Αυτοκινητιστικό στο Παγκράτι

Έχει ακούσει κάποι@ τι έγινε με το αυτοκινητιστικό στο Παγκράτι;

Χθες είδα με τα μάτια μου έναν οδηγό μηχανής στο κράσπεδο της Φιλολάου, και μια γυναίκα, συνοδηγό, εγκλωβισμένη στο αυτοκίνητο με αίματα και γυαλιά.

Έφυγα όταν ήρθε το ασθενοφόρο γιατί βιαζόμουνα και δεν ξέρω τι έγινε μετά.

Για όσ@ς δε γνωρίζουνε το περιστατικό:
Εχθές κατά τις 7.30μμ περνούσα με αυτοκίνητο από Φιλολάου. Είδαμε ότι ήταν ένας άνθρωπος στο κράσπεδο, και ότι είχε γίνει ατύχημα. Η μηχανή του διαλυμένη στη μέση του δρόμου.
Κάποιοι μετακινούσαν τον άνθρωπο κι επειδή η μητέρα μου γνωρίζει πρώτες βοήθειες και ξέρει ότι απαγορεύεται να μετακινήσεις άνθρωπο που έχει χτυπήσει, πήγαμε να βοηθήσουμε. Κάποι@ λέγανε ότι ο οδηγός δε φόραγε κράνος. Κάποι@ λέγανε ότι φόραγε και του το βγάλανε.
Μία κυρία που δουλεύει σε ένα από τα μαγαζιά επί της Φιλολάου και είδε το ατύχημα όταν συνέβη, μου είπε τα εξείς:
"Το μηχανάκι έτρεχε, έτρεχε πολύ. Αλλά το αυτοκίνητο πετάχτηκε ξαφνικά από τον παράδρομο. Το αυτοκίνητο έφταιγε, η μηχανή ήταν σε κεντρικό, έχει προτεραιότητα."
Από ό,τι είδα ο οδηγός του αυτοκινήτου ήταν μια χαρά. Η συνοδηγός (μάλλον μητέρα του), είχε χτυπήσει το κεφάλι της στο τζάμι, το οποίο είχε σπάσει, κι είχε γυαλιά και αίματα στο πρόσωπο. Η πόρτα είχε μπει μέσα κι είχε εγκλωβιστεί. Ο οδηγός βρισκόταν σε σοκ και απλα περπατούσε πέρα δώθε ή στεκόταν.
Ευτυχώς στην περιοχή βρέθηκε ο αδερφός του οδηγού της μηχανής, οπότε και πήγε μαζί του στο νοσοκομείο.
Πριν τον πάρει το ασθενοφόρο δε σταματούσε να κινείται, έλεγε ότι κρυώνει και γενικά βρισκόταν σε άσχημη ψυχολογική κατάσταση. Η μητέρα μου του σκούπιζε τα αίματα που τρέχανε στο αυτί του γιατί προσπαθούσε να κουνηθεί για να τα σκουπίσει.
Είχε μαζευτεί αρκετός κόσμος, κάποι@ προσπαθούσαν να βοηθήσουν, κάποι@ άλλ@ να σταματήσουν την κυκλοφορία, και κάποι@ απλά να δουν το συνέβη.
Αυτό που μου έκανε εντύπωση ήταν η αναισθησία κάποιων οδηγών που ενώ είδαν τι είχε συμβεί συνεχισαν να οδηγούν επί της Φιλολάου, με κίνδυνο να χτυπήσουν τον οδηγό κι όσ@ς προσπαθούσαν να τον βοηθήσουν, και φυσικά καταστρέφοντας πιθανά στοιχεία που υπήρχαν στο χώρο που έγινε το ατύχημα.
Πριν φύγω είδα 2 ασθενοφόρα και την αστυνομία στο χώρο, και αργότερα που ήμουν ακόμη πιο κάτω στην περιοχή είδα και πυροσβεστικά που μάλλον πήγαιναν προς τα εκεί για να απεγκλωβίσουν τη συνοδηγό.

Equality

Equality means equality.

As a feminist, I don't want society to be a pyramid.

