Tag: Children

Why have children?

Okay, job searching isn’t all bad, and I guess I have some experiences that are attractive to prospective employers. Interview or test requests trickle in, not always popping out at once. Life is worthy, even though I am often enamored with ones outside my concrete one.

In Stardew Valley, I caught a mutant carp, which is a legendary fish that can only be caught once. I will put it in a fish tank soon, once I’ve made room for it. A couple of days ago, I gave birth to a son, Orwell. I named him such because his father, Elliott, seems to be an Orwell fan. If the player tells Elliott their favorite genre is science fiction earlier in the game,his debut novel will be Rise of the Planet Yazzo, which gave me Orwellian vibes (only excerpts of the book are in the game when he reads it at the launch party). I’m actually not too familiar with Orwell, but the fact that the name also means “the branch of the river” and Elliott happens to be a nautical devotee also clinched it for me. Orwell’s older sister is Elowyn, after a character in a play I wrote in college (and it also happens to have the same first syllable as her dad’s; there’s some etymology significance too but I took the class a while ago).

As much as I love the game, having children in Stardew is rather dull. They walk or crawl around and look at you. Your spouse will sometimes say they are pregnant, or that you are pregnant, or the adoption paperwork was filled out if you are a same-sex couple, but nothing else changes. I’d thought my character was just a couple pixels bigger when I was pregnant, but I’m probably wrong or it’s too subtle to really make a difference. Well, one thing that’s nice in the latest update of the game is that your children can now attend town festivals once they can walk. They still don’t have dialogue, interests, or actions, but hey, now Leah the sculptor and Gus the bartender know we have kids instead of having them be cooped up in the farmhouse all year long…with only the dog and livestock as babysitters..

The responsibility of editors as public health validators

Many know me as a writer. However, most of my work is voluntary or academic. As such, I seek to broaden my professionalism through email newsletters, who often alert me of calls to pitch, contests, fellowships, or grants.

One of my subscriptions is to Freedom with Writing. I enjoy this letter and have gotten a lot of inspiration and use of it. However, there was a very troubling curation in a recent blog post, seen here: https://www.freedomwithwriting.com/freedom/uncategorized/30-calls-for-pitches-directly-from-editors-4/

My problem lies deep into the post, in this entry:

CafeMom is a website for mothers and mothers-to-be. Their managing editor has tweeted, “Look for a writer who is pro-vaccine in general, but is hesitant or flat-out not getting their kid the Covid shot, to do an essay for CafeMom. It is small, 500 words-ish or under, $75 op-ed essay.” If interested, email lauren.gordon@wildskymedia.com. Read their managing editor’s Tweet here and contact them here.

Yes, this editor *wants* to read stories about parents who refuse to vaccinate their own children. Granted, there may be very slim occasions where children truly cannot be vaccinated, but those are incredibly rare. While I’m not a parent, my stand is still valid. Children are a part of my society and they do not exist in a vacuum. Additionally, I’m an older sister, former tutor and former contact tracer. Thus, I’m still very concerned for the health of people who are still in their formative years.

I’m disappointed in Freedom with Writing in that they would enable writers who espouse such ridiculous views to share and disseminate misleading narratives like the one Ms. Gordon proposes. I do thank Freedom with Writing, however, for sharing CafeMom’s contact page, to which I made an editorial complaint:

I am very perturbed that one of your editors is soliciting essays which enable parents to make poor decisions for their children.  I’m referring to Lauren Gordon, who tweeted this: https://twitter.com/laurengordon88/status/1458091714212777996. Children are people, not possessions. I believe in the protection of people. While there may be very slim cases where a child cannot get the Covid vaccination, multiple trials have seen that the vaccination is safe for the vast majority. Please stop stoking unneeded fear into parents’ hearts.  As a former contact tracer, I’ve seen too many situations where a child’s infection creates more infection, not to mention poverty, confusion, and hunger. The virus has mutated and pediatric infections are no longer vastly mild. Additionally, many underlying conditions are at its most severe in the pediatric stages, such as asthma and diabetes, and their interference makes vaccinations even more important. If you are faithful as I am, please see this to know the equivalency of what’s at stake: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/persuading-anti-vaxxers I sincerely persuade you to reevaluate Ms. Gordon’s role at CafeMom and Wild Sky Media, and consider what factors led such a ridiculous prompt to be greenlit by her superiors.

To my fellow freelance writers, please never forgo your morals to get published.