Poetry Fishbowl Open!
Jun. 6th, 2017 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED. Thank you all for your time and attention. Please keep an eye on this page as I'm still writing.
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.
Click to read the linkback poem "We Will Fade into You" (11 verses, standalone).
What Is a Poetry Fishbowl?
Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.
In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.
Cyberfunded Creativity
I'm practicing cyberfunded creativity. If you enjoy what I'm doing and want to see more of it, please feed the Bard. The following options are currently available:
1) Sponsor the Fishbowl -- Here is a PayPal button for donations. There is no specific requirement, but $1 is the minimum recommended size for PayPal transactions since they take a cut from every one. You can also donate via check or money order sent by postal mail. If you make a donation and tell me about it, I promise to use one of your prompts. Anonymous donations are perfectly welcome, just won't get that perk. General donations will be tallied, and at the end of the fishbowl I’ll post a list of eligible poems based on the total funding; then the audience can vote on which they want to see posted.
2) Swim, Fishie, Swim! -- A feature in conjunction with fishbowl sponsorship is this progress meter showing the amount donated. There are multiple perks, the top one being a half-price poetry sale on one series when donations reach $300.
3) Buy It Now! -- Gakked from various e-auction sites, this feature allows you to sponsor a specific poem. If you don't want to wait for some editor to buy and publish my poem so you can read it, well, now you don't have to. Sponsoring a poem means that I will immediately post it on my blog for everyone to see, with the name of the sponsor (or another dedicate) if you wish; plus you get a nonexclusive publication right, so you can post it on your own blog or elsewhere as long as you keep the credits intact. You'll need to tell me the title of the poem you want to sponsor. I'm basing the prices on length, and they're comparable to what I typically make selling poetry to magazines (semi-pro rates according to Duotrope's Digest).
0-10 lines: $5
11-25 lines: $10
26-40 lines: $15
41-60 lines: $20
Poems over 60 lines, or with very intricate structure, fall into custom pricing.
4) Commission a scrapbook page. I can render a chosen poem in hardcopy format, on colorful paper, using archival materials for background and any embellishments. This will be suitable for framing or for adding to a scrapbook. Commission details are here. See latest photos of sample scrapbooked poems: "Sample Scrapbooked Poems 1-24-11"
5) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your LiveJournal, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social network. Useful Twitter hashtags include #poetryfishbowl and #promptcall. Encourage people to come here and participate in the fishbowl. If you have room for it, including your own prompt will give your readers an idea of what the prompts should look like; ideally, update later to include the thumbnail of the poem I write, and a link to the poem if it gets published. If there is at least one new prompter or donor, I will post an extra freebie poem.
Linkback perk: I have a spare series poem available, and each linkback will reveal a verse of the poem. One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Dreamwidth or Twitter, rather than all on LiveJournal. Comment with a link to where you posted. "We Will Fade into You" has 11 verses and is a standalone.
Additional Notes
1) I customarily post replies to prompt posts telling people which of their prompts I'm using, with a brief description of the resulting poem(s). If you want to know what's available, watch for those "thumbnails."
2) You don't have to pay me to see a poem based on a prompt that you gave me. I try to send copies of poems to people, mostly using the LJ message function. (Anonymous prompters will miss this perk unless you give me your eddress.) These are for-your-eyes-only, though, not for sharing.
3) Sponsors of the Poetry Fishbowl in general, or of specific poems, will gain access to an extra post in appreciation of their generosity. While you're on the Donors list, you can view all of the custom-locked posts in that category. Click the "donors" tag to read the archive of those. I've also posted a list of other donor perks there. I customarily leave donor names on the list for two months, so you'll get to see the perk-post from this month and next.
4) After the Poetry Fishbowl concludes, I will post a list of unsold poems and their prices, to make it easier for folks to see what they might want to sponsor.
5) If donations total $100 by Friday evening then you get a free $15 poem; $150 gets you a free $20 poem; and $200 gets you a free epic, posted after the Poetry Fishbowl. These will usually be series poems if I have them; otherwise I may offer non-series poems or series poems in a different size. If donations reach $250, you get one step toward a bonus fishbowl; three of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be three months in a row. Everyone will get to vote on which series, and give prompts during the extra fishbowl, although it may be a half-day rather than a whole day. If donations reach $300, there will be a half-price sale.
Feed the Fish!
Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I'll be soliciting ideas for bigots, victims, upstanders, ordinary people, the women that men don't see, QUILTBAG folks, people of color, the misunderstood, outcasts, nemeses, bullies, abusers, oppressors, slavers, psycho bosses, troubled relationships, supervillains, superheroes, activists, poking a bigot in the eye, fleeing in terror, picking on people, resisting oppression, speaking truth to power, upsetting applecarts, facing your demons, feeding the right wolf, punching up, protesting, lunch counters, bars, reservations, slums, schools, playgrounds, counseling offices, government buildings, the Oval Office, dark alleys, oceans, liminal zones, mad science labs, The Tower, battlegrounds, graveyards, other places of power, internalized oppression, bigotry, racism, other isms that should be wasms, manifestos, identity literature, picket signs, disruptions, unusual vulnerabilities, minority languages, history written by the losers, radical transformation, the unspeakable, the inescapable, the indestructible, the nature of humanity (or lack thereof), hubris, and poetic forms in particular. But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco which covers most common and many obscure forms.
I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems here so you-all can enjoy it. (Remember, you get an extra freebie poem if someone new posts a prompt or makes a donation, and additional perks at $100-$300 in donations. Linkbacks reveal verses of "We Will Fade into You." The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.
Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.
Click to read the linkback poem "We Will Fade into You" (11 verses, standalone).
What Is a Poetry Fishbowl?
Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.
In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.
Cyberfunded Creativity
I'm practicing cyberfunded creativity. If you enjoy what I'm doing and want to see more of it, please feed the Bard. The following options are currently available:
1) Sponsor the Fishbowl -- Here is a PayPal button for donations. There is no specific requirement, but $1 is the minimum recommended size for PayPal transactions since they take a cut from every one. You can also donate via check or money order sent by postal mail. If you make a donation and tell me about it, I promise to use one of your prompts. Anonymous donations are perfectly welcome, just won't get that perk. General donations will be tallied, and at the end of the fishbowl I’ll post a list of eligible poems based on the total funding; then the audience can vote on which they want to see posted.
2) Swim, Fishie, Swim! -- A feature in conjunction with fishbowl sponsorship is this progress meter showing the amount donated. There are multiple perks, the top one being a half-price poetry sale on one series when donations reach $300.
3) Buy It Now! -- Gakked from various e-auction sites, this feature allows you to sponsor a specific poem. If you don't want to wait for some editor to buy and publish my poem so you can read it, well, now you don't have to. Sponsoring a poem means that I will immediately post it on my blog for everyone to see, with the name of the sponsor (or another dedicate) if you wish; plus you get a nonexclusive publication right, so you can post it on your own blog or elsewhere as long as you keep the credits intact. You'll need to tell me the title of the poem you want to sponsor. I'm basing the prices on length, and they're comparable to what I typically make selling poetry to magazines (semi-pro rates according to Duotrope's Digest).
0-10 lines: $5
11-25 lines: $10
26-40 lines: $15
41-60 lines: $20
Poems over 60 lines, or with very intricate structure, fall into custom pricing.
4) Commission a scrapbook page. I can render a chosen poem in hardcopy format, on colorful paper, using archival materials for background and any embellishments. This will be suitable for framing or for adding to a scrapbook. Commission details are here. See latest photos of sample scrapbooked poems: "Sample Scrapbooked Poems 1-24-11"
5) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your LiveJournal, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social network. Useful Twitter hashtags include #poetryfishbowl and #promptcall. Encourage people to come here and participate in the fishbowl. If you have room for it, including your own prompt will give your readers an idea of what the prompts should look like; ideally, update later to include the thumbnail of the poem I write, and a link to the poem if it gets published. If there is at least one new prompter or donor, I will post an extra freebie poem.
Linkback perk: I have a spare series poem available, and each linkback will reveal a verse of the poem. One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Dreamwidth or Twitter, rather than all on LiveJournal. Comment with a link to where you posted. "We Will Fade into You" has 11 verses and is a standalone.
Additional Notes
1) I customarily post replies to prompt posts telling people which of their prompts I'm using, with a brief description of the resulting poem(s). If you want to know what's available, watch for those "thumbnails."
2) You don't have to pay me to see a poem based on a prompt that you gave me. I try to send copies of poems to people, mostly using the LJ message function. (Anonymous prompters will miss this perk unless you give me your eddress.) These are for-your-eyes-only, though, not for sharing.
