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Notes on "Everyday Exposure"

-denial of environmental heath issues, blaming the sick
-box ticking ans cover up, red tape bureaucracy
-"sensing policy": embodied, place-based,relational, responsible

Safe Side Off the Fence

EfeCengiz

The documentary is missing because the documentary is as safe as the fence it mocks in its title.
In the beginning we are asked to bear witness to the construction and use of the most devastation weapon of indiscriminate death the world has ever seen, and all the harm the construction of such a tool, yet its construction and its use is justified near instantaneously by repeating the same old propaganda.
In continuation, we are asked to bear witness to the continuous production of similar weapons and the devastation caused by the mishandling of the waste that accumulated in their production, yet why such a production took place is not only left unquestioned, but simple hints of cold war propaganda is left in their places for safekeeping.
In the end, we are asked to bear witness to a sombre victory, same spectres of patriotism and nation-of-God watching over our shoulder, yet how the pitiful situation of being forced to celebrate even such a small victory is never explored.
To sum up, we are shown people, good people, who struggle against the symptoms of a disease, yet this disease itself never named, nor challenged. It could not have been challenged, as it would force a complete change in their discourse.

If we sincerely would like to critique how the bodies of these workers were made disposable; used, harmed, dislocated and discharged as deemed necessary; if we wish to explore this topic as the necropolitical issue it is, we cannot stop halfway through. This inability to stop chasing connections, relationalities wherever it fits our ideology, is not a call for “objectivism”, it’s a call to respect the term of Anthropocene with all its rhizomatic connections.

An investigation of nuclear waste, that does not factor the use of its product, the socio-political effects of said product, and the historical conditions that even led to the possibility of producing it in such ways and such quantities, are of no use for us.  It cannot penetrate the barrier of capitalist realism. If it could, at least a single mention of workers unions would have existed. Instead, it has confessionals by atomic weapons lawyers whose heart goes out to these workers.
An America that refuse to face up to the fact that it is what it is by the great necropolitical project it led for hundreds of years, I struggle to accumulate sympathy for, what I can easily accumulate is rage however, which this documentary is missing..
Wish the documentary would have at least attempted to say something radical, instead of praising these disposable bodies for being patriotic about it. There are lives who never had false fences built as idols for safety, the collective idols of old America, the patriotic nation under God were built upon their broken bodies, what would you ask of them?

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Sara.Till

The article discusses the provocation for the declaration of a "Suicide Crisis" in the Attawapiskat First Nation, and how this is not the first time a crisis has been declared with little to no result. The idea of mental health is still highly stigmatized, with movement just now occurring in federal chambers; the news article seeks to highlight how the stigma and lack of response only amplifies when you look at vulnerable populations, such as North America's native communities. It also highlights how much of the supposedly shocking information coming from this inquiry and crisis (the high percentage of suicides and attempts, the proliferation of depression and mood disorders, and the the lack of productive action or conversation) has been known for at least 20 years when the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People was released. 

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Sara.Till

1) "The inclusion of a single anecdote in a research overview can lead to a reprimand, for reliance on storytelling."

2) "Because clinical observations often do pan out, they serve as low­level evidence — especially if they jibe with what basic science suggests is likely. To be sure, this approach, giving weight to the combination of doctors’ experience and biological plausibility, stands somewhat in conflict with the principles of evidence­based medicine"

3) "HERE is where I want to venture a radical statement about the worth of anecdote. Beyond its roles as illustration, affirmation, hypothesis­builder and lowlevel guidance for practice, storytelling can act as a modest counterbalance to a straitened understanding of evidence."

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Sara.Till

This study utilized a random sample of rape victim advocates to determine whether the current community systems and services work for these victims. As is mentioned in the introduction, the services for rape victims are typically separated in terms of legal, medical, mental health; studies tend to focus on these entities individually when evaluating their procedures, thus greatly narrowing the scope of the procedure. This study, therefore, aims to create a comprehensive view of the system as a whole and whether services provided to victims work in this larger context.

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Sara.Till

This organization seeks to provide emergency medical services to community members of Bed-Stuy, an area seeing disproportionate levels of physical violence and trauma. Before BSVAC the average ambulatory response time to the city was approximately 30 minutes, gravely eating into the "Golden hour" trauma patients are allowed. In light of this, two EMS workers chose to start a volunteer EMS agency to provide emergency care to the city, expose community members to careers in EMS, and teach BLS skills to residents.