#institutionalised harassment

[bullet-prooflove]

3500 Follower Celebration: Culture - Wade Grey x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @ravennaortiz @anime-weeb-4-life @hellostickerdoodle

You learned early on in your career in the LAFD to stand up and take your medicine. It’s a byproduct of working in a male dominated environment, one where sexism is still institutionalised. It’s not as bad now as when you were coming up but Wade’s heard the stories. He knows about the Lieutenant who’d harassed you, the one who’d chased you out of your last firehouse because he wouldn’t take no for an answer and when you’d reported him, it had been swept under the rug as if nothing had happened.

You’ve rose up through the ranks since then, switched over to arson investigations. You’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into your career over the years and it shows in your diligence and efficiency. You have a clearance rate that is second to none.

It’s when you take on a case in Lieutenant Waldron’s district that things become probmatic. You haven’t been back in the locality since you’d left but you’re covering for another investigator whose on sick leave when you get the call. It’s apparent from the get go that Waldron hates having you on his patch, it gets worse when you contradict his version of events regarding the fire you’re looking into. The comments, the taunts, the sexual advances you let them all wash over you because once this case is over you won’t have to deal with him ever again.

It’s Nolan that tells Wade what’s going on, he hears it from Bailey who has a couple of friends in that firehouse. They’re the type of people who are sickened by the things that Waldron says about you, who are willing to go on record if you need it.

“You need to report it.” Wade tells you that night as the two of you make dinner together. He’s stirring pasta sauce on the stove as you chop peppers on the wooden board. “Nobody deserves to be treated this way…”

“I did that the first time. They basically told me to suck it up.” You remind him as you focus on the task at hand. “It got worse after that.”

Wade pauses because that’s the part you haven’t told him. He thought you’d transferred out when they’d told you they weren’t going to investigate. He hadn’t realised you’d tried to stick it out.

“How did it get worse?” He asks you, his palms coming to rest on the counter.

The line of your jaw tightens and your gaze stays fixed on the chopping board in front of you, the rhythmic sound of the knife slowing.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.” You say quietly, your grip on the knife tightening, your knuckles turning white.

“But he put his hands on you.”

You tilt your head in concession and Wade feels something murderous rush through him.

“Has he done it since?”

“I carry a gun these days remember?” You say as you resume your chopping.

“Baby, stop.” Wade says quietly, his hand coming to rest on yours, stopping your motions. You set the knife down before you turn to face him and Wade sees the exhaustion in your eyes, the sadness, frustration. You’ve been dealing with this for days now and you haven’t breathed a word of it, it’s part of the culture. That’s why shit like this is so insidious, it wears on you, erodes you.

“You are so strong.” He tells you, his palm cupping your cheek. His thumb ghosts along the apple of your cheek and you exhale for what feels like the first time in days. “But you don’t need to carry this by yourself anymore.”

His forehead comes to rest upon yours, a show of solidarity. He wants you to know he’s here if you need him, that it isn’t like the last time, you aren’t alone.

“I know it’s hard.” He whispers and he does. He’s been on this road before, he knows how tough it is to make this decision, risk your career or stay the course. There’s no winning here. They both come with their own risks. “I’m here for you, no matter what you decide.”

Love Wade? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[maaarine]

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (Caroline Criado-Perez, 2019)

"For women who try to escape from war and disaster, the gender-neutral nightmare often continues in the refugee camps of the world.

‘We have learned from so many mistakes in the past that women are at a greater risk for sexual assault and violence if they don’t have separate bathrooms,’ says Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia.

In fact international guidelines state that toilets in refugee camps should be sex-segregated, marked and lockable.

But these requirements are often not enforced. (…)

Female refugees regularly complain that the remote location of many toilets is worsened by a lack of adequate lighting both on the routes to the latrines and in the facilities themselves.

Large areas of the infamous Idomeni camp in Greece were described as ‘pitch-black’ at night.

And although two studies have found that installing solar lighting or handing out individual solar lights to women in camps has had a dramatic impact on their sense of safety, it’s a solution that has not been widely adopted.

So most women find their own solutions.

A year after the 2004 tsunami women and girls in Indian displacement camps were still walking in pairs to and from the community toilet and bathing facilities to ward off harassment from men.

A group of Yezidi women who ended up in Nea Kavala camp in northern Greece after fleeing sexual slavery under ISIS formed protection circles so they could accompany each other to the toilet.

