another in tough times. 

References

Cabral, S. (2021, March 1). Covid ‘hate crimes’ against Asian Americans on rise. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56218684

Farviar, M. (2021, March 2). Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans spiked by 150% in major US cities. VOA news. https://www.voanews.com/usa/race-america/hate-crimes-targeting-asian-americans-spiked-150-major-us-cities

Lang, C. (2021, February 18). Hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise. TIME. https://time.com/5938482/asian-american-attacks/

[karliesbuzzcut]

When art really speaks to you, pt. 2: probably just a coincidence but idk

Disclaimer: all these theories are rabbit holes on their own, so trying to explain them in a couple of paragraphs is, automatically, doing them a disservice. Especially since I’m only going to be primarily addressing the part of the theory that focuses on the artist communicating with their public through their work.

Since I’ve already dedicated paragraphs to the introduction in part 1, let’s just jump into it.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s fuckton of theories.

Let’s start with the daddy of all conspiracies. After all, not many can gloat about their reachings becoming a movie starring Tom Hanks.

The thing with Da Vinci’s conspiracies is that there are so many of them, and they range from “maybe this is also a painting made by Da Vinci but he wasn’t credited because of reasons” to ALIENS. Which, I think, shows how different our interpretations of art can be, and how much it depends on an already established worldview.

But the most interesting part isn’t the conclusions, but how people look for clues. For example, just like people say Taylor Swift is obsessed with numbers or oranges (depending who you ask, I guess), Da Vinci was supposedly a big fan of reflections. So, if you want to decode his paintings you must mirror them... and then move then a little bit... there you go, you’ve just found yourself an alien...! Or a daemon...! Or someone wearing a funny hat! And that’s totally what he wanted us to find, right? Why else would he had shown any sort of interest in reflections if he didn’t want us to reflect everything!!

Shakespeare is an illusion... kinda, but yeah.

Personally, I think Kaylors would love to dig into this one. Sure, it doesn’t have many lesbians playing political spies. But it does involve a lot of literature analysis. Just like Kaylors don’t think a heterosexual woman could’ve written Taylor’s songs; some people (referred as anti-Stratfordians, thank you very much) don’t think someone from a lower class could’ve written Shakespeare’s plays. 

Here’s the tea... the very cold tea: because Shakespeare was the son of a glover, anti-Stratfordians say he couldn’t have had the knowledge to write his plays. They, instead, come up with a list of “more suitable” writers that could’ve worked together. But they decided to keep their identities a secret because being a play writer, at that time, wasn’t respectable. Here, we will start noticing a trend with Conspiracy Theories: society, as a whole, can’t handle the truth, only a selected few. That’s where Francis Bacon comes in.

Francis Bacon was a very smart dude. He, also, worked for the state - giving him the credentials to be worthy of writing Shakespeare calibre plays. And also, also, he developed a method to conceal messages in the presentation of a text. To be able to do this, you would need to use two typefaces. Guess what has more than one typeface? Shakespeare’s plays.

I have to say - while I don’t believe either theory we have seen, they are somewhat understandable. We barely know anything about Shakespeare and Da Vinci beyond their work, so it’s normal that people are trying to figure out who they were; what did they believed in; where did they get all of their knowledge. We like theorising about the answers to these questions, knowing we’ll never get a confirmed truth. Not so the case with our next conspiracy...

Lewis Carroll was Jack the Ripper - someone had to be, right?

Now, allow me to fangirl all over this one. It combines my interests for conspiracy theories, true crime and pop-culture.

I’m assuming everyone here knows about Jack the Ripper: a serial killer who murdered at least 5 people (mainly prostitutes) in London, between the years 1888 and 1891. Well, someone looked at this and thought “you know what this murder-mystery is missing? Famous people”. Well, this theory says that the author of Alice in Wonderland did it He was the only celebrity living nearby at the time of the killings, so... 🤷‍♀️

This becomes a case of “I have already made up my mind about this issue, so I’m going to go ahead and search for proof that confirms it”. Authors and, now, internet sleuths went through his books, selected this random-ass excerpt from the nursery version of Alice and decided it was an anagram. And a crappy one at that. Supposedly, if you arrange the letters you get a detailed and gruesome confession. You, however, have to take away some letter and add others. Listen, I’m not an English major, but I’ve heard that’s cheating.

This theory also has that characteristic we mentioned: the “I don’t want to admit it out loud, so I’m going to come up with convoluted ways for my audience to figure it out” - which almost borders on psychotic behaviour. But at least it, somewhat, works with the serial killer narrative, you know? Not very much with Taylor, a woman who simply wants to chill with her girlfriend.

The moon landing was fake and directed by Stanley Kubrick.

I’m not going to dig into the moon landing conspiracy, this post is going to be long enough already. Just know that, when the USA government was planning to fake the whole thing, they had just watched ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and they were all like “that’s so cool! That’s how we want our fake moon landing to look!” So they contacted its director, Kubrick.

According to the theory, Kubrick felt really guilty afterwards but he couldn’t say anything about it because he signed an NDA? it would be dangerous, I guess. So he did the same thing Taylor would do decades later: he “spelled it out” for us on his work, under the excuse of “I didn’t explicitly said it, did I? My most intelligent and attractive fans just happened to figure it out for themselves”. 

The movie ‘The Shinning’ has been analysed to shreds. Think ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ music video, but 2 hours and 26 minutes instead. There are many theories about its underlying theme, but we’re only focusing on the moon landing one. The biggest piece of evidence, according to believers, comes from that famous scene in the hallway. Basically, the kid, Danny, is on the floor playing and wearing an Apollo 11 sweater. He stands up = the rocket launches. He walks to Room N.237. Which is almost an anagram for MOON - but actually, a perfect anagram for MORON - I didn’t come up with that joke, I’m just sharing it. Anyway. In the book, the room number is 217 but Kubrick changed it to 237 because there are 237,000 miles between the Earth and the Moon... except that’s not exactly true, but this is their Kissgate, you see? 

“Paul is Dead” aka “the granddaddy of Kaylor is Real”

Now, this is THE conspiracy theory. Kaylors would love to have the amount of evidence this theory has. Give them 50 years, they’ll get there. 

Our story starts in 1966, Paul McCartney dies in a car accident. The British Government panics, “this will drive our teenagers into a massive suicide!” So they cover it up. They find this guy who looks like Paul and hire him to replace the original. 

You might’ve only heard about those stores where pop-stars get their beards. But there’s also a branch that focuses on celebrity look-a-likes.

The rest of The Beatles went along with it (because that’s how these artists seem to operate, they’re always the victims of their circumstances) but they did not like it. So - you guessed it - they used their music, artwork, photo-shoots, etc. to communicate the truth. Faux-Paul might’ve felt a bit awkward about it, but he’s a nice chap and let the other guys work through their grief. 

