i wish people (able-bodied people) understood that me using mobility aids is not “accepting defeat” (whatever that even means) and it never will be, it’s me finally becoming the best version of me and becoming more independent and happy!! mobility aids are not bad things or “giving up”, they give people freedom and independence.
scrolling through mezuzahs bc i need one for my university dorms. there’s so many pretty ones, people are so creative.
but whats that?
a p’ezuzah. imagine you’re visiting your jewish neighbors, and you reach up to kiss the mezuzah on your way in, and you kiss homer simpson. jewish buzz lightyear. or imagine having to explain to goyim the darth vader in the doorway with a star of david, like yes that does have important scripture inside of it and yes we must kiss it. yes it is darth vader. single handedly the funniest thing ive seen today im ordering a buzz lightyear
The next generation shouldn’t have to live in a world with fewer reproductive, civil, LGBTQ and environmental rights.
Digital art depicting a mother and daughter hugging. The daughter is holding a rose with her eyes closed. The mom is wearing a tan dress with the text, ‘The next generation shouldn’t have fewer rights than we did.’
[ID: Screenshot of an instagram post. The photo shows a young man dressed in traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing- a black hat, black suit and pants, and white shirt- wraps tefillin around the arms of a person draped in the rainbow pride flag. The person in the pride flag has shoulder length hair and is wearing a large white kipah, a t shirt, and shorts. They are standing outside on pavement. It’s captioned “Do a mitzvah.” End ID.]
(Context for gentiles: the man on the left is probably a member of Chabad. Chabad is a sort-of-Orthodox-it’s-really-complicated-please-don’t-ask-me-to-elaborate Jewish organization that does outreach involving asking Jews in the wider community if they’d like the chance to complete a mitzvah; for example, at Sukkot they’ll ask if Jews walking by would like to shake the bundle of Four Species, which they might not have the chance to do at home. This probably-a-Chabad-member has identified the queer person in the photo as a Jew and offered them the chance to wrap tefillin, which is a central part of certain Jewish blessings. Basically this very traditional man has walked up to this very untraditional man and said “hey! Have you had the chance to pray today? Would you like to?” Jewish prayer mostly revolves around the saying of blessings, not around requests, so the prayers said with tefillin are basically “it’s an awesome day and I’m glad I’m living it.” There is no “this person is wrong for their flag or orientation or gender”—it’s just “this person is a fellow Jew, I will ask if they want to perform a mitzvah.”)
I was already here, but I’m taking a closer look at this image and I think there’s another important thing to add:
Especially because this is a Pride event, there is a much higher than usual greater-than-zero chance this person is either nonbinary or a trans man.
Wrapping tefillin is a male mitzvah. That’s to say, women aren’t obligated to do it, and many traditionalists say women shouldn’t do it. And it’s also considered an act of modesty for men not to touch women outside of their own family.
The probably-a-Chabad-member is wrapping tefillin (a male mitzvah), which involves touching someone he’s not related to (forbidden between sexes), on someone who may not be a cisgender man and, if he is, presents as GNC.
So in addition to everything I said above: this is a very traditional man looking at a very untraditional person-who-may-not-meet-his-own-definition-of-“man” and saying “you are a man to yourself in the eyes of G-d, therefore you’re a man to me. Have you had the chance to pray today? Would you like to?”
sometimes a healthy relationship isn’t 50/50 because it can’t be, and that’s okay.
disabled people who cannot take on an equal portion of the work in a relationship deserve to be loved too, if that’s what they want. and as long as their partner is getting the support they need, and is happy to take on that work, then what’s the issue? it’s nobodys business but your own the way that works in your relationship.
if you or your partner are disabled, and you can’t split the work in the relationship 50/50, that’s okay. you’re not abusive, or a baby, or unloveable because of that. I promise
And even when it is, people still have a problem with it.
I went back and did some digging, because it occured to me that I didn’t know the date reference of this story and, sadly, there are way too many stories about school lunch debt that they’re easy to mix up.
This particular story was from July 2019 (I reblogged it Sept 2022).
There was a relevant update within a week of the scandal: public outrage was swift, the embarrassed school board redacted the outrageous allusions to indebted students ending up in foster care, and it accepted the CEO’s $20k donation.
It doesnt change the fact that the very concept of “school lunch debt” is disturbing and inhumane (and there are still stories about children…with lunch debt…). And clearly, the district changed it’s tone because it didn’t like the bad PR. But figured it was helpful to have more info and context.
Here are some of the relevant sources; each offer bits of info unique to each specific source:
Peer respite is a community-based alternative to psych wards. They offer 24/7 short term crisis stabilization-usually for around a week to 2 weeks. Unlike psych wards, they are completely voluntary and all the staff are people with experience with mental health/extreme states/being in the mental health system. Staff are extensively trained in peer support and mental health first aid, and oftentimes staff members will have other degrees in mental health or healthcare related fields. Usually, peer respite is in a house and it is a homelike environment where you can leave at any time, can have visitors, can have your phone, and can bring comfort items and preferred activities. At peer respites, there are no restraints used, no strip searches, and no solitary confinement.
Each peer respite is a little different, but I can tell you about one that my friend works at who is a social worker with lived experience of psychosis! When people decide to come to the peer respite, they usually make a plan for how they want their stay there to look like. Peer support workers will lead optional life skills/coping skills groups throughout the week, as well as other group activities for anyone who wants to participate. There is self-advocacy education, crisis planning options, and art wellness activities. Everyone is assigned a personal support worker who they can go to any time they need a check in or one-on-one support. Staff and guests work together to cook meals, and the entire stay is free of cost.
Since peer respite is an alternative to the psychiatric systems, most peer respites do not provide traditional therapy or psychiatric medications. Most peer respites will work with you to set up outpatient therapy services if you’re interested, and I know a lot of people who continue to see the outpatient providers that they already have throughout their stay at peer respite.
A lot of people who go to peer respite have really positive experiences, and there’s been several studies done looking at the outcome of crisis stays at peer respite. A lot of people speak positively about the homelike environment, being able to get emotional and crisis support without the fear of institutionalization, and being able to have autonomy about what your days look like, what choices you make, and what healing looks like to you. Some people stay at peer respite and are still able to go to school or work for the week while knowing that they have a safer environment to go back to.
Peer respite is not a perfect solution for everyone’s experience of crisis. If you need a longer term stay, are looking for immediate clinical therapy, are someone who is searching for immediate medication support, or who needs immediate physical medical care–peer respite might not be able to meet your needs. Each peer respite house is going to be different, have different staff and visitors, and different policies, and some people might just not feel comfortable in a particular peer respite house. It’s shitty and I hope this changes, but some peer respite houses are inaccessible, will have policies around drug use that might prevent people from staying, or have policies that prevent people who are homeless from staying. So, peer respite definitely isn’t a perfect solution or something that can meet everyone’s crisis needs, but is a really cool option that I hope continues to become available in more states.
There is a new subreddit called r/PeriodPantry that allows people who need period products to post wishlists. Many people are forced by poverty to chose between menstrual hygiene products and other necessities, and may end up skipping meals or suffering health problems or social isolation as a result of lacking hygiene products. Please feel welcome to post a period product wishlist, fulfill a wishlist, and/or reblog this post to help it reach others.
Hey, this is a really cool mutual aid group, if you need period products or can help someone get period products this is a great little group to check out.
Periodic (hah!) reminder that this cool group exists and can be a source of menstrual products and is a place where you can help people who need menstrual products.
ALT
