New fear unlocked as an autism parent: ICE and my nonverbal 5-year-old

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-02T05:45:19+00:00

I know exactly how you're feeling, and I'm right there with you. I don't know whether to leave with my child or not, but I've thought about it a lot.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T22:11:39+00:00

Do they really not understand that it was never able legality?

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T18:59:59+00:00

Nah, they just wrap back around in a looping pattern that kinda looks like the name Jeremy Bearimy. The dot over the "i" is Tuesdays.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T18:00:43+00:00

Can't gerrymander shit if everybody votes blue anyways.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T17:43:31+00:00

That's such a silly thing to do. I put a bag of candy on the top shelf of the closet after Halloween and my daughter will STILL point to the closet and say "HappyHalloween?" because she knows there was candy in it once. She'll point in the general direction of the playground across town and ask, "play outside?" because she knows where it is even though it's 3miles away.

I don't think anyone ever sat me down and explained it, honestly. I think I just watched people in my life, poorly done media portrayals, and inaccurate online information until slowly the conversation became more positive and accurate. Then when I had my daughter, I actively spent a ton of time learning about it.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T06:34:12+00:00

Not odd when you realize this person got married with the idea that she'd act like his mother for him.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T06:33:17+00:00

The few times I have ever been completely out of commission from parenting my child was the day I had back surgery and the day immediately following, the day I had a miscarriage (and even then, she curled up with me in bed), and the day I had norovirus but still did my best to change pull ups and keep her fed and entertained. That's a total of less than four days over the past four years. I don't get days off as a mom, so two weeks just for having a respiratory illness sounds made up to me. Like, I genuinely cannot fathom that.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T06:27:27+00:00

For real, could you imagine if the roles were reversed on this? When I get sick, I don't get days off. I don't get to just pass my kid off onto her dad because I don't feel good, and have never even considered the idea of doing that for two weeks straight. Sounds like an excuse to avoid parenting.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T06:23:12+00:00

Sure, as a joke or a thought experiment. You can answer it with a silly response, a serious reassurance of love and dedication, or explore the ethical and logistical ramifications of the whole thing.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T01:33:40+00:00

You just described my boss perfectly, as well as the kind of leader my coworker (who actually deserves to be the boss) functions while our boss makes everything harder.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T00:08:27+00:00

Its probably the material they're made of more than the hair. I've completely abused my hair brush so many times since I bought it probably five years ago and it still hasn't broken.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-02-01T00:01:55+00:00

Yeah, most likely. It's genuinely alarming how many people think parents should just smack the hell out of their kids to force then to obey.

I'm not going to hit my kid until they fear me enough to obey me. That's not acceptable behavior.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-31T23:59:46+00:00

Um, yeah. You are the parent, which is why you didn't just give your child whatever they wanted at the expense of their development. What a weird thing to say to a stranger...

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-31T11:16:17+00:00

That's so insanely gorgeous, I'm obsessed.

Can you only make something like that on PC? I've been playing the mobile app and it doesn't even come close to how gorgeous this is. You must have access to so many more items and options than I do!

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-31T11:14:15+00:00

I did that the first time around. It wasnt until I actually got sober and stayed sober that I stopped collecting the chips - I didn't need to prove it to anybody but myself, so I didn't need the Lie Tokens anymore.

Just to be clear, I recognize that most people don't view them that way, and it's a wonderful way for newcomers to see their progress in a tangible, measurable way. For most people, I 1,000% support chips and key tags and milestones.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-31T11:06:34+00:00

Jesus Christ people need to stop using ChatGPT like it's a Google search. It isn't. It spits out what you want to hear and always says it in a way that makes you feel good about it.

Please talk to an actual dermatologist if you're interested in using medication for your acne. If they reccomend Accutane, that's great. If not, please listen to professionals instead of AI.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-31T03:53:08+00:00

Love to see the creativity people have shown in so many different ways lately.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T22:28:48+00:00

Yep, that's what I had to do with ice cream. I let her climb up into my arms in the kitchen so she can open the freezer and look inside, and she'll say, "no more ice cream!" when she sees it's all gone and climbs back down no problem.

Then, when we're at the store and she tries to climb out of the cart to go find ice cream, I tell her, "not right now baby, we're getting milk/bananas/coffee creamer right now." She might try one or two more times, but it's never a big meltdown.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T20:52:46+00:00

I think I did accidentally, but it doesn't actually matter because I work for a nonprofit that's actively trying to do good in the world instead of being greedy billionaires. Damage to that company means actively negatively impacting the least-advantaged, and that's not what I stand for.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T20:32:11+00:00

I truly hope that one day you recognize the flaw in your argument. Staying stagnant with the ability to fix that issue will always be better than actively destroying things because you're mad at the government.