Kaylors might have agreed on blue being the colour of breaks up and yellow is for Karlie-Sunshine; but the Paul-truthers concluded white is the colour of heaven, jeans are for gravediggers and black for morticians... oh! And not wearing shoes means you’re dead. Taylor being near a door symbolises her leaving the closet; Paul being near an open trunk symbolises him being in a coffin. Is the letter K, for Karlie, surrounding Taylor? Well, there’s a 28IF in the plaques of a car, for Paul being 28 IF he hadn’t died. People hear a phantasmagorical “she” in ‘Call It What You Want’; just like people heard “I buried Paul” in ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.

If you have never looked up this theory, I seriously recommend it. There are so many parallels with Kaylor. Here’s a 30 minute video, if you’re interested. It summarises the theory neatly while discussing the effects that these, seemingly innocent, conspiracies have on the way we absorb information.

Paul might be dead but 2pac is very much alive.

If I haven’t made it clear by now, I think it’s very deceptive to use a musician’s lyrics to back up your alternate version of events. As confessional as these verses can be, they’re still a form of art. Which, in terms of music lyrics, they need to follow certain parameters, as well as a desired sound. And, as many other forms of art, they might focus a bit more on transmitting a feeling, rather than an accurate portrayal of reality.

Why am I stopping to say all of this now? Well, because this specific theory relies a lot on Tupac’s lyrics.

A bit of context: In 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot 4 times while at a stoplight. He died from his injuries days later. While there are theories, to this day, no one knows who killed him. Unless you believe one of those theories, which claims no one did.

The believers of this theory cite Tupac’s lyrics to argue that he was explicitly telling his fans that he was going to fake his own death. Here are two examples:

I’ve been shot and murdered, can’t tell you how it happened word for word but best believe that n*****’ gonna get what they deserve. - Richie Rich’s N***** Done Change

I heard rumours that I died murdered in cold blood, traumatised pictures of me in my final states — you know mama cried. But that was fiction, some coward got the story twisted - Aint’ Hard 2 Find

Just like anti-Kaylors don’t necessarily oppose the idea of Taylor being gay; I bet the “antis” of this theory aren’t happy Tupac died and weren’t against his existence on the first place. It’s more of an argument about confusing your feelings with facts, just because they can be more comforting or exciting.

“Avril Lavigne is dead”... or “every artist you think is alive is, actually, dead and, the ones you think are dead, aren’t” I guess.

After everything we have seen, this one isn’t that interesting. The real Avril died in 2003, right after her first album. Her record label bought a new one. Proof? She says ‘dead’ in ‘My Happy Ending’, blah, blah. A poor man’s “Paul is Dead”.

I added it, mainly for the lulz, after the last entry, I needed them. But also because it all started with a blog. What’s hilarious is that the guy who created it admitted he only did it to show how gullible people are but, at that point, he had already convinced people about. The conspirators didn’t need him anymore. So they discarded him but not the Theory... which just reminds me a little too much of how TCG, HBH, Jennyboom &co. have been excommunicated from the Church of Kaylor.

Beyonce and Jay Z are members of the sexy sexy Illuminati.

I did not save the best for last. But maybe I’m just biased because the Illuminati theory bores me to death. However, if you allow me a bit of social criticism... remember how the Shakespeare Conspiracy started because a bunch of classicist people didn’t believe a lower class citizen could write such good plays? I think this one has a bit of that. I’d bet my life that this one started when a bunch of white dudes got super uncomfortable by black people being so talented and earning their successful.

What this Conspiracy shows, too, is the amplifying effect the internet has had on the proliferation of such theories. Most of the conspiracies I’ve mentioned were huge... but how were you supposed to communicate your ideas and add to the old ones, before the internet? You could publish a book. Talk about it at parties. And, at some point, there were internet forums but, still, you can’t compare that to how widespread Social Media is nowadays. 

Today, we can watch someone ramble for 2 hours on YouTube about how Beyonce looks like a robot if you watch Single Ladies in reverse; read someone’s dissertation of ‘Apeshit’; or spend all night looking at those pictures where someone has drawn a red circle around anything that resembles a triangle. 

It might look like a lot of evidence but that’s only because there are a lot of people very attached to this theory. Wanting - for whatever reason - for it to be true (perhaps because it would confirm that their fears about the world were well founded). And all those dozens or hundredths of people were working together to form as many patterns as possible.

Unfortunately we are going to keep talking about the Illuminati in Part 3 but also about Taylor, so that should be nice. Because - to the surprise of absolutely no one - there’s a bunch of people who also think they understand Taylor better than the rest. That they have figured out her secret codes and her ultimate message. Only, not all of those theories involve lesbian supermodels, so they aren’t as popular on Tumblr.

[unordinary-analysis]

Episode 166

Honorable mentions:

I always love seeing a student with John’s old ‘loser’/helmet hair lmao it makes me happy

For the first time ever, when I say ‘Remi, pop off queen’ you know I actually mean it lol

Tldr: the high-tiers (can’t really call them “royals” anymore can we) establish themselves and prove their worths as paragons (perfect examples) of what royals should be and i applaud them for it

The amount of joker masks that the superhero posse brought in has to be representation of their power. Isen, the lowest-ranking of the superhero posse brought 1, Remi brought 3, and Blyke brought 3. You might be thinking ‘hey remi is more powerful than blyke’ but we know that he’s been working hard recently and because he only has one more mask than Remi, i think this idea is plausible. so let me believe that blyke is more powerful than remi please.

Nothing to really say about Isen except that he needs a hug

Going to ignore that remi listed cecile as someone she wanted to recruit help from because i would just get my hopes up

Only occured to me now that i could pull off a John and Rei comparison especially after reflecting over episode 150

Arlo and seraphina give off such close vibes and it’s obviously because they got close (or at least intensely familiar) when they were the king and queen and i just- i absolutely love when plots or characters go full circle and reflect (revisit?) the start of the story even though that sounds anti-development, it’s not im just bad at explanations.

WHAT I WOULD GIVE FOR CECILE TO BACKSTAB JOHN not that i don’t like john because i absolutely aDORE him because of his impact on the story, but i just want to see Cecile backstab someone and john is convient

just me talking for a bit, scroll if you want to skip to the actual content i understand ;( :

Okay: so.

I’ve figured out that instead of putting little talkative comments in the honorable mentions like I’ve been doing lately, I can put them here and not feel like total trash and that I’m downgrading the post so that’s fun.

Anyway, sorry if the massive ton of parentheses(?spelling) i'm using is confusing or hard to read. I mean, I won’t fix it, but I hope it’s not too bad ya know

Again: sorry for talking like im texting someone in 2017 it’s an issue, im aware. No one ever says anything, but yeah?? Im sorry???

