Skydancer

joined 1 year ago
[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 16 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

They ~~can't~~ won't even hold Israel back currently.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Thank you, I thought I missed one! Again, this will also require some form of ID. It also provides greater leg room and comfort than airplane or bus. The seats also recline more than either of the others, which may be helpful given OP's cognitive issues with sitting up for extended periods.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Caught that within a few seconds of posting, but edits seem to take longer to propagate than the original comment

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 26 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (6 children)

This is a long reply. I'll do it in spoiler tags for the convenience of people who don't like that.

It sounds like you already have your answers on what to do, which is the question everybody is trying to answer:

  1. You believe you are at real risk, so you need to get out.
  2. You can't safely access your primary ID documents, so don't (or if possible before leaving town, go the APS rout suggested by another commenter). Take any secondary ID you have with you and replace primary ID later.
  3. This is the one you seem least sure about, but you've identified your best safe destination, at least to start. Go to your Democratic relatives, and plan next steps from there. I'll add to this and other "what" questions in a reply

There are two other ways to understand what you're asking for in this post.

The first is validation to build confidence in your decision.You have it.

Nobody is in a better position than you are to judge the seriousness of the situation. Trust your gut and get out.

The other way of reading the question is not what to do, but how. Logistics. This is the thing that hasn't been addressed.

I am disabled. My cognitive ability suffers severely if I sit up or stand up for more than a few minutes. I also have another condition that requires me to avoid bending my neck, so I have to keep it straight.

This suggests you don't drive, and that long walks or waiting at a bus stop aren't good options for you. Since you've presumably lived with your disability for some time, I'm going to assume you have local transport options sorted out - please reply with more details (level of urban, distance and size of nearest cities if rural, details on who drives you places if applicable, social connections) if if that's wrong.

You may or may not not have much long distance travel experience. How have you made longer trips in the past, other than your parents driving?

Driving

  1. Convincing a liberal friend to drive you to a red state within a week of the election is a tough ask - even if they are willing and have the time, they may not feel safe doing so. If they do, they're also more likely to downplay the risk from your brother. Most people who can do this are not working: retired, unemployed, or stay-at-home parents.

Unemployed friend should be your first choice here: probably happy to make the trip if you cover gas and lodging. Stay at home parent is less likely to be able to get away because of the need to handle childcare. Retired people you know are probably also connected to your parents, which make them riskier options.

  1. There are also websites and apps for pairing strangers with and without cars going in the same direction. Usually the person with the car will want gas money from the one without. This is a riskier option for you. It may also take longer and require you to make temporary arrangements to stay somewhere locally, and even then not work out.

First, don't use Facebook for this - too easy for it to get back to your family. Use your favorite search engine or app store to find a "road trip carpooling" tool. Probably as manybas possible, if you choose this option.

With your disability, you're more vulnerable to unsympathetic or even politically hostile drivers. When they ask about your trip, don't tell them why you left. You're going to visit family you haven't seen in a while. Talk about things you've done with them in the past, and what you're looking forward to doing with them now. Don't mention things that convey their (or your) politics.

If you're paired with a MAGAt or someone who holds otherwise objectionable views, do not push back. Express indifference, or even agreement if that's what it takes. You're vulnerable both because of your disability and because they control your transportation - you don't want to be stranded at the next rest or gas stop.

AirYou will need state ID, drivers license, or passport for this. You can buy a ticket online through a site like Travelocity, Kayak, or Orbitz. That will usually be cheaper than through the airlines. Print your ticket if you feel safe doing so, otherwise you can get it at check-in at the airport.

Show up over an hour early - preferably two, I don't know how muvh your disability may slow things down. Check-in is probably at a kiosk. Then ask the first uniformed person you see for mobility assistance. With your standing issues, that will probably mean someone to push you in a wheelchair to TSA. Documentation of your disability may help here, but shouldn't be necessary.

After TSA, they'll probably send a golf cart to rake you to the gate. Once boarding is called, disability should make you eligible to board at any time. If you need to lie down to keep enough cognitive ability to recognize the right boarding call, do so, and explain to any official that tells you to sit up (but they probably won't). Ignore any passengers that say anything about it - you don't have to answer to them.

When you board, make the flight crew aware of the cognitive issues with sitting. Ask them to tell you specifically at each stop if it's time for you to exit the plane.

When you arrive, ask for mobility assistance again. There will be a taxi stand at the airport if you need that. You may not want to call ahead to your family even then, so you can make your request in person not to contact your brother and parents.

BusGreyhound, or Megabus. You will need state ID, drivers license, or passport for this. It will be physically challenging.

Again, you can buy tickets online. I recommend this, as they sell out. If buying and printing the ticket at home is not safe, you can still plan the trip and then buy at the terminal if there is one - but it limits your starting point options to actual terminals (not all Greyhound stops have them). The ride will be long, cramped, and you will almost certainly have to change buses at some point. Bring something to do that won't run down your phone battery, like a book or knitting.

