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sir-phineas-lost · 4 years ago

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Follow-up post

So I got a reply to my comment about the ableism in Ironwood’s character arc by @swapauanon and then they immediately blocked me. Since I am sometimes a petty bastard I decided to make a separate response anyway.

The first thing I would like to point out is that this person does not actually address my points in any way throughout this lengthy rant. My comment was all about the behind-the-scenes comments from the creators and they only responded with in-text examples and their interpretations of them. Those are important sure, and I will talk about those, but they don’t exactly come off as arguing in good-faith right from the get-go.

Okay, so I don’t TYPICALLY acknowledge RWDE’s beyond blocking them, but I think it’s important to separate how Ironwood views himself versus how the writers view him.

Because Ironwood’s entire downfall is his misunderstanding of how humanity works. He denies his own humanity, and sees maiming his vulnerable flesh and replacing it with unfeeling machinery as ridding himself of his own human weaknesses.

Except at the end of the day, he can’t cast off his VERY human soul, and his refusal to acknowledge that he can’t and SHOULDN’T do that are ultimately what leads to his downfall.

I have seen this “Actually it is just Ironwood himself that is ableist” argument before, and I don’t think it holds any water. While it is true that he begins to see compassion as a weakness, he never expresses the views you say he does about his own machine parts. And if you want to talk about how Ironwood sees himself vs how the writers see him you really can’t do so without talking about framing and subtext. When we get scenes that emphazize Ironwood’s machine parts to make him look intimidating or use his passive superpower (described as “hyper-focus” by the creators themselves) to shut off his empathy, that is the writers telling us that these physical aspects of Ironwood makes him less human.

Meanwhile, what V8C12 was TRYING to convey (even if it was horrible in its execution), was that it’s one’s SOUL that defines them, not the body that houses it.

Literally NO OTHER CHARACTER with mechanical parts added to their body views themselves as less human.

[...]

Penny doesn’t angst over not being human, she angsts over being treated like a soulless tool. (Which is why I don’t like that they turned her human. Had they set up that she’d wanted to be human back in Volume 2, it would’ve been one thing, but they don’t establish that Penny wanted to be human until AFTER her mechanical body has been discarded.)

So here they outright contradict themselves. They start off saying that no other character views themselves this way, and then go on to say that Penny does (but only after she has been turned human). And like, points for admitting that scene was bad, but they seem unwilling to consider that maybe the fact that the writers did include that scene tells us something about the way the show at large views disability. They seem to think they can just write it off and move on like this instance of Penny absolutely seeing herself as inhuman can just be ignored. it also disregards that this isn’t just Penny expressing how she feels about herself. When Penny gets her human body she expresses surprise that hugging someone makes her feel “warm inside” even though she has hugged people countless times before. This is not a villain saying that having machine parts makes you less human and being proven wrong, this is a hero saying outright that “wow, my mechaniocal body made me unable to appreciate this simple human interaction, but now that I have a flesh-body I can”. Things like this is why I do not buy the argument that it is only Ironwood who thinks being part machine makes you less human.

Mercury doesn’t angst over the loss of his legs, he angsts over the piece of his soul his father tore out.

[...]

While Yang DOES lose her arm and angst over it, she doesn’t view herself as less human because of her prosthetic.

The closest we get to a LITERAL “cybernetics eats your soul” story is with Cinder, and she doesn’t have ANY cybernetics, just a parasitic leash that’s slowly consuming her flesh and threatens to eventually consume her mind if she doesn’t get rid of it. And if/when she does, I imagine she’ll replace that with a mechanical arm.

(I moved a few parts of their post around here because it made more sense to me to talk about these quotes together)

I feel like this highlights how much this person completely ignores the core argument of what makes the themes in RWBY ableist. They focus way too much on the literal and whether the characters “angst” over their humanity. But like I have said before, thie main issue here is theme and subtext.

Mercury doesn’t “angst” over his legs, but that doesn’t erase the subtext inherent in the fact that he still lost his legs (and presumanbly the piece of his soul) at the same time as he joins team evil.

Yang is probably the best take on a disabled person with a prosthetic in the show. I will give it that. I don’t think there is anything particularly wrong with how it has handled this storyline, but I do think it sets a certain expectation for how it thinks a “good” person should handle their disability. Because Yang basically deals with her lost arm by seeing her prosthetic as an “extra”. She creates a distance between herself and it instead of seeing her mechanical arm as actually part of herself. Again, nothing inherently wrong with that but combined with the Penny-nonsense it creates a pattern of seeing machine parts as inherently inhuman and “lesser”.