Im panic-writing this an hour before the new episode drops so hopefully this is up before then, there’s no real hope though it takes me 10 minutes just to transfer this from my google doc to tumblr because i have to manually re-add all of the bold and italics and bullet points. Still not removing this bit tho even if (lmao “if”) it’s late ;)

Talking too much, but whenever you see (?”spelling/grammar/word choice/etc”), that just means that I messed up in that way, but I’m too distracted to fix it. Figured i should say that eventually seeing as i literally do that every post

Next post will not be written in first person at all because i think it makes these feel way too familiar and makes new readers uncomfortable which is stupid but is how i would feel so we’re experimenting. If you’ve never read one of my posts, i just act very informal with everything i do and i just want to say, i'm not in this tightly knit niche group that reads these and that ive been friends with for years. i just. Talk like this. So don’t feel like you’re eavesdropping by reading one of these. I really hope im not an outlier in feeling this way when reading other peoples post because if nobody actually feels this way, im bout to be real embarrased oops.

Im getting the talking out of my system because no talking next post.

Yeah this post is late. But: i stopped for pizza in the middle and my webtoon isn’t loading so im like sitting around waiting for it to

Remi:

    Now, in this episode particularly, it has occurred to me that I need to give Remi credit where credit is due. I made a post (AN: multiple posts but we’ll ignore that) over a year ago talking about her abilities as queen and- I did her pretty dirty. Not unfairly, but dirty. I basically dissed her a lot and said that she wasn’t a good queen in any sense. And I’ve done this multiple times (AN: ignore last AN) because I can remember at least 2 other times when I just berated Remi over and over for being shit queen.

    I’m not going to disagree with myself in this post (because I didn’t lie), but I want to give her some credit because I do believe she has changed recently and it has affected how I view her as a position of royalty. And, yes, while it is unclear if she is currently technically still a royal, what with John having somehow destroyed the entire concept of Wellston having royals (?), she has been taking the actions and responsibilities that a royal would. So-

    What made me want to write this out was in this episode, episode 166, I really realized/noticed her attitude and actions dealing with and revolving around this whole joker situation (currently more about the fake jokers) was?? Actually productive?? To explain: In this episode, we see Remi approaching a group of low-tiers who are worriedly talking about the joker situation and 1. Analyzes the conversation in reference to the measures she, Blyke, and Isen are taking to prevent the situation, 2. Reassures the low-tiers that qualified help (her, Blyke, and Isen [aka the superhero posse]) is doing the best they can, and 3. Asks if they have any suggestions or ideas that might help them attain their goal. Like?? Hello?? The Professionalism? And the way she didn’t let her disappointment that her previous efforts up until now affect her is a stark contrast from the Remi of the past. I’ve ripped her apart because of just how often her emotions would completely overwhelm any sense she had. So: that stood out. But, anyway, big picture again: This whole short little scene from her was so impressive?

    Honestly, the fact that Remi is going through all this effort to stop the fake jokers and make sure the low-tiers are safe is very different than what we would’ve seen from her in the past. One of the common reasons that I kept saying Remi was a bad queen was because she didn’t care about her responsibilities and didn’t take her authority seriously. There are even examples of Arlo, or others, telling her this (the example that came to my mind was when Remi was warning students about EMBER and Arlo stepped in [and the reason behind the events of this example helps to support my next point] {ALSO (sorry) afternote: I was reading through everything I’ve ever said about Remi’s leadership and I used this exact example in my post “Remi” from just over a year ago}). Another reason that I was against Remi as queen, which ties nicely with the previous reason (this sounds like repetition of like two seconds ago when I said that my last reason would support this point, but it’s not because words), was that she prioritized personal missions over things her school needed her to do. I remember being very pissed around episodes 110-120 because she ignored the big conflicts happening at Wellston in order to track down this separate crime organization (EMBER) and took Blyke and Isen with her (royals)(who were both against the idea). And I know that her reason for doing this is valid and I do respect her for attempting to avenge her brother, and I would have let this slide if she gave one thought or listened to Isen and Blyke at all about Wellston. I know this still sounds bad on my part, but it was many instances stacked on top of each other of Remi being, not just unconcerned, but unknowing, about Wellston’s current state as a school. At that time, Remi was the queen, she was one of the school’s royals, whose job was to maintain order and peace within the school. I couldn’t see any instances of Remi even attempting to do that. That was in the past though, because obviously, things are different now, like I said. Currently, Remi has gone out of her way to dedicate herself to the wellbeing of Wellston, that is obvious in the way she has been talking with low-tiers and unmasking fake Jokers. I only hope that her new motivation isn’t just a phase brought upon her due to her personal relationship/conflict with Joker, with John. I want to know if John ever happens to be dethroned or Remi somehow gets her technical authority back, will she still be dedicated to the school, or is her motive purely situational? I hope not? Because we’ve seen lots of change from her recently what with learning of the low-tiers mistreatment and all, so let’s cross our fingers.

    Regardless, there has been improvement in Remi. In her leadership and dedication. And that needs to be acknowledged. So I am doing it. Yeah. Here you go. Badge of honor for Remi.

    Obviously, most of what I’ve said also applies to Isen and Blyke, who are honestly going above and beyond (especially Blyke), just this section is a response to my previous statements of how Remi is not a good queen, not only for Wellston, just in general. And, again, while I still agree with my evaluation of Remi as a queen in reference to her past self and past episodes, This is a new development I felt obligated to talk about. :).

Blyke’s idea (?word choice confuses me):

Wowee this is a fun one. So: Blyke broke up a fake joker fight in a hallway this episode, and i just have to acknowledge this like I did for remi: props, but anyway, I was very intrigued by the way he handled the damage control like?? He refuses for the fake joker to be unmasked (?grammar) and gives the reason, “I’m not about to show his face so that you all can just gang up on him later!” And: applause. I think that this has occurred to me before, I just never dwelled on that idea, so I was taken off guard by this from Blyke. He was able to understand this and form a plan with how to deal with it? I don’t know about you, but that screams king behavior. Anyway, what Blyke does is take the fake joker to a separate room and unmasks him privately then talks with him as a way to both protect the fake joker’s safety and discourage him from any future stunts like the one he pulled a sec ago. And?? This is so great because, guys, this is liTERALLY the concept of like anger management and behavior therapy?? 

I especially liked how Blyke took the time to hear the low-tier out(something that the high-tiers are really starting to do [technically because of john because john became joker and caused all of this {and since john wanted to destroy the hierarchy because high-tiers didn’t give a shit about the low-tiers in a way he’s achieved his goal, albeit unknowingly}]). And, like i literally just said, by hearing him out, he’s creating yet another bubble of safety around the low-tier because immediately after (okay maybe not immediately, blyke did scold him a bit), Blyke says that whenever the low-tier is being picked on, he can come to Blyke. And NOT ONLY does this whole thing help with the fake jokers issue, but Blyke, along with Isen and Remi, are creating trust and respect between the low-tiers and high-tiers. This is them doing the hierarchy right! They are establishing themselves as leaders and as people that can be relied upon, which is exactly who the royals are supposed to be.

Just want to say: He also talked about how the guy who got attacked should also reflect on his actions, and yes, this deserves recognition, but this has been a common theme, so I didn’t think it was worth really discussing. Blyke got bonus points for this. Extra credit if you will.