Everyone should be given equal opportunities, everyone should have free access to healthcare and all levels of education, and everyone should feel free to be of any faith, or no faith.
Everyone should be respected and respectful by default.

Race, ethnicity, ability, disability, mental health, gender, biological sex, sexual orientation, appearance, age, religion (or lack of) should all be irrelevant.

Random Thoughts LXXIII

It's tragic to realise that life's so shit everyone is trapped in escapism.
No one seems to be happy with the way life is, unless they use something to take their minds off of it. 

Transphobic Behaviour CBB

So, for anyone who doesn't know, there is a trans woman on the latest season of Celebrity Big Brother. And there are a lot of transphobic reactions against her on social media.

Left: India, Right: Ginuwine (all pictures belong to Celebrity Big Brother)

My understanding is that she was having a conversation with another CBB housemate, Ginuwine, where he admitted he isn't attracted to trans women.
She asked him if he'd be attracted to her if she wasn't trans, and he said maybe he would be.
India asked him to kiss her several times during that conversation, and even tried to force him to kiss her.

Now, the situation online is the following:
Many people are defending Ginuwine, saying he was sexually abused (!) by India. Many people are defending India, saying Ginuwine made transphobic remarks.

I believe the main issue here is that India is an extremely disliked character in the house, and people confuse their feelings towards her with having the right to misgendering her, or make transphobic remarks against her.
In the house alone, three or four people have misgendered her, and one of them, Ann, did it four times, one of them at least on purpose.

India is very outspoken, complains often, and is probably going through some personal issues which she projects on her housemates. She seems insecure and trying to navigate life as a trans woman.

The audience seems to be unable to separate their personal feelings towards her and her behaviour from the basic respect we owe to others. E.g. never misgendering them, never displaying lgbt+phobic behaviour, etc.

India exploded one night, after having tolerated too much from her housemates, feeling the others disrespected her because she is trans. She felt they didn't recognise her as a woman.

I am not trans, therefore I will do my best to explain a few things, using my knowledge as an ally, but I urge you to look for trans folks who spoke on the matter, as their input is more valuable than mine.

I personally defended India on twitter, and that resulted in me being bombarded with transphobia, trolling and hate. People calling me "crazy," "mentally unstable," "ignorant," urging me to study biology, threatening me, calling me names and generally being horrible.
I was so upset I was trembling. I cannot begin to fathom what India, and other trans people, must be feeling, seeing how the audience responded to her.

Now, what a lot of people are not getting is that your biological sex and your gender are two different things. Courtney Act kindly explained it on last night's episode.
Your biological sex is the genitalia you were born with. Your gender is your gender identity, how you feel. Your biological sex and your gender don't always agree. And that is when you are trans, genderqueer, agender, gender fluid etc.

Therefore, India may have been born with male genitalia, but that doesn't mean she ever was a man. She has always been a woman. Her gender identity is valid and should ALWAYS BE RESPECTED, whether you like her or not.
She would still be a woman even if she didn't undergo gender reassignment surgery.
You don't have to have any surgery for your gender identity to be valid. Your gender identity is valid by default. Moreover, your genitalia are no one's business, and no one should ever ask trans persons about that, unless they have established with them that it's ok.

A lot, and I mean a lot, of people who tweeted me, claimed Ginuwine isn't transphobic and it's his right to not want to be with trans women.

On one hand I do agree, no one should ever be forced to be with someone they don't want to be with. On the other hand though, he did display discriminatory behaviour. Because he said he might have been attracted to India if she wasn't trans; even though she'd be the exact same person.

I understand that when someone is straight, they are only attracted to women. I also understand that someone may only want to have sex with people with female genitalia.
But the thing is, India is a woman, and, she also has female genitalia.
Thus, if Ginuwine is only attracted to women, and to female genitalia, India being trans shouldn't be an issue.
Of course, Ginuwine has every right to not find her attractive as a person, or appearance wise. He doesn't have to be attracted to her. No question about that.
Nevertheless, his reasoning was discriminatory, and can be perceived as transphobic. If he had worded this differently, I doubt there would have been such backlash to his comments.

