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nickjoyhn · 6 months

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Purchase Chickenpox Vaccine for Kids

In today's fast-paced world, safeguarding our children's health is a top priority. One of the crucial steps in ensuring their well-being is protecting them from preventable diseases like chickenpox. This article delves into the significance of Purchase chickenpox vaccine for kids, providing valuable insights into the vaccine, its efficacy, and the overall benefits for children's health.

Introduction

Chickenpox, caused by the varicella-zoster virus, is a highly contagious disease primarily affecting children. While it may seem like a common childhood illness, the impact of chickenpox on a child's health can be significant. From uncomfortable itching and fever to more severe complications, the consequences of the virus underscore the importance of preventive measures, with vaccination being a key component.

Understanding Chickenpox

The varicella-zoster virus manifests itself through symptoms like an itchy rash, fever, and fatigue. In severe cases, it can lead to complications such as pneumonia or bacterial infections. Understanding the nature of the virus is essential for parents to comprehend the potential risks their children face when exposed to chickenpox.

Importance of Vaccination

Vaccination is a cornerstone in the field of public health, offering a proactive approach to disease prevention. In the case of chickenpox, vaccination not only protects individual children but also contributes to community immunity, reducing the overall prevalence of the virus.

Overview of Chickenpox Vaccine for Kids

The chickenpox vaccine is a safe and effective way to shield children from the virus. Administered in two doses, the vaccine is typically recommended for children between the ages of 12 and 15 months, with a booster shot between ages 4 and 6.

Efficacy and Safety

Extensive research supports the efficacy and safety of the chickenpox vaccine. It significantly reduces the risk of contracting the virus and, in the rare instances of breakthrough infections, minimizes the severity of symptoms. Addressing concerns about vaccine safety is crucial to encourage parents to make informed decisions about their child's health.

Benefits of Vaccination

Beyond individual protection, chickenpox vaccination contributes to herd immunity. By reducing the overall prevalence of the virus in the community, those who cannot receive the vaccine due to medical reasons are also safeguarded. This collective effort plays a vital role in preventing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable populations.

Where to Purchase Chickenpox Vaccine

Parents often wonder where they can purchase the chickenpox vaccine for their kids. The vaccine is readily available at healthcare providers, including pediatricians, family doctors, and public health clinics. It's essential to choose reputable sources to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the vaccine.

Cost Considerations

While the cost of vaccination may concern some parents, it's crucial to weigh it against potential medical expenses associated with treating chickenpox complications. Many insurance plans cover the cost of vaccines, and financial assistance programs are available for those facing financial constraints.

Vaccination Process

The vaccination process is relatively straightforward and quick. It involves a brief discomfort for the child, usually in the form of a mild pinch. The short-lived discomfort during vaccination is a small price to pay for the long-term health benefits it provides.

Common Myths and Misconceptions

Misinformation can deter parents from opting for vaccination. Debunking common myths, such as the vaccine causing the disease or having severe side effects, is essential. Accurate information empowers parents to make informed choices for their children's health.

Tips for Parents

Preparing children for vaccination is crucial for a positive experience. Open communication with healthcare providers, explaining the purpose of the vaccine in simple terms, and providing reassurance can help alleviate any anxieties children may have.

Success Stories

Real-life success stories of families who have vaccinated their children against chickenpox can inspire others to take the same proactive step. These stories highlight the positive impact of vaccination on children's health and well-being.

Future Trends in Vaccination

The field of pediatric vaccines is continually advancing. Ongoing research aims to improve existing vaccines and develop new ones, ensuring even better protection for future generations. Staying informed about these advancements is key for parents seeking the best possible care for their children.

Community Involvement

Community awareness and participation in vaccination programs are crucial for their success. Encouraging parents to share their positive experiences with vaccination can create a ripple effect, fostering a collective commitment to protecting children from preventable diseases.

Conclusion

In conclusion, purchasing the chickenpox vaccine for kids is a proactive and responsible choice that significantly contributes to their overall health and well-being. By understanding the importance of vaccination, addressing concerns, and sharing positive experiences, we can collectively create a healthier and safer environment for our children.

More Info : https://novomedi.com/

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it-solve · 1 year

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Data Recovery from Liquid damaged Macbook A1534 - https://it-solve.au/repair-cases/data-recovery-from-liquid-damaged-macbook-a1534/

Macbooks built after 2017 have integrated SSD chips, resulting in complications in data recovery from liquid-damaged MacBooks.

Liquid-damaged macbook A1534 not turning on – Data Recovery

Why is Macbook Data Recovery needed if it doesn’t turn on?

Unlike Magbooks without USBC ports, these Macbooks do not have removable storage. Hence we cannot just remove the storage and attach it to another Macbook in an attempt to retrieve the data.

Liquid-damaged Macbook A1534 is not turning on due to liquid damage.

There are mainly two ways to recover the data from not turning on Macbooks from this generation.

1. Recovering Data from not turning on Macbook – Removing Storage Chips

As guessed, this process requires desoldering SSD chips and shipping them to a specialised chip Data Recovery company. It is a very complex, hence costly process. Usually topping the $3000 mark.

Due to the time, cost and specialised third parties involved, we leave it as a final option once we drain all options.

2. Recovering Data from not turning on Macbook – Bringing Macbook back to life

Repairing the Macbook or at least bringing it to a vegetable state so that we can pull the data is the option we prefer. This ensures that we control the whole process and hence can control the quote and cost. As well as provide a much faster turnaround with less waste.

However, like the first method, it is complicated and requires specialised skills in understanding electronics, which were not meant to be taken apart, yet alone repaired or repurposed.

How to handle Liquid Spilled Macbook

Motherboard of Macbook A1534 with liquid damage signs on the board

The liquid is the worst enemy of any electronics. But let’s be realistic, accidents happen, and we do not live in a bubble. So it’s normal to spill something on the Macbook, we need to know how to handle the situation with as less damage as possible.

Unfortunately, due to misinformation regarding treating liquid-damaged Macbooks. We see more and more customers who let their liquid-damaged Macbooks dry. This is a big NO! We would highly advise reading what to do when spilled liquid on a Macbook

#itsolverepairs

Data Recovery from Liquid Damage Macbook by Repairing it

Removing the Logic Board of a Macbook A1534 after a liquid spill

As seen in the photo, liquid, while drying, turns into residue (the blue/green gunk). This residue is highly corrosive and conductive. Usually, within minutes of spillage while on or charging, it starts corroding traces and components. Hence quick action in Macbook Liquid Damage Repair is a must. If not treated on time, components inside short and Macbook either stop charging or completely seize functionality.

Liquid Residue on a Macbook A1534, corroding due to being left to dry

We need to immediately clean and rebuild/repair damaged traces and replace corroded/faulty components. Due to the integrated battery design – every minute we waste not repairing the Macbook is a reduced chance of a successful repair.

Macbook A1534 turning on after logic board repair

Once we repair the Macbook Logic Board, we can bring the device to a vegetable state with the aim of recovering the customer’s data.

Turning on Macbook A1534 after a successful Repair

The customer already purchased a new Macbook, but data is something stored on the logic board. And until Liquid Damaged Macbook is Repaired, there is no cost-economical way to extract the data from a dead Macbook.

