I truly don’t have any words about what’s happening in Ohio right now. I want to post something like I usually do. Give vocabulary, etc, whatnot. It’s important, it’s so important. But I don’t have words. What could I possibly say about the level of devastation that has happened, is happening, will happen in the future? This is worse than the BP spill. And I don’t know how to respond to that with anything other than a shocked numbness.
There has been a complete media black out regarding the catastrophic and deadly environmental disaster currently happening in Ohio right now, which began a full week ago at time of writing.
A train filled with extremely toxic and reactive chemicals, specifically vinyl chloride, was derailed. A cloud of poisonous chemicals has sprouted and since the cloud is heavier-than-air, it will persist to continue to travel downwind, polluting the atmosphere and environment of everything it touches. All pets will die. Reaching the Mississippi will completely eradicate the safety of all its waters from that point and everywhere downstream. Creeks are already filled with dead fish which the Ohio government claims is not to be worried about. The entire state’s soils and ecosystems will be contaminated to deadly carcinogenic levels for the rest of all our lives and far beyond it. If and when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico the currents will carry its poisons globally.
I wish I could say anything of hope right now. I wish I could even say I’m angry. But I’m not right now. I just feel numb. The scale of this is just so beyond anything I can comprehend and there’s an explicit and purposeful refusal to report on this.
While vinyl chloride itself is a carcinogen, the burning of the chemical, which releases hydrogen chloride and phosgene, can be immediately lethal. Phosgene, a highly toxic, colorless gas with a strong odor, was notoriously used as a weapon during World War I.
Meanwhile, the crash site was leaching other hazardous materials besides vinyl chloride. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says they seeped into surrounding waterways, and “were immediately toxic to fish”—though it added that “actions were taken to minimize that.” The agency has assured the public that, the poor aquatic life’s fate notwithstanding, everybody’s drinking water was “protected.”
Yesterday [Feb 9 2023], the agency announced that the air in East Palestine was finally deemed safe enough for residents to return.
The oldest source I can find discussing this is from Feb 8.
Saw someone argue that opposing AI art is ableist because this is the only way for some disabled people to make art afjagjsfh. Disabled people have been making art since the dawn of time and because making art is so varied there will always be tons of ways to create despite disability that doesn’t involve ripping artists off by using AI art
Disabled people are honestly so brave for not killing annoying ppl every day I swear to god the disrespect
A lot of professional artists *are disabled* because art as a career affords the kind of flexibility a lot of people need: some days you feel great, some days you feel terrible, some days you have to play by ear, some days you have appointments, and a lot of creative professions allow you to work around that.
AI is actively endangering disabled livelihoods. Don’t for a single second let the money-grubbing, art-hating tech bros convince you that they give a damn about what’s best for people with disabilities, especially not while they actively infantilize disabled artists.
Here is disabled artist Tomihiro Hoshino. He was a gymnastics teacher and mountain climber until an accident in his 20s left him paralyzed from the neck down. In the months that followed, Hoshino struggled to find meaning in a life once based entirely around physical activity.
His friend brought him flowers and Hoshino was so moved by their perfect beauty that he taught himself to draw and eventually paint using his mouth so that he could express the joy he felt at seeing them. He became a nationally famous artist and is studied in Japanese schools. He opened his own gallery in 2005 and he sells his work on Amazon.
Disabled artists do not need AI. Hoshino even attributes his career to his accident, since he might never have taught himself to paint otherwise. *That* is what makes an artist. The absolute drive to create. The need to express something within yourself, whether it’s a character you like or the meaning of the universe or the simple beauty of a flower.
Pushing a glorified search button is not “art”, and disabled people are not some Uno reverse to deflect from the consequences of tech bros’ shady actions. AI bros prey on *real* artists, including plenty of disabled artists.
wasnt there a disabled artist once who made beautiful art with proto ascii style using a typwriter?
This is literally one of my favorite poll bugs. After your poll wraps up at some point in the reblog chain the options can turn into links that lead to some random person’s blog. Not even OP’s blog. Just some random tumblr user who reblogged the post at some point.
I am Silver Tongue, I am an artist. I have many characters and you can check out my art in the art tag. I occasionally practice witchcraft though I don't do anything too complicated. I am girl 2 and don't know what else to put here.