The point about Cinder is where the argument relies too much on technicality. Sure, Cinder’s new arm isn’t cybernetic, bhut it is still a prosthetic and it is unambiguously presented as evil and corrupting.

So, no, it’s not the fact that Ironwood has prosthetics that makes him less human, they’re simply a symptom of his view of “soft” traits (kindness, empathy, forgiveness, and flesh), as weaknesses to be sacrificed for the “greater good”. Basically, while I know this term gets misused a lot, Ironwood embodies toxic masculinity. The idea that showing any emotion other than rage and pride is “shameful” and “unmanly”. The idea that brute strength matters more than strategy. That taking unnecessary risks to achieve your goal is “brave” and “daring” and not “stupid beyond belief”. Plus, I want to point out that WINTER HERSELF said that Penny (as a robot) was more “human” than her.

Again, this completely ignores how Ironwood and his prosthetics are framed by the narrative. The idea that all of his flaws are based in toxic masculinity and have nothing to do with his disability is just not very supported by the text or by word of God (again, it was the creators themselves who said that losing his arm was “symbolic of losing his humanity).

And Winter’s words to Penny aren’t very positive either. The point being made there is that Penny was always human “underneeth” her robotics, which sounds good until you realize that this still frames her mechanical differences as negative. They are treated as a prison for the “real” Penny and the narrative explicitly tells us that they have made her unable to feel certain emotions.

It’s just that searing off that flesh after breaking his own Aura serves as a good visual metaphor for Ironwood giving up his “softer” traits to accomplish his goals, even if there was a better solution staring him right in the face (i.e. the rings were EXPOSED and he could’ve just nudged them out of alignment to get to Watts).

This feels like a really big reach on their parts to justify their idea of Ironwood as stupid on top of everything else. It relies on assuming things about fictional technology that was never explained in the show itself. I mean, if the rings are so easy to nudge then what is even holding them in place?

Either way it doesn’t really matter because the message of the scene is the same. If the point is to signal that ironwood is willing to give up his softer traits because he is also willing to give up his soft bady, then that also tells the viewer that being able-bodied and being capable of compassion/kindness/etc are synonymous.

It has nothing to do with the metal, and everything to do with the “Mettle”.

I have no idea why they would bring up the fantasy neurodivergence the writers added in through word-of-God as if it somehow makes the show less ableist. “Mettle” as it is described by the writers, is not a character flaw. It is a chronic condition.

Edit: Seriously, I hope you realize that the hatedom makes it VERY hard for any criticism of the show to be taken seriously when the very VALID cricisms are downed out by “Adam should’ve been an anti-hero!” and “Fascism is good, actually!” leading to those of us with ACTUAL constructive criticism getting lumped in with you lot!

I am curious what they think “constructive criticism” looks like since apparently “Hey, constantly equating robot parts with inhuman behavior is shitty and ableist, please stop” doesn’t cut it.

Anyways, fuck this guy. If they want to be taken seriously maybe they should think about why they had to make such a long-ass rant to dismiss criticism of very basic ableist tropes.

#rwby #rwby meta #meta #rwby critical #rwde

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inexplicifics · 5 years ago

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How do neurodivergent people exist in your AU?

I’ve taken a couple of days to think about this, because it’s an important question, and I guarantee you I won’t get it completely right; for the errors I will undoubtedly make, I apologize in advance. But here’s what I’ve got so far:

It varies, both by culture and by variety of neurodiversity.

I know I’ve seen posts going around pointing out that people on the autism spectrum, or with neurodiversities that make them more sensitive to noise and light and so on, might well have had an easier time dealing with the world when the world wasn’t so damn loud. The AW AU doesn’t have electricity, after all; no constant buzz of lights and machinery, no artificial fluorescent lighting, so on and so forth. Someone who develops a strong interest in, say, weaving might well become a particularly noted and respected weaver, lauded for their work ethic if considered maybe a little strange in their personal interactions. Someone who prefers the quiet of sitting out watching the sheep could become a very successful shepherd. Concomitantly, in a world with a very low literacy rate, many people with dyslexia or dyscalculia might not run into nearly as many problems as they do in the current age, when literacy is pretty much required to get by in society.