Successfully Recovering Data from Not Turning on Liquid Damaged Macbook A1534

Testing Successfully Repaired liquid damaged Macbook A1534

After successfully bringing the Macbook back to life, we usually need to run extensive tests to ensure it is a reliable Macbook. After all, Repair is worth the cost only if we can be comfortable that the repair can hold at least 3-5 years, especially with the newest, more fragile laptop and Macbook builds.

Preparing Macbook A1534 for a Data Extraction

However, this was not the case with this Macbook. Our Adelaide customer has already moved to a new one; they only wanted the Data to be Recovered. Hence we can run data extraction straight from the customers’ Operating System and ensure there is no stone unturned and all data is extracted safely and securely.

Why can we not rely on USBc type Macbooks?

Recovering Data to an External USB Drive to be used on the new Macbook

New generation Macbooks are Slim, Sleek, Thin, Fast, Quiet, and Cool. What they are not is Reliable and Repairable! Apple takes every possible measure to overcomplicate the Macbooks, unnecessarily creating multiple failing points. As we mentioned at the beginning of this long post, we do not live in a vacuum, idyllic, accident-free bubble as Apple might.

These USBC Macbooks are designed to fail within 2-3 years of ownership, with or without “user-inflicted damage or error”, as Apple calls it.

Hence the best advice we can give any Macbook user is:

If you are after a reliable, lasting and easily repairable Macbook. Dig up your old magnetic charger Macbook from the cupboard, dust it off, and make it better than new. We can vouch that it will last longer than your brand-new one.

#itsolverepairs

#itsolverepairs #A1534 #ITSolve.Repairs #Macbook Data Recovery #Macbook Liquid Spillage Repair #Macbook Liquid Damage Repair #Macbook Not Turning On Repair #Macbook Repairs #Repair Cases

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islamkarki · 1 year

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Did old-timers help spread misinformation during the pandemic?

During the first months of the COVID-19 Pandemic, I received many WhatsApp messages that clearly sounded like misinformation such as how the virus was caused and spread by 5G network, that virus immunity is gained by garlic or certain herbs, and proofs it was manufactured in China or another country. These were widely spreading misinformation around the globe, not in one region. For example, A 2020 poll by the Economist showed 49% of Americans believed the virus to be manmade. A 2020 survey in Australiademonstrated that 12% of the population believed 5G network is helping the spread of COVID-19. Here too the British government fought the misinformation involving 5G networks and other unbacked stories about the virus. In my experience, most of these texts were from my father, and my friends’ parents which for me, formed a pattern that was not easy to justify. I asked multiple friends and colleagues, and to my surprise, most of them had received these types of texts and more frequently from the same age group.

How these old-timers dealt with misinformation can be attributed to many potential factors. Firstly, for many of old users the internet and smartphones were embraced at different stages and not so easily which might be a key factor in how they treat messaging apps and forwarding in general. A study found that low literacy in social media users increases sharing of fake news and overall sharing frequency (Wei et al., 2022). Thereby older users who usually have lower levels of digital knowledge may tend to share more frequently than younger and digital savvy users. Secondly, lack of trust in official news sources may affect how older users treat news they receive from other sources. A study in Singapore found middle-aged and older users of social media who do not usually trust traditional media or governmental sources and place more trust in social media are less likely to take the vaccination (Tan et al., 2022). This can indicate that they were persuaded against the government’s calls for vaccination as a result of social media misinformation. Another study confirms the significance of education and having confidence in government communications in decreasing acceptance of COVID related myths (Melki et al., 2021). On the other hand, trusting social media might be an extension of the trust some might have for traditional media combined with trust they hold for their family and friends, subsequently that could encourage them to forward messages they receive from them if they seem well-written and informative enough.

While nearly everybody received some type of misinformation at certain stages of the pandemic, older users of social media were in more jeopardy than others and were more fatally affected by the pandemic. Consequently, death rates amongst ages 60-85+ in the US were the highest. Therefore, more vigilance of seniors must have been vital while considering and sharing news.

References:

COVID-19 Misinformation (1/3) — Comics for Good. (n.d.). https://www.comicsforgood.com/weimankow/covid-19-misinformation-1-of-3

Melki, J., Tamim, H., Hadid, D., Makki, M., el Amine, J., & Hitti, E. (2021). Mitigating infodemics: The relationship between news exposure and trust and belief in COVID-19 fake news and social media spreading. PLOS ONE, 16(6), e0252830. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0252830

Tan, M., Straughan, P. T., & Cheong, G. (2022). Information trust and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst middle-aged and older adults in Singapore: A latent class analysis Approach. Social Science & Medicine, 296, 114767. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOCSCIMED.2022.114767

Wei, L., Gong, J., Xu, J., Eeza Zainal Abidin, N., & Destiny Apuke, O. (2022). Do social media literacy skills help in combating fake news spread? Modelling the moderating role of social media literacy skills in the relationship between rational choice factors and fake news sharing behaviour. Telematics and Informatics, 101910. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TELE.2022.101910

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serveantage · 2 years

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Disaster Cleanup Utah | How To Get Professional Help In A Time Crunch

The best way to get over a disaster cleanup in Utah? Do it yourself! This is the only thing that can get you back on track. Well, not exactly. So many things might go wrong when you try to clean up after a disaster, and there is so much misinformation about how to do it that it’s almost impossible to get back into your groove. Luckily, there are plenty of people who can help you out. Read on for helpful tips on getting over a disaster cleanup in Utah.

What is a disaster cleanup?

Disaster cleanup is the process of cleaning up after a natural disaster. This can include removing debris, cleaning contaminated water and soil, restoring power and essential services, and more.

Preparation for a disaster cleanup begins well in advance by understanding the hazards that may be present, ensuring your team is proficient in cleanup techniques, preparing equipment and supplies, and instituting safety protocols. After a disaster, it's essential to immediately activate your emergency response plan to minimize potential injuries and damage.

Why do you need professional help when cleaning up after a disaster?

When a disaster occurs, it is important to get professional help of utah disaster specialists in order to clean up as quickly and efficiently as possible. By working with professionals, you will be able to limit exposure to contaminants such as toxins and asbestos. In addition, utah disaster cleanup companies are usually equipped with protective gear and HazMat suits, which can help protect them from potential injuries while they work.

By following these steps, you can minimize your risk of becoming sick after a disasterous event has occurred.

How can you get professional help in a time crunch?

You can hire an expert to come and take care of your home while you're away. This can include repairing or replacing damaged items, cleaning up after the storm, and more. Another option is utilizing services offered by emergency response companies. These organizations have teams of trained professionals to mitigate disasters and assist those affected. Finally, if You need immediate help, consider calling on family members or friends for support during a crisis.

The types of professionals that offer Utah disaster cleanup services

There are a few different professionals that offer Disaster Cleanup services in Utah. These include home cleanup professionals, flood restoration, and environmental restoration specialists.

The first professional is typically hired to clean up the personal property. They will also take care of damage to windowsills or cabinets during the event.

The second type of professional specializes in commercial cleaning tasks like removing graffiti from businesses after a robbery or dusting for allergens following an outbreak of food poisoning.

Environmental Restoration Specialists are responsible for restoring areas affected by environmental disasters such as floods, fires, and hurricanes. This can involve clearing debris, repairing infrastructure damaged by the storm (such as roofs), and disposing of contaminated materials safely and correctly.

