#you lose 'mental health ambassador' privileges

[keepthedelta]

also. the AUDACITY of sky to praise toto for being vulnerable about mental health as though he's not directly responsible for the mental health issues of at least three of their five drivers smh

[scarlettatg]

Very interesting article on who is Nick

(Thank you to the awesome person that taggued me on the twitter post, much appreciated).

I’m glad the article dwells on Nick’s complicated past because it’s not something many people seem to understand. I think that even as ambiguous as the show loves to present him, we have gotten puzzle pieces that paint us a picture of who he is. Most of the complaints stem from him not doing enough against the system but that could be debated. We have mostly seen him do things for June because most people take risks for the people they love. Once they lose everything (like for example June) then they become reckless and their fight becomes more against the system/revenge. Yet his involvement with Mayday has been shown (contraband - June’s first escape - June’s second escape - Martha convo in 405 - Hannah’s file)

We also don’t know what he knew after he took the job Pryce offered, what he saw and what he was forced to do; or even if he was on board at first only to realize it had been a mistake. We only see him driving the commanders after the take over had happened, precisely discussing the handmaid situation. We can assume he knew about the rounding up of woman, but we can also assume he didn’t. After all some people outside of Gilead believe Handmaids volunteer (Mexican ambassador) or that it’s a punishment (Omar’s wife). We also know a lot of people were forced to comply or die (American soldier that speaks with Moira after crossing the border). We do know that he is NOT a Gilead believer. Why he stays, what’s he been doing is not something the show has given us clarity to. Like I said we have puzzle pieces throughout the seasons to sort of build his character.

It’s also because Nick is a man and currently a Commander. A lot of people think men cannot be victims in a patriarchal society and I disagree. Yes they are in a privileged position but they’re still victims. Even those in power aren’t safe either, especially if you don’t seem loyal or if they want your position. People forget 2 things. He didn’t start off as a commander, he was a driver - low class. Then he became an Eye (after the first handmaid killed herself) and his promotions clearly came after specific events. Concern over June’s mental health and holding up Fred so that June could escape the second time. To me they clearly looked like punishments, direct consequences of his decision to help June. Not one scene shows Nick working towards moving up the ranks. I personally think certain things June has told Nick throughout the seasons have pushed him to do more, especially her call out in S3 “what are you good for”, but that’s my perspective. Besides once the promotion is given it’s not like he could’ve been thanks but no thanks - that’s highly suspicious.

Another thing people discuss is his involvement in the take over. Once again it’s not something that we have been shown. We can assume he participated but I cannot believe he was essential to the success of the operation. If he was such an important piece of the puzzle he wouldn’t have started as a driver. He would’ve stayed as a military officer, prob not a commander because of his lower class pre Gilead, his age and he wasn’t a main player in the SOJ.

Another thing that’s interesting to me is that we know Nick was young when the take over happened. Let’s say between 18-21 so his young adult male life was shaped by Gilead, which is extremely misogynistic. It’s easier to shape young men into hating women or making them believe they are superior to us. We see how the guardians act, the Commanders - the disdain towards “unwomen”. Yet from my perspective I do not see Nick as misogynistic at all.

Yes I enjoy the romantic aspect of Nick and June, but I do enjoy the complexities of Nick’s character outside of June. I’ve always seen him as the least misogynistic male character of the show and as a character that represents so many things that open discussions of topics that are rarely discussed.

[odinsblog]

After a dramatic weeklong fight with the world’s top men’s tennis player, Australia’s immigration authorities wisely decided to revoke Novak Djokovic’s visa a second time because he flouted the country’s COVID-19 policies. Although the Australian authorities and tennis officials aren’t blameless, this is a huge, self-inflicted public-relations crisis for Djokovic that has smeared his legacy.

The 34-year-old reigning Australian Open champion could easily have defended his title by getting a safe, highly effective vaccine that would protect him and others from the coronavirus. Instead, he, like some other high-profile athletes, has made a spectacle of trying to bend the rules—thereby showing that, besides COVID, the other sickness the world is fighting is selfishness.

Djokovic is also a hypocrite. When the tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open last year, citing how the mandatory press conferences jeopardized her mental health, Djokovic was among the voices sternly insisting that rules are rules. “I understand that press conferences sometimes can be very unpleasant,” Djokovic said at the time. “And it’s not something that you enjoy, always, you know, especially if you lose a match or something like this. But it is part of the sport and part of your life on the tour. This is something we have to do, otherwise, we will get fined.”

