Racheal, the middle child, misogynist, anti-intellectual, and incredibly racist

[JMarie]

She calls her blog "Adventures of a Middle Kid"?  She's playing fast and loose with the word adventure. 

She doesn't have too many commenters, which probably means she doesn't have too many readers.  Her vitriol can't spread far, which is good since she's afflicted with Lyme disease, meningitis, Dengue fever, and some kind of fungus (there's probably a few more illnesses, but I could only take so much of her writing), and should probably be resting.

[neurogirl]

I spent my early childhood in Charlottesville, VA, just minutes from Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home). I only went through 1st grade there, but already public school taught about slavery and that is was WRONG. It was an undeniable fact to little Southern children (idk if VA is southern enough but I say yes). Racheal is clueless if she thinks she is in the right.

In response to the GWTW discussion, I highly recommend The First Daughter, a novel that came out recently about Jefferson's daughter and her life of domestic and public service. Though the story is told from her white, well-to-do perspective, the authors do a great job of leading the reader to consider the horrors of slavery (even on a "gentleman's farm"), and Sally Hemmings' impossible choices (the slave mistress of Jefferson). It also gets at so many FJ themes - a woman's place before and after marriage, and having endless children even when the body is starting to give up. It's a fantastic read!

[FeministShrew]

3 hours ago, dairyfreelife said:

Rather sure Chronic Lyme Disease is a quack illness fad. Lyme Disease is real and caused by the bite of a certain type of tick. It is treatable and not a chronic illness. 

I agree. My oldest missed their second week of high school because of it. They went on a hike, found the tick that night, & I pulled it off. We were both terrified because of all the hype. I called the doctor the next day, and she told me what to watch for. Sure enough, Young Shrew got Lyme Disease, but it was treated with a round of anitbiotics and lots of rest. No lasting effects or chronic illness.
That was nearly 10 years ago, but I seem to remember the symptoms being sort of like Mono (which the youngling also had). 

[JMarie]

Can we discuss the bridesmaid's dresses she made for her sister's wedding?  White with hot pink butterflies all over the fabric?

[catlady]

the bridesmaid dresses weren't terrible -- v-necks!  wtf!  i've seen worse and better.  but i wonder if they got a discount on the fabric; it seems dated, as though it was sitting in the store for ages.  and a bit out-of-place for such conservatives.

[Carm_88]

4 hours ago, neurogirl said:

 In response to the GWTW discussion, I highly recommend The First Daughter, a novel that came out recently about Jefferson's daughter and her life of domestic and public service. Though the story is told from her white, well-to-do perspective, the authors do a great job of leading the reader to consider the horrors of slavery (even on a "gentleman's farm"), and Sally Hemmings' impossible choices (the slave mistress of Jefferson). It also gets at so many FJ themes - a woman's place before and after marriage, and having endless children even when the body is starting to give up. It's a fantastic read!

I read it not long ago! It was fantastic. Definitely not something that Racheal would read but good for the average bear!  

[Anonymousguest]

4 hours ago, FeministShrew said:

I agree. My oldest missed their second week of high school because of it. They went on a hike, found the tick that night, & I pulled it off. We were both terrified because of all the hype. I called the doctor the next day, and she told me what to watch for. Sure enough, Young Shrew got Lyme Disease, but it was treated with a round of anitbiotics and lots of rest. No lasting effects or chronic illness.
That was nearly 10 years ago, but I seem to remember the symptoms being sort of like Mono (which the youngling also had). 

My MIL had a similar experience with Lymes, and she's immunocompromised because of a blood disorder. I'd heard so many awful things I thought she was doomed. But she took antibiotics and was fine. 

I think that there must be*something* that causes a previously healthy person to have a sudden decline and severe symptoms. I've seen it a couple times. One family had a big strapping son who had played foot ball in high school, planned to play in college, but got sick his freshman year. At first they thought it was related to one too many concussions, but his health continued to decline and he dropped out of school and eventually couldn't even get out of bed. He went some where"back eat" to be dx'd with Lyme s. And then a few years later a second son went through the same thing. He even went to the Mayo clinic where they confirmed the dx. They are both almost nonfunctional. 

Is there a way to get it besides a tick bite? It just seems so unlikely that multiple people in a household would get bitten and have it missed for so long.it seems more like an auto immune disorder.

 

[Shoobydoo]

I always thought Lyme disease was more of a chronic thing? You get it once, and then have periodic flare ups for the rest of your life? Not unlike Malaria. I could swear I have an aunt in AR who has Lyme disease. Of course, she has just about everything else, too, so who knows... 

