Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".
Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"
And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".
Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.
At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.
So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!
Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!
Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!
Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.
hey btw if you're in the USA at 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4, they're testing the emergency broadcast system. your phone is probably going to make a really loud noise, even if it's on silent. there's a backup date on the 11th if they need to postpone it.
if you're not in a safe situation and have an extra phone, you should turn that phone completely off beforehand.
additionally, if you're like me, and are easily startled; i recommend treating it like a party. have a countdown or something. be surrounded by your loved ones. take the actions you personally need to take to make yourself safe.
i have already seen mockery towards any person who feels nervous about this. for the record, it completely, completely valid to have "emergency broadcast sounds" be an anxiety trigger. do not let other people make fun of you for that. emergency sounds are legitimately engineered to make us take action; those of us with high levels of anxiety and/or neurodivergence are already pre-disposed to have a Bad Time. sometimes it is best to acknowledge that the situation will be triggering for some, and to prepare for that; rather than just saying "well that's stupid, it's just a test."
"loud scary sound time" isn't like, my favorite thing, but we can at least try to prevent some additional anxiety by preparing for it. maybe get yourself a cake? noise cancelling headphones? the new hozier album? whatever helps. love u, hope you're okay. we are gonna ride it out together.
Please elaborate on your twst Pokémon headcannons I’m very interested
I had planned on drawing everyone for this (I made a LIST!) but it. hasn't been going well. 💀 soooo here's what I have so far!
Riddle - Roserade (I was going with 'no legendaries', otherwise I would've given him a Shaymin) (and I don't think Togedemaru is actually a hedgehog or I would've given him one of those too) (...they kind of do fit though. hmm.)
Ace - Impidimp (I feel like there's probably a better one for him, but I can't think of it)
Deuce - Scraggy (meanwhile I KNOW deep in my heart that this is true)
Leona - Pyroar (but like. a nasty Pyroar. just a grizzly old Pyroar with the shittiest attitude imaginable. they pretend to hate each other but secretly they are a bonded pair, do not separate)
Zionists want you to conflate Judaism and Zionism. Zionists want you to believe that Judaism cannot exist without Zionism and that all Jews are Zionists. Zionism would have Jews believe that a Jewish state is the only way that they can be safe from antisemitism and will point to any instance of antisemitism as proof that Zionism is the solution- so Zionism wants gentiles to be antisemitic in their support of Palestine. They want you to conflate all Jews with Zionism and the state of Israel, and they want you to treat all Jews regardless of political affiliation as the face of Israel. Antizionist Jews exist, and incidences of antisemitism ostensibly acting against Zionism will not help dismantle the forces propping Zionism up.
i'm still learning magma, so starrie and i decided to draw our moons swapping Y/Ns from our AUs!
if you haven't yet, check out Starrie's Fear Factor AU: https://www.tumblr.com/starriegalaxy/739357795303014400/dca-x-scared-of-animatronics-mascotsreader-au
she's got lovely sketches and drabbles and her DCA designs are so huggable!
Hope you don't feel pressure to try to make Ear canon in any AU! I love cute kid OCs and seeing what characters could be like as parents as much as anyone else but I know some people can get overly insistent that artists give their characters kids as soon as the idea comes up. That being said I do have to admit what little you've shared about how they'd be as parents sounds very heartwarming. I'm a sucker for when someone is determined to make sure a kid has it better than they did when they were young like Machete would be, and how that can sometimes help to heal pains from their own childhood. Vasco would be wonderful too of course! He may have had a better childhood but I'm sure there are things he struggled with or wished could've been different. All fun ideas, but if Ear remains as just an idea that is absolutely okay!
Aw it's okay. A tiny bit pressured but in an encouraging/inspiring way, I don't think I'm going to lose sleep over it.
It would be really interesting to see how parenthood would alter their relationship and self-image, it could potentially expand their character into unexpected directions. Ear seems like a likable pup, they'd be a fun character to develope.
On the other hand I'm fond of their dynamic as is, I think they're happy that way. It's still typical that couples are expected to want to have children and start a family, it's seen as the norm and the next logical step after getting married. I like the idea of them feeling content and complete in their relationship even if it's just the two of them, and showing that the absence of offspring doesn't make their union any less valid and committed.
I was planning on having the two next pages ready for tonight so I could keep my 2 pages every 2 weeks schedule but work has been chaotic so instead have an angry Luz. Pretend I just said it's her fault.
Hopefully I'll have the second page done this week-end! I'm halfway done but got a little bit ambitious
I am going to subscribe to Watcher TV right now during the beta period, and I'll share with you the developments as they're made. puppet content will continue in due time.
I'm very disappointed with the community's response to this move. it's one thing to be upset you won't get your free content, but it's another to call the guys sellouts or fakes or imply they hate their young, broke audience who are So Invested in their videos. it's literally their means of survival, there is no way Your dedication to their videos outweighs Theirs.
i am a creative who is only above the poverty line because he lives alone and works full time. it's sad to see dedicated fans look at three guys living in one of the most expensive cities in the World, trying to make what They care about instead of letting youtube force them into ad-riddled content farm formats, and say 'you're just as bad as buzzfeed'. no, they really are not. please learn the difference between a group trying to support itself and maintain its mission statement and a media giant trying to turn a profit. shane literally said in the video you can share your account!!!! jfc!!!
this chapter has been so absolutely nuts that I actually low-key forgot that I had a couple of new UM posters to do! wild! anyway, I gotta think about Lilia's some more, so here is my beautiful electric crocodile son in the meantime. god I hope this reads properly
(I went with Volt to go with his name, but there's a Bolt version too in the print-size folder!)
for my own mental health and reinforcing my boundaries, i will be implementing changes on how i interact in this blog. the general rules (shop etiquette) and taglist rules (membership) have been updated to reflect this.
to give a short summary of the changes, moving forward, i will fully cease interactions with minors or ageless blogs. the same goes for my taglist, which i have purged. more details can be found in the two links above. feel free to drop by my askbox if you need any clarifications.
i'm sorry to my mutuals / friends / followers, who are minors / uncomfortable in disclosing their age, but have been following the rules and respecting my boundaries. i'm truly sorry it had to come to this, but i have had enough. the nature of my content will stay the same but if these changes doesn't sit well with you, please feel free to unfollow or block.
lastly, if you have been following my rules, genuinely, thank you so, so much for respecting the human being behind the handle name 'zhongrin'. you are a blessing to humanity and i hope good things will come your way soon.
ps. i will be reblogging this post for about a week or so, just so people can see it.