Peace in the Puff

Often times the world takes on a cynical view about others when they don’t believe or are not merely interested in the same habits, hobbies or interest as them. We all deal with pressure or anxiety in different ways. Some Americans pig out & stuff their bodies with food till they can’t eat anymore when they are depressed. And then there are others that turn to a few cold glasses of the “grown folks” beverage to calm their nerves after a long day. While there are other Americans that participate in intense physical exercises to relieve tension so they won’t explode on the next innocent person walking by. We all find peace or comfort in various ways and the truth of the matter is: it may not always be the best way but it sure beats a heart attack!

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Lashunda

The Tens: 10 Horrifying Statistics To Know On World AIDS Day

originally posted at thewellversed.com

Today marks the 22^nd Annual World AIDS Day. With urban communities and young people among the most vulnerable to contract the disease, it is important to know the statistics, know your own status, and understand how your individual actions can protect you and others from being infected.

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krysten

The American Academy of Pediatrics Endorses Female Genital Mutilation?!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a policy statement that basically endorses female genital mutilation;  suggesting the law should “enable pediatricians to reach out to families by offering a ritual nick” such as “pricking or incising the clitoral skin to satisfy cultural requirements.”

I could rant about this, but I think my friend Rebecca’s photographic response when she was sent the link via chat sums up my feelings quite nicely:

Posted by:

Rachel Bishop

Today’s Crime Stories: Theft, Murder, and. . .Midwifery?

St. Vincent’s hospital in Greenwich Village was one of the few hospitals in NYC that was willing to support midwives who do home births. But now it’s closing, and that means about half of the midwives in New York will either have to stop practicing, or practice illegally.

This is happening because of a stupid law that says midwives need to have a “Written Practice Agreement” from a doctor in order to perform a delivery at home. Then if there’s a problem with the birth, that’s the hospital they go to. This law is totally unnecessary, because midwives obviously have a backup hospital in mind when they deliver a baby at home. Just like you know what hospital you might need to go to before you go skydiving. But for some reason, the law insists on treating childbirth like it’s an illness, not a natural part of human life that most often doesn’t require any time in a hospital.

Why was St. Vincent’s one of the only hospitals with doctors who are willing to sign such an agreement? There’s a huge stigma in the medical community against supporting midwives. Why’s there stigma? No reason except misogyny and greed. The medical profession is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical companies, who are rather keen on making sure pregnant women are pumped as full of drugs as possible during childbirth, even when those drugs are dangerous and unnecessary.

We talk a lot about giving women control of their own bodies when it comes to abortion, but what about when they’re actually having a child?  It’s incredibly important to take action now so home birth in NYC doesn’t essentially become a crime. Take action here and protect women’s choice in childbirth!

Posted by:

Rachel Bishop

Happy 420! A Call For a Change in Drug Education

All the talk about 420 today has me thinking about the “education” I had about drug use as a child. I’m sure we all went through DARE or something similar; in my opinion, those programs do way more damage than good, and sometimes even inspire dangerous drug use in kids.

Here’s how. My DARE program told us that any and all drugs were incredibly dangerous; one toke of a joint or sip of beer and your life would pretty much be over. It wasn’t long before a lot of us would read an article about how occasional marijuana use doesn’t have any negative long-term health effects, or find that we had family members who smoked and weren’t total sociopaths, and realize that something was wrong with the education we were getting.

For some kids, that realization meant they’d go on to educate themselves about what was and wasn’t truly dangerous, and make good decisions based on the actual facts about drugs. But a vast majority of disillusioned DARE grads I knew took what they learned about moderate alcohol and pot use being OK to mean that everything they were told about drugs ever was a lie; that all drugs are safe, and there’s no reason not to do any of them.

So parents and educators, please: Tell your kids the truth. Tell them that having a few beers at a party won’t kill them, but driving a car afterwards will. That it’s probably not too dangerous to smoke a joint and watch South Park, but mixing Ecstasy with Cocaine before going out to a crowded club with no access to water is the worst decision they could ever make.

Most kids are smart enough to make their own decisions, and they’ll listen to what you say if they know you won’t tell them lies. Tell them the truth about drugs and let them think for themselves.

Posted by:

Rachel Bishop