From One Survivor to Another

reblogged: (via)

83 notes

January 4, 2012

Mx. Hipworth: memo to white liberals: body odor is not revolutionary

fromonesurvivortoanother:

kemetically-ankhtified:

It seems that every time I’m surrounded by white liberals crying wolf to change the world (from my experiences with the working families party, occupy wall street, protests, rallies, and college), they reek of body odor.

I understand that deodorants are bad for you,…

Uh, as a person who is seriously allergic to many fragrances, essential oils and other similar things can be extremely dangerous to some people, including: people with allergies, people with Fibro who get sensory overload, people with asthma, and others. I can only imagine what kind of nightmare it would be if I went to a rally and people all smelled like a hundred different things. Those oils are STRONG, too.

Reactions can include serious injury in the form of asthma attacks or skin allergies, headaches, dizziness, and vomiting. This isn’t about a simple annoyance; it’s about not feeling as if you are going to die, or literally not dying.

A few green alternatives: corn starch, baking soda, flour, and some brands of unscented deodorants without aluminum, and not overshowering or using soaps that unnecessarily dry out your skin (that’s often why people smell so much— if you only shower with soap every once awhile, or only shower with hot water, your body eventually adjusts after a few weeks and you smell surprisingly clean).

i can only imagine too, although i don’t know how that may feel, i understand how bad allergies can get for ppl — i live with someone who used to get seizures from allergies.

however, i was strictly talking about white people who choose to not use deodorant or any cleansing product, not because they are allergic, but because many of them believe it’s some kind of rebellion against the status quo or deviance to society.

That’s the thing, though, you can’t really know for sure if someone is just like that or if they chose to do it or if they don’t have any money or some other reason. Like with Occupy Wall Street, some of those people are homeless, and they don’t have that chance to get clean.

What i meant was that sometimes people’s various personal care products/perfumes/etc can reach beyond their own bodies and into other people’s personal spaces, potentially hurting them. So if most people took on your idea, it could become a problem for the people who do have these issues. Maybe I misread it as you suggesting people cover up smells with more smells, instead of people just being clean and not smelling, period.