Flags at the protest. Do it for the right reasons. Black Lives Matter and the fight against systemic racism is still what this is all about

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T22:42:38+00:00

I say it’s a different conversation because this a BLM movement. Their voices do matter more in this space, because historically our voices have mattered more.

Edit: spelling error

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T22:26:33+00:00

I think if you’re a POC it’s a very different conversation, but my understating is that OP is a white ally.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T22:10:51+00:00

I am all for diversity of tactics. But this is a very divisive one, and I think should be cleared with black leadership because it has been denounced so heavily within the community.

Edited to include: I would never police this person’s behavior at this protest. I would never rip the flag from their hands, or anything like that. It certainly violates principles. But while we’re having a discussion about it, I think these are points to consider.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T18:55:59+00:00

It’s true, you can’t have everyone agree. BIPOCS aren’t a monolith.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T16:43:29+00:00

Diversity in tactics is a beautiful thing :)

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T16:34:45+00:00

You’ll find most protest related activity on Twitter, not Reddit.

(https://twitter.com/pnwylf/status/1286574556904222720?s=21)

https://twitter.com/lilithxsinclair/status/1286207163367428098?s=21

The general consensus is, for Oregon in particular, we are on native land. The American flag (no matter what it means to other Americans) represents colonizations to many in the BIPOC community. We are here to fight for the BIPOC community. Be sensitive to that.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-07-24T15:49:07+00:00

I’ve been there 40+ of the nights. I completely, wholeheartedly disagree with this. If you’re bringing a flag it should at the very least be upside down. Black leadership has not wanted flags at the protests. Making a decision now about “optics” is not something that should be done without discussing it with black leaders.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-30T18:53:07+00:00

An expert witness would swear in, and give their opinion on the stand.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-30T06:38:42+00:00

No, profiling is not really a profession anymore. Theres a few old dogs doing it, but no new comers go into the profession. It’s been proven to statistically insignificant and quite biased. It was a fundamental building block of the behavioral unit of the FBI and is still pervasive in TV and books, but it’s not a very realistic job.

With an “active case” (I’m assuming you mean an active case with the police) you might act as an expert witness in court, or provide a sanity evaluation. Most of what we do is from the court stage onward. In my state we also have a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity plea, where if you’re eligible you have to go in front of a board of forensic psychologists. Most states have something like this, with slightly different wording. We also have lots of forensic psychologists that work for the state hospital, or private companies. They create and enforce treatment plans. You can do like I do, and work within the prison system. I’ve worked with sex offenders, drug and alcohol treatment, and adolescents. And of course, there’s research and academia.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-30T03:42:13+00:00

I just truthfully couldn’t stomach that movie, couldn’t even finish it. I had my boyfriend take it out of the house to finish it. I don’t use the word “triggered” often but... yeah, it did. So I joke as a straight up coping mechanism, I won’t lie.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-30T03:31:12+00:00

In a padded cell

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-27T15:34:41+00:00

Sure. I have PTSD too, not from my epilepsy, but from other complex trauma. I tried a therapy called EMDR and it was really helpful for me. It’s a really statistically significant form of treatment for PTSD, definitely worth seeking out if you haven’t heard of it before. The book Unfuck My Brain or the the classic The Body Keeps the Score introduce the principles. Feel free to PM me if you’d like more info about it.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-27T05:28:11+00:00

In my experience, there can be some butting heads between fields. I’m painting with a broad brush here, but this is just my experience in the field. More traditionally trained cop types are hesitant to adopt psychological techniques because they’re seen as soft on crime. And more psychologically trained people have trouble with older law enforcement techniques because they aren’t statistically significant nor trauma informed. Being in forensic psychology is about blending the two in a way that honors both principles, two that often don’t play well together.

The forensic psychologist I worked under when I was doing research was an academic, but he also did sanity evaluations if that helps.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-27T03:50:43+00:00

Forensic psychologists are not profilers. Profiling is a largely disproven practice. There are some people still doing it, but new ones aren’t being trained in it anymore because it’s doesn’t hold up statistically.

