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it really bothers me when people are rude, mean or dismissive to people who have incorrect spelling or grammar. the value of a person's idea is not based in it's gramatical correctness. shaming people for spelling things wrong is a form of silencing. it especially silences those who don't have access to a lot of formal education, those who have learning disabilities and others. i don't care if people spell shit wrong or not. i want people to speak and express themselves and tell their stories, especially those who are often silenced and ignored. people will be afraid to speak if they know they will be publicly humiliated for making spelling errors. so they might not speak. and that scares the fuck out of me. please stop shaming people over spelling. i think it's bullshit.

inebriateofair:

thefistofartemis:

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST.

YES.

Yes yes yes. I will admit to being facetious about grammar and spelling in my youth, but I grew up, wised up, and realized that it was oppressive.

Jun 30, 2011478 notes

“Though I clearly prefer shows of tolerance to shows of intolerance, I nonetheless still have certain reservations about the word “tolerance” and the discourse it organizes. It is a discourse with religious roots; it is most often used on the side of those with power, always as a kind of condescending concession… Tolerance remains a scrutinized hospitality, always under surveillance, parsimonious and protective of its sovereignty. In the best of cases, it’s what I would call a conditional hospitality, the one that is most commonly practiced by individuals, families, cities, or states. We offer hospitality only on the condition that the other follow our rules, our way of life, even our language, our culture, our political system, and so on.” —Jacques Derrida

Jun 29, 201175 notes

“I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is vertical, so it’s humiliating. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other and learns from the other. I have a lot to learn from other people.” —Eduardo Galeano

Jun 29, 20114,305 notes

Jun 29, 201118 notes

What do you know about PTSD? In particular, late-onset PTSD? So many things I read either make me feel like there's no hope or that it's been too long, and I shouldn't be feeling like this now when for so long I was 'okay.'

How late is ‘late-onset’? I can’t claim to be an expert, especially as I do not have it myself, but I can try to give you some information in specific areas. I know I also have a lot of followers who would be willing to send in words of help for you, too. However, I will say that you mustn’t feel guilty that you’re experiencing adverse psychological consequences to your trauma ‘late’ after being ok for ‘so long’: you must remember that, by definition, PTSD occurs any time (correct me someone if I’m wrong) >3 months after trauma. It also currently has 3 sub-classifications: acute, chronic and delayed-onset - there are so many other people out there experiencing delayed symptoms that there is a diagnostic category for this. I don’t know if it’s comforting for you to know that your not alone in terms of presentation of symptoms, but I’m telling you just on the offchance. Are you seeing a therapist or taking presctibed meds? Do get back in contact if you can.

Jun 28, 20111 note

Ok, given that there are now 400+ notes on the beginner’s guide to the brain that I wrote earlier this week, I am now taking suggestions for new areas to write on:

What would you like to read about?

Jun 28, 20117 notes

#mental health #mental illness #psychology #psychiatry #brain #neuroscience #neuroanatomy

Jun 28, 2011162 notes

#disability #accessibility #image captions

i was very excited to find your blog (i'm a psych major and have been obsessed with psychology for years now, it's my passion). i definitely appreciate the accuracy of your blog, i've grown quite tired of how much the media and such have skewed studies and the entire concept of psychology. keep up the good work <3

Thanks so much! It’s always nice to hear form similarly passionate people.

Jun 26, 20111 note

About the post talking about the stereotype that autistic people lack empathy. I have an eleven year old brother who is severely autistic. He is extremely violent, for he knows no other way to express anger, disapproval, or disappointment. I am fifteen years old. Due to his medication, Risperdal (Risperidone), he is overweight. When my brother hits me, it is very painful and I cannot help but to cry. Immediately upon seeing my tears, my brother looks at me with a face full of regret and says, "Toni, please stop crying." Although this is just one of his well rehearsed and memorized sentences, I know he truly means it. He understands the pain. He not only empathizes, but sympathizes. He tells me that he is sorry and repeatedly tells me to stop crying until I do stop. Although "I love you" is just a memorized sentence to my brother, I know he truly loves me and cares about me. He empathizes, he understands. It's time that everyone else understands him.

Thank you for sharing.

Jun 26, 20114 notes

In the midst of this lack of true autism awareness, any assertion that autistic people lack empathy is nothing less than a textbook case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Jun 25, 201124 notes

sickochick:

Neurodiversity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

back when I was running DA I was really trying to understand the neurodiversity stuff from the autistic pov and the idea of how there shouldn’t really be “low functioning” and “high functioning.”

And then all at one moment it just clicked and my head. I was like duh. Everyone is smart, they just express it different ways.

Jun 25, 201116 notes

Jun 25, 20111 note

Neurodiversity is an idea which asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological development is a normal human difference that is to be recognized and respected as any other human variation.[1] Differences may arise in ways of processing information, including language, sound, images, light, texture, taste, or movement.

Jun 25, 201116 notes

youarenotyou:

this ain’t livin’: The Best Advocacy is Self Advocacy: The Dangers of Speaking for Others

People who position themselves as authorities and use that position to speak for others are not exactly breaking down oppressive systems. They are reinforcing them. They are making it…

Jun 25, 201149 notes

flowsnake:

Yes, some prescribers play it fast and loose with the scripts. It’s that idea of, ‘oh, you’re shy and get butterflies before a test? You’ve got an anxiety disorder, you need some Zoloft for that’— that’s called anxiety, not an anxiety disorder, but more and more people can’t seem to recognize the distinction. I think some of the ‘progressive’ views of meds being useless could stem somewhat from that practice.

That said, I was absolutely speechless the first time I heard someone say that they thought psychiatric meds were ‘useless’ and ‘unneeded.’ They are not unneeded, because I need to go to work and school, and I’m pretty sure I can’t do that if I’m hallucinating and unable to speak or read or recognize my family members. When I don’t take my meds, people are scared of me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to have to live with that?

My meds saved my life…something which, yeah, I kinda need.

Jun 25, 201145 notes

gkayy:

So here we go, another rant. (Video here)

A really common rhetoric I see within the “progressive” community is that of people who think that all medication for people with mental health problems is phony and unneeded - merely created my the pharmaceutical company’s to dupe naive people into thinking that their personality traits are medical.

Do you even know how fucking insulting that is?

I take meds, I know many friends that take meds - we’re not naive, we have a health problem that can be controlled and managed using the correct medicines.

I think that this shows a lot of peoples attitude to mental health and how unknown it actually is. Because you can’t see mental health problems, there is no physical evidence of them and to be honest, when people spout bullshit about meds, then I can tell that they don’t think mental health problems are real - that they can be made better with some fairy dust and positive thinking, right? This attitude, just props up and supports the taboo around mental health. You would never tell someone with a chronic physical illness to stop taking their tablets would you? No, because you have your proof that they are ill - that they need medication - and as long as your appeased and can see how much they need them they you will grant you oh so special blessing. All this type of thinking does is reinforce the stereotype that people with mental health problems are just over-emotional attention seekers, who can’t accept themselves and must have a medical reason when they are upset or angry.

Well I’ve got news for you good buddy, these medical health problems are really fucking real and can mean that people like me can’t physically live our lives. Also, I can assure you that they aren’t “quirky” personality traits. Not being able to leave my be for a week and a half, not washing and crying and cutting my self is not a fun personality trait. It’s something that is very detrimental to my life, my studies and my relationships.

No-one is saying that pharmaceutical company’s aren’t fucking awful - of course they are. The extortionate prices they charge for drugs is disgusting and they directly effect very vunerable people. But the drugs they make? Not evil and very fucking nesscary for thousands of people around the globe.

You are not progressive or different for spouting this bullshit. I know it makes you feel like your this really cool cat that questions the status quo, but your not. You’re a douchebag, plain and simple. All you are doing is belittling and demeaning the person and their struggle. Do you think that we like being on tablets, sometimes for the rest of our lives? Before you became oh so progressive, did you bother to even talk to people with mental health problems? You know about how some of us really struggle to even accept tablets into our lives (sometimes because of rhetorics like yours?) and how that the delay that sometimes happens while we think about tablets can lead us to physically harm ourselves.

No, of course you didn’t talk to anyone, because who knows about our struggle better than you, right? Seriously take your progressive head out of your arse and actually listen to people instead of shaming them because “you know better”.

Medication is not the problem here, your assumptions are. Taking medication is not a decision took lightly by anyone, whether it be for a physical illness or a mental illness. You will never be able to comprehend what it’s like to receive a diagnosis that tells you that your going to be ill forever, that it can only be managed, not be cured. To be told that the feelings of hatred and anger you feel towards yourself every day will never go away. The light at the end of that tunnel is often medication and you shaming people who take it doesn’t help anyone. Where is your proof that we’re not actually ill? I bet you can’t find any and when you can’t find your proof you are quite simply telling people you don’t believe in their treatment, for no good reason.

I tell you what you progressive people, we’ll make a deal. You don’t tell me how “right” you are and I won’t shove a boot up your ass, okay?

Jun 25, 201145 notes

Jun 25, 201136 notes

Jun 24, 2011684 notes

Jun 24, 20111,108 notes

marthaq:

Gillian Marchenko, mother of two daughters with Down Syndrome, has written a lovely post about why she has to speak up when she hears people use the word “retard”.

Jun 24, 201118 notes

June 2011

169 posts