¿Qué me enamoraría de ti?

Escrito original en Quora, respondiendo a: ¿No les ha pasado que cuando andan por la calle o en un autobús y ven a las personas, se empiezan a imaginar cómo puede ser la personalidad y la vida de cada persona a la que ves, aún siendo distintos/as a lo que imaginas?

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Uno de mis pasatiempos favoritos desde hace años es mirar a personas aleatorias, en el transporte público o por la calle, y tratar de imaginar qué es lo que me enamoraría de esa persona. A qué rasgo o gesto le cogería un cariño especial si esa persona fuera mi amiga, amante o pareja.

Lo de que sean aleatorias es importante: edad, sexo, aspecto, identidad política adivinable… Es importante porque cada persona es única, y mi pasatiempo es descubrir qué hace única a esa persona, en esos minutos que puedo dedicar a observarla.

Exploitation and abuse of undocumented migrants

Written originally to a question in Quora as an answer to Are illegal immigrants being exploited by their bosses?

Yes.

The whole idea of having a system that makes it so hard for immigrants to achieve the administrative permits to live and work in a country is the creation of a silent low-paid workforce, unprotected by most labour laws and in constant risk of violence, detention or deportation.

Those who benefit of this system are the owners of vast farmlands, the owners of restaurants, hotels and other places where undocumented workers are silently carrying out extenuating hours for a tiny pay.

Denying rights to undocumented migrants - no person is illegal, at most it would be their actions that would be illegal - makes them more vulnerable to all sorts of violence [1] and scams. They are charged tremendous prices to rent a room in a crowded home, as they cannot rent an apartment in most places. Landlords raise rents or force silent evictions under threats of deportation [2].

Instead of evictions, California landlords threaten immigrant tenants with deportations

How is it possible to miss your abuser?

 Answer written originally to a question in Quora 

This question is in the mind of many women*.

How is it possible to miss your abuser?

I can unfortunatelly confirm this happens. Fifteen years after cutting off all contact from my abuser, except a couple of minor attempts to get in touch that ended in him trying to control me again through emotional blackmail, and I still sometimes catch myself missing him, or some moments I lived with him.

We are not alone in this. Abusers control their victims, often through a systematic erosion of the victim’s self esteem before moving onto their next steps. The cycle of abuse and repent - “the good times”- alters the survivor’s perception of reality and can create this psychological dependence.

“Life begins to revolve around anticipating violence; coping with actual acts of violence; or recovering from the violence. Ironically, a family can become tremendously close in the recovery phase. The man who was terrifying and intimidating turns into a remorseful, needy, and dependent man. The woman who was battered then will feel sorry for the man and recommit to him in a fantasized hope that the abuse won't happen again. But the cycle of abuse will begin again, often becoming worse. The cycle of abuse can only be broken with awareness and professional help.”
- From Domestic Violence

No soporto a Sabina.

Escrito original en Quora, respondiendo a: ¿Soy la única persona a la que no le gusta Sabina?

NO. No soporto a Sabina.

Tampoco me gusta musicalmente, pero no como dicen algunos “porque son tristes”, sino porque cada vez que he tenido que escuchar algo suyo me ha sonado a falso, rematadamente falso. 

Sabina es un cantante mediocre que se ha ganado la medallita de ser bohemio y canalla, y escuchar a Sabina también te hace bohemio y canalla sin haber arriesgado más allá que cruzar una calle con el semáforo en rojo y fuera del paso de peatones. Especialmente si vives en Madrid.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o y la novela que escribió en la prisión sobre papel higiénico

Escrito original en Quora, respondiendo a ¿Cuáles son los mejores libros escritos en prisión?

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, uno de los escritores kenianos más conocidos y considerado fundamental para la literatura africana en general, escribió la novela Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ (El diablo en la cruz) sobre papel higiénico de la prisión donde le habían encerrado por su obra de teatro Ngaahika Ndeenda (Me casaré cuando quiera), primera obra en Kikuyu, que permitía acercar la cultura la pueblo sin pasar por idiomas coloniales.

El diablo en la cruz[1] es la primera novela moderna en Kikuyu y una crítica feroz al capitalismo y al colonialismo, dejando claro que ambos van de la mano en Kenia (y, por extensión, en África). Es importante recordar que se escribió en 1978 desde una prisión de máxima seguridad precisamente por desafiar el orden colonial británico en Kenia. Pero no sólo cuestiona el uso político del dinero por parte de empresarios y banqueros europeos, también la nueva clase social de políticos y empresarios kenianos, a menudo marionetas europeas con piel negra, que ayudan a la conjura de ladrones a seguir expoliando el país:

“Debemos incrementar en todo el país el hambre y la sed por la tierra. Esto generará hambruna y nosotros, que tenemos la tierra, la venderemos en parcelas diminutas, de forma que un hombre podrá plantar una semilla y sostener el tallo desde el tejado de su cabaña. Podríamos atrapar el aire del cielo, embotellarlo y venderlo a campesinos y trabajadores, tal como hacemos ahora el agua y el carbón. ¡Imagínense los beneficios..!”
(Fragmento de El diablo en la cruz)

Why refugees in Europe don't want to be fingerprinted

Answer written originally to a question in Quora

Why don’t refugees want to be fingerprinted?

I understand this question refers to refugees or asylum petitioners in Europe. This does not need to apply elsewhere.

The reason is the Dublin Protocol, which states the European Country responsible for asylum application of a specific refugee or migrant. Basically, the country where they have first been fingerprinted. Any refugee or irregular migrant identified and fingerprinted in UK, Germany, Norway… who had been already fingerprinted in Greece, Spain or Italy will be sent back to that country of first identification.

