#what is Ethnicity 1 2 3 and 4 and who assigned them

[lizardsfromspace]

Still confused and haunted by the Monster Factory golf ethnicity grids

[autismaccount]

I've reached 499 responses to my survey from Tumblr, so I wanted to give an update! I'm still injured, so I can't type enough to make posts for each support needs level, but I wanted to let people know where the survey is at all overall.

Thank you to everyone who's participated so far! I'll keep the survey open for a bit longer and then do analyses as soon as my hand/arm feel better. I'll also use graphs/charts to compare some key statistics across support needs levels (e.g., frequency of needing support for people who are low vs high support needs). If anyone hasn't taken the survey yet and wants to participate before it closes, the link is below.

As a reminder, the survey is meant to understand how people use support needs labels. For example, what makes someone low support needs and not moderate support needs? The survey also helps show what the community is like in general in terms of demographics and experiences!

Current summary:

Age: Most participants are young; 76% are under age 26, 51% are under 22, and 29% are under 19.

Gender: The largest gender/sex group is AFAB nonbinary (44%) followed by transgender men (34%) and distantly followed by cisgender women (15%). Assigned male at birth people are severely under-represented, with only 2% transgender women, 2% cisgender men, and 1% AMAB nonbinary. 2% of individuals responded that they're intersex.

Race/Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White people are over-represented, making up 72% of the sample. Minority groups include Jewish people (10%), Asian people (6%), Hispanic or Latino/a/e people (6%), Black people (5%), and Native/Indigenous/First Nations people (4%).

Diagnosis: 52% are professionally diagnosed, 22% are informally or soft-diagnosed, and 10% are seeking a diagnosis. Only 14% are neither diagnosed nor seeking a diagnosis. 2% have an autism special education label instead of a diagnosis.

The most common diagnoses are ASD with no level (49%) and level 1 ASD (19%). There is a severe underrepresentation of level 2 (9%) or level 3 (2%). 1% have a split level diagnosis (1/2, 2/1, and 2/3).

12% of individuals were historically diagnosed with mild autism, 6% moderate autism, and 2% severe autism. 28% were historically diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, 20% high functioning autism, 5% classic autism, and 4% PDDNOS.

15% were diagnosed before age 8, 34% between ages 9 and 15, 21% between ages 16 and 18, 23% between ages 19 and 25, and 7% over age 25.

Autism Support Needs: Self-identified support needs strongly trended low. 9% identified as very low support needs, 36% low, 28% low-moderate, 12% moderate, 3% moderate-high, and 2% high.

2% said their support needs change too often for them to give a level, 3% don't use support needs labels for other reasons, and 4% weren't sure their support needs.

The most common reasons for identifying with this level of support needs was intensity or type of support needed (82%) or frequency of support needed (68%). Other common reasons included intellectual or verbal ability (29%) or the community that seems like the best fit (26%). Only 10% based their support needs off of their DSM-5 level diagnosis, 9% off of professional opinion, and 4% off of their type of autism diagnosed (e.g., high functioning autism). 8% said their level changes too frequently to give an answer, and 7% weren't sure.

In general, most thought that support needs levels should be based off of intensity or type of support needed (88%) or frequency of support needed (83%). Other common reasons included intellectual or verbal ability (32%), professional opinion (19%), community (15%), or DSM-5 level diagnosis (13%). Only 5% thought it should depend on type of autism diagnosed (e.g., high functioning autism). 10% said levels change too frequently to give an answer, and 9% weren't sure.

Most would benefit from but do not need weekly support (39%), only need accommodations and mental health support (17%), or rarely need any support (4%). A minority need weekly support to survive (15%), would benefit from daily support (14%), need daily support to survive (9%), or need support for all waking hours or 24/7 (2%).

The tasks respondents were most likely to need support with included cleaning (91%), communicating with professionals (82%), planning (82%), managing health (71%), navigating the community (65%), and shopping (65%). Most could independently toilet (84%) and manage grooming (53%).

On a severity scale of 0 (can do independently) to 3 (cannot do at all), the average help needed for each domain is 0.88, indicating a need for some support at least some of the time.

Autism Symptoms: On a severity scale of 0 (not applicable) to 3 (severe), the average autism symptom severity is 1.7 overall, 1.6 socially, and 1.6 for restricted-repetitive behaviors. The most severe symptoms are sensory issues (2.0) followed by restricted or intense interests (1.8), and the least severe are nonverbal communication (1.5) followed by socioemotional reciprocity (1.6).

87% are fully verbal, 10% are part-time AAC users, and 3% are full-time AAC users. 6% have receptive language impairment, and 9% have expressive language impairment.

2% have borderline intellectual disability, 4% have mild intellectual disability, and 1% have moderate intellectual disability.

13% can mask well enough to pass as neurotypical. 9% can mask well but only briefly. 42% can mask well enough to seem "off" but not necessarily autistic. 18% can't mask well or for long. 6% want to mask but don't know how, and 5% can mask but deliberately don't. 7% don't understand masking.

Most experience shutdowns (83%), difficulties with interoception (71%), alexithymia (71%), meltdowns (68%), autistic mutism (65%), and echolalia (63%). Very few experience psychosis (24%), aphantasia or poor visual ability (23%), poor theory of mind (22%), or catatonia (19%).

Changes: 45% have experienced their autism symptoms getting worse, primarily due to burnout (28%), trauma (23%), puberty (19%), or regression (13%). 11% experienced temporary burnout, and 23% have struggled more due to increased demands or stressors. 21% aren't sure.

32% said this did not change their DSM-5 severity level, 19% said they moved from level 1 to level 2, 1% said they moved from levels 2 to 3, and 1% said they moved from levels 1 to 3. 1% had been formally reassessed to confirm this change, and 1% were in the process of being reassessed.

38% have experienced their autism symptoms getting less severe, primarily due to an improved environment (25%), naturally with age (14%), or medication (10%). A small number attributed their improvements to masking (9%), intervention (7%), puberty (2%), or gaining access to AAC (2%). 11% said their symptoms temporarily improved in a supportive environment. 24% aren't sure.

31% said this did not change their DSM-5 severity level, 5% said they moved from level 2 to level 1, 1% said they moved from levels 3 to 2, and 1% said they moved from levels 3 to 1. 1% had been formally reassessed to confirm this change, and 1% were in the process of being reassessed.

Self-Diagnosis: 27% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism, 34% think it's almost always fine, 40% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 66% think it needs to be done carefully, 9% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose, and 1% think it's never okay.

16% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism DSM-5 levels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 19% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 23% think it's almost always fine, 34% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 57% think it needs to be done carefully, 17% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose, and 3% think it's never okay.

24% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism support needs labels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 28% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 30% think it's almost always fine, 33% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 57% think it needs to be done carefully, 7% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose, and 1% think it's never okay.

Disability: 71% feel disabled by autism, 14% feel disabled by another condition but not autism, 4% don't feel disabled at all, and 11% are unsure.

Comorbidities: The most common mental health comorbidities are anxiety (75%), ADHD (62%), and depression (60%). Honorary mentions are PTSD (41%) and dissociative disorders (32%).

The least common mental health disorders are substance use disorders (4%), bipolar disorders (7%), schizophrenia spectrum disorders (9%), tic disorders (12%), and personality disorder (19%). 5% have no mental health disorders.

The most common physical health comorbidities are gastrointestinal issues (34%), connective tissue disorders (29%), neurological disorders or injuries (26%), and musculoskeletal disorders or injuries (20%). All others are below 20%. 2% have no physical health disorders.

Overall Support Needs: When considering comorbidities, support needs trend moderate. 7% identified as very low support needs, 24% low, 33% low-moderate, 25% moderate, 8% moderate-high, 3% high, and 1% very high. No one reported that their overall support needs change too often to say, that they don't use overall support needs labels, or that they don't know their overall support needs.

[a-beneficial-union]

Howdy, salut, the Alighted was mildly musing about junk she often does in the quiet period after her work shift and she realizes that she’s never actually put this stuff on proverbial paper.

So! The bedrock of A Beneficial Union is that the characters seen in the show as “Eon’s Servants” had to come from somewhere, and something had to have happened to ‘em after the fact. Since Eon is presented as having been something of a student for Paradox, I decided that the latter was the one who got the ball rolling here, artificially segmenting and isolating two timelines he found useful and dividing them up into what eventually became the ten branches. Once Paradox’s research was done, he left them be— but they just kept on going in their altered isolation.

Paradox’s experiment is left intentionally vague because it is supposed to have taken place thirty years prior to the modern day, with everyone who was directly involved being gone for one reason or other and all the documentation for it having disappeared. I like playing with what different -ens think happened and how they feel about their existence being the direct consequence of someone playing god.

The branches can be organized roughly into three categories: timelines in which the Ben alternate was adopted by his canon parents before or around age two (branches 1, 5, 7, and 9), those in which they are kept for a while longer (or just are kept) (2, 4, 6, and 8), and the outliers (3 and 10). The closer to the “Good End” the timeline is, generally the better their life turns out.

Because Paradox would have tried to standardize his participants (hence isolating and altering the timelines), they all come from the same genome. Everything in their life is supposed to be the exact same up until the point of change— meaning that factors relating to geography, ethnic/racial background, etcetera, are supposed to be the same. Examples: Carl Tennyson is a nurse and Sandra is a veteran who was mobilized to Iraq at least twice before Ben and Gwen are born.

The problem with that is, when all of the characters are carbon copies of each other, it’s boring. Boring to draw, boring to write, just boring all around. I was talking about this at a friend of mine a few months ago (specifically, I was worrying about how pasty all the characters are) and their advice was to just make them not that.

A loophole around my own rules is that coming from the same genome says little about one’s phenome. There are gradations of the same traits and different ways that they are recognized in social contexts. I come from a very mixed household in which I am the palest person present, and I’ve seen quote a few different ways that people (siblings, parents, friends, strangers, etcetera) respond to said differences.

