To be really candid here, I experienced a lot of emotions reading this article lol. .

Toxic polarisation is truly tearing the world apart, irrespective of what country you’re from. I live in Australia and the divide resembles America with older and younger generations being wedged further apart because of our disparate belief systems. This article helped for me to reflect on the notion that many of us who might be ‘social justice warriors’ speaking in to a lot of truth, but can exacerbate divide..

On the other hand, part of me felt like, hey this is another example of ‘white fragility’ where people who are aware of social implications of systemic injustice have to accommodate their language because of the sensitivity of the very people that contribute to these constructs. And reflecting on that thought while reading the article and reading what I just wrote, I’m like wow I’m being pretty high brow, and exuding the very behaviour that this article is trying to address.

Another part of me thought, well, this older era will fade away - but how sad, the thought that hey let’s not do the work to have constructive conversations with the people we love because it’s too much effort. And they pass away without ever really feeling heard by their younger family members. We have pretty high expectations for people who were brought up in a completely different era, which isn’t really fair.

I thought the article did a fantastic job at highlighting the fact that yes, there are some instances where the effort clearly isn’t worth it - conversations that will never be constructive - we know who those people are. Nonetheless, it ignored the fact that inherent racism is often the crux of the divide. There are far right extremists out there who want things to go back to ‘a simpler time’ - like the 50s where ethnic minorities weren’t seen or heard. And this was the fear Reagan and Trump played on that blames individuals and not systems for a persons disadvantaged place in society. There are deep seated racial and misogynistic instances where meeting halfway isn’t an option.

At the end of the day, everyone has the right to engage in the conversations they choose and to decipher what is or isn’t worth it. It’s hard as a millennial. I feel your pain. But we can have better conversations with people by being selective with our language - everyone’s feelings matter - but my takeaway is that there are hard lines we have to draw, to yes, hear people’s opinions and fears. But racial, sexist, and homophobic bigotry needs to be shut down.

Okay ramble finished.

My husband and I saw Marina’s exhibit in Tasmania. Not long after watched The Artist is Present, and as someone who never studied art or created much of it, I loved seeing her work because it offered a completely disparate perspective to my everyday way of thinking.

I love that she says our gifts aren’t given to us personally - they’re given to us to give to society, so we need to handle our gifts carefully.

We all have gifts and channeling our gifts to help people is an important part of life’s journey.

Coming of age describes adolescence to adulthood, but I think we’re always coming of age throughout the entirety of the life span, and I love that she highlights the notion that life really becomes interesting in your 70s because of the realisation that our time is finite.

I honestly didn’t find the neuromyths to be completely compelling. While we may not be right or left brained there is still a lot of evidence that suggests different hemispheres of our brain react to different scenarios and are exclusively responsible for different things.

The article makes sweeping generalisations. I never thought IQ tests were only good for taking IQ tests. But there are people who do have high IQ and have a really hard go at social interactions - which is to one of his other points - emotional intelligence. Ya I’m pretty sure it’s a thing.

Meh...

Jillie - I think that's the big question. Why is it so damn expensive in the first place?

All Aussies, residents - citizen and non - have access to healthcare. It's not ambiguous in terms of explicitly defined costs. I see what's called a 'bulk billing' doctor. So my visits are free, but Medicare in Australia pays approximately $80 for each visit/consultation with that providing doctor. He (in this case) may give me a referral to see a specialist for things like a therapist or fertility specialist (in my personal experience) and Medicare covers part of the cost while I'm left to cover a possible remaining balance. (In my case, $124 subsidy to see a therapist leaving me with a balance of $75 dollars, sometimes $110 depending on the provider - or, for another example, $144 subsidy to get fert test work and $150 out of pocket - these costs are specifically associated with seeing a specialist and accepting their prices - often people choose to not see a specialist).

Would be curious about how America can transition to more clearly defined guidelines in terms of pricing and fees.

which includes anyone who nominally has insurance but has postponed or foregone care because they couldn't afford the copays and deductibles

Just shocked at how many middle to income earners fit the above description for things that should be easily accessed because of how confusing the system is.

That judge has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure those families are housed. We have policy that supports this (Housing Act of 1949). I'd be curious about the court case and its outcomes further from the eviction.