Tips for choosing the right professional for your restoration needs in Utah

When you're choosing a restoration professional, it's essential to think about the following factors:

1. Certification/ licensure

2. Experience

3. Skills and abilities

4. Customer focus

5. Charges for Services Provided

When considering certification or licensure, ensure that the person has the appropriate credentials. When looking at experience, find someone who has completed extensive training on restoration procedures – this will ensure that they are qualified to carry out work on your property accurately and efficiently. Always ask potential professionals how they have achieved particular skills or results – this can help you decide if they would be a good fit for your project based on their qualifications alone! Finally, never compromise customer focus by hiring someone whose primary concern is making money rather than fulfilling your needs as a client.

How to negotiate prices with professional Disaster Cleanup Service providers

Negotiating prices with professional Utah restoration companies can be difficult, but it is integral to finding the best deal for your needs. How do you go about negotiating? The key is to be clear and concise about what you are looking for and keep your expectations realistic. Let the provider know what services are required and how much money you're willing to spend.

Sometimes it is helpful to get a feel for the provider's pricing structure by asking them specific questions about their services. For example, if they specialize in carpet cleaning, ask how much they charge per room or square footage of carpet that needs cleaning. And finally, make sure to agree on terms before starting work, so there are no misunderstandings later on!

#disaster doctors utah #utah disaster cleanup #disaster doctors #manwill plumbing #disaster cleanup utah #western disaster clean up

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is-the-snake-video-cute · 2 years

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Ratings for Reptile YouTubers and Other Content Creators

I'm going to try to add my ratings for every content creator I review to this post so they remain easy to find!

For YouTube channels specifically, I want to give a warning first. I'm kind of hesitant to recommend almost any reptile YouTube channels, because the more I dig into the popular ones the more issues I find. My blanket statement here is going to be to take any reptile YouTube channel, even those that are usually good, with a grain of salt, and fact-check them more than you would other sources. I don't know what it is about reptile YouTube in particular, but misinformation and bad keeping are rampant over there.

Reviews below the cut.

Creators that are usually reliable, with minimal caveats:

Clint's Reptiles is probably my favorite reptile YouTube channel, his advice is usually solid and you'll learn a lot from his videos. Even so, he's said some things about supporting unethical breeding practices like spider ball pythons in the past, so be aware of that.

Wicken's Wicked Reptiles is a channel I don't hear much about, but Adam keeps his snakes wonderfully and is a pretty great resource. His channel is one of the smaller ones, and he's very big on promoting best husbandry practices. His videos can be clickbait-y and he's been lukewarm on spider ball pythons recently, but overall his channel is pretty solid.

Herpin Hippie's TikTok channel is excellent. He's a professional working at a venomous snake facility, and clearly knows exactly what he's doing. His handling of venomous snakes is textbook perfect and he treats the snakes with respect.

Green Room Pythons is a channel I've grown to really love! He has some great advice for new keepers, and seems to really love and want the best for all of his snakes. A great advocate for proper snake enrichment and non-minimalist keeping.

Reptiles and Research: a wonderful channel! Goes over scientific studies and best keeping practices. My only note of caution is that he does tend to present new keeping practices that haven't been extensively studied yet but have been shown to be beneficial for some snakes as universally necessary for all snakes; just do your own research and come to your own educated conclusions, none of these channels are appropriate as a be-all end-all answer.

Creators that are usually reliable, with major caveats:

Snake Discovery's recent videos are pretty solid, and their how-to videos are spot on. I will exercise a lot of caution with them, though, especially with their older videos. Their enclosures now seem to be decent, but their older videos have lots of poor rack enclosures and I'm disgusted by how they used to take their alligator into public. Their breeding videos and egg hatching videos are pretty good, but I think they cut the eggs sooner than necessary to ensure the health of the snake, and I don't like that they breed scaleless snakes. It's worth being very cautious with taking information and husbandry advice from their videos, even if they're generally a reliable resource.

GoHerping is a channel that concerns me more the more I learn about it - his information is usually pretty good, but he doesn't take animals to the vet nearly as often as he should even when advised to do so, which is terrible practice for any reptile rescue/rehabber. He's also said some pretty nasty transphobic/racist/antisemitic things in the past, so be wary there.

Creators that have major issues:

David Orin: The conceit of his videos is that he does "snake bite ratings" by going into the wild, catching a snake, and goading it into biting him. He's coming from a good place by trying to educate about how snake bites don't hurt at all, but there's really no need to go and harass wild snakes to make that point.

Chandler's Wildlife: not quite as bad as some other channels that involve free-handling venomous snakes, but still very bad. He at least includes a disclaimer that viewers shouldn't copy him, but that is not enough. His information is usually good and his enclosures are excellent, but the free-handling is incredibly irresponsible.

Creators that are harmful:

Chrisweeet makes videos of himself free-handling king cobras. While his snakes are beautiful and healthy, free-handling venomous snakes is an accident waiting to happen. King cobras have the most quickly lethal venom of any snake, and free-handling them with an audience is both dangerously irresponsible and willfully ignorant. I'm terrified that his audience is going to try and copy him because he does not present this is as harmful and seems to believe he is absolutely right to handle these snakes in this way.

Jay's Prehistoric Pets and Brian Barczyk are very similar, click-baity channels. They're very bad for spreading misinformation, supporting unethical breeding practices, keeping snakes in tiny enclosures, and goading snakes into striking for views. I think their channels are definitely the most harmful of any I've seen.

The Reptile Channel: easily one of the worst I've ever seen. The entire point of the channel is to characterize snakes as dangerous "man-eaters" and make videos of feeding live small (often baby) animals to snakes and lizards. Their snakes are kept in terrible conditions and are often clearly sick and miserable. Don't give them views, comments, or any other attention; I have a breakdown of one of their videos here.

#reptile youtubers #reptile instagram #reptile creator rankings

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 4 years

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How Far Down the QAnon Rabbit Hole Did Your Loved One Fall?

What to do when someone you love becomes obsessed with QAnon, part 2.

Psychology Today

Joe Pierre M.D. August 21, 2020

“Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me.”

—President Trump, retweeting a QAnon-related meme

This is part 2 of a series on “What to do When Someone You Love Becomes Obsessed with QAnon.”

In the first installment, "The Psychological Needs That QAnon Feeds," I discussed the psychological needs that QAnon may fulfill for its followers. Understanding those needs is a vital first step in order to understand why those who have fallen down the QAnon rabbit hole may be loathe to climb out. In this installment, I’ll set the stage to understand how the chances of rescuing our loved ones from the QAnon rabbit hole—and how to go about trying—may depend on just how far they’ve fallen.

Are Conspiracy Theorists “Crazy?”

To begin with, let’s differentiate belief in conspiracy theories like QAnon from the kind of delusional beliefs that are used to define mental illness and psychosis. Generally speaking, delusions are false and unshared beliefs that are often based on subjective “inner” experience and whose content is often “self-referential,” involving the believer. In contrast, conspiracy theories are usually shared beliefs that don’t explicitly involve the believer and are based on external evidence that one finds “out there,” such as on the internet. Unlike delusions, conspiracy theories may or may not turn out to be true. After all, they’re “theories.”