For Ben’s fixed traits, I decided that they are from immediate Irish, Syrian, and Italian descent (with Grandpa Max’s parents coming from Syria and Ireland). The options for full names are “Benjamin-Lorenzo Kurby Tennyson” (“Ben”) for adopted amabs, “Mildren-Aria Sionnon Tennyson” (“Ren”) for adopted afabs, “Jennifer Shannon Tennyson” (“Jen”) for kept afabs, and “Stephen Benjamin Tennyson” for kept amabs. All afabs are intersex but this is not evident until secondary dimorphism comes in around puberty.

They are agender (usually sticking to their assigned pronouns), demisexual and aromantic. They have mild autism and severe ADHD combined type (with notably constant hyperarousal, which is often mistaken for anxiety). While being born with a painful sort of hyperempathy, they lack a filter and do not naturally grasp what they’re supposed to do about certain cues. By adolescence, they almost always have empathy burnout and become a patchwork of apathy and intrusive compassion. How well adjusted they are is extremely dependent on their parents’ competence. They require intense socialization from an early age or else they become reclusive, spend a good amount of time early on in speech therapy or else their sentences are incoherently disheveled, have quite a few sensory sensitivities bordering on full on sensory issues, and are vehement seekers of physical contact (despite their low social threshold).

In infancy and toddlerhood, they experience frequent trips to the hospital due to lung-related infections. This, as well as the birth parents’ willingness to raise such a ‘defective’ child, is why they get adopted out. They will experience similar complications to breathing throughout their young lives, normally manifesting in late night coughing fits and the perpetual sting of a sore throat. At sixteen or seventeen, they develop sensitive skin (normally eczema) and irritable bowel syndrome. At eighteen, they develop chronic fatigue, soreness, nausea, vertigo, etcetera— which is totally not the writer projecting onto a character, nooooo.

Onto inclinations, and this is a part that I’ve been going back and forth on for a while. Humans have natural inclinations which are often summarized as the various forms of intelligence or, in cases of singularity, specialization. Having too much of one of these inclinations often comes with a deficit in an opposing one.

From what we see in canon, Ben is a proficient drawer (his doodles in class), musician (of at least three instruments), lexophile (constant use of wordplay), and… I have no fancy way of saying this one- understanding people, their new forms, and situations very quickly. I deduced, evilly, that their primary inclinations are naturalistic, linguistic, interpersonal, and musical. They experience deficits in mathematics (lowkey having mild dyscalculia) and kinesthetics (needing a lot more practice while young in order to do the basics, hence why he’s put in so many sports).

For special interests and hyperfixations, I decided that they should have two or three special interests from which various hyperfixations circulate. Canon Ben is obsessed with his various forms, has the prominent comfort show of Sumo Slammers, and is heavily oriented around ‘hero work’. He has the nickname pre-canon of “monster freak”, which I take to mean that he was focused on monsters prior to being able to shapeshift. Alternative fixations of the foremost include mythology, monsterology (of video games), and zoology. I am a simple person with simple desires, and so often make one of their early fixations be on dragons.

I’ve mostly worked on the first two branches, but the further down they go, the more different the above traits are applied.

I’m now tired, bye.

[forcedacquiescence]

Costly Progress: Economic Growth in the Postbellum United States

Prelude

Blogging…there are few assignments so distasteful to a special type of combat veteran who spent most of his career avoiding the press, avoiding any form of internet trail at all, as much as humanly possible. One must, however, use whatever tools are available, despite the extreme discomfort, and press on, even if the lack of first person blogging proves itself a disappointment.

It likely comes down to reach. Some historians need to reach a larger audience with their message; a trained classicist now specializing in the American Civil War’s Western Theatre, and more specifically, in the small-unit warfare of the U.S. Army of the Tennessee’s units, for a potent example, should probably use whatever tools are available to combat the Lost Cause in all of its dishonest glory. One probably needs an audience for that.

Introduction

The astonishing economic boom and transformation of the post-Civil War United States is the stuff of legends, but it could not have occurred without the human element. Frankly, three decisive elements of this metamorphosis are the victory of the United States national government in the American Civil War, which provided security, unity and opportunity for the damaged nation, the construction of the various national railroad networks, especially the transcontinental railroad, which allowed for easier access and transportation of natural resources, and a large influx of immigrants, which provided bodies for factories and businesses to exploit mercilessly for economic gain. These elements, along with technology, fueled this second part of the Industrial Revolution. It could not have occurred without them.

Analysis

According to David Hacker, the American Civil War possibly resulted in 750,000 to 850,000 soldier deaths from all causes.[1] The war also practically shattered the south’s agrarian economic punch, something Susan Carter explained in her statistical study of American economic expansion, where she noted that southern states exported nearly 4,500,000 bales of a cotton in 1860, but practically none in 1864.[2] Yet, by 1900, the U.S. GNP per capita had increased from a little more than $2,000 to 9,000.[3] What changes brought this on?

Historians are not economists, so they tend to look for historical events that helped trigger this economic boom. The end of the Civil War in a victory for the United States ended slavery, and this probably made the south temporarily more poor, but it did allow for the unimpeded expansion west, a second Manifest Destiny that opened more land, more resources and more opportunity for groups of Americans seeking a better life. Only nationally connected railroads could open the west up quickly. So, the first major event would be the completion of the railroad networks, especially the transcontinental railroad. Frankly, the railroads boomed, and by 1876, the Unted States had 17,800 freight locomotives, and 22,200 passenger railroads at a time when industry began to blow up.[4] That is not a coincidence.

The second would be a boom in immigration. The first wave of major immigration brought millions of Irish Catholics into the nation, along with a smattering of Bavarian Catholics. This, of course, brought savage reprisals from Protestant “Know Nothings” and Nativists who were horrified for several reasons, most of them concerning their own ethnic, linguistic and religious prejudices. Obviously, they could not stop it; the service of Catholic Irish and German soldiers in the U.S. Army proved decisive, with the Irish Catholics especially earning a powerful reputation for courage and ferocity in the fighting, which only encouraged more immigration, especially when post-Civil War American wages began to exceed those of European nations. The result, more Catholics! Also, some Jewish immigrants came too, which sadly only brought more prejudice, but it also managed to pack the factories of the Northeast and Midwest, transforming the once primarily agrarian United States into an industrial powerhouse. All told, more than 25 million people, most of them Catholics but with large numbers of Jews as well, immigrated to the United States between 1869 and 1920, after up to six million Irish immigrants landed on American shores between 1845 and 1860, with the majority hailing from Poland, Italy, Hungary, and other Slavic-speaking nations, along with up to a million from Spain and Portugal.[5]

Finally, the Bessemer process allowed factories to produce quality steel at a faster, cheaper and more efficient pace, which increased the availability of steel for industrial work. As railroads themselves spawned support industries – locomotives do not grow on trees and must be manufactured from metal, usually steel – more capital poured into the economy, allowing greater investment opportunities.

The evidence that railroads and immigration fueled the Revolution is abundant. First, as Andrew Carnegie himself pointed out, “a railroad of iron would be a cheaper thing than a road of common construction.”[6] Factories developed quickly after the transcontinental railroad linked east and west, whereas before, as Carter notes, they only developed in the canal-rich Northeast, which gave U.S. forces an advantage in the Civil War.[7] Railroads simply allowed more goods and resources to be transported farther and faster than ever before. This covers the supply side of economics.

Secondly, immigrants and African Americans performed a large share of factory and even track laying work, with Dr. David Brody an expert on immigration and labor, stating that up to 80% of factory work occurred “on the backs of immigrants, including children.”[8] The railroads themselves relied on immigrant labor, with 90% of Central Pacific workers being Chinese immigrants, and roughly 75% of the Union Pacific being Irish and German immigrants, many of them Civil War veterans.[9] Immigrants built the railroads and manned the factories, and without either one, there would be no Gilded Age.

Transportation, resources, land, security and an abundance of workers are the major ingredients for an industrial boom. The U.S. national victory (“Union,” if you must, but “Union” simply means the loyal states, the national government, and the Armed Forces of the United States) in the Civil War, the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the honor of Second Manifest Destiny, and a large, even massive, influx of immigrants, which provided a large chunk of the work force necessary to make the “Gilded Age” gilded – and absolutely horrifying to the abused, exploited millions of poor Americans living and dying in horrible conditions – all proved vital.

There are other factors, of course – ruthless “Robber Barons,” and the development of new industries such as oil production, come to mind – but these could not have made much of a difference without the ingredients in place. The development of oil production industries especially; they would not have occurred without trains and workers already in country. At the very least, these played a very, very important role in the transformation of America from agrarian wilderness to industrial superpower.

Of course, that comes at cost, great cost, and the whole enterprise can be summed up by the words of a child working in these conditions. “About a year and a half ago I took to the girdle and chair. I do not like it; it hurts me; it rubs off my skin; I often feel pain. I work 16 hours a day for pennies.”[10]

[1] J. David Hacker, “A Census-Based Count of the Civil War Dead,” Civil War History 57, no. 4 (2011): pp. 307-348, https://doi.org/10.1353/cwh.2011.0061. [2] Susan B. Carter, Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present: Millennial Edition (Cambridge, MA: Cambridge U.P., 2006), 96. [3] Robert J. Gordon, The American Business Cycle Continuity and Change (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1990), 113. [4] Manfred Weissenbacher, Sources of Power: How Energy Forges Human History (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2009), 243. [5] Alejandro Portes, Immigrant America: A Portrait (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2014), 124. [6] David Nasaw, Andrew Carnegie (London, UK: Penguin, 2008), 190. [7] Carter, 104. [8] David Eliot Brody, Essays on the Age of Enterprise: 1870-1900 (Hinsdale , IL: Dryden, 1974), 101. [9] Stephen E. Ambrose, Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869 (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005), xx. [10] Brody, 117.

[simarjeet12]

Creating an Inclusive Beauty Pageant: A Comprehensive Guide

In the past few years, inclusive beauty pageants have changed from being exclusive competitions to becoming venues that honor individuality, diversity, and inclusivity. An inclusive beauty pageant has emerged as a crucial means of empowering people of different identities, sizes, origins, and abilities in response to the growing desire for representation. This guide will help you realize your goal if you're thinking about hosting an inclusive beauty pageant or want to know how to make your event more inclusive and diverse.

1. Clearly state the goals and principles of your pageant.

Establishing the fundamental goal of an inclusive beauty contest is the first stage in the process. What is the purpose of your pageant? Do you want to honor differences in abilities, genders, races, and body types? The event's foundation will be established by unambiguous values. For example, your pageant might highlight:

Encouraging acceptance of various body forms is known as body positivity.

