The Rant/Complaint Thread >:C

[Earthshine]

Indeed. You can never tell by appearance, because as I said; autism and aspergers effect individuals in different ways - it's a spectrum. Some people can be severely afflicted and need special help all their lives, others they sometimes only need a little help. And then there are some that are considered 'high-functioning' in that they are not afflicted so much in a negative way that affects their abilities to sustain themselves and interact with others.

There's a really good manga series titled With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe. It's incredibly accurate and about a mother as she struggles in Japan with raising her autistic child. It covers the spectrum, social pressures, the struggles of the education system and strife with family life. But most of all she covers how amazing and wonderful people are regardless of their disabilities and the inner strength all have.

[tailz]

I'm not making fun of people with autism, and I don't think I ever was.

Anyways, @Earthshine, Is there any website online where I can read this manga? It sounds pretty interesting.

[Earthshine]

No one accused you of making fun of anyone, Tailz. We were discussing the topic of autism at hand.

As for reading the manga online I really don't know, if it's not on Mangafox or Mangatraders(?) then probably not legally. I really don't think it IS online legally as it has been published by Yen Press in the United States for a few years now. It would be better to just buy the series or check and see if your local library has some copies (or suggest it to them, it's educational and most libraries now do carry manga and comics). My library allows you to request items or suggest items for them to buy and they will if they see an interest in the series and feel that it will be read. Many libraries allow this now. Just ask.

[Windswept Cloak]

Yeah, I didn't accuse you of anything XD

Just talking about some other ppl I know in real life.

[tailz]

No one accused you of making fun of anyone, Tailz. We were discussing the topic of autism at hand.

Whoops! Must've made a mistake there! I'm sorry. *Bows*

Anyways, that's alright,I'll try and see if my local library has them. Thanks.

[Windswept Cloak]

I'm pretty sure the Chinese version of manga is in my school library somewhere near the Tezuka section. I'll see if I can check it out when school starts.

[Earthshine]

This is a complaint with some mild adult themes in it, but I will be very VERY clean about my word choice.

So there's a particular gentleman's magazine that has been in business for a long time and is very iconic with that is associated with rabbits. My mother is harassing me to audition for it to be a model.

What the heck, mother?! Why on this earth are you trying to convince me to be a model for a magazine (not the worst out there) and get into an industry where my reputation and integrity will crumble beyond repair? I have a mind, I want to use it, not my body, not my face and not my shapes. Why, mother are you doing this? Why not encourage me to be an astronomer, or a sociologist or a physicist or even a nurse? Why are you encouraging me to model and not the things I really love.

You told me when I was 11 that I could never be an astronaut because I was a girl and was 'too old' and 'too dumb' in math to ever make the cut. So I put the idea out of my mind and decided to be an artist. I told you I wanted to draw Batman when I was 13 - but you said I 'lacked real talent' and 'was a girl and girls don't draw Batman comics' so I put that out of my mind as a real career option. Then I told you I wanted to go to college and you said 'you don't have enough money to go to school' so I applied for scholarships and aid and got to go to school. I have been studying and working hard so I could use my mind and my hands in a career that I would love. You tried to break me and you did crack me, but I'm not shattered. Quit trying to mold me into your specifications, quit parading me like a trophy.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

There are other modeling careers that are not degrading. Of course even if you have the looks, you might not have the temperment or the talent for it. That would be the best way to explain it to your mom, maybe?

[Earthshine]

Oh know that there are many modeling opportunities that are not degrading and am in fact all for that kind of modeling, but my mother has NOT been encouraging that. She's a stubborn old crone that wants me to do the other kind of modeling because it pays more and I don't know why. She hasn't been able to give me a solid reason beyond money as to why I should model for this magazine.

I don't have the temperament to be a model, I can't stand still for hours on end, I can't stand to have strangers touch me constantly, I don't like being looked at all really and I know it just wouldn't be a good fit. I've explained this to her and she lets it go for a while and then brings it up again in a few more months.

She's not a bad person, just very strange in some ways. I love her dearly but right now she's really making me mad, we've had arguments over this ever since I turned 18.

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

Sometimes a parent will bug a child to do things that the parent wished they could have done but never had the chance to do. In that way they might feel fulfilled by proxy.