Djokovic has been a vaccine skeptic from the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, and has never hidden his staunch opposition to vaccine mandates. That an athlete of his fame is using his platform in such a destructive fashion is bad enough; even more despicable is that Djokovic seems so comfortable exploiting his immense privilege to endanger the health and safety of others. It is especially insulting to the Australian people, who have adhered to some of the strictest restrictions during the pandemic in an effort to keep their hospitalizations and death rates low.

Sacrificing is what caring communities do—and it’s something Djokovic knows nothing about. As the top player in men’s tennis, Djokovic has a responsibility to be a good ambassador for his sport. But that, like Australia’s COVID rules, is just another requirement that he’s failed to meet.

👉🏿 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/novak-djokovic-vaccine-australia-special-treatment/621270/

[gabriellasmith]

The Changing Role of the “Influencer”

The coronavirus pandemic changed many aspects of our lives irrevocably, but one change that perhaps has gone largely unnoticed has been the changing role of the 'influencer'.

The Roots of the Influencer

The influencer, as we know it today, can be traced back to 2009, four years after the development of YouTube. The internet saw an influx of bloggers and YouTubers like Zoella and PewDiePie who started to make their hobby into a lifestyle that paid extremely well. However, the influencer culture that was based on these wholesome YouTubers moved towards a more toxic sphere by 2019, 'that does no good to society'. This was the case until 2021, when the pandemic caused a shift in audience perspective.

Enter, Alex George

The pandemic shone a light on the unsung heroes of the NHS, and the public came out in full support with rainbows adorning every window. This in turn shed light on those influencers that were truly using their platforms for good. A key example of this is Alex George, who has been dubbed 'the only influencer worth following' and went from problematic Love Islander to the nation’s favourite doctor in a few short weeks. Whilst many Love Island contestants were met with brand deals and PR appearances on their return back to England, George promptly went back to his role as A&E doctor. He then highlighted his dedication by working through Christmas 2020 away from his family, to help fight Covid-19.

Source: https://www.itv.com/hub/lorraine/5bmf5kt

In January 2021 he got vaccinated live on Lorraine to encourage uptake of the vaccination programme, and the next month he was appointed Youth Mental Health Ambassador by the PM. More recently, he has been applauded for opening his four rented houses to Ukrainian refugees..

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb5YMDNNPv9/

Move Over, Molly-Mae

On the other end of the influencer spectrum, we have Molly Mae, who has been widely criticised for being out of touch and unfeeling in her online presence. She has been condemned for her cavalier attitude towards wealth, which was made evident in her podcast with 'Diary of a CEO'. At a time when almost 700,000 people in the UK have been driven into post-pandemic poverty, her careless attitude towards money and more specifically her remark that ‘we all have the same 24 hours in a day’ was considered harshly insensitive. This comment alone resulted in her losing over 40,000 followers which highlights the lack of tolerance audiences now have for this kind of influencer.

Source: https://whack.from-ri.com/entertainment/molly-mae-faces-backlash-for-privileged-comments-on-poverty-1734876/

With role models like Alex George, and the real heroes of the NHS, carrying us through the most difficult times, it seems as though the role of the influencer has changed from providing escapism through lavish lifestyles to providing authenticity, realism, and a good role model. The change in expectation from social media users, and the move to what feels like a new era, indicates that perhaps the Molly Mae’s of the influencing world are on a clock.

So, next time you're scrolling, ask yourself what do you want from your influencers?

[great-venture-company]

We are very happy to bring you an interview from the extremely talented and motivated Tehillah McGuinness. Originally from South Africa, Tehillah has become a role model for many a surfer, both her athletic prowess and her business acumen are something to be admired. We are pumped to be hearing from her and will be keeping an eye on her throughout the coming years competitions!

Give a brief rundown on how you got into surfing?

I always loved the ocean and we pretty  much grew up on the beach as kids. My mom enrolled us at our local lifesaving club when we were about 11 and I would always see my friends hanging out at the club house on weekends, surfing and having a good time. Everyone was so welcoming and it made me want to be a part of this ‘surfing family’. I remember telling my mom how much I wanted to surf and (as with everything I have wanted to do through my life), she surprised me with a surf board for my 13th birthday. I used it a few times, but I was still very much committed to running at the time. We moved to house right on the  beach when I was 16 and that is when I really fell in love with the sport and the freedom I felt from it.

At what point did you realise that surfing was going to be more than just a hobby for you?

Literally, from the very first wave I ever caught something in me changed and I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I didn’t know what exactly and didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I just knew. It wasnt until I was in my early twenties and was working and studying in the health and fitness industry, along with signing with some of my very first sponsors that my vision became a bit clearer and I started to put my plans into motion, along with the incredible help from my family. Once I started experiencing how surfing was truly shaping my life and career I knew I wanted to share this with others.