It goes without saying that India was wrong to try and force him for a kiss. And she has received tremendous backlash, especially from people who thought Ginuwine's critics were being racist, because he is a black man. A lot of people pointed out that if he tried to force a kiss to a white woman in the house, he'd have been called a molester.

And I cannot argue with that. Racism exists and it hurts all POC every day. And if Ginuwine had tried to force a kiss to a woman in the house, he'd be crucified. Not just for being a man, but also for being a black man.

Nonetheless, that doesn't excuse the audience misgendering India and/or displaying overall transphobic behaviour.

Ginuwine was wrong, and India was wrong.
Two wrongs will never make a right.

I prompt everyone to take this opportunity and educate themselves on trans issues, and not use India's trans identity as a weapon against her.
Furthermore, I suggest everyone to take this opportunity to educate themselves on racism, and not use Ginuwine's race as a weapon against him.

Let's start this year by being sympathetic, understanding, genuine (no pun intended) and kind. Let's all make an effort to educate ourselves on minority and marginalised communities' issues.
Let's be better people.

Peace and Love,
Lara

Random Thoughts LXXII

It’s not a coincidence how many movements and ideologies that benefit humanity (feminism, veganism, ethical consumerism, body positivity etc.) are presented as one-dimensional and catholic. Nor is it a coincidence how activists of any kind are generalised, presented through exaggerated caricatures.

It’s because positive change is feared -and more than often doesn’t benefit the ones in power- and thus, mocked or presented through a prism of malicious intentions.

Diarrhoea

My first poem for 2018! (can't we all relate after we ate like elephants during the holiday season?)

Diarrhoea diarrhoea
My anus fears ya
My anus fears ya
Damned to meet you
Got to greet you?
Don't wanna feel you
Gotta escape you

Diarrhoea diarrhoea
I cannot take you
I hate you, I hate you
Intestines protesting
Bowel movement protecting
Sphincter exhaustion
Shitty explosion

2017

Every year I post an article around winter holiday season. An article on the current year that is coming to an end. And since it came to be a tradition on my blog, I will do it this year as well.

2017.
The worst year of my life.
I can't say that I ever had an all rounded positive year in my life thus far. There have always been extreme lows and downs even in my best years.
But 2017 was the first year that didn't entail any ups, any good times, any accomplishments, any moments I'd like to remember.
It's a year I wouldn't mind being erased from my memory altogether.

My physical and mental health were challenged to the extreme; I was in a very unhealthy living situation; a lot of my relationships with loved ones were challenged; I had to quit my job; I had to return to my home country and be cared for; I had to start all sorts of different medication with unpleasant side effects; I had to see many doctors and face harsh realities concerning my health; I had to come to terms with the fact that my decisions had an impact on others, sometimes extremely negative, even though I had no other option but to make those choices; and lastly, I had to accept that I could never be the person that I used to be again.

But apart from my personal struggles, this year, the world has gone to shit.
The situation in the Middle East keeps getting worse and people are losing their homes, their loved ones and their lives because of it; Trump is the worst thing that could have happened to USA; Israel keeps detaining and imprisoning Palestinian children; Russia keeps abusing lgbt+ persons; Brexit is the worst thing that could happen to UK since Thatcher; pollution and climate change are getting worse and worse and people still want to believe the Earth is flat and climate change isn't real; North Korea is becoming more dangerous and unstable by the day; the economy is utterly fucked and we've reached the ultimate "the rich become richer and the poor poorer" point in humanity's history; cybercrime has reached new levels; corruption keeps flourishing; far right and nazi groups are getting more and more power everywhere on the planet; natural catastrophes are fiercer and more destructive than ever; all sorts of terrorism is blooming, causing fear and being manipulated by the ones in power to install fear and discrimination in people's minds; rape culture, misogyny, sexism, lgbt+phobia, body shaming, racism, islamophobia etc. are thriving in real life and through social media; the quality of public healthcare is declining in most countries... I could go on and on and on, but then even 10000 pages wouldn't be enough.

Therefore, you can't blame me for wishing -and may I dare say hoping- for 2018 to be better, more positive, a year I -and we- will want to remember.

