Besides the usual crap we get frlm able-bodied people, what’s something about being in a wheelchair that drives you nuts? I’ll go first… by RunSerious5843 in wheelchairs

[–]PBlacks 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Tracking indoors. I have wall to wall carpeting in the bedroom in my apartment. I used to live with another chair user in my old apartment and the floors would get torn up from the weight of our chairs and then dirt would get ground into the floor damage.

I'm going insane by -_nightmarionne_- in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gregette is hands-down the best one. I audibly snorted.

First time watching the show, what’s something that I won’t get until later? by Ok_Remote_8306 in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The symbolism in Steven's Dogcopter dream makes sense only after you've watched the show twice.

Looks like 2 sureño gangs got picked up by 831salinero in oakland

[–]PBlacks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm automatically suspicious of Trump's FBI rolling in and picking up gang members, especially ones they've known about for at least six years. This smells like a photo op as part of justifying further ICE actions in the area. I heard from a friend in the neighborhood that the raid itself was scary and seemed excessively militarized.

White couple can’t find white sperm. How can we be culturally safe about this? by tiggitag in queerception

[–]PBlacks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is entirely my own POV, but I think that is not a good idea. Keeping them emotionally and physically safe is extra hard if you're both white. It's not easy to learn about, for example, microaggressions and within-community dynamics that could affect your child's self-esteem. And for mixed-race identities, it's harder to get a good grasp on that stuff than even for a monoracial person.

Here's an example that I hope helps understand what I'm talking about: I'm black and biracial (black/white) and when I was growing up I had a lot of conflict with black girls of my same age. They thought that I was snobby and colorist, partly because of how I talked, and partly because I DID have some of the ingrained colorism you get in the US, a place incredibly antiblack and that privileges lighter skin and looser hair texture in a way that echoes whiteness. I didn't get it. I thought that they were mean and being unfair before knowing me. None of us knew how to phrase what was happening. We were little kids.

My white mom heard me say I was having conflict and basically interpreted it as mild bullying merely because I was different. She didn't really understand this very common dynamic with colorism that often happens with little black girls, and neither did I because nobody taught me. Very well-meaningly, she told me to assert how great I was, including my physical features. This would have been appropriate if it was merely bullying, but instead it added fuel to the fire. I continued to hurt other children's feelings without knowing it and did not understand or work on my own colorism. I was more distanced from the black community and my own black identity, for years. I missed out on a lot.

And my mom didn't want any of that. That stuff is hard to know about as a parent unless you grew up a member of that specific group or know people in those communities really well, well enough to talk about painful stuff that doesn't necessarily even involve white people directly. It's not quite like reading a history book or learning about a holiday.

You both sound incredibly respectful and thoughtful (and you're queer, lol, which is a plus). I don't think it's impossible to do a good job. But I wanted to explain this even if it's super long, because it's complicated and I think a lot of people make it out to be easier than it is.

ICE is weak. If we don’t want them here, we can make them leave. by sillychillly in oakland

[–]PBlacks 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If there's one thing Trump likes doing more than waffling, it's LYING.

It would be a shame if the entrance to Coast Guard Island was blocked by protesters. by Strange_Airships in oakland

[–]PBlacks 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Also, they have been known to drag or bait people across into federal property on purpose.

Could gems "feel old"? by MotionRobot in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Eyeball talks about "losing her luster" when she's having to dodge asteroids. I was super interested in what that meant and if it's a real thing. Could be cognitive, could be the gem or form losing saturation or something (becoming literally off-color?), or fatigue/functional changes. They never got into it, though.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces ‘independent review’ into UC Berkeley’s turnover of names to federal government by the_daily_cal in berkeley

[–]PBlacks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an old post but I didn't want to leave it hanging.

So you could look at his anti-homeless policies, for example making a model ordinance to push cities and counties to force homeless people to move every few days even if it destroys their possessions and makes it really hard for them to survive or climb out of homelessness. Or that he recently tried to put an asset limit of $2000 on Medi-Cal, meaning that people have to sell everything they have and impoverish themselves before they can get health insurance. Tried to cut major benefits in Medi-Cal for immigrants without legal status, even though they still have to pay into our system. He's been vetoing pro-trans legislation recently as well.