Others (69% in one 2016 study), including pregnant women who need frequent toilet trips, simply don’t go at night.

Some women in reception centres in Germany have resorted to not eating and drinking, a solution also reported by female refugees in Idomeni, at the time Greece’s largest informal refugee camp.

According to a 2018 Guardian report, some women have taken to wearing adult nappies." (…)

The irony of ignoring the potential for male violence when it comes to designing systems for female refugees is that male violence is often the reason women are refugees in the first place.

We tend to think of people being displaced because of war and disaster: this is usually why men flee.

But this perception is another example of male-default thinking: while women do seek refuge on this basis, female homelessness is more usually driven by the violence women face from men.

Women flee from ‘corrective’ rape (where men rape a lesbian to ‘turn her straight’), from institutionalised rape (as happened in Bosnia), from forced marriage, child marriage and domestic violence.

Male violence is often why women flee their homes in low-income countries, and it’s why women flee their homes in the affluent West."

[akajustmerry]

hey guys uhhhhhh........do you think Roman Roy was "truly" caring for gerri when he refused to stop sending her dick pics without her consent?? how about when he attempted to FIRE HER TWICE over the fallout from his sexual harassment of her??

do you guys think that Roman Roy is being "non-judgemental" of people's sex lives when he constantly makes inappropriate jokes about his sister having sex to her and her husband's faces??? what about, like, when he made jokes to Marcia and Kerri about their private sex lives?? was he being sooooo non-judgemental then???

was Roman going into bat for people when he backed a neo nazi fascist to be president so he could beat out his sister in being their dad's favourite? How about when he knifed Gerri because his dad wanted him to?? what about when he went to Kendall's party and said all that shit to him AND shiv?? Was he batting for his siblings when he went to rat them out on the Pierce deal behind their back??

I know these articles are meant to be funny or whatever, but it feels like such a gross disservice to misinterpret the very meticulous commentary on institutionalised misogyny that Roman represents, especially relating to his harassment of Gerri and how he treats Shiv. Too many people fall for the funny guy energy and ignore the abuse Roman perpetrates while simultaneously being a victim of abuse.

Roman isn't empathetic. He's just emotionally vulnerable which can look like empathy but it fucking isn't. at the end of the day people who have empathy aren't out here sexually harassing their co-workers and sister. and they sure as hell aren't putting nazis in the whitehouse for validation. like sure there are moments where he cares but so the fuck what??

Like, I am a Roman girlie (not a girl) but fuck, you can just say you think Roman is hot or whatever. You don't have to make a fool of yourself cherry picking the show to oblivion and ignoring the core political context. just either have conviction in your horniness for shitty people or shut the fuck up. So tired of these takes that are so obviously written by white straight people who wouldn't know what empathy was if it slapped them across their exposed frontal lobe. Y'all saying shit like "this character who harasses women and flirts with nazis is soooo sexy and empathetic actually" is why poc are made to feel unsafe in fandom spaces.

[catdotjpeg]

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club has said that Israeli authorities continue to hold 9,170 Palestinians from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in prisons, where they are being subject to systemic violence. In a statement, the organisation said there has been an increase in detentions since October 7 and also in the “level of crimes that accompany the arrest campaigns, most notably field executions carried out by the army as it raids towns and villages”. Israeli forces, the organisation said, have focused on the families of prisoners (especially fathers) and those who had previously been arrested, in addition to the families of those killed – subjecting them to harassment and threats. “Israeli authorities have been carrying out crimes against detainees for decades. The difference since the war began, however, is the intensity of these assaults and the fact that the occupation has institutionalised these violations at unprecedented levels,” it said.

-- "250 days on, Israel continues to carry out crimes against detainees: Rights group" by Mersiha Gadzo and Usaid Siddiqui for Al Jazeera, 12 Jun 2024 18:05 GMT

[harvey-guillen]