 

[GeoBQn]

I have a friend that got Lyme disease from a tick bite.  She went a long time before getting a diagnosis.

Do you know why, Racheal?

Because she is a darker-skinned African-American.  Seriously.  She went to several doctors, and none of them recognized the usually tell-tale rash because almost all the photographs of it in medical literature are on white skin.  Finally, one of ou nature-loving friends recognized it and she was able to get treated.  This is a textbook example of how insidious white privilege can be.

[JMarie]

2 hours ago, catlady said:

the bridesmaid dresses weren't terrible -- v-necks!  wtf!  i've seen worse and better.  but i wonder if they got a discount on the fabric; it seems dated, as though it was sitting in the store for ages.  and a bit out-of-place for such conservatives.

The only people who would voluntarily wear something sporting a pink butterfly infestation are twelve year old girls and Sue Heck from The Middle.

[FeministShrew]

@Anonymousguest, all I know is that there's a huge debate about it. Our doctor at the time said it's over-diagnosed and misunderstood. I honestly haven't done enough research  to have a valid opinion, outside of my kid's experience, so (unlike Racheal, lol) I can't say who's right or wrong. 
I do think that chronic illness or pain can cause people to grasp at straws, and doctors to give a diagnosis just to shut someone up, especially if it's a female patient. Not often, but it happens. 

[Anonymousguest]

1 hour ago, FeministShrew said:

@Anonymousguest, all I know is that there's a huge debate about it. Our doctor at the time said it's over-diagnosed and misunderstood. I honestly haven't done enough research  to have a valid opinion, outside of my kid's experience, so (unlike Racheal, lol) I can't say who's right or wrong. 
I do think that chronic illness or pain can cause people to grasp at straws, and doctors to give a diagnosis just to shut someone up, especially if it's a female patient. Not often, but it happens. 

I looked a bit online and it does look like the only way to contract it is through a tick bite. It just is so very unlikely that an entire family would be infected. 

[Mercer]

Tick bites are the only known way to contract Lyme Disease. It's not impossible that a whole family could somehow become infected, especially if they spend a lot of time outdoors without proper tick protection or they don't use tick prevention on their animals... but it's a hell of a coincidence, because they would each have to have been infected directly by a diseased tick, not by each other.

The part that exceeds credibility for me is that they all continued to have symptoms and did not respond to antibiotics. That happens, but it's the exception, not the standard disease progression. I have trouble believing that in a whole family, no one got better with treatment. 

It makes me wonder if they just self-diagnosed and stuck with it rather than actually seeing a doctor. It just doesn't seem like it would be possible that they all remained permanently ill after they all coincidentally contracted the same treatable tick-borne disease.

[ladyamylynn]

Lyme disease is the fad diagnosis du jour among the past-the-sell-by-date fundie maidens, it would seem. I would just love to have an actual real doctor test them for depression. Armchair diagnosis of course, but it seem rampant in fundie women.

13 hours ago, frugaldreams said:

As a life long Oregonian, it's not really shocking. We had the largest Klan membership west of the Mississippi during the 1920s. We didn't join the Union as a slave state but we also made of point of making it illegal for black folks to live here in our state constitution. We just got around to fixing that in the 1990s. We were at the forefront of that whole pesky eugenics movement Hitler co-opted and ran with.

I generally tell newbies that Portland and Eugene are liberal...ish. But if they are LGBT or POC be careful outside the bubbles. It's a whole different state east of the Cascades.

Yep. Shocking in a general sense, but not if you know the history. I grew up in a small town in the coast range timber country- the high school mascot was "the Dragons."

[Peas n carrots]

I couldn't take reading too much of Rachael's blog. It is disgusting.

I just don't understand the fawning over the "lost cause," especially with her since she wasn't even raised in the south.

I too have southern ancestry and a whole cadre of Confederates as well. They were dirt farmers so no slave owners. What I do know of them is they had a very rough life experience, far from sipping sweet tea on the front porch. Actually, that is the narrative of many of the regular soldiers in the Confederate armed forces.

Point is girlfriend lives in fantasy land, as her own life's prospects are looking pretty bleak. It's her form of escapism and an acceptable one in her culture. I think of what I have going on in my life and at times it can be a lot, but I have things to look forward too and reasons to get out of bed every morning. Confederate cosplay is all she has.

[Lurky]

@dairyfreelife Actually hypothyroidism is NOT uncommon - if anything, it's undiagnosed in too many people (my source:  my endocrinology consultant at a major UK hospital)., and not at all on a par with toxic mold issues.    Of course people should be got to doctors if they suspect they have it, and I am never on side for people self-diagnosing but not actually doing anything about it, but it's a very, very real issue.