    Remi’s idea:

    Back to Remi, but her idea about recruiting John to help get rid of the Jokers? Excuse me? The innovation, the growth, the potential. And, I know this was shut down pretty quickly by Blyke, but I still have to talk about it??? And this section is starting off horribly because there was absolutely no transition or introduction but hello?? 

    Anyway, obviously the fact that Remi would even suggest getting any help from John (Joker) is astonishing. 1. He literally beat up everyone present in the scene 2. Honestly from what john’s doing for all anyone knows, he likes that low-tiers are faking being joker (remi even points this out lmao) 3. Again, he beat everyone up? Not exactly looking good for any kind of compromise. And yet despite these obvious reasons, Remi still lists him as a possible ally. Why?

    Because when she met up with him before he completely dethroned the Wellston hierarchy, she noticed similarities in their goals and their beliefs. She says, and quotation marks mean quote, “When I spoke with him… I really thought both of us wanted the same thing… Just that our methods of approaching the situation were different.” !!!!!!! Remi knows that they really want the same thing: a safe environment for low-tiers. That was the one thing that John kept repeating over and over when they met up and talked (episode 150) (other than the fact that royals are shit but-): he wanted to create a school environment that was safe for the low-tiers. Whether or not that’s his goal now, or if he’s acting with that goal in mind, Remi obviously remembered this the most from their conversation because it seemed so similar to the way she was thinking. And Remi thinks that it would be possible that John would prioritize this over his dedication to his own personal project of destroying the school :).

    Anyway, this whole idea is scrapped by Isen and Blyke who give valid arguments as to why trying to ally with John is a really bad idea, but oh my god the way my heart stopped.

    This section is basically a summary and very quick, but this scene in the comic was riveting because of this. I just don’t know what else to say.

[quakerjoe]

OK Facebook friends, time to block my newsfeed. Or unfriend me. If you’ve ever posted anything remotely racist or misogynistic or promoted gun violence or made fun of political correctness or promulgated lies about President Obama or former Secretary of State Clinton, then I blocked your news feed long ago. I am one of those “elite liberals” that you got back at when you voted for Donald Trump. Yes, I think that a person who is running for President should be able to clearly explain his or her policies. And should actually have some policies. And know how the government works. And care how the government works. And have a working knowledge of world geography and foreign policy. I think that the person who runs the most powerful country on the planet should take that job very fucking seriously. I think that “supporting our military” should mean that we do not send our brave young men and women to needless and endless wars. Do you realize that we’ve been in Afghanistan for 16 years now? And for what? I think that our country has an imperialistic foreign policy and that often times we reap what we sow. I think that the architects of the Iraq War (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice) committed war crimes and have the blood of all of our slain and maimed soldiers and innocent civilians on their hands. I think that Guantanamo Bay is a bloody stain on our national character. That “People kill people, guns don’t kill people” line is most backassward bullshit that I’ve ever heard. People with guns kill people. And not everyone should have a gun. And certainly not an arsenal. And no I am not naïve enough to think that restrictions on gun access will prevent all violent gun deaths. But for fuck’s sake, can we start somewhere? I think that words matter. Perhaps you were happier in a world where kids were called “retards” and some boys were called “faggots,” but I would rather live in a civilized and polite world. Maybe you will blast “Merry Christmas” as loud as you can, but I will keep saying “Happy Holidays,” because that is more inclusive. As in not purposefully leaving anyone out. As in being kind. As in just fucking acknowledging that your reality is not everyone’s reality. And that by acknowledging someone else’s reality, that yours is not in jeopardy. What are you all afraid of anyway? Is a mass of Muslim immigrants going to take your Christmas away? I’m more afraid of the mass of Christians that are trying to teach kids in Texas that creationism is real. I think that those of you who put “Blue Lives Matter” signs on your lawn ought to be ashamed of yourselves for thinking for one minute that there is no racism in this country and that young black men being gunned down in the street by police is not a problem. And for those of you who were worried that life as we knew it was coming to an end when Bernie Sanders suggested universal health care and free college education, look to yourselves first. Guess what? Those state universities that you send your kids to? They are subsidized by taxpayers. Why do you think they are so much cheaper that private colleges? That is SOCIALISM! Are your parents on Medicare? SOCIALISM! Do your parents collect Social Security? SOCIALISM! Do your police officers, firefighters, prison guards have benefits and a pension? SOCIALISM! Why is it that when it benefits you, it’s not socialism? I think that everyone, from birth to death, should have access to basic health care.That means I believe in a single payer system. I think that the wealthiest country in the history of the world can afford this. The Affordable Care Act, the compromise between leaving 20 million people with no care and a single payer plan, is flawed, but it is morally bereft to overturn it. Those members of the House who voted to repeal it so many times should have been spending that time coming up with a better system. And do any of you understand corporate welfare? Here’s an example: You shop at Walmart because it’s cheap. Walmart is the biggest employer in the country. It does not pay its employees enough for them to live on. So some of them go on welfare. And many of them have to use the Affordable Care Act to get health insurance. Who funds welfare? Taxpayers. Who funds the ACA? Taxpayers. So Walmart makes a huge profit but doesn’t pay its employees a living wage so taxpayers pay to support them. Still want to buy your goods at Walmart? And yes, there should be a minimum wage that is livable. How could you be against that? So yes, I’m an elite liberal. I buy organic foods when I can because I know that pesticides are harmful to the earth and I care about preserving the planet for the next generation. I think that clean water and clean air is worth preserving and that there have to be strong laws to protect them. I recycle. I reuse plastic bags because the thought of all of the plastic trash I’ve personally created in my 55 years on earth makes me sick. I try to use polite and inclusive language because I care about others. I don’t believe in war. I believe we should do everything we can to prevent violence. I believe that health care is a basic human right. And that women’s rights are human rights. I even listen to NPR. I thought George Bush was a really horrible president. But, you really got me this time. You elected Trump. Look up the DSM-IV criteria for Narcisistic Personality Disorder and you will find that he meets all the criteria. Look up the criteria for ADD as well and you have your man. He does not read about issues because he lacks the attention span. He speaks at a third grade level. He brags about his crimes against women. He founded the fake Trump University. He has innumerable conflicts of interest. He is so overwhelmed he has to have his kids help him. His education secretary nominee doesn’t believe in public education. The EPA nominee has sued the EPA before. His VP believes that gays should have conversion therapy. The Labor Secretary nominee is anti-labor. The nominee for Ambassador to Israel has views which are guaranteed to inflame the situation in the Middle East. And who knows who he’ll nominate to the Supreme Court. He is the President Elect of the FUCKING UNITED STATES OF AMERICA but he is watching Saturday Night Live and tweeting about it. HE DOESN’T KNOW ANYTHING. In what way could the pussy-grabbing President elect with untreated ADD and a personality disorder who tells more lies than any politician in modern history possibly make this country better? Yes, hatred and stupidity reign, thanks to you. Good job. You showed me this time.