Do you think your background in competitive running affects the way you train now/approach competitions?

It definitely has an effect, up until a certain point. I am a pretty competitive person by nature, which definitely stems back to my career in running from an early age. Don’t get me wrong I have had some serious battles with my snooze alarm, but on the whole I am passionate about what I do and that definitely helps me to focus and keeps me driven. When it comes to the actual competitive arena in surfing, I find this completely opposite to competing in running events. I know there is only a certain amount which I can control in any competitive situation but with surfing there are a lot external factors which have taken me a while to get used to again.

How do you deal with losing a competition?

I have a little cry and call my mom if she is not with me…haha :) I know it sounds silly and I know I am not competing on the world tour where there is so much at stake, but I think I am so passionate about what I do and I juggle so much to be able to work, travel to contests and still have enough time to train and surf, that when I don’t achieve the result I would have liked to it is very disappointing. I know contests don’t define who I am, I do them because I enjoy them and they help me to keep improving my surfing.  As my mom always reminds me – I have so much to be grateful for in my life and so many opportunities which have come from surfing, so I focus on the good and keep moving forward. I am trying to find the perfect balance between having fun with contests and enjoy the travelling/adventure part, rather than focus on the pressure…I will let you know when I find it :)

You get the opportunity to train a lot of celebrities in your work? Have you ever been star stuck? And have you had to deal with any divas?

haha…good question! Hmmm…In all honestly I can proudly say I have never had to work with any divas (yet) :) I think an important factor is that all the celebrities I have worked with have come to me for help specifically, so they have been much more inclined to work with me, rather than feeling like they are forced to. I treat every client the same, whether a celebrity or not and although it feels a bit surreal at times I know that the celebrities I have trained, mostly just want to be treated like a ‘normal person’…no special treatment. This will probably sound strange but I have never really been star struck. I would say I have had more ‘Am I really sitting having a post training coffee with someone a just watched at the cinema a few months ago/ heard on the radio’ type moment. Its a little crazy but awesome :)

Which of your celebrity clients are the best at surfing?

Stay tuned… ;)

How do you motivate yourself on days that you feel tired or just not into it?

I have to have a strong word with myself…followed by a strong cup of coffee:) In the last few months I have felt completely swamped and I guess the strange beauty of the media and social media is that people only get to see a tiny fraction of your day. Not how you are truly feeling emotionally, your worries, your lack of motivation or any of the other barriers we all face on a daily basis. On the same side people don’t always see the ‘wow…I feel so blessed’ moments or witness the little miracles that happen on a daily basis. I thank God for my blessings and the life I live everyday, especially with all the crazy things happening in the world every second of the day. My mom helps me to put everything in my life into perspective and one day it all clicked. I asked myself, ‘who am I doing this all for?’. Its not for my own ego or self praise…its for my mom and my family. As a testament to all their sacrifices and support every single day of my life. To all the brands and people who support me and make so many things possible. To all the lives I want to help and change through what I am doing. This is what pushes me, what drives me and makes me go that extra mile when I just want to sleep for another hour or take a day off. I think when you realise who or what you are chasing your dreams for and the reason why you do it, you find something within you that drives you like never before. You find your ‘WHY’. Don’t get me wrong, I am not super human – I wake up some mornings and my body aches, I am tired and I have very little motivation. I think it is a privilege to be able to feel those aches and emotions…to be able to have the opportunity to chase your dreams when so many wake up to war or poverty. That is what motivates me.

You’re an ambassador for Women’s Sports, how important is it getting young girls into sports?

I truly believe it can have life changing effects. Even if its not surfing, I believe any sport you love will have a positive effect on your mental and physical well being. I know people are sick of speaking about body image but it is a HUGE issue, which is not made easier by the media. I believe taking part in sport will help to take the pressure off ‘working out to look a certain way’ and actually help you to focus more on the skill and enjoy the benefits of having a ‘healthy body’ and mind. Sport builds confidence, builds friendships and helps you to stay active which has a positive knock on effect in all areas of your life. As a spokeswomen for Women’s Sports I want to encourage women to be confident and happy in their own skin. To be brave, bold and beautiful!

If you could change one thing about the way the world of competitive surfing works…what would it be?

Wow…tough question. I may have to get back to you on this on! :)

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Business wise, we are all working on so much as a family (my mother and siblings) and to have everything come together in the way we pray and dream about is definitely top priority. With my family, spreading the love of surfing, growing our businesses, having achieved my own personal sporting goals and making a difference in the lives of others will make me a very happy Tee:)

Dream surfing location?

Put my family and I on a boat somewhere tropical with great waves and we can be best friends :)

Scariest surfing moment?

I broke my hand a few years ago and that was a pretty scary moment for me. Just looking back now and what could have happened, as the spot I was surfing was very shallow and when I surfaced (after going over the falls) I was standing in ankle deep water. I definitely had my guardian angels working over time that day. Sorry guys :/

Favourite and least favourite thing about surfing/ocean?

Favourite – Having a break from technology, doing something I love, being in nature with family and friends and just creating the best memories.

Least Favourite – Reefs, sharks, crowds and ‘flying’ surfboards :)

  We loved hearing from Tehillah and as we say, we will be keeping a close eye on how she gets on and with her comps this year and will keep you all up to date!

Tehillah McGuinness – A force to be reckoned with! We are very happy to bring you an interview from the extremely talented and motivated Tehillah McGuinness.

[ladystylestores]

Black Unison — Voices of Makeup Artists – WWD

https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/featured-image-hairstylists.jpg?w=640&h=415&crop=1

Working on “Black Unison” for WWD has been a cathartic process, allowing me to connect with my community on a level I never imagined possible. It’s been an honor to host all the amazingly talented Black professionals, whose unique experiences and voices are testaments to the power of perseverance, community and support, within and without the fashion and beauty industries.

My final panel with makeup artists Ashunta Sheriff-Kendricks, Sir John Barnett and Tasha Reiko Brown continues to address the issues of racism and discrimination these creatives have experienced in their careers, but the biggest takeaway is in the solutions they have provided for moving forward, which are centered around education, mental health and self-love and empowerment.

Nigerian musician Seun Kuti believes, “The answer to being Black is to become African.” Sheriff-Kendricks agrees. “To identify with Africa means we identify with a rich cultural history that predates slavery. Black Americans were born here. So, when we are Black, we are all of this country, everything that has happened to us from the 1400s and on, but if we are African, we are antiquity and we are beyond a time that we even understand,” she explains.

African history has been erased from most textbooks: stories of immense wealth, royalty, spirituality and generations of powerful kings and queens have been suppressed to sustain a narrative of white supremacy. Braids, beads, jewels and makeup all have African origins, but colonialism across the globe has whitewashed our culture and community. Sheriff-Kendricks, who also has a degree in anthropology, says: “You have to have knowledge of self. That is part of the problem, because when you don’t know your history, you don’t know where you’re going.”

She grew up reading texts such as “The Destruction of Black Civilization” and “They Came Before Columbus: The African Presence in Ancient America” and has passed on her knowledge to her children, hoping to restore the truth and create a future of true freedom.

Social media has also played a critical role in liberating voices that for too long have been silenced. Barnett believes “social media has brought us into the future. I think it’s so powerful the fact you don’t have to be a supermodel. You don’t have to be in the fashion industry. If anything, the fashion industry is the last industry that is going to be inclusive. Fashion is supremely racist. And anyone who doubts that, either doesn’t work in fashion, or is just willfully ignorant.”

It seems as if the fashion and beauty industries allow for no inherent value in the perspectives or experiences of people of color, and only recently have luxury beauty brands begun to pay attention to the power of the Black dollar. As Reiko Brown says, “Black women spend two to three times more than their white counterparts and are grossly underserved.” She struggled for many years to find the makeup tools she needed for her clients with darker skin tones. “It was a scavenger hunt to put together my kit,” Reiko Brown continues. “If you’re going to make the majority of your gross off of Black women, Black culture, then you need to serve Black women and culture.”

The 2019 Nielsen Report revealed that the annual spending power of the Black community was $1.3 trillion, but even with numbers at this scale, it wasn’t until 2017 that a Black woman spearheaded the movement to ensure that Blacks, who account for 90 percent of the overall spend on ethnic hair and beauty products, have a secure place in the luxury beauty market. That woman is Rihanna, founder and chief executive officer of Fenty Beauty, which launched with more than 40 shades, one of the most inclusive color palettes the industry has ever seen, is now valued at $3 billion, according to Forbes, and is part of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s biggest luxury conglomerate. Although this is such a progressive feat for Black beauty, luxury companies aren’t necessarily recognizing the Black consumer because it is the right thing to do, but only after realizing the power and value of their spending power and how a partnership with a world famous Black woman with a vast fan base can drive sales and increase profit.

Inclusion based on profit and not humanity is not equality at all.

Barnett is also in a position of power at a major luxury beauty brand. He is a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris, a position that has put him at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement internally within the company. Barnett spoke to more than 200 employees and board members on a Zoom call to begin to unpack issues around race. Conversations of this nature at a corporate level tap into pockets of trauma for both Blacks and whites, because it forces them to address the effects of structural racism. Blacks attempting to educate their white peers on their experiences are tiptoeing around white fragility and for those whites who don’t identify as racist, there’s an awakening of how their privilege perpetuates systems of aversive racism.

