What a privilege it must be to think so. Sadly, I cannot relate. To me they're poison or a visit to the ER. Like if most of the people in the world thought diamondback rattlesnakes or boomslangs made adorable pets to let roam free.

If you can imagine drowning in your own fluids, unable to breathe, while your whole body swells painfully and itches, your nose runs uncontrollably and eyes swell shut, you've got the picture.

Y'all don't have to ask ahead of time before you go anywhere new if there will be a cat there. And you don't have to cancel if they say yes.

▲

kulahan 2 days ago | parent [-]

This is an incredible amount of drama over one of the most common animals on the planet.

▲

timschmidt 2 days ago | parent [-]

It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it.

For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours. Less opportunity.

People with severe food allergies have to plan and limit themselves similarly. Because people who don't understand can't be trusted to help limit exposure. Sensible precautions are seen as unnecessary drama by those who don't need them.

Anyone with a severe allergy can share a dozen stories about the times someone who didn't understand almost got them killed. Standing up for ourselves in the face of folks trying to downplay our conditions is the reason any of us are still alive.

▲

kulahan a day ago | parent [-]

No, you’re just being really dramatic over an allergy. My brother literally will actually DIE if he gets too close to peanuts and he’s not this insufferable.

▲

timschmidt a day ago | parent | next [-]

If you can't suffer some words, then your brother and I have a much higher pain tolerance than you do. lol

Will you DIE from words like your brother and I from our allergens? If not you can calm down about it. Unlike us you can just walk away from this. If it causes you suffering you're choosing to suffer by engaging in the conversation. That's not good for you. Take care of yourself.

▲

kulahan 10 hours ago | parent [-]

No, which is why I’m not being insufferable, lmao.

As a side note, I get the chide about labeling. You might accidentally eat cat and die! It slips in all the time! Granted, the labeling is not enough to protect him due to the severity of his allergy. Don’t try to bring him down to your level. It’ll take months anyways.

▲

timschmidt 8 hours ago | parent [-]

> No, which is why I’m not being insufferable

At this point you're interpreting genuine care and empathy for your brother's condition and appreciation for a hard-fought safety measure as chide. I remember when it was enacted. And a win for any of us is a win for all of us. Re-evaluate that assumption of yours.

You're right that a respiratory and contact allergy wouldn't benefit from food labels. Safety labels for folks like me would go on buildings, especially public spaces. And they would absolutely be helpful. The ADA does have some protections for folks with respiratory allergies in public spaces, but they're somewhat severely limited to a 6mo period after which filing an enforcement action is not possible. If you miss it, tough luck.

You are demonstrating to others the sort of attitude folks like your brother and I encounter constantly. So thanks for that. It's good for folks to see that just talking about the things that I and others like me experience and expressing care for others with similar conditions is enough to elicit hate. Because that's not uncommon. Most folks like me have dealt with that behavior, and nothing you say about me or my allergy will have any effect other than reflecting on yourself.

▲

kulahan 6 hours ago | parent [-]

No, you’re just insanely annoying. Imagine writing such a tirade over people owning pets lol. Man, you are SUCH a victim.

Can you honestly not see how melodramatic you’re being? Like this has to be an act, yeah?

	▲	timschmidt 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		[dead]

▲

timschmidt 14 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

BTW, it's cool that your brother at least gets safety labeling on commercial food items. I hope that helps him stay safe.