Hi! I am a Britney fan and I agree with the things you said regarding the differences with her circus and Taylor’s circus references. It is pretty evident that Taylor has always desperately wanted to be “the next Britney”. She paid for Britney’s manager to fly-in and out to assist with her career at the start of it. She appeared as a performer at Britney’s charity for disadvantaged kids (which I find insulting in itself that she took the spotlight off those kids just to promote her first album). The difference I find is that Britney’s success was organic where Taylor has to inflate sales by making numerous of the same album with minor changes. Britney has also had a laws passed to prevent paparazzi harassing celebs due to the ordeal she endured. This law was passed before Taylor’s fame really took off. I truly believe the last celebs that really faced Britney level scrutiny from the media was Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. Taylor for sure has had her own share of issues but in contrast to her peers she has had it relatively smooth sailing. Whilst listening to the album and seeing the imagery I was infuriated because Britney WAS institutionalised and forced to undergo treatment and take medication against her will, her mental health was mocked and still is (often by Swifties). I will say that Taylor dressing up as a ringleader in 2012 (after Britney did so on her tour in 2009 and her 2008 album Circus) with zero circus references in her music at the time means it does come across as her trying to emulate Britney again. I believe Taylor thinks she’s undergone the same treatment Britney did and still does. Britney’s Circus imagery was also very for lack of a better word “Disney” more of a modern circus and the music does not blatantly reference mental health struggles as opposed to Taylor who in this album references mental health issues, asylums, circuses and even the time period of 1800s. Combine all that with Taylor’s own opinions on mental health by saying she’s never been to therapy because she is sane. All of those things together create a pretty clear picture on how she views these things where as Britney’s reference to circus was more specific to the “media circus” that surrounds her. Again whether anyone agrees with the use of the circus theme or not it’s pretty drastically different to the way Taylor presents it all. (Especially insulting her exes mental health only to want support for her own).

Posting without comment except to say thank you for providing your perspective!

[the-delta-quadrant]

some anon in one of my culture blogs inboxes is really angry that i use -misia rather than -phobia to discuss bigotry against queer people (and fat people). every few days they slide in my inbox asking in definitely good faith (/s) why i use -misia instead of the more common -phobia because it "should be obvious from context" what i mean, and today they said "don't let the [queerantagonists] destroy our language"

and since this is bullshit and tumblr won't let me block anons for some reason, here's a little history lesson for you

it is not "our language". even if it was, it's abled queers' language because language that is ableist, saneist and harms mentally ill people is not "our language". you just don't consider disabled people part of your people, apparently. using the word phobia to describe hate and aversion is part of a bigger problem of people using mental illness to describe bad behaviour or behaviour that is unwanted ("narcissistic abuse", "trans people are being histrionic over their pronouns", "schizo", "crazy", "insane" as insults, "only someone who is mentally ill would do [very horrible thing]". these attitudes have real affects on mentally ill people, they get us attacked, institutionalised and killed because we're deemed to be inherently dangerous. the -phobia for bigotry thing is no different. this attitude has lead to so much trauma and i have personal history of specifically being bullied because people thought that me having phobias made me a bad person, and they specifically brought up the word homophobia. that's as deep as i'll go in because i've done enough talking about my trauma publicly recently lol.

aside from the harm done to mentally ill people, it also really, really downplays bigotry. if it's a mental illness, the poor bigots just can't help it. and here's where we get into the etymology of the term homophobia.

the term homophobia was coined by george weinberg, a straight psychologist who doesn't get a say on our language. he DID coin it as a mental illness, so any counter argument of how it wasn't meant that way immediately falls apart. in his coining of the word, he described phobias as "always leading to brutality", once again playing into the idea that mentally ill people are inherently dangerous. weinberg coined the "mental illness" homophobia as a defense for hate crimes - he LITERALLY created the gay panic defense. that is the origin of the term "homophobia", and thus all other bigotry terms that people slap the -phobia ending onto.

the very etymology of the word homophobia is so violently anti-queer. it is not "our language". it was nonqueer people's language to justify why we were murdered and attacked.

the word "homophobia" is literally the origin to "gay panic". it's literally the "clinical term" for gay panic.

how can you say that gay panic isn't real because it's hate and not panic but then insist on using the term homophobia?

and i don't really care if you want to "reclaim" the word because it's still fucking ableist.

and if anyone comes here to tell me "but oil is hydrophobic and it's not scared or mentally ill!" you'll get blocked because..

newsflash: mentally ill people are HUMAN, not a fucking lab experiment. don't talk about context if you don't understand how calling oil hydrophobic does fuck all harm but calling PEOPLE phobic to mean "something horrible" does.

i also don't care if it's "common" or more understood. it's not an excuse for ableism.

it's very ironic how many people will reblog like 100 gender terms a day but get crappy with me because they might have to learn a new word to avoid being ableist.

like, on my culture accounts i never even specifically talked about the -phobia suffix being ableist because i'm tired of being attacked. but even if i just use non-ableist language without saying anything about other language, i still get fucking harassed.

disabled people can't fucking win and it's so obvious you don't want us in the queer community if you consider ableist and anti queer language to be "our language" and part of our history or whatever the fuck.

if you get personally offended by disabled people pointing out ableism you're a piece of shit, but if you get personally offended by disabled people simply using non ableist language and not even saying anything about ableism, you're 10x the biggest piece of shit.

even if -phobia wasn't harmful in numerous ways, just imagine how pathetic you have to be to get angry at someone over how they talk about bigotry.