Mommadoc

[occupyvenus]

Let’s talk about THE INTERVIEW

Before anyone starts to freak out, look at this section of the “interview” with grrm coming right after the jonsa “debunk” and tell me if this is something Grrm would ever say: (translated from spanish to english using google translate, so some of the pronouns are off and the grammar is a bit wacky):

-I am interesting that I named Arya, who has been developing a psychopathic character throughout the saga. Do you have salvation? I know that his wife adores her, although it would also seem crazy to me that his crimes were justified when revenge dominates his life.

-Arya is a girl who has sought to survive at all costs. It is not Sansa, who has assumed the role that would correspond to any noblewoman of the time. Arya has a difficult character to handle. He could have let himself be killed or given to the Lannisters to be used as one more piece of the game of thrones; but decided to act as they would have done with her to get here. Salvation would have everyone if they reflected a few seconds; but few decide to change course once they make a decision. It has been shown that revenge is not the best way to do justice, it always ends up paying.

Did “grrm” just really turn to an unsolicited, snarky Sansa side-bashing when asked about Arya? Answering a question about Arya developing “pychopathic traits” and revenge by pointing out how she’s not like Sansa because she “sought to survive at all costs, didn’t assume the role of ordinary noblewomen and didn’t let herself become a piece to be used by the Lannister, because she decided to ACT, MAN!” Fuck the sympathetic characterization I created for Sansa. Arya rules. Sansa sucks. Also he doesn’t even go into Arya’s characterization and her supposed “psychopathic character”, I’m pretty sure he would have some interesting things to add to this interpretation. “George” solely uses this question to throw some shade at Sansa. Also, someone brings up the topic of being preoccupied with revenge and “george” doesn’t bring up Lady Stoneheart? A character he talks about whenever possible, because he’s so pissed about her not being included in the show? Seriously, Arya is the example of revenge not being the best way to do justice? This honestly feels like a bit of a mix of show and book canon, post-frey pies.

This rhetoric resembles that of the usual sansa-hating, anti-jonsa community so strikingly and is so unlike the way grmm usually speaks.

Here’s something George said in an actual interview about sexual violence, women in asoiaf and how their characters are perceived by female readers:

I’m very proud of the creation of Arya and Catelyn and Sansa and Brienne and Daenerys and Cersei and all of them. It’s one of the things that gives me the most satisfaction, that they’ve been so well-received as characters, especially by women readers who are often not served.

This might be a bit nitpicky and nuances could have easily been lost in the double translation, but this statement:

-Question made by Lemi Noe (A Group Does Not Have a Name): It is the first series in which I see that many women are considered heroines: Arya, Brienne, Daenerys ..., what do you think when you see how many real women feel identified? with them in a world like the Game of Thrones?

-I'm proud of it. For me women are people and should have their place in the world, like any man. When I write about my female characters in such a macho era and I get them to rise above the possibilities that environment would never have given them, I cry inside. A current woman is still facing those problems in society and for me it is an honor to cause that effect in many people.

does not really resemble George’s usual views on feminism and/or writing strong female characters in a highly patriarchal world. This emphasize on women “rising above the possibilities given to them” (BECAUSE THEY DECIDED TO ACT!!!) fits more into reddits “sansa is weak and useless” take on feminism. This statement just strikes me as very odd and not something grrm would say.

AND THEN THERE’S THIS GEM:

Question formulated by Víctor Alfonso (LA MURALLA): How satisfied are you with the direction of the seventh season of the series, since the story in this one covers unknown territory in the books?

I'm very happy with the work of the producers. It is a story that will differ from mine in many ways and I have no complaints; they handle one version, I the other.

A statement that completely contradicts the epic shade he threw at D&D when stating that he doesn’t watch season 7 because “he doesn’t have the time”, while fangirling over the last kingdom.

Here are a few more things from the interview that at least seem ... rather odd to me:

So, is not Jon the hero of this story? Daenerys would not deserve a reward after living in exile since childhood?

I do not like labels. All my characters have suffered, each in his own way. For something I write from their points of view, so that we can all understand why they do what they do and how they feel in front of the enemy. For the Lannister, the Starks are the bad guys. It would not be fair to dismiss them as villains or their rivals as heroes. Is Jon a hero? You can, but so is Jaime Lannister, Sam Tarly or Stannis Baratheon. Each of them has been a coward once, but also brave. If you ask me if Jon is the hero of this story, I answer that he is not; all are important as long as they remain alive among my pages and they will have the same opportunity to prove their worth. Regarding Daenerys, I do not think that deserving, in this saga, is synonymous to obtain. In real life, because you are a good person, you do not get everything you want. I try to make my story as realistic as possible and some may see their struggle rewarded, but not all.

So “George” starts by pointing out that everyone can be a hero a villain, depending on your side and position, but when it comes to Dany he simply implies that she might not obtain the throne, despite deserving it for being a good person, because life is unfair? Doesn’t feel like george’s usual, well thought out answers. Compare this to his statement about sheer force in the form of dragons might not be enough to secure Dany’s victory, there’s more to ruling than brute force and military strength. Awfully different tones, wouldn’t you agree?

Then there’s of course the passage about “shipping”, which basically consists of the jonsa-debunk arguments you can read all over the internet. I’m not even going to repeat them, since we all heard them about a million times before. The creator of the series brings forward the same contradicting arguments as your everyday redditor? He has nothing more to add? Sounds fake, but okay.

I’ll admit that some parts of this interview are pretty convincing (probably because those parts mostly paraphrase stuff he has said before), but together with the suspicious circumstances of this “interview's” release, the general spoiler-y and conclusive tone of some statements and a couple of things that simply don’t fit into grrm’s usual rhetoric, I’m pretty sure it’s fake. The lengths people will go to for a few days of internet fame. 

[deathghost8]

