Lots of folks say “you must be brave” when they find out I work in the ER.

It’s true that I don’t (usually) get upset at the sight of blood. But there are plenty of things that scare me.

A non-exhaustive list of things this emergency physician is afraid of:

Choking

Because I’ve seen a child choke on a hot dog or grape that wasn’t cut lengthwise.

Door slamming

Because I’ve had to repair way too many fingertip amputations in little kids.

Throwing sticks

Because one time I saw a kiddo lose their eye after an innocent game with a sibling.

Jumping on the trampoline with your dog

Because...just don’t do it. It’s a bad idea.

How do you compare the understanding of a generation that was propelled into protest by the music of Bob Marley,Peter Tosh Okosun and Fela to the one ravaged by the music of Wizkid,Badoo😁 and Naira Marley? A child that say his father is not rich and said his mother doesn’t have

money,na there him dey now. Nobody taught me history, I was 20 when I read Obafemi Awolowo biography,Das Capital by Karl Max at 23 and became a Marxist later to become a social democrat at 26 after reading Awolowo’s trilogy. You don’t even know your history and you are washing

your dirty mouth on your elders. We were on the street as kids in secondary school in 1978 when Segun Okeowo led Nigerian student against the Obasanjo regime,we did the SAP riot against IMF Conditionalities,we fought IBB to a standstill. We are not begging for recognition😁😁you

you are only exhibiting your foolishness and ignorance. The fact that you can’t wine and dine at a protest venue across Nigeria,the price was paid by the blood of a generation. Do you know Beeko-Ransome Kuti, Olisa-Agbakoba, Ayo Obe, Segun Mayegun and many others who got this?

The day I lost interest in this generation was when they started comparing Burna Boy to Fela Anikulapo! Fela didn’t become a legend because of weed,it was his intellectual depth that made him one. Do something for your generation and stop blame game,fight your fight,I fought mine

I got the following text this morning. Here was my reply:

1. Tell them that you love them, aren’t ashamed of them, and that this is something that you have had to overcome. Tell them they can do the same.

2. Tell them that porn is bad for them spiritually, physically, and relationally. And then explain how.


3. Tell them that you are going to set up “speed bumps” to help them when they’re tempt but it comes down to their desire to live with integrity. Those speed bumps are:

a. Filters (on devices & IP)
b. Screens only in shared spaces
c. Weekly check ups: Have you looked at porn of any form this week?

4. Ask them to identify the a) the times that are most tempted and b) the things that seem to trigger the desire to look at porn.

5. Show them ways to deal with stress that are productive: bible reading, prayer, running, pushups, developing a skill, etc.

6. Remind them again that you love them, that porn makes you weak, & living a lie is hell. Let them know that you won’t look down on them if they stumble & they need to let you know so you can conquer it together: "You can overcome this. You can have a good conscience. Fight!"

There are so many things as a GP that we cannot access day to day since the NHS focused on Covid in March. The list is endless, my patients have suffered... These are not real patients, but real scenarios I have faced since March. Imagine....

Reflecting on the discussion over School Exclusions, it's struck me that many see the concept of Abolition as like "Reform, only better". My experience of running a prison segregation unit has informed my view of how wrong this is. And so... A THREAD 1/

Firstly, updating laptop prevents a blog post, but I may get to that later, if so, I'll link below. To begin: A few years ago, I took over the senior management position in a prison that had departmental responsibility for the prison's Segregation Unit 2/

A Segregation unit is essentially a small living unit within a prison, where people can be taken for the purposes of punishment, or separation from the general population for safety reasons. 3/

When I took over the function, there were normally 12-16 residents, and almost never fewer. There are rules around how/why you can segregate people, which are too much for twitter, but for our purposes, we'll use the two main "themes"- Punishment and Safety 4/

People can be segregated as a punishment after an Adjudication, or held for the good order and discipline of the prison. (See the parallels with the school exclusions debate?) Segregation is not the only punishment available from Adjudication, but is often seen as the top one 5/