[stellewriites]

hey stelle! I’m still thinking about the johnny western horror au you wrote and was wondering if I could ask some questions that have been rattling in my head??

does the new ‘johnny’ visit ghost/does this johnny even know about ghost? since he doesn’t have the same memories as the original Johnny, it’s making me think of how isolating it might be for the reader to be stalked by this ‘johnny’ and how she thought she was already free of this marriage. Like she if she does close the door on him and doesn’t let him, I can just picture him showing up every night and hearing his horse when she tries to sleep and the sleep deprivation turned into paranoia 😵‍💫😵‍💫 I picture this ‘Johnny’ as more like a body snatcher or something looking for a new body to inhabit, doesn’t matter who so she’s just the most technical option for him

But also! what if reader goes to ghost thinking he’s also getting stalked baring her soul on Johnny harassing her but ghosts not and he almost gets jealous? And angsty, not clicking that this isn’t the real johnny but just hearing that Johnny is back sends his brain in a spiral and that he has to back to him, flash forward some time and Johnny stops showing up at the house and ghost starts walking a bit weird

Okay sorry for the word vomit but I really liked this story hahah you did a great job on it!!

of course!! i love questions about my fics 💓 i’ve got to be honest tho and admit that i haven’t fully thought about the ins and outs about this oneshot further than what was written lmao so this might be all over the place

does he know about/visit ghost?

i’d say no

you’re right that he doesn’t have the same memories, i’d say whatever has taken his body might be going off vague recollections of places and where the scent of johnny is strongest. this was johnnys home before he got his wife, he’d have likely stayed there with ghost often until reader arrived, so it’d make sense to the parasite (?) to go there first. i’d argue that johnny and ghost travelled and camped all over once he had his wife move in, hence the long time spent away

how does reader feel being stalked by johnny?

stalking is the least of her worries - parasite johnny IS getting inside her home that night whether she likes it or not. he’s not fucking around waiting for her to let him in after she shot at him, he’ll force his way in if he has to. it just might’ve been easier for him in the long run if she’d gone along with it all sweet like he’d originally tried to play it.

reader knows this isn’t her johnny either (if he could’ve ever have been considered hers) so the pressure of a marriage holding her hostage again isn’t even on her mind - she’s got bigger fish to fry.

yes absolutely similar to a body snatcher to me too! i left it open in case people prefer possession or ghosts or zombies - but to me it feels very ‘supernatural parasite has taken over the freshest body in the graveyard’.

does reader go to ghost?

ghost isn’t in town anymore! he left as soon as johnny was buried since there’s nothing else there for him, just too many memories.

gaz or price would still be there but after they suggested medical help (read: getting her institutionalised for ‘hysteria’) i don’t think she’d be willing to go back and tell them an undead version of johnny is walking around 🥴

BUT!

i’m a sucker for aus of aus,, so i think if she survived the night (maybe she made a break for it out the back and got on her horse) and she found ghost on the outskirts of town while he was laying low after the train robbery then he’d know straight away from her story that it wasn’t his johnny too. however i think he’d want to confront whatever wasn’t letting the love of his life rest peacefully and would be off like a shot to reader’s house despite her protests.

idk if i think the parasite would move bodies or not - i like the visual of simon wandering the dusty roads acting like edgar in men in black and the concept that the parasite logically wants a bigger healthier body - but i also like the thought of parasite johnny managing to convince simon it is him. and that he just needs simon’s help to get back to normal 🥺 won’t he help him, his johnny? and simon would just cave (even if that means killing strangers to feed him or whatever,, simon can justify it to himself given the people they’d hurt before - he’d killed for money, he can kill for love)

and thank you lainey!! i’m so glad you liked it :D

[recreationaldivorce]

do white liberals not remember that 800 page leaked dossier showing, among many other things, the institutionalised harassment of Black Labour members? although i guess if you support Labour in 2023 then racism is clearly not a dealbreaker for you

[yuripoll]

KNOCKOUTS: Pietà (1998 - 99)

Pietà is a two volume josei series by Haruno Nanae about two classmates with rocky relationships with their parents finding comfort in each other.

