Link Salad, the Dismantled Community Edition
-- What will happen when Harlem becomes white? - Rose Hackman, The Guardian, May 13, 2015
"Baldwin says that with such complete disregard for urban black life, real value can only be regained once it is seen as consumable by white people. “When there are limited options for survival as black people, they have nothing left to do but to sell themselves. Yes finally, we are being valued. But we are being valued within a market. We are not being valued within civil society,” Baldwin says."
-- As Summer Starts, a Safe Zone Closes Its Doors - Maya Dukmasova, Chicago Magazine,
"An additional problem for teens who come to Cotter is that the alternative Boys & Girls Club locations are across gang lines. On a recent afternoon at Lathrop I spoke with a man who goes by Jroc. Now 24, he grew up in the neighborhood and attended the Cotter Club. He was frank about what losing the club would mean, particularly for teenage boys, even if they are not personally involved in a gang. “It’s the one part of this neighborhood-ain’t no gangs hang out on that corner, ain’t none of that,” he said. “[Kids] go over there to get away from all this. They wouldn’t let no gang members come in there if they was gonna bullshit. If you was a gang member and you was in the club then you were doing something positive.”"
-- When Taking Anxiety Medication Is A Revolutionary Act - Tracy Clayton, Buzzfeed, Feb. 11, 2015
"If I had to describe what having anxiety feels like, I’d say that it’s kind of like walking through the world beneath tornadic skies without an umbrella, unsure if you’ll be able to find shelter if things get bad. When friends invite you out, you politely decline because while you’d like to enjoy their company, the sky could open up and wash you out to sea at any minute so it’s probably safer for you to stay at home. In the background of anything you do is the gentle hum of your nervous system as it tosses and turns, wondering when the deluge will hit, thinking about how unfortunate will be if you don’t survive it. And what kind of storm will it be? Something huge? Just enough raindrops to ruin your hair? Will the people you love be OK? Can you handle it? If you can’t, will people be able to witness you failing to handle it? How will you handle that?"
-- Invisibly Ill: Notes on Being Academic and Bipolar - Seth, Conditionally Accepted, Jun. 2, 2015
"As someone with bipolar disorder who is heavily medicated, I consider myself to have a disability. I know this is not the case for every non-neurotypical person, but it has helped me mourn the loss of a certain type academic life I know that I will never have due to the limitations of both bipolar and its accompanying treatments. I am currently writing my dissertation, but it is taking me longer than other students. I go to conferences, but maybe only one major association a year and one smaller one. Every step I take, paper I grade, or time I set up a student appointment is influenced by bipolar. For example, I have had to cancel class numerous times when my medications were adjusted because I could not mentally focus on my course material; I cannot schedule exams too early in the morning because sometimes I am shaky or too tired to leave the house; I flinch and become jarred when my students scream out during class because loud sounds scare me. And sometimes, even my huge arsenal of medications and various treatment team fails me. But, that’s the nature of this illness: I get manic or depressed, which leaves me hoping I will not have to go to the hospital. Bipolar is always a student in my classroom every semester; I always wonder how much he will join the discussion."
"Baldwin says that with such complete disregard for urban black life, real value can only be regained once it is seen as consumable by white people. “When there are limited options for survival as black people, they have nothing left to do but to sell themselves. Yes finally, we are being valued. But we are being valued within a market. We are not being valued within civil society,” Baldwin says."
-- As Summer Starts, a Safe Zone Closes Its Doors - Maya Dukmasova, Chicago Magazine,
"An additional problem for teens who come to Cotter is that the alternative Boys & Girls Club locations are across gang lines. On a recent afternoon at Lathrop I spoke with a man who goes by Jroc. Now 24, he grew up in the neighborhood and attended the Cotter Club. He was frank about what losing the club would mean, particularly for teenage boys, even if they are not personally involved in a gang. “It’s the one part of this neighborhood-ain’t no gangs hang out on that corner, ain’t none of that,” he said. “[Kids] go over there to get away from all this. They wouldn’t let no gang members come in there if they was gonna bullshit. If you was a gang member and you was in the club then you were doing something positive.”"
-- When Taking Anxiety Medication Is A Revolutionary Act - Tracy Clayton, Buzzfeed, Feb. 11, 2015
"If I had to describe what having anxiety feels like, I’d say that it’s kind of like walking through the world beneath tornadic skies without an umbrella, unsure if you’ll be able to find shelter if things get bad. When friends invite you out, you politely decline because while you’d like to enjoy their company, the sky could open up and wash you out to sea at any minute so it’s probably safer for you to stay at home. In the background of anything you do is the gentle hum of your nervous system as it tosses and turns, wondering when the deluge will hit, thinking about how unfortunate will be if you don’t survive it. And what kind of storm will it be? Something huge? Just enough raindrops to ruin your hair? Will the people you love be OK? Can you handle it? If you can’t, will people be able to witness you failing to handle it? How will you handle that?"
-- Invisibly Ill: Notes on Being Academic and Bipolar - Seth, Conditionally Accepted, Jun. 2, 2015
"As someone with bipolar disorder who is heavily medicated, I consider myself to have a disability. I know this is not the case for every non-neurotypical person, but it has helped me mourn the loss of a certain type academic life I know that I will never have due to the limitations of both bipolar and its accompanying treatments. I am currently writing my dissertation, but it is taking me longer than other students. I go to conferences, but maybe only one major association a year and one smaller one. Every step I take, paper I grade, or time I set up a student appointment is influenced by bipolar. For example, I have had to cancel class numerous times when my medications were adjusted because I could not mentally focus on my course material; I cannot schedule exams too early in the morning because sometimes I am shaky or too tired to leave the house; I flinch and become jarred when my students scream out during class because loud sounds scare me. And sometimes, even my huge arsenal of medications and various treatment team fails me. But, that’s the nature of this illness: I get manic or depressed, which leaves me hoping I will not have to go to the hospital. Bipolar is always a student in my classroom every semester; I always wonder how much he will join the discussion."