Battle shout definitions Preface

Here it is. massive post combining thought that happened as the battle shout fully emerged as my brand of all disciplines. Fragment - battle shout chapter - Combined story telling segments (Curated from the different WIP posts) EDIT NOTES - these are fragments from my social pages where I am in the battle shout and adventure basics thought. It’s incomplete as it only goes back to a gengar picture in my feed. There is more I still need to add. — Newer to older (will create a 2nd one that is in a final decided order for a reader, may jump between different moments in the time line, kept to a minimum for helping comprehension ——— Whoever offers human growth / wellness at either no cost or a much lower cost than previously widely available is winning in capitalism. I hope to invent the No Cost solution, following the footsteps of tech brands and passionate innovators of our time. Games and medicines altering my state of mind provided me a space within which to BECOME me. They offered me the lesson of re sociating, once I started practice a desire to learn it. Here are some of the problems I inhabited and the solutions I learned after using medicines - ---calorie /nutrition deprivation : solution - making eating easier with hacks like prep, (paper dishes/cutlery), getting timing right, the decision to Breakfast and eat it slowly - replacements like the Soylent drink - medicines that fix appetite IE cbd ----hypervigilance - maybe haven’t fully escaped this one yet. It’s an ongoing conflict - using Medicines that reduce my physical anxiety cortisol which comes through as wheezing escalation attacks and very bad sleep - sleeping correctly makes me feel calmer, breathe/think clearly Medicine examples - coffee, reishi mushroom, cannabinoids, magnesium, L theanine, Lemon balm, Sleep specific - L tryptophan, Zinc, valerian root, doxylamine (unisom) -----Escapism - learning how to use mindfulness and writing to transform my self avoiding into Self Actualization ------Counterdependence - Realizing that sharing/affection and giving affirmation would make me feel good, letting me treat ppl like I deserved their attention (as a provider) not gonna stand by saying nothing while they try to trash gaming and say we are giving kids screen / media addictions, when the only things I even really know I learned from gaming, mostly online blizzard and/or adventure gaming. I’m gonna teach what I learned. It’s battle shout. how we are failing worst as a so called civilized population: Educating the youngest. We are not doing it. We are not prioritizing growth and wellness for the children here. We are breaking their families, parents and guardians instead of supporting. Dehumanism is institution. *witnessing your smiling face is the deepest privilege I will experience in living* We are not gonna save anyone until we recognize that growth is about including everyone, recognizing their individual passions and curiosity, recognizing that they themselves will be the only ones to decide how to be that self, Monetary Value will only every Destroy us all. EVERY one is struggling and i care about EVERYONE, humanity needs a bigger solution than a Lifeline reaction to the symptoms rather than the cause. {If you or someone you care about is struggling, please know you are not alone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available at 1-800-273-8255 in the U.S. or find support worldwide at ‪https://www.befrienders.org/ }‬ —schools where all gamers, creatives, learners are accepted so that human wellness growth can be placed above the falseness of Monetary Value -- available at nowhere because no innovator yet has cared with their entire life's mission to save those we currently discard. The school I'm trying to invent has a simple Main Value - School is Lunch. The target priority is non monetary. *Monetary Value will not measure our success* Human growth measures it. Human currency. what I would do with the elusive Lottery / Genie situation is create the Ultra Library whose only mission was to include as many human beings in growth wellness as possible, to offer them the place, resources, nutrition, and community safety to build the life they want to create IN essence I am trying to invent a school. I have a seething hatred for the failure of Public sector school, dealing with both neurodiversity concerns and non child centered curriculum design. Self educating is superior. Curation can only help existing curiosity and passion. my huge dream is to innovate the third place concept in fusion with educationalism, gaming cafe, the concept of Feeding every learner because it's more educational- the ultimate capitalism winner is the one whose Patrons flock simply because it is Better. =high contrast videos with songs of numbers, counting, vehicles/ramps, and piles of balls=The young children find these things very amusing. - the wise old teachers find the fact very important to distribute, although they themselves do not find it amusing they find the fact that the tiniest students are amused very important for distribution.== []2[] Operating vehicles or consuming alcohol are the most dangerous and pointlessly risky activities done by anyone (who doesn’t do employment that is specifically danger facing). Most are not qualified for these activities. It’s not safe, please leave it to the professionals few. Giving, the act of providing because I want to see human growth and learning. That’s my freedom to practice. Dehumanism makes it into a crime, after valuing it zero. Dehumanism Institution perpetuates the idea that giving, feeding, teaching, expressing can be penalized as crimes. These are the pillars of MY free speech. Giving, the act of providing because I want to see human growth and learning. That’s my freedom to practice. (Scott Warren who faces up to 20 years in prison for giving food & water to 2 men who needed help in the Arizona desert.) What I’m talkin about is this anti educationalism. Shocked ? That we aren’t already Veterans for standing rock +500K decent human beings SWARMING the sites where this has happened to tell them we won’t stand by as bystanders to Deadly Dehumanism. We are complicit in these deaths. I am not gonna be quiet about this, my brand is built upon radical educating, lifeguarding, human growth. That also means opposing bully bigotry. []3[] There is a bullying situation regarding the spectrum. Happening to one of my closest humans. It is making her suicidal (no one can handle endless mistreatment, then mental health slides) - I learned how to fight off the suicide ideas because I was in a kind of rock bottom near that for 10 years - ultimately, I defeated the boss, and I learned the strategy. learn to Tank at the front of it for the people I’m trying to educate, and keep them here on our Alive team. This is the real deal why I am the tank. The battle shout is to Shine the truth and save your life, you the most brutally dehumanized by the institutions of this economic-dystopia She has to be given the feeling she does have the power and the choice whether to stay here with us, alive. Educationalism is the desire to be surrounded by growth allies, and free from anyone who thinks a decision that reduces or infringes your growth and learning is either ok or even debatable with you Can we get Birth insurance ? I want it to function like life insurance, in the event you are born, the insurance policy covers some assurances. Wait, no, that’s not an insurance plan, that’s what School is meant to be I’ll be over hear spamming battle shout and taunt if you come at me debating seriously over contexts whose choices are outcomes that don’t abuse and compromise a child’s school environment, or hurting the child’s emotional and basic wellbeing. My Aggro will not be exceeded! Let us consult YouTube, young one. Where’s the one about the baby Shark? I will find it for u most easily. If u ever get mad at someone u got road rage or someone is gank camping. Just tell them Yo dude please go hug urself! The time has come To Learn Bout Eating breakfast! If u don’t eat it, ur brain won’t think right, ya Dingus!! Wake up and eat this health, that’s your grade. Welcome to school. Favorite offline activities - social prompt - Activities that take place on beds, furniture or desk. Followed by wandering whether by land, air, or foot. Followed by culinary making. I identify toward the feeling that being burly means being kind - a defender, a watcher, a lifeguard. So it’s cool to see brands grounding themselves in this type of thought. burly man coffee promoted by a podcast i watch Brands that literally hold up kindness and human growth as a piece of their identity are the brands with sanity to shine light in the darkness of economic institutional dehumanization No game except maybe the sims had a soap item, demonstrated a buff benefit for soap. Soap knowledge is something that legitimately is part of human excellence - mind efficiency - educationalism ^^highlight$$ What I am concepting is the fact that valuable education is about human cognitive expansion, making this brain run the way its optimized to run, repetition, medicines/enhancers, the basic sensory reboots. Thinking better, clearer, bigger, quicker, learning ABOUT thinking. {schools get blamed for inability to solve the inequality economics} Entirety of the problem: the loss of investment into human growth and wellbeing. Capitalism forgot human currency value, then got surprised when everything turns shit? School IS lunch. We don’t need schools/tests/graduation. Kids will unschool just fine for the rest, if they are fed, safe, and able to have rest and resources and tech so they can iterate Failure during Curiosity. We need to care about human wellbeing, within our economics. Parents can and will educate. Most of the educating that needs to happen can only really be done by them. Gaming zen works for human growth bolstering because it follows the pattern our brains already know - repetition, the core block of neuroplasticity. This the overarching purpose of my Adventure Basics educational learning plan. As a creative first it’s my quest to harness games, adaptogens, and shamanism/lucidity/psychadelics to find transcendence. We can pair ego repletion with deeper Re-ssociation as an ultimate healing / neurogenesis. This will allow us to grasp mental wellness and human creative excellence. ** [intent statement as disciplines] From the multi disciplinarian standpoint- •Nintendo console 8 - 64 bit thought •Logic puzzles / riddles •classic adventure / role playing •classic FPS •classic dungeon crawl •Modern Adventure (games less about puzzle solving and more about finding all paths in a very large and breathtaking expanse) •Attention + Sensory rich interactive experiences •Primal Rage - the use of violence and intensity in musical and gameplay aesthetics •Cave human Dominance and roles thought deriving from gameplay, aspects of being Front edge protector of the tiniest most important Clan members •Economics Core freedom ideal - the belief that all interaction must be voluntary and the belief in a Best unity of gathered Wills ||||||Final crusade - educating to be correctly seen as: self evident truth about human growth, spanning nutrition, medicines, tools/games/challenges and driven by self voluntary []4[] School is Breakfast Lunch and Dinner plus freedom to explore one’s own sparks to ideas This is what I am teaching with my Wow Classic Adventure Basics educational Learning plans! ~~ One of my most important lessons about video game wellness is a thought from Mike ‪@MikeLICSW‬ Langois, that taking command of a powerful or attractive identity gives us strong boosts of mental ability and cognitive balance ultimately, for small attention cost. Ego repletion. It’s proven fact generosity makes u happier person. Why is this - the act of giving sparks gratitude to come forth. Gratitude literally saves, while angry kills u. This is the difference between troll griefing and community support