3) Sponsors of the Poetry Fishbowl in general, or of specific poems, will gain access to an extra post in appreciation of their generosity. While you're on the Donors list, you can view all of the custom-locked posts in that category. Click the "donors" tag to read the archive of those. I've also posted a list of other donor perks there. I customarily leave donor names on the list for two months, so you'll get to see the perk-post from this month and next.
4) After the Poetry Fishbowl concludes, I will post a list of unsold poems and their prices, to make it easier for folks to see what they might want to sponsor.
5) If donations total $100 by Friday evening then you get a free $15 poem; $150 gets you a free $20 poem; and $200 gets you a free epic, posted after the Poetry Fishbowl. These will usually be series poems if I have them; otherwise I may offer non-series poems or series poems in a different size. If donations reach $250, you get one step toward a bonus fishbowl; three of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be three months in a row. Everyone will get to vote on which series, and give prompts during the extra fishbowl, although it may be a half-day rather than a whole day. If donations reach $300, there will be a half-price sale.
Feed the Fish!
Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is "Poke ALL the bigots in the eye." I'll be soliciting ideas for bigots, victims, upstanders, ordinary people, the women that men don't see, QUILTBAG folks, people of color, the misunderstood, outcasts, nemeses, bullies, abusers, oppressors, slavers, psycho bosses, troubled relationships, supervillains, superheroes, activists, poking a bigot in the eye, fleeing in terror, picking on people, resisting oppression, speaking truth to power, upsetting applecarts, facing your demons, feeding the right wolf, punching up, protesting, lunch counters, bars, reservations, slums, schools, playgrounds, counseling offices, government buildings, the Oval Office, dark alleys, oceans, liminal zones, mad science labs, The Tower, battlegrounds, graveyards, other places of power, internalized oppression, bigotry, racism, other isms that should be wasms, manifestos, identity literature, picket signs, disruptions, unusual vulnerabilities, minority languages, history written by the losers, radical transformation, the unspeakable, the inescapable, the indestructible, the nature of humanity (or lack thereof), hubris, and poetic forms in particular. But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco which covers most common and many obscure forms.
I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems here so you-all can enjoy it. (Remember, you get an extra freebie poem if someone new posts a prompt or makes a donation, and additional perks at $100-$300 in donations. Linkbacks reveal verses of "We Will Fade into You." The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 05:26 pm (UTC)-One bigot is enough, so somebody put a stop to that pretty early on.
Poem
Date: 2017-06-06 07:43 pm (UTC)147 lines, Buy It Now = $74
Poem
Date: 2017-06-06 05:27 pm (UTC)Hold for original prompter.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 05:41 pm (UTC)For example, I'll go with the community we know best, though there are plenty of other communities this happens in.
In some places on the Internets, there's this nasty trend of kicking out plurals who didn't form from trauma and trying to insist that these systems are just faking.
There's also a nasty tendency to try to force systems not born of trauma to not use the word system at all, irrespective of the fact that systems of all stripes have used the phrase for decades without issue.
There's also a tendency to try to demand that systems who aren't trauma-created make new spaces for themselves, which would be all right, but then those spaces get invaded by the people who told the systems to go make a space.
However, I think this probably happens in any minority group you can think of. The urge to kick out anyone whose experience of something else is different from your own because homg you're the "crazy" ones and you make the rest of us look bad.
I want to see a person challenge this, and actually win.
-Bonny
PS: Signal-boosted on our blog.
PPS: So. If someone else in my group wants to prompt from their own journal is that all right? Can they count as different prompters since they are different people, or do they need to identify what system they're from?
Thank you!
Date: 2017-06-06 06:00 pm (UTC)Yay!
>> PPS: So. If someone else in my group wants to prompt from their own journal is that all right? <<
Yes.
>> Can they count as different prompters since they are different people, or do they need to identify what system they're from? <<
It's helpful to identify the system. What I'll probably do is try to cover separate sources first, and then if I have time double back which includes people from the same system and secondary prompts from individuals. Similar to what I've done with family/household prompts if it gets really busy.
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 05:50 pm (UTC)I want to read about Jewish woman lawyers fighting Nazis. Current or past. Maybe a superhera?
Maybe fighting injustice in the courts?
-ZB
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 05:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2017-06-06 06:04 pm (UTC)Magic is a tool of the oppressed; this is why the oppressors deny it.