On the other hand, this is a universe with magic and - notably - fae folk, and there’s a theory I’ve seen a couple of times that legends of changelings were created to explain neurodiverse people - children who were “normal” until suddenly something happened and then they were Odd. I could see that same legend taking hold in the AW AU, with all the attendant nastiness that would go with it: people trying to get their “real” child back by means both baffling and, often, cruel. Alternately, “changelings” might be treated as signs of the fae’s favor, or as god-touched in some manner, depending on the society around them.

On yet a third hand, one of the things that makes humans people and not just bipedal apes is that we care for our tribes. There’s strong evidence in archeological records from back into the Stone Age of such things as children with Down syndrome (and the heart conditions which commonly go along with that disability) who survived well into adolescence and were buried with items that indicate they were well loved, or adults with significant physical disabilities who clearly lived to ripe old ages despite those handicaps, and were valued members of their tribes. (Even that one golden-eyed priestess down in Egypt, who must have been terrifying in real life.) People in the actual real-world Middle Ages did care for their kinfolk who had physical disabilities or assorted neurodiversity, and I can’t imagine that would be any different in the AW AU.

On a fourth hand (I’ve had to borrow some hands from somewhere, please don’t ask where), we see with Yennefer’s backstory that people are often unkind to those who have visible differences of one sort or another. Someone with, for instance, Tourette syndrome might well find themselves in a worse case than someone with a less easily noticeable form of neurodiversity.

On yet a fifth hand (be honest, you’d all guessed I was an octopus, right?), the people of the European Middle Ages were...superstitious I think is the best word. Many of the people who got denounced as witches or demon-possessed or otherwise Evil would quite likely have been neurodiverse and therefore Odd, though of course there’s also the stuff about women and especially women with medical training running slap-bang into the whole mess between female midwives and male doctors (insert digression about witches and broomsticks and brewing and how beer-making switched from being a female to a male art and medicine switched from being a female to a male art and along the way the women who did either got quite literally demonized...that’s a couple of essays right there and I don’t have time to pull sources). That level of superstition probably doesn’t get any better in a world where there really is magic.

That’s...all I’ve got right now, I think, for the wider society.

In Kaer Morhen...Witchers are, and know themselves to be, Odd. They don’t fit into human society, for an abundance of reasons, starting with but not limited to their intense distaste for lying, their absurdly long lifespans, and their inhuman physical abilities; moreover, they haven’t been taught how to live in human society, nor to react to various things as humans do. So against a background of Oddness, further Oddness might not be as notable, or matter as much. A Witcher who memorizes everything there is to know about monsters and will tell you about it in detail, after all, is a sensible Witcher. A Witcher who is sensitive to loud noises might well have an edge in dangerous situations. A Witcher who counts his potions almost constantly and is extremely precise about how he arranges his gear is a Witcher who will be able to find what he needs the instant he needs it. A Witcher who has trouble understanding and articulating emotions, both theirs and others’...is a Witcher. But there are a lot of forms of neurodiversity, and I’m not sure how well all of them would fit into the frankly unpleasant life of a Witcher pre-Warlord.

Witchers consider humans to be baffling and strange most of the time. A human who doesn’t act quite like other humans is just a different flavor of baffling and strange. When a Witcher meets a neurodiverse person, he probably chalks any unusual aspects of the interaction up to “Witchers don’t really understand humans anyhow” and goes on with his day. A neurodiverse servant at Kaer Morhen, assuming they were good at their job and got on with Witchers and the other servants, would probably be given any support they needed; I can’t imagine Jan would let a good, loyal worker slip through his fingers for silly reasons.

There definitely are neurodiverse people in the AW AU, though saying that when I haven’t explicitly put any on the page is a bit...useless, really. And attempting to claim that some minor character or other is neurodiverse after the fact, when I’ve put no evidence of it in the text, feels very cheap and downright insulting to my readers. (And writing neurodiverse characters respectfully while using period-typical terminology is an interesting challenge, and one I shall have to put some thought into.)

As you may know, I welcome headcanons and plotbunnies and other people playing in this AU. If people want to fling headcanons and plotbunnies at me, about Witchers or human characters and their possible neurodiversity, I’m happy to add them to the Horde and see what comes of it. And if people want to write their own fics with neurodiverse characters in the AW AU, I’ll be delighted to read them.