Based on this distinction, people who believe in conspiracy theories, however “crazy” they might sound, are no more delusional than those who believe in literal interpretations of religious texts like the Bible or the Quran. And so QAnon—the increasingly popular “right-wing” belief about the secret nefarious machinations of the Satan-worshipping, child-trafficking “Deep State” and President Trump’s destiny to thwart them—is a classic conspiracy theory, not a delusion. Now, if someone were to believe not only in QAnon dogma, but also in the false and unshared belief that they are Q, that would suggest a delusion. Note that it’s possible to believe in both conspiracy theories and delusions at the same time, with some overlap.

Conspiracy Theory Belief: Particle and Wave

Another way to understand whether beliefs might be considered “pathological” is to model them quantitatively as a continuous phenomenon—in other words, within a kind of scale that measures intensity or severity. For example, a cognitive model of delusional beliefs quantifies them along “dimensions” that include strength of conviction (how strongly one believes a delusion), preoccupation (how much one thinks about the delusion), extension (how much the delusion “bleeds into” or affects one's life), and distress (how much one is upset by the belief). Applying this model to non-delusional beliefs like conspiracy theories can help to understand when a belief is likely to disrupt people’s lives with a negative impact on their jobs, relationships, and mental well-being.1

Moving along a continuum of conspiracy theory belief, dimensions like conviction, preoccupation, extension, and distress would be expected to increase across it, along with mistrust in authoritative and mainstream sources of information.2 As believers go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole, more and more time is spent “researching” conspiracy theories and immersing oneself in online discussions with other conspiracy theory believers, with less and less time spent on work, relationships, or other recreational pursuits. As this happens, believers increasingly turn their back on previous friends and family who don’t agree with their beliefs and don’t “inhabit” their new world.

Similar to how physicists understand light as both “particle” and “wave,” it can also be helpful to conceptualize belief intensity as discrete points along a continuum, like colors in the visible light “spectrum.” Conspiracy theory researcher Dr. Bradley Franks and his colleagues have proposed just such a spectrum model, with 5 “types” or stages of conspiracy theory belief.3 Their model goes something like this (with additional comments added by me):

Type/stage 1: People feel like “something isn’t right,” but keep an open mind as they seek answers to questions.

Type/stage 2: People feel as if “there’s more to reality than meets the eye,” are skeptical about official explanations, and start to seek out alternative sources of information.

Type/stage 3: Mistrust of authoritative sources of information increases to the point of definitive belief that some official narratives are untrue. As a result, people continue to seek information and engage with like-minded people from whom they gain a sense of belonging and group membership. They’re also more likely to get involved in “political action.”

Type/stage 4: At this point, nearly all official and mainstream accounts are rejected so that people turn away from the mainstream in favor of affiliation with an “enlightened” community of conspiracy theory believers. Non-believers are dismissed as “sheep” who are “asleep.”

Type/stage 5: In the final stage, authoritative and mainstream accounts are rejected to such an extent as to embrace belief in not only improbable, but frankly supernatural explanations for events (e.g. aliens, lizard people, etc.). At this stage, conspiracy theories and delusions may begin to overlap with self-referential aspects.

Dr. Franks’ proposed spectrum of conspiracy theory believers is a novel framework to help understand just how far down the rabbit hole conspiracy theory believers have gone. But for the purpose of deciding how to intervene within that continuum, it may be more useful to more simply divide conspiracy theory believers into two stages: “fence-sitters” and “true believers.”

Fence-Sitters and True Believers

The mentally healthy way to hold most of our beliefs is with “cognitive flexibility,” acknowledging that we might be wrong and remaining open to other people’s perspectives. It’s likewise a good idea to maintain a healthy level of skepticism about new information that we encounter lest we succumb to our cognitive biases and merely reinforce preexisting beliefs. This is especially true when we’re talking about theories where supporting evidence is modest or preliminary, and in the case of religious or political beliefs, where a lack of objective evidence often leads to many equivocal perspectives, such that faith becomes necessary to sustain belief.

In the early stages of conspiracy theory belief, people are “fence-sitters” who are looking for answers and haven’t yet made up their minds. Cognitive flexibility and open-mindedness may be intact, but skepticism is already closely linked with mistrust of authoritative sources of information. At this stage, conspiracy theories are appealing as expressions of, or even metaphors for, that mistrust—for the idea that both information and informants are unreliable—without necessarily having a significant degree of belief conviction. This preliminary stage explains why some people might endorse Flat Earth conspiracy theories without actually believing the Earth is flat.

Farther down the rabbit hole, conspiracy theories are embraced with greater belief conviction and become entwined with a new group affiliation and personal identity (e.g. within QAnon, adherents identify as “anons,” “bakers,” and “Q-patriots”) that makes it increasingly difficult to maintain previously established social ties. As such “true believers” move away from the mainstream and in turn are estranged because of their fringe beliefs, they often feel increasingly marginalized and under threat.

In order to protect themselves and resolve cognitive dissonance, they often “double down,” ramping up belief conviction further and diving even farther into a new ideological world. Many will increasingly feel the need to take action, whether spending more time posting on social media in order to “spread the word” or at the extreme, through more drastic and potentially dangerous measures like arming themselves in order to “self-investigate” a child pornography ring at a pizza parlor.

When people’s beliefs become so enmeshed with their identities, giving them up can be viewed as an existential threat akin to death. Needless to say, that's a bad prognostic sign.

In Part 3 of this series on “What to do when someone you love becomes obsessed with QAnon,” we’ll conclude by discussing what kind of interventions might be helpful, depending on just how far down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theory belief someone has gone.

References

1. Pierre JM. Faith or delusion? At the crossroads of religion and psychosis. Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2001; 7:163-172.

2. Pierre JM. Mistrust and misinformation: a two-component, socio-epistemic model of belief in conspiracy theories. Journal of Social and Political Psychology 2020 (in press). [Available as a PsyArXic preprint at https://psyarxiv.com/xhw52]

3. Franks B, Bangerter A, Bauer MW, Hall M, Noort MC. Beyond “monologicality”? Exploring conspiracist worldviews. Frontiers in Psychology 2017; 8, 861.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psych-unseen/202008/how-far-down-the-qanon-rabbit-hole-did-your-loved-one-fall

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part 1 Psychology Today

The Psychological Needs That QAnon Feeds

Joe Pierre M.D. August 12, 2020

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psych-unseen/202008/the-psychological-needs-qanon-feeds

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part 3 Psychology Today

What to do when someone you love becomes obsessed with QAnon

4 Keys to Help Someone Climb Out of the QAnon Rabbit Hole

Joe Pierre M.D. September 1, 2020

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psych-unseen/202009/4-keys-help-someone-climb-out-the-qanon-rabbit-hole

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Rolling Stone

It took years for the cracks to emerge for Jadeja, who slowly started to realize that Q drops were laden with logical inconsistencies. A turning point for him was a follower asking Q to get Trump to say the term “tippy top” as proof of Trump’s knowledge of the conspiracy; when Trump did say the phrase during a 2018 Easter egg roll speech, Q believers rejoiced, believing it to be confirmation that Q was real. Jadeja did some research and saw that Trump had said the phrase many times before. “That’s when I realized this was all a very slick con,” he says.

Former QAnon Followers Explain What Drew Them In — And Got Them Out

Like those leaving cults, some people who believe in conspiracy theories like QAnon and Pizzagate can break free from their beliefs

by EJ Dickson September 23, 2020 9:00AM ET

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ex-qanon-followers-cult-conspiracy-theory-pizzagate-1064076/

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West Point

The QAnon Conspiracy Theory: A Security Threat in the Making?