[joyfullycleverinternet-blog]

Book 4 Phase 2 Visions Of The Night.

On October 3, 1952, the United Kingdom successfully checked a A-bomb on the Monte Bello Islands, off the Australian coast. Professor Utonium discovers that the girls have amazing powers and also super-human stamina, and also he wishes they'll have the ability to improve life in the crime-infected City of Townsville. Then before you return it make certain to have it in the same condition that you got it in. The service of lift devices can be a cash saver but not if you return it late or in a broken problem. Un nouveau centre qui à la power plate vient d'ouvrir sur bourgoin jallieu: SUNLIGHT PRESQU'ILE. You might be certain you remained in a Greek city if you saw a theatre, a symposium, a political debate-- as well as a fitness center. Cardio tools (particularly ones with those foam-rubber seats), barbells and machines are crawling with germs and also microorganisms," claims Brown. Utilizing the unknown chloride sample from component 1, precisely weigh 3 examples of the unidentified right into three 250-mL Erlenmeyer flasks (the example dimension must be roughly 0.3 g). Add roughly 50 mL of deionized water to every flask and also swirl to liquify. Develop two or 3 power generators with the assistance of DIY wind generator strategies, as well as you will certainly be offering the power grid with power. It is the actual system the power field has sustained in numerous previous power field guidelines. A scientific test, which took years and substantial cash to complete because of the rigid regulative limitations enforced around the course 1 medicine, has actually located that two doses of psilocybin, the active substance in the mushrooms, was sufficient to raise resistant clinical depression in all 12 volunteers for 3 weeks, and to maintain it away in five of them for 3 months. But whatever your political leanings, the campaign has something to educate all of us regarding the science of guys, women, and also power. The Weider Bar (formerly called the Crossbow) is an universal gym that uses strong however flexible acquiesce develop resistance. That women lifted much heavier things in the home appears to have actually escaped a lot of the men that developed the exercise. He is the writer or co-author of thirteen books consisting of The Human Equation: Structure Profits by Placing Individuals First; Handling with Power; The Knowing-Doing Space: Just how Smart Firms Turn Understanding Into Action; Hidden Worth: Just how Great Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Teacher of Business Habits at the Grad Institution of Company, Stanford University where he has actually taught since 1979. Sibling Follett as well as Bro Thomas stacked boxes on a two-wheel dolly for the others to roll outdoors to the awaiting vehicles. Keep a couple of ideas in mind when power walking, along with checking with your medical professional before starting a physical fitness program. There are numerous needs to get bust lift however the 3 significant reasons desire kid birth, after substantial weight reduction with arduous workout, and incorrect assistance throughout one's lifetime. While there were other elements, it is not a stretch to say the form of the continents was an essential reason Europeans rose to power and also overcame the native people of North and also South The U.S.A., and not the other way around. When Equipment Realm forces unearthed Serpentera to ruin Earth, TJ reclaimed his Turbo powers to partner with 9 various other Red Rangers and take a trip to the moon to quit them. Health clubs that permit children to sign up with ready locations to get fit as an entire family. The health and safety of the participant is primary with gyms so they need to recognize what suits the member. Youngsters should be evaluated for any type of health and wellness problems as well as instructed ways to securely as well as properly operate exercise equipment. Treatment: Transfer 10 ml of DMF in a cone-shaped flask and also contribute to it 3 to 4 decreases of thymol very first and also blue counteract the acidic pollutants existing in DMF by titrating with 0.1 N lithium methoxide in toluene-methanol. She stood really near the wall surface as she curved dizzily to slip them on. Regularly her spirit was looking upwards for the eternal answer, an answer from a power more powerful than Waldstricker's. The Dr Spectrum (fake Environment-friendly Lantern) as well as Blur (phony Flash) stories are mostly blah, however I simulate the communications I wound up taste this a great deal more than I anticipated to. For what is fundamentally a rather played out suggestion (the Justice League with the serial numbers submitted off however dark and also gritty as well as quote unquote practical), Straczynski truly toenails the psychological as well as ethical complexities. He additionally offers reasons why individuals can't or will not aspire to power (although he negates these with his closing remarks.) For instance, if you wish to be powerful, it actually helps to have a wife at home. In addition to a regular monthly cost, gyms generally charge an added initiation fee. To take over a gym you have to reduce its prestige to zero by defeating its residents. A great concept, yet in method - at the very least when I attempted it years ago - just as you concern prepare a lift you begin bothering with the possibility that your prospective sharer will certainly be a mass killer or something. http://health-vn.info/ supply workout makers that will advise you of your most recent training weight when you get in a personalized code. With a soft frown Diona thought about just exactly how abundant the Dranias' were, uneasy with the degree of wide range she was seeing. Due to the fact that this is a new approach for the Power Rangers universe, fans of the source product will absolutely be obtaining the most enjoyment value out of any person else. The scientific research of power recommends that Clinton's political election could raise ladies's political influence-but they will face the same risks as their male counterparts. This lift sees to it the highest point of safety and the Savaria ES-125 system lift has anti skid system. The four staying vulnerable Turbo Rangers took a trip to deep space to stop Dark Specter from draining pipes Zordon's powers. When a stair lift and also lift can not be fixed in a building as well as you want purchase a stairway lift after that firstly you should have the information concerning how it operates or functions. I had a around on the net and discovered a technique first created by Dr Serdev, from Bulgaria, called the Scar-less Stitch approach, or String Lift. To get begun, speak to some stairway lift business who will put you in touch with a dealership in your area. He would eventually wed Miko and they came to be moms and dads to Wind Rangers studied under the Sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy - Kanoi. The Overall Health club 1000 includes two accessories: A leg pulley cuff and also a wing accessory. Due to the fact that is a part of management as well as because is needed to get the points done in each area is used, power is necessary. There's basically none of your body that cannot be worked with the Bowflex Sport residence gym. Nevertheless, they left me with a number of minor injuries that currently have me seeing a chiropractic physician once a week and doing much less in the fitness center compared to I did before I began. Drooping cheeks, laxity or skin folds in the nose to mouth location are reason enough to consider having this kind of facelift done. At the very same time we have align ourselves with whatever that is positive, real Power and also life maintaining. It's simply to make cash, and also you could generally have it waived; it's typically a kickback to the trainer or sales rep." Gyms may be most likely to earn a deal with you at the beginning of the year with New Year's specials as well as promos. The power sector remains in quick transition because of market pressures, and also the Clean Power Strategy requests a small quantity a lot more to regulate a really dangerous form of contamination than the uncontrolled industry by itself. After you are accordingly persuaded concerning the idea of physical fitness Sydney it is time to locate a correct health club Sydney. The Clean Power Strategy simply builds on these patterns; it does not mandate remarkable adjustments to the industry. Few informed people, if any, would certainly have the ability to deny the fact that it takes power and federal government to take care of as well as launch such huge, bloody, devastating battles.

[pitz182]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

[alexdmorgan30]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://ift.tt/2sZSY0M

[emlydunstan]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://www.spiritualriver.com/news/legal-marijuana-industry-helping-fight-drug-addiction/

[journalingthisjourney]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

[roberrtnelson]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241843 http://ift.tt/2sZSY0M

[bobbiejwray]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241842 http://ift.tt/2sZSY0M

[alyssamanson5]

Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction?

Now that there is a legal marijuana industry that is raking in tons of extra cash for various state governments, the question has become: “How do we best make use of that money?”

It has turned into a bit of a heated debate.

The Gazette says that “The state’s Department of Education got $9.7 million to add 150 health professionals at high schools across the state, and the state’s Department of Human Services received $7.1 million to end the use of jails for holding people who are experiencing a mental health crisis. Another $5.9 million will target illegal marijuana sales.”

So currently, a modest portion of the money being earned from legal marijuana sales is being used to try to prevent illegal sales of that same drug. This seems prudent, right? It is a bit like forcing the tobacco companies to kick in and treat some of the medical problems from lung cancer, or having beer companies sponsor anti-drunk driving programs.

Mostly this is about curbing the crime that results from reselling marijuana medication. The Consumerist says that “The state wants to fight the illegal market and stop people who get their weed from medical dispensaries from re-selling it to other people.”

Perhaps the question that is not really being asked out loud would be, in this case: “Is this stuff even addictive?”

It is easy to dismiss marijuana has being harmless and not addictive. Certainly it would be difficult to prove that people experience any kind of physical withdrawal from the drug, because that is fairly non existent for the most part. People do not overdose and die from smoking the stuff. So is it addictive at all, and how should that addictive potential affect these policies being made?

To be clear, while Marijuana is definitely not as physically addictive as “real” drugs such as heroin, painkillers, or alcohol, it is most definitely psychologically addictive. The way that this manifests itself is through escape.

So an addict may be having a bad day, or they may be stressed out, or they may be frustrated or angry over events of the day. In such a case they feel that they need to self medicate with marijuana in order to deal with reality and to deal with their emotions.

If you abuse marijuana on a daily basis for an extended period of time, what will happen eventually is that you will be medicating your negative and unwanted emotions that pop up from time to time. And then the next time you have negative or unwanted emotions, you medicate them out of existence again. If you are frustrated or angry or sad, you simply get high, and it basically “resets” your emotional state. Essentially, marijuana today is so powerful that you can smoke enough of it to forget why you were upset in the first place. In this way you can medicate your emotions, in much the same way that an alcoholic might drink themselves “into oblivion.” Eventually the alcoholic becomes so miserable that they just want to black everything out and forget about their life and their problems, so they drink to excess. What they are really doing is escaping from their unwanted emotions.

With marijuana addiction it is much the same as the alcoholic who seeks oblivion. The marijuana addict is trying to escape from life, escape from reality, and escape from their negative emotions.

If they persist in this state of escape for many months or many years, they will eventually forget how to deal with reality in any other way. They will rely on marijuana as their solution for any given crisis. They won’t be able to handle problems or deal with stress without resorting to getting high.

In this way, even though a person may not be physically hooked on the drug, they are still depending on it so that they can function emotionally and keep dealing with their world.

I think part of the problem when it comes to marijuana is that the previous generations of kids and teens went through a series of programs in their youth that basically tried to lie to them. For example, I attended a program in school called D.A.R.E. and they tried to convince us that marijuana was dangerous in the same way that shooting heroin with a needle is dangerous. This approach was really an over reaction and it caused me to later want to experiment with marijuana even more. Furthermore, I reasoned that “if they were lying about the dangerous of marijuana, maybe cocaine is not so bad after all.” So in a sense I think we need a more measured approach to prevention in the future, because it doesn’t make sense to lie to teens to try to convince them that marijuana is evil, because later they will figure out that it is mostly harmless.

The key word here is “mostly.” It is still harmful, and we need to communicate that in a measured and responsible way without going overboard like they did in the past.

If I had known that smoking marijuana every day would sap my motivation and shift my priorities away from fitness and having real fun with my friends, I might have thought differently about it. If I had been able to see the way that it would lead me to experiment with other drugs, even though I know that it did not necessarily force me to do so, I might have thought differently about it.

Or maybe it never would have mattered, because at some point, everyone is exposed to alcohol or other drugs, and addiction might simply grab them at that time. And ultimately I believe that this is how marijuana works–if the person is truly an addict, they are going to fall in love with marijuana and they are going to abuse it and probably go on to abuse other drugs as well. If they are not an addict then they will simply experiment with it a bit, maybe party a bit during their teens, and then move on with their life. Either you are a real addict and alcoholic, or you are not. And if you are, then marijuana is going to be a part of the problem, because while it may not be technically addictive, it certainly does medicate your emotional state, and a real addict will be addicted to that side effect.

As for the funding and how they should spend the revenue dollars from legal marijuana sales, my opinion leans heavily towards funding treatment programs. Prevention efforts failed for me, and I see other people eventually trying alcohol, marijuana, painkillers, or at least some addictive substance at some point in their lives. But if we can pump more of these dollars into inpatient treatment programs, I think that can have a big positive impact on people who are seriously trying to turn their life around. Treatment works for those who are willing.

The post Legal Marijuana Industry is Helping to Fight Drug Addiction? appeared first on Spiritual River Addiction Help.

from http://www.spiritualriver.com/news/legal-marijuana-industry-helping-fight-drug-addiction/