One simple thing we pointed out in the what to expect when you're electing report for EIP was really embracing experts talking about "how such things usually turn out". I don't think people understand the difference this makes. https://t.co/mWUVCR4Pbz

We value experts b/c they are careful when commenting on things they don't have the full picture on. And that's good. But one thing I've found in my deep dive into the electoral disinformation flows is that expertise arrives *days* after all the disinfoverse explanations go viral

So the expertise that should be making us smarter socially doesn't really help. As I looked through reporting and thought about my own experience being interviewed it occurred to me that so often we're asked "What is this thing likely to be?" and that makes us skittish.

The true answer to "What is this thing likely to be?" is a mess of really dubious percentages requiring lots of inputs. And the uncertainty we express just makes it look like truth might be unknowable. People are bad at comprehending likelihoods.

On the other hand, ask an expert "How have similar things in the past turned out? and you'll not only get a more helpful answer, you'll get a STORY -- a narrative that can actually compete with other narratives.

If women knew how they carried the divine letters they carried, they would understand why dark groups made so much effort to break the marriage tradition. The hymen of women is not only for health and hygiene purposes.

Especially as it is thought in the eastern parts of the world, it has nothing to do with honor. Every woman has a divine letter with her virginity. This divine letter is in the first sexual experience after a true spiritual marriage, in the presence of God, in sickness-health, ..

good day-bad day, until death separates them (without any earthly condition), in the first sexual experience that takes place after a true spiritual marriage, where they are promised to be with each other for their spiritual development.

During the opening of the membrane, its seal is opened with the first drop of blood flowing. This blood is the only divinely allowed blood. All other bloodshed violates divine laws. When there is no marriage, that is, when the oath is not given before God,

the divine protection is removed and this letter is destroyed by the dark beings. This is why the peoples of Europe were taken to unmarried partnerships, polygamy, youth madnesses, and these were normalized, especially for the destruction of the sacred letters of great importance

1. "The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves;...

What if too much empathy leads to bad decisions?

Is being too empathic holding you back as a leader?

///THREAD///

Empathy is the ability to feel what other people are feeling, and it is seen as one of the most essential leadership skills

Empathy indeed helps you see from the perspective of others and helps build stronger relationships

And all leaders need an element of this...

However,

Some psychologists estimate that one in five business leaders have such low empathy they can be considered psychopaths

We have all worked for one or at least worked in an organization that sees you as employee #2658, not an individual

All numbers

No heart...

Now I know you are not one of the psychopaths

You are like the vast majority of leaders

You have a big heart, and you want to do the right thing

But let's look at a typical example...

You have a team member

They've been with you years, your team loves them, and you can't imagine work without them

However, they're failing with the new demands of their role

People are starting to notice, some complaining to you

Results are being effected...

I believe very strongly we need to start tolerating one another more, making space for one another, working hard to bridge the divide. It's a theme I've been on about for a while. And I get push-back - often very indignant and heated. Sometimes outright accusatory. #cdnpoli 1/16

A point I keep trying to make, with varying degrees of success, is no matter how much other people may bug you, even disgust you, they're simply not going to disappear tomorrow. So we need to live together. It's not a question of if, it's only a question of how. #cdnpoli 2/16

The response I've never understood is the purist one. I refuse to live with X. I make no allowance for Y. How dare you (turning the question back on me) even imply we should tolerate Z. That's offensive. They are wrong and we are right. It's simple. No compromises. #cdnpoli 3/16

I consider purists to be comically self-indulgent. I've even started arguments over it. I recognize the attraction of purity. It feels great to stand firm on principle and uphold what's right. The question I return to is - now what? They're still here, as are we. #cdnpoli 4/16

What I forget, sometimes, is I view this as a political problem and not everyone does, even when talking about politics. They hear me say we need to live with the "other side" and imagine I mean make friends with them, date them, go bowling with them. That isn't it. #cdnpoli 5/16

I’ve been thinking a bit about being openly or obviously ‘other’.