July 2020

https://ctc.usma.edu/the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-a-security-threat-in-the-making/

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Why it’s important to see QAnon as a ‘hyper-real’ religion

May 28, 2020

https://religiondispatches.org/in-the-name-of-the-father-son-and-q-why-its-important-to-see-qanon-as-a-hyper-real-religion/

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The Birth of QAmom

Parenting influencers have embraced sex-trafficking conspiracy theories — and it’s taking QAnon from the internet into the streets

by EJ Dickson

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-mom-conspiracy-theory-parents-sex-trafficking-qamom-1048921/

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CNN: Born on the dark fringes of the internet, QAnon is now infiltrating mainstream American life and politics

CNN July 3, 2020

by Paul P. Murphy

____________________________________________

The thin line between conspiracy theories and cult worship is dissolving

An information war is being waged.

bigthink.com May 18, 2020

by Derek Beres

____________________________________________

The Prophecies of Q American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase.

The Atlantic June 2020

The Women Making Conspiracy Theories Beautiful

The Atlantic August 18, 2020

I Was a Teenage Conspiracy Theorist

The Atlantic May 13, 2020

______________________________________

I’m dating a conspiracy theorist. But it feels like I’m the one going crazy.

Washington Post August 16, 2020

By Trent Kay Maverick

______________________________________

Coronavirus: How do I recognize a conspiracy theory?

DW Deutsche Welle May 19, 2020

______________________________________

Reddit community QAnon Casualties share stories of conspiracy cult

Herald Sun August 11, 2020

by Jack Gramenz, news.com.au

______________________________________

Christian Groups That Resist Public-Health Guidelines Are Forgetting a Key Part of the Religion’s History

TIME April 20, 2020

by Matthew Gabriele

______________________________________

Childcare in the Unification Church of Oakland

Sun Myung Moon’s Sex-based Adam and Eve story is just another conspiracy theory

#Joe Pierre M.D.#QAnon #Conspiracy Theories #Psychology Today

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walter-1 · 4 years

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STUDENT ACTIVITY SHEET NO. 6

(Group Task)

Subject: Media and Information Literacy

Topic: Information Literacy

Group #: Group 4

Date Given: 08/26/2020

Due Date: 08/26/2020

Learning Competencies:

1. Define information needs, locate, access, assess, organize, and communicate information

2. Verify a reliable and accurate information/news

3. Identify how to fact-check

Group Members:

Karen Kizha Dayaganon

Walter M. Ortega Jr.

Gifford Jhon B. Ubaldo

Rey U. Epan Jr.

Jeff Darrell Cranzo

Instructions:

1. Compose a blog based on the given title below. (See mechanics below )

2. Post your blog on your e-portfolio (Tumblr account).

Mechanics:

1. The blog must consist of 2 paragraphs.

2. Each paragraph must have 150 words.

3. Follow standard format: Font Style/Size- Arial Narrow 12

Activity 1: Online Blog Making

“Understanding the Relevance of Information Literacy in the Midst of Social Era”

Answer: Globalization has meant that the world is simply becoming smaller and more connected. This comes at a cost that is there is also a risk that globalization has adverse effects when countries use it to spread their agenda through soft power diplomacy. Through qualitative descriptive method, this paper aims to examine to what extent the young generation can be taught to be more selective in grappling with the abundant information, especially information related to soft power diplomacy in the midst of globalization through online/social media literacy. Globalization has meant that the world is simply becoming smaller and more connected. This comes at a cost that is there is also a risk that globalization has adverse effects when countries use it to spread their agenda through soft power diplomacy. Through qualitative descriptive method, this paper aims to examine to what extent the young generation can be taught to be more selective in grappling with the abundant information, especially information related to soft power diplomacy in the midst of globalization through online/social media literacy. Mass media has become a source of information for people who are able to deploy a variety of messages, ranging from economic information, political, economic, social and cultural to defense and security.

In today's digital era, information dissemination channels are increasing, along with the easy accessibility to all sorts of information. Fog says the media's role in a globalized world is to identify the issues and add value to the glut of information for citizens to develop themselves so that they can learn, select, and play an active role with the things that promote a nation. Although conventional media such as newspapers, television and radio stations have been using technology to generate maximum output, the growing trend of Internet usage has an impact on the decline in the use of the conventional media. The increase in the number of internet users is also accompanied by the increased access to social media as the new mass media in society. The rapid penetration of the Internet and the increasing number of social media users trigger the conventional media to direct media content via the Internet, particularly through social media. The conventional mass media began to implement its content delivery online so that the audience can have access to the media content via online news sites directly through smartphones. This allows the audience to stay updated with the latest info and news even when it was busy replying to a short message from a friend without having to turn on the television first.

Instructions:

1. Using the Web, access Google or other fact-checking shortcuts, verify the headlines/claims.

2. Then, write FALSE if the headlines/claims are fake and write TRUE if the headlines/claims are evidence-based or facts.

Activity 2: Fact-Checking

1. Matteo promises to stand by wife Sarah as she achieves her dreams

Answer: True

2. Sharon Cuneta says Duterte is weak, dilawan will return to power in 2022

Answer: False

3. Tuob is a cure for COVID-19.

Answer: False

4. Greta Thunberg will donate $114,000 to fight the coronavirus in the Brazilian Amazon

Answer: False

5. Trillanes says Duterte created COVID-19 with China.

Answer: True

6. YouTuber Mika Salamanca arrested in Hawaii for breaking quarantine rules with TikTok video.

Answer: False

7. PSC, NSAs discussing training protocols for Olympic hopefuls

Answer: True

8. Queen Elizabeth II praised President Rodrigo Duterte and said that the Philippines has the worst citizens.

Answer: False

9. Secretary Briones: "August 24 magbubukas na ng klase, patay kung patay.”

Answer: False

10. Pulis iniimbestigahan sa umano'y 'brutality' sa paghuli ng traffic violator sa Zamboanga

Answer: False

Instructions:

1. Read the article and the Facebook post that feature the same report by a citizen named Rhoma Rabino Baliña.

2. Provide the most logical explanation to each question.

Activity 3: Analysis of Information Sources

1. Based on the journalistic process of verification, independence and accountability, is there a difference between the two? Explain.

Answer: Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. This subset of media ethics is known as journalism's professional "code of ethics" and the "canons of journalism". The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations. While various codes may have some differences, most share common elements including the principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and public accountability, as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public.

Like many broader ethical systems, the ethics of journalism include the principle of "limitation of harm." This may involve the withholding of certain details from reports, such as the names of minor children, crime victims' names, or information not materially related to the news report where the release of such information might, for example, harm someone's reputation. Some journalistic codes of ethics, notably some European codes, also include a concern with discriminatory references in news based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved (in 1993) Resolution 1003 on the Ethics of Journalism, which recommends that journalists respect the presumption of innocence, in particular in cases that are still sub judice.