I understand the concept of time doesn't work like that though. Each year is a continuation of the previous one, time is linear. We have created years, months, days, minutes to make our lives easier. It's not as if each year is a circle, independent and separated from the previous years, and the years to come. However, I personally see time as a spiral, rather than a flat line, but this isn't the place to analyse my thoughts on the matter. Bottom line is, all years are connected.

Nevertheless, I can still chose to enter 2018 with new energy, new expectations, a new approach and a bit of hope.

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy Holidays & a Happy New Year

I’m here today to wish you all -who celebrate this season- Happy Holidays!

I wish you all health, happiness and love.

I hope you manage to eat good food, spend time with people you love and have a wonderful time overall.

Nevertheless, I know that for many this season is dark, gloomy and reminds them of that which they’d wish was already forgotten. To them I wish to self-care and take it easy during the holidays. Do you. If you feel like staying in, having some time off (off of social media, off of superficial communication, off of work etc.) you have the right to that. Don’t feel guilty.

May the new year bring us all that which we long for and need, and may 2017 be forever gone and all the sadness, pain and agony it brought begone with it. 

Ghosts from the past

Recently I discovered a person from my past is online stalking me -still, and has even befriended other people from my past.

That person was obsessed with me for years, and even when I made sure to distance myself from them, they kept on trying to meddle into my business.

I am puzzled by their unhealthy behaviour towards me, especially considering that one of the reasons I chose to get them out of my life was due to disrespecting my privacy.

I understand that many people don't know how to handle rejection, even when it's their fault entirely, but that doesn't justify their approach and actions.

Random Thoughts LXXI

The world we live in is an unfair, corrupted place where predators, psychopaths and narcissists have all the power, while the rest of us struggle to navigate our mere survival.

The truth about Billionaires

The fact that in this day and age people think you can become a billionaire by being nice baffles me. Are people that stupid? You don't reach that level of wealth -let alone maintain it- unless you do terrible things. You would have to underpay your stuff, overprice your products and services, exploit a lot of the people you work with, bend and break the law (e.g. bribe, blackmail, be involved in the deep web), destroy other people's lives etc. So when you admire billionaires, be aware that you're most probably also admiring criminals, narcissists and psychopaths. Because for someone to have the drive to reach a level of that much power and the resources to achieve it, they couldn't be anything else but the above mentioned.

Random Thoughts LXX

We all do stupid things.
We all make mistakes.
The past won't change.
But if we live the present in the past, neither will the future.

Men in makeup

I don't get the discrimination against men in the beauty community. Is it homophobia? Even though not all men who wear makeup are gay. Is it insecurity? Fearing that men can be more feminine than women? Which they can be, and it's ok. Masculinity isn't inherently male and femininity isn't inherently female. These attributes don't belong to a specific gender. Regardless of the societal 'norms' that have been imposed on us. These are social constructs. You don't have to act a certain way because you have a penis, a vagina or whatever genitalia you have.

If you want to wear makeup and are interested in beauty, you do you! Your reproductive organs, your appearance, your age, your religion, your ethnicity etc. are all irrelevant. There's space for all of us, no need for exclusion or discrimination.

Random Thoughts LXIX

Is it weird that even though I'm Greek I feel extremely disconnected from Greek reality?I cannot relate to most Greek traditions, parts of Greek culture and Greek societal norms. Everytime I go back to Greece I feel like an alien.

What happens when a therapist is biased?

When I see psychologists, psychiatrists etc. reinforce harmful societal stereotypes and notions I feel disappointed, disgusted and enraged.

As a medical professional you ought to prioritize seeing your patients in order to support/help them and you must never allow your personal opinions to hinder your patients' healing process.

Using your position of power as a medical professional and your authority over your patient to poison their brain with discriminatory behaviour, hate or notions that will impact them negatively, diminishing their self-worth and devalue their identity is malpractice.

So, I would invite any therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts who are racists, misogynists, lgbtqai+phobes, sexists, religious fanatics and generally display or support discriminatory behaviour to burn their certificates and quite their practice.

They should not be allowed to be in contact with patients as they will do -and probably have done- more harm than good.

I know people whose lives were destroyed by bad therapists.
Patients are vulnerable, and thus, easy targets for medical professionals who either serve a certain agenda, or can't separate their personal views from their medical practice.