[Content note: bullying] There’s a beautiful video that’s been making the rounds on the internet. It’s an animated version of a spoken word piece called “To This Day,” in which Canadian poet Shane Koyczan retells his own experiences with childhood bullying–and, really, so much more. Here it is. The video really resonated with me because …
Tag Archive: children
Feb 08 2013
[Forward Thinking] What Would You Tell Teenagers About Sex?
Libby Anne and Dan Fincke are doing this cool thing called Forward Thinking where people blog about values. This week’s question is, what would you tell teenagers about sex? I have a lot of perspectives on this. As a teenager, I wasn’t really told anything about sex–good or bad. A few things, sure. I picked up …
Jan 09 2013
Why You Should Talk To Your Kids About Death
I’ve been reading Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great because, having been an atheist for a long time and through no particular effort of my own or anyone else’s, it’s important for me to understand what the arguments against religion actually are. (Well, and also, that book is hilarious.) Reading Hitchens’ description and critique of …
Nov 14 2012
More On Depression Origins and Parenting
Last week I wrote a piece called “Onset,” in which I described the way I first became clinically depressed about nine years ago. That was the first time I’d ever written about that or told anyone other than a few close friends, so the many positive responses I got were really encouraging. One commenter responded …
Oct 25 2012
Sarah Silverman and Mandatory Childbearing
Some wingnut thinks Sarah Silverman is useless as a woman unless she gets married and pops out some babies. I respectfully disagree.
Aug 15 2012
Public Breastfeeding Should Not Be a Big Deal
Breastfeeding has been somewhat of a hot topic lately. On one hand, mothers’ decision to breastfeed or not has been subject to intense moralizing and even actual regulation, which is creepy. On the other hand, public breastfeeding has been under attack, too. Facebook disables/deletes accounts of people who post photos of themselves breastfeeding. Mothers lose …
Jul 24 2012
For the Last Time, You Can't "Turn" People Gay
Of all the pernicious myths about homosexuality that just won’t die in our society, the idea that it’s a “choice”–and, consequently, that it’s possible to “turn” people gay–is one of the most frustrating. That myth got trotted out again in response to the announcement that Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation is partnering with Office …
Feb 23 2012
When Tough Love Becomes Abusive
Okay, so, I realize I’m showing up rather late to the laptop-shooting party, but I didn’t want to let this bit of news pass by without writing about my reaction to it–not only to the incident itself, but to the various responses I’ve seen to it from the public. If you don’t know what I’m …
Jan 08 2012
Everyone Should Go to Therapy
Recently I wrote a post about why some people might choose psychiatric medication over seeing a therapist. (Fine, so it wasn’t that recent. >.<) I promised a followup post about a belief that I hold concurrently–everyone should see a therapist. Now, before everyone freaks out, let it be known that I say “everyone” only in …
About the Author
Brute Reason Tumblr
- "It’s not just the internet. And we can’t push the problem aside with a wave of our hands and an..."“It’s not just the internet. And we can’t push the problem aside with a wave of our hands and an offhand comment of “Oh, that’s just how the internet is. Don’t you know better than to go to reddit?” For many women, reddit is not an isolated internet thing. It’s the community that we have to deal with face to face, day in and day out. So yes, we need to chang […]
- "I am one of the lucky ones. I managed to turn my history of science and philosophy degree into..."“I am one of the lucky ones. I managed to turn my history of science and philosophy degree into graduate education in a semi-practical field. I’m not too worried about my employment opportunities once I finish my PhD. But I have friends who are suffering. They are being bounced around between unpaid internships, or desperately sending out resumes, or stuck w […]
- "The big deal comes in when homeless people are being exploited to prove a point. Many homeless..."“The big deal comes in when homeless people are being exploited to prove a point. Many homeless people are already widely disenfranchised and lacking a platform to be heard or to get access to the resources they need. By attempting to make a brand look bad by associating it with homelessness, the message is that homeless people are so gross, dirty, shameful […]
- "What can I say? Northwestern, with all its issues with diversity and inclusion, has led me to be..."“What can I say? Northwestern, with all its issues with diversity and inclusion, has led me to be more thoughtful in my own words and actions. It’s made me more aware of the way we put each other down and perpetuate stereotypes without even realizing. I know that I can’t change that aspect of the world or even that aspect of Northwestern overnight. But I can […]
- "As long as conservatives are inclined to think that Mr Richwine was “bullied” and..."“As long as conservatives are inclined to think that Mr Richwine was “bullied” and “lynched” for his brave empiricism, instead of having been sunk by the repugnant prejudice exposed by the shoddiness of his work, non-white voters will continue to flock to a party less enthusiastically receptive to the possibility of their inferiority.” - Racism and immigrati […]
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Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
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