Cultural diversity: Emphasizing many ethnic cultures and backgrounds.

Providing a platform for those with mental or physical disabilities is known as disability inclusion.

Accepting competitors of all gender identities, including non-binary and transgender people, is known as gender inclusion. 

2. Establish Inclusive Eligibility Standards

Broad eligibility requirements that do not exclude any one group are necessary for an inclusive beauty competition. Rather than conforming to conventional notions of beauty, think about:

Open age range: Permitting competitors of various ages to compete.

Diverse body types: Honoring men and women of different shapes, sizes, and medical backgrounds.

Gender identity: Making certain that people of all gender identities are accepted.

Encouraging competitors with obvious or invisible disabilities is known as disability inclusion.

The intention is to establish a friendly environment where everyone, not only those who meet conventional standards of beauty, can feel included.

3. Establish a Secure and Helpful Environment

During the process, contestants should experience comfort, respect, and support. To guarantee this:

Offer mental health support: Contestants can manage stress, anxiety, and the pressure of competition by having access to counselors or wellness specialists during the pageant.

Criteria for inclusive judging: Judges ought to receive training on how to assess competitors on factors other than appearance. Instead of focusing only on conventional beauty standards, think about evaluating people based on their abilities, morals, fortitude, and influence on the community.

Promote a good environment: Encourage a sense of unity rather than rivalry. Emphasize self-expression, empowerment, and valuing each competitor's individuality. 

4. Provide Contestants with Resources and Support

Make the pageant more accessible by offering tools that would enable each contestant to provide their best effort. This could consist of:

Training programs: Regardless of a contestant's experience, providing training on stage presentation, cosmetics, and public speaking can aid in preparation.

Adaptive tools: Make sure the location is accessible and supply any assistive technology or tools that contestants with disabilities may want if your pageant involves them.

Mentorship: Assign participants to mentors who can help them along the way by providing both professional and emotional assistance.

5. Create an Experience for an Inclusive Event

The inclusive values of your competition should be reflected in the pageant event itself. Here are a few ideas for creating an inclusive event:

Diverse representation on your team: Make sure that a variety of individuals are participating in the pageant's planning, judging, and promotion. Making decisions with a diverse workforce will guarantee greater inclusivity.

Costumes and clothing that are inclusive: Make sure your wardrobe selections accommodate various body shapes and provide options for people with physical limitations or cultural preferences.

Venues that are accessible: Verify that the location has ramps, elevators, and enough space for those with disabilities. For competitors who might have mobility issues or reside in other areas, take into account virtual choices. 

6. Advertise Your All-Inclusive Beauty Contest

Promoting your pageant as an inclusive and inspiring event is crucial if you want to draw in a diverse group of contestants. Make use of uplifting, varied messaging that embodies your basic beliefs:

Social media campaigns: Use inclusive language and imagery in your postings, showcase the diversity of your competitors, and share testimonies from previous contestants.

Collaborations with advocacy organizations: To expand your audience and establish credibility, work with groups that support diversity, inclusion, and representation.

Promote involvement: To encourage participants with all backgrounds and skill levels to participate, use open calls to action. Emphasize that everyone is entitled to an opportunity to shine.

7. Honor the Contestants' Diversity

The diversity that is displayed at any inclusive beauty pageant is its main attraction. Establish a setting where each competitor feels appreciated for their uniqueness. Make sure that each contestant's history, narrative, and individuality are honored from the opening ceremony until the last round.

Highlight instances in which competitors relate intimate tales of their experiences, setbacks, and triumphs. These stories not only make the competition more relatable to the public, but they also foster a closer bond between them and the competitors.

Conclusion

Changing the culture surrounding beauty standards is just as important as altering the competitors in an inclusive beauty competition. You can contribute to the creation of a pageant that defies convention and gives people from all walks of life the confidence, beauty, and sense of worth they deserve by emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

[bllsbailey]

RedState Weekly Briefing: Kamala's Privilege, Ben's Mastery, Trump's Hilarity

Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger as we head into the homestretch of election season), and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication!

#1 - Kamala Harris Got Into Law School Via a Program She Didn't Qualify For — by Jim Thompson

At the start of the program in the early 70s, new students admitted through LEOP did not fare well. The dropout rate was high, so the school instituted a more “hands-on” routine assigning one-on-one tutors to help navigate law school for LEOP students. On paper, the program wasn’t intended for one of her social position of privilege.  Harris was immersed in Indian culture growing up in Montreal. Her family traveled the world. Her mother was taken aback when a Head Start teacher was “shocked” that Harris wasn’t from the poor side of Oakland. Harris’s mother told him that Kamala was the daughter of privilege. Harris didn’t fit into the intended target demographic that LEOP was designed for – but she fully took advantage of her ethnic heritage. At least one side of it. Once admitted under the program Haris joined the BLSA (Black Law Students Association). Raised by her Indian mother, Harris found more currency in being black.  

#2 - Ben Shapiro Took on 25 Kamala Harris Voters in a Debate, and the Results Were Incredible — by Bonchie

It just keeps going from there, but I needed to stop transcribing it before my brain rotted. To summarize, what that woman was trying to do is what pro-abortion fanatics always do: They seek to invent any argument that avoids dealing with the moral issue of ending a human life. As Shapiro notes, no one could care about abortion if it only included c-sections in which the babies live. The entire point of the argument is over the termination of human life.  Pro-abortion radicals always seek to deflect because deep down, they know what is happening is morally wrong. Thus, they hang onto "exceptions" and the redefining of basic terms instead of just owning what they claim to support. It's transparent, and that Shapiro was able to keep his cool in that exchange is a credit to him.

#3 - MSNBC Goes Into Full Meltdown Mode As Trump Gets Huge Crowd and Cheers at McDonald's — by Nick Arama

What's unstable about working at McDonald's? Are they really going that route to insult the people who work there? Every politician running for office does things like this traditionally.  MSNBC also tried to float Kamala's desperate last-ditch propaganda that Trump was "unstable," which was a silly rebuttal, seeing as he just worked with the folks at McDonald's to serve folks. They really are clueless. Plus, the claim that he doesn't have an economic plan is just laughable, when it's really Kamala Harris who has offered up nothing up but word salads. And they had to slip in the "threat to democracy" mantra, which is a little hard to sell when he's handing out food at the drive-thru.  Bottom line? They just can't deal -- and it's a beautiful thing to see.

#4 - Holy Crap: Josh Hawley Shows No Mercy After Shooting Event Hosted by Democrat Opponent Goes Wildly Wrong — by Sister Toldjah

For some, the incident brought to mind the infamous 2006 hunting accident involving then-Vice President Dick Cheney, who "accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets." Thankfully, Gamboa was okay after being treated and released from the hospital. Meanwhile, Kunce's tweet about the incident, where he focused on how he tended to Gamboa's wound, got some attention from Hawley and some of his senior Senate staffers:

#5 - Kamala Harris 'Town Hall' With Liz Cheney Blows Up on the Launch Pad, and Just Gets Worse From There — by Bonchie

Nothing says "town hall" like pre-determined questions, no doubt submitted by the campaign itself. The statement from the Shriver that she might "ask some questions that might be in your head" is especially great. Sure, people showed up hoping to actually garner tangible information from Harris, but isn't hoping that the moderator might ask a question somewhat related to something you care about basically the same thing? Keep in mind that we are still in the middle of a Democrat freak-out over Donald Trump visiting a McDonald's, with left-wingers letting it be known the event was "staged." Well, is a "town hall" in which no one can ask questions "staged?" Asking for a friend.

[nightcall99]

Dreams from 30.4.24

Dream 1 I had arrived at AN and CK's house. They are customers from work, a lesbian couple who are probably in their 60's. For some reason I have been invited over to have dinner (I do not talk to them irl beyond a polite hello and goodbye). I am nervous but at the same time I know it will be fine. I figured I would get along with them as I assumed they must have progressive viewpoints on topics that would match my own. I knocked on the door and a lady who was in 40's and ethnically half Asian, answered. The couple were not here. Were they ever? The lady had a nice smile, and there was a sharpness to her energy which I recognised. It felt like maybe I knew her, but it also felt like I was meeting her for the first time. I liked her instantly. She showed me inside and it was a lovely house. I had always admired this house because of the unruly front garden. In the living there is a girl who is around my age but probably 5 years younger. It must have been the lady's daughter. She was black or looked half-black. We got along instantly and I felt very comfortable with her.

Dream 2 Then I'm in some old house, like a large estate. There was even a pond or a lake and it reminded me of those old English aristocratic homes. It was an open day and the public were allowed to come and have a look. There was a magazine article about the lady who used to own it but was now advancing in years. Perhaps she had already died because the magazine looked kinda vintage. In a photograph, the old woman was sitting on a chair in a rather elegant section of the garden, in a kind of alcove by the pond. There was something remarkable about her, although she was really just a regular lady. She had lived at this house her whole life and it seemed to me that she and this place, the history of it, were one. I could tell this also, because of the plants and surroundings in the photo seemed to be as much her as she was her body. The current lady who owns this house was wandering around with the public on this open day. At one point she was walking behind me but I took no notice of her. I think she was wearing high heels. I don't think she was a descendent of the old owner.

Now I'm with a bunch of people. Still in the mansion, but not, because the setting of these scenes flickers with that of our old house which was always slightly dilapidated and reflective of my family's working class status. We were playing some kind of game but it was a complex logic game that had something to do with my job. It was set up like a treasure hunt or something, but it was really just the carrying out of a boring medication review. I had decided to play because everyone else was, even though my heart wasn't in it. In one of the steps you had to record down all the medication boxes that had been scattered about in the room. I was in the bedroom of my old house. I'd already made the list and now I was lying down and resting. I thought the game was over since I'd completed this step and I had even dramatically ripped up the pages upon which I had written it all down. DK was there, a customer from irl but in this dream he was playing the role of the teacher. He looked amused that I had done that, but ultimately not very happy because it meant I wouldn't be able to continue with the rest of the assignment. I was grouchy, I snapped saying, What? Did we need that? Are we going to write a report on it later or something? He said, Yes. I was really annoyed. I didn't want to play this stupid game but also I was frustrated because it felt like the dutiful thing to continue.