A [marginalized person] with a pen in [her] hand is the mightiest of warriors.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 06:15 pm (UTC)Poem
From:Bigots and where to find them
Date: 2017-06-06 07:02 pm (UTC)Victor/Igor/Adam are bound to encounter bigots. Extra kudos for sworn virgins (yeah, I know their cultural home is a bit further south), and villagers with pitchforks and torches.
Someone's going to see Salvo, and take exception to him/Cuoio/Chiara in some fashion. They will no doubt proceed to demonstrate why this is Not A Good Idea.
Hart's Farm is a setting with lots of opportunity for bigotry to rear its head. What's happening there?
Also, +1 for the bigotry of exclusivity in marginal communities mentioned above -- "you're not <trait> enough".
Re: Bigots and where to find them
Date: 2017-06-06 07:44 pm (UTC)Re: Bigots and where to find them
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 07:24 pm (UTC)This would also be a good time to take another look at what's up with RAT.
What would it look like if hate crimes became a capital offense -- and white/male folks weren't routinely given exemptions?
For that matter, what would happen if rape was declared to be a hate crime?
What if there was a soup whose power was to trace online trolls and... do something to them? The something could be physical (they die, they disappear) or I'm rather leaning toward "they become incapable of operating a computer or any equipment controlled by one". Meaning they're suddenly living early-20th-century lives where they have to do everything in person or by mail; they can't even use an ATM. Depending on how far that goes, they might not even be able to drive any car newer than about an early 70s model, because that's when the electronic engine controls started becoming ubiquitous. (I also think this soup would have to be a cricket.)
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 11:15 pm (UTC)-Fallon~
Yes...
From:Poem
From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 07:29 pm (UTC)How effective is legislation against bigotry?
Invisible help - that wants to stay invisible.
Poem
Date: 2017-06-07 10:13 am (UTC)60 lines, Buy It Now = $20
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 07:51 pm (UTC)Seconding IDIC above. (That's one of the few symbols I'd consider having permanently tattooed.)
Hubris and the Tower go hand in hand. (And thunder calls in the distance.)
Poem
Date: 2017-06-13 09:42 am (UTC)412 lines, Buy It Now = $206
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 07:51 pm (UTC)"So, there's this eight year old girl, in a gingham dress and her 'fro in bunches like a pair of pom-poms either side of her head. And she's standing there on the bridge, facing down both the KKK and a bunch of neo-nazi skinheads from Detroit... and she's not going to let that march pass no way, no how. Those miserable S.O.B's never stood a chance."
Poem
Date: 2017-06-12 04:49 am (UTC)142 lines, Buy It Now = $71
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 08:24 pm (UTC)Poem
Date: 2017-06-07 10:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 08:37 pm (UTC)I think that this divide in how to assess whether someone is truly upset is very problematic for many reasons, both because that implies a willingness (even a sense of requirement) to use violence first and in terms of the lack of connection in the national conversation about what to do when a party and a person cheat their way into office, about the importance of the rule of law, about the importance of honoring the Constitution (something I note that they lay claim to, and yet, the Constitution directs use of law not insurrection to solve problems like this), but also about interpersonal relationships between people of the two very different cultural sides of this mess.
I'm not sure how to make that into a suggestion for a poem, exactly, but it's what comes to mind given your topic and the conversation here so far.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 08:43 pm (UTC)It seems foolish to me that someone would do meaningful art in public and then expect no one else would ever reply.
(I wonder if he would have complained had it been a statue of some male, for instance a statue of Uncle Sam in a matador outfit? How much of his complaint is because it's a _girl_, a being of perceived lesser status due to both age and gender, facing down his fearsome bull? But I can't ask and don't know if I'd get an honest and introspective answer even if I could ask.)
Anyway, art is a way to make a very pointy point, sometimes, and art at its best (to my thinking, anyway) is a conversation. Perhaps a poem about co-opting or facing down bigoted graffiti or statuary with art strong enough to change its meaning?
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 09:28 pm (UTC)http://www.boredpanda.com/googly-eyebombing-street-art-bulgaria/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=basitali
The headline is: Someone In Bulgaria Is Putting Googly Eyes On Broken Street Objects, And It’s Even Better Than Fixing Things
prompt
Date: 2017-06-06 09:15 pm (UTC)Re: prompt
Date: 2017-06-06 10:35 pm (UTC)- tC
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From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 09:22 pm (UTC)http://www.wbur.org/edify/2017/06/06/native-american-mascots-legislation
I'd been nodding along and agreeing that this was a good idea, and then today a Native (Narragansett, IRC) man said on the radio, "but it's the only representation of people like me in popular culture!"