2. Did the article and the Facebook post follow the process of verification? How can you tell?

Answer: Facebook is changing the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another and share information. A rapidly growing body of research has accompanied the meteoric rise of Facebook as social scientists assess the impact of Facebook on social life. In addition, researchers have recognized the utility of Facebook as a novel tool to observe behavior in a naturalistic setting, test hypotheses, and recruit participants. However, research on Facebook emanates from a wide variety of disciplines, with results being published in a broad range of journals and conference proceedings, making it difficult to keep track of various findings. And because Facebook is a relatively recent phenomenon, uncertainty still exists about the most effective ways to do Facebook research. To address these issues, the authors conducted a comprehensive literature search, identifying 412 relevant articles, which were sorted into 5 categories: descriptive analysis of users, motivations for using Facebook, identity presentation, the role of Facebook in social interactions, and privacy and information disclosure.

The literature review serves as the foundation from which to assess current findings and offer recommendations to the field for future research on Facebook and online social networks more broadly. With misinformation proliferating online and more people getting news from social media, it is crucial to understand how people assess and interact with low-credibility posts. This study explores how users react to fake news posts on their Facebook or Twitter feeds, as if posted by someone they follow. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 participants who use social media regularly for news, temporarily caused fake news to appear in their feeds with a browser extension unbeknownst to them, and observed as they walked us through their feeds. We found various reasons why people do not investigate low-credibility posts, including taking trusted posters' content at face value, as well as not wanting to spend the extra time. We also document people's investigative methods for determining credibility using both platform affordances and their own ad-hoc strategies. Based on our findings, we present design recommendations for supporting users when investigating low-credibility posts.

3. Is the source independent? What makes you say that?

Answer: We introduce a novel fast algorithm for independent component analysis, which can be used for blind source separation and feature extraction. We show how a neural network learning rule can be transformed into a fixedpoint iteration, which provides an algorithm that is very simple, does not depend on any user-defined parameters, and is fast to converge to the most accurate solution allowed by the data. The algorithm finds, one at a time, all nongaussian independent components, regardless of their probability distributions. The computations can be performed in either batch mode or a semiadaptive manner. The convergence of the algorithm is rigorously proved, and the convergence speed is shown to be cubic. Some comparisons to gradient-based algorithms are made, showing that the new algorithm is usually 10 to 100 times faster, sometimes giving the solution in just a few iterations. This research demonstrates that a marketing claim placed on a package is more believable than a marketing claim placed in an advertisement. In three studies, we show that the benefit of greater believability for packages is driven by perceptions of proximity.

In general, consumers perceive packages, and thus the claims they offer, as closer to the product than ads and their respective claims. This perception of greater claim-to-product proximity is likely to make a claim seem more verifiable. Therefore, claim to product proximity is taken as a signal. We introduce a novel fast algorithm for independent component analysis, which can be used for blind source separation and feature extraction. We show how a neural network learning rule can be transformed into a fixedpoint iteration, which provides an algorithm that is very simple, does not depend on any user-defined parameters, and is fast to converge to the most accurate solution allowed by the data. The algorithm finds, one at a time, all nongaussian independent components, regardless of their probability distributions. The computations can be performed in either batch mode or a semiadaptive manner. The convergence of the algorithm is rigorously proved, and the convergence speed is shown to be cubic. Some comparisons to gradient-based algorithms are made, showing that the new algorithm is usually 10 to 100 times faster, sometimes giving the solution in just a few iterations.Much of the innovative programming that powers the Internet, creates operating systems, and produces software is the result of" open source" code, that is, code that is freely distributed as opposed to being kept secret by those who write it.

4. Is there accountability on the part of the source? Explain.

Answer: In analyses of the role of national educational assessment, insufficient attention has been paid to the central place of the classroom. Rather than encouraging a two-way flow of information, today's" standards-based" frameworks tend to direct the flow of accountability from the outside into the classroom. The authors of this volume emphasize that assessment, as it exists in schools today, consists mainly of the measurements that teachers themselves design, evaluate, and act upon every day. Improving the usefulness of assessment in schools primarily requires assisting and harnessing this flood of assessment information, both as a means of learning within the classroom and as the source of crucial information flowing out of classrooms. This volume aims to encourage debate and reflection among educational researchers, professionals, and policymakers. Five source chapters describe successful classroom assessment models developed in partnership with teachers, while additional commentaries give a range of perspectives on the issues of classroom assessment, standardized testing, and accountability.

Community colleges are open-door institutions serving many students with academic, economic, and personal characteristics that can make college completion a challenge. Their graduation rates are low, but community college students do not always have earning a degree as their goal. While individual students may feel that their experience at a community college is a success, unless it culminates in a credential or transfer to a four-year institution the enrollment is counted as a failure for the college. This report explores different views on whether graduation rates are a fair and valid measure of community college effectiveness. It indicates how these rates can be useful as a relative measure and as a guide for institutional improvement, and suggests other ways of measuring student and institutional success.

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clanwarrior-tumbly · 5 years

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FNAF 2/FNAF VR: Jeremy Fitzgerald Headcanons

FNAF 2

Physical appearance: Has short black hair, tied back, with brown eyes. Some freckles on his cheeks and arms. Fairly tall in height. He has some scars on his hands and a stitched cut from the “Bite of ‘87″ incident.

Jeremy suffers from generalized anxiety, often worrying to the point of crying during his night shifts.

He’s usually hard on himself and gets emotional very easily, which gave him the nickname “crybaby” growing up.

It didn’t help he kept being called a “girl” because he liked having semi-long hair.

But he’s able to calm himself down when necessary and fend off the animatronics as their numbers (and aggression) steadily increase.

The Freddy head is extremely uncomfortable for him to wear, as it makes him sweat profusely.

His favorite animatronics were (formerly) Mangle and Foxy. He teared up after seeing how withered the latter was after seeing him in the Parts & Services room.

He’s seen the bare endoskeleton in the vents once, but when he asked the day shift employees about it, they didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

During the “Bite of ‘87″, all of the Toys were targeting adult patrons, and the restaurant had to be evacuated.

Unfortunately Mangle recognized Jeremy from previous nights and swung down to attack him, biting into his skull.

It put him into a coma for some time, and after extensive surgery he had to relearn a lot of things with help from family and friends.

The Phone Guy saying that he was “living without a frontal lobe” was an over-exaggeration, and he (PG) was misinformed about what really happened. Jeremy was able to heal and return to a normal life with time and patience.

Surprisingly despite the trauma he endured, he still enjoyed the FFP franchise and wanted to find a way to face his fears and do something good with his life.

This would lead him to eventually taking part in the Virtual Experience.

FNAF VR

Despite 30+ years passing, Jeremy hasn’t aged a whole lot. He still has very faded scars from the Bite, although he did cut his hair.

He was pretty excited to try out VR, and when he was offered a job as a beta tester, it was like a dream come true.

Of course, the FNAF 2 level did reawaken some traumatic memories, and he had to stop for a while before he had a panic attack.

But he just reassured Dale and Gab that everything was fine and pushed forward, completing the levels and finding the coins.

As the dev team was scanning “junk” codes in order to expedite the process of path-finding AI, Jeremy saw “Malhare” start to invade the games, distracting him sometimes.

As days went on, the entity kept talking to him, coercing him into coming to the testing area at the earliest hours.

He became quieter and more withdrawn, eating less and having frequent nightmares, all of them involving Malhare.

He really tried to tell the dev team and Dale about the entity, although his actions proved futile as they thought trying to stop this glitch would eb a fun little “game”.

Only Gab took him seriously and made the logs

When he tried to resist possession, Jeremy attempted to get Malhare out of his head by attacking himself with the guillotine paper slicer.

