Suicide.

In this post I'm going to say a lot of things that I feel need to be said and heard. 

This past week we had to read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" by David Sedaris, and something he said in the piece really bothered me. "None of the people who'd seen the movie seemed to care about the dead man. They stared at him for a moment or two and then headed home, saying they'd never seen anything as crazy as that talking Volkswagon." This really bugs me because this man who had committed suicide was given no thought, no recognition, nothing. The fact that people can die without anyone caring or noticing is extremely saddening to me. 

Every forty seconds someone commits suicide. This means that in the time it takes you to read this post, at least two lives have been lost. Suicide, depression, and self-harm are extremely prevalent issues that NEED to be recognized by society and all of the people suffering from them NEED help, but they can't get any if people aren't willing to reach out. 

Earlier today I conducted an experiment; I posted something on tumblr that said, "Reblog this if you think society needs to recognize what a common issue depression, self-harm, & suicide are and that they’re so much more common than most people think," and twenty-seven people reblogged it, just in a couple hours. It may seem like a small number, but that's only in a couple hours and only with my small amount of followers. Tumblr is FILLED with people who are hurting and I can't stand that so many people on there that need help that aren't getting it. 


Anyway, the point of this is, people need to know how to reach out to those suffering from depression, self-harm or suicidal thoughts because every single person on this planet has so much potential and meaning. Society needs to recognize that these are really common issues and that these people need help. Even when our school was hit with the sad news of Maddie Compton's death, aside from those who knew her, most people forgot about it a week later, just as the people walking by the dead man after the movie did. There wasn't any announcement or assembly asking kids suffering to get help, no reaching out to students to try to prevent this tragedy from happening again, nothing. I just can't stand the thought of someone killing themself and no one caring, like in the passage.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from any of these, please get help, or talk to someone. I am always available to talk to anyone who needs it, so please, if you or anyone you know needs help, please do.

Migration vs. Staying Put

Which is better, to have near-constant change or almost none? In class we read a passage from Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World,  by Scott Sanders, and he is responding to Salman Rushdie's positive views on migration.

In the passage, Sanders disagrees with Rushdie in that he believes that people should stay in the same place, as opposed to moving around a lot, because it has less negative consequences than migration. I also agree with Sanders, but partially because I'm already against change. If I had my way, I would live in the the same house my whole life, in the same neighborhood, in the same city and I would probably never change things in my house like painting things and whatnot. And yes, I know that's kind of weird, but hey, that's me!

Although there are some consequences to having no change, there really are more when people are always moving around. Aside from the ones mentioned in the passage, another negative repercussion of moving a lot is that kids whose families move a lot either lose friends or don't stay in one place long enough to make any, which would be an extremely hard way to live life. 

I can't help but think about people who have to move around a lot and think about how lucky I am to live in one of the safest cities, go to one of the best schools around and have such amazing friends I get to see almost every day. It's kind of weird to think about how different things could be if I were the one that always had to move around.

Stereotyping

Stereotyping, judging everyone does it. Be it conscious or not, when you see someone there's always that first thought; whether it's that "emo" kid that listens to Black Veil Brides way too loud and wears mostly black, or that "intimidating" African American guy, or the "stupid" blonde cheerleader, almost everyone stereotypes. 

This week, we had to read "Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples and he talks about how people constantly stereotype him as one of those scary black guys that's a threat to the well-being of society. He explains many instances where he's been mistaken for a criminal just because of how he looks and where he's from. This is also similar to the pieces we read towards the beginning of the school year about Native Americans being stereotyped as stoic drunks. The stereotypes of both groups of people tend to come from the media; Native Americans have been represented as the stoic, long, straight, black haired sidekicks in many Western TV shows and movies, and African Americans have been represented as either intimidating criminals or crazy women with no respect because of show like "Hardcore Pawn."

It really is extremely hard not to stereotype people though; I would like to say I don't judge people or stereotype them, but I would be lying. It seems that nowadays people are just raised to believe these untrue statements and it's really hard to let go of them and see every person for who they are inside, and not for where they're from, or what they look like.

Shooting Dad Similarities

This past week, we had to read "Shooting Dad," by Sarah Vowell, and I felt a real connection to the author; she says she lived in, "a house divided," and she and her dad were distant but similar. My father and I have a pretty close relationship, but other than that, I saw many similarities that made me like the piece and think about it even after the assignment was over. 

 Vowell's house was divided because of political differences between her and her father, and her father was very conservative, as is my father. My house, too, is divided because my mom (though she says otherwise) leans more towards being democratic. 

She describes her dad as a gun-loving NRA member and as I was reading this I kept thinking, "That sounds just like my dad!" My father isn't nearly as obsessed with guns as hers is, but he and his friends love to go shooting and he always says he's ready for the zombie apocalypse and threatens to be cleaning his guns when I bring home future boyfriends. Reading another girl's perspective on her father's love for guns was a really weird thing, to be honest because she was so opposed to them whereas I'm more indifferent, and just used to them. 



However, once Vowell realized how similar she and her father really are, I really felt more connected to her; my father and I are extremely similar, and we're also quite like Sarah and her father. We too, are "smart alecky," and I love music, like Sarah, and, as I described earlier, our fathers are both gun fans. 

It's kinda cool to know there are people out there that so closely resemble relationships you have people you are close to.

MS

In class this week, we read an essay called "Disability" by Nancy Mairs; in it, she was very blunt about that fact that disabilities do not have to define people and that non-disabled people need to be exposed to them to see how normal they really are.

I agree with Mairs in that I don't think that a disability has to rule your life or completely define you. Whenever you're around people with disabilities, they want to be treated normally because we really aren't that different; Mairs brings up the point that she still  buys tampons, mouthwash and bleaches her family's underwear just as any other woman would because she isn't a different species, she's still a human and does the same things that all women do. I don't think that all of society really understands this though, and so they're led to believe that people with disabilities should get special treatment or need extra help just because they're different. Society needs to be aware of the fact that having a disability such as multiple sclerosis does not make people a different species, and that they're much more alike than some people chose to believe.

I know that people with disabilities aren't totally defined by their disability and are very similar to everyone else because I know someone with MS. If you've ever seen my red wristband and wondered what it says, it says "HOPE" and "nationalmssociety.org" and I wear it in support of my cousin was diagnosed with MS at the age of 17 (which is very young to be diagnosed) and you probably won't ever see me without it. I see her multiple times every year and if I didn't know she had MS, I wouldn't be able to tell. If you saw her on the street, you wouldn't be able to tell she has MS because she isn't letting MS define her, so she does completely normal things like going to college, having a job and even going to concerts with her favorite younger girl cousin. Just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they're different, doesn't mean they need help or special treatment. And remember, disabled people are just regular people.