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-06 11:24 pm (UTC)The others...go the hell for it.
(Yeah we're nitpicky, so?)
-Fallon~
(no subject)
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From:lawful INjustice
Date: 2017-06-06 10:14 pm (UTC)Re: lawful INjustice
Date: 2017-06-06 11:31 pm (UTC)68 lines, Buy It Now = $34
new prompters, first time prompting for fishbowl
Date: 2017-06-06 10:46 pm (UTC)prompt 1:
what happens when a well-meaning but unconsciously bigoted person has an informed, insightful companion with high social dexterity available to explain to them what went wrong with the marginalised person who just snapped at them and stormed out?
can we watch someone realise the difference between aggression and self-defence, and can we see them get a clue and actually care about and welcome it?
examples of truth-bombs that don't shy away from the reality of oppression but still manage to be compassionate and nonviolent toward the person getting a clue would be very welcomed, but anything you come up with will also be good.
prompt 2:
'cr*zy' as variation and diversity rather than aberration and pathology. could include any/all of:
- the concept of people with different mental and emotional landscapes and different perspectives on reality having valuable insights and skills to contribute because of their mental differences.
- the idea of different people's dramatically different experiences of reality all being valid and okay.
- the concept of people who are cr*zy being responsible for their actions and for not harming others, so long as they have access to the support they need to achieve this, and of them being capable of this while still being cr*zy.
- the idea that words that mean cr*zy are not a shortcut for saying "abusive."
- healthy group/family/community interdependence as an adulthood concept, rather than solo independence (as defined by abled neurotypical people) as the only accepted adulthood mode.
- "healthy mad" - being functional, capable, and having healthy relationships while working with a very different reality and/or set of emotions/brain functions than most people.
- a respectful and supportive community who are happy to treat everyone's realities and ways of being as equally valid and support people in learning healthy interactions across different experiences of reality, emotion and brain function. meeting people where they are and not demanding they try to change to function and see things in the same ways as other people.
optional personal examples and/or testimonies to assist with prompt 2
Date: 2017-06-06 10:55 pm (UTC)caution, these include:
uncensored use of ableist slurs in a reclaimed fashion by individuals the slurs target; frank and sometimes slightly detailed discussions of mental and emotional variances including OCD, psychosis, sociopathy and hallucinations; fairly vague talk of experiences of abuse and ableism; some internalised ableism brainweasels; someone talking in another english vernacular from their own universe that may be difficult for some to understand (translation available on request).
please feel free to skip this whole comment if you can and would rather avoid any of those things.
~~~
Ray says:
As a person with severe OCD, i find i no longer feel any need to snap at anyone if people take my OCD-related boundaries seriously and respect them just like any other boundaries. I don't need to panic and scramble to defend myself if people are willing to listen. I can just say "would you mind doing one of these three options just now?" and "please don't put my X anywhere that's Y."
If the people around me treat me decently and respect all my boundaries regardless of why i have them, i find my OCD-related boundaries softening and receding dramatically over time due to lowered stress and being able to tackle them on my own terms and in my own time. The results of having others respect my OCD and honour my boundaries include things like no longer needing things a certain way when out in public, or the ability for me to choose to have a visitor be exempt from OCD 'rules' without me having any problems.
I find that my compulsions are also much easier to handle and they reduce dramatically too when i have space to perform them in a respectful, supportive and welcoming atmosphere when i need to (so long as they're not harming anyone). Like if instead of getting mad at me for counting or repeating a rhyme to myself, my friends join in with me or just leave me to it in an easygoing manner - that makes it SO much easier to stop sooner. Or if it's upsetting or frustrating someone, then one of us can leave the room instead of anyone getting angry or me being expected to deal with the awful emotional and psychological fallout of forcing myself to stop just so they can be comfortable.
And if there's a case where my compulsive action is harmful, i've found that i'm much more capable of recognising this myself and of redirecting or otherwise fixing what i'm doing so that it's safe, healthy and consensual. Purely because i'm not devoting huge chunks of brainpower and energy to surviving in a hostile environment and coping with people's abuse, or trying to act 'sane'. I'm better able to be self-aware and aware of others and the effects of my actions when i can have brain-juice to spare for it, and i have SO much more self control available and room to manoeuvre within my OCD when it's relaxed and i've been feeling safe and not having to deal with OCD-horrifying things unnecessarily.