I’ve gone and written an essay, Anon, and at the end of it I’m not completely sure I’ve answered your question, but this is what I’ve got. I hope at least a little of it was of use.

#questions answered

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calunavulgaris · 6 years ago

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I’d like to think that anyone who knows me knows that I am 100% pro-choice, but in case it needs to be said: I am unapologetically, completely, irrevocably pro-choice.

There are two main reasons for this, the first being that I have known from a very early age that I never wanted to be pregnant or give birth. The idea is beyond horrifying to me. The second is much less personal. I have never encountered an anti-choice argument that wasn’t laughably easy to dismantle. I’ve been vocally pro-choice for roughly 30 years now (thanks, Mom) and in that time one thing has become painfully evident: anti-choicers have nothing but tenuous, easily debunked “arguments” that are based solely on emotional manipulation, anecdotes, and pseudo-science. They’re also dreadfully unoriginal and repetitive. It gets dull, let me tell you.

But what the hell, just for fun let’s go through some of them here:

“Abortion is MURDER!”

Nope. Murder is a legal term with a clear, concise definition. Abortion does not meet the criteria. Go ahead and look that up, it’s pretty easy to find.

“Abortion KILLS BABIES!”

It’s funny how those who claim to be on the side of science (which is ridiculous on its own) resort to unscientific terms when their goal is to evoke a purely emotional response, isn’t it? “Killing babies” packs more of a manipulative punch than “a medical procedure involving the removal of fetal tissue.” Believe it or not, I sympathize if the termination of a fetus squicks you. I get it. Being that I’m pro-choice, I will always defend your right not to ever undergo the procedure with the same fervour I employ when defending the choice to obtain an abortion. That’s what it means to be pro-choice.

“The fetus is innocent and has a right to life!”

By definition, the fetus can’t be innocent or guilty, it is purely neutral. The “right to life” does not grant anyone the right to use any part of another person’s body for their survival, no matter how “innocent” that person may be. The person carrying the fetus also has the right to life and bodily autonomy, and having sex/being pregnant isn’t something one can be “guilty” of, as neither is a crime. If we want to talk about innocence, let’s start there.

“What about the rights/autonomy of the fetus?”

For starters, the fetus has no autonomy. Its survival is completely dependent on the person whose body it’s inhabiting. That person is fully autonomous and must consent to their body being used and occupied by the fetus.

I know this is repetitive, but it seems to need repeating: There is no human right granted to anyone to use any part of another human’s body, living or dead, for their survival. If you’re in need of an organ transplant, and someone has just died with the organ you need, that doesn’t grant you the right to take what you need from them unless they consented to it before their death. You don’t have the right to take their completely viable organs that they are no longer using if that person did not sign up to be a donor, and it doesn’t matter if you will die as a result. If I’ve been stabbed and am bleeding out, and will die unless given a blood transfusion, no one can be legally compelled to give me their blood to save my life. Not even my own mother. Not even if she was the one who stabbed me in the first place.

If no one has the right to a dead person’s organs or their mother’s blood, what right does a fetus have to another person’s entire body?

“You shouldn’t get to kill a baby just because you’re too lazy to use contraception!”

Please, tell me which form of contraception is 100% effective 100% of the time. Even a minuscule failure rate (based on perfect use) means that unintended conception will occur. I have personally met several people who conceived/were conceived themselves despite multiple forms of contraception being used. It happens. If someone uses two or three methods in tandem, I think they’re making it pretty clear that they do NOT wish to conceive, don’t you? And sure, some do decide to continue with the pregnancy (I think the best reaction I ever heard along these lines was “I need to meet the person who could get past all that!). Again, that’s their choice.

Yes, some people conceive because they neglected to use contraception, for whatever reason. Those reasons are no one’s business but their own. Having unsafe sex is not a crime and isn’t something people need to be punished for. More on that coming up in the next point.

“Abstinence is 100% effective! You made the choice to have sex, deal with the consequences!”

Electing to have an abortion is one way to deal with the consequences. It’s just one that some find immoral, or icky, or selfish. Thankfully, morals are subjective, and it isn’t a crime to be selfish or icky. Even if it were, using forced pregnancy (which the UN defines as a form of torture) as a punishment is unconscionable and inhumane.

Also, what do you suggest for childfree couples? Believe it or not, there are people in long-term, committed, loving, healthy relationships who don’t wish to have children. Should they be condemned to lifelong abstinence because there’s a chance they might conceive? Have fun trying to sell that one.