I hopped off the bed and stalked off downstairs into our living room. I sat on the couch with a piece of paper and pen, trying to write down everything that I could remember. I was only able to list about 3-4 drugs and was wracking my brain, because I know there had been a whole box's worth of medications. Then people I know appeared, like AL, I think. They gave me clues to help trigger my memory which was not really working. Then SM walks into the room. It turns out that he had been there in the bedroom before, and had witnessed me lashing out at the teacher. After I had walked off, he had been there with him and had spent a lengthy amount of time and effort trying to defend my behaviour and smooth things over. SM was basically scolding me now, and he was saying that I shouldn't have done that. He ended up being able to work something out with the teacher, to let me off or not give me a hard time about it later. I felt like a child, I didn't ask him to do that shit but deep down I was flattered that he had tried to help me. I realised that I was only pretending to be angry and was ultimately glad of his protectiveness.

Then I am back in the mansion and everyone is in the large dining hall. It feels crowded. We are like students, all having a meal break together in a high school cafeteria-esque situation. I am with the girl I met in dream 1, and I am sitting next to her on the table. She is busy writing/drawing some random stuff on rectangular white panels of paper, it seemed like a to-do list. I was not really paying attention since it didn't concern me but then my eyes are drawn to one of the squares which says 'twin flame'. It's in black and white like everything else, but I notice that the distorted style and font of the letters was like the reCaptcha thing you have to do on websites to prove you're not a robot. I said to her, What's that for? What does it mean? She didn't express much verbally but her energy said it all. She was 'there' and that meant that we were able to communicate in this manner effortlessly. All she did was point toward a girl who was sitting at another table on the other side of the room. I noticed the strong aura radiating from this person, it was a similar energy to that of my friend and both of their energies seemed to exist as a unit. I said, That black girl over there? She said, Yes. The vibe was that they weren't hanging out, weren't together, maybe hadn't even formally met yet but the goal was to get there, whatever 'there' was. It was a task as much as it was a non-task since things happen by themselves these days.

Then this part was strange. I had this sensation that my friend's ‘twin flame’ was sitting with us. Like her spirit or ghost was next to us and nobody else in the room realised it except my friend and I, since we had the gift. This energy of my friend's twin flame was sitting at the table with us but they were also physically over there taking no notice of us, talking with the people at her table. At that moment I wanted to say something to my friend, because I had just realised something. I wanted to tell her that I had a twin flame too and that it was SM. Seeing the two of them having the same energy, seemed to be a call for attention to my own situation. I wanted to tell her that she and I had the same 'task' at hand and she wasn't alone. But in the end, I didn't say anything because it felt so 3D and childish and I was embarrassed to say it out loud, even though I didn't think that way toward my friend at all.

[kisari-v]

THE HOLY GRAIL OF LEARNING FOR FASHION ( t o m e )

So this is (one of) the book(s) I'm using at the moment to help me with learning more fashion work

One of the things I really enjoy about this books is that it gives you assignments. And since I haven't taken a fashion class since highschool (where we didn't do much pertaining to fashion tbh but it was really fun) I think It's really helpful to have a guide like this to know what I should be working on and what I should be trying to learn in my own way (if that makes sense)

So I'm gonna break this here, because underneath will be the list of the 14 assignments this book has to help you make your own fashion collections. (shortened to its basics bc LONG)

1.Shopping Reports

You know a place where people buy clothes? COOL.

GO THERE AND STUDY.

Notice what the fabric is made of, what are the colors? How are they made (technique-wise)? What's selling? What's on sale? (aka people don't seem to like/want this).

Look at the store and figure how they sell themselves and how does that help to communicate the style of the clothes and what they were made for in both style and who they are being sold to.

2.Architecture

So two things: This assignment is connecting both Fashion and Architecture together since both are made in society to be used in a functional way, but are stylized as a way to react to the current society.

Find a certain kind of architecture style (ex. Classical, Gothic, Renaissance, Rococo, Bauhaus, etc.) and study both the way it is shaped and looks (color, texture, surroundings, lights, space) and it's context as to why it was made like that (concept, society, history, location etc.)

3.Historical Personality

Clothing and fashion is one of the first ways that people get to know you. Want to know a famous person? Look at their clothes!

It's gonna be a lot of research, but search up a famous person and study what they dressed and why they dressed like that. You've got to follow a lot of the same research you did for the architecture assignment. What was the context of this person's life that led to how this person wanted others to perceive them? Consider, family location, time period, individual personality and social circumstances that lead them to dress the way they did.

4.Ethnic Background

Clothing in communities (whether that be social or ethnic ) helps to teach you about what people in certain communities found important to their life and the way it affected it. Folklore, Social Rank, or even homogenization are all important factors in the way a group of people dress.

Study about an ethnic background (whether that be your own roots or another place's history) and focus on something specific about the clothing and why it was made in that certain way. (ex. Differences in rank, location, war, religion). What differs this community from all the others and how.

How can you adapt these things you've learned into making your own clothes with inspiration and reflection from this group while still making it your own and appealing it to today?

5.Opposite Designer

Work with stuff that is directly opposite what you usually like to make. Literally ask your friends to recommend you a style they know you would hate.

Look at other peoples work that differs from your own preferences and compare it to your own and criticize it by observing what works and what doesn't from an objective and visual standpoint. Remember that collections are a whole. Don't forget to compliment and learn what went right for these collections too because not every failure is a loss and not every win is perfect either. That includes your own.

Learn how to use this style to sell to people who you don't share the same taste as you while keeping the feeling authentic. Remember you are working with the brand to move the brand forward while also keeping the identity of it in tack, while also appealing to current fashion tastes.

6.Swap

7.Nature

8.3D/2D

9.Macro to Micro

10.Concept to Catwalk

11.Shifts in Fashion

12.Polarities

13.One Inspiration for an entire class

14.Accessories

[jwhit248]

Chapter 5: Field Work

1. White Supremacy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VD53NBeh8U 

This video is an example of White Supremacy. It shows how many white individuals believe they're superior to other racial and ethnic groups. White Supremacy has affected our lives in many ways, starting from the systems in America. In the beginning, America's system was based around racist white men that would do anything in their power to do what was beneficial for the white people. Unfortunately, that legacy continues to get passed down throughout the years to now. Now that we live in a new generation, some white people are starting to witness now that the white supremacy legacy needs to be put to a stop. So they started protesting with different ethnic groups to help create a change in this world. Sometimes it works, and other times it doesn't but it's good that white people are starting to look past the racist legacy that's still run down over the years.

2. Miscegenation: 

This photo best represents Miscegenation. Around the 1600′s, they didn’t approve of interracial marriage (Black and White). They had a choice to go to the Supreme Court and make them get a divorce, so they can be with people within their race or go to a different state that would approve it. From stories, interracial marriage wasn’t approved because they believe that white people shouldn’t be with someone they considered that is “beneath them.” So that’s why many interracial couples were always kept secret because they would never approve of it. In my opinion, miscegenation is similar to like same-sex marriages. For a very long time, they never approved of same-sex marriages so they had no choice but to keep their relationship a secret. If they found you were in a relationship with the same sex or interracial marriage at the time they would have never looked at you the same. Which was wrong, but now same-sex and interracial marriage is accepted in this world. Yes, some people are gonna still have negative opinions on it but I feel like you should still accept whomever you end up loving at the end of the day.

3. Racialization:

This photo represents Racialization. Racialization is a political process of categorizing our racial identity by our relationships, social practices, and more. This is a process where our society categorizes our people and our race. By our skin color, physical features, accents, etc. I feel like this process can be a negative social because you can automatically just put someone in a group based on their race or the way they talk, which isn’t right.

4. Jim Crow:

This photo best represents Jim Crow. Jim Crow was a law that prevented black people from voting, getting/holding jobs, or being able to get an education from schools. It caused them to face a lot of arrests, fines, and even jail time for black people trying to do what others have been doing. However, Jim Crow made our black community stronger because without this law we wouldn't have gone where we are now. We would still be slaves, we would still have to face not being able to vote or get jobs that easily. We wouldn't even be able to get an education as we do now.

5. Hypodescent: 

This photo represents Hypodescent. Hypodescent is when any “mixed” children are assigned to the parent from the subordinate group. For example, when slaves were still around white men used to rape some slaves which makes them pregnant with a mixed children. Around this time, those white men would deny that was their baby so those children who has a mother that is a slave were also considered a slave even if they were mixed (having European in their blood). But if a white woman has a child with a black man at that time, they were raised by a white family.

6. Individual Racism: 

https://ms-my.facebook.com/robinhood/photos/racism-in-all-forms-individual-institutional-and-structural-harms-communities-an/10159084721974203/ 

This photo is an example of Individual Racism. Individual Racism means individuals make racist assumptions, beliefs, or behaviors based on a person. It’s like racism but only based on your race. For example, you can look at a black man and people can racially assume that their criminals or bad people, whereas there is nothing like that. They can see a black woman and just think their just women whom you can step all over I think.

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Racism, antisemitism, and anti-Jedi sentiment in Star Wars (Part 3/4)

Part 3: Antisemitism and Anti-Asian racism

via @shadowaccio6181 :

There is also an article here regarding more current stereotyped perceptions of both Asians and Jewish people that I’ll quote larger sections from, because I think context is important:

This type of “faulty and inflexible generalization” that associates an individual with the perceived wrongs of an entire ethnic/racial group is almost the textbook definition of prejudice. Princeton University psychologist Susan Fiske and her collaborators published a series of articles examining stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. They show people usually assess a group along two dimensions: warmth (are they sincere and sociable?) and competence (are they capable and intelligent?). For example, her work finds the elderly are stereotypically perceived as warm but incompetent; middle-class white Americans as warm and competent; Asians and Jews as cold but competent, and homeless people as cold and incompetent.

People who are not friendly are more dangerous to others than are people who are not competent, who are more dangerous to themselves. When majority-group members with high levels of bias encounter members of minority groups they perceive as cold, biased individuals can feel they must react by verbally harassing, bullying or attacking them. That’s especially true if that minority group is being touted or perceived as threatening — the way some leaders are painting Asian Americans as responsible for spreading the pandemic.