Image: Migrants and refugees in a derelict warehouse in Belgrade. Andrej Isakovic/AFP

Yes, a transman is a biological man and saying otherwise is transphobic

Answer written originally to a question in Quora 

Let’s see this question a bit at a time. First, the main issue:

• SOME PEOPLE TELL ME THAT A TRANSMAN IS THE SAME AS A BIOLOGICAL MAN AND SAYING OTHERWISE IS TRANSPHOBIC.

A transgender person, be it man or woman, is a living organism.[1] A transgender man is a “bipedal primate belonging to the genus Homo, especially Homo sapiens”.[2] A transgender man is a structure of organized cells that requires energy to survive, has the ability to metabolize, adapt to the environment, react to stimuli, maintain homeostasis, grow, reproduce… he lives.[3]

And his life, as precious as yours, his life alone makes him a biological man.

So yes, a trans man is a biological man. But cis men are biological men too, don’t worry.

• SOME PEOPLE TELL ME THAT A TRANSMAN IS THE SAME AS A BIOLOGICAL MAN AND SAYING OTHERWISE IS TRANSPHOBIC.

Saying that a transgender man is not a biological man is, first, very weird. Perhaps all the hate and fake news during so many years has made the person who doubts this obvious fact forget the basics of life. So that statement is ignorant, strange and, if uttered in an attempt to dehumanize trans folks… yes, it is transphobic.

• ISN’T BEING A MAN AND A WOMAN A BIOLOGICAL FACT?

Uh… no, sorry. You’re thinking of sex.

If you are wiling to learn about this, please read Jae Alexis Lee's answer to Is there any scientific evidence to support transgender identity [4]

• DO CHROMOSOMES NOT MATTER ANYMORE?

Chromosomes are much more complicated than what you think.[5] But Jae Alexis Lee can also help you with that. [6]

• WHAT DOES THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY SAY ABOUT THIS ISSUE?

I have summarized and linked to some of the things that the scientific community says about this issue. Of course, the scientific community is huge and has differring views on many things, gender identity is among them. Plus they have this habit of writing in long words and showing lots of numbers. If you really want to learn, I’d suggest you follow Jae Alexis Lee and read her answers on this topic. She has read, investigated and written an enormous amount of information regarding transgender-related issues, linking to the original sources.

But, basically, most scientists would agree that trans men are biological men, unless you’re thinking of robots.

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Footnotes

[1] Biological - Biology-Online Dictionary

[2] Human - Biology-Online Dictionary

[3] Living thing - Biology-Online Dictionary

[4] Jae Alexis Lee's answer to Is there any scientific evidence to support transgender identity?

[5] XX male syndrome - Wikipedia

[6] Jae Alexis Lee's answer to If a male has two X chromosomes but cannot reproduce, is he considered a male or female?

How can men avoid getting accused of groping women?

Answer written originally to a question in Quora  

Look. I've been trying not to answer this kind of questions, several versions in the last couple of weeks.

Men, this is not about you, guys, as victims.

It's about you guys, as predators. It's about you, guys, as accomplices.

It's about you, guys, chuckling quietly when someone tells you how they felt their secretary's boob.

It's about you, guys, looking out of the window as an old man gropes a teen girl on the bus.

It's about you, guys, laughing about going home with that drunk girl: “she's not the hottest but she's drunk enough to convince”.

It's about you, guys, asking why a woman didn't go immediately to the police.

It's about you, guys, saying “she's not even that hot anyway".

Guys, listen. If you want to become the center regarding rape culture, it's not going to be as victims. Enough is enough.

Los extranjeros con NIE español y la futura República de Catalunya, según la Ley de transitoriedad

 Escrito original en Quora, respondiendo a:

¿Qué es probable que ocurra con los extranjeros que tenemos NIE español en Catalunya si esta se independiza?

Según el artículo 7. Nacionalidad de origen de la Ley de transitoriedad jurídica y fundacional de la república catalana, la nacionalidad catalana se obtendrá automáticamente en el caso de tener la nacionalidad española (por nacimiento o adquirida tras proceso de nacionalización) que vivan en catalunya, empadronadas antes del 31.12.2016. Para el resto de casos se prevén distintos sistemas.

Las personas extranjeras con NIE conseguirán la nacionalidad catalana, según el artículo 8. Adquisición de la nacionalidad acreditando 5 años de residencia legal continuada en Catalunya en el periodo anterior a la petición de nacionalidad. Este periodo se puede modificar según convenios que se firmen con países de origen. Por otra parte, el derecho al voto sigue siendo sólo para quienes tengan la nacionalidad (artículo 26. Derechos y deberes de las personas extranjeras).

My scariest teacher experience

Answer written originally to a question in Quora 

My scariest teacher experience: Controlling a classroom full of 5-to-8-year-olds running in a frenzy while a kid rushed at them with a handsaw.

I remember specially one creepy/scary moment I had as an extracurricular teacher of English as a Second Language for young kids, after school hours.

Each school had a different system for the after-school activities; in this one I was supposed to turn up at a specific hour and the children would be in our classroom, with a school monitor keeping an eye on them as they arrived from their different classes. It was a complicated group, with a mixture of  children between 5 and 8 years old, so their reading, writing and drawing capacities where quite different.

One day I could hear more noise than usual as I approached the room. I peeped in through the door’s window and saw mayhem going on. The monitor was nowhere to be seen and the children where shouting in what seemed more like panic than just playing around. I opened the door and I saw one of the older boys, X, running around with a handsaw in his hands!