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Erin Wraithburn 👻

@erinraeburn.bsky.social

810 followers 550 following 1.6K posts

Scribbler of stories, bookworm, nocturnal hermit, nature & whimsy lover, ME/CFS & fibromyalgia+, vaxxed/masked, socially-minded lefty on Wolastoqiyik territory. (New Brunswick, Canada) She/her.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · Oct 28

"Stop killing people" pretty much sums up my politics these days, whether we're talking genocide, covid, the environmental/healthcare/housing crisis, food insecurity, police brutality, lack of disability rights, attacks on LGBTQ+ folx, no access to reproductive medical care, etc etc etc. Just stop.

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Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 1d

My badass sister in law Meghan is doing research about breast milk antibodies - and how to get them for every baby by isolating them so they can be added to formula too. www.king5.com/article/news...

New study shows breast milk could give newborns lifelong antibody protection: HealthLink

The research led by a Fred Hutch immunologist suggests even a few days of breastfeeding could have lasting benefits.

www.king5.com

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Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 1d

Three panel cartoon by Wawa wiwa comics

An octopus, a shark and a jellyfish are talking to each other

Octopus: I once saw a human and peed myself

Shark: a human saw and peed himself

Jellyfish: a human touched me once and his friend peed on him

Octopus: dude…

Shark: what?

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 18h

If I recall correctly, it said possibly from soil (for plant based proteins), from contaminated water, and from machinery. So multiple sources could be implicated.

Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

your weirdo friend @yourweirdofriend.bsky.social · 1d

That's a good question. I think we're all discovering that countries have been operating like businesses and not the co-ops they actually are. We have let "business leaders" and people with generational wealth tell us we should elect them to office because they're natural leaders. They're grifters.

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Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

Hazie @hazie.bsky.social · 1d

www.ajpmfocus.org/article/S277...

Text:

Highlights

•
HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 are preventable infectious diseases with chronic systemic impacts including immune system dysfunction.
•
Chronic inflammation, immune exhaustion, and accelerated biological aging are shared hallmarks of HIVI/AIDS and Long COVID/PASC.
•
Tissue reservoir persistence drives long-term damage in both HIV and SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 mirrors HIV-1 in its ability to evade immune defenses and cause chronic infection.
•
SARS-CoV-2 -associated neurological disorders (SAND) parallel HIV-associated neurological disorders (HAND).
•
Both pandemics exhibit failures in global solidarity and reveal inequities in healthcare access.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

That's a good way of looking at and something I often need to remind myself of too.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you 🫂

I'll never understand how so many people don't see the inhumanity in refusing to protect others. It's such a crisis of empathy.

I'm sorry you're in a particularly risky position too, and I hope you continue to stay safe.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Yes to all of this. And like, there's different kinds of fear. He's framing it as illogical anxiety over exaggerated danger, but a certain level of fear can be healthy and necessary to protect ourselves. That's literally built into us as a survival mechanism, and people are foolishly ignoring that.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah, the claim that we're not being rational really rankled me. Like, we're not the ones ignoring science here, buddy. Bad enough that he's advocating against masking, but even worse that he's insulting our intelligence.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for reading it❤️

Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway, I've unfollowed Mr. Bouie, someone I used to respect, because his take on disabled people in these posts is more than offensive, it's harmful, particularly considering the size of his following and influence.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

I cannot adequately express how exhausted I am from dealing with all of this on top of chronic illness: the obstacles and inaccessibility, the ableist and dismissive attitudes, being excluded from the world.

And my mental health has taken a serious hit from this latest masking discourse.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

And it's not just broader society, it's even in my own home, which I know is the case for many disabled/immunocompromised people whose safety has been abandoned by family. And I know I'm not alone in saying, I will never recover from the trauma of that.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

If the ongoing pandemic has taught me anything after 5 years mostly in isolation it's that in the eyes of society:

I'm dispensable.
I'm worthless.
I'm a nuisance.
I'm a burden.
I don't matter.

Try living with that every day. Try coming on here and seeing people routinely reinforce that message.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

Convenience wins out over compassion, though, and asking people to protect others is too much apparently.

Because when disabled people beg for basic consideration, we're branded demanding and fearful.

Framing our legitimate needs as fear is not okay.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

I can't go to the dentist to repair broken bonding on two teeth and to fix enamel damage from one of my meds.

I'm in pain from these things, but there's nothing I can do about it, because people refuse to mask, and when my chronic illness is already severe, I can't risk getting worse from covid.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

When immunocompromised people push for masking, particularly in medical spaces, it's not an unreasonable demand. It's a human rights issue.

I can't have an oophorectomy I need to remove an ovarian cyst & exploratory surgery for endometriosis because the threat of infection is too high for me.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

As someone with ME/CFS my entire life is "rational assessment of the threat environment," because I walk a daily tightrope of illness management.

I don't have the luxury of ignoring the science, which overwhelmingly proves the threat of covid is still very real.

That's not fear, it's fact.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

(and i think it is a demand that stems from fear more than a rational assessment of the threat environment)

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 1d

When a study on tampons revealed high lead levels people here expressed concern. Others reassured that it wasn't enough to worry about. Ok but...

Shortly after, major brands of cinnamon were exposed for high lead. Turmeric too. Now protein shakes.

My worry is how much we're cumulatively taking in.

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 1d

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements

we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵)

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports

CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.

www.consumerreports.org

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Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 2d

Spooky bird stories. Last year's Halloween comic.

A comic titled Spooky Bird Stories. In panel 1, a turkey vulture is telling stories to other vultures, and it says, "She walked toward the source of the terrible smell. She got closer and closer, and then, to her horror, she saw... No dead body." A black vulture says "No!" and a turkey vulture says "Did someone already eat it??"
In panel 2, a northern cardinal is telling a story to some songbirds. It says "They peered through the windows of the house at the gory scene. Zombies had smashed through the door in the night. The homeowner was dead. But worst of all... He hadn't refilled the feeders." An eastern bluebird says "Aaah!" and an American goldfinch says "It can't be!".
In panel 3, a screech owl is telling a story to other owls. It says "And then the ghost fluffed itself up really big to appear scarier." A saw-whet owl gasps, and a long-eared owl says "Horrifying!".
In panel 4, a downy woodpecker is telling a story to other woodpeckers, and says "The eerie sound rang through the dark woods. Tap-tap. Tap-tap. It was the distinctive two-part knock of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The species had returned from the dead... FOR REVENGE." A red-cockaded woodpecker says "Yesss".

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 2d

I think the people I saw being jerks about this were American, but it's a problem on both sides of the border, and it's Indigenous Peoples' Day there today, which made the lack of compassion feel even uglier.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely on all of this.

And I see so many Canadians condemning red states as if there aren't democrats there too, and as if our provinces don't flip-flop routinely back and forth between left & right.

And shouldn't empathy and humanity be what characterizes the left? Otherwise we're no better.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 2d

Just got it as a little Thanksgiving treat for myself :)

Reposted by Erin Wraithburn 👻

Serena Malyon 🌞🌛 @serenamalyon.bsky.social · 3d

Nandor the Relentless

It's spooky season, which means it's time to post my favourite vampires...

This was done in watercolour and acryla gouache, quite small at 4x6" or so I think?

A small portrait of conqueror "Nandor the Relentless", in his battle armor.

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Erin Wraithburn 👻 @erinraeburn.bsky.social · 2d

If your response to people (mostly in Indigenous communities) being swept away in their houses by the last of Typhoon Halong is to say "Who cares? Alaska voted for Trump. They made their bed, so they can lie in it," you're not the moral person you think you are.

Stop being hypocritical assholes.

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