Using a nationally representative, random-sample telephone survey that interviewed 571 respondents in the United States in 2003, Fiske’s research found Asians, along with Jews, are consistently stereotyped as competent but cold. Biased individuals, confronted with people stereotyped as competent-cold, often feel envy and resentful admiration. Envied groups are often scapegoated during periods of widespread social instability, because biased majority-group members perceive those groups as having both the ability and intention to disrupt society.

We also shouldn’t ignore the stereotype of Asian parenting: “the notion that the Asian American parenting style is authoritarian—devoid of warmth, controlling, unfeeling, and undemocratic—versus Western parenting, which is viewed as the more positive authoritative style—firm, but warm, highlighted by intimate parent-child relations… our perceptions of parental warmth are culturally concocted and notes that what is often perceived as “strict parenting” in non-Western or non-Caucasian families is often misunderstood.” Obviously, not all parents are perfect, but this is very much a racist stereotype.

Commentary from Annessarose:

Exactly this.

It is indeed true that some Asian parents are undeniably strict to the point of toxic helicopter parent. I know this for a fact, because I have so many (Chinese) friends who experience it. It is also true that there are Asian parents who are not like this, and that there are many parents who are not toxic, who are supportive of their children.

Ultimately, it's important to note that for many parents, their actions come from good intentions even when it manifests itself in decidedly toxic ways. They are human. This does not excuse toxic parenting in any ways, but painting Asian parents with one brush and portraying all of them as harsh and unfeeling and authoritarian does a disservice to the many parents who are supportive, who listen, who try their best to help their kids. Ultimately, people are complex. Reducing them to stereotypes is dangerous and toxic.

To Jewish Star Wars fans: please please please feel free to add to this conversation! I don't feel qualified to speak on this but I would love to hear & amplify your voice on this.

We also shouldn’t ignore the common stereotypes of Asians in film (source):

I really feel I need to point this out, but as an Asian American, I’m actually thankful Obi-Wan is played by Ewan McGregor, because if he were played by an Asian actor, it would make so much of fandom’s characterizations of him Significantly More Yikes.

Ewan McGregor is known for being naked on-screen and having sexually suggestive scenes. However, there's a stereotype of "the Asian man as effeminate and asexual", or if sexualized, they're "categorized as exotic and different... foreign." This stereotyping "both feminizes Asian-American men and simultaneously constructs alternative gender and sexuality as aberrant." And "it seems as if Asian men are also victim to extremes: In some portrayals, they are cold-hearted villains and ruthless Kung Fu masters, while in other films, are portrayed as “losers” who have all the brains but no social skills or clueless immigrants fresh off the boat." "...men were portrayed more negatively than women; Asian men are perceived as less socially skilled or seen as the enemy." And Asians are often paraded about “as an example for people, showing them to be intelligent, overachieving" but "Asians were more likely to also be perceived as antisocial, awkward, and lacking proper communication skills."

Annessarose's commentary:

Oh, boy. Do I have thoughts on this.

I grew up in a an Asian diaspora. And. Despite living in a primarily Chinese area of that community, these stereotypes still wormed their way into us. At school, many (Chinese) girls would talk about how none of the (Chinese) men were attractive, and how they were dreaming about the white boys they saw on television instead. As we grew older, I had several in-depth discussions with several of my close female friends, and we'd end up talking about how the reason we thought the white guys were more attractive was because the media we watched told us that that was what the beauty standard was.

On top of that, we also had that stereotype of Asians being intelligent overachievers internalized as well. Do you know how many people would cry over an 85%? Do you know how many people would complain about a 92%? Many people ended up placing their self-worth into their academic marks, and it was disastrous. Mental health was all over the place. Bullying based on marks abounded. Granted, this stereotype was not the only reason this happened; it's true that there are indeed parents who take nothing less than 100%, and let me tell you, it really fucked some of my classmates up. It was horrendous. But many parents were not like that, but the constant peer pressure + societal pressure to be perfect in academics and extra-curriculars and everything just so we could feel like what society told us Asians were like was tremendous even in an Asian diaspora.

I remember being assigned to a group of white classmates in elementary school. I remember them saying, "Oh, cool, you're in here!" and I was like "Why me?" They told me "You're Asian, you're smart, so we're gonna do well in this project." Similar stories abounded with my East Asian friends all across elementary school, and shaped how we felt when we entered our high school.

Even in diaspora, western stereotypes & racism can be destructive and toxic.

This is Part 3!

[Part 1] | [Part 2] | [Part 4]

[lunar-girl-fic]

Against All Odds- Week 1

Warning: Harrassment/assault, language, suggestive, threats

Y/N POV

Word Count: 2530

A/N: As mentioned before this is based on my personal life. Even though not everything in this story happened, some of the more serious topics actually did. So a quick warning, there is content in here than can make the reader uncomfortable, specifically se**** harassment/assault. My intention in mentioning this in the series is to make people aware that this kind of stuff does actually happen in places you might not think it happens in. Also I try write relatable content. In my opinion Y/N reaction was kind of realistic. I reacted like that as well but instead of telling a boyfriend I told my close friend who worked with me and his reaction was the same as Eunwoo’s. Soooo in conclusion I hope you don’t think I’m writing this to be insensitive. I’m just trying to be as realistic as possible since it is based off my life.

A/N 2: I am a brown (If ya wanna know my exact ethnicity you could ask and I'll gladly tell :)), curly hair girl and since this is based on my personal life/experience I'm gonna write this series with those details in mind.

*Beep beep beep beep*

Your turned to your side to turn your alarm clock off. When you turned it off you gently pried the hands that were on your waist off. Even though your boyfriend was going to school the same time and place as you, you wanted to get ready first so you could make breakfast.

You took a quick shower and put on some home clothes because you didn't want to mess up your new uniform. After dressing you woke up Eunwoo.

"Eunwoo wake up" You said while shaking his shoulder.

He lifted his head towards you and barely opened his eyes, "Mmmh 5 more minutes", he mumbled dropping his head back onto the pillow.

You understood why he was so tired. You guys had stayed up late finishing the homework assignment that was due today. Had you guys known it was going to take so long you would've done it a week before but there's no point in dwelling on the past.

You shook him again, "Eunwoo, you have to get up. Class starts in an hour." He turned onto his back and whined.

"Morning sleepy head."

"Mornin’“

"You should start getting ready. We don't know how this man handles lateness."

"But I'm soooo tired." He said as he grabbed you and pulled you back onto the bed.

"I know, so am I."

"I can think of a couple ways to help us feel more energized." He said while caressing your thigh.

"So can I and it's called a shower and breakfast." You said while slapping his hand away.

He pouted, "You're no fun."

"I'll be sure to remind you of that next time you wanna have se-"

"Okay okay you win."

"I always do, now hurry up and get ready. You have about 15 minutes to shower and eat."

"Hmph, unlike you I don't take an hour just to shower."

"Wh-what?!? I don't take an hour!"

"How would you know if you've never timed yourself?"

"Well-I-you-"

"My point exactly." He said with a smirk as he closed the bathroom door.

You scoffed in disbelief but then thought about it. Maybe you did take an hour to shower but who cares. At least you were thorough when you cleaned yourself. You put your school uniform on and packed you and Eunwoo's lunch. Even though your school was close to fast food places, you guys needed to save up to pay for necessities. Plus who knows if your professor is actually going to give you a long enough break to buy food in those dreadfully long lines.

Just as you finished packing lunch Eunwoo walked out of your shared room fully dressed. You looked down at your watch and realized it was time to go if you guys wanted a seat close to the front.

As Eunwoo went to take a bite of his breakfast you snatched it out of his hand and bagged it.

"Hey! I was about to eat that."

"I don't think so, you took too long to get ready so now you have to eat it on the way."

"Sounds like too much work." He said as he tried to grab his food out of your hand. Of course since you were smaller than him you were able to escape and quickly ran to your bookbag to put his food in it.

After you zipped up your bag, you turned to look at your pouting boyfriend.

"As I said before your going to eat on the way there but since you'll be driving I'll feed you. How does that sound?"

His face beamed at your offer, "Let's get going then."

As you promised you fed him on the way there. By the time you arrived you had about 5 minutes to spare. Before you guys entered the gym you saw one of your classmates you made friends with when you took Pharmacology.

"Hey Laura!"

Laura turned around to see who was calling her name. When she saw who it was she instantly smiled. "Y/N! How are you?"

"I'm good, how have you been?"

"Pretty good, can't really complain." She said but then looked at Eunwoo who was just standing there looking like a teen whose mom just saw an old friend. You wouldn't have mind at first since this would be the first time she ever saw him. But the look she was giving him ignited a fire in you that only happens when you get jealous and that doesn't happen often. So you just stood there and tried your best to keep smiling and act like nothing was wrong.

"Who's your friend?"

"This is Eunwoo, my boyfriend." You said making sure to put emphasis on the boyfriend.

"It's nice to meet you." He said sticking his hand out for a handshake. She shook his hand. An action that is generally an innocent and friendly greeting seemed so wrong in that moment that you couldn't take it anymore.

"Ohh would you look at the time, we should probably go find a seat before all the good ones are taken." You said while pulling on Eunwoo's arm.

"Maybe we can sit together." Laura said as she tried to catch up to you guys.

"Mmmm I don't think we'll be able to." You said while you scanned the room for a row with only two seats available.

Bingo you thought when you saw row 3 only had 2 seats. You quickly pulled Eunwoo to the spot. You looked back to see what Laura was going to do and saw the look of defeat on her face. Which of course brought a smile to your face but quickly dropped it for a look of remorse.

Once you both pushed your chairs closer to each other you sat down and pulled out your syllabus, textbook and notebooks. You didn't even have a chance to talk to Eunwoo because it just turned 8 o'clock.

"Okay, Let's get started." The class immediately got quiet. "Welcome to Process 1, this is where you will learn the fundamental skills of nursing. I covered most questions in our previous zoom meeting so I will not be answering any today unless it has to do with the material. As I said before you must abide by the rules because this is Nursing and we need to shape you into future nurses. I will NOT baby you because this is college and if your looking for an easy class then you can go do Business Administration."