That seedy real estate company that owns the property makes me cringe. THEY are the cause of this crisis. Of course they weren't going to be willing to negotiate because THEY are the beast.

Reading this article gave me the chills. The support and attention it brings to the very real experience of racial discrimination was reassuring. This is the outcome of history's SUPER intentional institutionalized racism of US developers and lawmakers in redlining and blockbusting the housing supply. So sad. My heart goes out to those women.

Lol I think Trump is right in saying that Bernie supporters are the Do Nothing Party. But that's just it, isn't it? It's time we do something and get the billionaires and billionaire puppets out of office. It's too much these days. Millennials, we have to vote. It's becoming critical that we do. We have no voting power. It's time we change that.

I found the rhetoric toward Omar to be pretty shocking. Omar is attacked so regularly. My heart goes out to her for her bravery and strength.

We should be doing everything in our power to not expose anyone to war, let alone, children and civilians.

I don't think anyone enters the military realising that they may be leaving with a crippling mental health disorder. As more and more people realise the implications, I think we see more anti-war sentiment. I hope the traction continues.

Completely idiotic spending and logic on the president's behalf. Please can we vote him out of office?

I think I slipped into a bout of 2020 blues learning that 2 trillion dollars were spent over the course of several days on military equipment and personnel - and as the article stated - there was no public statement from Trump for almost A WEEK after the assassination took place to justify why.

2 trillion dollars could end student debt, give healthcare to all, end homelessness, provide free education....

How does one person have the authority to murder someone without any due process? Does a country not have the right to defend itself when it's being invaded?

Being in Sydney and relatively far from the fires, our skies have been hazy for nearly a month now, topping the charts several times for the worst air quality in the world.

'Warning Fatigue' can really take an effect when people are just exhausted from natural disasters. My sister in law moved from the drought to the fires, sadly, but was so SO fortunate her house was missed (by just a few hundred meters).

These floods are a serious concern. It's like one thing after the other at the moment - and while staying on top of weather predictions is incredibly important and will save lives - there is a bigger picture in this all - we need to reduce our emissions and stop harming the natural environment. It is our behaviour that is the culprit to these extreme weather outcomes.

It's been a political shambles in Australia because of the fires. I just hope that at a policy level we implement some change because personal behaviour change is not enough.

Shedding some light on the implications of the 3 Strikes Law in California. I had trouble posting the full report. It can be found here:

https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/65f6c2a9-ea21-47cf-b56d-987f6cd13a27/threestrikes_press.pdf

This article popped up on my feed on Facebook. Completely worth several minutes of your time to highlight the devastatingly horrifying, cruel and unusual punishments of the American justice/incarceration system.

3 Strikes Law, or habitual offenders law mandates life sentencing for 3 offences. In this particular case, no violent crimes were committed. Subsequent to serving his country he suffered addiction. For petty crimes he was sentenced to life.

THIS NEEDS TO STOP

I haven't been active of Twitter, but felt compelled to re-download the app to thank this reporter for covering this man's story. He's received a number of letters in the mail and his spirits have been lifted - nevertheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to the countless lives that have been thrown away because of BS legislation and unfair treatment.

This is disgraceful. This is discrimination against the poor and mentally unwell. Terrible terrible.

This reeks of Jim Crow Laws. It's amazing how the system can be manipulated to serve the incredibly wealthy to the extent of licentious exclusivity that only belongs to the country's most elite.

Golf courses are the worst. Malcolm Gladwell shares on his podcast 'History Revisionist' that golf courses are able to bypass taxes on land worth billions in some of the most densely populated and expensive areas in the country. Land that could serve as public space to benefit the masses. But who would want that when your wealthy ancestors geared the law to cater to later generations of elitists who can legally discriminate against women and minorities.

I just had no idea it was so overt and specific in the Constitution re private membership clubs. A close look at the Constitution reveals what MAGA people really mean.

I love the way this article simplifies some of life's biggest challenges. Simply put - if you want to overcome excuses then first get an understanding of what they are by writing them down.

When it comes to writing - I saw a really fantastic IG quote on a friend's account that ties in well to this article: "If you want to be a writer, then write."

We have a tendency overcomplicate things - and with good reason most of the time! But maybe at the end of the day, those reasons are in fact just excuses that can be overcome.