To ensure lasting systemic change, we must all work toward a common goal. As Barnett says, “We lose nothing by allowing equity and justice to happen for other people. Whiteness will still be there. You’ll still be able to operate and allow Blacks to fully let their lights shine.”

Reiko-Brown, an advocate for mental health, believes that, as an artist, you must not dim your light and creativity. “You’re protecting your heart, which is the gift that you have to give to the world. You owe it to whoever or whatever gave you that gift to do it in your most authentic, true self,” she says.

Hosting this series of panel discussions has made it painfully clear to me that there’s so much more work to be done in dealing with racism in the fashion and beauty industries. Every person of color has a story to tell about how racism has affected them. I used to fear that these stories may never be heard; that they might not matter.

As a product of the Deep South, the topic of racism is not new to me. I was born into it and its insidious residue became a permanent stain on my life. I became desensitized to the microaggressions and discrimination often inflicted upon me by my white peers. For years I tried to disassociate myself from my Blackness, as a necessity of survival so that I could exist in white orbits and not be perceived as threatening or problematic. Whilst studying in London for both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, I was employed at British Vogue, which was then under the editorship of Alexandra Shulman. I was a speckle of Black pepper, in a sea of white salt. There were moments where I felt incredibly alone, without anyone to relate to, getting further away from my identity and authentic self. After four years of being the first person to arrive to work and often the last to leave and giving the job my everything, a full-time position finally became available in the fashion department. Having put in the work, I was confident I would get the position, but was informed I was overqualified and that my aesthetic was already so developed that an assistant position would impede my artistic progression. My seat at the table was removed and I was replaced by a white female.

My fears have since subsided because I now know that I am not alone. I stand with a community of like-minded Black creatives who have agency and self determination and are fighting for freedom and equality not only for us, but for the legions of young Black creatives who will one day come and take their seats at the table we’re creating for them.

There is still trauma, deeply ingrained in our cultures. The emotions are still very raw, sometimes visceral, because there is so much unhealed trauma from more than 452 years of baggage that has been handed down from generation to generation.

The trauma surrounding racism can only be healed if we deal with the issues as a human race, without judgment and with an open heart so that a pride in Blackness is not equated with being anti-establishment. This process will allow generational wounds to begin to heal and allow the Black community to let their lights shine, tell their stories and take their seat at the table.

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from World Wide News https://ift.tt/38mLtHr

[maysoper]

The Hockey Show - Episode 322

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with a special show as it's US Thanksgiving! Ok, that's not why it's special, but it makes it hard to squeeze in a word when everyone is eating, talking about football, and everything else happening. Instead, I went and did a little setup work in getting an American guest on the show tonight, and she has an incredible story to tell. I am thankful she has let me into her world as I find her to be a remarkable woman with everything she's involved in, and that's why I feel privileged to introduce you to her tonight!

The woman in the middle of the picture is Kelsey Neumann, and I am honoured to bring her story to the air tonight! Kelsey has been all over the North American map playing hockey, starting in Texas and taking her to North Carolina with all sorts of stops in between those locations! We'll hear about her growing up in a non-traditional hockey market, how she became a goaltender, some of the places she's played, her NCAA career, her professional career, and her work off the ice with a ton of people whose lives had been made better because of her! We'll also hear about a time in her life when she nearly quit hockey, and this is a story she's never spoken about before so you'll be hearing an exclusive on The Hockey Show tonight! Kelsey's also an ambassador for mental health initiatives, and I'll post some resources for those who make be seeking some help after the show airs! All of this happens tonight with Kelsey Neumann on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT! You might be wondering where the blurb about the UMFM app has gone. I'm going on record to say you can still use it, but the new UMFM website will fill the needs of our listeners because the new online streaming player is pretty awesome. If you're using an Apple device, the player doesn't seem to like Safari, but we highly recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store. The UMFM app will currently work for you, but there's some work being done to realign it with UMFM's new website, so it may go silent soon. If it does, TuneIn. It's a solid app. I'm changing up the social media portion as well. I'm losing faith in Facebook, so that option will slowly be allowed to drift off into the horizon. However, the other options still work! Email all show questions and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! We're here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! Tonight, Teebz goes one-on-one with goaltender Kelsey Neumann and we learn about her life, her career, her job away from hockey, and much more only on The Hockey Show found exclusively on 101.5 UMFM, on the UMFM app, on the UMFM.com web stream! Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice! from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-hockey-show-episode-322.html