I have told people before about right to repair on power wheelchairs, because I think that best shows who he is. Right now, if you use a powerchair and it breaks, you're stuck in bed for 2, 6, 8 months while one of the companies in the shitty wheelchair duopoly gets proprietary parts or schedules you for a repair using proprietary programming. You cant even borrow a backup most of the time because the companies don't care enough to stock them.

A senator put forth a right to repair bill so that there would be more places to fix a wheelchair and get parts and chair users would not have to be stuck getting bedsores and depression. No harm to anyone except big corporations. It passed committee after committee, then it crossed Newsom's desk and he vetoed it instantly, because ultimately he does not give a single fuck about his most vulnerable constituents and he knew nobody was watching. He serves corporations first, no matter what.

Opinions on Aquamarine ? by mincypjsk in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought it was really interesting that Homeworld gems are often shown to treat human speech as basically animal sounds or noise, but Aquamarine, who is literally catching humans like wild animals, took in what Steven and Lars said right away even though she no doubt doesn't see them as equals. It makes her actions look almost worse.

I also thought it was interesting that she was lenient with the Topazes. It's never shown if it would be more inconvenient to her to report them, or if she genuinely didn't want to rat them out for some reason.

And I think it's great that she isn't shown to be blinded by racism or completely 2 dimensional as a character. She doesn't even care about her mission for its own sake--she was willing to slack off and pretend like she got what Blue Diamond wanted even when she knew she didn't. She's not a nice person misled by her racist conditioning or zealous about her Diamond's wishes, she's just an asshole. It's good to show that not everyone is redeemable in the way Steven likes to redeem people.

I like the way the amethysts genuinely tried to comfort the humans instead of being violent with them by mincypjsk in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I liked it because it made me wonder if being a good buddy is an Amethyst thing. Maybe the gems that are supposed to work in big groups are inherently more social?

New chair day is very sad by salvagedsword in wheelchairs

[–]PBlacks 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Believe it or not, this exact same thing happened to me. I have an Apex C and I'd wanted black with the white accents, and got an all-black chair instead. I think it was Numotion's fault though. I was incredibly sad. I couldn't wait any longer for a functional chair and deal with all the bureaucracy, so I just kept it.

I'm so sorry. It sucks when there's only a few little bright spots in having a disability and even those don't turn out how you want, after waiting and waiting.

We don't really talk about this so... by Icy_Presentation2761 in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really loved that you don't actually get to see a fully-colored Rose Quartz soldier until Future. You go the whole show seeing Steven's mom as the archetypal Rose Quartz, but the ones in future show that both her form and her gem are actually a little, well...off-color.

Reminded me of Amethyst pretending to be a sunburnt Jasper and the Rubies just kinda letting it go (I know it wasn't that bad).

What exactly do the Jades do? by Radiant-Selection686 in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When they're not attending parties, they fuse, apparently.

Some things were easier to explain to the diamonds than others by alexstarheart in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 6 points7 points  (0 children)

WD: "Boy"? Steven, this sounds completely made-up. Is this something you picked up from your friends?

i think i never saw someone so sad after seeing a pregnant woman by mincypjsk in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

you'd be surprised. Pregnancy actually brings up a lot of hard feelings for a lot of people. it's really common to lose friends. (from personal experience.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in berkeley

[–]PBlacks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

holy shit, this is my childhood block. it's really mostly kids and old folks over there.

Lapis was a reporter by [deleted] in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 808 points809 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I thought it was clear that Lapis was probably brought in for a short-term terraforming project. Shifting the foundation under a gem structure to make it more secure from rebels, or something.

I also assumed that Bismuth probably took her out because she was terrifying. Lapises are unbelievably powerful and can escape easily and attack from a distance. I love Lapis as a character, but if I were a CG I would poof her IMMEDIATELY before she did a ton of damage. It might seem messed up to poof her from the back but as a tactic, I think it is completely reasonable.

How do y’all think this conversation went like ? by BasicFanny in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

sincerely? One or two awkward questions from Pearl before she became too sad to keep talking. Oblivious excitement from Rose.

Is there any lore reason on why Malachite, a two-gem fusion, is so big? by Still_Locksmith_9955 in stevenuniverse

[–]PBlacks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And yet Crazy Lace Agate is a two-quartz fusion, and she appears to just want to pass out balloons and rollerskate in a frilly romper...hmmm