Robyn Holmes

Intellectually, I 100% agree with you, Joseph. I will carry out that philosophy with my flock, because why would you want to keep those bad genetics around? The phrase "survival of the fittest" didn't come from no where... I admire your ability to stay strong in the face of some of the scenarios presented above, but I know I could not. I was visiting a dear friend at the hospital yesterday whose labor started too early, and I can not imagine telling her that she shouldn't do everything she can to let her child live. And once I have crossed the line, where do I stop? Who am I to decide when one person can be saved and another not? It's just not in my character to make those decisions.

Nathan Schwarz wrote:Or in other words, can an intentional community successfully circumvent the medical insurance system?

I live among an Old Order Amish community and have seen how they do circumvent the medical insurance system. (Please note that there are various sects in the Amish community and their "rules" differ greatly.)

Nathan Schwarz wrote:If so, how does the community then provide the various services that medical insurance typically pays for (check-ups, emergency care, medication, etc)?

Individual families pay out of pocket for their own expenses (with few exceptions, any type of insurance is not allowed as part of their religion, and they are therefore exempt from "Obamacare"), and when tragedies happen there is a "general fund" that helps out. I have been told that when necessary, the fund is replenished with a "tax" (my word, not theirs) where each family contributes based on their net worth.

I don't know if this information is helpful at all, but I have been fascinated by learning from my Amish friends since we moved to the area. note: this is not an endorsement, I'm just trying to share.

With all of this discussion on how "Aspies" communicate, I think there has been something overlooked. It is not just the "Aspies" who have difficulties in communicating. There are many different types of challenges that many people deal with on a daily basis that hinder their ability to effectively translate their thoughts and wisdom into the written word.

What I have seen on this forum is those who can and do speak in technical terms look down upon and dismiss those who can't or won't speak in their "technical" language. Then, it seems that when some are being told they are inferior because of this, they react to that personal attack, and this does nothing to help anyone.

Oh dear,

I hope they do get mean, or my future plans for lotsa sausage in my pantry will go kaput!!

Sewing, Reading, Crochet and all other sorts of "old-timey" type of stuff!

Neil, the whole point of my post was to try and bring the focus back to the original point of this whole thread, not to continue an argumentative conversation. I will be happy to respond to you using Purple Mooseages as to not distract from the purpose of this thread, if you like.

All I would like to say is that we have NO RIGHT TO JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE. Let alone judge, as good or bad, those we do not know.

This thread started off by saying "One of the great strengths of Permaculture is its emphasis on diversity." Then, a conversation started about the diversity in personality types - specifically focusing on "aspies and 'techie types'". There was some wonderful conversation & information from many different perspectives that felt really helpful in forging understanding among different types of people. For me, it was very enlightening to learn about R Ranson's experiences what she learned from them.

Some time after that, the conversation seemed to disintegrate. I know many posts were removed and changed.

It seems to me that we should go back to the original focus of this thread. We need to find the strengths in our diversity, not keep highlighting that diversity in a way that puts another person down.

Whether a person uses too many technical words, or another doesn't use enough, that doesn't give us the right to JUDGE them.

First of all, thanks to all of the kind and caring people who have been so kind as to help me out while I'm freaking out!

I went to see the Dr. yesterday and he put me on doxycycline 100mg 2x a day for 2 weeks. He also had me do the blood test for lyme disease, which he said we'll repeat in 2 months. Any advice?