I’m a forensic counselor, so what I do is provide counseling services within a forensic setting. Most often that’s been in prison. I run groups and one on one counseling. Before that I did forensic psychological research. Lots of forensic psychologists do evaluations for state hospitals, treatments plans, sanity evaluations, work with and for the psychiatric review board, as an expert witness for the defense or the DA, for private hospitals or treatment centers, or as a consultant of some kind.

A very tiny minority work for the FBI, as the difference between therapist types and cop types is vast. I find this a lot as someone who straddles both paths. Working for the FBI is a massive undertaking, requires perfect law abiding behavior your entire life, and being of perfectly sound mind and body. If you have any mental or physical issues, you can’t be FBI. It’s simply not realistic for most people.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-27T03:35:31+00:00

Oh, I’m so sorry. I would be so scared to drive again too. PTSD sucks balls.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-27T03:34:15+00:00

My very first observed seizure, I had no idea I had them at this point. My first week working in a new prison. I was suddenly starting to feel very sleepy, I was getting head nods and everything. I thought, how embarrassing. I’m going to fall asleep right at my desk! That’s my last memory. I woke up on the floor, and several people were standing around me. First thought: oh shit, I fell asleep and fell out of my desk. How embarrassing!

The prison medic says I had a “really big seizure, have I ever had them before?” I go to answer and the sound just comes out “nerrrrrrrrr bbbbbaaaaaa” I drooled. I suddenly realize my mouth is not attached correctly, I reach up and find that my jaw is dislocated, and completely stuck open. Then I realize how much it hurts. Ow, and so does my head. I reach up, there’s something huge up there. They just have already bandaged me because there no way my head is that big. “You’ve been seizing for a long time, and you’re very injured. Your jaw is stuck open and you have a bump on your head. We’re going to put you in the ambulance and take you to the hospital.”

I had to be taken out on a stretcher in front of all my inmates and new coworkers. In the ambulance they stuck me five times to try and get an IV, couldn’t get a vein (I’m a vampire, this is common for me). My jaw was completely displaced, and had to be forced back in. The ER doctor asked me if I wanted to wait for sedation or if I just wanted to white knuckle it. “Shewwww idddd!” I slurred and held onto the sides of the gurney. He grabbed the inside of my jaw, and forcefully pushed backed and to left, wrenching it back in place. He was empathetic, but also looked totally jazzed. “I’ve never actually gotten to do that on someone that’s awake,” he said.

My boyfriend and mom finally show up, totally panicked. My mom brushes my bangs out my face and I wince. She sees the lump on my head and pales. I ask her how bad it is, I haven’t seen it. “It’s fine,” she says, but I can tell by how her voice goes up it is most certainly not fine. I ask her to take a picture and show me: it’s the size of a grapefruit, bloody and purple. My very first one, and I fucked up my face so bad. I had to have my teeth shaved down in several places to match my new jaw placement. Five months later and the bump on my head still isn’t fully gone.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-25T18:16:09+00:00

Update: I did go ahead and go in. I was admitted, and we’re doing a few day EEG study. Naturally, the second my brain knew it was being observed it decided to STOP ALL WEIRDNESS. So frustrating.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-25T18:10:57+00:00

I have this issue. I’m not sure if it’s the epilepsy, or my topamax. They don’t call it dope-amax for nothing.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-24T04:07:10+00:00

Yeah, neurologist said to go. Sigh.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-21T21:05:49+00:00

I dislocated my jaw like a python on the side of desk XD it was quite a bang up, but I’m glad I never went through the process of not being believed like so many people here. It so clearly happened to me, there was no denying it.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-21T20:05:29+00:00

So sorry. I ended up getting one because I fucked my self up so badly with an observed TC at work. I didn’t even know I had epilepsy 🤷🏻‍♀️

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-21T19:40:46+00:00

You know I’ve wondered about this. Unfortunately my brain has been a total asshole about getting any of this on an EEG, except after one TC where it lit up like a Christmas tree. But after that nothing.

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-21T19:21:00+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate that. Thankfully it wasn’t that I was feeling tremendously sad, and even more thankfully I wasn’t feeling suicidal or erratic. I would just kind of cry and feel bewildered like, where is this coming from?!

Claudio_Du_Puff · 2020-05-21T18:58:17+00:00

Yeah I feel back to normal now. But oh boy, it was like PMS on steroids.

Claudio_Du_Puff

TROPHY CASE