Consent to sex does not equal consent to pregnancy. Now, imagine that it wasn’t consensual to begin with. (This is where they like to bring up the statistic of abortions as a result of rape, because they live in a world where every instance of sexual assault is reported, and every victim discloses how they came to be pregnant.)

We don’t deny medical care to those who develop lung cancer due to their 20-year pack-a-day habit, or those who drink themselves into liver failure. If a drunk driver causes a collision, we don’t stand by and let them die from their injuries, even if the collision caused the death of others. But somehow, there are those who think a person with a uterus should literally be tortured and have their human rights revoked if a fetus is inhabiting that uterus. That is terrifying.

“What about the father? The fetus is 50% his so he should have a say!”

It may be 50% his genetic material, but it is 100% inhabiting another person’s body, which is why that person gets to make the final call.

Let’s break down what’s being implied here: If a couple conceives and the pregnant person wants to abort, they should obtain permission from their partner in order to do so. If he disagrees, they should respect that and carry the pregnancy to term. That doesn’t seem very 50-50 anymore, does it? I think it’s funny that this argument only seems to work under the assumption that the father would want to continue with the pregnancy. If he felt it would be best to terminate and his partner disagreed, would they still argue that his vote somehow carries more weight? I doubt it.

“You shouldn’t have an abortion just because pregnancy is inconvenient!”

“Inconvenient?!” Dude. A hangnail is inconvenient. Missing a parcel delivery and having to go to the post office is inconvenient. Your cat’s preference for hacking up hairballs on your clean laundry instead of the tile floor is inconvenient. To call pregnancy “inconvenient” is absurd in the extreme. Pregnancy, even under the best conditions, permanently alters a person’s body. I dare you to tell someone who has been through pregnancy and labour that it was merely “inconvenient.” Seriously, look up third-and-fourth degree tears, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, abdominal separation, etc. just for starters, and then tell me it’s just inconvenient.

“Post-abortive women suffer from depression and mental illness!”

Find me an unbiased source to back that up, please. It simply isn’t true, the majority of people who have undergone an abortion report feeling relieved. Also, what kind of an effect do you imagine forcing an unwanted pregnancy and birth on an unwilling person has on their mental health? Hell, wanted pregnancies can take a huge toll on a person’s mental health, but I don’t see anyone using postpartum depression to argue against pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood.

“Doctors don’t know everything! I knew someone whose doctor said their pregnancy was unviable and they should terminate, but they didn’t and now they have a beautiful, perfect child!”

Cool story. I’m glad this person was able to make that choice for themselves and that things turned out okay. I’m still gonna trust the advice of someone who invested their time and money into getting a medical degree over the anecdote of an internet stranger, but that’s me.

“Infertile couples would be so happy to have your baby! Just give it up for adoption!”

I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is no shortage of children in need of families. There is, however, a shortage of people willing to adopt older children, or non-white babies/children, children and babies who are born addicted, HIV+, severely disabled/medically fragile... I could go on.

Getting back to the “Doctors don’t know everything!” point, it may be worth noting that I used to work in a foster home with severely disabled children. It was by far the hardest, most heartbreaking and exhausting job I’ve ever had. I have seen firsthand what these kids go through, how much around-the-clock care they require, how forgotten some of them are by their families, and how they are considered “undesirable” as far as adoption goes. I have seen how they suffer. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it would have been better for any of them if they hadn’t been born, but I fully understand if someone is simply not up to the task of devoting their life to caring for a child who will be completely dependent on them for everything for however long they live, which sadly isn’t long for many of them. I’m glad I did it, but not everyone can, and there is nothing wrong with admitting that.

All of that aside, adoption is only an alternative to parenthood, not pregnancy. No one owes you the use of their uterus to house a fetus you want just because you’re unable to make your own.

This is already longer than I originally intended, but I think I’ve covered the most commonly recycled arguments. The rest mainly boil down to “Abortion goes against my personal theological/philosophical beliefs or moral code!” and all I can say in response to that is that I’m so glad I don’t have to live by anyone’s concept of morality and am allowed my own. It’s pretty great.

I won’t be complacent, however. I have never been more terrified in my life as a uterus-bearing person as I am right now, and I know I’m not alone in that. We cannot allow our rights to be revoked. We cannot afford to lose the ground those before us fought so hard to gain. I will do all I can to keep that from happening.

