"Did YOU Know That So Many Kids Are"...?

??? Or is it just me ???

Sometimes life will hit the fan with so many emergencies that you can’t even fathom how the already stormy rain became a hurricane so quickly.

We are in the eye of a hurricane… but I think I can actually see the rainbow on the other side.

(Or flickering lightbulb, or whatever less Lucky Charms metaphor I could have called to mind.)

But here is what I know: I thankfully write ahead of time.

So even if I’m a shell of a person and going to be pretty terrible at real time communication until I get my family through this okay, and my body through this okay, and so on… I’m grateful to be able to schedule my Substack ahead of time.

I’m grateful that I write in my dorky diary here ahead of time.

I even have some light and fluffy stories to share here.

Ironically, this little update was not written in real time so… How is that for hypocrisy?

BUT….

I’m a little Copy/Paste right now as a human and I’m sorry (a term-of-phrase that kind of resonates, right?)

So, since I’m copy/pasting this “hello” today, just want to reiterate that:

I’m thankful for anyone who’s reading this far

Let me know what to be sending “good energy” towards YOU about into the world with my mind, heart and soul?

Here’s to temporarily being Copy/Paste humans together

Xo, truly…

catchingbreaths

A post shared by @catchingbreaths

I should have led with the part where I specified how the hateful words being used ubiquitously by young ones in many schools right now are perturbing because:

They are most often not being used by the students who are part of the community that’s being spoken about that way.

As a Deaf human [not raised culturally Deaf], I try to educate hearing students on audism and its dangers. Or why, thus, someone might choose to reclaim a word thats personal to their community.

Words CAN be just words, no doubt.

And when I encouraged parents to talk to their kids… I said this (at the time of filming these feelings) as a parent of a high schooler, feeling alarmed at how casual and hallow slurs have become around her. Here… but mostly online.

Not because I don’t trust all parents to know and do what’s best for their family and communities of course, but because… well, I was so naive in thinking my daughter wouldn’t know these words this frequently?

Something is shifting in our culture. Maybe it always had. Maybe it’s always been this way. But I spent years around teen-beebees trying to promote “do ontu” on some level…

And stupidly didn’t realize how thick most teen atmospheres can be with actual hatred.

I can only educate my students on audism as it effects the culture they’re in my class to learn about [and also, as a much needed means to make spaces safer for myself, my peers, and teachers might walk this lane next].

But…

Did you know that so many kids who are not part of marginalized communities are using slurs, without any seeming care as to what they actually mean?

Spaces should be as safe as we can make them.

If we can help the teens listening and observing feel safer around their peers… I want to.

If I can help my teen process what’s happening around her and not participate unless she truly knows who paved the paths (if at all)… I will.

And I didn’t mean this “ranty” video to sound like anything more than love-filled concern…

Because I, hopefully like all the generations around us:

Get to keep learning.

Thank you! Hope this extra-uncut short King/Queen of a piece was a nice little hello in your week!