Another thing is that when this aggression started, we were so worried about winter and how displaced people in tents will survive it. Earlier this week the temperature in Gaza hit 38 degrees (100 Fahrenheit) and we are now wondering how will displaced people survive the heat in those tents.

the autism made us tie a single thread around our waist bc there's been this sensory need for that for a while we want to get an actual thin chain for this purpose but this'll do for now

“MARCEL DUCHAMP, TONSURE” MAN RAY // 1921 [gelatin silver print | U/D]

look at our boyfriend's CAT his name is basim he likes stealing raw potatoes and Punching People

it's frustrating how (physically) self-injuring behavior is viewed as juvenile and "hysterical" and even more frustrating how people insert themselves into the struggles of others especially (but not only) if they have no firsthand experience with it themselves...the pop narrative of "attention-seeking" depressed teenage girls cutting their wrists is a gross misinterpretation of what SH is and why and who might be participating in such acts (and if someone is "attention-seeking" ... they almost certainly need attention regardless of the format their cry for help is in). self-hatred and depression can certainly be motivators for SH regardless of age or gender but that being the primary lens through which the average person (or even some mental health professionals) views it does a disservice to the myriad others who have other reasons for what they do. some of those reasons aren't maladaptive at all but people aren't ready for that conversation...but I'm going to start it anyway

first of all obviously for many people SH is part of a harmful cycle where psychological distress leads to injurious behavior that in turn leads to further distress after the typically brief period where the act provides relief, release or regulation. there are many people who engage in SH who hate it, who want to stop but feel like it is outside their control; people experiencing unstable mood, low self image, traumatic environments past or present. those people deserve to be treated with utmost dignity and respect by both clinicians and peers. the narrative surrounding SH as childish and dramatic only furthers the shame people are feeling, erases the struggles of adults who face the same problems, and refuses to interrogate the actual depth and complexity of these behaviors. people who don't fit the narrative - AND people who do! - suffer because of this lack of insightful, holistic care. People who seek to chastise, belittle, punish, guilt or shame individuals for engaging in self-injuring behavior create a space for people where the triggers for that behavior (and means of addressing the circumstances) are secondary to the fact someone is doing something Bad that needs to be put to an end. Maladaptive self-injury is a symptom that can grow into a cause in itself for other issues emotional and physical. There is always a reason someone begins hurting themself, and if that reason is not properly addressed, pushing people to stop hurting themselves will. not. help. and often will paradoxically worsen the behavior, if not immediately, then in a delayed relapse, often of greater magnitude than the initial acts. threats of involuntary commitment can lead people who genuinely want help to hide their behavior from professionals.

on the other hand, though, there are plenty of people who choose to injure themselves and do not feel any distress about it. a major example of this is people who are into BDSM (impact play, bloodplay, branding etc) but is in no way exclusive to sexual contexts. some people like scars. some people just like the pain, find it pleasurable in some way. some people use self-injury for sensory-seeking or sensory-regulatory reasons and do not feel like this behavior is damaging to them. all of the above categories deserve to have their bodily autonomy respected. people have the right to their own bodies even if that makes you uncomfortable. two people can do the exact same thing to themselves and have vastly different responses to it. self-injurous behavior is pathologized to an extreme regardless of the person engaging in it's perspective on it. once again involuntary psychiatric intervention is a risk in these cases. some people will say "yes, my mental health is poor, but my SH is not related to that (or is even a genuinely useful outlet that does not cause me distress after the fact)" but their own self-determination of the situation will not be respected because of the dominant narrative that says someone who chooses to inflict damage to their body (in socially inappropriate ways, namely) must be of unsound mind and unable to make decisions for themself. If a person can choose to get a piercing, or a tattoo, they can choose to cut or burn themself, and that isn't inherently a problem unless it is negatively impacting that person.

self-harm can be an addiction, but just like someone can drink and not be an alcoholic, someone can hurt themselves for their own reasons without it being compulsive and outside their control. even if it is an addiction for an individual, and they are displeased by it and want things to be different, I see barely any discussion of harm reduction as a tactic in approaching maladaptive self-injury. "Stop cutting yourself or you will be involuntarily institutionalized" isn't going to help people - when that was my own ultimatum as a teenager, from family and professionals, I ultimately descended worse into what was at the time severely maladaptive distressing behavior. But a decade later - I still cut myself! The difference is I have implemented measures for myself that keep it from being maladaptive - I do not ever use SH as a way to punish myself, for one. If I am feeling bad about myself, I don't do it. I also typically cut shallower and in smaller amounts. Many of my motivations as a teen were the same as now, and weren't/aren't inherently maladaptive - I consider my scars body mods as much as I do my tattoos. I am autistic and sensory-seeking and the sensation is pleasurable. Also for autism reasons, having a wound or wounds on my body creates a sensory focal point that helps me regulate when my surroundings are causing sensory problems like temperature disregulation or overstimulation. I have engaged in bloodplay in a kink setting for a number of reasons. If you can understand how an athlete can feel good when their muscles are sore after a long workout, if you can understand why someone would want to be bitten during a kink scene, you can understand why someone might choose to cut or burn themself and not have a crisis about it. Right now the biggest reason I have not to is that it's messy.