If the right to our bodies isn’t worth fighting for, I don’t know what is.

#abortion #pro choice

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schaddenfreude · 6 years ago

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Welcome to Outpost Three

Doing something a little different tonight. A friend and I came up with some ideas for Venable bonding with a purple in Outpost 3. I'm going a bit out of order since she's in need of a morale booster.

Anyway, I hope yall enjoy!

________________________________________

You stand in this strange, new place and slowly begin to take in your surroundings. The outpost you came from had been reduced to mere fodder for scavengers and some horrid inhuman creatures who seemed to feed off the radiation in the air every bit as much as human flesh.

You don't know how you made it here with your only surviving companion, but here you stand in the middle of some sort of decontamination room.

The woman standing before you has gathered your attention immediately. "Wilhemina Venable", she calls herself. She stands tall and authoritative, her speech strict, yet refined. Everything about her seems imposing, and yet you seem instantly drawn to her; fascinated by the loneliness that hides in her eyes. Your own slide down discreetly to observe the cane she holds in her hands and the way she leans to one side ever so slightly.

It's familiar. You remember seeing many articles on exactly such a condition in many a doctor's office over the years. And you know because, well, if your luck had been worse, you could be in her shoes.

And she is watching you too. You can feel her gaze linger on you for one suspicious second too long every now and then as she speaks to the two of you. Her words get lost in the jumble of your thoughts and your numbness, but her stare...her stare is penetrating.

"Ms Y/N, do pay attention!" There's a rap of her cane and the sound brings you sharply back to the here and now.

"Yes ma'am." You jump, stuttering apologetically. The hint of mirth dancing behind her eyes must be entirely your imagination.

_____________________________________

It's been a week since you had arrived at outpost three. You don't know why you were assigned to be a purple, but you suspect your disability has been of small good fortune. In the absence of meaningful work to do, your days are spent attempting to find new and inventive ways to stave off boredom.

You listen to the radio until the only song it will play threatens to drive you to the brink of your sanity. You read books until you grow restless of being unproductive. In a bid of desperation, you wander the outpost in search of any piece of paper you can find.

"Can I help you?"

You jump at her voice and turn with nervous anticipation to see Ms. Venable considering you with hands perched atop that ornately designed cane. Her expression is almost amused; so very different from the one you're used to seeing on her face. And yet, those harsh defenses of hers (which would perhaps frighten away a smarter or more wary person) are still up.

"I've been searching for a pen and paper. You wouldn't happen to know where I might find some, would you? I've looked everywhere!"

You know your desperation must sound pathetic, but you can't help it. This boredom is driving you to tears!

Her expression shifts unreadably and her eyes remain stoic as she continues to watch you for another second longer. There's nothing in her gaze to indicate what she thinks, if anything, about that small request.

"May I ask what for?" The stern tone of her question forces you to think back to the rules she laid out so plainly for you last week. There was nothing in them that said you weren't allowed to write. At least, not that you recall.

"I was hoping to write some music, ma'am." Your mother always did say it was better not to speak than to be dishonest, and you imagine that's a sentiment that Ms. Venable can relate to.

"Come." She beckons, her features brightening almost imperceptibly as she leads you down a hallway.

And...

Surely not.

You are actually going to see her office. It had only been a week, but she had been very clear in her effort to ensure that you knew no one, absolutely NO ONE, was allowed in this room except her.

The room is much like any other in the outpost: dimly lit and sparsely decorated. The only piece of furniture in the room is her desk, and even that is a simple, minimalist piece of woodwork. The barest of essentials.

You watch as she bends over her dest to retrieve a small stack of papers, curiosity piqued as she scribbles on the top one.

"Off you go." She speaks authoritatively, her face matching as she hands you your items. And there it is again: a flicker, there and gone so quickly you question your imagination again. You could swear there was a fondness in her eyes.

Your feet echo down the hall and you make it almost to the main common room before looking down at the papers. She has started off your musical composition with a measure of her own. You're suddenly glad that noone is around to see you smiling like a lunatic.

Ms. Venable, the iron-fisted leader of outpost three, seems to have a soft spot for you.

You begin humming the tune of your composition as you set off again in search of a suitable place to write.

#ahs apocalypse #wilhemina venable #reader

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wearepetsabs · 6 years ago

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How to Care for a Deaf, Blind or Physically Impaired Pet

Looking after a disabled animal can be a frustrating experience if it’s something new for you. Fear not. Pets with disabilities are no less affectionate than their peers, and you don’t have to do something extraordinary to take care of them. Here’s what you need to know about caring for a special needs pet.

