Emmie Johnson > Recent Status Updates

Discussion around the demonisation of children, namely punishment. Should you be able to hit your children? Simply put, no, ‘after all, what better way to show our love and respect than with a slap? And how else to teach someone to forever confuse love and violence

‘It’s bad luck,’ writes the historian Mathilda Marx, ‘to let your guard down, to find yourself alone, to think you know someone who has been patiently setting a trap, year after year. It’s bad luck that you smiled, that you travel alone, that you’re not afraid to speak your mind…’

‘The aftermath of rape is a battle between you and yourself.’ Unexpected exploration into the guilt and shame shouldered by people who have been raped. Guilt runs through our veins

Powerful start. ‘I could get rid of every abusive person in my life and every toxic person in my life, and if I’m still speaking to myself in an abusive and toxic way I might as well have just kept them around.’

When Magee booked the room destined for Margaret thatcher, in the top right hand corner of the registration card, the receptionist wrote ‘CHANCE’. This was the hotels term for walk-in guests without reservations and ironically the IRA members nickname, chancer.

If the IRA are good for one thing, it’s whitty nicknames. Jug head, for his prominent ears, banger - bad with fire arms

IRA liked explosives. Mountbattens boat (killers coincidently caught for driving an uninsured car), and paratroopers in 1979 (causing biggest loss in parachute regiment since ww2, no one charged).

The use of HEK293 cells, derived from an aborted foetus in 1970s, during the manufacture of monoclonal antibody treatment used in trumps recovery was only accepted by the religious far right once the president received them. Fickle bastards had once criticised the use of this cell line because of their stance on women’s rights

‘Rapid method’, a way to prep a vaccine without knowing the genetic sequence of the target. New technology - personalised cancer treatment. Tumours contain cells with mutations, identify the mutations, target the cell, kill the tumour. Useful during pandemic outbreak

How was the vaccine developed so quickly? Funding. Generally speaking, vaccine development can take several years before clinical trials begin. Applications can take a year to be approved and each stage must be complete before the next can begin

The real cause of contemporary TB is us, not the bacteria we know how to kill. We are responsible for allocation of resources. Everyone deserves access to healthcare and yet pharmaceutical companies patent medication and increase profit margins beyond affordability. Bastards

We live in between what we choose and what is chosen for us. How lucky I am to have choices

Gut-brain information axis. “Some of my thoughts may belong not to me, but to the microorganisms in my digestive tract”. Do I find this interesting or does my microbiome

TB was largely undetected in colonised communities as it was perceived as a disease of the superior and civilised (read: white). I wonder how many other diseases are shaped by social forces.

Women with TB were believed to become more beautiful, ethereal and pure. Characteristics of pale, thin, wide sunken eyes. Beauty standards for women have always been fucked

Death is only natural if deemed “acceptably” or “well”. For other species death occurs at any time and is considered natural. Interesting

Nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past

I enjoy reading the comments and seeing how polarising this book is. Personally enjoyed the imagery, as someone who doesn’t have to best imagination with sci-fi. I feel a lot and nothing at the same time, which is definitely something