Reminder that the Snowden leaks were the biggest exposure of government wrongdoing in decades and not a single person was charged, convicted or even resigned over any of the things revealed in the leaked documents.
Writing Advice: it doesn’t matter if an idea has been done before. It’s never been done by you. So long as you do it well, and in your own way, it’s a wonderful contribution.
*slams fists on table*
THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED
*flips table*
BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS
*Kicks chair*
ENEMIES TO LOVERS
*throws lamp across room*
HELP I NEED A FAKE BOYFRIEND FOR MY EX’S WEDDING
*rips down the curtains*
THEY’RE FAMOUS AND THEIR FANS SHIP THEM
*clutches wine glass so hard it shatters in my fist*
THEY WERE ROOMMATES
oh my god they were roommates
AND THEY PINED MUTUALLY
YOU’RE FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY AND I AM JUST A SIMPLE SERVANT
THEY BOTH HAVE A SECRET THAT RELATES
THEY ARE ENEMY AGENTS
EVERYONE THINKS THEY’RE ALREADY TOGETHER
THEY DON’T REALIZE THEY’RE SOULMATES
Anyone who wants to write their own take on something that’s been done a million times should DO THE FUCK OUT OF IT.
For the record, she actually abandoned the movement BEFORE they all got whooping cough, but abandoned it too late. There’d been a breakout of measles in her area that caused her to reassess, and she and her doctor had already drafted and started a catch-up vaccination schedule, but her kids caught whooping cough just before it could be started. Then she wrote a blog post for The Scientific Parent explaining how she and her husband had come to wrong decisions in the first place, how they changed their mind, the consequences they suffered as a result, and asking other parents to please vaccinate their kids. And now she’s an activist for destroying the misinformation of anti-vaxxers, and reaching out to anti-vaxxers because she’s understands their fears but knows their kids deserve better.
She was trying to the best for her kids and just didn’t know how to interpret the validity of information or its sources, an actual skill that can be actually difficult and that is under-taught and a necessary first step to being able to trust vaccination research, so chose no action over taking an action she wasn’t sure of. She kept looking into it with family and friends and even eventually came to the right conclusion before her kids became sick, but it was still too late.
Honestly it was pretty brave of her to publicly admit she was wrong. She could have just quietly vaccinated her kids and not become a national news story, but instead she spoke out, even saying “I’m writing this from quarantine, the irony of which isn’t lost on me.” and also “I am not looking forward to any gloating or shame as this ‘defection’ from the antivaxx camp goes public, but, this isn’t a popularity contest. Right now my family is living the consequences of misinformation and fear. I understand that families in our community may be mad at us for putting their kids at risk.”
She understood the consequences and still put herself and her story out there.
You know what, it does take a big person to admit they were wrong so publicly and work to undo the harm. I believe I made fun of her in the past, but timemachineyeah changed my mind.
I used to
like the “You’re not a grunt, Dean, you’re a genius” speech Sam gives in Trial and Error. It felt like one of the
rare moments in which Sam puts Dean first, shows his concern for Dean’s
well-being, his worry over Dean’s low self-esteem etc. But then I started
thinking about it, about what Sam is saying and what he is doing. And then I
didn’t really like it anymore.
“You’re the
best damn hunter I’ve ever known, Dean,” Sam says. “Better than me, better than
dad.” But then he follows it up by demanding that Dean prove his trust in Sam
by handing the Trials over to him.
Which is…
weird? Because if Dean is a better hunter than Sam, wouldn’t it make more sense
to let Dean do it? They could easily find another hellhound for Dean to kill. And Sam could “take Dean to the light at the end of the tunnel” by being supportive, standing by Dean’s side and helping him get through the Trials.
So Sam
either lied about thinking Dean’s a better hunter than him (after all, he’s
bragged about being better than Dean on several occasions before) and just said
it to move Dean and make him more compliant. Or he really believes Dean’s better than him, but lets
his pride and his constant need to be the chosen one, the savior, the only one
who can “do it”, get in the way.
And I’m not
accepting “Sam didn’t want Dean to embark on a suicide mission” as an argument
here. Because the whole “this is suicide for you, but I want to survive it” thing is in fact nothing more than artificial drama created by Sam to support his case. Nowhere in this episode does Dean say
he’s not going to do everything in his power to survive the Trials. Hell,
logically speaking, if you want to do the Trials, you kind of have to be alive for it, don’t you?
It wasn’t an “I know I’m going to die on this mission” situation for Dean (unlike Alpha and Omega).
All Dean
was saying was, “This will be dangerous and there’s a big chance the
Trials will hurt or even kill the one doing them, and since I’m never going to stop
hunting and am prepared to die hunting, while you’ve been talking almost non-stop about going back to a normal
life and your new-found happiness, I’m thinking I should be the one risking my
life here, not you.”
Considering
the way Sam has been acting the entire season 8 prior to this episode – being
angry at Dean for dragging him back to hunting, saying he’s ready to quit for good – he should be glad that Dean’s willing to take on this task.
But Sam can’t let that happen, because there’s another factor in play: his ever-present
need (almost obsession) to “prove himself” to others (especially Dean, but also
John or Bobby). To be seen as a hero, to be trusted and respected. “Please
believe in me too.”
Which, at
this point, where Sam is still jealous of Dean’s relationship with Benny (the trust Dean has in someone who is not Sam,
someone who, unlike Sam, has never let Dean down), is I believe the real main reason why Sam chose to do the Trials. It’s not about showing Dean the
light at the tunnel or whatever. It’s about Sam. Again.
And Sam’s actions and words thoughout the rest of the season, including the infamous Sacrifice speech, only support that.
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