I think if you have people in your life who are triggered by self-harm you owe it to them to cover fresh wounds if they ask, avoid discussing it if they ask, but ultimately it is your business alone whether or not you hurt yourself unless you determine that someone else's desire for you to stop is of importance to you. I do not believe anybody has a right to dictate anything about anybody else's body and that extends to this. There needs to be a serious overhaul, also, in the way SH is treated in the mental health world. There are gray areas - someone may not feel like their behavior is detrimental to themself, but in one way or another it is, but that is something that people should be able to work through with a therapist or psychiatrist without worrying about whether they'll be involuntarily committed. The way the psych system is now prevents people who are worried they might have a problem from actually seeking the care they need, and people who are comfortable from having their actual problems addressed when instead the SH is viewed as the most pressing problem.

This is long as fuck so tldr: bodily autonomy extends to people's right to do things that are harmful to themself so long as that does not infringe on anybody else's autonomy. People can choose not to engage with people whose lifestyles are triggering to them personally of course but likewise people who do not want your feedback are not required to take your personal opinion of what they do to their own bodies into account if no harm has been caused to you. Discomfort is not the same as harm. You can set boundaries with people but they also can set boundaries with you and if someone says "I'm sorry it makes you uncomfortable I SH but it's not your place to dictate what I do with my own body" you need to respect that and make decisions accordingly. And for the love of g-d people going out with Healed Fucking Scars is not an invitation to harass or accuse them of anything. You don't know people's history or their reasons for anything and inserting yourself into that is rude, end of story.

i think we should invent posts in disability spaces that don't call all people with facial differences deformed as if that's a normal thing to call someone. stop fucking calling me that!!!! you sound exactly like the people you're "complaining" about!!!!

"we need to be normal about those disfigured people it's okay to be ugly!!" maybe you are fucking ugly but i am not so stop projecting. go fuck yourself. my face having 20 years worth of nerve damage and asymmetry that makes me unable to smile "properly" or me being crossjawed doesn't make me ugly and never will. hope this helps.

what happened to "you look good" or "you're important part of disability community". why is everyone speaking about us in third person!!! i'm reading your damn post I'm HERE!!

also if you never heard of face equality or what disfiguremisia even is then you can shove those pseudo progressive posts up your ass

Can you help me to help my sisters son plz

https://gofund.me/440d6bea

Hey, I just had a conversation with Ahmed here to verify info. This campaign is completely legit!!

Here's the fundraiser link. I've seen the medical report. Yusuf here needs urgent help!! Please do not hesitate to donate!!!

Sudan still desperately needs aid--it needs a lot of things, but it is approaching a dangerous point with famine and mass death due to hunger imminent.

These are the kinds of headlines we're getting now:

Here's an ongoing fundraiser:

I linked it before, to help with Ramadan, but it's an ongoing initiative, the need has not stopped.

I picked this gofundme because it's been boosted by people I trust and you can see pictures online of the food they've provided, e.g.:

But I also picked this because you can see the amount of donations. It's 2pm ET on Saturday, April 20th right now? For the next week, whatever's donated, I'll match for a total up to $2,000 (we'll say 2,750 CAD, since the gofundme is in Canadian dollars).

You don't have to send me a receipt, I just ask that you donate and boost.

Edited on 2024-04-22:

We've met and passed the goal! Feel free to donate further, but I've gone ahead and donated the $2,750 matching already. :)))

Hi

I am Nael Helles from Gaza

Gaza is now under bombardment and destruction. I resorted to action. Donation link Can you post my link? To help me get out of this war, I urgently need money, and I ask you to help spread the link, please

https://gofund.me/2e0000b2

Hey everyone, I had a conversation with Nael here. His campaign is completely legit.

Please do not hesitate to help him if you are able to!

fragile structure of old wallpapers

Leonora Carrington, "El Laberinto"

apologies with regards to when i wrote that cal poly humboldt students, who have fully occupied a second building, aren't reaching the level of 1968. i wasn't familiar with their game.

From the Freedom Flotilla, April 27 2024:

On Thursday afternoon, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), requesting an inspection of our lead ship – Akdenez. This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed. The inspector arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, the GBISR, in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5000 tons of life-saving aid for the Palestinians of Gaza. In its communication informing us of this cancelation, the GBISR made specific reference to our planned mission to Gaza. It also made several extraordinary requests for information, including confirmation of the ships’ destination, any potential additional port calls, and the discharge port for humanitarian aid and estimated arrival dates and times. It further demanded a formal letter explicitly approving the transportation of humanitarian aid and a complete manifest of the cargo. Again, this is a highly unusual move from a flagging authority. Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag, and are not concerned with the destination, route, cargo manifests or the nature of a specific voyage. Just like when you register your car, the authorities don’t require you to detail to them every place you are going to go with the car. Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is showing the world the extent to which it will go to deny Palestinians the aid they need to stay alive, in direct contravention of International Humanitarian Law, UN Security Council resolutions, and two orders of the International Court of Justice. [...] without a flag, we cannot sail. But, this is not the end. Israel cannot and will not crush our resolve to break its illegal siege and reach the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza and all of Palestine remain steadfast under the most horrific, unimaginable conditions. We take strength from their incredible, inexplicable ability to maintain their humanity, dignity and hope when the world has given them no reason to do so. It is our responsibility to keep that hope alive. WE WILL SAIL.

The Freedom Flotilla, which was set to depart from Turkey on the 27th of April with 5000 tons of life-saving aid, has now been delayed because Israel and the United States has pressured Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from the Flotilla's lead ship.

Seeing as how their tactics worked on Guinea Bissau, organizers now fear that Israel and the US will exert the same pressure on whichever country the Freedom Flotilla attempt to register their ship under next.

To help the Freedom Flotilla reach Gaza, please keep an eye out for further updates from the organizers. Right now, as of April 27th, they're asking people to help boost their visibility, and to donate to their member campaigns.

For more info, see their webpage.