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@mawr @Phorm That... uh... is not untrue but really not my point at all? I am just responding to your flat dismissal that such a thing is even possible, which is unfair to people who feel they've suffered from it.
I am not talking about "hey guys anybody got kitty pics" or "if we all stick together we'll get through this" or even "you know we are probably not DOOMED" all of which you should know by now I see the value of.
It's the toxic positivity of telling a terminal patient who's suffering that they HAVE to "fight" and do chemo because YOU need them to, even when their odds are 1 in 500 (like my parents did to my brother). It's the toxic positivity of telling a CFIDS patient "oh, everybody gets tired at work, it's nothing to complain about." It's the toxic positivity of The Secret telling you you're sick because of your negative attitude. It's the toxic positivity of a culture that won't talk about the fact we're all mortal and death is real. It's the toxic positivity of "let's all be color blind" and "all lives matter."
That's all I was saying, and... yeah. I'm QUITE happy to just drop this because I do sympathize with the worldview you pounced to defend here. I just react badly when someone says something I am concerned about simply does not exist -- ngl, it's straight up Transliminal trauma speaking and I do apologize if it sounded like I was assaulting your own FDA GRAS brand of mostly healthy positivity.
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@mawr @Phorm God damn it, Awoo won't let me upload the cat video I just took so you'll have to take my word for it that a minor miracle of positivity did occur:
For the first time in our acquaintence, I said Shemp's name to him -- granted, 5 or 6 times -- and he ACTUALLY LOOKED UP TO ACKNOWLEDGE ME.
If that's not proof that "impossible" good things can come out of nowhere, I dunno what the fuck is. 😼
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There. See, Youtube?" It's not that freakin hard to process a kitty pic...
As promised:
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@mawr And here's a video version of the book I was referencing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo
Which reminds me that I forgot to add "What Color Is Your Parachute" to my above litany...
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@zebratron2084
Sorry for the long delay, I've been in work meetings since posting that and they HAVE NOT ENDED YET
My statement was incorrect and you are correct that there is such a thing as "Toxic Positivity" -- but I wouldn't have recognized most of the examples you listed as positivity. Responding to an outpouring of anger or sadness with positivity without first validating that person is not positive, it's mocking and dehumanizing!!
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@mawr That is an A+ answer, mawr. Yet again you have erred by being TOO wholesome. <3
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@mawr @Phorm oh and just in case my goodwill is not 100 clear i am taking the conciliatory kitty pics as we speak because you are both still good creatures :D