Here's some reading about it from the British Thyroid Association (a legitimate group with major doctors on the Board) including the diagnostic criteria:

http://www.btf-thyroid.org/information/quick-guides/102-hypothyroidism

 

[GeoBQn]

Back to her being from Florida.  My in-laws were born and raised in Miami, and Jim Crow laws were still in effect during their childhood.  My MIL has a very vivid memory of an incident when she was 6-years-old and she accidentally walked into the "colored" bathroom at a department store.  The condition of the bathroom was ghastly, and my MIL immediately felt so upset at the thought of anyone having to use it that she ran out crying.  She was a white child, growing up in a time and place where racism was enshrined in law, and she STILL recognized that it was wrong.  What the hell is Racheal's excuse?

[Carm_88]

2 hours ago, GeoBQn said:

 What the hell is Racheal's excuse?

The bible, what more of an excuse does she need? 

[Snarfblatt]

I can speak a little to the whys of why she clings onto her Southern heritage even though she wasn't raised in the South. I am not a military brat but I did grow up overseas. Keep in mind that these are massive generalizations and so do not hold true for everyone. I have observed though among military brats that sometimes they really cling to their Americanness and the heritage of whatever part of the country they are from. So in that respect Racheal fits that. Your nationality and heritage can become more important to you because you didn't grow up with it. 

Again though this is a small subset of military/ expat kids. Definitely not all or even most of them. She fascinates me because I also have southern heritage but it has not ever been glorified in my family. Of course my Mom is not from the south and probably would not have stood for that kind of rewriting of history and both my parents are liberals. Which means my experiences were very different. 

[dairyfreelife]

6 hours ago, Lurky said:

@dairyfreelife Actually hypothyroidism is NOT uncommon - if anything, it's undiagnosed in too many people (my source:  my endocrinology consultant at a major UK hospital)., and not at all on a par with toxic mold issues.    Of course people should be got to doctors if they suspect they have it, and I am never on side for people self-diagnosing but not actually doing anything about it, but it's a very, very real issue.

Here's some reading about it from the British Thyroid Association (a legitimate group with major doctors on the Board) including the diagnostic criteria:

http://www.btf-thyroid.org/information/quick-guides/102-hypothyroidism

 

Oh, don't disagree. My problem is all the people claiming to have these issues that don't. All I listed are real conditions, but people like to use them too much or use it wrongly. Lyme Disease is real and can be serious, but it's not some crazy chronic epidemic happening either. People use fake doctors and bs treatments to "cure" the supposed illness that they don't actually have and don't have a real diagnosis. It's like OCD, people like to be like "I have OCD" or "it's my OCD". OCD is a real mental health condition and it's actually under diagnosed in reality. Most people who claim to have it probably don't and those that do are often not diagnosed, especially because mental health often still carries a stigma. Armchair health diagnosis doesn't prove anyone has anything. Real tests, real doctors, real diagnosis. I advise anyone who thinks they have any sort of condition to note any and all symptoms, even if they don't seem related or insignificant, and talk to a real doctor. If that doctor seems dismissive, seek a second or even third opinion, but from other actual doctors, not pseudo-science. 

[EowynW]

7 hours ago, Lurky said:

@dairyfreelife Actually hypothyroidism is NOT uncommon - if anything, it's undiagnosed in too many people (my source:  my endocrinology consultant at a major UK hospital)., and not at all on a par with toxic mold issues.    Of course people should be got to doctors if they suspect they have it, and I am never on side for people self-diagnosing but not actually doing anything about it, but it's a very, very real issue.

Here's some reading about it from the British Thyroid Association (a legitimate group with major doctors on the Board) including the diagnostic criteria:

http://www.btf-thyroid.org/information/quick-guides/102-hypothyroidism

 

There are so many people walking around with thyroid trouble that doesn't show up on a regular test. My bloodwork looked fine but I kept insisting for a free T3 and boom there it was. They thought I was silly. My current more holistic minded dr says many drs still brush off thyroid problems when women complain and if the bloodwork looks "ok" they will ignore their complaints instead of digging deeper. My current dr saved my life mentally. She found my thyroid issue and my adrenal fatigue. She found it and then told me I wasn't crazy or mental. And it wasn't my fault. 

