You’d think there would already be a system like that. At my university, there was a program where developmentally disabled students (probably around Sara’s level, who were attending school for job training) lived with non-disabled students. The non-disabled students provided some basic help in navigating the dining…

I think part of it is that even 50 years ago, most communities were pretty small and you got extensive help from your existing social structure. We don’t have that anymore, which is good in some ways but definitely a detriment to people like Sara. And since the system isn’t really set up for that kind of community…

That’s true. But there has to be some sort of solution here. If she truly is unfit to parent (which is still in question to me—it doesn’t sound like she got any help learning how to parent or time to adjust before her child was taken) what about a co-living situation? Or proving she can hire a nanny? IDK, they didn’t…

Who gives a shit? Honestly. She has a totally average and healthy body. Don’t be a dick to a teenage girl.

Yeah, Clarion is explicitly for people who are “almost-pros.” Not really for if you’re just trying it out.

This is sorta my thinking. Also, most of our alien detection efforts are based on the assumption that alien civilizations will look and communicate basically like ours. But, they’re aliens. Their language might be gesture-based or telepathic or just have a grammatical structure that looks nothing like any Earth…

This doesn’t even make any sense. The “she’s already been aborted” line assumes that there’s only ONE woman who could have possibly been president. Yet how many white men candidates do we slog through every election?

Ah, thanks for the title! I do think I remember hearing it was a true story.

Yeah. If the Obamas were Republicans, people would be all over how great it was that she chose to prioritize her children over attending endless political functions.

Well, I am talking about a greater spectrum of violence than just murder (including rape, domestic violence, stalking, and harassment). Sure, it is probably true that offenders commit many crimes over their lifetimes. But again, literally every straight woman I know has a story of being harassed, stalked, or assaulted…

Actually, most studies show that rates of crime remain fairly stable among different racial populations, especially when you compare between people of similar income levels. People of color tend to be incarcerated at higher rates than white people, but this probably has more to do with higher policing in minority…

Well, I am white, so at least wait until my generation dies out naturally ;)

Except we know that there is an extremely high rate of sex-based violence for women. 1 in 4 women experiences sexual assault and 2 out of 3 female homicide victims were killed by a partner or family member. There is also great social pressure on women to accept and ignore threatening behavior from partners, and great…

Sure. But it’s still the old “If 1 in every 100 M&Ms were poisoned, would you eat M&Ms?” conundrum. Every woman I know has a story about a boyfriend or date who either tried to stalk them or got creepy/violent at the end of the relationship.

Heck, even today black women tend to be encouraged to get hysterectomies more often than white women are for the same medical issue.

The problem with saying “we shouldn’t treat people of color differently by highlighting their writing” is that it ignores the fact that people of color are treated differently already. For an example of this, go listen to NK Jemison’s interview on the Midnight in Karachi podcast, where she talks about how hard it was…

I agree, but I also think the problem is more complex than that. Just paying for healthcare isn’t going to make people seek it if they have (often valid!) reasons to worry that doctors aren’t acting in their best interests, or if they don’t have the education to understand the basics of how medicine works and what…

Your Oscars comparison is flawed. This is more like if the Oscars happened, and then there was another ceremony to highlight the excellent work done by people of color who weren’t recognized by the Oscars. Literally no one is being “replaced” because this is a special, extra issue. And special issue anothologies are…

I’m sure prosecutors, like humans in general, are on the whole decent people. But you yourself point out that they’re overworked and it’s common to offer plea deals just to reduce the workload. That’s...not good, when we know we have a system that gives inadequate defense to people (especially the people most in need…

I don’t think this book is aimed at toddlers. It seems more the 5-8 year old demographic, which is actually a pretty good time to begin exploring historical complexity. I vividly remember my 2nd grade teacher reading the class a book about the Civil War in which two Union soldiers (one white, one black) are captured…