~~~
an anonymous beastie says:
as a person who experiences psychosis with megalomania and paranoia, i am still perfectly capable of respecting other people's boundaries regardless of what my version of reality looks like or how big and/or paranoid i'm feeling at the time. all i needed was to be around people who also respected my boundaries and who didn't treat me like my psychosis was some shameful or horrifying or disgusting thing, but instead met me where i was and actually welcomed me no matter what version of me they were getting at the time.
it helps me hugely that i have a sociopath friend who i can trust, who is able to see through all the weirdness and nonsense and confusing social interactions, and tell me how to respect others' boundaries within the reality i'm inhabiting at the time. and remind me i should when i get too large or everything gets too confusing or distressing or overwhelming.
personally, computer games with supportive friends are a great outlet for me. so long as my friends understand and are okay with it, i can express my megalomania or paranoia or anything else in a fantasy world with virtual characters who'll play along like a story, and not have it spill out into the real world. having that outlet is a huge help in making those kinds of things more manageable for me, and having real friends who'll see every side of me and still accept me is... too much for words. i still don't quite believe i deserve it, sometimes. ...they tell me it makes for great story and gameplay experiences. i think that's about the most awesome thing ever, personally. they like my crazy. nobody hates me or yells at me or tries to lock me up. they let me be me and let me have the breathing room and energy and support i need to be able to control myself instead. i may never get over how amazing that is to me.
but a lot of that last paragraph is my skewed perspective from years of abuse and internalized ableism. objectively speaking, it's more a case that others treating me like crap and abusing me or expecting me to act neurotypical and 'sane' all the time is a big part of why everything was so difficult for me. you know, western earth psychiatry is all based on this idea that you have to make someone stop being crazy in order for them to be okay. but the problem for me was always that people wanted me to stop being crazy - they wanted to medicate me or 'train' me or otherwise control and change me, they wanted me to stop being me. but i can be insane and not hurting anyone and living a good life with my friends, and that's what real health and recovery looks like. at least to my understanding.
i needed permission to be mad, a safe place to be crazy in, and a little bit of help recognizing how to keep myself and others safe and healthy from wherever i'm mentally at, and knowing that i should.
~~~
an anonymous friend says:
i am a sociopath with a meticulously constructed set of personal morals that involve my and others' health being the main value to be upheld, and consent being the standard for how to proceed. i have studied healthy relationships versus abusive ones, and learned how to avoid harming or coercing neurotypical folk. my main goal in friendships (along with experiencing fulfilling social contact) is to support people i care about in being the healthiest and most empowered version of themself that they can be.
i don't experience all the same range of emotions as neurotypical (NT) people do, for example i don't get genuinely angry at people i know personally, it's just not an available emotion for me. i don't naturally emote in the same ways as NT folks either, it was something i had to learn how to do, and takes effort. it's a huge relief not to have to pretend about any of that sort of thing among friends, and just be my genuine self. but i also do experience many of the same emotions and needs as neurotypicals, i just have to make an effort if i want to express those in a way the people around me can recognize.
this was something that an ableist, abusive society would not allow me to do. when an NT person expresses their emotional need, that is considered healthy and appropriate, but when i do it, it is considered 'manipulation' because i can't communicate my needs without either mimicking NT folks' ways of expressing or talking about it explicitly. it's not my fault it's an effort for me to emote in an NT way, and it doesn't mean i don't have the same needs. so long as i make sure people have plenty of room to make their own decisions and have everything they need in order to feel comfortable saying no to me, it's just another type of person's way of reaching out for things they need. i deserve to have my needs met just as much as neurotypical people.
fortunately i now live with a big family of awesome people. so i get to be myself and not be putting on a front all the time, i get to reach out for my needs to be met, i get to live my life unharrassed and have the energy and concentration spare that i need in order to pay attention to others and my actions, and re-learn things that i need to do differently. and being treated well myself helps me to feel like i want to treat others well and put energy into ensuring i don't accidentally step on a boundary or eclipse someone's choices.
people listen when i tell them i feel something regardless of whether i look or sound like a neurotypical person feeling that thing or not. people take me at my word about myself and my needs and experiences. people don't blink when i say matter-of-factly that i am hallucinating or that what i'm feeling is paranoia rather than fact, they don't freak out over the fact i'm more aware of this sort of thing than neurotypicals. and they don't freak out that i have social and other insights most neurotypicals don't either, or any of that stuff. people don't push me to socialize when i'm too tired of being near people or just not social that day. people don't expect me to be capable of all the same things neurotypicals are, and not capable of the things they're not. people don't try and judge my life by neurotypical measures of what someone is expected to need, want, and do.
and in turn, i put effort into making sure i'm treating them right, too.