Rio Sakaki was raised by an unsympathetic father and a stepmother whose dream of a normal, happy life drove her to harass the poor girl and have her institutionalized. As a result, Rio developed suicidal tendencies and an aloof, distant personality that drove all potential friends away. But things change for the girl when she meets the studious, yet just as troubled Sahoko one day, and in time, Rio's icy exterior begins to melt. Together, the two girls quickly become fast friends and try to carve out their own happiness in a world that has neglected them. - Anime Planet

(MAL) Digital JP release available on Shueisha. There is no official English release, but it was released in Polish!

CWs under cut. General severity ranking: moderate.

no sexual content / nudity

suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, and self harm

institutionalisation

child abuse / emotional abuse (by a stepmother)

(mentioned) child death

(non-fatal) house fire

[shegoesbyjoy]

hey just wanted to let you know that zaum take you reposted comes from the overcoat who got institutionalised due to both stress of production and Roberts behaviour (& he was open about RKs influence &it was mentioned in the video in the letter robert sent and chris dismissed just not by name). so idk how much more could they open their mind on this situation really. He was not on video due to the extent of damage suffered & currently is on disability pension due to it all and that repost was the only opinion piece he shared, so idk. you had many better takes than this one is all im saying. peace xx

Hey anon thanks for your message. I find it a bit difficult to believe the OP is who you say they are after checking out the reddit profile from which it was posted, and it's OP's post that I'm specifically commenting on. (Happy to be proven wrong or given a source for what you say here though!)

In any case, I stand by what I said in my tags. But in case it wasn't clear, I do think OP brings up points worth considering. Ilmar's motivations for letting PMG have free reign on interviewing are obviously not because he believes in journalistic integrity—Ilmar clearly wouldn't have done so if he was worried it'd change the eventual outcome of the legal dispute. And yes, this video will sow public division sure, purely because we actually have more information to go off of now (a step up from the very simplistic and limited view we had before due to the sheer lack of info that wasn't just one news outlet reposting another, a tiny handful of press releases from either side, or Martin's tweets).

But where my opinion differs from OP is I do think it was valuable and important to include the perspectives of these employees, because one big aspect of this legal dispute is in fact the grounds on which Kurvitz and co were ousted. Yes, of course it doesn't have any bearing on the final ruling. And I agree that regardless of their interpersonal issues, it was wrong of the IP to be forced out of the original creators' control. Again, I'm not discounting that part. But I object to the callous attitude toward current employees even when it's clear this entire debacle has caused a lot of hurt, and OP's labeling of that entire third of the video as "fluff". To me, it is disingenuous to feel so strongly about Robert being able to get his creation back while entirely ignoring all the effort that went into said creation from the rest of the team. They deserve to be advocated for as well.

Ultimately (and this is my opinion based on what I know), it looks to me that DE was created by a bunch of artists who didn't know much about IP laws or how to protect themselves back then, who then in the ensuing years got taken advantage of by investors. And unfortunately, everyone else on the ground at ZA/UM (who weren't responsible for whatever wrongdoing occurred) got caught in the crossfire, and those people have been either harassed or in this particular case—had their struggles entirely dismissed. I don't think that's fair or kind, do you?

[crristinaa-level6]

Specialist practice

Problems of facing prejudice while speaking a different language 

Racial or Ethnic Profiling: Due to their linguistic heritage, people who speak a language that is connected to a specific race or ethnicity may be unfairly targeted or treated differently. Racial profiling and discrimination may result from this.

Prejudice can result from stereotypes about speakers of a specific language. For instance, making the assumption that someone who speaks a particular language is less educated or more prone to commit crimes.

Language Shaming: When a person speaks a different language, they may be mocked or ridiculed for their accent, pronunciation, or grammar. Feelings of inadequacy and problems with self-esteem may result from this.

Language Barriers: When a person does not speak the local language well, they may have trouble getting access to important services like healthcare, education, and work. This might result in institutionalised prejudice.

Microaggressions: Insensitive remarks or presumptions about a person's language or linguistic background are examples of a subtle kind of bias known as a microaggression. These remarks have the potential to be cruel and stereotype-confirming.

Xenophobia: When someone is viewed as an outsider or a threat to the dominant culture because they speak a foreign language, this is known as xenophobia.

Discrimination based on linguistics: Some people could experience prejudice because of their linguistic abilities in the workplace or in social situations. For instance, if a candidate for a job cannot communicate fluently in the language of the role, they may not be considered. culture.

Hate Speech and Harassment: In severe circumstances, people may face hate speech and harassment as a result of their language, particularly in conflict or prejudicial situations.

Raising awareness, dispelling misconceptions, encouraging tolerance, and countering institutional discrimination are all important aspects of addressing linguistic prejudice. Anti-discrimination laws exist in many nations to shield people against racial and linguistic prejudice. Prejudices stemming from a language's use can be reduced by promoting multilingualism and cultural diversity.

[cuteangsty]

Okay I love your interactive pet shelter thingy, just found your page and I love it I have a quick question, why are they pets in the first place? (Is this animals are humans and humans are animals type thing or something else?)

Love the art keep up the good work!

hii! I'm glad you like it!

about the pets:

well,I wrote the story i n the boxboy universe( I'm also new to it lol )

basically, these shelters are places where ppl who want to become pets wilingly sign up to be purchased as pets (they have to be over 18 or even in some stories 21 ). then they are trained (and basically brainwashed) to be bought and treated as animals, so yeah, they are human. some stories mention the existence of animal-human hybrids also existing, but I'm trying to keep this on a little more realistic (just a little lmao)

there are isntitutions who protect the pets, and make sure they have a good life, they need to have check ups regularly, and you need to be well of with money to have one. basically society has found a way to keep this ok and legal in a way.

Now, those are the rules of the system, but I think a good angsty sad boy story lies in breaking them >:3

there are ppl, or well pets, who may fall through the cracks: being kidnaped, abandoned, harassed, mistreated, maybe they were forced to sign up Idk...

there are a lot of blogs dedicated to this (kinda nonsensical) universe.

here are some links to some explanations:

Oh and, about the animal-human thing too. I was thinking about writing smth like that in a near future, I just need to get a hold on what would it be exactly. but I'm working on a little drabble about it so come back soon :3

[the-wee-sensitive-listener]

🌈🌈What does Exclusion, institutionalised LGBTQI phobia and Ableism look, sound and feel like? 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

Well lucky me I have a current experience to draw on.  For me it's like being held down and repeatedly punched in the solar plexus. It looks like being asked to wait then left alone. Left alone long enough for my inner talk to ruminate on the physical, emotional, psychological, political, spiritual and cultural effects of institutionalised LGBTQI phobia and ableist exclusion.  Whilst in this challenging situation one is then further harassed by the subtle harm of narrative symbolic violence.  This refers to the downplaying of the experience of exclusion.  Usually communicated to the victim using vocal deafness and in written gestures like; "this must be a frustration for you".   Or through complete evasion or gaslighting. Acting as if no harm is being perpetrated. As if LGBTQI disabled people have no rights no self worth no value. All the while, sympathising with events in Qatar for LGBTQI folks, disabled people and women, yet behind the scenes promoting Qatar technologies as if there was no problem at all. It's the type of hypocrisy that spreads like a disease beneath the surface of smooth glossy marketing of diversity, equality and inclusion.

How can this be represented by sound? Using a sonic vocabulary, within a cord a single note can have the final word on the way you are caused to feel.  Or at least which part of your emotional experience it matches up to. This piece uses harmonic note E and is my first sound art piece to represent this diminishing, seemingly pervasive, common, unacknowledged emotional abuse.

The artwork used on this track above is the Death card from L Gallacher's Tarot deck (2021).  This image corresponds to the negative effect of institutionalised gaslighting by evasion and exclusion for a LGBTQI person and a person with disabilities.  Another reading is it's a representation of the dilemma for 2022 Archetypal Institutionalised homophobia and ableism. This archetype is at a time in history where the political right has left democratic society much to distract itself with. A perfect breading ground to quietly perpetrate violations of equality and human rights, admist its recycling narrative of fear and economic crisis.  Institutions move with the changing tide of politics and we see the once protected legal boundaries crumble quietly, with procurements of services with no thought to ethics or human rights. Will individuals from within these politically fickle institutions take a stand and defend protected characteristics? Will this politically motivated ableist, anti-LGBTQI movement transform and integrate OR die?

