Why I Mostly Do Not Use Tone Indicators [Apr. 25th 2023]
Content warning: None | Word Count: 652
For a long time, I've said that I can't use tone indicators, short tags like /j and /s to indicate joking, sarcasm, and more over text. That's mostly true. At least, I don't use them, and I won't. The idea of using them conflicts with something about my core self. For a while--probably years, at this point--I've attributed this to being Autistic.
Trans* Day of Visibility & Being Transluscent [Mar. 31st 2023]
Content warning: None | Word Count: 433
Today is Trans* Day of Visibility--as the name suggests, it's a day to promote education on and acceptance of the trans* community. Usually the focus is somewhat exclusively in transgender people, but it's also a day for transsexuals and some transvestites & crossdressers.
I am not cis. I am not a man or a woman. I'd consider myself gynesque (socially, politically, and/or systemically aligned with womanhood in some way; or, targeted by misogyny), but that's about it. So, technically, I do fall under the trans* umbrella . . .
Narc Abuse and the Evils of NPD & AsPD [Dec. 20th 2022]
Content warning: Anti-PD stigma (specifically anti-ASPD/NPD), abuse | Word Count: 867
People are very, very emotionally attached to the concept of narcissistic abuse. People can be obsessive about identifying narcissists, sociopaths, psychopaths, bipolars, and borderlines--the evil disorders, obviously. There's quite the movement to normalize this standpoint, to advocate it, and specifically sell it to extremely vulnerable people, mainly child abuse survivors.
I'm not really here to debunk the concept of narcissistic/sociopathic/psychopathic abuse. First, because I don't want to, but second, because I don't think point-by-point dissection of that concept is the best way to combat it.
Kippot [Dec. 16th 2022]
Content warning: None | Word Count: 272
שבת שלום (Good shabbat)
Our kippot (skullcaps/yarmulkes) arrived today, just after sundown--right on time for the shabbat, actually. (Sidenote: my spellchecker marked "shabbat" as a misspelling of "sabbath," so that's interesting.)
The only kippah we've ever owned is a leftover bat mitzvah kippah that we were given at temple on Yom Kippur this year, so it's very different. They're nice, though. We got two: one for me, and one for my headmates to share. Both kippot are . . .
What Do I Mean When I Say "Empath"? [Dec. 9th 2022]
Content warning: Anti-PD stigma (specifically anti-ASPD/NPD) | Word Count: 369
The common idea of an empath, the one that comes to mind when I say the word, is of someone--often with a "normal" mental illness, like anxiety or depression--who believes that they feel everyone else's feelings and have a special ability to recognize others' emotions. They're (rightly) ridiculed for crossing boundaries, behaving self-righteously, and claiming that their "high empathy" makes them superior.
The other kind of "empath" that people recognize is those who use it to mean "high empathy," without making the above claims. High empathy people tend to complain . . .
The Sociopath's Apology [Dec. 8th 2022]
Content warning: None | Word Count: 166
The idea that my “sorry” counts for less because I don’t feel guilt is probably one of the most nonsensical empathnormative things I’ve ever heard.
People aren’t better when they’re driven by guilt. Actually, the opposite is true. Apologies motivated by shame almost always come out self-loathing and manipulative. The guilt driven apology is motivated by a desire to feel better.