My life experiences have been fairly unusual, & while I do enjoy communicating about this, it can also be quite othering being perpetually the odd-one-out in a group who folks ask to explain stuff.

THREAD

And while it’s well-intentioned, and I think it’s important that folks actually listen to autistic/trans/POC/etc people when it comes to understanding our experiences, it can also be a lot of pressure when I’m the only autistic nb non-white person in a group of cis white folks

And over time even when folks listen and are respectful, I feel that self conscious, and also worried that they are placing me on a sort of ‘pedestal of otherness’ that actually can stop them from truly empathising and understanding.

To start to understand folks who are different, it’s important to both acknowledge how different experiences can be(esp if yours are more ‘typical’), but also acknowledge that they are not SO different that you should not try to challenge yourself to try and understand better

We should not be stopping at “I can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be you” but instead always be trying, even with the knowledge that it might be difficult. This is the perhaps the kind of labour that NTs, cis, white, and other dominant groups owe marginalised identities

A thread about panic buying and stockpiling outrage. Availability (or lack thereof) of products in supermarkets is a complex and multi-layered issue.

Basically, it's not just people being cunts. 1/

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR. Many people acquire food from non-supermarket sources. Cafes, work canteens, restaurants, delis, service stations etc. 2/

When this decreases significantly, it takes a relatively small proportion of people in an area to buy one extra meal at the supermarket, to affect supply. 3/

BIGGER BASKETS. There are a LOT of people who shop 'little and often', buying only what they need for that day/possibly the next. The govt is now asking people to limit their trips, meaning products which would take a week to leave shelves will now be bought on a single trip. 4/

Again, it only takes a small proportion of people making this change to affect supply.

SPACE ON SHELF. It sounds obvious, but some products take up more space on shelf. Compare a tin of soup with an 18 pack of toilet roll. 5/

Our inability to introduce remote learning during a global pandemic is a social problem.

A decade of austerity has left families without the means to own adequate devices, and some can’t even afford broadband.

Scoff all you like, but it is reality I’m afraid. 1/10

It wasn’t long ago @GavinWilliamson was promising help for poorer families, so their children could access the necessary equipment to learn from home and no child is left behind.

How did that go? Do I even need to ask?

Another huge failure from the fireplace flogger. 2/10

“Whatever it takes”, they said.

I’ll stick my neck out here and call that bullshit. Utter hogwash.

“Whatever it takes to ensure our friends get HUUUUGE PPE contracts” - that would be accurate. 3/10

Remote learning is far from ideal.

I understand the difficulties, but as I say, this is a failure of government.

Life preservation has to come first.

My child isn’t a guinea pig. 4/10

They will not have an adequate test and trace system in schools, and let’s not pretend otherwise. Schools are not prepared for it. It’s a ludicrous and desperate proposition.

@michaelgove is confident schools will stay open.

He might not like experts, but SAGE disagree. 5/10

Oregon Prison Report: Voices from the Inside

"It's frustrating in here right now. You have a lot of inmates literally standing up saying, 'What the fuck? Why are you guys doing this to us?'”

#ODOCKills #KateBrownKills #FreeThemAll

“And you have a lot of officers just saying, 'Tough, can't do anything about it. Deal with it. We're in charge and you're not.'"

[Note: As of 2/8/21 there are a total of 103 positive cases of COVID-19 at SCI, 21 of which are currently active.]

(Testimony from Lane County Mutual Aid's (@eughungerstrike) Correspondence)

Santiam Correctional Institution (SCI) / February 2, 2020.

So on Monday, they gave another mass test of COVID-19, or they offered it again, and this time a larger amount of people for multiple reasons refused the test. A lot of them refused the test because they were pretty sure they have COVID-19 and they don't wanna be shipped out...

... , go to OSP and get locked down. And once again, that situation like every other institution is doing it if you refuse the test they quarantine you for 14 days. I mean that's... You have the right to refuse the test you have a right to refuse any medical...