Emotional Care

Animals don’t process their impairment in such an emotional way as we do. Nevertheless, a sudden onset of disability may make your cat or dog uneasy. Not being able to see, hear, or move properly is anxiety-inducing to pets because it makes them vulnerable. While you know that there are no predators that might hurt them in your home and that you’ll take care of their needs, pets can’t process that, so it’s expected for a disabled one to feel out of place at first. Most cats and dogs, however, quickly adapt to this new way of life as the alternative would make them even more vulnerable. In any case, your pet will benefit from emotional support and mental stimulation. Experts advise that enriching the lives of cats and dogs comes with benefits for the animal such as reduced anxiety and correction of behavioral problems. Here are some ways to enrich your pal’s life by engaging all of its senses. Talk in a soothing voice. Cats and dogs are sensitive to the tone of your voice; speaking calmly is relaxing and a sign of appreciation.Make your pet work for its treats. You can use treat balls for this.Let it explore its surroundings. When taking a dog for a walk, bring it to new, but safe, places and let it sniff and engage with the new environment.Teach it new tricks and commands. Despite popular belief, cats are also trainable.Organize play time with other pets (see below for tips on how to introduce a new animal or person to a disabled pet).

Creating a Safe Space

Cats and dogs are curious creatures and prone to getting injured. They run, jump, and tip things over without paying much attention to the possibility of injury. It’s not that cats and dogs will purposely harm themselves, on the contrary, they are on a constant lookout for dangers but sometimes play time is so fun that a vase or a nose pay the price. Creating a safe environment for your furry companion is like safe-proofing your home when having a little kid. But if you are living with a pet with special needs, there is some extra care to take to make up for its situation. You can read more on it here. Deaf Pets A deaf cat or a dog won’t be able to hear your commands. Cats pretend not to do it even when they have perfect hearing anyway. For both pets, sounds are warning signals for danger and a way to avoid getting hurt when the threat is not visible. Cats and dogs will usually get into a fight-or-flight mode before setting their eyes on sharp noise—which might be anything from the vacuum cleaner to an oncoming car. There are two main things to pay attention to when providing a safe environment for a pet that’s hard of hearing. Don’t let it go out on its own to avoid your pal from getting lost, run over by a car or ambushed by an aggressor.Try to keep moving things (including yourself, other people, pets, vacuum cleaners, etc.) in sight of your pet to avoid stressing it. This includes not picking up a deaf cat or a dog from behind—it will scare the animal, possibly leading to injuring both itself and you. Blind Pets While sight is an important sense for cats and dogs, they can rely on smell and sound to take care of their daily needs, at least when they’re at home. This doesn’t apply when they are outside—don’t let your blind pal go out without your supervision—they might hear impending danger but won’t be able to orient themselves in the situation. When taking a blind dog for a walk keep it on a leash (preferably a short one) and be on the lookout for dangers—ponds, lakes, sharp objects, other animals, etc. When you and your pet are at home, making your house safe involves the same steps as when you are having a baby that has just learned to crawl or walk—secure sharp edges and objects, furniture, stairways, windows, external doors, pools, and patios. Here’s our post on how to keep blind cats and dogs safe. Physically Impaired Pets Cats and dogs with missing or paralyzed limbs can still be as active as their fully-abled peers. At the same time keeping active with a physically impaired might give your buddy some balance troubles and make it more susceptible to injury. To keep it safe you need to think about its mobility and the safety of its surroundings. There are several pet mobility devices that will help your physically impaired cat or dog stay active despite its shortcomings. Prosthetic wheels are used to take the place of missing or disabled limbs—they are like a wheelchair for the animal and allow it to move freely by its own. An alternative, which involves your help, is a “lift harness”—a vest-like harness that lets you lift your pet to help it walk. Different models exist depending on its needs—for example, some lift harnesses are meant to go on the dog’s backside for pooches with limited or nonexisting mobility in their back legs.