The consistent experience of exclusion of one's diversities is like the battering of one's core, diminishing courage, off-clitter discipline and deafness of vitality.  This stifling of one's natural tone, relates to solar plexus, which is represented by 526 Hz frequency.   The solar plexus for me represents a chakra point which resonates for all at 526 hz as note E.  Like a vibrantly sounding beautiful musical note E being stifled and suppressed and repeatedly muted.  This piece uses harmonic note E, together with the sonic sounds best matched to the feelings of such exclusion. 

The noise of the perpetrator's fist hitting the skin over and over again.  The victims vocal and non verbal reactions.  The victims sonic representation of the natural E note with additional sound effects reflecting the sinking of the soul, the deadening of expression and exclusion of diversity and the attack on one's vitality within the solar plexus. 

Perhaps for a later project this could be developed further to include the cries of the inner voice, desperately trying to interpret this lack of external esteem. Of one's inner self-talk interpreting this symbolic violence and harm oppressing one’s beautiful diversity. Vocals of self talk something like:

"I am worthless".

"I deserve to be diminished"

"I'm a piece of shit"

"Its all my fault'

"how dare I ask for inclusion"

"my body, mind and identities are undeserving of being acknowledged by society"

"I'm undeserving of equality and human legal rights"

"Inclusion and diversity are meaningless buzz terms"

" the world is a homophobic and ableist place"

"I should silence my authentic self and hide"

This composition may further benefit from vocals from the different parts of the self in conversation with each other, could be an interesting dialogue : Ego, heart, body and soul. I'm Sure they have a lot say about this experience of being consistently oppressed and excluded. TBC....

My recent experience of exclusion reminds me of the important work from the sociologist Ken Plummer. In Plummer’s (2019) book he examines how dominant order is organised through narrative exclusion.  As Plummer notes, ‘who we are in the scheme of things, how we are to be identified, how we are to be valued – or not’ depends on narrative exclusion, ‘where some, the subordinated, are rendered unheard, given no space to speak, and no credibility if they do. They are devalued as speakers and their stories are silenced’ (2019: 69). Plummer, K. (2019), Narrative Power: The Struggle for Human Value, Cambridge: Polity Press.

He contends that narrative exclusions create oppressions that are seen through physical violence and symbolic violence – the latter experienced more subtly as ‘a persistent and damaging downgrading of the self, an interiorization of being, an abject and insidious devolution’ (Plummer 2019: 69).  Ableism and discourse of the anti-LGBTQI movement, comes in many forms. They are transmitted to us through symbolism and unacknowledged harmful gestures like financial upkeep of anti-LGBTQI countries  economies.

Institutionalised ableism is often hidden in the marketing of unhelpful strategies, named “reasonable adjustments”. These are used as a legal symbol of efforts made, irrespective of whether or not they actually offer assistance or work to eradicate the root cause of the exclusion.  They are presented with no thought to privacy or LGBTQI human rights and the message is very much that if you have disabilities you need to put up and shut up with what's been offered. That we should be grateful for any effort made even if the support is rooted in deep homophobic roots. These strategies unfortunately can enable, erase and downplay the negative psychological effect one experiences of exclusion.

The discourses of the anti-LGBTQI movement appear when institutions use products from anti-LGBTQI countries.  Countries who have a history of human rights violations.  Yet these institutions in 2022 continue to participate in this type of oppression. By downplaying and gaslighting the psychological harm caused through such actions.  Plummer (2019) wrote about the prolonged negative effect of societal gaslighting and symbolic violence. Seen as the unacknowledged abuse to one’s self-esteem and confidence in their unique diversity. It appears then, the exclusion may better describe the oppressors experience having to deal with LGBTQI people disabled people. 🌈🌈

[interestinginnovatives-blog]

History of Information with Professor Paul Duguid

I recently listened to a podcast entitled “The History of Information” with Professor Paul Duguid. Professor Duguid is a professor in the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. As one of the editors of “Information: A Historical Companion” he discusses the in-depth concepts behind the vast publication.

I found the subject matter both interesting and informative if however, occasionally distracting. My mind wandered far a field at times and the content seemed to impose more questions than indeed answers in relation to the topic at hand.

Have we become institutionalised within society in our quest for copious amounts of information?

How do we distinguish where society lies within our information age? Or indeed is the information we gather an entire perspective on humankind?