There will be less assistance than with flying. Lying down at the station is more common, but if they're full they're more likely to make you sit up despite your disability. There will be stops where you can buy food. There won't be a taxi stand at the other end, but there will almost certainly be a local bus stop.

> I also can't safely lift anything that's heavier than a few pounds, so anything more than that is very risky. I can push and pull fine.

Do you have a rolling small suitcase you frequently use for taking things with you when you go places nearby? If so, pack what you can in that. Ignore things that can be easily replaced (personal care items, fashion clothing, etc) and plan to replace them when you get where you're going. Thrift stores are your friend. Focus on things of emotional, medical, or financial value. If there's room left, pack underwear since that can't be gotten used.

If leaving with anything would be unusual, don't. Getting you out is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. If you go the APS route for your ID, they can help you retrieve some belongings at the same time. Otherwise, plan to figure it out later.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Both of these are good suggestions, but only after OP gets out.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 2 points 4 days ago

I would - there's the risk they don't take a phone call seriously and let something slip to the parents. Far better to show up on their doorstep to help them understand the gravity of the situation and importance of getting out.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 25 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Police station would be a terrible choice. People who aren't able to vote on election day skew poor, black, brown, and/or immigrant - exactly the groups who would be (rightly) afraid of entering a police station.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 3 points 6 days ago

That makes sense.

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

And how is it nobody seems to have noticed the two jawbones mounted above?

[–] Skydancer@pawb.social 5 points 1 week ago

That's an easy one - change it for them!

 

From the "This is only news to neurotypicals" department

 

A summary of the current US elections in the language and reporting style US media routinely uses for reporting on elections in the global south.

 

The Israeli military rescued four hostages in a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, that Gazan authorities said killed 210 people and injured more than 400 others.

Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv, were rescued by the Israeli military, intelligence and special forces from two separate locations in Nuseirat, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday.

All four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7.

“They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations,” the IDF added.

An Israeli policeman from a special counter-terrorism unit was killed in Saturday’s rescue operation, according to Israeli police.

News of the rescue came soon after Israel’s military said it was operating in Nuseirat and other areas of central Gaza, where heavy shelling and artillery fire was reported.

At least 210 people have been killed as a result of the rescue operation, the Government Media Office in Gaza said Saturday.

The killed and wounded are arriving at two hospitals in Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, the media office added.

CNN is not able to independently verify the media office numbers.

Nidal Abdo, was shopping in Nuseirat on Saturday when he described a “crazy bombardment” hitting.

“There are children torn apart and scattered in the streets, they wiped out Nuseirat, it is hell on earth,” he said.

Another local, Abu Abdallah, said the strike hit while people were sleeping, adding: “Dogs were eating people’s remains. We pulled out six martyrs, all torn up children and women, we risked our lives to get them to the hospital.”

Hamas described the operation as a “heinous crime” in a press release Saturday, saying the Israeli military “committed a horrific massacre against innocent civilians.”

Hostage rescues are rare: this is only the third such successful operation. IDF Corporal Ori Megidish was rescued in October last year from the northern Gaza Strip. In another operation on February 12 this year, Fernando Marman and Louis Har were rescued from southern Rafah.

One of the group, 25-year-old Noa Argamani, became one of the symbols of the October 7 attacks, after video emerged of her seen shouting and pleading from the seat of a motorbike as a group of Hamas fighters drive away with her in tow.

In the video, Argamani’s boyfriend, fellow Israeli citizen Avinatan Or, is also led away and kidnapped by Hamas fighters.

Noa’s mother Liora Argamani is a Chinese citizen who has been grappling with late stage brain cancer. In a video released last November, she made a desperate plea to be able to see her daughter one more time.

“I don’t know how long I have left. I wish for the chance to see my Noa at home,” her mother said, calling on US President Joe Biden to push for her daughter’s release.

Argamani’s family had previously received signs that she was still alive. She appeared in a series of Hamas propaganda videos released in January this year.

Video showed Argamani embracing her father after her release. She also held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who told her “we didn’t give up on you for a moment.”

Of the others freed:

Almog Meir Jan, 22, is from the small city of Or Yehuda, outside Tel Aviv. He was due to start a new job at a technology company on October 8.

Shlomi Ziv, 41, was working as a security guard at the Nova festival when he was kidnapped on October 7. Ziv had been living in the local moshav or agricultural settlement for 17 years with his wife Miren.

Andrey Kozlov, 27, is a Russian citizen who move to Israel a year ago. He was also working as a security guard at the Nova festival.

Rescuing hostages taken during the Hamas attacks of October 7 remains a major goal of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Following Saturday’s announcement, the total number of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip from October 7 is now 116, of which at least 41 are dead.

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