Avoiding Stressors

You need to keep your special needs pet away from stressful situations to give it a more secure and enjoyable life. Same goes for non-disabled animals. Here are the main stressors to pets and how to avoid them. Noises Cats and dogs have much better hearing than us, and this sense might get even more sensitive in blind or deaf pets. Sharp and loud noises may startle your furry friend and cause it to hide or act aggressively. To bring comfort to your pet, place its safe-zone (favorite blanket, bed, or carrier) feeding bowls and litter box away from sources of sharp and loud noises such as multimedia devices, alarms, and doorbells. If you are using sound cues to help a blind cat or dog navigate its surroundings choose distinctive but non-threatening jingles. When you are taking your disabled dog for a walk notice which sounds make it uncomfortable and jumpy, and try to avoid them. Foot Traffic Another thing to consider when setting up your pet’s sleeping, eating, and toilet areas as foot traffic. The space around the front and back doors are not suitable places. Neither are kids’ rooms and other areas that see lots of activity and noise. This does not mean that you should isolate your furbaby and keep it away from people. On the contrary, cats and dogs love being around their people, and you should make an effort to bring them in as many activities as possible, showing them they are a part of your “pack.” If your pet feels more comfortable sleeping and eating in places with heavy foot traffic, then obviously you should let them, provided it's safe and convenient for everyone living in your home. Introducing Other Pets and People Socializing your special needs pet with other animals or people should happen gradually and on your pet’s terms. Tell your guests about your companion’s condition and that they should wait for the pet to approach them first. If you are meeting your pal with other pets, the same rules apply—do it gradually, especially if you keep other animals at home. When walking your dog outside, you can put a sign or a vest to show your pet has special needs. Your pal might attract special attention from kids—most of them love pets and seeing an extraordinary one like yours might prompt them to get close. In such situations, a dog’s behavior can be unpredictable. An otherwise gentle pooch might perceive an approaching group of children as a threat. Most kids won’t know that so it's up to you to keep them and your pet safe.

What to Do If You Can No Longer Take Care of Your Disabled Pet

If despite what you just read, or maybe because of it, you’ve decided that you no longer can or wish to care for your pal, there are some steps to take before giving it up. First, consider why you want to surrender your pet—if it’s because of behavioral issues or because you cannot afford the vet bills, you don’t need to give up your buddy yet. Second, if you are certain that you want or need to relinquish your special needs pet, read below on how to do it responsibly. Behavioral Issues Just like any other animal, disabled cats and dogs can develop behavioral issues. This might be because of their disabilities or might not have anything to do with them at all. In any case, behavioral issues in cats and dogs are correctable. To find the underlying cause and the right solution you need to bring your pet to the vet or an animal behaviorist. There, the specialist will determine whether your pal is acting out because of an underlying illness or something environment-related like not getting enough activity. In both cases, you’ll learn what steps to take to calm and keep your friend. Affordable Vet Care Inability to cover vet expenses is one of the leading reasons for pet owners to surrender their pets. Disabled, ill, and elderly cats and dogs are at the highest risk of having to go more frequently to the vet. If you are considering giving up your pet because you cannot cover its vet bills, you might not know that there are organizations that can help you cover the costs so you can keep your companion. The “Humane Society of the United States” has an extensive list of national organizations that provide financial assistance to pet owners in need. You can access it here. You can find more such pages here, here, here, and here. Responsible Surrender It’s not rare for pet owners to leave their pets on the street when they no longer can or wish to take care of them. This is cruel, inhumane, unnecessary, and illegal under many jurisdictions. If you wish to surrender your pet, there are ways to do it responsibly and give it a chance to find a new home. The obvious step would be to give up your pal to a local shelter. However, they might not have the capacity to take your pet at which point you can ask them for alternatives. You can also contact the Animal Humane Society and book an appointment with them. Other places where you can get guidance on how to responsibly surrender your pet are vet programs at universities and the relevant local authorities. It’s time to wrap up this post, and we’ll do it modifying a quote by psychologist and dog lover Karen Davidson. Caring for one disabled pet will not change the world, but surely for that one pet, the world will change forever. Read the full article

#specialneed

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wearepetsabs · 6 years ago

Text

How to Care for a Deaf, Blind or Physically Impaired Pet

Emotional Care

Creating a Safe Space

Avoiding Stressors

What to Do If You Can No Longer Take Care of Your Disabled Pet

#specialneed

0 notes

wearepetsabs · 6 years ago

Text

How to Care for a Deaf, Blind or Physically Impaired Pet

Emotional Care

Creating a Safe Space

Avoiding Stressors

What to Do If You Can No Longer Take Care of Your Disabled Pet

#specialneed

0 notes