Are we controlling information? Or is it controlling us?

Do we have a choice?

My list of internal questions is rising in number with every stroke of the key, unanswered, torn between ethical, social and diplomatic self-reasoning. The book deals with topics such as Algorithms, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Databases, Censorship, Propaganda, Capitalism, Inner Circles and Crisis of Democracy to name a few.

Professor Duguid refers to the passage of time and its relevance to us in the 21st century. Can we use information from the past to paint our path forward? Perhaps guild us towards a world where misinformation and disinformation no longer exist. Professor Duguid quoted Milton in saying “So truth be in the field, if truth is out there the falsehoods will be pushed to one side”.  Does this comfort the millions who have been targeted online through social media scamming, online harassment, identity theft, catfishing but to name a few. Yes, we should “look over the shoulder of information” but we also need to educate the next generation so their journey through social exploits can be beneficial to society and not a mere hindrance to the minds of the future.

 Are we the commodity within this rising information society that we live in? Are capitalists taking advantage of our need to communicate through social media? We are all targeted and although I feel strongly in the notion that we have a choice, the weaker members of our society are at risk and action within legislation is needed to protect the vulnerable within our society.

We spend our lives on social media. We allow algorithms to dictate our content. We are commodities. We are someone else’s intellectual property. We have no privacy and yes this is a crisis of the democracy we believe we are entitled to. We do have a choice; we can choose to abstain from social media but is this a cost we are willing to pay for anonymity?  We can’t turn back the clock and although the content within the book is an interesting and intellectual look at our history it does not pave the path to our future. It does however ask us to evaluate ourselves and paint a future that is bright with the knowledge we have acquired. We can make decisions that arm us with the facts necessary to make a more informed choice for future generations.

[ah-maa-zing]

This message is for the TV assistant who has been sending you asks the past couple days.

I am an aspiring TV writer moving to Los Angeles next summer. Finding out how deep sexual harassment goes, that it’s happening behind shows I love to people I love has been both disheartening and enlightening.

I don’t know how you do it. If I’m having such a strong reaction and I’m only on the periphery, I can’t imagine what it’s like for you. 

I have a question: is it worth it?

I have my happy imaginings of what a writer’s room must be like. In my head it’s a positive place, a progressive place. Everyone knows what feminism is and what it isn’t. Everyone is a feminist. Though a tragic minority, the women in the room feel safe enough to become vulnerable, to open up, to reach the depths of themselves in the name of creativity, to build something beautiful and wonderful beyond themselves.

This whole thing has felt like a reality check. I’m going into this knowing it will be hard. I know I’ll be an assistant for years before becoming a staff writer. I know I may have to go back to living on ramen, just like I did in college. I know it will be long hours. I know it will be taxing on my mental health–as someone who does have mental illness, this will be especially hard.

The thing is, I don’t know what else I’d do if I didn’t have this dream of writing. That’s not true; I could go back to academia (where I’m from), give up on the dream, and forever wonder if I could have made it if I tried. I’d go back to analyzing television instead of hoping to make it myself. However, that life is sad to me. It’s pedestrian. It’s… ordinary.

I don’t know if I’m as strong as you. I don’t know if I could work under those conditions. I don’t know how I would come out on the other side of this.

I just want you to know I think you’re extraordinary. I want you to know that I admire you, that I hope to be like you, and not just because you’re on the path to my dream job. I don’t know exactly what happened. However, your posts make it clear this is much bigger than myself. That this is beyond “what did they do to my favorite characters.” That this is the work environment I’m willingly walking into.

That these are real people experiencing things that I can expect to experience myself.

To you, and your sisters, I say thank you for bringing everything home to me. I wish you the best, and that you come out of this whole thing on the other side, stronger for having survived it.

[indizombie]

Israel’s shutdown of Palestinian Union of Health Workers Committee (UHWC) headquarters in Ramallah will have major consequences for the provision of essential health services to thousands of Palestinians, a programme for women’s health that was at the headquarters has now stopped. So far they have completely failed to protect the rights of all Palestinians – including their right to healthcare - throughout the global pandemic, pursuing a discriminatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. Israeli authorities must immediately rescind the shutdown order and put an end to the harassment of health workers. Instead of criminalising organisations providing vital health services, the Israeli authorities should be ending their institutionalised discrimination and systematic oppression of Palestinians.

Saleh Higazi, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa