Reblogging Because I NEED This Info

This is beautiful! I love this song; I learned the lyrics a little while back and it’s such a pretty language to sing in. (I’ve kind of made a hobby out of learning songs in several different languages.)

I’m also a trained dancer, and I’ve been fascinated with hula for a long time. It’s so different from the kinds of dance I’m familiar with, and it’s so graceful and rhythmic! If I ever got the chance to learn about hula dance in a respectful and authentic way, I would definitely do it.

I’ve gotten in trouble at almost every Thanksgiving family gathering starting from the time I reached about thirteen because I kept calling out my uncles for being racist, homophobic, or sexist. 

(And then everyone got mad at me for starting arguments. Um??? I??? Never?? started it?? I just refused to let it go when they said horrible things.) 

One time I flat-out told one of my uncles he was a bigot and he got super super offended. Insisted that he was not a bigot, and that I must never call him that again. I was fourteen at the time and I was cowed enough to apologize for saying that and to agree to not do it again. Still regret how I folded, sometimes, but at least I made it clear I still believed he was wrong.

Several times it’s been me debating against four or five of my uncles at once. Four adult men, one teenage girl. Everyone else always refuses to get involved, standing around with these uncomfortable looks on their faces. One of my aunts thinks it’s disgraceful, how much I’ll argue with ‘the men of the family’. It doesn’t feel like I ever accomplish much of anything by doing this, but I can’t just do nothing.

It’s hard because I’m close to my extended family, particularly some of my cousins who are my age, and I know that they all love me. But I cannot stand the things that they (my uncles and a couple of my aunts especially) believe. My mom agrees with me that they’re wrong, but always gets angry with me when I argue with them about it. ‘You don’t talk about politics with family,’ she says. ‘Family’s what will be there for you when everyone else leaves you, don’t alienate them.’ ‘Let it go, you’re never going to change their minds.’ ‘You’re embarrassing me.’ I’m always the one in the wrong for daring to speak up. 

I don’t think my mom really understands that I cannot be silent about these things. If I am silent, I am complicit. If I say nothing, then it’s as good as agreeing. I can’t do that. I just can’t, even if she thinks I’m starting drama without good reason and punishes me for it.

Sometimes I think that I should cut contact with my extended family entirely, for some of the horrible things they believe - if any of them openly advocated for violence, I would. But they don’t go that far, and I love them too much to erase them from my life right now. (Also, my mom thinks I’m insane for even contemplating that maybe I should. Cut contact, that is. Because in our family, where our parents and grandparents were refugees and immigrants when they arrived here and had only each other to rely on, family is everything. To her, family matters more than politics, every time. I don’t quite agree with her on that.) But if I am to continue keeping them in my life, the very least I can do is to speak up when I know something is wrong, and to refuse to be silent, no matter how many people get angry with me for it. 

I’m always glad to see people saying that yes, it’s right to call your family out when they do something racist/homophobic etc., because everyone in my immediate life says that I’m childish and immature for doing it, and that there’s no point in doing it. I hope though that maybe some of the things I say will get through to my uncles’ children, at least, if not my uncles themselves.

Can someone tell me how to help LGBTQ people in Brunei without just telling me to boycott luxury hotels I already don’t go to??

Learning recipes passed down from my mother’s side of the family is so interesting but also kind of annoying because there are no measurements whatsoever. You just have to look at it and go, ‘yes, that looks about right’.

This person gets it

I am so beyond impressed because I find rollerblades so clumsy and difficult to use compared to ice skates and I had no idea this was even possible

This girl is amazing

hey! so normally I'm 100% for vaccines and all but I'm,, suspicious about the COVID vaccine bc of the rushed timeline and Pfizer's history. I also have some personal mental issues that's making it difficult for me to break down the likelihood of the vaccine being dangerous/fake/etc and was wondering if you could help me with that? What do you think the likelihood is that Pfizer faked their data? Or that the vaccine has long-term side effects? Or that it was dangerous materials in it?

I've been wanting to write something about this, so I thank you for this question!! I am confident in the vaccine, and will be getting it as soon as I'm allowed. I have done my research, spoken to physicians within my family who have also done their research, and am happy to say that a lot of the fears people have are unfounded. Let's get into it!

Was the vaccine rushed?

No. It was prioritized. The Covid vaccines, to receive approval, have undergone all of the same trials, rules, testing, and processes as every other vaccine. No corners were cut. Over 45k were used in human trials. The reason most vaccines take a number of years is because a) availability of persons with said illness for testing, b) availability of persons willing to undergo human trials, c) resource availability (scientists work on a number of things), and d) funding. The covid vaccines could move faster than usual through these barriers, for obvious reasons, leading to quicker outcomes.

Pfizers history? Likelihood that they faked their data?

They have had a number of lawsuits against them throughout their existence as a company (best known for Chapstick, Advil, and Prep), most involving undisclosed side effects in medications they have produced. Some involving unapproved human trials. Vaccines are, of course, different from medications. However, the Covid vaccine has undergone extensive external review and has been found valid and safe.

Wall Street Journal - FDA review confirms safety and efficacy of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine

Medical Xpress - Pfizer vaccine results published in peer-reviewed journal

The New Daily - FDA publishes first peer-reviewed report on Pfizer trial as Britain rolls out COVID vaccine

The New York Times - Pfizer’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection After First Dose

BBC News - Safety data on Pfizer jab released by US

Vaccine long term side effects?

This is hard to say! However, the nature of how the vaccine works leads to minimal concern about long term side effects. To quote a physician I'm related to when I asked him about it, "I imagine the worst it could do would be....not work for someone, so that they still get Covid." Let's jump to the next question to see why that is.

Dangerous materials in it?

Vaccines train the immune system to recognize the disease-causing part of a virus. Traditionally, this means they contain either weakened viruses or purified signature proteins of the virus.

But an mRNA vaccine is different, because rather than having the viral protein injected, a person receives genetic material – mRNA – that encodes the viral protein. Think of it like instructions to make a fake shell of the virus. When these genetic instructions are injected into the upper arm, the muscle cells translate them to make the viral protein directly in the body. Your body creates the fake shell, which looks like the virus.

This approach mimics what the SARS-CoV-2 does in nature – but the vaccine mRNA codes only for the critical fragment of the viral protein. This gives the immune system a preview of what the real virus looks like without causing disease. This preview gives the immune system time to design powerful antibodies that can neutralize the real virus if the individual is ever infected. In conclusion, your body creates a dummy virus uniform with no virus inside of it. Your immune system then learns how to defeat it, without risk of harm. That way if it ever runs into the real virus, it sees the shell and knows how to effectively attack.

While this synthetic mRNA is genetic material, it cannot be transmitted to the next generation! This means your body won't continue creating fake shells. After an mRNA injection, this molecule guides the protein production inside the muscle cells, which reaches peak levels for 24 to 48 hours and can last for a few more days. So essentially, you create fake shells for a few days, then you stop. It doesn't keep going forever, which I know some folks were concerned about.

Conclusion:

It is a trustworthy, worthwhile vaccine. If you don't want to go first, that's alright! It will be first responders, essential workers, and folks in long term care facilities who will receive it this year and early next. But I do encourage everyone to take it if they are at all optioned to.

I hope this helps!

this week in I Am Very Smart: having enough money to go to the opera, museums and concerts correlates with having enough money for food, shelter and basic health needs

This is super cute but like...cartography??? Why is one of Catra’s productive hobbies map-making? I don’t get it

(I love how the list says ‘Kissing Adora’ multiple times though)

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