Asheville resident here to say that all the government agencies are here and hard at work. FEMA, state, counties, cities, all very visible and vigorous. Don’t listen to right wing bullshit.
EARLY MORNING THOUGHTS-
Do you know what I wish we would teach kids today?
I wish we would teach them that it is OK to be a "nobody".
I wish we would teach them that it is OK to work at the factory for 30 years. To marry your high school sweetheart and have babies. To struggle with bills and eat dollar store macaroni.
It's ok for your greatest accomplishment to be watching your child take their first breath and then driving back roads all the way home from the hospital because you are terrified of this new little creature that you have to raise.
It's ok to coach little league and fry chicken after church. It's OK to be a "failure" in society as long as you aren't failing those you owe your support to.
It's ok to take your little girl to dance class and go for a walk in the woods. It's ok to be tired after seven straight 12 hour shifts. It's ok to suffer and hurt and strive to be better.
It's ok to join your local volunteer fire department or EMS service even if you can't do anything but sweep the floors.
It's ok to volunteer on Saturdays to run the concession stands at the pee wee basketball games.
I wish we taught them that success in life is not being some super popular or famous person, but by helping those around you and holding your family through the storms of life. Looking at your community and going to work to make it better, even if it is just mowing the lawn at the local school.
I wish we would teach them that Saturday football, Sunday dinner, and Tuesday bowling leagues are enough. Summer softball leagues and Fall mornings in a tree stand overlooking a field is where life begins.
Your life is yours to live. I would never tell a young person they can't be great. I just wish we would teach them that it is also ok to just be "good enough."
Imane Khelif is a biological woman and if you want to protect our daughters, you should protect her. If you don’t do the research to find the truth, then we should be protected from you.
Michael Phelps is literally referred to as a freak of nature because of his disproportionate wingspan, double jointed ankles, lung capacity twice that of an average human, body that produces half the lactic acid of a typical athlete, and he is rightly celebrated for being the greatest male swimmer in history. Meanwhile, female athletes with genetic differences are legally discriminated against and harassed to no end. This is not about “protecting women in sports” - this is about protecting a very specific idea of what a woman is.