[Rachel333]

I have hypothryroidism. It was caught in blood tests that were done when I was hospitalized a few years ago, and it came as a big surprise to me. Looking back, I did have a lot of symptoms but I never even considered it, largely because I thought it made you overweight and I've always been thin. It turns out that's kind of a myth, though, and it accounts for only a few extra pounds due mainly to water retention.

The biggest change I notice now that I'm medicated is that I'm no longer cold all the time. I thought I was just a huge wimp with the cold, but it turns out my wimpiness had a medical cause!

[Lurky]

Just now, EowynW said:

My current more holistic minded dr says many drs still brush off thyroid problems when women complain and if the bloodwork looks "ok" they will ignore their complaints instead of digging deeper.

Yeah, I used to go to a support group recommended by my endocrinologist, and it was full of stories that went "the doctor brushed me off because I was stressed/pregnant/post-partum/menopausal" - or in my case, because I was at uni and so would be unused to looking after myself (never mind that I grew up with divorced parents so in 2 households, and had been cooking for myself since turning veggie at 13/doing housework/had had a year off travelling and working) - or in my dad's case, because he was a man, and men don't get thyroid issues (untrue!).

I'm sensitive about it, because there's a common idea that underactive thyroid is on a par with self-diagnosed things, and there's this refrain that says "people say they're fat cos of thyroid issues, but really they're lazy" that winds me up so much.  But no.  Per NHS Choices (the UK government's public health website), in the UK, underactive thyroid affects 15 in every 1,000 women and 1 in 1,000 men, as well as around 1 in 3,500-4,000 babies are born with congenital hypothyroidism.

[EowynW]

2 minutes ago, Lurky said:

Yeah, I used to go to a support group recommended by my endocrinologist, and it was full of stories that went "the doctor brushed me off because I was stressed/pregnant/post-partum/menopausal" - or in my case, because I was at uni and so would be unused to looking after myself (never mind that I grew up with divorced parents so in 2 households, and had been cooking for myself since turning veggie at 13/doing housework/had had a year off travelling and working) - or in my dad's case, because he was a man, and men don't get thyroid issues (untrue!).

I'm sensitive about it, because there's a common idea that underactive thyroid is on a par with self-diagnosed things, and there's this refrain that says "people say they're fat cos of thyroid issues, but really they're lazy" that winds me up so much.  But no.  Per NHS Choices (the UK government's public health website), in the UK, underactive thyroid affects 15 in every 1,000 women and 1 in 1,000 men, as well as around 1 in 3,500-4,000 babies are born with congenital hypothyroidism.

YES!!!!! 

 

I am also a professional dog trainer and thyroid issues are on the rise with dogs and cats. It affects behavior in many ways and is so often overlooked. 

Adrenal issues go hand in hand with thyroid and it's even worse trying to get many traditional drs to pay attention to adrenal exhaustion and fatigue. I cried like a baby when my holistic dr confirmed what I had suspected for a long time 

[Rachel333]

1 hour ago, dairyfreelife said:

Oh, don't disagree. My problem is all the people claiming to have these issues that don't. All I listed are real conditions, but people like to use them too much or use it wrongly. Lyme Disease is real and can be serious, but it's not some crazy chronic epidemic happening either. People use fake doctors and bs treatments to "cure" the supposed illness that they don't actually have and don't have a real diagnosis. It's like OCD, people like to be like "I have OCD" or "it's my OCD". OCD is a real mental health condition and it's actually under diagnosed in reality. Most people who claim to have it probably don't and those that do are often not diagnosed, especially because mental health often still carries a stigma. Armchair health diagnosis doesn't prove anyone has anything. Real tests, real doctors, real diagnosis. I advise anyone who thinks they have any sort of condition to note any and all symptoms, even if they don't seem related or insignificant, and talk to a real doctor. If that doctor seems dismissive, seek a second or even third opinion, but from other actual doctors, not pseudo-science. 

These examples are funny to me since I have a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and of OCD. It is frustrating when people claim to have OCD just because they like to be organized, when they don't realize what it's like to actually have OCD.

Regarding Lyme Disease, I've noticed too that chronic Lyme disease seems to be popular right now with people who like to self-diagnose. It seems to be in the same category as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptom. There's no actual test for those things so they're easy to claim that you have.

Wikipedia gives an overview of the chronic Lyme controversy. Apparently some people in patient advocacy groups have stalked, harassed, and sent death threats to researchers who disagree with the diagnosis. 

A lot of doctors think that many people with those conditions are suffering from somaticized depression. Depression manifesting that way would make a lot of sense for fundies, as admitting to depression would be like admitting failure (I've heard a lot that it's even a sin to be depressed), but physical symptoms are seen as more legitimate.