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Sunshine naps are the best naps.

“Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines."

"Another form of CSA is child-to-child sexual abuse... when the perpetrator is another child. The rate among TCKs generally and MKs who were not homeschooled was 26% – 1 in 4; among homeschooled MKs it was slightly higher, at 29%." Source: www.alifeoverseas.com/risk-factors....

Like moths to flames.

This resonates so strongly with me. People often ask why my mother who had mental health issues put me in homeschool and my most honest answer is that she was lonely and scared and had no other resources to help with her bipolar issues. 😕

😻😻😻

"Nearly half of homeschooled TCKs (47%) reported that an adult with mental illness lived in their childhood home; this is more than twice the rate reported among Americans and 20% higher than the rate reported by missionary TCKs overall (39%)." Source: www.tcktraining.com/blog/2023080....

"In our survey of nearly 2,000 people who grew up internationally, we discovered that 20% (1 in 5) of those homeschooled were at high risk of adverse outcomes in adulthood." From here: www.tcktraining.com/blog/2022102....

"Nearly 1 in 3 [TCK] homeschool students born after 1980 experienc[ed] sexual abuse before the age of 18." Source: www.tcktraining.com/blog/2023080....

I’d love to see a comparison between the words of these pastors who are pro-ICE and the words of KKK leaders from the 1920s talking about immigrants and protecting U.S. culture.

🤣🤣🤣

"It’s not like [HSLDA] is offering any solution that would weed out abusive parents—because, ultimately, [they don't] give a shit if kids are abused as long as there are no regulations on homeschooling whatsoever."

What an indictment.

"Instead of supporting basic minimal oversight that would actually make it easier for homeschooling to be defined by decent parents, groups like HSLDA want to make it easier for abusers to get away with anything they want."

"While the Trump administration’s approach to immigration is unpopular with most faith groups, evangelicals remain strong supporters."

"There have never been final results on a national election night, ever. At no point in American history did we snap our fingers, count our ballots, and know the results of every race, no matter how narrow, on election night, or even the following day."

My mental health journey did not begin well: my GP prescribed me 10x the starting dose of Paxil and sent me to the ER; involuntary hospitalizations; bad side effects. None of that compares to wanting to die every day. Mental health care was a difficult journey but saved my life.

Many define abuse as a physical act, like a murder or a rape. Others level sins and define emotions as abuse. Hate = murder. Lust = rape. Both are misleading, IMO. Abuse isn't just acts or emotions. It is a process of using power to control another person.

"Once a society normalizes domination over children and yielded their obedience, it has already built the emotional infrastructure for authoritarianism." ~ @drstaceypatton.bsky.social

"The child is not outside the crisis of democracy. That child is the rehearsal space. What we do to children, we do to the future." ~ @drstaceypatton.bsky.social

💕

Australian here, Nate. We have a decent, independent, electoral system. Often, because all the cast votes represent voices to be counted, it's weeks before some contests are resolved. It actually works pretty well. (And I thought Nate was a wise and informed person)

Spitting in the faces of the thousands of volunteers who gave their time and energy to defend democracy. Classy.

Worked a 16-hour shift yesterday for the election. My coworkers gave out awards to each other afterwards. For calmly managing security at over 100 Vote Centers, my team won the "Putting Up With The Most S@#$" Award. 😂 (And yes, we did. 😅)

Seeking professional mental health care is probably the most important thing I've ever done. It has kept me alive and stable as well as given me my life back. I will forever be grateful for my mental health team.

I got blocked on Twitter by the CEO of AWANA after asking him about their child protection policies. 🤔

😍😍😍

"I grew up in a Christian household and I really asked why God gave me these beautiful twins if I had to share custody with my rapist. That was a big philosophical life question for me — but I’m hopeful because of this bill."

"Blocking children from social media is no substitute for making platforms safe in the first place."

Yes, Saul of Tarsus, like King David (and Augustine of Hippo, I learned today! 😅) present significant challenges for Christians with regards to recognizing and naming abusive behavior as well as properly responding to it.

If Dr. Seuss made a cat tower, it would look like this.

"jesus forgave me, so you must forgive me too"

Converting to Christianity and grandstanding about your former heathen sins doesn't absolve you of, or take responsibility for, your grooming or sexually abusing children. In fact, converting to Christianity and grandstanding about your former heathen sins is the exact playbook of child predators.

At the age of 31, "Saint" Augustine abandoned the concubine who bore him a child in order to become engaged to a 10-year-old girl for her dowry. From here: paw.princeton.edu/article/kate....

Child liberation theology is a thing. Youths deserve safeguarding from abusive church leaders and from parents who chose not to know what was happening. Attention: @rlstollar.bsky.social

We talk a lot about stopping sexual abuse among church leaders. But what about the "ex-gay" SOGICE ministries that sidestep all safeguarding by calling themselves "not therapy"?

Selfies with Lily and Ten. 😂

"No child can ask to be born, but having arrived he should receive all the care, love, and devotion due him. The infant cannot cry for liberation." ~Bennett Olshaker, "The Child As a Work of Art," 1975

🥳🥳🥳

Mental health care is a crucial aspect of child protection. Mental health care workers, who are mandatory reporters, contribute a significant portion of child abuse reports in the United States, between 10% and 15%. This is why rightwing extremists hate mental health care.

Great op-ed from Jo Anderson, homeschool alum ⬇️

Cardboard boxes, nom nom.

Regal.

the exparents are proud republicans. they supported my child courtship & wd have tried to get away w child marriage for me. fuck em all. children's rights matter. no more child marriage. #Exvangelical #religiousabuse #childhoodtrauma #traumasurvivor

Q: Were all 36 votes against a recently passed Oklahoma bill that bans child marriage cast by Republican lawmakers? A: Yes.

"While homeschooling was the best option for me, and it worked swimmingly, I don’t wish it on most people. It’s an educational Wild West, with no federal oversight and a seriously flawed patchwork of state-by-state regulations."

Wow, I am extremely disappointed to see a rightwing extremist like Dixie Dillon Lane writing for Eerdmans. Lane thinks kids should be forced to hug relatives (ifstudies.org/blog/yes-vir...), ...

"Brubakk says the scale and totality of trauma in Gaza is unlike anything she has seen in more than a decade of work. 'I’ve been working in the field for 12 years, and there’s nothing that can compare to Gaza.'"