Oh great, another smart a**, you thought.

"Now let's get down to business. Today we're going to be watching videos of what you are going to do for your head-to-toe assessments. But before we do that I am going to let the other clinical instructors introduce themselves."

After they introduced themselves your professor started the videos. At first they seemed interesting but then after a while you started to get sleepy. And you weren't the only one. You looked over at Eunwoo and he was already sleeping. You gently pushed his shoulder and he woke confused about his surrounding until he realized he was still in school. Thankfully your professor finally gave you guys a break from watching videos.

"Okay now we are going to practice what you just saw. I want you to take a finger and find the 1st intercostal space and then the 2nd and don't stop until you get to the 5th one. You will do this on yourselves first and in a few minutes on your partner. But when you are with your partner you will only go to the 2nd one. "

That shouldn't be too hard, it's literally just the space between your ribs, you thought. But boy were you wrong. You couldn't tell if what you were touching was a space or something else and it started to hurt because you were putting a good amount of pressure. You looked over at Eunwoo and surprisingly he seemed to know what he was doing.

The few minutes were up and your professor told you to find a partner and find their intercostal spaces. Obviously you chose Eunwoo as your partner.

"Did you find it on yourself yet?"

"Yepp, it was actually pretty easy to find."

"Can you help me please?"

"Are you sure you want me to touch there?" He said with a smirk.

You narrowed your eyes at him, "Fine. I'll ask someone else. Maybe that guy by the projector... "

"No don't do that."

"Then help me and don't you dare try to do anything."

"Yes ma'am."

He took his pointing finger and started in the upper middle of your chest and dragged it side to side. In a non sexual way of course. He found it to be bit difficult to find it because of the fat in your boobs. However he finally found it.

"Ah, there it is."

"You found it?"

"I found two of them. The other 4 are a bit difficult to find since they’re underneath your top. The only way I can find it is if I stick my hand in your top."

"Eunwoo." You warned.

"What? I was just saying. I never said I was actually going to." He said feigning innocence.

"Could of fooled me."

He just shrug his shoulders, "Give me your finger so I can help you locate it."

It took a minute before he was able to locate it again but when you finally felt it you let out a breath of relief. You knew you needed to find this for your finals and if you weren't able to you surely would fail the class.

"Do you feel it?"

"Mhmm"

"Good, now find mine"

Since Eunwoo had a flatter chest than you it was easier to find despite him laughing from being ticklish. Before you had a chance to tell him your finding, your professor interrupted you.

"Fooling around isn't going to get you to pass my class."

"But we-" You said.

"Aa! Talking back isn't going to help you pass either. Now go find another partner. You need to practice on your other classmates because your not going to know who you'll be testing with until testing day."

You felt your insides boiling. You had to deal with this crap in high school and now your dealing with this in college. When he left you let out a strained sigh and Eunwoo instantly rubbed circles in your back to calm you down. Normally you would welcome this but you didn't want the professor coming back over to scold you so you pushed his hand off. He looked at you clearly hurt by your actions but you brushed it off and went to find a new partner. Unfortunately the only person available was actually the guy by the projector but at this point you didn't care.

You walked up to him and tapped his shoulder, "Excuse me, do you uh have a partner?"

He turned around to see who tapped his shoulder. You expected him to answer but then he started to check you out with a smirk on his face. "Well hello there, what can I help you with beautiful?"

You rolled your eyes, "I asked do you have a partner?"

"Oooo sassy too, I like"

You narrowed your eyes and turned to walk away, "I don't have time for this."

"Wait! I'm sorry I was just surprised you asked me when you have your boyfriend."

"Not trying to be mean or anything but I wouldn't had asked you if I wasn't forced to choose another partner."

He looked at you slightly deflated by your confession, "Ah... I see but since you need a new partner I'll gladly take the spot for now." He said as he got up to make his chest more accessible.

"...okay... thanks I guess."

At first it started off fine., You were able to find it on him rather quickly. However when it was his turn that's when it turned into a problem. He found the first one and gradually went lower until he reached the beginning of hem of your scrub top. You expected him to stop there but when he started to put his hand lower in your top you instantly jumped back.

"Wh-what are you doing?!?!?!"

"Just doing what we were told to do."

"You were supposed to stop at 2."

"Was I? Must've misheard, my bad." If you weren't paying attention to his tone you would've thought he was being sincere just by his facial expression.  

Not wanting to cause a scene the first ay of class you excused yourself and went  back tp your seat to think about what just happened. Was this something you would need to report or were you over exaggerating? Should you tell Eunwoo? What if the guy was right and made you get in trouble for not listening to instructions? All those questions raced through your mind until Eunwoo saw your troubled face and left his partner to comfort.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked as he placed a comforting hand on your back not caring if the professor saw.

"Yea... actually no."

"What happened?"

"I was working with that guy over and he was about to put his fingers down my shirt before I stopped him."

Eunwoo's gaze instantly hardened and if looks could kill that guy would no more. But you couldn't have your boyfriend fighting your battles for you. You gently cupped his face with your hands and made him look at you.

"Promise me your not going to do anything."

"I don't know..."

"Promise me."

"I can't promise I won't do anything but I do promise to not intervene over something you can handle."

"I guess I can take that."

"You'll have to because I am not about to just let some guy touch you like that without your permission. He's lucky I wasn't there because he surely would've been picking his teeth off the floor."

"You know, I never took you as the violent type."

"I can promise you I'm not but this is a different story."

That was the end of the conversation because your professor continued on with the rest of the lesson which was fairly easy. He dismissed the class an hour earlier since it was the first day. However when you guys went home instead of relaxing you started your clinical homework because you didn't want a repeat of what happened last night.

It was about 11 o'clock when you finished half of the assignments. Eunwoo was starting to lose focus so you decided it was time to go to bed. After you finished putting on his t-shirt and your curls in a bun, you went to join him in bed. He pulled you closer to him so that there was barely any space between the two of you. You knew this was his way of silently comforting you. He wasn’t going to lie. He was looking forward to having sex with you but after todays events he knew you probably weren't going to be in the mood and just want to sleep off the days problem. You were thankful but deep down you knew you weren't going to get much sleep that night...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the photo’s used. I got them off of Google.

A/N: Soooo sorry for the long wait. I had so much to write that Ii realized I couldn’t put everything in this one post. On that note I’m hoping I can have the next post up by next week. :)

[renatoi]

Puerto Rican migration to Hawaii began when Puerto Rico's sugar industry was devastated by two hurricanes in 1899. The devastation caused a worldwide shortage in sugar and a huge demand for the product from Hawaii. Consequently, Hawaiian sugarcane plantation owners began to recruit the jobless, but experienced, laborers in Puerto Rico.

In the 19th century, Puerto Rico depended mainly on its agricultural economy. The island together with Cuba was the Spanish Crown's leading exporter of sugar, coffee, tobacco and cotton. When the island was ceded to the United States after the Spanish–American War, as stipulated by the agreements of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, most of its industries were taken over by American industrialists. Cheap labor was provided by Puerto Ricans who depended on the nation's agriculture as their only source of income.[1]

On August 8, 1899, Hurricane San Ciriaco, with winds of over 100 miles per hour, struck Puerto Rico and, on August 22, another hurricane followed. The floods, caused by 28 days of continuous rain, damaged the agricultural industry and left 3,400 dead and thousands of people without shelter, food or work.[2] As a result, there was a shortage of sugar from the caribbean in the world market and a huge demand for the product from Hawaii and other sugar producing countries. To meet the demand, plantation owners began a campaign to recruit the jobless laborers in Puerto Rico.[3] On November 22, 1900, the first group of Puerto Ricans consisting of 56 men, began their long journey to Maui, Hawaii. The trip was long and unpleasant. They first set sail from San Juan harbor to New Orleans, Louisiana. Once in New Orleans, they were boarded on a railroad train and sent to Port Los Angeles, California. From there they set sail aboard the Rio de Janeiro to Hawaii.[4] According to the "Los Angeles Times" dated December 26, 1901, the Puerto Ricans were mistreated and starved by the shippers and the railroad company. They arrived in Honolulu, on December 23, 1900, and were sent to work in one of the different plantations owned by the "Big Five" on Hawaii's four islands.[5] By October 17, 1901, 5,000 Puerto Rican men, women and children had made their new homes on the four islands. Records show that, in 1902, 34 plantations had 1,773 Puerto Ricans on their payrolls; 1,734 worked as field hands and another 39 were clerks or luna/overseers (foremen). The "Big Five" was the name given to a group of sugarcane corporations that wielded considerable political power in the Territory of Hawai‘i and leaned heavily towards the Hawai‘i Republican Party. The "Big Five" consisted of Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., Amfac and Theo H. Davies & Co..