Least to say, that incident ended with his face cut up badly, and he was hospitalized under the guise of a VR “accident” having taken place, being fired afterwards.

Since then, nobody has seen or heard anything about him.

Gab’s distraught over his departure, but she vowed to find someone who could stop Malhare so it didn’t try to corrupt anyone else and escape.

#clanask #fnaf 2 #fnaf vr #fnaf help wanted #fnaf jeremy #jeremy fitzgerald #headcanons

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ianbrunner · 5 years

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Stephen King’s: The Stand as an Allegory for Ignorance and Resistance to Change

“No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't.” ― Stephen King, The Stand

Recently, I finished reading Stephen King’s uncut edition of The Stand in which a strain of influenza which has been weaponized by the US government is accidentally released into the general populace which results in ninety-nine percent of humanity being wiped out in just a few weeks. While reading this text, as an admitted Stephen King junkie I found myself talking with a friend who comes from a medical family about the super flu as it is called in the book about its symptoms. The super flu begins like the common cold causing weariness, nasal congestion, and sneezing, but quickly develops into fever, headaches, crippling physical pain, swelling, and delirium. Someone who catches the super flu is dead, no questions asked, except, how long will take them to die. Somewhere along the lines during this conversation my friend mentioned how the super flu reminded him of the spread of ignorance in society. It’s easily passed along, people get stuck in their ways, and if they don’t commit to being someone who wants to continually learn they usually end up being passive to progressive issues, or at worst, someone who is actively detrimental to positive change in society (we’re generally pessimistic people okay? Give us a break).

As I continued to read The Stand, I found myself ruminating on this idea and eventually, while working in the campus writing center stumbled upon the term Web 2.0. A student in the science program brought an assignment in for help in which they had been asked to write a literature review. Because this review was not attached to a larger project we spent most of the session breaking down a topic she was interested in into something she could research. Eventually, we settled on the rise of Anti-Vax movement (if you rolled your eyes or groaned in disgust kudos to you). However, when breaking down the research she could use we stumbled on an article titled : Understanding Web 2.0 (Murugesan, 2007), which defines Web 2.0 as being “...people-centric...” and “...participative…” (p. 34). In short, it is the move away from a internet that is solely cultivated by developers and into a space where people like you and me (yes you!) can create and post blogs, videos, art, wikis, and more. This allows us to find communities and create spaces where we can come together with people like us who have similar interests to discuss those passions. Sounds pretty cool right? For the most part it is. However, it also allows for the growth and spread of misinformation from people who are determined to believe things that are not true, or who refuse to revise their beliefs based on information presented to them.

A newish and current obsession of mine is Dylan Marron’s Podcast: Conversations with People Who Hate Me, in which Marron brings two people who have shared or participated in some kind of internet hate between the two of them together to have a civil talk. Now I bring this up, partially because you should listen to it (Click this link! http://www.dylanmarron.com/podcast), but also because in one episode (I can’t remember which... there’s a lot of episodes and I listen to a lot of podcasts, don’t judge me!) a speaker talks about their parent being involved in some kind of research that found if you confront someone about their beliefs or in general shitty opinions they’re more likely to double down on them and find the research that supports their point instead of learning and revising their beliefs. I do this, you probably do this, most of probably have, and it’s a bad habit to have. When discussing this in the context of Anti-Vaxers, it’s easy to see how Web 2.0 contributed to the ability for people to do this. Now that people can post anything on the good ole’ internet one not only has to be a decent researcher but they also have to be able to suss out scholarly sources from the average Joe or Sally sitting in their living room writing whatever happens to come into their head. Not that their opinions are necessarily wrong, but let’s be honest, how many people are out there doing extensive research before spouting their opinions? It’s so easy to find data that substantiates your view point whether its valid or not. This led me to wonder why people resist change and while I don’t think there will ever be a definitive answer (people are weird bro and need to assessed on a case by case basis) I did find an article titled: Do you know why people resist change? (Do you know, 2019). This article is published in Corn & Soybean Digest (you’re as surprised as me that my brain led to be reading this). As someone who is not particularly interested in farming, what I pulled from this article was a list of three things regarding why the author (who wasn’t listed) believes people resist change. First being: "I don't understand it" (p. 1) which is described as “... intellectual response…”(p. 1) in which people lack “...information, training, and often exposure to big picture (p. 1). Second: “I don’t like it” (p. 1) which is “...emotional response…” (p. 1) rooted in “...fear and loss” (p. 1). Finally, the third being: “I don’t like you” (p. 1) which seems to be rooted in distrust of leadership. All of these can be overcome, however, personal dislike seems like it would be much more difficult to overcome than simple misunderstandings about change. When one considers religion, politics, and all other manner of personal bias it is easy to see why people get stuck in their ways.

Now, being someone who is like thirteen days away from getting their Masters in Education (woo!) I often find myself disillusioned with what goes on in classrooms. Teachers, administrators, and parents usually (hopefully) have the best interests of their children and students at heart but what I often see is an assembly line form of education in which students learn stuff but not why it’s important. They learn skills that are applicable to life but perhaps do not cultivate a desire to learn, to change, to continue to grow through whatever they experience and perhaps this where education fails us most of all. Instead of teaching students to pass a test we should be instilling in them the idea that the skills they are being taught can be applied to any situation and these skills will allow them to be successful as long as they keep on looking at things as a chance to grow.

Citations

Dylan Marron. (2019). Conversations with people who hate me. Retrieved April 16th,

2019, from http://www.dylanmarron.com/podcast

Do you know why people resist change? (2019, February 13). Corn & Soybean Digest. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/apps/doc/A573955236/ITBC?u=sunybuff_main&sid=ITBC&xid=4b9fb587

King, S. (1990). The stand: Complete and uncut edition. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Murugesan, S. (2007). Understanding web 2.0. IT Professional, 9(4), 34-41. doi:10.1109/MITP.2007.7

#Am reading #Stephen King #the stand #criticism #ignorance #thoughts #web 2.0

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thephilosopheroftheboudoir · 5 years

Photo

Grim History

Wallace D. Fard and the Secretive Origin Of the Nation of Islam

Much has been said, not so much actually known, about Wallace D. Fard. As the founding member of the Nation of Islam, his birth and death remain shrouded in mystery. Sources of information about his life are unreliable and after the start of the Black Muslim religious movement, Fard’s brief moment in the public eye receded as he seemingly disappeared into nowhere. One can only wonder how such an elusive individual could have started one of the most controversial religious organizations in American history.

Sources of Fard’s life leave much to the imagination and lack credibility for many. The largest file of biographical data comes from the FBI who opened an investigation into his life in the 1950’s when the Nation of Islam began to make waves. Federal investigators searched through legal records to track Fard’s movements but the inconsistency of Fard’s name and the conflicting accounts coming from people who knew him have made researchers suspicious. The FBI’s intent is also questionable as they may have been involved in a campaign of misinformation in an effort to discredit Wallace Fard for the sake of undermining the authority of the Nation of Islam itself. Another important source of knowledge about Fard comes from the sociologist Edmann Doane Beynon who published a sociological study of the NOI as they began to grow in Detroit during the 1930s. Beynon interviewed followers of Fard and published his research in a sociological journal. Handwritten letters from Wallace D. Fard to Elijah Mohammad have also been located. Most of the people who actually knew the man are dead.

