Atypical Trans Late Bloomer

I think a very good "first rule" is: first, do no harm . When I write here, I don't want to lead others into a worse place, so I try to self-censor some things. But the issue of HOPE keeps coming up. People will say, There's always Hope, and they seem to believe they're helping you when they say it. I say: hope is an abstraction that intends to communicate a good feeling without any change or evidence. Hope is a belief; hope is a fantasy with a significant population invested in it. There's a too-often used phrase: "hope and prayers", and they are similar things. They both ask you to accept the permanent presence of an invisible notion. I wonder, instead of Hope isn't it more honest to say: Maybe ? Maybe you'll get better. Maybe the suffering will stop, although you know our Buddhist friends position suffering as part of life. Maybe you'll be less of a load to those around you. Further: maybe you won't get better, but maybe...

The CNN coverage referred to the Decedant's media footprint in (successful white) American media, his backstory as a chef, referred to the existance of a 10-year old daughter, bore praise from other media people, referred to the recent Kate Spade suicide, and ended with the toll-free suicide hotline and an exhortation to call for help. It's a cliche'd format. No mention of the CDC report that suicide is up 20% in America since 1999. Or to put it another way, suicide is up since the Internet. More sensationalized reporting driven by money, on a topic known for contagious deaths after explicit reporting. The similarities of Bordain's story to the recently bruited Spade story are non-trivial. The media cycle will continue, generating clicks and eyeballs and money without regard to the impact on the audience, the dependants, or the trauma to those involved. We will revisit his Pittsburgh work . What would Fred Rogers have said about Bordain's demise? I think it wo...

A woman in her 50's named Kate Spade died this week. Survived by a minor child and her husband, she had a successful career in the fashion industry. That would have been sufficient. Unfortunately, the suicide of a prominent person is treated with sensationalism rather than discretion. The science that says publicized suicides can/will produce additional deaths is ignored in the pursuit of clicks and sales. First we're told she's killed herself, and how she took her life. Then we're told her marriage was problematic next we see comments by a sister and a brother-in-law, comments that probably weren't perfect for publication then the 13-year old daughter is brought in Then some details of the marriage - they'd been living apart for ten months, but not discussing divorce the note was teased: Bea, this wasn't your fault, ask your Dad The NYTimes went on to describe her product line in terms of class signifiers, eloquently discussed here , reducing the death ...