The owners of the "Big Five" were Euro-Americans who would indulge in discrimination and bigotry against ethnic groups who worked the plantations. They had an association called the "Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association" (HSPA) whose power could be considered as equivalent to an oligarchy. The Attorney General of Hawai‘i, referring to the Big Five, said in 1903, "There is a government in this Territory which is centralized to an extent unknown in the United States, and probably almost as centralized as it was in France under Louis XIV."[6] Wages and living accommodations depended upon their job and race. Europeans were paid more and received better quarters. Most of the workers moved from plantation to plantation to work because they did not like the work they did and because of the racial discrimination.[7] According to the State of Hawaii Data Book 1982, by the year 1910, there were 4,890 Puerto Ricans living in Hawaii.[8] Puerto Rico and Hawaii were unincorporated and incorporated territories of the United States respectively; however, the passage of the Jones–Shafroth Act of 1917, the same year that the United States entered World War I, gave American citizenship, with limitations, to the Puerto Rican resident in Puerto Rico and excluded those who resided in Hawaii. Yet, the "non-citizen" Puerto Ricans were assigned draft numbers and were expected to serve in the military.[9]

The Plantation owners, like those that comprised the "Big Five", found territorial status convenient, enabling them to continue importing cheap foreign labor; such immigration was prohibited in various other states of the Union.[10] In 1917, Puerto Ricans in the island, believing that they were entitled to the same rights that every other U.S. citizens had, tried to sign up to vote in a local Hawaiian election and were denied their rights by the county clerk who claimed that early immigrants to Hawaii were not covered by the Jones Act.[9]

Manuel Olivieri Sanchez, a court interpreter at the time, became enraged in what he viewed as a violation of the civil rights of his fellow countrymen. He encouraged his fellow Puerto Ricans to protest by telling them that "If you are not allowed to vote, don't answer the draft call".[9] Olivieri Sanchez led a legal battle for the recognition of the Hawaiian Puerto Ricans as citizens of the United States. In the first legal battle the lower court ruled in favor of the county clerk, however Olivieri Sanchez did not give up the fight and took the case before the Territorial Supreme Court, which reversed the decision of the lower court, granting the Puerto Ricans of Hawaii their United States citizenship.[11] Olivieri Sanchez' victory was not welcomed by members of HSPA, who depended on the cheap labor non-citizens provided. In 1930, HSPA began to circulate false rumors, they made it be known that they (HSPA) were planning to recruit laborers in Puerto Rico, while at the same time they had the "Honolulu Star Bullentin" and some local newspapers they controlled run anti-Puerto Rican stories, that—for example—claimed Puerto Ricans were "unhealthy hookwormers who had bought disease to Hawaii".[9]

In December 1931, Olivieri Sanchez wrote a letter to the editor of the Hawaiian Advertiser where he stated that he saw all of the rhetoric as a tactic by HSPA to push all the different ethnic groups in the local labor force back to work on the plantations. He was right, the HSPA wanted to persuade the United States Congress to exempt the territory from a law, which in 1924 was requested by California to prevent the migration of Filipinos and Japanese nationals to the U.S. (National Origins Quota Action (Immigration Act) and Johnson Immigration Act of 1924).[12] HSPA's secretary treasurer claimed that the association was unwilling to import Puerto Ricans to Hawaii. His defamation of Puerto Ricans condemned not only the Puerto Ricans of Hawaii, but also those on the island of Puerto Rico. Despite the efforts of Olivieri Sanchez, HSPA had their way and Hawaii was exempted from the stern anti-immigration laws of the time.[9]

The power of the plantation owners was finally broken by the activist descendants of the original immigrant laborers. Because it was recognized that they were born in an incorporated United States territory and that they were legal American citizens with full local voting rights and therefore were entitled to actively campaign for statehood recognition of the Hawaiian Islands.[13]

Currently, there are over 30,000 Puerto Ricans or Hawaiian-Puerto Ricans living in Hawaii. Puerto Rican culture and traditions are very strong there. One of the traditions that is still practiced is the "compadrazgo". When a person baptizes somebody's child, he or she becomes the "padrino" (godfather) of the child and the "compadre" or "comadre" of the child's parents. There is a relationship of respect, mutual affection and obligation between the child, parents and compadres. The children ask for a blessing "La Bendición" and the padrinos respond with a "Dios te bendiga" (God bless you).[4] During the late 20th century, the "coquí", a thumbnail-sized tree frog endemic to Puerto Rico, became established in Hawaii, most likely as stowaways in shippings of potted plants. Its loud mating call, "music to the ears" of Puerto Ricans on their native highland, is considered an annoyance in Hawaii where this invasive species reaches much higher population densities. Unsuccessful efforts were made to exterminate the infestation.[17][18]

[writing-resources-by-fluke]

Transcript of D&D Character Creation Template || Color coded & character creation tips included || Submitted via link

【Character Tag!, if applicable】

Some of us like to roleplay as our dungeons and dragons (or other tabletop game) characters in settings outside of the game, so I've included a place where you can create a tag for your character, to better organize them if you have multiple characters.

Nᴀᴍᴇ: What is your character's name?

Sᴇx: What is their biology?

Iᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴛʏ: What is their sense of self? Does their biology conflict with their sense of self? (Eg. CIS; TRANS; NB, etc.)

Oʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: What are they attracted to? Personally, I'd include romantic and sexual orientations here, but that's just me.

Rᴀᴄᴇ/Sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs: Are they "human", "drow", "dragonborn", etc.?

Eᴛʜɴɪᴄɪᴛʏ: In humans, ethnicity often pertains to cultural and environmental data; I'm not certain about other species.

Bɪʀᴛʜᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ & Oʀɪɢɪɴ: Where was this character born, where did they grow up?

Pʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ: The following pertains to their appearance.

⇢Hᴇɪɢʜᴛ: How tall are they?

⇢Wᴇɪɢʜᴛ: How much do they weigh?

⇢Hᴀɪʀ: If they have hair, what does it look like?

⇢Sᴋɪɴ Tᴏɴᴇ: What color is their skin?

⇢Eʏᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀs: What color are their eyes?

⇢Cʟᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ: What kind of outfits do they wear?

⇢Mᴏʀᴇ: Give more detail on their appearance here, if you'd like!

Aʟɪɢɴᴍᴇɴᴛ: Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic × Good/Neutral/Evil

While all the alignments are displayed above, it is highly recommended that you DO NOT simply bold or italicize one word from each side of the "x", but that you remove the two words that do not fit your character. That way, you are avoiding confusing those who might not be able to notice your slight difference in formatting.

I'd like to bring something to your attention before we go further: The stats scales are formatted in a way that suggest stats should be a percentage of 100, but that is not always true for every game you play, and it's probably fairly rare. So what do you do? Just adjust the number after the slash [0/100] to suit the scale you will be using, or simply erase the "/100" all together and place your roll right where that number was! If something on this scale seems doubled up, my suggestion is to put an "&" between numbers respectively or to double-slash "//" or double-bar "||" separate them for ease.

The traditional way of finding character stats is to: 1) roll 4 six-sided dice, 2) ignore the die with the lowest side facing upward of all four rolled, 3) add the numbers of the upward-facing sides of the remaining dice together, and 4) assign them to the specific statistic you find this number is suited for.

Pʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ Sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ: /100 - How strong are they in body?

Dᴇxᴛᴇʀɪᴛʏ & Aɢɪʟɪᴛʏ: /100 - How agile and good with your hands are they?

Cᴏɴsᴛɪᴛᴜᴛɪᴏɴ & Wɪʟʟ: /100 - How determined and buttheaded are they?

Iɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ: /100 - How smart is your character?

Wɪsᴅᴏᴍ & Pᴇʀᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴ: /100 - How wise are they, and do they look between the lines?

Cʜᴀʀɪsᴍᴀ & Iɴᴛɪᴍɪᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: /100 - How likable are they and how intimidating are they?

Aʀᴍᴏʀ Cʟᴀss: Nᴏɴᴇ/Lɪɢʜᴛ/Mᴇᴅɪᴜᴍ/Hᴇᴀᴠʏ/Tᴀɴᴋ - How heavy is their armor? Please remove all incorrect descriptions.

Aʀᴍᴏʀ Sᴛʏʟᴇ/Tʏᴘᴇ: What style or type of armor do they use? Seems like a partly-utilitarian and partly-aesthetic question.

Nᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ Dᴇꜰᴇɴsᴇ: /100 - How well can your character defend themselves without armor and bare-handed? It's more a fluff question than anything.

Aʀᴍᴏʀᴇᴅ Dᴇꜰᴇɴsᴇ: /100 - Defense while armored and bare-handed?

Cʟᴀss/Eᴍᴘʟᴏʏᴍᴇɴᴛ/Jᴏʙ: What is your character's "class"; which essentially translates to what they do for a living in most D&D settings.

Pʀᴇꜰᴇʀʀᴇᴅ Wᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ Tʏᴘᴇ: What kind of weapon does your character use?

Pᴏsɪᴛɪᴠᴇ Pᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ Tʀᴀɪᴛs: Can you say something good about your character's personality?

Nᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ Pᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ Tʀᴀɪᴛs: What about the parts of their personality that aren't so good?

Iᴅᴇᴀʟs: What ideals does your character hold?

Bᴏɴᴅs/Fᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʟ Tɪᴇs & Fʀɪᴇɴᴅs: Name some of their friends, family, etc. Folks from their backstory that are worth mentioning.

Cʜʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ Fʟᴀᴡs: Character flaws are often described as vices, prejudices, or self-doubts. What are your character's?

Pᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ Dᴇᴛᴀɪʟs: Describe your character's personality. Go ahead and go hogwild.

Cʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ Bʟᴏᴏᴅʟɪɴᴇ: Describe the character's bloodline; are they peasant, nobility, royalty, something else? Be as vague or descriptive as you like, it's your character!

Cʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ Bᴀᴄᴋsᴛᴏʀʏ: What kind of life did they lead? I wouldn't suggest being ultra vague in the backstory, but again, it's your character.

Cᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ Cʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ Iɴꜰᴏ: What kind of frickery is your character up to now, or more accurately, what led them to this point?

Exᴛʀᴀ (Aᴅᴅ Yᴏᴜʀ Oᴡɴ) Oᴘᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ: If this template missed anything you'd like to include, this is where you could add it to the template; the "extra" section is a good place to include trivia, etc.

[canyouhearthelight]

SUPERB question I got on my recent post about privilege:

She is completely correct. There are a lot of laws and processes that have to change to stop this.

This list isn't comprehensive, but more an addition to the lists I've seen. I'm not a law student, and I'm not going to pretend I know every single flaw in our system. I'm still learning to see the flaws, so please feel free to add things and/or correct me.

1) Defund the police, and allocate those bloated budgets to education and community infrastructure.

A) Poorly funded schools create a vicious feedback loop that leaves all people of color, but ESPECIALLY black people, at a disadvantage later in life. Educational funding should be equal to or greater than any law enforcement funding, and teachers should earn more than a living wage.

B) There is no excuse for bad streets, crumbling buildings, and inconsistent utilities in different parts of the same city that also has an area with groomed medians, smooth roads, parks, and sidewalks. There's no sense in that. And it isn't the residents. It's the city who is responsible for keeping these things up. Residents have actually gotten in trouble for fixing broken infrastructure.

2) ALL first responders should have proper training and certification, specifically similar to nurses and special education teachers - nonviolent de-escalation techniques, rigorous background checks, proper restraint techniques that don't injure much less kill people, renewable at the expense if the person being certified every 2 years.

3) Decriminalize victimless crimes. The war on drugs was a sham, it was only intended to incarcerate people of color en mass and remove their right to vote, greatly limit their ability to hold better paying jobs, and enslave them legally. So decriminalize possession and use of drugs on a federal level, let them go.

4) Add to the EEOA legal limits on what felonies a person can be declined employment over, with burden of justification falling on the employer, along with limits to how old that conviction can be.

5) Nameless application process for all jobs. No names, no ethnicity, no gender presentation. Every application is assigned an ID#, just like a loan application, and all contact is done through a portal until the interviewee is approved or denied. Financial incentives for businesses that do this for the first 5 years until it is mandatory. Stop the binning of applications/resumes because of names. This includes application for internal promotion.

6) No. More. Private. Prisons. No one should be profiting off incarcerated people. Period.

7) Either let non-white collar criminals vote, or they don't count in your constituency. No more counting them one way and not counting them another way.

8) Mandatory rehabilitation and therapy programs in prisons, by licensed and certified professionals who are subject to random observation with no warning to ensure they are not abusing their position and actually doing their job.

9) Abolish the electoral college, go by popular vote.

10) Mandatory voting for all registered voters ($100 fine for non-compliance), but also making it easier to vote. I can take the freaking Census online, file my taxes online, renew my driver's license and tags online... why can't I vote online? WHY? Online voting with longer early voting periods would enable everyone to vote, and prevent things like 4 hour wait times for people in mostly-black districts.

11) Make all forms of racism illegal. I don't know how we can implement this, but obviously we white people can't be trusted to stop being racist on our own. And I'm not joking or being sarcastic. Every day, we see more and more examples of this in action. Racism isn't victimless, in case the lynchings and deaths in the news didn't sink in. In case anyone hasn't seen the mental health statistics, suicide rates, or general health statistics for people of color versus white people. Wealth gap = health gap.

12) Speaking of health: all healthcare workers need to be required to have specific training on all ethnicities and genders. Medical studies need to be re-done with an actual cross sample of the population, not just white men (or white women in women-specific studies). ALL OF THEM. People of color should not be under diagnosed or flat out misdiagnosed because you don't know how this very important symptom presents!

That is all I have right now. I'll think on it and try again. Please message me if I got any of this wrong, it didn't think something through to the end. I'm trying to straddle the line between not expecting black people to educate me and being willing to listen.

EDIT: I am trying to figure out where I can start to get these things done.

[pilgrimbenham]

What Do Deacons Do?

In a previous article, I wrote about the character and role of elders in the local church. 

We learned that elders are the men who care for the church by living lives of exemplary character, exercising spiritual oversight as they preach and teach God's Word, protecting the church from false teaching as they shepherd the flock of God (Titus 1:9, 1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Peter 5:1).

The Deacons’ Character

However, elders are not the only leaders in the church. In the New Testament, we also read about deacons. Paul addresses the deacons in Philippians 1:1, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons". Deacon comes from the word 'diakonoi' in the Greek, which is translated "one who serves”. In this sense, we are all deacons - but the appointed leadership role of deacon in the local church requires a handful of character and competency traits, similar to the elders. Deacons must be men of dignity, not hypocrisy (1 Tim 3:8), temperate with both alcohol consumption as well as money (1 Tim 3:8). They should be proven as servants before being given a title (1 Tim 3:9), faithful husbands to their wives (1 Tim 3:12), skilled at disciplining their children (1 Tim 3:13) and good household managers (1 Tim 3:12). The deacon who serves well stands out in the congregation as a great example, in turn causing them to walk with great confidence in their faith (1 Tim 3:13). Their wives are also to exemplify temperance in word, thought, and deed (1 Tim 3:11).

The First Deacons

In Acts 6, a crisis was brewing in the Jerusalem church. As the church grew in number, some of the believers from a Gentile ethnicity (Hellenists) were complaining to the leadership of the church because some widows were being overlooked or neglected as food was shared with those who had need. It is part of the local church's responsibility to look out and care for widows among her (James 1:27) - an aspect of righteousness and justice that has always existed among God's covenantal people (Exo 22:22-23, Deut 24:17-21, 1 Tim 5, Isa 1:17). The elders of the Jerusalem church come to an important conclusion: "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:2-4). The seven men selected and brought before the congregation were appointed as the church's first deacons.

However, Alexander Strauch points out in his book "Paul's Vision for the Deacons": "...the Seven were to provide charitable relief for the church’s many impoverished members (Acts 6:3). But in 1 Timothy 3, Paul assigns no specific tasks for the diakonoi/assistants of the elders. As the term assistants indicates, the deacons do what the elders assign them to do so as to allow the elders to focus more on feeding, leading, and protecting God’s flock. The problem with trying to connect the Seven of Acts 6 with the later deacons is that neither Luke nor Paul state such a connection." He goes on to state, "The specific tasks of the deacons are to be determined by the elders in accordance with the church’s particular needs, size, and giftedness of its members." Thus, though 'waiting tables' was what the Jerusalem church's overseers needed the deacons to assist them with, this will take a completely different shape from local church to local church.

How Deacons Assist the Elders

Notice that the elders did not ignore the needs of the congregation (waiting tables) but raised up the deacons to help them in oversight and care for the body. The reason the deacons were appointed was to allow the elders to prioritize their attention on prayer and preaching. Within the Bible, deacons are always mentioned after the overseers (elders) because their role is to assist and complement the priority of prayer, preaching, and doctrinal precision. We don't read about deacons serving in their role for pay - only the pastors/elders seem to receive that distinction (1 Timothy 5:17-18). A big distinction between elders and deacons is that deacons are not required to teach. They must have a firm grasp on the gospel (1 Tim 3:9), but wouldn't necessarily be preaching or teaching like the elders.

Deacons help foster the practical care that a fellowship of people require, assisting the elders in pastoring the church both administratively, practically, and ministerially. There should always be a team of deacons working together to help care for the congregation, unless there is a temporary exception. Strauch points out, "Certainly elders need continuous help with official hospital visits and phone calls, checking on absentees, managing charitable gifts, distributing aid to the needy, assisting families in distress, visiting and protecting the elderly and shut-ins, helping with finances, overseeing church property, and carrying out certain administrative tasks....The help of qualified, approved assistants … relieves the elders of certain demanding tasks and helps them to keep their focus on their primary ministry of leading and feeding God’s flock." 

Pray that God would raise up more servants to assist your elders in caring for Jesus' church!

-Pilgrim

For more, read Alexander Strauch's Paul's Vision for the Deacons: Assisting the Elders with the Care of God's Church. Lewis & Roth Publishers. Kindle Edition. Also visit www.deaconbook.com.

[nathenortizblog]

Week 4 Blog Post Due 9/16/20

1. How would folks argue about Afrocentric content? Would they consider it segregation or inclusivity?

In the reading “The Revolution will be Digitalized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere” the author states how “in 1995 the Yahoo search engine initiated a separate category for Afrocentric content on the World Wide Web” (pg.127). White folks were typically the first to have a computer and access to the internet because they were typically rich. Therefore, most of the internet users consisted of white folks and very little people of color. In our current society many marginalized groups struggled gaining access to the internet when we transitioned to virtual learning. The decision of including Afrocentric content onto the internet can be argued to be segregation because they are not including these users into the mainstream group of white internet users. This would be excluding them and directing them or encouraging and forcing them to only use the Afrocentric search engine However, this could also be argued as being inclusive and giving black folks their own space on the internet to socialize and meet other folks in their community. In our current society many people of various identities are now internet users and we even find different communities on the internet without a search engine. An example is Tik tok where your feed may consist of a community of DIY creators, a community of folks who sing covers of songs, and even a community of pet owners.

2. How can a name be associated with a specific identity if as we grow up we discover new identities of our own?

At birth the doctor is the one who takes charge of assigning our gender based on our sexual organs. Our parents are then the ones responsible for assigning us a name to put on our birth certificate which we will be referred to for the rest of our lives. In the reading “Race After Technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code” the author asks the question of what’s in a  name. The author questions if  “your family story, your religion, your nationality, your gender identity, your race and ethnicity” is in a name (pg.18). In this reading the author describes how names can be associated with a specific race and fears the stigmas their child will encounter due to their race and name. However, associating names with a specific identity such as race is wrong on many levels. Some folks change their name in order to correlate to their gender identity, regardless if it is the same one assigned at birth. Assuming ones pronouns based on their physical features is wrong just like assuming ones race based on their name. As we grow older we explore our current identities and discover new ones whether they be based on race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Therefore, associating a name with a specific race is wrong because people have various identities but also, folks even have a prefered name.

3. What are other biases technology may have embedded in its algorithms?

In the reading “Race After Technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code” the author states “tech designers encode judgements into technical systems but claim that the racist results of their designs are entirely exterior” (pg.32). The reading exposes how tech companies try and cover up their racist agendas as a flaw in their algorithms in order to not be attacked my mainstream media. However, algorithms can also be sexist, homophobic, and even ableist. An example is in the tv show How to Get Away With Murder in which the episode follows a man suing the creator of a dating app for him not finding love on the app. He tries to argue it is because the creator used the algorithm to not have anybody match with him because he is disabled. This is an example in mainstream media of how algorithms can harm people with multiple identities.

4. If algorithms are so helpful why do we continue to use them if so many biases are embedded with them?

Having access to technology is a privilege especially in our current virtual setting because some folks only have access to technology within a school environment. In the reading “Algorithms of Oppression: How search engines enforce racism” the author describes how marginalized groups are targeted by algorithms. According to the author “redlining has been used in real estate banking circles, creating and deepening inequalities by race that people of color are more likely to pay higher interest rates” (pg.25).  The reading then describes how people of color such as Blacks and Latinos suffer these injustices in real estate just because of their race. Algorithms are continued to be used because they make jobs easier especially considering how heavily we rely on technology of course we want it to be easy. Also, folks do want to be able to work smarter but not harder at their job. However, these algorithms should be redefined in order to not target marginalized groups. These algorithms should be made by people of color and make sure these algorithms do not associate specific names with a specific race. Additionally, these algorithms should only be made to make jobs easier, faster, and more efficient and not have any form of racial, sexist, or homophobic motive behind them.

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the New Jim Code. Cambridge: Polity.

Everett, A. (2002). The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere. Social Text, 125-146.

Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.