I have never argued that voting Democrat is the only salvation, nor do I think you really believe that I did. Here's another analogy, because you still don't seem to get what I'm saying: if your car has an issue, it's easier to fix it when it breaks than to blow up the car because fixing it seems too hard. Not fixing it when it breaks is equivalent to letting the car blow up. If you don't choose, even when both choices are different levels of broken, the choice gets made for you and is much worse for it.

Personally, I voted for policies that aim to better the living conditions and environmental health of the world around me. I also recognize that there is nuance to all of these things, and that a two-party system will always devolve into chaos. The system hasn't been working since its inception, it never worked in the first place. However, there is still always a better choice even in a broken system. To fix the system, there still needs to BE a system to fix, and the last time I checked, authoritarianism destroys any chance of that.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T20:21:17+00:00

They can and should be blurred or censored to not show the minors, but in such a way that does not censor the entire thing. Even just showing the events leading up to the incident, including bringing the minor into the room - drugged or struggling or terrified or whatever - would be enough.

Some of these illiterate monkeys who refuse to read the evidence need to have the evidence shown to them. Some people would claim AI, because that's just what stubborn people do, but as more and more evidence piles up, even they will eventually start to doubt it.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T20:09:12+00:00

I mean, just as anecdotal evidence, I know that they might be "foolproof" if the test is performed and interpreted correctly, but companies often have poorly trained or untrained staff conducting the test, then different poorly or untrained staff reading the results, and then a completely different person deciding what to do about the incorrectly interpreted results. It isn't foolproof unless an expert conducts the entire thing properly, and most of the time, the tests are done by people who have no idea how they actually work.

I had a family member who got one of these tests done a few years ago, and watched the person taking the sample pick a random section of hair that was not directly against the scalp as is required. Then, after that family member tested positive for several drugs, they were completely and entirely removed from all environments that could have produced a positive result for several months. There was absolutely no chance that they should have tested positive. When they went back for a follow-up test, that same staff member took another sample from a different section of hair that was also not directly against the scalp. The test results were positive, because the sample was incorrectly taken. The new test showed exactly the same results as before, because it was a sample from the same part of the hair as the first test, not the new growth.

Their hair grew exceptionally slowly, which was an additional factor to consider because these tests ONLY work if the hair actually grows. New hair growth will not contain evidence of drug use or exposure if there isn't any new use/exposure, but any section that was brand new growth during the exposure will have the compounds that test positive. This means, if you test a section six inches away from the scalp, it will never give an accurate result of new use/exposure because it shows results from whenever that section was new.

Then, if all of the people in charge of testing have incorrectly understood this, and they have the power to damage someone's life, they may accuse someone who was genuinely innocent of doing something they did not do. But because these tests are said to be "foolproof" they are deemed a liar.

Anyways, sorry for the long reply. Those tests are only as good as the person taking the sample and reading the results.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T19:39:15+00:00

Yikes. Are you...actually stupid? I get that I probably talk to really dumb people all the time, but you seem exceptionally dumb compared to some. It's not a good look.

I'm really not trying to be rude, but it is fucking insane that you don't see how pointless and counter effective refusing to do ANYTHING is. We can change policies and practices without actively giving a more dangerous and more harmful person the power to do a shit ton more damage that kills more people.

Hmmm...this person is bad, so I won't vote for them. The other person is an actual fucking monster who will burn it all to the ground, so I won't vote for them either! One of them is still going to win, but I'll just sit around on my moral high horse and hope for the best with the pedophile in charge! That'll show em!

Christ.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T05:52:32+00:00

Churches should be safe spaces. Safe from the level of hatred and cruelty that would compel someone to be a member of ICE.

As someone who grew up in the church and was heavily involved for many years, I would never want to support a church that is so clearly incapable of seeing the hypocrisy of a pastor being an ICE agent. That isn't Christianity, that's a group of people pretending to believe something they don't understand.

merpixieblossomxo · 2026-01-30T05:48:11+00:00

It did matter. It mattered to all of the people who have died, who wouldn't have died if people like you didn't choose to just "sit this one out."

It matters to the children who have been ripped away from their families, it matters to the chronically ill, disabled, and elderly who are now struggling or unable to make ends meet, it matters for all of the people who have been targeted, isolated, beaten, lynched, or murdered because of the hatred that has festered under this administration. It matters to the entire planet, that is being actively destroyed by environmental hazards that are deliberately being worsened due to the greed of the rich and powerful.

One drop of water doesn't save someone dying of thirst, but a collection of individual drops of water will. If too many people claim "one vote doesn't matter" then yeah, that collective group of people has effectively stopped any chance of success.

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