The first written account of W.D. Fard came from Portland, Oregon on a birth certificate for his son. The mother, his common-law wife, described him as a dark-skinned man with brown eyes and wavy black hair who went by the name Wallie Dodd Fard. She claimed he had been born in New Zealand and made a living by running a food truck. Wallie Fard abandoned his family and later showed up in Los Angeles. Public records and a draft registration card for Word War I show that a Wallace D. Fard owned a restaurant. The draft registration form list his name as Wallace D. Fard but with “Ford” written under the name in quotation marks. His place of birth was listed as Afghanistan. A birth certificate also shows that this Ford was married and the father of a son. The next set of documents to surface were arrest forms and prison records, including fingerprints that match the draft registration, for a Wallace Dodd Ford, charged on counts of assault with a deadly weapon and transportation of bootleg liquor. This particular Ford did time in San Quentin where some say he met with Elijah Mohammad and the two of them schemed up a plan to charge people money for converting to Islam on their terms. This bit of information has been never been confirmed.

In the 1930s, a door to door salesman making was making his rounds in the African American neighborhoods of Detroit. Described as a light-skinned black man with an exotic accent, he became known to his customers as Wallace D. Fard Mohammad. He sold incense, perfume, candles, and colorful silks which he told the people had been imported from Africa. He claimed to be from Mecca and carried a copy of the Holy Bible with him so when potential customers invited him in to hear his sales pitch, he could ask them if they had been sufficiently versed in religion. Usually after making a sale, he would talk about God. More and more people grew interested in his message and soon they were holding secretive church meetings in their basements while W.D. Fard’s role as traveling salesman receded and his job as religious teacher became more important. Soon he stopped bringing his Bible and started bringing The Koran instead. Fard began telling his followers that the teachings of the Bible were wrong and the Christian church had been invented by the Caucasian white devils to enslave Black people. Thus, thrown into a state of spiritual crisis, psychological disorientation and confusion, Fard then enlightened them by explaining that African American people were the lost tribe of Shabazz who had been kidnapped by the Christian white devils and sold into bondage in America. He taught that The Koran was the true teaching of God and that Wallace D. Fard Mohammad was a messenger sent by Allah to take them back to their homeland.

Meanwhile, rumors began circulating in the African American community of Detroit that Fard’s “voodoo cult” was using his candles and incense to sacrifice babies to prepare his followers for the future murder of the white devils. This charge may or may not have been mere gossip.

One of the attendees at W.D. Fard’s meetings was Elijah Mohammad who claimed to be obsessed with Fard; a deep and close friendship developed between the two men. Elijah Mohammad said that Wallace Fard taught him everything he needed to know about Islam. The organization began to grow and he started to teach in highly regimented and disciplined groups who abstained from drugs, alcohol, pork and other unclean foods. The groups grew so big that they eventually rented a building which became know as the Mosque Number 1. About that time Wallace D. Fard Mohammad disappeared; Elijah Mohammad assumed the mantle of leadership and proclaimed the organization’s name to be the Nation of Islam.

Elijah Mohammad taught his followers that W.D. Fard was God incarnate. He laid out plans to form a separate state for African Americans that would eventually secede from the United States of American and form their own self-sufficient country. His message was one of Black empowerment, citing the necessity for African Americans to become economically independent of white society, who he routinely referred to as “blue eyed devils”. His teachings later attracted the attention of Malcolm X who would go on to become a prominent leader of the Civil Rights era. The Nation of Islam became a lightning rod for controversy and two newspaper articles were published in an attempt to weaken their influence over the African American community. One article claimed that W.D. Fard was a Turkish secret service agent who had worked for the Nazis; another article claimed that he was the son of a white man and a Polynesian woman who gave birth to him in Hawaii. These claimed have never been proven.

Elijah Mohammad, in his later years, embraced orthodox Sunni Islam. He toned down his rhetoric, stopped insisting on forming a separate, all-Black nation, and started preaching a message of peace for all humans. After his death, the American Islamic author Michael Mohammad Knight met with elder members of the Nation of Islam to ask about W.D. Fard. They told him he was ethnically Pakistani. He emigrated to America after being employed on an American cruise ship. When the Nation of Islam began to grow so big, he decided he did not want to live in the public spotlight and let Elijah Mohammad take over leadership of the movement, though he helped to run the sect behind the scenes. The two maintained a close friendship throughout their lives and spent many hours each day talking on the phone. W.D. Fard supposedly died circa 1980 and was buried in a grave with an assumed name, known only to the members of the Nation of Islam who knew him best.

Taking his name into consideration can lend some credibility to this story. The name “Wali”, short for “Walidad”, is of Arabic origin and is one of the most common names in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The name “Fard” is also a common Arabic name, sometimes spelled “Fahd”, “Fa’ad”, “Farad” or “Fahad” when written using Latin script. Those familiar with the transliteration of the Arabic script into English know that the phonetic sounds of Arabic, Urdu, and English do not match up , making multiple spellings of the same words a routine occurrence. Arabic has pure vowel sounds as opposed to English’s extensive use of glides, raisings, drops, and diphthongs in its vowels. Therefore, the capital of Oman can be variantly spelled “Moscat”, “Mouscat”, “Muscat”, or “Moskat” for example. Analysts of Fard’s handwriting have shown that he was a very poor speller and most often made mistakes in his use of English vowels. Samples of his signature written in Arabic script have also been analyzed and have shown that it contains idiosyncrasies that differentiate Urdu handwriting from Arabic, even though both languages use the same script.

So who was Wallie Dodd Ford and why all the confusion over the name? Some conspiracy theorists have said that he never existed; he was a fictional character made up by Elijah Mohammad so that he could claim to have received communications from Allah. Others say that Fard was from Venus and came to America in a UFO to spread the teachings of the Nation of Islam under God’s command. Invoking Occam’s razor can lead one to the more mundane conclusion that he was an ordinary man who emigrated to America but got off to a rough start. He could have been a con artist who changed his name to avoid being found by police, family members, or other nefarious individuals he had gotten associated with in his younger days. After all, this would not be the first time a religious movement had been started bya fraud. Maybe his message resonated with the right people and what he started grew too big so he decided to step aside and let someone else run the show. Possibly some narrow-minded authorities at the time could not comprehend the same Wali Fard and wrote his name as “Wallace Ford” on legal documents. Maybe he found solace and friendship in the African American community after facing too much racist adversity and xenophobia in the dominant white culture two decades before the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement and he turned his frustrations into a political theology.

Since most of the people who knew Wallace Fard are dead, we probably will never know the complete truth. In the end, if he was a con artist, would it really matter? Despite the extremely controversial nature of the Nation of Islam when it rose, that organization has also done some important things for the African American community. They were a key instigator in the Civil Rights Movement, they helped Black people establish successful businesses and careers, helped police Black neighborhoods, assisted criminals in re-adapting to life after reentry into society, and have had a high rate of success in helping people escape the nightmarish trap of drug and alcohol addiction. Maybe it is time to acknowledge that in some ways, a group of people should be judged according to their successes as well as their faults. If the two sides even out, can they be all that bad?

reference

Knight, Michael Muhammad. Blue Eyed Devil: A Road Odyssey Through Islamic America. Soft Skull Press, 2009.

https://grimhistory.blogspot.com/

#grim history #cults #wd fard #wallace d fard mohammad #nation of islam #american history

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it-solve · 1 year

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