~~~
jackie says:
jackie do see, hear, and otherways sense many things as most don't, or be not there. jackie also has feelins and ways of actin as are different to what be mostly expected. where jackie come from, this all earns jackie the honorific "crazy" in jack's name, which is ter tell others that this person has things of worth to share, treasures of wisdom and new eyes, and is to be heeded, treated with respect. just like the titles "old" and "mother" say where jackie comes from. such a title also tells ye that this one be not expected ter engage about affairs and seein' a the world the same as most, and ye be not expected ter share their perspectives - only to honour them. somethin jackie thinks folks a this world may call "agree to disagree."
jackie gets along best when others willst to hear about how the world be fer jackie, share how their world be without sayin jack's wrong, and travel beside jackie in their different world. jackie's full willin ter help them around obstacles as be in their world and not jack's, if they be willin to help jackie around the ones as be in jackie's world and not their own.
jackie be a gentle creature, and likes ter know others be well and at peace with the goins-on. jackie likes ter hear of any troubles others have, and see if jackie can be supportin them. jackie's crazy, and jackie knows how ter listen, and ter treat others rightly. jackie just ask them treat jack rightly turnabouts.
~~~
Edit:
Ray adds:
On the subjects of interdependence and having useful skills because of being crazy.... My OCD includes a large portion all about keeping tabs on consensus reality. This means i'm often able to help out my friends who have difficulties with reality moving around or wiggling about or escaping them, if they want help to find consensus reality and get back there. Often if someone's having a hallucination that's upsetting them, i can help them find a way back to a safer area, or if someone's struggling with paranoia and wants not to be, i can help them figure out how to get away from it a bit.
It's also been helpful to some of my friends who are abuse survivors or struggling with internalised oppression or similar, because when the brainweasels tell them lies i can remind them of what's real and why and how it works. And if they want i can usually even explain how the abuse and/or oppression ended up making them feel that way and why exactly it's not their fault and all that sort of thing. Having an obsessive compulsion to track consensus reality can really give you an edge in refuting harmful lies and such, and it's a skill i only have access to at such a highly detailed level because i have OCD.
Re: optional personal examples and/or testimonies to assist with prompt 2
From:Re: optional personal examples and/or testimonies to assist with prompt 2
From:Re: new prompters, first time prompting for fishbowl
From:Re: new prompters, first time prompting for fishbowl
From:*pokes a bunch of bigots!*
Date: 2017-06-07 12:00 am (UTC)Prompt the second, Danso and Lakia: Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud!
Prompt the third: Easy City's Haitian and Dominican refugee communities, especially as they intersect with local African American, Cajun and indigenous communities. All the happy multiculturalism in action, yes.
Prompt the fourth: The two young Muslim women (I can't recall their names, bad me) from the quiltbag youth group go to a pride event. It does not suck.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 12:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 02:56 am (UTC)-Fallon~
(no subject)
From:Poem
From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 01:18 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2017-06-08 07:00 am (UTC)57 lines, Buy It Now = $20
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 01:49 am (UTC)Well...
Date: 2017-06-07 05:32 am (UTC)Re: Well...
From:(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 02:15 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2017-06-08 08:34 am (UTC)109 lines, Buy It Now = $55
Poke a bigot
Date: 2017-06-07 03:08 am (UTC)"Oh they say the Celt is a fighter, and his wife will fight twice as hard, but with a veni, vidi, vici, they're naught when compared to a bard!"
Here, bard, have a pell. ;-)
Re: Poke a bigot
Date: 2017-06-08 06:25 am (UTC)106 lines, Buy It Now = $53
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-07 03:39 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2017-06-07 04:55 am (UTC)Poem
Date: 2017-06-07 10:21 am (UTC)Hold for original prompter.
Re: Poem
Date: 2017-06-07 01:20 pm (UTC)Re: Poem
From:Re: Poem
From:Re: Poem
From: