Dee Laundry

Banned Together Bingo is on hiatus, and I’m upset. BTB has helped me think about censorship and about my own taboos. Someone said in response to the hiatus message that an “Offensive Fic” fest should be done, but that wasn’t why I was participating. It was much more to examine myself, to write some fics I’ve been scared to write, and to celebrate that many of the banned prompts are commonly accepted and celebrated in fanfic. Just one example: The first prompt I completed was “Bisexual main character.”

The creation continues, however, since my card was safely downloaded before the hiatus. I’m going for a blackout, whether BTB continues or not.

Shocked and saddened by the explosions in Boston today.

Not much I can do from here but this: I am going this weekend to donate blood. If you can donate blood, please do. US blood supplies are pretty much always low; probably other countries' supplies too.

PS. No jokes about this event, please. I don't expect anyone on my friends' list to do so, but if you were thinking about it, please don't.

Happy April, everyone! You've seen on Nightdog's journal that it's Poetry Month... it's also Autism Acceptance Month. "But I don't know any autistic people," you might be thinking.

Yes, you do.

You know me. *waves*

If you want to know more about Autism Acceptance Month, go here. If you have other things to do, well, that's understandable.

Just please do me this favor: Don't participate in "awareness" activities that aren't run by autistic people. Don't buy a puzzle piece sticker or "light it up blue," or listen to anyone who tries to say autism is "a public health crisis." It isn't. Underfunding services for people who need them is a public health crisis.

Autism doesn't speak -- but autistics do. Support Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

Hello, my awesome and intelligent f-list (and passerby); can I have your help? I signed up to moderate a panel at Con.Txt called: Gender and Sexuality Across Cultures.

I didn't propose the panel originally, but hey, relevant to my interests! The challenge now (in the next three weeks) is to find the right material to make this a rich, informative, engaging session.

Who can point me in some good directions for research? Legit sources, texts, lines of thought, specialists in this area. All I have now is interest, good analytical and research skills, and my college papers on this topic for Heian-period Japan and 20th century American pop culture. NOT ENOUGH.

Comment here, PM me, email -- I'll take info any way you can provide it. Thank you!

Here's the write-up of the panel:
“Concepts of gender and sexuality have changed and varied in complex ways across the whole scope of human culture, and for people writing about other places and times, it's a good idea to step outside the categories you're used to. Learn some of the basics of gender and sexuality across cultures, and where to find out more, and discuss how to use that knowledge in fiction without erasing the modern lived experience of your readers.”

Just saw a quote by Obama that sparked a big response in me. (Note: What's below is in no way a reflection of my friend who posted the quote, or her/his views, or anything of the sort.)

I like half of the quote and am annoyed to gargantuan proportions by the other half.

First the half that I like (although I don't like that this should even have to be said in the 21st century - should be self-evident by now).

"Women are not an interest group. ... They are half of this country and they are perfectly capable of making their own choices about their health." -Barack Obama

And now the bit in the ellipsis; the part that has got under my skin.

"Women are not an interest group. They are mothers, and daughters, and sisters, and wives. They are half of this country and they are perfectly capable of making their own choices about their health." -Barack Obama

They are also plumbers, and beach bums, and puzzle lovers, and drug addicts, and nuns, and atheists, and a million other things that have nothing whatsoever to do with their relationships to men. Women are perfectly capable of making their own choices because they are people. It is incredibly sad that the leader of the free world still feels (apparently) that he can't make people believe in the humanity of women simply because it is true, he has to appeal to love of specific women to get the point across.

(All others are welcome; white people from the US is just the target group I'm addressing this to.)

Please do me the favor of reading this: Most of you have no idea what Martin Luther King actually did

In this essay you will hear about a shared experience for African Americans that white people did not have to experience. My fellow white people, I am asking you to read and empathize. What if this was in your family heritage? How would it affect how you see the USA today, and how you see the race that predominantly makes up the government and runs most of the major corporations?

After reading, here are some things I anticipate you might think, and follow-up points from me:

- "My family didn't do awful things like that." Congratulations! But enough white people did, that the diarist's family and thousands if not millions of families like his lived in fear.

- "Things aren't like that any more." Hallelujah, they are not... in most parts of the US, for many groups. Hispanic people in Arizona who have to "show papers" and Muslim Americans and Arab Americans who are pressured to "prove" in the court of public opinion they aren't evildoers could be feeling that things are like that, or are heading down the same path. Do any of your white friends or family express negative opinions of people of color? Are you helping your friends/family understand how they are wrong?

- "It's not fair to call all white people racists." Please go back and read the essay again, because the author did not do that. If after reading a second time, you still think that claim was made, please PM me and we can talk it through.

- "But the essay doesn't tell me what to do next." That's right; it doesn't. The author is relating an experience, not writing a 'how to' manual. Here's what I want you to do next: Empathize with the people in the essay. Try to feel what they were feeling. That's it. (If empathizing sparks you with an idea for something practical to do, great! Go do it!)

I'm going to be away from LJ today so I'm disabling comments. But if you have any thoughts, I welcome hearing them by PM.

Civil rights in New York! Congratulations to all those who fought so hard to make the pasage of last night's same-sex marriage legislation a reality.

Take heart, everyone who's still working for equality in other states. YOU ARE ON THE SIDE OF RIGHT.

With his position still undeclared, Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Republican from Buffalo who had sought office promising to oppose same-sex marriage, told his colleagues he had agonized for months before concluding he had been wrong.

“I apologize for those who feel offended,” Mr. Grisanti said, adding, “I cannot deny a person, a human being, a taxpayer, a worker, the people of my district and across this state, the State of New York, and those people who make this the great state that it is the same rights that I have with my wife.”

Are you an American and think Trump's birth certificate blather doesn't affect you? Yes, it does. It's a debasement to our country and what it is supposed to stand for.

Listen to this and learn.

Congressional Republicans are making a big deal out of repealing health care reform.

What exactly is it that they want to repeal? I know I'm farther left than the GOP, but it's still perplexing which of these provisions they think the American people don't deserve.

- Putting Information for Consumers Online.
- Prohibiting Denying Coverage of Children Based on Pre-Existing Conditions.
- Prohibiting Insurance Companies from Rescinding Coverage.
- Eliminating Lifetime Limits on Insurance Coverage.
- Regulating Annual Limits on Insurance Coverage.
( Additional provisions that researchers in the Health Services field have been saying for years are good ideas )

More information: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/about/order/byyear.html

Hi, I'm back. Offline issues are not totally taken care of, but duct tape has been applied (not a metaphor) and we're good for now.

Questions were raised in the past few weeks about how I moderate discussions that happen on my LJ. My approach has been, as described in my profile: "This journal is written by an adult, intended for people who (in general) think like adults. It includes material labeled as NC-17. It includes grown-up conversations about grown-up things. Children will likely find the content boring and are encouraged to go elsewhere."

So, if two (or more) people get into a back-and-forth, my thought has been, "They're adults; I'm going to leave them to work it out between themselves." This is for two reasons: 1) to respect them as individuals, and 2) because I'm not skilled in mediation. Pretty poor at it, in fact. I mis-read situations and tone, and bring my own emotion into situations where it has no place. I also can't process emotion as quickly as most people; I need to think about it.

I can see where that approach has caused or fostered animosity. On the other hand, anger is a legitimate emotion, too, that is often well-deserved.

With that in mind, I'm going to take a new approach to moderation on my LJ.

Personal insults to a commenter on my LJ are not allowed. If I think a conversation includes a personal insult, I will screen comments and ask the person/people involved to re-consider or take it elsewhere.

Note: Saying "Your comment is wrong because XYZ" is not personal. Saying "You're an idiot for thinking that" is personal. Saying "That is sexist!" is not personal. If the person responds, "It's not sexist!" that's not personal, either.

Generalizations will not be considered personal, unless specifically aimed at someone you know is in that group (or so egregious as to be considered hate speech). An example of a generalization might be "House/Wilson fans are so stupid; Fox will never make that crap canon." It's not personal so I won't screen it. But you should be prepared that I or someone else will challenge you on it. And if that discussion gets personal, then it'll be screened.

One last, very important thing: This is not a "Racists and Homophobes Get Out of Jail Free" card. If you think any type of person is worth less than any other, you are not welcome here.

Everyone else: ♥ ♥ ♥